- Jun 5, 2017
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You were shown you are wrong in the application of John 3:15-16 and John 3:36 and John 10:26-17 which shows that πιστεύων used is a Greek verb that is present participle active which is nominative masculine singular (V-PPA-NMS). Do you not what that means? It means that the Greek word πιστεύων being used in these scriptures is present tense active to believing in the now. Now is ongoing and continuous. There never stops being a now. If you look at parallel translations you will see that πιστεύων here is translated as "everyone who believes" (present tense active) or better yet in other translations "every one who is believing" (present tense active)Well then, you need to prove that i'm wrong about the present tense in the Greek.
Daniel Wallace a prominent Greek scholar points out commenting on πιστεύων in John 3:
The idea seems to be both gnomic and continual: "everyone who continually believes." This is not due to the present tense only, but to the use of the present participle of πιστεύω, especially in soteriological contexts in the NT (Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, pp. 620-621).
Wallace further elaborates (footnote):
The aspectual force of the present ὁ πιστεύων seems to be in contrast with ὁ πιστεύσας . The aorist is used only eight times (plus two in the longer ending of Mark). The aorist is sometimes used to describe believers as such and thus has a generic force (cf. for the clearest example the v.l. at Mark 16:16; cf. also 2 Thess 1:10; Heb 4:3; perhaps John 7:39; also, negatively, of those who did not [ μή ] believe: 2 Thess 2:12; Jude 5). The present occurs six times as often (43 times), most often in soteriological contexts (cf. John 1:12; 3:15, 16, 18; 3:36; 6:35, 47, 64; 7:38; 11:25; 12:46; Acts 2:44; 10:43; 13:39; Rom 1:16; 3:22; 4:11, 24; 9:33; 10:4, 11; 1 Cor 1:21; 14:22 [bis]; Gal 3:22; Eph 1:19; 1 Thess 1:7; 2:10, 13; 1 Pet 2:6, 7; 1 John 5:1, 5, 10, 13). Thus, it seems that since the aorist participle was a live option to describe a "believer," it is unlikely that when the present was used, it was aspectually flat. The present was the tense of choice most likely because the NT writers by and large saw continual belief as a necessary condition of salvation. Along these lines, it seems significant that the promise of salvation is almost always given to ὁ πιστεύων (cf. several of the above-cited texts), almost never to ὁ πιστεύσας (apart from Mark 16:16, John 7:39 and Heb 4:3 come the closest [the present tense of πιστεύω never occurs in Hebrews]).
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John’s intent is also made clear from other passages in his writings apart from those mentioned at the beginning in John 3:15-16: 36; 10:26-27. For example in 2 John 1:8-9 he wrote, Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.
In order to have the Father and the Son, one must abide in Christ’s teaching. In other words, one must obey what Gods' Word says, not as a one-time occurrence but as a way of life. (see John 3:36, John 8:51, John 15:10) In 1 John 3 he described this experience as ‘practicing righteousness’ when he says, “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God.” (1 John 3:7-10)
When a person sets his heart to know and do God’s will, depending on God for the strength to carry it out, then God puts his Spirit in that believer, enabling him to do what that person could not do on his own (see Philippians 3:15; John 3:3-7; 1 John 3:6-9). This is what it means to believe, or to practice righteousness. Saving faith means to believe and follow what God's Words says. Jesus says to us, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” (John 15:4-6)
Based on these texts (and there are many others like them) it is apparent that this belief, or ‘practicing righteousness’, or ‘abiding in Christ’, is an ongoing experience conditional on believing and following what Gods Word says.
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Lets cut to the chase. Your argument is that someone can continue in known unrepentant sin or that someone can believe God's Word but not do what God's Word says and still receive everlasting life despite the scriptures shared with you in post # 406 linked showing that if we do not do what God's Word says we do not have living or saving faith therefore do not have everlasting life. Then we looked at the Hebrew and Greek application above to present tense active and the conditional application to God's Word in post # 407 linked that show that Gods' promises and Salvation are all conditional to believing and doing what Gods' Word says. Is anyone that disagrees with the scripture evidence already provided disagreeing with God's Word therefore gambling on their own salvation? You of course are free to believe as you wish. I am only sharing with you what I believe the scriptures say and teach and for me we should believe and follow them *Romans 3:4; Acts of the Apostles 5:29. According to the scriptures if your teachings were true we would not be warned to depart the faith and return to a life of unrepentant sin and lose our salvation in Hebrews 6:4-8 and Hebrews 10:26-31.
more to come...
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