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NASB | 2 Corinthians 5:15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Corinthians 5:15 and He died for all, so that all those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for their sake. |
Subject: verse explains nonChrist knowing savior |
Bible Note: Dear brother Paul, Thanks for the response. But I'm left feeling like there has been a change of subject here. I appreciate your thoughtfulness in what you write. Allow me to express my own understanding and beliefs regarding what you have written. To begin with, the personalized response in my last post was not to address the work the Holy Spirit is doing in me as an individual. I agree that based on the fact that I feel convicted of my sins I can be reassured that the Holy Spirit is in fact living in me. Not to side-step the issue; this was not the focus of my response. I was speaking to the larger plan that God has and my part in it. Conviction does not always lead to immediate repentance, even in believers. My point was that God's plan (in the case of my illustration) to save an individual does not depend on my cooperation. If He chooses to save person A, and affords me the opportunity to be involved with that and be blessed as a result; my not being obedient (as in not witnessing to person A) will not prevent or even delay God's saving that person. Moving on to other comments in your current post. You wrote: "If God's plan is to form us in His image, then when you felt you had missed Him and were convicted in your heart, had He progressed the formation of Him you? Although you felt failure, He had progressed His purpose, Therefore was it 'wrong'?" The simple answer here is, YES, it was wrong. Disobedience to the Lord is always wrong; there's no justifying it. I believe we agree though that His mercy and His grace is sufficient to overcome our failures and He is able to bless us continually (Rom 8:29) You wrote: "We understand the bible as an explanation of God's law, they where His before He gave them to us. To be formed in His image we must, like Him, we must agree with His laws because we want to, not because we have to." We have no disagreement up to this point, however, there is much more involved. The Bible does explain God's law and His character. But what the Bible says to us about God goes much further. It is His mercy and His grace that is the message to be grasped; that is the message of salvation. That in spite of our inability to keep those laws, His mercy witholds what we rightly deserve and His grace gives to us what we can never achieve on our own. What an awesome, overwhelming testimony to who God really is wouldn't you agree. We agree that as Christians we must come to a place where we choose to obey God; but we are never to forget that it is only by His grace that we are able to do so. Finally, you wrote: "To bring us to this understanding we go through a process of sin which is His plan. Therefore the fall and redemption of mankind is the process, not the frustration of God's plan." I'm not sure I'm grasping your theology in that statement so I will be brief with my response. My understanding and belief is this. God never intends or PLANS for any man to sin. Rather God works His plan perfectly with full knowledge that we will sin, and in spite of us when we do, thus, my original point. God's plan is accomplished in accordance with His perfect will. It never depends on Jeff Hetrick in Las Cruces, New Mexico. With that said, I believe it is important to point out that God did not orchestrate the fall (though he knew it before the creation of the world). Knowing this, He did orchestrate a great, miraculous plan of redemption; this too before the creation of the world. He testified to that in Genisis (see 3:15ff). Thank you brother for the continued consideration. God Bless, Jeff |