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NASB | Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God]. [John 7:39; Acts 2:33] |
Subject: Can you lose your salvation? |
Bible Note: Greetings Psalm25! You wrote: "The free will mentality is a "Johnny come lately." Historical Christianity considered it "a herisy (sic)."" Here are a few quotes that demonstrate a historical belief in free will in the early church. ********** Justin Martyr (a.d. 100-165) "God, wishing men and angels to follow His will, resolved to create them free to do righteousness. But if the Word of God foretells that some angels and men shall certainly be punished, it did so because it foreknew that they would be unchangeable (wicked), but not because God created them so. So if they repent, all who wish for it can obtain mercy from God (Dialogue, CXLI)." Irenaeus (A.D. 130-200) "This expression, "How often would I have gathered thy children together, and thou wouldst not," set fort the ancient law of human liberty, because God made mad a free (agent) from the beginning, possessing his own soul to obey the behests of God voluntarily, and not by compulsion of God....If then it were not in our power to do or not to do these things, what reason had the apostle, and much more the Lord Himself, to give us counsel to do some things and to abstain from others? But because man is possessed of free will from the beginning, and God is possessed of free will in whose likeness man was created, advice is always given to him to keep fast the good, which thing is done by means of obedience to God (Against Heresies, XXXVII)" Athenagoras of Athens (Second century) "Just as with men who have freedom of choice as to both virtue and vice (for you would not either honor the good or punish the bad; unless vice and virtue were in their own power, and some are diligent in the matters entrusted to them, and others faithless), so it is among the angels (Embassy for Christians, XXIV)" Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215) "But we, who have heard by the Scriptures that self-determining choice and refusal have been given by the Lord to men, rest in the infallible criterion of faith, manifesting a willing Spirit, since we have chosen life and believe God through His voice (Stromata, 2.4)" Tertullian (155-225) "I find, then, that man was by God constituted free, master of his own will and power; indicating the presence of God's image and likeness in him by nothing so well as by this constitution of his nature...and this on no other ground than that man is free, will a will either for obedience or resistance...(Against Marcion, 2.5) There are many more such quotes from the early church fathers. For more, I would recommend Norman Geisler's, "Chosen but Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election". The quotes above are found on pages 150-153. So, right or wrong, a belief in free will has been around since the early church, at least! :-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |