EternalChoice.com    

 

 

Is there a Trinity? Scripture is so clear on this matter, I'm surprised that there's even a controversy.

There are plenty of verses where Jesus says that he and the Father are one. Hey look, here's one now: "I and my Father are one." (John 10:30) The real clincher is 1 John 5:7: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." "The Word", of course, is what John calls Jesus in John chapter 1. So there's the verse that confirms the Trinity.

Furthermore, in the account of creation in Genesis 1:26, God said "let us make man in our own image." Who is "us"? The three members of the eternal Trinity. The Hebrew word for "God" in the Old Testament ("Elohim") is even plural, not singular. The Trinity was written into God's word even before God had revealed who all three of its members were!

Some non-Christians accuse Christians of being polytheistic (having many gods) because of the triune nature of our God. This is a false accusation: even though God has three "persons" or "manifestations", he is still one God. The entire Trinitarian concept is "three in one." "How can God be three and one at the same time?", some might ask. Well, he's God, and being infinite, he can do things that we can't even comprehend in our finite understanding. God's very nature is beyond mortal comprehension, which is why we worship him.



Is "once saved, always saved" true? The short answer is: it doesn't matter!

Let's look at some of the basic evidence. Romans 10:9 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." There are no strings attached here, no "if"s, "and"s, or "but"s. But that doesn't mean there aren't any in other parts of the Bible. I Corinthians 6:9,10 (NIV) says "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." Gee... that kind of puts a damper on the party, doesn't it? "You mean there are restrictions on this salvation thing? I thought it was the free 'gift of God!'" (Romans 6:23)

I think God left the answer to "once saved, always saved" ambiguous in scripture because it's often used by people as an excuse to live sinful lives. "Oh, I was saved when I was twelve," some may say, "so it's okay that I've spent the last 20 years getting drunk and laid by a different date every weekend. I'm still going to heaven. My sin is under the blood!" Is that true?

Even if it is true... so what? Jesus didn't die so we could say a prayer and then have lives that are absolutely the same as before. Jesus doesn't want us to just go to heaven when we die; he wants our lives to be a foretaste of heaven! "But I'm really doing the will of God by living completely for the flesh," some may say again, "didn't Jesus say in Revelation 3:15,16 that he wants us to be either 'cold' or 'hot', and that the 'lukewarm' people will be spewed out of his mouth? I'm just being cold like Jesus wants me to be!" That's the most moronic, ignorant, tater-tots-for-brains doctrine that's floating around out there. When Jesus said "I would thou wert cold or hot", he didn't mean that he wanted people to be either completely devoted to him or completely un-devoted. He meant that we should all go to some extreme for him, one extreme or another of devotion. In the same way, we either want a cold drink (ice tea on a hot summer's day) or a hot drink (piping hot chocolate on a chilly winter's morning.) Nobody wants a room temperature drink.

If you're not living for Christ every minute of every day, you are the lukewarm. You won't go to any extreme for Christ, you just stay in your natural, room-temperature spiritual state. Read the account from Matthew 7:21-23, and take warning: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." What you just read is people who thought they were saved who were rejected from heaven. I'm not giving you a weird interpretation, and this isn't from some new, skewered Bible translation. It's there in plan black and white: some people who think they're heaven bound are going to hell. Who are they? Those who "work iniquity."

Still, God's mercy is great, and Jesus' blood is always more powerful than any of our sin. God doesn't expect any of us to be perfect. But he wants us to live in his love and by his commandments in this life, because that's the only way we can experience his blessings and a personal relationship with him. Even if you can visit hookers and look at porn and still go to heaven, what a miserable existence! Ephesians 3:20 says that God "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." This means God has things in store for us that are far greater than anything we could even think to ask for! All we have to do is obey God's word! Trading these heavenly blessings for carnal pleasures is like finding a lost purse with five bucks in it and keeping it, when the reward for returning the purse intact is millions of dollars!

So ultimately, does it matter if "once saved, always saved" is true? To me, absolutely not. If it is true, I'm going to heaven, and living in the blessings of God. And if it's not true, I'm going to heaven, and living in the blessings of God. Live your life for Christ, and you too can say the same thing! Play around with your faith, life a fleshly life, and you play Russian roulette with your eternal soul.



The gifts of the Spirit are manifestations of the Holy Spirit's power through a believer. These gifts are supernatural and powerful, and many Christians seem to have become scared of them, especially the gifts of speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues. There is no reason to fear, though, when the gifts are exercised in the manner prescribed by the Bible. The power that fell on the disciples after Jesus' ascension still flows from God's Spirit today! Here I'll enumerate some basic and important points about the purpose, nature, and proper use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit of God.

1. The gifts of the Spirit are for today. Some say that they were given by Jesus for the first century only, while Christianity was in its infancy and needed the extra power to grow. The Bible does say that the gifts of the Spirit such as tongues and interpretation will be taken away, but that time is at the return of Christ, not the end of the 1st century AD.

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
-I Corinthians 13:8-10

2. Speaking in tongues should be allowed. It is a prayer made by a person's spirit.

Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
-I Corinthians 14:39

For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth...
-I Corinthians 14:14a

3. Not everybody will have the gift of tongues.

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. Do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
-I Corinthians 12:8,10,11,30b,c

4. In a public setting, speaking in tongues should be accompanied by an English interpretation. This is equal to prophecy. The message in tongues is a sign for unbelievers, the interpretation is a message for believers.

Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
-I Corinthians 14:22

5. In a public setting, at most three people should give messages in tongues, one at a time. This is to make it "decent, and in order" (I Corinthians 14:40.) Also for this reason, messages in tongues and interpretation should come at appropriate times, such as a lull towards the end of a worship service. They should not be blurted out disruptively.

If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
-I Corinthians 14:27-33

6. One should never just babble and call it tongues. Always use discernment and good judgment to tell if a message in tongues and/or its interpretation are really from God, or made up. Authentic messages in tongues and interpretations are supposed to encourage and strengthen the body of Christ, not discourage, degrade, or draw too much attention or power to one person. In a public setting, a false message should be rebuked by the spiritual leader, who often will use the gift of discernment of spirits (I Corinthians 12:10) for this purpose.
Back to top