Do Not Be Surprised... (A Word Of Warning For The Time To Come)

[warrior12]

23 minutes ago, LightShinesInTheDarkness said:

That is very true, provided the Christian remains in Christ, which he has the choice to do or not to do after coming to be in Him. The Christians in the church in Ephesus were not going to remain in Christ; neither were the Christians in Sardis or Laodicea, unless they repented of their apostasy. There are plenty of scriptures that show that a true Christian (a person who has been born-again, not merely someone who professes to be a Christian) can forfeit his or her salvation; so bear in mind that Romans 8:38,39 does not include "or anything we do", because it's obvious from many other New Testament scriptures that we ourselves can indeed separate ourselves from Christ and be cut off from Him by our own choices.

Your point taken.  As i see it or experience the scripture in real life here, the believer would go through a number of things that would draw him closer to the Lord as he goes through life trials.    Those who would live Godly would be persecuted, [ however one would define this persecution] and this would teach him to whom he is to look for his help, learn to pray and rebuke evil and wickedness that comes to confront him.  He would be in essence, training as a soldier to stand firm in adversity.   

The Lord gives us his promises that he would not leave us nor forsake us, who are steadfast in his word and worship of him and him alone.   When a believer has encountered the spiritual world and witness the evil and the truth that the scripture speaks of it, he just cannot go back or turn his back.   Let me say this too, the devil is a master deceiver and only your personal experience with his craftiness would embolden you to reject his lies and deceitfulness. He does not give up on pursuing you to give in, hence the believer putting on the full armor of God.  

 

2 Timothy 2 King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁶ And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

 

1 Peter 4 King James Version (KJV)

¹² Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

¹³ But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

I don't think the believer is left to live a carnal life on his own.  As the scripture verse above states, you are to partake in Christ sufferings  in this life.  The believer who is living right before the Lord may go through terrible ordeals that would draw him closer and closer to cling to his savior. 

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

9 hours ago, warrior12 said:

Your point taken.  As i see it or experience the scripture in real life here, the believer would go through a number of things that would draw him closer to the Lord as he goes through life trials.    Those who would live Godly would be persecuted, [ however one would define this persecution] and this would teach him to whom he is to look for his help, learn to pray and rebuke evil and wickedness that comes to confront him.  He would be in essence, training as a soldier to stand firm in adversity.   

The Lord gives us his promises that he would not leave us nor forsake us, who are steadfast in his word and worship of him and him alone.   When a believer has encountered the spiritual world and witness the evil and the truth that the scripture speaks of it, he just cannot go back or turn his back.   Let me say this too, the devil is a master deceiver and only your personal experience with his craftiness would embolden you to reject his lies and deceitfulness. He does not give up on pursuing you to give in, hence the believer putting on the full armor of God.  

 

2 Timothy 2 King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁶ And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

 

1 Peter 4 King James Version (KJV)

¹² Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

¹³ But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

I don't think the believer is left to live a carnal life on his own.  As the scripture verse above states, you are to partake in Christ sufferings  in this life.  The believer who is living right before the Lord may go through terrible ordeals that would draw him closer and closer to cling to his savior. 

No, God doesn't just leave us alone to fend for ourselves after He saves us. He certainly works with us and teaches us, protects and guides us in the way we should go. And ideally, all Christians would pursue the knowledge of Him, be faithful to Him and trust Him, and keep following Him to the end of their course. But desires for other things can and do creep in, and when the Christian is confronted with the choice between something he or she really wants (or does not want to do) and what God says to do or wants them to do, and they choose themselves rather than Him, it is a slippery slope that leads backwards and away from Him. Even though He chastens us, we don't all respond to it in the way we should.

Choosing to disobey the Lord also makes us more susceptible to temptation and deception by demons. (Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.)

How we fare as Christians has much to do with our own personal choices, and not merely with God's will and His faithfulness. (We can see an example of this in the Lord's messages to the seven churches in the Revelation---how God's faithfulness doesn't guarantee that all Christians will do well and fare well, and that not all Christians are of the same quality.) Make the wrong choices, and you won't realize God's good purposes. Turn aside from following Him to have your own way and you won't receive the spiritual blessings He wants you to have, or fulfill His purpose for you.

We each make our choices, day by day, and making the right choices (choosing the Lord, no matter what) is habit forming, as is making the wrong ones (choosing ourselves). Even the apostle Paul recognized that if he ceased to be faithful to Jesus and didn't run his course to the end, he himself would be disqualified from the prize of eternal life, even after all he had done. (Like what it says in Ezekiel 18:24.)

With the renewing of our minds, and the strong love bond that is forged between the Christian and Jesus through trials and perseverance, it becomes impossible for a Christian to go back to the world and be happy there. But the renewing of the mind depends on our own faithfulness to God in applying His word to our lives and doing His will. If we don't do this as we ought, He will not renew our minds with greater understanding and more of His desires, and we'll stay spiritually immature; and spiritually immature Christians are much more easily deceived, and tempted by the things of this world, than are mature ones, as they are still more like the world in their thinking than they are like Christ.

[warrior12]

2 hours ago, LightShinesInTheDarkness said:

How we fare as Christians has much to do with our own personal choices, and not merely with God's will and His faithfulness.

When a believer is born again , something profound has happened to this person, he is now a new creation, old things are past away.  In the physical, yes, there would be habits that still lingers ect, but in the spirit he now recognizes whom he belongs to and who is new master is.   The Lord then gives him a helper to help him along the path that the old slave master would seek to trick him back into his slavery.   It is indeed a battle, but the newborn would persevere under the trials and temptation as he loves his new master and despises the old.   It is war at all cost.

There are many wanting the world and the assurance of salvation too, that is, sitting on the fence.  A choice has to be made, and so it is with many who profess the to believe today. 

John 15:5 King James Version (KJV)

⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Edited March 26, 2018 by warrior12