Category: Theology

This is my third installment in my ongoing theology thoughts.  I have spent more time on this blog than either of the other two.  It was much harder than I thought it would be.  Without further ado here we go.

God is sovereign.  He is in control.  All power and authority are His.  Does He at all times (from our point of view, He is of course not bound by time) exercise His right to all power and authority?

First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (I Timothy 2:1-4)

He (God our Savior) wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. (Matthew 18:14)

He doesn’t want the children to perish.

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! Why should you die, O house of Israel?’ (Ezekiel 33:11)

He wanted the wicked to repent and live

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!” (Matthew 23:37)

Jesus wanted to gather Jerusalem but they would not be gathered.

I think the Bible clearly shows God does not always exercise His rights.  I do not think this means He is not sovereign.  He chooses when and how to exercise His authority.  Let me give an analogy.  My boss (Mike) at BMCR has the power and authority to fire me. He has not done that.  Does that in any way lessen Mike’s authority and power?  Not at all.  Just because God does not do something in no way implies He can not.

How does this work out in life?  I don’t know.  God is much more than I will ever be able to comprehend.  I do not and I never will, understand how His will and my will co-exist, nor how they interact with each other.  That is ok.

Let me end with a quote from A.W. Tozer (he says what I’m trying to say in a clearer manner): “Here is my view: God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make it. If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, ‘What doest thou?’ Man’s will is free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign could not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures. He would be afraid to do so.” (The Knowledge of the Holy, by A.W. Tozer, p. 110-111)

It is important that you the reader take what I have said and compare it to the rest of the Bible. Look at what I say through that lens and then decide if I am in error or not.

 

Edit 3/6/15

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.  But the more I called, the more they went away from me. Hosea 11:1-2 (NIV)

I think this is in the same vein as the Matthew 23:37 verse.

This will be my second entry in the “Theology” section of this blog. Over the past couple years I have come to the conclusion I need to know that what I believe has some basis in scripture, other than “I know it’s in there some where.” These posts are me laying out what I believe, and why I believe it. They are not exhaustive. I am not a theologian. People much smarter than me have been over these things and have come to quite different conclusions. That is ok. I am not trying to attack or refute any one. This is what I believe and why I believe it. As always the things I post here come from my head and as such are prone to error.

So, can a Christian loose their salvation? Just so we are clear as to what I mean by that. I mean John Doe was saved when he was 22. Had he died he would have gone to heaven. Now John Doe is 26, has turned his back on God and decided the whole gospel thing is a bunch of bunk. If he dies now he will go to hell. In answer to the question I say yes, a Christian can loose their salvation.

Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV) It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Non-believers do not have the Holy Spirit (assuming my theology is correct) that is something only believers receive. If you have that and turn away you can’t come back. I say that qualifies as a loss of salvation. How does it work out? I don’t know. I am not qualified to figure out who has gone to far and who hasn’t. That is God’s job not mine.

John 15:1-7 (NIV) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

The disciples were already in the vine. Christ told them to “remain” in Him. Only if you remain in Him and He in you will you bear fruit. If you don’t remain in Him you are thrown into the fire and burned. It doesn’t say “you will remain in me” it says “if you remain in me”. Remaining part of the vine is not a done deal.

Ezekiel 33:7-19 (KJV) So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.

Of all the passages I think this one lays it out the clearest. You have the wicked and the righteous. If the wicked man continues in his wickedness he dies. If he turns from is wickedness to righteousness he lives. Likewise if the righteous man turns from his righteousness to wickedness he dies, but if he remains righteous he lives. Neither life nor death is set in stone. Both of them have an “if” attached.

These are some of the Biblical reasons I believe you can loose your salvation. I want to be clear, I don’t believe you just “accidentally” loose your salvation. I don’t wake up every morning going “Oh I hope I’m saved today.” Just as accepting Christ is not an accident, neither is rejecting Him. How does all this work out? I don’t know. How does it work out in specific instances? Again I haven’t a clue. I don’t have all the answers, that isn’t what this post is about. This post simply answers the question “Why does Eric believe he can loose his salvation?” I’m well aware I could be wrong, obviously I don’t think I am.

 

Edit 6/14/13

Romans 11:17-23 (NIV)If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.  You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”  Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.  Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.  And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

I’m not sure I need to comment much on this passage.  We have to continue in God’s kindness or we will be cut off (after having been grafted in).  If Israel does not persist in unbelief the will be grafted in again (they were in, are now out, but can come back).

I have heard from several different people over the past couple years that God only loves people He has saved. My knee jerk reaction was, “That is ridiculous, God loves every one.” My response was what it was because that is how I’ve been raised. I’ve always been taught that God loves every one. So that begs the question, does the Bible say God only loves believers? Now I admit I cannot remember the verses that were used to back up the assertion that God doesn’t love unbelievers, however I have found a few verses that state He does love those who are not saved.  (Yes, it is quite possible that I’m simply biased, and I’m only finding what I was raised/taught to find.  I leave you to be the judge of that.)

Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Granted, it doesn’t say love, however “good” and “mercy” are a part of love and those are both applied to all that He has made.

Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

While we were sinners, Christ died for us, and what did that show? God’s love. While we were sinners Christ died to show God’s love.

Matthew 5:43-48 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Part of God’s perfection is loving His enemies. It is something Christ commands us to do, and then holds up God as the example.

Luke 19:41-42 And when he [Jesus] drew near and saw the city he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Again, it doesn’t explicitly say that Jesus loved the people in the city, but you do not weep over those you hate.

Luke 23:34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

No it doesn’t say he loved them, but do you make entreaties for those whom you do not love?

Anyways those are some of the reasons I believe that God loves every one, including people who do not believe in Him. I would love some feed back. If you think I’ve taken something out of context please let me know. If you know the verses that assert that God doesn’t love unbelievers let me know that as well.