“Peter said to them: “Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins”. (Acts 2:38)
“Christian“ isn’t a label….it is a descriptor…..it is one who follows Christ as their model.
We can “believe“ but it means nothing unless it is followed by living in harmony with Christ’s teachings every day of our lives.
If I say I “have” a dog, that is one thing, but if I say I “exercise” my dog…that means you take your dog for a walk….our Christian “walk” is way more that just saying we “believe”…words are empty without action……we show it by the way we live our lives…..just as Jesus did and left us the model. (1 Pete 2:21) “Faith without works is dead”.…yet you say we don’t need them.
So starting there I already see large gaps in your arguments.
Your Gaps are based on your inability to understand what I am saying. How many times do we have to go over the same ole stuff and you still show you have an inability to comprehend?
A dog who is saved is no longer a dog. He/she is a new creation. He no longer acts like a Dog. He acts as his new creation.
Thats the difference between you and me, I believe Gods new children WILL change, they WILL show works.. You think they may.. and if they fail they will lose salvation.
My faith is in God.
All of the words addressed to God’s elect here, apply to them….but not as literal to the ones who will be their subjects on earth. Those chosen to be “kings and priests” in the Kingdom of God, will have subjects and sinners who are still on earth. Those raised to heaven have proven “faithful to their death” and so are rewarded with immortal spirit life in heaven…a place where humans of flesh and blood cannot go.
Did God create humans for nothing?
The first humans were offered everlasting life in mortal flesh, but it was conditional….they had to obey their Creator who was being the perfect parent in keeping his children from harm. The “knowledge of good and evil” was not simply knowing what was ‘good and bad’, but trusting God to tell them the difference. Look around you….it is clear that the majority of humans do not know the difference from God’s perspective. Their own interpretation is distorted by sin.
The were not offered anything. Again, where does this thinking come from? God created them in a perfect environment, with all of their needs met. The only thing he did was test them with the one tree.. To show he gave them free will..You can not compair us today with what they had. There is not even a close resemblance, we will never understand what they had until we meet our eternal destiny. Where we to understand what it is like to not have sin
The “born again” believers seem to see heaven as the end rather than the means to a foretold end. You can’t seem to see past this “born again” status that puts everything else in a grey area.
Jesus said YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.
why is it that people take this lightly as if it is not a requirement?
The kingdom of God is not somethign that we take lightly. It is a lifelong event or race that we who are adopted into his family by BEING BORN AGAIN Partake in. A lifetime of Growth and trust, And God doing what he promise. and a paul said, we can have this confidence, that he who began a good work WILL COMPLETE IT.
again, i do not know who you have been talking to. But you do not know us at all. You prove this prety much every time you try to tell us what we do
God isn’t about “grey”….he is very black and white. You can never make sin into something that doesn’t require effort to control. “Self control” is a fruitage of God’s spirit and sins under God’s law were met with a penalty that befitted the crime…..some were not serious sins, whilst others merited the death penalty, so sin is not all encompassing as you seem to believe it is.
In the grand scheme of things, you’re right, Some sins were devastating to a community. Hence God imposed a PHYSICAL death penalty.
But ALL sin is devastating to God. Because ALL SIN no matter HOW SMALL is based on pride. It is us saying sorry God. I will take control of my life this time.. That temptation is around all the time. And when that temptation is acted on. it becomes sin. And as Paul said, that sin brings death.
Again, stop watering down the law..
We cannot deliberately sin as if Jesus has us covered no matter what we do. We CAN lose our salvation by failing to obey God…..it’s not that hard a concept, surely…?
“You, therefore, beloved ones, having this advance knowledge, be on your guard so that you may not be led astray with them by the error of the lawless people and fall from your own steadfastness.” (2 Peter 3:17)
You seem to be so busy focused on the life you think you have now, that you fail to bring this life in sinful flesh, “into captivity, making it obedient to the Christ”. (2 Cor 10:5)
God gave Israel his laws for a reason…..to show them how inadequate they were to follow through on what he told them to do, due to their sinfulness. They needed a redeemer and the Law was a constant reminder of that fact.
We could lose salvation, if we were under law. Because one sin, no matter how small. No matter if we did it on purpose or if we stumbled by accident, caused us to be guilty and require a sacrifice.
But we are not under law. We are under grace.
Jesus died once, and sat down by the right hand of God, our mediator..
I pray one day all the world realizes this facet.
