You must PROVE you LOVE the LORD to be saved!

BCsenior said:

IMO, your verse warns: When you grieve
the Holy Spirit, you are no longer sealed.

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If that were the case, God would constantly be sealing/unsealing his children.
He doesn't; simply keeps forgiving us.

BCsenior said:

A much better explanation is this ...
Paul was writing ONLY to "the faithful" BACs
in Ephesus! ...

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It might be better from your point of view; doesn't mean it is correct though.
If Paul was writing to ONLY the faithful in Ephesus, then it's not for us.

BCsenior said:

Does that leave you out?

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Not at all; don't be rude.

BCsenior said:

The most heavy-duty stuff in Paul's epistles
was written ONLY to "the Faithful" in
Ephesians (1:1) and Colossians (1:2).

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So what about his other epistles?
2 Corinthians 1:22 - He set his seal of ownership on us and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance.
2 Corinthians 5:5 - God has given us the Spirit guaranteeing our inheritance.

Or are you saying that Scripture only applies to, and is for, Christians; those who are faithful?
Christ died for sinners, Romans 5:8. We didn't have to be good enough for God to love us; he didn't send Jesus and say "only die for those who have done a certain number of good works". Christ loved us and gave his life for us when we were sinners - so why would God now say "ah but eternal life, and the promises of a future inheritance, are conditional upon YOU"?

Sorry, but saying that salvation is conditional and depends on us is, as far as I can see, a form of pride; a desire to be able to say "I did this and did it my way" - like some eternal Frank Sinatra.
Paul said that salvation is not of works, so no one can boast, Ephesians 2:9. Salvation is all from God, his grace and love - a gift, Romans 6:23.
It wouldn't be heaven to be surrounded by smug beings who say "look what I achieved; I'm here by my efforts"

BCsenior said:

Ephesians and Colossians were written only
to "the faithful" ... obviously, for all time!

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So now there are conditions upon receiving God's word - it's only for you if you are faithful?
Paul wrote many wonderful things to the Corinthian church and called them saints, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 2 Corinthians 1:1 - yet if you read his 2 epistles, it's clear there was quarreling, jealousy, sexual immorality and disorder in the church. They caused Paul a lot of anguish.

It was to these people that Paul wrote "we have the Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance". Yet, according to you, they should have been "unsealed" for grieving the Spirit.

BCsenior said:

This has always puzzled me ...
New believers receive the Holy Spirit (John 14),
but IF they do NOT obey Him, He leaves!
OR, is it ...
New believers obey when they believe the gospel.
But, we know ...
Truly believing includes repenting, obeying, etc.

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There are degrees of having the Holy Spirit. Much of this relies on whether we resist Him or not, that is, if we yield to His will or insist upon our own desire.

If a person who had received the Holy Spirit to some degree walks in blatant sin continuing to resist the guilt He lays on them in pursuit of their own will, he can eventually leave. It takes a long time whereby the once believer usually ceases to believe anymore. Those I know who fell away did so after willingly embracing the pleasures of sin for years. Their minds became darkened as they shut their eyes to his light.

If a fire is quenched, it’s out. But this takes some persistence rebellion. Same as a marriage, it falls apart over a long time, not one difficulty.

BCsenior said:

There are several reasons for their disastrous dilema:
Reasons why many BACs are spiritually blind
And IMO, some of them are not even BACs.

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If they were told to pray a prayer asking (otherwise homeless) Jesus into their heart (doing him a favor) and then told they’re going to heaven now no matter what, they are not BACs.

Aldebaran said:

You don't know what they knew. The guy who was asking what he had to do to be saved was a Roman jailer. What makes you think he and his family (who weren't even present) knew everything that was involved in believing in Jesus?

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Because Paul was in jail for believing. He knew if he embraces that faith he might end up in jail too. Pretty obvious.

By claiming they knew these things is to add to scripture. Think about it, why wasn't the jailer told, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, follow all of His commandments, and love him enough and follow all the rules he laid out, and you'll be saved as long as you don't fail before you die"?

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Because no one who knows Jesus says that. You’re attacking a straw man.

BCsenior said:

Yes, usually new believers are NOT taught the blue!
Because they are baby believers ... and the Lord
desires that they feel positive about these things.

But, when babies get off milk, they begin to eat
solid food ... meaning the Holy Spirit now begins
to teach them deeper spiritual Truths.
"Those who are being led by the Spirit
are sons of God." (Romans 8:14)

Part of this deeper teaching is to NOT ignore/reject
all of the many NT verses which warn about
the possibility of losing salvation ... for example,
by living a life of habitual (unrepentant) sin.

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I think popular preachers don’t teach we need to really obey Jesus. They teach that he is here to meet our needs. They don’t teach we can know and understand God. They teach he knows and understands us.

Aldebaran said:

It's interesting that the authority you rely on is one of your own posts where you provided next to nothing for scriptural references to your claims.
Thanks, but I'll stick to what scripture says rather than what you say, which is backed up only by what you have said before.

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You mean you’ll stick to the promises to you that use the verbs requiring no action on your part? Verses telling you to look or see or believe or trust? Verses telling you to forgive or repent or give or obey are edited out, as far as I can see. It’s too bad for you because while I don’t doubt you’re a believer in Christ, the fullness of His grace will not be something you’ll taste.

Aldebaran said:

Not just "receive", but are "sealed in Him".

Ephesians 1:13-14
"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory."

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It needs to be pointed out that These same believers in Ephesus were warned by Jesus himself that if they didn’t repent he was going to “remove their (sealed) lampstand.” They didn’t and he did. Jesus is found worthy to break the seals.

Aldebaran said:

Then you weren't sealed for the day of redemption, even though the verse says you were.
Do you understand how a seal was used in those days? Do you know what its purpose was?

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To keep something as it was until it is necessary to break the seal by those so authorized to do so.

Aldebaran said:

When does God break that seal? Here's the answer:
"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Eph 4:30

Now, show me verses where God breaks that seal prior to that day.

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Jesus to the believers in Ephesis, the very ones Paul wrote are sealed.....

But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. 5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

This is an example of Jesus breaking a seal. (The seal mentioned in the book of Ephesians is just a metaphor, by the way.)

Aldebaran said:

Then you weren't sealed for the day of redemption, even though the verse says you were.
Do you understand how a seal was used in those days? Do you know what its purpose was?

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"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." What happens to the seal if you grieve the Holy Spirit? Nothing? He is trapped by the seal, which he actually is? If the Holy Spirit departs, the seal is broken.

Aldebaran said:

Follow all the rules?

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Mainly the big one...love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength...then love your neighbor as you love yourself. On these two hand all the "rules."

Do you distain these as "rules" too?