What is the purpose of infant baptism?

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Jude Thaddeus

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That's exactly what the catholics bring to the table... well, not my table.

I won't let catholics in my house and I don't break bread with them because they are heretics
The KKK continues to operate in Colorado today, though it does not enjoy as broad an influence or membership as it once did. The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks hate group activity throughout the United States, lists both a statewide KKK as well as a local hub in Grand Junction. While the KKK itself may not be widespread in Colorado today, its ideology and tactics live on in many of the state’s twenty-one hate groups reported in 2017.
 
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BreadOfLife

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You post many Scriptures….
NOT ONE of which a born man HAS LOST HIS SALVATION.
Soooo, it’s YOUR contention that a man is BORN saved??
Would you mind providing some Scriptural proof for that position??

Rom. 5:12-14

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, AND DEATH THROUGH SIN, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

1 Cor. 15:22
For as in Adam all die
, so in Christ all WILL BE made alive
 

Taken

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Soooo, it’s YOUR contention that a man is BORN saved??


WHAT?? How weird. I implied nor said any such thing!


Would you mind providing some Scriptural proof for that position??

Matt 18:
[3] And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.


2 Cor 5:
[17] Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

John 10:
[28] And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
[29] My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

Heb 10:
[14] For by one offering B] he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.[/B]

2 John 1:
[2] For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.


Glory to God,
Taken
 

GodsGrace

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Knowing isn’t the same as “understanding” – which you clearly do NOT . . .

Then, produce the text.

WHY is it that you can NEVER produce actual evidence for your idiotic claim?
I have a few theories . . .
For those reading along....

Didn't YOU YOURSELF state that I posted the article?

Yes. I have a few theories of my own.
 

Jude Thaddeus

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WHAT?? How weird. I implied nor said any such thing!


Would you mind providing some Scriptural proof for that position??

Matt 18:
[3] And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.


2 Cor 5:
[17] Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

John 10:
[28] And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
[29] My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

Heb 10:
[14] For by one offering B] he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.[/B]

2 John 1:
[2] For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.


Glory to God,
Taken
Once-Saved-Always-Saved is your constant "moot point" that was invented by John Calvin, whom you may or may not agree with.
You must agree with John Calvin.
You must not agree with John Calvin.
It's a kind of schizophrenic spirituality.
Was Judas Iscariot, chosen to be one of The Twelve, never saved in the first place? Carnal minds want to know.

IMO, it's extremely rare for a saved person to be stupid enough to reject Christ, but scripture says its possible. Salvation does not automatically suspend free will, the problem with OSAS. Saved Christians are not zombies with no free will. o_O

1722581911849.jpeg
 
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Taken

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Once-Saved-Always-Saved is your constant "moot point"

Actually,…it is an important value that applies to me and NOT you. So what?

that was invented by John Calvin,

So I have heard…clever acronym…
But silly of you to make an assumption and announce…that some guy from the 16th century “invented” an offering of a one time gift from God to all of mankind. (Snicker!!)

whom you may or may not agree with.
You must agree with John Calvin.
You must not agree with John Calvin.

Uh…No. It only NEEDS BE FOR ME to be in AGREEMENT with God!

It's a kind of schizophrenic spirituality.

Thanks for sharing YOUR “medically termed spiritual” dilemma…
I would suggest you appeal to Jesus for your healing.

Was Judas Iscariot, chosen to be one of The Twelve, never saved in the first place? Carnal minds want to know.

Carnal minds can read Scripture for Knowledge of a wondering question…
It takes Spiritual Understanding to Know WHY.

Yes Jesus knowingly and willingly chose a devil to be one of The Twelve. (John 6:70)
No. Devils are not saved.

IMO, it's extremely rare for a saved person to be stupid enough to reject Christ, but scripture says its possible.

Of course …
Accepting…Unsure..Rejection of Christ Jesus is possible.

Salvation does not automatically suspend free will,

Your problem is, SKIPPING past…YEARS that APPLIES to all men…
* Naturally born who ARE naturally born…NOT BELIEVING!

* Infant…to ANY individuals personal AGE…
Hears about God, about Jesus…exercises his own FREEWILL…to doubt, believe, doubt, believe, deny, doubt, believe….Ignore…hear again, doubt, believe, maybe, unsure….

REALLY…?? Are you completely UNAWARE…
Some people spend 20, 30, 50 + years on that roller-coaster of exercising their FREEWILL…to be completely UNSURE of what they BELIEVE?

Are you completely UNAWARE…
When YOU MAKE a CLAIM…A VOW..A PLEDGE…”You ARE exercising YOUR FREEWILL?”

When you PLEDGE by your OWN Freewill, with YOUR OWN WORD…
to marry, to secure a loan, to agree to a contract, to Give your whole LIFE unto the Lord God….

That there IS A CAVEAT…”that such marriage, loan, contract, Giving your Life to the Lord Good…is being Pledged and Agreed to …
BY A LIAR”?

Here’s a bit of Scriptural taught insight…
An OFFERING is one thing…
ANYONE interested in ACCEPTING an OFFER….FOR the ONE making the OFFER…
Background Check, Test, See “IF” the one interested in accepting the Offer, IS upstanding, true to his word, or a wishy washy LIAR, not worthy of the Offer…and DENY doing business with them.

You MIGHT fool a marriage prospect.
You MIGHT fool a loan officer.
You MIGHT fool a contractor.
You MIGHT fool a minister.
You MIGHT fool a church congregation.
You MIGHT fool your parents, friends, family, co-workers, constitutes…

Ya THINK…carrying around your “FREEWILL” in your hip pocket….will suffice as EVIDENCE to FOOL God, and think you can BREAK your Word with God…?

Think again! God IS ALL KNOWING…No He does NOT GIVE His Gift of SALVATION to men WHO will At ANY TIME…”Change their MIND” and reject God…

AND…precisely WHY…Gods Order and Way to submit and surrender unto Him… IS NOT by a mans FREEWILL Pledge of his Word, according to that mans wishy washy Carnal MIND!

A Converted man IS A NEW CREATURE…
Seriously…you think that OLD dead Creature can revive…and exercise his FREEWILL FOR a new Creature?

Discussion of Spiritual things…with a Carnal Mind…IS A FAIL…as is your argument a FAIL.

the problem with OSAS. Saved Christians are not zombies with no free will. o_O

Your error…There is NO Problem for an individual to ACCEPT the Lords Offering of ASSURED SALVATION!
 
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RedFan

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"one man" cannot make infallible declarations on faith and morals without the protection of the Holy Spirit. It's impossible.
True. I could say the same about a group of men in convention, though. Infallibility has to be Spirit-driven regardless of the number of people (or delegates) making the pronouncement. (I am not now expressing an opinion on whether infallibility even exists, mind you. That's another topic entirely.)
Sorry, but I don't see an authority principle at work when the Lambeth convention in 1930 did a major flip flop on the matter of contraception, not even found in any Protestant circles at the time.
I do. Authority principles, whether embodied in one person or several, can be marked by occasional slip-ups without sacrifice of authority. Look at the U.S. Supreme Court, a body of nine which acts by majority vote, and which occasionally reverses its earlier decisions. The principle of judicial review as binding on legislatures and executives is still respected as an "authority principle."
 

Marymog

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Mary,
I have come to realize that you don't understand posts very well,
So, for the benefit of those reading along:

INFANTS WERE ALWAYS BAPTIZED IN THE CC...OR, THAT IS, THE CHURCH IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE ASCNESION OF JESUS.
THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS ATTEST TO THIS AND I TRUST THE ECFs.

AUGUSTINE CHANGE THE REASON FOR THE BAPTISM OF INFANTS.

AFTER AUGUSTINE, ACCORDING TO THE CC, IT BECAME NECESSARY AND VITAL THAT INFANTS BE BAPTIZED
DUE TO THE CHANGE HE TAUGHT
AND THAT THE CHURCH, FOR REASONS I WON'T GET INTO, ACCEPTED HIS TEACHING.


Now, if that is not clear enough, then I can't help you.

Do either YOU or @BreadOfLife KNOW what that change was?

Are you EVER going to either:
1. Share with all of us what the change was.
2. Admit you don't know.

Since you and Bread know EVERYTHING, you should be able to TEACH ALL OF US the change that took place.

Yes. You two love to TEACH....
even what is not biblical within the CC.
So would you call that lying?

YOU stamp person's OPINIONS (based on their understanding of either the NT or history) as lying.
So, then, YOU two must be lying too everytime you don't agree with someone.

Easy.
Thank you GG. I agree, I didn't understand your posts very well because you were saying different things in different posts. THIS POST clears up your theory on infant baptism before and after Augustine.

From the beginning The Church baptized babies because Christ said BAPTIZE ALL, so they did. Irenaeus in 189AD and Hippolytus in 215AD indicate this in their writings. Origan, in 248AD, defines the reason for the practice of infant baptism even more by saying that "there are in everyone innate strains of [original] sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit”. Cyprian of Carthage in 253AD re-affirms this and the 8-day argument begins. The Church baptizes infants today, just like the NT Church did, to wash away original sin.

I will admit I don't know what your theory is on infant baptism, The Church and Augustine? Are you talking about fides aliena?


Curious Mary
 

Marymog

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I'm really not assuming that, Mary. The eleven remaining apostles' authority to replace Judas is something I don't quibble with (although I might quibble with Psalm 69 as a logical basis for it, and I definitely quibble with interpreting Psalm 69 as a directive to do it).
The Apostles didn't quibble with it, but you do.....very interesting. :IDK:
 

Jude Thaddeus

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True. I could say the same about a group of men in convention, though. Infallibility has to be Spirit-driven regardless of the number of people (or delegates) making the pronouncement. (I am not now expressing an opinion on whether infallibility even exists, mind you. That's another topic entirely.)

I do. Authority principles, whether embodied in one person or several, can be marked by occasional slip-ups without sacrifice of authority. Look at the U.S. Supreme Court, a body of nine which acts by majority vote, and which occasionally reverses its earlier decisions. The principle of judicial review as binding on legislatures and executives is still respected as an "authority principle."
This has nothing to do with the authority principle in post #1614.

The Authority Principle Revisited: The Key to the Formation of Culture​

If you look around the world today (or in any era), you’ll find that human culture expresses the dominant values of a society. For example, in the United States we have a predominately commercial culture because we have predominately commercial values. The lives of huge numbers of people in our society are more or less defined by endless getting and endless spending. A tremendous amount of our time and energy goes into the two sides of business—producing and consuming goods and services. The hallmark of our larger culture is ubiquitous advertising.

All of this is very worldly, and undoubtedly very shallow, and it ultimately falls to religion to attempt to overcome this worldly shallowness by orienting us to more permanent values. Thus religion typically acts as a brake upon the passing preoccupations of a worldly culture, pointing us to deeper truths which transcend time and which relate to our ultimate purposes and ends. The fact that religion has proven capable of such cultural transformations again and again throughout history suggests that it is a very powerful generator of human values.

But the monkey wrench in the works of religion in the modern world is its diversity. We are all exposed, at a very high level of sophistication, not only to the sad and crippling divisions of Christianity and to the great gaps among the major religions of the world, but to endless claims and counter-claims about nearly everything under the sun. We might agree philosophically that truth is the mind’s conformity to reality, but with so many conflicting truth-statements on offer, we cannot escape the conclusion that most people are wrong about most things most of the time.

Even if we think we are right, we are haunted by the possibility that we could be wrong, and also by the futility of proving anything, and even by the apparent discourtesy of pressing forward with our own understanding in the face of so much confusion and doubt. None of this helps us build culture; we are, rather, ripe for having what little culture we find comfort in washed away.

What brings these thoughts to mind is a bizarre objection to my previous On the Culture entry, Apologetics: Give Me that Old Time Authority Principle. Someone claimed that my insistence on the uniqueness of the Catholic authority principle was simply a form of “boasting”. But nothing could be farther from the truth. The Catholic authority principle is not a boast but a gift. And this gift is the key to the formation of the next Christian culture, just as it was the key to the last one.

Catholicism as a Cultural Engine

The Catholic religion has been an extraordinarily powerful engine of culture down through history precisely because of its unchanging certainty about the fundamental truths of God and the fundamental values of human life. Had Catholicism lacked an authority principle, as (for example) all forms of Protestantism do, then it would have been constantly reformed by culture rather than forming it, just as Protestantism has been over the centuries. And in fact this happens with most religions, once a society is “opened”, as it were, to powerful influences which challenge a religion’s assumptions. The religion changes in fundamental ways to accommodate new ideas. The tail very decidedly wags the dog. In response to changing fashions, people put on a new religion as they would a new suit of clothes.

Of course this same phenomenon can be observed on a personal level even within the Church. Insofar as we are weak our own lives in our Catholic faith, our own lives begin to be dominated by a different sort of culture, a culture with its own prophets and celebrities. One recalls the well-known passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel: “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (24:24). Such signs and wonders are not confined to religion; we have them aplenty to fulfill our sensual and material desires, complete with philosophers to justify them.

Thus the authority principle in Catholicism is not a cause for boasting but a cause for confidence. Culture does not grow from tentative values but from confident values which compel us to reorder our lives to be consistent with them. And it seems to me that Catholics have a pressing need for greater confidence today,
first because of the growing hostility of the secular world,
second because of the immense divisions within Christianity, and
third because of the tremendous weaknesses introduced even into the Church herself by the widespread failure of Catholics to adhere faithfully to what they really ought to be able to know to be true.

Now what ought they to be able to know to be true? It can only be that which is guaranteed by the Catholic authority principle. This remains the sole criterion by which we can sift the wheat from the chaff, both within and outside of the Church. This authority principle—represented tangibly in the succession of the vicars of Christ in the See of Peter—can alone serve as an essential source of unshakeable confidence. It is precisely this which enables us to cut through the claims and counter-claims of the world, other religions, and the various squabbling factions within the Church herself, and to leave them behind without a moment’s regret. It is precisely this which enables us to know God’s will and live it confidently.

Too often we make things more difficult than they need to be, allowing ourselves to be sidetracked by endless arguments, and to have our resolve weakened by a hundred caveats. The result is constant uncertainty. Sometimes we think we know something, but we are frighteningly aware that people are often wrong, and so we could be too, and we dare not press things too hard. It is only a fundamental grasp of the ultimate source of authority which can preserve us from this endless hesitation. This alone enables us to bypass interminable doubts and keep our eyes fastened on God:

Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he have mercy upon us. (Ps 123:2
)
What I am saying is simple: Only the Catholic authority principle makes this truly possible. Only the Catholic authority principle can remove all legitimate hesitation. Since its inception, it has been the best of starting points. But in an age in which truth claims are not traditionally felt—an age justly sensitive to uncertainty—it is the only starting point. If we are to build a new culture, we must start here.
+++
Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
 
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GodsGrace

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Thank you GG. I agree, I didn't understand your posts very well because you were saying different things in different posts. THIS POST clears up your theory on infant baptism before and after Augustine.

From the beginning The Church baptized babies because Christ said BAPTIZE ALL, so they did. Irenaeus in 189AD and Hippolytus in 215AD indicate this in their writings. Origan, in 248AD, defines the reason for the practice of infant baptism even more by saying that "there are in everyone innate strains of [original] sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit”. Cyprian of Carthage in 253AD re-affirms this and the 8-day argument begins. The Church baptizes infants today, just like the NT Church did, to wash away original sin.

I will admit I don't know what your theory is on infant baptism, The Church and Augustine? Are you talking about fides aliena?


Curious Mary
What is fides aliena?
 

BreadOfLife

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For those reading along....

Didn't YOU YOURSELF state that I posted the article?

Yes. I have a few theories of my own.
Yes, you DID.

And that's why I told you in my last post - "Knowing isn’t the same as “understanding”. You posted an excerpt from Irenaeus's Against Heresies - -and STILL denied what he said.

Against Heresies is broken up into chapter and verse. In the verse that precedes the listing of Popes in Chapter 3 that lists the Bishops of Rome from Peter down to Eleutherius in Irenaeus’s time – we read the following:
“For it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its preeminent authority” (Against Heresies, 3:3:2).

Additionally - in his Letter to the Corinthians, Pope Clement had to get involved and make a ruling on a matter taking place in the Church at Corinth.

Now, WHY would the Bishop of Rome need to rule ono a matter in another Bishops diocese??
Because he is the POPE – the Bishop of Rome - and he has Primacy over the others.

Finally, as I have already mentioned – Pope Victor I made the ruling on the Quartodeciman Controversy in the 2nd century.

NONE of these facts line up with YOUR phony 4th century timeline . . .
 

BreadOfLife

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You post many Scriptures….
NOT ONE of which a born man HAS LOST HIS SALVATION.
WRONG - I gave you over a DOZEN verses that warn of this very thing.

Better living through denial - eh, Taken??
 

BreadOfLife

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WHAT?? How weird. I implied nor said any such thing!

Matt 18:
[3] And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

2 Cor 5:
[17] Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

John 10:
[28] And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
[29] My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

Heb 10:
[14] For by one offering B] he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.[/B]

2 John 1:
[2] For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.

Glory to God,
Taken
In post #1622 - YOU said:
“You post many Scriptures….
NOT ONE of which a born man HAS LOST HIS SALVATION.”

Did you mean to say
“born-AGAIN” man??
 

Taken

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WRONG - I gave you over a DOZEN verses that warn of this very thing.

Better living through denial - eh, Taken??

You have claimed repeatedly that born again men can lose their Salvation…

You have posted repeatedly the Same Scriptures as “proof”…which NONE of your posted Scriptures verify your claim…

Nothing new…
 

Jude Thaddeus

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You have claimed repeatedly that born again men can lose their Salvation…

You have posted repeatedly the Same Scriptures as “proof”…which

Nothing new…
First, your definition of "born again" seem to always subtract water from spirit. Jesus never did that. The bible doesn't do that. Having an emotional experience with a major moral turn-around at a church service is a good thing in itself, but it fails to meet the definition Jesus gave in John 3:5, that water phobic Christians always run from.

Second, BofL gave several verses demolishing OSAS; it's either blindness or you are just plain lying.

Third, you automatically ignore or reject the UNANYMOUS CONSENT of Early Church Fathers, such as Christian giants like Justin Martyr or St. Cyril of Jerusalem on the topic of "born again", out prejudice or intellectual suicide, or both. This is why reasonable discussion with you is impossible.

Fourth, here some more Scripture citations, followed by a brief exegesis, for you to ignore:

IV. Jesus’ Teaching on Losing Salvation​

Matt. 7:18 – Jesus says that sound trees bear good fruit. But there is no guarantee that a sound tree will stay sound. It could go rotten.

Matt. 7:21 – all those who say “Lord, Lord” on the last day will not be saved. They are judged by their evil deeds.

Matt. 12:30-32 – Jesus says that he who is not with Him is against Him, therefore (the Greek for “therefore” is “dia toutos” which means “through this”) blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. This means that failing to persevere in Jesus’ grace to the end is the unforgivable sin against the Spirit. We must persevere in faith to the end of our lives.

Matt. 22:14 – Jesus says many are called but few are chosen. This man, who was destined to grace, was at God’s banquet, but was cast out.

Luke 8:13 – Jesus teaches that some people receive the word with joy, but they have no root, believe for a while, and then fall away in temptation. They had the faith but they lost it.

Luke 12:42-46 – we can start out as a faithful and wise steward, then fall away and be assigned to a place with the unfaithful.

Luke 15:11-32 – in the parable of the prodigal son, we learn that we can be genuine sons of the Father, then leave home and die, then return and be described as “alive again.”

John 6:70-71 – Jesus chose or elected twelve, yet one of them, Judas, fell. Not all those predestined to grace persevere to the end.

John 15:1-10 – we can be in Jesus (a branch on the vine), and then if we don’t bear fruit, are cut off, wither up and die. Paul makes this absolutely clear in Rom. 11:20-23.

John 17:12 – we can be given to Jesus by the Father (predestined to grace) and yet not stay with Jesus, like Judas.

John 6:37 – those who continue to come to Jesus He won’t cast out. But it’s a continuous, ongoing action. We can leave Jesus and He will allow this because He respects our free will.

John 6:39 – Jesus will not lose those the Father gives Him, but we can fall away, like Judas. God allows us not to persevere.

John 6:40 – everyone who sees the Son and believes means the person “continues” to believe. By continuing to believe, the person will persevere and will be raised up. Belief also includes obedience, which is more than an intellectual belief in God.

John 6:44 – Jesus says no one can come to me unless the Father “draws” him. This “drawing” is an ongoing process.

John 10:27-28 – when Jesus says, “no one shall snatch them out of my hands,” He does not mean we can’t leave His hands. We can choose to walk away from Him.

Rev. 2:4-5 – Jesus tells the Ephesians that they abandoned the love they had at first and have fallen. Jesus warns them to repent and do the works they did at first, otherwise He will remove their lampstand (their awaited place in heaven).

Rev. 3:4 – in Sardis, Jesus explained that some people received the white garment and soiled it with sin.

Rev. 3:5 – Jesus says whoever conquers will not be blotted out of the book of life (see Exodus 32:33). This means that we can be blotted out of the book of life. We can have salvation, and then lose salvation by our choice.

Rev. 3:11 – Jesus says to hold fast to what we have, so that no one may seize our crown. Jesus teaches us that we can have the crown of salvation and lose it.

Rev. 13:10; 14:12 – we are called from heaven for the endurance and faith of the saints, keeping the commandments and faith.

Rev. 21:7 – we must conquer in order to share in our heritage and become a true son of Jesus.

Rev. 22:19 – we can have a share in the tree of life in God’s holy city and yet have that share taken away from us.

Taken, stop making a fool of yourself with your "carnal mind" mantra, your favorite escape phrase when you get caught lying.
 
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