netchaplain
Member
One can truly believe there is a God, but lack the desire to believe in Him. Romans-One teaches that one can believe about God, that He is real, and at the same time not put trust in Him. Scripture says that He has proved to all that He is real by showing them all of what may be known about Himself (Rom 1:19). This revelation of Himself first comes by the “light” of nature, by us seeing the existence of what He has created. Creation itself is enough evidence for one to believe in God!
Therefore the Word declares none are “excused” from judgement for not wanting to believe in Him (v20). There are no genuine atheists, only those who falsely claim to disbelieve in His existence! In my opinion, the primary issue is that unbelief manifests one would rather continue in wrongful pleasures, instead of trusting and having faith in God (2Ti 3:4).
One of the greatest oxymoron concepts has to be the acceptance that one can claim to believe in God, then eventually claim not to believe in Him! To genuinely have faith in God is not something one can eventually apostatize from, because faith always produces. Faith can be diminished but never deleted once obtained. Thus, salvation is a constant like faith!
One professing Christianity can eventually claim to disbelieve, and if this is truly a permanent state of mind, it only manifests there was never any belief! One cannot claim to believe then claim to disbelieve—this wouldn’t make any type of sense at all. Genuine faith cannot become unbelief, and there’s nowhere in Scripture that declares this error, only misunderstanding of the way this issue is worded.
To believe is to be permanently convinced of something; otherwise it wasn’t belief, but just something you thought you believed in. One can think they believe in God and eventually discover that they don’t truly believe in Him; but one cannot truly believe in Him and then later truly disbelieve in Him. Therefore, we either believe, or still have yet to believe (1Jo 2:19).
NC
Therefore the Word declares none are “excused” from judgement for not wanting to believe in Him (v20). There are no genuine atheists, only those who falsely claim to disbelieve in His existence! In my opinion, the primary issue is that unbelief manifests one would rather continue in wrongful pleasures, instead of trusting and having faith in God (2Ti 3:4).
One of the greatest oxymoron concepts has to be the acceptance that one can claim to believe in God, then eventually claim not to believe in Him! To genuinely have faith in God is not something one can eventually apostatize from, because faith always produces. Faith can be diminished but never deleted once obtained. Thus, salvation is a constant like faith!
One professing Christianity can eventually claim to disbelieve, and if this is truly a permanent state of mind, it only manifests there was never any belief! One cannot claim to believe then claim to disbelieve—this wouldn’t make any type of sense at all. Genuine faith cannot become unbelief, and there’s nowhere in Scripture that declares this error, only misunderstanding of the way this issue is worded.
To believe is to be permanently convinced of something; otherwise it wasn’t belief, but just something you thought you believed in. One can think they believe in God and eventually discover that they don’t truly believe in Him; but one cannot truly believe in Him and then later truly disbelieve in Him. Therefore, we either believe, or still have yet to believe (1Jo 2:19).
NC