Was John the Baptist saved or born again?
Any man that has not the born again Spirit of Christ in them does not belong to Him .Saved is born again
Was John the Baptist saved or born again?
This guy is short sighted.I'm seeing variations of this question a lot on here. I don't think its anything new, but I do think its perhaps more common now because of our hedonistic culture and the extreme value we have placed on the individual in western society. We question scripture and at times put ourselves on equal footing with God, and sometimes above God. I'm not pointing fingers because I used to do it too.
There's a video that encapsulates it very well that gets shared on social media platforms like Facebook. Here it is:
Stephen Fry doesn't take issue with the question of salvation, he gets right to the meat of the matter and openly challenges God....he even takes it to the ultimate degree by daring to put himself above God and sit in judgement of Him.
The way in which I've moved past this, is that I focus on my relationship with God....recognizing that I am broken and sinful, and knowing that my only hope for salvation is through the blood of the Lamb. As for anyone else? Their salvation or condemnation is not for me to decide. I have enough to worry about with my own salvation to concern myself with the salvation of others. That is not to say that I have no regard for my fellow human beings. Scripture teaches me that Jesus is very clear about how I'm too treat others, whether they be brothers and sisters in Christ or not.
God does not need to justify Himself to me, I need to justify myself to God and I can only do that through the fruits of the Spirit by laying my sins at the foot of the cross.
Blessings
Just curious, How do you explain John the Baptist's spiritual birth?Same spiritual birth that comes by hearing the voice of God working in any beleiver. Not when but if they are given ears to hear.
I believe that Garee answered truthfully in his explanation in Post 41, however, I might add that John the Baptist did nothing in order to be born spiritually and that holds true for all of us.Was John the Baptist saved or born again?
No disrespect, but to just keep things truthful, Psalms 53:2-3, says that God looked down from heaven and saw by his foreknowledge that no one would seek him, no, not one. This is why it was necessary for God to choose an elect people before the foundation of the world and give them to Jesus to adopt them as his children and Jesus payed the adoption fee by his death on the cross.God knows all things, thus He knows whether or not someone would have accepted Jesus. Because of this, His decisions are true, just, righteous and merciful.
Just curious, How do you explain John the Baptist's spiritual birth?
At times I probably need to be in a strait jacket so I can relate to this.It is interesting that the plural form, "straits," means difficulty or distress. And in several places that is how the Bible describes the life of following Jesus.
We can read all the verses we want to try and justify this question but we cannot answer it. We have God's word and we need to follow it. God is God! We are bound by God's commandments, God is not! God can save whoever he wants.
The natural man only has the faith of man. The only way that you can have spiritual faith is to be born of the Spirit because spiritual faith is a fruit of the Spirit. The point is that being born of the Spirit has nothing to do with man's faith, nor of his good works. That is why it is described as by God's sovereign grace.The faith of Christ comes from hearing Christ or hearing God. It is his faith that works in men by which they can believe him not seen. Christ's Faith is a work or labor of his love. .
Until after the Cross of Calvary where the victory was won, nobody was born again...including John the Baptist. In the O/T they were saved, however they could not go to Heaven...only down below to Paradise (the blood of goats and bulls couldn't take away sin). Remember, Jesus said that the N/T Saints will be greater than John the Baptist who was the greatest in the O/T. Remember also that Jesus went down to Paradise to set the captives free; Satan still had a legal right to hold them (but could not mess with them) because the blood of bulls and goats could not satisfy the sin debt.I believe that Garee answered truthfully in his explanation in Post 41, however, I might add that John the Baptist did nothing in order to be born spiritually and that holds true for all of us.
Jesus said, "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14).
Can A Merciful God Condemn A Man To Hell Who Has Never Heard The Gospel, And Justify Himself In Doing So?
Being born again is when God regenerates a person and puts the Holy Spirit within them, which is what happened to Moses. Isaiah 63:11, Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he that put his Holy Spirit within him?Until after the Cross of Calvary where the victory was won, nobody was born again...including John the Baptist. In the O/T they were saved, however they could not go to Heaven...only down below to Paradise (the blood of goats and bulls couldn't take away sin). Remember, Jesus said that the N/T Saints will be greater than John the Baptist who was the greatest in the O/T. Remember also that Jesus went down to Paradise to set the captives free; Satan still had a legal right to hold them (but could not mess with them) because the blood of bulls and goats could not satisfy the sin debt.
You will never understand the grace of God until you have understood how corrupt we are my our nature, even those that have been born again, because we still carry the baggage of our fleshly nature. The scripture that you have referenced is talking about born again people. Paul tells of his battle of the flesh against the Spirit.This is a faulty assessment.
because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 1:19-25 NASB
No one is condemned unfairly.
They were not made alive through the gospel, they were made alive in order to hear the gospel. My sheep hear my voice and I know them. The natural man before he becomes a sheep, cannot discern the gospel.Yes. The dead remain dead unless they are made alive by the Spirit through the Gospel...
We must take into consideration that the natural man cannot discern spiritual commandments, 1 Cor 2:14, and will not be intuitively inclined to obey them.Rev 20:13, states that at the great white throne judgement, when the seas give up their dead, etc..., “Each man will be judged according to what he has done.”
I think Jesus is the Way, to the Father, but spiritually there are different ways to Jesus. He stated that he who has His commandments and obeys them, it is he who loves Him. Whether Someone follows His commandment to love because he said, or just because they are intuitively inclined to do so, the commandment is being followed. I’ve met some genuinely caring individuals who may not declare Christ as Lord but still obey Him.
We should give scripture references with our statements of beliefs so other people can compare our statements to the scriptures to evaluate whether they hold true to the scriptures. I am guilty at times for not holding to that practice.God is not bound by His Word? I don't think so. The Bible tells us who will be saved and how. God does not change His mind and is bound to His Word.
Exactly,You will never understand the grace of God until you have understood how corrupt we are my our nature, even those that have been born again, because we still carry the baggage of our fleshly nature. The scripture that you have referenced is talking about born again people. Paul tells of his battle of the flesh against the Spirit.
Jesus said these words in John 14:17, "the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.Being born again is when God regenerates a person and puts the Holy Spirit within them, which is what happened to Moses. Isaiah 63:11, Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he that put his Holy Spirit within him?
All children are born into this world by natural birth and are by nature sinful after the nature of Adam. they become spiritual by being born again, same as adults, as described in Eph 2, with the exception of some that are born again spiritually while still in their mothers womb as John the Baptist was.