Questions to help myself

[Blaise N]

Hi everyone,

“ABC”=Questions
Many if you here may know about how much I worry about things like apostasy,serving the lord out of a fear of hell,not being saved,etc.

But i want to ask a question.So for someone like me with autism,it’s hard for me to understand some things.If there are any wise Christians out there,can you,in simpler but no less important terms,explain “what the definition of apostasy is and examples of it?”

Allow me to explain why I worry about this topic,though I’m not so worried as I was about it a couple days ago,what worries me is me somehow committing or having committed apostasy and God turning away from me and me being abandoned by God.There are times things may pass my mind that I think voluntarily or involuntarily,that after a microsecond of thought,I immediately confess and repent,I repent as to show the Lord I’m still repentant and not an apostate.

over the course of the past week,I have extensively experienced intrusive thoughts,and many of them have scared me,some were voluntary and some not,but I never failed to confess them.

From what I know I’ve probably spent too much time on Quora in the past and seen answers to some biblical questions from atheists or “former Christians” and I guess my mind has been scared of becoming that.

that brings me to my next question,”can someone explain the parable of the soils?,im always worried I’m either rocky or thorny soil.”

I admit,most times,if not sometimes,my attention is drawn to things in the world,like tv,video games,or my phone.And I’m afraid that may represent Thorny soil


As for Rocky soil,my excessive fear of falling away,and intrusive thoughts,feelings,desires,etc make me constantly examining and attentive to my spiritual condition.

the reason I’m typing this is because I was playing Minecraft a couple minutes ago and I took my attention of thinking of the Lord and focused on my game.(Which for those of you who don’t know,is a simple game where you build,craft,and survive in a blocky world,there are things like enchanting In it,as well as killing mythical creatures like zombies,skeletons,large spiders,and bad guys)I rarely play violent games like GTA or FPS games as much as I did.
Which brings me to my Third Question,
“What is an idol?”
From my knowledge,an idol can either be a statue representing pagan,voodoo,Buddhist,Hindu,folk religion gods, OR something that is against the Bible that has ones extensive attention and time to.

As of right now,I’m slightly worried,that in that short moment of time I turned away from the Lord.I know I probably should stop being so scared and worried about how strict God may be and abide on his Grace.
I have asked him to please “incline my heart to the things of your will and the things obedient to you”,to “stay with me always and for life”,to “please convict me of sin” (which I haven’t experienced but anything I see as sin I confess),mostly to “Please sustain me in faith”,and “To please never let me cross the line of apostasy”.I even probably 20 times have said this prayer “Lord if I have in any way committed apostasy I repent and confess and ask for forgiveness,please keep me in your family,please don’t abandon me”

PS:I will write an update tomorrow after my doctors appointment to let everyone know of some long awaited Good news.


Update:January 18th-8:46 am:

I had a scary thought,when I was reading the responses to this post I was bombed with in my head and heart with “Faith seems so hard,I’m waiting so long for help,it’s tiring” I can’t remember what else it was but that’s as best as I can articulate it,so for 15 minutes after reading the responses I was fighting,and still am the intrusive thoughts/temptations towards apostasy or abandoning the lord and I’m scared I’ve committed it.I keep pleading to God to please never let me fall away,I’ve even asked him a handful of times to remove my option of free will and keep me with him forever so I never fall away,has anyone ever thought the same thing before?,like have any of you ever thought through faith is hard and temptation to give up,because I’ll never give up on the Lord.

 

[com7fy8]

“what the definition of apostasy is and examples of it?”

Basically, it is denying Jesus. Unforgiveness is included in denying Jesus. Throwing out everything He says is denying Him, by denying His word. Isolating yourself with some group of wrong people can be denying Jesus. And isolating ourselves and depending on ourselves can be denying Jesus who desires us to trust Him plus to love one another as family.

But remember that Peter denied Jesus three times, but did Jesus dump Peter?

me somehow committing or having committed apostasy and God turning away from me and me being abandoned by God.

Like I say, did Jesus dump Peter?

No.

Jesus had already prayed for Peter, even before Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus wanted him back, and here is what Jesus told Peter before Peter denied Jesus three times >

"'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.'" (in Luke 22:31-32)

over the course of the past week,I have extensively experienced intrusive thoughts,and many of them have scared me,some were voluntary and some not,but I never failed to confess them.

So, in case these thoughts are wrong and you know this, this is good that you know they are wrong.

Trust Jesus. Instead of doubting yourself and questioning yourself, trust Jesus to do what He wants to do with you. And this will be deeper than what thoughts you are having. Jesus cares about how our real character is, and what we are thinking, yes.

"'Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'" (Matthew 11:29)

 

[Vesper_Jaye✝️]

The one that I can answer is the question about idols. An idol is anything in your life that is more important than God. An example is, you set aside time to read the Bible but instead you play Minecraft during that time. Or you’re at church but all you can think about is killing creepers and building your house. (I’m not saying Minecraft is an idol for you, you just made me think of Minecraft.) An idol can be an image, a person, a game, a book or movie, a youtuber or YouTube channel, anything that has a greater importance in your life that isn’t God.
I didn’t explain it perfectly, but I hope that helps!

 

[com7fy8]

”can someone explain the parable of the soils?,im always worried I’m either rocky or thorny soil.”

Matthew 13:20-21 > stony place > where someone receives God's word, but the person is shallow, in with all the stones . . . the hard stuff. The person's roots don't go down to God in His love. So, the person is easily defeated by the hard things of persecution and troubles of this life.

So we need to be deeper than this world's stuff, so its hard things can not have power over us. We trust You, O God our Father, to change us in our character so we are like Jesus in love with almighty safety against how this world's anti-love things would degrade us and worry and hurry us and waste us.

Matthew 13:22 > thorny place > This is where a person can receive God's word but then the person gets tangled and mangled in pleasure seeking and worrying and trying to control things and get security which is material and not depending on our Father. Those thorns can choke us from loving, as we seek pleasure feelings and seek to have intimacy with feelings of pleasure, instead of discovering with God how to love.

And weakness for the pleasure is also weakness to be hurt by the thorns.

I admit,most times,if not sometimes,my attention is drawn to things in the world,like tv,video games,or my phone.And I’m afraid that may represent Thorny soil

God "gives us richly all things to enjoy," we have in 1 Timothy 6:17. But being dragged and snagged with certain pleasures and distractions might be not real enjoying. With God, we are enjoying Him most of all while we share things with Him. And one of our most special enjoyments is sharing with one another children of God while sharing with our Father. And with Him loving even enemies is very special, in His love.

"Let all that you do be done with love." (1 Corinthians 16:14)

As for Rocky soil,my excessive fear of falling away,and intrusive thoughts,feelings,desires,etc make me constantly examining and attentive to my spiritual condition.

Well, I suppose that sort of stuff can be hard like a stone, and cold, not loving you. So, I would not trust what unloving thoughts tell you. But trust God to have you discovering thoughts of hope, which are in His word.

 

[com7fy8]

examining and attentive to my spiritual condition.

This can be good; it depends on how you do it.

So, how has God's word helped you to examine yourself? How about starting with one scripture which has fed you and blessed you and encouraged you?

 

[SANTOSO]

Hi everyone,

“ABC”=Questions
Many if you here may know about how much I worry about things like apostasy,serving the lord out of a fear of hell,not being saved,etc.

But i want to ask a question.So for someone like me with autism,it’s hard for me to understand some things.If there are any wise Christians out there,can you,in simpler but no less important terms,explain “what the definition of apostasy is and examples of it?”

Allow me to explain why I worry about this topic,though I’m not so worried as I was about it a couple days ago,what worries me is me somehow committing or having committed apostasy and God turning away from me and me being abandoned by God.There are times things may pass my mind that I think voluntarily or involuntarily,that after a microsecond of thought,I immediately confess and repent,I repent as to show the Lord I’m still repentant and not an apostate.

over the course of the past week,I have extensively experienced intrusive thoughts,and many of them have scared me,some were voluntary and some not,but I never failed to confess them.

From what I know I’ve probably spent too much time on Quora in the past and seen answers to some biblical questions from atheists or “former Christians” and I guess my mind has been scared of becoming that.

that brings me to my next question,”can someone explain the parable of the soils?,im always worried I’m either rocky or thorny soil.”

I admit,most times,if not sometimes,my attention is drawn to things in the world,like tv,video games,or my phone.And I’m afraid that may represent Thorny soil


As for Rocky soil,my excessive fear of falling away,and intrusive thoughts,feelings,desires,etc make me constantly examining and attentive to my spiritual condition.

the reason I’m typing this is because I was playing Minecraft a couple minutes ago and I took my attention of thinking of the Lord and focused on my game.(Which for those of you who don’t know,is a simple game where you build,craft,and survive in a blocky world,there are things like enchanting In it,as well as killing mythical creatures like zombies,skeletons,large spiders,and bad guys)I rarely play violent games like GTA or FPS games as much as I did.
Which brings me to my Third Question,
“What is an idol?”
From my knowledge,an idol can either be a statue representing pagan,voodoo,Buddhist,Hindu,folk religion gods, OR something that is against the Bible that has ones extensive attention and time to.

As of right now,I’m slightly worried,that in that short moment of time I turned away from the Lord.I know I probably should stop being so scared and worried about how strict God may be and abide on his Grace.
I have asked him to please “incline my heart to the things of your will and the things obedient to you”,to “stay with me always and for life”,to “please convict me of sin” (which I haven’t experienced but anything I see as sin I confess),mostly to “Please sustain me in faith”,and “To please never let me cross the line of apostasy”.I even probably 20 times have said this prayer “Lord if I have in any way committed apostasy I repent and confess and ask for forgiveness,please keep me in your family,please don’t abandon me”

PS:I will write an update tomorrow after my doctors appointment to let everyone know of some long awaited Good news.

Beloved one, those who apostatize are those who reject God and accept or approve or boast what is evil.

Beloved one, I can give an example from Psalms 52:1-3; this is a contemplation of David when Doeg the Edomite went and told Saul, and said to him,”David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”

This is what we have heard:
“Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endureth continually.

Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

Thou lovest evil more than good; And lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭52:1-3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Contemplating Psalms 52:1-3, that we heard:

“Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually.

Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭52:1-3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Let us contemplate this:

“Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually.”

Can we consider a man mighty because he boast in evil or mischief? No.

The man whom we should consider mighty is Christ, for He who boasts or praises that the goodness of God endures continually.

So let us be those who are in Christ, that praise the goodness of
God endures continually, for we shall be mighty in union with Him.

Then let us contemplate,”Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. “

Should our tongue devise destruction? No. Our tongues should form or conceive or think up or work out salvation like a precious ointment, working righteously.

In other words, our tongues should speak out salvation, that is, Christ like a precious ointment, that is His loving kindness toward us, that is rejoicing the hearts in union with Him.

Next, we contemplate,”You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness.”

So we should not love you evil but hate evil, that we love good, speaking righteousness rather than lying, that we should not speak our self righteousness but speak the righteousness of God.

For we who love good, we love God, that we speak the righteousness of God that comes through faith in Christ Jesus.

Paraphrasing for clarity:

We understand the man whom we should consider mighty is Christ, for He who boasts or praises that the goodness of God endures continually. So we who are in Christ, also praise the goodness of God endures continually, for we shall be mighty in union with Him.

Our tongues work out salvation like a precious ointment, working righteously; our tongues speak out salvation, that is, Christ like a precious ointment, that is His loving kindness toward us, that is rejoicing the hearts in union with Him.

We who love good, love God, that
we speak the righteousness of God that comes through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen [ To God be the glory] and Amen.

 

[SANTOSO]

Beloved one, I heard you,”how much I worry about things like apostasy,serving the lord out of a fear of hell,not being saved,etc.”

Beloved one, you are despondent. We all are acquainted with periods of despondency. Beloved one, don’t be discouraged. Be encouraged in the Lord.

What is despondent?
Despondent is said to be in low spirits from loss of hope or courage.

Dejection is a sad and depressed state; low spirits.

For us not to be depressed, we should have hope or be encouraged, that we may have joy and our spirits or hearts be lifted up.

This is what we have heard:

“This I recall to my mind, Therefore have I hope.”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

So what we should recall to our minds, that have we hope !
This is what we have heard, next:

“It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed,
Because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness.

The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; Therefore will I hope in him.”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:22-24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Beloved one, let us have this in our minds, it is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed,
Because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: Great is His faithfulness. Let our souls say that the LORD is our portion. Therefore will we hope in Christ.

What we can perceive and understand what hope we have in Christ? This is what we have heard:

“Let Israel hope in the LORD:
For with the LORD there is mercy, And with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭130:7-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

So we hope in Christ, for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem us as spiritual Israelites from all our iniquities.

So how we hope in Christ? This is what we have heard:

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭130:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In His word we do hope !

Beloved one, let us recall to our minds the words that Christ speaks to us, therefore have we hope.

If we have hope, we no longer will be despondent and dejected or have depression, but our spirits or hearts will be encouraged by His word. With the hope of Christ, we will have courage.

Beloved one, let our hearts be lifted up by His word.

Selah

May the peace of Christ be with you in every way. Amen

 

[SANTOSO]

On Parable of the Sower
The parable written in Matthew 13: 1-9 ; Luke 8: 4-8; Mark 4:1-9 )
Purpose written in Matthew 13:10-17; Luke 8:9; Mark 4: 10-12 )
Explained in ( Matthew 13: 18-23 ; Luke 8:11-15 ; Mark 4:13-20 )

From illustration in the parable of the sower, we find that the Lord mentions about the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in people’s hearts that grew up and choke the word.

Are not in this age many are susceptible to be influenced by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things ?

Therefore, it is important that we humble ourselves and learn to escape the corruption which evil desires has brought into the world.

Without knowing really the cares of the world, we won’t know whether we are not influenced?
The cares of the world can also be said the love of the world, and this is what we have heard:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. -1 John 2:15

For all that is in the world'the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life'is not from the Father but is from the world. -1 John 2:16

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. -1 John 2:17

Apostle John told us in order that we don’t love the world or the things of the world —we need to do the will of God when we do the will of God, the love of the Father is perfected in us and we will live forever.

To God the Father be thanksgiving through Christ. Amen.

 

[SANTOSO]

Beloved one, you are asking,”what is an idol ?An idol is FALSEHOOD.
Let us give ourselves to falsehood.

In other words, we should stand in the true image of son of God, and that we ourselves should give place to the truth.

To God the Father be thanksgiving through Christ. Amen.

 

[SANTOSO]

Beloved ones, what is the good will of God. This is what we have heard:

““Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, GOODWILL toward men!””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Beloved ones, there is goodwill of God towards men.

And this is what we have heard:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive TOGETHER with Christ (by grace we have been saved),

and raised us up TOGETHER, and made us sit TOGETHER in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:4-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Let our hearts perceive and understand God TOGETHER WITH US and IN US, that is His good will towards us.

To God the Father be glory and thanksgiving through Christ. Amen.

 

[SANTOSO]

What is ACCEPTABLE to the Lord? What is the
ACCEPTABLE will of God ?

Beloved ones, what is the acceptable will of God.

This is what we have heard:

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

finding out what is ACCEPTABLE to the Lord.

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:8-11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

For we who were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. And walk as children of light, that we have found out what is acceptable to the Lord, to bear fruit of the Spirit, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For that we have fellowship with the fruitful works of light, that cover us.

To God the Father be glory and thanksgiving through Christ. Amen

 

[SANTOSO]

Though the parable of the sower already explained by the Lord, it is important to meditate so that we may not miss what the Lord have said.

The Lord explain that those who hear the word of the kingdom and understand — need to be rooted, in order, to be fruitful and produce a good yield.

Have we been rooted when we hear the word of the kingdom?

This is what I find :

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. -Jeremiah 17:7

He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its ROOTS by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." -Jeremiah 17:8

We are glad that we are blessed because we trust in the Lord and our trust is in the Lord.

Since we are like planted by water,
that sends out its ROOTS by the stream !

Who plant the tree by water ? How do we know the tree planted by water ? How do we know the tree sends out its roots by the stream ?

This is what we have heard:
He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.-Matthew 15:13

From here, we know who plant the tree - the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But we also told to be concerned about tree not planted by our Heavenly Father and that tree will be uprooted.

This is what the Lord have said :

And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: -Matthew 15:10

it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person." -Matthew 15:11

The tree that will be uprooted is the person who speaks what is defiled.

How do we know the tree planted by our Heavenly Father is planted by the water.

This is what we have heard:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; -Psalms 1:1

but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. -Psalms 1:2

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. -Psalms 1:3

So the tree by planted by water is those who who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.

How do we as tree sends out our roots by the stream ? Where is this streams ? What is this streams ?

He struck THE ROCK so that water gushed out and STREAMS overflowed.-Psalms 78:20

From here, the streams overflow from the rock.

What is this rock ? This is what we have heard:

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. -1 Corinthians 10:4

Evidently, we know it is from Christ that water gush out and streams overflow; from which we drink our spiritual drink.

As we have heard our Lord have said :

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. -John 7:37

Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" -John 7:38

Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. -John 7:39

From Jesus’ own words, we come to understand, that is, from our hearts will flow rivers of living water, and this rivers of living water that He have spoken is about the Spirit from whom we will receive after our Lord is glorified.

Our Lord Jesus Christ have seated at the right hand of the Father, that means our Lord has been glorified.

We like the tree send its roots by the streams, when we seek the things of the Spirit or the word of the Spirit that have been spoken by our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ through meditating His words day and night.

Selah

To God the Father be glory and thanksgiving through Christ. Amen.

 

[SANTOSO]

Beloved ones, this is what we have heard about CONVICTION:

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”
‭‭John‬ ‭16:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In KJV translation, this is what we heard:
“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”
‭‭John‬ ‭16:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

What reprove” means In Hebrew:

Strong's #3198: yakach (pronounced yaw-kahh')
a primitive root; to be right (i.e. correct); reciprocal, to argue; causatively, to decide, justify or convict:--appoint, argue, chasten, convince, correct(-ion), daysman, dispute, judge, maintain, plead, reason (together), rebuke, reprove(-r), surely, in any wise.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon:
yâkach

1) to prove, decide, judge, rebuke, reprove, correct, be right
1a) (Hiphil)
1a1) to decide, judge
1a2) to adjudge, appoint
1a3) to show to be right, prove
1a4) to convince, convict
1a5) to reprove, chide
1a6) to correct, rebuke
1b) (Hophal) to be chastened
1c) (Niphal) to reason, reason together
1d) (Hithpael) to argue

Beloved ones, let us consider again what our Lord have said:
“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
of sin, because they believe not on me;
of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”
‭‭John‬ ‭16:8-11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
‭‭John‬ ‭16:12-13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

So the conviction or the reproving of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement— that we may bear the truth, for the Holy Spirit is come, He will guide us into all truth: for He shall not speak of himself.

How we should bear the truth ? By bearing witness of the truth, guided by the Spirit of truth.

For we also heard apostle Peter said:
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:22‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Beloved ones, the conviction or reproving of the Holy Spirit leads our souls to be purified in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that we love one another with a pure heart fervently.

Beloved ones, I would not say as “feels like” since conviction is of the Spirit and through the Spirit. I would say conviction of the Spirit is of faith in Christ Jesus. So conviction of the Holy Spirit leads to sanctification of the Spirit.

For we heard :
“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”
‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Also apostle Paul said:
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Beloved ones, Holy Spirit leads us to bear the fruit of righteousness, that fruit we get leads to sanctification of the Spirit and its end, eternal life.

Beloved ones, let us be thankful to God the Father through Christ, who has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit.

To God be all glory and praise.
Amen

 

[aiki]

Hi everyone,

“ABC”=Questions
Many if you here may know about how much I worry about things like apostasy,serving the lord out of a fear of hell,not being saved,etc.

But i want to ask a question.So for someone like me with autism,it’s hard for me to understand some things.If there are any wise Christians out there,can you,in simpler but no less important terms,explain “what the definition of apostasy is and examples of it?”

You're looking at the wrong thing, Blaise. God has made us all to be shaped to the thing(s) upon which we focus our attention. This is why businesses spend so much on advertising. The more their product or service is in front of you, holding your attention, the greater the likelihood is that you'll be moved to purchase whatever they're selling. NASCAR drivers whizzing around the racing oval look at where they want to go, not at where they don't want to go because they know that they'll head in whatever direction they're focused. If they're headed toward the wall, looking at the wall is sure to cause them to hit it; if they look instead at where they want to go, very often they can avoid the wall entirely. And so, if you obsess over apostasy, looking at it, fearing you've become apostate, carefully defining and shaping apostasy in your mind, what do you think is likely to be the result?

We are told in the Bible to look unto Jesus, to consider him, to behold his glory, to follow his example. Why? Because we are always in some way conformed to what we focus on. So, look away from your fear; stop dwelling on apostasy; cease obsessing over not being saved. Fix your eyes on Jesus instead.

Hebrews 12:2-3
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

2 Corinthians 3:18
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Isaiah 26:3-4
3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

Allow me to explain why I worry about this topic,though I’m not so worried as I was about it a couple days ago,what worries me is me somehow committing or having committed apostasy and God turning away from me and me being abandoned by God.

Blaise, God abandons no one on this side of eternity. So long as you live on this globe, God holds out to you redemption and fellowship with Himself through Jesus Christ. Now, you might refuse Him, turn your back on Him, but He never does this to you while you dwell on earth. He's not like us, you see. He's faithful when we are not; He's loving when we are not; He's merciful and patient when we are not. This is why, when we were enemies toward God by our wicked works, alienated from Him by our rebellion and sin, bound under the power of the World, the Flesh and the devil, hateful and hating one another, God still moved toward us, drawing us to Christ (John 6:44), giving us the ability to understand the Gospel (2 Timothy 2:25), convicting us of our sin (John 16:8), and enabling us to freely choose to trust in Christ as our Savior and Lord.

Ephesians 2:1-6
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
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,

Titus 3:3-7
3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Do you see, Blaise? Our wickedness was no barrier to God doing all of these things for us. He didn't look at each of us, mired in sin and darkness, deserving of hell, and abandon us. He did the exact opposite! God had compassion on us, redeeming us out of our terrible condition, through Jesus making a way for miserable, wretched sinners to know and enjoy Him as their Heavenly Father! Why in the world, then, do you fear God? Why are you so convinced God wants to drop you the moment you struggle and stumble into sin? If our sin was such a problem for God, He'd never have saved any of us!

Your selfishness has distorted your view of God. In an effort to protect yourself from God as Judge, you have ceased to see God as Savior and Friend. Self wants to be safe from God on its own terms, by its own effort, but this is impossible. Self can do nothing to please God. Only Jesus, only accepting what he has done for you and resting in him, pleases God.

John 15:4-5
4 "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.
5 "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.

What enormous kindness God shows to us in doing for us what we could not do for ourselves, atoning for our sin through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, so that we might know and walk with Him in joy and peace. He's not wanting to be your Judge; He has gone to great lengths instead to make it possible for you to know Him as your loving, gracious, patient Heavenly Father.

Did the father of the Prodigal Son meet his son with angry words and arms folded across his chest? No! It was with open arms, running to, and embracing, his boy, that the father met him. This is a picture of God's attitude toward you when you stray, when you wander off into sin. He's not looking to kick you out of His kingdom; He's looking to return you to fellowship with Himself, to embrace you and rejoice in your return to walking with Him.

I'm not saying God is okay with your sin. Not at all. He hates all sin. But because of what Jesus did on your behalf, your sin is paid for and does not stand between you and God the way it would have if Jesus had not atoned for your sin on the cross. It's not your righteousness, then, that persuades God to accept you. It is ONLY because you have trusted in what Jesus did for you on the cross, that you have trusted in him as your Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9-10), that God accepts you. There is no reason for you, then, to go about in constant fear that God is going to forsake you. He doesn't accept you because of you but ONLY because of Jesus with whom He is always perfectly satisfied.

Ephesians 1:7-8
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He lavished on us....

Colossians 1:12-14
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

From what I know I’ve probably spent too much time on Quora in the past and seen answers to some biblical questions from atheists or “former Christians” and I guess my mind has been scared of becoming that.

Then get off - and stay off - Quora! You won't ever find confidence in God in the prejudices and antagonism of atheists.

that brings me to my next question,”can someone explain the parable of the soils?,im always worried I’m either rocky or thorny soil.”

I admit,most times,if not sometimes,my attention is drawn to things in the world,like tv,video games,or my phone.And I’m afraid that may represent Thorny soil

No, it simply means you haven't been submitting to God, giving the Holy Spirit control of you. By the way, there's nothing wrong with playing a game so long as it doesn't hinder your fellowship with God. It's when gaming replaces God, competes with Him for your affection, diminishes your love and communion with Him, that it's time to stop gaming.

As for Rocky soil,my excessive fear of falling away,and intrusive thoughts,feelings,desires,etc make me constantly examining and attentive to my spiritual condition.

Actually, these things are just making you preoccupied with yourself and your fears, rather than God.

“What is an idol?”
From my knowledge,an idol can either be a statue representing pagan,voodoo,Buddhist,Hindu,folk religion gods, OR something that is against the Bible that has ones extensive attention and time to.

An idol is anything in your life that competes with and/or has overtaken God's first place in, and rule over, your life.

As of right now,I’m slightly worried,that in that short moment of time I turned away from the Lord.I know I probably should stop being so scared and worried about how strict God may be and abide on his Grace.

Not "probably"; you MUST abide in God's grace.

I have asked him to please “incline my heart to the things of your will and the things obedient to you”,to “stay with me always and for life”,to “please convict me of sin” (which I haven’t experienced but anything I see as sin I confess),mostly to “Please sustain me in faith”,and “To please never let me cross the line of apostasy”.I even probably 20 times have said this prayer “Lord if I have in any way committed apostasy I repent and confess and ask for forgiveness,please keep me in your family,please don’t abandon me”

When will you start telling God that you submit yourself to His will and way? When will you start telling God that you yield yourself to His control? Surrender to God must come BEFORE all of the other things for which you're praying; for God can do none of what you've asked so long as you are not submitted to Him. To answer your prayers when you are not submitted to Him would be to aid you in defiance of Him, to reward a rebel.

I had a scary thought,when I was reading the responses to this post I was bombed with in my head and heart with “Faith seems so hard,I’m waiting so long for help,it’s tiring”

God's help comes to the submitted. He fills the surrendered with Himself and they "mount up with wings as eagles."

I keep pleading to God to please never let me fall away,I’ve even asked him a handful of times to remove my option of free will and keep me with him forever so I never fall away,has anyone ever thought the same thing before?,like have any of you ever thought through faith is hard and temptation to give up,because I’ll never give up on the Lord.

God cannot answer such a prayer because it is anathema to a love-relationship with Him. Puppets obey but they do not love. If you want to be safe in God, yield to His will and way, give Him control of you throughout every day. As you do, He will change you, strengthen your love for Him, make you a holy person. There is no other way to enjoy God and to walk well with Him except in submission to Him.

Romans 8:14
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Romans 12:1
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Romans 6:13
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

James 4:6-7
6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."
7 Submit therefore to God...

1 Peter 5:6
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,