Questions for Reformed Believers?

1. YES
2. YES ROM 4
3. NO. ROM 8
4. NO. ROM 8
5. NO
6. NO

a simple study of John, Romans, Ephesians and Galatians will take care of all your questions.

Here is a statement from the 1689 Baptist confession that addresses your backsliding concerns:

5._____ The most wise, righteous, and gracious God doth oftentimes leave for a season his own children to manifold temptations and the corruptions of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled; and to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon himself; and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for other just and holy ends. So that whatsoever befalls any of his elect is by his appointment, for his glory, and their good.
( 2 Chronicles 32:25, 26, 31; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9; Romans 8:28 )

 

Ditto

 

==Certainly. I could cite alot of points/scriptures but I will goto Psalm 51 where David prays, "Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation" (vs11-12). David prayed that God not cast Him away from His presence. This would indicate that David was, spiritually speaking, in the presence of God. David asked God not to remove the Holy Spirit from him and to "restore" to him the "joy" of salvation. That would indicate that yes David had salvation before he fell into sin. He did not ask God to give him salvation or the joy of salvation but to restore the joy of salvation. Maybe not the deepest answer in the world but the best I can do as tired as I am.

==Yes. Again I take you to the Psalms (37:24) where David said when a believer falls God will not cast him/her away (see also John 6:37-39). I like what Robert Shank said on this issue. In his book "Life In The Son" Shank said, "It would be an error, of course, to suppose that the moment a Christian sins he is immediately severed from the Savior and deprived of His saving grace. To assume that grace is immediately withdrawn from the Christian who sins is to deny the essence and meaning of grace. If grace is not for sinners, it is not grace. If mercy is not for the undeserving, it is not mercy" (Life In The Son, pg135). Even though Shank supported conditional security in his book, his point is very well made. That applies to us and to David.

==No (see above).

==No (see John 6:37-39, 10:26-30, Heb 10:14, etc).

==See above (same application).

Martin.

 

Btw, one can be reformed and still accept the idea of conditional security (as opposed to perseverence of the saints or eternal security). Stephen Ashby, who labels himself as a "reformed arminian" points out (and I think rightly so) that Jacobus Arminius himself would have considered himself "reformed". This is true, Ashby states, despite "the popular usage of the term Reformed today, which makes it interchangeable with Calvinist".

Asby defends the Reformed Arminianism view in the book "Four Views On Eternal Security".

Martin.

 

You may find it helpful to look up the following web site:

www.evangelicaloutreach.org

Kind regards to all

Bob

 

timothy27,

First I would like to say the portion of the Baptist Confession of Faith that Brother James posted is wonderful!

You can find it here;

http://www.creeds.net/#reformed

I would advise at least taking a look at it (not saying you have not already).

I hope the following post I give to you today is of encouragement and helps to answer your questions.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

He will save His people from their sins!

God bless timothy27!

KJB