Once a Sheep Always a Sheep, or Salvation Deficit Disorder?

[Witness4Jesus]

I agree..that site kind of made me doubt more in way...lol i think thats bad.

Thanks for confirming that. Hopefully, we aren't missing something. I truly think that if we believe in HIM, that He died for us so we could be forgiven, that He rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of God, that he will return for us in the rapture...that we are saved.

I believe we are saved by believing in HIM. Then those sites like "are you a pretender" give me pause. But did Christ say... works!


Aaarrrhhhggg.

[Katia_0203]

Finding this thread was like an answer to prayer. Recently I've been going about my daily business and every once in awhile I will wonder if I will be raptured, if I'm really saved. But you all are right, satan is trying to trick me and all of us into believing that God's grace and Christ's sacrifice weren't enough. I just have to think "HE IS ENOUGH!" and repeat it to myself a few times, and the old serpent usually slithers away pretty quick. I felt alone before but now I see I'm not the only one who feels this way. Thanks so much everyone, and God Bless the OP for asking a question I was too afraid to ask.

[ransomed]

This is a great thread, as I think we all have times when we wonder if we are good enough. As I was reading some of the responses I thought of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Luke 18:9-14.

9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

[eve_anne_gelical]

~~~Looking Unto Jesus~~~ Hebrews 12:2

It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you will have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus." All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that "Christ is all in all." Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee~ it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee~ it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument~ it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers ,our doings ,or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus." Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories ,His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh ! let not thy hopes of fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.
"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name."

~Charles Spurgeon~

[Norrin Radd]

God snatched Noah and his family from the tribulation of the flood when they entered the ark.

God snatched only Lot and his family from the utter destruction of Sodom and Gommorah. Not even Lot's wife escaped. Lot couldn't even find 1 righteous person in the entire city!

I believe it will be the same of the Rapture. What say you?

Jesus said "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

"few" is the greek word micron - micro.




Absolute must see video for all who call themselves Chrisitians"
http://www.gty.org/Video/Television/10513




26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"
"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."

29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."

30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."

32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?"
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."

33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning."
"No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square."

3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."

9 "Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

12 The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry [a] his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."

16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"

18 But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, [b] please! 19 Your [c] servant has found favor in your [d] eyes, and you [e] have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared."

21 He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar. [f] )

23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had



http://www.christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a007.html

[1angel4u]

Too true on the rebuking 1angel4u!! Also, I was always taught and have believed that all we have to say is "In the name of Jesus." I think that's the MOST powerful statement we can ever utter!

You're so right HisPLHRN, I just edited my post to add that...it is the MOST powerful statement! Thanks :doh

[Robert]

Nothing against John MacArthur, but it's almost as if he's saying that it all depends upon your performance. Where's the grace?

If I'm mistaken on this, I apologize in advance. I just want to be sure I'm getting what he says the way it was intended.

[Chris]

In the whole world, there will be few who are taken, however, all born again christians will go up in the rapture.

There are no partial raptures. All who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ will go up in the rapture before the 70th week begins.

But given that born again Christian numbers make them a minority in the world, we are going through the narrow gate. And it will be like with Noah and Lot. :nod

[Robert]

That's what I thought.

Thanks Chris! :thumb

[BornAgain123]

God snatched only Lot and his family from the utter destruction of Sodom and Gommorah. Not even Lot's wife escaped. Lot couldn't even find 1 righteous person in the entire city!


That's b/c Lot's wife disobeyed God-they were told NOT to look back, but she did anyways. On a side note, I feel this could happen at rapture time-there could be people raptured initially, but they'll be looking DOWN(i.e. wanting to be on this earth at least somewhat) instead of up, and they could very well be thrown back down. Really-assuming I get raptured, I would be looking up at my redemption ALL THE WAY.

As for no other righteous people being in Soddom and Gommorah, maybe there WEREN'T any other righteous people-it wasn't like God picked and choosed by drawing straws, anyone thought about that? Wouldn't think he would do that either when the rapture comes about.