Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted
Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted
Nathan, you’ll have to explain how we are responsible for helping each other reach salvation. Perhaps i’m understanding salvation differently than you are. I think of iron sharpening iron but not of salvation. Maybe you’re thinking of accountability and not salvation? help me understand your thinking here. thanks:)
Hi Lin,
Great question!
We are responsible for speaking to one another regarding our sins and mis-steps, this is a very crucial step in our journey towards maturity
And yes, it is our responsibility to help each other reach salvation in any way we can, why else would we be instructed to correct each other in our sins?
Jesus did this all the time with people for the sake of their souls, it is a very serious thing to sit idly by and watch someone sin without saying anything
Does this make more sense?
Nathan, i totally agree with your 1st paragraph!
your 2nd paragraph is still confusing two truths. We are called to help our brothers/sisters overcome sin but salvation is only by grace. We can’t help one another achieve salvation. Christ achieved that on the on the cross; once and for all! We can’t save ourselves or anyone else otherwise Jesus wouldn’t have had to die on the cross to pay for our sin to save us.
However, looking into James 5:19-20, I think this is where the confusion occurs with the word salvation. ‘James’s reference to “soul salvation” in James 5:19-20 refers to deliverance of erring Christians from premature physical death.’
If we idly stand by and watch a fellow brother/sister in Christ commit sin, we are sinning ourselves but when an unbeliever refuses to believe in Christ, we can’t save them. Only God can.
Jesus was pointing out their sin and therefore need for repentance but only by God’s grace, His enabling of the sinner to have faith in Christ, can an unbeliever be saved. God gives us everything we have, including faith. John 6:44, John 6:29
this is my understanding of these scriptures. I can’t save an unbeliever from spiritual death though i can share the gospel with them either planting or watering the seed and only God making it grow. On the other hand, i can save a brother/sister in Christ from a premature physical death if they listen to biblically based exhortations.
thanks for letting me attempt to explain what i understand.
Hi Lin,
I re-read your points and I think there is a misunderstanding about two specific points: my original statement, and how salvation is achieved
Within my original statement, I said it is our responsibility to “help” each other reach salvation, but this isn’t a statement that we can achieve it for each other
Helping one another can come in many forms, but primarily it comes from being able to go to one another in love to address sins that would prevent us from overcoming sin in this life, as sins that overcome us are idols and can lead to permanent spiritual death
Regarding salvation itself, and here comes a long response, this is neither automatic nor guaranteed–the Bible is very clear about this
1 Corinthians 9:27 (even Paul is saying that he doesn’t want to get disqualified from salvation so he leads a good life)
No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize
Philippians 2:12-13 (the idea in this scripture is that salvation is a process that involves effort and personal development, it is not an instant, automatic right)
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose
John 15:5-6 (Jesus is clear that if people do not remain in him, they will be thrown into the fire and burned: regardless of whatever relationship that they “had”, it is their consistent growth and lifestyle that brings salvation)
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned
Matthew 7:21-23 (Jesus is abundantly clear that even prophets and people with God-given miracle working power are not guaranteed salvation–Jesus will say he never those who didn’t love him)
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers
John 15:9-11 (this passage is incredibly important, because Jesus is saying that to remain in God’s love we must be obedient, not just once or say a sinner’s prayer and get guaranteed salvation forever)
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love
People who want to believe that salvation is permanent and guaranteed, often quote the passage that says nothing can separate us from the love of God, but what they do not understand is that our own behavior can ruin not only our relationship with God, but the gift of salvation itself
As you see above, Jesus spoke very specifically about how disobedience can separate us from God’s love, but it does not mean that the enemy can overcome God’s love for us, it just means that by our own choice, we can distance ourselves from God by making ourselves his enemy (as James also points out in regards to becoming a friend of the world)
Also, many authors in the New Testament spend a tremendous amount of time rebuking people for inappropriate behavior, being immature Christians, not knowing theology, etc… But, in Christianity today, this type of group ownership of one another’s well being is almost totally lost
People often have it in their heads that going to one another to address sinful behavior somehow equates to being judgmental or un-scriptural, which is really sad because, as the original verse I quoted states, the spiritually mature should help one another deal with sin by addressing it gently, but openly
If you look at the instruction in the original verse from the point of view that our salvation is not guaranteed, only the right to strive for it is, then we have to look at the salvation of others as being incredibly important to us, because we are all one body, and I wouldn’t ignore a part of my body that was sick and dying because the rest of it was healthy
Dearest Nathan, I’m not seminary trained or taught so my understanding of Scripture is limited. Instead of countering your scriptural points with other scriptures, I first considered sending you an excerpt of my church’s “What We Believe…” but even that carries Scriptures to back the church’s stand on Salvation n Perseverance. So finally I reached out to a Pastor who became sort of my Bible Answer Man. His biblical knowledge is extensive and he recommended to both of us the following book. http://www.amazon.com/Run-Win-Prize-Perseverance-Testament/dp/1433514362/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306164046&sr=1-10
If you decide to read it, I hope you’ll be blessed with increased understanding. I’ve put the book on my list of summer reads.
As your wedding day approaches, I pray both you and Amy will delight in His glory in ever increasing measure.
my love to both of you in Him,
linda
If we believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God, but man himself is fallible, and you are of course man, how are we to trust your interpretation, or any other interpretation of Scripture by any man?
Hence, the dilemma of any modern day prophet.