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Kind people, permit me a moment to post a video that I wish to share with the community. You don't have to respond to it if you don't want to, however, I feel the need to post it because I have seen it stated here a few times that ex-Christians were never "true Christians" in the first place. Of course this leads to the "once saved always saved" Vs the "yes you can lose your salvation" group, but frankly I am not concerned about that.
There is this notion amongst some Christians that ex-Christians were never really saved, they never really understood the faith, were weak, secretly desired to indulge in sin, were deceived by Satan and so on. I personally feel that not all things are considered when this blanket statement is being made and I think the person in this video explains it very well. It is my hope that it helps to eliminate this flawed assumption some people make and give better understanding.
The person in this video is soft spoken, eloquent and knowledgeable and can explain it better than I ever could. Clearly he is speaking to believers and so I figured this would be the best place to put it. Thank you for your time.
Christians may start off on the right foot and later in their life "make shipwreck" as to the faith, yet nothing we do can take us away from the Father's loving embrace. Of course we can lose our salvation from harmful things in this life but never our life of the future eons promised us and which we did not earn and so cannot lose by doing something bad.
Classic case of faith in a doctrine , rather than the reality of Christ Himself, and it's only when our foundation is in Him rather than doctrine can we ever be established in Him. Our sufficiency should be in Him and not a doctrine. Sounds like he reasoned himself out of whatever his faith was in , has reason is the word he kept using. Instead of reasoning with himself , he should have reasoned with God , who gives to all men liberally Isaiah 1 : 18 and James 1 : 5 , well stone the crows why would we want to do that when we have the bible
Well I watched the whole video and am amazed that not one verse was used, it was a straight, deep, dark rabit hole of philosophy using of all people to explain Christianity an atheist/ former atheist, Anthony Flew as a reference where he created some strawmans using Koresh then saying we believe in man and we shouldn't yet he is asking us to believe him and ourselves? and I love how he referred to the bible as a "book"
He doesn't sound soundly saved at all, His faith is clear, it is reason.
Scripture is clear you don't have the power to save yourself only God and if He saves you and the Holy Spirt dwells in you, you do not have the power to unsave yourself nor rid yourself of the Holy Spirit.
(Romans 8:38-39) "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord"
Remember the same God who saved you is the same God who will keep you. Once we are saved we are always saved. Our salvation is most definitely eternally secure!
Classic case of faith in a doctrine , rather than the reality of Christ Himself, and it's only when our foundation is in Him rather than doctrine can we ever be established in Him. Our sufficiency should be in Him and not a doctrine. Sounds like he reasoned himself out of whatever his faith was in , has reason is the word he kept using. Instead of reasoning with himself , he should have reasoned with God , who gives to all men liberally Isaiah 1 : 18 and James 1 : 5 , well stone the crows why would we want to do that when we have the bible
There is nothing wrong with doctrine since the Apostle Paul was the first to give them to us. Was he not established in his foundation in Christ? Good doctrine is based off of correct contextual, interpretation of scripture. His doctrine was bad because it was based off reason and philosophy.
There is nothing wrong with doctrine since the Apostle Paul was the first to give it to us. Was he not established in his foundation in Christ? Good doctrine is based off of correct contextual, interpretation of scripture. His doctrine was bad because it was based off reason and philosophy.
Do not paint all doctrines with a broad brush.
Did i say there was ?? . I was not talking about doctrine but the reality of Christ who is not a doctrine.
Col 2 6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted(established) and built up in him
Kind people, permit me a moment to post a video that I wish to share with the community. You don't have to respond to it if you don't want to, however, I feel the need to post it because I have seen it stated here a few times that ex-Christians were never "true Christians" in the first place. Of course this leads to the "once saved always saved" Vs the "yes you can lose your salvation" group, but frankly I am not concerned about that.
There is this notion amongst some Christians that ex-Christians were never really saved, they never really understood the faith, were weak, secretly desired to indulge in sin, were deceived by Satan and so on. I personally feel that not all things are considered when this blanket statement is being made and I think the person in this video explains it very well. It is my hope that it helps to eliminate this flawed assumption some people make and give better understanding.
The person in this video is soft spoken, eloquent and knowledgeable and can explain it better than I ever could. Clearly he is speaking to believers and so I figured this would be the best place to put it. Thank you for your time.
The Bible does not in any way teach once saved always saved. One can be saved at one time, and then turn their back on God. Weren't satan and one-third of the angles in good standing with God at one time?
2 Timothy 4
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
The Bible does not in any way teach once saved always saved. One can be saved at one time, and then turn their back on God. Weren't satan and one-third of the angles in good standing with God at one time?
2 Timothy 4
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
First you must define a Christian, a Christian is not someone who walks down an aisle, says a sinners's prayer. A Christian is someone has been given faith, life and truly put their trust in Christ as his or her saviour. It is God who saves, transforms us, makes Himself irrisistable to us, we become a new creation; all things have passed away. We don't know who are Christians so how do we know they are saved unless they stay?
I struggle everyday in my salvation, I fight everyday to PUSH GOD AWAY but He will not have it, He will not let me go, my flesh fights Him everyday and there is a constant war in my soul. I want to sin so badly but I can't I won't. I want to go back to my old life but He won't let me and even if I go back it will be physically because spiritually I am a stranger now in a strangland because the conviction is still there, He is still holding on to me AAAAAARGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! thus this is the LOSS OF ASSURANCE OF SALVATION NOT SALVATION ITSELF but when I am afraid and think I am not saved because I lost my assurance the Holy Spirit makes me realize that if I wasn't saved I wouldn't have a sense of losing my assurance of salvation in the first place because of the war inside me so therefore I must be saved. I am still fighting the good fight of faith!!!!!
(1 John 2:19)
19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
The Bible does not in any way teach once saved always saved. One can be saved at one time, and then turn their back on God. Weren't satan and one-third of the angles in good standing with God at one time?
2 Timothy 4
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
This is not stating that Demas turned his back on God or the Faith......you are assuming this. Read what it says. Not what you would like it to say....because in that same verse it includes Crescens and Titus (Of the Book Titus) Read the air in verse 11, sounds like he is saying only Luke did not abandon me and he has need of Mark.
Even Peter did a runner after denying our Lord 3 times , but how wonderful it was of Jesus to say "Go tell the disciples and Peter" .Mark 16 : 7
If there are any reading this thread thinking the day i turned my back on God that was it for me , be of Good Cheer , He's got a word for you and it's got your name on it and look what He went on to do with Peter , Praise the Lord !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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and I love how he referred to the bible as a "book"
