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Struggles by Non-Christians
Since the heart is wicked, how can it turn to Christ?
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<blockquote data-quote="Bob8102" data-source="post: 74612252" data-attributes="member: 423945"><p>You wrote:</p><p>But now we must work out our salvation that we received when we first turned to Christ, with fear and trembling because our eternity is at stake.</p><p></p><p>I'm not quite sure what the name for the theology that I go by is. Maybe "protestant, reformed, evangelical?" But it teaches that a true Christian cannot lose their salvation. The Jeremian Study Bible I keep mentioning has a section called something like, "Is working out your salvation the same as earning it?" It says that the language in the Bible means something similar to miners working out gold or other precious materials from mines. God put the material in there; the miners work it out. It says that a saved person has precious "gems" in him/her, which they are to work to bring to the surface. That is, work to live as Christ calls them to. But it indicates that working out one's salvation is not the same as working to earn salvation. And that one cannot lose their salvation. If your theology says a Christian can lose their salvation, then we will just have to agree to disagree.</p><p></p><p>As to the moment that one becomes a Christian, as talked about in my study Bible, that also is in line with my theology. (No, it's not a verse in the Bible, it's in study notes.) Also, that section of the Bible says that what brings one to accept Christ may be a process, but becoming a Christian is not a process. It says everyone who becomes a Christian does so in a moment, like Saul on the Damascus road. (No, it does not mean that everyone has an experience as dramatic as Saul's. But their moment of conversion is just as instantaneous.)</p><p></p><p>A Christian friend of mine has been telling me to learn more of Christ from the Bible, and seems to indicate that becoming a believer is a process. What I don't like about a "process" is that one may not make it all the way through the process. A momentary conversion that is permanent not only is more to my liking, but is in line with the "standard" protestant theology I have.</p><p></p><p>I have known the gospel for something like 45+ years. I have been actively seeking salvation for ten years. I have read the whole Bible 1+ times and the New Testament several times. I have been exposed to lots of preaching and teaching. I think I have enough info upon which basis to make a decision, whereas this friend of mine is telling me to learn more. But my problem is in whether or not my repeated "conversions to Christ" are real, any of them. My theology which says a Christian cannot lose their salvation also says things like, if good works are not evident in one's life, then they have good reason to question their salvation. It says, faith without works is dead. I never wait for very long before questioning my salvation. The doubt comes up quickly. But I don't assume it's just OCD. It may be that I really have not yet become a Christian.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bob8102, post: 74612252, member: 423945"] You wrote: But now we must work out our salvation that we received when we first turned to Christ, with fear and trembling because our eternity is at stake. I'm not quite sure what the name for the theology that I go by is. Maybe "protestant, reformed, evangelical?" But it teaches that a true Christian cannot lose their salvation. The Jeremian Study Bible I keep mentioning has a section called something like, "Is working out your salvation the same as earning it?" It says that the language in the Bible means something similar to miners working out gold or other precious materials from mines. God put the material in there; the miners work it out. It says that a saved person has precious "gems" in him/her, which they are to work to bring to the surface. That is, work to live as Christ calls them to. But it indicates that working out one's salvation is not the same as working to earn salvation. And that one cannot lose their salvation. If your theology says a Christian can lose their salvation, then we will just have to agree to disagree. As to the moment that one becomes a Christian, as talked about in my study Bible, that also is in line with my theology. (No, it's not a verse in the Bible, it's in study notes.) Also, that section of the Bible says that what brings one to accept Christ may be a process, but becoming a Christian is not a process. It says everyone who becomes a Christian does so in a moment, like Saul on the Damascus road. (No, it does not mean that everyone has an experience as dramatic as Saul's. But their moment of conversion is just as instantaneous.) A Christian friend of mine has been telling me to learn more of Christ from the Bible, and seems to indicate that becoming a believer is a process. What I don't like about a "process" is that one may not make it all the way through the process. A momentary conversion that is permanent not only is more to my liking, but is in line with the "standard" protestant theology I have. I have known the gospel for something like 45+ years. I have been actively seeking salvation for ten years. I have read the whole Bible 1+ times and the New Testament several times. I have been exposed to lots of preaching and teaching. I think I have enough info upon which basis to make a decision, whereas this friend of mine is telling me to learn more. But my problem is in whether or not my repeated "conversions to Christ" are real, any of them. My theology which says a Christian cannot lose their salvation also says things like, if good works are not evident in one's life, then they have good reason to question their salvation. It says, faith without works is dead. I never wait for very long before questioning my salvation. The doubt comes up quickly. But I don't assume it's just OCD. It may be that I really have not yet become a Christian. [/QUOTE]
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Since the heart is wicked, how can it turn to Christ?
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