arox{at}surfbest.net wrote:


>
> But Jesus also said at Mt 24:13,
>
> "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved."  (NASB)
>
> Thus according to the founder himself, attaining salvation is an
> ongoing conditional situation, only achieved at the "end".


Horribly and fatally flawed logic.  First, the verse you cite
shows that a man is passively saved:  "He will be saved."
There is no notion here of "attaining" salvation or "achieving"
salvation, so you've read your own works-righteous theology
into the passage.  Second, the verse doesn't imply that
enduring causes salvation (since that would be works-righteous
theology also), but instead gives the correlation between
the saved and the endurers.

So when you use the word "thus", you grossly misuse it.



> And concerning salvation, the scriptures
> clearly tell us that it is always our PRESENT standing with God that
> counts, not just what we were at some time in the past.

The Scriptures say nothing of the sort.  First, they say that
it is Jesus' actions which "count".  Not ours, whether they
be past or present or future or on-going.  Second, Scripture
is quite clear that God knew us and acted to save us before
we were even born.  And that is certainly in the past.  Indeed,
Jesus sacrifice is the only thing that counts, and it is firmly
in the past (albeit eternal.)

Bart

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