The Mystery of Unity

There are several mysteries or secrets mentioned in the Scriptures, especially in Paul's epistles.
But the one that Paul mentions in Chapter 1 of his letter to the Ephesians is really hard to believe.

God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ.
This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.
[Ephesians 1 : 9 - 10  GNT]

This is especially difficult to believe when we consider the current state of our world with its endless wars, destructive diseases and cruel acts of brutality that humans inflict on each other.
Even so, if the universe was initially created out of nothing, then finally bringing unity using the ingredients already in existence, no matter how tarnished, should no longer seem impossible to us bystanders.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
[Genesis 1 : 1  NIV]

God did this through his son, Jesus Christ.

There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. 
And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.
[1 Corinthians 8 : 6  NLT]

So all creation was united under the headship of Christ, its Creator, as any creation (invention) is under the headship or control of its creator (inventor).

In our "secret plan" verses at the beginning of the post, we see that regardless of what we see or how we feel, this unity is going to be restored under the headship of Christ at the right time.
Everything at the end will be in the same condition as it was at the beginning - all creation in unity under the headship of the Creator - which is why Jesus came to earth as a human to start the re-creation process.
The Apostle John was given a glimpse of God's intention which he recorded here:

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” 
Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
[Revelation 21 : 5  ESV]

Let's also remember that this restoration cannot be thwarted by humanity's rebellion or ignorance.

People may plan all kinds of things, but the Lord's will is going to be done.
[Proverbs 19 : 21  GNT]

Isn't that exciting?

Blessings, Barry
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Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

Response to Universal Reconciliation Opposition - Part 13

This is the thirteenth in a mini-series of posts responding to the arguments offered by Dr Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum (Dr Arnold) against God's plan to eventually reconcile and save all His creation.

His arguments against Universal Reconciliation (UR) are offered under five headings, the third of which is c. The Basis of the Final Judgement. (see a previous post "Opposition to Universal Reconciliation" here)

Under the c. The Basis of the Final Judgement heading Dr Arnold states that the third argument is to point out that the final judgement is based on deeds done in the flesh and not on what happens in the intermediate state and then lists several texts from the New Testament he hopes will illustrate his assertion.

The texts are Matthew 7 : 22 - 23; Matthew 10 : 32 - 33; Matthew 25 : 31 - 46; Luke 12 : 46 - 48; 2 Corinthians 5 : 9 - 10; Galatians 6 : 7 - 8; 2 Thessalonians 1 : 7 - 10.

There are three major judgements mentioned in the New Testament.
The first was on Israel and occurred in AD 70. 
The second will be on the Gentile nations prior to the Millennium
The third will be on the dead of all ages at the Great White Throne after the Millennium.

Dr Arnold has correctly discovered judgement in the verses he quoted, but incorrectly applied them to the final judgement - the one that best serves his doctrinal position of eternal punishment in hell for all who do not profess Christ during their physical lifetime on the earth - the final Great White Throne judgement in which "the dead are judged according to what they have done". [Revelation 20 : 12]

But as we will see, none of the verses quoted refer to this final judgement at all.

Jesus' teaching recorded in the Gospels was directed only to the kingdom age as this was the only future the Jews knew about. They knew nothing about the church age (the age of grace) and nowhere did He mention the eternal realm, even though most of our popular Bibles insert words like "eternal" and "everlasting" into the English text.

1.  Matthew 7 : 21 - 23

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ [NIV]

I have included verse 21, which Dr Arnold omitted, to show that the kingdom was the context of Jesus' remarks.

2.  Matthew 10 : 32 - 33

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven." [NIV]

If we go to the beginning of this conversation of Jesus and His disciples, we will again see the kingdom context.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
[Matthew 10 : 5 - 7  NIV]

3.  Matthew 25 : 31 - 46
I won't quote this many verses here; please read for yourself. 

If you are reading one of our popular English Bibles, you will need to make corrections for "eternal" (as literal translations do) to see more clearly that this judgement is not the final one. (verse 41: eternal fire = fire of the Age; verse 46: eternal punishment = the chastisement of that Age; verse 46: eternal life = the life of that Age)

Again, the context is the King nominating those nations who qualify, by their good works, to inherit the kingdom.

Then the king will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take the inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."
[verse 34  NIV]

So the judgement being addressed is that on the nations after the Tribulation and prior to the commencement of the Age of the Messianic Kingdom.

4.  Luke 12 : 46 - 48

The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.
But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. [NIV]

Prior to this description of punishments, verses 31 and 32 again demonstrate that Jesus was speaking to a Jewish audience, which included His disciples, about judgement relating to the kingdom age.

So each of the Gospel texts quoted relates to judgements on Israel or Gentile nations concerning the future Messianic kingdom, which occurs at least 1000 years before the final Great White Throne judgement inferred by Dr Arnold.

5.  2 Corinthians 5 : 9 - 10

So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. [NIV]

The context of this chapter is the Church Age Saints, their resurrected bodies and their judgement for rewards at the Rapture.
Paul also wrote to this church in his earlier letter giving a few more details about the process involved. [1 Corinthians 3 : 10 - 15]
Consequently, this judgement is also well before the final judgement and is only for the Body of Christ.

6.  Galatians 6 : 7 - 8

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. [NIV]

Once "eternal life" is replaced with the literal "life in the Age" it is clear that this is talking about life in the kingdom and is therefore well before the final judgement which will occur after the kingdom age.

7.  2 Thessalonians 1 : 6 - 10

God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.
This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.
This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. [NIV]

 Several literal translations into English of the underlined words above reveal that the penalty involved is to be totally excluded from the Lord's presence while the Christ's kingdom age is in progress, not for eternity as our popular versions suggest.

Who, indeed, a penalty, shall pay -  age-abiding destruction from the face of the Lord ... - Rotherham (REB)
who shall suffer justice - destruction age-during - from the face of the Lord ... - Young (YLT)
Who will pay the just reparation of ruin in the Age, coming from the face of the Lord ... - Hart (DBH)
who a just penalty shall pay, destruction age-lasting, from face to the Lord ... - Diaglott (DNT)
who shall incur the justice of eonian extermination from the face of the Lord ... - Concordant (CLV)

This judgement will occur at the second coming of Christ - when He comes to judge and rule in blazing fire with his powerful angels - described in detail in Revelation 19.
Again, these verses do not refer to the final judgement which will follow the kingdom age.
 
Once we have clarified which judgement is being discussed, I then agree with the remainder of Dr Arnold's assertion that those judgements are based on deeds done in the flesh.
However, none of these texts refer to the final judgement, but to judgements relevant to participation or otherwise in the millennial kingdom age.

The final judgement at the Great White Throne and subsequent purifying process in the Lake of Fire ensures God will indeed be the Saviour of all and achieve His plan of having everyone know the truth.

... our Savior God, who intends all human beings to be saved and come to a full knowledge of truth.
[1 Timothy 2 : 4  DBH]
For we labor and struggle to this end, because we have hoped in a living God who is the savior of all human beings, especially those who have faith.
[1 Timothy 4 : 10  DBH]

Clearly, a proper reading of correctly-translated Scriptures will not support the common church doctrine that most of creation will be eternally lost because ...

With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
[Ephesians 1 : 8 -10  NIV]
For, even as in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.
Yet, each in his own class.
[1 Corinthians 15 : 22 - 23  CLV]

Blessings, Barry

Response to Universal Reconciliation Opposition - Part 12

This is the twelfth in a mini-series of posts responding to the arguments offered by Dr Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum (Dr Arnold) against God's plan to eventually reconcile and save all His creation.

His arguments against Universal Reconciliation (UR) are offered under five headings, the second of which is b. The Fixed State of the Unbelieving Dead. (see a previous post "Opposition to Universal Reconciliation" here).

Under the b. The Fixed State of the Unbelieving Dead heading Dr Arnold claims that the unbelieving dead are seen in a fixed state that cannot be altered and then quotes numerous punishment and judgement texts from the New Testament hoping to illustrate his assertion.

My discussion in Parts 7 - 11 demonstrates that the punishment and judgement verses he quotes, correctly translated, say nothing about fixed states.
And how could they?
If God's plan is to save His creation and bring unity to all under the headship of Christ, these punishment states cannot possibly be "fixed".

(God) intends all human beings to be saved and to come to a full knowledge of truth.
[1 Timothy 2 : 4  DBH]
With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
[Ephesians 1 : 8 - 10  NIV]

Indeed the Bible says that God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. [Hebrews 12 : 11  NIV],

confirming the purifying purpose of the lake of fire for those whose names are not in the Book of Life at the final judgement.

Logic alone tells us that these punishments must just be temporary "stopping-off" places on the journey to God's final result, as all correctly-motivated punishments should be.

Also, how could they be more than temporary when ...

the Son of God appeared to destroy the devil’s work
[see 1 John 3 : 8b],
Christ appeared at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself
[see Hebrews 9 : 26],
and Christ must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
[see 1 Corinthians 15 : 25 - 26]

The only fixed state I can see in Scripture is represented by

God becoming everything to everyone (all in all).
[1 Corinthians 15 : 28]

Let's recall the underlying theme of God's creation, of which we are the highlight:

Everything comes from the Lord. All things were made because of him and will return to him.
Praise the Lord forever! Amen.
[Romans 11 : 36  CEV]

Blessings, Barry

Response to Universal Reconciliation Opposition - Part 11

This is the eleventh in a mini-series of posts responding to the arguments offered by Dr Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum (Dr Arnold) against God's plan to eventually reconcile and save all His creation.

His arguments against Universal Reconciliation (UR) are offered under five headings, the second of which is b. The Fixed State of the Unbelieving Dead. (see a previous post "Opposition to Universal Reconciliation" here)

Under the b. The Fixed State of the Unbelieving Dead heading Dr Arnold claims that the unbelieving dead are seen in a fixed state that cannot be altered and then quotes numerous texts from the New Testament hoping to illustrate his assertion.

(i) The Matthew texts, (ii) The Rich Man and Lazarus parable, (iii) the John texts and (iv)Two texts from 2 Peter were discussed in previous posts - Parts 7, 8, 9 and 10.

(v) Two texts from Jude describing so-called "eternal" dark outcomes for sinners.

In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal (Gk. eonian = age-during) fire. [Jude 7  NIV]
They are like the waves of a wild sea. Their sins are like the dirty water along the shore. They look like stars moving here and there. But the darkest place has been kept for them forever (Gk. for an eon = for an age).
[Jude 13  NIV]

Once again, the correct, literal translation of the Greek destroys the "traditional" doctrinal of eternal punishment and darkness.

I have written about this mischievous translation (eonian=eternal) on several occasions; even so, I am considering writing a series of posts concentrating on these wrongly translated texts exposing how they have been used to induce the fear of eternal torment by a loving God for all those who have not been given the faith to become members of the Body of Christ during their lifetime on this planet.

Clearly the correctly translated punishment and darkness verses do not over-ride God's promise of restoring all things and bringing unity and harmony to the universe as the Bible records and I have quoted so often on this BLOG site, but instead show that any loss or correction will be limited to the ages, to the realm of time.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
[Revelation 21 : 5  NIV]
Heaven must receive him (Messiah) until the time comes for God to restore everything.
[Acts 3 : 21  NIV]
With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
[Ephesians 1 : 8 - 10  NIV]

Correct translations make all God's plans clear and unchallenged.
Those not called into Christian service in the Body of Christ in this age only miss out on the kingdom age.
They cannot miss out on eternity if God holds true to his promises - which he always does.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[Romans 8 : 38 - 39  NIV]

Blessings, Barry

Response to Universal Reconciliation Opposition - Part 10

This is the tenth in a mini-series of posts responding to the arguments offered by Dr Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum (Dr Arnold) against God's plan to eventually reconcile and save all His creation.

His arguments against Universal Reconciliation (UR) are offered under five headings, the second of which is b. The Fixed State of the Unbelieving Dead. (see a previous post "Opposition to Universal Reconciliation" here)

Under the b. The Fixed State of the Unbelieving Dead heading Dr Arnold claims that the unbelieving dead are seen in a fixed state that cannot be altered and then quotes numerous texts from the New Testament hoping to illustrate his assertion.

(i) The Matthew texts, (ii) The Rich Man and Lazarus parable and (iii) the John texts were discussed in three previous posts - Parts 7, 8 and 9.

(iv) Two texts from 2 Peter declaring that the unrighteous will need to face judgement.

Dr Arnold states that these texts demonstrate that the unbelievers are committed to pits of darkness to be reserved unto judgement of the Great White Throne and the unrighteous are kept under judgement until the day of judgement.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell [Tartarus] and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; ...
then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,
[2 Peter 2 : 4, 9  NASB]

I totally agree with Dr Arnold. That's definitely what these verses say.
But Dr Arnold's inference is that judgement is inherently a bad result and therefore the end of the road for those angels and the unrighteous.

However, judgement is a decision or a verdict - not a sentence or a punishment - which may have a favourable or an unfavourable outcome.

Even in our human courts, we should expect verdicts to be reached fairly and penalties applied appropriately.
If a favourable decision is reached, the accused is not guilty as charged, so goes free.
If an unfavourable decision is reached - the accused is guilty as charged - and expects to be penalised in some appropriate way.

That penalty should be designed to produce a change in behaviour, and when served and the change in behaviour achieved, the accused is then as free as if he/she was not guilty in the first place.
Indeed, going to court, being found guilty and serving the relevant penalty is the only way an offender can be finally free.

So surely, the God of love, mercy and compassion would do at least as well as our human courts.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
[John 3 : 17  NIV]

And, if God claims to be the Saviour of the world, then freedom for all can be confidently expected eventually.

For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
[1 Timothy 4 : 10  NASB]

The believers are special because they become aware of, and are given the faith to believe in, their salvation early - they are the firstfruits, using Hebrew harvest terminology.
They will live and be co-rulers with Christ in the millennium kingdom age; the remainder serve the penalty of not living and enjoying life in that kingdom age before facing their judgement and rehabilitation.

I have been extremely brief in my comments here, but "The Really Good News About God" has a whole chapter dealing with judgement and might be worth a re-read at this point.

I have just said sufficient to demonstrate that God's judgements are designed to produce good outcomes and are stepping stones on the way to universal salvation and reconciliation as revealed by Paul.

And all people will see God's salvation.
[Luke 3 : 6  NIV]
With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
[Ephesians 1 : 8 - 10  NIV]

Let me finish this post by quoting a favourite author of mine, Professor Thomas Talbot, from his book "The Inescapable Love of God". 
While discussing God's judgements as being remedial - a means of correction - he says, "It is eternal both in the sense that its causal source lies in the eternal God himself and in the sense that its corrective effects last forever".
 
Isn't it so exciting to know that God loves us all, Jesus died and rose for us all, and God has life in store for us all?
I find this a much more positive gospel (good news) to share than the one I grew up with.

Blessings, Barry

Response to Universal Reconciliation Opposition - Part 9

This is the ninth in a mini-series of posts responding to the arguments offered by Dr Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum (Dr Arnold) against God's plan to eventually reconcile and save all His creation.

His arguments against Universal Reconciliation (UR) are offered under five headings, the second of which is b. The Fixed State of the Unbelieving Dead. (see a previous post "Opposition to Universal Reconciliation" here)

Under the b. The Fixed State of the Unbelieving Dead heading Dr Arnold claims that the unbelieving dead are seen in a fixed state that cannot be altered and then quotes numerous texts from the New Testament hoping to illustrate his assertion.

(i) The Matthew texts and (ii) The Rich Man and Lazarus parable from Luke's gospel were discussed in two previous posts.

(iii) Two texts from John's gospel which announce that Jews not believing in the Messiah will die in their sins.
Dr Arnold says these verses state that unless one believes, he will die in his sins and there is no possibility of belief after dying in sin.

John 8 : 21 and 24 [NET]

Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will look for me but will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.”
"Thus I told you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

As usual, Jesus was talking with the Jews about the Messianic Kingdom and their need to believe He was the Messiah for them to join Him in it.
And, of course, this conversation occurred before Jesus had died for the sins of the world.
So instead of being able to come with Him, they would remain and die in their sins.

I agree with Dr Arnold's "that unless one believes, he will die in his sins", but where does he get "and there is no possibility of belief after dying in sin" from?
Because of Dr Arnold's prior belief, he reads into these texts the impossibility of belief any time after death.
An unbeliever who dies in their sin will certainly not see the Messianic Kingdom Age, agreed, but there is much more of God's plan to follow that Age for the unbelieving remainder of His creation, including the removal of death.

For Christ will be King until he has defeated all his enemies, including the last enemy—death. This too must be defeated and ended.
[1 Cor 15 : 25 - 26  TLB]

We have discussed this eventuality in previous posts, so I'll try not to repeat too much here.
However, let's look at what Jesus said to the crowds about "counting the cost of completing the course".

Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it?
If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish.
Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’
[Luke 14 : 28 - 30  MSG]

This was Jesus' advice to those who might be considering discipleship.
Surely it is the same advice that God would follow Himself.
Whatever God is planning, surely He would have previously counted its cost, and would be "well-advised" to complete (so passers-by would not poke fun at Him) - wouldn't He?

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds.
And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!
He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans He took such delight in making.
He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
[Ephesians 1 : 7 - 10  MSG]

Clearly, unlike those in the Advance Party serving Christ in the Messianic Kingdom, others don't have to believe anything during this age to benefit from God's eventual plan of salvation when it is completed at the end of the ages!

So, yes, unbelievers (Jews and Gentiles) will die in their sin (not knowing their sin has been taken care of) and miss the Kingdom Age.
But God has provided for everyone (Jew and Gentile alike) beyond that age through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

If salvation is such a done deal for all, where does faith/belief fit in?
I mentioned this in Part 3 here to refresh your thoughts on this question.

Note: I have written about the Advance Party on several occasions including here
and on the website here under "Believers" in the main menu.

Blessings, Barry

Which is Better - Calvinism or Arminianism?

I have sometimes been asked to choose between Calvinism and Armianism, on the assumption that Christian Universal Reconciliation is not a legitimate option.

Very briefly, the god of the Calvinists has the ability to save all mankind, but doesn't choose to, whereas the god of the Arminians wants to save all mankind, but does not have the power or ability to.

The real God, the God of the Bible, has the will, power and ability to save all mankind, and sent Jesus to be the Saviour of the world to make sure that happens. In the introduction to The Really Good News About God", I briefly describe Calvinism and Arminianism and show the short-comings of each.

There are some people who tell me these are the only two positions that can be held, so, Barry, which one do you hold?
Well, if you put it like that I would have to say I'm a Calvinist, but not a Calvinist of the common variety.

I believe God has the will and strength to save those he has chosen to save ... but I broaden that number to everyone (on the basis of solid Biblical evidence you will find in the book).

OK. I'll give you a sneak peek right now.

Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
(1 John 2 : 1b - 2 NIV)
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 
(Romans 5 : 18  NIV)

I have also discussed this position more thoroughly in a previous post "The Third View" published on June 6th, 2010.

Blessings, Barry

The Really Good News About God is finshed and published

Hi everyone
The day has finally arrived.
"The Really Good News About God" has finally reached the finish line.
What a tortoise-like journey this has been. (Too many other good things happening in my life since retiring.)

It is available in print and as an ebook.
Paperback and Kindle versions are available at www.amazon.com by putting the ISBN or full title in the search box at the top of the page.
ISBN 9780994262738 for paperback and 9780994262714 for KIndle.

The EPUB version, the version used by all other ebook readers (except Kindle) is available from most other online book stores like iBooks, SmashWords, Barnes & Noble, etc.
The ISBN for this version is 9780994262707.
(All ISBN's are the same except for the last two digits.)
www.smashwords.com is the base distribution point for all EPUB stores and therefore my preferred spot for all non-kindle ereaders.

Thanks for all your feedback and patient support.

Now to beef up the website to back up the positions taken in the book.

Blessings, Barry

Isabel took this photo of me checking the first book on the arrival of proof copies from the printer this morning.

Can We Lose Our Salvation?

After publishing the last post, I received a private email asking the question above, and I promised its author that I would share some thoughts on it next.
So here we go.

Let's repeat our nutshell description of salvation from last time ... 
Salvation is a journey of restoration that starts with re-gaining life and is completed when we return to being God's true image bearers, as was Jesus.
So salvation is a journey with a beginning and an end.

The beginning is being restored or resurrected to life. 
This life is God's life, eternal life, which God breathes into us, his Holy Spirit.
It comes from knowing God, having God and Jesus revealed to us, and indwelling us.
Jesus said ...

"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3)

and

"No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Matthew 11: 27)

In my opinion, once we know God, we can't "un-know" him.
We might disappoint him, or fail him, or even disown him (as did Peter during Jesus' lifetime on earth), but we can't subsequently say we don't know him.
Therefore we cannot lose eternal life, we cannot lose the beginning of the salvation journey once it has been given to us.

The end is Christ-likeness, being restored to the image of God.
So if this is the end, there is no time or opportunity remaining in which to lose anything.
Therefore we cannot lose Christ-likeness, we cannot lose the end of the journey after we have finally arrived there, as there is no "after".

So what about the (major) part of the journey - the bit between the beginning and end?
Can we lose that? Ummmmmm ...
That's a weird question, isn't it?

At times, we can lose our way, get side-tracked, take routes that are long and winding and dangerous; we can give up for a while, take extended siestas, etc. etc.
But eventually, we will respond to the nudging and corrections of the Holy Spirit within us, repent and get back on track again.

What makes me so sure?
Firstly, there are so many characters in the Bible whose lives demonstrate that this happens.
Take David for example. 
The prophet Samuel told Saul that he was to be replaced as King of Israel by a man after God's own heart, referring to David.
And yet it was subsequent to his appointment as king that David committed adultery and arranged a cowardly murder before repenting and getting his life back on track and becoming a key person in Israel's history and in the earthly ancestry of Jesus Christ.

And, secondly, the Apostle Paul guarantees we will get to the end.
Hear him to the believers in Philippi ...

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil 1:6)

and to his apprentice Timothy ...

"That is why we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, and especially of those who believe." (1 Tim 4:10)

If God is to be the Saviour of all people, surely that includes those who start that journey while on earth, regardless of what might happen during the rest of their lifetimes here.

So, can we lose our salvation?
We can't lose the beginning, we can't lose the end, and God guarantees the journey in between.
And to top it off, God is going to be the Saviour of all.
So no-one can lose their salvation, including those who haven't begun the journey yet.

Now it's my turn to ask a couple of questions.
1. What is so "especially" about the believers mentioned in 1 Timothy 4 : 10?
2. What do we lose (or miss out on) during those siestas and side-tracks?

Do we have some bloggers who would like to discuss these?

Blessings, Barry