Results 5701 - 5720 of 6029
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Results from: Notes On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: DocTrinsograce Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
5701 | The Sufficiency of Scripture | 2 Pet 1:3 | DocTrinsograce | 178103 | ||
"The canon of revelation is closed; there is no more to be added; God does not give a fresh revelation, but He rivets the old one. When it has been forgotten, and laid in the dusty closet of our memory, He grabs it out and cleans the picture, but does not paint a new one. There are no new doctrines, but the old ones are often revived. It is not, I say, by any new revelation that the Holy Spirit comforts. He does so by telling us old things over and over again; He brings a bright light to manifest the treasures hidden in Scripture; He unlocks the vaults in which the truth has long lain, and He points to secret rooms filled with untold riches; but He coins no more, for enough is done. "Believer! There is enough in the Bible for you to live on forever. If you should outnumber the years of Methuselah, there would be no need for a fresh revelation; if you should live until Christ returns, there would be no necessity for the addition of one single word; if you should go down as deep as Jonah, or even descend as David said he did, into the depths of hell, still there would be enough in the Bible to comfort you without one extra sentence." --Charles H. Spurgeon |
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5702 | The Sufficiency of Scripture | 2 Pet 1:3 | DocTrinsograce | 178128 | ||
...reading minds... in this case, brother Lionheart, it is probably more a matter of Philippians 1:27 b. :-) | ||||||
5703 | Evidences of Regeneration | 2 Pet 1:10 | DocTrinsograce | 172547 | ||
The Christian faith is observable. The internal realities always manifest themselves in external behaviors. As we have been discussing regeneration, I thought I'd list some of its evidences. If you can identify further evidences from Scripture, feel free to add them. 1. Hatred and Sorrow over Sin I read once that sin is spelled with "I" in the middle. The Holy Spirit works in us a knowledge and deep sorrow for sin. This is the kind of sorrow that is accompanied by repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10), a turning, and an abhorring of sin. In the past, a desire to be delivered from these sins did not seem great, but now we see them in God's eyes. "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5) "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." (Luke 5:8) "I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest." (Psalm 51:3-4) 2. Sole Source of Our Hope Along with the knowledge of sin, there is a knowledge that it is Jesus Christ who alone can take away and deliver one from their sin. It is knowledge that it is only Jesus and His finished work on the cross that can remove sins. Not our works, not our own will, not the works of any other person, nor declaration of a church or a priest, none of these things effect our standing before a Holy God. "Nothing but the blood of Jesus." For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) 3. Desire to Live a Holy Life The life of a believer is characterized by a desire for holiness. We acknowledge that there is still much sin in us, but we now desire to put these things off, and live gratefully unto our God to His glory. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philipians 3:13-14) 4. Fruitfulness A believer lives a fruitful life; a life filled with good works. These works do not serve any function to bring about righteousness nor do they play a part in our salvation. However, their presence demonstrates that we belong to and abide in Christ. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15:8) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:14) |
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5704 | Sanctification Evidences Justification | 2 Pet 1:10 | DocTrinsograce | 240122 | ||
"It is therefore the bounden duty of those who profess to have been justified by God to diligently and impartially examine themselves, to ascertain whether or not they have in them those spiritual graces which always accompany justification. It is by our sanctification, and that alone, that we may discover our justification. Would you know whether Christ fulfilled the law for you, that His obedience has been imputed to youraccount? Then search your heart and life and see whether a spirit of obedience to Him is daily working in you. The righteousness of the law is fulfilled only in those who 'walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit' (Romans 8:4). God never designed that the obedience of His Son should be imputed to those who live a life of worldliness, self-pleasing, and gratifying the lusts of the flesh. Far from it: 'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new' (2 Corinthians 5:17)." --A. W. Pink (1886-1952) | ||||||
5705 | Jesus is the Truth | 2 Pet 1:11 | DocTrinsograce | 201030 | ||
"Jesus is the Truth. We believe in Him, -- not merely in His words. He Himself is Doctor and Doctrine, Revealer and Revelation, the Illuminator and the Light of Men. He is exalted in every word of truth, because He is its sum and substance. He sits above the gospel, like a prince on His own throne. Doctrine is most precious when we see it distilling from His lips and embodied in His person. Sermons [and songs] are valuable in proportion as they speak of Him and point to Him. A Christ-less gospel is no gospel and a Christ-less discourse is the cause of merriment to devils." --Charles H. Spurgeon | ||||||
5706 | Authority of Scripture over Experienes | 2 Pet 1:12 | DocTrinsograce | 234180 | ||
"'The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The Testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The Statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes. The Fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever. The Judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether' (Psalm 19:7-9). "In short, Scripture, in and of itself, is completely sufficient for every need. One of the most wonderful and valuable possessions God has given His people is Scripture, which is His Word. It provides for every need and answers every question. A Christian, then, does not judge an experience on its own merits but by the Word of God! Scripture is not only infallible, but it is enough! It is all we need, and it is all God wants us to consult in settling all matters of faith and practice. To appeal to anything else is an affront to the very character of Scripture. "Now why is it so important to consider 'Scripture alone' in matters of faith and practice? The answer is obvious: simply because it 'cannot be broken' (John 10:35); it is sure and unerring in every detail (Matthew 5:17-18). As such, it and it alone is the standard; nothing else can be, for everything else is fallible and subject to error. To interpret Scripture by experience is to invite doctrinal confusion, disaster, and contradiction; to interpret experience by Scripture is to find truth. What the Christian is required to do is first of all look into God's Word to see what it teaches about a matter; with that established he can then properly understand his experience. He must look to Scripture first, because it is sure. With that settled he can then evaluate experiences, which are by themselves unsure, and weigh out all the alternatives concerning them. "Peter addresses this very issue in a fascinating way in 2 Peter 1:16-21. He is speaking of his experience on the Mount of transfiguration where he saw and heard the testimony of God the Father to the majesty of Jesus Christ. It was unquestionably a truthful and God-sent experience. Yet Peter does not leave us to trust his experience; he rather points us to Something 'more sure' (verse 19). Scripture, he says, is given by God (verses 19-21), and so it is much more reliable than experience! This is fascinating, because it is precisely contrary to common thinking today. We tend to think that Scripture is confirmed by experience. Peter says, 'No, experience is confirmed by Scripture.' "Now there is no question that what Scripture teaches will be born out in our experience, but it is Scripture that is normative, not experience. Our experience may be real and wrong at the same time. Furthermore our experience may be misunderstood and/or misinterpreted. But Scripture is 'more sure' and 'cannot be broken'; it cannot fall down at any point. Scripture alone is the guide to truth, nothing else and nothing less. God intends for faith to rest on something much more credible than even miraculous experiences; He requires faith to rest on His Word alone! 'We walk by faith, not by sight' (2 Corinthians 5:7) or signs or any other experience." --Dr. Fred Zaspel, from "A Question of Authority: Scripture vs Experience" |
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5707 | If we forbear taking food ourselves... | 2 Pet 1:13 | DocTrinsograce | 214250 | ||
“We are the nurses of Christ's little ones. If we forbear taking food ourselves, we shall famish them; it will soon be visible in their leanness, and dull discharge of their several duties. If we let our love decline, we are not like to raise up theirs." --Richard Baxter | ||||||
5708 | Doctrine Called to Mind | 2 Pet 1:15 | DocTrinsograce | 243743 | ||
What a contrast the God of the Bible is with the god of Islam, who is so transcendent that his ways are inscrutable (beyond understanding)! How different He is from the irrational, fickle, finite deities of the Greek pantheon or other polytheistic religions! These mythological ‘gods’ exhibit the folly of human emotion and the danger of ignoring revelation. The God of the Bible requires teachers who diligently study His Word and handle it accurately (compare 2 Timothy2:15 and 1 Timothy 4:15-16). He demands of His evangelists that they give rational justification to questioners who ask them why they believe as they do (1 Peter 3:15). On one occasion His chief apostle, Paul, emphasized that his gospel preaching was by way of ‘words of truth and rationality’ (Acts 26:25, NASB) when Festus charged that his great learning was driving him mad (Acts 26:24, NASB). No anti-intellectualism here! By contrast, the monistic religions of the East promote gurus who offer koans, paradoxes like the sound of one hand clapping, upon which to meditate in order to free the devotee from dependence on reason and enable him to escape the laws of logic. The Buddhist is to leave this mind behind, but the Christian God requires transformation by way of its renewal (Romans 12:1-2). "Is it any wonder that we Christians started the first universities and have planted schools and colleges everywhere our missionaries have gone? Is it any wonder that science began in Christian Europe because of the belief that the same rational God who made the human mind also created the world so the mind would be suited to discern the world’s rational structure placed there by God? God is certainly not a cultural elitist, and He does not love intellectuals more than anyone else. But it needs to be said in the same breath that ignorance is not a Christian virtue if those virtues mirror the perfection of God’s own character." --J. P. Moreland (1997) from his book "Love Your God with All Your Mind" ... the role of reason in the life of the soul ... from the section entitled "A Biblical Sketch of the Value of Reason" |
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5709 | Empty Speculations | 2 Pet 1:16 | DocTrinsograce | 240766 | ||
"Not to take too long, let us remember here, as in all religious doctrine, that we ought to hold to one rule of modesty and sobriety: not to speak, or guess, or even to seek to know, concerning obscure matters anything except what has been imparted to us by God's Word. Futhermore, in the reading of Scripture we ought to ceaselessly to endeavor to seek out and meditate upon those things which make for edification. Let us not indulge in curiosity or in the investigation of unprofitable things. And because the Lord willed to instruct us, not in fruitless questions, but in sound godliness, in the fear of His name, in true trust, and in the duties of holiness, let us be satisfied with this knowledge. For this reason, if we would be duly wise, we must leave those empty speculations which idle men have taught apart from God's Word concerning the nature, orders, and number of angels." --John Calvin (1509-1564) | ||||||
5710 | The Word Gifted to the People of God | 2 Pet 1:17 | DocTrinsograce | 243919 | ||
The Apostle Peter tells us, about the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration (cf Matthew 17:1-6): "For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased' -- and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain." (2 Peter 1:16-18) "So we have the prophetic word [Scripture itself] made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. (v19) Then Peter tells us with great clarity, the primary principle of Biblical interpretation: "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." (vv20-21) God Himself is speaking to man in the Word. Who else should interpret it than the recipients of the writing? If you write to your Aunt Mildred, would you think that anyone other than Aunt Mildred should interpret what you have written with the intent of her interpretation? Clearly, thinking that sort of distortions that Peter says are symptomatic of the unlearned (those who refuse to learn from Christian teachers), unstable (those who have lives built upon something other than the Rock), and unprincipled (those who show no evidence of a Holy Spirit transformed life) (vv3:16-17). So Peter concludes with this advice to the true believers: "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace [gifted to the believer through the Holy Spirit] and knowledge [from the Scriptures] of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (vv17-18) Again, thank you Lockman, for understanding the principles of Sola Scriptura so well, that you provide such a careful and learned translation for all to receive the very Word from our God and Father! |
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5711 | The Word Gifted to the People of God | 2 Pet 1:17 | DocTrinsograce | 243922 | ||
"I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:1-6) As explained so clearly in the first portion of this epistle, God has brought dead people to life and estranged people together -- through the Gospel! Any other groups using some other means of unity are not the His body, but something else! Thus we strive for this unity... not one of our own making... but one of His making. To help us do this, He has equipped us individually: "But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift." (V7) By looting the world to give gifts to the church (vv8-10). "And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." (vv1-12) Note that this is not based on some mystical experience of Aunt Mildred! He actually gave us men through history to help us understand clearly what God has spoken. (The liberal view always resists history.) And for what reason has God given us (the church) these gifts? "Until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge [not magic] of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ, so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming." We can actually study these gifts to the church and see to what extent they rightly interpret the Word. They are not infallible, but instruct us. The human trickery and deceitful scheming, always arises from those who will not accept this great gift of Christ to His church. They must not, lest their heretical and faulty teaching be exposed. They will even say that these gifts are all demonic. Not by study and careful analysis in the light of reason and the Holy Spirit who is creating this unity. On the contrary, the live and teach bigotry -- "intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself." Watch the blanket posts down through the years here in the forum. There is a knee jerk resistance by some, despite even the efforts of Lockman to resist this denominational bias from going on and on contrary to the intentions of our Lord and His Spirit. The nature of these posters are always evident, for they seek to divide, disparage, and destroy rather than to unite, accept, and build-up the Body of Christ. Note the responses to any effort to elevate Christ, His Word, and His Holy Spirit. The evidentiary trail continues. It cannot help itself -- for such is the world and the prince and power of the air. |
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5712 | The Word Gifted to the People of God | 2 Pet 1:17 | DocTrinsograce | 243924 | ||
QED. | ||||||
5713 | The Word Gifted to the People of God | 2 Pet 1:17 | DocTrinsograce | 243927 | ||
I see. So, when you teach -- presumably something from the Scriptures -- you have utterly no authority because it is what you are saying it. I think the Quakers used to do that. But they would completely forgo having that fellow up there in front going on about things that he cannot say authoritatively. So I now see your point, Ed. I didn't realize your position applied to all those 22,000 independent preachers out there, too, along with yourself. I will keep this in mind as you trail along behind my posts. Thank you for explaining. | ||||||
5714 | The Word Gifted to the People of God | 2 Pet 1:17 | DocTrinsograce | 243929 | ||
Ah... Clearly you have not read a thing that I have posted. So much complaining without hearing a word (Proverbs 18:13). Thus, I am answering someone who is simply parroting out of their bigotry. I fear that that makes me the greater fool. I will cease with impunity. | ||||||
5715 | The Word Gifted to the People of God | 2 Pet 1:17 | DocTrinsograce | 243935 | ||
Job 32:1 applies... so does Proverbs 1:5; 12:15 | ||||||
5716 | The Word Gifted to the People of God | 2 Pet 1:17 | DocTrinsograce | 243936 | ||
Hi, Pastor... You have to interpret Ed based on context: in this case by 600 years, i.e., the Dutch Remonstrants (1610). He would not have necessarily know of the Pelagian Heresy, otherwise he would have written 1600 years; or the Montanist Heresy, otherwise he would have written 1800 years. You have to subtract a couple of centuries to understand the historic reference. He cherishes the teaching of these people, with some contemporary adjustment; but it would be a logical fallacy for me to denigrate his logic based on arithmetic/historic weaknesses; which thing I will not do. In Him, Doc |
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5717 | False Notions of Witness of Spirit | 2 Pet 1:19 | DocTrinsograce | 178405 | ||
"Meanwhile we have the Holy Spirit, and we have the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments that the Holy Spirit uses. Much mischief has been wrought in the church by false notions of 'the witness of the Spirit'; it has sometimes been supposed that the Holy Spirit makes us independent of the Bible. Just the opposite is the case. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He does not contradict in one generation what He has said in another. He does not contradict the Scriptures that He himself has given. On the contrary, what He really does is to make the words of Scripture glow with a heavenly light and burn in the hearts of men. Those Scriptures are placed in your hands. You may not say with the prophets of old: 'God has spoken directly and independently to me; I appeal to no external authority; when I speak it is "Thus saith the Lord."' But you can do something else. You can mount your pulpit stairs; open reverently the Bible on the desk; pray to the gracious Spirit to make plain the words that He has spoken; and so unfold to needy people the Word of God." --J. Gresham Machen | ||||||
5718 | False Notions of Witness of Spirit | 2 Pet 1:19 | DocTrinsograce | 213846 | ||
"Though the truth is, that until a man comes to be fully persuaded of the truth of them from the same Spirit that dictated them, every soul will be as apt to waver in his faith, concerning their being the word of God, as he in Tully, who only believed in the immortality of the soul from the reading of Plato's book, which (if I remember right) the Roman orator expresseth in words to this sense: I have read over Plato's book again and again; but I know not how it comes to pass, so long as I am reading I agree with it; but no sooner is the book out of my hands but de immortalitate animæ dubitare cœpi, I begin to doubt whether the soul be immortal, yea or no. But, however, in one degree or other every Christian makes that the principle of his religion, that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the word of God. Some believe it more faintly and uncertainly, some more fixedly and firmly; and accordingly the faith of persons, as to them, is more or less operative." --Matthew Poole | ||||||
5719 | Only One Interpretation | 2 Pet 1:20 | DocTrinsograce | 178511 | ||
"Thou shalt understand, therefore, that the Scripture hath but one sense, which is the literal sense. And that literal sense is the root and ground of all, and the anchor that never faileth, whereunto if thou cleave, thou canst never err or go out of the way. And if thou leave the literal sense, thou canst not but go out of the way. Neverthelater, the Scripture useth proverbs, similitudes, riddles, or allegories, as all other speeches do, but that which the proverb, similitude, riddle, or allegory signifieth, is ever the literal sense, which thou must seek out diligently." --William Tyndale (1525) | ||||||
5720 | 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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