Results 201 - 220 of 350
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Aixen7z4 Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
201 | Is lifting His name related to this vs? | John 12:32 | Aixen7z4 | 104043 | ||
Yes. But will they listen? The only purpose of this post is to encourage us to listen to one another. This is obviously hard to do. Those who want to lift up the name of Jesus will not listen because something tells them that they should. Can't we listen to them? Psalm 34:3 allows them to lift him up that. Exalting him and praising him are the same thing. “Exalt ”equals “Lift up”. It is the same thing. "Exalt" is the same as "lift up". The idea is to talk or sing about how great God is. And please don’t say we do not need to do that. Many scriptures encourage us to do that. Our brothers and sisters want to do that and here they tell their reasons. Their main reason is they want unbelievers to hear how great God is and to be attracted to him. That idea is soundly scriptural. Can’t we listen to them? I suggest that we need to read the passages cited and just think a little bit. Swift to hear. Slow to speak. That is what we are encouraged to do. The idea of lifting up Jesus is a scriptural idea. But it is not the kind of lifting up that Jesus was speaking of in John 12:32. Can't we just admit that? Lift him up. But use other scriptures. To insist that the idea is in contained John 12:32 forces us to focus on the cross and to rejoice and feel shame at the same time. It impels others to talk about crucifying him again and bringing him to an open shame. It causes one to wonder whether conversations like this do not bring him to an open shame. What if an unbeliever comes on to read his thread? What are they to think? And yet, some tell me that our 7-11 songs are not lifting up Jesus at all. (I only learned recently that that is what they call some of our songs, where we sing seven words eleven times and there’s no substance to it). "Lord, I lift your name on high". Does that mean that we are lifting his name on high? If I say, "I am preaching the gospel" does that statement constitute a preaching of the gospel? Contrast that with the psalms. Psalm 34:3 "O magnify the LORD with me". That is the call, only the call, the alarum, the alert. "Let us exalt his name together". That is only another alert. It is a "Get ready". Psalm 34:4 "I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears". Now, that is substance. That is praise. Now, we are lifting him up. Psalm 34:5ff "They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them". That is praise. That is saying good things about him. And do you wonder why we need to do it? It is first of all to give him his due. He says (Psalm 50:23) "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me". He is pleased with it. Not with empty words that say, "I am lifting you up". Lift him up with words that tell of the character he has and the actual things he has done. If you read Psalm 103, Psalm 104, Psalm 136, you cannot help but see that there is substance there. We need to have more than "I am singing, I am singing". Psalm 34:8 "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him". This is where we invite the unbeliever to listen. It is his invitation to trust. It is the second reason we lift him up. We lift him up in song. That means we sing about his great deeds, and how wonderful he is. We want our unsaved neighbors to know that. That is one reason we lift him up. Please listen to them and do not accuse them of bad things. But they need to listen also. If it has not been said before, I say this here: Put some substance into the songs. Don’t just say you are lifting him up. Lift him up. Talk of the things he has done. Describe how wonderful he is. But I wonder if you will listen. You used to sing, "O Lord my God, when I with awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made. I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee, How Great Thou art! ..." But you have abandoned songs like that for songs that say you are praising God when that is all they say. This is not a put down. It is the truth. And I am suggesting here that you listen. I am not suggesting that you listen to me. I am suggesting that you listen to yourselves. And listen to each other. |
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202 | We are one | John 12:32 | Aixen7z4 | 104175 | ||
Indubitably. Indissolubly joined. For through him we all have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore we are fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To him be glory forever. |
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203 | Do you have a Prodigal in your family? | John 13:35 | Aixen7z4 | 106627 | ||
It might be worthy of note that the dictionary still defines a prodigal as one who is wastefully extravagant. One is a prodigal who is given to wasteful luxury or reckless spending. I suspect that we are referring here to one who has gone away; an absconder, a backslider, a delinquent. Nevertheless, it is clear that the terminology does not ease the pain. Perhaps one day the makers of dictionaries will realize we are talking about a loved one having left home and about our longing to have them back. In the meantime it might be helpful to remember that God also has His “prodigals”. We can pray and know that He will answer, because He wants them back even more badly than we do. He will do all He can, eve more than He's already done. The Spirit will bring them to themselves, though He still leaves it up to them to say, “I will arise and go (back)”. The problem of people turning away and running away from loved ones is a big one. It is widespread, though no less hurtful for that. It helps to know that whereas even their whereabouts may not be known to us, they cannot hide from God. Not every “prodigal” will become a Franklin Graham, but God will hear the prayers offered in these situations. He will speak peace to his people. |
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204 | arguments-for existence of God | John 14:26 | Aixen7z4 | 83139 | ||
The classical arguments for the existence of God are six. 1. The ontological argument - that God must necessarily exist since we cannot imagine anyone greater than he. 2. The First Cause argument - that the creation requires a creator. 3. The teleological argument - that the evidence of design requires a designer. 4. The moral argument - that someone must have set the standards for good and evil. 5. The special events argument - that people have experienced the presence and influence of God. 6. The probability argument - that it is highly likely that God exists. The arguments against the existence of God have been four. 1. The sociological argument - that God is an idea developed by people for their benefit. 2. The Freudian theory - that creatures and features develop by competition, on their own. 3. The challenge of modern science - that phenomena which had been attributed to God can now be explained by science. 4. The problem of evil - that a God who was powerless to prevent evil could not be God. These points can hardly be presented, much less to be critiqued within this space. Suffice it to say that none of these arguments have been found to be compelling. One does not develop faith or lose it because of them. It is still true that faith comes by revelation, as one hears from the living God. |
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205 | what does jesus ascension mean for me | John 14:28 | Aixen7z4 | 124144 | ||
It is interesting how we tend to think in terms of what there is in it for me. It might be good to think for a moment on what the ascension meant for him. He had left the glories of heaven to come to this earth where he was despised and rejected and crucified. Is it not nice for him that he could return to heaven and to the position he had before? But yes, there is something in it for you if you have trusted him as your Savior. Because he has ascended, the Comforter has come (John 16:7), the Holy Spirit who lives in us (John 14:17). Because he has ascended, we also have gifts with which to serve him (Ephesians 4:8). He ascended so he could prepare a place for us (John 14:3). He ascended so he could be at the right hand of God to make intercession for us (1 John 2:1) and so he can save those who come to God through him (Hebrews 7:25). Because of his ascension “We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour” (Hebrews 2:9). And yes, he is coming back to receive us (John 14:3), and we will share in his glory (John 14:24). |
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206 | Evething good that I do is a good fruit? | John 15:4 | Aixen7z4 | 102236 | ||
Let us provoke unto love and to good works. The fruit of the Spirit is love. And faith works by love. To be grounded in love is good. But the tree does not produce ground. It uses the water and the nutrients in the ground to produce fruit. Even so we use the water of the word and the patience, kindness, longsuffering, etc. that are a part of love to produce fruit. What fruit? I would like to suggest there are more than one kind of fruit, just as there are more than one kind of fish. Godly character is fruit (Ephesians 5:9;Hebrews 12:11). Good works are fruit (Matthew 3:8; Romans 15:28). Results for our efforts are fruit (Romans 6:21,22;Colossians 1:10). The ones we have led to Christ are fruit (John 4:35,36;Romans 16:5;James 1:18), as is the growth that they experience (Romans 1:11-13). Also, there is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks and praise to him (Hebrews 13:15). These are not by our own efforts, however. It is still God who works in us, both to will and to do them. And he has a way of using us to help each other to bear fruit. |
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207 | Is war biblical? | John 18:36 | Aixen7z4 | 153172 | ||
I also wonder about war. It is quite true that God commanded war in the Old Testament, and I have wondered about that. Why did he use that method as punishment, or to resolve a conflict? But, as you have pointed out, he also called for death of individuals, amputation, eye extractions, and so on. It is not death itself that bothers me, (God gave life and he has a right to take it) nor the destruction (They build the things again) but there is this pain and this misery that come with judgment and with war. I cringe as I read, especially, that they were to have no pity on the suffering ones. “Thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (Deuteronomy 19:21). “Thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them” (Deuteronomy 7:16). Still I have wondered about war. Why did God use war at all? War includes pain and suffering even for the winning side. Why could he not destroy his enemies with the breath of his mouth, as in Isaiah 11? But he used war sometimes as a way to punish his own people. “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land … (Habakkuk 1). “The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far … a nation of fierce countenance … which also shall not leave thee … until he have destroyed you” (Deuteronomy 28). It is quite significant, no doubt, that Jesus did not fight. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living” (Isaiah 53). It is true that he had to die for our sins. “For the transgression of my people was he stricken“. In his own defense, he could not fight. He also could not call for angels to fight on his behalf. One might wonder about that as well, why it took his suffering, and even that which some would see as a defeat, to bring about salvation? Why could he not fight against Satan and win, without getting hurt himself, as in Genesis 3:15? But then again, why fight at all? The answer seems to be that war is God’s way to put away evil. Satan is evil and the author of evil, and evil must be destroyed (Deuteronomy 19:19; 21:21, etc.). Satan must be destroyed (Hebrews 2:14). Thus even the New Testament speaks of Armageddon (Revelation 16). Jesus has fought Satan and delivered us from his power (Romans 6), and he will fight him again and put away evil forever (Revelation 20). As for war between nations today, it is not at all clear when it is God’s will. There will be wars (Matthew 24:6) but it is evident that these are the result of sin (James 4). God does not want wars among us, his children, but even in the church wars happen, because of sin. Even on your question then, we may fight and disagree, but it does not seem to be God’s will. Is war Biblical? The Bible does record the facts and figures of war. It does record the fact that God has ordered wars for various reasons. Yet we may say that God does not desire wars, just as he does not want us to sin. But we disobey God, in other words, people sin, and that seems to make war both necessary and inevitable. Those of us who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are in God’s kingdom, and Jesus says his servants should not fight (John 18:36, Matthew 26:52). The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (2 Corinthians 10) and the church should not seek to achieve its aims by war (James 4). But Christians are also citizens of countries that sometimes go to war, and they have this decision to make, to what extent they should be involved. Some choose to not be entangled in the affairs of this life at all (2 Timothy 2:4) choosing instead to actively engage in the spiritual conflict (Ephesians 6). But some choose to fight for their countries, and even to be the politicians who make decisions to go to war. And some fight over the idea. |
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208 | How to Believe | John 20:31 | Aixen7z4 | 98693 | ||
I would give some of my time and attention to reading, and I would read the Gospel of John. That book was written to help us to believe. | ||||||
209 | Where in the bible does it say (Jesus is | John 20:31 | Aixen7z4 | 149057 | ||
“Son of God” is a term used throughout the New Testament to refer to our Lord Jesus Christ. Many believe that the term in the book of Daniel refers to him as well. The following is a sampling from the Gospel of John. John 1:34 And I (John) saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. John 1:49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel”. John 3:18 Jesus said, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”. John 5:25 Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? John 10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, “I am the Son of God”? John 11:4 When Jesus heard that, he said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby”. John 11:27 She (Martha) saith unto him, “Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world”. John 19:7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God”. In many other passages of Scripture, many other speakers and writers refer to Jesus as the son of God, and he himself does as much by referring to God the Father as his father. John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. |
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210 | Where was Jesus from age 7 to 20? | John 21:25 | Aixen7z4 | 101771 | ||
We do not know. There are many things we do not know. The things we are told about Jesus are so we can believe on him and receive eternal life (John 20:31). There is not enough space in any book, or even in all the books in the world, to tell us everything about him. The important thing is that he came to this earth and did enough to let us know that he is God. Then he died for us and rose again. With that, it seems that God decided it was his ministry, and his death and burial and resurrection we needed to know about, and he gave that to us in some detail. I dare say the secular writers would not have focused on him before he started teaching and doing his miracles, because until then he had not distinguished himself; not in public, anyway. He grew up as a tender plant; as a root out of dry ground. But Scripture does give us a glimpse of him at the age of 12, and he was about his Father’s business. After that he lived with his parents and was subject to them. That’s about all we know of his earthly life until he began to preach at about the age of thirty. We understand that Jesus was here for a special reason, and he is unlike any other historical figure. The same might be said of other men of God, such as Melchizedek, and Moses and Elijah. We do not know much about how they spent their early years. We should have expected the same for our Lord Jesus Christ. We should accept and cherish what we do know. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins. Isn’t that the most important part? |
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211 | What does the "SPEAKING IN TONGUES MEAN" | Acts 2:4 | Aixen7z4 | 148311 | ||
What did it mean? That was the question on the day of Pentecost. They were confounded, because people who knew only one language were speaking a message and everyone was hearing it in his own language (Acts 2:6). Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, each group heard them speak in their own language the wonderful works of God. They were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, “What does this mean?” (v. 12). What did it mean? It was a sign (1 Corinthians 14:12). What was it signaling? It was signaling the fact that the Holy Spirit had been given (v. 16). For the Jew there was the additional fact that the Gentiles would be included as recipients. The Holy Spirit was for “all flesh” and not for Jews only. What was the importance in the life of a believer? Tongues were for a sign. They were for a sign, not to them that believed, but to them that believed not (1 Corinthians 14:22). Those who did not believe needed a sign. They were “children in understanding” (v.20). The appeal to the Corinthians was that they should grow up. Paul had had to treat them as babies, though they had been in Christ for some time (1 Corinthians 3:2). He had had to feed them with the milk of the word. But he was warning them that the baby things must pass away. The sign of new believers speaking in language unknown to themselves would fade away (1 Corinthians 13:8). When would that happen? It would happen when they were mature enough to do without it. Again, his appeal to them was to grow up, to cease being “children in understanding”. For the mature church there is no more milk, no more signs, no more “tongues”. The Jews desired a sign (1 Corinthians 1:22) but what God had for them instead was the Gospel (v. 23). Seems they had always hankered for a sign (Matthew 12:38, John 2:18, John 6:30, etc). But Jesus had said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas” (Matthew 12:39). Now to the early church he said they could have the sign of tongues for a while, but then it would cease. When the Jews understood that the Gentiles were being grafted in, (as in Acts 11:18), when they had grown up and ceased to be children in their understanding of that fact, then “tongues” had served their purpose, and they were ready to pass away. Do we need “tongues” today then, people being enabled supernaturally to speak in unknown languages? Brethren, be not children in understanding. In malice be children, but in understanding, be men. |
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212 | How do you say "repent" gently? | Acts 3:26 | Aixen7z4 | 97159 | ||
And how do you warn them with love? Of Course, John Reformed is correct to point out that we must preach Isaiah 1:20 along with verse 18. But we can point out that God does not want anyone to perish (2Pe 3:9). Punishment is his "strange work" (Isa 28:21) and he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze 33:11). He does not force us; he gives us choices. But he encourages us to choose what is good for us (Deu 30:19). "You will be devoured with the sword" may sound harsh and I do not say we should avoid it. But we may temper it with words of love and entreaty. Our God is a consuming fire (Deu 4:24; Heb 12:29) but he is also love (1 john 4:16; 1 John 4:8). |
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213 | Why was there fear here? | Acts 5:11 | Aixen7z4 | 132554 | ||
It is one of the reasons for judgment, that others may see it and fear. See Deuteronomy 13:6-11. God told them to kill the false prophets so that others may hear and fear. See also Deuteronomy 17:13; Deuteronomy 19:20; Deuteronomy 21:21, etc. The idea is that people will see the judgment of God and be afraid lest it come upon them because they do the same things. It is a deterrent, a teaching device. See what happens when there is no judgment and no fear (Ecclesiastes 8:11; Romans 3:18,12). Fear can cause a person to think twice about doing evil (Proverbs 14:16; Proverbs 16:6). It is apparent, however, that people can become immune (Daniel 5:22; Revelation 16:8ff). We should thank God for the ability to feel fear. It helps us to respond to warnings (Amos 3:8; Hebrews 4:1). |
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214 | The "whole message?" | Acts 5:20 | Aixen7z4 | 132562 | ||
You have hit upon something very important. The people were coming with the belief they could be healed physically. Belief for salvation, “saving faith” is something else. For that, they needed the message; the full message. It was that way with Jesus, was it not? In John 6 they came for the food, but they went away when they heard the rest of the message. In John 9, the blind was healed in verse 7. In verse 37 he heard the rest of the message, and in verse 38, he believed. When Jesus was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man (John 2:23-25). But there are some of you that believe not. Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him (John 6:64). There is a need to tell the whole story. I note how Jesus said on one occasion that he was doing a miracle in order for them to know that he has the power not only to heal but to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6). It seems then that the miracles were only designed to prepare them for the message. And now, the angel says, “Give them the whole message”. Peter gave the whole message. After pointing out that it was the power of Christ that has healed the man at the gate called Beautiful (Acts 3:16 he went on to preach the Gospel, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and to call for repentance (v.1 19) and faith (v. 22). Paul gave the whole message. In Romans 15:19 he made reference to the signs and wonders done by him, by the power of the Spirit of God; but also “I have fully preached the gospel of Christ”. He describes his gospel in 1 Corinthians 15. In Acts 20 he said that he had held back nothing (v. 20). What was the full message? It seems to be summarized again in Acts 20 and verse 21: “Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ”. |
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215 | Does anyone still beleive that God talks | Acts 9:4 | Aixen7z4 | 142188 | ||
The fact that we are discussing the subject says a lot. The fact is the Lord does talk to us, or John 10:27 is not true. But there are also people who talk to us, and we find it important to consider what they say. Any believer may know that God talks to them. He has not left us alone. He walks with us and he talks with us. But it is also important to us to know what others people say. The fact is, other people are always talking to us. Our task is often to decide whether or when to listen. Some of what we hear is solidly true, but very short on substance. The word of God is true, they say, and we agree. But what does it say? Some try to add substance and utility and they say, “God told me to go to …” and they lose us then because we have no basis for judging whether it was God. We also know of cases where it was apparently not God because the action in question was contrary to (our understanding of) the written word of God. There is, somewhere on this forum, the question whether Satan talks to us, and it might be interesting to review that. We know at least that he has ministers (2 Corinthians 11) and they are not reticent to talk. They may say that they have heard from God, but then they do not tell the truth. There is also a question as to whether true prophets always tell the truth. See 1 Kings 22. The truth is not always what we want to hear. The story of Micaiah is one that we can learn from (Romans 15:4). Even if we speak the truth, there are still those who would say, “Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace”. But we can know when God is speaking. For one thing, it is in the word of . For the other thing, God what God says will happen will happen. So, when a preacher says, “I have a message from the Lord” and the message is: “Look to Jesus now and live”. The Lord is speaking, the message is true, and those who accept it know it from past or present experience. One can very well report: “I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘Come unto Me and rest;…” I came to Jesus as I was, … I found in Him a resting place, … I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give The living water; ...” I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life giving stream; My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him. “I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘I am this dark world’s Light;…’ I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun; And in that light of life I’ll walk, till traveling days are done”. Many references have been made to Hebrews 1:2 where it says that God has spoken through his Son. Now we might ask ourselves, what have we heard the Son to say? And are we giving earnest heed to those things (Hebrews 2:1)? It may be that some of us are listening for other messages such as “Go to Chicago” or “Buy this car”. Now, since neither “Chicago” not “car” is in the Bible, we cannot detect the voice of God in such utterances. And since neither good ourcomes nor bad show that God directed we cannot tell even in hindsight whether God had spoken. What this piece means to say is that God spoken so loudly on so many things! God is light and we should walk in the light. We should worship God. We should preach the Gospel. We should love one another, not in word but in deed. Are we listening to those, or are we looking for other messages? It may be that we are looking for something secret and personal, spoken in our own individual ears. But isn’t God saying the same thing to all of us? We look at his Son. We look at his word. The Holy Spirit touches the word of God and it roars to life in us. When we read John 3:16, don’t we “hear” God saying, “I love you”? When we read Deuteronomy 6;5 or Matthew 22:37, don’t we “hear” God saying we should love him? When we read 1 John 3:16, don’t we “hear” God saying, “Love one another”? Or are we looking for something more mysterious and personally satisfying or just something more selfishly personal? Two passages of Scripture have meant so much to me in times when it seemed God was not speaking. “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left’” from Isaiah 30, and “I being in the way, the LORD led me” from Genesis 24. Blessed are those who can hear the voice of God in the word of God, even a paraphrased version of it, and who find no need for an audible, possibly counterfeit voice. When there was no written Bible to go by, a man such as Samuel was blessed to hear the audible voice of God. But now, now that we have his word in writing, blessed instead are those who hear no audible disembodied voices, but who “hear” the word of God and do it. |
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216 | What does "appointed" mean? | Acts 13:48 | Aixen7z4 | 152989 | ||
“How can I possibly say it?” That must be the question that a translator asks as he tries to convey what the Scripture says, to an English audience, or to any audience, for that matter. I think that is preferable to saying that it is a question God asks. But surely our Lord, who knows everything, does know that it is well nigh impossible to convey his thoughts to us by words alone. And it must be that it is totally impossible to convey a thought unambiguously with a single word. So what does the word “Appointed” mean? I would ask the Greek scholars. Is there such a thing as a synonym in that language? Is there only one set of words to convey the same idea? Or can one be saying the same thing even while using different words. We are not supposed to debate determinism or predestination on this forum. So those who want to establish the idea that God has chosen some people to be saved (while not choosing any to be unsaved, or even neglecting to choose them) can have free rein. But I wonder how else the Holy Spirit might have expressed this. He has told us everywhere that salvation is by faith. We must believe in order to be saved. We must trust the Lord. And now, if he wants to tells us that only some have this ability, specially given to some, to believe, could he have said here, “as many as had been appointed to believe and receive eternal life did so”? Could he have said, “as many as had been appointed to eternal life succumbed to it”? Could he have said, “as many as had been granted the ability to believe exercised that belief and thereby achieved the eternal life that God had predestined them to have“? Why does he leave the idea that they exercised their free will to believe (while others did not) and thereby sealed their destiny? By giving us “as many as were destined (appointed and ordained) to eternal life believed” the Amplified Bible is giving us the idea that there are synonyms in the original language. What if the only word was “destined” and there were no synonyms? Then the only idea we would have is that the ones who believe had a destiny, the result of their believing, not that either their believing or their destiny had been predetermined. This is not to reopen the age-old debate. What good would that do? It is to say that it is usually difficult, and often impossible, to determine a message by focusing on a single word. It is also not good to use this word or this verse to prove a point. We do well to look at the entire passage, and the entire word of God. Do that to determine whether the destiny of those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is set, or whether both the cause and the effect have been preset. |
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217 | purpose of Romans? | Rom 1:15 | Aixen7z4 | 121828 | ||
The purpose for the book of Romans can perhaps be deduced from chapter 1, verse 15. It says, “I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome”. With that, we know that Paul had a desire to preach the Gospel there as he had done elsewhere. Did he actually carry out that purpose as he wrote the letter? Let us see. The message of the Gospel is “that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Paul says that there is no other Gospel (Galatians 1:6,7). There are false “gospels”, but Paul was not interested in promoting them for if he did he would be, according to his own words, anathema, accursed (Galatians 1:8,9). So what did he say to the Romans in that letter? 1. We are sinners - This he showed in chapters 1 to 3. 2. Christ died for our sins - This is seen in 3:25, 5:6-8, 8:3, and 8:32 3. He was buried - This is presented in chapter 6 4. He rose again - Also in chapter 6 All along he shows that we are justified, made righteous (3:24), through faith in Christ (See especially chapter 4). But God leads the sinner through repentance (chapter 2, verse 4) to faith (3:26). In chapter 10 it shows how a sinner hears the gospel, believes in Christ and calls upon him. Whoever does that is saved (10:13). Why did he not stop at chapter 10, then? He goes on to praise God for the wonderful plan by which sinners can be saved. Then he tells us we should be so grateful that we should give our whole lives in obedience to him. The latter three chapters shows us practical ways and areas in which that is to be done. We may say that the purpose of the letter to the Romans was to present the Gospel. And now we know what the Gospel is and how Paul presented it to them. |
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218 | eager to preach the gospel to believers? | Rom 1:15 | Aixen7z4 | 121831 | ||
With such a good question, it would be interesting to know if the person who asked it was satisfied with the answers given. I was glad to see the idea that the gospel should be preached to those who have already received it, and I am aware of a few reasons for this. First of all, we need to be reminded. Paul reminded the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 15 he says, “Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you”. Peter also expressed a need to remind his audience of things they had already known. He says, “I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance (2 Peter 1:12,13). Secondly, it is God’s way to put the truth in writing. God told his prophets to write. That is an essential feature of his message to us. And now we can say, as Jesus said, “It is written”. The written word is more reliable than the spoken word, because it does not change. Thirdly, there is always a mixed multitude in the church. They can be addressed in a general way as believers, but there will be some among them that are not saved. This is especially true as Paul is writing to an entire city. We know that when he eventually went to Rome (Acts 28) he met many who had not believed. One other reason is that the letter was intended not only for those who would receive it, but also for those who would come later. It was not only for the Romans, it was for everyone. It is for us. And we are blessed in understanding God’s plan of salvation. Most of us do not understand it fully when we receive it, and it was likely the same for those Romans. God thought it good to have it spelled out for us, in writing. |
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219 | The Gospel the sole means of salvation? | Rom 1:16 | Aixen7z4 | 123810 | ||
I sat and read the entire thread. Such a wonderful discussion! What a disappointment that that it degenerated so, and revealed a hidden agenda to promote the ideas of Calvin again! And yet the originator seemed so open to the idea that the Judge of all the earth would find a way to communicate the necessary Gospel to all men. Since we have heard the Gospel in words such as those recorded in 1 Corinthians 15, it is difficult to imagine how God communicates it to the person who has not heard. Since we learn so much by reading and by hearing, it is difficult to imagine how God can communicate facts to someone who cannot read or to someone who cannot hear. But the Bible assures us that God does communicate to everyone, if not through words, then through nature (Psalm 19) and through conscience (Romans 2:15). God our Savior will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth(1 Timothy 2:3,4). How can that happen when they have not heard? The word is true whether or not they have heard it. God knows the thoughts that he thinks toward them, thoughts of peace, and not of evil. They shall ye call upon him, and they shall go and pray unto him, and he will listen to them. And they shall seek him, and find him, when thy search for him with all their heart. He will be found of them, says the LORD. This applies to all men, not Israel only, for God is not a respecter of persons. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It is fine to ask the questions: How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, (concerning those who have not heard the way that I have heard) “Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world”. Romans 1 and 2 contains so much about those who despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering of God, perhaps because they are the majority of the people. But what of the few who do respond to revelation and seek God? To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, (he gives) eternal life: but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, (he responds with) indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; but (he gives) glory, honor, and peace, to every man that works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. Apologies to those who would have liked to see the scripture references for all this. One can but hope that the words are familiar enough that we can think of them again as from Romans and Jeremiah and the Psalms and find them as necessary. But let us put them together to see that God created the gospel when he allowed Jesus to die on the cross and raised him from the dead. He has ways of sending this news to the whole world. Some of us may refuse to go, and some who hear may refuse to believe, but God will enlighten every man anyway. Most will reject the good News, but those who accept it and respond with repentance and faith, will be saved. This is just another attempt to encourage our participation in this process. All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. |
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220 | What must I do to be Saved? | Rom 1:16 | Aixen7z4 | 123814 | ||
What is it about the Gospel? A search of this forum reveals a multitude of references to the topic. One may even find a thread with the title “What Must I Do to be Saved?” But it is apparently not easy to discuss these things. That particular thread elicited only a single response, to wit, “I’m not sure what is your question or if you are just making a statement”. And yet the questioner had been asking, “Is there a clear answer to a seeking sinner should they surf unto this forum?” One would hope that a seeking sinner could find a clear answer to the question about being saved wherever the Bible is in view. One would hope that the question would be boldly displayed and clearly answered. Indeed, this writer will attempt to revive the topic by appending this question to the thread. But one has to be prepared to see it “temporarily restricted from appearing on the homepage”. I have written to the webmasters to ask the question, but there has been no response. What is it about this topic? The Gospel seems to be an often-mentioned topic, here on this forum. And yet, Scripture seems to indicate that it is a divisive thing. The question “Why the Hostility?” dealt with the irony that the one who had come to preach the Gospel (Good News) and to die so that there could be a Gospel for us to preach, was treated with such hostility. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). Paul said he determined to know nothing among them, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified ... that their faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:2ff). The world in its wisdom does not know God, but it pleases God by the “foolishness” of preaching (of the Gospel) to save them that believe. Some seek a sign, and some look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. Some can accept Christ, his birth, his life, but not his death (See John 12:34). Some cannot accept the fact that he rose again (See 1 Corinthians 15). But the Gospel insists on both. It also calls for repentance toward God and faith in Christ, and some find it hard to do one or the other (See Luke 13:1-5 and John 12:37). It is easy to say that the Gospel causes uneasiness among those who do not believe, and it divides them from those who do accept it. The one who came with the Gospel said, “I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law” (Matthew 10). He also said, “Henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three” (Luke 12). But is it in the nature of the Gospel to also cause division among believers? Some preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will. The one preaches Christ of contention, not sincerely, but the other of love (Philippians 1). Thus there may be divisions even if we have the same gospel. There may be among us envying, and strife, and divisions. For one reason or the other (It is not clear that it has anything to do with the gospel we preach) one saith, “I am of Paul”; and another, “I am of Apollos”. Then there are those who, as in Galatia and Colosse, add to the gospel and make a difference. Then there are those with different views about the need to preach the Gospel. All in all, a lot of division, and tension, and contention. I have heard that there are differences within the religions of the world. But they are not as great, apparently, as among those who have accepted the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This leads me to ask: “Is there something in the nature of the Gospel that it causes this tension and division?” |
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