John Zain
Member
Here’s my latest attempt to explain why OSAS is false
… I have connected a few previously unconnected dots!
All verses are from the NKJV.
• God looks forward to His new covenant
He gave up on the old covenant … His “chosen people†could not be obedient to it.
“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant …
I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God,
and they shall be My people … they all shall know Me, from the least of them
to the greatest of them, says the LORD.†(Jeremiah 31:31-34)
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you … I will put My Spirit
within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments
and do them … you shall be My people, and I will be your God.†(Ezekiel 36:26-28)
These promises sure sound like what most BACs experience!
BACs have God’s Spirit inside of them to teach them “all thingsâ€
“… you are the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you†(1 Cor 3:16)
“… the Helper, the Holy Spirit … He will teach you all things†(John 14:26)
• The simple gospel: “whosoever believes†… is like a hook to catch fishes
This is just to get these baby fishes started … no deep water and easy swimming!
• But, says Jesus: FIRST count the cost of discipleship before really signing on
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children,
brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not
sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it
— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it
begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? …
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.â€
(Luke 14:26-33)
So, those who decide they have what it takes … have chosen to continue on …
• Says Jesus: It’s about having a personal relationship with Father God and Me
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.†(John 17:3)
“I know My sheep, and I am known by My own … My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life†(John 10:14, 27)
There is a very intimate “knowing†relationship between a shepherd and his sheep!
Read about it here: http://www.amazon.com/Shepherd-Looks-Psalm-23/dp/0310274419
• Says Jesus: Eternal life is given ONLY to those who do God’s will
“Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father in heaven … I will declare to them,
‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’†(Matthew 7:19-21)
And the following is part of God’s will …
• Says Paul: We must by led by the Holy Spirit in the killing of the flesh
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,
who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
… those who live according to the Spirit, (set their minds on) the things of the Spirit.
For to be carnally minded is death … Because the carnal mind is enmity against God
… For if you live according to the flesh you will die;
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.†(Romans 8:1-14)
• Says Paul: We must co-operate with God’s Spirit in the sanctification process
Many of the NT translations say both our sanctification and salvation are processes.
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit,
soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess 5:23)
I.E. we were not totally sanctified at the new birth.
“… that He might sanctify and cleanse her (the church) with the washing of water by the word,
that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any
such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.†(Ephesians 5:25-27)
I.E. this washing by the word is a continuing process.
“For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one†(Hebrews 2:11)
“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.†(Hebrews 10:14)
“… to us who are being saved it (the gospel) is the power of God.†(1 Corinthians 1:18)
“… God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit
nd belief in the truth …†(2 Thessalonians 2:13)
Were we sanctified (set apart) at the new birth by the Holy Spirit, or by Father God?
If we co-operate, we will be sanctified by the Holy Spirit during the long sanctification process.