" And anyone not found written in the Book of Life ' was cast into the lake of fire."(Revelation 20:14b).
So your premise restated should be, based on God's Word, ' Rejection of Christ results in removing your name from the Book of Life'.
Salvation, which is why Christ voluntarily went to the cross, is to save the human race from the penalty of sin(GOOD NEWS). The penalty of sin is eternal separation from a holy, righteous God. God is Sovereign. He is the Creator. He sets the standards which are absolute. They are not open to our own interpretation from sources outside of His revelation to mankind, contained in the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible is HisStory of redemption centered around the Person & Work of Jesus Christ., His Son.
Hell, the lake of fire, Hades, eternal damnation, etc. are described by God to inform the human race of our destiny, i.e. we are born physically alive but spiritually dead, separated from God because of inherent sin passed down from Adam's original sin
(BAD NEWS), apart from accepting , by faith, that Jesus, co-equal and co-eternal with God took our sins and paid for them, i.e., Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we had a debt we could never pay.(GOOD NEWS
'" For God so loved the world(sinners) that He gave His only (uniquely born) begotten Son, that whoever believes(volition, faith) in Him should not perish but have everlasting(eternal, His life) life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world ,but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God"(John 3:16-18).
Eternal separation from God is a warning to every member of the human race; from Adam to the last human born in human history. God the Father loves us so much that He commissioned His own Son to remove the sin barrier between us and Him by sacrificing Himself in payment for our sin debt. Christ died, was buried, and was resurrected on the third day. He defeated sin , hell, the grave, and Satan by His efficacious work on the cross. Sin is no longer the issue; Christ paid the debt owed for our sins. The issue is, 'Will you accept what Jesus did for you and accept His offer of the free gift of eternal life'? Volition is the issue. Every member of the human race that has the capacity to choose for or against Christ, their eternal destiny is their choice. God has provided .the solution to the sin problem. God sends no-one to hell, the lake of fire, or being eternally separated from Him without them having been given a choice. God is perfect justice and totally fair. " He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."(John 3:36). If we put faith alone, in Christ alone; trusting in Him and His finished work on the cross; trusting in nothing else but Him, He gives us His life which is eternal life and His righteousness which cleanses us to be acceptable before a holy, righteous, and perfect God, to live forever in eternity with Him. " Not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to His mercy He has saved us"(Titus 3:5). " For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT OF GOD, NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast"(Ephesians 2:8,9). The choice is ours, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved"(Acts 16:31); and your name will be written in the Book of Life forever. Volition is the ISSUE!
You have described your tradition, Bruce, not scripture. Just a few things to consider:
First, You quoted "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life ' was cast into the lake of fire."(Revelation 20:14b).
What is the Lake of Fire? Its the second death (Rev. 20:15). The second death is death. What happens to people in this death when death is abolished? They are made alive...nowhere does scripture say this is eternal. Do you believe Paul was lying and that Christ will NOT abolish the last enemy of death? If one person is in the death, then it is not abolished and you deny scripture. You think 1 Corinthians 15: 27 doesn't cover the Lake of fire?
Second, we are not saved from eternal hell, we are saved from death. Hell is never used in the original scriptures and Hades (Greek word for 'unseen'), Sheol (Hebrew word for 'unseen'), Gehenna (GR word, place outside of Jerusalem in Israel), Tartarus (place for angels, not humans). None of these words describe a place of consciousness, but death, sleep. The dead 'know nothing' because they have no conscious existence. For the dead 'know nothing' according to Ecclesiastes 9:5.
Third, the word that you use for eternity is the Greek word 'aionios' and the Hebrew word 'Olam' which both can be proven not to mean eternal. They mean 'agelong' and 'long duration' but not eternity.
Fourth, you say that God is Sovereign and yet we are free to make choices apart from God's influence. Which is it? Is God sovereign or not? You think that its 'your choice' that saves you and apart from 'that choice' Christ's sacrifice means nothing? Here is a deep truth and one that your tradition misses: God is God and He does everything. He gives to all life, breath, and all and in Him we live and move and are (Acts 17). We can give Him nothing that He has not first given to us. Repentance comes from Him, faith comes from Him.
You say that we are free to make our own choices, but have you ever read Romans 9 which completely disproves this? We make choices but our choices are not independent of God. God causes us to make the choices we make. This flies in the face of human pride and the 'self-will' but it is scripture. Look at 2 Timothy 1: 9-11
9 Who saves us and calls us with a holy calling, not in accord with our acts, but in accord with His own purpose and the grace which is given to us in Christ Jesus before times eonian.
So God calls us in grace in Christ Jesus before time even began. He did this 'not according to our acts' and yet you say it is solely based on our acts and 'free will' faith. Tell me, how can those in Christ Jesus make a 'free will' choice independent from God's influence when God has already chosen them before they were even born?
This is why: God does everything and plans every detail of every life. He chooses who will believe and then works out the circumstances of those lives in order for them to make the very decision that He determined beforehand for them to make. Therefore, every choice we make is a result of God's choice, not our free will. This is sovereignty, the god you worship is not sovereign in fact he is not god at all. God does not react to 'our will,' He causes 'our will.'
God has determined to give faith to some now and will save the rest later through judgement. This is scripture, not tradition. Tell me how your view fits these scriptures that prove Christ will save all mankind: 1 Timothy 4:10, 1 Corinthians 15: 21-28, Colossians 1: 15-20, Romans 5: 18-19, Romans 3: 21-23.
Surely no true Christian would desire ANYONE to spend eternity separated from God. Our sin is what separates us from Him and His love is what made a way for us to be redeemed. I can’t think of anyone I would want to see in hell. True Christ followers love and pray for the lost and for their enemies knowing we have a common Enemy who seeks to kill and destroy all that God loves.
I'm glad you don't wish hell on anyone. But, our sin no longer separates us from God (2 Cor 5: 18-19). Jesus Christ died on the cross to take care of sin, death, and every enemy. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15: 21-28 that all enemies, including death, will be abolished because of the blood of the cross. However, Christianity teaches those enemies will exist forever because of human unbelief, etc. Read this verses carefully in 1 Corinthians 15: 21-28 that explain the same all that die in Adam are the same all that will be vivified by Christ. Yes, each in their own order...those that believe in Christ first but the rest at the consummation. Many will go through judgement, some to the second death (LOF), but they are perfected when Christ abolishes all enemies...that is why God becomes All in all (1 Corinthians 15: 28).
you think because you don’t believe in it it doesn’t exist. The way you studied The Bible you did A REALLY BAD JOB, study again. You are the one who’s pathetic trying to free yourself from your responsibilities by not believing in the existence of hell. God gives an entire Life to repent, that’s more than enough, i can see you may not have enough time to realize you’re following an path that the devil has planted in you.
Not at all. Nothing exists or doesn't exist based on belief. Existence is a fact and our belief brings us to a realization of that existence, it doesn't make it true or false. Wouldn't you agree? So why don't you use the same thought process and scripture in order to understand that salvation is a fact? Jesus Christ died on the cross to save the world. This is a fact. Yet, you say it is not a fact unless you believe it. You are doing exactly what you are accusing me of doing. Jesus Christ accomplished salvation on the cross and it is a fact. Many scriptures prove this: Romans 5: 18-19, 1 Corinthians 15: 21-28, Colossians 1: 15-20, 1 Timothy 4:10, etc.
God gives repentance (2 Tim 2:25-26) and God gives belief to those He has chosen since before times aionion (2 Tim 1: 9-11). God saves the rest through judgement as judgment is not eternal but correctional (Isaiah 26:9). Your comment proves that you have no idea what Jesus Christ did on the cross. You said, "You are the one who’s pathetic trying to free yourself from your responsibilities by not believing in the existence of hell." See, its Jesus Christ that freed me from my responsibility of saving myself. He died for my sin. He accomplished salvation for me. It's a fact.
You believe that you save yourself by 'repentance' and 'right living.' How can you give anything to God that He has first not given to you? Acts 17 says that God gives to all (this includes you) life and breath and all. Also, we live and move and are in Him. So God gives you everything you have, this includes repentance and faith. You think you get this from 'you' and your 'free will' which is completely unscriptural.
I'm not sure what makes you think you can judge how I study scripture and my motives when you know nothing about me, but if you are interested in actually discussing scripture...its all there. You do know that 'hell' is an English word never used in the original scriptures, right? The original words used from which we get 'hell' are Gehenna, Hades, Tartarus, and Sheol...all are proven not to mean a place of eternal conscious torment. You follow bogus tradition, not scripture my friend. For God is the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers (1 Tim 4:10). He saves some now through faith, the rest later through judgement. All are saved by the work of Christ Jesus on the cross.
Scott, today’s post is spot on.
Thank you for reading, God bless you, Alyson. Grace and peace.
" And anyone not found written in the Book of Life ' was cast into the lake of fire."(Revelation 20:14b).
So your premise restated should be, based on God's Word, ' Rejection of Christ results in removing your name from the Book of Life'.
Salvation, which is why Christ voluntarily went to the cross, is to save the human race from the penalty of sin(GOOD NEWS). The penalty of sin is eternal separation from a holy, righteous God. God is Sovereign. He is the Creator. He sets the standards which are absolute. They are not open to our own interpretation from sources outside of His revelation to mankind, contained in the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible is HisStory of redemption centered around the Person & Work of Jesus Christ., His Son.
Hell, the lake of fire, Hades, eternal damnation, etc. are described by God to inform the human race of our destiny, i.e. we are born physically alive but spiritually dead, separated from God because of inherent sin passed down from Adam's original sin
(BAD NEWS), apart from accepting , by faith, that Jesus, co-equal and co-eternal with God took our sins and paid for them, i.e., Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we had a debt we could never pay.(GOOD NEWS
'" For God so loved the world(sinners) that He gave His only (uniquely born) begotten Son, that whoever believes(volition, faith) in Him should not perish but have everlasting(eternal, His life) life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world ,but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God"(John 3:16-18).
Eternal separation from God is a warning to every member of the human race; from Adam to the last human born in human history. God the Father loves us so much that He commissioned His own Son to remove the sin barrier between us and Him by sacrificing Himself in payment for our sin debt. Christ died, was buried, and was resurrected on the third day. He defeated sin , hell, the grave, and Satan by His efficacious work on the cross. Sin is no longer the issue; Christ paid the debt owed for our sins. The issue is, 'Will you accept what Jesus did for you and accept His offer of the free gift of eternal life'? Volition is the issue. Every member of the human race that has the capacity to choose for or against Christ, their eternal destiny is their choice. God has provided .the solution to the sin problem. God sends no-one to hell, the lake of fire, or being eternally separated from Him without them having been given a choice. God is perfect justice and totally fair. " He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."(John 3:36). If we put faith alone, in Christ alone; trusting in Him and His finished work on the cross; trusting in nothing else but Him, He gives us His life which is eternal life and His righteousness which cleanses us to be acceptable before a holy, righteous, and perfect God, to live forever in eternity with Him. " Not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to His mercy He has saved us"(Titus 3:5). " For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT OF GOD, NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast"(Ephesians 2:8,9). The choice is ours, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved"(Acts 16:31); and your name will be written in the Book of Life forever. Volition is the ISSUE!
You have described your tradition, Bruce, not scripture. Just a few things to consider:
First, You quoted "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life ' was cast into the lake of fire."(Revelation 20:14b).
What is the Lake of Fire? Its the second death (Rev. 20:15). The second death is death. What happens to people in this death when death is abolished? They are made alive...nowhere does scripture say this is eternal. Do you believe Paul was lying and that Christ will NOT abolish the last enemy of death? If one person is in the death, then it is not abolished and you deny scripture. You think 1 Corinthians 15: 27 doesn't cover the Lake of fire?
Second, we are not saved from eternal hell, we are saved from death. Hell is never used in the original scriptures and Hades (Greek word for 'unseen'), Sheol (Hebrew word for 'unseen'), Gehenna (GR word, place outside of Jerusalem in Israel), Tartarus (place for angels, not humans). None of these words describe a place of consciousness, but death, sleep. The dead 'know nothing' because they have no conscious existence. For the dead 'know nothing' according to Ecclesiastes 9:5.
Third, the word that you use for eternity is the Greek word 'aionios' and the Hebrew word 'Olam' which both can be proven not to mean eternal. They mean 'agelong' and 'long duration' but not eternity.
Fourth, you say that God is Sovereign and yet we are free to make choices apart from God's influence. Which is it? Is God sovereign or not? You think that its 'your choice' that saves you and apart from 'that choice' Christ's sacrifice means nothing? Here is a deep truth and one that your tradition misses: God is God and He does everything. He gives to all life, breath, and all and in Him we live and move and are (Acts 17). We can give Him nothing that He has not first given to us. Repentance comes from Him, faith comes from Him.
You say that we are free to make our own choices, but have you ever read Romans 9 which completely disproves this? We make choices but our choices are not independent of God. God causes us to make the choices we make. This flies in the face of human pride and the 'self-will' but it is scripture. Look at 2 Timothy 1: 9-11
9 Who saves us and calls us with a holy calling, not in accord with our acts, but in accord with His own purpose and the grace which is given to us in Christ Jesus before times eonian.
So God calls us in grace in Christ Jesus before time even began. He did this 'not according to our acts' and yet you say it is solely based on our acts and 'free will' faith. Tell me, how can those in Christ Jesus make a 'free will' choice independent from God's influence when God has already chosen them before they were even born?
This is why: God does everything and plans every detail of every life. He chooses who will believe and then works out the circumstances of those lives in order for them to make the very decision that He determined beforehand for them to make. Therefore, every choice we make is a result of God's choice, not our free will. This is sovereignty, the god you worship is not sovereign in fact he is not god at all. God does not react to 'our will,' He causes 'our will.'
God has determined to give faith to some now and will save the rest later through judgement. This is scripture, not tradition. Tell me how your view fits these scriptures that prove Christ will save all mankind: 1 Timothy 4:10, 1 Corinthians 15: 21-28, Colossians 1: 15-20, Romans 5: 18-19, Romans 3: 21-23.
Surely no true Christian would desire ANYONE to spend eternity separated from God. Our sin is what separates us from Him and His love is what made a way for us to be redeemed. I can’t think of anyone I would want to see in hell. True Christ followers love and pray for the lost and for their enemies knowing we have a common Enemy who seeks to kill and destroy all that God loves.
I'm glad you don't wish hell on anyone. But, our sin no longer separates us from God (2 Cor 5: 18-19). Jesus Christ died on the cross to take care of sin, death, and every enemy. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15: 21-28 that all enemies, including death, will be abolished because of the blood of the cross. However, Christianity teaches those enemies will exist forever because of human unbelief, etc. Read this verses carefully in 1 Corinthians 15: 21-28 that explain the same all that die in Adam are the same all that will be vivified by Christ. Yes, each in their own order...those that believe in Christ first but the rest at the consummation. Many will go through judgement, some to the second death (LOF), but they are perfected when Christ abolishes all enemies...that is why God becomes All in all (1 Corinthians 15: 28).
Grace and peace.
you think because you don’t believe in it it doesn’t exist. The way you studied The Bible you did A REALLY BAD JOB, study again. You are the one who’s pathetic trying to free yourself from your responsibilities by not believing in the existence of hell. God gives an entire Life to repent, that’s more than enough, i can see you may not have enough time to realize you’re following an path that the devil has planted in you.
Not at all. Nothing exists or doesn't exist based on belief. Existence is a fact and our belief brings us to a realization of that existence, it doesn't make it true or false. Wouldn't you agree? So why don't you use the same thought process and scripture in order to understand that salvation is a fact? Jesus Christ died on the cross to save the world. This is a fact. Yet, you say it is not a fact unless you believe it. You are doing exactly what you are accusing me of doing. Jesus Christ accomplished salvation on the cross and it is a fact. Many scriptures prove this: Romans 5: 18-19, 1 Corinthians 15: 21-28, Colossians 1: 15-20, 1 Timothy 4:10, etc.
God gives repentance (2 Tim 2:25-26) and God gives belief to those He has chosen since before times aionion (2 Tim 1: 9-11). God saves the rest through judgement as judgment is not eternal but correctional (Isaiah 26:9). Your comment proves that you have no idea what Jesus Christ did on the cross. You said, "You are the one who’s pathetic trying to free yourself from your responsibilities by not believing in the existence of hell." See, its Jesus Christ that freed me from my responsibility of saving myself. He died for my sin. He accomplished salvation for me. It's a fact.
You believe that you save yourself by 'repentance' and 'right living.' How can you give anything to God that He has first not given to you? Acts 17 says that God gives to all (this includes you) life and breath and all. Also, we live and move and are in Him. So God gives you everything you have, this includes repentance and faith. You think you get this from 'you' and your 'free will' which is completely unscriptural.
I'm not sure what makes you think you can judge how I study scripture and my motives when you know nothing about me, but if you are interested in actually discussing scripture...its all there. You do know that 'hell' is an English word never used in the original scriptures, right? The original words used from which we get 'hell' are Gehenna, Hades, Tartarus, and Sheol...all are proven not to mean a place of eternal conscious torment. You follow bogus tradition, not scripture my friend. For God is the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers (1 Tim 4:10). He saves some now through faith, the rest later through judgement. All are saved by the work of Christ Jesus on the cross.
Grace and peace.