Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquila
In short, Acts 2:38 can be dissected is as follows:
Acts 2:38 (KJV)
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent (unto justification by faith, Romans 5:1; Galatians 3:24; Ephesians 2:8), and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (unto identification with Christ, having the conscience cleansed, John 3:5; I Peter 3:21, and therefore forgiveness experienced), and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (unto regeneration, John 3:5; Romans 8:28–30; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 4:5; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:23) . My point is... we do well to allow God to be the judge of those who may have experienced justification before God as a result of their repentance and faith, and yet had yet to move forward into the realities of identification and regeneration. |
Weird. Paul wanted the Corinthians to judge the fornicator in chapter 5 and toss him to the curb directly into Satan's hands. He said he had already personally judged the situation having not even been present. He then reprimanded them for not having anyone wise enough to judge financial issues and fights between brethren in the church, then chided them for not realizing that saints are going to judge angels.
Aquila, what you're missing is this: you have a moving of the goal posts regarding salvation and the Gospel.
If you have a coworker who comes to you for prayer tomorrow and wants a Bible study and asks "What must I do to be saved?" You're going to preach the Gospel and the application of the same, right? You or an elder are going to baptize him in Jesus name and when he comes up out of the water singing in tongues, you're going to jump for joy and shout to the Lord, right?
So, if such a thing occurs, you have the goal posts of salvation and the Gospel in one place, for this coworker of yours.
But for Billy Graham or others, you have the goal posts of salvation and the Gospel in another location.
I'm sure you know the saying "Stick to your guns". And I'm sure you know what it means, too. But, while you're more than happy to pull your trigger on the man screaming at the altar for mercy or deliverance, and don't mind unloading on the sinner covered in snot and tears with tongues all around, your guns remain strangely holstered when it comes to this.
You keep saying you won't judge and are just letting God be God. But you are judging. When you write "no assurance", you mean you have judged that such a person might not be saved. But if that person might not saved, who else might not be saved? Who else might not have "full assurance"? How can you tell the difference?
At some point, you have to have met someone you felt died in "full assurance". I assume you have "full assurance" about yourself, your wife, your elders, and even people here at AFF. You called some people here the creme de la creme of Apostolic Pentecost (
even though you keep saying we're not getting it, that we aren't very systematic in our approach, that we rush right past Acts 2:38 without comprehending the deeper realities of it???).
So, where does this "full assurance" come from? What sets these apart? What makes you know these are saved when you don't know or can't proclaim who IS NOT saved?
You can't have it both ways. But when you say you won't judge or try to be God for someone, you are judging that, even without correct doctrinal understanding of the Apostle's faith, even without correct application of the same, such a one might still make it, because of sovereignty and mercy. So, for this one, you've judged them sufficiently saved to make heaven if mercy will allow, despite missing the key components, and speak in the stead of God in order to do so, because ONLY GOD HAS THE RIGHT TO FOREGO AND RELENT. You say, God alone is judge. Then you say, "But these might make it", which is a judgment all the same.
To say God may allow these into eternal life is to say, on God's behalf, that God doesn't need to stick to His guns regarding what He has already established is the only plan of salvation. He can change His mind, if He wants to. He can quibble and waffle. He can nullify the Apostle's faith and its application for anyone He chooses, simply to be merciful, meaning Jesus is not as good as His Word, He's only a capricious respecter of persons. You are impugning the Lord, here, and I guess, for whatever reason, you don't see it.