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Paul_S said:
. . . should I be less familiar with the newer men until I can sense from their conversation and conduct whether they even hope to persevere, or will I miss opportunities by doing so?
Again, I do not see "assurance of salvation" to be inexplicably joined to one's depth of fellowship and/or familiarity with others. In fact, one could rightly reason that the more "familiar" you become with the newer men, 1) the better you will get to know them and thus minister to them more effectively, 2) openness and fellowshipping with a new man might be that one thing that dispels any apprehension some surely have about joining a group where there are established relationships between those who have been attending and/or who know each other personally outside of the group, and 3) I would simply iterate what I wrote in my first reply, that being able to befriend a newer man will also allow such a man to see you for who you really are (a scary thought indeed), at least in part, and thus by your example of word and deed better understand what the Christian life is actually about; as opposed to that fictitious and fallacious picture painted by the "Prosperity Preachers" and most Arminian churches, many of whom tell people that if they will just let Jesus into their heart, all their sorrows and difficulties in life will disappear, etc., (aka: the gospel of the changed life). <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/rolleyes2.gif" alt="" />

In His Grace,


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simul iustus et peccator

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