Receiving Christ as Your Savior

[Robert Pate]

God created man to receive.

God in the person of Jesus Christ provides us with reconciliation, salvation and the forgiveness of sins. We have been reconciled to God by the doing and the dying of Jesus, But nothing is ours until it is received.

"All things are of God who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ" 2 Corinthians 5:18.

Our part is to receive what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Paul said, "Be ye reconciled unto God" 2 Corinthians 5:20.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe upon his name" John 1:12.

Not everyone has or will receive Christ as their savior.

"He came unto his own, and his own received him not" John 1:11.

If predestination were true, why would God not predestinate his own people to salvation? They rejected him and he rejected them. This is how it works, if you reject Christ he will reject you.

We are called to hear and believe the Gospel. On the day of Pentecost when the Gospel came into the world for the very first time in the power of the Holy Spirit 8,000 Jews heard and believed the Gospel and were saved, Acts 2:41 also Acts 4:4. Some of these Jews had participated in the crucifixion of Christ, Acts 2:36. Which goes to prove what Paul wrote,

"So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" (which is the Gospel) Romans 10:17.

God does not have to impose salvation on anyone. Why would he do that? Instead, he sends his only begotten Son into the world to atone for our sins and the sins of the whole world, 1 John 2:2 and then he waits to see how we will respond. Some respond with a heart full of love and thanksgiving, others don't respond at all. Christ hanging on the cross for our sins and the sins of humanity calls for a response. No response is a response.

God provides us with a savior. It is our responsibility to receive what God has provided for us. It is not your parents fault if you wind up in hell. Its your fault. You are personally responsible for what you do with Jesus Christ. Some will say, well I guess that I am not one of the predestinated ones. I say, hogwash. God predestinates no one to hell. You are not going to be able to blame God for you going to hell.

 

[Nang]

God created man to receive.

Why do you post empty words like these?

This is not biblical in the least, but is only mere rhetoric and not biblical at all.

Man was created to glorify God. To bring glory to His name.

Whether God blesses and saves men or God chooses to judge and condemn them, God is glorified either way.

 

[Robert Pate]

Why do you post empty words like these?

This is not biblical in the least, but is only mere rhetoric and not biblical at all.

Man was created to glorify God. To bring glory to His name.

Whether God blesses and saves men or God chooses to judge and condemn them, God is glorified either way.

There is no glory for God in the lost. To say that God and Jesus are glorified when men reject him is not true and is not according to the Bible, Revelation 16:9.

God is glorified when sinners call on Christ to save them by their own free will.

Salvation is a free gift from God, Ephesians 2:8. It is to be received as a free gift.

You want us to believe that it is not a free gift. You want us to believe that salvation is an imposition and not a free gift.

 

[Nang]

There is no glory for God in the lost.

God is glorified in all things.

To say that God and Jesus are glorified when men reject him is not true and is not according to the Bible, Revelation 16:9.

God is glorified when sinners repent and God is glorified when He exerts justice against those who do not repent.

God is glorified when sinners call on Christ to save them by their own free will.

Free will is not a necessity in the glorification of God.

Salvation is a free gift from God, Ephesians 2:8. It is to be received as a free gift.

You want us to believe that it is not a free gift. You want us to believe that salvation is an imposition and not a free gift.

Salvation is freely granted to sinners by God, according to His promises, will, and grace. God is glorified when He saves men according to the performance of His Covenants.

You accuse Calvinists of teaching salvation is an "imposition", which notion they do not believe or teach at all.

Such talk is merely a projection of your own mindset and a product of your hostility against the Reformed Faith.

 

[Robert Pate]

Why did God create evil?

He didn't. He can't be evil and holy at the same time.

 

[Nang]

He didn't. He can't be evil and holy at the same time.

God does not become what He creates.

God created sinners, but God is not a sinner.

God created evil. (Isa. 45:7) God is not evil.

Evil is an instrument of Divine Justice wielded against sin.

 

[Robert Pate]

God is glorified in all things.




God is glorified when sinners repent and God is glorified when He exerts justice against those who do not repent.



Free will is not a necessity in the glorification of God.



Salvation is freely granted to sinners by God, according to His promises, will, and grace. God is glorified when He saves men according to the performance of His Covenants.

You accuse Calvinists of teaching salvation is an "imposition", which notion they do not believe or teach at all.

Such talk is merely a projection of your own mindset and a product of your hostility against the Reformed Faith.

I resent you calling Calvinism "The Reformed Faith".

The reformation was not about Calvinism. The reformation was about Martin Luther and his doctrine of justification by faith. John Calvin was jealous of Luther and wanted to come up with his own doctrine based upon predestination. Luther wanted no part of it.

The Bible clearly teaches that salvation has been provided for EVERYONE, Hebrews 2:9 and not just "some certain persons" This salvation is available to all who do nothing more than call on Christ to save them, Romans 10:13.

 

[theophilus]

@op:

John 3:27 A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.

 

[Robert Pate]

God does not become what He creates.

God created sinners, but God is not a sinner.

God created evil. (Isa. 45:7) God is not evil.

Evil is an instrument of Divine Justice wielded against sin.

You want to believe that God creates evil. Adam was not created evil. Adam was created innocent and by his own free will chose to sin against God and became evil.

How can evil be a an instrument of divine justice? You have just labeled God a sinner.

 

[Bright Raven]

God does not become what He creates.

God created sinners, but God is not a sinner.

God created evil. (Isa. 45:7) God is not evil.

Evil is an instrument of Divine Justice wielded against sin.

God did not create evil, He allows evil. What do the scriptures say?

Genesis 1:31 New King James Version (NKJV)

31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God created man who has freewill to chose to be good or evil. God said everything that He made was very good.

 

[Robert Pate]

@op:

John 3:27 A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.

This is why God gave us his only begotten Son, John 3:16.

When you accept Christ as your savior, you have received the Kingdom of God.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Evil is not a metaphysical substance

Evil is not a metaphysical substance

Evil is not a metaphysical substance that can be created.

The fall of man was permitted by God and God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel, to permit it, having purposed it to order it to His own glory. But, let's not assume "permission" here is something passive as if God is sitting back and just watching what will happen.

Rather, permission tends to be used in the context of the work of God's providence in relation to sin. It is no idle or bare permission because it is decreed by God and therefore is a certain event. Nevertheless, so far as the execution of the decree is concerned, God is not the actor of sin. He allows it to be done by means of secondary causes and overrules it for His glory.

If one is going to use the word "created", the best one should say is that if we leave natural evil to the side (calamities of nature) and speak about evil acted out by mankind, evil is an act of the will directed against God's law. Since God ordains all things, then it would seem to follow that God "created" evil only in the sense that He ordained sin. Going beyond this is going too far. Scripture is quite clear in James and elsewhere that God is not to be called the author or made to be morally liable for evil. We do well to stick with James' explanation of the causal scheme and leave it at that.

Scripture never considers evil and sin as "things" or "not things." Evil and sin are considered to be actions and consequences.

Evil is a broader category than sin. Sin creates and leads to evil. Cancer is a great evil that is the result of sin generally (not anyone's sin in particular save Adam's, John 9) but is not sin. All sin is evil, but not all evil is sin.

So sin is the "action" (lawlessness, 1 John 3:4) and evil is its consequence.

AMR

 

[Robert Pate]

Evil is not a metaphysical substance that can be created.

The fall of man was permitted by God and God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel, to permit it, having purposed it to order it to His own glory. But, let's not assume "permission" here is something passive as if God is sitting back and just watching what will happen.

Rather, permission tends to be used in the context of the work of God's providence in relation to sin. It is no idle or bare permission because it is decreed by God and therefore is a certain event. Nevertheless, so far as the execution of the decree is concerned, God is not the actor of sin. He allows it to be done by means of secondary causes and overrules it for His glory.

If one is going to use the word "created", the best one should say is that if we leave natural evil to the side (calamities of nature) and speak about evil acted out by mankind, evil is an act of the will directed against God's law. Since God ordains all things, then it would seem to follow that God "created" evil only in the sense that He ordained sin. Going beyond this is going too far. Scripture is quite clear in James and elsewhere that God is not to be called the author or made to be morally liable for evil. We do well to stick with James' explanation of the causal scheme and leave it at that.

Scripture never considers evil and sin as "things" or "not things." Evil and sin are considered to be actions and consequences.

Evil is a broader category than sin. Sin creates and leads to evil. Cancer is a great evil that is the result of sin generally (not anyone's sin in particular save Adam's, John 9) but is not sin. All sin is evil, but not all evil is sin.

So sin is the "action" (lawlessness, 1 John 3:4) and evil is its consequence.

AMR

God was not pleased that Adam had sinned. Which one of your buddies at the bottom of your page said that?

You prefer to listen to men rather than God. This is why you are so screwed up.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

God was not pleased that Adam had sinned. Which one of your buddies at the bottom of your page said that?

You prefer to listen to men rather than God. This is why you are so screwed up.

When a man has nothing substantive to say, his only opportunity to be seen comes in the form of vitriol.

Robert, when you find the ability to actually engage versus the usual drive-by opinions...

http://theologyonline.com/showthrea...on-or-Perish&p=4845408&viewfull=1#post4845408

http://theologyonline.com/showthrea...on-or-Perish&p=4845747&viewfull=1#post4845747

http://theologyonline.com/showthrea...on-or-Perish&p=4845774&viewfull=1#post4845774

http://theologyonline.com/showthrea...e-God-Unjust&p=4826175&viewfull=1#post4826175

Otherwise, your mere blogged opinions are noted. Better you stay with B57 and the ongoing exchanges of "nana nana boo boos" between you two. That seems to be more suited to your weight class when it comes to serious discussion of weighty matters. Just sayin'.

AMR

 

[Robert Pate]

When a man has nothing substantive to say, his only opportunity to be seen comes in the form of vitriol.

Robert, when you find the ability to actually engage versus the usual drive-by opinions...

http://theologyonline.com/showthrea...on-or-Perish&p=4845408&viewfull=1#post4845408

http://theologyonline.com/showthrea...on-or-Perish&p=4845747&viewfull=1#post4845747

http://theologyonline.com/showthrea...on-or-Perish&p=4845774&viewfull=1#post4845774

http://theologyonline.com/showthrea...e-God-Unjust&p=4826175&viewfull=1#post4826175

Otherwise, your mere blogged opinions are noted. Better you stay with B57 and the ongoing exchanges of "nana nana boo boos" between you two. That seems to be more suited to your weight class when it comes to serious discussion of weighty matters. Just sayin'.

AMR

You like to argue religion. You can't answer serious questions like how has God reconciled us and the world unto himself by Jesus Christ? 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19.

When it comes to questions like that, you throw up a thousand word smoke screen that nobody can understand.

You can't believe that God is at piece with the world because of the doing and the dying of Jesus, Colossians 1:20. That does not fit with your Calvinist doctrine.

 

[Nang]

Evil is not a metaphysical substance that can be create.

Scripture never considers evil and sin as "things" or "not things." Evil and sin are considered to be actions and consequences.

A helpful fact that I picked up from PPS, is that the word for "sin" when used in regard to Christ being made sin for His people on the cross, proves to be an anarthrous NOUN (rather than a verb).

Thus, the "thing" sin, that Christ became, and put to death on the cross, was the "thing" that causes all sinful actions/consequences to which you refer.

I found this linguistic fact to be very helpful . . but I would be interested in knowing if the Hebrew word for "evil" in Isaiah 45:7 is also considered a NOUN, in like manner, in any instance, or not.

???

 

[beloved57]

God created man to receive.

God in the person of Jesus Christ provides us with reconciliation, salvation and the forgiveness of sins. We have been reconciled to God by the doing and the dying of Jesus, But nothing is ours until it is received.

"All things are of God who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ" 2 Corinthians 5:18.

Our part is to receive what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Paul said, "Be ye reconciled unto God" 2 Corinthians 5:20.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe upon his name" John 1:12.

Not everyone has or will receive Christ as their savior.

"He came unto his own, and his own received him not" John 1:11.

If predestination were true, why would God not predestinate his own people to salvation? They rejected him and he rejected them. This is how it works, if you reject Christ he will reject you.

We are called to hear and believe the Gospel. On the day of Pentecost when the Gospel came into the world for the very first time in the power of the Holy Spirit 8,000 Jews heard and believed the Gospel and were saved, Acts 2:41 also Acts 4:4. Some of these Jews had participated in the crucifixion of Christ, Acts 2:36. Which goes to prove what Paul wrote,

"So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" (which is the Gospel) Romans 10:17.

God does not have to impose salvation on anyone. Why would he do that? Instead, he sends his only begotten Son into the world to atone for our sins and the sins of the whole world, 1 John 2:2 and then he waits to see how we will respond. Some respond with a heart full of love and thanksgiving, others don't respond at all. Christ hanging on the cross for our sins and the sins of humanity calls for a response. No response is a response.

God provides us with a savior. It is our responsibility to receive what God has provided for us. It is not your parents fault if you wind up in hell. Its your fault. You are personally responsible for what you do with Jesus Christ. Some will say, well I guess that I am not one of the predestinated ones. I say, hogwash. God predestinates no one to hell. You are not going to be able to blame God for you going to hell.

You don't believe that Christ death alone saved them He died for. That's in reality denying that Christ is the Saviour of the World.

 

[beloved57]

You like to argue religion. You can't answer serious questions like how has God reconciled us and the world unto himself by Jesus Christ? 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19.

When it comes to questions like that, you throw up a thousand word smoke screen that nobody can understand.

You can't believe that God is at piece with the world because of the doing and the dying of Jesus, Colossians 1:20. That does not fit with your Calvinist doctrine.

God is not at peace with people who are under His Wrath and Condemnation Jn 3:18,36. Neither are they reconciled to God. So 2 Cor 5:19 doesn't apply to the unreconciled condemned.

 

[beloved57]

There is no glory for God in the lost. To say that God and Jesus are glorified when men reject him is not true and is not according to the Bible, Revelation 16:9.

God is glorified when sinners call on Christ to save them by their own free will.

Salvation is a free gift from God, Ephesians 2:8. It is to be received as a free gift.

You want us to believe that it is not a free gift. You want us to believe that salvation is an imposition and not a free gift.

Invalid comments not found in scripture!

 

[beloved57]

I resent you calling Calvinism "The Reformed Faith".

The reformation was not about Calvinism. The reformation was about Martin Luther and his doctrine of justification by faith. John Calvin was jealous of Luther and wanted to come up with his own doctrine based upon predestination. Luther wanted no part of it.

The Bible clearly teaches that salvation has been provided for EVERYONE, Hebrews 2:9 and not just "some certain persons" This salvation is available to all who do nothing more than call on Christ to save them, Romans 10:13.

False statements not found in scripture. Salvation was promised to a elect people Isa 45:17!