*****It's so true.*****

Oops, didn't expect this from you!

I hope this isn't some kind of "You seem too smart or fun or whatever to be a Christian." Or worse. "You seem too evil". So either my religion is being negatively mischaracterized or I'm being perceived as a hypocrite.

Maybe you just chose the wrong meme and let people have associations that make them wonder.

There's only so much one can do in regard to ppl's associations. "I'd be toast" in the context could be in reference to earthly matters and in fact bion i wasn't even thinking about heaven vs hell when i wrote it. Though it wd have made sense if i had had h vs h in mind sure. I stand by my meme. Call me Memey Whynot (if u get the reference).

My fault. I meant wrong meme template, and not meme.

But ppl.don't generally pick templates at random. They frame the mesage. Tho sometimes i take my text and put it in other templates in the popular template list for laughs w/ no intent to share the results. If u like bizarro humor give it a try. :D Anyway the toast template actually inspired the text.

God always loves all those chosen for eternal salvation (ie the elect) and always hates everyone else (psalm 5 Romans ch9). Actual Christians (hypocrites abound) are of course elect. And "buddy jesus" is crap. :D

What about John 3:16 and 1 Tim. 4:2? I agree that the "God loves everybody, so everybody gets a ticket to heaven" is wrong. But Christians are his ambassadors who are to implore people to be reconciled to God. (2 Cor.5:20) So if anyone reading this feels like God hates you, and you are bothered by that, then know that you can pray to him and he will hear you. Jesus died so that anyone who calls to him can be forgiven of their sin and have eternal life with him.

They'd have to know they were non-elect to know they were hated and how cd they know they were non-elect? God shows in the Bible that that he saves some intensely awful ppl. Paul was positively murderous in his hatred of and persecution of the church. Yet he even became an Apostle through whom God worked tremendously.

Lord willing i'll address those verses at some pt in the future but for now a ?: how can eternal damnation be at all consistent with love? The lost scratch their heads at the thought no doubt. At least the late George Carlin did. And no less than humans God is free to show different kinds of love to different ppl. J3:16 love is not saving love except toward those who do in fact savingly believe at whatever point in their lives. Humans are made in God's image and He wd never disrespect that. But the broader love only flows into the saving love when it comes to the elect.

As C. H. Spurgeon said (and I paraphrase), we walk through the gate that reads "whosoever wills" and once we enter, look back and read "chosen from the foundation of the world". Have a happy 4th, brother. :)

"Lazarus come forth! Or not. Make a decision. It's not like your, um, dead." "Dead in trespasses and sins" cd hardly be more emphatic. Ppl "granted" repentance by God in the book of Acts. Faith as a "gift from God" and "not of ourselves" in Ephesians. God grants the willingness to those He mercifully chooses aka the elect. And I'm pretty sure chs knew that and wdn't care for how that quote gets used a lot of the time. :D And a happy 4th 2 u bro. :-)