How is it that many Christians believe that through the Holy Spirit, the dead are being raised, sight is being restored to the blind, and the deaf are able to hear, but deny the power of the Holy Spirit to eternally secure the believer?
[See https://ebible.com/questions/2327-what-is-perseverance-of-the-saints-and-is-it-biblical for further discussion].
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Asked March 17 2015
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JD Abshire
Supporter
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Billy P Eldred
Supporter
Do you believe that the Holy Spirit ever keeps anyone from EVER sinning again once they are saved? I have never seen anyone who disagree with "eternal security" deny the power of the Holy Spirit to do anything including healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, etc. Your question is not about the power of the Holy Spirit, it is whether He allows us a free will to choose. I believe He does, as evidenced by our allowing sin in any form in our lives after we are saved. Unfortunately, the greatest sin is the rejection of Christ which if exercised would negate our salvation. This has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit's power, rather His willingness to let us choose. The other aspect of your question is that He speaks to us through that "still, small voice". If we reject Him, then would we not also also reject the validity of that voice as our own imagination or something else? How then would He turn us from sin if we are refusing to listen? Yes, I believe God has the power to turn us into some kind of robot after we are saved only doing what is right and good. I believe the evidence is that He chose not to. The good news is that no one nor anything can take it away from us. He will and does protect us in that way.
Al Mari
Supporter
It depends on what "secure" means. If "secure" means it is a "seal", like an identity or what differentiates us from non-believers similar to a sign of "circumcision" for Jews, though not exactly the same, then it is a seal. See: Gen. 17:10-14; Deut.30:6;Rom. 2:25-29. The English word "seal" comes from Hebrew word "arrhabon", meaning an "earnest"(2Cor. 1:22; 5:5), a "pledge, a down payment or advanced money" as "security" for the "final or full" promised amount, "unto the day of redemption"(Eph.4:30). It is a "security" deposit and not necessarily an "assured salvation", much as we like "assurance". Otherwise, if salvation is already a "surety" why still "hope" or have "faith in" God for salvation if that is already tantamount to "reality"? The reality of salvation and kingdom of God comes to fruition in the "future" and not "now". Although we are now "reckoned" to be "citizen" of the coming "kingdom of God" and as though have reached the goal, the actual realization is yet future. We maybe in the "book of life", but "hearken to the caveat", the warning that we "maybe taken out", "blotted out" (Rev.3:5; 22:19). The verses Eph. 4:30; John 6:39; 10:28-29; refer to believers who received the Holy Spirit and "persevered" or "overcame"(Rev. 3:5), expressed the fruits(Matt.7:16,20; Gal. 5:20) and rather than those who, having experienced the gift of the HS, abandoned the faith and come back to their "own vomit"(2 Pet.2:22), those who "forsaken the right way, and are gone astray"(2Pet. 2:15), "again entangled" "turned back" (2Pet. 2:20-21). This is why, while we have the "Holy Spirit" in us as a "seal", it also sanctifies, directs, advises, nurtures us to express the "fruits of the Spirit". These fruits are not our "actual" fruits as though we did them by ourselves. Rather, these fruits are the effects of the Holy Spirit bringing forth "fruits". As such, since the Holy Spirit is given to us on the faith "of" Jesus in the Father, these "fruits of the spirit" are therefore the "righteousness of faith" that the Father recognized. We are "saved by faith"
Dorothy Mathieson
Supporter
It is my belief that the peoples 'inner man' have been so filled up with the lies of the devil, that they do not desire to believe this 'power' from the Holy Spirit that they can see, will bring them to be eternally secure. Their eyes can see that in this world there are so many Spirits behinds lots of happenings that their eyes remain blinded to the real truth. Question: Are people seeing these Holy Spirit happenings when only 2 or 3 pray, or when there is a lot of people praying behind the scenes and they have paid to see it happen? It is also my belief that when people see more local people performing these 'Holy Spirit happenings', that their eyes/inner man will be open to the true Holy Spirit. Which only happens through the love of Jesus Christ. Yes, it is my belief that these happenings are from the true Holy Spirit. You see, my eyes/inner man is open through the love of Jesus Christ. My eyes/inner man are not blinded by the devil. Hallelujah.
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