Can you know if you are "elected"?

Not too hard to know-

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand

Romans 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

The promise is based upon God's word to me, not upon my ability to achieve salvation on my own or by my works. God's promise is what gives the expectation.

In the passage you quoted, was not Jesus speaking of those who were trying to base their acceptance with Him by their own works? Because He did not know them, they did not have faith in Him as all those who were foreknown by God will be justified and glorified.

The Jews(whom Christ was speaking to) and the natural man to this day will try any means of acceptance with God besides the God appointed means- faith in Christ and His death and resurrection.

Come November you'll know who's elected.

Post of the day, too funny!!! :-P

If I might be so bold to respond.

Brother Paul Washer teaches that we can have the assurance of knowing that we're born again.

We'll walk in the way of the righteousness, on the narrow path that leads to the narrow gate, as a style of life. If you step off that path the Father will find you, give you reproof, and put you back on the path. (I John is a good book to use when we examine ourselves.)

But, if you profess to have gone through the narrow gate and you live in the broad way, just like all the other people who are carnal and wicked, the Bible says that you should be terribly, terribly afraid because you don't know God.

He gives an example: As an itinerate preacher, say he's invited to preach at a church. He arrives 30 minutes late and they ask him why he's so late. He says that he got a flat tire on the way and, while changing it, a lug nut rolled into the freeway. When he picked it up, a logging trucked barrelled down on him and hit him! That's why he's late.

The church folk tell him that can't possibly be true and the preacher asks why not. Because, you can't have an encounter with something as large as a logging truck and not be permanently changed by it! What's larger, a logging truck or God?

It's not by what's in our hearts, as so many in the church like to say. The Bible says that the heart is deceitfully wicked, who can know it? But, it says that you will know them by their fruits (plural).

Are we still walking, talking, and acting like the world? Do we enjoy the world's pleasures and experience the world's joys? Can we love sin and rebellion and not relish it? If this is the case, we do not know God.

A thorn tree cannot bear figs and a fig tree cannot bear thorns. If someone says otherwise, they're either a liar or crazy. So, those who call themselves Jesus' disciples and bear bad fruit, it would be the same thing.

1 John tells us that Christians do sin. They aren't without it. But the difference is that it's not their lifestyle. When they step off the path, God finds them, disciplines them and sets them on the path again. It's in the style of life.

I hope I've said something useful in all this. I'm not wise and I use too many words.

chiefosiners wrote:

If I might be so bold to respond.

That's a pretty bold statement brother.

The bible says were "justified by faith". So if your looking at peoples works or "works" your looking at the wrong fruit anyway. The only thing that produces holiness is faith, and our faith in him makes us holy, because he is holy, because we are in him if we believe. Smoking, drinking ,cursing, fornication, gossip, hypocrisy, you can be just as saved as the next man and commit these type sins, means nothing as far as salavation is concerned.

Now it might mean something about that persons character, but not their justification.

1 Cor. 6:9
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

Galatians 5:21
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

hi,anything you approach in the future is a whosoever will may come promise from God. if you approch a door the sign will say entrance but as you pass thru the door you look up and see exit.you are only the elect after you pas thru the door;Jesus Christ is the door.then you look back on your life and see the works of God that brought you thru.jimp elect from the foundation...by the blood ONLY

Some poor man went to Spurgeon, and said:
Mr.Spurgeon I've done a terrible thing. I led man to Christ and I'm not sure if he is ellected.
And Spurgeon said: Don't worry brother, I am sure that God will forgive you, if you led someone to Christ, who is not ellected.

-Keith Daniel

Reply to freecd. I am not trying to simplify God’s Word but pointing to good starting points for you too seek His answers..

1 Thessalonians 1

4. [Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.]
5. For [our gospel came not unto you in word only,] [but also in power,] [and in the Holy Ghost,][ and [in much assurance]; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
6. And [ye became followers of us,] [and of the Lord,[ [having received the word in much affliction,][with joy of the Holy Ghost]:
7. So that [ye were ensamples to all that believe] in Macedonia and Achaia.
8. For from [you sounded out the word of the Lord] not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also [in every place] [your faith to God-ward is spread abroad;] so that we need not to speak any thing.
9. For [they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you,] and [how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;]
10. And to [wait for his Son from heaven] whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

by chiefosiners on 2008/1/13 5:02:26

Quote:
are you serious
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Dead serious!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is one of the reasons why we keep swinging back and forth when it comes to grace and law. Men come to God as they are, but they cannot stay that way. A man may come to God as a 'chief of sinners', but genuine salvation justifies [i]and[/i] sanctifies. Those that are in Christ have been radically changed.

(Romans 8:29, 30) For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Suggesting that folk can live in rife sin and still be justified gives rise to all manor of extreme teaching in order to 'balance' the original error. Often this 'balance' is the opposite extreme to unconditional eternal security. Folk start teaching that genuine Christians don't ever sin and if they do they were never born again to begin with.

It's like riding in a 3 man canoe with 2 of them bickering. the one leans left and the other leans right to balance it. Soon the boat just flips over and near drowns everyone. We need to be rid of this extremism. But I'm not holding my breath. It is a constant and wearisome battle that is both unfortunate and non-edifying.

The simple truth is- the born again walk in the Spirit in a world fraught with peril and temptation and must take heed lest they fall. The born again, as a rule, do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. The challenge beyond all this is that personal convictions start to get preached and soon noone is able to live without a troubled conscience and a clear conscience is the will of God for our lives.

Does anyone here know anything about the Chastening of the LORD? It's a miserable journey

Been there, and am there, and will be there until I see Him and am made like Him.

Brother it is during these times where we discover how wretched we are and how glorious He is in forgiving us, and abiding with us even though much sin remains.

Be of good cheer brother, it's not easy, but it is worth it. Let me know if I can be of any help.