Saviour of the world ?

  • Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.

    You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Jon-Marc

New Member
Jun 8, 2007
850
9
0
79
Jacumba, CA
No, because answering the call to "Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavyladen, and I will give you rest" is up to each individual. God knew that not everyone would come to Him, and that most would reject Him.
 

Strat

Member
Mar 25, 2012
784
29
28
The perfection of what God does can never be measured or judged by man's reaction to it...God gave man a perfect life in a perfect world and he rejected it....it is the habit of modern christianity to judge the virtue and value of everything based on man's reaction,reception or rejection of it which is why we have so many methods and systems in place today instead of the plain Gospel....too plain it seems for modern man who likes lots of bell, whistles and bright lights along with his salvation on his own terms.
 

Brother James

Member
Jun 2, 2008
271
57
28
69
Melbourne, FL
since the majority are in hell and will be in hell - may we ask did He fail - winc

We can ask whatever we like. However, to pin all outcomes on God is to deny the freedom of choice he has given. God is not responsible for all outcomes. We are made in His image, and this freedom to choose is one of His attributes He chose to give to us.
 

winc

Member
Jul 25, 2012
194
1
18
95
UK/England
We can ask whatever we like. However, to pin all outcomes on God is to deny the freedom of choice he has given. God is not responsible for all outcomes. We are made in His image, and this freedom to choose is one of His attributes He chose to give to us.

yes but He did say "I HAVE COME NOT TO JUDGE THE WORLD BUT TO SAVE IT" - winc
 

us2are1

Son Of Man
Sep 14, 2011
895
26
0
since the majority are in hell and will be in hell - may we ask did He fail - winc
Not everyone is fit for the Kingdom of heaven.
Luke 9
59 Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."
61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."
[background=rgb(246, 246, 152)]62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."[/background]
 

Strat

Member
Mar 25, 2012
784
29
28
This sounds like the old "if there is a God then why do bad things happen" routine.
 

Pelaides

New Member
Jul 30, 2012
529
19
0
Man in his arrogance tends to blame God for our suffering,When in fact we have created Hell on earth.
 

us2are1

Son Of Man
Sep 14, 2011
895
26
0
how then does the Bible say at Isa.45:7 "I create darkness and evil" etc - winc

And at Deuteronomy 32:
39 'Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.


So what is your Point? Get with Gods program of salvation or be destroyed. It's a simple choice.

Deuteronomy 30
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
 

aspen

“"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
Apr 25, 2012
14,110
4,778
113
54
West Coast
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
Man in his arrogance tends to blame God for our suffering,When in fact we have created Hell on earth.

Really? I thought Christians had more of a tendency to blame themselves for evil and God for Good. God always seems to get off the hook in many people's minds - He is often viewed as an abusive parent that we are called to obey or else......

Fact is, we have a really screwed up understanding of the problem of evil - we know that God allows evil, but we never let ourselves believe that He might be culpable for the existence of evil.

The problem is that we do not have a correct understanding of what evil actually is - many Christians look at it dualistically - as if evil is an opposite force from Good. This view is not Christian - we are not dualists. As Augustine correctly points out - evil is a 'lesser form of Good' - or a broken form / perversion of the Good, God created. We are responsible for evil in the world, not because we create it or because God created it and allows us to take the blame, but it is due to our misuse of His perfect creation.

God allows us the freedom to misuse His creation so that He can teach us how to respond to the consequences and outcome of evil choices, through love.

We were created to love and we forgot how to do it. Now, in a Fallen world it is harder than ever to chose to love, but it really is the only right response.

The end result of our Justification and Sanctification is redemption / salvation / citizenship in Heaven, which is the result of learning to love perfectly.
 

winc

Member
Jul 25, 2012
194
1
18
95
UK/England
Really? I thought Christians had more of a tendency to blame themselves for evil and God for Good. God always seems to get off the hook in many people's minds - He is often viewed as an abusive parent that we are called to obey or else......

Fact is, we have a really screwed up understanding of the problem of evil - we know that God allows evil, but we never let ourselves believe that He might be culpable for the existence of evil.

The problem is that we do not have a correct understanding of what evil actually is - many Christians look at it dualistically - as if evil is an opposite force from Good. This view is not Christian - we are not dualists. As Augustine correctly points out - evil is a 'lesser form of Good' - or a broken form / perversion of the Good, God created. We are responsible for evil in the world, not because we create it or because God created it and allows us to take the blame, but it is due to our misuse of His perfect creation.

God allows us the freedom to misuse His creation so that He can teach us how to respond to the consequences and outcome of evil choices, through love.

We were created to love and we forgot how to do it. Now, in a Fallen world it is harder than ever to chose to love, but it really is the only right response.

The end result of our Justification and Sanctification is redemption / salvation / citizenship in Heaven, which is the result of learning to love perfectly.


there is a lot of truth and understanding here and we are not really guilty in the eyes of God - this is why He came to get the not guilty off the hook so to speak - who knows maybe He will descend a second time into hell when this present drama is fully played out - winc
 

HammerStone

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Feb 12, 2006
5,113
287
83
38
South Carolina
prayerforums.com
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
Well, I think it begins with defining Christ's work on the cross, and I have come to understand it as limited atonement or definite atonement. What that means is that, as Sproul puts it best, that Jesus' work on the cross is sufficient for all, but only efficient for those who believe (the elect). In other words, God through his son did all the legwork so that everyone could be saved, but the reality is that everyone won't be saved (Revelation 22:17).

In regards to Isaiah 45:7, that's one of those verses where you need to go back to the original language. Essentially the meaning would be natural disasters (floods, earthquakes, etc) - you'd have a hard time extending it to mass murderers, rapists, arsonists, and child molesters. Yes God currently allows those horrible things to happen, but the Christian premise is that there is a greater reason that man's brokeness is allowed to endure for a time.
 

aspen

“"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
Apr 25, 2012
14,110
4,778
113
54
West Coast
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
Yes. You have to accept His forgiveness to receive it.