Bonnie's Opinion // Christians in the Public Eye

Bonnie's Opinion // I am PRO CHOICE???!!!!

Bonnie's Opinion // Homosexuality..... and me

(sunset from the Hokitika beach)

Bonnie's Opinion // Feminine Modesty

Aaah, feminine modesty. What a delicate and much dramatised subject. I thought today I'd offer my thoughts on it and maybe (hopefully) get you thinking about your opinion on the subject.

So, without further ado, my opinion on feminine modesty.

Bonnie's Opinion // Once Saved, Always Saved?

Remember my last post, the one on my thoughts on Predestination? Well, today I'm back with another opinion post. This time, however, the topic of conversation is "Once Saved, Always Saved".

Once saved, always saved?
Or is it possible to become unsaved if you sin enough during your relationship with God? If so, how much sin is 'enough'?

I'd like to start with my little 'disclaimer'. Just cause I think it's a good idea.

*disclaimer follows*
Since this is an opinion post, I am going to state my opinion here. If you don't like the idea of hearing my opinion, perhaps don't read this post. :P I'm all for sharing opinions in a loving way. If you agree with me, that's cool. If you don't agree with me, that's also cool. I'm quite happy for people to disagree with me. I am in no way passing judgment or anything on anyone who has a different opinion to me. The fact is, there is a bit of a grey area around a lot of these theology disagreements. If there wasn't a grey area there wouldn't be any need to discuss it! :) So I'm going to share my opinion - and please feel free to share yours in the comments section. :) 
*end of disclaimer*

So the thing is, once we become a Christian and give our lives to the Lord, are we then forever guaranteed a spot for us in Heaven? Or is it possible to become a Christian and then to fall away?

Well, my opinion is that once you are saved, you are not 'always' saved. It is possible to lose your salvation. I have many reasons for this train of thought which I shall share with you.
 
Hebrews 6:4-6 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.…

[taking sections out of the above verse] - For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit (those who were once Christians)....and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance....

It is impossible to renew them to repentance once they have tasted of the Holy Spirit and then fallen away. Welp. That's some serious stuff, right there! Yet it speaks for itself.

There are some people out there who would say that if you preach that you can lose your salvation, you are turning your faith into a works-based faith where you are only saved if you do not sin. I can see how it could be seen to be like that although if you dig deeper it isn't like that at all.

When we become a Christian, our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus and we are perfect in God's eyes.

What happens if we then choose to sin ?

I believe that if you are truly repentant of  your sin and you actively try to rid your life of it, then you are still saved.
We are human and we make mistakes. We sin. The Bible says that there is no one who is righteous. Romans 7:14-25 sums up well the war that rages in us between wanting to do the right thing and wanting to sin.

Romans 7:14-25 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but 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.

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

We struggle with sin. All of us.

Sinning does not in itself make us lose our salvation, providing we are truly repentant of it. It is all in the heart attitude.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

However, if you are living a life that is filled with sin and you are unrepentant, I believe you are not truly saved. The Bible is clear that God cannot tolerate sin.

Let's look at the example of Saul in the Bible. God chose him to be King of Israel. After being anointed by the prophet Samuel, the spirit of the Lord came upon him in power and Saul actually prophesied with a bunch of prophets (read the story in 1 Samuel chapter 10, verses 5-11). The Bible says his heart was actually changed (verse 9). It would seem that to prophesy you must be filled with the Spirit!

However, the spirit of God did not stay with Saul. God said in 1 Samuel 15:10: "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions..."

So Saul was with God, then he turned away from God only five chapters later. You know the rest of the story. How God was so displeased with Saul he anointed another king, David, while Saul was still alive. Saul did not like this and tried to kill David. Saul was definitely not walking with God.

The thing about Saul was that he wanted to do his own thing. He refused to carry out God's instructions.

David made mistakes. He got involved with Bathsheba and killed her husband, Uriah, who was a good man.

Yet God said that David was a man after God's own heart! Why? Because David was repentant. He saw his sin and repented from it. Saul didn't care. He wanted to do his own thing.

Sin has consequences. David's sin had a consequence. His son died (2 Samuel 12:13-14).
But David's heart was towards the Lord.

So it's not about a works-based faith at all. It's about having a heart towards God that earnestly tries to follow and serve Him.

The thing about the 'once saved, always saved' thing in its extreme is that it makes salvation into a magic prayer that you have to pray. Once you've said 'the magic words' you are automatically accepted for Heaven and no matter what else you do, you're going to Heaven. Which is great. But it's not true.

Like I said before, it's all about the heart attitude. That's why people like the thief on the cross who repented at the last minute get to go to Heaven. Jesus's words to him were "I tell the truth, this day you will be with me in Paradise".

So, my conclusion? Can you lose your salvation? I think you can. However, you will not if your heart is right with God!

That's all I have to say! :) What do you think? Can you lose your salvation?

Bonnie's Opinion // Predestination

This morning I would like to chat a bit about my opinion on the popular topic of 'predestination'. I'm sure you've heard of it. It originates from Scriptures such as the following:

Matthew 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

That section at the end there (among a few other Bible verses), "but few chosen" is what people who believe in predestination base their theology on. In it's essence, predestination means that God picked some people that He would save, and others he did not pick.

Since this is an opinion post, I am going to state my opinion here. If you don't like the idea of hearing my opinion, perhaps don't read this post. :P I'm all for sharing opinions in a loving way. If you agree with me, that's cool. If you don't agree with me, that's also cool. I'm quite happy for people to disagree with me. The fact is, there is a bit of a grey area around a lot of these theology disagreements. If there wasn't a grey area there wouldn't be any need to discuss it! :) So I'm going to share my opinion - and please feel free to share yours in the comments section. :) 

You ready? *here we go*

I believe with all my heart, as it says in Psalm 7:11 (and in many other places throughout Scripture), that God is a righteous judge. He is a perfect and just judge. He will judge each human being according to his or her sin. 

Romans 2:6 God will repay each person according to what they have done.

For those who have been sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ who died on the cross as payment for the sins of anyone who would believe in him, however, it's different. God looks at us in the light of his Son. Jesus's blood has washed away our sin and we are therefore perfect. God sees our perfection and that makes us 'eligible' if you like for Heaven. Jesus's death and resurrection on the cross has made a way for us to go to Heaven to be with him.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him will not die but have everlasting life.

That says clearly that God loved the world. Now, I don't know about you, but when I see that, I think of 'the world'. The world includes everyone in it. All of it's inhabitants.

You see, many of those who believe in predestination believe that Jesus only died for those whom God pre-picked. Well, John 3:16 seems to say pretty clearly that Jesus died for the entire world. Not only John 3:16 either, but many others, including these three:

1 Tim 4:10 (emphasis mine) For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

1 John 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

1 John 4:14 And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

I believe that Jesus died for all men, as the Scriptures state clearly.
Have a look at this verse:

Act 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

God is no respecter of persons. People who believe in predestination believe that God has pre-picked some people for eternity with him. However, God is no respecter of individual people and he loves all of us the same. His love and grace is available to anyone!

We now come to my main point.

In order for God to be a righteous and absolutely just judge, predestination cannot possibly happen.

You see, I believe as I said above that God is an absolutely just judge. However, how is it just and fair to pick some people to save and to pick some others to cast into damnation? Because by not choosing the rest, in a roundabout way he would be effectively choosing them for damnation.

We are judged on our own merits. I believe that each individual has the right to choose whether to accept Jesus's payment for our sins and the free gift of eternal life... or whether to reject that gift.

Bear in mind that there is a difference between foreknowledge and predestination.

I believe that God knows everything. He is in charge of everything. He knows what's happened, what's happening and what's going to happen.

However, knowing something is different to predestining something.

I believe that God knows what's going to happen in the future and knows who will accept him and who will reject him. However, that does not stop him offering his grace, mercy and forgiveness freely to all. In order for him to judge everyone fairly, everyone must have the option of accepting or rejecting him. So each human must choose between death and life. There is no middle ground.

God loves everyone equally and wants all of mankind to be restored to him.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

He wants everyone to come to repentance. Just because he knows someone will never come to repentance does not mean he loves them any less! He still offers them the free gift of eternal life.

He respects our decision. And the decision is ours to make.

So anyway, there's my opinion on predestination! Do feel free to state your opinion in the comments... this should be an interesting comments section!

The other opinion post I'm thinking about at the moment is 'Once Saved, Always Saved'. Keep a look out for that one to pop up sometime.

Have a lovely day!

PS. My family is moving house this weekend! We would appreciate your prayers that everything goes smoothly. :) Thank you and bless you guys!