Main reason people become Christians?

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Depleted

Guest
#21
This is talking about the flesh. The flesh is influenced by the enemy.

We are flesh and spirit. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed
is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Our spirit was designed to have a relationship with God, and it does indeed have a God shaped void that only God can fill. Jesus is the mediator between the Father and man.

Our spirit knows it is lacking something and it is willing to reconnect with God. The flesh in the other hand only wants to experience pleasure, regardless of the consequences of sin.

God does not pick and chose who gets saved. It is a gift for all men. Not just for "The chosen ones."
I admit my flesh has dents, bruises, freckles here and there, sags, wrinkles, and old scars, but it is not wicked, nor has it ever been wicked. Generally speaking it does a pretty good job of keeping me together.

No, really, the verses are about Man, not just flesh.

We (not just part of us, but all of us), were designed to serve the Lord. And then there was the Fall. And ever since that our human nature wants to hide in the darkness.

Thank God, for John 3:21! Because that's where God does what we never considered to do!
 
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Seedz

Guest
#22
I admit my flesh has dents, bruises, freckles here and there, sags, wrinkles, and old scars, but it is not wicked, nor has it ever been wicked. Generally speaking it does a pretty good job of keeping me together.

No, really, the verses are about Man, not just flesh.

We (not just part of us, but all of us), were designed to serve the Lord. And then there was the Fall. And ever since that our human nature wants to hide in the darkness.

Thank God, for John 3:21! Because that's where God does what we never considered to do!

Ok so you are saying your flesh is what keeps your relationship with God?
 
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Depleted

Guest
#23
Ok so you are saying your flesh is what keeps your relationship with God?
No, I'm saying my flesh keeps my muscles, blood, and organs from falling all over the place. lol

(Warning: I have an odd sense of humor. :eek:)

I already said what keeps my relationship with God -- God. He's sovereign. He chose me. I cannot unchoose him. About as sane as thinking I can swim to the moon.
 
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Seedz

Guest
#24
No, I'm saying my flesh keeps my muscles, blood, and organs from falling all over the place. lol

(Warning: I have an odd sense of humor. :eek:)

I already said what keeps my relationship with God -- God. He's sovereign. He chose me. I cannot unchoose him. About as sane as thinking I can swim to the moon.

So you are exempt from what the bible that talks about the struggles of the flesh because God has chosen you?
 
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Depleted

Guest
#25
So you are exempt from what the bible that talks about the struggles of the flesh because God has chosen you?
No. I cannot/will not say "my flesh made me do it." All of me went into deciding to do any given sin. None of me decided to follow the Lord. And it was never a struggle before I was born again, because it didn't bother me to sin. What got me following the Lord is... yet again, the Lord, not me. You've made a dissociative personality disorder theology, where you can blame your flesh for sinning, and yet proudly say you've been saved by another personality within you. That's giving yourself credit for "deciding," when Jesus clearly said no one decides to follow the Lord. The Father wrought/carried out it.

Do a word study on "free will" in the Bible. And good luck, because you'll need luck to find free will in the Bible. (Luck doesn't exist either, since God is sovereign.)
 
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Seedz

Guest
#26
No. I cannot/will not say "my flesh made me do it." All of me went into deciding to do any given sin. None of me decided to follow the Lord. And it was never a struggle before I was born again, because it didn't bother me to sin. What got me following the Lord is... yet again, the Lord, not me. You've made a dissociative personality disorder theology, where you can blame your flesh for sinning, and yet proudly say you've been saved by another personality within you. That's giving yourself credit for "deciding," when Jesus clearly said no one decides to follow the Lord. The Father wrought/carried out it.

Do a word study on "free will" in the Bible. And good luck, because you'll need luck to find free will in the Bible. (Luck doesn't exist either, since God is sovereign.)

I never blame the flesh, I blame myself, but there is no guilt because I have been forgiven.

i don't give credit to anyone else but Jesus and the Holy Spirit working in me for my salvation.

Temptations are real, and the word address such topic.

Are you saying that because you have been chosen by the lord that your flesh is not weak and it does not struggle ever at all?

Or all those passages about the flesh and temptation were just filler?
 
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Seedz

Guest
#27
No. I cannot/will not say "my flesh made me do it." All of me went into deciding to do any given sin. None of me decided to follow the Lord. And it was never a struggle before I was born again, because it didn't bother me to sin. What got me following the Lord is... yet again, the Lord, not me. You've made a dissociative personality disorder theology, where you can blame your flesh for sinning, and yet proudly say you've been saved by another personality within you. That's giving yourself credit for "deciding," when Jesus clearly said no one decides to follow the Lord. The Father wrought/carried out it.

Do a word study on "free will" in the Bible. And good luck, because you'll need luck to find free will in the Bible. (Luck doesn't exist either, since God is sovereign.)

What does this passage say to you?


[h=1]Joshua 24:15King James Version (KJV)[/h][FONT=&quot]15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

[/FONT]

[h=1]Joshua 24:15English Standard Version (ESV)[/h]15 [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Lord[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif], choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Lord[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif].”[/FONT]

Looks like we have choice from our own will.......

This is not the only evidence.

We are not robots, and God wishes for all to be saved, WE chose to follow and serve him.



 

Angela53510

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2011
11,780
2,937
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#28
I did NOT choose God. I ran from God, as fast and as far away from him as I could. But, Jesus chose me, and when he called me, he saved me, and then I repented. No questions asked.

We do not ever “choose” God! He is sovereign and he chooses us. Further, if you can find the words “free will” together in the Bible, I will concede defeat! But, I don’t have to, because they aren’t there.

As Lynn said, this “free will” choice, where we choose God is a modern gospel, NOT the Biblical gospel.

You did not choose me, but I chose you..” John 15:16a
 
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Seedz

Guest
#29
I did NOT choose God. I ran from God, as fast and as far away from him as I could. But, Jesus chose me, and when he called me, he saved me, and then I repented. No questions asked.

We do not ever “choose” God! He is sovereign and he chooses us. Further, if you can find the words “free will” together in the Bible, I will concede defeat! But, I don’t have to, because they aren’t there.

As Lynn said, this “free will” choice, where we choose God is a modern gospel, NOT the Biblical gospel.

You did not choose me, but I chose you..” John 15:16a
what is the point of preaching the gospel and of the disciples using their lives to spread the good news?

If God just chooses and calls you, then were all the efforts of spreading the gospel in vain?
 
Feb 28, 2016
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#30
well, all I can say, is that certain moments in my life, from a very young age, I did choose
to dis-obey God, and I did suffer, it was my choice, certainly not His - I felt guilt from a very
young age when doing something that I knew was just NOT RIGHT, and this did start to give me
a kind of gauge...I know for sure that Jesus had separated me from others that were around me,
because I chose not to follow them, at one point of my growing-up, but of course, at different times
in my life, as I was growing up,
I did follow and accept many wrong things, of which I had to repent of and 'turn away from' -
I certainly could never have done this without the Love of God working on me with a heavy, Loving, hand!...
 
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Monnkai

Senior Member
Mar 18, 2014
2,740
690
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#31
Well I was afraid of Hell and I knew if I were to not change I would go there. But that's not what lead me to love the Lord it was a primal fear of being punished for all the horrible things I've done. One day a few years ago sometime during April I decided I had enough and I gave it all to the Lord. What I found was what I was searching for all my life. Peace. All though its not there all the time I surely would have killed myself if not for the Lord. The Lord gave me a house, a family who loves me and few wonderful talents. I owe him so much. I could never fully repay him.
 

CherieR

Senior Member
May 6, 2017
2,265
1,419
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#33
I believe in free-will to a degree. While I don't believe that God makes it impossible for someone to turn to Jesus, I also believe that a person's heart can become so cold and cruel, hating God and the world in general, that serious divine intervention is needed. There would need to be a nerve that is struck deep within, such as with the love of God or perhaps an awakening of fear towards God where before there was none.

I grew up in a family that always went to church and I liked church a lot. That was likely a big part in me being Christian. That and being afraid of going to hell. That fear was probably fueled by the struggle I had with believing that God loved me. Someone told me once that Jesus loves me and I acted as if I had never heard that in my life. You can hear something like a thousand times without it sinking deep enough to last. It takes time for God's love to be anchored in the heart and for truth of his love to go from the head to the heart. Then you may pray and ask for deeper understanding of his love and as you listen well to one song or word that you read or hear, his love can hit you like a ton of bricks. Even after that, it can take time for his love to reach into the deepest recesses of the heart. I still think I have so much to take in of his love and have that fill me.
 

Pipp

Majestic Llamacorn
Sep 17, 2013
5,536
2,701
113
Georgia
#34
Because I realized that all my righteousness were filthy rags in the sight of God and only by the shed blood of Jesup could my sins be covered and forgiven.
 

Angela53510

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2011
11,780
2,937
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#35
what is the point of preaching the gospel and of the disciples using their lives to spread the good news?

If God just chooses and calls you, then were all the efforts of spreading the gospel in vain?

Where did I say in my post that the gospel was not preached? Of course, preaching the gospel is the way God ordains that the lost might hear, and he can save them. I was exposed to the gospel in Baptist Sunday School as a child, (lots of memorizing Scripture, which worked on my heart!) and personal preaching and testimonies during a revival, and my husband, (future) who told me about sin and repentance. I did run, but God was following the whole time, putting the gospel in my path.

Then, he saved me! I did not save myself, say a sinner’s prayer, or do anything on my own. It was 100% God saving me.

Besides, your comment totally misses the fact, that so many of the evangelists in the 18th and 19th centuries were Reformed. Like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, Charles Spurgeon who spent their lives preaching the message of salvation. And that God saves poeple, not of our works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph. 2:9)

Decisional regeneration is a lie! Now, I do think sometimes God will use an evangelist or preacher to preach the gospel, and the person will be saved. But just because they signed a card at that point, and prayed a sinners prayer, doesn’t make that how they were saved. It is God who saves us! Period!

The other big fault of decisional regeneration is that if you are a part of being saved, then you can also lose your salvation. You made a decision to be born again, so you can make a decision to walk away. But when God saves you, there is no losing your salvation!

In John 3, Jesus made it clear that we are “born from above” the meaning of anothen. ([FONT=&quot]γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 NET.
[FONT=&quot]
How can we make ourselves “born from above?” NO! It is totally a work from God. But yes, the preaching of the gospel is required to be saved. Not that we save ourselves! But that God uses the gospel, which is his plan for salvation.

You have set up a straw man, in saying preaching the gospel is in vain. No one believes that!
[/FONT]
 

preacher4truth

Senior Member
Dec 28, 2016
9,171
2,718
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#36
what is the point of preaching the gospel and of the disciples using their lives to spread the good news?

If God just chooses and calls you, then were all the efforts of spreading the gospel in vain?
Note 2 Timothy 2:8-10, Acts 18:9-11. We preach because it is God's decree to do so, and consequently his elect will be saved. Yet we do not know who the elect are so we do as Paul and preach for the sake of the elect. God chooses and calls, it is his plan, and he also commands to preach the Gospel, which is also his plan.
 

preacher4truth

Senior Member
Dec 28, 2016
9,171
2,718
113
#37
Where did I say in my post that the gospel was not preached? Of course, preaching the gospel is the way God ordains that the lost might hear, and he can save them. I was exposed to the gospel in Baptist Sunday School as a child, (lots of memorizing Scripture, which worked on my heart!) and personal preaching and testimonies during a revival, and my husband, (future) who told me about sin and repentance. I did run, but God was following the whole time, putting the gospel in my path.

Then, he saved me! I did not save myself, say a sinner’s prayer, or do anything on my own. It was 100% God saving me.

Besides, your comment totally misses the fact, that so many of the evangelists in the 18th and 19th centuries were Reformed. Like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, Charles Spurgeon who spent their lives preaching the message of salvation. And that God saves poeple, not of our works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph. 2:9)

Decisional regeneration is a lie! Now, I do think sometimes God will use an evangelist or preacher to preach the gospel, and the person will be saved. But just because they signed a card at that point, and prayed a sinners prayer, doesn’t make that how they were saved. It is God who saves us! Period!

The other big fault of decisional regeneration is that if you are a part of being saved, then you can also lose your salvation. You made a decision to be born again, so you can make a decision to walk away. But when God saves you, there is no losing your salvation!

In John 3, Jesus made it clear that we are “born from above” the meaning of anothen. (γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν)

Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 NET.

How can we make ourselves “born from above?” NO! It is totally a work from God. But yes, the preaching of the gospel is required to be saved. Not that we save ourselves! But that God uses the gospel, which is his plan for salvation.

You have set up a straw man, in saying preaching the gospel is in vain. No one believes that!
Amen!!!!!!!!
 
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Seedz

Guest
#38
Where did I say in my post that the gospel was not preached? Of course, preaching the gospel is the way God ordains that the lost might hear, and he can save them. I was exposed to the gospel in Baptist Sunday School as a child, (lots of memorizing Scripture, which worked on my heart!) and personal preaching and testimonies during a revival, and my husband, (future) who told me about sin and repentance. I did run, but God was following the whole time, putting the gospel in my path.

Then, he saved me! I did not save myself, say a sinner’s prayer, or do anything on my own. It was 100% God saving me.

Besides, your comment totally misses the fact, that so many of the evangelists in the 18th and 19th centuries were Reformed. Like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, Charles Spurgeon who spent their lives preaching the message of salvation. And that God saves poeple, not of our works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph. 2:9)

Decisional regeneration is a lie! Now, I do think sometimes God will use an evangelist or preacher to preach the gospel, and the person will be saved. But just because they signed a card at that point, and prayed a sinners prayer, doesn’t make that how they were saved. It is God who saves us! Period!

The other big fault of decisional regeneration is that if you are a part of being saved, then you can also lose your salvation. You made a decision to be born again, so you can make a decision to walk away. But when God saves you, there is no losing your salvation!

In John 3, Jesus made it clear that we are “born from above” the meaning of anothen. (γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν)

Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 NET.

How can we make ourselves “born from above?” NO! It is totally a work from God. But yes, the preaching of the gospel is required to be saved. Not that we save ourselves! But that God uses the gospel, which is his plan for salvation.

You have set up a straw man, in saying preaching the gospel is in vain. No one believes that!

I don't think I am being understood.

Never mind.
 

mcubed

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2013
1,449
218
63
#40
I by no means claim to be perfect or wise. I am young, and not very experienced in life.

However, I have come to think of a few things that I sort of only realized from myself having experienced them.

I've wondered what encourages someone to become a true Christian?






From what I have experienced some people try to become Christians because they fear that their souls will burn for eternity.

Some people want to have a prosperous and wealthy life.

Some people want healing, and some people are just scared that God is going to punish them.


I too thought this way, and I am guilty of having been motivated by some of these ways of thinking.

What I have now come to see is that I want to follow Christ because I want to live as I was intended to live by God.

I want to adhere to the original design and intentions God had set for his creation.

By doing so, we will lack nothing in every sense. Allowing the will of God to shape your life and character is truly the only way for us to find peace, love and communion with YHWH.

I think the focus has to be redirected and we need to understand that the modern world is pushing society further and further away from the original design that God had intended for our lives.

This way we will have better discernment when it comes to identifying snares set by the enemy.

If we truly allow the will of God to guide our path, everything else will follow.

Seek first the Kingdom of God, and everything else will be added.


Can you be a "TRUE" christian unless you are a true christian? Or were "they" never saved? the wheat and the tares? The people G-d will will say I never knew you? The Word says if you believe with all of your heart and confess with your mouth you are saved, you are saved.