Originally posted by Ironside:
We have a lot to do my friend. 1)We are mandated by Christ to
spread His free salvation to the world. 2) WE are to minister to
our fellow believers for their edification. 3) WE are to pursue
holiness. 4) give our bodies a living sacrifice to God 5) grow in
the grace and knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ and
etc................all these in an attitude of anticipating the
Lord's any moment return [Rapture].
Saving grace does not teach you to be complacent. It teaches us to
deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, teaches us to live soberly,
righteously, and godly in the present age.
Have you trusted in Christ alone for salvation my friend? Salvation
is free, complete and permanent. In order for a saved person to be
unsaved, one must undo what Christ Jesus has done for him.
[b]so if salvation cannot be lost, am i free to sin?
Absolutely not. Christians are not saved TO sin they are saved FROM
sin. penalty, POWER and presence [this one
{presense} is future].
Is it possible for a Christian, a saved person to
TEMPORARILY stray from Christ? Yes, if one is not vigilant
and prayerful and neglects the other means of grace. If one
constantly not walk in the Spirit.
What happens at this point?
a) First whether the backsliding Christian knows it or not, he has
an Advocate.
if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous. This gurantees his salvation. He has a lawyer yet to
be defeated in God's court.
b) God uses means to call back his straying son or daughter. other
Christians, sermons he or she may hear, memory verses and
etc.
c) If he or she refuses to return, God as father uses the rod of
discipline on him or her. Hebrews 12. 5-11. 1 Corinthians 5:
3-5.
Will the Holy Spirit depart from the saved person if he or
she backslides [in this dispensation]?
Joh 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may abide with you forever
What happens if a Christian backslides? the Holy
Spirit will be grieved.
What are the eternal consequences of the backsliding
one?
He will lose his or her rewards that were meant for faithful
Christias in the Judgement Seat of Christ. Salvation is free.
Rewards are not. They must be earned.
How will you earn your reward? Be faithful.
Witness to others. Bring back a backslding one. Do Christ commands
and a whole lot of other things.
Who is the one maintaining my salvation? Is it me or
God?
1Pe 1:5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
How can God do this? Keep a saved person saved eventhough
he or she sins?
a) Christ death is once and for all. In God's eyes the history of
the world from beginning to end is finished. It is like us watching
a movie for a second time. We know the movie already from start to
finish. Who will falter, who will fall who will succeed.
God provided an atonement for all of the sins from Adam to the last
man in the last day.
b) it is based on his pre creation plan. That all the elect will
attain to the glory of His salvation. His keeeping grace makes this
plan a certainty.
1Pe 1:5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
c) His preserving grace does a work in the heart of a Christian to
keep the saved from falling away completely and finally.
Jer 32:39 'then I
will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me
forever, for the good of them and their children
after them.
40 'And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will
not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear
in their hearts so that they will not depart from
Me.
So why did Peter depart?
His preserving grace does a work in the heart of a Christian to
keep the saved from falling away completely and
finally
Peter returned, Judas did not. The difference are those verses
above.
When the Lord said that Peter's faith should not fail. He meant
COMPLETELY fail.
Lu 22:32 "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should
not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen
your brethren."
Why is it that a Christian still backslides if he or she is
now saved? Can God make a saved sinner not sin
anymore completely and perfectly?
As to the second question: God in His wisdom did not choose that
plan. Absolutely. God can make a saved sinner be able to not sin
anymore in this lifetime if He wants to. But again God in His
wisdom did not choose this plan.
First question: a christian still backslides because of the
presence of the sinful nature in him. The saved person has two
natures: sinful and regenerate.
[some of our Reformed Covenant friends would disagree with this,
they believe in one nature of a Christian only {regenerate nature
only no sinful nature} but this is a weak position to prove
biblically and even in our daily experience. will tackel that some
other time]
eventhough a person is saved [has a regenerate nature in him], he
cannot beat sin in his life if he or she will not walk in the
Spirit. The Bible says it is through the Spirit that we are able to
put to death the works of the sinful nature.
Romans 7: 14-25 is a picture of this. I believe this was when Paul
was still in Arabia during his first days of being saved.
Romans 7:14-25 is a picture of a regenerate man. He already has a
genuine desire to obey [unregenerate or unsaved persons do not have
a genuine desire to obey] and yet still fails in practice. He ask
the question in the end:
"O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of
death [it is a body of death because, though saved and regenerate,
the members of his body still practice sin]?"
Romans 8 gives the answer: It is through relying and walking in the
Spirit.
[/b]
Thanks for your comments. But we can only do what God tells us
to do or allow us to do. Christ also can do only what the Father is
doing. He sees God doing it in heaven then He does it on earth. If
God doesnt do it, He also cannot do it bcos the Holy Spirit will
not do it.
Similarly, what we do for God is not our will. It's all God's will.
Bcos if one were to believe in OSAS, that means one is more leaning
twds Calvinism where one has limited free will to speak of.
Everything being determined by God. So if we cannot do certain
things, is that our fault? Similarly, if we are not allowed to do
certain things for God, so how can God reward justly?
I feel God is a bit unfair to some people. God hasnt given them a
lot of talents. God hasnt allowed them to have many friends to
spread gospel to. God hasnt given them anyone to save in their
entire lives. God hasnt given them much money to donate t church.
God hasnt given them much time to use for God. God hasnt willed
them to do certain things but to suffer. So how can God be just in
His rewards? How to measure one's rewards? Is it the number of
converts? Is it the quality of the converts? Is it the no of hrs
put in for God? Is it the degree of faithfulness & holiness one
has for God? Is it the no of hrs put in for church work? Etc.
etc.
So how can God be just in rewarding His saints? Bcos not what we
will but what our Father wills. I want to do a lot of things for
God but everything went haywire. Similarly, someone might do a lot
of things for God but in the end not get rewarded. So how to judge?
Can God be fair still?
Since God is not fair regarding salvation, He similarly cannot be
fair regarding rewards. Bcos up to Him to give what! Remember the
parable of the workers. Some work whole day. Some work half a day.
Some work only one hr! So when the earliest worker came, they
expected to receive a lot but they got the same amt of money as
those who work only one hr! There are many who are called but few
are chosen. There are many who are first shall be last & last
first.
