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God created the spirits of every single person who has ever been born, and in that regard, we are all His children and He is the Father to us all.
The fact that God creates the soul of everyone who is born does not mean that man belongs to the family of God in any salvific sense. No one is adopted into the family of God apart from faith in Christ Jesus.
John 1:12 But as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name.
Gal. 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
And as one must believe on Christ in order to be adopted into the family of God, so also one must believe on Christ in order to be eternally saved.
Acts 16:30 and after he brought them out, he said, ''Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'' 31] They said, ''Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved...''
We are all born already under condemnation.
John 3:18 ''He who believes on Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.
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The solution you suggest would work well if every one who had ever lived had the same opportunity to hear, understand, and accept Jesus Christ's gospel. Unfortunately, that's not the case. God will condemn no one without first giving that person the wisdom to make an informed choice. Plus, His patience with us is infinitely greater than ours is with each other.
I am not suggesting anything. The Bible backs up what I said.
We have been over this before I think. Everyone knows that God exists. God's natural revelation of Himself through His creation proves His existence. But many suppress the knowledge of God as stated in Romans 1:18-20. One must first be positive concerning God's existence at the point of coming to God consciousness through God's general and natural revelation before he can respond to the specific revelation of Christ through the gospel message.
The gospel message, the promise of the coming Messiah was given at the fall of man. As the human population increased the gospel message spread. But in time man began to suppress the knowledge of God. Eventually, because of the wickedness in the world, God brought the universal flood. Afterwards, the population had to grow from Noah and his family. And again, the gospel message was given to man. But again, men began to suppress the knowledge of God. As the population was forced to spread out, knowledge of God was perverted and many false gods began to be worshipped. But wherever positive volition did exist regarding God's natural revelation of Himself, God made sure the gospel message concerning the coming Messiah was made available. God is omniscient and has always known who would be positive to His natural revelation, and therefore guided human history so that the gospel message would be available where positive volition to natural revelation existed. Where negative volition existed among groups of people God was under no obligation to make the gospel message available. Of course positive volition to natural revelation did not necessarily mean that one would respond with positive volition to the gospel of the coming Messiah.
But extremely fundamental and that is the only way some people can handle faith - by a set of fundamental dogmas that they often try to impose on the world. You can sense the fear of the faith crumbling like a house of cards if one of the fundamentals gets moved out of its place. I would call it a system of faith.
I absolutely think that what you believe matters because it influences your reactions and actions. If a person believes that anyone who doesn't believe a certain way is going to hell their reactions to those who think differently will not be a peaceful one and they're like to act out by trying to convert. Likewise if someone thinks that a certain belief system is toxic and needs to be eradicated, they'll act according to that perception.
In Mark 9: 17-29 ...One In the multitude said to Jesus ...I have brought to you my son which has a dumb spirit , and where ever he takes him he tares him and he foams and gnashes with his teeth ..I spoke to your disciples that they should caste him out and they could not ..... And Jesus said ``O faithless generation , How long will I be with you ? how long will I suffer you ? bring him to me ..``...Jesus said How long it is ago since this came to him? .... The man said `often time it would cast him into the fire , and into the water to destroy him , have compassion on us ..`...Jesus said ``If you cannot be believe, all things are possible to him that believes ``...And Jesus rebuked the foul spirit saying ``you dumb and deaf spirit I charge you , come out of him , and enter no more to him `` and the spirit cried out and rent him sore , and came out of him .........................See this boy had a haunting foul spirit which can posses people who attract these spirits with occult or calling on death to themselves or the such in the boys unbelief into these spirits and see the fear of God which understanding can prevent the tragedy , as God has a plan for people lives as unbelief stalls God and His plan
It is not God's children who will spend the eternal future separated from God in the lake of fire, which by the way is also referred to as the black darkness, but those persons who do not come to the Father through Christ whereby they would have been credited with God's own perfect righteousness which would have qualified them to live in the presence of God forever. Man's imperfect righteousness cannot fellowship with God's perfect righteousness. God provided the means by which that problem could be remedied, but those persons who fail to avail themselves of God's solution will have to spend eternity future away from any relationship with God though He does not desire that any be lost. And since being in the presence of God forever is blessing, eternal separation from God can only be the opposite.
Mike I believe you have summed it up perfectly. We are told in scripture that we may "BECOME" the sons of God. This clearly means that all are not His children.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (notice not all are Gods children)
The fact that God creates the soul of everyone who is born does not mean that man belongs to the family of God in any salvific sense. No one is adopted into the family of God apart from faith in Christ Jesus.
Undoubtedly some have wandered and have severed the family ties. God still loves them as the parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates. The man in that parable never stopped thinking of his wayward son as his son.
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I am not suggesting anything. The Bible backs up what I said.
Where does the Bible address the fate of those who died without every hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Undoubtedly some have wandered and have severed the family ties. God still loves them as the parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates. The man in that parable never stopped thinking of his wayward son as his son.
Where does the Bible address the fate of those who died without every hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Rom 10:17 KJV So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God
Hebrews 11:6 KJV But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
How many times will you refuse to believe what God revealed, for he revealed that:
1) the whole world has heard it
Psalm 19:4 KJV “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
2) the perfect and just Law provides no exceptions for those not hearing it
Romans 3:19 KJV "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God"
Isaiah 64:6 KJV "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;"
Romans 3:10-13 KJV
As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
What matters most is "how you believe"
Not "what you believe"
For I tell you the truth many will say to him on that day Lord Lord, and he will reject them for their sin
Faith with out works is dead.
If a Muslim who trusts in the God of Abraham tries to follow Christs teachings of love then he will not perish,
If any person though they are not Christian follow the teachings of love, they will be shown mercy and be forgiven.
But if a Christian who proclaims faith with their mouth and not with their deeds faces the Judge he will surely perish.
It is how one believes which hold importance not what they believe,
And living by what you proclaim is good is most important, christ spoke most strongly against hypocrites.
What matters most is "how you believe"
Not "what you believe"
For I tell you the truth many will say to him on that day Lord Lord, and he will reject them for their sin
Faith with out works is dead.
If a Muslim who trusts in the God of Abraham tries to follow Christs teachings of love then he will not perish,
If any person though they are not Christian follow the teachings of love, they will be shown mercy and be forgiven.
But if a Christian who proclaims faith with their mouth and not with their deeds faces the Judge he will surely perish.
It is how one believes which hold importance not what they believe,
And living by what you proclaim is good is most important, christ spoke most strongly against hypocrites.
I absolutely think that what you believe matters because it influences your reactions and actions. If a person believes that anyone who doesn't believe a certain way is going to hell their reactions to those who think differently will not be a peaceful one and they're like to act out by trying to convert.
Or by condemning the "hell-bound" people, being hostile towards them, or distancing themselves from them in some other way.
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Likewise if someone thinks that a certain belief system is toxic and needs to be eradicated, they'll act according to that perception.
So beliefs really matter, imo.
I agree.
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