Faith, the final frontier. . . (man I am such a dork!)
Now, I have been having an email discussion with a fellow believer, who used to be a staunch "once saved, always saved" believer, but has relaxed his stance over the years. I haven't had a chance to respond to his most recent response in our discussion, but I have been meaning to tell him I think we actually agree with each other on the fundamental fact that Grace cannot be earned. That is what makes it Grace. Once we are in Christ we receive Grace, which is a gift that is not deserved. I think that this is an indisputable fact. Humans do not deserve to be in the presence of God. But God loves us and has made it possible for us to be with Him one day. He has given us a precious gift. We also agree that a person can loose faith, and then loose their place with God. What we might disagree on is how one goes about losing faith.
I believe that we should recognize our sins and ask God to forgive us of them. I believe that we have to have faith that God will forgive us of them. I think people give up on repenting, because they listen to that evil inner voice that tells them, "You will never be good enough, you might as well give up, and you know you will do this again tomorrow." When that happens, you are losing faith that God will forgive you. You lose faith that Christ's blood is all that is needed to purify you. As my friend pointed out, the only thing God requires of a Christian is to have faith. Why should we have a place in heaven if we aren't going to have faith to believe in God? Now my friend and I probably disagree on how faith is demonstrated. I do not believe in faith only, per se. I believe we demonstrate our faith in God by obeying God's word. I feel like if we could go to heaven on faith only or once saved always saved then the New Testament would have a lot less books and pages in it. What would be the point of the epistles? Even if we remove the epistles that people say aren't as "important" as others, there are still several epistles describing to us how a Christian should live. I think we demonstrate our faith by obeying these guidelines that God had the apostles write for us. I also think these guidelines are timeless. Therefore they are just a useful and pertinent now than they were 2000 years ago.
From an atheist’s point of view, the Bible is a bunch of rules that goes against our natural urges. Why fight it? Well, little do atheists know (and don't forget I was once such a one), if you try to live by God's rules, your life is so much better. If you look out for others first instead of looking out for yourself, you will be sooo much happier. It is when we are looking out for ourselves that we end up getting ourselves hurt.
Well, it isn't very late, but I am very tired (I've been working a lot lately, and work has been pretty crazy the last few months--it wears on a girl). So I am not sure if this blog even makes sense, but I started writing it at the end of the other one, when I realized they weren't really the same topic. I think the take home message of this post is that, you have to have faith to go to heaven. By obeying God's word you are demonstrating your faith. When you lose faith, you are lost.
Remember, God loves each and everyone of you, but he hates your sin. He wants all of us to be with Him, but it does require a little effort on your part. Feel free to post a comment I was considering putting my email out there, but with all of my *controversial* topics, I think I'll just let people leave comments. Please note: I will post your comment even if you disagree with me. I will not post your comment if it is hateful or obscene.
God bless you all and I pray that if you are searching you find Him :)
I believe that we should recognize our sins and ask God to forgive us of them. I believe that we have to have faith that God will forgive us of them. I think people give up on repenting, because they listen to that evil inner voice that tells them, "You will never be good enough, you might as well give up, and you know you will do this again tomorrow." When that happens, you are losing faith that God will forgive you. You lose faith that Christ's blood is all that is needed to purify you. As my friend pointed out, the only thing God requires of a Christian is to have faith. Why should we have a place in heaven if we aren't going to have faith to believe in God? Now my friend and I probably disagree on how faith is demonstrated. I do not believe in faith only, per se. I believe we demonstrate our faith in God by obeying God's word. I feel like if we could go to heaven on faith only or once saved always saved then the New Testament would have a lot less books and pages in it. What would be the point of the epistles? Even if we remove the epistles that people say aren't as "important" as others, there are still several epistles describing to us how a Christian should live. I think we demonstrate our faith by obeying these guidelines that God had the apostles write for us. I also think these guidelines are timeless. Therefore they are just a useful and pertinent now than they were 2000 years ago.
From an atheist’s point of view, the Bible is a bunch of rules that goes against our natural urges. Why fight it? Well, little do atheists know (and don't forget I was once such a one), if you try to live by God's rules, your life is so much better. If you look out for others first instead of looking out for yourself, you will be sooo much happier. It is when we are looking out for ourselves that we end up getting ourselves hurt.
Well, it isn't very late, but I am very tired (I've been working a lot lately, and work has been pretty crazy the last few months--it wears on a girl). So I am not sure if this blog even makes sense, but I started writing it at the end of the other one, when I realized they weren't really the same topic. I think the take home message of this post is that, you have to have faith to go to heaven. By obeying God's word you are demonstrating your faith. When you lose faith, you are lost.
Remember, God loves each and everyone of you, but he hates your sin. He wants all of us to be with Him, but it does require a little effort on your part. Feel free to post a comment I was considering putting my email out there, but with all of my *controversial* topics, I think I'll just let people leave comments. Please note: I will post your comment even if you disagree with me. I will not post your comment if it is hateful or obscene.
God bless you all and I pray that if you are searching you find Him :)
Posted by: Nichole | 8:58 PM
2 Comments:
I believe that if a person truly has excepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit resides inside them then the desire to live in God's word will begin to feel natural. There are many people out there that can say they believe Christ is the Savior, but simple believing he is and accepting that he is your Savior is 2 different things. When you honestly repent of your sins and accept Jesus as Lord of your life the Holy Spirit will fill your heart and soul and you will know without a doubt that God's grace has saved you.
Excellent posts, Nichole. The doctrine of "once saved always saved" has always troubled me. I know a number of very spiritual, very dedicated and very smart people who believe it. Yet Scripture is so very clear that even those who have dedicated their lives to Christ can sin and be separated from Him. The Apostle Paul points out in I Cor. 9:27 that he could be "disqualified" - and I don't think anyone living today could honestly claim a stronger faith or dedication than Paul's. Yes, a deep dedication to Christ and to God's will should help us stay obedient. But no one - not the Apostle Peter, who denied Christ, not the Apostle Paul, who feared being "disqualified" - can lay claim to assured eternal salvation until they have released their last breath. We can be *confident* of our salvation by living in God's will and seeking forgiveness for new sins. But we are never *assured* of it while we live. Thanks, Nichole, for drawing out some deep thoughts on this busy day!
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