Carnal Christians

He was always a son, even when he was in the pig pen. He was never "not a son".

 

Yeah, but all humanity can be considered to be 'sons of God' in a technical sense, due to Him being our creator, right?

 

and the coin and the sheep were lost as well. And there was great rejoicing when they were found. In the context of the 3 parables placed together (strategically), why do we have to make the son backslidden?

 

Tater in order for something to be lost that means it must be outside of the original position. That's why I struggle with how so many Christians don't see that Israel was a saved nation during the NT times. They were lost sheep. Nowhere in the Bible does it ever associate a sheep with spiritual deadness or an unsaved state.

They were lost sheep. They were saved, but just away from the fold and had lost their way.

Now you could view that as they lost their salvation and needed to get it back, but that is not supported by Scripture. Scripture only leaves us with one interpretation and that is the interpretation of Truth.

 

and the coin?

 

Again the coin can not be lost unless it was previously possessed.

 

exacty. But it doesnt necessarily parallel a "saved" person

 

What else could it possilbly be talking about? Especially when talking about lost sheep. Again there is no mention in the Bible equating a sheep with an unsaved person.

 

The intention of the parable is not even about lost/saved, but about who Jesus was hanging around and why. He told the 3 parables in response to the question. Since parables are not allegory, I think the meaning goes beyond our modern day theological categories.

 

Exactly! None of the parables that I can think of off the top of my head are dealing with saved/unsaved issues. The parables are addressed to saved individuals that need to learn from the spiritual truth that is in them.

The spiritual truth was there for them and it is here for us if we will understand it as it is given instead of trying to put our own personal spin on the matters!

 

:thumbs: My bad, then. I misunderstood that you were saying the lost son "backslidden". Then we agree!

 

It's not a matter of tearing it up. It's a matter of is what is stated true or not according to Scripture. So let's see if it stands up to the test of Scripture.

Right from the get go we see this person is not dealing with Sripture but with personal opinion. What does the word mean?

That's exactly what the word means. A change of mind, but then this person adds personal opinion to the matter. S/He should have just let the definition stand on its own.

What were the people supposed to change their minds about? They were supposed to change their minds about Who Jesus was. Christ came to them as their King, but some did not want to accept Him as King. Now there are some that did want Him to be King, but they wanted Him to be King on their terms and not His.

Again that's just not true. Repentance is something that you do (work) not something God does for you. God doesn't change your mind, you change your mind.

These are kingdom contexts, not eternal salvation contexts.

Yes actually it does. Lordship salvation is a false teaching that is trying to get people to rely on themselves and them changing their mind and them committing their life to the Lord instead of what the Lord has done of their behalf.

Again where does the Bible talk about a repentant faith in connection with eternal salvation? Answer-nowhere. It's not there.

Repentance and faith in the same sentence are kingdom issues, not eternal salvation issues.

Again this is a false personal opinion, becuase you don't have to look any further than Acts 16:30-31 to find it to be a statement outside of Scripture.

 

I guess I'm misunderstanding you now as backslidding has nothing to do with eternal salvation, but the state of the person's walk in the present.

 

Gekko you are more than welcome to step away from the discussion, but that doesn't change that the Bible doesn't teach what you want it to teach. There's just no way that you can support it without causing contradictions at some junction.

 

Now you're saying that eternal salvation is dependent on "state of the person's walk in the present?" That's what I've been saying all along. Someone who was "saved" 20 years ago but turned their back on God, like the Prodigal Son, is TODAY in the state of the unbeliever and in danger of eternal damnation.

 

No I'm not. You obviously are misunderstanding what I'm saying. Your eternal salvation is not based on your walk (works), but on the works of Christ done on your behalf. That's it! You faith is a one-time event as HoG explained. It's like pulling the trigger on the gun. Once you pull the trigger it's a done deal. You can wish you never pulled the trigger, but the results are still the same.

Salvation NEVER changes after that moment. To say otherwise to is step outside of Scripture.

Your walk ONLY has to do with the salvation of your soul.