I'm not making your point,you're talking Apples and Oranges,Dear Brother!
An amoeba is not made in the image and likeness of God and Man with the ability to love and know moral good and evil.
FK-””However, once a man believes and is sealed by the Holy Spirit, then he has a new freedom that includes doing good in God's eyes. At this point he retains the freedom to sin..””
Presto! Just believe you're sealed and it must be true.Please,FK!
So,by this analogy man determines that he is sealed by the Holy Spirit by just believing it.
Does this mean it's ok to sin now that you're sealed and have already determined for yourself that you have been selected to be in heaven?
Sounds like you have taken away God's power to Judge you when you die by just believing you're sealed you must be guaranteed heaven
FK-””A lost person is not free to do anything that would please God. And, a saved person is not free to do anything that would cause him to lose his salvation””
Here you go again,FK. We don't know if we are the lost or the saved,we are going to be judged at the end of our lives.
Salvation is an ongoing process that can be lost
From scripturecatholic.com
1 Cor. 1:18 - for the word of the cross is folly to those perishing, but for to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Salvation is not a one-time event. It is a process of perseverance through faith, hope and love.
2 Cor. 2:15 - for we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved. Salvation is a continual process.
Phil. 2:12 - we are working out our salvation through fear and trembling. Salvation is an ongoing process.
1 Peter 1:9 - you obtain the salvation of your souls as the outcome of your faith. Working out our salvation in fear and trembling is a lifelong process.
Matt. 10:22, 24:13; Mark 13:13 - again, Jesus taught that we must endure to the very end to be saved. Salvation is a past, present and future event (not a one-time event at an altar call).
Mark 16:16 – Jesus says whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.
Acts 15:11 - we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.
Rom. 5:9-10 - since we are justified by His blood, we shall be saved.
Rom. 13:11 - salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. How can we be only nearer to something we already have?
1 Cor. 3:15 - he will be saved, but only as through fire.
1 Cor. 5:5 - Paul commands the Church to deliver a man to satan, that he will be saved in the day of the Lord.
2 Tim. 2:11-12 - if we endure, we shall also reign with Him. This requires endurance until the end of our lives.
Heb. 9:28 - Jesus will appear a second time to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.
James 5:15 - the sacrament of the sick will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up.
Presto! Just believe you're sealed and it must be true.Please,FK! So,by this analogy man determines that he is sealed by the Holy Spirit by just believing it.
The scriptures say that a man CAN know if he has a true relationship with God or not. After that, God's promises are either good or they are not. Paul said:
1 Cor 6:19-20 : 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
2 Tim 1:12 : That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
Paul seems to think we can know. And notice that Paul didn't need another person to declare whether he was saved or lost. Paul knew it because of the personal relationship he had with God, one on one. It is the same with believers today.
Does this mean it's ok to sin now that you're sealed and have already determined for yourself that you have been selected to be in heaven?
Not at all:
Rom 6:1-7 : 6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
That pretty much sums it up. The truly changed heart will not seek to sin in the way the Adamic heart did. The old has gone, and the new has come.
Sounds like you have taken away God's power to Judge you when you die by just believing you're sealed you must be guaranteed heaven.
For Heaven, I don't agree that God judges based on how many God points we rack up during life. He judges on whether we are justified or not.
We don't know if we are the lost or the saved,we are going to be judged at the end of our lives.
Then on what basis do you say we will be judged for Heaven or hell? I don't think I have ever heard an answer from an Apostolic that doesn't amount to a point system.
Salvation is an ongoing process that can be lost.
I have no problem characterizing "salvation" as a process, since it has more than one component. However, it cannot be lost, or else God is a liar. We are told that God's sheep are known to Him from the foundations of the world. We are also told that no one can snatch them out of God's hands. Therefore, the saved cannot be lost. Some men relish the idea that they are powerful enough to snatch themselves out of God's hand. I don't understand why they would want such an ability, but in vain they certainly do want it.