The Boy and the Mud Puddle

[jburic09032]

The Boy and the Mud Puddle

The boy was dirty. He had just be playing in the mud; jumping,splashing, and laughing.

But then the boy realized that he felt really dirty and he yearned for clean clothes.
Jesus, by his mercy and grace, not only took off the boy's dirty clothes,
but He gave him a new set of bright, clean clothes. The boy was happy now!

But the boy did not take care of his new set of clothes, he did not wash them or clean the stains off,
so that soon they weren't bright and clean any longer.
The boy was in his room, looking at the mud puddle outside.
In his head he was thinking "Gee, these clothes were good for a while, but now there getting old.
And that mud puddle sure does look good. I haven't been there in a while. I want to go play in the mud again."

So without a second thought, he goes and he runs,jumps,splashes, in the mud. He delights in the mud.
He is one with the mud. He is now dirty again, but he likes it.

He does not want clean clothes anymore. He does not want to leave,
he realizes how fun the mud is, so he never looks back to his source of clean cloths.

Instead he looked the other way and saw more puddles, bigger puddles.
He chose to run to them and cover himself with their filth.

Now Jesus' love for the boy is so deep, his mercy and grace were still there,
Jesus had died on a cross so that the boy could always come back for those new clean clothes. IF HE CHOSE TO.


But the boy was so happy playing in the mud, his thoughts of God and cleanliness faded away.

Jesus watched from the window in the house, with tears in His eyes,
as the boy delighted in what was the exact opposite of what He had taught him.
And never once did the boy look back at him. Many times, Jesus called him. But the boy ignored him.
Jesus did not want to force love, because forced love is not real love at all. If the boy really loved him,
he would choose to return to Him.

But the boy refused to even think about cleanliness. He lived the rest of His live that way, going from one mud puddle to the next.
All the way up till the day he died. Even on his death bed, his mind revolved around evil.

Did the Boy go to Heaven?

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

I voted yes ... assuming that the boy was a believer in order to receive the new clothes.

He may not get rewards in heaven for doing good .... but he is in heaven nonetheless.

Furthermore we Christians are clearly told that Jesus clothes us with garments that do not have any stains or blemishes.

We also know we do not deserve the clean clothes purchased for us by the Lord.

But he did it for us anyway

 

[jburic09032]

The boy chose to neglect those clothes and not only that, he also chose to get dirty again.
Of course they dont have any stains, that is, until you create them.

Hebrews 10:26-31

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,[sup] [/sup]but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.[sup] [/sup]Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.[sup] [/sup]How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?[sup] [/sup]For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[sup] [/sup]It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

The boy chose to neglect those clothes and not only that, he also chose to get dirty again.
Of course they dont have any stains, that is, until you create them.

Hebrews 10:26-31
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,[sup] [/sup]

It says .... after we have received the knowledge of the truth ...... it does not say ... "after receiving Christ as Messiah".

The book of Hebrews is written to religious Jews who have the knowledge about Christ and have heard the gospel of forgiveness through Christ ..... but want to remain under the law in the Jewish legalistic synagog system.

They trample the Son of God underfoot .... and treat His blood as unholy ..... They are rejecting Christ ..... for that there is no forgiveness .

Most Christians misunderstand Hebrews.

Best wishes .

 

[jburic09032]

Most Christians understand Hebrews.

2 Peter 2:19-22

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”[sup] [/sup]If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.[sup] [/sup]It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. [sup] [/sup]Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”


2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.


Forced Love in No Love at all. Everyone must come to repentance before they enter the kingdom of God.

As Revelation 22:14-15 say

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.[sup] [/sup]Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

 

[jburic09032]

And also:

Hebrews 6:4-8

[sup]4 [/sup]It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened,who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, [sup]5 [/sup]who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age [sup]6 [/sup]and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. [sup]7 [/sup]Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. [sup]8 [/sup]But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

 

[Comm.Arnold]

I don't think a little mud would make Jesus cry :huh:

 

[jburic09032]

Not sure what you mean....
The mud represents sin. It wasn't just a little bit of mud. And even if it was I think it would.

 

[prism]

The story contains a faulty analogy. Not only does the Christian receive clean clothes but a new heart. If he dirtys his clothes he will be miserable. Our new nature will never have peace back in the pigpen though we may pay it a visit.

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

jburic09032 ..... you keep quoting the bible but you say nothing yourself

 

[jburic09032]

Our new nature should never have peace back in the pigpen. And I'm not sure its about peace, but doing what they like. Im sure they might never have peace, but some people dont care, as long as they have pleasure.

Arnie, is that a bad thing?
I dont believe in Once Saved Always Saved.
I think its kind of silly.
If I received Christ, and then the next year strayed away. And stayed that way, of course I don't believe I would go to heaven.
You know there is some people who believe that just so they can play in the mud there whole life and think they will still go to heaven.

 

[Rach1370]

Yeah....I tend to think the story doesn't really cover the correct theology of it all. You see...if the boy really had been given clean clothes by Jesus...saved and given a new heart, while he may have gotten the clothes grubby over the years...maybe even fallen in the mud puddle again...he would not have delighted in the mud. The new nature we receive from Christ means we hate sin. We still struggle with it, still fall into it...we are not perfect....but our longing has changed...we no longer long for that 'awesome' mud...we long for the glorious, the new, the clean, the heavenly....

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

Our new nature should never have peace back in the pigpen. And I'm not sure its about peace, but doing what they like. Im sure they might never have peace, but some people dont care, as long as they have pleasure.

Arnie, is that a bad thing?
I dont believe in Once Saved Always Saved.
I think its kind of silly.
If I received Christ, and then the next year strayed away. And stayed that way, of course I don't believe I would go to heaven.
You know there is some people who believe that just so they can play in the mud there whole life and think they will still go to heaven.

what you are really saying is that we are all in the pigpen .... except for you ..... best wishes in your studies.

 

[forrestcupp]

So to put it plainly, do we believe in eternal security? What a big can of worms.

No, I don't believe in eternal security. I believe in free will, even after we choose Christ. Will God force us to stay with Him after we have chosen Him? Not any more than He would force us to choose Him in the first place.

On the other hand, I don't think that every time you slip up you're in danger of hell fire, either. It takes a deliberate decision, just like it does in the beginning. Why would anyone do that? Either because they didn't get rooted, or because of the troubles of life. Just look at the parable of the sower. In two cases, the seed sprang up, indicating life, and then the plants died. Telling people that if they get saved, they never have to worry about it and "work out their own salvation" is deceptive. Saying that if someone backslides, they were never really saved in the first place, is a cop out.

But I've never known any Calvinist to be convinced to stop being a Calvinist, so this thread is pretty pointless.

 

[brrrilliantsteve]

Oh if ONLY one of us had told this little boy of the GLORIOUS swamp in heaven, he would no longer have been satisfied with playing in the pot holes!

 

[Foreigner]

The story contains a faulty analogy. Not only does the Christian receive clean clothes but a new heart. If he dirtys his clothes he will be miserable. Our new nature will never have peace back in the pigpen though we may pay it a visit.

-- Agreed. If he did, as the analogy said, "refused to even think about cleanliness. He lived the rest of His live that way, going from one mud puddle to the next" then he has rejected his new heart and is not following and obeying Jesus.

If you become a Christian but then begin participating in sin again wholeheartedly, to the point where there is no longer even conviction, then you are no longer living in obedience to Christ.

In other words, you are not living a Christlike life.
Translation: You are no longer living as a Christian and your salvation is in danger via a continuous self-inflicted wound.

God is not a fool. That which you sew you shall also reap.

 

[KingJ]

Jburic09032 I found your OP example fine. Sure its not the best, but it is a fine platform to discuss eternal security.

I voted no, assuming it is directed at adult Christians grieving the Holy Spirit. (the ''boy'' kills this for most I am sure ). We have not yet put on in-corruption. When we are resurrected, then this corruptable body will be replaced with an in-corruptable body. Until then, we are to work out our salvation in fear and trembling before a holy God. Judging ourselves daily so that judgement doesn't come upon us.

Sure we are a new creation. But we can still have a change of heart. Taking a dive into the mud pool as once-offs or even dipping your toes in can be seen as fighting the flesh and not giving over to it. But living in the mudpool continually shows a change of heart. I would even go on to differentiate between extremities of sin. Watching porn will cause my wife and I to fight, but adultery divorce.

God will forgive us 7x70 times a day! BUT only for sincere repentance, duh? The issue here is, when is repentance insincere? That is for God to judge but our common sense should have concern for those whom we see continuing in an extremity of sin.

Something new for me that is interesting on this discussion is where the bible says ''God's grace and mercy endureth forever''. So the world will ask us...How does God fulfil this scripture by sending people to hell for eternity? The answer is simple. God still loves the devil. God still has grace on the devil. How do we know? The devil is STILL living!! . The fact that God is preparing a place for them to live, speaks volumes about God! God could destroy them. He is honouring the demons and humans free will to reject Him. The choice to be with God or cease to exist is not really free will is it?

Then we need simply fully grasp scripture that says God is a just God and conclude that they will likely not 'suffer' for eternity. Their banishment however is guaranteed as God will not over-ride anyones free will. Forcing them to be in heaven, when they want the mud would be just that.