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NASB | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [Prov 25:21, 22] |
Subject: Praying for the 'World'. |
Bible Note: Thank you for your response. I do so appreciate your taking the time to share. Like I said in an earlier post, I feel so very insignificant, even reading the different responses to my question, because my theological knowledge is limited, at best. I was content to accept the viewpoint of the learned, the Biblical scholar, bacause I was of the conviction that if they are being taught by the Holy Spirit, than who am I to question. But, the more I read, the more I find there are different viewpoints, different intrepretations that seem to contradict each other. You said "To change the meaning or interpret "any" to refer to "The chosen" is totally unwarranted in the text". John Macarthur has been my resource in regard to my question. He wrote, "The 'any' must refer to those whom the Lord has chosen and will call to complete the redeemed, i.e., the 'us'. Since the whole passage is about God's destroying the wicked, his patience is not so He can save all of them, but so that He can receive all His own. He can't be waiting for everyone to be saved, since the emphasis is that He will destroy the world and the ungodly. Those wo do perish and go to hell, go because they are depraved and worthy only of hell and have rejected the only remedy, Jesus Christ, not because they were created for hell and predetermined to go there. The path to damnation is the path of a non-repentant heart; it is the path of one who rejects the person and provision of Jesus Christ and holds on to sin. Even in this one paragraph I realize that John Macarthur is contradicting some of what I have read from John Piper. Do you see my dilema? I want to know the truth...how can I be sure what intrepretation is the right one. How can I be sure what I feel the Holy Spirit is teaching me is correct? Ever seeking, Sonlit |