Featured Once saved always saved please help me!

If you are hoping to escape the human condition by escaping the Baptist tradition, good luck.

 

I am not criticizing you; I am trying to help you.

I've been in several denominations, and if you think the problems you outlined in your first post are exclusive to Baptists, then you surely do need help.

 

Yes, I'll take all the help I can get.

Don't be naive about the church -- or churches. They are all filled with sinners and imperfect people, saved and unsaved.

At least most Baptists I have known don't treat church as a social club.

 

It may be I misunderstand what you are trying to say, but if YOU did it, it was not of God and your end won't be any better than that of those you are so disappointed in.

 

What Michael was trying to help you understand is that the sinful acts of the people you mentioned have nothing to do with the reality of the doctrines of grace, specifically once saved always saved.

1. Claiming to be saved does not mean we are saved. This is the sin of taking the Lord's name in vain. Vain meaning "to no effect". In many cases the person has made an emotional or intellectual decision but there is no real conversion. None of us knows the spiritual state of any of the people you mentioned.

2. None of us is a finished work. God is still growing us, still conforming us into the image of the Son. He may be addressing other sins in the lives of the people (like lack of submission) when we wish he would deal with something else (like drunkenness or lust).

3. In a moment of weakness we all ignore the way of escape provided us by God and give in to temptations.

 

My college philosophy professor was one of the most godly people I've ever known. He was also an ordained United Methodist pastor.

Last year, after 20 years of chronic and severe stomach pain, he shot himself in the head.

This is a hard life -- yes, even for Christians.

 

My wife doesn't think much of institutional Christianity -- and with good reason. When she got saved, she had been abandoned by her husband, left with three small children. The churches she went to were not interested in fellowship. She desperately wanted and needed Christian fellowship; she didn't get any in the churches she went to. To this day, it still affects her.

 

We are called to obedience to GOD, not to a denomination. Nearly 80% of Americans say that they are Christians. They don't follow Christ. They don't love the things He loves and they don't hate the things that He hates, but they call themselves Christians.

Don't focus so much on baptist tradition but on Biblical truth,the very word of God.

If you're standing firmly on that word, you may find yourself standing alone a lot more than you ever imagined. Just remember that Christ stood alone FIRST.:thumbsup:

 

I'm not clear on what you're saying. Are you saying that all these family members claim to be Christians and Baptist, and therefore being a Baptist is wrong?

You can't judge Christianity or being a Baptist by other people's lives, and you can't judge what is true or not true by other people's lives.

If you are truly born again and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, then you need to rely on the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit Who dwells within all believers, and don't judge the truth by the way others live. People too often tend to be hypocritical (saying one thing and doing another), and we will only be led astray into false beliefs if we go by their lives. My dad was fond of saying, "Don't do as I do; do as I say."

The only life worth following is that of the Perfect and Holy Saviour. Unlike mere sinful mortals, He will NEVER lead you wrong.

 

Zaac, and Jon-Marc,

Excellent posts from both of you!

 

Hello 33 AD, nice handle.

The visible church is made up of "professing" Christians. Some are wheat, i.e. actually born anew and indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and some are tares, folks who profess Christ but their walk does not match their talk.

As pointed out, many local churches are strong and thriving, teaching God's world and providing leadership examples by walking the talk. Others, not so much.

If you strive to measure up to Christ's standards, including laying down His life for His bride, you may not be rewarded in this life, but at the end of the day, Jesus will say welcome home, faithful servant.

God Bless.

 

33 ad,
While we cannot always know the hearts of those who claim to be Christians, we can be fruit inspectors.

I am glad to see that you are a praying man. My suggestion is that you pray that the Holy Spirit would convict them of sin. That He would literally make them miserable. And that the Lord would save those who do not know Him.

And feel free to share your burdens with other believers and ask them to pray for your loved ones.

Please know that here on the Baptist Board, there are a lot of people who will pray fervently for you and your family. These are the kinds of brothers and sisters that you really want to pray for you, because I believe God hears their prayers.

With regard to your own spiritual condition, only you can give your testimony. My one question is, do you trust the Lord Jesus completely for your salvation? Only you can answer that.

 

Everyone? no