Posted on 10/20/2013 11:29:26 AM PDT by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
Once upon a time, Groucho Marx hosted the popular game show, “You Bet Your Life.” At the start of the show, a “secret word” was revealed to the studio audience. If a contestant said the word during the course of the show, a reward would descend from the rafters (a one hundred dollar bill).
Whether we know it or not, we are all, Christians and non-Christians alike, contestants in the spiritual equivalent of “You Bet Your Life.” If we bet wisely, our reward is eternal life. But if we bet foolishly, we condemn ourselves to eternal damnation.
That brings to mind Pascal’s Wager, credited to the seventeenth-century French philosopher, mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal. He famously posited that every human being bets his or her life on whether or not God exists.
“Let us,” he wrote, “weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”
To put this in terms to which most of us can relate, even if the odds of God’s existence are, say, 1 in 175 million – the odds of winning Powerball on a single ticket – it is worth the wager.
Because, if we have bet on God, and God does not exist, we lose nothing. That is, save for indulging in certain behavior proscribed by God, including sexual promiscuity, idol worship, adultery, homosexuality (and other sexual perversions), thievery, greed, substance abuse, slander and robbery.
But if we bet against the Almighty, and indeed He does exist, we shall be cast into the lake of fire, eternally separated from God. We shall be condemned to place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Where we will be burned with unquenchable fire. Where we will be tormented day and night forever and forever.
Most of us are rationale. So we heed Pascal’s advice.
Even if we are uncertain there is a God, we hedge our bet. We respond to an altar call at some point in our lives. We say we accept Jesus as our personal Savior. We get baptized.
In so doing, we believe we have ensured our eternal security. We believe that, because we went through the ritual of being “saved,” we have a lifetime “Get Out of Hell Free” card. And that we can live our lives as it pleases us – not God – with impunity.
But what if we are wrong? What if this doctrine of “Once Saved, Always Saved,” espoused by many Godly pastors, preached in many purpose-driven churches, is errant? What if it actually is possible for us to forfeit our eternal salvation, to condemn ourselves to hell, by living brazenly and unrepentantly in defiance of God’s law?
That presents a corollary to Pascal’s wager, one that has not been considered by those who profess themselves Christ followers, but who are not truly leading a Christian life.
Let us call this corollary the Salvation wager, in which we weigh the gain and loss in betting on “Once Saved, Always Saved.”
Those who reject the doctrine, who believe those of us whom the Son sets free, must go and sin no more, must faithfully strive to live in obedience to God, have everything to gain if the doctrine is wrong and nothing to lose if the doctrine is right.
But those who subscribe to the doctrine, who believe that, having been saved, they can commit any and all manner of sin and it doesn’t matter in the eternal scheme of things, have hell to pay if they are wrong.
So what might Pascal advise?
That even if it’s more likely that once a person is saved, there is absolutely nothing they can do to lose their salvation, and that even if the odds are, say, 175 million to 1 that the widely-accepted doctrine of “Once Saved, Always Saved” is right rather than wrong, it still is wise to bet against the doctrine.
Because there are many who claim themselves Christians, who think their names have been written in the book of life, who will appear before the great white throne of judgment, who will find themselves sinners in the hands of an angry God.
They will look to Jesus and say, “Lord, Lord,” hoping He will spare them from punishment. But He will declare to them, “I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice wickedness.”
That’s a warning to those abiding unabashedly and unrepentantly in sin. They have bet their lives on “Once Saved, Always Saved.” And if they are wrong, eternal torment awaits.
However faith is always connected with action as Paul did in the book of Hebrews. Faith is not static so ‘by faith Abraham...obeyed’ and left his home land.
Sounds to me like you are in a good place, sauropod.
While many may turn from Jesus and even rebel against Jesus, I can't believe that any Christian would/could in his heart deny the existence of God...We have God inside of us and he ain't leavin'...
And while God may drag you home by the hair while you're kicking and screaming, and you may end up standing before God and everyone else naked, you'll still get there...
Absolutely agree...
Jesus left us but sent the Holy Spirit in his place...We are seek out Jesus and his teacher, the Holy Spirit...
How do you know where Judas Iscariot is at this moment?
You are mind-reading.
That doesn’t answer the question. Was Christ in them?
I take it that your answer is 'no'. You could have simply said so instead of putting up all this interference. So if Christ was not in them, how were they able to prophesy, cast out demons, and perform signs and wonders?
"Even him, whose coming is after the WORKING OF SATAN with ALL POWER AND SIGNS AND LYING WONDERS."(2 Thess.2:8,9).
Well, Satan is capable of many things but when Jesus was accused of casting out demons by Beelzubub, what was his response?
Did they actually do those things or did they merely claim to have done them?
"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders" (2 Thess 2:9)
...how was this fellow able to perform signs and wonders?
Sorry, I missed that post.
Christians surely are dead to Christ but ALIVE in the spirit...And as being dead as the verses explain, we are freed from sin...
There is a very very big 'if' that goes along with that. Being dead is not a permanent never-changing state when it comes to matters of the spirit. As Paul points out in the next chapter, there is a war that wages inside of him. When he is successful at putting to death self, then he is able to avoid sin. But when self rules, sin comes with it.
When we ask Christ to come into our lives, it does not spell the end of sin in our lives. Instead, it marks the beginning of a process where we can begin to root out the source of sin in our lives. And 100% of the time, the root to sin is fear.
I have yet to see anyone who subscribes to OSAS advocate all manner of sin without restraint.
The only time that comes up is in accusations against the doctrine to try to discredit it.
But we cannot, every day, watch porn, get drunk, get stoned, cheat on our spouse, overcharge our customers, chase strange flesh (homosexuality, pedophilia), falsely accuse others or commit other sins and assume God’s automatic forgiveness.
Nobody ever said we could. Again, a fallacy presented as fact in a bid to discredit OSAS.
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
John 10:25-30 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”
Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Colossians 1:13-14 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
2 Corinthians 5:4-8 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Well said. That would make a great tagline.
I think you are the first person to mention forgiving others on this thread about salvation. Considering that Jesus told us that if we do not forgive others then our Father in Heaven will not forgive us, that is a very important point to make.
I have no reason to believe otherwise. Jesus didn't call them out for lying. He called them out for doing so outside of the direction of God.
If we have relationship with Him, then we can operate within His will. Just as it says in Ephesians 2:10, works are prepared by God. They are not of us, but are of God, and we are to position ourselves to do as He has called us to do.
These people did not do this. They believed in the power of God through Christ. And they exercised faith by operating inside of that belief. But they never stopped to know and understand Christ. Because if they did, then they would have been seeking out His instructions on who to prophesy to, who to heal, etc.
The ability to prophesy, heal, etc. is NEVER based upon who or where we are. It is based on our willingness to walk out our belief.
I have seen people prophesy, and do so accurately, that were a long long way off from walking the Christian life that many expect of us. So what does that say? It says that God anointed them to prophesy and that they are stepping out in faith to do so. However, if they do not seek out a firmer relationship, they will find themselves shut out of what God is really trying to do in their lives.
Nope. We are saved NOW.
2 Corinthians 6:2 For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Sadly, I have.
btw, I find John 5:24 fascinating since it does not say we have to believe in Jesus in order to have eternal life. Just saying. . .
<....”I have yet to see anyone who subscribes to OSAS advocate all manner of sin without restraint.........The only time that comes up is in accusations against the doctrine to try to discredit it”......>
That’s exactly right...Christians, all Christians, battle with sin in their life. If they believe otherwise then I would truly question if they’re Christian to begin with.
I do believe in the sanctity of the believer.
I find it interesting that an article attempting to challenge theology never mentions scripture once.
Romans 2 tells us that it is God’s goodness / kindness / mercy (depending on the translation) that leads man to repentance. Yet this article seems to assume it is fear of God’s wrath that leads a man to repentance.
Romans chapter 7 describes the turmoil of the saints who are unable to walk free of sin. “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good’
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of sin?”
For the longest time I quoted that last verse to myself reminding me that Paul suffered this same struggle. What I left off was the final part of the verse: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
In this same chapter, Paul comes up with what looks like the greatest cop-out in history, greater than “the devil made me do it”. Paul says it’s not me who is sinning, it is sin that dwells in me. It makes you want to sarcastically say, “Yeah, right”. But it’s truth.
This truth, and the one that says there are two laws at war within me (the law of my body and the law of my mind) is the basis for Romans 8. “There is THEREFORE (because of these two truths) now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For (”because”) the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”
Romans 8 describes the freedom from sin that is available to the believer. But it is predicated on those two truths we have to recognize from chapter 7. And those truths are further predicated on the truths about who we are in Christ.
The problem every Christian faces is that after salvation we have this desire to walk in God’s commandments. (BTW, that is not the same thing as being under the law). And we grit our teeth and try to walk free from sin. But that’s not possible. Because trying to do this on our own IS submitting to the Law again. But it’s all we know. We are starting out as babes when we are born again. Our experience is all based on dealing with things in the flesh.
The problem goes back to Genesis. That tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a tree of doing it on my own. It’s an assumption that if I know in my conscience what is good and what is evil, I don’t need God. I can be good on my own. How’s that working for you? It sure didn’t work for me, even as a believer.
He who is of the flesh has his mind set on the things of the flesh. He who is of the spirit has his mind set on the things of the spirit.
The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.
This is the believer’s rest from the book of Hebrews. This is the heritage of the believer. It’s not anything we can make happen. It is a thing God does.
Sometimes it’s a sudden thing (sudden, after a long, losing battle dealing with sin in our lives), for others it’s a process. But it often takes us coming to the end of ourselves and crying out to Him to deliver us from this body of sin.
This is the grace of God in the life of the believer.
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