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NASB | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
Subject: THE CROSS |
Bible Note: Dear gracefull: Thank you for your response. I really appreciate the Bible verses and not just mere opinion in support of your theology, even if I disagree with your interpretation in the context of all of Scripture. We could continue to discuss this issue (which is hard to do considering it hits on soooo many other side-issues and makes us prone to distraction) but first I want to pinpoint one aspect of your last post. This one sentence, I believe, hits the nail on the head. Here it is: "You seem to be saying we believe after this renewal..however I believe we are renewed or regenerated/born again after we BELIEVE and ACCEPT Jesus." Herein we have a conundrum. I believe the Bible clearly teaches about our inability to come to God on our own. We simply can't do it (John 6:65). He must first give us the gift of faith (Eph 2:8-9). Natural man doesn't even understand he NEEDS a savior, because he cannot see himself for who he really is (Rom. 3:10-11; 1 Cor. 2:14). Keep in mind that because of this depravity and rejection of God, man is guilty and the sin deserves to be punished in order for God to remain just. With these things in mind, please consider why I believe God doesn't merely stop at making salvation "possible" for everyone, but actually SAVES all whom He chooses to save(Rom. 9:15). Salvation is dependent upon nothing else but the mercy of God (Rom. 9:11-16) who works all things to guarantee not one of His chosen people will be lost (Eph. 1:11; Eph. 3:11-12; Rom. 8:28-30; John 10:28-29). No one is suddenly condemned because they "reject" the Gospel, but rather they are under condemnation whether they hear it or not, let alone reject it (John 3:18)! The Gospel SAVES, it does not CONDEMN!!! Please consider this example I've posted before and give me your answer. Imagine you are standing before the throne of God standing next to a man who is not a follower of Christ. What is it that differentiates the two of you? If God did for the man next to you everything that He did to save you, then the only difference is that you believed. But here's the kicker--WHAT WAS IN YOU THAT MADE YOU BELIEVE, THAT THE GUY NEXT TO YOU WAS LACKING? That IS the question we all must answer before our Holy Lord. In Christ, Jibbs |