Quote
sojourner said:
J Edwards,

Quote
Is it your view then that SALVATION is the restoration of man to a pre-fall state and that REDEMPTION is akin to eating the tree of life? Only they that eat of the tree of life (i.e. those that choose to serve God) will be preserved forever. Are these definitions correct according to your theological system?
The word you use here, SALVATION, is redemption. Leave the Tree of Life out. It was in the Garden and man was removed, just so Adam could not partake, thus making man's sinful condition, death, eternal. That is what Christ overcame. Christ could and did overcome death. But He made LIFE ETERNAL for all of mankind.

It is not just a matter of choosing, We must live IN Christ our whole lives from the time of our entry into the Kingdom whether as infants or adults.
Well then clearly you are unsaved and can never be saved if your present theological thoughts continue to rule your belief system. Moreover, you are espousing heresy. First, you state man "through redemption" was merely put back into the pre-fall state of Adam. However, this is completely false as before the fall Adam was not even familiar with "actual sin," as fallen man is today (prior to salvation). In addition, Adam exercised his freedom in an unfallen world not a fallen world. Thus, your definition of redemption is faulty. Second, you are espousing a "works righteousness" in order to inherit eternal life which is a direct contradiction of Eph 2:8-10 and a host of other Scriptures. Third, you fail to see the forensic aspect of justification and substitute for it "sanctification alone" as the way to God. Fourth, if Christ made salvation a mere "possibility" then He actually accomplished nothing specifically at all for any, which is a direct contradiction of Heb 9:28 and many other texts.

Reformed and Always Reforming,