How well do you hear/read the word of God?

Never hear the truth...
Is it because the truth is never preached?
Or is it because they have no ears to hear?

Mat 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground
is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it;
which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth,
some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

2Timothy 3
1 ¶This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be...
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Verse 7 is one of the long list of signs of the perilous times.

It's tragic and heartbreaking to have believers in that evil condition - ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Reading their Bible for decades has not enabled them to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Imagine having children who are ever feeding but never able to grow and develop; what grief and sorrow to the parents!

Heb 5:12 KJVT
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

1 Cor 3:1 KJT
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

See the opposite scenario here:

1 The 1:8 KJT— For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

We have these commands, calling for all diligence:

2Peter 1 KJT
5 ¶And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

2Pet 3:18 KJT
"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”

O gracious Lord, have mercy; wake up the slumbering people and revive us all. Amen. 

--------

Danny Lee
Those people are not truly Born Again Christians.

Sing F Lau
Danny Lee, in my understanding, a man is either born again or he is still dead in trespasses and sins. Term such as "not truly born again" suggests that there is such a thing as being born again but not truly born again, implying a terrible failure on the part of the Holy Spirit in His divine and sovereign activity in regeneration.

The Scriptures teach us that there are born-again elect who are stunted at the childhood stage and not growing.

Also, it is obvious that Apostle Paul was dealing with God's children; why would the inspired Apostle Paul find fault with those dead in trespasses and sins for their ever learning the word of God but never come to the knowledge of the truth? It is like faulting a dead child for not eating and growing.

Danny Lee
Sing, you are correct. 
This is a language thing
A person is either spiritually alive ( born again ) or spiritually dead.
I will endeavour to be more precise in the future. Thank you

Dr Khaw
Knowing everything but not doing anything is worse.

Sing F Lau
Luke 12:47 KJV — "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes."

I probably deserve many stripes even though I have been taught and know a few things, but fail in many things.

Sir, what is your view on free will?

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/pfbid0qfKxRRM5bAfDz6t61gYH9qr9QxcFjEdbMUzmCb4vSjLbiM5gme85ypW2BqbnVkGRl

##freewill

Leongsy
Sir, what is your view on free will?

Sing
Take a look here:
https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2019/01/luthers-confusion-on-mans-freewill.html

Leongsy
So you are saying that man has free will but it's tainted with sin. Whereas Luther said men have no free will because  we are all under God's control?

Sing
Man has free will; he sins freely, by free choice, without any coercion or any forces from without; the exercise of his free will is determined by his nature, fallen and sinful.

For example, a fish has free will, it can swim anywhere it freely chooses BUT its fishy nature will not enable it to choose to swim outside of water.

Even so, the free will of a natural man is subjected to his fallen sinful nature - in enmity against God.

So many are SO STUPID ( i.e. too lacking in common sense). They vehemently deny man's free will because they rightly believe that a natural man cannot freely choose God.

To say that a natural man DOES NOT choose God - which is a truth is NOT the same as saying that man has no free will.

To say that a natural man has free will BUT he is ALSO incapable of choosing God are not contradictory; both are scriptural.

Man freely sins, man is freely in enmity against God. It's his fallen nature; it's NOT God's control over them. If it is God's  control over them, then they have excuse indeed. But man is justly WITHOUT EXCUSE.

IF man has no free will, he CANNOT be justly charged as without excuse. Man's free will is essential to the moral government of God over His creatures.

To say that you are not able to eat stones is not the same as saying that you have no ability to eat. 😂

Time to tell people to stop regurgitating nonsense without engaging their brains!

Leongsy
How is your view of free will different from the Arminians' free will then?

Sing
Good question.
The  Arminians say natural man has freewill, THAT IS, natural man can choose God to be saved.

The Calvinists say that man has no free will, THAT IS, man is incapable of choosing God.

They are BOTH WRONG.

The Bible says man has free will, but his free will is held in bondage to his fallen, sinful nature; therefore, he is wholly incapable of choosing any spiritual good to be saved. He freely chooses to remain in sin.

Arminians' freewill affirms natural man's willingness and ability to choose to be saved.

The Bible's freewill affirms BOTH the natural man's freewill AND  his absolute inability to choose to be saved.

John 3:3 KJT — 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.

John 3:5 KJT— Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The declaration, "except a man be born again, he cannot..." is absolute, without exceptions; it declares the absolute necessity of the new birth; spiritual life through a divine act of regeneration precedes any ability for spiritual activities.

Without real free will, God's moral government over the moral creature made in His image collapses.

Without real free will, man cannot be justly declared to be without excuse; with his free will, he acts freely without external coercion; thus, he is justly without excuse. 
Comments

Tyler
Amen brother. I find it interesting that the apostle Paul directly addresses the error of thinking that man's sin is somehow needed to glorify and commend God's righteousness while in the same chapter speaking of man's total depravity. Both errors of Absolutism and Arminianism addressed in the same passage.

Romans 3:5-8 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) [6] God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? [7] For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? [8] And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

How are you born? John 1:12-13

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12-13. 

Many read these words and conclude that their believing in Christ is a condition of their being born of God. They believe the fable that those not born of God, still in their native state of sin and death, are capable of believing IN ORDER to be born of God. 

There is obviously a clear distinction between the new birth by the will of God and the blessing of given to the power to become God's children, conditioned upon believing.

The problem arises when the two are equated as one and the same thing.

The logic is so simple: those who had been born of God were enabled to believe... and in believing, they were given the right and authority to claim God as their Father!

Verse 12 describes the experiential effect of believing in Christ - given the power (right and authority) to claim themselves as children of God.

Verse 13 describes the basis and ground of that act of believing in Christ - WERE born of God.

One must be made son first by spiritual birth from above before he can ever begin to believe in Jesus Christ. In believing, he certifies and justifies himself as someone possessing eternal life... evidence of having been born by God... thus enjoying the right and authority to claim himself a child of God.

Of course, VERY MANY believe and insist that a person is born by God when he believes. This would amount to 'born of the will of flesh'!

Yes, both the gospel regeneration and decisional regeneration are by the will and the flesh of man. They are both lies.

An illustration:
Little Wong is Big Wang's son, but he would not believe that Wing, Big Wang's eldest son, is his elder brother. In such a case, how could Little Wong have the right and authority to claim himself a son of Big Wang?

A biblical distinction is the essence of sound theology

Are you justified before God
by the faith of Christ, or 
by your faith in Christ?
They are vastly different. 

They are distinct; confounding them will mess up your understanding big time! So, do yourself a favour, get them right.

Let us consider the first passage, Rom 3:28.

"Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

What is the passage saying in its context - what faith, whose faith?

Rom 3
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Let's lay down some basic and self-evident truths:

1. Sin is the transgression of the law.
- Sins bring condemnation of death, Rom 5:12.
- Righteousness brings justification of life, Rom 5:18.

2. Justification is the reversal of condemnation.
- Justification in God's sight requires righteousness.
- This righteousness is either by a man's own obedience to the whole law OR by Christ's obedience to the whole law.
- No man can obtain the needed righteousness through his own obedience to the law, for "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight."

3. God provided this righteousness that is needed for the justification of His elect people in His sight.
- This righteousness of God's own provision is by the faithfulness of Christ's obedience to the whole law.
- Righteousness is needed in the justification of a man in his native state of condemnation. Sins bring condemnation of death, Rom 5:12. Righteousness brings justification of life, Rom 5:18.
- This righteousness is provided by God ALONE through the faithfulness of Christ ALONE in keeping the whole law perfectly.
- That is the exact meaning of: "EVEN the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ." v22a.

4 The righteousness of God's provision for the justification of a condemned man is NOT NOT NOT by his faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith in Jesus Christ is NOT the righteousness that is needed for the justification of a condemned man before God. ALSO, a man in his unjustified, condemned state is incapable of faith; justification by faith is an impossibility.

It is Christ's faithfulness in rendering perfect obedience to the law that is needed, and this righteousness is by God's own provision, i.e. by the faith of Christ.

Therefore, 'the faith of Christ' and 'your faith in Christ' are very different. One is the good news of God providing righteousness by Christ's faithfulness in rendering perfect obedience to the whole law for your justification by His free grace; your act of believing in Christ is an effect and evidence of your justification by the free grace of God. 

Two different gospels. No mere semantics!

Man's faith is NOT in the equation of his justification in the sight of God - "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

A man's faith MANIFESTS that God has FREELY justified him - "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference."

"All have sinned... and fell under the condemnation of death. Such has no possibility of believing UNTIL justification of life by the faith of Christ has been applied, freely by God's grace.

"All them that believe" - all the believing ones DO SO because the righteousness of God's own provision, by the faith of Christ, has been freely applied to them personally.

It is that elementary... but the wise and prudent in their own eyes are blinded to it.

It is treacherous and scandalous - the mildest adjectives I can think of - to replace the "faith OF Christ" with "man's faith in Christ" as the ground of justification in that Rom 3 passage!

Apostle Paul solemnly pronounced such teachers be accursed!

Yes, let such be accursed! Amen

And remember, believing in Christ is a deed of the law, believing in Christ is obedience to the law/commandment of God; it is a work required by God.

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.

"Believe on Christ Jesus whom God has sent" is a work God requires of His children. The Judaistic Jews insisted on the work of obeying Mosaic laws.

1John 3 - KJT
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is obedience to God's commandment; obedience to God's commandment is work. 

"The just shall live by faith" - a description or a prescription?

Is the statement
a description of the just, or
a prescription for justification?

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10224204264909804&set=a.10204411521703594

I posted the question on one FB page.
Not one single comment after one whole week.
Is the question obscene?
Is it theologically offensive or ecclesiastically incorrect?

I posted the same on another page, "Scripture Alone” page, but it was not approved by the Administrator. Similarly, on the "Reformed Christian..."

What could be the reasons?
======

Some comments

Ben FmBugante
For me, it is a description.

James Bonner
In my humble thinking, the statement is a description of the just.
Read Hebrews 11. 

Darrel Chambers
The just are already just (justified). This describes how they shall live ( not just exist). "Live" describes quality of life. The Thayer definition of the Greek word translated, "shall live" is:

Thayer Definition: to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead)
- to enjoy real life
- to have true life and worthy of the name
- active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God
- to live, i.e. pass life, in the manner of the living and acting of mortals or character
- living water, having vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul
- metaphorically to be in full vigour
- to be fresh, strong, efficient
- as adjective active, powerful, efficacious.

Steve Woods
A declaration. If you have been given faith in the new birth you will live accordingly, walk with your Friend.

Marty-Sandy Smith
The reasons for the silence may be that supporters of the more popular interpretation may find the challenge uncomfortable. After all, it does say, "The just shall live by faith" and not "The just shall obtain life by faith".

Tommy Dennis Taylor
I will take the former. Haven’t seen the post until this morning.

Ann Atwood Fraley
I don’t know enough about the other page. Maybe you have everyone thinking.

Henry Rougeou
If an individual is just, they will be walking by faith

Steve McGhee
It is a DESCRIPTION

Joe Holder
Brother Sing, I don’t spend as much time on FB as in the past. A thought to consider. In the Habakkuk verse you reference, God is speaking. The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament uses a personal pronoun, “…my faith.”

I believe the verse is indeed indicative. It also identifies the “Rule of life,” the basis for a right choice of the guideline for godly living, “The faith way.” Not the “Law way.”

Patrica Winkleman
I agree, Bro. Joe Holder.

Joe Holder
Marty, one more dominant and errant view of the verse, “The unjust shall become just by faith.”

The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament reads (And God was speaking in the verse), “The just shall live by my faith.”

Patrica Winkleman
Description

Rommel Fesalbon Fababeir
https://primitivebaptist.net/Devotionals/morning-thoughts-by-elder-philip-conley-romans-1-17.htm