Fruitful or Faithless? Part 4 (Understanding God's Great Salvation #16)

The Bible says in John 11:25-26: "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

Allow me to share with you some commentary on this passage from the Bible Knowledge Commentary by Dr. John F. Walvoord and Dr. Roy B. Zuck:

This is the fifth of Jesus' great "I am" revelations. The Resurrection and the Life of the new Age is present right now because Jesus is the Lord of life. Jesus' words about life and death are seemingly paradoxical. A believer's death issues in new life. In fact, the life of a believer is of such a quality that he will never die spiritually. He has eternal life, and the end of physical life is only a sleep for his body until the resurrection unto life. At death the spiritual part of a believer, his soul, goes to be with the Lord.

Today's quote is from John Calvin. He said: "Since no man is excluded from calling upon God the gate of salvation is open to all. There is nothing else to hinder us from entering, but our own unbelief."

Our topic today is titled "Fruitful or Faithless? (Part 4)" from the book, "So Great Salvation: What it Means to Believe in Jesus Christ" by Dr. Charles Ryrie.

This is a continuation of the subtopic, THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY 

Suppose I was genuinely willing to forsake all when I believed, but later I rejected that willingness or some part of it. How am I to view my salvation? Assuming that willingness was present when I believed, then according to the lordship view, I was truly saved. And if I believe in eternal security, then I cannot lose that salvation. So we are back to a relative amount or degree of disobedience in the Christian life that can be tolerated without doubting the original reception of salvation...