Imalive said:
dont they have life already?
No. The lost son was a son but he was dead and his dad was happy that he was alive again when he came back.
I read the text originally says that if you pray you give him life, God uses you to give em life. So if you see someone going off the road and not yet til the point of no return, pray so you give em life. Thats awesome. My mom did that for me. We once went to a meeting where ppl got personal Words from God and she went to the front. He said: God says: thank you. She always prays for ppl and family.
No, unbelief is no problem, but if they were really born again and tasted of the heavenly gift and then go back in the world and deny Him theres no forgiveness possible anymore. They crucify Him again.
Thats worse than denying Him like Peter did. Thats the falling away, apostasy. But I have no idea what that point of no return is. Just read a testimony of a girl who became anti christian for years and came back.
Are you saying a brother/sister in Christ? Doesn't have life?
I don't think that's what the passage of 1John is saying.
Ive heard ppl try to tie the parable of the prodigal to someone losing their salvation, but it makes no sense, he didnt lose any salvation, and he was always a son.
I'm glad your Mom prayed for you when you were astray, and you turned to God, ... I'm not sure if you're saying that you got saved then, or were backslidden and came back to Jesus, but either way, I'm glad, but it doesn't show that you could lose your salvation...if anything, it shows you didn't.
As far as the IMPOSSIBLE text from Hebrews .... I think I may go mad if I continue to see ppl misuse and even butcher that passage ... I'm not saying you're doing it on purpose, but my goodness, it's become like one of the favorite passages of works-righteousness ppl to take out of context and try to scare ppl into fearing that they can lose their salvation.
Oy! Ive tried to explain it so many times, but there's false teachers out there that seem determined to just ignore the meaning of scripture and the salvation of our God.
When will ppl stop hacking three verses out of Hebrews 6 (4-6) to try to get ppl trapped in fear?
First of all.... Why do they START reading at vs4? Go back to start to read at 5:12 and go forward. Read 13, 14, and the beginning of Chapter6.
THEN read 4-9, dont just stop at vs6. Then read vss10-20 to finish the chapter, and see that it is teaching ETERNAL SECURITY IN CHRIST, not losing your salvation at all.
The letter was written to the Hebrews. Yes, it expands to cover saved believers, and covers some great doctrine about our Lord and Saviour.
And it's filled with osas assurance of salvation...it's a wonderful portion of Gods Word.
But it's still important to keep the whole thing in context, and verses4-6 would be understood by the 'Hebrews' that the writer is referring to those who would (hypothetically) put themselves BACK UNDER THE LAW.
Not much different than the exhortation in Galatians to 'Stand fast in the liberty of Christ, and not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage.
Thats talking about the law, not sin or a backsliding 'lifestyle'.
It's about the Judaizers and the bondage of law and religion that cannot save.
The passage in Hebrews is saying IF you could be saved by grace and then decide you wanted to go back under the law, you've made it 'impossible' (hypothetically) to be saved, because there is no more sacrifice for sin. Under the old covenant, there were all kinds of sacrifices and religious laws and ceremonies, but now ONCE, at the 'end of the age', there was ONE SACRIFICE FOR ALL .... JESUS, and to reject that sacrifice to go back to the law would render the grace of God helpless and salvation would be an impossibility.
Remember that without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sin, no forgiveness, no salvation, and if the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, isnt good enough, then its impossible to be saved.
As crazy as it sounds, there were (and are) still those that dont want to receive salvation as a gift from God, but want to earn it somehow, thru religion or law-keeping or sinless perfection, etc.
But the writer says NOPE, cant be done, and then He goes on to show that Jesus sacrifice IS good enough, and our salvation is SECURE IN HIM, Hallelujah .... THAT'S the point of it, and the goodness and mercy and love of God. Jesus loves you! He proved it. The gospel is good news, and God wants us to BELIEVE IT AND BE SAVED.
It's the enemy that wants us to doubt it and think we can lose the salvation that God purchased for us with His own blood. But we cant.
God loves us too much to let that happen, that once He saved us, He'd lose us to His enemy.
No way!
Praise the Lord! {{{hugs}}}
Yes, Jesus loves us,
Yes, Jesus saved us,
Yes, Jesus loves us,
the bible tells us so.
God bless you! :hug: