Bible Question:
Greetings Forum! There was a thread recently which dealt with Eternal Security. The position of most on the forum seemed to be that the relationship between a believer and Christ can never be severed. If that is the case, how do we explain these three passages in particular? 1) 1 Cor. 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 2) Col. 1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. 3) 2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I realize that many of us will approach these passage from different theological perspectives. My point here is not to argue the passages. I would simply like to hear how some from different perspectives deal with these passages. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
Bible Answer: Hey Tim, Those are some great scriptures! I am one of those in the forum that believe that you can walk away from God and lose your salvation. So when I read these scriptures I take them for what they say."if you hold firmly";"if you continue in your faith";"not moved from the hope"; "be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure". There are many more scriptures that teach these things. They by no means teach that we can be saved by "works". Works are something you do to earn something. Nothing I can do will make up for my sin. The only way the wall of sin comes down is through the blood of Christ. And that is not my doing that is the arm of God. So God has done his part for man. Given man a way to life. Do all get life? Only those that choose it. And that by faith. It is funny that so many say you can't choose to leave God. You choose life or death when the word is preached to you, so why,after you have recieved life, does God take away your freewill to choose? He doesn't! Where is the ability to love when the will of choice is taken away? God does not force us to love him or we would just be like puppets. In my marriage I want my wife to love me, to choose to love me. What kind of relationship would we have if I forced her to stay married to me? I believe that the sacrifice on the cross COMPELS me to love God. I believe that Gods mercy COMPELS me to stay faithful. Many things compel me to do Gods will, but nothing can force me. Know what I mean? If you ask me what eternal security is, it is simply Gods promise that there will be a reward when this life is over. There are a lot of scriptures written to the christians during their time of persecution in Rome. Some were there watching their chilren being fed to the lions. Some watched their loved ones tortured and killed. And all because they wouldn't deny christ as Lord and confess Ceasar as Lord. If they couldn't lose their salvation, why would these christians stand by and watch these things happen to their loved ones? When all it would take is a simple word to chage the minds of those killing and torturing. They held firmly to their confession of Jesus, they stood by and watched their belongings taken, their loved ones killed because they new that "if they held firm" they would recieve the eternal life promised them. That, my friend, is faith. I have so much to say on this subject. Consider James 2:14-26. "faith without deeds is dead". I wonder what the church in Corinth would have been like if the christians didn't repent of their "sexual immorality"? Can we live a sinful life and not harden our hearts towards God? Our deeds reflect our faith. Or consider the parable of the sower ( Mark 4). vs.21 trouble and persecution causes a falling away. vs. 22 worries, deciefullness of wealth and desire for other things choke out the word. If we don't gaurd our hearts against the things of the world, we can be drawn away and enticed. " be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion waiting for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith," 1 Peter 4:8-9 We are forgiven of our sins but satan is still out there. Our shelter from him is Jesus! So we have a choice to make everyday. Do we walk the narrow path or do we take the road most traveled, the easy road to destruction? I wish I could say more on this subject, but I am out of time. I look foward to hearing from you Tim. Kin P.S.- I know a Tim Moran in N.H. Where do you live? |