tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915046816207623791.post8515805057208887980..comments2023-11-03T06:34:57.524-07:00Comments on Liz's adventure: Comforted by 2 Kings 4:16-37bunnyexpresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15666514447870257853noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915046816207623791.post-83426855133583392952011-03-02T20:36:18.805-08:002011-03-02T20:36:18.805-08:00Thanks Anthony looking forward to your blog n pray...Thanks Anthony looking forward to your blog n praying for u. :)bunnyexpresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15666514447870257853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915046816207623791.post-81014216392531506932011-02-28T02:21:27.333-08:002011-02-28T02:21:27.333-08:001. For many of us, we should try more and harder. ...1. For many of us, we should try more and harder. A person not given his life over to Jesus, and dies as a non-believer, is lost to Hell. Yet, we do not go around with a guilty conscience that we have failed God in not managing to save a non-believer before he/she dies. Even if we did fail God in particular instance(s), we are to seek forgiveness from God, and then move on from there (1 John 1:9), for there many more non-believers out there to be saved. If we are guilt-ridden, we will not be effective for the Lord.<br /><br />2. The matter is not what some teach, that faith for salvation MUST come from God or that salvation is predestined generally. Such teaching may make people less guilty, for it pushes the responsibility squarely back to God; it is wrong theology, I believe.<br /><br />3. There is a distinction between the Holy Spirit bringing understanding and a person's choosing to believe or have faith. In my belief, God did not promise the onus of salvation faith lies with the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit's role is to give understanding, for those not (yet) of God do not have understanding of the things of God (John 8:47). It is obviously not that they are deaf, but that they hear, but hear without understanding. The Holy Spirit's job is to give understanding when the Word and truths of God are given out; it is NOT that the Holy Spirit MUST give the faith to the person to receive Jesus. So, if a non-believer does not come into salvation, it is NOT God’s fault.<br /><br />4. For salvation, there are 2 components, one, a non-believer needs to hear with understanding the Word, and two, with that understanding he has to make a decision on believing, a faith has to come, and that faith has to come from him, not from God.<br /><br />Now, God’s responsibility for salvation are also of 2 components, one, He has to give of His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for Man, and that has been accomplished, and two, He has to give understanding to those who hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. To accomplish this, He works in many ways, through many ways, and He works with men, particularly believers. Jesus’ death was one act, and that had been accomplished, but the giving of understanding has been an on-going task that God did not stop, and God does that through the Holy Spirit. Jesus, in His own words, told specifically that when He has gone back to the Father, the Holy Spirit would be sent into the world. The Holy Spirit was to convict the world of sins, and to give understanding of the truths. <br /><br />The Great Commission is partnership between God and men. Non-believers would have no understanding of things of God; that is why we, men must speak the Word of God or the gospel. But is not our persuasive words that does the trick, but it is the Holy Spirit that gives understanding to messages we speak, to the non-believers. God’s part is to give understanding by the Holy Spirit, but God does not, as a matter of norm (not that He cannot), give faith to the non-believer to come into salvation. With understanding (given by the Holy Spirit), the person MUST exercise his free-will to believe the gospel. I think 99.9% of non-believers can understand the gospel when explained to; it is not that they do not understand, they do not believe enough to give their lives over to Jesus. The point is that God cannot believe for a non-believer; the person has to choose to believe. So, God is not at fault; yet there is not general predestination of salvation.<br /><br />Now the Jews at Jesus’ time, their rejection of Jesus should not be used as the basis of arguing for general predestination of salvation. It should also not be allowed to influence us to hold back sharing or praying for Jesus to manifest before non-believers, for the time of Jesus’ ministry on earth was an “exceptional” time in which the prophecy of Jesus to die on the Cross must be fulfilled with certainty of some Jews not turning, and they would be the ones instrumental to Jesus’ suffering and going to the Cross, as prophesied.<br /><br />My commentary for 2 Kings 4:16-37 will be on my blog one day (will let you know).high.expressions (Anthony Chia)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15796568536820239102noreply@blogger.com