Can I be saved

[JoeP222w]

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[psalms 91]

You can be saved to say otherwise goes against scripture. The fact you are not acting out says you are trying to overcvome and God will help you.

 

[miamited]

Exactly my point.

God regenerates those whom He chooses (the elect). Man does not have the choice to resist God's grace, because if that were true, than God has no power over man, making man sovereign.

Hi joe,

OOOOOKay! Well, you'll have to go with what you believe in your heart is the truth. I think what the Scriptures actually show is that while God can be a sovereign ruler in the affairs of all men, that isn't how He's choosing to handle the situation. He wrote it all down. He sent His Son right on schedule according to the plan that He first had all written down. Peter tells us that He now waits patiently for some to be saved.

Now, you're free to believe that the word 'elect' as used in the Scriptures means that God handpicks this one but not that one. There are examples where God does use His sovereignty to do just that. He called King Nebudchudnezzer and willed him to do his part. He hardened the Pharoah of Egypt's heart in order that through his hard heart God could display His power to His people, Israel. He destined John the baptist to be who he was from birth. The first 12 apostles also seemed to have been handpicked by God and Saul was also handpicked for his work.

But I don't believe that's true of everyone who comes to faith. You see, God has a plan and the working out of that plan does require that certain people be called by name and created to do that which their part in His plan is to do. Mary, I'm sure, was chosen for her role well before the Holy Spirit actually came over her. Because of these few examples, many christians seem to think, "Well, that's how it works for everybody!" No! It isn't!

What God's word says is that some were raised up under election. His word says that there is an elect, but that second usage refers to the destiny of those who come to faith in Christ because of their own will and their own hearts. Jesus said to Thomas, "Blessed are those who do not see, and yet believe!" Those who come to faith in Jesus just through their own wills and their own hearts...they have been predestined for eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. When God first created this realm with the plan for salvation already well conceived in His mind that would be one day accomplished through His Son. He predestined, when He established that plan, that everyone who would come to such faith would receive His promise of eternal life. The group of people who would believe, they were also predestined to eternal life. That's what Paul says.

As I said, you're free to go with what you believe in your heart to be the truth. That's what I'm going to do.

God bless you,
In Christ, ted

 

[JoeP222w]

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[singpraise]

I agree. You and I are not God, so we have no right to say whether or not someone is saved.

Belief alone is not enough to be saved by God. God must transform the heart of the believer and make him or her a new creation.

Hi, let's agree to disagree. I am here to help this person and give him encouragement. He is a child of God and very loved by God, regardless of what you're trying to imply. I would hope if you ever needed help people would show some compassion to you as well. Or are you just perfect as is already?

I'm not perfect. God loves me anyway. God loves the OP as well. You have no way of knowing of what you're trying to get across (from what I surmise, since you're not being very clear), so you are treading on dangerous ground, my friend. God looks on the heart of a person, not whether they obey every tiny little law to the letter or not. Or have you forgotten about the other verses in the Bible, the ones pointing to the salvation of Christ, forgiveness, mercy, and the fact that there is no condemnation in Christ?

You may want to review those verses about salvation as well as the legalism you seem to admire so much.

 

[RaymondG]

It does not matter I believe or what you believe, what matters is, is it true?

So what is true? What is the truth? Are you acknowledging that neither of you know what is true.....or are you saying that you do, in fact know?

 

[singpraise]

Please, don't be upset with her. She is only trying to help. I really appreciate everything you said and everything she said.

I really don't believe she was trying to see herself as God. I think what she meant that if I put my faith in Jesus Christ, I am be saved.

Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. If you have given your heart to Christ you are saved. It's not complicated. God bless you, dear!

 

[RaymondG]

Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. If you have given your heart to Christ you are saved. It's not complicated. God bless you, dear!

Hi, Im curious. What are you saying he is saved from?

 

[JoeP222w]

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[JoeP222w]

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[RaymondG]

God's word is truth.

Yes, I know what is true: God's word. He never fails.

I see.. And by God's word, you mean the words written in the bible correct? And if so, you are 100% sure that you understanding of the writings, which were written 2k years ago are correct and exactly what was intended back then?

 

[JoeP222w]

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[AlexDTX]

Am I wasting my time seeking God? I am a nonpracticing homosexual. I believe in scripture that calls sin by what it is. I hate my sin. I struggle with lust, but I do not act on my lusts. Pastor Steven Anderson does not believe gays can be saved. This is sad. But I will continue pray for his mercy. But I wonder if I am wasting my time.

God does not make people homosexual at birth. We may have familiar spirits that make us think we are, but this is not from God. To answer your question: yes, you can be saved because our salvation is from our sin nature, not from sins we commit. God gives us his nature so we become partakers of the divine nature. It is our spirit that gets transformed. However, we still remain in our mortal bodies and need our minds renewed. So the assault of Satan can still continue until our hearts are strengthened against those temptations.

I forget the brother's name who started Exodus International, but he fell back into homosexuality and changed his mind and said that homosexuals are born that way. He is wrong, but his example shows the great fight to resist the temptation ahead of you. Despite his change of opinion, he is still our brother in Christ because he still puts his trust in Jesus.

 

[singpraise]

Wow, you read a lot into what I wrote that simply was not there. You have completely missed my point.



And through implication, you imply that I am not here for that. I choose to not give him false encouragement.



You don't know and I don't know that since God judges the heart. You must be adopted into the kingdom of God through repentance and faith in God by His grace alone. People are not a child of God by default.



I would hope so too, but based in Biblical truth and not giving me false assurance.



Not at all. I am still be sanctified. I know I fail at showing grace and kindness. I have a passion for God's truth and I do not like to see it watered down to just make a person "feel" better without a grounding in truth.



Now you are claiming you know my heart.

Did I write clearly before? Perhaps not. And I apologize for being hasty and ungracious in my response, that was not my intent.



I never said we were made righteous by how we obey the law, this is where you are reading into my responses what is not really there. Theology matters.



Again, amazing how you imply that you know my heart and motives.



Complete mischaracterization and reading into my position.

Sir, with all due respect I do not want to argue with you. I am trying to show the love of Jesus, with mercy and compassion, to a person who asked a question about can he be saved although he is a homosexual. And the simple answer is YES, of course he can. If he has given his heart to Jesus Christ and accepted the salvation Christ offers then he IS saved. Regardless of how many verses you spout at him. You are making salvation seem complicated. It is not complicated. If I am misunderstanding you I apologize. I have not read every single word you've posted here, only the words you've written directly to me, in which you seem to be scolding me for offering comfort, understanding and love to a person who is concerned about his salvation.

 

[RaymondG]

Yes, the Bible.

No, I don't claim I have infallible knowledge of the Bible. But that does not change the inerrancy of the Bible. God has preserved His word.

You are right. The bible is very important. So you dont claim infallible knowledge of the bible..... So could it be possible that you could be wrong in your statements to some of the posters here? Could it be possible that your views are just what you understood of the bible and possibly not what was intended 2k years ago? and if so, what if you unknowingly lead a blind man into a ditch?

The pharisee knew the word in and out by heart. And they were so firm in their beliefs that they crucified the Saviour unknowingly. We have to be careful not to be so strong in our own knowledge of the scripture, that when the saviour knocks on our door with His version, we dont call Him a heretic and send Him to the cross as well.

 

[singpraise]

Also, I would like to add: People misinterpret the scriptures regarding homosexuality. Being a homosexual, in and of itself, is not a sin. It is not a birth defect. It is not an aberration. It is not something within the person's conscious control any more than their skin or eye color is. It is, as of now, a little understood phenomenon that occurs with a certain percentage of both human and even animal populations. Science is still conflicted about the cause but it is nothing to condemn a person for. Some people are even born with sex organs of both sexes. Would you condemn an infant? No, of course not.

The Bible condemns deviant sexual behavior. Just because a person is a homosexual does not make them a deviant, by any stretch. Heterosexuals can be and are just as, if not more so (statistically speaking), deviant. It is the action that makes it a sin. Pedophiles and rapists, for example, are deviants, because their actions cause harm to other human beings. Their actions take away another person's free will. Deviant behavior that is condemned by God is entirely different from a mere sexual orientation.

The bottom line is all this judgement is un-Christian and needs to stop. If a person lives a kind, decent life and has committed their life and heart to Jesus that is all we need to know. If they have a personal sin (or not), that is between them and God. Period.

 

[paul becke]

Am I wasting my time seeking God? I am a nonpracticing homosexual. I believe in scripture that calls sin by what it is. I hate my sin. I struggle with lust, but I do not act on my lusts. Pastor Steven Anderson does not believe gays can be saved. This is sad. But I will continue pray for his mercy. But I wonder if I am wasting my time.

A more profound instinct which, since you abstain from a sexual relationship, should tell you that that is not the true you, that your true nature, is in Christ. This is not pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking ; it is the reality. In a general way, what you identify with is what you become. Finding certain people's physical appearance of both sexes more attractive than others is normal, but same-sex sexual orientation, homosexuality, seems one of the ugliest things imaginable, and would always be a result of conditioning, not of the person's intrinsic nature. You need to realise that it is one of the absolute axioms of the Christian faith that it is not a sin to have any kind of bad thought, even though they can even be proximately demonic ; although obviously they all are ultimately demonic and a result of the Fall. If you assent to them instead of repudiatung them as soon as you are aware of them, then, insofar, you become guilty in relation to them. 'My brothers, flll your mind with those things that are good and deserve to be praised; things that are true, pure, noble, right, lovely and honourable, and the God who gives us peace will be with you,' is what St Paul recommended.

When I worked as hospital-porter, as a young lad, I had a pal who was one of the sweepers. He was an Austrian lad, (as he told me later, a hermaphrodite), with a slight stoop and glasses, who had been as far as Russia to obtain treatment with testosterone (which very few outside of the medical profession had even heard of at that time), but he told me that he had by that time developed a certain 'Doom', in the vernacular ! With his funny Austrian accent, he reminded me of a mad professor.

Anyway, the point is he was certainly very normally oriented, sexually, and was always chatting up the nurses - and giving me tips ! His father had been a senior police officer and I suspect that had prevented his wanting to 'change sex' or any of that sort of foolishness that's rampant today, (since despite his hermaphroditism, he was evidently very preponderantly, essentially, masculine).

I heard some years later from another work-mate who worked in the path lab, I met by chance outside Westminster cathedral, that poor Peter had committed suicide one Christmas Eve, something he had once spoken to me about. I remember telling him we're all temporary citizens - words to that effect - like the leaves on trees, hoping that putting life and death in a larger context might be consoling. If so, evidently it was not enough.

 

[jamespyles]

Am I wasting my time seeking God? I am a nonpracticing homosexual. I believe in scripture that calls sin by what it is. I hate my sin. I struggle with lust, but I do not act on my lusts. Pastor Steven Anderson does not believe gays can be saved. This is sad. But I will continue pray for his mercy. But I wonder if I am wasting my time.

I haven't read anyone else's reply. Too many. I will say in general, Christianity believes the act of same-sex sex is sinful, but not lust. After all, we are all tempted to sin, but temptation is not a sin in and of itself.

The relationship between homosexuality and the Bible is interesting. I did a bit of a study on the arguments of inclusive churches, ones that welcome gay men and woman, and those that reject gays based on scripture.

Scripture seems to universally condemn same-sex sex acts that are performed for the purpose of "excess," such as Roman orgies, or in pagan temple worship. There isn't a single case of monogamous, loving same sex couples in scripture, so we have to infer the Bible's intent. On the other hand, the Bible doesn't presuppose monogamous, loving same sex couples either, so we can't use scripture to say God has "normalized" such couples within the faith.

 

[graphite412]

I am a nonpracticing homosexual. I believe in scripture that calls sin by what it is. I hate my sin. I struggle with lust, but I do not act on my lusts. Pastor Steven Anderson does not believe gays can be saved. This is sad. But I will continue pray for his mercy. But I wonder if I am wasting my time.

One of my favorite all time Christian writers was a former homosexual that rejected his former lifestyle to become a priest monk. His writings and life are remarkable. His name is Fr. Seraphim Rose.

 

[LoveofTruth]

Am I wasting my time seeking God? I am a nonpracticing homosexual. I believe in scripture that calls sin by what it is. I hate my sin. I struggle with lust, but I do not act on my lusts. Pastor Steven Anderson does not believe gays can be saved. This is sad. But I will continue pray for his mercy. But I wonder if I am wasting my time.

Jesus Christ died for the sin of the whole world. All Christians hate their sin, and espescially when they sin as christians. But as a person repents (changes their mind about their sin and the way they are going) and admits that they are lost ad need a saviour, then they look unto Jesus and in faith they are born again. This means that a new life has started and yes the flesh will still war against us, but as we pick up our cross and die daily walking in the newness of life we are daily in salvation and in Christ light and life. If we sin we confess our sins and keep turning to God. This does not excuse sin or make it light, because sin can harden the heart and men can depart from God through and evil hardened heart of unbelief Hebrews 4:12. But continue in faith when you come to that reality and turn from sin. Yield to the Spirit and not the flesh and God will change your mind and desires.

God does care about you greatly and all who come to Jesus he will in no way cast out.

But as the woman who was caught in adultery and cried and was forgiven by Jesus, he said to her go and sin no more lest a worse thing come upon you.

God will make you perfect unto every good work to do his will working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight if you walk with him in faith.