Results 321 - 340 of 391
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Rowdy Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
321 | Loud Mouthed Christian: Help! | 1 Cor 13:1 | Rowdy | 114498 | ||
I can only suggest that you refer your friend to Paul's letter as referenced above, but it would be good to refer her specifically to Chapters 12, 13 and 14. The most important feature that we are to learn is that in the manifestation of God's Gospel to us is that He should get the glory. If there's any other motivation involved, it's NOT from God. The most attractive characteristic of a true christian is NOT how much they're spouting His Word but how much love they're showing in their actions. Everyone knows "actions speaks volumes over our words." You might also remind your friend that God's Word is already been completed thousands of years ago and there are no supplements allowed as per Paul. 2 Cor 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. 5But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those "super-apostles." Further, we know from Paul's letter 2 Tim 3:10-17, God's Word was completed long ago AND there would be those who would try add to or pervert God's Word. So urge your friend to compare her words and make certain they match those in the Bible, else she'll be labeled a false teacher. I hope God blesses you with patience and tolerance as both of you grow and mature in your journey toward Him. |
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322 | Contradiction with 1 Cor 14:22 and 24 | 1 Cor 14:25 | Rowdy | 122961 | ||
Copied for reference: 1 Cor 14:20 Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In the Law it is written, "BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME," says the Lord. 22 So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe. 23 Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. 26 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; 28 but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. There is an alternate interpretation to this discussion. I and millions of other christians believe as follows. First of all, I'm convinced that these two powers, speaking in tongues and phrophecy is just two of the powers bestowed on christians. Second, speaking in tongues just simply meant speaking God's Word in the first two centuries to people from all over the world through the Apostles or some select few who had never studied or spoken that language beforehand. Phropecy was an all inclusive power to speak God's Word as it applied to a new situation or in some cases to foretell the future. A prophet just as in the OT was merely a mouthpiece for God. Remember during this timeframe the NT was in the process of being written and being collected and dispersed throughout the world. The Bible clearly shows this endowment of miraculous powers from the Holy Spirit in ONLY two cases: Day of Pentacost in Acts 2 and onto Cornelius and his household in Acts 10. All other demonstrations of these powers (other than Apostles themselves) were manifested ONLY by those who received the "laying on of hands by the Apostles." So when all the Apostles died and all these other recipients died, it's clear that all these miraculous powers from human beings died with them. BUT just in case you or anyone else differs with this position, we do agree since we're Bible students that the Bible sets the standard and provides the characteristics to evaluate "miracles" from human beings in today's world, right? So we're talking about raising the dead after a several days of confirmed death, restoring a severed body part, enabling a person to see or to walk after a lifetime of not being able to enjoy these abilities. In other words, miracles must be feats of the supernatural, confirmed so that absolutely no one could possibly deny its coming from God. In this context, it's a little easier to understand verse 22. Speaking in tongues was done by God through those christians so that unbelievers would hear the Gospel and become believers. Prophecy was God speaking through christians to christians so they would know how to deal with the difficult issues confronting christians of that age without the NT and without the guidance of the Apostles in person at that moment. I hope this helps and God bless. --Rowdy |
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323 | Women in the church | 1 Cor 14:34 | Rowdy | 109053 | ||
Let's remember the context of this guidance. Here Paul is addressing the christians in Corinth about the way they were abusing their spiritual gifts, especially with each other and during their worship assemblies. During these gatherings, his Divine guidance is correct: women are to maintain silence with the exception of course in their singing. But remember Aquila and Priscilla in their taking Apollos home for correcting. There, Priscilla was able to voice her words to a brother where respect could be maintained. This guidance of women's silence in the public worship setting is consistent with the balance of the Bible, i.e. the leadership of the elders and the asking of questions to their husbands. Now, please don't misunderstand. It's very important to remember I'm not advocating chavunism here, at least not man's. This is God's creation and the order of things in His universe. However, men in general CANNOT abuse and lord this power over women for they have a very important function in the Lord's church. Ladies are welcome to perform almost any function outside the worship assembly. Our ladies teach class and assist with the Deacons in their ministries. Women conduct their own classes, go to retreats and support their husbands with absolutely vital enthusiasm. Without their support, these men would not and could not possibly be near as fruitful or productive for the Lord. There's nothing more powerful than a dynamic couple, married for many years, setting the proper example for other younger couples, giving advice and love and dispensing an occasional bit of stern encouragement. I know this so well because I've been on the receiving end several times and can truthfully say, men AND women such as these have saved our marriage many times over. I look forward to the day when my wife and I can do the same and repay the Lord for his kindness and gentle guidance. The bottom line: God's pattern works when you work His pattern. |
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324 | How to harmonize this passage | 1 Cor 14:34 | Rowdy | 109062 | ||
I can only respond with a confirmation of all you have cited. I don't see any problem with it but there again I did grow up in a christian home of like faith so all the women in my life (in the church) have all lived by this guidance. It has not been perfect all the time, especially when I went overseas where we didn't have church leadership, elders throughout that community. But I do think it is fairly clear here throughout God's word. Christ expects His body to be organized and follow the examples and the few simple commands that are in His Word. Remember His Word is what is going to judge us on Judgement Day. I don't see this as being an isolated case of "division or inequality." God's Word has always appeared to be slightly in favor of man over women but that DOES NOT mean men are superior to women. It's just a case of putting the cart behind the horse; that's the order of God's universe. Again, let me emphasize God's pattern works when you follow it. My question to you: Would you suggest that we NOT follow God's will when it's clear throughout His Word, that's what He wants us to do? |
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325 | What the Bible says about women preacher | 1 Cor 14:34 | Rowdy | 117726 | ||
I'm afraid the Bible is very clear on this subject as follows 1 Cor 14:34 As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. In addition to this, there are others that make it very clear, a woman's role in the church is to be submissive to the men of the congregation. She can feel free to speak out in a business meeting held for the whole congregation but then she should also maintain proper respect for the elders and deacons just as the men should. God bless. --Rowdy |
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326 | Do we have to do God's will or All comma | 2 Cor 5:9 | Rowdy | 117651 | ||
I cite both passages but it looks like you really meant 2 Cor 5, right? 1 Cor 5:9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 2 Cor 5:9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. On the assumption of the latter scripture being correct, it seems fairly straight forward as to what God expects from us but yes in my opinion, we will answer for our actions, our words and even our thoughts. We will face God and His Son in judgement just like He depicts in Matt 24. Another scripture useful in this discussion is Rom 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. So we see from Paul's letter that God has some pretty bad stuff in store for those that refuse to believe AND obey Him. God bless. --Rowdy |
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327 | What does Luke 14:26 mean for christians | 2 Cor 5:17 | Rowdy | 119615 | ||
This subject has been discussed quite a bit in the past. If you'll insert the words, hate, mother, father into the Quick Search, you'll get a tremendous wealth of information on it. Emannus has some good words of wisdom which are really superior to my own post but mine was 111259. God bless. --Rowdy |
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328 | Can Christian's support Caesar's wars? | 2 Cor 10:3 | Rowdy | 118347 | ||
I can only cite the fact that Cornelius was a christian while being a centurian (as portrayed in Acts 10) in the Roman Army so apparently they weren't all bad. As you can see in my profile, I've been a christian since I was 13 and I joined the US Air Force at 21, served 18 years. All that time, I've had my ups and downs with the Lord but I've always gone to worship and attended faithfully with my family. It was during my assignment to Okinawa, Japan where I served as a deacon. So in my estimation, most Americans don't have a problem with a christian serving in the military. I know there's a controversy about this subject but I've never understood it. In both the OT and NT, the Lord endorsed military becoming a member of God's people. It does come with some challenges but they're not as rough as some of the civilian jobs I've seen and known about. God bless. --Rowdy |
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329 | Was the church embarassed? Come see. | Gal 2:11 | Rowdy | 118158 | ||
I'd almost forgotten about this post of mine... Well, my little question only got you two to respond so I'll give you my chop on the matter. EdB and Parable: I was striving to solicit your response/answer to the deeper question but maybe it wasn't clear. Both Paul and Peter were inspired by the same Holy Spirit and yet this happened and to me this seem a "biggie" as it surely should have embarrassed the church, especially those gathered at this time. So my question is: Why would the Holy Spirit allow such an infraction to go on with Peter in spite of his realization that God had placed His seal of approval on the whole Gentile nation being added to the body of Christ as cited earlier in Acts 10 and 11? I'm drawing another conclusion here so beware. In my mind the only reason why the Holy Spirit allowed this confrontation to display itself was to make a point for all time, for all of us throughout the world. Yes, the Holy Spirit descended on Cornelius and his household but you know us humans. Most of us like yours truly like to go back to the School of Hard Knocks. Me, I'm working on my PhD. The Holy Spirit had to make certain that all of us got the point. He wants the whole world to know that ALL of mankind knows we're all entitled to go to Heaven. God's Plan of Salvation is for every living human since the ressurrection of our Lord. Sometimes, we see this kind of special emphasis in other places. For example: we see Paul and Barnabas split up on their missionary journey because of Mark's immaturity. Paul takes Silas and Barnabas goes with Mark. My point is the Bible shows all the good AND bad of the major characters of the Bible. Everyone gets the same treatment. The second point is that even we christians can disagree now and again on a minor point but we still MUST maintain the harmony in the body for which our Lord prayed His last prayer on earth. I would be remiss if I failed to mention Paul's accepting Mark back into his closest circle with 2 Tim 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. This also answers (at least in my mind) why Paul told the story in Galations. Well, what do you think? Am I all wet? God bless. --Rowdy |
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330 | Where is the authority for christmas...? | Gal 4:9 | Rowdy | 114516 | ||
I've copied from Paul's letter to the Galatians as follows: Gal4:8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. 12I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. Throughout the NT, the only day that we as christians are to pay any really significant amount of attention to is the first day of every week; we call it Sunday. All other days in our life as christians should pale in significance. Now, don't get me wrong. As I indicated earlier in a previous post on this thread, I think it's OK to celebrate Christmas with our friends, family and loved ones. But we MUST as christians keep this in perspective. After all, it's pretty much a fact of history, this habit of celebrating this date and some of the associated activities all started as a pagan festival. As with so many of the activities of our lives as Americans, moderation is the key, especially when the Bible is silent on a particular subject as in this case. BUT we MUST make certain that our liberties in this area don't hurt people or restrict others in celebrating their liberties. The most important item we're supposed to learn about Christianity is to learn what real genuine love of God is all about and practice that unconditional love as much as possible. God bless you all. |
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331 | Help | Eph 2:8 | Rowdy | 110548 | ||
Only because I need to be brief, I would refer you to my previous post of 110357, the latter portion. Keep studying God's Word and God bless. | ||||||
332 | Saved or hoped to be saved? | Eph 2:8 | Rowdy | 120885 | ||
I see your reference to Eph 2:8 and I agree most emphatically, but what I'm NOT seeing is your scriptures in response to all the many scriptures I've cited in the past on this subject, other posts. Briefly, those would be James 2, branch and vine parable of Jesus in John 15. Yes, indeed it is most definitely only by the Grace of God that any of us make it to Heaven but these scriptures and others clearly depict that we must have a faith that produces fruit or it's dead and useless to both us and our God. By the way, I DO trust in God's Grace. I trust that It's going to cover up for my poor performance in producing the fruit alluded to above. His Grace will continue to cover for us in our sins if we repent continually and put our faith in the fellowship of God as cited in 1 John. Looking for your response with scriptures to these specific points. God bless. --Rowdy |
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333 | Saved or hoping to be saved? | Eph 2:8 | Rowdy | 121042 | ||
In response to your question, I can only quote the following John 12:50 "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me." John 17:3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. BUT although we can KNOW we are saved it's a growth process, one in which we mature, we are refined by the trials and tribulations of this world. Peter sums it up very nicely in 2 Pet 3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 17You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. For you see, we all start out as babes in Christ as cited in 1 Cor 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able. Some of us grow very quickly, apparently endowed with a generous blessing of talents and put them to work in our ministry to the Lord early in our christian walk. Others never mature to their full potential or anywhere close. Some lose their faith altogether. Concerning your posts, with reference to Matt 25 and James 2; it's rather difficult that any really serious student of the Bible would put any belief or faith in your special interpretation, especially Matt 25. In the vast majority of Christendom, this passage is very, very clear and means exactly what it says. We must see ourselves as branches being grafted into the Lord's family or vineyard and we MUST be found fruitful or we'll be cast into the fires of Hell. Now, I'm not saying that this fruit has to meet a certain standard of quality; what I AM saying is we MUST give it our best shot. When it's obvious a person isn't really giving his ministry an honest effort, we should approach that person with love and encouragement, showing him/her how it can be done and let them grow at their own rate of speed. I agree with you as I've stated many, many times on this Forum, we CANNOT and MUST NOT consider our works as commanded by James to be "our earning" salvation. NO, it can never be and hope to be successful for it will certainly fail. Instead, we must see ourselves as humble servants (read as slaves) that owe our very lives to our Lord and Master. Since He is such a wonderful and loving Master, we should be willing and anxious to perform these acts of ministry throughout the balance of our lives and indeed we must. As a matter of fact, I've stated before and I repeat it would be a good idea if the word works weren't even used in this discussion for it does seem to give the idea of earning something. Maybe it has something to do with the translation of these passages of James but clearly he was not trying to say that we can earn our way into Heaven. And again, I repeat I don't know how the actual mechanics of Grace and our fruitful ministry of works in the Lord's vineyard work together. I simply see them both in God's Word and have resolved I must do my part if I want to accept God's gift of salvation. I sincerely hope this is clear to all who read and participate on the Forum for to you and me, our salvation depends on ALL of God's Word. God bless all those who read, study and obey God's Word. --Rowdy |
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334 | What do you like about the church? | Eph 2:22 | Rowdy | 117902 | ||
I'll respond but I'm afraid I must ignore your scripture reference as it seems confusing in relation to your question. One of the most amazing things I like about the Lord's church is its amazing simplicity. Our Lord showed us the complex and difficult in the Jewish system of laws and its Temple. Yes, some things about it were simple but ultimately the OT left so many things unsaid that begged to be answered and the Jewish people didn't have the authority to fill in the blanks. Now with this dispensation, the Lord Christ our High Priest picked 12 of the best men he could find, with one possible exception. These men (most of them) were simple, humble and not very well educated. We see how incredibly humble they were in the way they directed the church in the early years. Christ gave them full authority to bind whatever they chose and to loose whatever they chose and He told them He would back them with their decisions. Their directives and commands as portrayed in the Bible are simple and to the point. They're practical and deal with the real issues of their day and are easily adaptable to our modern world and will be till the last day before that final trumpet is blown. I've lived a full life for being just 50 years old and I've seen quite a bit of this world. I've seen more than my fair share of the grief and heartache caused by mankind and our love for self and sin. We're very talented at messing up a beautiful world. But the apostles were incredibly humble and wise and did an outstanding job of getting the Lord's church off to a solid start. My main point is that this was God and His Son who gave us, His creation the opportunity to have a significant say in the details and mechanics of organizing and managing His Son's body here on earth. I'm amazed at this wonderful demonstration of love and compassion on us. Sometimes we still see mankind's love affair with idols but now they take the form of money or our job. Our idol might be our hobby, our sports whatever else we can dream of to get between us and our God. We had our chance to "dress up" the church as we saw fit through the Lord's ambassadors and they were wise enough to keep it simple. Thank God Almighty they did. The Lord's beauty and majesty is magnified in its simplicity. What do you think is best about the church? God bless. --Rowdy |
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335 | what this meen | Eph 5:19 | Rowdy | 121071 | ||
We must read God's Word in its context. That means several things, including the following: 1) Who wrote the book? What is his intent? What is he dealing with? 2) To whom was it written? What is their background? 3) Where was it written? Under what conditions? 4) When was it written? What were the dominant factors in that timeframe? Some of the questions might not be so easy to answer for instance, the book of Job is very tough to figure out in this regard. Now as to your question, in the first century you remember psalms, hymns and songs were nothing like you and I enjoy today. Those folks knew nothing about four part (or any part) harmony. Most of them didn't have a clue about playing a musical instrument and most didn't get training on singing either. Most songs, especially in the religious OT realm were chants or so it is thought, like those found in the Song of Solomon and the Book of Psalms. I do think it is important that our songs that we sing in the worship assembly reflect good sound Bible principles and truths from His Word. Secondly, we should sing those songs with understanding so as to encourage us to be faithful to God's Word. Thirdly, we should worship in spirit and in truth but also we should act like God's children and behave decently and in order like Paul tells in 1 Cor 14:40. Our number one priority in worship is to please God and comply with His pattern that we see in His Word and not be tempted to please ourselves. In this regard, we should pay heed to Samuel's words to King Saul in 1 Sam 15:22 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. You see, the way God sees it, He knows that worship on our terms comes easy. He wants us to worship Him on His terms in accordance with His pattern. That's the real test of sacrifice, our willingness to submit our will to that of our God and Father. For us to worship God on anyone else's terms is like worshipping an idol of our fashioning. In this instance, we're inclined to reshape the Lord's church to our liking and the same with our worship. Hope this helps and God bless. --Rowdy |
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336 | wife supposed to wait husband go church | Eph 5:23 | Rowdy | 111465 | ||
If you're unable to persuade your husband to go with you, I would urge you to commit yourself to your own personal relationship with God the Father, His Son and the church for which He died. Yes, it's ideal to be a christian with your spouse at your side but our Lord will judge us all by the words we say and the actions we take. So we must ultimately take responsibility for our own actions but keeping praying that our loved ones will take heed of our choices. Who knows, maybe your husband will think long and hard about the wonderful example you're setting for him and listen to his conscience. You're in good company. There's been millions of spouses before you who led their life-long partner to Christ after they gave their own life to Him. We'll all pray for you and wish God's blessings on you. Be strong for Him. |
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337 | i need a little more information | Eph 6:14 | Rowdy | 118933 | ||
It's always best to look at these kind of verses in context. Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. So you see verse 14 is just one part of the whole armor of God. It's a good exercise to do some soul searching every once in a while throughout one's whole life to check this passage and see where our armor might be suffering and need some maintenance. (If you're curious about some of the items of armor themselves, look them up in a encyclopedia; it'll be quite interesting as they come from the era of the Roman army.) That's one reason why I like to refer to the Bible as the Perfect Maintenance Manual. Upon doing that introspection and discovering we're a little weak in one or more areas, we should study God's Word and brush up on our knowledge and wisdom in that area. IF by any chance we think we're getting fairly close to being ready to meet our Lord, then we need to check out Paul's words in Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Hope this helps and God bless. --Rowdy |
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338 | rest v. work | Philippians | Rowdy | 112330 | ||
I think just about all of us think seriously about retiring from christianity at some point in our lives; I know I have. I can only say, sooner or later, the Lord says "enough is enough" and He'll humble such a person. I know He did with me. It sounds like you're talking about a person a little older than youself, perhaps in my generation. I can't think of the exact scripture but I think you'll recognize the principle. We all should watch ourselves carefully in this regard, take heed of God's Word lest we fall and are humbled far more than we would like. In other words, the more proud we become of accomplishments or anything else, the harder we fall. I think CDJB also made some very good comments on this subject. Basically, if Paul didn't earn a retirement from his Lord BEFORE death, you and I (No one) certainly can't hope to expect such a luxury. I hope this helps and God bless. |
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339 | Revelation 20 and 21 | Phil 4:3 | Rowdy | 111803 | ||
Yes, there are numerous references in Revelation about this Book of Life but so also in: Psalm 69:28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous. Philippians 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. I see no reason to think these are all different books as they all seem to apply to God's way of just communicating to us the fact that he knows who really is in His family or not. He knows each of us and our deepest thoughts, yes even the ones we hide from our very best friend here on earth. I don't think we're going to know for certain these kind of details until after our death or possibly until the end of time. God bless. |
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340 | What are dispensations? | Col 2:14 | Rowdy | 113887 | ||
I don't think the actual word dispensation is in the more traditional versions of the Bible. It might be in the Amplified, didn't check there. However, Webster's defines it as follows: 1) a general state or ordering of thing, i.e. a system of revealed commands and promises regulating human affairs and 2) a particular arrangement or provision especially of providence or nature. There are other definitions but they're not germane to this discussion. The word may not be in the Bible but the concept clearly is. There are several scriptures depicting this but one of the best is from Paul as follows: Colossians 2 13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. So you see, Jesus fulfilled the OT and the NT is executed in this dispensation, this era of time with a whole new set of rules and regulations. The most important difference is this Testament is a Law of Liberty in Christ Jesus. We're free from our sins IF we choose to be. Good question and God bless. |
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