Results 501 - 520 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# | |||
501 | Grace vs Works? | James 1:22 | DocTrinsograce | 242544 | ||
You're very welcome... and you should know that the genuine believers who read this forum have already begun to pray for you. | ||||||
502 | Grace vs Works? | James 1:22 | DocTrinsograce | 242542 | ||
Hi, rikbrooks... Martin Luther said it very well, "We are saved by faith alone, but it is a faith that is not alone." I liked the phrase you used: "outward manifestation of having been saved." Christianity is always observable. I think it was Paul Washer who said (and I paraphrase), "If you have an encounter with God, you cannot but come away from it changed. Just as if you have an encounter with an Mack truck, you cannot but come away from it changed." Redemptive history is all about what the Lord God has done. He has made dead men living (Ephesians 2:1) and brought estranged men together (Ephesians 2:15), building them together as a temple, made without hands, of which they are living stones, with Christ as the corner stone (Ephesians 2:20). This isn't a matter of man's doing, but entirely a matter of God's doing. He tells us more about this eternal purpose of His, when He says that we have been transformed in order that we will walk in good works (Ephesians 2:10). You objected to all of this by bringing the example of the thief on the cross. You wrote, "He never performed ANY good works." (sic) This is not true. The thief's regeneration was made manifest in his declaration of Christ's innocence. Yet there was more: He actually submitted to Christ by his prayer, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!" (Luke 23:42) No lost person can make such an affirmation. Christ even affirms this transformation in v43. You asked, "What do I care about that?" (sic) You care because we are asked to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5 and Galatians 6:4). You care because if there are no evidences, then perhaps you might be one of those who will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Hebrews 4:1). You wrote, "My relationship with my Lord is deeply personal." What do the kids say? Meh. Your relationship with the Lord is one that He initiated and one in which He expects you to participate in the context of the local church. There is no such thing as Lone Ranger Christian. In fact, according to the Apostle John in his first epistle, the evidences of regeneration include a growing love for God, a growing love for His Word, and a growing love for the brethren. Anyone who thinks that they can love without it showing is a fool indeed. Love cannot help but manifest itself in behavior. You asked, "Should I go around trying to impress everyone around me with my piety?" (sic) Again... Meh. You know better than that. You asked, "I really don’t care if you or anyone else can discern what is in my heart. Is that wrong?" If you do not care, then you must not care about how Christ sees your heart. He said we are to be lights to the world (Matthew 5:14). He commanded us to love (John 15:12), something that He said would identify us to the world. If you do not care, then you are not one of His, just as He explains in John 10:26-27. Our Lord tells us that by our fruit we will be known (Luke 6:44). You see, the word regeneration is a very powerful one. Christians are new creatures in Christ, everything about the old man is gone and is replaced (2 Corinthians 5:17). No matter what you do, apple trees produce apples. But in regeneration (rebirth, new life) the very DNA (so to speak) of who we are changes. Christians always bear fruit (Mark 4:20). The internal realities cannot help but manifest in externally visible behaviors. You can't stop it even if you want to. In Him, Doc |
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503 | Popularized Persecution | Luke 11:49 | DocTrinsograce | 242536 | ||
"Before my time, it required a great to-do, and an enormous expense, to canonize a dead monk. But now, there is no easier way for canonizing even living Neroes and Caligulas, than the declaration of hatred against Luther. Only let a man hate and bravely curse Luther, and that, immediately, makes him a saint, equal almost to our holy Lord, the servant of the servants of God. But who could ever believe that hatred against Luther would be attended with so much power and advantage? It fills the coffers of very beggars; nay, it introduces obscure moles and bats to the favor of princes and of kings; it procures dignities; it procures bishoprics; it procures the reputation of wisdom and of learning to the most consummate asses; it procures to petty teachers of grammar [logic], the authority of writing books; nay, it procures the crown of victory and of glory, eternal in the heavens! Nay, happy are all who hate Luther, for they obtain, by that one vile and easy service, those great and mighty things, which none of the most excellent of men could ever obtain with all their wisdom and their virtues; no, not even Christ Himself, with all His own miracles, and the miracles of His apostles and all His saints!" --Martin Luther (1525-1546) |
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504 | A Basic Irrationality... | Jer 4:22 | DocTrinsograce | 242535 | ||
"People do not call evil good and good evil primarily because they are confused or not thinking clearly. They do so because they are in basic rebellion against God. It sounds a tad paradoxical: The Reformed use natural law for public engagement but expect little or no success. We believe that the world was created with a particular moral structure. Yet we also believe that fallen humanity has a fundamental antipathy toward acknowledging any form of external authority that threatens our own ultimate autonomy. This injects a basic irrationality and emotional passion into moral debates. This distortion of conscience and reason explains the apparent impotence of otherwise compelling arguments. And it surely reflects our actual experience as Christians in exile in twenty-first-century America." --Carl R. Truman (2015) |
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505 | Deo Volente | James 4:15 | DocTrinsograce | 242532 | ||
"I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes." --Charles H. Spurgeon |
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506 | He knows... | Luke 4:3 | DocTrinsograce | 242531 | ||
"Satan could make an 'A' in my Systematic Theology course. He knows the information and knows that the information is true." --R. C. Sproul |
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507 | Fallen | Job 31:33 | DocTrinsograce | 242515 | ||
"When the Protestant Reformers talked about total depravity, they meant that sin -- its power, its influence, its inclination -- affects the whole person. Our bodies are fallen, our hearts are fallen, and our minds are fallen -- there is no part of us that escapes the ravages of our sinful human nature." --R.C. Sproul |
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508 | Every Christian... | Matt 23:12 | DocTrinsograce | 242508 | ||
"Every Christian has a choice between being humble or being humbled." --Charles Haddon Spurgeon |
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509 | Is Hell everlasting?Rev 20:15 | John 3:16 | DocTrinsograce | 242494 | ||
Please read the terms of use. There are specific doctrines there that you proclaimed to all of us as holding (1) when you first joined the forum and (2) with every one of your posts. However, your posts are in violation of Biblical Christian Orthodox. |
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510 | The Changes Sure to Come... | 1 Tim 6:19 | DocTrinsograce | 242434 | ||
Father, I know that all my life Is portioned out for me, And the changes that are sure to come I do not fear to see; But I ask Thee for a present mind Intent on pleasing Thee. I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, Through constant watching wise, To meet the glad with joyful smiles, And to wipe the weeping eyes; And a heart at leisure from itself, To soothe and sympathize. I would not have the restless will That hurries to and fro, Seeking for some great thing to do Or secret thing to know; I would be treated as a child, And guided where I go. Wherever in the world I am, In whatsoe’er estate, I have a fellowship with hearts To keep and cultivate; And a work of lowly love to do For the Lord on Whom I wait. So I ask Thee for daily strength, To none that ask denied, And a mind to blend with outward life While keeping at Thy side; Content to fill a little space, If Thou be glorified. And if some things I do not ask In my cup of blessing be, I would have my spirit filled the more With grateful love to Thee, More careful, not to serve Thee much, But to please Thee perfectly. There are briers besetting every path That call for patient care; There is a cross in every lot, And an earnest need for prayer; But a lowly heart that leans on Thee Is happy anywhere. In a service which Thy will appoints There are no bonds for me; For my inmost heart is taught “the truth” That makes Thy children “free.” And a life of self renouncing love Is a life of liberty. --Anna L. Warring (1850) |
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511 | As commanded... | 2 John 1:5 | DocTrinsograce | 242416 | ||
"I did little think ever to have lived to see the day wherein the churches of Christ should have so little concern in one another as they have. There is not that love among ourselves which there ought to be." --John Owen (1616-1683) I wish that I could have seen how the churches related with one another during Owen's lifetime that prompted his statement. I would like to have seen the before as well as the after. Although I would deem that Owen would be astonished by what we see exemplified daily in our own time. |
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512 | Saved from What? | Rom 9:27 | DocTrinsograce | 242413 | ||
"When a man gets saved, he gets saved from God. The justice of God was coming for you from Himself, God saved you for Himself, and God saved you by Himself." --Paul Washer |
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513 | What shall I do with Jesus? | Matt 27:22 | DocTrinsograce | 242412 | ||
"The question comes today as it did of old, 'What shall I do with Jesus which is called Christ?' for you have to do something with Him: either you despise and reject Him, or you receive Him as the Savior of your soul and the Lord of your life." --A. W. Pink (1886-1952) |
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514 | Individual Grace Required | Job 13:16 | DocTrinsograce | 242398 | ||
"God's grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation... We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerate [lost] human nature." --Cambridge Declaration |
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515 | Showing them the Proof | 2 Cor 8:24 | DocTrinsograce | 242378 | ||
"The catholic or universal church, which (with respect to the internal work of the Spirit and truth of grace) may be called invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ, the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. (Hebrews 12:23; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:10, 22, 23; Ephesians 5:23, 27, 32)" 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith chapter 26: Of the Church, paragraph 1 |
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516 | Should pastors/preachers be evaluated | 1 Cor 4:4 | DocTrinsograce | 242376 | ||
Dear Sister Azure, Perhaps the passage in question (1 Corinthians 4:1-5) would be applicable to the young elder if he was an Apostle. :-) We know, of course, that he is not. When we take the passages on the characteristics of an elder (1 Timothy 3:1-16; Titus 1:6-9; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 5:1; etc.) they are all a matter of visible characteristics to the rest of the church. I would be very surprised at any pastor or elder who would not want to be continually examined by his brethren, to the glory of God and the good of the saints. Wanting to lord it over the others in the church, to not be questioned, and to be able to do all things with impunity is evidence of a false teacher, not a shepherd of Christ's flock. Looking back at the time that your young elder came to your church, it would have been best to have asked him about this oversight during his application. Even during the times of the primitive church, bishops were subject to oversight by the church as a whole. Today we operate differently, but compare the men who lead predominantly in Christian circles. They are pastors of a local congregation, they are recognized teachers and leaders in Christian thought, they affirm published standards of doctrine, and they lead exemplary personal lives. Compare them with some of the parachurch leaders popular in the less doctrinally sound groups. The differences are pretty obvious. The real question is do we want to follow the Holy Spirit as He leads through the Word, or do we want people to scratch our itching ears. In Him, Doc |
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517 | Teaching a Teacher | Matt 10:24 | DocTrinsograce | 242373 | ||
“As dearly beloved followers of Jesus Christ, we who are teachers need to understand this: the essential truth at the very foundation of education is that God is the True Teacher, the Master Teacher, the Actively-Changing-Lives Teacher. To teach as a ‘student teacher’ under His authority and His leading will transform our hearts and attitudes, it will dramatically affect our students’ experience, and, in the final analysis, it will reflect the heart of God. “Instead of a mere dispenser of facts, requiring our students to regurgitate the same facts back to us, we can teach with anticipation and a sense of wonder, expecting God to show us new insights, new connections, and new understandings we never had before. We can enthusiastically and humbly share with our students what and how God has taught us, eagerly encouraging them to watch for His involvement in their own lives.” --Diana Waring (2008) |
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518 | The Love of God Creates... | Eph 6:23 | DocTrinsograce | 242372 | ||
"The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it. The love of man comes into being through that which is pleasing to it. The love of God loves sinners, evil persons, fools and weaklings, in order to make them righteous, good, wise, and strong. Rather than seeking its own good, the love of God flows forth and bestows good." --Martin Luther (1518) from the Heidelberg Disputation (thesis 28) |
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519 | Open the Eyes of my Heart | 2 Cor 3:16 | DocTrinsograce | 242367 | ||
"O Lord Jesus Christ, open the eyes of my heart, that I may hear Your word and understand and do Your will, for I am a sojourner upon the earth. Hide not Your commandments from me, but open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of Your law. Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of Your wisdom." --John Chrysostom (347-407) |
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520 | What was Isaiah relationship to theKing | Is 6:1 | DocTrinsograce | 242366 | ||
Hi, Jim... Welcome to the forum! The Lord Himself grants sight and withholds sight (see Isaiah 44:18-20; John 12:40; Romans 9:18). God's timing is perfect. Just at the right moment He granted sight to Isaiah. God removes the scales from the eyes of those He chooses. In Him, Doc |
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