TK wrote: Hi Allyn-- it would be so much simpler (for me) if you would not answer my questions with questions. I am never quite sure if my question is being answered. I'm pretty dense, I suppose.
TK, I didn't ask a question without first answering yours. I said YES if that means we are truly in Christ. Personally I could never reject Christ and so I am therefore always saved.
TK wrote:The reason I asked about "once saved, always saved" is because your first statement that I quoted SEEMS to suggest that discipleship isnt important, at least as it pertains to salvation or "keeping the faith." I am not suggesting that a true believer can lose his salvation. The question is whether a person continues to believe. Your statement that new covenant saints dont need to work out their salvation seems close to saying that once you are saved, you can do whatever you want because "we have already passed from death to life" which is how I think a FP would put it. of course I may be totally misunderstanding your statement.
I never said, TK, that new covenant believers don't struggle with their salvation. That struggle is our human frailties at work not our position in God's sight. I can say, for example, that I am still a sinner and feel unworthy of salvation. God says its now completely done in Christ and all the prophecies concerning it are completed because the final thing (death) has now been defeated. The dead have been raised, death has no dominion over them nor us know. I am saying that before the Kingdom came in Jesus taught that they would need to keep thier faith secure until it came in. Now that it is fully in then we surely must continue to believe but the kingdom of God is fully in. I know that this is confusing when first hearing these things but it all has to do with the promises to Israel and the fulfillment of those promises in order to satisfy all that the prophets taught and the removal of sin and death.
TK wrote:In regard to the 2nd quote of yours I referenced, your statement indicates that the OT saints were "truly raised." Are you saying now that perhaps this was not a physical raising, but rather could have been a "spiritual" raising?
TK
Saying "truly raised" was in contrast to those of us in Christ who are "raised" immediately upon death. That is all I was saying. Daniel's people were promised resurrection from the dust of sleep while the living in Christ are never to face sleep.
