I thought that Romans 11:17-21 is speaking about the Jews and Gentiles. many Jewish people rejected the gospel message. They were depending on their heritage for salvation as the "chosen". The Jews had been rejected thus Gentiles were being offered salvation. But when a Jew comes to Christ, there is great rejoicing such as if a dead person had come to life.
Because of faithlessness the Jews were the broken branches, and Gentiles were grafted in. Both share in the nourishment based on faith in God, and neither can claim heritage or culture for salvation.
In James 5:19, there is another thought that this is referring to a professing Christian whose faith is not genuine, in which the death would be the "second death" as in Rev. 21:8; or this is referring to a sinning Chrsitian who needs to be restored and the death would be physical (1Cor 11:30)
This then becomes a form of spiritual ping pong. You have a verse, I have a verse. You say it means this, I say it means that. Why do I hold the OSAS position? Because I know that when we are saved, we are heirs to the kingdom. We didnt earn this right, and we surely dont deserve it. It was given to us. And when this was accomplished, we were given the Holy Spirit as a downpayment. That is how Christ lives in us. Now we have Christ alive in our hearts, we are new creations, we are no longer bound by sin. Then how can we become bound up in sin again? How do we leave the family of Christ? And if we can, does this mean we have to be "saved" all over again? Doesnt this now put a contingency on our salvation? We didnt earn our salvation but it was given to us because of our sincere belief in Jesus and desire for Him. We are adopted as full heirs, sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise to eternal life. Now down the road, we didnt really mean that, we have changed our minds, we reject Christ (even though He now lives in us) and we void ourselves of Him. Christ leaves us and then we change our mind again, desiring Christ, and He saves us all over again.....or says "no way, you cant have me again." We had our chance and we cannot receive it again....Or it means that we have to keep Christ alive in us or faith will die and we will be again bound to sin. How is this different than working to earn salvation...by working to keep salvation. This just isnt possible for the believer ---I believe
I know when I became a believer, I couldnt help the change that occurred in me. I couldnt get enough of the Word, I was driven to it. I was always a "good" person, but there were dramatic changes in me,which some only I knew, for my heart changed---I looked at the world very differently and I didnt pretend to be good ---I was becoming good---it was an inner conversion. I desired to love and serve Christ. I still do. It isnt me who makes this happen, it is the Holy Spirit within me that convicts, comforts and empowers me. Those who are saved know exactly what I am talking about. I understood --it all made sense--. I would have been classified a "christian" prior to my conversion. I thought I was one. But there is just no way I believe that a truly saved person can leave Christ to allow sin to reign again. We make grow apathetic in our walks at times, or tired, or sin, but God never lets go of the hand of His children.
Anyway, that may sound sappy to some, but it is why I believe the verses I believe
Because of faithlessness the Jews were the broken branches, and Gentiles were grafted in. Both share in the nourishment based on faith in God, and neither can claim heritage or culture for salvation.
In James 5:19, there is another thought that this is referring to a professing Christian whose faith is not genuine, in which the death would be the "second death" as in Rev. 21:8; or this is referring to a sinning Chrsitian who needs to be restored and the death would be physical (1Cor 11:30)
This then becomes a form of spiritual ping pong. You have a verse, I have a verse. You say it means this, I say it means that. Why do I hold the OSAS position? Because I know that when we are saved, we are heirs to the kingdom. We didnt earn this right, and we surely dont deserve it. It was given to us. And when this was accomplished, we were given the Holy Spirit as a downpayment. That is how Christ lives in us. Now we have Christ alive in our hearts, we are new creations, we are no longer bound by sin. Then how can we become bound up in sin again? How do we leave the family of Christ? And if we can, does this mean we have to be "saved" all over again? Doesnt this now put a contingency on our salvation? We didnt earn our salvation but it was given to us because of our sincere belief in Jesus and desire for Him. We are adopted as full heirs, sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise to eternal life. Now down the road, we didnt really mean that, we have changed our minds, we reject Christ (even though He now lives in us) and we void ourselves of Him. Christ leaves us and then we change our mind again, desiring Christ, and He saves us all over again.....or says "no way, you cant have me again." We had our chance and we cannot receive it again....Or it means that we have to keep Christ alive in us or faith will die and we will be again bound to sin. How is this different than working to earn salvation...by working to keep salvation. This just isnt possible for the believer ---I believe
I know when I became a believer, I couldnt help the change that occurred in me. I couldnt get enough of the Word, I was driven to it. I was always a "good" person, but there were dramatic changes in me,which some only I knew, for my heart changed---I looked at the world very differently and I didnt pretend to be good ---I was becoming good---it was an inner conversion. I desired to love and serve Christ. I still do. It isnt me who makes this happen, it is the Holy Spirit within me that convicts, comforts and empowers me. Those who are saved know exactly what I am talking about. I understood --it all made sense--. I would have been classified a "christian" prior to my conversion. I thought I was one. But there is just no way I believe that a truly saved person can leave Christ to allow sin to reign again. We make grow apathetic in our walks at times, or tired, or sin, but God never lets go of the hand of His children.
Anyway, that may sound sappy to some, but it is why I believe the verses I believe
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