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| Let's go to church, Betsy! |
[2/23/2021, 12:58 PM]
Sir, I have a question:
Someone I
had invited to attend Sunday worship together attended! Can I assume this
person must have been a child of God waiting for his spiritual regeneration
because he is already alive? Normally, I would not ask these sorts of questions, but since you invited us to ask, I asked. Whatever answers you gave, I promised
I will meditate before His throne for truth from above. No hard feelings.
--------
Maybe you meant "waiting for his CONVERSION!]
️I know you have asked your question with soft, tender feelings! 😊
If we need to assume
anything, there is more than one thing to assume.
Perhaps, it is best
to inquire directly with the invitee instead of us assuming anything, "eh,
put your right hand to your heart, and tell me why did you accept my invitation
to attend our church?"
There may be various
reasons your invitee responded to your invitation:
- just wanted to
oblige his kind invitor,
- curious what a
church meeting looks like,
- hoping to make more
friends like you,
- networking for business/career opportunities,
- etc.
During the Lord
Jesus' earthly ministry, many were following Him for various reasons:
- John 6:26
"Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me,
not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were
filled."
- John 2:23-24
"Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many
believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did
not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men"
They followed Him
for material gains and curiosity about the signs and miracles, etc.
Your question: Can I
assume this person must have been a child of God waiting for his spiritual
regeneration because he is already alive?
Let's rehearse some
basic truths:
i. *A child of God*
is an elect whom God has already regenerated.
- All children of
God are elect; NOT all elect are children of God yet. Why?
- Some elect of God
are not even conceived yet.
- Some elect of God
are already conceived but not born yet; they are still in the womb.
- Some elect of God
are already born into this world, and are at different stages of life; of
these, some are already regenerated by the Spirit of God - they are children of
God since they are already born of God.
- Some children of
God are already converted to Jesus Christ through the ministry of the gospel of
Jesus Christ; others are not yet. Those converted and made the public
profession of faith through water baptism in obedience to Christ are called
Christians; they are disciples or believers.
- Of these Christian
disciples, there is a WIDE spectrum... There, are Pauls and there are Demases.
Back to your
question:
Can I assume this
person must have been a child of God waiting for his spiritual regeneration
because he is already alive?
If you assume that
the person must have been a child of God, then he is already regenerated or
born of God.
Perhaps you intended
to ask, "Can I assume this person must have been *AN ELECT* of God waiting
for his spiritual regeneration...? I don't know.
Your question again,
"Can I assume
this person must have been a child of God waiting for his spiritual
regeneration because he is already alive?
If he is already
alive, that is, already quickened (Eph 2:1) from spiritual deadness (another
biblical term for regeneration, and born of God), then why is he waiting for
his spiritual regeneration?
I'm saying all these, trying to understand your question!
It is best not to
assume anything, especially the eternal salvation of a person.
Probably 100% of
people will assume wrongly about Lot.
I'm HAPPY when my
people ask questions; asking questions indicates that they are thinking.
I'm worried and
concerned when they keep their elegant silence.
I fear for myself.
=========
Comments
David A. Scott
I can agree that the
invitee would not have come unless there was a desire, but we all know the
saying about sitting in church don't make ya a Christian
Fred Detwiler
Amen, brother, thanks
for sharing! ❤️
