Alright, i guess i'll start out with the paper's talk aout Romans 8:38-39. He states that nothing can separate us from God's love, so how can we be unsaved? well, let's look at some scripture: Jesus loves everyone, including sinners (unsaved) and we can find that fact in Romans 5:8. Just because He loves us, that doesn't mean we love Him, or that we will be saved. And regardless, Isaiah 59:2 tells us that sin separates us from God's face so that He won't hear us. It also says that we are separated from Him. Now, looking at the paper, i believe that someone who believes in it would say that the people refered to in that verse weren't true followers, but notice the wording of that verse: "your iniquities have separated you from your God" how could He be their God if they did not believe in Him?
I also caught some speculation from the paper that shows that the writer was telling the Word so that it might fit into his opinion. For instance, he claimed that the Book of Life and the Lamb's Book of Life are completely different, which would have been fine if he had used Scriptual evidence. So i'm going to throw that out until that evidence is shown. And I will also talk about Psalm 69:28 where blotting out the names of the people in the Book of Life is mentioned, this shows that you can be blotted out.
That speculation brings me to a few points where he misread the Bible. He mentions Hebrews 6:4-6, saying that that verse proves him correct, not incorrect, because it says that it is impossible to fall if you've been saved. Well, let's reread those verses to show what it really means: 4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. well, let's take away the appositive at the beginning of verse 6 for a second. now we have the verse saying that it is impossible for a saved person to repent, right? wrong, it says "brought to repentence" or in other words, for someone to bring him there, or for God to bring him there, because from then on, it is up to the sinner to do so. now, let's look at that lovely appositive: if they fall away, now notice that it doesn't say if the impossible happens that they were to fall away, it says IF they fall away, which obviously means that it is possible.
Alright, now let's move on to Hebrews 10:26 which tells us that if we delibrately keep on sinning after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there are no sacrifices left for us. OK, so obviously the first argument is going to be "just because you know the truth, doesn't mean you believe it" well, it doesn't say that once you know the truth, it says once you have received or in other words, accepted, the truth. but you might call that speculation, well even if it is, let's look at it as if it simply means once someone has told you the truth and you haven't accepted it, well, that goes against the fact that Jesus taught the truth and was still persecuted, and even crucified, but He begged for their forgiveness, not fearful expectation of judgement.
And, of course, what of the unpardinalbe sin? Every non-Christian denies the Holy Spirit, every single one. so have all of us commited the unpardinable sin? well that would certainly make the crucifiction pointless. so what is that refering to? it must be refering to Christians who deny the Holy Spirit, but that would mean that they would be unsaved after they were saved, which goes against your beliefs.
Now let's look at Romans 10:9- That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is LORD," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. so notice that the definition for salvation is confessing that Jesus is LORD and believing in His resurection in your heart. well, plenty of people do this and fall away. For instance, when I was younger, I believed and confessed that Jesus is Lord, I knew in depths of my heart that God raised Him from the dead, but I still sinned and didn't care. so you see, when Dr. Ironside said that someone who is saved cannot sin without feeling remorse, well that is not only incorrect, but it doesn't address unintentional sins that are counted against us. Actually, the interesting part about unintentional sins is that those who commit one sin, are guilty of every sin. where do i get this? James 2:10 which says it much better than i, when it says that if someone who keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles at just one point, is guilty of all. Now no one here has ever stumbled intentionally, i don't think. and so if that unintentional sin doesn't condemn us, or if any amount of intentional sins can keep us from being saved after we've been saved, then what's the purpose of repentence? why would God command us to repent if, once we've been saved, we never have to repent again? and more importantly, why would Satan try to tempt us to sin, if that sin doesn't separate us from God (as Isaiah 7:9 states? and as Galations 5:19-21 refers to)?
Now, why does Jude 20 and 21 tell command us to build upon ourselves (which only gives us rewards and has nothing to do with being saved) and to keep ourselves in God's love (which we can't be separated from)? Why did Jesus get onto 5 or 6 churches for having sin with them? if a church (which is a people, not a building) can become corrupt, then how can a people (Christians) not sin?
Why can fruitless people be cast into hell? or even better, what of the parable where 2 people were forgiven, meaning that they were SAVED. and then one of them did not forgive someone else, and in the end the guy who was FORGIVEN was thrown into the darkness where there is gnashing of teeth (Hell)
Now, he also talked about 2 Peter 2:20-22, but he really corrupted what those verses said. apparantly, because it said dog instead of sheep, it was refering to non-Christians. that is an incredible reach, mainly because it says that we are ONLY sheep, and obviously we are sheep, children, brothers, desciples, friends, members of the Body, pots, etc... so why can't we be dogs or sows when we become foolish? So i'm going to keep that as refering to Christians, using the evidence that the persons he was refering to "knew the ways of righteousness" and so i will point out that it says that it would be better if they had sinned before they were saved. so why would that be true if that sin was forgiven in advance as Dr. Ironhide suggests?
Also, why does 2 Timothy 2:12 tell us that if we deny Him (which we can't do unless we know Him, and we can only know Him if we obey His commandments and love one another (1John 2:4) and why must we stand firm in our faith as Isaiah 7:9 tells us? And why should we rebuke our brother? i mean if our brother is going to go to heaven no matter what, then why should i bother to rebuke him? Why does Mark 8:36 tell us that we can forfeit our soul? why does Galations 5:1 say that we shouldn't burdern ourselves again? and if faith by itself saves us, then why is faith without works dead? and also, how could the sheep (and Dr. Ironside tells us that sheep are Christians) leave the flock? why did Christ have to persue that sheep, if the sheep, once saved, is always saved?
And finally, as I end this, I'll look at the beginning, let's look at Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were sinless, believed in God wholly and fully, and in more ways then any of us will, they were with God in a similar way as to the way we will when we are in Heaven, and yet, they delibrately sinned, and were cast out.
I hope you read the entire thing, i know it is long, but so is the Bible and so is the paper you sent.
