Believing and staying

[2 Timothy2:1-4]

Romans 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.


This is a quote of Isaiah 28:16. Isaiah is referencing the trust Judah had put into their agreements with other nations to protect them from invasion.

Paul quotes Isaiah in the context of eternal salvation. Those who believe will not put their trust in other things for their security. Those who claim Christ but later deny Him have either never believed on Him or is acting in contradiction to this passage as they have moved on to put their trust in other things in the midst of their belief.

How can anyone believe that a regenerated Christian can ever stop believing?

 

[Hope of Glory]

Judah made other agreements, so he was never a child of Israel.

Or

Judah made other agreements, so he was unfaithful.

Which one is true?

 

[2 Timothy2:1-4]

Judah made other agreements, so he was never a child of Israel.

Or

Judah made other agreements, so he was unfaithful.

Which one is true?

Maybe you should actually read the old testiment passage before responding.

 

[Martin]

How can anyone believe that a regenerated Christian can ever stop believing?

==People should not but they do. How can a true believer stop believing when Jesus is the "author and perfector of" our faith (Heb 12:2). If Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith how can our faith finally fail? It can't. After all Christ died for us and intercedes for us (Rom 8:32-34). If the author and perfector of our faith is the one who died for us and is the one who intercedes for us then we have a certain security.

On top of all of that the one who died for us, the one who intercedes for us, the one who is the author of our faith, the one who is the perfector of our faith, is also the one who gave us eternal life (Jn 17:2, 10:28). What did He say?

"I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish" -Jn 10:28

Those Jesus gives eternal life to are not those who perish in the fires of hell. Rather the ones He gives eternal life to are those who, as the writer of Hebrews states, "have faith to the preserving of the soul" (Heb 10:39). Our faith may be weak at times, we may go through periods of sin, and we may suffer greatly because of that. However if we have been truly born of God we will not lose our faith. Jesus is the author of our faith, Jesus is the perfector of our faith. He gave us our faith and that faith He gave us, as a gift, is a preserving faith. True saints persevere in the faith. Not because of their own effort but because of God's work in them.

Interestingly enough the word for "perish" in John 10:28 (see above) is the EXACT same word that is translated as "lose" in John 6:39. Jesus gives us eternal life and He will never allow us to perish. I like the way the Amplified Bible brings out this point:

"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages [to all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed]. And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand." -Jn 10:28

Jesus, who is the author and perfector of our faith, will not ever allow us to perish or be finally destroyed. This is good news.

 

[2 Timothy2:1-4]

==People should not but they do. How can a true believer stop believing when Jesus is the "author and perfector of" our faith (Heb 12:2). If Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith how can our faith finally fail? It can't. After all Christ died for us and intercedes for us (Rom 8:32-34). If the author and perfector of our faith is the one who died for us and is the one who intercedes for us then we have a certain security.

On top of all of that the one who died for us, the one who intercedes for us, the one who is the author of our faith, the one who is the perfector of our faith, is also the one who gave us eternal life (Jn 17:2, 10:28). What did He say?

"I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish" -Jn 10:28

Those Jesus gives eternal life to are not those who perish in the fires of hell. Rather the ones He gives eternal life to are those who, as the writer of Hebrews states, "have faith to the preserving of the soul" (Heb 10:39). Our faith may be weak at times, we may go through periods of sin, and we may suffer greatly because of that. However if we have been truly born of God we will not lose our faith. Jesus is the author of our faith, Jesus is the perfector of our faith. He gave us our faith and that faith He gave us, as a gift, is a preserving faith. True saints persevere in the faith. Not because of their own effort but because of God's work in them.

Interestingly enough the word for "perish" in John 10:28 (see above) is the EXACT same word that is translated as "lose" in John 6:39. Jesus gives us eternal life and He will never allow us to perish. I like the way the Amplified Bible brings out this point:

"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages [to all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed]. And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand." -Jn 10:28

Jesus, who is the author and perfector of our faith, will not ever allow us to perish or be finally destroyed. This is good news.

Good Post!:thumbs:

 

[Amy.G]

Very good post, Martin!

That has been my question as well. How can one stop believing unless their faith was in vain?
As James said, they had a dead faith, one that cannot save.

One who is said to have stopped believing must have believed in the wrong thing to begin with.