freeatlast
New Member
Now that be a fact.And that is an entirely different issue than that in the OP.
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Now that be a fact.And that is an entirely different issue than that in the OP.
Whether or not we receive salvation involves us.
Jeet yet? :laugh:
If a person professes salvation and lives it for say twenty years, including being delivered from alcoholism, then has a relapse that lasts for say 6 months, then recovers, would you say that person was never really saved to begin with?
I really would like to hear FAL's answer to this question. Can a true christian choose to sin repetitively for a time, then repent. I notice he has not actually answered it yet.
-Some have said he was really saved.
-Fal quoted a verse but did not answer the question.
-I would say we simply don't know, since there are complete pagans who give up alchohol and then relapse after 20 years, it could have nothing to do with salvation, or it might be that he is a true christian who for a short time returned to a sin that he had once given up. My doctrine of perserverance would say that his subsequent repentance and renewed commitment to God (if in fact that is what happened, the OP doesn't say) give evidence that He could in fact be a true christian.
-If the answer is no, he wasn't for those 20 years, but if he has truly repented of his drunkenness NOW, then he is truly saved and will not lose it...I think that raises lots of questions about whether it is faith in Christ or giving up a big sin that saves him.
A Christian addicted to alcohol is not a sinner because of said addiction.
I answered it the only way it could be answered and that is with the word of God. Some just do not believe the word and seek to get around it. However Let's change the scenario a little. If a person professes salvation and lives it for say twenty years, including being delivered from child molestation, then has a relapse that lasts for say 6 months molesting children daily then recovers, would you say that person was never really saved to begin with?
Whether or not we receive salvation involves us.
12strings..., have you ever gazed at a beautiful young woman..., twice?
More so than "once" I would imagine.
Would this "sin" of eyeballing that beautiful young woman be worse than the "sin" of taking that one drink..., not of faith?
Yes, Yes, and No; not any worse or better. But still sin if I engage ANY lustful thoughts. Just as an alcoholic taking a drink WHEN HE KNOWS OR BELIEVES HE SHOULD NOT ("whetever is not of faith is sin"). Now, if that former alcoholic has reached a point where he can drink a little and not get drunk, and is not violating his consience, then i would say that is not a sin, as I don't see teetotaling abstinence taught in scripture.
That said, I'm not sure I see the point you were trying to make.
Prior to my salvation I had no problem with alcohol. None what-so-ever. I could consume the slop or walk away from it. Many people cannot and many lives have been ruined because of it.
Alcohol can grab one's soul as in a death grip and never turns loose. It's a constant daily struggle/fight to resist the urge that lasts a lifetime. There is no escape from alcoholism..., but you're aware of this already.
Are you saying that God's spirit working inside a believer CANNOT break the grip of alcoholism on a person? If so, I would have to disagree...if only because we do not see alcoholism in the bible. We see the word "drunk" and "drunkard". And we see that men of God should put away those things.
I don't have a good answer for this...perhaps those smarter than me will answer. I would tend to say...
--These sins are not equal (both sins, I know). But one is a deliberate preying on other people...the other can often be more of a private sin. I don't know exactly what that means, but i thought it should be mentioned. Also, I would say the 2 situations have the potential to reveal 2 different states of the persons heart... one cold toward the suffering of others, one possibly hating his sin but not knowing how to overcome it.
True, but a christian who is addicted to alcohol who gets drunk is sinning.
Also, a Christian who is addicted to alcohol who drinks one drink "not of faith" is sinning.
Fal point on this though seems to be ingoring the human condition that even spirit filled/saved saints can freely and willfully chooseto sin still, NOT what God wants, nor can do with chaistasment from the Lord, but can even fall into an addiction IF allowing satan a foot hold into ones life!
That is not true. Alcoholism is a sin when practiced. It is a sin because it is the result of lessor previous sin that has went wild. There are people who are addicted to stealing. They are called kleptomaniacs. They are sinners as is their addiction just like alcoholism is sin. No one starts out being an alcoholic. It takes practicing sin which turns into an addiction which is also sin. It is sin from sinning.A Christian addicted to alcohol is not a sinner because of said addiction.
I don't have a good answer for this...perhaps those smarter than me will answer. I would tend to say...
--These sins are not equal (both sins, I know). But one is a deliberate preying on other people...the other can often be more of a private sin. I don't know exactly what that means, but i thought it should be mentioned. Also, I would say the 2 situations have the potential to reveal 2 different states of the persons heart... one cold toward the suffering of others, one possibly hating his sin but not knowing how to overcome it.
Well Brother JF, in the OP, the scenario involved drinking over a six month period. Now, if one is getting drunk repeatedly over this six month period, then that would be practicing sin.
That is why I am a "teetotaller". Hard to witness with a Bud Light in your hand, or a Jack and Coke, if you ask me. Whoever wants to drink, pour it on it. But, do so in your own home, please?