Pilgrim said,
Hmmm, but your "faulty presupposition" that you refuse to begin with is ASSUMED to be faulty and thus it can be equally valid to say that you would begin with a faulty (assumed) presupposition that nearly anyone/everyone who came into your office was "saved".
Well besides the obvious that one could be neutral in this area (waiting for the results of the inquiry), my inquiry begins with the foundation that the person is telling the truth and not a lie. Sola Scriptura, – see below.
Pilgrim said,
As I stated elsewhere in this thread, I am a genuine, bona fide Calvinist, who by definition is by nature: suspicious. The N.T. is rife with examples, in fact the majority of those who professed faith in Christ whose "faith" were spurious.
The NT is also full of examples of true professions of faith as well (i.e. Paul, Apollos, etc.)! The professions of faith were so numerous in the early church that the Scripture states, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized:
and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). When a person makes a profession of faith we are to believe his profession, until proved otherwise. Paul, being a “bona fide Calvinist,” said that love believeth all things (1 Cor. 13:7). Now, this does not mean that a Christian filled with love lacks the qualities of wisdom and discernment and thus becomes the gullible dupe of every falsifier. On the contrary, love is always wise and discerning (Calvin). However, as Hendriksen says, the clause signifies that a Christian has faith in God, who will work out his divine plans even when all the indicators seem to point in different directions.
Filled with love for God and neighbor, a believer trusts that God indeed will make his or her paths straight (Prov. 3:5–6). Moreover, love hopeth all things; but it is pretty hard to be hopeful if you see a demon in every person coming into your office. As Hendriksen stated, hope is patient, waiting for positive results that eventually may be realized.
Hope is the converse of pessimism and the essence of healthy optimism. Thus, Paul – the scriptural Calvinist – began with a presumption of innocence (of love) before he proved all things (1 Thess. 5:21). Yes, he knew of everyone's depravity (Rom 1 and 5, etc.), but he was also considerate and godly in his approach (Gal. 6:1 ff).
In addition, Simeon the sorcerer was baptized as a believer (Acts 8:9). It was later discovered that he was not saved (18-19) but he was rebuked and corrected (20-23) and then he did not follow the words of Peter to repent (24-25, we don't know if he repented or not). But note, though Simeon had a hideous recent past, Philip believed Simeon’s profession until "evidence" (not mere speculation, assumptions, etc.) to the contrary revealed itself. Of course, Phillip must be one of those bad missionaries you refer to below.
Try as you may, you can never so fully examine someone to guarantee they are not a reprobate. Judas was on the staff of staff’s and made it a long way before he was even discovered. The disciples were legitimately surprised!!! But, though Judas was a reprobate our Lord ALWAYS treated him with love, truth, and respect. This is our example and thus should be our foundation.
Pilgrim said,
Since, IMHO, missionaries are the least to be trusted as to preaching the true Gospel….
Talking about false presumptions!!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/drop.gif" alt="" />
Well, since I am classified as a missionary I guess I know what you think of me. It is amazing how you know the heart of every missionary in the world and the Gospel everyone of them preaches. You must be very busy meeting and judging all of them.
