"...of the Spirit of God..."

[Guest]

1 Corinthians 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." We are seeing first hand the truth of God's word! Just look back over the recent posts from betteroffdead.
1 John 5:19 "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness."

We've had some recent examples of this truth on the OB board. Usually we are all over these folks with scripture and show less compassion than we should. I'm glad to see restraint from myself as well as others. It could only be the Holy Spirit helping us to exercise care for a Christ starved individual. I won't hide the fact I added betteroffdead to my prayer list.

This person, betteroffdead, that Christ died for may yet be saved; I don't know, God knows. Our task is to give the gospel of Christ, hold him up before the Lord in prayer, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

My hope is, he gets saved before...
1. He dies and his oppotunity is lost forever.
2. He becomes blinded by God through his own anger and hatefulness.
In either situation he will suffer in hell eternally. This should be a large concern to all of us.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Do you think betteroffdead would be earnestly angry knowing we are praying and concerned for his eternal soul?

[Seth Doty]

Do you think betteroffdead would be earnestly angry knowing we are praying and concerned for his eternal soul?

I have a feeling that he is an individual that has totally rejected God and truth he once held to/was raised in, or both. If I am correct I am not sure he can be reached being willfully along the lines of Romans 1:28, Hebrews 6:4-8, and Jude 1:12-13. For some reason I felt led NOT to pray for him when I was about to do so. That doesn't happen much. I do feel bad for him though and I wouldn't be shocked if he was an "ex" IFB.

[Guest]

I have a feeling that he is an individual that has totally rejected God and truth he once held to/was raised in, or both. If I am correct I am not sure he can be reached being willfully along the lines of Romans 1:28, Hebrews 6:4-8, and Jude 1:12-13. For some reason I felt led NOT to pray for him when I was about to do so. That doesn't happen much. I do feel bad for him though and I wouldn't be shocked if he was an "ex" IFB.

I'm going to leave him on my prayer list.

[Seth Doty]

I'm going to leave him on my prayer list.

Sure, wasn't suggesting otherwise if you feel led that way.

[heartstrings]

I have a feeling that he is an individual that has totally rejected God and truth he once held to/was raised in, or both. If I am correct I am not sure he can be reached being willfully along the lines of Romans 1:28, Hebrews 6:4-8, and Jude 1:12-13. For some reason I felt led NOT to pray for him when I was about to do so. That doesn't happen much. I do feel bad for him though and I wouldn't be shocked if he was an "ex" IFB.

I was raised in an IFB church since I was 15 but wasn't saved until I was 25. During the time before I was saved, a 'godly christian' who preached in our IFB church, sexually molested a member of my family and, on another occasion, our members kicked out a pastor. Since then, I watched some of those who amened the most and the loudest, cause all kinds of trouble for laymen and pastor alike. But in spite of all of that, God saw to it that enough light shone into my own wicked heart, and allowed me to get a glimpse of His truth and His Holiness. God's Word and His love is more powerful than the deception of all the hippocrites. Maybe this person is still searching. Keep praying for him. Edited March 22, 2011 by heartstrings