In your patience possess ye your souls. ( Luke 21:19).
"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain." ( James 5:7).
There are many verses on the subject of patience or longsuffering both related to God and His approved servants who eventually enter into their reward. There is no doubt that God honors those who persevere but we also need to recall the situation of Lot who as 2 Peter 2:7 states ...And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked". We don't want to be too comfortable with evil around us and in particular become compromised to maintain a lifestyle of ease. As we see with Lot his choice to enter the well watered lowlands looked good when he split up from Abraham but in the end he escaped literally from the flames with the collateral damage of what happened to his wife.
Patience therefore with our own sin can't be tolerated. We also are to sound our voice as a trumpet as Jeremiah did and the other Prophets. God patiently endures vessels fitted for destruction ( Romans 9:22; read on to verse 23). Wickedness will not be tolerated in God's Kingdom when He reigns on earth after He comes again. We need to see that God is refining us through the wickedness of sinners opposed to us and generally in rebellion that we see all around us. We don't know who is going to come to Christ and also we should keep in mind John 15:2 and 2 Timothy 2:21 where the branches we possess as believers can be purged or other useless appendages cut out from sinful connections to our dead past that we hang on to.
God will complete the work He has started ( Philippians 1:6). He will see all His sheep who hear His voice eventually enter heaven and safe pasture; and all the goats will be judged.
These earthly trials will soon be over; let us encourage one another until He comes.
If you truly accepted Christ as savior you have Salvation "Eternal life".
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life. These
things have I written unto you that believe on the
name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye
have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the
name of the Son of God. ( 1 John 5:12, 13)
Let me share a article on the subject from J Vernon Mcgee.
Part 1.
Can we know experientially that we are saved and that we are the children of God? For years, my soul was tossed on the troubled sea of uncertainty and insecurity. Finally, there dawned upon my darkened mind the light of Philippians 1:6 -
Being confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good work in you will perform [perfect] it until the day of Jesus Christ.
It was then that the sun of Scripture rose with many shafts of light and penetrated the dark recesses of fears and doubts. I pray that I may be given wisdom and power to convey to your fearful heart the assurance of your salvation, if it is not already your present possession. For those who have experienced the assurance of salvation, perhaps these few words will stabilize and strengthen the fabric of your faith. Assurance is your rightful possession, and God wants you to have it as your portion.
First of all, we need to distinguish between one's eternal security and his assurance of salvation. The line of demarcation must be clearly drawn if we are to enter experientially into the joy of salvation.
Hello Tdianne. Just to give you two further portions of Scripture to add to brother S. Spencer's reply, please look at Luke 23:42,43 and Luke 16:19-31. The first speaks about the criminal hanging next to Jesus on the Cross, who turned to Jesus for salvation. And Jesus' Word of assurance to him was that upon his death he would join Jesus in Heaven. The criminal's body would lie in a grave or be burned, but his spirit would return to God & an eternity in Heaven because of his faith.
And in Luke 16, Jesus gives a real account of what takes place in the after life, prior to His death on the Cross to pay for our sins. Both the rich man & the beggar Lazarus had died and both ended up in Hell, one in a place of eternal suffering & the other in a place of comfort & rest. Both were very much conscious of their surroundings, their pain & the reason for being where they were sent; with the plea by the rich man to have his five brothers alerted to this awful destiny, that they might repent before it was too late.
So both these accounts, even by the witness of Jesus Himself, shows us that our bodies might lie in the grave, or even not exist over the passage of time, but the real you (your spirit) which was once clothed in an ageing deteriorating body, moves instantly to a destiny appointed by God. If one is 'absent in the body' (i.e. our spirit has left they body), then that spirit, if saved through Jesus' shed Blood, goes immediately into the Lord's Presence. And that is why the Apostle Paul was assured in his spirit that the transition from death to his presence with the Lord was instantaneous ( 2 Corinthians 5:6-8). And he also told the Philippian believers ( Philippians 1:21-24) that he longed to be with Christ, but his work on Earth had not finished & also his care of the Church. But he was ready to go at any time the Lord called him, so even persecution & resulting death would mean an early entrance into Heaven. A great joy for him - and should be for us who believe.
Philippians 1:21 states that to live is Christ and to die is gain. I had always associated this with Paul's upcoming knowledge of martyrdom and applied it to our own dying to self and readiness to give our lives for the Gospel's sake. One could possibly apply this to our eternal promise of rapture and resurrection which will occur at a specific place and time.
Those who view this event as primarily a method of escape perhaps I could describe as someone who eats a wedding cake and describes it as sweet. The depth of meaning here is the joy of the reunion of the saints; but it also is only relatable to those who are now seated in heavenly places and having regular discourse and communications with the Lord and therefore hear His voice.
For a believer; of course there is anticipation of an escape from a fallen body and a final death blow to any possibility of sin to ever mar the experience of fellowship with the Lord forevermore. There is an escape from a fallen world and of course the horrors of the Tribulation and God's wrath to come. As to His unexpected arrival; I can't help remembering Sept 11 2001 which was a nice sunny day in my part of the country as well as at ground zero in all the places which were attacked. Some have theorized that as we go up there will come down missiles and or demons. For the first seal to come afterwards it would seem that whatever accompanies the rapture will appear to be some sort of utopian dream at first which would relate to the confirming of the Daniel 9:27 covenant.
The best way I can describe what I believe to be this experience as to those participating in it will be an indescribably powerful surge of the Holy Spirit that translates us from our terrestrial to celestial bodies where God's church that is now being used to hold back the evil to come through the particular ministry of the Spirit being removed.
Describing this reunion with long deceased believers and with the Lord is beyond words.
All truth is in God's WORD destroying the WORKS of SATAN.
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into and ANGEL OF LIGHT
Matthew 12:28 If I (TRUTH) cast out devils by the Spirit of God, theis the KINGDOM of GOD has come unto you.
God does his work in AGES, there has been AGES before the AGE we are currently in, and there are AGES to come.
IN the AGE we are a presently in God is calling out a priesthood to be judges of those those billions who never heard the gospel of the kingdom of God, and the ones that did hear, but died in ignorance of the TRUTH.
Those who are CAUSED to BELIEVE his words will be set over those raised at the second resurrection to JUDGE them by the TRUTH of God's word, as we have been judged by the truth of God's word.
Psalms 22:27 ALL the ends of the earth shall REMEMBER and turn unto the Lord: ALL the kindreds of the earth shall WORSHIP before thee.
Psalms 22:29 And they that be fat upon the earth (the called out) shall eat and WORSHIP (in TRUTH and SPIRIT), and they that go down to the dust (death and the grave) shall BOW BEFORE HIM: and NONE can keep alive his own soul.
1 Timothy 4:10 For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the SAVIOR OF ALL MEN (most in the AGES to come), especially of those that BELIEVE (in this AGE).
Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is GIVEN (gifted) on the behalf of CHRIST to not only BELIEVE on him, but also to suffer for his sake,
Obadiah 1:21 And SAVIORS (those that have become the image of Christ) shall come upon mount Zion to JUDGE the house of ESAU, and the kingdom shall be the LORDS
You and I never had the discussion on ridding the sin nature.
You never asked me anything on the topic.
I was making mention of you being in the debate with someone else.
Then several joined!
That topic branched over into several topics.
This is why I said I am aware of your stance on this and I didn't want to re-visit it.
Besides that, my post has nothing to do with whether one can loose his or her sin "NATURE"
Momsage
When we're talking about sin we're talking about "transgression of the law of God.and this is not JUST breaking any of the commands of God,
IT'S NOT ONLY SPEAKING OF THE 10 COMMANDMENTS.
However you described Justification as I do.
Justification is freely given to us through faith in Christ, therefore we have an atonement. Sanctification Is also a work of God! Philippians 1:6
Nowhere in scripture it says Justification or Sanctification rids us of our FLESH/SIN NATURE.
They do rid us the penalty of our sins! Past, Present, and future.
And Sanctification rids ys of the love of sin.
Anything we do that is not of the spirit is sin!
Now we're perfectly justified we have the Holy Spirit that prompts us to do God's will but we have a nature that combats God's will and that nature never leaves us.
God is Holy and perfect. He doesn't has to resist any evil.
We're imperfect. We have emotional sin that we resist everyday because we have a nature in this body of sin that the Holyspirit deals with daily.
When we're talking about "SIN NATURE" this can be anything that our flesh prompts us to do something that the Spirit has not.
Winning the battle over our sin nature doesn't mean we got rid of it.
We can do something that appears to be a good deed on the outside but on the inside it's for praise, that's also caused by our sin nature.
God shares his praise and Glory with no man.
You can tell me how wonderful I am to be kind towards me, but if you don't truly feel that way then it's a lie.
More on assurance of salvation or "eternal security"
As stated before space ran out in the last post; Romans 8:16 shows the communication between our spirit and His Spirit who resides within all true believers ( John 14:23; see also Eph. 3:17). For Him to RESIDE in our souls we must be born again.
And being children of God we also are made aware of opportunities which God gives us (i.e. "good works") that will be rewarded in heaven someday that are imperishable ( 1 Cor. 9:25; Matt. 6:19-21). Keep in mind the end of that passage stating that wherever your treasure is; your heart is also (loosely translated).
Again; as I have stated a LOT on this site; God's method is to chastise all those He loves (let the reader find the scriptures). There is no desire for this in the flesh; as it is stated in Hebrews 12:11 to be disciplined in this way. We learn to recognize and appreciate this "pruning" effort ( John 15:2); for without it we would be in danger of producing no fruit and in the end being burned (in everlasting punishment). Our confidence is that in the end we are made into a glorious image; and reflect perfectly His radiance as He truly IS our life. Our reward; therefore comes from Him and in reality is HIS reward. He will; of course have His saints rule and reign with Him as part of our inheritance.
Another point to be made is an effectual witness has to be bold in their testimony and bring the fear of the Lord as well as demonstrate His love. It is therefore as Philippians 1:28 states a "token of their perdition" that we remain steadfast in the confidence of all that He has promised us. Our coming exaltation to rule and reign with Christ isn't brought forth by arrogance on our part; but nonetheless the unnerving thing to those who hear our witness is that we are; indeed already seated in heavenly places. ( Eph. 2:6). Christ also overcame and is seated at the right hand of the Father. God will be magnified whether hell or heaven is our end.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
This verse is somewhat baffling; and altogether foreign from my vantage point. When have we seen anyone praching Christ in order to make a jailed believer suffer more? Even in countries with high persecution; it would seem odd to do this as it would bring persecution to those preaching it; making the cost seemingly too high for preaching in "pretence" as verse 17 states.
The only way I could envision this is if someone mocks Christianity by glibly quoting scripture; or preaches then deliberately incites a riot so that those who preach peaceably will be falsely accused of causing insurrections as a result. In any case until we see believers who are detained for a lengthy period of time in our country with a real threat of death it is something we have to understand with wisdom for the day things do head in that direction. For now most who are arrested are only for a short period of time; and if longer it is not usually clear that it is only for defence of the Gospel that they are in jail. There certainly may be cases like this which the media isn't mentioning; it certainly seems this has begun in Canada in the last year or so.
Boldness because of Paul's chains as seen with Philippians 1:14 shows several things. Through Paul's confidence and ongoing ministry it shows the Gospel can't be bound. It also gives sympathy from Paul's beloved members of the churches he founded as an Apostle who want to continue in his stead. How we need these type of believers today! Finally; it sets an example as a true shephard who lays his life down.
Did Jesus exist before creation? Did the Holy Spirit exist before creation?
Jesus existed in God's plan, Jesus is the beginning of creation Rev. 3:14 and by Him were all things created Col. 1:16 my understanding is Jesus, was the first in God's plan of creation and everything was created by God, in and through the plan and purpose of Jesus. My understanding Jesus did not physically exist until the fullness of time. Ephesians 1:10 He was born of Mary the Son of God. the seed of woman. Genesis 3:15Matthew 1:20
My understanding is the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, not a person, Genesis 1:2. We see all the greetings are from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:71 Corinthians 1:32 Corinthians 1:2Galatians 1:3Ephesians 1:2Ephesians 6:23Philippians 1:2Colossians 1:2 and 6 more. The Holy Spirit not being included is a good clue the Holy Spirit was not considered a person by Paul and others at that time.
If so, who were they in relation to the Father?
I believe the above answers this.
How did the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all create all that is, seen or unseen?
My understanding is God the Father created all, Genesis 1:1Genesis 1:31Proverbs 16:4Isaiah 45:18Nehemiah 9:6.
Does Scripture teach that God is only one person who manifests in three forms, but all these manifestations are only one person?
Scripture does not support Modalism I have never considered this and do not know anything about it.
"29. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 30. Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me."
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
The scriptures show multiple times such as Matthew 27:19 with Pilate's wife (who may or may not have come to saving faith) and with Paul in particular (with the jailor who he had a chance to bring to faith along with his whole family) in Acts 16:30-33. The jailor even showed compassion in washing the stripes from whipping of Paul that apparently occurred earlier. There were others who Paul was able to bring to faith who were often wives of important officials.
Jesus; of course knew what He was talking about since we ALL start out as enemies of God. This puts us on an even playing field so to speak; so that we cannot understand how God can change the heart of a serial killer but not of someone who always seems to be a "nice person" whether our family members or friends. It isn't so much important to browbeat someone as to their sinfulness to convince them to repent; ASSUMING that we are preaching about the sorry state of human souls in general with unregenerate hearts. This is how the Gospel was preached; those in authority were given general and very harsh rebukes by Christ as part of the general call. WE certainly need to clearly speak of how Jesus saved us from total depravity or however we want to describe our sorry state before salvation.
Matthew 10:28 shows what we should NOT fear (our death) and what our persecutors SHOULD fear (see also Philippians 1:28).
Easier said than done; actually not possible apart from the Spirit giving us the utterance (see Luke 12:12).
We must remember God determines when our last day is on earth not Satan or man. No doubt Satan desires 24/7 to destroy us so we must always be vigilant and not let our guard down. The same should be said in prayer for those suffering persecution today.
Philippians 1:9 states; "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all JUDGMENT;
Here I believe Judgment is speaking of discernment.
Part 1.
Something to notice about 1 John 2 and 1 John 4. In 1 John when you study it carefully, you see John using the contrast of loving your brother "which is hating your brother" to illustrate the heart of nonbelievers who "say" they love God. John is saying if you don't love your brother, you don't love God!
Look at verse 2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
It all begins in Bethlehem! Christ was born in Bethlehem. It's the incarnation is where we begin!
Calvary and the Garden tomb are meaningless unless he is who he claims to be. God in the flesh! 1 Timothy 3:16.
One way you can determine the false teacher is he will deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and behind this doctrine and the lack of the Spirit, he will have no love for the Brothern. This is the Spirit of the Antichrist.
John has much to say about the deity of Christ. John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...
1 John he has a lot to say about the Antichrist in the world.
These false teachers appeals to the flesh! We have the Spirit of Christ which protects us.
Verse 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. These false teachers intellectually appeal to the world through their fleshly minds.
Verse 5. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
God's children "WILL" respond to God's word.
Verse 7, Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
John having given a warning of false teachers, John returns to the theme of this section.
No discipline is enjoyable at the time according to Hebrews 12:11. It leads to good fruits according to the passage; however.
I have stated repeatedly that verses indicating chastising all He loves as well as suffering for His Name's sake are both scriptural statements in regard to the fate of those who are saved. (see Philippians 1:29 and dozens of other verses). So in some sense we have died with Christ but are being crucified daily. WE are the ones where there has to be progressive sanctification; Christ Himself only died once for the propitiation of our sins; in other words He didn't need being perfect the process of sanctification before glorification.
Just as the conversion of a serial killer may appear more dramatic than say a stay at home housewife; the sanctification may also appear so. We see Christ tell Paul how much he will have to suffer for His Name's sake ( Acts 9:16). God has His own unique calling on our lives therefore different things necessary in our sanctification process. Nonetheless; changes must occur.
Once we die or are raptured and called home in glory then of course the process is completed; and the rewards commensurate with our service or lack thereof. This means we should strive to win the prize; but that is involved with a combination of learning how to submit daily to the Lord as well as buffeting ourselves with self discipline; someone He can trust to honor His name; and a servant who obeys because of love for their Master; Lord and Savior.
Sanctification therefore means various things; changing our daily habits and routines; changing the focus of our career and recreational time; and for some means a change of venue; or vocation. It is the small things that add up to make one prepared for the big; the lives of Christ and the Apostles show how they faced martyrdom after daily dying to self. Paul had suffered greatly and preferred to be with the Lord but not before the time ( Phil. 1:23)
One will glean more knowledge form interacting on this forum than will ever be gleaned in our churches, sad but true.
Our churches stand on denominational doctrines instead of of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.
I was raised in a denominal doctrine church, went they any and every time the doors were open, I never hear a sermon on the gospel of the kingdom of God, It was do good and go to heaven, don't do good and go to hell: all works.
Until God CAUSED me to sit and study his word, I never knew the gospel of the Kingdom of God, I never knew the baptism into Jesus NAME, only the water baptism of John.
I was taught we have FREE WILL, never understanding I DIED on the cross, ONLY the BODY of Christ was resurrected and WE as JOINT HEIRS of his resurrection.
Dead men DO NOT HAVE FREE WILL:
Ezekiel 36:22 I WILL put my spirit IN YOU and CAUSE YOU to walk in my statutes, and keep my judgement (we are judged by the words of God) and DO THEM.
If one believes this scripture he is a SEED of God, ONLY God's WWILL is being done in HIS BODY.
If God is WILLING all things, AND DOING all things in IN US, then WE CANNOT SIN.
This is how Christ was without SIN, He had KNOWLEDGE without measure of the WORDS of GOD.
He KNEW every word from his mouth was OF HIS FATHER, he was just the BODY, every action (works) his body performed was the WORK of his Father.
When Christ became angry, he had knowledge it was the Father CAUSING his to show his anger, but he had knowledge that ALL THINGS (anger and other things we call SIN) all WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD.
We can't see that but GOD'S word says it does, so do we believe our carnal mind of do we let the words of God DESTROY the man of perdition, our carnal mind, and RENEW our carnal mind with the mind of Christ.
HIS mind and his heart were GIVEN TO US by being resurrected JOINT HEIRS with Christ,
BUT even BELIEVING his words have to be GIVEN to us on the BEHALF of Christ .... Philippians 1:29
What does it mean to believe? What is the evidence that we believe? As Paul said, it is like running a race, when we start this race, we believe we are going to finish, and with God's Spirit we have all the determination and motivation we are not only going to finish this race we are going to win this race.
We are saved! We are being saved! We shall be saved! When we start, are all our sins forgiven, our past, present, and our future sins the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and are baptized? Is our salvation guaranteed and we cannot lose it or fall out of grace regardless?
We are saved. Eph. 2:5 When we accept the gospel and are baptized our sins are blotted out, Isaiah 44:22Acts 3:19 and we become a child/son/daughter of God, John 1:12 we are justified, made righteous by the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and now we begin a relationship through God's Spirit, and God and Jesus abide in us, 2 John 1:9. This is the start of the race, the beginning of our salvation.
We are being saved. Philippians 1:6 Hearing the Word one believes and is baptized into Christ they are made clean (justification) the work of grace, and the Lord will continue working in us until He returns if we abide in Him John 15:3-5. How does God complete his good work in us? Testing James 1:2-4, chastising Heb. 12:6-7 Our relationship. If we abide in Him, Jesus, and God abides in us. The branches bear the fruit of the vine, the vine produces the fruit not us/branch, sanctification. We are running the race Philippians 2:12
We shall be saved. Redemption and glorification. Our full salvation comes at the end, when Jesus returns. Luke 21:28 "being now justified" We started the race. We are being saved, "being reconciled" we are running the race, 2 Cor. 5:18. We shall be saved at the end of the race. Romans 13:11.
"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
Philippians 1:27-28,
"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I (Paul) come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;"
God gives us His Spirit and it is His Spirit that produces the faith the Bible speaks of. We do not have the capacity to produce the faith we read about. Now, both believers and nonbelievers alike can produce human faith, but this type of faith is different than the faith the Bible speaks of. Only Gods Spirit can produce spiritual faith, or saving faith ( Galatians 5:22).
As far as Philippians 1:29, here is my understanding:
It says, "For unto you it is given," and by the way, the word given is the word graced. God has blessed you, favored you, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake;
Isn't that good news? It's God's will! Just like Peter says in his letter, why are you so surprised for the fiery trials that come up against you?
It's God's will that not only you believe, but that you suffer for the sake of Christ.
But check out what it says in the next verse ( Philippians 1:30):
Having the same conflict, and that's the word agony. Having the same agony which you saw in me, and now you hear to be in me.
Paul says, you want to know what it looks like, what I just told you about believing and suffering? It's the same agony that you see in my life, as I, like an athlete battle with the opponent all day long.
That's not just God's will for Paul. That's for every believer!
what does Paul mean in 1 Philippians 1:29 when he says it is a privilege granted to us to believe in Christ? does that mean that saving faith is something given to us from God or is it something we produce on our own? I'd love to hear all your thoughts!
I KNOW you believe we are saved by grace ALONE, everything is the WORKS of GOD.
May the spirit of truth add to your comments:
You said OUR PART is confess and believe.
IS IT NOT the ''works'' of CHRIST IN US that CAUSES us to believe.
Philippians 1:29 For it is given (GRACE) to us on the behalf of Christ --- TO BELIEVE ----
ALL is the WORKS of GOD.
The ""belief" by and of, the "faith" by and of, the "life" by and of ---JESUS CHRIST ---
We are just the BODY of CHRIST, the "heart" and "mind" in that body; you and I and everyone else, IS CHRIST
Christ; the firstborn, of many brethren, we are the FRUIT of the TESTOR.
Isaiah 14:29 and out of the ROOT of the serpent (man) shall come forth a cockatrice (a saviour of men) and his (the saviours) FRUIT shall be a FIERY FLYING SERPENT.
God BLESS YOU as the spirit of truth makes us all ONE in Christ.
Ronald, you said Salvation is a gift from God, but We cannot earn this gift, but we must receive it according to God's terms. Isn't that a contradictory statement?
What are God's terms? Isn't it believe in him whom he sent?
John 6:27-29.
27) Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
"Notice in verse 28 the disciple's ask what their labor is they must do.
Notice in verse 29 Jesus gives them their part!
28) Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
AFTER YOU PART SALVATION AND ETERNAL LIFE IS ESTABLISHED!
Here is the next step and source of our growth. Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Ronald, concerning Abraham.
Abraham proved his faith by his works, He was justified by faith alone.
Here's how Paul put it in Romans 10:8-11. "AND NOTICE THE LAST SENTENCE IN VERSE 11"
"But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture saith, WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH ON HIM SHALL NOT BE ASHAMED.
all creation is judged now, today: tomorrow; tomorrow will become today, world without end. judgement is what god has said. his word will not return unto him void.
judgement is now, today, upon the house of the christ; you, me and everyone on this forum; is that house, and there is only one house, the lord god almighty and the lamb: some have not yet come to that truth, but there is a today coming when they shall be overcome by judgement.
you are baptised into the name of jesus christ, resurrected as one, join-heirs, a husband and his bride.
john 17:22 and the glory that thou hast given me, i have given them, that as we are one, they may be one in us.
judgement is now, do you believe what god has said.
philippians 1:29 for it is given to you on the behalf of christ ...... to believe......
Luke 20:36 And THEY (who are they) CAN DIE NO MORE (they DIED on the cross of Christ):for they are EQUAL unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the CHILDREN of the RESURRECTION.
If you are the children of the RESURRECTION, you had to literally died to be resurrected.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and Holy is he that hath part in the FIRST RESURRECTION ......
Isaiah 26:19 ... together with my dead body shall they arise ......
God spoke the words before you were ever born of woman, that you would be raised as ONE with Christ.
The carnal mind is ENMITY against the words of God.
The Spirit of TRUTH was SENT to destroy the WORKS of Satan, our carnal mind.
Philippians 1:29 For it is GIVEN TO YOU on the behalf of Christ (the Spirit of TRUTH) TO BELIEVE ......
If I can just add my 2-cents on this great verse ( Philippians 1:6) you brought up.
Notice how it says "being confident."
It's actually a Perfect Tense. It should read, "having become confident." Why? Because they've been in fellowship with the gospel from the first day until now.
They've been in fellowship with the gospel, so confidently Paul can say about this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform, and the Greek word means literally complete it, until the day of Jesus Christ:
That's quite a promise. But he didn't say that for all people. He says because you have been in the word from the first day until now, I can tell you that God's promise to you is that whatever work He began in you, He's going to complete it until Christ comes.
There's a reason why they stayed in the word. He didn't say for all people who profess to be Christians because not all professing Christians are saved, especially in our religious system in our country.
So the confidence comes because they've been in the word since the first day they were saved. God began a work in them. He gave them His Spirit, and by His Spirit, they were continuously being drawn to His word.
This is God's doing. It is His work in their lives. He began this work, and He sees it to its completion.
Those who overcome "overcomes" by the blood of Christ and is "overcoming" by the blood of Christ.
Paul says in Philippians 1:6
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you WILL PERFORM IT UNTIL THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST:
Therefore, the promise is "the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Rec. 3:5.
Our faith is in the sacrificial and redemptive work Christ performed on the cross!
When we are born of God: "You are in Christ
We're now Identified with Christ.
This is "Positional sanctification"
It is the work of God whereby He sets us apart and considers us holy in His eyes.
Also there is a practical Sanctification continuously going on.
We are to be growing in the Lord ( 2 Peter 3:18) or spiritual maturity. God started the work of making us like Christ, and He is continuing it.
( Philippians 1:6).
Blessings.
"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain." ( James 5:7).
There are many verses on the subject of patience or longsuffering both related to God and His approved servants who eventually enter into their reward. There is no doubt that God honors those who persevere but we also need to recall the situation of Lot who as 2 Peter 2:7 states ...And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked". We don't want to be too comfortable with evil around us and in particular become compromised to maintain a lifestyle of ease. As we see with Lot his choice to enter the well watered lowlands looked good when he split up from Abraham but in the end he escaped literally from the flames with the collateral damage of what happened to his wife.
Patience therefore with our own sin can't be tolerated. We also are to sound our voice as a trumpet as Jeremiah did and the other Prophets. God patiently endures vessels fitted for destruction ( Romans 9:22; read on to verse 23). Wickedness will not be tolerated in God's Kingdom when He reigns on earth after He comes again. We need to see that God is refining us through the wickedness of sinners opposed to us and generally in rebellion that we see all around us. We don't know who is going to come to Christ and also we should keep in mind John 15:2 and 2 Timothy 2:21 where the branches we possess as believers can be purged or other useless appendages cut out from sinful connections to our dead past that we hang on to.
God will complete the work He has started ( Philippians 1:6). He will see all His sheep who hear His voice eventually enter heaven and safe pasture; and all the goats will be judged.
These earthly trials will soon be over; let us encourage one another until He comes.
Salvation is in a person! Our Lord Jesus Christ!
If you have Christ you have ( Eternal ) life.
That's what Christ is offering! (Eternal life!)
If you truly accepted Christ as savior you have Salvation "Eternal life".
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life. These
things have I written unto you that believe on the
name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye
have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the
name of the Son of God. ( 1 John 5:12, 13)
Let me share a article on the subject from J Vernon Mcgee.
Part 1.
Can we know experientially that we are saved and that we are the children of God? For years, my soul was tossed on the troubled sea of uncertainty and insecurity. Finally, there dawned upon my darkened mind the light of Philippians 1:6 -
Being confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good work in you will perform [perfect] it until the day of Jesus Christ.
It was then that the sun of Scripture rose with many shafts of light and penetrated the dark recesses of fears and doubts. I pray that I may be given wisdom and power to convey to your fearful heart the assurance of your salvation, if it is not already your present possession. For those who have experienced the assurance of salvation, perhaps these few words will stabilize and strengthen the fabric of your faith. Assurance is your rightful possession, and God wants you to have it as your portion.
First of all, we need to distinguish between one's eternal security and his assurance of salvation. The line of demarcation must be clearly drawn if we are to enter experientially into the joy of salvation.
See Part 2.
( Eternal ) Salvation.
And in Luke 16, Jesus gives a real account of what takes place in the after life, prior to His death on the Cross to pay for our sins. Both the rich man & the beggar Lazarus had died and both ended up in Hell, one in a place of eternal suffering & the other in a place of comfort & rest. Both were very much conscious of their surroundings, their pain & the reason for being where they were sent; with the plea by the rich man to have his five brothers alerted to this awful destiny, that they might repent before it was too late.
So both these accounts, even by the witness of Jesus Himself, shows us that our bodies might lie in the grave, or even not exist over the passage of time, but the real you (your spirit) which was once clothed in an ageing deteriorating body, moves instantly to a destiny appointed by God. If one is 'absent in the body' (i.e. our spirit has left they body), then that spirit, if saved through Jesus' shed Blood, goes immediately into the Lord's Presence. And that is why the Apostle Paul was assured in his spirit that the transition from death to his presence with the Lord was instantaneous ( 2 Corinthians 5:6-8). And he also told the Philippian believers ( Philippians 1:21-24) that he longed to be with Christ, but his work on Earth had not finished & also his care of the Church. But he was ready to go at any time the Lord called him, so even persecution & resulting death would mean an early entrance into Heaven. A great joy for him - and should be for us who believe.
Those who view this event as primarily a method of escape perhaps I could describe as someone who eats a wedding cake and describes it as sweet. The depth of meaning here is the joy of the reunion of the saints; but it also is only relatable to those who are now seated in heavenly places and having regular discourse and communications with the Lord and therefore hear His voice.
For a believer; of course there is anticipation of an escape from a fallen body and a final death blow to any possibility of sin to ever mar the experience of fellowship with the Lord forevermore. There is an escape from a fallen world and of course the horrors of the Tribulation and God's wrath to come. As to His unexpected arrival; I can't help remembering Sept 11 2001 which was a nice sunny day in my part of the country as well as at ground zero in all the places which were attacked. Some have theorized that as we go up there will come down missiles and or demons. For the first seal to come afterwards it would seem that whatever accompanies the rapture will appear to be some sort of utopian dream at first which would relate to the confirming of the Daniel 9:27 covenant.
The best way I can describe what I believe to be this experience as to those participating in it will be an indescribably powerful surge of the Holy Spirit that translates us from our terrestrial to celestial bodies where God's church that is now being used to hold back the evil to come through the particular ministry of the Spirit being removed.
Describing this reunion with long deceased believers and with the Lord is beyond words.
Agape.
All truth is in God's WORD destroying the WORKS of SATAN.
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into and ANGEL OF LIGHT
Matthew 12:28 If I (TRUTH) cast out devils by the Spirit of God, theis the KINGDOM of GOD has come unto you.
God does his work in AGES, there has been AGES before the AGE we are currently in, and there are AGES to come.
IN the AGE we are a presently in God is calling out a priesthood to be judges of those those billions who never heard the gospel of the kingdom of God, and the ones that did hear, but died in ignorance of the TRUTH.
Those who are CAUSED to BELIEVE his words will be set over those raised at the second resurrection to JUDGE them by the TRUTH of God's word, as we have been judged by the truth of God's word.
Psalms 22:27 ALL the ends of the earth shall REMEMBER and turn unto the Lord: ALL the kindreds of the earth shall WORSHIP before thee.
Psalms 22:29 And they that be fat upon the earth (the called out) shall eat and WORSHIP (in TRUTH and SPIRIT), and they that go down to the dust (death and the grave) shall BOW BEFORE HIM: and NONE can keep alive his own soul.
1 Timothy 4:10 For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the SAVIOR OF ALL MEN (most in the AGES to come), especially of those that BELIEVE (in this AGE).
Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is GIVEN (gifted) on the behalf of CHRIST to not only BELIEVE on him, but also to suffer for his sake,
Obadiah 1:21 And SAVIORS (those that have become the image of Christ) shall come upon mount Zion to JUDGE the house of ESAU, and the kingdom shall be the LORDS
God Bless You
Part 1
You and I never had the discussion on ridding the sin nature.
You never asked me anything on the topic.
I was making mention of you being in the debate with someone else.
Then several joined!
That topic branched over into several topics.
This is why I said I am aware of your stance on this and I didn't want to re-visit it.
Besides that, my post has nothing to do with whether one can loose his or her sin "NATURE"
Momsage
When we're talking about sin we're talking about "transgression of the law of God.and this is not JUST breaking any of the commands of God,
IT'S NOT ONLY SPEAKING OF THE 10 COMMANDMENTS.
However you described Justification as I do.
Justification is freely given to us through faith in Christ, therefore we have an atonement. Sanctification Is also a work of God! Philippians 1:6
Nowhere in scripture it says Justification or Sanctification rids us of our FLESH/SIN NATURE.
They do rid us the penalty of our sins! Past, Present, and future.
And Sanctification rids ys of the love of sin.
Anything we do that is not of the spirit is sin!
Now we're perfectly justified we have the Holy Spirit that prompts us to do God's will but we have a nature that combats God's will and that nature never leaves us.
God is Holy and perfect. He doesn't has to resist any evil.
We're imperfect. We have emotional sin that we resist everyday because we have a nature in this body of sin that the Holyspirit deals with daily.
When we're talking about "SIN NATURE" this can be anything that our flesh prompts us to do something that the Spirit has not.
Winning the battle over our sin nature doesn't mean we got rid of it.
We can do something that appears to be a good deed on the outside but on the inside it's for praise, that's also caused by our sin nature.
God shares his praise and Glory with no man.
You can tell me how wonderful I am to be kind towards me, but if you don't truly feel that way then it's a lie.
See part 2.
As stated before space ran out in the last post; Romans 8:16 shows the communication between our spirit and His Spirit who resides within all true believers ( John 14:23; see also Eph. 3:17). For Him to RESIDE in our souls we must be born again.
And being children of God we also are made aware of opportunities which God gives us (i.e. "good works") that will be rewarded in heaven someday that are imperishable ( 1 Cor. 9:25; Matt. 6:19-21). Keep in mind the end of that passage stating that wherever your treasure is; your heart is also (loosely translated).
Again; as I have stated a LOT on this site; God's method is to chastise all those He loves (let the reader find the scriptures). There is no desire for this in the flesh; as it is stated in Hebrews 12:11 to be disciplined in this way. We learn to recognize and appreciate this "pruning" effort ( John 15:2); for without it we would be in danger of producing no fruit and in the end being burned (in everlasting punishment). Our confidence is that in the end we are made into a glorious image; and reflect perfectly His radiance as He truly IS our life. Our reward; therefore comes from Him and in reality is HIS reward. He will; of course have His saints rule and reign with Him as part of our inheritance.
Another point to be made is an effectual witness has to be bold in their testimony and bring the fear of the Lord as well as demonstrate His love. It is therefore as Philippians 1:28 states a "token of their perdition" that we remain steadfast in the confidence of all that He has promised us. Our coming exaltation to rule and reign with Christ isn't brought forth by arrogance on our part; but nonetheless the unnerving thing to those who hear our witness is that we are; indeed already seated in heavenly places. ( Eph. 2:6). Christ also overcame and is seated at the right hand of the Father. God will be magnified whether hell or heaven is our end.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
This verse is somewhat baffling; and altogether foreign from my vantage point. When have we seen anyone praching Christ in order to make a jailed believer suffer more? Even in countries with high persecution; it would seem odd to do this as it would bring persecution to those preaching it; making the cost seemingly too high for preaching in "pretence" as verse 17 states.
The only way I could envision this is if someone mocks Christianity by glibly quoting scripture; or preaches then deliberately incites a riot so that those who preach peaceably will be falsely accused of causing insurrections as a result. In any case until we see believers who are detained for a lengthy period of time in our country with a real threat of death it is something we have to understand with wisdom for the day things do head in that direction. For now most who are arrested are only for a short period of time; and if longer it is not usually clear that it is only for defence of the Gospel that they are in jail. There certainly may be cases like this which the media isn't mentioning; it certainly seems this has begun in Canada in the last year or so.
Boldness because of Paul's chains as seen with Philippians 1:14 shows several things. Through Paul's confidence and ongoing ministry it shows the Gospel can't be bound. It also gives sympathy from Paul's beloved members of the churches he founded as an Apostle who want to continue in his stead. How we need these type of believers today! Finally; it sets an example as a true shephard who lays his life down.
Part 2 Trinity discussion
Did Jesus exist before creation? Did the Holy Spirit exist before creation?
Jesus existed in God's plan, Jesus is the beginning of creation Rev. 3:14 and by Him were all things created Col. 1:16 my understanding is Jesus, was the first in God's plan of creation and everything was created by God, in and through the plan and purpose of Jesus. My understanding Jesus did not physically exist until the fullness of time. Ephesians 1:10 He was born of Mary the Son of God. the seed of woman. Genesis 3:15 Matthew 1:20
My understanding is the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, not a person, Genesis 1:2. We see all the greetings are from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:7 1 Corinthians 1:3 2 Corinthians 1:2 Galatians 1:3 Ephesians 1:2 Ephesians 6:23 Philippians 1:2 Colossians 1:2 and 6 more. The Holy Spirit not being included is a good clue the Holy Spirit was not considered a person by Paul and others at that time.
If so, who were they in relation to the Father?
I believe the above answers this.
How did the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all create all that is, seen or unseen?
My understanding is God the Father created all, Genesis 1:1 Genesis 1:31 Proverbs 16:4 Isaiah 45:18 Nehemiah 9:6.
Does Scripture teach that God is only one person who manifests in three forms, but all these manifestations are only one person?
Scripture does not support Modalism I have never considered this and do not know anything about it.
See part 3.
"29. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 30. Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me."
Matthew 5:44 states:
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
The scriptures show multiple times such as Matthew 27:19 with Pilate's wife (who may or may not have come to saving faith) and with Paul in particular (with the jailor who he had a chance to bring to faith along with his whole family) in Acts 16:30-33. The jailor even showed compassion in washing the stripes from whipping of Paul that apparently occurred earlier. There were others who Paul was able to bring to faith who were often wives of important officials.
Jesus; of course knew what He was talking about since we ALL start out as enemies of God. This puts us on an even playing field so to speak; so that we cannot understand how God can change the heart of a serial killer but not of someone who always seems to be a "nice person" whether our family members or friends. It isn't so much important to browbeat someone as to their sinfulness to convince them to repent; ASSUMING that we are preaching about the sorry state of human souls in general with unregenerate hearts. This is how the Gospel was preached; those in authority were given general and very harsh rebukes by Christ as part of the general call. WE certainly need to clearly speak of how Jesus saved us from total depravity or however we want to describe our sorry state before salvation.
Matthew 10:28 shows what we should NOT fear (our death) and what our persecutors SHOULD fear (see also Philippians 1:28).
Easier said than done; actually not possible apart from the Spirit giving us the utterance (see Luke 12:12).
We must remember God determines when our last day is on earth not Satan or man. No doubt Satan desires 24/7 to destroy us so we must always be vigilant and not let our guard down. The same should be said in prayer for those suffering persecution today.
Here I believe Judgment is speaking of discernment.
Part 1.
Something to notice about 1 John 2 and 1 John 4. In 1 John when you study it carefully, you see John using the contrast of loving your brother "which is hating your brother" to illustrate the heart of nonbelievers who "say" they love God. John is saying if you don't love your brother, you don't love God!
Look at verse 2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
It all begins in Bethlehem! Christ was born in Bethlehem. It's the incarnation is where we begin!
Calvary and the Garden tomb are meaningless unless he is who he claims to be. God in the flesh! 1 Timothy 3:16.
One way you can determine the false teacher is he will deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and behind this doctrine and the lack of the Spirit, he will have no love for the Brothern. This is the Spirit of the Antichrist.
John has much to say about the deity of Christ. John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...
1 John he has a lot to say about the Antichrist in the world.
These false teachers appeals to the flesh! We have the Spirit of Christ which protects us.
Verse 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. These false teachers intellectually appeal to the world through their fleshly minds.
Verse 5. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
God's children "WILL" respond to God's word.
Verse 7, Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
John having given a warning of false teachers, John returns to the theme of this section.
See Part 2.
No discipline is enjoyable at the time according to Hebrews 12:11. It leads to good fruits according to the passage; however.
I have stated repeatedly that verses indicating chastising all He loves as well as suffering for His Name's sake are both scriptural statements in regard to the fate of those who are saved. (see Philippians 1:29 and dozens of other verses). So in some sense we have died with Christ but are being crucified daily. WE are the ones where there has to be progressive sanctification; Christ Himself only died once for the propitiation of our sins; in other words He didn't need being perfect the process of sanctification before glorification.
Just as the conversion of a serial killer may appear more dramatic than say a stay at home housewife; the sanctification may also appear so. We see Christ tell Paul how much he will have to suffer for His Name's sake ( Acts 9:16). God has His own unique calling on our lives therefore different things necessary in our sanctification process. Nonetheless; changes must occur.
Once we die or are raptured and called home in glory then of course the process is completed; and the rewards commensurate with our service or lack thereof. This means we should strive to win the prize; but that is involved with a combination of learning how to submit daily to the Lord as well as buffeting ourselves with self discipline; someone He can trust to honor His name; and a servant who obeys because of love for their Master; Lord and Savior.
Sanctification therefore means various things; changing our daily habits and routines; changing the focus of our career and recreational time; and for some means a change of venue; or vocation. It is the small things that add up to make one prepared for the big; the lives of Christ and the Apostles show how they faced martyrdom after daily dying to self. Paul had suffered greatly and preferred to be with the Lord but not before the time ( Phil. 1:23)
I'm not saying don't go to church, I'm saying DON'T be DECEIVED, by man's doctrines.
Most in the churches, are taught by man, not taught by the spirit of truth.
You will know them by their fruit, the WORD that comes from their lips, are they God's truths or man's truth.
You just said we are saved by grace, they will say those same words, THEN ADD, what you have to do HELP Christ save YOU.
You were SAVED at Christ resurrection, not yet having seen the light of day, Christ didn't need your help then nor now.
It's finished WORK.
JUST BELIEVE, But you don't even do that, it alsois a gift of God.
Philippians 1:29 ... it is GIVEN to you, on the behalf of Christ, TO BELIEVE ....
God Bless YOU!
One will glean more knowledge form interacting on this forum than will ever be gleaned in our churches, sad but true.
Our churches stand on denominational doctrines instead of of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.
I was raised in a denominal doctrine church, went they any and every time the doors were open, I never hear a sermon on the gospel of the kingdom of God, It was do good and go to heaven, don't do good and go to hell: all works.
Until God CAUSED me to sit and study his word, I never knew the gospel of the Kingdom of God, I never knew the baptism into Jesus NAME, only the water baptism of John.
I was taught we have FREE WILL, never understanding I DIED on the cross, ONLY the BODY of Christ was resurrected and WE as JOINT HEIRS of his resurrection.
Dead men DO NOT HAVE FREE WILL:
Ezekiel 36:22 I WILL put my spirit IN YOU and CAUSE YOU to walk in my statutes, and keep my judgement (we are judged by the words of God) and DO THEM.
If one believes this scripture he is a SEED of God, ONLY God's WWILL is being done in HIS BODY.
If God is WILLING all things, AND DOING all things in IN US, then WE CANNOT SIN.
This is how Christ was without SIN, He had KNOWLEDGE without measure of the WORDS of GOD.
He KNEW every word from his mouth was OF HIS FATHER, he was just the BODY, every action (works) his body performed was the WORK of his Father.
When Christ became angry, he had knowledge it was the Father CAUSING his to show his anger, but he had knowledge that ALL THINGS (anger and other things we call SIN) all WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD.
We can't see that but GOD'S word says it does, so do we believe our carnal mind of do we let the words of God DESTROY the man of perdition, our carnal mind, and RENEW our carnal mind with the mind of Christ.
HIS mind and his heart were GIVEN TO US by being resurrected JOINT HEIRS with Christ,
BUT even BELIEVING his words have to be GIVEN to us on the BEHALF of Christ .... Philippians 1:29
God Bless YOU!
Part two
What does it mean to believe? What is the evidence that we believe? As Paul said, it is like running a race, when we start this race, we believe we are going to finish, and with God's Spirit we have all the determination and motivation we are not only going to finish this race we are going to win this race.
We are saved! We are being saved! We shall be saved! When we start, are all our sins forgiven, our past, present, and our future sins the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and are baptized? Is our salvation guaranteed and we cannot lose it or fall out of grace regardless?
We are saved. Eph. 2:5 When we accept the gospel and are baptized our sins are blotted out, Isaiah 44:22 Acts 3:19 and we become a child/son/daughter of God, John 1:12 we are justified, made righteous by the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and now we begin a relationship through God's Spirit, and God and Jesus abide in us, 2 John 1:9. This is the start of the race, the beginning of our salvation.
We are being saved. Philippians 1:6 Hearing the Word one believes and is baptized into Christ they are made clean (justification) the work of grace, and the Lord will continue working in us until He returns if we abide in Him John 15:3-5. How does God complete his good work in us? Testing James 1:2-4, chastising Heb. 12:6-7 Our relationship. If we abide in Him, Jesus, and God abides in us. The branches bear the fruit of the vine, the vine produces the fruit not us/branch, sanctification. We are running the race Philippians 2:12
We shall be saved. Redemption and glorification. Our full salvation comes at the end, when Jesus returns. Luke 21:28 "being now justified" We started the race. We are being saved, "being reconciled" we are running the race, 2 Cor. 5:18. We shall be saved at the end of the race. Romans 13:11.
See part three.
"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
Philippians 1:27-28,
"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I (Paul) come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;"
Philippians 1:29.
You are right.
God bless.
God gives us His Spirit and it is His Spirit that produces the faith the Bible speaks of. We do not have the capacity to produce the faith we read about. Now, both believers and nonbelievers alike can produce human faith, but this type of faith is different than the faith the Bible speaks of. Only Gods Spirit can produce spiritual faith, or saving faith ( Galatians 5:22).
As far as Philippians 1:29, here is my understanding:
It says, "For unto you it is given," and by the way, the word given is the word graced. God has blessed you, favored you, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake;
Isn't that good news? It's God's will! Just like Peter says in his letter, why are you so surprised for the fiery trials that come up against you?
It's God's will that not only you believe, but that you suffer for the sake of Christ.
But check out what it says in the next verse ( Philippians 1:30):
Having the same conflict, and that's the word agony. Having the same agony which you saw in me, and now you hear to be in me.
Paul says, you want to know what it looks like, what I just told you about believing and suffering? It's the same agony that you see in my life, as I, like an athlete battle with the opponent all day long.
That's not just God's will for Paul. That's for every believer!
Blessings to you in Christ!
I KNOW you believe we are saved by grace ALONE, everything is the WORKS of GOD.
May the spirit of truth add to your comments:
You said OUR PART is confess and believe.
IS IT NOT the ''works'' of CHRIST IN US that CAUSES us to believe.
Philippians 1:29 For it is given (GRACE) to us on the behalf of Christ --- TO BELIEVE ----
ALL is the WORKS of GOD.
The ""belief" by and of, the "faith" by and of, the "life" by and of ---JESUS CHRIST ---
We are just the BODY of CHRIST, the "heart" and "mind" in that body; you and I and everyone else, IS CHRIST
Christ; the firstborn, of many brethren, we are the FRUIT of the TESTOR.
Isaiah 14:29 and out of the ROOT of the serpent (man) shall come forth a cockatrice (a saviour of men) and his (the saviours) FRUIT shall be a FIERY FLYING SERPENT.
God BLESS YOU as the spirit of truth makes us all ONE in Christ.
Part 2.
Ronald, you said Salvation is a gift from God, but We cannot earn this gift, but we must receive it according to God's terms. Isn't that a contradictory statement?
What are God's terms? Isn't it believe in him whom he sent?
John 6:27-29.
27) Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
"Notice in verse 28 the disciple's ask what their labor is they must do.
Notice in verse 29 Jesus gives them their part!
28) Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
AFTER YOU PART SALVATION AND ETERNAL LIFE IS ESTABLISHED!
Here is the next step and source of our growth. Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Ronald, concerning Abraham.
Abraham proved his faith by his works, He was justified by faith alone.
Here's how Paul put it in Romans 10:8-11. "AND NOTICE THE LAST SENTENCE IN VERSE 11"
"But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture saith, WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH ON HIM SHALL NOT BE ASHAMED.
See part 3.
all creation is judged now, today: tomorrow; tomorrow will become today, world without end. judgement is what god has said. his word will not return unto him void.
judgement is now, today, upon the house of the christ; you, me and everyone on this forum; is that house, and there is only one house, the lord god almighty and the lamb: some have not yet come to that truth, but there is a today coming when they shall be overcome by judgement.
you are baptised into the name of jesus christ, resurrected as one, join-heirs, a husband and his bride.
john 17:22 and the glory that thou hast given me, i have given them, that as we are one, they may be one in us.
judgement is now, do you believe what god has said.
philippians 1:29 for it is given to you on the behalf of christ ...... to believe......
god bless you as we abound in the works of god.
Luke 20:36 And THEY (who are they) CAN DIE NO MORE (they DIED on the cross of Christ):for they are EQUAL unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the CHILDREN of the RESURRECTION.
If you are the children of the RESURRECTION, you had to literally died to be resurrected.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and Holy is he that hath part in the FIRST RESURRECTION ......
Isaiah 26:19 ... together with my dead body shall they arise ......
God spoke the words before you were ever born of woman, that you would be raised as ONE with Christ.
The carnal mind is ENMITY against the words of God.
The Spirit of TRUTH was SENT to destroy the WORKS of Satan, our carnal mind.
Philippians 1:29 For it is GIVEN TO YOU on the behalf of Christ (the Spirit of TRUTH) TO BELIEVE ......
God Bless YOU!
John 1:29 ...... Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the SIN of the world.
Hebrews 12:1 ... an the SIN which doth so easily beset us ......
What is this singular SIN that so easily besets God's people, and Jesus said he will TAKE AWAY, because his blood covers all other sins.
John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of SIN.......
John 16:9 Of SIN, because they BELIEVE NOT .... (the Word of God)......
Philippians 1:29 ... it is GIVEN TO YOU on the behalf of Christ to BELIEVE
God Bless YOU!
Do you BELIEVE you are dead to sin?
Matthew 8:13 And Jesus said ..... Go thy way, and as thou has BELIEVED, so it BE DONE UNTO THEE, and his servant was healed the selfsame hour.
Philippians 1:29 For unto you IT IS GIVEN on the behalf of Christ to not only BELIEVE but to suffer for his sake;
God Bless YOU!
If I can just add my 2-cents on this great verse ( Philippians 1:6) you brought up.
Notice how it says "being confident."
It's actually a Perfect Tense. It should read, "having become confident." Why? Because they've been in fellowship with the gospel from the first day until now.
They've been in fellowship with the gospel, so confidently Paul can say about this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform, and the Greek word means literally complete it, until the day of Jesus Christ:
That's quite a promise. But he didn't say that for all people. He says because you have been in the word from the first day until now, I can tell you that God's promise to you is that whatever work He began in you, He's going to complete it until Christ comes.
There's a reason why they stayed in the word. He didn't say for all people who profess to be Christians because not all professing Christians are saved, especially in our religious system in our country.
So the confidence comes because they've been in the word since the first day they were saved. God began a work in them. He gave them His Spirit, and by His Spirit, they were continuously being drawn to His word.
This is God's doing. It is His work in their lives. He began this work, and He sees it to its completion.
God bless!!!
Welcome to the site.
Those who overcome "overcomes" by the blood of Christ and is "overcoming" by the blood of Christ.
Paul says in Philippians 1:6
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you WILL PERFORM IT UNTIL THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST:
Therefore, the promise is "the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Rec. 3:5.
God bless.
"In my heart and life it happened. By eagles wings I was carried out of darkness and the bondage of Egypt into a new and better land.
That reminds me of Philippians 1:6.
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
God bless