James 5:19-20
"Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins."
Does thispassage teach thata Christiancan "wander" from the truth so as to be lost?
RE: James 5:19-20 vs. "perseverance of the saints"
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Nothing can SEPARATE us from our Father!
Just as nothing can "negate" your physical birth, nothing can "negate" your spiritual birth.
My children will always be my children. We may have troubled times. Our fellowship may be broken, but our relationship can never be broken. They will always be my children. Nothing or nobody can change that!And once you are born again spiritually - God becomes your Father - nothing or nobody can change that! Your fellowship may be broken, but your relationship can never be broken!
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, SHALL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38
"My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." John 10:29
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Jesus will NEVER leave us!
Jesus promised He will never leave us. Jesus could not say this if there was even a chance of losing our salvation.
". . .for he hath said, I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5
". . . and, lo, I am with you ALWAY, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:20
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We already HAVE eternal life!
When the Bible speaks of possessing eternal life, it speaks in the present tense (hath, have, etc.) - SOMETHING WE ALREADY HAVE! If we had to work or endure to keep our salvation, this could not be true.
"He that believeth on the Son HATH EVERLASTING LIFE:.. ." John 3:36
"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,. . ." 1 John 5:13
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE,. . ." John 5:24
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Jesus will NOT cast you out! ". . . him that cometh to me I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT." John 6:37
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We are COMPLETE in Jesus Christ! "And ye are COMPLETE IN HIM, which is the head of all principality and power:" Colossians 2:10
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We are PERFECTED FOR EVER!
We are "perfected for ever" by Jesus Christ. How could the Lord say such a bold statement if we had to earn or keep our salvation?
"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL. . . For by one offering he hath PERFECTED FOR EVER them that are sanctified." Hebrews 10:10,14[/i]
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We are PRESERVED in Christ Jesus! "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and PRESERVED IN JESUS CHRIST, and called:" Jude 1
"And THE LORD. . . WILL PRESERVE ME unto his heavenly kingdom:. . ." 2 Timothy 4:18
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We are KEPT by the POWER of God! "Who are KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:5
"Now unto him that is able TO KEEP YOU from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy," Jude 24
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We are saved to the UTTERMOST! "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the UTTERMOST that come unto God by him,. . ." Hebrews 7:25
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We are SEALED until the day of redemption! "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby YE ARE SEALED unto the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:30
". . .after that ye believed, YE WERE SEALED with that holy Spirit of promise," Ephesians 1:13 [/i]
RE: James 5:19-20 vs. "perseverance of the saints"
Dabowhunter,
I only have one shread of hope with what you believe..it's only a thread .
I was just disscussing it with my wife this morning. I know God doesn't make mistakes but sometimes we wonder why we adopted our son..
Hold on it goes with your unconditional love of God reply.
In 1992 my wife and I adopted a baby from Children't Services. He has alcohol syndrom
1. We gave him a new first name and our last name. God gave us the grace and love by giving us both this convicting scripture.
james 1;27Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
2. In 1 month he pulled the head off of our bird and was so full of anger that the vessils in his eyes broke.
3. My wife tried homeschooling him for 3 years and gave up. Being a teacher I hand picked all of his elementary and middle school teachers.
He killed our rabbit by choking and our cat.
4. I've tried spending time fishing and playing with him. I still play with him for about 1 hour every night.
HE STILL REBELS...After breaking into a home the police and Children's Services have told us he must be supervised 24 hours a day or we can both be charged with neglect and lose our jobs. until he is 18. Since his school and our school have different hours we pay a baby sitter to watch him for 1 hour per day at 75.00 a week.
He still has our name..He is still our son. We can never change that. We are presently looking to but him in a half way home Jan. 7th 900.00 as month.
usually 3 out of 5 days a week he has bad notes. Today he threw a pencil across the room hitting a kid in the face. No matter how frustrated we get he is still our son. I do beleive this is one of the reason's why God has allowed usto go through this. For last night's punishment I had him do the dishes and copy 1 Cor. 13 from the Bible. He actually had peace in his face as he copied. Today he is to copy 1 John 4 and do dishes. Tuesday he was acting out sexually so I applied a 1 " piece of pine to his buttocks.
Yet ..with all this God has showed me he is still your child. he has your name. I will grieve and cry when he ends up in prison. I would take a bullet for him and I have made myself look like a fool more than once dealing with nasty teachers...and later found out Aaron was lying.
Yet he is still my son and with my name.
This poor kid is missing out on the abundant life. And yes..he has been baptizede and excepted Christ in his heart a few times.
This is my one thread of hope for eternal security. I have no longer denounced it totally. It is now on my mind's shelf because of my unconditional love for my son...I know God's love is eons greater than mine..so this verse is my one thread of hope.
1 Corinthians 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
RE: James 5:19-20 vs. "perseverance of the saints"
Chuck: I admire your sacrifice and love for your son and pray God works a miracle there for you and your wife. But to continue the thought of him continueing to be your son, when he turns 18, he will have the right to continue living under the Father in his life, shareing his love, mercy, goodness, and all that sonship bestows upon him, OR he may choose to sever all ties with you and go his own way as did the prodigal. You would still love him. Your door would be open to his return. Your resources are his for the asking. He will still be in your prayers. You will stand and look to see if he is coming, but you cannot make him continue to abide in the position of a son any longer. It isn't your will or choice, it is his.
Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace. Many try to explain away this verse because of the connection to the law. The fact remains, the bible said, "ye are fallen from grace". Reqardless on the why's and how's, "ye are fallen from grace". It says "are" as it has already taken place. While they live and breathe, they ARE fallen from grace. If they return to the Father's house, would he not kill the fatted calf and welcomethem with rejoicing? All the promises made unto us by God concerning his keeping power can be applied to the father of the prodigal, yet his son chose to walk away. Nothing could seperate him, His father had power to keep him. His father didn't cast him away. His father wasn't willing that he perish. It broke his fathers heart to know that his son had choosen to leave. His father didn't force him to remain under his roof, although he could have. Our Heavenly Father could force us to remain under his Grace, but he doesn't. He leaves that choice to his children to make for themselves.
Whether we are saved, or lost, is a result of the answer we give when God's grace appears unto us. We either cry, "away with him","crucify him". or we fall at his feet and proclaim, "my Lord and my God".
RE: James 5:19-20 vs. "perseverance of the saints"
The answer is in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15),Galatians 5:4, I John 1:7, etc. The Bible is clear on the matter. No person or power can take us from God, but one can leave or looseHis grace by their actions, or lack thereof.
Chad
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"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
RE: James 5:19-20 vs. "perseverance of the saints"
Dabow,
[ol][*]Sam Morris, Baptist preacher in Stamford, TX wrote an article entitled, "Do A Christian's sins damn his souls"? Here is a quote from the article: "We take the position that a Christian's sins do not damn his soul. The way a Christian lives, what he says, his character, his conduct, or his attitude toward other people have nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his souls...And all the sins he may commit from murder to idolatry will not make his soul in any more danger.[*]Bill Foster, Baptist preacher in Louisville KY made this comment: "If I killed my wife and mother and debauched a thousand women I couldn't go to hell--in fact, I couldn't go to hell if I wanted to."[/ol]
Do you agree with these guys?
Why would He tell us in Revelation 2:10:
"Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."
James 5:19-20 vs. "perseverance of the saints"
