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Salvation: Can We Lose It?
Many years ago, I attended a church which staunchly supported its denomination’s position that a person can lose his salvation. Up to that point in my Christian experience, I hadn’t given much thought to the matter, probably because the thought that a saved person could somehow become unsaved had never occurred to me. However, since all I have ever wanted to know is the truth, I decided to try and keep an open mind about it, at least until I could search the scriptures for myself. As I started thinking about it, though, the idea of a person losing their Salvation began to seem like a very far-fetched and…
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Salvation: Do We Have a Choice?
I have been a Christian for many years and in all that time, the three subjects which seem to have generated more confusion and conflict within the Body of Christ than anything else have been… Predestination and Election The Eternal Security of the Believer, and Women in Ministry. However, for all of the discussion and arguments provoked by these subjects, not much in the way of a consensus seems to have been reached. I believe this is primarily due to the fact that proponents on both sides of the issues have often failed to interpret the verses supporting their positions within their immediate contexts and within the overall context…
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Salvation: What It Is and Why We Need It
When it comes to thinking about Salvation, there seem to be two vastly different approaches to the subject. Although both of these are very broad generalizations… To the “Unsaved,” Salvation is often regarded as either– an antiquated theological doctrine, designed to rob life of its happiness and any sense of personal fulfillment; or, a religious crutch for those who lack the intelligence, sophistication, attractiveness, or success necessary to do life well on their own; while… To the “Saved,” it is often regarded merely as the means by which— their sins are forgiven and their lives are made right with God; and, their eternal destination is changed from Hell to Heaven. Of…
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Beginning Again
When our last Vignette ended—that one being, Vignette #8 of Act 1, Scene 1 of God’s One Big Story—it did so on a very high note. That’s because Noah, his family, and his animal passengers had all emerged safely from the confines of the Ark, the vessel where they had been sequestered for the preceding 370 days, while the rest of the world perished in the Flood. What made this event all the more memorable was the fact that as soon as these weary ocean-goers were on dry land again, the first thing they did in beginning again was to offer a sacrifice of worship and thanksgiving to God. And, it…
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God Remembers…
In anticipation of our soon-to-begin Vignette #8, let’s take a few minutes to review the situation that poor Noah was in when our last Vignette ended. As you may recall he, his immediate family, and a large number of animals were locked up in the Ark—the really big boat he had built at the direction of God—and were floating around on what must have seemed like an interminable sea. This massive ocean had come into being (perhaps I should say it had come back into being) when God released onto the earth the waters which had been stored above and below it at the beginning of creation; an action which…
