Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 95

Hello dear "T-rex" in peace, nice and see that you are here with us. For guidance and encouragement. This is a very relevant topic. Because it talks about sin. I think how hard it is to condemn myself. I can hardly see it, or it may take a long time for it to become apparent. Could it come from the Holy Spirit? So why is it so obvious that a sin is a sin? But we know that sin is not judged by degree. Sin is sin. If Jesus says He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Joh 14:6 Then we can also see that the Father is not involved in this context. Jesus is the one who will judge the living and the dead. Acts 10:42

I don't think the work of salvation is difficult at all. And in my mind we have one way to death and that is to deny the Lord Jesus whom God sent to us. And it is good with admonitions and warnings that we must walk on the narrow path. Because Jesus says so himself. Joh 7:21-23 Why does the Lord say this? What does He want us to do?

But God who had given up hope for us all because our sin ascended to Heaven. Had to do something drastic. Therefore He had to send His own Son. Because He wanted everyone to be saved through Him whom He sent. Then we have those who talk excessively about sin, many confuse people with manic thinking. (Manic is a spirit of confusion, which spreads as easily as bitterness). When the Lord Himself wants us to be free. For the Spirit helps us not to sin truly, the Spirit never wants us to give up the spirit, then it will lead to death. As long as there is life there is hope, also for those who have allowed all kinds of evil. Here then grace comes in and the Holy Spirit will constantly try and remind the chosen ones that there is grace upon grace. Belive in Jesus.

I don't want this to create a "cry of outrage." But I expect some backlash anyway. "smilesign". See here what Jesus says: John 8:31-36 The slave here is what leads to death. The Jews didn't see Jesus, right? Love u in Christ.

Dear Aer805

Oh, dear, Jamey must be in great pain! I will for sure pray for Jamey tonight.

Lauren,

I will be praying for you tonight according to your request. I trust the Lord does hear and knows all that we need even before we ask. Since we belong to Him, He will help us, keep us, and grow us.

Ruben,

I will pray for you right now.

O Lord, keep and protect Ruben in this situation that brings him to the Emergency Room.

Cause the Doctors and medical team to treat Ruben thoughtfully, compassionately, and with expertise to correctly analyze his medical condition and begin treatment that will bring healing and recovery. Lord, we know that You are our Healer, and You heal in many ways. We ask for a miracle for Ruben. We know that Your will will occur in this situation. Amen

Gabriel,

I will lift you and your business situation up in prayer. I know that the Lord will guide you through this. Lean on Him and praise Him for how He has worked in your life by grace and love.

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,"

I think one of the Christian band in Australia recently had a member denounce the faith. Ken Copeland was probably a legit follower originally but now looks demon possessed. Same with Duplantis, Osteen, and most others who have greed in their heart. If someone has the freewill to choose to follow Jesus why would they be forbidden to have freewill to unfollow? Many will be deceived.

Matthew 24:13 "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."

It says endure to the end, not endure to the beginning or middle when you prayed to start following Christ. It doesn't say you can sin and hurt people and stop following Jesus and commit blasphemy still be saved regardless of your obedience. Some just focus on one verse while ignoring all the other verses.

Luke 6:46

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

John 14:15

"If ye love me, keep my commandments."

James 1:22

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

Titus 1:16

"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."

Matthew 7:21

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

Blessings

Brother Spencer,

Amen! The only way we can have eternal life is if we have the eternal One living in us. I like to think that Christ didn't give me eternal life, He gave me Himself, and He is eternal. As long as He is in me, I have eternal life. And His promise is that He will never leave me. If that's not eternal security and salvation in a nutshell, I'm not sure what is!

God bless!!!

Brother Ronald,

(Part 2):

As believers, we have to differentiate between the flesh and the Spirit. Are we being led by the flesh or are we being led by the Spirit of Christ in us? What would cause us to walk away? It is Satan who wants to take us away but he can't do that. God's Spirit that lives in us would not cause us to walk away, would He? So, if we are a Christ filled believer, who are we going to listen to, the evil one who wants us to walk away, or the Spirit in us that we profess to be followers of?

So, if I may ask, do you believe salvation is a work of God alone, or do we work for our salvation? I ask this because if you feel that you must endure to the end in order to be saved, how do you do that without involving human effort?

Again, thank you for the reply.

Blessings to you!

Hello Ronald,

(Part 1):

Thank you for the reply. Mutual respect and love to you, my brother. We as believers have love for one another because His Spirit gives us that ability.

As far as enduring to the end, a true believer will endure to the end. I touched on this during my Greek studies. Our English bible makes it sound like it is a challenge, "if" we endure to the end. But in the Greek text, it is not a challenge. We endure to the end because His Spirit gives us the ability to do so. It's not a challenge. Enduring to the end shows proof of those who are saved.

Salvation is all of God. We cannot save ourselves. If you believe you must endure to the end for your salvation, how do you do that without involving human works?

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, I do not see this speaking about saved believers falling away. Yes, there will be a falling away (Apostasy) first, but not a falling away of saved believers.

Paul speaks on this in 1 Timothy 4:1 where he says, "now the Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of demons." We have that in our day. There are many people in cult groups who profess to be Christian but are chasing after false doctrines and teachings.

So, as you mentioned, there must be an apostasy first. This falling away will be those who profess to be Christians but belong to various cult groups. They are the ones who will be deceived into chasing after Satan's lies. The deception will be easy for them, and they are the ones who will fall away.

Azzan77,

(Part 2):

So, these Hebrew people were given the knowledge of the truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they had a difficult choice to make, at least difficult for them. Many of them turned away from the truth and went right back into old Judaism because life would be much easier for them that way. No salvation there!

And that's what we see also in Hebrews 10:26. Hebrews was written to Hebrew people. There were three classes of people that were being addressed, Hebrew believers, Hebrew non-believers, and Hebrew people who were following along with the crowd and hearing the same message but had not yet made the decision to receive Jesus as their Savior or go back into Judaism.

So, the writer of Hebrews says, "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins."

Again, receiving knowledge does not save anyone, and the writer is telling them that if they sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth (the gospel message of salvation through Jesus), and they reject that knowledge and go back into Judaism because it was much easier, the writer tells them that there is no other sacrifice that will take away their sin.

Again, thanks for sharing these verses.

Blessings!

Azzan77,

(Part 1):

Thank you for sharing these pieces of scripture. Perhaps you may have missed Hebrews 6:4-6 which is another verse, along with the ones you have shared, that some use to show that salvation can be lost. However, they all fall short of proving the loss of salvation.

In 2 Peter 2:20-22, Peter is speaking to Hebrew people. Nothing in these three verses show that Peter is referring to saved individuals losing their salvation.

A person can receive knowledge of Jesus Christ and the gospel message of salvation and still never surrender their life to Christ. This is the same thing we see in Hebrews 10:26. Knowledge of the truth does not save anyone. A person must receive Jesus Christ and be born of His Spirit in order to be saved.

If you ever do a study of Judaism and what it means for a Jewish person to receive Jesus as their Savior, it puts these scriptures you've shared into a much clearer perspective.

You see, for a Jewish person to receive Christ, they would be completely cut off from society. They would no longer be allowed in their temple, they would lose their job, and no one would hire them. Their own family would disown them. Their family would consider them dead and literally hold a funeral for them if they denounced Judaism and received Christ as their Savior.

Free,

Amen!!!!!

Brother Chris,

Amen! Either we are trusting in Christ and His power to keep us saved, or, we are trusting in our own ability to remain saved. If it is up to the believer to keep themselves saved, then they've earned their salvation which we know is not possible!

Blessings!

Amen Brother Jesse!!

Well put!

In John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, AND THE LIFE: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

When we recieve Christ we recieved LIFE!

We recieve Christ Spirit! ( A LIFE GIVING SPIRIT)

Christ Spirit cannot die!

We have been baptized by the Holyspirit into eternal life! We have eternal life now.

Eternal NEVER ENDS!

We were baptized into his death.

Our old man is crucified with him, he can never hurt us with our standing with the Lord!

We stumbled in these corrupt bodies every day! Even in thought!

And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 1 John 2:1

1 John 1:8 says "If WE say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

John is talking to saved people! Not someone who has lost their salvation!

John included himself! (WE)

There will never be a time here in this world where you will ever have no sin.

So if anyone can lose Christ/Salvation then no one was ever saved and never will be.

You also see the work of Christ as our advocate in Romans 4:6-8.

Romans 4:6-8 reads, "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord WILL NOT IMPUTE SIN.

We're covered with Christ righteousness!

It's the heart that has changed in a true believer.

There is no desire to sin.

It grieves Christ Spirit that we now possess.

We're forever changing in the likeness of Christ but we will never be perfect until we are delivered from this body of this death.

Thanks again Brother.

God bless.

Brother Richard.

I felt compelled to respond to your piece on "to give or not to give". Let me just share that in my experience when comes to giving is the fact that situation when I am caught in this dilemma, i always trust the "flow" of events, that will persuade me to dig into my pocket not that I have a lot to give.

The challenge is always whether we are giving right or not, is the question. However, I do notice that there will be times when we give to some which is undesirable or not bona fide, the onus of guilt always lies with the receiver and not the giver. So it is fine as long as we give because we are scam to and gave because we are humane. However, if I am pressurized to give like you mentioned, my nature normally dissuade me from doing so. Thats all I have to say. Have a blessed day my friend.

I thought I was cut off A SECOND TIME but got part of the message out.

What I am saying is Charity Navigator is a good site; but sometimes when tax info isn't complete ratings are only partial.

Knowing someone personally on the field such as 2 missionaries I met in church a couple years back and maintaining communication helps.

To give or not to give; that is the question.

Another weakness I have had over the years is being easily manipulated for money in particular. There are different situations which need to be considered; one of the biggest if a person is truly saved and immature; truly in need or if they are simply using our faith as a weapon against us to control us either in subtle or more blunt ways to get what they want. If someone is a brother or sister in the Lord we have a responsibility to assist those truly in need but even Paul mentioned limits with some who were widows ( 1 Timothy 5:9). It is hard to have a set rule in such instances but we also have a responsibility to disciple and admonish one another when we see areas others need to grow if we truly care for them.

Narcissism isn't an honorable pasttime; and if that is the attitude we see as to a person indicating they can't do wrong (usually badmouthing others for their situation) we should pick up on such behaviours. I pray that the local churches those here attend will have some policy to help those in need; including finding housing even in their own homes if possible. I am glad to see those in my church with adopted and foster kids in particular who have reached out beyond their comfort zones.

I must say that we can never rest on our laurels; so to speak. Now that I have some more financial assets it isn't unexpected that more is asked of me. I will say that as suggested in the last post we should owe no man anything; this is the case when I give to missionaries. High pressure tactics are frequented by some Charities; obviously the poor are always with us; but we should ask for wisdom as the book of James mentions before throwing money around. That includes checking out sites such as C

Some lessons I've had to learn.

When we see someone we love fall away; it is easy to idolize them and remember something that is an illusion. It is also easy to compare what someone was in the past to what they are now. As much as we love someone (and I'm thinking of my ex wife here) when they are determined to follow a course of rebellion (and in her case adultery) obviously the relationship is shattered and only with repentance things can change. Given that I haven't heard for a number of years from her that doesn't seem likely.

I don't have any kids but I'm sure there are those out there who have raised them in the fear and admonition of the Lord in loving homes. The presence of angels beholding the Father in heaven is stated in scripture but of course once they grow up things change. We can be encouraged that some who stray far have a Prodigal son moment; but statistically of course that is only a fraction of a percentage. Nonetheless we should not give up in prayer; but we need to keep ourselves from being totally destroyed emotionally. I am still working on that after 10 years from the date of my divorce being finalized.

Our love for God has to be preeminent above all other loyalties; Christ uses the word "hate" ( Luke 14:26). Naturally given the context of so many passages on God's love and His demonstration of ultimate Agape illustrated in 1 John repeatedly as well as many other passages it is hatred compared to unconditional love. Jesus ultimately loved the Father as the example in His life; hence there may be people He didn't heal as indicated because of unbelief in His own hometown. That is the key to the context here; we shouldn't allow our own personal lives to drive a wedge in our ministry but in the same token we have to balance responsibilities with a wife and children; and as Peter did can involve them on our travels.

We must trust God and lean not on our own understanding; and this means not to idolize or be controlled either

Hey brother Jesse,

I respect and love you, but I must reply. Many Scriptures tell us we must endure to the end, to me, that's until we die; it is a lifetime journey, not a one-time event. Some Scriptures say some will walk away/fall away, but I will not list them.

There's a verse that says Jesus will not return until there's a falling away, 2 Thessalonians 2:3. This falling away involves saved people facing the beast that is to come. They are willing to give up the gift of eternity rather than face the death of this body. You cannot fall away from something you've never been part of. Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.



The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints states that true believers will stay faithful until the end. Still, the warnings, which I won't list, about falling away serve as a sober reminder of the importance of vigilance and depending on God's grace to stay steady, stay in the race.

As I said in another post, I feel the saying once saved, always saved may be false hope for someone weak.

God bless,

RLW

Gabriel,

I will lift you and your business situation up in prayer. I know that the Lord will guide you through this. Lean on Him and praise Him for how He has worked in your life by grace and love.

Is it a Mandate for Christians of today to pay Tithes

I'd look up hospice care; Medicaid should cover all that.

Also home health care as most insurance companies will cover up to a certain amount a day.

I'll keep you in prayer.

Rich P

Thank you, Jesse. I certainly believe one can't " lose" his salvation once one has accepted the Lord Jesus as personal Savior, but I always like to back up my beliefs with scripture. A Methodist friend seems to believe you can lose it, but I argue that you may lose much of your rewards in eternal life, but once you've been sealed with Christ, He's not walking away and you don't lose your salvation ! Thanks, again. Bob.

Excellent! Thank you brother Chris.

2 Peter 2:20

"For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning."

2 Peter 2:21

"For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them."

2 Peter 2:22

"But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."

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,

Blessings

The Lord shall descend not to the earth but in mid-air. "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."(1 Thes.4.17) This occurs at the end of the hour, the same hour which was qualified for the nation of Israel as your hour, the hour of darkness. And this hour is, now is cannot have two meanings." Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.". This hearing is what makes the difference in the order of resurrection. Once saved is always saved shall be among the dust for a long haul.

"For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;" (Jn.5.26) This life is none other but having, "I am the life." Heresies keep dragging the lost souls with their own deadweight containing Millennial reign and Rapture. They either saw the light in him or not. This eye seen through Jesus Christ is the eye of faith.

1 Cor.15.52 "The last trump"

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

There are orders in resurrection. The dead shall hear the trumpet, "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming."(1 Cor.15.23) "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first."(1 Thess.4.16)

by the power that resurrected from the dead I decree and declare light in your situations where there is darkness( genesis 1:3, Malachi 4:2, life where there is death( Ezekiel 37)

Modification in the second para:

"It is thus we have been blessed by God a Spirit, It is not by our own merits but in his Son. When we say we are complete in him we need remember our ear and our eyes which are singular and refer to the world of the Spirit. What makes us differ then. Some do not use it. They are blind so what they read gives them leads them more to their confusion."

Please read it as follows

"It is thus we have been blessed by God a Spirit, It is not by our own merits but in his Son. Faith comes by hearing,'and it is to the ear of faith it refers. (Rom.10.17) When we say we are complete in him we need remember our ear and our eyes which are singular, and refer to the world of the Spirit. What makes us differ then? Some do not use it. They are blind so what they read gives them leads them more to their confusion.