hello wondering, dirtfarmer here
Colossians 1:23, " If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel"
This is a union of the branch to the vine. Supported and nourished by the vine, and not like a union of ivy, where the ivy has it own roots and merely clings to a tree and climbs upon it. Salvation is not dependent on the perseverance, but the perseverance on the salvation. Kept by the power of God.
Hebrews 3:14, "For we are made partakers of Christ , if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end."
Where at first there is great ardor, zeal, and confidence, but it soon dies, then it is clear they had no real attachment to Christ. Not some one
who is deceived and lost their faith in Christ.
The true believer is calm, but can sometimes can suffer from nervousness and be shy. Similar to a child that hides behind his mother when strangers are around. He is never noisy in his profession, nor does he clamor in zeal, blaming others for their lukewarmness. The believer endures even if there is evidence turbulence, but bears up under trials, persecution, and opposition from others.
It seems like you talk about everything but what the verse actually says.
To what does the
IF refer?:
Colossiand 1:19 God Father willed that all goodness dwell in Jesus; that He might be the One to hold together the universe and all that is in it.
verse 20: It is through Christ's blood that Father reconciles all things to Himself, both in the heavens and on earth. Nature itself is reconciled to God as much as possible, as is man, till the coming of the new earth.
verse 21. We were alienated from God before the cross. We were hostile and mad at Him or considered Him not, and we engaged in evil deeds.
verse 22: Now Jesus, having died bodily, a physical death, has reconciled us to God Father, so that we may appear holy in the sight of God.
verse 23:
IF indeed we CONTINUE IN THE FAITH, firmly established and STEADFAST, and NOT MOVED.
If Paul says that we need to continue in the faith, it means that
it's possible that maybe we MAY NOT continue in the faith.
What vine? What branch? Paul is plainly saying that IF we do verse 23, we will have verses 19-22. Simple.
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Hebrews 3:14
verse 12: Paul (?) is speaking to the brethern, to believers. He's warning them about not having an unbelieving heart. This will make them
fall away from the living God. IOW, it's possible to believe, but then NOT believe, and to guard against this.
verse 13: We are to encourage each other so that we may
not become hardened by sin. IF we are eternally saved when belileving ONE TIME, why would Paul exhort us in this way? Because if our heart becomes hard through sin, it means
we may lose our salvation. Only for such
an important reason would Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, all all the writers, beg us to HOLD FIRM TILL THE END.
verse 14: We are PARTAKERS, sharing IN CHRIST and His finished work,
IF WE HOLD FAST what we
FIRST BELIEVED until the end. We are told to
CONTINUE believing.
This sounds simple and clear and understandable to anyone.
YOUR last paragraph does not even make too much sense to me. I don't even grasp what you're trying to say.
The bible CANNOT BE THIS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND.
It must be taken at face value. Nothing added to what we read.
Simple to understand even for an uneducated person.
