Free Offer of salvation to those without salvation!

"As sinners, we all deserve judgment;
but God loved the world so much 
He sent His son to offer salvation
to those who believe."
This is a POPULAR lie, and a FABLE. 

 #offeroflies
#freegiftofsalvation

Look at the screenshot taken from the Answers in Genesis page, already LOVED and LIKED 414 times and SHARED 101 times when I took the screenshot.

It indicates that so many are MISGUIDED concerning the basics of the gospel truth of grace.

1. As sinners, we were all dead in trespasses and sins; therefore, incapable of any spiritual activities; spiritual life precedes the activities of that life:
- Eph 2:1 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins..."
- John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." This is a categorical statement without exception by the Lord Himself.

2. As sinners, we were positively hostile, in enmity against God:
- Rom 5:10 "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
- Rom 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
- Neutrality of natural man is a myth!

3. Yes, God MOST CERTAINLY DID SO LOVE the world dead in trespasses and sins, and in enmity against Him...
- Take a look here: https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2008/02/john-316-how-did-god-so-love.html

4. God SO LOVED that He sent His Son to ACCOMPLISH the eternal salvation for sinners, to save them from the eternal lake of fire.
- The eternal salvation that was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ is NOT OFFERED to sinners.

Think for a moment: what good will the offer of salvation do to those dead in trespasses and sins, and in enmity against God? Many think they are very loving when they offer food to the dead; I see such an act as superstitious at best, and at worst, it is wickedly taunting and mocking the dead.

Jesus Christ does no such evil deed.

5. Christ freely and graciously GIVES eternal life/salvation to the dead in trespasses and sins; this is GOOD NEWS.

- Christ OFFERS eternal life/salvation to the dead in trespasses and sins who believe; this is BAD NEWS. Do you know why? Would any be saved?

John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

John 17:2 "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."

- Christ GIVES eternal life to the dead in trespasses and sins; He summons them to life, like He did to Lazarus!
- Christ does not OFFER it.
- The former is the gospel truth, and the latter is a devil's lie.

Rom 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

- God GIVES eternal life secured by Christ to those dead in trespasses and sins; He did not OFFER it!

Eph 2:5 "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)..."

- God QUICKENED the dead in trespasses and sins;
- God did not OFFER salvation to the dead in trespasses and sins.

Only those whom God has freely bestowed salvation are capable of believing. Yes, the salvation from believing is distinct from the salvation that enables one to believe!

Offering salvation - obviously to those without salvation! - isn't loving; it is cruel and wicked. It is self-deceived and deceiving

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Dan Samons
This is a very common belief in Christendom. Those who insist that "universal atonement" glorifies the breadth of God's love fail to see that this "ineffectual atonement" blasphemes the efficacy of the blood of Christ. The truth is that the atonement of Christ is both utterly effectual (Romans 8:31-39) and purposefully particular (Ephesians 1:4-6, Matthew 1:21, John 10:11).

God saved you through your faith? Really?

Another screenshot of a misleading soundbyte;
LIKED and LOVED 207 times, and SHARED 24 times

 

#faith_IN_Christ
#faith_OF_Christ

Another screenshot of a misleading soundbyte; LIKED and LOVED 207 times, and SHARED 24 times

Do you notice the subtle lie? "Salvation is through a person's faith... in Jesus the promised Messiah."

This necessarily implies that a person of fallen humanity, who is not yet saved, is capable of exercising faith in the promised Messiah in order to be saved.

Are you following?

Whether retrospectively or prospectively, God has always saved in the same manner: freely by His grace (the manner of salvation) through the faithfulness of the promised Redeemer (the basis of salvation) in His work of redeeming His people.

Christ's faithfulness in living a perfect and sinless life of obedience (thus securing the righteousness), as well as His substitutionary death in the stead of His people (thus securing the forgiveness) and His glorious resurrection from the dead DID crush the head of Satan.

If salvation is indeed through a person's faith in Jesus the promised Messiah, then God's elect who are incapable of faith - e.g. those who are too young or, mentally challenged, or too old, etc. are damned by this fable.

Faith is a fruit and effect of the salvation, secured by Christ, already freely bestowed by the grace of God to a man when he is dead in trespasses and sins. Faith in Christ is an evidence that salvation by Jesus Christ HAS BEEN freely bestowed to the believing one. Breath is evidence that the dead has been quickened, freely by God's grace.

If salvation is indeed through a person's faith in Jesus the promised Messiah, then it's salvation by work! Christ Himself said it. Here, read these words slowly and carefully...

John 6 KJT

28 ¶Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

29 ¶Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent

Faith in Christ is a WORK God requires of those whom He has freely saved by His grace. They want to do the works (plurals), Christ said, this is THE work (singular) that God requires of you, believe on Him whom He has sent, even Jesus the Christ.

Why are so many so misled and deceived?

Stop believing fables.Soundbites deceive.

2Timothy 4 - KJT

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

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 Comments

Sam Vigue
You can't have salvation without faith, and you can't have faith without salvation. I've found that the definitions of these words have been watered down to mean less than scripture teaches. Only God is the source of spiritual life

Sing F Lau
Sam, the salvation that enables a man to have faith, and the salvation obtained by a man's faith are different and distinct salvations.

Just inquire:
How does God save a man, and save him from what?
How does a man's faith saves him, and saves him from what?

Sam Vigue
Sing, God has three parts but there is one God. Salvation has multiple parts, yet only one salvation from God.

Sing F Lau
There is a salvation that Jesus Christ alone has accomplished and secured for His people, and freely bestowed upon them individually by God; and there is a salvation that they (already saved by grace) must work out for themselves with fear and trembling.

The former is eternal salvation freely by God's grace from the eternal lake of fire; the latter is temporal salvation that requires faith and obedience to obtain.

Sam Vigue
Sing, is temporal salvation a free gift?

Sing F Lau
Sam: Temporal salvation is through the obedience of God's children (those already given the free gift of eternal salvation) to the Father's will.

1 Timothy 4:16 KJT — Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Philippians 2:12 KJT - Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Acts 2:40 KJT — And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

Do you understand???

Free Offer - to whom are you offering?

Here is an article from a statement of faith:
"We believe in the free offer of salvation to all men and the necessity of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved."

What do you think of the above statement?

Consider a few questions to get you thinking!
Q1. Is the gospel ministry a ministry of offering salvation to the hearers?
Q2. Is the salvation secured by Jesus Christ intended for 'all men', thus offered to all men?
Q3. Is the salvation secured by Jesus Christ to be offered to all men by the gospel preacher?
Q4. Is the gospel preacher the necessary instrument to apply the salvation secured by Jesus Christ to the intended beneficiaries?
Q5. Who are the intended beneficiaries?
Q6. Just how is the salvation secured by Jesus Christ applied to the intended beneficiaries? Does the application require a preacher/offeror? Just what is the biblical function of the gospel preacher?
Q7. What is the spiritual state of the 'all men' to whom the salvation is freely offered?
Q8. The 'all men' to whom salvation is offered, are they capable of faith if they have not been saved yet?

Some simple questions to start the discussions. There are many more related questions, no doubt.

Please keep to the subject! If you can't, hold thy peace and observe.
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Mikal Smith
I humbly disagree with the statement! How can someone offer something that's not theirs to give? Scriptures says that eternal life has been given to the Son to give to whomever HE chooses!

Sing
How can someone offer something that's not theirs to give?
=====
Good question!
Usurpers and con men do that all the time!
And there are many preachers who are hirelings.
And too many politicians give away what belongs to the tax payers!!!

Zack Young
By nature, man wants to believe that salvation was offered to "all men" and this salvation is contingent on man to believe. This is the most common doctrine in today's society because it appeals to man's nature, but it is not what is taught in the Bible. Yes, there are places in the Bible that say "whole world" and other statements similar to that that are taken out of context to get this idea.

I can assure you of this: if Christ shed His blood for all, then all would inhabit heaven, and we would be forced to be a universalist (all go to heaven) because our God does not know failure and His arms are not too short. Also, if Christ shed His blood for you, then "it is finished". Man cannot add anything to the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ's sacrifice alone abolished the sin debt of His people. We also know there is a heaven and a hell and both will be inhabited. Therefore we cannot be universalist and some people go to heaven and some go to hell. So what determines who goes where? Does man choose or does God choose? Who has the right to choose? Who is sovereign and who is a sinner? The Bible teaches that God chose before the foundation of the world (His elect children) by His sovereign grace (unmerited favor). God had a purpose (not a plan) and He fulfilled that purpose by shedding His blood on the cross for His elect to paid the sin debt in full. He finished the work by Himself. He sends His Spirit into His chosen people, borns them again, and makes them believe (irresistible grace). So belief is evidence of your salvation but not the cause of your salvation. If you believe it is because God made you willing through His power. God did it all. We cannot add one thing to His work. Therefore we should serve Him and rightfully praise Him for grace that He has given us. Let us put glory where glory belongs.... To God be the glory!

Michael Lim
That's a sick doctrine, if salvation is offered to us and when we are dead in sin and trespasses, we are NOT capable of receiving it at all! God wouldn't have saved us in this case and Christ have died in vain.

Where is the power of God working if it still depends on us offering? Only self-glory to man and not dependent on God.

Michael Lim
What about the Old Testament? They didn't have the gospel then, so they will be in the lake of fire for not hearing the gospel? How about special cases where people can't hear the gospel (lack of hearing or places in countries where bible aren't allowed)? Are they destined to die just coz of that? No way!

Sing F Lau
There is a great distinction between salvation by grace alone, and salvation for the able and privileged - a whole world of difference.

Salvation by grace alone - none is excluded by virtue of their inability to hear/believe, and no opportunity to hear the gospel.

Salvation by the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ is limited to those that are able to hear/believe and have the opportunity to hear the gospel.

Michael Lim
There is the eternal salvation and the temporal salvation in place, correct?

Sing F Lau
You are correct.

But the people who put out that article of faith KNOW NOTHING about the distinction between eternal salvation by grace and temporal salvation through faith.

They are speaking of eternal salvation through the necessity of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is like saying a dead man must eat in order to become alive!

It is a living man that must eat in order to maintain health and usefulness.

Hell can be avoid by taking drastic measures against personal sins

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/pfbid02bdKFHmCkVMmu9rGYccG6bMbgcb74Wm5kLZ6ob6XAtF6zRG8rYZ7w9QykY7djyA7Yl

 

A stitch in time saves nine,

Even so, with weeds and sins:

Uprooting them in time saves forty-nine (7X7)

I observed a sober truth this morning while doing some weeding on a lawn.

One common characteristic of these weeds (I say weeds since they don't belong to the lawn - actually, they can be useful herbs) is that they multiply fast. All of them produce lots and lots of seeds to reproduce themselves rapidly.

So, a little delay and they have sown a great number of seeds onto the ground...

The same is true of sins in our lives. Nip it before they take deep root and multiply and RUIN us.

For this reason, Christ said with utmost solemnity...

Matthew 18:8 KJV
Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

Note a few things said here:

- The Lord is addressing His disciples, each one personally in the second person singular, i.e. thee and thine.

- Each disciple is called upon to perform the drastic measure on himself.

- Such measures to deal with sins will deliver them from being cast into everlasting fire.

There are things the text says though there are questions that needed to be sorted out.

(According to Christ, there is much the disciples can do to avoid everlasting fire, but there is nothing one can do about the eternal lake of fire. Read Rev 20:15)

-----

Adam Wells
Question: Do you understand Mt 18:8 to be literal or only a portion of the verse is literal?

Ante Zivkovic
Someone asked: if I my hand offends me and I cut it off, and then my other hand offends me, how do I cut it off?

Adam Wells
I am trying to understand the author's notion that God's children can go to hell and suffer after death. If we take Jesus's statement as a word picture, then shouldn't we also understand that he is telling us that sinners go to hell so we should avoid sin at all cost?

Sing F Lau
I understand Mt 18:8 like this:
- Sins are real,
- The drastic measures needed to deal with sins are real.
- The consequence of sins not dealt with is real.

I'm not sure which part you see as literal and which part non-literal. Share you thought.

From Christ's solemn warning to the disciples - yes, He was addressing the disciples, see verse 1 - I conclude that He is warning them about something REAL that can be avoided by their actions, whatever one may think of the everlasting fire spoken of.

I disdain the thought that Christ would waste such solemn words warning the disciples against something that has no real and direct relevance to them. I may be somewhat simple.

Adam Wells
If the warning here and elsewhere is for God's children on how to avoid hell after death, before the judgment day when we will be declared righteous because of Christ and given an inheritance into heaven, please enumerate from the text what we ought to do to keep from going there. How can we be sure we won't end up there?

Charles Page
As I understand sheol/hades we can't avoid it after death
There we await the final judgement

Sing F Lau
1. Concerning justification, the declaration had legally taken place at the cross, then vitally applied to an elect individually when he is effectually called out of his native state of sin and condemnation, and the blessedness of his justified state is experienced through faith in Jesus Christ.

- On judgment day, it is the vindication of what had happened based solely on the righteousness of Christ. Based solely on Christ's righteousness and blood, they shall be ushered into eternal bliss.

- Christ's work of redemption redeemed the elect from eternal condemnation in the lake of fire. Eternity shall begin for the redeemed when time ends.

2. I understand from Rev 20 that hell will be no more at the end of time.
- That which is everlasting lasts as long as time lasts. It ceases when there is no more time. Hell ends when it delivers up those in it. It shall deliver up all who are in it at the end of time; those among them who have been redeemed by Christ shall enter into their eternal inheritance, the rest whose names were not in the book of life, to the lake of fire.

There isn't a single time Christ warns His disciples against the lake of fire, but He most solemnly warns them against hell if they don't take drastic measures to deal with their own personal sins.

- Christ's redeeming work SAVES the redeemed from the lake of fire; thus, there is no warning the disciples against the lake of fire.

- I understand that hell or everlasting fire is in the realm of time. But the lake of fire is eternal when the time has ended.

3. "please enumerate from the text what we ought to do to keep from going there. How can we be sure we won't end up there?"

- The text states it plain enough what each disciple must do to deal with personal sins in powerful vivid pictures to depict the drastic measures to deal with personal sins.

How can we be sure we won't end up there? Perhaps taking drastic measures dealing with our personal sins will give a child of God hope of not ending up there. Christ did not waste words warning the disciples.

Just my feeble understanding, it's not popular but makes sense to me. I have been called a heretic by some (PBs) for holding such an understanding. So, having another call me so makes little difference! That's how I have understood the relevant Scriptures at the moment. If others have a more consistent view, I'm open to listening and considering.

Charles Page
At death all that is hidden is revealed, goats and sheep, to the right and to the left.

Am I a goat or am I a sheep? The earthly shepherds should help each one of us through spiritual discernment and, at appropriate times, discern and divide us.

There are times (as I know very little about husbandry) that the goats will rule the fold through devouring everything and leaving little for the sheep.

Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance

 

#goodfruit

Matthew 3 KJT
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Please help:
- who can bring forth fruits meet for repentance?
- who are expected to bring forth good fruit?

Do God's children always bring forth fruits meet for repentance?

Do you bring forth good fruit?

Unto whom was John the Baptist addressing - children of God or those dead in trespasses and sins?

Thank you.

---------

Here is a job description of John:

Luke 1 - KJT
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

- to give knowledge of salvation unto his people...
- to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death...
- to guide our feet into the way of peace.