Re: Am I a Christian?
Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 5:58 pm
Such a topic has been discussed many times, but from past discussions, I thought you were firmly in the OSAS Byblos due to thinking that assurance in Christ couldn't be had without such...?RickD wrote:Byblos,Byblos wrote:You know what the biggest stumbling block is for me to accept OSAS (and make no mistake about it, it is exactly what this topic is all about)? Believe it or not, it is not a Catholic thing for I firmly believe that I do not believe in a works-based salvation for everything I do is not of me but by God's sanctifying grace.
No, my issue with it is one of free will. I simply cannot reconcile that by a free choice I can accept Christ (drawn by the HS of course, we wouldn't want to fall into pelagianism) to then be denied the same free choice to reject him. I've read the theological and philosophical arguments for such a position and find them to be lacking.
You are secure in Christ. Once you become a child of God, He won't let you go. Even for a sin such as rejecting Him. If we come to Christ being drawn through the Holy Spirit, why can't you believe the same Holy Spirit who dwells within us will keep us as God promised?
Stop holding on to your ability to keep from rejecting Him, and just trust that God will do as He promises.
And you know what a great thing about assurance(God's promise) is? That even if you don't believe in it, if you're saved, God will still keep you secure in Him.
We need to keep our focus on trusting in Him, not ourselves. If I had to rely on myself to keep my salvation, I'd be screwed.
I'm wondering what people here think of my following thoughts on the matter at present.
A person who accepts Christ would not and could not turn away from Him. Therefore, if one rejects Christ after "accepting" Him then indeed they never had Christ to begin with. Let me provide an example to illustrate what I mean.
I'd liken it to God being the biggest damn magnet that exists, like consider a magnet of an infinite scale that is much larger than our universe. We're a speck by comparison, consider how small we are by comparison to our whole universe with all its planets, stars, galaxies and what-not, we're so small that we're not even visible.
Now I think we're all drawn to God by God's "magnetic" pull, yet for the sake of our freedom in choosing God has somehow allowed many to resist His magnetic pull. This universe in the way it has been setup, for those who have been drawn in and see, God is evident. Yet, to those who freely resist and turn from God, their eyes are blinded. And the further away people move from God, indeed even run from God and try to bury God, the less the pull of God will be felt.
Oppositely, if someone truly embraces God consider some very small not even visible speck of metal being joined to the biggest infinitely sized magnet that exists. How in the world could they ever tare themselves away from God and His love? I agree with Paul here in regard to any true Christian (Romans 8:38-39) -- and I only say "true Christian" because I see there are in fact many pseudo-Christians who are merely nominal and going through the motions as a matter of taste.
So then, the only logical conclusion I see that we can draw in relation to a person who turns their back on Christ is that they never in fact came into contact with Christ.
This is where I think it is important to make a distinction between rational assent (mind) and the heart. Belief follows from the heart, anything else I see is really a nominal stance without any substance. No better than Agnosticism with a personal preference for leaning this way or that way, and indeed personal preference is how many treat their spiritual beliefs. Muslims like strawberry icecream, but I like chocolate icecream because my parents did and that's what I was raised with, right?
There are many nominal Christians who say the talk and walk the talk, yet there hearts are far from Christ. Indeed if Christ talks of false prophets who looked to have performed miracles "in His name", then certainly this allows space for false Christians. And while such will not inherit eternal life with God, I cannot pin down in Scripture anywhere that a true believer is ever cast out from God's presence.