Would it be safer to die early in Lord ?

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throughfaith

Well-known member
#141
Aug 4, 2020
10,467
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#141
Scribe said:
Phil 1: 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,

It is about our fruitful labor for others. What is best for them. That is the scriptural mindset we must have.
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Yes and I'm also able to confidently say this ,because no matter what happens
Scribe said:
Phil 1: 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,

It is about our fruitful labor for others. What is best for them. That is the scriptural mindset we must have.
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Yes I also can say confidently with Paul " For me to live is Christ , and to die is gain " why ? Because I also believe what Paul believed .
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
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throughfaith

Well-known member
#142
Aug 4, 2020
10,467
1,593
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#142
Scribe said:
Phil 1: 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,

It is about our fruitful labor for others. What is best for them. That is the scriptural mindset we must have.
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Yes I can also say with Paul " For me to live is Christ , and to die is gain because I believe as He believed when he said:
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
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bojack

Well-known member
#143
Dec 16, 2019
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#143
Ahwatukee said:
Yes, scripture states that God foreknew us and predestined us. However, our being chosen by God is not based on our own efforts or works. God did not look into the future and chose us because of those things. Scripture states that it is by God's Sovereign will that are names are written in the the book of life and called. Who knows what God's criteria is for choosing one and not another for salvation.
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We are not too far off .. God's criteria is to repent and believe on/in Jesus .. He can also respond to prayers of others for your soul .. God is sovereign and has a whole book explaining it .. We will be given a new name .. Now what about all those who we were called to minister to but neglected to tell .. I'm saying God is sovereign and does as He wills .. His will is that none perish .. Many are called but few are chosen ..
 
Ahwatukee

Ahwatukee

Senior Member
#144
Mar 12, 2015
11,159
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#144
BolusOfDoom said:
What about those not falling under “us”? The world is every man for himself, a sinking ship. The Titanic wasn’t a successful cruise because some passengers made it. Most ended up in the icy darkness of an abyssal plain.

When do the damned stop being my neighbor? Better to scrape sores with them in Hell than enjoy a Heaven shorn of all empathy.
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If you are called to salvation, why would you choose to be separated from God in the lake of fire for all eternity, opposed to the joy of the Lord and all that He has promised us.

Regarding suffering, remember, Jesus himself suffered and that on every believers behalf. As believers we should be prepared to go through persecution and even death for His name sake and the word of God.

Neither Hades nor the lake of fire is going to be a picnic. Even though eternal fire is bad enough, being completely separated from your creator would be worse.
 
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BolusOfDoom

New member
#145
Aug 26, 2020
3
1
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#145
bojack said:
You can recover with the Word
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The only thing demonic here is the idea that a text is more important than the suffering of billions. God is a person, not a text.

Not self-pity. Pity for others. Others exist. How many actual people are you willing to sacrifice in your own head for a consistent system?

How many people have to be sacrificed so a minority can live it up in heaven? The damned are your saviors. They are the cast-off shavings from the lathe of Heaven. They are the eggs broken to make your omelette.
 
Ahwatukee

Ahwatukee

Senior Member
#146
Mar 12, 2015
11,159
2,376
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#146
bojack said:
We are not too far off .. God's criteria is to repent and believe on/in Jesus .. He can also respond to prayers of others for your soul .. God is sovereign and has a whole book explaining it .. We will be given a new name .. Now what about all those who we were called to minister to but neglected to tell .. I'm saying God is sovereign and does as He wills .. His will is that none perish .. Many are called but few are chosen ..
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God's will is that none that he predestined and called before the world began would not perish. He is not calling everyone. Not everyone's name was written in the book of life, which was the purpose of posting Rev.13:8 and 17:8. Only those whom God chose had their names written in His book. Even Jesus said, "no man comes to the Son except the Father draws him." This infers that the Father does not draw everyone. Not everyone is a sheep of Christ. Only those that God gave to Him.
 
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bojack

Well-known member
#147
Dec 16, 2019
2,309
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#147
BolusOfDoom said:
The only thing demonic here is the idea that a text is more important than the suffering of billions. God is a person, not a text.

Not self-pity. Pity for others. Others exist. How many actual people are you willing to sacrifice in your own head for a consistent system?

How many people have to be sacrificed so a minority can live it up in heaven? The damned are your saviors. They are the cast-off shavings from the lathe of Heaven. They are the eggs broken to make your omelette.
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So everyone gets their reward .. How fair is that .. And you waste your time doing nothing because you allowed you faith to be wrecked, what happened ? God decided to test it ?.. Wake up please and get back on the path .. I've had dreams/visions of both heaven and hell and you're out of your league what you now preach ..
 
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bojack

Well-known member
#148
Dec 16, 2019
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#148
Ahwatukee said:
God's will is that none that he predestined and called before the world began would not perish. He is not calling everyone. Not everyone's name was written in the book of life, which was the purpose of posting Rev.13:8 and 17:8. Only those whom God chose had their names written in His book. Even Jesus said, "no man comes to the Son except the Father draws him." This infers that the Father does not draw everyone. Not everyone is a sheep of Christ. Only those that God gave to Him.
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Is God a respecter of persons ?
 
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throughfaith

Well-known member
#149
Aug 4, 2020
10,467
1,593
113
#149
Scribe said:
Phil 1: 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,

It is about our fruitful labor for others. What is best for them. That is the scriptural mindset we must have.
Click to expand...
We are to Forgive, because we have been forgiven. Thats the difference after the cross .
 
Ahwatukee

Ahwatukee

Senior Member
#150
Mar 12, 2015
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#150
bojack said:
Is God a respecter of persons ?
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"Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism, but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right. "

"There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism."

In both scriptures above and in keeping with the context, it is stating that there is no favoritism regardless of whether a person is a Jew or Gentile for the reasons given. It therefore cannot be applied out of context to those whom God chose for salvation before the world began.

Look at it this way: all people, even those who are saved, are worthy of separation from God in the lake of fire, which is the definition of the second death. Because of sin, God could have not provided a way of salvation for anyone and all would rightfully have perished. However, God in His loving kindness, grace and mercy, according to His Sovereign will, saved some. It is those whom He wrote in His book of life before the world even began whom he chose to save. God is not being unfair by choosing some and not others, because we all deserve death. Those whose names were not written in His book before the world began are simply receiving what they deserve because of sin. We also deserve punishment, but God chose us to inherit eternal life through faith in His Son.
 
Magenta

Magenta

Senior Member
#152
Jul 3, 2015
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#152
tourist said:
One of my favorites for sure. Thank you for posting it as I sometimes need a reminder.
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Meg was very pleased with the Scripture verse I chose to display with her lovely visage, which increased my pleasure in designing it all the more :love: Of course, it is Scripture, and all Scripture is good, but I do tend to focus more on the encouragement side of things for my panels, and I am glad you like it, too :)
 
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bojack

Well-known member
#153
Dec 16, 2019
2,309
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#153
Ahwatukee said:
"Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism, but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right. "

"There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism."

In both scriptures above and in keeping with the context, it is stating that there is no favoritism regardless of whether a person is a Jew or Gentile for the reasons given. It therefore cannot be applied out of context to those whom God chose for salvation before the world began.

Look at it this way: all people, even those who are saved, are worthy of separation from God in the lake of fire, which is the definition of the second death. Because of sin, God could have not provided a way of salvation for anyone and all would rightfully have perished. However, God in His loving kindness, grace and mercy, according to His Sovereign will, saved some. It is those whom He wrote in His book of life before the world even began whom he chose to save. God is not being unfair by choosing some and not others, because we all deserve death. Those whose names were not written in His book before the world began are simply receiving what they deserve because of sin. We also deserve punishment, but God chose us to inherit eternal life through faith in His Son.
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this is just discussion .. can your name be blotted out ? Scripture says choose ye this day and there is no promise of tomorrow . then you have riches in many forms .. Does God have a name in mind or a certain number to be fulfilled , then the End .. Some folks use it to judge others to say ''you're not saved, never was or ever will be'' , sickening to me .... Like I said imo we're close
 
Ahwatukee

Ahwatukee

Senior Member
#154
Mar 12, 2015
11,159
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#154
bojack said:
this is just discussion .. can your name be blotted out ?
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"But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white. Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels."

Jesus said the above in the letter to Sardis, as well as to all believers reading it. The promise to not blot out a persons name from the book of life, is directed at those who overcome what caused them to soil their garments. Well, if we reverse that, if their clothes remain soiled and do not overcome, then the Lord can and will blot out their names from the book of life.

Salvation is by God's Sovereign choice, not man's
 
tourist

tourist

Senior Member
#155
Mar 13, 2014
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#155
Magenta said:
Meg was very pleased with the Scripture verse I chose to display with her lovely visage, which increased my pleasure in designing it all the more :love: Of course, it is Scripture, and all Scripture is good, but I do tend to focus more on the encouragement side of things for my panels, and I am glad you like it, too :)
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I always find your beautiful artwork spiritually edifying, uplifting and very much a source of encouragement.
 
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bojack

Well-known member
#156
Dec 16, 2019
2,309
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#156
Ahwatukee said:
"But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white. Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels."

Jesus said the above in the letter to Sardis, as well as to all believers reading it. The promise to not blot out a persons name from the book of life, is directed at those who overcome what caused them to soil their garments. Well, if we reverse that, if their clothes remain soiled and do not overcome, then the Lord can and will blot out their names from the book of life.

Salvation is by God's Sovereign choice, not man's
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names are blotted out yet no one can pluck us from His hand
 
A

acts5_29

Active member
#158
Apr 17, 2020
327
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#158
I lean toward OSAS.

That being said, I think it is a good question to ask, "Why are we still here even after we are saved?". It's a time of tribulation that God meant for us. So when we consider the "Count it all joy, brothers..." versenand you're going through hard times, think about this:. the hard times are the reason we're here! If He meant for us to sip martinis with little umbrellas in them for the rest of our lives, we would much better be doing that in Heaven than in the Mediterranean.

A
 
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bojack

Well-known member
#159
Dec 16, 2019
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#159
Ahwatukee

Ahwatukee

Senior Member
#160
Mar 12, 2015
11,159
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#160
bojack said:
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
I always took this to mean if we return to not relying on Jesus but going back to dead works to earn salvation ..
And becoming lukewarm or indifferent anymore ...
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He bojack!

Just fyi, that scripture is speaking about complete apostasy, i.e. turning from faith and going back into the world, willfully living according to the sinful nature.
 
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