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In my concerns about falling away and having thoughts of doubt and unbelief I have been thinking about the seal of the Holy Spirit and what is written in Romans 14:5. If anyone would please provide insight I would seriously appreciate it.
God's word implores us to guard our mind, against the ways of this world. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus ( Philippians 4:6-7).
We have a choice, we can cast Satan away or permit Satan to affect our minds. The real danger is being ignorant of what Satan is doing. my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge ( Hosea 4:6). We need to be ever vigilant, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to question the source of every thought. Is our thought judgmental or uplifting? Are we getting negative thoughts questioning our relationship with others or of ourselves? If it is negative or evil, then we need to immediately rebuke it and think about whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ( Phil 4:8).
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
UNTIL you put your faith firmly in Jesus; satan is going to toss your faith every time he's a little bored.
A garnished house, is supposed to be FILLED with Bible Scriptures. Jesus fought Satan with:
"It is written:".. and then Jesus fired off a scripture. He BEAT Satan cleanly. At the Cross, Jesus stomped on Satans head. He's a viper!!!
Everyone that says he's human-ish and covered in jewels, hasn't read everything yet.
You don't have anything inside of you. Satan just wants to hurt God, by stealing your soul. He's a soul hunter. We don't beg, and beg and beg, if you're hoping for an angel to speak audibly that you're saved? Not going to happen.
You are saved by your FAITH. Saved by what God says about himself. Saved by what Jesus did on the Cross.
Be Born Again. John 3. Ask the Holy Spirit to come inside of you and make His abode within you. He will turn the power on for your brand new spirit.
Acts 19:19
Get every wicked thing out of your home: books, mags, porn sites on the computer, music that makes your body do things; feel turned on, depressed, violent, hopeless etc. Get rid of anything the Holy Spirit shows you that it's cursed. Drugs, alcohol, weed. Burn it.
Put your Bible on the table and eat regularly. Daily, New Testament and Psalm 51. We must stop sleeping around with other beliefs, lifestyles. Noah couldn't get anyone saved because they were all listening to the ungodly voices of this world system.
Listen to Greg Laurie on YouTube.
In James 1:8 we see the phrase "double minded man." It says he is unstable in all his ways.
But what is that talking about? If you look at verse 5, it says "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
Now, this word wisdom does not mean that God is going to give a person knowledge and understanding. Many believe that is what wisdom means.
But taking it in context from verse 1, you can see that wisdom is gained by going through the various trials that God puts us through.
We are put through trials in order to learn how to trust God. We have to be careful about telling others that if they are lacking in wisdom to ask God and He will give it to them.
So a double minded person is the person who asks for wisdom, and then when God starts putting trials and hardships before them to teach them how to trust Him, they start to stress out. Instead of remaining under their circumstances (HUPOMENO) and trusting God to work it out, they try to handle the situation themselves which leads them to stress and anxiety.
As far as falling away, a true believer can never fall away to the point of being lost. God's Spirit sealed your spirit and you are being kept by His mighty power. He has you in His grip. He will never let go.
So if someone is having a hard time trusting in the Lord, let them ask for God's wisdom. But when the trials enter in, they must trust Him to work it out. If they still have not learned to trust him, that is a double minded person.
Thanks for that hidden gem in James.
I was missing that and taught it differently.
God bless.
I also used to think that James 1:5 meant that if I was having difficulty understanding God's word that I could ask Him for wisdom in understanding. I've since come to realize that's not what it means. Wisdom is gained through enduring our trials by faith. By His Spirit, we can perceive God and His working in our circumstances. That's wisdom, seeing life as God sees life. Now how am I going to do that? By experiencing Him, and by enduring and totally trusting the Lord Jesus Christ!
And so when he says if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask from God, we have to be careful. If we say "I would really like to have God's wisdom," okay, but we're going to have to go through a lot of trials.
My personal definition of wisdom that actually summarizes its application in the New Testament is that wisdom is seeing life as God sees life. It's like looking through His eyes. 1 Corinthians 2:16 has a big role in this, in that we have been given the mind of Christ. That's the word NOUS, which means perceptive.
By His Spirit, we can perceive God and His working in our circumstances. That's wisdom, seeing life as God sees life. Now how am I going to do that? By experiencing Him, and by enduring and totally trusting the Lord Jesus Christ!
He says God gives to all liberally, and He upbraids not, that is to say, He will not chide you. If you lack wisdom and you ask Him, He's not going to say "Are you kidding? I'm not going to give you wisdom!" And it shall be given to him. You see, there's a promise there. But it's not the promise that we think. If we isolate Verse 5, it shows that God gives wisdom generously.
Well, He does. Except it's through Verses 1 through 4. It's through trials that He gives.
Thanks alot, It fits the totality of scripture,
Sometimes we make the mistake and isolate a verse from the previous verses as if it's been a subject change. but when you put it back in the context of the previous verses it does harmonize with the volume of scripture as it should.
Amen.
God bless.
I believe that a person who belongs to Christ can temporarily stray from following Him but I don't believe that a true born-again believer can stay away for very long before God's Spirit in that person convicts them and brings them back. A Christian is saved by grace. We are under God's grace.
I've been where you're at, feeling distant from God. Even as a born-again believer, I've been there. I know what it feels like. Yes, it is scary! I've even questioned my own salvation in the past. I want to ask you a personal question. Have you been born of God's Spirit? Please understand that the feelings you are having are more than likely God's Spirit working in your life and drawing you to Him.
Also, I would be more than happy to look over the "many warnings" you mention, and if the Lord leads you in this direction, I would also be happy to study those verses with you. A fellow believer's spiritual welfare is most important to me. It not that a brother or sister believes the same as I do that matters much to me. What matters to me is their spiritual well-being. That's what means the most to me. I do not claim to know everything but I can share with you my experiences and what understanding I might have, however much that may be.
2 Peter 3:17
Luke 8:5-18
1 Timothy 4:1
2 Peter 2:20-22
Hebrews 3:12
Galatians 5:4
1 Corinthians 15:2-8
In Luke 8:4-8, Jesus gives the Parable of the Sower. He gives the parable and in verse 9, His disciples come to him looking for an explanation. You see, He says the one who has ears to hear, let him hear. So they come! This is how Jesus is going to minister now. He's going to speak publicly in parables. If somebody has a heart, or an ear to hear, they are going to come and ask Him what does it mean? I think that is very significant!
As the Lord does minister to the general public all at once, but His serious ministry is really giving the word and drawing people to find out what the word says. It's not enough just to sit and listen. He's going to tell us that. So he says the one who has ears to hear let him hear.
But notice that there are 4 types of soil. The soil represents 4 different heart conditions. In this parable, there is only one out of the four that represents salvation, and that is the number 4 soil, the seed that fell on good ground. That is the only one that actually produced fruit.
The other three types of soil (Heart conditions) represent those who receive the same seed, but they either reject it immediately because of the hardness of their heart, they initially receive it with joy but they have no root and therefore will never produce fruit (No salvation). And then you have seed that falls among thorns, and they go forth and the cares (MERIMA) of the world choke them out and they bring no fruit to perfection. There's no salvation there because bringing fruit to perfection is salvation.
So everyone who hears the word will fall into one of these four categories. But only one of the four refers to salvation.
Thank you for that Important Great Msg.
Would you please share with us a Msg on Salvation in context with the Msg you gave on its security?
When ever convenient.
Thank you and God bless.
I just want to share one more small detail about my position on eternal security because some like to say that those who believe in the permanency of salvation think that it is okay for them to go out and sin all they want to because they are saved no matter what they do. I do not believe that way at all. I have never believed that way. In fact, in all the years that I have been a believer, I have yet to come across a single Christian who thinks they can sin all they want to because their salvation cannot be lost. Not a single one! No true born again believer would think that way. No believer has a right to sin because they are saved. In fact the bible teaches that a person who has been born if God' Spirit can no longer live a lifestyle of habitual sin.
If I ever do come across someone who tells me that they are saved and that they can sin all they want to with no consequences for their actions, or that it doesn't matter because they are saved no matter what, the first thing I will tell them is to go out and try it. Go out and sin all you want to if you think it's okay to do so. That's how you figure out if you're truly saved. The person who believes they are saved and that it's okay to sin, if they go out and do so and God does not deal with them, because those who He loves, He chastens, that person needs to take inventory. Are they really saved?
A couple of things that come to mind, & are certainly implied in your comments: the Work of Salvation is primarily a personal encounter & 'contractual arrangement' between God & the convicted sinner. No other person(s) can even enter into it nor can make an unequivocal judgement on the condition of another's soul. We can note a person's act of repentance, water baptism, a testimony by word or manner of life & even enthusiasm in spiritual matters, but can any other person truly know the state of another's heart before the Lord? Only God knows, for He alone can save & seal. And that believer would know, for he would be aware of all that took place in Him bringing him to salvation & the Work of the Spirit in him. And yet, as Christians, we must readily accept all those who profess Christ as part of God's family & treat them accordingly, without allowing suspicion to rule our thoughts. And I believe that the apostles Paul, Peter, & others, like us, had no extra enabling to judge otherwise.
Hence, we see their epistles filled with encouragements, directions & warnings against turning away or departing from the Truths the believers learned. Were these warnings given to prevent true believers becoming apostate & forever lost into the world, or to warn them from being seduced by false teachers & the attractions of the world, to keep them disciplined & growing in faith, thus preventing God's discipline coming upon them; & that discipline can come as a gentle reminder or to much severe consequences, even to the removal of that life. And to the masqueraders within the Church, that they may be exposed.
We were bought with a price. You are oh so correct in that we cannot know another person's heart. Sometimes I think we can't even know our own. But God knows. He knows our hearts better than we do. And yes, we should readily accept those who profess Christ as being part of our family. We are to love them. It's not about being in agreement with each other on what the scriptures say. It's about knowing that we are brothers and sisters in Christ and we are all part of His body. I don't believe we are to love one another because the bible tells us to, or out of a sense of obligation. We love one another because God's Spirit living in us gives us that type of love. I get excited when I come across someone who professes Christ, but at the same I am cautious. I think that as believers, we are to judge one another. Not for salvation, because like you say, only God knows a person's heart and true state. But we as believers are to be "fruit inspectors."
As far as the encouragement and warnings given to us, I would agree on the latter part of your statement. Thank you so much my brother in Christ Jesus for your words and for the encouragement you bring to all of us. Your knowledge and understanding of scripture is something to be strived for, and yet, we're to be satisfied with whatever the Lord gives us!
The notion once saved always saved is not the same as saying a Christian can sin all he wants to. A Person who wants to sin and have habitual sin in his life and claims he's a Christian because he or she "professed" they are Christian is a hypocrite, They never was known of the Lord as said in
Matthew 7:22-23. (KJV) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They done many works that went up in smoke, And the Lord didn't say they Lost their Salvation, HE SAID I "NEVER" KNEW YOU.
I suppose there's several issues here,
Some has denounced the faith and some is deceived, and that deception can come for several different reasons, One is by falling from grace by adding something to the finish work on the cross,
Some is led away by the flesh by great speakers and great presentation, Well versed individuals but lacking spiritual fruit. Prosperity preaching ect.. This is why Paul came with plain speech, He shined his light on the Lord. Christians or so called Christians today wants to broaden the way.
We have people like that in our churches today. They're acting the part and they look like believers, but they are not saved. Some even leave the fellowship and denounce the whole thing, and people will say "See, they lost their salvation."
No, they were never saved to begin with or they wouldn't have left, and we see that in 1st John chapter 2, verse 19.
Jesus said in John chapter 10 my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they will never perish.
So who are His sheep? That would be you and I and every other person who has been born of God's Spirit. We belong to Him. We are His sheep. He knows us now.
So with that in mind, if I am saved and He knows me now, how could He tell me one day to depart and that He never knew me? That would not make sense at all.
We often say that we know the Lord, but what's more important is that He knows us. And if He knows us now, He will never tell us that He never knew us!
I've shared my position on eternal security and I'm always happy to help a fellow believer who may be having doubt. For me, what it boils down to is who am I trusting? The Lord has promised to save all who call on His name. It doesn't mean that a person will be saved immediately because some do and some don't. But the promise is there. For me, it took a little while. The Lord had to prepare my heart first before I was ready to fully surrender to Him and trust Him. But once I'm saved, now what? Is it up to me to keep myself saved? If it is, I am in trouble!
Eternal security has nothing to do with human performance, but what Christ has done for us. Many feel that they need to do something, but Jesus said done, it is finished! What did He mean by that? If we know the answer, why do we insist on doing more? Was Jesus' blood not enough to pay for our sin?
What causes a believer to have doubt? Well, if I know that once I receive Christ, that the next step is for me to grow in the grace and knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, how do I grow? I grow through His word. Spiritual growth comes through God's word. So what does Satan do? Satan has lost me forever to Christ. He can't take me away because in order to do that, he would have to penetrate God's Spirit who lives in me, and that won't happen!
So he does everything in his power to hinder our growth process. He keeps us busy and distracted so we won't have time to study the word. Paul fought for the believer's mind. He knew that's where the battle would take place. Satan pursues, he chases us. He tries to wear us down to the point to where we're ready to give up. DIOKO is the word.
Another word used throughout the NT is the word MERIMNA or MERIMNAO, which has to do with the cares of this world, the things that occupy the attention of our minds. It's also a word that's used for worry and anxiety.
I sent a lot to Lex to try and help him in his struggle. If you think of more, let me know.
You might recall reading 2 Thessalonians 2:3 where Paul said let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, meaning the tribulation period, except there come a falling away first. Again, the term "falling away" is the word APOSTASIA, apostasy. A moving away from correct doctrine will happen first before the man of sin is revealed.
He is indicating for us that things are going to get worse as far as getting away from the faith. Please notice that it doesn't say church, and it doesn't say the bible. It says the faith. All true doctrine will encourage and teach people to put their trust in Christ for everything.
Now, if you are asking if these are believers that will be led astray, I am someone who believes that there must be division in the church. There must be! Paul says there must also be heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
According to the bible, there are two divisions that take place, a preaching division, and a teaching division. Preaching is for non-believers to encourage them to receive Christ. Teaching is for those who have received Him. So the first division that takes place is when the non-believer hears the gospel, receives Christ, and is separated from the world.
The second division takes place in the church. How does that happen? Well, Paul told us that heresies are necessary. John tells us that it is necessary for people to leave us and follow after false doctrine in order to show us that they never were really of God to begin with.
These are not saved people losing their salvation or falling from grace. They left in order to show that they were never saved to begin with. A true believer will never fall away and follow false teachers, grievous wolves, because they will not listen to the voice of a stranger.
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.->(Rev.13:v.13-15
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be DAMNED who believed not the truth(believed not in JESUS), but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Before I continue, I just want to say that none of these verses have anything to do with a genuine believer falling from grace, or losing their salvation.
1 Timothy 4:1: He says now the spirit speaks expressly, or clearly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. I'll break it down because this is very important.
He says now there Spirit speaks clearly. So there wasn't any doubt what God's Spirit was saying in these days about the warning in the church. In Acts chapter 20, right before Paul died and before he saw the leaders from Ephesus for the last time, he called them over to Miletus and he told the elders that after his departing, all grievous wolves will enter in among you not sparing the flock.
He says out from your own selves, that is people right out from you.
So these won't be strangers. And they will speak perverse things to draw away disciples after them. Paul warned them for three years and he told them to watch. Paul in tears was saying "Do you not understand that after I'm gone, grievous wolves, false teachers are going to come in, and even some among you are going to rise up in your church, and with false teaching, they are going to draw people away from the correct doctrine.
It says in latter times, some, not all, but some shall depart from the faith. The term depart is the word APOSTASIA. It is the Greek word for apostasy. The definition of apostasy is moving away from a fixed position. So these people has a fixed position in Christ doctrinally, meaning they stood firm on what they believed. But they have been moved.
In Galatians chapter 1, Paul says I'm surprised that you're so quickly removed from the one who called you, into a different gospel. It happens a lot, even more so in our day.
Due to space, I'm going to have to do a part 2 on this verse ( 1 Tim. 4:1).
Verse 7: After that, and again the Greek word shows succession. According to Galatians chapter 1, this is James, the Lord's brother. We know from John 7:5 that when many people stopped following Jesus, the Lord's half-brothers came to Him and were taunting Him. It tells us that His brothers did not believe in Him.
So apparently, all the way up to His death, His burial, and then His resurrection, He appears to James. How would you like to have an older brother who when you were growing up with him was absolutely perfect and appeared to be like God? Chances are, you're not going to believe it. For me, it would be like "Oh, he finally got himself in trouble huh? They finally caught up to him for pretending to be the Messiah, so they crucified him. Well, he's dead now and I'm sure going to miss him, because you know, he's my brother!"
And all of a sudden Jesus appears in the room. Oh, now they believe! There had to be an event beyond the human capacity for James to believe.
Finally, Verse 8: And last of all he was seen by me also, as of one born out of due time. Why would Paul designate himself that way? You have to read through verses 9-11 for the answer. In verse 9, he says he is the least of the apostles. In the Greek text, he says I am the last of the apostles. There will be no more!
Verse 10 is one of the greatest statements in scripture. You will always find Paul, when he is talking about the ministry work that he is involved in, he will name himself as the vessel to show the responsibility. He always puts the disclaimer on his presentation to show that it is not him working, but the grace of God working in him. Verse 11 pretty much sums it up.
I'll go over 1 Timothy 4:1 with you next.
Secondly in verse 4, it says and He was buried. Some commentaries will not list this as a second thing, but it is just important as all the rest. When you bury someone, you have proven that they died. They buried Him. And they put soldiers outside because they remembered that Jesus said He would rise on the 3rd day. The soldiers guarded the tomb. What they were doing by that is that they were helping God prove that there was a resurrection because Christ was raised while they were there.
Thirdly, He rose again the 3rd day according to the scriptures. Again, Psalm 16, especially verses 9 to 11 about the resurrection of Christ.
And then fourthly in Verse 5, He was seen. It's not just the first three in that He died, was buried, and rose, but He was seen!
Verse 6: After that, and the phrase "after that" shows succession. He's giving it to us in order. He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remains unto this present day, but some are fallen asleep. The word death literally means separation. The spirit leaves the body, and the physical body just lies dead, sleeping! But the person's spirit is still alive.
Fallen asleep is the Christian phrase and designation for death. There are two reasons why Christians use the word sleep for death. One reason is because if you ever seen someone lying in a casket, it looks like they are sleeping. Secondly, death indicates permanency, where sleep is just temporary.
I will close out verses 7 and 8 in one more post.
There is a lot to share from 1 Corinthians 15:2-8 so I had to break this section up.
1 Corinthians 15:2-8 (Part 1)
Verse 2: It says by which, or more literally, through which you are also being saved. Please notice that I put the word "being" in there because it is a passive continually abiding in a process of being saved. When a person is saved, that is not the finish line. It is the starting line. When you're saved, you're saved. So you've been saved in the past. You are being saved now in that your salvation is being worked out. And in the future, you will be saved!
So it's a constant process of salvation. It doesn't mean that we're any less saved last month than we are today. It's just that salvation is a process that continues to work in us because first we are delivered. And that's what saved means. We are delivered from Satan. But then there's a restoration process where we are healed in the renewing of our minds.
Paul says that we remain in this process. Once we are saved, we are always in the process of being saved. So in order for a person to not be saved, they just have to drop out as to say I no longer belong in the process. Well then, they never were to begin with because it is a continuous process. The characteristic of a person who is truly saved is the person to whom God ministers His word to them, and it is received in their spirit, and it remains there (MENO).
Verse 3: For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received. Galatians 1:12 tells us that Paul received his gospel from Jesus Christ. So he's telling them that he delivered to them the same gospel he received from Christ.
There are 4 things in the content of the gospel message in the Greek text. First of all, how Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures ( Psalm 22, Isaiah 53).
Part 2 to be continued:
Picking up with Galatians 5:4: Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law;
What Christ did for you on the cross will have no effect on your life whatsoever if you're going to try to be justified by the law rather than faith in Jesus Christ.
But then it says you are fallen from grace, and this is where we sit and debate this one phrase. Please allow me to break it down for you. The word fallen is actually a nautical term. It's from the shipping industry and it's when a ship gets off course. An example would be found in Acts 27:32, when Paul and the others were involved in the ship disaster. The soldiers cut off the rope from the boat and let it fall off. The word fall is the same word for getting off course. Just let the boat drift. There's no set course.
Basically, what Paul is telling them is that they had stopped functioning in the sphere of grace. That statement is very important to understand. They stopped functioning in the sphere of grace and began functioning in legalism. The two don't match!
Some teach that this means they lost their salvation. But it means to be off course. A perfect example would be the story of the prodigal son. The prodigal son never lost his position as a son. He never lost it! He squandered much of the provision of the promises for him of his father, but he never lost his position as a son.
You see, that's what happens when a believer gets off course and follows teaching that is not correct. We get off course but we don't lose our salvation. We don't lose our son-ship as a child of God.
I'll go over with you 1 Corinthians 15:2-8 next. There's a bit to share in those seven verses.
2 Peter 2:20: For if they have escaped the pollutions of the world, and please notice this: (Through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ). They have responded to the truth, the facts about Jesus. And they've come and said yes, this is true. And they are entangled therein, and they are overcome. The concept is: the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. (Read the Parable of the Sower to see what category the "they" in verse 20 represent.
2 Peter 2:21: Notice the emphasis is on what they know. They haven't surrendered their life to Christ. But these false teachers came into the church and they latched onto false teachers that taught them how to go out into the world and get sin "In the name of Jesus." The last state is worse than the first.
2 Peter 2:22: But it happened unto them (A fulfilment of Proverbs 26:11). But it has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow, that is, the pig that is washed to the wallowing in the mire.
You can wash a pig all day long but it will always return to the mud. It's the same with people. They can be clean on the outside, but filthy on the inside. There has to be transformation and change. Cleaning people on the outside does no good. A person has to be cleansed from within.
The "them" in verse 22 are the same ones being spoken of in verse 20. These are not saved people walking away. Please read those three verses and think about it. Again, the Parable of the Sower would help in understanding who these three verses are speaking of.
I go over Galatians 5:4 in another post.
I gave you my word that I would study those verses with you. Here is my understanding of these scriptures one at a time. This may take more than one post. If I can fit more than one verse in a post, I will do so.
2 Peter 3:17: Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.
The word steadfastness and the word unstable in verse 16 mean the same thing in reference. Your steadfastness is your solid maturity. But if you follow false doctrine it will make you unstable and expose you to all kinds of spiritual problems. In verse 16, he is telling them that the apostle Paul has taught these very same things that I am telling you.
It says beware. So be watching for yourself. Guard yourself, lest you be led away, and you fall from your own steadfastness. It has nothing to do with salvation. It has to do with maturity. It has to do with firmness, solidity in Christ.
Hebrews 3:12: Take heed, (pay attention) brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. These are special words used in the book of Hebrews for unbelief. It literally means to reject the persuasion of God's Spirit. A true believer under the influence of God's Spirit would never do that.
The word departing is the word apostasy. A Believer cannot commit apostasy. An unsaved person who is following along with the teachings, being enlightened, and maybe even agreeing, but when hardship and persecution comes, they depart. Those are the ones who commit apostasy.
More to follow:
You seem to be a lot more versed than you originally appeared. You have a lot more to give than to receive!!
I would like to add a thought rather than a verse because I believe Jesse has given
excellent scriptures and I couldn't improve on that.
YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN AND WILL LOOSE SALVATION IF YOU'VE EARNED IT,
Once you have it you better be perfect in order to keep it! Because Gods sacrificial Lamb was perfect. It's not just your actions that will be tested with fire!! God judges the Heart and the intent of Man, the thoughts also. And there is no more sacrifice. The works of the Law could never make one Perfect. And you have to Remain PERFECT. We have nothing to offer the Lord by the flesh. We worship the Lord in truth and in spirit and the only way we can do that is by the Holyspirit, That's what we call the inner Man, And it's at constant war with our flesh because the flesh is weak, God will judge the secrets of man, Craftiness and dishonesty, Lusts, Anger without a cause, doubt.
I will give you another that's hard to control, "Pride" SIN is inward as well outward!!
Certainly a Christian have a life change in his walk of life once converted but NOT to the degree where he can say move out the way Holyspirit I got it from here!!
We submit ourselves to the Lord and let the spirit guide us and when we do well ALL GLORY TO GOD!
We are Clothed in Christ righteousness! We are hidden in Christ!
We walk by faith! ( Even that's given to us)
We are predestinated.
Again the sacrifice was perfect, So if it's up to us to remain perfect then you better be!! From here on out!!
If you can loose salvation I'm sure this comment is going to cause some people to do so. But if you're saved you shouldn't worry.
Romans 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, NOR ANY OTHER CREATURE, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ JESUS.
WE'RE CREATURES, WE CAN'T EVEN SEPARATE OURSELVES!!!
Lets Just be sure we have it.
God bless and Goodnight.
I'm at work right now.
Will converse with you later.
Thanks and God bless.
Hebrews 10:26 "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,"
James 2:14-26 "...faith, if it hath not works, is dead..."
James 2:19 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
1 Peter 1:13 "...hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;"
Romans 11
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Matthew 12:31-32
Romans 14:12
1 Peter 1:5 - "...salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
1 Cor 9:24-27 "run the race", not the 'race was already won.'
Do you mean your original question at the top of this thread?
I think struggle is common and normal. Paul openly admitted struggling with the flesh. I think this life is a test of our character and an ongoing challenge to emulate Jesus. We're sinners by nature, and we're covered by grace when we are genuine Christ followers. There's plenty of stuff to practice and be proactive with: armor of God, fruit of spirit, being a good neighbor, disclipling others, evangelism, etc.
I think part of the great deception is satan convincing Christians its ok to commit unlimited sin that our actions have zero consequence and we're getting in heaven regardless. It's unbiblical, is self-contradictory, and dangerous in my opinion. Satan is the father of all lies and behind pretty much every lie. I suppose some believe think satan is deceiving us into being more obedient than we need to be? What a strange argument. Obviously its the opposite, that most people are going to hell, including deceived Christians who stopped following Jesus and are unknowingly following the world (satan). Then our beliefs will be attacked if we attempt to call it out, which is interesting.
If everyone was going to heaven regardless, pretty much all of the new testament and all the teachings of Jesus wouldn't be relevant according to that view. But the reality is the opposite and some really should fear God. He's not just a buddy who gave a hall pass to commit unlimited sin and he's not a genie in a lamp there to serve us- quite the opposite. God hasn't given anyone immunity from judgment. 2 Corinthians 5:10 - there's someone on here who even claimed that Hitler will go in heaven. Deception and ignorance.
We need to get our act together and fast, because end times are near and judgment is near. Jesus already predicted what will happen- most will assume they're going to heaven, but they won't: Matthew 7:22
It's through grace we hope to be saved, but we MUST follow Him (ongoing action).
Were you able to read my last two responses?
The question I reposted was what I was referring to.