Who wins souls?

Yes, we will - when you start taking responsibility for your actions.

 

John Owen once wrote “be killing sin or it will be killing you.” You have no critics here. What you have are people who care about you but are frustrated by the fact that you have not yet realized that to be a Christ follower one must follow His teachings.

You of all people should realize this. You want to write letters to churches that hold false doctrine. You want to preach God’s Word to people who are in ignorance. You want to be the vehicle God uses to convict people of their sins so that they will move towards repentance and truly believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. And for your efforts you have been “persecuted” by being ignored by some, slandered by others, and ridiculed. This is what happens on this board as well. People who care about you are speaking truth to you. You are ignoring, slandering, and ridiculing those who are trying to help you. Again, you cannot follow Jesus without following His teaching.

The issue is that you pick and choose interpretations of Scripture that suits your needs. Calvinism itself depends on an idea of God’s covenantal faithfulness and how that relates to God being Just and Justifier within that context. You cannot be truly called a “Calvinist” because you ignore the idea of transgression within covenantal relationships (i.e., the stance you adopted to justify divorcing your wife). Instead you have taken some of the teachings of Calvinists like John MacArthur, blended them with some of the teachings of men like Ray Comfort, and blended that with whatever teachings you can find that may justify your actions and desires. While your salvation and Christianity may be beyond question, your religion is distinctly you because if you peel back the layers you will find yourself rather than Christ and His teachings at its center.

Our pastor often speaks of “alligator questions”. These are questions that you ask yourself, that you meditate upon, that you wrestle with, and that leave scars but through Christ leaves you a better disciple of Jesus Christ.

Let’s look at the example you provided: your wife. Do you love your wife enough that you will die for her? Do you love her enough that you will abandon your personal fulfillment in order to provide for her? Do you place her wants, desires, needs, and dreams above your own? Do you love her more than you love yourself? If the answer is “no”, then how can you love Christ enough that you would abandon your own life for Him, that you will die to your own desires to live for and in Him, that you will love Him more than you love yourself?

 

The question is relevant for several reasons. First, a civil action cannot dissolve a spiritual union. Second, you can substitute "do" for "did" (e.g., did you put your wife's needs, desires and dreams above your own; did you remain faithful to the covenant that you made with your wife). Third, I was using your marriage as an example only because you introduced it into the thread. You can substitute your wife for anyone (e.g., do you place the needs of others above your own; do you love other people).

So the question is very relevant and how you answer the question reflects how you view Christ. The way that you love other people is the way that you love Christ.

Did you love your wife enough that you will die for her? Did you love her enough that you will abandon your personal fulfillment in order to provide for her? Did you place her wants, desires, needs, and dreams above your own? Did you love her more than you love yourself? If the answer is “no”, then how can you love Christ enough that you would abandon your own life for Him, that you will die to your own desires to live for and in Him, that you will love Him more than you love yourself?

 

No. Just seeking a man who keeps his vows.

Deut 23:21 When you shall vow a vow unto the LORD your God, you shall not be slack to pay it: for the LORD your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.

Ecc 5:4 When you vow a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which you have vowed.

Ecc 5:5 Better is it that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay.

 

I've been married 28 years. A perfect marriage is a union between two imperfect people and it is not something to be sought but something to be made. But this is off topic as I was using not your transgression but your justification of sin as an illustration.

 

No, but you can repent and make it right with your family.

 

My point here, Evan, is that we have all sinned and we all sin. But what is commanded is repentance and not a life of justifying the sins that we have done. Your marriage was one example (the one you brought into the dialogue).

Another is drinking. I’m not saying that drinking is a sin, but that you once held the position that it was allowed yet you were called to abstain (you mentioned having been drunk, refraining from temptation, and social problems associated with alcohol). Your position never changed in regards to drinking. Your position changed in regards to YOU drinking. Don’t you see that? Back then you said it was permissible, so this was never the issue. The issue was you overcoming or succumbing to your own fleshly desires. And from the point you decided that you would drink you’ve been on a path trying to justify the sin (not the sin of drinking, but the sin of elevating yourself and your desires).

We repent and believe. And then we live a lifetime of repentance. This is what we do, but it is an act of God in us (Christ in us). We could say that it is God’s work that we repent, and this would be true up until the point we deny that we, ourselves, must repent. We could say that we need to repent and turn to God, which is true up to the point that we deny this is a work of God.

Likewise, we are to “win” souls and “save” people (to use Paul’s words that he was winning souls and saving people). This is God’s work both in and through us.

 

have you read Matt 18:22

Then Read I Peter 5:6

 

Try again. And again. And again. Remember the vow: 'till death do us part?