The Holy Spirit/God's Word
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Well you would rejoice in the eternal condemnation of those who reject Christ. But that is not what the Bible rejoices with at all.
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live? Ez. 18:23
Now please go ahead and twist that scripture to mean something else, or better yet, deny I even posted it.
NO you strange person, we are not rejoicing in the death of those who have not accepted Christ.
Well, you said "if a person has not repented to God, then that person is not forgiven by God. Is that correct?
When God went to that cross once for us all to reconcile everyone unto himself for us all. (2 Cor 5:17-20)
You say it is not done if one does not repent to who, You, your church, place of worship? or God?
So, God is conditional, a tyrant, is that correct. God did not go to that cross in Son for everyone to reconcile everyone as forgiven",
but if you did not mean that you think everyone goes to heaven whether they repent of evil or not, then good!
Sorry that I misunderstood.
So again, yes, God loves everyone, but they are forgiven/saved only when/if they repent/reflect His love.
Newsflash! All orthodox Protestants since Martin Luther have believed sinners are saved by grace through faith.
Also, I own our website, which is free.
Faith is given to all was what I questionned when it is very obvious that not all have faith.
Well you would rejoice in the eternal condemnation of those who reject Christ. But that is not what the Bible rejoices with at all. see post 73
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live? Ez. 18:23
Now please go ahead and twist that scripture to mean something else, or better yet, deny I even posted it.
NO you strange person, we are not rejoicing in the death of those who have not accepted Christ.
Please let us know why you deviate from the Bible and ignore the verse(s) that show you deviate from the Bible. You think throwing in a Martin Luther or two works?
Coming out of high school I heard that Christians walk by blind faith in God but atheists operate by facts,
but I have learned that they also walk by faith in no god, which means in themselves as I-dols--just like A&E,
who were the first to choose to believe the serpent's lie.
The Bible teaches that hell is both just and eternal. How those Scriptures may be harmonized is explained
in the website/commentary Lesson 1, Part VI, for anyone who would like to understand that.
You deviate from the Bible as well as demean Martin Luther. What denomination of demeanors taught you?
You state
So again, yes, God loves everyone, but they are forgiven/saved only when/if they repent/reflect His love.
I state, when God reveals the truth to anyone in being forgiven first by Son for them on that cross, that reconciliation is given them through the done work of Son in his shed blood for them too, for all people first born of flesh and blood nature, that is what got done on that cross, when he yelled "It is finished" John 19:30, he did what he said he came here to earth to do (Matt 5:17-18) he did it, it is done Law not taken away yet, there are still unbelievers in Jesus, who completed the mission to reconcile us all as forgiven from God his Father that had to be done first, before any new life could ever get given from Father to anyone. Since Jesus is now risen, Now our Father Who in love and mercy of Son did this once for us all to be new, we get to learn new from mistakes made and remain from Daddy's view as forgiven, accepted and sealed to see this amazing truth for us free of charge forever. Now, I as Paul and many others get to see this also, once anyone truly, sincerely believes God in the done work of Son for them too as forgiven in the last shed blood that pleased God forever. So we can be given new life in love and mercy too, to all too, even those in unbelief too, thank you Father
Once one, anyone gets this from God, one believes God, gets reconciled back to God in thanksgiving and praise, there is no more work to do. Not of self anyways.Only the done work of God through Son as risen, loving all, and trusting God Father tooled them the same as Father did Son for us all to be new in love and mercy to all too, thank you
Your reply failed to mention the teaching of Romans 4 that forgiveness is conditional upon faith as well as Ephesians 2:8-10.
Believe as you decide to believe, every person, I am not arguing over whether or not God loves us all Unconditionally as you are stating God is Conditional. When God does not interfere with free choice as people do, especially from religion
However, anyone can believe as they decide to believe. I hear God asking for no one to live like a refugee, even if are one. The truth from God in risen Son sets people free and does not put anyone in stress over stuff to do to be in and stay in or get in
He went to that cross in Son once for us all to believe he is risen and new life gets given in love and mercy to all
God's love for us all to free us from I right and others are wrong attitudes of the first born flesh. Lord teach me new, as you do for everyone in love and mercy to everyone thank you
Not sure I followed you and thus I am not quite sure whether we agree or disagree,
so let me clarify that I believe God loves everyone unconditionally (John 3:16 etc.),
but He forgives conditionally only those who have saving faith (Eph. 2:8-9 etc.).
And you say...?
Do you think your post was wet?
Yes, I get into the intimate personal relationship that His presence in our heart creates.
Do you regard the Bible as the prime mover or do you see God Himself as the Prime Mover? In other words, when the Bible says things like, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" (Jn 14:18), is it pointing to itself as the preventer of orphanhood? Or is it pointing to Jesus' presence as the preventer of orphanhood? Certainly the latter. Similarly when it says "He will teach you all things" (Jn 14:26), does that not also point to Him as being the one who teaches us everything (including a proper understanding of the Scriptures), so that He is the Prime Mover.
I was responding to the impersonal descriptions of the functions of the Holy Spirit that were common in my upbringing as a new Christian. I was not taught anything about the personal relationship we have with Him. I think this was because Baptists were (/are?) afraid of being associated with "holy rollers". So I was just wondering if your teaching included insight into the role He plays inside our hearts. And I'm glad to see that you do. Perhaps you can post that section of your site.
I regard God's Word as God Himself aka the Holy Spirit.
IOW, I see "I will come to you" (Jn 14:18) as fulfilled when sinners repent and let Jesus/the HS into their hearts (Rev. 3:20).
Similarly, "He will teach you all things" (Jn 14:26) indicates that we should not divorce the HS from GW,
so yes, He is the Prime Mover, or as I express it: God initiates; sinners cooperate--or not.
The entire website shares what I believe the HS has personally taught me, whether via Scripture or creation/logic,
but here is a section from Part II in Lesson 3 re the HS that might satisfy your request:
Interaction between God and humans begins primitively when selfish but innocent babies attain the stage of moral accountability or conscience (normally about the stage of pre-pubescence), comparable to when Adam and Eve became aware it was wrong to eat from the forbidden tree (Gen. 2:17). At this stage a soul’s relationship with God begins in an impersonal way when the person exercises God’s seeking grace to becomes a truthseeker, because God’s Spirit is Truth (1John 5:6) and seeking salvation satisfies the command of Jesus regarding saving faith (Matt. 7:7), although the sinner does not know it (Rom. 1:17)
As a truthseeker at any time in history contemplates creation, Paul indicates that they will be able to discern God’s being and loving will in nature (Rom. 1:20, 2:14-15, Gal. 5:14) by means of what theologians call general revelation. When they realize that God has a moral requirement, if they worship Him they become like Abraham, and the relationship with God becomes personal (Rom. 4:1-25). Presumably God provides such believers the opportunity to learn the proto-gospel, so they may repent of sin and accept the pre-incarnate sacrifice of Christ, whether in the form of Abraham’s ram (Gen. 22:13) or Moses’ lamb (Exo. 12:21).
Rom. 5:6-11 says that while we were powerless (unable to save ourselves via works per Rom. 3:9-20), Christ died for the ungodly or sinners or God’s enemies, so that believers (Rom. 3:22-26) are justified or reconciled and saved from God’s wrath. This includes all of humanity potentially, comparable to how humanity became sinners following the original trespass (Rom. 5:15-21). Presumably, God provides pre-Christian believers the opportunity to hear the gospel of Christ in a pre-NT and pre-Abrahamic or provisional form (cf. the proto-gospel), so they may repent of sin and accept the pre-incarnate One God/ Christ as Lord (John 8:42, 1John 1:3-4).
Paul spoke of the Mosaic Law being for the purpose of convicting souls of sin as preparation for the future coming of Christ and the full Gospel (Rom. 3:19-20, 5:20 & 7:6, Gal. 3:19&24,) The Law or Old Covenant is the second dispensation of revelation. Rom. 5:1-21 clarifies that faith in God by which we are justified or deemed righteous (v.1) is mediated by Jesus Christ, who graces us with hope despite suffering and with love by the inpouring of the Holy Spirit (v.2-5), so that we may reflect God’s love.
At the moment of repentance/saving faith, the Spirit of Christ/God’s Holy Spirit enters the believer’s spiritual heart (Rev. 3:20)–again even though they do not realize it–because Paul taught that whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9). Of course, partial knowledge of God’s Word will limit ability to cooperate with Him, so there is a need for evangelism and learning the full Gospel (Matt. 28:19-20).
If a moralist truthseeker (on the basis of general revelation) is taught about God (perhaps via the OT), then he/she may choose to believe in God or become a theist. If theists are taught the Gospel (NT), then they may choose to believe/accept Jesus as Christ. In both cases salvation is a gift/grace from God received by faith “from first to last” (Rom. 1:17).
Similarly but perhaps with greater realization because of learning NT revelation, when a sinner learns the NT Gospel of Christ, repents and confesses Jesus as Lord (Acts 20:21, Rom. 10:9), the Holy Spirit (HS) enters the convert’s heart (Rom. 5:5), uniting them with God or beginning a personal relationship with God as heavenly Father (Rom. 8:9) and identifying them with Christ’s worldwide/catholic body or church (Col. 1:18), which moment is called spiritual rebirth (John 3:3-8) or “baptism by the Spirit” (1Cor. 12:13).
The outward evidence that someone was baptized by the HS and is Spirit-filled (Eph. 5:18) or walking with God is the manifestation of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 3:19, 4:13) or fruit of the Spirit, which consists of such attributes as those listed in Gal. 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Jesus said “All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John13:35, 1John 4:7-21), because “love” sums up the moral character of God (1John 4:7-8). (He did NOT say “…if you are water baptized”, even though it is an appropriate rite portraying a believer’s death and resurrection in Christ.)
The personal relationship between Believers/Christians and God may be viewed as having three stages: conversion, spiritual growth or maturation (Eph. 4:13), and glorification (1Pet. 5:10) or immortality (1Cor. 15:53) in heaven. The kerygmatic prayer that is necessary in order for a sinner be saved and walk with God is confession (1John 1:9, Psa. 32:1-5). Because a convert’s commitment to Christ is in accordance with God’s perfect will (1Tim. 2:3-4), the moment of Spirit baptism fulfills the command to be filled with the Spirit (in Eph. 5:18), which means to cooperate fully with the love of God (Eph. 3:16-19).
The moment or stage of conversion may be described grammatically as occurring in the past: we were saved when we repented/received the baptism of the HS. From the moment of repentance onward begins the second stage of growth, discipleship (Acts 14:22) or sanctification (2Thes. 2:13), which is present progressive: it is the process of being saved now. This stage has two phases: instability and maturity. A new convert does not achieve immediate perfection by remaining filled with the HS (Phil. 3:12). Instead, the combination of temptations, ignorance of GW and the old selfish nature results in immature saints committing post-conversion sins, at which time the are carnal or acting like unbelievers (1Cor. 3:1).
As soon as new Christians realize they sinned, they should confess it (1John 1:9a) rather than compound it by trying to hide it or cover it up like Adam and Eve did (Gen. 3:7-8). Whenever a believer acknowledges to God his/her known sins of immoral attitudes and actions, God forgives all sins (1John 1:9b). This means he/she is pleasing rather than grieving God or once again is Spirit-filled (walking in the Spirit) and has a right relationship with Christ Jesus (Eph. 4:30, 5:10 & 18). This spiritual flip-flopping is the phase of instability, and although it is bad, failure to confess promptly is much worse, because it results in chain-sinning or back-sliding, which may be called prodigal if it continues very long (cf. Luke 15:11-32).
Unfortunately, some saints may not appreciate the process of spiritual growth or being transformed by the renewing of their minds (Rom. 12:2), perhaps because it involves admitting sins or having “guilt trips”. Guilt is like a warning light, and until we gain the wisdom to welcome God’s reproof, we will not feel the satisfaction of becoming a new and improved version of ourselves. Woe to the one who become so callous that no guilt is felt when wrong is done.
The unstable phase is followed eventually by a second phase in a person's relationship with God of relative maturity, signified in the Bible (especially the KJV) by the phrase “walking with God” (cf. Enoch in Gen. 5:24) or walking in light (1John 1:7). Paul also described this phase as walking in love (Eph. 5:2), in a new life (Rom. 6:4) according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:4) and in good works (Col. 1:10). Like physical walking, spiritual walking has two steps. The first step is listening to God (LGW), and the second step is responding to or cooperating with God. God’s message for mankind is revealed partially by the world He has created but more fully by the Scriptures He has inspired. The crux of God’s Word is the Gospel of salvation (kerygma), while the secondary teachings (didache) consist of the manifold applications of the law of love (1John 3:11).
The Believer’s main types of responses to God’s Word are prayer to God and good works unto others for God (cf. 1John 4:20, Eph. 2:10). Prayer is simply talking to God. The power of prayer is God’s, and believers should not talk as though God would not act if they did not pray. Paul exhorted believers (in Eph. 6:18) to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, which leads into a discussion of didachaic prayers/thoughts a believer might address to God. When a believer confesses sin and is refilled by the Spirit, he/she experiences divine love, joy and peace (Gal. 5:22-23), which prompts prayers giving thanks.
I can only disagree with you, I do not agree with you on Conditional Forgiveness
"Jesus died once for all" is a core Christian belief from the Bible, meaning Christ's sacrifice on the cross was a single, complete, and eternally effective act that paid for the sins of all humanity, eliminating the need for any further sacrifices for sin. This unique event provides forgiveness and reconciliation with God for everyone who believes in Him.
Okay, but when we meet in heaven I bet it will be because we satisfied God's condition of repentance.
And you will agree when you understand that "for everyone who believes" indicates the condition of repentance from unbelief.
I am too literal a person to take this at face value without objection. You must mean something other than "The Bible is God". Maybe you can explain it in another way.
We are on the same page here.
It technically satisfies my request, but I'm mainly interested in the intimacy of the relationship. For instance, what do you make of 1 Corinthians 2 where it says that God reveals to us by His Spirit the deep things of God that only He knows and that cannot be learned by the physical senses of seeing and hearing and sensing and can only be learned by the direct revelation of God to us by His Spirit? And when we observe instances of this happening in our hearts, do we not grasp quite clearly the intimacy we share with God in that He is sharing these intimate things of His with us and they become some of our most cherished personal possessions?