I'm honestly not picking on you tonight, Mark, but I find I must answer some of these wild things you are coming out with. Paul most certainly KNEW he was saved, and that same assurance is our own if we have trusted in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Want some proof? Okay:
II Corinthians 5:1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
II Corinthians 5:5-8 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
Galatians 2:16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Romans 3:24-28 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
Romans 8:38-39 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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I could go on, there are many, many more but it is late and time for bed. I find it hard to believe that a person who claims to study the Bible would ever say that Paul did not know he was saved. He did, and so can we who place our faith in Christ. We can KNOW we have eternal life (I John 5:13).
I'm honestly not picking on you tonight, Mark, but I find I must answer some of these wild things you are coming out with.
Let us see what you have.
2 Corinthians 5: 1 For we know that if our earthly dwelling, 1 a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven. 2 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to be further clothed with our heavenly habitation 3 if indeed, when we have taken it off, 3 we shall not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent we groan and are weighed down, because we do not wish to be unclothed 4 but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a first installment. 5 6 6 So we are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. 9 Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. 10 For we must all appear 7 before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
Nope. It says that we will all be Judged before God. No surety here.
Galatians 2: 15 15 We, who are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles, 16 (yet) who know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 16
May be. It is up to Christ at our Judgement. No surety here either.
Romans 3:
Justification is not salvation. If it were salvation, Paul would have said that expressly.
24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.
Hope of salvation. Not surety. Nope. Paul did not preach surety of salvation, as I have posted many times, with a great deal of Pauline verse. You guys have him all wrong.
I could go on, there are many, many more but it is late and time for bed. I find it hard to believe that a person who claims to study the Bible would ever say that Paul did not know he was saved.
Because he says so himself. You want the litany of verse once again? Remember that Paul also said that God wishes all men to be saved. That goes against the OSAS crowd does it not?