God cannot forsake us… ever. He is omnipresent, but we can turn our backs on Him. The word is clear about it. Like you say the prodigal son… he was not in his father’s house while he was squandering his riches. The father allowed him back, but while he was in the world, he was in the world. By grace he made it back to his father’s house.
The sheep is God’s followers, he did not go out looking for a goat while His sheep was missing. The ones in covenant with Him are the sheep. I don’t see him going out looking for goats (non-believers, the ones turned away from Him).
There are many verses in the Old Testament where God said He will not forsake Israel, but in the end he did gave the 10 tribes a bill of divorce. Was God lying to Israel, or did he change His mind? No, He did not forsake them but gave them over to their desires. Just like you and me, if we are choosing to be part of the world, He will not force himself on us.
CORRECTION: NON BORN AGAIN FOLLOWERS that go to CHURCH can turn their backs on HIM. But we do not COUNT THEM AS PART OF US, because of this verse:
1 John 2:19 (HCSB)
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They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us.
However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.
Like I said, YOU ARE COUNTING NON BORN AGAIN Followers, and being a disciple does not mean you are BORN AGAIN. Disciple only means FOLLOWER, and you can look that up. These PEOPLE were just Followers that have Never been BORN AGAIN. When You are BORN AGAIN, the HOLY SPIRIT changes you on the inside (Human Spirit), where you will NEVER forsake HIM, PLUS HE WILL NEVER ABANDON US. Thus that VERSE above REMAINS ABSOLUTELY TRUTH.
Why does HE address both Born Again Christians and NON BORN AGAIN Followers?
Romans 10:13-21 (HCSB)
13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
14 But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher?
15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!
16 But all did not obey the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message?
17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.
18 But I ask, “Did they not hear?” Yes, they did: Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the inhabited world.
19 But I ask, “Did Israel not understand?” First, Moses said: I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that lacks understanding.
20 And Isaiah says boldly: I was found by those who were not looking for Me; I revealed Myself to those who were not asking for Me.
21 But to Israel he says:
All day long I have spread out My hands to a disobedient and defiant people.
Romans 10:8-10 (NASB)
8 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
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that if you confess {not just PROFESS, has to be TRUE in your heart for it to be a CONFESSION,} with your mouth
Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
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for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses,
resulting in salvation.
Intellectual belief is only in your HEAD believing, and that is the same kind of faith the DEMONS had at Gadera.
Here is an example of UNSAVED FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST, and NOTICE HE still calls them disciples:
John 6:66 (NIV)
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From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
I know 666 was not the original BIBLE, but it is an easy way to remember
disciples who were influenced by the Devil.
Here is another unsaved Disciple:
John 3:1-7 (NIV)
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
2 He came to Jesus at night and said,
"Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." {He obviously had been a follower, and he knew where Jesus was at night.}
3 In reply Jesus declared,
"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
5 Jesus answered,
"I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
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Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
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You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'
You and possibly your Church is COUNTING WAY TO MANY AS SAVED, when according to
Mat. 7:14, only a FEW FIND IT.
Many you are counting are on the Broad Road to Destruction in Hades/Hell.
Matthew 7:20 (HCSB)
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So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.
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