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NASB | Acts 17:30 "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 17:30 "Therefore God overlooked and disregarded the former ages of ignorance; but now He commands all people everywhere to repent [that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God's purpose for their lives], |
Subject: Can you say "you can be saved" to anyone |
Bible Note: Is your Gospel available to all? Act 17:30 Truly, then, God overlooking the times of ignorance, now strictly commands all men everywhere to repent, John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to the ones believing into His name," "Received" here is in the active voice. It is an action done by the one who will then be given the right to become a child of God. If we receive Him, we will be saved. If we do not receive Him, we will not. Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, each of you on the name of Jesus Christ to remission of sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Act 3:19 Therefore, repent, and convert, for the blotting out of your sins, so that times of refreshing may come from the face of the Lord, In the Scriptures of salvation, repentance always comes first. Salvation is always described in the Bible as something entered into by the recipient. The assumption that salvation comes before man repents, and commits to the Lord, is not found in the Bible. Many will tell you that man is unable to react or respond in any way until God makes them alive, and so that God selects those He wishes to save, gives them spiritual life, and because of the spiritual life He has given them they will now want to repent, and be saved, though in fact, according to this model, they are at this point already saved, before having repented of their sins. The dark side of this teaching is the doctrine that every person who will spend eternity in the lake of fire will be there because God choose them to be there. By not choosing to save them, He defacto chooses them for damnation. But this is not what the Bible teaches. It is only man that teaches that. There are a number of verses showing that salvation is conditional upon man. Just a few: Rom 10:9 Because if you confess (homologeo - say the same) the Lord Jesus with your mouth, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Rom 10:10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation. This is a prescriptive passage that tells us how to be saved. This means that we agree with God that Jesus is Lord, and not making a false confession, believing in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead (believing in His ability to do so, and the rightfulness of that action). But no matter what these things, "confessing the Lord Jesus with your mouth," and "believing in your heart tha God raised Him from the dead", both of these come before, and are conditional of, salvation. This passage does not say, for instance, if you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you HAVE BEEN saved. This is not a demonstration of salvation, but is a prerequisite to salvation, regeneration, the new birth. Rom 10:13 For everyone, "whoever may call on the name of the Lord will be saved." Rom 10:14 How then may they call on One into whom they have not believed? And how may they believe One of whom they have not heard? And how may they hear without preaching? Rom 10:15 And how may they preach if they are not sent? If salvation were an autonomous unilateral work of God, Paul didn't seem to understand that. Again, this says "whoever may call on the name of the Lord WILL BE saved," not "HAS BEEN saved." But beyond that, the progression is clear - salvation comes from calling on the Name of the Lord, calling comes from believing, believing comes from hearing, hearing comes from preaching, and preaching comes from being sent. 2Co 5:20 Then on behalf of Christ, we are ambassadors, as God is exhorting through us, we beseech on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God. Why would Paul beseech us to be reconciled to God if some would, some wouldn't, and we had nothing to do with it? Any understanding of how salvation works that does not take into account these Scriptures must be faulty. 1Timothy 2 1 First of all then, I exhort that petitions, prayers, supplications, and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all the ones being in high position, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet existence in all godliness and dignity. 3 For this is good and acceptable before God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to a full knowledge of truth. Does this say “God desires some to be saved and some to burn”? No, it does not. It tells us God desires all to be saved. If it were God’s sovereign choice that certain men were to be cast into the lake of fire, would not the fulfillment of His Own will please Him? And yet He says, Eze 18:32 For I do not have delight in the death of him who dies, declares the Lord Jehovah. So turn and live. Turn and live. Not, “be turned” and live. Turn and Live! Love in Christ, Mark |
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mark d seyler | ||
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