2 Timothy 2:13: “If we believe not, [yet] he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
If it is fair for the apostle Paul to blur identities here, as if the Head of the body of Christ were identical with the parts of the body, then up to a point perhaps it is fair for us to do the same. That is, if Christ cannot deny himself, then his self probably cannot deny him. Consequently, particular apostasy--in this case, a repudiation of Christianity--probably is not possible for those in whom the seed of God and the Spirit of God dwells.
Meanwhile, even if one can produce biblical exhortations or warnings that one not succumb to even this sort of apostasy, this doesn't necessarily prove that such apostasy is possible of believers. I go back to what Dr. John Martin Fischer was telling us once in class. Someone once explained to him (and I paraphrase): Look, even if determinism is true and your visiting a particular restaurant later tonight is determined, it’s still not going to happen unless you (intentionally) get up and go there.
God keeps his people safe, but God is also a God of means. And this means that you should not be surprised if God were to accomplish his ends through reminders of what would happen if two links in the causal chain were to be removed.
If it is fair for the apostle Paul to blur identities here, as if the Head of the body of Christ were identical with the parts of the body, then up to a point perhaps it is fair for us to do the same. That is, if Christ cannot deny himself, then his self probably cannot deny him. Consequently, particular apostasy--in this case, a repudiation of Christianity--probably is not possible for those in whom the seed of God and the Spirit of God dwells.
Meanwhile, even if one can produce biblical exhortations or warnings that one not succumb to even this sort of apostasy, this doesn't necessarily prove that such apostasy is possible of believers. I go back to what Dr. John Martin Fischer was telling us once in class. Someone once explained to him (and I paraphrase): Look, even if determinism is true and your visiting a particular restaurant later tonight is determined, it’s still not going to happen unless you (intentionally) get up and go there.
God keeps his people safe, but God is also a God of means. And this means that you should not be surprised if God were to accomplish his ends through reminders of what would happen if two links in the causal chain were to be removed.
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