Featured Christ's Subsitutionary Sacrifice

Sanctification is via faith...both sides of the debate agree with this. Now, where does this faith come from? If ppl say it comes from them, then we have ran into a YUUUUUUUUUUGE problem. If one's innate faith justifies them, then we need to cross out Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[Galatians 3:8] And also Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.[Romans 8:33] And then we'd need to take some whiteout and blot out He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.[Romans 4:25] In all of these verses, I can not find where man was active in being justified. I can see man be acted upon, but not active. Look closely at Romans 4:25...and was raised to life for our justification. If Christ had not risen, we could not be justified, regardless how much innate faith one has/had. When Christ rose again, He rose again for His elect, His sheep, His chosen, His bride. Everything Christ did, He did in our stead. He lived a sinless, perfect life, He died and was buried, and rose again, and every whit of it He did for us, and we now have that imputed/credited/accounted unto us. None of the righteousness we have was possible via our faith. It...faith...is a gift of God via the Spirit that regenerates the dead in transgressions and sins sinner.

 

I think you'll find it does. Ephesians 2:8.

We have no righteousness of our own (Philippians 3:8-9), so God gives us faith and credits that as righteousness.

Our faith is actually more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7), and God tests our faith (Proverbs 17:3) so that we ourselves may know that it is genuine and also because it produces perseverance (James 1:3).

Although every part of salvation is of grace, it is not true that we are passively transferred into Christ. We are instructed to 'strive' and be 'violent' to enter salvation (Luke 13:24; cf. Matthew 11:12). When God begins to regenerate a sinner, he lays hold of Christ like a drowning man.

 

I made a faux pas...justification is via faith.

#oopsy

 

The word 'covenant' is another word for 'marriage'. Sinners who die in their sins were never under the New Covenant. Those who are cast into hell were never under that New Covenant.

 

So, Abraham was saved but never had a birth of the Spirit of God? Srsly?

 

Yep.


God bless.

 

In Abraham's day, the ministry of the Spirit was the same as it was in the Day that Christ taught this:


John 14:15-18

King James Version (KJV)

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.


It was an external ministry unlike the one which would begin when the Spirit is sent. The living waters here...


John 7:38-39

King James Version (KJV)

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)


...is the same eternal life taught He had come when He spoke of it in terms of the True Bread (Himself) as opposed to the physical provision of the Old Teastmant (physical bread for physical sustenance, manna) in John 6.

We see above the Spirit is not yet given, and correlating to Christ's teaching above that cannot be imposed prior to Christ being glorified.

This is the same Promise in view here:


Acts 1:4-5

King James Version (KJV)

4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.


One cannot be born again apart from having the Spirit sent, Who is the source of Eternal Life. But, that does not mean one cannot be saved from the Eternal Perspective of God, even though he does not live in the Age where a particular dispensation begins.

We see the point in time in which men are born from above (also called born of the Spirit, and born again, and regeneration) here:


John 1:11-13

King James Version (KJV)

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.


It cannot be imposed prior to the Coming of Christ. He didn't do that, and there is no reason we should either.


So yes, Abraham could be said to be "saved" in the sense that he was justified, just as all the Old Testament Saints listed in Hebrews 11 were. However, what they were not were recipients of the realization of the Promises of God:


Hebrews 11:13

King James Version (KJV)

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.


Hebrews 11:39-40

King James Version (KJV)

39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.


They received the promises, but they did not receive the Promises, lol.

They were not made perfect, but, when, in this Age, we are saved, we receive of the Spirit that was only promised to them. The external ministry of the Spirit still continues, but that is to be distinguished from the Eternal Indwelling of God in believers in this Age.


God bless.

 

Well, we are the Lamb's bride. To be a bride, we had to have a Husband. To be Husband and bride/wife, there has to be a marriage. We are also in a covenant with God. I think it is safe to say 'covenant' & 'marriage' are compatible words that express the same meaning.

I was showing Van that not everybody today is under the New Covenant. Those in the New Covenant God does not hold their sins ever again against them. See Jeremiah 31:31-33 and also Hebrews 10:16 & Hebrews 8:10.

 

Well, aren't all marriages(man and woman) a covenant betwixt two ppl? So, all marriages are covenants, but not all covenants are marriages.

 

Here is one meaning of marriage from www.dictionary.com

a formal agreement between two companies or enterprises to combine operations, resources, etc., for mutual benefit; merger.

So, marriage is a covenant, that even extends to relationships of platonic means.

 

So you are saying that all sinners are brought by God under the new Covenant?

And do you base the assurance of salvation upon your faith, or upon the One hom you placed your faith into?

just seems that you place too high a premium on what you did to get saved...