Not at all. I don't deny God is wrathful, jealous, pleased, sorrowful, etc. I do reject, though, the notion that when He is wrathful, jealous, and so on that He is so in more or less exactly the way we are. This is to make God human, to severely diminish Him, and in so doing make Him not God.
While it is true that GOD has the capacity to express and feel emotions on a more intense and higher level, that does not mean we cannot have the same feelings that GOD has if we allow Him to move within our life. We can share in GOD's feelings to an extent or in a certain capacity. But we can feel the emotion of love like GOD can feel the emotion of love. In other words, it is not incorrect to say that we can have the love of God within us. For Scripture says,
"And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).
GOD is not diminished if we share in the same emotion that He has. In fact, a believer has the fruits of the Spirit. So a believer manifests GOD living in them. So I believe we can share in God's emotions if we allow Him into our life. But can we love all people in existence right now perfectly knowing who each of them are? No. But we can love those people who do come into our life (Including our enemies). For with GOD, nothing is impossible.
You said:
We never manifest this fruit fully in the degree or way that God does. His Spirit conforms us over time to His character, but we never arrive at a completely perfect manifestation of the Spirit's fruit. You cannot argue, then, that the fruit of the Spirit that we might display in our lives indicates that God feels and thinks as we do any more than you could argue that a chimpanzee who is trained to behave in certain human ways (waves goodbye, shakes hands, smokes a cigarette, etc) proves that humans are just like the chimpanzee. Quite clearly the two are very different despite some superficial similarities.
Jesus says be ye perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Paul says cleanse yourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of GOD (2 Corinthians 7:1). So there is a perfection that GOD calls us to fulfill in this life. Will it be exactly the same perfection that GOD has? No. GOD is uniquely holy and righteous on a higher level than us. But that does not mean we cannot manifest a portion of GOD's love or other emotions within our life. So when Paul talks about having the fruits of the Spirit that is not a lie. We do have actual fruits of the Spirit. These are not our fruits. Are you saying the fruits of the Spirit in a believer's life are not the fruits of the Spirit but they are the believer's fruits? Jesus says we will know a tree by it's fruit. He said a good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit (Matthew 7:18). The key to understanding this is that it is GOD or Christ who does the good fruit or work through a believer's life and it is not exclusively our own.
You said:
I make a distinction between joy and happiness. The latter is fundamentally circumstance-related. One is happy only so long as one's circumstances prompt happiness. But if those circumstances change, so does one's happiness. Joy, I believe, is rather different in this regard. The believer's joy is not dependent upon their circumstances, but upon their relationship with God. And since neither God nor the believer's relationship to Him ever changes, their joy ought to be constant whether circumstances warrant it or not. Joy, then, is more stable, more anchored in God, than the fleeting feelings of happiness that we may feel. It is more an experience of deep contentment, of abiding fulfillment and peace, than the momentary positive thoughts and feelings that we refer to as "happiness."
You are saying the word “happy” is something that is purely circumstantial; But Proverbs 16:20 talks about being happy if we trust in the Lord, and 1 Peter 4:14 talks about us believers being happy if we are reproached for Christ’s sake.
"He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he." (Proverbs 16:20).
"If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." (1 Peter 4:14).
You said:
In any case, as I said, I don't deny that God feels joy, sorrow, anger and what have you, only that when He does, it is more like our own feeling than not. I think God is far more alien, far more unlike us, than He is like us.
GOD describes His love as being a selfless love. Some of God's people have manifested this love. Granted, they have not manifested this love to the farthest extent that God is capable of because no man so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, but I would not say that the emotion of "love" is foreign to God's people. Also, a believer can only be like GOD in behavior (not fully but to an extent) if they are born again and transformed by the Holy Spirit. They can only be like GOD in behavior (not fully but to an extent) if they submit to His righteous and good ways within His Word by His power and not our own. So to say that God is alien and unlike the faithful believer is not really true. A faithful believer would be in submission to GOD and shining the light of the LORD unto others (Who lives inside of them).
As for circumstantial happiness: Well, I believe circumstances can be God directed to lead you to do those things that are within the faith. Obviously admiring the creation GOD gave us is good, but it should not be our focus of our lives. Living the faith (i.e. preaching the gospel, helping the poor, loving the brethren, praying and doing good towards one's enemies, live holy and separate from the world, etc.) is what GOD calls us to do as a part of partaking in God's will (Which brings true happiness). For when we are in God's will, we are happy. The Bible clearly tells us what we are to do in this life so as to align with His will. Granted, there are different roles to an extent, but I believe every believer should do the basics of the faith (like preach the gospel, help the poor, love one's enemies, live holy, be separate from the world, etc.).
You said:
This seems very evident to me in how the Bible describes God as being without beginning or end, existing necessarily not contingently, everywhere present, knowing all things, and so on. The more I think on these aspects of God, the more I realize just how enormously different from us He is. And this includes how He feels and what He thinks.
Yes, GOD's emotions operate on a higher level than man is even capable of, but that does not mean we cannot to some capacity share in His emotions.
That does not mean that we cannot love like God can. For Jesus was the God man and He showed us how to love perfectly.
You said:
I don't see emotions as a sign of weakness.
That is good to hear.
You said:
But what emotions we have are quite unlike those possessed of God.
No they are not. We can share in the emotions GOD has. Again, it is not on the same level or intensity, but we can share to some extent or level in God's emotions here in this life. We can walk perfectly with GOD and allow the Lord to shine through our life. We can have confidence in the words of Paul when he said,
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21).
In other words, how can one say they are living the life of Christ if they are living imperfect or not being a conduit for the Lord entirely?
I say this because you said before that a believer will not stop sinning this side of eternity.
But is this really the correct view to have?
Does an alcoholic join a drug program with the same attitude?
Does he join with the intention that he will not give up his sin of alcoholism?
You said:
Um, you're jumping to mistaken conclusions here. I have not ever suggested that God has no emotions, only that He does not feel in the manner that we do.
Well, I did not get the above explanation or words clarifying this point before. By what you said before, it sounded like you were saying that God has no emotions. But now that you have cleared this point up for me, we can move on again beyond this topic (I hope).
You said:
I don't see in the definition of agape love given by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, that love is a feeling. Instead, it looks to me like love is an action, it is something we do, not feel, the product of an exercise of one's mind and will, not emotions.
I don't think you get it, my friend.
One's proper emotions with God (emotional love towards God) leads to one properly loving in action.
For we read in Scripture of the woman (Mary) who would not stop kissing Jesus's feet who was forgiven much. No doubt she asked the Lord's forgiveness and was forgiven of her many sins. Her tears (Which is a product of emotion of love and gratitude) had led her to kiss Christ's feet continually (i.e. love in action).
45 "Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little" (Luke 7:45-47).
You said:
Isaiah 55:7-9
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah is calling the unrighteous to forsake their thinking and ways and instead follow after God's far higher thoughts and ways. There is a contrast made here between the thoughts and ways of the former and the latter; the main thought is the difference between the two. But, again, I have never held the notion that God is without emotion, only that what He feels is very, very different from what we tend to think He feels when we read of God being wrathful, jealous, sad, etc in the Bible. We tend to think of everything through the lens of our own humanness but when we do that with God, we immediately go wrong.
No. Again, read verse 7. It says, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts." The context is sin or unrighteousness in Isaiah. Nowhere does the context in Isaiah support your idea that God’s ways are totally foreign to us whereby we cannot share in God’s emotions or feelings. Again, one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy or happiness. This means we can share in God’s emotions to some capacity.
You said:
You might want to look up the principle of the indiscernability of identicals. While Jesus is God in nature and essence, he is not identical to God, which is what you seem to be suggesting in your reference above; for then he would be merely a manifestation of God the Father, rather than the second Person of the Trinity as Scripture says. But this manifestation view is an old heresy refuted millenia ago (see modalism or Sabellianism).
Well, I am actually strongly against Modalism and have argued against it several times in the past.
I believe in the Trinity.
For the Bible teaches that there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) (1 Timothy 2:5) (Isaiah 45:5).
Yet, the Bible also teaches that there are distinctions within the Godhead or that there is a plural nature to God (i.e. there are distinct persons within the Trinity).
Here are a couple of quick points:
#1. The word Elohim (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) is both a singular and a plural noun.
#2. God refers to Himself in plural form (Genesis 1:26) (Genesis 3:22) (Genesis 11:7) (Isaiah 6:8).
#3. Plurality of God in New Testament (Matthew 28:19) (2 Corinthians 13:14) (John 14:16-20).
#4. Introductions to both the Son & Holy Spirit (Daniel 7:9,10,13,14) (John 14:16)
#5. Different persons of Godhead appear at one time (Luke 3:21-22)
#6. Distinctions of Wills (Luke 22:42).
#7. Conversations Between the Godhead (Psalm 2:1-12) (Psalm 45:6-7) (Psalm 110:1) (Matthew 11:27) (John 17:24).
The Trinity is told to us clearly and directly in one verse.
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7).
Romans 1:20 says,
"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"
However, Scripture also teaches that each person of the Trinity can dwell within one another, as well. This is what Jesus means when He says, "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." (John 14:10).
Yes, I believe that either before the creation of the world or in the Incarnation: Christ suppressed His power of Omniscience (i.e. to have all knowledge as a part of being GOD) to be a like type or figure of Adam, but Jesus has always had power as God. Jesus did this in order to be our substitute on the cross for sin.
On the other hand, what many will not admit is that:
Jesus had power as God:
(During His Earthly Ministry):
#1. Jesus said He has power to raise the dead to life just as the Father had power to raise the dead (John 5:21).
#2. Hebrews 1:3 talks about how Christ held all things together by the word of His power when He purged us of our sins.
#3. Jesus said, He would raise up this Temple (His body) three days later (John 2:19).
#4. Jesus had the power to forgive sins and give eternal life (Mark 2:7) (Luke 7:44-50) (John 14:6).
#5 Jesus had power to take away the sins of the entire world (John 1:29).
#6. Jesus Christ said wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them (Matthew 18:20). This was said to the people he was around and not to just us today.
#7. Jesus received worship as God (Matthew 28:9). In none of the times the Bible describes Jesus being worshiped did He ever tell them to stop, unlike with the time when Peter refused worship and the angel refused John bowing down to him (See Acts of the Apostles 10:25-26; Revelation 19:9-10).
You said:
But I am not going beyond what Scripture gives me good cause to assert about God. My analogy about the two-dimensional person trying to talk of and comprehend a four-dimensional person is a good illustration of the problems we face in trying to talk of and comprehend our Creator-God who exists in a manner wholly alien to us.
While GOD is bigger and more amazing than we can comprehend, I don't believe GOD is foreign as you say. For it is written,
"and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and
he was called the friend of God." (James 2:23).
Friends are not foreign to each other.
We can be God's friends by obeying Him.
For Jesus says,
"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." (John 15:14).
You said:
Do you deny that God is profoundly different from us? Really, if anything, my analogy didn't go near far enough in showing just how different from us our God truly is. But this is always the problem with talking about God: Nothing we can use as an explanatory analogy will ever do proper justice to the truth about Him. But it doesn't hurt to try.
While GOD is different from us in many ways (For example: He is the Creator who is all powerful, all knowing, everywhere present, worthy of worship, and who cannot be looked upon without dying, etc.), we are also made in the image of GOD. God is spirit. Yet, we also have a spirit. God has a human like form just as we do. Moses seen God's back parts. This means God has a back. We humans also have a back. Also, God has emotions. We have emotions. These emotions are the same. Love, anger, sorrow, etc. God is three in one (i.e. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). We are three in one (i.e. soul, spirit, and body).
You said:
And Philippians 2:13, too, then, which emphasizes and echoes what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6. Not the immediate context, it's not. And as I just pointed out, Philippians 2:12 has its own qualifying and clarifying immediate context which seems to me to muck up the works-salvation you're trying to establish from verse 12. You seem to be mistaking this patchwork assembly of doctrine, called proof-texting, with proper biblical hermeneutics. They aren't the same and neither are their results.
You are basically just shaking your head in disagreement with your words and you are not actually showing me with Scripture WHY I am wrong to point out verse 12 to you that says,
"...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12).
First, why all the trembling if it is not talking about fear? Second, there are many passages that talk about how we are to fear GOD in the rest of the Bible. "The fear of the LORD
is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate." (Proverbs 8:13). "Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. What man
is he that desireth life,
and loveth
many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it." (Psalms 34:11-14). "The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding." (Job 28:28).
You said:
What Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 10:12 he explains in the verses immediately surrounding the verse. You don't have to go to distant chapters or other books entirely to understand exactly what he meant. Now, you can double-check that you've understood him correctly by assessing what you believe he has said in the light of the rest of Scripture, but it is a recipe for doctrinal disaster to think that the best understanding of what Paul has said in one passage can be found in things he wrote in completely separate letters concerning totally different matters.
No. Again, you are ignoring the immediate context.
The context of 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, "But
I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection:
lest that by any means, when I have preached to others,
I myself should be a castaway." (1 Corinthians 9:27).
"But
with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness." (1 Corinthians 10:5).
To get a clearer picture of what 1 Corinthians 10:5 is saying, let's look at Hebrews 3; For it says,
8 "
Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in
their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I sware in my wrath,
They shall not enter into my rest.)
12
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day;
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;" (Hebrews 3:8-14).
You said:
It does not follow that because a particular goal is set for us by God in Scripture that we must and will achieve it, or that He expects we will. What Scripture teaches us is that in our spiritual position in Christ, we are already fully sanctified and justified (Romans 3:24; Romans 5:1; Romans 5:9; Romans 8:30; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10:10; Jude 1:1, etc.), we are, in a forensic sense, declared perfect by God, because of our union with Christ by the new birth we have through the regenerating and indwelling Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9-11). It is because this is so - and only because this is so - that we are reconciled to God and accepted by Him.
There is no such thing as being forever sanctified (saved) and having position in Christ no matter what we do. Let's take a look at just the first two verses to see if you are looking at these verses correctly.
Okay you mentioned Romans 3:24 to prove that we are positionally forever saved in Christ.
Well, first, nowhere does this verse (nor anywhere in Romans 3) say we are positionally in Christ and forever saved. Second, Romans 3:24 is talking about "Initial Salvation" because Romans 3:1 says this,
"What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit
is there of circumcision?" (Romans 3:1).
Circumcision is what the Old Testament required as a part of the Old Law to be initially accepted as a part of God's nation of Israel. If one refused circumcision, they could not be a part of God's people. Granted, there were other exceptions to be initially saved for a Gentile like with the Ninevites repenting without any mention of circumcision. But if a Gentile was to be saved by a Jew directly, they had to be circumcised according to the Law to be saved generally. Paul is saying that this is no longer the way. The Old Law is no more. For the law has changed (See Hebrews 7:12). The key back then as it is today is.... faith. We have to believe and take action in what GOD says (i.e. His Word).
As for Romans 5:1:
Here we go again. Romans 5:1 is also talking about "Initial Salvation", as well. Verse 2 (the immediate context makes this point clear).
Romans 5:1-2
1 "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace..."
How do we have access by faith into this grace?
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:" (1 John 2:1).
For...
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).
You said:
Well, of course, I disagree. I also think you have not shown what you assert here at all. Why in the world would John talk of walking in the light and then follow that right up with "and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin"?
No. You are not reading it right. Read it again. 1 John 1:7 clearly says, "But
if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and
the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
Part 1. IF we walk in the light. (Condition).
Part 2. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. (The Result).
So one has to walk in the light in order to have the blood of Jesus Christ cleanse us from all sin. This is how one would read this sentence normally.
For example: If I said, if you take out the trash, then your house will not smell and it will be less prone to have bugs and insects in it.
Part 1. If you take out your trash (Condition).
Part 2. House will not smell and it will be less prone to have bugs and insects. (The Result).
You said:
John does not say in 1 John 1:7 that walking in the light is the means to being cleansed by the shed blood of Christ, as you assert. This is what John means and says quite clearly. "And" does not mean "in order to."
Yes, it does. We see this truth expressed elsewhere in Scripture. Even in the immediate context.
For 1 John 2:3-4 says,
3 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
Is one keeping His commandments if they admit that they will just break them again at some unknown future date? Is an alcoholic free from his sin of alcoholism if he admits that he will never stop drinking?
Jesus says if you will enter into life, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17).
You said:
Yes, full, saving faith, always manifests in a corresponding action. But faith must always precede its corresponding action and so, for a span of time, may even exist without it. It is evident, then, that while faith and works are inextricably related, they are not identical. And Scripture is absolutely clear that works do not have the salvific effect of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6), but merely offer tangible evidence of it. An apple tree is not an apple tree by the fruit it bears; it can only bear such fruit if it is first an apple tree. Very young or very undernourished apple trees may not bear fruit at all but they are still apples trees.
Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5-6 are talking about "Initial Salvation."
Ephesians 2:1 says,
"And
you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;"
Jesus quickened us believers when we first initially repented of our sins towards Him as a part of coming to the faith for the first time.
Titus 3:5 says,
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."
The washing of regeneration and RENEWING of the Holy Ghost he saved us (past tense) and not saving us is in reference to a one time event of when we first accepted Christ. We are washed and renewed in the in the Holy Ghost after accepting Christ. This is talking about "Initial Salvation" here.
You said:
Yes, but as I pointed out, Paul does indicate that those whose "god is their belly" were once believers. Insofar as he does not make such a clarification, it appears that he is talking only of the lost and their ultimate, eternal punishment.
Philippians 3:19 that talks about how GOD is their belly is proof that one is not positionally forever saved in Christ. For we know that a person can change their mind in being faithful. A believer can sin and get caught up in sinful things (making God their belly). We see in the Parable of the Prodigal Son that a son can walk away from the father. It is up to us to return back home or not by getting fed up with our sin. The father did not pull the son out of his lifestyle of sin and force him back home.
You said:
Not at all. It is your tendency to see things in terms of false dichotomies that is at work here. I don't think that sin is a "part of the faith." It is acting contrary to the faith, in fact. This is obvious. But our doing bad things no more precludes doing good things than rainy weather precludes sunny weather. The weather changes, being good at one point and bad at another. But I don't think, therefore, that rainy weather is sunny weather or vice versa, just as I don't think that sinful behaviour is righteous behaviour. So, no I don't think of the Christian faith as a "mixture of good works and bad works." Bad works are enacted contrary to the faith. But this doesn't mean that the born-again believer ceases to be of the faith when he does bad things any more than the weather ceases to be the weather when it turns rainy and cold.
The Bible teaches that serious sin is separation from GOD,
[God said to Adam,]
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17).
[Eve said to the serpent,]
"But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (Genesis 3:3).
And the serpent said unto the woman,
"Ye shall not surely die." (Genesis 3:4).
"...she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked..." (Genesis 3:6-7).
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Romans 5:12).
"For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23).
"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2).
“...whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
(Matthew 5:22).
28 “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” (Matthew 5:28-30).
“But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:15).
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
Important Note: If you were to look at 1 Thessalonians 4:3 you would learn that the will of God (i.e. the Father) is to be holy or it is our sanctification; And Hebrews 12:14 says, without holiness no man shall see the Lord.
“22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:22-23 ESV).
“26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
(Matthew 7:26-27).
“15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:15-20).
"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." (Hebrews 10:26).
"he that commits sin is of the devil." (1 John 3:8).
"everyone who does evil hates the light." (John 3:20).
"Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee." (Acts 8:22).
6 "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:6-7).
"He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1 John 2:4).
"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." (1 John 3:15).
"He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now." (1 John 2:9).
"In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." (1 John 3:10).
41 "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,
42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matthew 13:41-43 ESV).
"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." (Titus 1:16).
3 "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
4 He is proud, knowing nothing,..." (1 Timothy 6:3-4).
"...God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."
(James 4:6).
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." (Romans 11:21-22).
16 "There is a sin unto death..."
17 "...and there is a sin not unto death." (1 John 5:16-17).
"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8).
19 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21).
5 "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them." (Colossians 3:5-7).
You said:
As I just explained, sin is enacted contrary to the faith, but this doesn't mean when a believer sins that their adoption into God's family is immediately void. That's like saying that because you got annoyed with your biological parent or broke one of their rules that you are therefore disowned and your biological connection to your parents is dissolved. That's just silly. And it's equally as silly to think this is the case with our relationship to our Heavenly Father, too. See the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
I am glad you brought up the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It is actually proof against what you believe. For when the prodigal son returned home, his father said two times that his son was "dead" and is "alive again." These words within this parable are speaking in spiritual terms (of course). The son was dead spiritually when he was in riotous sinful living and when he returned back home to his father (willing to repent), he was made spiritually alive again.
