Point Of No Return

In what ways might a ship captain choosing to go beyond the point of no return be like a person deciding to follow Christ? In what ways might it not be? What might some of the deciding factors be for our ship captain?

Hmmmmm, let's see... wonders if the point of no return is good for the captain? Was he yearning to not look back?


Did the captain get there because he wasn't purposeful in His direction, or lapsed judgement in reading the vessels instruments, or maybe because of faulty equipment, or maybe the storms shipwrecked Him. Maybe that was his first day, haha. The sky is the limit with regards to why he may get to such a place, including if that was his desired outcome.

With Christ, to get to a favorable point of no return, there is One constant and that is Christ, and ours is to follow His lead, loving and trusting Him every step of the way.

I'm looking forward to reading your responses.

Whilst I wait for the thoughts of others, I think I will ask your response to your question, please.

IF I understand your question, you are asking:

Can a Christian reach a point where they will never turn away from Christ?

and

Can an unbeliever reach a point that the will never turn to Christ?

are these correct?

If so, then the answer to both is YES.

The afterlife is clearly the point of no return

There is such a thing as "the death bed conversion"

or
once you are seal onto the day of redemption, that is the point of no return (sealed forever)


If that's what you have in mind

This will need further clarification.

Peter described the point of no return

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
2 Peter 1

Peter is in effect saying once this level of life and love is embedded in ones heart,
how can one walk away and not just continue in the reality which one has come to see
in Christ.

The more I see in Christ and the absurdity of sin and selfishness, the more you understand
there is only one reality, walking with Jesus. We can though be struck with emotional
trauma, situations outside our control which can show up flaws in our foundations of
self and direction, so nothing can ever be taken for granted, but he reality in Christ is
compelling. Peter seems to have reached this very place himself.

I don't like saying I hit a point of no return cause every time I thought I got well past the point of no return, I get tested and persecuted by Satan and his wicked children even more. At the same time though every time they try to martyr me and persecute me sore trying to make me deny the Truth of God for all their lies ranging from the most stupid to the most subtle and conniving, Lord Jesus somehow deliver me from them. God is great, praise God all of eternity.

Is about not looking back, or the disciple that ploughed the field but looked back and was not fit for the kingdom of God.

Jesus warned if people looked back they would be like Lots Wife, turned to a pillar of salt.

Some people though are like dogs returning to their vomit and pigs to their mire.
Is this what you mean.

Or like the song I have decided to follow Jesus, not turning back, no turning back. Well why would you when turning back would mean going to hell or into the darkness or back into bondage. I wouldnt. I leave the past behind, it has no hold over me. Once you born again, theres no comparison. And the more you walk in the light, in the spirit, the more you abide in Him, the more you will grow.

Sometimes we get pruned by God but it doesnt mean to cut you off completely it means He wants you to bear more fruit. Sometimes trials and tribulations are to test us or to refine our characters.

My thought was that to follow Jesus, one must be willing to forsake all and never look back. It is total surrender to Him. Jesus' disciples left their nets to become fishers of men.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

It is definitely a choice, not an accident. I believe that this was the spirit of Abraham...

Hebrews
11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in] a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker [is] God.
11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that [country] from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
11:16 But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

Times of testing. One brother I know seemed secure in his faith, until he was tested in his relationship
with his son. It was like a switch had been flicked and this mattered more to him than anything else in
his life.

It made me realise we assume so much about who we are and our emotional foundations. Until things
shift, sometimes our foundations are not quite what we thought.

On these forums, I have been insulted and accused of many things. Oddly some things shocked me, while
others pass me by. It has taken time to learn, I need to let them all go. A friendly guy intending the best for others,
someone who is friendly to women in a good way, ones spiritual experiences and life is in the Lord, one is
financially careful, being a good dad. All these things have been tested, and I found I cared more than I
should about them.

So not turning back comes in many forms, and has many aspects to it. We need to be ready to discover things
about ourselves we did not know go so deep. God bless you

An old sailors saying is ‘Below 40 degrees south there is no law and below 50 degrees south there is no God’.

Sail east, Captain T

What about story of Ruth? Orpah turned back to Moab but Ruth forsake all to go with Naomi. She made a pledge your people will by my people and your God will be my God...and where you will be buried,I will be buried.

As for Naomi she was origninally from bethelehem she did return to her home town bit thats cos she was going back to her God, kind of like the prodigal son. If you knew God but went away He will always allow you to come back to Him, forgiven.

I wonder

Can you steer the ship where you need to go in the first place. Or should not God still be steering the ship?

Can a person stop believing? Of course, If I keep trying to steer my own ship and do not seem to get anywhere, yet believe I am doing what God wants me too. I can stop believing.

Can a person who continues to rely on Jesus to steer the spirt stop believing? I do not think so. Because God never lets us down. How can someone stop believing when God always steers them the right way? Unless they were always steering the ship themselves.

For me, I say don't look at the law, thinking it of it self will get us to our desired point of destination, but rather on the One who is the keeper of the Law, our Captain, our Lord, Savior, and King.

The law, Obedience, is a map of sorts, it guides us and helps us, but Only He can bring us home.

Bamidy Bam Bam!!

This may sound a bit weird or simple.

I think about like this.
We have a ship's captain, that being the case then there must be a ship.

I look at myself as the ship (vessel) and God is the captain.
Obviously I am a ship that has emotions etc.
I'm not a lump of metal (even though I act like it at times)

So I endevour to look towards the captain to stear his ship, that ship being me.

Even in my darkest days when I wasn't walking with the captain I called out.
In desperation and tears.

I could have walked away.
The thing is we know the course we should be taking and when we are not it further adds to what is going on. For me anyway. Things like guilt, despair, hopelessness.

Waiting for this boat to took into the yard to be broken up.

But I always held on, I would not let go.
I couldn't imagine life without God, without Jesus, without the Holy Spirit.

I was written off many a time.
But I'm still here.
But I could only say that was Jesus keeping me as a result of my genuine belief in him.

I suppose that's why I'm a person who believes in ES.
Done my studies on it, researched it many many hours, pouring over both sides of the equation.

That's why I never walk away from people who are written by others like I was.

I thank and praise God for those who actually sort me out.

I do the same to others.
Until we know what's going on behind closed doors we can't make judgements and neither should we.

I don't want my post to degrade this post to OSAS/ES/NOSAS.

I have no idea why some people who profess faith stop believing.
I never lost my faith but was one mixed up cookie.
I actually lost faith in the church I was going to and hiding behind masks and knowing what was going on their lives.

I think part of the problem today is that the world teaches and advertises a quick fix and meet all your needs mentality.
Things like buy these clothes to look good, and goodness you only have to look at the perfume adverts, free credit adverts.

Apple regularly send e-mails at Christmas or Fathers Day or Mother's Day.
Show your parents you love them by buying them the latest Ipad. Seriously.

So if I'm pushed to answer your question I would have to say that the church is not teaching the truth.

By this I mean the church is preaching "Jesus in the quick fix to your problems, all the stuff you bought into"

Then they buy into it.
The quick fix does not happen, then they reject a perveted gospel.
It took about 15 years for God to help me get over my massive debts.

But even as hard as it was I had to be open to him to work in me to repurchase the stuff I had fallen into. BTW, at that time I when I sought help I was told to tithe 10% for three years on gross salary and by the end I would be debt free, I was in more debt then what I had started with. I saw it increasing but I felt guilty to stop tithing.

Maybe the greasy gospel attracts people like a moth to a light.
But the light portrayed by this is not the true light.

The true light is Jesus.
He wants to replace our burden with his.
His burden is to be like him.
That comes with a cost and not a quick fix.
Maybe that's why some stop believing.
No quick fix then Jesus ain't real.

Anyway I'm just sharing my experience and my thoughts.

Sorry for the long post everyone.

The analogy of a ship might not be totally appropriate, nor the point of no return. After all every ship must have a destination, and since the earth is not flat, it will eventually find a harbor. Perhaps a rocket would be more suitable. Teleportation even better, since Enoch was translated. Abraham looked for a heavenly city.