About God's chosen...

Shinsoo said:

Oh wow, Jeff.

I do not know what happened to you to make you believe such a thing, that the world is ugly perverse and wicked--with no ounce of goodness at all, but I seriously feel bad for you.

I have no doubt you truly believe all that you said--and I feel sad you have that attitude towards the world. What you must have gone through to feel that way must have been horrible. I will keep you in my thoughts. <3

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I read the Bible through and through, was broken with Godly sorrow for all my sins and iniquities, and asked and prayed and continued always to seek HIS KINGDOM, and prayed always for HIS WISDOM (James), which HE GRANTS to those willing to obey Him according to His Purpose. Everything I posted is found many times IN SCRIPTURE. The false gospels are much much much more common everywhere - and cannot save anyone.

Just two of over two hundred examples >> of what God says about mankind>>

Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man ...

https://biblehub.com › genesis
Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time. ... seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that all the thought of ...

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Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and ...

https://biblehub.com › jeremiah
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. ... For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ...

Shinsoo said:

Why would God send his only cherished son to go through all that trouble to set things up for a bunch of supposedly worthless sinners?

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In sin, we have not been worthy. But God knew what He is able to do with us, so we are worth the investment, maybe we could say.

Psalm 12:8
KJ21
The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.
ASV
The wicked walk on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
AMP
The wicked strut about [in pompous self-importance] on every side, As vileness is exalted and baseness is prized among the sons of men.
AMPC
The wicked walk or prowl about on every side, as vileness is exalted [and baseness is rated high] among the sons of men.


Yahuweh (God) IS BEAUTIFUL!

But among men, beauty is vain.... and truth is rare.

Shinsoo said:

But when I read the Old Testament, I feel a little sad. I have yet to see anything in the Old Testament that suggests we're all worthy of Christ's love, of God's love, even if we're not related through Abraham's bloodline--which were God's chosen ones.

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Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

com7fy8 said:

In sin, we have not been worthy. But God knew what He is able to do with us, so we are worth the investment, maybe we could say.

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?
Or even better: We are PURCHASED by HIM, by HIS BLOOD... we are HIS.... when we are redeemed....

Since usually people reject Him, I don't know about the analogy of "worht the investment" ....

we can never repay Him, ever..... even after ten thousand times ten thousand years in heaven !

yeshuaslavejeff said:

Since usually people reject Him, I don't know about the analogy of "worht the investment" ....

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Even if people refuse Jesus, God still uses them for His good purpose, which is connected with Jesus on Calvary dying for us.

Also > even if ones do not get saved, still I believe Jesus blesses them, somehow, in connection with Calvary. One scripture I go by for this is >

"For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe." (1 Timothy 4:10)

@Shinsoo > for me, Shinsoo, this scripture shows not that humans in sin are worthy, but that God is worthy and does good to any and all people, but this is to the benefit "especially of those who believe."

com7fy8 said:

Even if people refuse Jesus, God still uses them for His good purpose

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Well, as He Says, He makes everything work together for good TO THOSE WHO LOVE HIM , who are called according to His Purpose...
and
those who reject Jesus, reject His Word, reject Him, remain dead in sin and trespasses,
and
are thrown in the lake of fire with the devil and the angels who rebelled with the devil.

Shinsoo said:

Also, I guess when I first posted...I didn't meant to sound like I was stuck up and expectant when I said we were worthy--it's just what I interpret it as. If we were truly not worthy in the eyes of God, he would have not sent Christ down to absolve our sins. Why would God send his only cherished son to go through all that trouble to set things up for a bunch of supposedly worthless sinners?

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God sent His Son to save the sick, wicked/ungodly sinners, not the righteous .. Mark 2:17; Romans 4:5, so that we, who were all His "enemies", could be saved from our sins and be reconciled to Him (on this side of the grave), as well be saved from the wrath of God in the eternity to come .. Romans 5:8-10.

No one among us ~deserves~ to be saved .. e.g. Romans 3:10-12, 23, Ephesians 2:1-3, but He sent His Son here to save us because He had chosen to love us anyway, so that all would not be lost, and to save a remnant (cf Romans 9:27) from among us to be His Son's promised bride.

As someone once said, we are saved from God, by God, for God.

--David

Hello again @Shinsoo, one of the reasons that we know that we do not ~deserve~ to be saved is because of the way that God saves us, specifically by His mercy and His grace.


--David

I think there's a paradox that is easy to misunderstand. We are made in God's image, so in that sense we all have some of his beauty, but at the same time we are all unworthy because of our inborn sin. No one is trash, but we are all badly broken. Jesus himself said he came to bind up the brokenhearted, and set the captives free. That is what we all are left to ourselves, broken prisoners. Christ came to bring salvation, and wholeness, and bring God's image in us to the forefront.

Shinsoo said:

I am curious about something. I have been reading the Bible lately after a really really rough experienced meddling with things I shouldn't, and honestly I've felt a lot better since then.

But when I read the Old Testament, I feel a little sad. I have yet to see anything in the Old Testament that suggests we're all worthy of Christ's love, of God's love, even if we're not related through Abraham's bloodline--which were God's chosen ones.

I know we are worthy of love, as Christianity now spawns all over the globe. And I feel safe and protected when I DO read the Bible. So I know it's the Truth.

I just would like to know...where is the turning point where pretty much God says "Ok, it's not just Abraham's line that is worthy of My Love, but everyone is." Or was that the whole point of the New Testament?

Thank you for reading.

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I went through that same season. I thought God loved me after Christ, never crossed my mind He has always loved me. Then God showed me a few things. I hope this helps you as much as it helped me.

1. God's love story, His love for us started before we were born. The Bible says: God chose Him (Jesus) as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake. (1 Peter‬ ‭1:20‬, NLT‬‬). Why God needed a lamb to be slain before the foundation of the world? He knew what was going to happen and He didn't want us to die without Him. Paul says in 1 corinthians 2:7, Now we declare God's wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. God's secret was hidden but was now demonstrated. He loves us all.

2. God loves His creation and we were meant to be holy and blameless from the beginning. That was our destiny. Jesus came to restore God's nature in us. Ephesians 1:4 says, For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight...

3. When God told Abraham that He was going to have mercy of whoever He wanted to have mercy, He was letting Him know that EVERYONE was going to enjoy His mercy because He loves us all. Abraham wanted for God himself to be the proof that they were His chosen people, but God was letting Abraham know that He is God of all creation, not just the Jews. Exodus 33:16-19 says, How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth? And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name". Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory". And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

The Jews were carrying God's promises and plan for all mankind, but they were so full of pride that they completely lost their purpose; to evangelize the world and bring them all into the Kingdom. They thought keeping laws was going to save them, when God is clear that is only through Faith.

4. God loves you, he absolutely loves you. He loves you so much that He gave himself as ransom for you. He created a law He knew we couldn't fulfill, so He could do it for you. Jesus is the demonstration of His love and He was ready even before Adam sinned. If you dig deeper what the cross mean, you will fall in love with Him over and over. I mean, what other God gave himself and paid for us just because He truly loves us?

Blessings!!

Shinsoo said:

I am curious about something. I have been reading the Bible lately after a really really rough experienced meddling with things I shouldn't, and honestly I've felt a lot better since then.

But when I read the Old Testament, I feel a little sad. I have yet to see anything in the Old Testament that suggests we're all worthy of Christ's love, of God's love, even if we're not related through Abraham's bloodline--which were God's chosen ones.

I know we are worthy of love, as Christianity now spawns all over the globe. And I feel safe and protected when I DO read the Bible. So I know it's the Truth.

I just would like to know...where is the turning point where pretty much God says "Ok, it's not just Abraham's line that is worthy of My Love, but everyone is." Or was that the whole point of the New Testament?

Thank you for reading.

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This helped me sooo much!

yeshuaslavejeff said:

Not all people were helped (in respect to being saved/ gaining eternal life) though. All was accomplished according to God's Plan.
Ephesians 2:12 - Bible Gateway

https://www.biblegateway.com › verse
And you had no hope (no promise); you were in the world without God. BRG ... Do not lose sight of the fact that you were born “Gentiles”, known by those whose ...
EPHESIANS 2:12 KJV "That at that time ye were without Christ ...

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org › Ephesians-2-12
Ephesians 2:12 KJV: That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from ... from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: ... Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are ...

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I agree that not all individuals were helped in the same way regarding salvation.

But generally, all people around the world have always had chance to know the true God and to put their trust in Him, so to be saved.