Was Judas Iscariot saved, or was he not?
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What I cannot agree with is your idea that because the historical events recorded in the Bible are not happening now, and God's word never passes away
I hope I have understood what you mean. I am not saying that the events recorded in the Bible no longer happen today. The truth is that all the events recorded in the Holy Scriptures are still happening in our time. That is why the Word of God never passes away.
Is my understanding of what you are saying correct?
That is why those who pretend to know the one true God, despite the fact that they do not truly know Him, are like those whom the Lord referred to when He said to his chosen, “Let the dead bury their own dead. And simply share the truth with others.
LUKE 9:60
60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Really? May I know what the “born again” that the Lord Jesus spoke about means?
Well, I was replying to the post where you wrote: "If Mark 6:31 and Luke 9:14 are not parables or dark sayings of old, then they would simply be historical events that took place in the New Testament. In that case, they would be words of God that have already passed from our time because they no longer happen literally. However, the truth is that the Word of God never passes away (Matthew 24:35)."
So you did say that the historical events recorded in the New Testament are not happening today.
I fully agree that the word of God never passes away.
Are you asking because you don't know, or because you think I might define it differently to you? II believe being born again is being given new life in Christ, spiritual life:
(Joh 3:5) Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
(Joh 3:6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
(Joh 3:7) Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
You persist in making these implications. What you miss is that they are completely irrelevant to me because I do know the Lord.
You think I don’t but you are unable to provide any evidence supporting your erroneous theory.
I agree with you that the Bible is not a work of history like one on the Roman invasion of Britain. If I read on the Roman invasion, I can likely find multiple sources that confirm the events recorded in the book. I can even find large support for the general outline of the recorded history of Israel and Juda in the OT. But when one gets to the NT, there are ample sources that are not fit to be looked at according to tradition as they seem to contradict the accounts given in places, and not just written accounts, but evidence from hard sciences as well. In fact, much of the available evidence from the NT era outside the Bible would imply that the NT histories were specifically written. or rewritten into the forms we have today. to absolve the Romans of any blame and to place the blame on the Jews, something that would make sense in the aftermath of the 1st Jewish War when Rome had absolute censorship over any writings it deemed improper, censorship that could include the death of the writer, their family and any associates deemed too close.
But that is good reason to not dig too deeply into support for the historicity of the NT.
What I cannot agree with is your idea that because the historical events recorded in the Bible are not happening now, and God's word never passes away
To make sure I understand, could you please explain what you mean in more detail?
Anyone who does not know the one true God does not possess the understanding that comes from God (Prov 2:6).
Because their understanding comes only from themselves, they are spiritually dead in the sight of God
PROVERBS 21:16
16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
I'll try. I meant that the fact that the Bible records historical events which are not taking place today (for example, the Flood, the parting of the Red Sea, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ) does not militate against the fact that God's word never passes away, nor does it mean that they were not actual, historical facts.
If you are asking me how can I tell if somebody else is born again, I could not do that without knowing them personally. Unless somebody here were to write a post saying that they don't believe in Jesus Christ, or that God s just a figment of man's imagination, or something similar, I would say it is not usually possibly to tell for certain whether somebody we only know through Christian Chat is born again.
With somebody I know personally, I would expect there to be some evidence in their lives to show that they are now serving the Lord Jesus Christ. If a person claims to be born again, yet their lives continue exactly as before, their claim is at the very least suspect.
From my understanding, you believe that the Bible is like a historical record that documents the events that took place in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
However, those events are no longer happening today like the examples you mentioned.
Am I understanding you correctly?
You are correct, except that I don't believe that the Bible is merely a historical record. The historical records in the Bible have much in the way of spiritual truth to teach us.
Are you referring to the Born Again Christian group?
I'm asking this just so I can clearly understand what you mean by "born again."
For example, suppose you have a friend who has believed in the Lord Jesus since birth.
He goes to church every Sunday. From childhood to adulthood, he has been kind, obedient to his parents, compassionate toward others, free from harmful vices, helpful, and loving toward other people.
How would you apply the concept of being "born again" to someone like him? Do you think he still needs to be born again, or would you say that he has already been born again from childhood?
How do you understand the Lord God's statement, "What has been is what will be, and there is nothing new under the sun"?
ECCLESIASTES 1:9
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
I didn't even know that there was such a group. No, I was referring to what Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3.
Nobody can believe in Jesus since birth. Some children may indeed be kind, obedient to his parents, compassionate toward others, free from harmful vices, helpful, and loving toward other people. No child (or adult) obeys God perfectly. The Bible is clear. We are all sinners. That is why we need a Saviour. It's not only murderers, rapists, thieves, etc. who need to be born again - I am fairly sure Nicodemus wasn't any of those things. So to answer your question, even your "model child" needs a Saviour, and needs to be born again.
I hope I have expressed myself clearly for you.