Results 861 - 880 of 2277
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Hank Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
861 | did we pre-exist as a spirit being? | John 1:2 | Hank | 136074 | ||
baker723 - You mentioned that your class is studying John's gospel. That would seem a logical place to teach your class that Jesus Christ -- the Word -- is eternal, i.e. "He was in the beginning with God." Read to them John 1:1-14, a passage which clearly establishes the pre-existence of Christ in eternity past before "He became flesh and dwelt among us" (v.14). But the Word (Jesus) is God! (John 1:1). Man is not God; he had no pre-existence as a spiritual being. "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man BECAME a living being" (Genesis 2:9). Jesus Christ was not created; His existence is eternal. Man was created and he never existed anywhere in any form form until God created him. Your "mature" Christian student really doesn't sound so mature if she is telling a new Christian that human beings were spiritual beings in heaven who came to earth to sojourn in the flesh and then to return to heaven to resume their spiritual role. It sounds as though she needs to learn the difference between human beings and Jesus Christ! But if I were the teacher (I've taught Bible study classes for many years), I'd do two things. First, I would use Scripture to correct the false information your "mature" student gave to the new student. Second, I would enjoin your students to be prepared to offer Scriptural evidence of any theological statements such as you encountered. Years ago I learned to establish boundaries in the classroom. Discussion of Scripture would be permitted and encouraged, but interminable discussions based on nothing more than uniformed opinion and speculation would not be. Unless there are established ground rules, a Bible study class can rapidly deteriorate into a fruitless babble among cracker-barrel philosophers and dreamers who don't have an inkling of what they're talking about. It's the leader's responsibility to keep the class on track. By the way, I wouldn't worry much about your "mature" student's being able to bring to class a long list of biblical proofs of her theory. She won't be able to find any. --Hank | ||||||
862 | Info me of a good study bible, please. | Bible general Archive 2 | Hank | 135807 | ||
kjdrds - Sorry, I neglected to mention that the Ryrie Study Bible is published by Moody Press of Chicago. --Hank | ||||||
863 | Info me of a good study bible, please. | Bible general Archive 2 | Hank | 135805 | ||
Welcome, kjdrds - I'll be happy to tell you the study Bibles I use. By the way, I'm Southern Baptist, so you'll know from what perspective I write. ..... The Study Bible I use most often is Ryrie's with the NASB Update text. Next comes John MacArthur's with the NKJV text. Others I use and recommend are the NASB Study Bible (Zondervan), the King James Study Bible (Nelson), and the Believer's Study Bible (now called Baptist Study Bible) also published by Nelson. ..... I like the Ryrie not only for its literally accurate NASB text and Charles Ryrie's excellent notes, maps, and charts but also for the beauty and quality of the binding (I have the genuine leather edition). The pages are thread sewn into the spine (as contrasted to being stuck together with glue) and the print is clear and of a generous font size that can be read for long stretches without going blind! ...... Welcome, and I do hope this little sketch will be of help to you. I'll be glad to try to answer any questions you may have regarding the content of this post. --Hank | ||||||
864 | Need to rekindle relationship with God. | Phil 4:6 | Hank | 135793 | ||
sloman - Beloved, I would suggest 5 things. [1] Pray. Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17. That means to pray and keep on praying. The Bible says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). Tell the Lord you want a renewed fellowship with Him and ask Him to guide your path. ...... [2] Read, study, and meditate onthe Bible, God's word. (2 Timothy 2:15) Commit favorite passages to memory. (Psalm 119:11) Feed your soul on the Bible as often as you feed your body on food. ....... [3] Search out a church, a body of believers, who preach and teach the Bible, who truly believe it is the inerrant word of God, and who give it more than mere lip service. When you find such a group -- and be sure to ask God to lead you to His people -- attend worship services (Hebrews 10:25), Bible study classes, become active in the work of the church, and this includes giving of your financial resources as God has prospered you (1 Corinthians 16:2). [4] Form a bond with your pastor and seek his counsel when you need it. [5] When you are spiritually restored and strengthened, tell some lost soul about the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19). .... May God richly bless you. --Hank | ||||||
865 | Marriage vows | Gen 2:24 | Hank | 135771 | ||
Boni - Neither this web site nor any other can provide you with the personal face-to-face counsel you should seek from a qualified counselor in your community. Your pastor or a Christian-based counselling service are sources you should appeal to for help. God bless you and your family. --Hank | ||||||
866 | "Sacred Violence" in book of Judges? | Judges | Hank | 135735 | ||
Russianden - Could you give us a definiton of "sacred violence" and perhaps cite passages in the Book of Judges that you think may possibly illustrate your definition? I'm unfamiliar with the term "sacred violence" and hence don't know how to answer your question. --Hank | ||||||
867 | How literal is the Bible? | Bible general Archive 2 | Hank | 135692 | ||
My dear Reignhskye - This is getting out of hand, friend! When I come to the Forum lately, I find the home page covered over with nothing but your "questions." If you wish to ask a serious Bible question, ask it. But there is a significant difference between simply asking a question and attaching a book-length commentary to the question! Many other people use this Forum and I submit that it is not fair for any one user, whoever he may be, to dominate the front page with so-called questions that are as long as a giraffe's neck. To reiterate, the question section of the Forum is meant for genuine Bible questions, not long-winded dissertations. ..... Ben Franklin once advised a verbose young man of his acquaintance, "Son, take the time to write a short letter." Good advice from old Ben, don't you agree? --Hank | ||||||
868 | r antichrists saved? | 1 Thess 5:21 | Hank | 135632 | ||
faith_21 - In compliance with the scriptural injunction of 1 Thess. 5:21, let's first "examine everything carefully." ..... I must confess to a tendency to wince slightly at the words "the Bible says" when whatever follows is appended by no Bible reference to back up the proposition being advanced. So before we consider your question or confirm or refute your statement, perhaps you would be kind enough to do two things: To footnote your statement that "The Bible says everyone will be given a chance to be saved" with scriptural proof; and to give us a biblical definition of "antichrists." --Hank | ||||||
869 | Explain Mark 4 parables? | Mark 4:1 | Hank | 135630 | ||
Storyword - Thanks for your question. It is difficult to answer, however, because it is so general in nature. About the several parables of Mark 4 much has been written and many sermons preached and lessons taught. Two suggestions: Read the parallel passages in the other two synoptic gospels, in Matthew 13:1-52 and in Luke 8:4-18. On the Web go to Spurgeon.org and click on "Scripture Index" of his sermons. Then click on Matthew, Mark, and Luke respectively and scroll down until you find sermons whose texts fall within the range of these the passages dealing with the parables under consideration in the three gospel accounts. If you are unfamiliar with Spurgeon, you have a treat in store for you! I recommend him highly. He has been called "The Prince of Preachers" for good reason. He had a rare gift of doing with words what a master painter does with brush and oils. --Hank | ||||||
870 | Why did Adam eat the apple too? | Gen 3:6 | Hank | 135609 | ||
Newbie - Adam ate the apple? The Bible doesn't call the tree an apple tree nor its fruit an apple, and neither should we! The Bible calls the tree "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" [Gen. 1:17] and that is what we should call it. ....... Janae has posted the appropriate Scripture, but Scripture itself doesn't dwell on the details of the why. We know the serpent lied to Eve [Gen. 3:4], deceiving her [Gen. 3:5], she fell for it, ate of the forbidden fruit and gave it to her husband Adam and he also ate of it [Gen. 3:6]. Verse 6 concludes by saying "she gave also to her husband WITH HER." I emphasize the words "with her" in order to suggest the possibility that Adam may have been present with his wife during her conversation with the serpent and instead of guiding his wife away from the serpent and his lies and toward the commands of God, Adam also may have liked the idea of becoming like God. Another possibility is that Adam was not present at Eve's encounter with the serpent, but that Eve spoke to her husband in glowing terms of her discovery of how to become like God, and that Adam bought her story. But these are mere possibilities garnered from a very scant set of facts. What we do know for sure is that both Eve and her husband disobeyed God, and at that moment became sinners. And they became afraid and hid themselves from the presence of the Lord [Gen. 3:8]. And they became something else too. They have the ignominious distinction of being the first buck passers in history! Adam blamed his wife for his sin. And Eve blamed the serpent for hers [Gen. 3:12,13]. Neither was willing to take personal responsibility for what they both had done. ...... And buck passing has continued from that day to this. It shows up in personal relationships, in business, in government, and even in the church. ...... We don't have to follow the example of Adam and Eve. We don't have to run and hide when we sin. We don't have to pass the buck. The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" [1 John 1:9]. --Hank | ||||||
871 | Why did Adam eat the apple too? | Gen 3:6 | Hank | 135608 | ||
Newbie - Adam ate the apple? The Bible doesn't call the tree an apple tree nor its fruit an apple, and neither should we! The Bible calls the tree "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" [Gen. 1:17] and that is what we should call it. ....... Janae has posted the appropriate Scripture, but Scripture itself doesn't dwell on the details of the why. We know the serpent lied to Eve [Gen. 3:4], deceiving her [Gen. 3:5], she fell for it, ate of the forbidden fruit and gave it to her husband Adam and he also ate of it [Gen. 3:6]. Verse 6 concludes by saying "she gave also to her husband WITH HER." I emphasize the words "with her" in order to suggest the possibility that Adam may have been present with his wife during her conversation with the serpent and instead of guiding his wife away from the serpent and his lies and toward the commands of God, Adam also may have liked the idea of becoming like God. Another possibility is that Adam was not present at Eve's encounter with the serpent, but that Eve spoke to her husband in glowing terms of her discovery of how to become like God, and that Adam bought her story. But these are mere possibilities garnered from a very scant set of facts. What we do know for sure is that both Eve and her husband disobeyed God, and at that moment became sinners. And they became afraid and hid themselves from the presence of the Lord [Gen. 3:8]. And they became something else too. They have the ignominious distinction of being the first buck passers in history! Adam blamed his wife for his sin. And Eve blamed the serpent for hers [Gen. 3:12,13]. Neither was willing to take personal responsibility for what they both had done. ...... And buck passing has continued from that day to this. It shows up in personal relationships, in business, in government, and even in the church. ...... We don't have to follow the example of Adam and Eve. We don't have to run and hide when we sin. We don't have to pass the buck. The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" [1 John 1:9]. --Hank | ||||||
872 | Should we rethink the Trinity? | John 10:30 | Hank | 135587 | ||
Saint N Says - Tim Moran asked you a good question concerning your definition of the Trinity. Along with your answer to Tim's question, it would be good to know what your belief is. Would you say that you're a Trinitarian or do you hold to some variant view on the doctrine of God? Lastly, your user name holds interest, particularly on a Bible study forum. "Saint N Says" when spoken sounds like "Satan Says" -- a curious user name indeed. It would be interesting I'm sure to learn why you chose such a name to use on this Forum. --Hank | ||||||
873 | identifying modalism: church prevalence? | Bible general Archive 2 | Hank | 135531 | ||
Dear Reighnskye - Keeping all the "isms" sorted out in our minds and clearly defined is quite a trick, isn't it? .... Modalism maintains that there is one God who manifests Himself successively as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit but who is not contemporaneously all three. Modalism is one of the three basic errors into which men have frequently fallen with reference to the doctrine of God. The other two are called Subordinationism and Tritheism. Subordinationism views the Son and the Holy Spirit as essentially and eternally subordinate to the Father. Tritheism asserts that there are three gods rather than one God who is three Persons. ..... Triunity (Trinity) is wholly scriptural and is the doctrine held by orthodox Christians for centuries. It is the distinctive and essentiall Christian doctrine that there is one God in three Persons. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. There is a distinction between the Persons so that the Father is not the Son, the Father is not the Spirit, and the Son is not the Spirit. Each is a Person . The Holy Spirit is not to be envisioned as a mere force or influence. An example of this theological blunder regarding the Spirit may be found in the teachings of the Watchtower cult. They also embrace their own peculiarly skewered brand of Subordinationism. ..... Sorry, but I have no really clear idea of how prevalent modalism is in our time. I know it's an earmark of the Oneness Pentecostals, and of some Unitarian groups, and of a few other small sects. Where in the world do you get all your complex questions? :-) --Hank | ||||||
874 | Should we rethink the Trinity? | John 10:30 | Hank | 135529 | ||
Saint N Says - Should we rethink the Trinity? It has been done. Many times over. The fruit of clear, biblically-based thinking about the Trinity is called orthodoxy. The fruit of fuzzy, man-based thinking about the Trinity is called cults. What profit can there be in exhuming ancient heresies and giving them asylum? Teaching that was proved false in the first century and has been proved false in each succeeding century is no less false in our time. Far better to let dead dogs lie and concern ourselves with spreading the truth of the gospel of Christ. --Hank | ||||||
875 | Why bother to make requests when we pray | Eccl 7:17 | Hank | 135528 | ||
Joy - Whence comes the notion that God has our life planned so rigidly that everything is cut and dried, no matter what? That's fatalism, isn't it? Are we mere puppets on a string, and is the holy God the puppeteer? And does Scripture support that? .... Now let's examine prayer very briefly. There is no more perfect prayer or one more worthy of careful study than the prayer Jesus taught His disciples. This prayer is recorded in Matthew 6:9-13. When one reads it, studies it, meditates on it, ponders it and drives it deeply into his heart and soul, there is absolutely nothing about this perfect prayer coming from the mind and the lips of the Lord Himself that would ever lead us to ask, Why bother? Now there is a clause that appears early in the prayer that says this: "Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." God is sovereign. His will prevails. That is why our prayers must always be in accord with God's will. Even Jesus prayed in the will of the Father. "Not my will, but yours be done," He prayed in Luke 22:42. If "why bother" is the message of the Bible in regard to prayer, then why is prayer taught in Scripture so frequently and practiced so fervently? Why did Jesus pray so much? And why did He teach His disciples to pray? .... The word "pray" (or "prayer") is mentioned nearly 150 times in the New Testament alone. Does this suggest that we should assume a "why bother" attitude about prayer? Think about it. And to guide your thinking about prayer, go to the "Get Bible Text" search engine located on the right side of this home page. Type in the word "pray" and read and study the more than 300 Bible verses that your search will yield. Perhaps you will emerge from your studies with a new and clear understanding of prayer. And perhaps you will never again, in speaking of prayer, ask the question, Why bother? May God guide you to a fuller and deeper knowledge and understanding of His precious word! --Hank | ||||||
876 | why aren't there more missionaries? | Matt 28:19 | Hank | 135523 | ||
Thaddaeus - While yours is an interesting question, and not an unimportant one either, I'm wondering how it can be answered biblically, except to affirm the obvious, i.e., that our Lord Himself commands that His disciples go and make disciples of all the nations (See Matthew 28:19,20). To arrive at some idea of why more Christians don't volunteer for overseas missionary service, perhaps it would be starkly revelatory of our apathy and lame excuses if each Christian would ask himself, "Why don't I myself do it?" or "Why don't I at least part with a generous portion of my resources in order to enable some willing person to do it?" ..... But for those of us who may find ourselves in circumstances that make it virtually impossible to pull up stakes and go to foreign soil for the purpose of proclaiming the gospel of Christ, there is a huge missionary field within the borders of our own country that does not entail any significant disruption of the lifestyle to which we have become accustomed. I daresay that essentially every Christian family has within its own neighborhood other families who do not know Christ, who rarely if ever attend a worship service, and who have never been called upon by a Christian for the purpose of telling them the Good News of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Your question may draw more answers than this one, Thaddaeus, and better ones too; but for what they're worth, these are my thoughts. Thanks for your question, friend, and God's blessings to you! --Han | ||||||
877 | pcdarcan, Are You a Jehovah's Witness? | 1 Cor 8:5 | Hank | 135086 | ||
Forum - I'm pulling this question. It has been on the board for three days. Apparently pcdarcan has no intention of answering it. He has posted since the question was asked. He has been asked several times whether he is a Jehovah's Witness. He will not answer. So draw your own conclusion, friends. I have drawn mine. --Hank | ||||||
878 | WHY WE ASSOCIATE OUR SELF TO A CHURH | Bible general Archive 2 | Hank | 135046 | ||
OMOIFE - A reading of the book of Acts strongly suggests that early Christians tended to identify themselves with local churches who met at regular intervals at a specific place. One has only to think how ineffective it would be to carry on the Lord's work if every Christian including pastors and other church leaders were perpetual floaters who bounced around from church to church all the time. What an organizational and logistical nightmare that would be. ..... Your second question asks why we have so many churches instead of one? Well, we have too many people to fit into one church, I suppose. :-) ..... Obviously you're asking about denominations and why there are so many of them. This is too large a question to be tackled within the space limitations of a forum post. Why don't you visit your public or church library, or a Bible bookstore, and ask for help in selecting resource material on the origin and history of denominations. There is no shortage of material that can enable you to broaden your knowledge and understanding of this subject. Learning about other communions may indeed give you a broader perspective on your own. It's a worthwhile study. It's truly astonishing how many professing Christians have little idea of the origin and history of their own communion, much less of any other. --Hank | ||||||
879 | Help! | Bible general Archive 2 | Hank | 135043 | ||
Neither this web site nor e-mails from strangers promise a solution to your situation that you describe as desperate. On the contrary, any advice you receive from strangers on the internet is more likely to exacerbate your problem than to solve it. Seek help within your community from responsible people who are qualified to offer assistance in personal relationships -- preferably people you know and and who know you. In the interests of your own safety please be extremely cautious about revealing personal information to strangers on the internet. Every good wish for a satisfactory resolution of your dilemma. --Hank | ||||||
880 | Is the Bible itself evil? | 2 Tim 3:16 | Hank | 134986 | ||
nevermind - You wrote, "...if I am in error about anything I say, tell me." OK, I will. Friend, you are in error about virtually everything you say! Now, so much for that. ..... This writer has been a Christian for over half a century, possibly longer than you have lived, and it is my considered opinion that you are in serious spiritual trouble. And I am by no means sure that your coming to this web site, which is dedicated to the study of the word of God, the Bible, will help you, even though there is a large number of committed Christian men and women who would be willing to try to help you. But we won't entertain any notion that the Bible is evil or debate the preposterous idea that Satan wrote it! And we don't view as real the world of Merlin, much less view it as the ideal world! In short, we will not become a party to your vain speculations or your imaginary world of magic and make-believe. We invite you instead to the real world and to the real God who created it, the God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16]. ..... Reality is not to be found in Merlin but in Christ. The reality is that without Christ man is hopelessly lost and on his way to hell. The reality is that Christ offers real hope, real fulfillment, real peace, real life. Merlin is fantasy. Jesus Christ is real. ..... Now, friend, if your only wish is to use this Forum to discuss the world of fantasy and speculation and to disparage the word of God, please pass on by. But, and I pray this is the case, if you are earnestly seeking to know God and His eternal word, you are most cordially welcome. Come in and join in as we seek together to know Him more clearly, to love Him more dearly, and to follow Him more nearly. You may feel free to ask honest Bible questions, questions that are born of sincerity and motivated by an honest desire to know more about the Christ who died on the cross for your sins and mine. If that is your aim, come, drink at the fountain of truth, the living word of God, with us. But it is only fair to tell you that bringing into question the holiness of God, the deity of His Son, Jesus Christ, or the absolute authority of God's word, the Bible, will in no wise be tolerated on this Forum. Those are the terms. The are not negotiable. What is your decision? Please read 2 Timothy 3:16. It is true. It is true whether you believe it or not. The Holy Spirit of God, not Satan, inspired the Scriptures. I cannot think of a blacker sort of blasphemy under the sun than acribing the Bible to Satan. --Hank | ||||||
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