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Hi Ivan,
On Grace (Interested )
Amazing grace (Ivan)
How to run the race? (saved-by-grace)
On SBG's URL. (Interested )
Fully persuaded (Ivan)
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Hi, Your problem on whether you can loose your salvation will largely depend on which church you started out with and who your first christian friends are. If you happen to start out with the Presbyterians, Bible-Presbyterians, Brethern, Anglicans, etc you will not be bothered by this problem at all. If it is the Methodists, Salvation Army, etc in theory you can loose your salvation but you will still not worry about it. But if you happen to start out with the Pentecostals then you will have a plenty to worry about. Sometimes it can drive you mad. Because if a person is convinced of the realities of hell-fire and eternal punishment and if he doesn't have assurance of salvation, I think it must cause him a lot of distress and mental anguish. It must be terrible for someone who believes in the reality of hell to think that there is a possibility that he might go there one day. So which church you go is important for peace of mind. If you happen to start out with Pentecostalism then I think it will take a long time to come out of it, depending how deeply you are involved in it. They are strongly opposed to eternal security and you will have to do plenty of research and study the Scriptures as well. It won't be an easy task. I think it will take at least a few years. As you probably know by now the Bible can be used to prove almost anything by quoting verses here and there. So how do you decide that a certain doctrine is right or wrong. You have to take the Bible as a whole and not use verses here and there to determine truth. You have to let the Bible be its own interpreter and you have to interprete the Bible as the original writers meant it to be understood, not someone in the 21st century - according to original language and thought. This means you have to study Bibilical Hermeneutics. But there are still other problems. The Bible presents its truths in bits and pieces all over the place and it is stretched over a long period of time through many writers. But you will find that there is a system running through this apparently chaotic set of books in the Bible. So you'll have to study Systematic Theology. This is an important branch of Theology for everybody. You'll also have to decide which system is closest to the Scriptures after doing your own research. Then to understand a particular doctrine you'll have to look into the history of its development and when, how and why it was formulated. An understanding of Church History is important. This will be Historical Theology. So all this will take at least a few years and lots of effort before you can be good at it. If you are distressed about your salvation then I think it will be worth the effort. But if you are not the studying type and you are worried about your salvation then I think the wisest thing to do is to go to a church which believes in one's assurance of salvation here and now in this life. You'll have peace of mind. One other thing is that if you are deeply involved in Pentecostalism it will be very difficult to get out of it even if you are in another church. So you may still have to do some studies in Theology. Once again I say it won't be an easy task. There are some simpler books available on the subject. If it is of any comfort to you, I took about five years to understand the Doctrines of Grace. We can't solve this problem by debating about it. You'll have to discover for yourself what the Grace of God is all about. I think you'll understand it only when you get to the end of yourself. As long as you believe that you can contribute something to your salvation, I don't believe you understand the amazing and free Grace of God. Hence understanding Grace is not just theological knowledge but you also have to experience it. Then you can sing Amazing Grace with full assurance and with all your heart, mind and soul. "The Lord hath promised good to me, His Word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures." John Newton. God Bless. |
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Outline:
rightly said Interested! Ra ra! not just head knowledge but also heart knowledge issue on Mercy & Grace of God. eom by Royston Ong, 2001, Nov 09
Thank you Royston. n/t by Interested , 2001, Nov 09
Hi Interested by Ivan, 2001, Nov 09
Hi Ivan, by Interested , 2001, Nov 10
Hi Interested by Ivan, 2001, Nov 10
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