if one does not Know they are saved then they are not saved. the Bible says that we may know w have eternal life. we have a seal placed upon us . we been bought with us price
Hi Ezra,
That's an interesting point. Those who are saved should know that they are.
There was a friend of mine who liked to ask the question, have you been a Christian long enough to know that you are? I liked that. I think it can take us some time to really as the mind is beginning to be renewed, to know in our minds what we believe in our hearts.
I've also been thinking about passages such as this as I've been reading this thread, and another,
1 Timothy 1:19 "Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:"
2 Timoth 2
16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Shipwrecked faith, overthrown faith, Nevertheless . . . the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, the Lord know them that are His.
Putting salvation onto someone's works is to subject them to Law, and subjecting someone to Law is what increases, provokes sin in the flesh. It diverts that person's attention off of the One Who gives true liberty, and onto themselves, with that legal threat, If you don't behave right, you'd be lost! And we know the conflict that exists with our flesh.
Only in God's grace can we be free of our flesh, and this demand that we act good enough to at the last be saved demands we, in the words from Galatians, Fall from Grace, into ourselves, our works, our idea of Law. And that person spirals into the certain knowledge that they can't actually do what is required. But that's the point. No one can, no one does.
The knowledge of truth, mixed with this error, wrecks our faith, our trust that God gives us liberty, and, not that we cease to be God's children, but that feeling of inadequacy in that in which I Must Be Adequate or Else, that is the opposite of faith in Christ, His work, His ability, His desire, His power in us, which we do not deserve, and yet He gives.
By faith in Christ we have access to the grace in which we stand. Our part is faith. His part is grace. In His grace we stand.
But without that faith, how do we stand?
And that speaks to the other thing Paul wrote to Timothy,
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
On God's part, His seal is His knowledge of who is His. There is no "hanging in the balance", He knows whether we're His and whether we're not His.
On our part, if you name Christ, depart from iniquity. The unsaved neither can nor want to. We can, we want to, so, just a surely as God knows who His children are, as we depart from iniquity, this is the seal shown to us.
We should have the testimony of a changed, redeemed life. But there are those whose faith is weak, or immature, or has been damaged by false teaching, robbing them of hope. Again, what we believe in our heart and what we know in our minds. Our minds must be renewed.
I love what John wrote, If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things. And going on, If our hearts condemn us not, we have confidence before God.
Is that not what we want? Confidence before God?
1 John 3
18 My little children,
let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19 And
hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
There is no way we are going to have confidence before God, if we are going to base that on our ability to act and think and speak right all the time. Well, if we want to try to lie to our selves we can muster a false sense of confidence, but I think that's going to fall really flat to a true child of God.
But if we are honest with ourselves, honest with God, we know we are disqualified. Only in Christ can we be completely accepted by our Holy God. Only in complete righteousness, start to finish, no coverups, no lies, no pretending, no rose glasses.
Only in Christ, having died with Him, being born from God a New Creation, rightous and holy. Only in this are we accepted by God. And in Christ, we are comletely accepted. His work was not lacking.
OK. Sorry to write a book, if anyone actually reads this far! Gotta run! God bless!
Much love!
