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NASB | John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 10:28 "And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever [by any means] perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand. |
Subject: once saved always saved |
Bible Note: New Creature: You wrote: "So this is not the verse to attempt to imply a mere profession of faith, there are other verses like the ones in Matthew 7 to do that. This is addressing possessors, not mere professors only." The fact that other verses address false faith doesn't mean that this passage doesn't. That would be like saying that all the passages on justification by faith are not really talking about that because we have John 3:16. I think you raise a good question in addressing what Paul means here in 1 Timothy 4:1 when he refers to "the faith." Is he referring to one's personal faith in Jesus Christ or a corporate profession of faith? The word "faith" does not always mean "one's personal trust and belief." For example, we often refer to "the Muslim faith" or "the Christian faith." When we use such terms, we are not speaking of any disposition in the hearts of particular individuals. Rather, what we mean by that is a written or unwritten confession of what a particular religious group holds as truth. The Christian faith, in that sense, objectively remains the Christian faith regardless of anyone personally clinging to it or departing from it. Of course, the question remains whether that is the sense in which Paul uses "the faith" in 1 Timothy 4:1. Paul uses the term a lot in this epistle alone, not to mention throughout his inspired writings: "In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following." --1 Timothy 4:6 Here in the very same paragraph we see "the faith" mentioned. Obviously, however, we cannot be nourished on the words of our personal faith. Clearly, Paul is talking about the apostolic teachings that would make up the canon of Scripture, the "words of THE faith." We see that use of it in several places, where it would make at least as much, if not more, sense to define "the faith" as a corporate confession of faith rather than the personal belief in Jesus Christ through which we are justified : 1 Timothy 1:2,14; 3:9,13; 5:8; 6:10,21 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:8; 4:7 Titus 1:4,13; 3:15 etc. Now, I am not saying that every instance of the word "faith" refers to a corporate confession. That would be nonsense and do great damage to the gospel. However, apparently, as we do, Paul had different connotations of the word "faith," depending on whether he was referring to the commonly held doctrines of the confessing church or the personal belief through which we are individually declared righteous before a holy God. In almost every case, the "rejection" or "wandering away" is from "THE faith," not "YOUR faith." We live in an individualist society, and I think one of the consequences of that mindset is a frequent failure to recognize the intensely corporate nature of Christianity. While we are saved through our personal reliance upon the finished work of Christ, we also believe in "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Most 21st-century Christians are strangers to the concepts of creeds and confessions, but the early church made use of them extensively and Paul quotes some of them in his epistles. I also hold that this absence of confessional Christianity has eroded our sense of a church that stands together, saying, "This we believe." Certainly there are some among us who say it without truly believing it, but the confession of the faith stands even in the face of individuals wandering from it, giving evidence of not being truly regenerate. May God bless you this day! --Joe! |