We believe that, although it is very difficult, it is possible for a believer to lose his salvation, if he chooses to walk away from his faith in Christ. Hence, a believer must continue to have faith in Jesus in order to keep his salvation secure. Extreme Calvinism believes once saved, always saved. This can be dangerous when a believer takes for granted his salvation, believing that nothing that he does can make him lose his salvation.
A Grace-Oriented Church, Pg 133
"To put it very simply, it is very hard for us to lose our salvation once we are saved, unless we choose to walk out of it ourselves. It will be very hard to fall out of grace unless we choose to be apostate. Are there Scriptures that indicate that man can lose his salvation after being saved? Some people try to say that once you are saved, you can never lose your salvation again, and they try to justify away some of the very blatant Scriptures in Hebrews 6 and 10. These Scriptures indicate that there is a possibility for people to apostatise, and that those who do, will lose out on the day of the Lord. Obviously, we have to account for those who were never truly saved although they thought they were but we cannot argue that all who apostatise were never really saved in the beginning. It is somewhat systematic theology, trying to force Scripture slightly from a very strong Calvinistic root. For example, some people might argue that Judas was never saved. It is obvious that he was saved. He really believed in the beginning. He was even given authority to cast out demons and heal the sick, and he was named an apostle. Could he have been an apostle without being saved in the beginning? If he was saved in the beginning and apostatised later, the argument cannot go the other way. If we want to be consistent in saying that once saved, we cannot lose our salvation no matter what we do, then we have to argue that even though Judas denied and betrayed Christ, he ended up in heaven also. This is stretching it too far. The understanding should be that if we apostatise, we will definitely not go to heaven. "
A Grace-Oriented Church, Pg 146
"Our salvation is secure as long as we have faith in Jesus. How do we know that we will not lose our faith in Jesus? How do we preserve ourselves from losing faith in Jesus? How do we make sure we will not apostatise and deny Christ? Man’s heart is utterly deceitful, so we must put ourselves in an environment that is not conducive to denying Him. As long as we hold our faith in Jesus, it is not our works that justify us. In that sense, having faith in Jesus has nothing to do with what we do. Our behaviour can sometimes be terrible, but we are saved. If we steal a banana in the marketplace and eat it, we will still be Christians. This may seem to be a ridiculous point to make but it is just to get the message across about the power of justification by faith. It has nothing to do with our works or our behaviour, or how good or terrible we are. It depends on our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, if we continue to steal bananas and behave terribly, and pursue such a lifestyle, our spiritual state will gradually slip to the point where one day, we may deny Christ without being able to help ourselves, and there is a point of no return. Internally, we cannot control it. That is why we have to live consistently with what we believe. The Bible says that if a man truly believes, he will not continue in sin.
We cannot understand the internal processes of a man’s heart. We make this point very strongly, otherwise we may think we are saved by our good behaviour. We are justified by grace, not by law."
Implications
The doctrinal position that a denomination holds to does affect how its members live out their Christian faith. Hence, it is important to understand the implications of what we believe in.
1. Make an affirmative personal DECISION regarding Christ.
Salvation is both God's and man's responsibility. This means that we can appreciate and trust in God's sovereignty and grace to offer us salvation. Receiving that salvation is entirely up to us, and He will never force it on us. This implies that we need to take responsibility for our decision to follow Him. Our decision to follow Christ must be crystal clear. It must be an affirmative 'yes' or 'no', not 'maybe'. It is the most important decision a person will make, as it will determine his eternal destiny.
2. Bring the GOSPEL to the unsaved.
Salvation is available for anyone who believes. This means that we must be instruments to bring the gospel to people around us, because we know that Christ died for them. As the apostle Paul wrote "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" Rom 10:14.
3. Ensure you WALK closely with God.
Knowing that it is possible to lose our salvation, we will be watchful not to turn away from God. We will not take lightly the salvation we have received from Christ.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Begin with an end in mind
Have you ever wondered why God wants to give His people vision?
God gave Abraham vision of multitude descendants; this caused him to trust God and followed God wholeheartedly. God gave Joseph the vision of his family members bow down to him; this caused him to persevere during his hardship. God gave Paul the vision to plant churches at Macedonia, this caused him to plant churches in whole Macedonia (which is today Europe). Can you imagine this? What happened if they didn’t receive vision from God?
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.
From the example of all these godly men, we can see that God has a purpose in giving vision to His people. He wants His people to begin with an end in mind. Without vision, God’s people will be wondering around without purpose and without direction. Because of the vision given by God, all these godly man stayed on track of what God had called them. It is necessary for God to give them vision for them to begin with an end in mind. With the vision, they knew where they should channel their energy. With the vision, they persevere, they stayed focus, they have had hope and they didn’t give up.
I thank God for He has give me a vision, this help me to stay focus. I have a dream; one day revival will come to Malacca. Hope Malacca will be functioning as an Antioch to churches. Missionaries and church planters being sent forth from Hope Malacca, if they need to be recharged they can always comeback to their Antioch (Hope Malacca) and move on again, just as what Paul did.
God gave Abraham vision of multitude descendants; this caused him to trust God and followed God wholeheartedly. God gave Joseph the vision of his family members bow down to him; this caused him to persevere during his hardship. God gave Paul the vision to plant churches at Macedonia, this caused him to plant churches in whole Macedonia (which is today Europe). Can you imagine this? What happened if they didn’t receive vision from God?
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.
From the example of all these godly men, we can see that God has a purpose in giving vision to His people. He wants His people to begin with an end in mind. Without vision, God’s people will be wondering around without purpose and without direction. Because of the vision given by God, all these godly man stayed on track of what God had called them. It is necessary for God to give them vision for them to begin with an end in mind. With the vision, they knew where they should channel their energy. With the vision, they persevere, they stayed focus, they have had hope and they didn’t give up.
I thank God for He has give me a vision, this help me to stay focus. I have a dream; one day revival will come to Malacca. Hope Malacca will be functioning as an Antioch to churches. Missionaries and church planters being sent forth from Hope Malacca, if they need to be recharged they can always comeback to their Antioch (Hope Malacca) and move on again, just as what Paul did.
Monday, March 15, 2010
BGR (Boy Girls Relationship)
Today I feel that I want to write something on BGR.
I have been actively serving the Lord for the past 14 years. From my observation over the years in ministries, I noticed that most of the young people who stumbled & backslided in their walk with God were due to BGR. Almost whenever come to this kind of issue, the shepherd (spiritual helper) can not do much.
When someone is intensively involved in BGR, they are so engaged and can not see clearly the fact. Entice the young people into BGR & make them think that the shepherd is against them has been the thousand years old trick that satan used to use. He has been using this trick over & over again, yet still effective. Is he smart or creative? Not at all, the problem is many Christian has been spiritually blinded to believe that his own fellow spiritual helper is trying to destroy his or her BRG.
Is it wrong for 2 Christians who love one another to come together? Not at all. But it is definitely wrong when a Christian involved in BRG with a non-Chirstian. Why is it wrong? Have GOD ever said so? Or it is purely just my own view? The answer is in Nehemiah 13:23-25
"23 Moreover, in those days I saw men ofJudah who had married women from Ashdod , Ammon and Moab Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah
Why Nehemiah did such an extreme thing? Why God prohibited the Israelite from marrying the non-Israelite? Is the race of Israelite more superior? Or in order not to pollute the purity of the descendants that God prohibited them to marry the non-Israelite? Not so, the answer is in
Nehemiah 13:26
26 Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king ofIsrael Israel
The one who is spiritually young (or immature) will be easily drawn away by their boy friends or girl friends who do not know God. Worst still is entice them into worshiping foreign gods, who is not god at all.
I'll further talk on this issue in my next post........
I have been actively serving the Lord for the past 14 years. From my observation over the years in ministries, I noticed that most of the young people who stumbled & backslided in their walk with God were due to BGR. Almost whenever come to this kind of issue, the shepherd (spiritual helper) can not do much.
When someone is intensively involved in BGR, they are so engaged and can not see clearly the fact. Entice the young people into BGR & make them think that the shepherd is against them has been the thousand years old trick that satan used to use. He has been using this trick over & over again, yet still effective. Is he smart or creative? Not at all, the problem is many Christian has been spiritually blinded to believe that his own fellow spiritual helper is trying to destroy his or her BRG.
Is it wrong for 2 Christians who love one another to come together? Not at all. But it is definitely wrong when a Christian involved in BRG with a non-Chirstian. Why is it wrong? Have GOD ever said so? Or it is purely just my own view? The answer is in Nehemiah 13:23-25
"23 Moreover, in those days I saw men of
Why Nehemiah did such an extreme thing? Why God prohibited the Israelite from marrying the non-Israelite? Is the race of Israelite more superior? Or in order not to pollute the purity of the descendants that God prohibited them to marry the non-Israelite? Not so, the answer is in
Nehemiah 13:26
26 Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of
The one who is spiritually young (or immature) will be easily drawn away by their boy friends or girl friends who do not know God. Worst still is entice them into worshiping foreign gods, who is not god at all.
I'll further talk on this issue in my next post........
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Is there a God?
(For seeker)
Natural observation
In fact I like to talk to a man of logic reasoning, because the man of logic will listen to logic reasoning. I believe there is a supernatural being who controls the universe, reason is very simple because I can not believe a handphone is formed by coincident (if it is by chance of probability then it will require trillion of years before it can be formed & furthermore there will be almost no chance to duplicate it if it is only by probability). Simply, just look at the cells & organs structure of human body. I don't think it is formed by chance. There is DNA to control it, there will be no chance for a man to mutate where eventually become a tortoise (it will not be possible even if up to trillion of years). Who is the one programmed the DNA?
Allow me to state it in statistic & probability reasoning. I believe there is a God simple because I'm an engineer with a sound & logic mind. I do not just accept there is a God, I was once doubt about it but the more I studied the universe & the system in this world I came to realize that it is impossible to have a continuous supply of oxygen with the consumption of oxygen by mankind & some living creatures on this planet earth, but somehow there is an invisible system which controls it & balances it. Which we all know it is called eco-system. Who is the one creates this system?
Albert Einstein did mention that the more he studied about the universe he believed that there is God, the same goes to Stephen Hawking (these are great scientists in physics), even Darwin was regretted of the published of his theory of evolution in his old age when he was about to die (because he found out that his hypothesis is completely illogical).
Human spiritual sense
There is no need for anybody to teach anybody to seek God for help whenever they face with a dilemma, but somehow there is a natural spiritual sense for a person to look for God for help. Nobody will turn to "microphone", "cup" etc for help but their natural tendency is to cry out to God for help whenever they face great agony of lives. There is a tendency for human to believe there is a live after death, else Pharaoh would not try to preserve his body (to be precise is corpse). Monkey never tries to conduct funeral service for another monkey, neither any animal does it. Clearly there is something which is very very unique with human. The fact is human not only have body, but also soul & spirit. While animals only have body & soul (that's why some animals will cry) but they will never have a spiritual sense to look for God or long for live after death.
Human tends to comply to moral ethics. Where some of them have lasting or permanent change. They are those touched by God not because they have any fear, phobia or trauma for God. As we study about 7 habits by Stephen Covey, we all know that external force will not bring about a lasting change but conviction from within will really bring about a lasting change. I believe this conviction is so called spiritual sense. Why generations after generations people look for God, there must be a reason. There is a vacuum in human lives & it must be filled with God. Else God will not be a hot topic for human to talk about, worship throughout the history of mankind.
About prayer
God is not a God who will comply to every of our prayer request especially those who pray for their own selfish desire, they flight they insist but they will not get what they want. If there is a parents who will answer every of his/her child request then it will be very dangerous, if there is really such parents, I personally think that they are not ready to be parents. The same goes to God, I'll be very fearful if there is a God who will answer every of my prayers regardless of my intention. In this case I would be his God not he (God) be my God. I would rather not to have such God. God has his sovereignty to decide what is the best for us, yet we can still pray to Him. For prayer is just like a request. There are a lots of people who experience an answered prayer.
About the presence of God
God did reveal to himself to people. Some people did meet with God personally. But it is up to God to choose who he likes to reveal himself to. Some of my friends are those who can see a spiritual being. They see spirits, this is their experience. Even if I want to disprove it, I would not be able to convince them because they have personally experience in it & they can't deny their own experience. Neither do I, I did cast out evil spirits from a person body. Man may not recognize there is God but I can't deny my own experience where I did have encounter with the spirits.
In short I'm not hesitate to state my stand, I do believe in God.
Natural observation
In fact I like to talk to a man of logic reasoning, because the man of logic will listen to logic reasoning. I believe there is a supernatural being who controls the universe, reason is very simple because I can not believe a handphone is formed by coincident (if it is by chance of probability then it will require trillion of years before it can be formed & furthermore there will be almost no chance to duplicate it if it is only by probability). Simply, just look at the cells & organs structure of human body. I don't think it is formed by chance. There is DNA to control it, there will be no chance for a man to mutate where eventually become a tortoise (it will not be possible even if up to trillion of years). Who is the one programmed the DNA?
Allow me to state it in statistic & probability reasoning. I believe there is a God simple because I'm an engineer with a sound & logic mind. I do not just accept there is a God, I was once doubt about it but the more I studied the universe & the system in this world I came to realize that it is impossible to have a continuous supply of oxygen with the consumption of oxygen by mankind & some living creatures on this planet earth, but somehow there is an invisible system which controls it & balances it. Which we all know it is called eco-system. Who is the one creates this system?
Albert Einstein did mention that the more he studied about the universe he believed that there is God, the same goes to Stephen Hawking (these are great scientists in physics), even Darwin was regretted of the published of his theory of evolution in his old age when he was about to die (because he found out that his hypothesis is completely illogical).
Human spiritual sense
There is no need for anybody to teach anybody to seek God for help whenever they face with a dilemma, but somehow there is a natural spiritual sense for a person to look for God for help. Nobody will turn to "microphone", "cup" etc for help but their natural tendency is to cry out to God for help whenever they face great agony of lives. There is a tendency for human to believe there is a live after death, else Pharaoh would not try to preserve his body (to be precise is corpse). Monkey never tries to conduct funeral service for another monkey, neither any animal does it. Clearly there is something which is very very unique with human. The fact is human not only have body, but also soul & spirit. While animals only have body & soul (that's why some animals will cry) but they will never have a spiritual sense to look for God or long for live after death.
Human tends to comply to moral ethics. Where some of them have lasting or permanent change. They are those touched by God not because they have any fear, phobia or trauma for God. As we study about 7 habits by Stephen Covey, we all know that external force will not bring about a lasting change but conviction from within will really bring about a lasting change. I believe this conviction is so called spiritual sense. Why generations after generations people look for God, there must be a reason. There is a vacuum in human lives & it must be filled with God. Else God will not be a hot topic for human to talk about, worship throughout the history of mankind.
About prayer
God is not a God who will comply to every of our prayer request especially those who pray for their own selfish desire, they flight they insist but they will not get what they want. If there is a parents who will answer every of his/her child request then it will be very dangerous, if there is really such parents, I personally think that they are not ready to be parents. The same goes to God, I'll be very fearful if there is a God who will answer every of my prayers regardless of my intention. In this case I would be his God not he (God) be my God. I would rather not to have such God. God has his sovereignty to decide what is the best for us, yet we can still pray to Him. For prayer is just like a request. There are a lots of people who experience an answered prayer.
About the presence of God
God did reveal to himself to people. Some people did meet with God personally. But it is up to God to choose who he likes to reveal himself to. Some of my friends are those who can see a spiritual being. They see spirits, this is their experience. Even if I want to disprove it, I would not be able to convince them because they have personally experience in it & they can't deny their own experience. Neither do I, I did cast out evil spirits from a person body. Man may not recognize there is God but I can't deny my own experience where I did have encounter with the spirits.
In short I'm not hesitate to state my stand, I do believe in God.
Is drinking wine forbiden by God?
Ephesian 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
I totally agree with Eph 5:18. The point here is do not get drunk, how would a person get drunk? It is when he is indulging much in wine.
1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.
The scripture is not contradict in itself but give us a full view of what's God's heart. Therefore it is important to be careful when drinking wine, even though I may have a knowledge that drinking wine is not forbidden by God but I'll choose not to drink wine if my action would stumble my brothers or sisters.
1 Corinthians 10:23 "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive.
If God would forbade us to drink wine then he would not turn the water into wine.
John 4:46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.
John 19:29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips.
Again why Paul in his letter, asked Timothy to drink a little bit wine? Because he had a concern for his health, he knew a little bit wine was good for Timothy.
1 Timothy 5:23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
How to measure how much is consider as a little bit or too much? The bottomline here is, a little bit wine is ok to drink as long as it does not affect our health or make us drunk. What God really want us to catch is the spirit rather than the form. The do's & don's are bound to failure if we do not catch the spirit/ God's heart. Can drink or can not drink is just the form, a shadow but the real spirit of it is to take good care of our health.
For God has said in 1 Cor 3:16 16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
I totally agree with Eph 5:18. The point here is do not get drunk, how would a person get drunk? It is when he is indulging much in wine.
1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.
The scripture is not contradict in itself but give us a full view of what's God's heart. Therefore it is important to be careful when drinking wine, even though I may have a knowledge that drinking wine is not forbidden by God but I'll choose not to drink wine if my action would stumble my brothers or sisters.
1 Corinthians 10:23 "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive.
If God would forbade us to drink wine then he would not turn the water into wine.
John 4:46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.
John 19:29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips.
Again why Paul in his letter, asked Timothy to drink a little bit wine? Because he had a concern for his health, he knew a little bit wine was good for Timothy.
1 Timothy 5:23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
How to measure how much is consider as a little bit or too much? The bottomline here is, a little bit wine is ok to drink as long as it does not affect our health or make us drunk. What God really want us to catch is the spirit rather than the form. The do's & don's are bound to failure if we do not catch the spirit/ God's heart. Can drink or can not drink is just the form, a shadow but the real spirit of it is to take good care of our health.
For God has said in 1 Cor 3:16 16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)