One thing that we might not teach as well as we should is that salvation is one of those spiritual "Already, not yet" concepts, like the indwelling of the Holy Spirit or the kingdom. Do we already have the Holy Spirit? Yes 2 Cor 1:33 or 5:5 Christians have the earnest (down payment) of the HS. Do we have the Holy Spirit? Not yet - the concept of an earnest carries the idea that something complete will come later.
Is the kingdom here yet? Yes Mark 1:15 it is "at hand" and Luke 17:20-21 it is "in the midst of you". But has the kingdom come yet? Not yet Luke 19:11-12 it does not come "immediately" or Matt 25:34 the kingdom is something we "shall inherit".
So salvation is something that you can both claim to have already and to not yet have. 1 Pet 3:21 says "baptism now saves you", one verse among many that assures us we can know we are saved. But are we saved yet? Not yet. The event, judgment day, that we need to be saved from has not happened yet. Gal 5 as you note describes those "fallen from grace", so the ultimate salvation has not happened yet. Phil 2:12 tells (already saved) Christians to "work out their own salvation with fear and trembling", meaning salvation is something you continue to work on.
2 Peter 2:20-22 “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.””
Now that is quite the mental picture of a dog returning to its vomit, comparing people to returning to a sinful life after becoming a Christian… 🤢😵😵😵
We really need to be teaching people about the COMMITMENT that becoming a Christian truly requires… we are going to sin after becoming a Christian, duh, because we are NOT perfect, but the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for us, is perfect.
We need to stay faithful and engaged! I think we should keep this simple for teaching purposes… God is not the God of confusion… If you have fallen away, you need to FIX IT!
One thing that we might not teach as well as we should is that salvation is one of those spiritual "Already, not yet" concepts, like the indwelling of the Holy Spirit or the kingdom. Do we already have the Holy Spirit? Yes 2 Cor 1:33 or 5:5 Christians have the earnest (down payment) of the HS. Do we have the Holy Spirit? Not yet - the concept of an earnest carries the idea that something complete will come later.
Is the kingdom here yet? Yes Mark 1:15 it is "at hand" and Luke 17:20-21 it is "in the midst of you". But has the kingdom come yet? Not yet Luke 19:11-12 it does not come "immediately" or Matt 25:34 the kingdom is something we "shall inherit".
So salvation is something that you can both claim to have already and to not yet have. 1 Pet 3:21 says "baptism now saves you", one verse among many that assures us we can know we are saved. But are we saved yet? Not yet. The event, judgment day, that we need to be saved from has not happened yet. Gal 5 as you note describes those "fallen from grace", so the ultimate salvation has not happened yet. Phil 2:12 tells (already saved) Christians to "work out their own salvation with fear and trembling", meaning salvation is something you continue to work on.
2 Peter 2:20-22 “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.””
Now that is quite the mental picture of a dog returning to its vomit, comparing people to returning to a sinful life after becoming a Christian… 🤢😵😵😵
We really need to be teaching people about the COMMITMENT that becoming a Christian truly requires… we are going to sin after becoming a Christian, duh, because we are NOT perfect, but the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for us, is perfect.
We need to stay faithful and engaged! I think we should keep this simple for teaching purposes… God is not the God of confusion… If you have fallen away, you need to FIX IT!
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 thank you, Mr. Jack…