Solo said:
francisdesales said:
Solo said:
Rightly dividing the Word of Truth puts a fork in conditional salvation based on man keeping his own salvation through works.
Sure, right. Uh, back up again to 2 Peter 2, please, before you dismiss it so lightly and move onto a different Scripture to try to twist more easily contortable Scriptures...
By what other means are men saved, other than by escaping the pollutions of the world (entanglements of the world) through the knowledge of Jesus Christ?
Does Scriptures provide ANOTHER way of being saved?
And the dog... Aren't we all "dogs" before being saved? What happens to those who are saved and then return to their former lives? They become dogs again, returning to their former way of lives.
Regards
....and in all of your posts you can't answer what it means to be born again, and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.
- 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14
May God be glorified and the Lord Jesus Christ be edified as the Spirit of Life teaches us all truth in His wisdom and understanding. And may all of man's wisdom dry up and blow away in the presence of the Holy Spirit. In the precious and blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Solo, I know you dislike my long post, but an in depth study of what it really means to be sealed with the Holy Spirit demands and deserves a little reading, don't you agree?
Ephesians 1:11-14
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:4 has already told us that we should walk holy and without blame before God. So it's already implied that this passage is for the people who walk holy and without blame before God. If you become a backslider after you become a renewed person who’s been brought back to God by the remission of past sins (Rom.3:25), then you’ll be spiritually dead and lost again due to the penalty of sin (Gen.2:17; Rom.6:23) just like the prodigal son (Lk.15:11-32). Then you’ll need to come to your senses and know you’re lost again and in need of further sincere repentance in order to be restored again (Rev.2:5, 16; 3:3, 19), or else you’ll still be lost in sin. If you walk holy, which is only possible as a result of the Holy Spirit in your life, then you’ll have the safety of a guaranteed inheritance.
We have obtained an inheritance along with many other blessings (Eph.1:3-9), but our inheritance can be squandered like the prodigal son did with his inheritance. Our birthright can even be sold for the desires of the flesh, like Esau did (Gen.25:31; Heb.12:15-17). We now possess our inheritance in Christ by promise, but it will not be ours in reality until the end of a life sowing to the Spirit (vs.14; Mk.5:5; 19:29; 25:34; 1 Cor.15:50; Eph.1:18; Col.1:12; 3:24; Heb.6:12; 9:15; 1 Pt.1:4; Rev.21:7). And if we return to the desires of the flesh of the old man, then we will not inherit the kingdom of God or anything from it that’s been promised the moment you first believed and repented (Rom.1:29-32; 1 Cor.6:9-10; Gal.5:19-21; Eph.5:5; Col.3:5-6).
Every man has been predestined to conform to the likeness of Jesus (Rom.8:29-30; Eph.1:5). This plan of man conforming from the ways of the world into the image of Christ through complete obedience, like He lived from the beginning, is what’s been foreknown and predestined. All men are called to accept or reject His plan. Those who conform by obedience are those who are predestined. Those who are predestined by submission to the Word of God are those who are the called, because they are the ones who answered. Those who’ve proven their love for Him by obeying the commandments of our Lord are those who answered the call, and they have been justified (Eph.2:8-9; Jas.2:21-24). Those who have been cleaned from all past sins (Rom.3:25), are those who are declared innocent by justification coming from Christ alone, and they will be glorified as He is glorified, if they abide in their calling (2 Pt.1:10). “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (Jas.2:24).â€Â
But you can’t be apart of God’s predestined plan if you haven’t been regenerated. ‘Regeneration’ is the Greek word ‘paliggenesia,’ which is a spiritual renovation; specifically from Messianic restoration. Jesus alone justifies us; that is, He makes us innocent by taking all our past sins away (Rom.3:25). This can happen no other way (Acts 4:12). But continuing in justification is defined by remaining sinless; for sin is the transgression of God’s laws, which makes all man guilty, because sin brings forth death (Rom.5:14; Heb.2:2; Jas.1:15; 1 Jn.3:4). Continued justification is faith plus works, “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (Jas.2:24).†Thus, eternal life is only called a hope for those who have been renewed by the Holy Ghost (Tit.1:2).
Besides John 10:26-29, this passage is the hook, line, and sinker for the cause of the eternal security doctrine. The two things most presented to me when reasoning with the believers of this doctrine is that they are sealed with the Holy Spirit and written in the book of life. To follow the trail which defeated their eternal comfort in having their names forever written in the book of life no matter what, start at Exodus 32:32-33 in this book; but right now, lets focus on what’s meant by being sealed by the Holy Spirit.
To start off slow, I’ll point out that we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit as a down payment, not the seal of salvation as a completed purchase. The seal of the Holy Spirit confirms whom we belong to (2 Cor.1:22). Like all of God’s promises, the promised Holy Spirit (Gal.3:14) is conditional. We have to repent to receive His adoption (Rom.8:14-16). The seal of God lets the entire spiritual and angelic eyes know you belong to God, if you are indeed walking according to the Spirit and not the flesh (Heb.8:9). We’re never told the seal can’t be broke if the terms of sonship to God aren’t met. We’re only told that we are sealed if we are His.
This should be believed no differently than the rest of Scripture. We’ve been sealed with a pledge, or the first-payment of the Holy Spirit, not the full measure that is given as our inheritance when our redemption is complete (Rom.8:17-24). Our full inheritance, full completion of redemption, nor our full measure of the Spirit from the first fruits of the Spirit will be fully given and unforfeitable for the saints until the day we leave this world to be with the Lord (Ex.32:33; Eze.18:4; 33:10-20; Jn.5:14; 8:34; Rev.2:5). That is easily proven when studying the same truth with salvation.
The seal can be broken due to our our rebellion against acting accordingly to God’s Word; or the Bible has major contradictions and the following Scripture is worthless. Romans 13:11 says, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.†This is written to the church who already had salvation. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.†This was written to the church about obtaining salvation, even though they were already saved and sealed. Hebrews 9:28 says, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.†These Christians were written with the promise that Jesus was going to appear a second time to bring them into salvation, even though they already had it.
1 Peter 1:5 says, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.†Peter, who literally walked with Jesus and was given salvation from Him already (Mat.16:16; 1 Jn.5:1), said it would be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:9 says, “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.†Again, Peter says salvation will be received at the end of their faith. He was speaking to righteous Christians who had been born again already. 1 Peter 1:13 says, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.â€Â
For the third time within 8 verses, Peter’s made it sound like our hope is at the end of our journey, as long as we continue obeying. Salvation is not fully given as an unforfeitable possession, nor is the seal unforfeitable for the saints until the next life (Eph.1:11-18). The instant you repent from your sins, you’ll go be with God if you die at that moment. A lot can happen between the new birth and our last breath. This is the salvation being talked about; the unforfeitable one that is only fully given and kept after a life lived as an overcomer in Christ (Rev.2:7, 10-11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21; 21:7). The next life for a faithful Christian is the eternal life. The next life for the person, of any faith who is left in sin, is eternal death, which is called such because of being eternally alive and conscious without the life of God being given to them.
2 Corinthians 5:5
5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the earnest of excepting Christ as the only sacrifice for sin, which is also what Ephesians 1:13-14 says; a favorite of the holders of the doctrine of eternal security. It says, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.â€Â
The word ‘earnest’ comes from the Greek word ‘arrabon,’ meaning earnest money, pledge, or first-payment. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption. Sonship through this phase of the Spirit in the life of a believer is the first-payment or first-measure of the Spirit and of our inheritance until the fullness of the Spirit is received and the fullness of redemption is complete (Rom.8:17-24; 2 Cor.1:21-22; 1 Pt.1:4-13). 1 Thessalonians 5:19 tells us to not quench the Spirit. That means we are not to extinguish or let Him go out.
The Holy Spirit is the only guarantee, not eternal life (Heb.5:9; Jas.2:24-26; 1 Pt.1:9), but even the Holy Spirit can be taken away for sinning. “And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him (Judg.16:20).†“But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him (1 Sam.16:14).•€œCast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me (Ps.51:11).†God cut off the natural branch for sin (Rom.11:17-24; 1 Cor.10:1-11), don’t you know that we have no chance of remaining in the Vine if we rebel and sin (Jn.15:1-6)? “And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear (1 Pt.1:17).â€Â
