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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. |
Bible Question: Thank you Doc, you truly answer questions that are asked. You are a truly enlightened person. When you do not know you yourself, you search the scriptures as everyone should. As you used John 3:16 as a reference point, does an aborted fetus have the capacity to believe or understand anything, much less Jesus Christ? I know that much has been talked about concerning this subject. An aborted fetus has of course not yet sinned, and so has not yet repented for anything for it has not sinned against GOD. I think everyone knows where I am going with this. What happens to the soul of an aborted fetus if it has already been deposited into the fetus? No sin, yet no repentence, no belief system, no understanding? |
Bible Answer: Hi, Colton... I did not choose John 3:16, rather that was chosen, I think, by the first person to answer the original question. Salvation is a work of God. Certainly in the usual order of salvation (ordo salutis) a minimum amount of knowledge must exist. I do not believe, however, that we can quantify what that minimum must be. Furthermore, although a person may not have committed a specific act of sin, the fallen nature is inherited. Consequently, salvation is still necessary for anyone who is of the seed of Adam (Romans 5:12). Therefore, if those who fail to survive to birth are saved, their salvation must be through Christ alone (Acts 4:12; 1 John 5:11-12). The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, chapter ten ("Of Effectual Calling") says in paragraph three, "Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit (John 3:3, 5, 6); Who works when, and where, and how He pleases (John 3:8); so also are all elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word." This seems to fit what Scripture reveals. After quite a bit of studied thought and instruction, I am comfortable with this assertion -- so long as the qualifying words used by the old divines are not sidestepped or mitigated. In Him, Doc |