Tong2020 said:
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I am curious. Do you truly and really believe you are able to reject Him if you so willed to?
Firstly, I wonder why you only addressed this question and dropped the other questions as follows:
Can you tell me what possible reason would it be that you will reject Him?
and
In your belief, do you believe that God keeps you? If so, what does that mean in your belief?
I hope you will address those too.
So, you believe you are able to reject Him if you so willed to. But why do you not? I'd guess you'd say, it is because you love Him. If we will look at those who truly love Him, just like the apostles, there was not even a hint that they will reject Him. Even while they could, they did not. Why? Because they truly love Him, for love never fails. How then could they who loves God reject Him? One who profess to love God and believes He is able to reject Him anytime he so wills to, and perhaps later actually rejects Him, only means that what love he profess and claims for God is not true love, for scriptures says, love never fails.
....and Bible that the Catholic Church compiled says so. Here's a couple verses:
St. Paul said to the believing Christians of his time:
Romans 11:22: “Consider the kindness and severity of God—severity toward those who fell, and kindness toward you, provided you remain in his kindness; if you do not, you too will be cut off.”
Galatians 6:9: “Let us not grow weary of doing good; if we do not relax our efforts, in due time we shall reap our harvest.”
Philippians 2:12: “So then, my dearly beloved, obedient as always to my urging, work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation.”
1 Timothy 1:19: “Some men, by rejecting the guidance of conscience, have made shipwreck of their faith.”
1 Timothy 4:16: “Watch yourself and watch your teaching. Persevere at both tasks. By doing so you will bring to salvation yourself and all who hear you.”
Take those scriptures in context sir.
Similarly, the author of Hebrews is clearly not working in a “once saved, always saved” paradigm when he speaks to believing Christians:
Hebrews 4:1: “Therefore, while the promise of entrance into his rest still holds, we ought to be fearful of disobeying lest any one of you be judged to have lost his chance of entering.”
Hebrews 4:11: “Let us strive to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall.”
That's your opinion about the author of Hebrews, which you seem to not understand what he was saying in those verses.
St. Peter describes the miserable lot of those who know Christ as Savior but later fall away:
2 Peter 2:20: “When men have fled a polluted world by recognizing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are caught up and overcome in pollution once more, their last condition is worse than their first.”
Again, a misuse of scriptures there.
There is no absolute assurance.
That is your opinion and so then it is with you. As for me, there is absolute assurance for one who is in Christ.
You believe that there is no absolute assurance of one's salvation, and that because you are able to reject Christ anytime you will to do so. And how could you believe in absolute assurance when your salvation rest on your will? Try surrendering that will, your will, to Jesus Christ and you will have assurance, for then your salvation rest on Jesus Christ.
Think about this, what would the devil want you to believe? What if you're wrong and God does allow you to stumble and allows you to fall away and lose salvation, like scripture states. And you still believe in your mind that this can't happen... How easy would it be for the devil to come into your life and consume you? You are opening yourself up to weakness and evil. This belief you have is from Satan. I'll pray for you. God Bless.
<<<Think about this, what would the devil want you to believe?>>>
The devil wants me to not believe God's words (in scriptures) and instead believe his words, just like what he wanted of Eve in the beginning.
<<<What if you're wrong and God does allow you to stumble and allows you to fall away and lose salvation, like scripture states.>>>
How could I be wrong about what Scriptures says of God in Jude 1:24, that God is able to keep those whom He saves from stumbling? So, don't trouble yourself thinking that what is written in Jude 1:24 could be wrong, that God is not able to keep me.
Tong
R1350