Something to think about
 

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” My dear Christian friend, because God put that promise in your Bible, I believe there is only one reason that a member of your house will perish in Hell. You yourself will have to fail that beloved family member in order for them to perish. You do not want that to happen. You do not want to find yourself standing near them with their blood on your hands when they stand before the Great White Throne Judgment condemned to Hell. How tragic it would be to have them look upon you and your bloody hands and sob to you in their hopelessness, “You failed me. You did not believe God’s promise to save your house. As a Christian, you lived in pleasure instead of entering into the toil and travail with Christ to see your family brought safely into the Ark of Salvation. I hope you enjoy eternity in Heaven while I am tormented in flames forever.” You do not want to experience that. Whatever you do in this life, believe on and act upon this wonderful promise. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
“Pass the time of your sojourning here with fear”

(just something I read, which has given me cause to pause, think, and consider)

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Do you don't believe that everybody is responsible for their own sin?

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We are responsible to hold God to His promises in prayer for the souls of our loved ones.

Ezekiel 3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Ezekiel 3:17-19 - Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

Isaiah 62:6 - I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, [which] shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

Ezekiel 33:6 - But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take [any] person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.

Ezekiel 33:1-33

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It doesn't matter what my opinion is. It only matters what God says.

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I see it this way, to believe in someone is to put absolute trust in them. If one believes on the Lord they will indeed be saved. Why? Because they will obey His Gospel. That includes repentance, water baptism, and living a holy life.

If one believes in Dr. Agatston they will lose weight. Why? They will follow Dr. Agatston's, South Beach Diet.

It's pretty simple, really.

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Maybe I'm off but I've always read that verse to be indicating that the promise of Salvation by believing on Jesus Christ was available to the head of the house as well as all the people in his house (including his servants).

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Was the statement "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" a universal promise given to all believers everywhere? Or was it a specific, prophetic promise to one man, in that, God was showing Paul that if this one man submitted himself to the Gospel, in His infinite foreknowledge, God knew everyone else in his "house" would follow suit?

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I think it was a specific promise to one man, but I believe all the promises of God are yes and amen, because He is not a respecter of persons.

2 Corinthians 1:20..For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

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So you're saying that if the head of household gets saved their children WILL be saved?

Do you know of any families where the parents got the HolyGhost and the kids never did?

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I'm taking it as a promise to see my household saved.

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Many promises go unfulfilled because of a lack of faith.

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If it's not a promise to us, then we have no more reason to expect our children to be saved than we have for any stranger. God made numerous promises regarding the families of His people under the old covenant. It would be strange that we would have less assurance and a lesser hope under the new covenant...

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In those days, the "head of the house" position actually meant something. They were much more obligated to follow the "head of the house" and if he believed, his household too, following his leadership, would also receive the Grace to believe.

However, I don't believe this scripture is talking about a "head of household" with people who choose to not follow his example. With the counsel of all the other doctrinal scriptures, this Promise of salvation is for individuals who receive the Grace to believe.

This scripture does not establish a situation where everyone in a "household" or family unit etc is saved just because the "head" of that unit believes.

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I believe it is a Universal Promise given to all human beings who receive the Grace to believe in the first place.

The reason I believe this is this scripture stands in agreement with numerous other scriptures that establish the BIBLICAL DOCTRINE of salvation by the Grace of God, through the faith of individuals in the Gospel of Christ.

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Did the verse in question stipulate that lack of faith rendered the promise void?

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The condition is "believe on the Lord Jesus". Obviously, failure to do that renders the promise inapplicable.

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Esaias,

Good post.

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Some preachers and pastors will have blood on their hands.

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Some people in the pews will be covered in blood from head to foot.

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:highfive

If someone in a family is lost it is by their own free will to reject the moving power of Jesus Christ. The message to the jailer was automatically saved through his salvation. Just like all Israel will be saved means every single Israeli no matter what. The all is always qualified by the holistic approach to the Bible. Bible is pretty easy to understand when we accept that it isn't fractured scriptures but it must be understood all together.

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Amen, but we must always keep in mind that everyone has their own freewill to do as they very well please. People don't even understand what believe really means. Hence they don't know what the importance of baptism means. Hence the reason why someone isn't baptized they are not only not saved they aren't a follower of Christ.

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Yes indeed. But some scriptures we like, and some we don't like, such as the last half of Hosea 4:6. God isn't a Care Bear.

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Hosea 4:6

My people are annihilated for not knowing: because you thrust away knowledge, I will also cast you out, that you shalt be no minister to me: seeing thou you forgot the law of your God, I will also forget your progeny.

People tend to cherry pick the Bible apart, to create their own personal Jesus.

Some attend churches that are so dry that they have tumble weeds rolling down the aisle. House church which is more like group session around a coffee table, instead of power of the Holy Ghost and prayer. Teaching that the Bible must be understood how the Apostles taught it, not how John Calvin revamped it to get even with the Pope who excommunicated him. Our country was pioneered by Puritans, Pilgrims, Baptists, and Presbyterians. That is a main reason why Churchanity became the toilet bowl that overflows to create more schism, denominations, and organizations. They don't want book, chapter and verse. They convinced themselves that legalism was a necktie and a shoeshine. When legalism was going through the '"religious" motions of "telling" a person you love them, and never actually doing it, "telling" someone you accept their apology and never actually doing it, "telling" someone you will pray for them and never uttering even a lay me down to sleep prayer for them. Cry about long uncut hair, and a shoeshine, to discard standards of attire only to become a facade with hate in your heart, but honey on your lips. They say they have liberty, brothers looking like Jeffrey "the dude" Lebowski, and Sisters looking like Morticia Adams. Who greet you with buttery pancakes smothered in maple goo, and couldn't care less if you dropped dead. PTL Club, Jim and Tammy from Miami, spouting all the right Christainisms but their hearts were far from Him.

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What's really sad is some folks actually know better, but paddle their canoe down the drain to the Land of the Lost anyway.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...L12pPpRp3HxJvw

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:lol

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"When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul."

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Amen. :thumbsup

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I've seen some dead house churches where all they do is sit around criticizing institutional churches. But I thank God that all aren't like that. I only know of two that I've seen that were Spirit filled, loving, and open to Jesus name truth. I pray that God would call an anointed bona-fide Acts 2:38 Apostolic to launch a house church network near me. I sincerely love house church when the Holy Spirit moves.

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We had started doing cell groups during mid week. The presence of God was strong in the group I was a part of. The pastor dissolved them because they were not going in the direction that he wanted. Whatever that means.

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I really like cell groups too. But your experience is all too common. The first Apostolic church I attended had care groups, but they too were shut down because of the rumor mill and power grabbing. It ended badly. Every leader seemed to want to start their own church and have total power. It was sad.

In a house church network each house church has elders that perform all baptisms, gatherings, teaching, Lord's Suppers, and spiritual discipline. The Senior Pastor leads a house church of elders gathered on an off day. Each region has an elders gathering. Doctrinal teaching, any network wide projects, lesson series, overall vision for the network, campus services, and discipline of the elders is handled among the elders. The Senior Pastor might rotate through the churches in network throughout the year as a guest. The elders of a gathering normally offers him the floor. He might also sit in on difficult issues and biblical counseling.

I like this network system, but it isn't Apostolic in doctrine. The Senior Pastor is Southern Baptist, but the network in nondenominational, with each house church having it's own flavor based on membership backgrounds. I like bringing some Apostolic perspective to ours. Most are Reformed in theology, others are free-will, two are Spirit filled.

We're in transition right now because our Senior Pastor has voluntarily stepped down for 6th months over a marital issue. Hopefully it gets worked out and he's restored. The Senior Pastor of our Xenia, Ohio network is now acting Senior Pastor.

House church is no utopia, it's just what we believe is a more decentralized biblical structure with participative gatherings instead of sitting in a row of noses watching one man do all the teaching and ministry every service.

I'd do anything to see and attend a purely Apostolic house church network. I've considered returning to the UPCI, but the LORD continues to impress upon me to stay put with this mixed band of religious refugees.

But to each there own. House church definitely isn't for every one.