jiggaz:
If Salvation is eternal, what does the Bible mean when it said if we “sin wilfully” after that we have received the knowledge of the Truth there is no more sacrifice for our sins?

What does it really mean to “sin willfully” according to Hebrews 10:26?
One of the most beautiful things about the Gospel and the Bible is that there are no contradictions in it. No dark sides at all.

Always when we study the Word and find certain things that seem contradictory to us, it is mostly as a result of lack of clarity, that is, lack of proper understanding of those things on our part.

Such is the case of Hebrews 10:26 which most people turn to when they want to invalidate the eternal nature of the Salvation we have in Christ. However, a closer look at this verse shows us that it is actually in support of Salvation being eternal and not against it.
Let’s see it together from the Word.

(Heb 10:26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
(Heb 10:27) But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

To get what the writer of Hebrews is trying to say in those verses we just read, we will need to study the scriptures surrounding those verses. That would mean studying the entire chapter very well, paying special attention to his audience and his use of words.
From verse 1 down to verse 3, we see that the author was talking to a set of people, his Jewish brothers, who were already conversant with the Old Testament. That is the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets. They did not only “know” the Law, they also strictly practised it.

They were in the church, participated in every activity of the church including her sufferings and persecutions. But they were still strong followers of Moses. We would see this clearer as we proceed.
From verse 4 to 15, the author now begins to state clearly that the purpose of the coming and the sacrifice of Jesus was to take care of all kinds of sins once and for all, since the Law with it’s numerous sacrifices and priests was not able to do this.

A look at from verse 15 to 18 reveals that for those who have had their hearts and minds written with the laws of God (those who are born again), sins and iniquities are not remembered (counted) against them.
The reason their sins are no longer remembered or counted against them is not because they no longer do anything wrong. The reason is what the writer had already explained from verse 3 to 15 which is because the sacrifice of Jesus had already taken care of their sins, once and for all.

Please pay real attention to this part. From verse 19, we see how the author’s tone changed. He switched from just explaining things to them to calling them to take an action.

What was the action? Having used the previous verses and chapters to explain the sacrife and priesthood of Jesus, he then invites them to boldly “enter,” “draw near” by faith and enjoy the benefits of that sacrifice from where they are to inspire and produce good works, and have true fellowship with one another.

What if they refuse to accept all these that Jesus had done for them? The author then in verse 26 now tells them the repercussion of that refusal. He tells them that if they “sin wilfully” after that they had received the knowledge of the Truth, then there is no other sacrifice to atone for their sins.

That is, if after they had received the knowledge of the Truth which is to hear the Gospel of what Jesus had done for them, and by their own will rejects or refuses to believe that Gospel they just heard. Then they will have to bear God’s wrath against sin by themselves.

Them receiving the knowledge of the Truth there does not mean they have accepted or believed the Gospel before and maybe later rejected it. No! It simply means they are no longer ignorant of the Gospel because someone had preached it to them. The willful sin they did after that was that after they were aware of it, they didn’t believe it, rejecting it completely of their own will.

The author then went on from verse 28 to explain that in the Old times, whoever rejected the Mosaic laws after he has known about it was severely punished as long as two or three persons testified against him. How much more punishment will whoever refuses to accept the sacrifice of Jesus receive of God at the end of the world.

Having told them of this fate that awaits those who refused to believe the Gospel, he then reminded them how they have suffered together with the church since they have always been among them for long and receiving the same persecutions those who believed in Jesus received.

He then encouraged them to do the will of God in verse 36 so that they can receive the promise of God. What was this God’s will he wanted them to do?
It was simply to believe in Jesus and His sacrifice for humanity. This is consistent in all the scriptures.
(Joh 6:28) The people asked Jesus, "What does God want us to do?"

(Joh 6:29) Jesus answered, "The work God wants you to do is this: to believe in the one he sent."

In verse 38, the author again reminds them that it is only those who are justified by Faith that shall live eternally. But if any man after hearing the Gospel, draws back from accepting it, then such a fellow shall not be pleasing to God, having drawn back of his own will to perdition.

So from the message of this entire chapter, we understand clearly that to “sin wilfully” after that we have received the knowledge of the Truth, simply means to reject the sacrifice of Jesus by refusing to believe the Gospel.

It doesn’t mean that if a Christian commits a sin intentionally then there is no more hope for him since all men still sin even after they are born again. And there is no such a thing as “accidental sin.” Every sin has to do with our wills or else it is o longer sin.

Hebrews 10:26-29 is simply an explanation of the fate that is coming to all men who “sin wilfully” by rejecting or refusing to believe the Gospel after it has been preached to them.

We (Christians) have believed in Jesus’ eternal sacrifice for us and are saved forever from the coming wrath of God or indignation against sin.
I hope this blesses you.
Glory to God!

https://www.feedmejesus.com/2019/02/what-does-it-mean-to-sin-wilfully.html?m=1

Maynman:


You learnt your “gospel” from religion, anytime now you’ll start quoting the Judaism and Christian book, I lie?

Maynman:


Which you learnt from a religion.

Maynman:


Religion comes from religatare and it means to bind someone to a doctrine, deity and slavery.

no wonder religion is the opium of the poor.

orisa37:
RELIGION IS THE WORD OF GOD THAT WAS WITH GOD IN THE BEGINNING.

madegreatbygrace:
If you had read that book with a hard yellow cover, and with its attractive pictorial illustrations in elementary school, then you must have learnt that the story in the 6th chapter of Genesis is that of fallen angels who made human bodies for themselves.

According to this narrative, the fallen angels are the sons of God who saw pretty women on earth and wanted to live with them.

So they came to earth and married these women.
When the angels and their wives had babies, these babies were different, and they kept growing bigger and bigger, and getting stronger and stronger, until they became giants.

I also believed this because it was compelling back then.

Only that it couldn't have been true!

First, there's no scripture that unequivocally says that the "sons of God" in Genesis 6:2 refers to spirit beings, or that says the expression is exclusively for angels.
Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 22:29-30 that angels do not marry and consequently do not reproduce:

“Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22:29-30‬ ‭NKJV‬‬


Second, and in addition to this, we observe that this does not fit God's design of "kind after kind" in Genesis 1:24-25.



“Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:24-25‬ ‭NKJV

Who then‬‬ are the sons of God and the daughters of men ? Some have argued that the sons of God in Genesis 6:2 are fallen angels citing Job 1:6 as affirmation.

Context is key in Bible interpretation and so we'll have a better understanding reading from Genesis 4, which describes the ungodly generation of Cain. However, in Genesis 5, we observe the godly descendants of Seth.

The descendants of Seth were called by the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:25,26). This is not true in reference to the descendants of Cain. The servants of God in all ages have been called the sons of God (Job 1:6; Romans 8:14; 1 John 3:2). The character of Seth's descendants proves that they were the sons of God (Genesis 5:3-29; Genesis 6:9; Genesis 7:1). The character of Cain's descendants proves that they were not the sons of God, for Cain Himself was a murderer, a fugitive, and vagabond (Genesis 4:8-14), and his descendants were polygamists and murderers (Genesis 4:17-23).

So the contrast observed in Genesis 6:2 is between the descendants of Seth( Sons of God) and the descendants of Cain ( daughters of men).

madegreatbygrace:
TOUCH ME NOT; FOR I AM NOT YET ASCENDED TO MY FATHER .........

Examining John 20:17

What did Jesus really mean when He uttered those words?

On the surface, it appears Jesus was warning Mary not to touch Him, especially when you read from the KJV

Then the question is why would He not want her to touch Him ?

After all, Jesus allowed some disciples to touch Him about the same time.


“And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Since He allowed Himself to be touched by His disciples, what reason was there for forbidding Mary to touch Him?


There is a misconception.

The misconception is that Jesus warned Mary not to touch Him so as to prevent Him from being defiled before ascending to the Father as our high priest, thereby rendering Him unfit, alluding to Exodus 29:35

Fact is, Mary was already clinging to the saviour when He said those words !


If we look more closely at the Greek construction, we’ll come to the realization that Jesus actually said , “Mary don’t cling to me.”

Present and continuous action



This is why the NKJV and some other versions render it differently

“Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ””
‭‭John‬ ‭20:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬


“Jesus cautioned her, “Mary, don’t cling to me, for I haven’t yet ascended to God, my Father. And he’s not only my Father and God, but now he’s your Father and your God! Now go to my brothers and tell them what I’ve told you, that I am ascending to my Father—and your Father, to my God—and your God!””
‭‭John‬ ‭20:17‬ ‭TPT‬‬


“Jesus said to her, Do not cling to Me [do not hold Me], for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brethren and tell them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”
‭‭John‬ ‭20:17‬ ‭AMPC‬‬


““Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’””
‭‭John‬ ‭20:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Thus, it’s obvious the emotional Mary went beyond touching our Lord and Saviour but actually clinged to Him.

Apparently, by holding on to Him, she was trying to prevent Him from leaving her again.

“My Lord, you left us three days ago. You can’t just leave again. Please stay, “ she seemed to be saying .

Hear the Master’s implied response:

“Mary, i have not yet ascended to the Father. I’m still here bodily. You’ll be afforded many more opportunities to see me bodily. Forty more days, Mary . More or less . Forty more days in which i shall remain on earth so that my disciples can enjoy my presence. Afterwards, you’ll not see me again bodily. After this resurrection comes my ascension. Meanwhile, there’s something i want you to do for me. Go to the brethren and inform them that I’ve risen, and also tell them that I’ll ascend . Stop clinging to me and do this immediately.”


Jesus was not a levitical high priest, neither was He a direct descendant of Aaron. He was (and ever is) a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

He has nothing to do with the duties of the earthly high priest. Mary was simply being told not to cling to Him because He was still here, not having ascended to the Father.



He died

He rose

He ascended

Behold He lives forevermore

Hallelujah!

Dtruthspeaker:


Bros, it is easier to get a horse to drink from the stream than to save men.

men do not want to be saved, so no thing you do or don't do will work!

jiggaz:
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

One of the most telling indicators that the rapture is near is the number of people who write fearing that because of their behavior they’re going to be left behind. People didn’t worry so much about that when they thought the rapture was off in the distant future.

I’m sure some of this is due to the normal conviction of the Holy Spirit and in that case it’s not a rapture issue because as we’ll see born again believers can’t be excluded from the Rapture for any reason.

No, I think most of the fear of missing the rapture comes from the false “partial-rapture” teaching. There are several variations on this theme but they all claim that just being saved is either not enough to put you in the rapture, or it’s not enough to get you into the Kingdom after you are raptured. They say you also have to be worthy in some additional way. In my opinion none of this can be reconciled with Scripture.

I want to approach the subject the way the US Treasury department trains bank employees to recognize counterfeit money. Instead of showing them all the fakes and pointing out what makes them fake, they focus on what legitimate bills look like. That way when bank tellers spot a bill that doesn’t look like what they have learned to recognize, they know it has to be a fake.
Let’s use that same principle to focus on what the Bible says about who qualifies for the rapture. Then we’ll know whether what we hear matches that. If it doesn’t it’s a false teaching.

How Do We Qualify?

In order to exist in the presence of God, we have to be as righteous as He is. In the Lord’s time the Pharisees were thought to be the most righteous men in Israel. They were absolutely compulsive about keeping the Law, even straining their water before drinking it to avoid accidentally swallowing a tiny bug.

They come off badly in the Bible because of their resistance to the Gospel, but they were held in high esteem by the people as role models of righteousness.
Their problems with Jesus began in the early days of His ministry. Speaking to a large group on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus said, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 5:20 ). They didn’t like hearing that they would be excluded from the Kingdom.

Then He explained that righteousness is not just a matter of outward behavior, but also includes inner motivation. Anger is as bad as murder, lustful thoughts are as bad as adultery. He went on to teach them things that were utterly amazing to them, even saying they must “Be perfect therefore, as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48 ) in order to qualify for the Kingdom . By the time He was finished it was clear that no human on Earth could ever achieve this high standard.

Then He said if they asked Him for this righteousness He would give it to them. All of them. He said, “Everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds, and to Him who knocks the door will be opened (Matt. 7:7-8 ).

He compared depending on Him to a narrow road with a small gate (Matt. 7:13-14 ). The name on the gate is faith. The temptation to do things in our own strength in an effort to secure our own righteousness is hard to resist, but if we’re not careful we’ll find ourselves on the wrong road, the broad one with the wide gate named works.
We must watch out for false teachers who will try to take us off the narrow road with a combination of faith and works. It doesn’t matter what kind of good work we do, even if we do it in His name, only those who do the will of our Father in Heaven will enter the Kingdom (Matt. 7:13-23 ). And what is our Father’s will?

Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:38-40 )

And what kind of work does He require of us? When they asked Him this a few verses earlier, He replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29) There’s nothing you can add to your faith in what the Lord has done. No good works of yours will either earn or hold your place in the rapture. It’s based totally on what you believe and not on how you behave.
Paul had a lot to say about this, and some of it has been misinterpreted too.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. (Romans 3:21-22 )

Our righteousness is imputed to us by faith because of our belief that when Jesus went to the cross He took all the sins of our life and paid the full penalty for them there (Colossians 2:13-14 ). If all the penalty for all your sins has already been paid, what more can you do?

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17 )

From God’s perspective, the old sinner no longer exists. He’s been replaced by the new righteous saint. How could this be?

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21 ). Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10:14 )

Because of our faith in the sufficiency of the cross, God is able to see us not as we are but as we will become when we’re perfected in the rapture. The sins we still commit are viewed as if it’s no longer us doing the sinning but the sin nature that still temporarily dwells within us. Here’s Paul again.

I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Romans 7:18-20 )

Those who want to deny this call our attention to passages like 1 Cor. 6:8-10 as if Paul, writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit could contradict himself.

“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

But they stop too soon because in verse 11 Paul explained, “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6:11 )

Notice he said, “And that is what some of you were.” Because we’re a new creation, God no longer sees us the way we used to be. We’ve been washed, sanctified and justified. In other words, all our sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus, we’ve been made holy by Him, and He has rendered us righteous. As righteous as He is. Please understand that all this was done by Him. We might have been part of the group described in
1 Cor. 6:9-10 sometime in the past, but because we accepted the Lord’s sacrifice on our behalf we no longer are.
Some folks can’t get past the idea that being good has to count for something and it does, but it’s not what they think. Once again we’ll get Paul’s input.

“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (1 Cor. 10:23-24 )

Although we’re encouraged in the strongest possible way to behave in a manner pleasing to the Lord, no where in the New Testament are we told that our behavior will endanger our salvation, nor will it jeopardize our place in the rapture. So while we can theoretically do whatever we want, some behavior is just not good. First of all, our bad behavior can have a negative impact others. We should always be aware of how our actions are being viewed, and we should never knowingly behave in a manner that causes a weaker brother to stumble.

Second, and more important, living up to what we have already attained (as Paul put it in Phil. 3:16 ) is how the Lord wants us to express our gratitude to Him for what we’ve been given. Not to earn or keep anything, but to give thanks for what we already have. It’s something He wants us to want to do.

You see, we didn’t get where we are because of any merit or worthiness on our part. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:4-9 ) It’s the best gift ever given, it’s free, and it’s worthy of our gratitude.

So the bottom line is your ticket to the rapture came with your membership in the Church. It’s part of the inheritance you were guaranteed when you first believed (Ephes. 1:13-14 ). And your membership in the Church came as a result of your belief that Jesus gave His life to pay the penalty for all your sins and rose again to show that His payment was sufficient (Romans 10:9 ). As soon as you believed that you became as righteous as He is. There’s nothing you can do for good or bad that will ever change that (Romans 8:38-39 ). So if we’re all as righteous as God is, how can some deserve to go in the rapture or gain entry into the Kingdom while others don’t? They can’t.

As an expression of your gratitude you can choose to behave in a manner that’s more pleasing to God. That’s what He wants you to do. But you’d better hurry because soon you won’t even be able to do that. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thes. 4:16-17 ) You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 04-09-11

https://gracethrufaith.com/end-times-prophecy/left-behind-for-bad-behavior/

Riele:
This is my honeymoon spot with seun.
Yes! I don't care what you all think

Riele:


Loud it sis.


No Nigerian man will gift you something without expecting your body in return.