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Post by haroldb on May 25, 2022 16:56:00 GMT -5
We must bring all warnings not just pick and choose
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures
Here is the warning,
Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Also if anyone brings another Jesus
2 Corinthians 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
Now feast on those warnings and put those hands up and praise the Lord
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Post by watchful on May 26, 2022 12:04:53 GMT -5
Hmm, is it just me or is somebody angry...? I don't know where you're coming from on this but I can say that yes we need all the warnings, because without them the church becomes complacent and falls asleep and begins to "esteem God lightly" and backslide. Which has been happening a lot in the west in recent decades. We are saved by faith, that is true, but then we are admonished to run the race SO AS TO WIN IT....not to rest on our laurels. And we are further admonished that no man is crowned except he run lawfully. We are to grow spiritually from a sort of idyllic joyful childhood state into maturity where we face the realities of life, and that can be a painful process and maybe difficult to accept for some.
I sure do get a sense from the scriptures that salvation is not something we are to take for granted. The Lord is looking for wholeheartedness and sincerity, and to take Him seriously with sobermindedness. I believe somehow the whole of scripture needs to be preached without necessarily pitting one side against the other with this, not always easy because our minds naturally tend to compartmentalize. There are two different ditches on both sides of the road that one can fall into. Sometimes we need the encouragements and reassurances, other times we need the warnings and admonishments, and it is all for our good. If we keep being reassured at times when we need the warnings we can become complacent and careless in our walk. If we are continually being warned and harangued at times when we need encouraging and to be reassured we will become discouraged or fall from grace. May the Lord just help us get this right....we need the whole of His word because the Lord in His wisdom knows we need it all. I would say maybe to just preach and teach it all and the sheep can browse and munch on what we need when we need it. None of it should be neglected.
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Post by watchful on May 27, 2022 9:00:53 GMT -5
haroldb The thing about the gospel and being saved is that it brings us into relationship with and a living awareness of God. Yes, He encourages, comforts and reassures us, but also there is that He is to be feared and revered. Someone who is not saved wouldn't know God in order to fear Him or receive of His comfort. In His word there is mention of taking Him lightly and of engaging in light whoredoms....this is speaking to HIS backslidden people, not the lost. We need to follow Him wholeheartedly and with sincerity....being sober and alert, not taking Him lightly. He saves us from our sins, so what happens if someone gets saved from their sins but then willfully and carelessly reverts back to their sins...is that being saved from sins? Wouldn't that person need to repent of their sins in order to be restored to relationship with the Lord? We are told to flee temptation and fight the good fight, not assume the Lord will just overlook everything we do...scripture says He is not mocked. I'm not sure we can realistically expect to be sinlessly perfect in this life, we offend in many ways all, but that should be our aim anyway....endeavouring to be progressively sanctified and getting hold of that for which Christ got hold of us....being conformed to the image and likeness of Christ. It is hard to express without sounding like "works-based salvation". It isn't though...that is either a misunderstanding of what is being conveyed, or a reaction of the flesh which doesn't like being told to stop sinning. It's about our heart attitude and how we endeavour to walk after we are saved. This is what the bible teaches us AFTER we are saved....it's not speaking to the unsaved. The bible doesn't teach an "easy believism"...that is why unfortunately the church in the west is mired in sins and being lulled to sleep......provoking the Lord to send judgments and chastisements now in an effort to wake us up and know the fear of the Lord. Our heavenly Father and Saviour is a great King...He is WORTHY of our fear....it is right and just to fear Him.
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