I'm afraid I don't follow what you are saying here.
Then The Lord might not be speaking to you in it, it will be safe to ignore.
I will say though, do not ignore the truth in this:
Anyone who preaches salvation and forgiveness in Jesus' name without need for effective, enduring lifetime of repentance is taking their eternal life into their own hands. Many people do this, since it is a common teaching and misinterpretation of Ephesians 2:8, that enables people who refuse to repent, to deceive themselves with a perversion of the authentic Christian gospel. Because I know first-hand that Christians do not always practice repentance when they should, and when that happens they are walking in darkness, if they then are forced to commit blasphemy by claiming they have fellowship with Him, their heart is hardened and their self-deception becomes their reality.
Jesus said "If someone causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to stumble, it will be better for a millstone to be tied around their neck and cast into the sea.", and "whoever is not working for me is actually working against me". St Paul stated his disapproval bys saying "if anyone should preach a gospel other than what we have preached, let him be accursed". That gospel is stated in many different ways, but none so clearly relevant to righting the misleading doctrines in this thread, as Hebrews 10:26-27.
Every person who has ever been saved was unfit for God's kingdom.
What makes you say this? I am not saying that it is wrong, only that salvation from sin is the act of redeeming sinners. Remember what Jesus said, as I quoted above: "whoever produces fruit is pruned to produce more, but whoever does not produce fruit is cut off. So, remain in me". - Do you have any experience with pruining? I do. I was an apple orchardist for about five years. So this analogy really speaks to me in a way maybe it is lost on less horticultural people. I noticed myself, just last week, He pruned me so hard I was almost cut off! That is truly terrifying aiki! Though, if a hard prune is done carefully to not stunt the tree, it will produce vigour.
That is the very reason they needed saving.
Jesus said "the healthy do not need a doctor" - have you considered how that fits your view of the gospel?
And when a person is born-again, they are placed in Christ and thereby justified by God.
Yes! I feel justified by God today and yesterday, bit I could not have said that honestly only a short a while ago (ashamed to admit). I am speaking here today an understanding I have, which is based on real experience, and is consistent with what those of faith have written in the bible of their own understandings. This is why I look at other people's view of the gospel which clearly do not appear based on experience, but on some teaching they have accepted, that when they die they will be ok. Well, I have that assurance right now, from The Lord Jesus Christ. But I didn't have it just a while ago even though I have been reborn. Those who cannot so boldly claim that assurance are clear to see. Though we know that it is God who gives the increase, while we are only called to sow and water.
This means they are accepted by God solely on the basis of their position in Christ, not by any work (good or bad) that they do.
There is a contradiction in this statement. The fact that they are in Christ is because they do the will of The Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21, John 10:27).
In light of this, I don't understand how believers can prove themselves unfit for God's kingdom.
Faith without works is dead. I see many believers whose faith is dead, and I expect that all those who are alive in Christ can see it too.
Christ was perfectly "fit" on their behalf and this never ceases to be the case.
Ooh, will you please provide the scripture that you base this understanding on? It sounds like Penal Substitutionary Atonement, and I am still searching for evidence of that doctrine's truth. Maybe you will have it for me! Thanks
Genesis 4:7 does not mean, I think, what you seem to believe it means.
Genesis 4:3-7
3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord.
4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering,
5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
The phrase "sin crouches at the door" is a reference, not to Sin, but to a sin-offering (Ho. 4:8; 2Cor. 5:21; Heb. 9:28). In Hebrew: לפתח חטאת רבץ - lappethach chattath robets - literally: a sin-offering lies at your door. God is saying to Cain that although his offering is unacceptable, there is another, better offering available to him. As well, the statement, "...its desire is for you, but you should rule over it," is not a reference to Sin, but to Cain's younger brother Abel. Really, the end of verse 7 should read, "And his desire is for you, but you should rule over him." This is a confirmation of Cain's primogeniture, meant to ease his anger toward his younger brother.
This will be an interesting turn, if it is a reliable claim. Can you please explain why your translation has produced different words from other translations, and do you know of a translation that does use "sin-offering" instead of "sin" and "him" instead of "it"?
Ephesians 1:4-7
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
Paul says pretty clearly here that we are "accepted in the Beloved" who is Christ. And that acceptance is the consequence of placing saving faith in Him as one's Saviour.
IF one is accepted, it is because The Lord does not have anything against them. Again, as I explain from experience, when we refuse to repent, and instead we are walking in darkness, we cannot claim to have fellowship with Him. It is this lifestyle as was explained in Hebrews 10:26-27, that if we go on deliberately sinning after we have the knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any forgiveness for sin, but only a fearful expectation of judgement. This is said, not in context of repentance being a one-off decision as some people preach, but that every time we become aware of a sinful tendency, we are to do the right thing: repent. That is, we must choose to not act sinfully, expecting Him to grieve, but rather we should put to death the desires of the flesh. If we don't, and this is what I know from experience, there is no more forgiveness, but only a fearful expectation of judgement. However, if we confess our sins (that is, to accept we are doing sin instead of trying to justify our sin), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin AND to cleanse us from unrighteousness.
Redemption from sin isn't a theory about an afterlife without Satan, it is a real work of the renewal of one's heart, the growth that produces fruit of holiness, and it is for us to have here and now.
Yes, there will be many who will say to God on Judgement Day, "Lord, Lord..." (Matt. 7:22, 23) But here's the thing: No one can master sin. Certainly, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can live such that sin becomes the the exception rather than the norm, but is that mastery? I don't think so... Only one ever mastered sin: the God-man, Jesus Christ. And his perfect righteousness is forensically imputed to us by faith in him as our Saviour and Lord. Through Jesus we are justified - made just as if we had never sinned - and God looks upon each of us through the lens of this fact. What need, then, to fear a lack of mastery of sin?
You speak as though you have no power over your own sin. That is not supported by the gospel, for there is power in His blood. Think of this next time you partake of it: His body was given, but not so that He would be gone from the earth; rather so that we would become His body in all the earth, and His blood was given for the remission of sin. Therefore, do not let sin be your master, but if you fall, claim His blood to cover your sin and stand again. Proverbs 24:16.
The struggling believer who despairs of their sin, whose moral failures tempt them to fear for their divine adoption, can boldly come to the throne of God's grace and find mercy and grace - not rejection or condemnation - to help in time of need. (Heb. 4:15, 16)
Selah.
Amen. To anyone who feels this way, say: "if you will hear His call today, do not harden your heart". I fear, if a person will harden their heart, they may not allow their self to hear Him again.
