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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Bill Mc Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | GeneralWas and Bill Mc? | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 14608 | ||
Question was replied to. | ||||||
2 | Greek scholars, please help. | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 14738 | ||
Thanks. Debbie, see above definitions. These gentlemen were gracious enough to supply the info I was searching for. They both seem to agree that the correct interpretation of "from the hour of testing" implies 'a protection through'. This would be in keeping with what happened druing the plagues of Egypt and the Passover. In God's deliverance, He did not physically remove His children (the Jews) from harm, but, rather, He protected them in the midst of harm. He often does this to show His power and glory. Remember the Hebrew children and the fiery furnance, Daniel and the lion's den, Jonah and the whale, etc. God often shows His love and protection 'in the midst of'. I hope this comforts you, sister. I personally believe that Christians will go THROUGH (protected in the midst of) the great tribulation but not God's wrath - the start of the Day of the Lord, where the bowls are poured out. Thanks, brothers, for your help. Blessings in Christ, Bill Mc |
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3 | Eternal Security? | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 15498 | ||
Dear Tim, My reply is more of a question than an answer. Sorry. I'm trying to figure it out, too. I'm only going to reference 1 Cor 15:1 here. Anyway, is the following understanding possible and/or reasonable? We know that when Paul wrote his letters to the churches, that they (the letters) were circulated from house to house (in fact, the churches did, too), congregation to congregation. They did not have the huge edific...uh, buildings (I can't spell worth a flip) that we have nowadays. The meeting places, back then as now, were made up of both believers and non-believers in Christ. What I am saying is that, although the letter is addressed to 'the church at Corinth, those sanctified, saints by calling', there were still unbelievers and undecided at their meetings, weren't there? How else would they hear the gospel message? Could Paul be addressing them, too? Or could Paul be addressing people that said they believed concerning the facts of the gospel but still kept living the same old way? (The church of God at Corinth SHOULD NOT be a blueprint for the modern church) In other words, they believed the facts of the gospel but they did not have the body of the New Testament writings to show them how Christ's death, burial, and resurrection should be 'lived out.' That being said, see my modification to the verse in parentheses. Note: I AM NOT TRYING TO REWRITE IT, just understand it. Would it be proper to look at this verse in the light of: Now, brothers (is this fellow believers or Jewish brothers?), I want to remind you (all, professing believers, unbelievers, and undecided) of the gospel I preached to you (all) which you (professing believers) received and on which you (believers) have taken your (believers) stand. By this gospel you (anyone who hears) are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you (hearing the truth of the gospel - vs. 3 and 4 AND put faith in it, let it change your life). Otherwise, you (anyone who just hears) have believed (said you believed but never put faith in it) in vain. Please don't crucify me here. I admit the text may not allow for this understanding at all. I'm just trying to understand it too. I feel, as you know, that John uses the same literary device (an editorial we) in 1 John. There he says in verse 1:3 'our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.' Then he turns around and says a couple of verses later 'if we say that we have fellowship with Him (in fact, he just did) and yet walk in darkness (unbelief about Christ), we lie and do not practice the truth.' We (you and I) know that John didn't lie and did practice the truth. What do you think, Tim? In Christ, Bill Mc |
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4 | Who received the blood ? | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 15850 | ||
Hi Ricardo, I'm not sure what you mean by who received the blood from the animal sacrifices, but the Law demanded that they be made to cover 'atone' for the sins of the people. Hebrews 9:22 says that without the shedding of blood there is no remission (forgiveness) of sins. Why? Because Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin, what we deserve when we sin, is death. And Leviticus tells us that the life is in the blood. But God, being merciful, allowed the substitution of animal's deaths (the shedding of their blood) to represent what the sinful Israelites deserved. As your verse here says, He didn't take pleasure in them or desire them because of what He says in verse 4 and 11 - the blood of bulls and goats could NEVER take away sin - only cover it. And then, only for one year until the next Day of Atonement when the whole process would be repeated. Christ's blood, on the other hand, being perfect, takes away the whole sin issue between God and man. His sacrifice was one sacrifice for all men for all sins for all time - seen verse 10,14. See also Hebrews 9:25-28. Plus, He did something that the Old Testament sacrifices couldn't do - He made us perfect in God's sight - completely! See Hebrews 10:1,10,14. What a wonderful Savior! Now, because of the sacrifice Christ made we can draw near to God, and as Hebrews 10:16-18 says, He remembers are sins no more! And we are righteous in God's sight. Old Testament worshippers new was forgiveness was. But they didn't have God dwelling inside them. What amazing grace! I hope this helps. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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5 | Definitions - God? | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 17163 | ||
Dear charis, This is not so much an answer to your question but an encouragement for you. It's thrilling to hear that you are putting together a primer on the Life that Christ offers us. Many Christians think that the only barrier between God and man is that man sins (thinks, feels, and acts contrary to the law of God). But, as you know, man's core problem is that he is born spiritually dead. We are born dead in trespasses and sins Rom 5:12; Eph 2:1. This spiritual death, separation from God, is the root of the branches (sins we commit). Many times evangelical Christianity offers altar calls to come forward and get sins forgiven but we leave people in the dark as to the fact that they were dead 'in Adam' and Christ came to give 'life', spiritual union with God. When I first heard this message (and verified it through the scriptures) I had been a Christian for 29 years! I went back and read the gospels (especially John) and LIFE popped out at me from everywhere! I saw that my need was not only for forgiveness but for LIFE. I just thought that Jesus wanted into MY life. I didn't understand that He IS my life Gal 2:20. A forgiven dead man is still dead. Christ raises us to new spiritual life Rom 8:2 and forgives the sin that killed us so that we will never die again. In fact, that is one of the analogies I use when explaining the gospel. If a man dies from cancer and you resurrect him, but don't cure what killed him (cancer), he will just die again. If you just cure his cancer, but leave him dead, you have not helped him. You must do 2 things. Cure his cancer (what killed him) and raise him to life. Only then have you truly restored life to Him. What a wondrous thing Christ has done for and in us! He raises us to eternal life in Christ and forgives what killed us! Anyway, growing up in the U.S., I don't have much insight into Eastern culture or thinking. But I would probably start with the concept of God as creator. Every culture looks at creation, sees the beauty and design there, and wonders who made it. Creation teaches us that God exists but it doesn't tell us much about what God is like. That is where Christ comes in. He is the exact representation of the Father. In fact, eventually you can go to John chapter 1 to demonstrate that Christ Himself was the Creator. The Trinity is a difficult concept for Americans, I don't know how open the Japanese are to it. But it must be spiritually understood and accepted be faith in the long run anyway. I pray that God will bless you and guide you as you endeavor to share the message of 'Christ in you, the hope of glory.' You may want to repost your question in the queue, brother so that others will see it. Blessings in Christ, Bill Mc |
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6 | soul and spirit | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 17381 | ||
Dear Clausius, unfortunately the Bible does not make a crystal clear distinction between the soul and spirit. And it never defines them as such. I personally believe that there is a distinction because of 1 Thess 5:23 and Heb 4:12. But in many places in scripture they are used interchangeably. So, Clausius, the best (and most fun) thing to do is a word study throughout the Bible of the words 'soul' and 'spirit' and, relying always upon the Holy Spirit to lead you into truth, draw your own conclusions from your study. The tripartite view of man makes some things a little easier to understand but that, in itself, does not mean it is true. Here is my view (it is ONLY a view, an opinion): The spirit is the essence, the true identity, the nature (if you will) of the human being. It is the seat of life and death. It is the part of man that relates to the eternal and, most importantly, to God. The soul is mainly the mind, will, and emotions - what some would call the personality. The spirit can influence and control the soul. The soul can influence and control the body (most of the time, we hope). I believe that humans are primarily spirit beings (created to be eternal) who have souls (personalities), that inhabit bodies (by God's design). God did not create us to be purely spirit like He is. There are places in the OT where God mentions His soul. (Interesting) I don't know if this helps or not. Like I said, the best thing to do is to first study the scriptures, then, when you at least know what the scriptures say, consult commentaries, other Christians, study Bibles, etc. BTW, welcome to the forum! Have fun! In Christ, Bill Mc |
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7 | do some read the NEW LIVING BIBLE | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 17690 | ||
Hi Lillie, yes I read it! I use the NLT when I just want to sit down (or lie down) and read just for the sake of reading God's Word. The NLT does a very nice job (especially in Psalms and Proverbs) at being very readable as a dynamic equivalent translation. I don't use the NLT for word study but it does help me to get a different 'flavor' of some passages where I've gotten used to another translation and I'd like to see it afresh. I hope you enjoy it if you have it. Unlike the Living Bible (a true paraphrase), the NLT is a true translation. It is just not a word-for-word formal equivalence translation like the NASB. Grow in grace, Bill Mc |
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8 | Possible Lockman Forum Improvement #1? | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 17982 | ||
Sir Pent, your idea seems like a good one. But, like charis, I'm not sure how easy the execution would be. It would seem to entail quite a bit of time and work to implement as well as upkeep. And you would probably have to have a somewhat neutral party to filter and intrepret some answers. One thing is certain though. Eventually the Lockman server is going to fill up. So something must be done and it would be nice if we could get a system in place while it is still fairly manageable. If answers were of the 'cut and paste' format or a prompt to search the database, then it would be very helpful to combine or delete duplicate posts. Is there any other Bible forums like this on the Internet and, if so, how do they handle this problem? Forums have been around for a long time so it seems that there must be a workable solution. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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9 | Possible Lockman Forum Improvements #2 | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 17986 | ||
Sir Pent, your solution sounds reasonable and beneficial. I think number 1 is a good idea. I think number 2 is a great idea - stick with the subject at hand as much as possible. (Could I do this? I'm willing to try.) I don't mind if certain people want to get on the forum and discuss Armenianism and Calvinism but I think that there is a time and a place for it. It could be made a primary question (already is to a certain extent) and post all relative arguments pro and con there. Then post a "for further explanation, search for 'Armenianism/Calvanism' to the right." That would go a long way to keep the posts on the topic. And lastly, I think number 3 is an excellent idea. Those who may be new believers or seekers or even skeptics need to see us united on the essentials. (Of course, then some want to argue as to what the essentials consist of :)) I would be willing to follow this guidelines. Thanks for your thought and consideration, Sir Pent. In Him, Bill MC |
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10 | Where did our souls come from? | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 18055 | ||
Dear BillyK, The Bible does not give clear, concise definitions of soul and spirit. Sometimes the terms are used interchangeably. Sometimes there seems to be a distinction. So, the best we can do is to research the scriptures and decide for ourselves what we believe. Tim has a very valid view and his opinion has merit. My view is slightly different but I think that it also has merit. Here is what I believe about Gen 2:7: We know that God created the plants and animals before man. As I understand it, these animals were called creatures and had what we would call souls, Hebrew word nephesh. This means that they had intellect, will, and emotions - behavior to varying degrees depending the the complexity of the creature. God created man with an animal body and a soul (behavior) but according to Gen 2:7, I believe that God, at man's creation, breathed His divine life (Spirit) into him. This made him a 'living' - alive to God - soul. So, not only did man have a body and soul (like the animals) but God gave man His life essence so that man could respond to God with love and fellowship. The animal world does not share this attribute. They have no spirits and cannot relate to God. When man sinned, this part of him, his spirit died to God. What I mean by this is that God withdrew His divine life from man the day that Adam and Eve disobeyed and they spiritually died. Thankfully, through our Lord's life, death, burial and resurrection, God can once again restore His divine life to His creation. This is why the NT often says that we, as believers, have been made alive to God - Rom 6:11; Rom 8:10; 1 Cor 15:22; Eph 2:5 and Col 2:13 - 'When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,' This 'new man' - the new creation in Christ - is created in righteousness and holiness - Eph 4:24. So our spirits are once again united with God's Spirit and alive to God, and, per my interpretation, man can, once again, be a 'living soul' with God's Spirit and life inhabiting him. Note: this is only my opinion so I, obviously, cannot support this with specific scriptures other than what I have shared. A new creation in Christ, Bill Mc |
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11 | Is there any practical difference? | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 20132 | ||
Dear Tim, Thanks for posting your question. As I have been 'labeled' as having no 'label' in the C and A debate (this forum, ya gotta luv it!), this is not an answer to your question. If both C and A listed their core beliefs, as implied in anothor post, I would probably line up more closely with one over the other. But as this is not the goal of this string, I thought that I would offer some 'practical' areas for this question. How does your belief in Calvinism or Armenianism affect: Your personal relationship to God? How accepted you feel that you are to God? Your prayer life? Your Bible study? Your worship of God? Your ability to share the gospel with others? Your efforts to disciple others? Your fellowship with other believers? Your involvement in the local church? Your involvement in missions? Your manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit? The fruit of the Spirit in your life? Thanks for the opportunity to ask these questions. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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12 | indwelling holy spirit | OT general | Bill Mc | 15104 | ||
Hi mmweibel, Yes, every truly born again believer does have the Holy Spirit. Nolan has shared a good verse with you and I'd like to add a couple more. John 3:6 - "that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit." Romans 8:9b - But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him (Christ). So, indeed, you cannot be 'born again' and not have the Spirit because it is the Spirit Himself who takes up residence in us that causes us to be born again. But, as Nolan has said, talk with your husband about this. This may indeed be discernment on your part. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit's indwelling is never based upon feelings. It is based upon the facts of God's Word and our accepting those facts by faith. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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13 | The future of loved pets | Genesis | Bill Mc | 19109 | ||
Dear CDBJ, I'm sorry for the loss of your pet. Pets are usually better companions and more loyal to us that humans are. In fact, all of nature declares God's glory and I think some pets exhibit a facet of the kind of unconditional love for us that our heavenly Father has in abundance. But, unfortunately, we find no references in the scriptures concerning our beloved pets having eternal life (or eternal punishment, either, thank God). The creation account in Genesis does tell us that animals are 'souls' i.e. they have intellect, emotions, and will (ask any pet owner). So they do have one of man's attributes - a living soul. But there is no record of someone's pet entering eternal life. Are there animals in heaven? Well, there certainly appear to be. But there is no indication that I have found that they were once beloved pets. There are some really strange sounding creatures around the throne. Are these representative of other 'alien' races that God has created, but never fell? I don't know. We just don't have much info here. I'm not saying the following as an easy fix. There is no easy fix to the death that all creation is subjected to. It is all part of the original curse. But what I can tell you is that though you grieve now, in heaven you will have no need for or even miss your pets. God will wipe away all our tears and He will finally be all in all. I'm not trying to be insensitive to your pain here. I know it hurts. But you have to admit, CDBJ, that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have been loved at all. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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14 | was Gods intention to eat forbid. fruit | Gen 2:9 | Bill Mc | 17677 | ||
Dear Cherrie, God did not intend for Adam and Eve to eat from the tree. But He, being omniscient (all-knowing) knew that they would. He offered His creation a choice - the Tree of Life or the Tree of the Knowdege of Good and Evil. They chose 'poorly.' Thankfully, God offers us salvation to transfer us from being 'in Adam' to being 'in Christ.' Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We can, in a way, chose to come to the Tree of Life and live forever! In Christ, Bill Mc |
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15 | Is this any clearer? Einee-Minee... | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16188 | ||
Sorry folks. This may have appeared as an insult when I listed 'einee...minee' in the title. It was not intended that way. I was trying to make reference to all the choices that we have (einee, minee, mynee, moe...) but, after I posted it, it looked like I was calling Charis a name. I assure you, I was not. I have the utmost respect for Charis. I'll repost the question and try to be a little more careful with the titles. In Him, Bill Mc |
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16 | "seal of God" | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12626 | ||
Christiankl, the apostle Paul, as well as the book of Hebrews, makes it very clear that we are not under law (the Mosaic law, the 10 'words' of God). You sound knowledgable of Scripture so check out Romans 6:14,15; Romans 7:4; Romans 8:2; Galatians 2:4; Galatians 5:1. To relegate all these references to 'ceremonial law' is to disregard what the New Covenant gives us - becoming children of God solely by His grace. We are saved by faith in Christ, and we live by the same faith in Christ, by His very life. Jesus Himself said that not the smallest stroke of the law would disappear until it was fulfilled and HE FULFILLED IT. Paul makes it clear the we are not under law but under grace. The New Covenant says that God will write His laws (plural, loving God and loving our neighbor) on our minds, not Law (singular, the big 10). See Hebrews 10:16; Hebrews 8:10. The law has NO PLACE in the life of a New Testament believer because we have been made to die to it so that we could be joined to Christ. Rest in the Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God, Christiankl. Rest from your works and trust in His. Secondly, please don't post your doctrinal beliefs as a question. It is misleading and distracting to others who use this forum to seek answers to their questions. | ||||||
17 | Does it take away sins or not? | Lev 16:34 | Bill Mc | 19705 | ||
Steve, Very interesting. You are correct. Lev 16:29 says that the day of atonement is a permanent statute. And vs. 31 implies that the sabbath is a permanent statute. And vs. 34 again says that the animal sacrifices indeed are a permanent statute. Hebrews is evidently wrong. If Christ had known about these verses, He probably never would have died. He should have stayed in the temple when His parents went back to Jerusalem. Then maybe He would have read these verses and discovered that He didn't need to die after all. What a shame! Congratulations! You have found the one verse in the Old Testament that completely invalidates the New Testament and what Christ has done. It must give you a great deal of satisfaction to prove God and the Bible wrong. Thanks for enlightening us. Now we can all get off this New Testament kick and get back to our animal sacrifices. Free at last, Bill Mc |
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18 | how do we receive all the blessing:ch.28 | Deuteronomy | Bill Mc | 18587 | ||
Dear sandeep, The short answer is, "You don't." Those blessings were for Israel, along with the curses. If you want blessings as a believer in Christ, here are a few: Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Phil 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 2 Pet 1:3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. How's those for blessings? Especially 2 Pet 1:3 -If we are in Christ, God has granted to us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness. Can't beat that! Israel was never IN CHRIST. We, as the body of Christ, are. You don't need to go searching the Old Testament for blessings. Search the limitless knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and His love for you. Blessed in Christ, Bill Mc |
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19 | Should the rapist marry their victim? | Deut 22:29 | Bill Mc | 19707 | ||
Steve, Yes, we should all indeed live under Old Testament law and rip the New Testaments out of our Bibles. To answer your question properly, in the light of Old Testament revelation, allow me to quote Deu 22:28,29 - "If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered, then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days." This is the law. Trying to find fifty shekels of silver could be a challenge but the search would serve as a good deterent to crime, would it not? So, to answer your questions from Deu 22:27,28: Should we force the rapist to marry their victim? Yes. -Should this be law in our land? Yes. -This was God's idea, so is it bad? No. My reason? God said it so it must be true. Evidently there is no reason to search anywhere else. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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20 | No Rules, Just Right! | Ps 34:8 | Bill Mc | 16951 | ||
Lionstrong, God is not bound by rules as such. One of the definitions for rules is, 'The body of regulations prescribed by the founder of a religious order for governing the conduct of its members.' God needs nothing to govern His conduct because His conduct is always consistent with His nature. For a rule to be a rule, it must have come from a higher authority. There is no higher authority than God so He has no rules which He must follow. But He always acts in accordance with who He is. Man's 'goodness' is really determined, not by law, but by God's character. True righteousness, perfection, is found in God alone. He is the standard. He gave the Law, and laws, to show what that character 'looks like.' The Pharisees felt that they kept the Law and Jesus showed them that keeping the written code was not enough. "The Law says...but I tell you..." God's character is the true standard. Jesus said, "Be perfect." How perfect? As perfect as the Law? No. "As perfect as your Heavenly Father." Ouch! Jesus not only never committed adultery (the Law) but He never even lusted (God's character). Thankfully, He does give His listeners a little hint here of what He was going to accomplish. He said, "BE perfect," not "DO perfect." He was hinting that true perfection is not a matter of doing everything right, but, rather, a matter of changing your identity. "Be perfect." So, how was (is) that accomplished? By our union with Christ. Christ is perfect and God now sees us IN HIM. I am perfect before God because I am in Christ. My perfection is not based on what I do or don't do. It is based on who I am in Christ - 2 Cor 5:17. My new spirit is "created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." What great news! Christ didn't just deal with what I do or don't do, He changed who I am! I have received the gift of righteousness through faith. "For by one offering (Christ) He has perfected for ALL TIME those who are sanctified." - Heb 10:14. That deserves a Texas amen - "YEEHAW!" Perfect in Christ, Bill Mc |
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