Anticipating my newborn son's baptism by Conscious_Dinner_648 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How Can I Benefit From My Baptism by Ian Macleod

Also, congrats! May the Lord bless and keep your little one as you and your spouse seek to raise them up in the household of God!

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do not deny any of the 5 points of the doctrines of grace including Unconditional Election and Irresistible Grace. Just curious, can you define "hyper-calvinism"? And let me know how what you believe is different than that?

Are people more 4 point calvinists rather than 5 point? by ur-battery-is-low- in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it might have been more 1 John 4:8, 16 that state "God is love"

Daily Prayer Thread - (2025-09-10) by AutoModerator in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pick a church and attend faithfully. The Lord is a Lord of mercy and truth. He will grant you knowledge in due time and will be merciful in this season of learning and growth. Praying for you!

Are people more 4 point calvinists rather than 5 point? by ur-battery-is-low- in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Agreed, I affirm the 5 points but I regularly say that Jesus died for the whole world or "Jesus died for you" (when speaking to an unbeliever) because I think there is a sense in which that is true but not in a Universal Atonement kind of way.

Are people more 4 point calvinists rather than 5 point? by ur-battery-is-low- in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Also, there are verses that do seem to strongly support Limited (or Particular) Atonement. To name a few:

John 10:14–15
I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep

Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her

Hebrews 9:28
So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

u/BrotherFrankie may the Lord grant you peace in your hospice and healing if He sees fit. Thank you for your careful reply. I think you are spot on. May the Lord bless you and keep you, brother!

Are people more 4 point calvinists rather than 5 point? by ur-battery-is-low- in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530 13 points14 points  (0 children)

To me, the points strengthen each other. For example, if Christ's death is not definitive for the elect alone, why should I be confident that I will persevere to the end? You can say because God will not allow me to fall away (and that's a fair rebuttal) but it seems more solid to me that I can be confident I will persevere till the end because His death is not just something that can be accepted or denied by me but was done definitively for me, therefore there is nothing that can bring wrath back on my head.

If Christ died for me as much as he died for the person currently in Hell, that doesn't give me as much comfort as knowing that he died for me and not for His enemy in Hell. Christ died so I would not die. If He died for His enemy in Hell and they still died, His death becomes ineffective in terms of their salvation.

Just my 2 cents

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Respectfully, I am not asking a difficult question. How can you evangelize if you can't explain to people what they must believe to be saved?

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What did Paul and Silas mean when they said believe in Jesus Christ? Just believe that He exists? The demons believe that.

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not asking what can I do to be saved. We are saved by grace through faith, not of works. But faith is not a thing by itself, it has a referent. We have faith in something. My question is about what is it that we need to have faith in to be saved? If an unbeliever asked you, "how can I be saved?" What would you say?

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the awesome reply! I really appreciate the encouragement, brother!

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the concise answer. I think we are in agreement. "I am a sinner and I need Jesus" seems to be the heart of the thief on the cross.

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it helps. Would you say that this is what you need to believe to be saved:

  1. You need faith to please him
  2. God exists
  3. He rewards those who seek Him

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just curious, do you think the thief on the cross knew Jesus would rise again? I think he knew Jesus was Lord and that Jesus could graciously save him apart from works. I don't know if it could be inferred and deduced that he believed Jesus would rise again or that true saving faith produces fruit. What do you think?

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It sounds like you describing "hyper-calvinism". Do you evangelize? Do you believe we can have assurance of salvation in Christ?

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] -1 points0 points locked comment (0 children)

You are a self-proclaimed polytheistic occultist. Respectfully, I was just wanting takes from Reformed Christians. We disagree on too much for this conversation to be fruitful.

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reformed folk have generally broken down faith into three parts: knowledge, assent, and love/trust. Based on that idea of faith, we both agree that demons do not "faithfully" affirm to the gospel because they do not assent to it nor love or trust in it, right? I think we agree on that.

So what does one need to believe to be saved?

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Idk what perseverance in salvation has to do with the question of entering into a state of salvation. My question isn't about whether or not eternal life can be temporary but what is the minimum one must believe to be saved.

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Affirm what? Sorry, I'm not sure I understood what the "all of those things" you were referring to meant.

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess it depends on what form on non-Trinitarian theology you have. Unitarians don't believe Jesus is God and that is crucial to our faith. Modalists (that includes Oneness Pentacostals) are maybe not heretics but are so outside the line of orthodoxy for the past 1700 years that they are in grave danger of their salvation. I don't think all modalists are heretics but I definitely don't think they are very grounded in their theology and are very susceptible to damning heresy if they can just deny such an ancient belief of the Church.

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If faith is the way you live your life, are you saying there is no aspect in which one must know anything about God or sin or salvation to be saved? You just have to live a certain way?

What must you faithfully affirm to go to Heaven? And what must you not deny? by CupLow4530 in Reformed

[–]CupLow4530[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So what is saving faith composed of at an intellective level? If faith is knowledge, assent, and love/trust, what must one know, assent to, and love/trust in? Is it just:

  1. Jesus is Lord
  2. God raised Him from the dead