One favorite warning from each of the New Testament writers

[BCsenior]

For those of us who don’t like to read much, I have provided
a very short summary of God’s warnings to born-again believers,
one from each of the NT writers ...

Jesus …
“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God
and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,
murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars
shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone,
which is the second death (eternal death).” (Revelation 21:7-8)
• Born-again believers who are habitual sinners are in this group of the condemned!
God does not condemn unbelievers and let believers who do the same things go free.
Cowardly born-again believers are those who will not endure the persecution
of Christians, and/or will submit to taking the deadly mark of the beast.

Paul …
“… you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,
whether (slaves) of sin leading to (eternal) death,
or (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness” (Romans 6:16)
• Born-again believers who are habitual sinners are headed for hell!

The writer of Hebrews …
“But we are not like those (unfaithful) who turn away from God
to their own destruction (eternal death). We are the faithful ones,
whose souls will be saved.” (Hebrews 10:39)
• Born-again believers who do not remain faithful (followers of Jesus
who obey Him) are headed for hell … and the writer obviously
has no idea who will ultimately remain faithful to the end!

James …
“Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth (eternal) death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” (James 1:15-16)
• Born-again believers are warned to not be deceived about committing sin!

Peter …
“… you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready
to be revealed in the last time … you have been grieved by various trials,
that the genuineness of your faith … though it is tested by fire, may be found
to (be worthy of) praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ
… receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:5-9)
• Born-again believers who overcome their trials and testings will receive salvation!
James warns (above) about one of these testings, which is giving in to sin!

John …
“In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:
Whoever does not (continue to) practice righteousness is not of God” (1 John 3:10)
• Born-again believers who do not practice righteousness belong to the devil!

Jude …
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 20-21)
• Born-again believers need to keep themselves acceptable to God!
Rebellious and disobedient habitual sinners are not acceptable to God.

Hopefully, I haven’t left anyone out.
And please don’t get all excited, if I left out one of your favorite verses.

• • • Born-again believers have been given a new nature for the express purpose
of setting them free from being slaves of sin … they are now able to NOT sin.
Plus, the precious indwelling Holy Spirit helps the believer to be an overcomer.

 

[St_Worm2]

Hi BC, it seems to me that those who "go on sinning willfully after receiving a knowledge of the truth" .. Hebrews 10:26, and who "continue to make a practice of sinning" .. 1 John 3:9, after claiming to have become Christians, were never Christians to begin with .. e.g. Matthew 7:22-23; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; cf 1 John 2:19.

If God has quickened/regenerated the hearts of those who are being spoken of in such passages and they are truly "born again" .. Ezekiel 36:26; John 3:3, and if He has justified/saved them & made them into wholly "new creatures" in His Son .. 2 Corinthians 5:17, then they cannot lose their salvation or His words in other passages such as these cannot also be true:

"He who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, HAS eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life" ~John 5:24

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and .. of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day" ~John 6:37-40 (excerpt)

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand" ~John 10:27-28​

Christians are those who overcome. Those who do not never were.

Yours and His,
David

Hebrews 7
25 He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.​

 

[Ron Gurley]

Q1: Born-again believers who are habitual sinners are in this group of the condemned!

A1: Snippet. False doctrine.

You do not separate how God VIEWS and TREATS believers VERSUS UN-believers.

Believers are covered by the blood of Jesus and are not condemned.Romans 8:28
They are FORGIVEN of their sins. 1 John 1
The righteousness of Jesus is imputed to them. 2 Corinthians 5:21
"Endure to the end" is also a false doctrine based on 2 verses taken out of context.
Citations to NUMEROUS other verses in Scripture omitted.

Q2: Born-again believers who are habitual sinners are headed for hell!

A2: Snippet. False doctrine.

Romans 6(NASB)...Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
17 But thanks be to God that though you WERE slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Q3: Born-again believers who do not remain "faithful" (= followers of Jesus
who obey Him) are headed for hell

A3: Snippet. False doctrine.

Hebrews 10(NASB)...One Sacrifice of Christ Is Sufficient for Believers
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once FOR all.
17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.(needed)
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full ASSURANCE of FAITH,
having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
36 For you have need of endurance,
so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.(REWARDS for good works)
39 But we (BELIEVERS) are NOT of those who shrink back to destruction,
but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.(spirit)

Q4: Born-again believers are warned to not be deceived about committing sin!

A4: Snippet. False premise. ALL are warned not to sin. Believers are forgiven. UN-Believers are NOT!

James 1(NASB)...Testing Believer's Faith
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its perfect (mature) result,
so that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach,
and it will be given to him.
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial;
for once he has been approved, he will receive the "crown of life" (spiritual reward)
which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,
21b...in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

Q4: Born-again believers who overcome their trials and testings will receive salvation!

A4: Snippet. False doctrine of WORKS. Irrelevant cite.

Ephesians 2
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ
(by grace you HAVE BEEN saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (Spiritual Position!)
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through (spirit-led) FAITH (/belief); and that (FAITH) not of yourselves, it is the (spiritual) gift of God;
9 not as a result of WORKS, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

John 5:24
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life,
and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Luke 19:9
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation HAS COME to this house,
because he, too, is a son of Abraham.

Luke 7:50
And He said to the woman, “Your faith has SAVED you; go in peace.”

2 Timothy 1:9
who has SAVED us and CALLED us with a holy calling, not according to our works,
but according to His own purpose and grace
which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

Titus 3:5
He SAVED us,
not on the basis of deeds which we have done in (self)righteousness, but according to His mercy,
by the washing of regeneration and renewing by (God) the Holy Spirit.

Q5: Born-again believers who do not practice righteousness belong to the devil!

A5: Snippet. Twisted Scripture! False doctrine of WORKS.

1 John 3 (NASB)..."Children of God" (Saved Believers): Love "One Another"
1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called "children of God"; and such we are. For this reason the world (UN-Believers) does not know us, because it did not know Him.
2 Beloved, now we are "children of God", and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.
We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.
8b...The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love "one another";(brethren)
16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
23 This is His commandment(s),
that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and
love one another, just as He commanded us.
24 The one who keeps His commandments abides (dwells) in Him, and He in him.
We know by this that He abides in us, by (God) the (Holy) Spirit whom He has given us.

Q6: Born-again believers need to keep themselves acceptable to God!

A6: Snippet. Twisted Scripture! False doctrine of WORKS.

Jude (NASB) ...BELIEVERS: Keep Yourselves in the Love of God
17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,
18 that they were saying to you,
“In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”
19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.
22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting;
23 save others, snatching them out of the fire;
and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and
to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority,
before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Q7: Born-again believers...are now able to NOT sin.

A7: False doctrine CONTRARY to clear Scripture.

1 John 1:5-10...God Is Light...God forgives the sins of believers
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, (believers) that
God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have FELLOWSHIP with Him and yet walk in the darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth;
but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light,
we have FELLOWSHIP with one another, and
the blood of Jesus His Son CLEANSES us from all sin.
>>>If we say that we have no sin,
we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.<<<
If we CONFESS our sins, (agree with God about)
He is faithful and righteous to FORGIVE us our sins AND
to CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness.
>>>If we say that we have NOT sinned,
we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.<<<

1 John 2:12
I am writing to you, little children, (believers)
because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.

James 5:16
Therefore, CONFESS your sins to ONE ANOTHER, (believers) and
pray for one another so that you may be healed.
The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

James 5:15 ...and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Romans 7....The Conflict of Two Natures

Colossians 1:14 ...in whom we (believers) have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

 

[Marvin Knox]

For those of us who don’t like to read much, I have provided
a very short summary of God’s warnings to born-again believers,
one from each of the NT writers ...

Jesus …
“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God
and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,
murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars
shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone,
which is the second death (eternal death).” (Revelation 21:7-8)
• Born-again believers who are habitual sinners are in this group of the condemned!
God does not condemn unbelievers and let believers who do the same things go free.
Cowardly born-again believers are those who will not endure the persecution
of Christians, and/or will submit to taking the deadly mark of the beast.

Paul …
“… you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,
whether (slaves) of sin leading to (eternal) death,
or (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness” (Romans 6:16)
• Born-again believers who are habitual sinners are headed for hell!

The writer of Hebrews …
“But we are not like those (unfaithful) who turn away from God
to their own destruction (eternal death). We are the faithful ones,
whose souls will be saved.” (Hebrews 10:39)
• Born-again believers who do not remain faithful (followers of Jesus
who obey Him) are headed for hell … and the writer obviously
has no idea who will ultimately remain faithful to the end!

James …
“Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth (eternal) death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” (James 1:15-16)
• Born-again believers are warned to not be deceived about committing sin!

Peter …
“… you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready
to be revealed in the last time … you have been grieved by various trials,
that the genuineness of your faith … though it is tested by fire, may be found
to (be worthy of) praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ
… receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:5-9)
• Born-again believers who overcome their trials and testings will receive salvation!
James warns (above) about one of these testings, which is giving in to sin!

John …
“In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:
Whoever does not (continue to) practice righteousness is not of God” (1 John 3:10)
• Born-again believers who do not practice righteousness belong to the devil!

Jude …
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 20-21)
• Born-again believers need to keep themselves acceptable to God!
Rebellious and disobedient habitual sinners are not acceptable to God.

Hopefully, I haven’t left anyone out.
And please don’t get all excited, if I left out one of your favorite verses.

• • • Born-again believers have been given a new nature for the express purpose
of setting them free from being slaves of sin … they are now able to NOT sin.
Plus, the precious indwelling Holy Spirit helps the believer to be an overcomer.

Don't forget these. They seem most appropriate to teachers such as yourself.

"For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)" Romans 2:13-15

"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." James 2:10

"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?............ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." Galatians 3:1-14

 

[BCsenior]

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand" ~John 10:27-28
Christians are those who overcome. Those who do not never were.
Hebrews 7:25 He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

John 10
Who hears Jesus voice?
Who does Jesus know?
Who follow Jesus?
We must understand what Jesus actually means in the above, right?
Hebrews 7
Who draws near to God?
Once, continually, or ...?

How about ...
"Those who are BEING led by God's Spirit are sons of God."
(Romans 8:14, NASB, NKJV)
Church people who are habitually sinning (while thinking they are heaven-bound)
are NOT being led by God's Spirit, are they?

 

[St_Worm2]

Church people who are habitually sinning (while thinking they are heaven-bound) are NOT being led by God's Spirit, are they?

Hi BC, anyone who sins is not, at the moment they sin anyway, being fully led by the HS (though I would say He can and does exercise His leadership in Christians' lives even then, by restraining us, to one degree or another, from going deeper into sinning/sinning like we did before we became Christians).

That said, only true Christians are indwelt by the HS .. e.g. 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, and true Christians are the only ones who can be led by Him in this manner. Those who make a regular practice of sinning and not repenting/not even caring as a "lifestyle" choice are typically demonstrating that they are NOT Christians (that is, after all, the principle evidence we have that someone is NOT a true believer (not "born again"). Sadly, there are plenty of "church people" who are part of the visible church, but who are not part of the true (invisible) church (as the Bible makes clear to us .. e.g. Matthew 7:22-23; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; cf 1 John 2:19).

The problem comes in when we find someone who has seemingly turned back to living a sinful lifestyle/turned their back on God after spending years showing plenty of evidence that they were indeed, born again.

The Westminster Confession says this concerning the saints:

Chapter XVII

Of the Perseverance of the Saints​

I. They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.

II. This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which arises also the certainty and infallibility thereof.

III. Nevertheless, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and, for a time, continue therein: whereby they incur God's displeasure, and grieve His Holy Spirit, come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts, have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.​

We are saved by grace, not by anything that we do. We believers are actually part of the "wicked/ungodly", who God chose to save graciously though faith .. Romans 4:5. So if we weren't saved by what we do, how can we be lost by anything we do The only question is, if someone who calls themselves a Christian makes a lifestyle out of doing things that displease God, were they ever saved to begin with!?

Do you believe your loving Abba, Father, will dropkick you out the front door of Heaven and disown you if ever sin again (surely He knew what He was getting long before He actually saved you, yes?), or do you think He'll keep His great promises to you like the Westminster divines do, even if you fall into grievous sin for a time during your life .. Philippians 1:6, 2:13?

Thanks!

--David

 

[BCsenior]

David, I would pay no attention to the doctrines of the olde denominations.
IMO, few if any had the baptism with the Holy Spirit,
which is God's vehicle for deeper spiritual understanding,
not to mention the more obvious: the spiritual power gifts of 1 Cor 12.
Not only that, but God promised to provide more and deeper
revelations at the very end of the last days (see Daniel, etc.).