Results 281 - 300 of 6029
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Results from: Notes On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: DocTrinsograce Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
281 | Where to find Bread | Luke 3:18 | DocTrinsograce | 243257 | ||
"A good way to talk to others about Jesus is the way a beggar tells another beggar where to find bread. Patience and compassion should mark our presentation of the Gospel. It's important to keep in mind that we were once dead in our trespasses and sins and have no basis for boasting. It is only because of God's love and great mercy that we are made alive in Christ -- saved by grace. Paul writes, 'For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God' (Ephesians 2:8). Keeping this forefront in our minds enables us to approach the task of evangelism with the proper sense of humility. "It's also important to understand that our part is to share the Gospel with clarity and conviction and God’s part is to open blind eyes and soften hard hearts. 'Evangelism is man’s work, but the giving of the faith is God's' (J.I. Packer). A good rule of thumb is to pray, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide the discussion, and then pray more." --Alistair Begg (2016) |
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282 | Baptists | 1 Cor 11:2 | DocTrinsograce | 243256 | ||
"We believe that the Baptists are the original Christians. We did not commence our existence at the reformation, we were reformers before Luther and Calvin were born; we never came from the Church of Rome, for we were never in it, but we have an unbroken line up to the apostles themselves. We have always existed from the days of Christ, and our principles, sometimes veiled and forgotten, like a river which may travel under ground for a little season, have always had honest and holy adherents. Persecuted alike by Romanists and Protestants of almost every sect, yet there has never existed a Government holding Baptist principles which persecuted others; nor, I believe, any body of Baptists ever held it to be right to put the consciences of others under the control of man. We have ever been ready to suffer, as our martyrologies will prove, but we are not ready to accept any help from the State, to prostitute the purity of the Bride of Christ to any alliance with Government, and we will never make the Church, although the Queen, the despot over the consciences of men." --Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) * *Not sure I entirely agree, but the general sense presents a consensus among Baptists (Take it with a grain of salt). On the other hand, Spurgeon would be someone with whom you could have far greater confidence in than with me! |
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283 | The Seriousness of Sin | Ps 1:5 | DocTrinsograce | 243255 | ||
"It is actually a strong view of the pervasiveness and power of sin as we find in the Reformed tradition that reflects the highest view of man possible. To say that human beings are basically good is to say that sin is ultimately of little consequence. Sin would then be just a minor error, not a true violation of other image-bearers and even God Himself. If we were not made in the image of God, then sin would not really matter. It would have no more moral significance than any other event in creation such as the movement of subatomic particles. "The person who has a low view of sin and tries to minimize my guilt before our holy God actually hates me and robs me of my dignity as the Lord's image-bearer. If sin is serious, then the fall was serious, and if the fall was serious, what we were created to be has profound significance. The higher our view of the power and extent of sin, the higher our view of our Creator's righteousness and holiness; and the higher our view of our Creator's righteousness and holiness, the higher our view of mankind and what He made us for, namely, to reflect that righteousness and holiness in all that we do." --R. C. Sproul http://renewingyourmind.org/broadcasts/2016/05/30/the-nature-of-man |
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284 | Theology | Ps 108:5 | DocTrinsograce | 243254 | ||
Goal of theology to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (doxology). The objective of theology is to repentance. | ||||||
285 | Keep Learning! | 1 Cor 3:23 | DocTrinsograce | 243253 | ||
Know what you believe... https://corechristianity.com/ Free courses and lectures. |
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286 | For Thy Name's Sake | Prov 8:36 | DocTrinsograce | 243252 | ||
"How ought they who are mocked react towards those that mock at them? Well, the first thing is, never yield an inch. You young men in the great firms of London, you working men that work in the factories -- you are sneered at. Let them sneer. If they can sneer you out of your religion, you have not got any worth having. Remember you can be laughed into hell, but you can never be laughed out of it. A man may by ridicule give up what religion he thought he had, but if he cast away his soul, his companions who caused his loss cannot help him in the day of his travail, and anguish, and bitterness, before the throne of the Most High. Why be ashamed? 'They called me a saint.' I remember once a person calling me a saint in the street. All I thought was, 'I wish he could prove it.' Once a man, passing me in the street, said, 'There is John Bunyan.' I think I felt six inches taller at the least. I was delighted to be called by such a name as that. 'Oh! but they will point at you.' Cannot you bear to be pointed at? 'But they will chaff you.' Chaff -- let them chaff you. Can that hurt a man that is a man? If you are a molluscan creature that has no backbone, you may be afraid of jokes, and jeers, and jests; but if God has made you upright, stand upright and be a man. Moreover, there is one thing you should always do when you are ashamed -- pray. 'Oh! that God would turn the captivity of Zion.' The best refuge for a believer in times of persecution is his secret resort to God. Let him to on his knees and say, 'My Lord, I have been counted worthy to be spoken ill of for Thy name's sake. Help me to bear it. Now is my time of trial. Strengthen me to bear this reproach. Grant that it may be no heavy burden to me, but may I rather rejoice in it for Thy Name's sake.' God will help you, beloved. Then next to that, pray always, most for those who treat you worst. Make them the constant subjects of your prayer." --Charles H. Spurgeon From his sermon, "Are you Mocked?" 09/17/1871 http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/3512.htm |
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287 | You Can Easily See the Difference | 2 Pet 1:21 | DocTrinsograce | 243250 | ||
"The Holy Spirit may be distinguished from the Word, but to separate the Word and the Spirit is spiritually fatal. The Holy Spirit teaches, leads, and speaks to us through the Word and with the Word, not apart from or against the Word. How grievous it is to the Holy Spirit when unbridled spirits mock God by claiming the leading of the Spirit when they are acting against the Word of God." --Tim Challies (2011) |
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288 | Missing Objectivity | Neh 9:32 | DocTrinsograce | 243249 | ||
"By the way, I accept it as fair that if a person advocates positions in writing, his ideas may be criticized and disagreed with vigorously -- I won’t squeal about spirited and rational public discourse. Indeed, more of that may lead to more peace rather than less. Perhaps some readers will agree that good interaction, even allowing dissent, may have positive effects and consider my suggestions about discourse, which ask us to think objectively [uninfluenced by one's emotions or prejudices] about methods, well-intentioned leaders, and power as we move forward. I imagine Dr. Aquila, who was also whined about because his 'news magazine' -- published relevant previous GA Minutes ... and a discursive article, might even invite equal time for folks to continue this debate in his magazine, especially since some publications cannot find the digital space to include articles that do not support their editorial agenda." --Reverend David W. Hall |
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289 | Growing Into a Temple | Eph 2:21 | DocTrinsograce | 243247 | ||
"Growth in grace is one way to be happy in our religion. God has wisely linked together our comfort and our increase in holiness." --J. C. Ryle |
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290 | No Agreement on the Definition of Libert | Acts 20:29 | DocTrinsograce | 243246 | ||
"The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty." --Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) |
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291 | Achieving the Righteousness of God | James 1:20 | DocTrinsograce | 243245 | ||
"Some people will scarcely admit that bad temper is sinful. A bad temper is sinful. It is an infirmity which even charity is not a wide enough cloak to cover. Or if we do have patience with it in others -- we have no right to condone it in ourselves. It is a miserable fault, and one to which we should never consent to give hospitality. It grieves God. It hurts our friends. It is one of the unseemly things which Paul tells us love does not do; one of the childish things which we ought to put away when we become men. "It may be well to look at bad temper from its practical side. There are advantages in good temper which should commend it to every one who desires to get the best out of life. For example, there is one's standing among one's fellows. We all like to have others think that we are at least fairly good. One has reached a rather low depth of degeneracy, when he really no longer cares what people think of his character. There are many who have not the fear of God before their eyes, who are dominated in their conduct, at least in external ways, by the fear of men. It certainly is an advantage to have people think one sweet-tempered, and in order to have such a reputation, where one is intimately known -- one must have at least fair measure of control of one's feelings and words. Good temper is a quality which cannot well be simulated. One cannot always time the outbursts of an ungoverned spirit, so that nobody will know of them. It would seem, therefore, to be worth while to acquire self-mastery, and to discipline one's self into reasonably good temper, if for nothing else, in order that one may be well spoken of among one's fellows and daily associates. "We are always ashamed of ourselves when we have given way to anger, and have spoken or acted in an unseemly fashion. A bit of bad temper in the morning, spoils the whole day for us. We do not feel like looking anyone in the face for hours afterward. It leaves a sort of moral or spiritual malaria in our blood, which casts a miserable hue over all fair and lovely things. We can scarcely even pray after a fit of bad temper, certainly not till we have passed through a season of penitence and have wooed back again, the grieved Spirit of God and the sweet peace which this holy Guest alone can restore. "The cost of uncontrolled temper is too great to be indulged in, by any one who loves happiness. It brings too much self-reproach. It darkens too many hours. It takes too much out of life. It is well worth while to learn to control one's spirit, if only for the sake of the peace it keeps in one's heart. "A bad-tempered man cannot make close friends, neither can he keep the friends he has made. Love is very patient. It bears all things. It covers a multitude of sins. But even love cannot grow to its sweetest and best, if it is subjected continually to violent outbursts of anger, and to harshness, and bitterness of speech. Not many people care to expose themselves to such humiliating experiences, for the sake of continuing a friendship. The home loved ones are almost the only ones whose friendship is equal to such sore testing. 'A man who has friends -- must himself be friendly.' Proverbs 18:24. If a man is to have friends with whom he can enter into close and familiar relations, and whose friendship he can hold securely through the years -- he must be friendly himself; he must at least refrain from words and acts and moods which would pain the hearts of those whose love he would cherish. "Good temper is an essential quality in all true manliness. No doubt there are those who think that to be a man one must be ready to strike back at every offense, to resent every insult, to resist every wrong, to stand up for one's rights at whatever cost. But is that Christian manliness? Jesus said, 'Blessed are the meek.' He himself illustrated his own beatitude. 'When he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not.' He never lost his temper. Christlike manhood is not the world's ideal -- but it pleases Heaven. The thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, certainly sets an ideal which it is not easy to follow -- but when one has mastered it -- one is living the noblest life possible in this world. "Is it not worth while to strive to attain 'whatever things are lovely' in manly spirit and character? It may not be easy; but easier to let our natural feelings have sway -- but we should be willing to deny ourselves the indulgence of temper, in order to grow into noble strength of character. "We have the highest authority for saying that he who rules his own spirit, is greater than he who takes a city. The victory is not an impossible one. With the help of Christ, we may win it, and in winning it, take our place in the ranks of the noble and worthy." --J. R. Miller (1913) |
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292 | Not an Enemy but one with Great Enmity | 2 Tim 3:3 | DocTrinsograce | 243244 | ||
"The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject unto the Law of God, neither indeed can be; he doth not say, it is an Enemy, but in the abstract, it is Enmity; an Enemy (as one observes) may be reconciled, but Enmity can never be reconciled." --Benjamin Keach (1640-1704) |
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293 | Knows its own Bitterness | Prov 14:10 | DocTrinsograce | 243243 | ||
In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial, who, squatting upon the ground, held his heart in his hands, and ate of it. I said, 'Is it good, friend?' 'It is bitter -- bitter,' he answered; 'But I like it because it is bitter, and because it is my heart.'" --Stephen Crane (1895) |
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294 | Evidences of the True Christian | Matt 18:4 | DocTrinsograce | 243242 | ||
"Humility is not a mere ornament of a Christian, but an essential part of the new creature: it is a contradiction to be a sanctified man, or a true Christian, and not humble." --Richard Baxter (1615-1691) |
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295 | The More we See the More we Pray! | Acts 4:29 | DocTrinsograce | 243240 | ||
"Oh, that I might live to see that day when professors shall not walk in vain show; when they shall please themselves no more with a name to live, being spiritually dead; when they shall no more (as many of them now are) be a company of frothy, vain, and unserious persons, but the majestic beams of holiness shining from their heavenly and serious conversation shall awe the world, and command reverence from all who are about them; when they shall warm the hearts of those who come nigh them, so that men shall say, 'God is truly in these men!'" --John Flavel (1627-1691) |
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296 | Evangelical Defined | Acts 21:8 | DocTrinsograce | 243239 | ||
"The word 'evangelical' is used in many different ways these days, and there is much debate about its meaning. My preference is for J. I. Packer's six distinctives of evangelicalism, which are endorsed by John Stott and Alister McGrath, all three of whom are prominent evangelical Anglicans. 1. The supreme authority of Scripture for knowledge of God and as guide to Christian living. 2. The majesty of Jesus Christ as incarnate God and Lord, and the saviour of sinful humanity. 3. The lordship of the Holy Spirit. 4. The need for personal conversion. 5. The priority of evangelism for both individual Christians and for the Church as a whole. 6. The importance of Christian community for spiritual nourishment, fellowship and growth." --Alister E. McGrath, Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity, Leicester: IVP, 1995, p. 51. |
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297 | Evidences of Who We Are | Jer 9:5 | DocTrinsograce | 243234 | ||
"At the very moment of our rebirth all believers gain a new perspective on everything (notice that Paul speaks of all things, literally the all things in Greek) -- and particularly on people. The verse preceding verse 17 indicates that we no longer see people in the same way: 'we regard no one according to the flesh.' We see all people from the vantage point of reconciliation (vv. 18-20). We see fellow believers as fellow members of God's family, as fellow reconciled people. We see unbelievers as people who need to accept the reconciliation available in Christ. We now can go the world and tell people to receive the gift of reconciliation and be saved (v.20). We are ambassadors for Christ. Our citizenship is in heaven and so is our new perspective on people and life. "If I am a Christian, this is a new world for me. I now have a different relationship to the world than I had before. The Cross has changed my world view. I now see the world through reconciliation glasses. By being in Christ my whole relationship with the world has radically changed. There is a different world out there for me. I now am an ambassador from heaven to earth." --Bob Wilkin (2010) |
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298 | Calvin's Letter to Men Facing Martyrdom | Rev 17:6 | DocTrinsograce | 243233 | ||
Hi, Ed... Servatus beliefs are still recognizable in your Oneness Pentecostals, Russellites, Mormons, Unitarians, and others etc. He denied that Christ was the eternal Son of God; he is still well known as one of the most significant figures of Non-Trinitarianism. When the Romanists couldn't get hold of him, they burned him in effigy. His views on Baptism were unique to all parties. Torquemada would probably not have been so kind to him. (Now there was a fellow that would take some real inventiveness to make so pure of intention and teaching as Servetus.) I am surprised that people in our forum would take an elevated view of Servetus' doctrine. Well, Lockman is kind to let us have our say about our doctrines so tolerantly. You know, probably Servetus would have been ignored, had he not insisted on drawing attention to himself. It is still a mystery why he showed up there. Anyway, Geneva didn't look at things in a kindly way. Just as when we deal severely with a man who steals lives, they agreed with the early churches assertion that no less kindness ought to be dispensed to those who steal souls. Nowadays we would be in agreement that any slander of God, His Word, or His children, will be a matter that God Himself will inevitably settle. So, enjoy a researched explanation of the events in mid 16th century in France, below. (Sorry, I couldn't find anything right away that was an historic account without the ad hominem abusive.) In Him, Doc PS I wonder how historians will treat the stuff that Mbewe talked about in post #243228 in another 400 years? Will they bash the perpetrators? Or be kind and considerate of their unstable and unlearned ways? If Servatus causes gnashing of teeth, what will all those who have lost lives in those groups in Africa. Let us pray that God will have mercy. http://reformed-theology.org/html/issue02/c_vs_s.htm I read yours... You owe it to me to read mine... Our forum must allow for tolerance. Even tolerance for Reformed Baptists. |
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299 | Calvin's Letter Part 2 | Rev 17:6 | DocTrinsograce | 243230 | ||
"Concerning the nature of a glorified body, true it is, that the qualities thereof are changed, but not entirely. For we must distinguish between the qualities which proceed from the corruption of sin, and those which belong to and are inseparable from the nature of the body. St. Paul, in the third chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians, says that our vile or weak body shall be made like to the glorious body of Christ. By this humble expression or Tapinosis, he points out which of the qualities that we at present bear about with us in our bodies are to be changed; those, namely, which are of the corruptible and fading nature of this world. And on this subject St. Augustine says, in the Epistle to Dardanus, which in number is the 57th, “He shall come again in the same form and substance of the flesh, to which certainly he gave immortality; he hath not taken away the nature. In this form he must not be supposed to be everywhere diffused.†This argument he follows out at greater length, showing that the body of Christ is contained within its own dimensions. And in fact our glorified bodies will not be ubiquitous, although they will have that likeness of which St. Paul speaks. As for the passage of the Apocalypse, the words are these in the fifth chapter: “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing,and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.†Now you see that it is a childish cavil to apply this to souls in purgatory; for St. John, by the figure which is called Prosopopœia, rather conveys that even the fishes blessed God. And in regard to the passages of the Doctors, refer your people to the 27th Epistle of St. Augustine, To Boniface, where he states, towards the end, that the sacraments have a certain similitude of those things which they represent. From whence it comes to pass, that after some fashion the sacrament of the body of Christ may be the body of Christ. Item, that which he treats of in the third book, Of Christian Doctrine, where he says, among other things in the fifth chapter, “Such is the completely miserable bondage of the soul in conceiving of the signs in place of the things signified, and never lifting up the eye of the understanding above the corporeal creature to breathe eternal light.†Item, in the ninth chapter. -- 'The believer knows by experience, and understands [agnoscit] to what the mystery of baptism, and the celebration of the body and blood of the Lord, may be referred, so that the soul can offer religious worship, not in the bondage of the flesh, but rather in the liberty of the spirit. So to follow the literal sense, and in suchwise to conceive of the signs instead of the things sealed or signified by them, is a slavish weakness; that mere symbols should be so unprofitably interpreted, is the result of vague error; I do not heap up quotations, because these will be quite enough for your purpose. In conclusion, I beseech our good Lord that He would be pleased to make you feel in every way the worth of His protection of His own, to fill you with His Holy Spirit, who gives you prudence and virtue, and brings you peace, joy, and contentment; and may the name of our Lord Jesus be glorified by you to the edification of His Church! From Geneva, this 10th of June 1552, John Calvin |
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300 | Calvin's Letter to Men Facing Martyrdom | Rev 17:6 | DocTrinsograce | 243229 | ||
"My very dear brethren, hitherto I have put off writing to you, fearing that if the letter fell into bad hands, it might give fresh occasion to the enemy to afflict you. And besides, I had been informed how that God wrought so powerfully in you by His grace, that you stood in no great need of my letters. However, we have not forgotten you, neither I nor all the brethren hereabouts, as to whatever we have been able to do for you. As soon as you were taken, we heard of it, and knew how it had come to pass. We took care that help might be sent you with all speed, and are now waiting the result. Those who have influence with the prince in whose power God has put your lives, are faithfully exerting themselves on your behalf, but we do not yet know how far they have succeeded in their suit. Meanwhile, all the children of God pray for you as they are bound to do, not only on account of the mutual compassion which ought to exist between members of the same body, but because they know well that you labour for them, in maintaining the cause of their salvation. We hope, come what may, that God of His goodness will give a happy issue to your captivity, so that we shall have reason to rejoice. You see to what He has called you; doubt not, therefore, that according as He employs you, He will give you strength to fulfil His work, for He has promised this, and we know by experience that He has never failed those who allow themselves to be governed by Him. Even now you have proof of this in yourselves, for He has shown His power, by giving you so much constancy in withstanding the first assaults. Be confident, therefore, that He will not leave the work of His hand imperfect. You know what Scripture sets before us, to encourage us to fight for the cause of the Son of God; meditate upon what you have both heard and seen formerly on this head, so as to put it in practice. For all that I could say would be of little service to you, were it not drawn from this fountain. And truly we have need of a much more firm support than that of men, to make us victorious over such strong enemies as the devil, death, and the world; but the firmness which is in Christ Jesus is sufficient for this, and all else that might shake us were we not established in Him. Knowing, then, in whom ye have believed, manifest what authority He deserves to have over you. "As I hope to write to you again, I shall not at present lengthen my letter. I shall only reply briefly to the point which brother Bernard has asked me to solve. Concerning vows, we must hold to this rule, that it is not lawful to vow to God anything but what He approves. Now the fact is, that monastic vows tend only to corrupt His service. As for the second question, we must hold that it is devilish presumption for a man to vow beyond the measure of his vocation. Now, the Scripture declares, both in the nineteenth of St. Matthew and in the seventh of the First to the Corinthians, that the gift of continence is a special grace. It follows, then, that those who put themselves in the position and under the necessity of renouncing marriage for the whole of their life, cannot be acquitted of rashness, and that by so doing they tempt God. The question might very easily be spun out to a greater length, by stating that we ought to consider, first, who HE is to whom we vow; secondly, the nature of that vow; and thirdly, the party making the vow. For God is too great a Master for us to trifle with, and man is bound to consider his own capabilities; for to present a sacrifice without obedience, is nothing but thorough pollution. However, this one point may suffice you to prove to them that the gift of continence is a special gift, and in such-wise special, that for the most part it is only for a season. So that he who possessed it for thirty years, like Isaac, may not do so for the remainder of his life. Hence you may conclude, that the monks, in binding themselves never to marry, attempt without faith to promise what is not given to them. As for their poverty, it is quite the reverse of that which our Lord enjoined upon his followers." End of Part 1 |
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