Featured Biblical tension

[FONT=&quot]Ezekiel 33:7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.[/FONT]
--God is still seeking for men to stand in the gap.
Souls are still perishing. What are Christians going to do about it?

 

KYR - Do people have to hear the preached gospel in order to be saved?

I know that sounds like a possibly "asinine" question, but it is integral to the remainder of what I will say on the matter.

 

It's a very good question, nothing at all silly about it, it's been discussed many times before on this site.

If by 'saved' [sozo] you mean to be 'made whole' spiritually and become well-pleasing to God, then yes, it's absolutely necessary to sit under the preaching of the gospel, BUT, this is no 'one time' deal. It must be continued. Ro 10:9 is no 'one time only' event, it is a way of life.

If by 'saved' you mean 'go to heaven', then no, the gospel does not regenerate. The Spirit where He willeth doth blow, He is not confined or constrained to where man can carry Him.

 

I absolutely agree that continued sitting under the preached gospel is required for a healthy Christian life, but I also believe it is necessary for the "go to Heaven" salvation (though I hold that the "got to Heaven" salvation and the "made whole" salvation are one in the same). After all, we are saved by grace through faith, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the preached Word of God.

Therefore, I contend there were eternal consequences to what Paul was doing, as he was preaching the Word, which would lead to that salvation. This is not to say that God would not have sent another man to preach the gospel. But I would not detract from Paul's work.

 

So you hold that some act of omission or commission on your part could result in another going to hell. This is the burden (actually he likes to use 'onus') of the gospel by DHK. This is what I refer to as 'asinine'.

 

To go along with the scripture DHK quoted, allow me to present this:

In essence, preachers are watchmen set upon the wall, and we see the sword coming. It is our duty unto God to warn those around us of the danger. We do this by preaching the word of God. It is both a great honor and a fearful duty to be called of God to preach. It is the most serious work a man can undertake to perform. Why? Because, as the scripture says, if we fail to warn others, we are accountable for their blood.

This does not mean that we have sent them to Hell anymore than it means we can send someone to Heaven. But the Bible states that the preached word is required for salvation, and if preachers just stopped preaching the word then how would people hear in order to be saved?

 

Your reply is somewhat ambiguous. Do you believe that some act of omission or commission on your part could result in another going to hell?

 

As I stated: This does not mean that we have sent them to Hell anymore than it means we can send someone to Heaven.

I thought that summed it up pretty well. I don't believe that I am personally capable of saving or condemning anyone, KYR. I do believe God has called me into a work that is required for seeing people saved. But to paraphrase Paul, one can plant and another can water, but only God can give the increase.

 

[FONT=&quot]Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things![/FONT]

There is human responsibility before salvation, and there is human responsibility after salvation.
Before salvation, the offer of salvation is offered as a gift. It must be received (John 1:12). It is not passive. One does not go into a forest and expect the Holy Spirit to mystically, mysteriously come upon him and regenerate him, with him having no knowledge of the Scriptures and no faith in the message of the gospel. It is impossible. The gift must be received by faith--a faith that comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom.10:17). We are born again by the Word of God (1Pet.1:23). It cannot happen apart from the Word of God. It must be received.

Thus the above passage: how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard.
Acts 1:8 appoints us as witnesses so that they might hear and have that opportunity to hear. If they are warned, their blood will not be upon our hands. That is our obligation. Simply to give them a witness, and that is all. God does the saving.

Then it says: How shall they hear without a preacher. A preacher must be sent--a missionary, a witness, an ambassador for Christ. Someone must tell them about Christ. That is the obligation of the Christian. It is our obligation. We cannot escape from it. They must hear that message, that Christ saves.

And how shall they preach except they be sent. These words are self-explanatory.