The Security of the Believer

[Luke]

What do you do with these scriptures:

Matthew 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Luke 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

[PastorTLArt]

Originally Posted by Luke

What do you do with these scriptures:

Matthew 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Luke 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

I dont see anything in any of these scriptures that are quoted here that say anything about a believer "losing salvation"?

[crakjak]

Originally Posted by Luke

What do you do with these scriptures:

Matthew 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.


Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Luke 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

In order of your list:
1). I believe Jesus is speaking symbolically of "the body or community" if you cannot get along with some folks it is better to discontinue fellowship, than to hang together and endure "eonion" fire. Or a time or age of dissension in relationship. He certainly is not recommending bodily mutilation!!

2). "Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." The goats go into an age of corrective punishment or judgment "the setting of things right", the righteous go into an age of life. The words everlasting and eternal here, in the Greek is "eonion" which is a period of time, it is not speaking of the final destiny of these folks. He was speaking of the age to come, or the next age, not infinity.

3). Those that blaspheme the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the next, they will face the GWTJ, and the purifying lake of fire. "God is a refiners fire", He will not give up on anyone, age by age all will come to right relationship with God and everyone else, until God is "all in all". He is the (1Tim 4:10) "...Savior of all men, especially of those who believe..." in this age.

4). Luke 16 is one of five parables in a series: It is symbolic of the Jews and the Gentiles, the Jew were favored and "rich", then they were cut off because they rejected the Messiah. Then the Gentiles "beggars" became into favor and the Jews have languished and been abused ever since. But have no fear, God blinded their eyes for a time "age", and that time is about done. The times "age" of the Gentiles is about complete. God is completing His plan age by age, until ALL are complete. No robots, mature folks that understand good and evil, which we would not know except for the contrast that humanity has experience thru the ages. You would have no concept of light if not for darkness, nor good if not for evil.

5). Finally, for those that have not believed yet, they haven't entered into life yet, God's wrath or judgment is upon them. Yes, that is true. Scripture says that when God's judgment is in the earth, men learn righteousness. Judgment is a good thing.

We have been taught that God is a bumbling failure, having to do redoes and mulligans over and over. It is not true, we have been sold a bill of goods, God has and is working His plans thru the ages, men get impatient and out of ignorant conjure up all kinds of excuses for God not doing things on human time lines. "Fear not" Jesus said, "I have overcome the world". Everything is coming to pass right on time, and it is ALL GOOD! "I bring you tidings of joy, peace on earth and GOOD WILL to ALL MEN!!!" The gospel really is good news, Jesus completed the sacrifice for the sins of the world. We should be shouting the great news to all we see!