Know so salvation.

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

And I do and have been doing the same for over 50 years, because its ALL OF CHRIST... And none of me... Brother Glen

 

There is no indication in scripture that one receives it passively. Such is only assumed. When gifts are received proactively no one says that the gift is earned by them because of the proactive reception.

 

The answer seems obvious to me, we are saved by grace "through" faith. Our faith, if credited as righteousness by God, provides our access to the grace in which we stand, Romans 5:1-2.

What are the aspects of this "faith" that God would credit as righteousness?
From Matthew 13, we see it (at least in part) is a response to the gospel. Soil #1 did not understand so it was as if he never heard the gospel. Soil #2 liked the gospel, and its promise of eternal life, but did not commit fully, and so his "superficial" faith was not credited. Soil #3 bought into the gospel, but still held on to his other worldly treasures, and so his half hearted faith was not credited either.

 

Simply because it is offered freely. Believing in the gospel is how it is received.

 

Are you willing to be saved? If so then you chose Christ whether you will admit it or not.
MB

 

No If you're willing to be saved, you're already saved... Who gave you the will?... God changed your will!.. Did you change your own heart?... God changed your heart... Did you birth yourself?... God birthed you... You didn't come to Christ, the Holy Spirit brought you, because Christ bought you!... You stick with, I need to accept Christ to be saved and will put The Sovereign Grace Of All Mighty God that saved me, against it every time... When are you brethren going to learn, its not what you did to get Salvation that none of us deserved in first place, its where Jesus Christ stood where we could not and purchased it for us... My Salvation is a SURETY!... Brother Glen

 

My view is that "them that are lost" from 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 refers only to soil #1. I see nothing to suggest 2, 3 and 4 soils did not understand the gospel. OTOH, we have 1 Corinthians 3:1 which clearly teaches the lost can understand the milk of the gospel, the opposite of your assertion.

Consider this, if everyone was in soil #1 shoes, there would have been no soil #2 or 3 or 4 responses.

 

ONLY those whom have had been enlightened by the Spirit can receive and understand the Gospel!

 

Just going about your sin full life and all of a sudden Salvation hit you right between the eyes with out faith. Scripture clearly states
Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
It does not say God saves you so you can believe. No faith No salvation it's as simple as that.
No man is saved with out faith first because we are saved by grace through faith. Eph 2:8.
If you twist the method of Salvation around backwards you are not believing the gospel. Not believing the gospel correctly will prevent a man from being saved
MB

 

How do we know?
Instead of "know so", as I was taught in IFB churches?

Very rarely did they go straight to the Bible for the answer.
Usually, I was led through a series of questions and answers that were designed to "settle it"...
One of which was, "when did you believe?"

Eventually, they encouraged me to fix that date firmly in my mind, and to never question it and what happened on that date.
As far as I can recall, there was never any serious discussion about fruits, or seriously examining myself to see if I really was in the faith.

Now that I've been out of that for over a decade, I would tell someone:
Scripture tells us how we know, and it uses those biblical facts to prompt us to examine ourselves.
"Search the Scriptures, so we can know that we have eternal life".

That is what has been hashed out in history for a long, long time.

Punch that into "Google" and there are millions of "hits".
To answer the quote again, it's either received actively, or it is received passively.
Freely from the point of the giver, or freely from the point of the receiver.

The ramifications of either way, are what many threads in the "Calvinism" vs "Arminiansm" section have been written about.

 

I believe that it is equally not indicated in Scripture, that one receives it actively.

Such can be assumed, and it also may not be.
To me, it depends on the reader's judgment.

One says "it's assumed", and the other says" I'm convinced".

I do, and I have, many times.

To many it may not seem right, but I like to appeal to the technical aspect of it.
Especially with regard to salvation.

But no one I know that looks at it like that, will say that they earned it...because to me, they honestly do not see it as being earned.
To them, "the hand that reaches out", is apparently the same as "the hand that has it placed into it".

 

John wrote, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, . . ."

The word 'know' in the Greek, as our Greek officials may understand, has the meaning and expression of 'personal knowlegde', verses ' knowing by observation', etc.

What needs to take place as 'know so' in Salvation is for the unsaved soul to be Brought by God to an Understanding of their lost condition, by The School Master.

God's Universal Law is Brought to Bare against the ability and capibility of the lost soul, to keep all of it, without offending in one point.

Once, God's Spirit Convicts a lost soul of their position before The Eternal Holy God of The Universe as undone, wicked, Godless, & Hell bound, etc., God May Grant them the Twin Blessings of Repentance Toward God and Faith in Jesus Christ and His Accomplishment of Eternal Salvation.

Unless a lost soul has been Convicted in their heart and soul and conscience of possessing a 'know so' hopelessness and Guilt for which God Demands Payment, then their is no Repentance Toward God or Saving Faith that would Follow Spirit Wrought Confiction of Sin.

"Would you like to go to Heaven when you die, then Pray after me" IS NOT THE WAY GOD SAVES SOULS.

REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL!!?

 

You know about that old time way, I like that.

 

Yes, it was Conceived in The Counsel of The God head in Eternity Past and has been needed since the beginning of mankind, as 37818 said, "Romans 5:12, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: . . ." Adam the first man sinned, bring sin upon the human race."

The sin of man and the shedding of blood Jesus did when He Made Adam and Eve animal skins for their physical nakedness pictured Jesus' Death, Burial, and Resurrection in the Garden, WHEN JESUS SAVED THEM BY GIFTING THEM WITH REPENTANCE AND FAITH UNDER THE PREACHING OF THE BLOOD SACRIFICE GOSPEL of Jesus BRUISING THE HEAD OF THE SERPENT, is The Old Time Way!!