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NASB | Matthew 7:13 ¶ "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 7:13 ¶ "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. |
Subject: Born on the way to destruction ? |
Bible Note: The root question is this... at what point is a person saved? Is it when they first trust God... or is it when they trust God always in every part of their life... or is it some other point... or is it a process over a period of time? I believe that the answer may be "all of the above"... that is, God works in different people's lives in different ways. Paul surely had a conversion experience that occured at a particular point in time. The disciples, on the other hand, seem to have a conversion experience that was much more of a process. They followed Jesus, yet often did not understand Him and even denied Him (which indicates a lack of trust). Even after the Resurrection, we have "doubting Thomas" who needed physical proof that Jesus was who He said He was, showing a lack of faith (ie, faith defined by Jesus as "believing what we have not seen"). The answer to your question is this... I don't know! But I opened this debate to make a point: I think Christians have to be careful about judging the salvation of fellow seekers, as often God takes people on a faith journey that leads a person to profess Christ, but does not include a dramatic point where the person reaches that conclusion. Just as it is difficult to tell exactly when each of the disciples made a decision to trust God, it is often difficult to know the same about the rest of us. The important issue is that we profess Christ, however God brings us to do it, and that we grow in our faith to trust God in all things. Thanks for the input! Blessings Curt |