Romans 9:10-18

[npetreley]

But...What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.

What if? Will you now say he cannot make such vessels?

You get the spirit of the question, "What if". People who do not like this passage often write it off as nothing more than a hypothetical. But it is more like, "So what if God did X? You got a problem with that? What's that to you?"

 

[Rusty61]

Is it presumptuous? Or did God promise it and it would be unbelief not to trust what He said?

John 3:15-16 Rusty -- "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life..."

Rom 6:23 - "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

1John 5:11 is perhaps the most important: "These things have I written that you might KNOW that you have eternal life and this life is in His Son." How did John say you would know? 1) You love the brethren. 2) You would obey His 2 commandments. 3) You would not love the world. 4) You have unction from the Holy [Spirit] and know all things" (understand the scriptures) 5) You have the Son.

It's a good examination, Rusty. Check it out in 1John 3!

skypair

Somehow I missed your post from before this one, so I just answered this one. I will now go back and do the first one. But at any rate here's my response to this particular note. {I generally write my reply offline then copy & paste it because otherwise I often lose all I wrote.}



1) You love the brethren.

Yes.

2) You would obey His 2 commandments.

I try. But I don’t always succeed.

3) You would not love the world.

You know, I used to make a 6 digit income and I have always been single. So, I’ve had whatever I wanted when I wanted. I’ve also traveled where I wanted. Then, I lost it all and I am now living on disability. I am in a program to help me go back to work but I will never make the money I used to make. Yet, I can honestly say like Solomon that all is Vanity. I see nothing in this world that attracts me so much as to love it. I can’t wait to go to the other side.

4) You have unction from the Holy [Spirit] and know all things" (understand the scriptures)

You know, I have to say that I have a good knowledge but I do not understand all the scriptures.


5) You have the Son.

Yes, I believe I do.


1Jo 3:6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.

Ok, I do see what you are telling me but see here and I do still sin. I have not over come sin yet.

1Jo 3:21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;


And again, my heart does often condemn me.

I like all what you said and I feel a lot better. This whole thread has been a real blessing and eye opener for me. But, I have been Armenian for most of my Christian walk and I still have a hard time believe that I cannot or will not loose my salvation. I think that is one of the hardest beliefs to let go of. And that is what I keep battling with.

But let me go over the other post you posted. I will do so in a little while. Ok? Thanks.

 

[skypair]

4) You have unction from the Holy [Spirit] and know all things" (understand the scriptures)

You know, I have to say that I have a good knowledge but I do not understand all the scriptures.

This is part of your SANCTIFICATION that I spoke about in my first post as being a lifetime work of the Spirit. I think you will be interested to read about that.

But to encourage you further, this understanding scriptures is called "unity in the faith and knowledge of Christ" per Eph 4:13-16 - "Till we [bqlievers] all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:" What it says is that we are all "growing up" in Christ -- learning these things daily.

1Jo 3:6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.

Ok, I do see what you are telling me but see here and I do still sin. I have not over come sin yet.

I think my first post handles this. You will sin but you won't want to. And you will be careful to confess it to God and anyone who might have been hurt by it.

1Jo 3:21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

And again, my heart does often condemn me.

Your soul/conscience should always be "pure" toward God because you are forgiven with Him eternally. Your heart/mind is subject to this world and other people. Like I say, confess -- make it right if you can. This is what Paul is saying -- "I keep short accounts." "I keep on top of my flesh." he says in another place.

But, I have been Armenian for most of my Christian walk and I still have a hard time believe that I cannot or will not loose my salvation. I think that is one of the hardest beliefs to let go of. And that is what I keep battling with.

You are right there. But you did make a correct comment earlier -- that Satan is making you focus on your faults. I know people who are absolutely "frozen out" of doing anything for God because they remember their sin and not their confession. God realizes the world you live in. He once lived in it too! If you keep growing (2Pet 1:3-9 "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him..." read the rest from your Bible. You may just find yourself there. :thumbs: )

Sorry to hear about your disability but know what? That spiritual life which you sowed so long ago couldn't be quickened except it die, 1Cor 15:36. You are about to embark on the life that God pleases to give you, 1Cor 15:38 instead of the one you were living! And you don't know whether it leads to 6 figures again or what it will be. You're just one of these Corinthians many generations removed.

skypair

 

[Rusty61]

Skypair;

Thank you for even quoting the Scriptures for me. Yes, I see what you are saying. You make perfect sense. I do not really have anymore questions. I think I’m pretty much settled. I think my problem now is just keeping my thoughts captive and not allow satan to whisper in my ear. I can honestly tell you, that scripture I quoted earlier about fearing God who can send your soul into hell really had me very scared. Especially in light of the one you quoted; Hebrews 10:24-27. It’s a very scary situation to be in. Especially when you believe that you can lose your salvation.

One of the deacons at my church explained to me how foolish an idea that is to be able to lose your salvation. And the way he explained it was very profound to me. Yet, I find there are times I still have to doubt it because I let fear get the better of me.

I also think part of what you are telling me is that it’s a process all while I’m walking in the flesh because like in Philippians 2:12 he tells us we have to work out our salvation. I always took that as meaning we will never know if we have attained our salvation or not. But I think what it’s really saying is not to give up or get discouraged when we fail but to get up dust ourselves off and continue on.

Two sins that I struggle very hard with are that I often find myself in a pity-party, feeling sorry for myself. And the other is envy. I don’t envy material things, but I envy the love that married folks have. I wanted to experience my own family but it never worked out that way. So, when I get into a pity-party and start focusing on “me” I tend to loose all focus and perspective goes right out the window.

Again everybody thank you all so much. I do feel much better. I can’t tell you the relief I feel from the stuff you all shared with me in this thread. And thank you Skypair, I appreciate all the trouble you went through for me. That was very kind of you.

Blessings.

 

[Rusty61]

Ok Peeps;

The Justification of God arrived today. While I am in another book, I'm going to put it aside and start this one right away. Again thanks. I don't know if this will raise more questions or not though. But hopefully I will learn something new from it. Thank you so much.

Rusty :thumbs: