The eternal security of the believer is truth from the Bible. However there are many who are confused because they believe everyone who "says" they are a Christian are saved.
The reality is that many who claim to be "Christian" have never been born again, this is why we see them walking away, nothing changes in their actions or attitudes and they even fight to defend their sin. We experience in our country a "psudo-Christianity" based on cultural standards, we are seeing even this diminish as the culture becomes more and more rebellious while being rewarded for their rebellion.
Matthew 7:21-23 is quite clear on this matter of "false conversion."
Matthew 7:21-23 "21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
God says we shall know them by their fruit or lack of fruit:
Matthew 7:17 "…16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.…"
What is this fruit we are suppose to see? It's not works, it is clearly evident, that the fruit are character qualities, the very nature of God, although imperfect in our flesh, perfect in the Holy Spirit that lives in us.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
When we see an arrogance demonstrating a superiority to others on a sustained level continually, it is quite likely that the person we are watching is not born again.
No one who has been delivered from their sinful nature will be deeply prideful, they know from whence they came. Even though they no longer feel shame because they have been forgiven, they are deeply aware of the depth at which Christ went to save us and are grateful, leaving no room for superiority or self aggrandizement.
2 Timothy 3:2-3 "1 But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,…"
Self righteous people love to negate and mock those they feel superior to, they cannot see their own flaws and become enraged when anyone attempts to show them. Spiritual and emotional growth is not possible in those who elevate themselves. It is only serious discipline that may bring them to the end of themselves, causing them to seek Christ when their own strength is no longer working for them.
Those who will not submit to God no matter how much misery their own life has brought, are the ones who end up in the fires of hell. They are the ones who will be gnashing their teeth in anger as they are thrown into the fires. Such arrogance doesn't save them, it doesn't do anything for them, but they will do it anyway because the stubbornness is so great they will rage at the Holy God that made them and Who can destroy them, simply to "feel" powerful, even though they have no power, I call this irrational.
How do we spell......foolishness and arrogance! It gets them nothing, even worse it gets them hell, but they will remain as they are, even knowing their demise is in progress.
The only hope for these rebellious types is to pray that the Lord bring about circumstances that help them see themselves in truth. The only way we can repent is if we can admit what we are and that we are hopeless without Christ.
Often in our culture the idols are not statues but the idol of self is prominent for the discerning to be able to see. And even more than that, God sees it all, even if people do not.
1 Corinthians 8:5-7 "…5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist. 7 But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. And since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.…"
When we are counting apples we say: "There are fewer apples in the bowl."
When we are measuring flour we say: "There is less flour in the container."
"Fewer" is used when we can count what we are talking about and "Less" is used when we cannot count but have to measure what we are talking about.
Even the news media is misusing these words constantly. It sort of grates on our nerves. LOL
Another misused word in our culture right now is "decimated." This word is being used to mean "destroyed", but that is an improper use.
Destroyed is a much stronger word than "decimated." Destroy means to "put an end to", completely eliminate is far greater destruction than decimate.
"Decimated" means to reduce by one tenth, which means that whatever was damaged was only damaged by a tenth, that means that 90% of the whatever was damaged is untouched.
"Deci" means a factor of one tenth.
Just sayin!!! LOL
I do not believe cholesterol causes heart disease. Everyone's cholesterol is different, the amount is not very important. It's about the lack of stress. Stress is what causes cholesterol to stick to the arteries when the arteries inflame. When the arteries do not inflame the cholesterol flows right on through without sticking. Food does not affect the heart, it is the inflamed arteries that allow the cholesterol to stick and build up over time.
I am not a doctor, but I do know that often the medical community pays more attention to the symptoms than the causes.
I have known people who ate fat all their lives and lived to be old, but they were also people who were "easy going", not taking things too seriously and not workaholics.
I'm not a doctor, but have had some life observations that seem to make sense to me.
Here's what God says causes a long life, It's not the food, but it is the lack of stress from trusting Christ.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 "7"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. 8"For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.…"
Psalm 40:4 "How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood."
Proverbs 3:1-3 "1 My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you. 3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.…"
Our length of life has little to do with food, it has to do with our stress level, if we trust in the Lord our stress is far less. We have also been given a certain number of days, no more no less, God's in charge of that.
Just noticing, the use of the term "hogwash" can be very offensive when used to describe foolishness to those who spout it. LOL
Sometimes the statements of rebellious people are so ridiculous that words fail us, then out pops, "hogwash", just can't help myself because any discussion with these people is impossible.
We are living in times when rational thinking is actually on the fringe, just one generation ago we all knew what was rational and sensible, but no longer is this true.
1 Corinthians 3:19
"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS";"
Romans 1:28-32
"28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;
32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."
Sadly, we not only see this foolishness in the world we are now seeing it in the church. We are living in the days of the "Laodicean" church as described in Revelation.
1 Corinthians 1:20
"Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?"
Revelation 3:14-17 Message to Laodicea
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:
15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.
16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,"
(Cold: a refreshing drink of cold water or Hot: on fire for Christ. Both cold and hot are for Christ, but the lukewarm are indifferent to Him, which translates into a form of hate.)
There is nothing more painful for the victim than to have others coddle and embrace the wicked person who harmed them, even chastising and bludgeoning the victim to manipulate them to forgive.
I can't think of anything more twisted than this. When we coddle the perpetrators of evil we make the evil grow. As believers in Christ our job is to comfort the down trodden, not those who down trodden the victim.
There is such a thing as justice, we are only required to forgive someone if they are repentant. We are commanded not to forgive those who refuse to be sorry, God doesn't and we should not either. Consequences are the only thing that wicked people can understand. Without consequences, there is no humbling or sense of shame for evil behavior.
Ephesians 4:32…31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and tender-hearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
As Christ forgave you! How did Christ forgive? He forgave through repentance, without confession of sin there is no forgiveness, without confession of sin there is no change in the heart or behavior.
1 John 1:9
"IF we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Did anyone notice that "IF", in 1 John? We are not forgiven by God if we will not be sorry and God does not require us to forgive when evil people will not be sorry. Just because we cannot forgive the unrepentant wicked, does not mean we automatically become bitter, that is a lie of psychology, having nothing to do with the Bible.
I have grown weary of the victims of abuse being bludgeoned and pressured to forgive their wicked abusers while the abuser feels no sense of pressure but rather even blessing from misguided self righteous believers, who desire to be seen as good by the world. Throwing the victim under the bus while coddling the evil perpetrator only serves to devalue the victim.
The requirement for forgiveness is confession and sorrow over the sin. God operates this way and He expects us to do so too. This is about reconciliation, there can be none when someone has harmed another person, is not sorry for doing so and will continue that evil unless they are stopped.
Proverbs 28:13
"Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy."
Psalm 32:5
"I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah"
The reason we have so many people in our society that believe we and God are obligated to forgive even if they are not sorry and have no intention of stopping their evil, is because of this foolish ungodly, unbiblical doctrine of forgiving even if someone is not sorry.
You will not find one scripture that says we forgive for our own sake. Forgiveness is for the sake of reconciling a relationship. Relationships cannot be reconciled if there is not sorrow over the sin.
Acts 19:18
"Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices."
We are commanded to forgive when the offender is sorry, not before.
John 20:22-23
"And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
James 4:7-10
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."
We do the wicked no favors by giving them a pass on the evil that they do and we have no love or empathy for the victims when we bludgeon them to forgive without repentance on the part of the evil one.
This is the foolishness and evil of the psychological thinking of our day. The wicked man gets the compassion while the victim is pressured to forgive an unrepentant evil person. Unbelievable.
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Sometimes the worst thing we can do for people is to continually prop them up. They become weak because we have allowed them to depend on us.
Helping people is wonderful, right and good, until we are doing for them what they should do for themselves. Then we become their crutch, instead of allowing their crutch to be Jesus Christ.
Constantly propping up someone else makes them weaker. Support should be temporary, except when it is Christ supporting someone, then that help from God should be continual.
When we attempt to play God by supporting someone too much, then we are not helping them, but rather weakening them. Perhaps deep in our soul we are more concerned about being liked than we are about the overall well being of our friend.
We must realize that help becomes a hindrance to growth when that help causes our friend to depend on us rather than Christ.
The best thing we can do for our friend is to guide them to Christ, giving them a temporary boost and then letting them fly by themselves for a time to learn dependence on Christ. We can be there for them with encouragement and prayer, while allowing them to work through with Christ.
We live in a culture that praises far too much. Everyone needs to be able to do and be what is right when no one is praising them for it. People pleasers are more concerned about "appearing" helpful and encouraging than they are about actually "being" so.
The only One that anyone should depend upon is the Lord Jesus Christ. All friendships should point us to Christ at all times, making Him and His principles a priority.
When we meet someone who wants our help but rejects God's way of help, based on His principles, then we should have no other help to give them. It is time to walk away, allow them to flounder and fail until they see their need for Christ. We do no one any favors by removing their dependence on Christ.
To replace Christ in someone's life by being their help for them continually, is to play God. Notice I said "continually." We ought to be there for our brothers and sisters whenever needed, however we must be discerning to be able to know when our help is through Christ or whether it is our own desire to be elevated. We must be willing to do the hard thing to help our friend become dependent on Christ and successful in their Christian walk, sometimes that is to say no, in a kind and loving way.
Never feel guilty about letting go to let God, when the Holy Spirit is speaking this to us. Never give into the pressure of others expectations of us, we must be completely dependent on Christ to resist the pressure from others to do their will over the will of God.
Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Ephesians 5:17
"Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
1 John 2:16-17
"For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
Matthew 6:33
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
