Salvation
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13. If a believer wanders from the truth or from the faith, will God
surely give him repentance as He gave it to him when he believed? |
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Nowhere
does the Bible say that God will surely grant him repentance. In other words,
it is not certain that a believer, after straying from the truth or the
faith, will come to his senses and return to the Lord. This is what the
Scripture teaches when it says: “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth,
and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from
the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude
of sins” (James 5:19-20), and again: “And the servant of the Lord must not
strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness
instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them
repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover
themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his
will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26). |
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Notice
that these passages say that it is possible for a believer who has gone
astray to return to the Lord, but it is not absolutely sure that such a thing
will happen. |