Quote:
Originally Posted by Lafon
Do you think Paul, Peter, and the other apostles believed themselves to have gotten it right? If so, then why can't you or I? Are we any different than they? I think not, for God is not a respector of persons, right?
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That's what the Bible says. But look at the many testimonies where God reaches down to certain individuals in their darkest time -- perhaps on the brink of suicide, perhaps at the bedside of a child with a terminal illness -- and work a great miracle. Sometimes, say the testimonies, their faith was ebbing. Sometimes, and yes I have heard examples of this, they weren't even believers at the time! And yet, for each
one of these stories, there are probably
many thousands of cases where God (apparently) lets the tragedy go ahead, unabated. And in many of those cases, it
is a believer, and their faith is
strong! Children die, when parents hold on to their faith and even withhold medical treatment. Say what you will about those parents' wisdom, but you
can't fault their faith.
The only way to believe "God is not a respecter of persons" is to ignore the real world, and believe the Bible
because you decide you must.
Quote:
If God gave them the assurance that the things which they embraced as truth were correct, then why would He not do so for you or I? The only reason why this might not be possible is simply because we don't believe it to be so.
No, I entertain no doubts that the things which I now hold to be the truth regarding the elementary principles of the teachings of Christ shall ever change. Why? Because I possess that same Spirit which all of the apostles also held, and it is He who promised to "lead and guide into ALL truth."
Yes, there will be "many" who will appear at the judgment and claim that they had it all right, but there discover, and this to their astonishment, that they did not. But why wait until then? To suggest that it is not possible in this life (that is to say, before death) that one can know with 100% assurance that their beliefs are true and proper, is to suggest that God somehow takes delight in keeping one doubting until judgment day. If such were true then it is referring to beliefs which are absolutely foreign to me.
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And yet there it is. There will be people who think they got it, but didn't. Would any of them say, here and now in this life, that they are not 100% certain? Sure, some will. But I bet most will not. Many AFFers, in fact, admit they are not sure:
http://apostolicfriendsforum.com/showthread.php?t=20984. Are absolutely none of the 100% sure folks wrong?