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Yelsew
Guest
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Ray Berrian
New Member
Yelsew, get saved. Wait, ask one of the brethren whether or not you are on the Elect List. Hope you are chosen.
Scott E. What I said I said, and I will not withdraw it. I can of course not know whether or not "the guy" is "saved". To me he is Yelsew, and I respect him as much as I am allowed to. But from his beliefs and doctrines which he is making known I can discern and gather he does not believe the Gospel which Paul preached, and this means I thus consider him unconverted. Meaning I cannot believe he is a man who has experienced a Gospel conversion as described by Paul in e.g. 1Thess.1:5-6,9. He may take offence but I must be honest with him once I said what I said. If he thinks or believes the same about me won't offend me. The opinions of my neighbours as to my spiritual state and standing before God the righteous Judge won't affect the same in the least.
I know that among claimed Christians it is an unspoken taboo to make assessments as to the spiritual state or standing of others. The only thing I am certain as to Yelsew is that the faith he exhibits is not "the faith" which is of the operation of God. The faith which is of God excluded all boasting in the flesh, which would include free will so called, Rom. 3:27, cp. Eph. 2:9. "The faith", which Abraham was empowered by, Rom. 4:20, gives glory to God, not to free will. The faith of Christ vindicates God as the sole author and executor of the salvation of chosen sinners, and leaves no room for boasting in personal character and conduct before God. I could go on, but may this suffice.
It is very popular a thing among professing believers to go about boasting about "faith". But all "faith" is not the faith of Christ. The faith which delivers a man from darkness to light must be defined and assessed according to how the word of God describes it. It is everything the Bible says it is, no less and no more than that. To say "saving faith" is "a simple child-like" faith is to simplify the matter wrongly. If a man claims he has faith James says he must have works as well which correspond to the true faith of God's operation. Faith without works, can it save a man, James asks? Meaning that a claimed faith without corresponding righteous works wrought in God do not testify to a saved state before God. Much more could be said, as these are issues seldom discussed among professing Christians, some of it perhaps due to a fear of receiving the stigma of being a judgmental person, or some other "negative" stamp. Nevertheless they are important things.
Harald
I know that among claimed Christians it is an unspoken taboo to make assessments as to the spiritual state or standing of others. The only thing I am certain as to Yelsew is that the faith he exhibits is not "the faith" which is of the operation of God. The faith which is of God excluded all boasting in the flesh, which would include free will so called, Rom. 3:27, cp. Eph. 2:9. "The faith", which Abraham was empowered by, Rom. 4:20, gives glory to God, not to free will. The faith of Christ vindicates God as the sole author and executor of the salvation of chosen sinners, and leaves no room for boasting in personal character and conduct before God. I could go on, but may this suffice.
It is very popular a thing among professing believers to go about boasting about "faith". But all "faith" is not the faith of Christ. The faith which delivers a man from darkness to light must be defined and assessed according to how the word of God describes it. It is everything the Bible says it is, no less and no more than that. To say "saving faith" is "a simple child-like" faith is to simplify the matter wrongly. If a man claims he has faith James says he must have works as well which correspond to the true faith of God's operation. Faith without works, can it save a man, James asks? Meaning that a claimed faith without corresponding righteous works wrought in God do not testify to a saved state before God. Much more could be said, as these are issues seldom discussed among professing Christians, some of it perhaps due to a fear of receiving the stigma of being a judgmental person, or some other "negative" stamp. Nevertheless they are important things.
Harald
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Yelsew
Guest
Harald, "the faith which is of the operation of God"? Do you mean a faith that can only be in man if God places it there? If yes, what is the purpose of Scripture? If man's faith in God can only be placed in man by God, there is no need for the scriptures. God doesn't need the scripture to communicate with man! How did the Prophets get God's word which they prophesied to the people, there was only the Pentateuch for most of them. How did Isaiah get the grand and wonderful prophesies of the Messiah? The fact is God does not need the scripture...MAN DOES! God does not work in man by placing faith in Himself in man! He created man with the ability to believe, and to reason, and to form "doctrinal truth" and to act upon what He believes.
God created man.
Man believed God.
Man disobeyed God.
God gave man "the Law"
Man believed God
Man disobeyed "the Law"
God Gave man His only Son,
Man believes in and on God's Son,
Man still disobeys God.
Because God's Son was obedient
God Accepted His sacrifice on the Cross
as atonement for all the sins of man.
God provided that All who believe in his son
Shall not perish but live eternally.
God does not make man believe in Jesus
Not one of you believes in Jesus because you have to!
You Believe in Jesus because you have heard the Gospel
You accept the evidence that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ
You became persuaded that the Word of God is True,
Your belief is reinforced by the Holy Spirit who reveals the truth to man
and you of your own will submitted your life to Jesus because of the promises
That God established in his word.
Did man do anything at all but hear the word and believe?
No, God already did all the work, there was nothing left for man to do, except believe!
There is no other criteria whereby man can be saved but to believe in and on the Son of God.
There is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved.
Does man have a say in his own salvation?
Yes, Man can refuse to believe, and choose to pass up the invitation to eternal life.
Conversely, man can choose to accept the work that has already been done for him and thereby have life eternal.
To confound the wise, God made his Plan of Salvation simple so that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. What better way to give Glory to God than to willingly believe in His own precious son, and willfully submit our lives to him. There is no boast in giving up what you can't of your own power keep, in order to gain that for which you have no "right" to have. We did nothing to deserve Gods favor, yet he graciously allows us to live.
The faithfulness of the Christ, alone, atones for the infidelity of all mankind, and makes the way for all mankind to be redeemed under the one name under heaven whereby man can be redeemed. God did all the work, Jesus completed it on the cross, and is waiting for all the "whosoever's" that believeth of their own will, in his only begotten son, Jesus, the Christ!
I believe in Jesus of my own will, I choose to believe in the one who died for me, that I might have life and life abundant! Your false doctrine cannot stop God from loving and saving me! He has already done so over 2000 years ago, as established before the foundation of the world.
You are so right Yelsew, whether my doctrine be false or true, either way I cannot stop God from loving you and saving you if it thus should please His Divine Majesty. Nor do I want to try and do so. And if He should save you then bet your life on it that He would do it irrespective of your so called free will, so as to rob you of all ground of boasting in your self including free-will.
I need Christ to constantly deliver me from my stubborn and sinful free-will, because it is totally worthless and impotent when it comes to spiritual and God-ward matters.
Harald
I need Christ to constantly deliver me from my stubborn and sinful free-will, because it is totally worthless and impotent when it comes to spiritual and God-ward matters.
Harald
Let's stay away from public questioning of people's salvation, no matter how strong the evidence may be. Those conversations belong in private if they take place.
Moderator
Moderator
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Yelsew
Guest
And what is there to boast about? God offered me eternal salvation and life with His beloved son in the most glorious of places which I had no hand in building, or furnishing, etc. I have expended no energy in my salvation, therefore there are no works that I have done to earn it.
In all of eternity, I did nothing but choose to believe in Jesus of my own God given free will. There is no work in accepting truth and believing in truth's author! I have done nothing that every other believer has not also done! Therefore nothing exists upon which I can boast.
Y
Yelsew
Guest
The Holy Spirit has been active since the Fall in bringing God's elect unto Him. </font>[/QUOTE]Since the specific reference was Jesus addressing the Galileans do you mean to imply that the Galileans were "prepared" to receive the "Word of God", therefore ALL of the Galileans became believers? No, of course not, because 'All' goes against Calvin's teachings, and All is not possible because only the elect can be saved!
But wasn't Jesus speaking to whosoever would listen?