Hi Amanda, Of course you are a born again christian now, I was a little confused reading that response, but I guess I know what you are getting at. -----You dont have to be a JW or an XJW, to experience being a born again christian.----------------------Im so glad I never tried to get you to go to the Kingdom Hall, since I now know you would have joined. Grandma Betty said I should have been teaching you the "Truth", but im glad I didnt ever encourage you to become a JW. I didnt even want you to know about JW's when we first started dating, with good reason.
Religious Experience/Being Saved
by choosing life 31 Replies latest jw friends
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junctions-wife
Dave, maybe you were my purpose. To keep you out and to learn the truth on your own. Think about it I get saved 3 weeks before we met. I never thought about it until now.
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Junction-Guy
Amanda you are absolutely right. If we had never met, never left Kentucky, I never would have turned to the net looking for answers. I would still be in Kentucky awaiting armageddon, still riding the fence between JW's and Church. There is a purpose for everything.
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Perry
What a beautiful testimony Junctions!
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Perry
"whiskey no longer needed."
But it's still optional, right? :)
Especially when you come over
That's not exactly true either, sometimes I have a nip just thinking about you coming over. Kinda in your honor of sorts.
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Junction-Guy
Thanks Perry, yeah we have some real testimony, and the best is yet to come.
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the dreamer dreaming
After I left JWs, I wondered, if not them, then who? I began studying the origins of the bible and the psychology of cults and psychology in general... and one day, out of blue, I was struck by a mind blowing revelation... an eppiphany or possibily a Satori...in Zen speak. I suddenly saw what had always been true, but hidden from me.... I saw that I was exactly where all of reality has brought me and you and everyone else and no one was out of place. I saw the perfection of the moment. I saw that freewill was a religious lie and that all religions were false. I was saved from the dark con of man, I was saved from christianity and all other inventions devised by possibily sincere or deluded beings.
I saw that I was perfectly real, exactly as I had to be and could not be otherwise and no matter what I would do from that moment forward would be exactly what the true nature of reality dictated.
GOD, the Generator Of Dreams has allowed me to be a lucid dreamer and it is my hope that others become such.
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lv4fer
A feeling of inner peace.
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Junction-Guy
Now I wouldnt go that far Dreamer, Sure religions have done alot of bad, but they have also done alot good. The only real way to find out is to die and either: 1. wake up in heaven 2.Wake up in Hell. 3. Wake up in the New System with a bunch of dubs. If I base my course on the hope of #3 I would be required to give up most of my family, live a menial life, not enjoy any celebarations of life, live a dull existence, etc etc. and I could still be wrong Since I base my life on the hope of #1, even if Im wrong, then I dont have much to lose. If I base my life on the belief there is no God, and this life is all we have, well I could still be wrong and end up in #2 All religions arent bad, but those religions that require you to give up so much freedom and so much joy in the hopes of a future reward really do the damage. My religion teaches neither, as I dont have to sacrifice happiness, health, education, just to reach salvation.
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R.A.W.
I think people get being directed or guided by the holy spirit and being saved/born again confused. In the old testament people were guided by the spirit but were not born again. They were approved by God but not born again. At least I don't think so. In my understanding, you could only receive life once Jesus bought you from sin and death with his own life and then only if you were chosen. Being born again or saved is the same as receiving life. When Jesus died for us, he died for all mankind. But that doesn't mean we all received life. But we can reach for that goal. I have felt holy spirit in my life where it was such a strong desire to tell others about God and Jesus. It was such a huge love and passion that was just aching to burst out of me and overflow to others. To help other people without any strings attached. My mind was only on God and I was SOOOO happy to feel that way. I don't believe I was saved. I believe that I was given a taste and that if I had been willing to throw out my fear and would have had more faith that Jehovah would take care of me and my family, I think I could've been given life. But I didn't put complete trust in Jehovah and Jesus. And my zeal then slowed down. I still love them both very much and am still doing what I know to do for them. I am not content to just live, but I know that to please God I have to keep seeking Jesus and following Jesus. I think I will be given another chance. Jaguarbass said "I was told once your saved you cant be unsaved. So I guess I'm good to go." It seems to me that you may not care much, but there's a scripture I thought of when you said this. It's in Hebrews 6:4-6. It says "For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt." Not that you have fallen away or commited apostacy. But this scripture points to the idea that just because you receive life, or are born again, you can lose it. So the saying "Once saved always saved" is not true. It's more like "once you're saved, if you fall away or commit apostacy you will not have another chance" or "Once save you will never be given the chance to be saved again, so treasure it". Because once you recieve life, if you die while you have that life, you'll be resurrected to life and not to judgment. But if you lose that life by leaving Jesus and apostasizing, you won't even be resurrected because you had already received life. When you're saved, you are bought from death and have life. If you lose that life there is no more life for you. I believe that means no resurrection. I believe that means the second death. But not because of sinning. Only if you reject Jesus after you've been given life can you lose that life and therefore die the second death.