Akiko

I have to disagree... I'm not Calvanist. Works are not what earns your way to Heaven (as has been established), they are a way of expressing your thanks to God. If you really love Jesus, you'll want to share Him with others and be more like Him. That's how I see it. I also disagree with the idea that you can throw away your own salvation. (I'm very disagreeable, I guess ) If God says "No one can snatch them out of My hand," I see it as nothing can separate us. There's also this famous passage; read it twice over: "(35)Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (36) (As the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.") (37) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. (38)And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. (39) No power in the sky above or in the earth below, indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39) We are created beings, and as such we cannot separate ourselves from God's love. We will never 'fall out of favor' or lose our salvation. HOWEVER, this does not mean that we can't turn our back on God. You can accept God (and I mean really accept Him and be born again), then turn your back on him. You will suffer, and you won't pray, but you will still keep your salvation. Think about this: we also turn our backs on God when we sin... the only difference between us and the person mentioned above is that we come back. How long is "too long" to sin against God? Does He have some clock that ticks, and when you're past, he takes some White-Out and erases what He has written? And again, I say... why would God do something that would be negated later? It makes no sense. People's interpetations of Scripture differ, and I don't have a problem with that. But, your interpretation should be checked against what the rest of the Bible says before you set it in stone. If my interpreation disagrees, it's wrong. Simple as that. I don't believe the idea of losing your salvation goes with the rest of Jesus' teaching, for reasons listed in this post and in my last post. If you disagree with anything said here, please say so. Promise... I don't bite. Akiko

Even if you do interpret the John 15 passage that way, the idea contradicts the very foundation of Jesus' preaching. As has been said... having to be saved multiple times (sinning and getting blotted out of the Book, then repenting and getting back in) means that Jesus' first sacrifice wasn't good enough. It can't cover our sins. Which is a total falsehood; Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. He covers all of our sins, what we've done and what we will do. God knows that we will sin. If God knew that He was going to blot us out of the Book, why would be save us in the first place? Jesus preached that you were saved by grace and mercy, not by earning it. The Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I'd like to note that it doesn't say, "Unless you're already a Christian, you will have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Otherwise, you've got to be perfect." It says that everyone has. God forgives us multiple times, as Jesus says when he talks about the seventy times seven... which hardly means that you should forgive your friends 490 times, and on the 491st... you're toasted. Turn your back and refuse to forgive. Jesus implied that you were to forgive them so many times, it could not be counted. Another main point that has been glossed over is that Jesus made a NEW covanent, so that we didn't have to sacrifice to atone for our sins. It's already done. We don't have to worry about it. Quite honestly, this seems to me like a human trying to be "good enough" for God to keep them. Sorry if I stepped on your toes there.

Great thought. We all need to read that one over a few times. *agrees* Very well said.

I have to disagree. The context of the Old Testament verses is under the old covanent, where you had to sacrifice to atone for your sins. No sacrifice, no forgivnees. (My assumption is that when you sacrified, you acknowledged your sin. If you didn't, than you are spitting in God's face and spurning Him). However, Jesus came and made a new covanent. John 10:28-30 reads, "(28)I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, (29) for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father

I've heard about this. Cheerleading has turned into a sort of gymnastics... and has all of the risks associated with none of the soft padding a gymnast gets.

Rtwo is right... in some places, you have to have 100+ posts. You'll find that isn't too hard to accomplish. If you're having some difficulties elsewhere, you can always try the live chat room. Odds are, they'll be someone there to help you out. But give it a minute or two to load... God bless, Akiko

Well, Ted, I get this vibe that they're going to blame you. Call it a hunch...

And emo black. Actually, I take that back. Black goes with everything.

Your on your own kiddo! Man, Jeremiah shouldn't have written Lamentations until he'd taken care of Ghosty. (No offense meant to you, Ghosty... I luff ya...)

I don't think I've realized what I've gotten myself into...

Congratulations!!

Sorry, couldn't find it on Wal-Mart either.

When someone is currently responding to a post (actively in the "reply" area and typing), they will appear in italics. t. PS: All of this color change thing is Ronald's fault. Silentprayer is helping him, too. Thanks, Ted. As for Ronald and SP... wish I could say I was surprised, buuuuuut....

Well then, considering I'm at 249 posts... XD I was wondering the next time I'd change status. I want to be white and red striped... that would be cool... **Edit** I'm an advanced member now... I feel so special...

Thanks; I have been wanting to know that for a long time. Is that what the italics and dots signify too, or does that mean that they're some kind of mod?

Okay, I've been wondering for awhile: what do the different colors mean?!?!

Ever since I'd heard this theory, I've liked a lot and held it as truth. Well said.

All right... I got lost when you replied to my post. Rephrase?

I can see where you're coming from. Trying to scientifically 'prove' God is impossible. However, tools like apologetics, creationalism vs evolution debates, and other scientific questions can be used as a powerful tool for Christ. The Bible should not be checked with a science book-- a science book should be checked with the Bible. I know many people on Worthy (including myself) who are active on the Apologetics and Faith vs Science boards, and doing a great work for Christ by helping hard-core evolutionists see that the Bible isn't a load of bunk like some people think. So you think God didn't exist before there was a subject called science?How did God start making himself known through the Gospel? Did He give the apolstles science lessons?If Jesus taught science three months the whole world could have been convinced of the existence of God beyond any doubt even in the first century. But he didn't do that.If you want to waste your time you can try . "O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen" 1 Tim 6;21 Since you don't want to pursue the discussion, I don't plan to perpetuate it. However, there is one particular verse in Proverbs that helps me: "Only simpletons believe everything they are told! The prudent carefully consider their steps." -Proverbs 14:15 Bottom line... faith comes first, then you can use science to back up your faith. Not the other way around. God stresses faith TONS in the Bible. When I dig into scientific evidence that only cements my already-existing faith in God, it really makes me appreciate His glory all the more! If that content helps an atheist (can't spell. ) come to Jesus, I'm all for it. God bless. Akiko

I can see where you're coming from. Trying to scientifically 'prove' God is impossible. However, tools like apologetics, creationalism vs evolution debates, and other scientific questions can be used as a powerful tool for Christ. The Bible should not be checked with a science book-- a science book should be checked with the Bible. I know many people on Worthy (including myself) who are active on the Apologetics and Faith vs Science boards, and doing a great work for Christ by helping hard-core evolutionists see that the Bible isn't a load of bunk like some people think.

I don't believe so. Intelligent design is becoming more accepted these days... the old argument, "Look outside and you can see God's hand!" is cliched but true, and people have been hearing more now about intelligent design. Also, even the mere idea of "is there a God?" that everyone asks themselves is some support... Asking if it's possible is sort of an odd question to pose to a true born-again Christian. It's like standing in a dark room while the Christian stands in the light one, and asking them, "Is it possible that there IS no light?" We can debate about the light for ages and ages, and I can give you tons of proof that there is indeed light, but it's only after you step into that room that you can fully understand what that light is. I'm aware this isn't the best answer, but my attention span is short at the moment because I've had a long day at school.

so i found out that the reason she gets mad at me for sticking up for her is because when i do he takes it out on her. like, since i'm HER friend it must be HER fault. and apparently she says she'll break up with him by summer vacation because she's tired of dealing with all this, but i'm just like, why drag it out? why say she'll break up with him by a certain time instead of doing it now? and i don't really beleive it anyways because i've lost count of how many times she's said she'd dump him but hasn't. ughhhhh this is annoying. i'm trying what you say.