Results 1 - 4 of 4
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How is unity possible in diversity? | John 17:11 | Joyce Ong | 92304 | ||
The Lord Jesus asked of our Father that we may be One just as Father and Son are one. What is this unity that we should read into, especially in our world of diversity. Is unity possible? Christianity is quite exclusive in that it emphasises Jesus is the only way, the only truth and only life. How will others see us? Closed minded, suffocating especially when we do not share a lot of practises. | ||||||
2 | How is unity possible in diversity? | John 17:11 | bronx hulk | 92315 | ||
Hello Joyce, My personal view on this is that if others want to view us as close minded, that's their problem. Our faith must testify that there is no other way to the Father but by Jesus. If we compromise that, we would be lying to anyone we speak to. The unity that we need to have is revealed in Phil 2:2 "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one ACCORD, of one mind". Meaning that we need to work together so that there are no divisions in understanding within the church. Now granted. This day and age there are so many denominations of Christianity, never mind other religions, it is confusing. How can we be on one accord given this situation? The baptists do not believe in speaking in tongues. Other churches use tongues as their sole doctrine. Some believe that once you give your life to Christ, you are automatically going to heaven. Others believe you must earn eternal life through works. Who is right? My honest belief is that if you are using the Holy Spirit to interperet Gods Word and you are humble to receive what is written, we all should be on one accord. Since God is not the author of confusion (1 corin 14:33). However that is not so, which tells me that we have allowed our pride and other various things distort our understandings of Gods holy Word. So how can we deal with this? In reading John 3:1-8, it tells us that we must be BORN AGAIN to enter the kingdom of heaven. It doesn't say to be baptist, charismatic, pentecostal, etc. It says BORN AGAIN. To me, that means that you must change your life to become that new creature with your HEART sold out to serving God. So what I do is I try to look into the heart of the individual. Is their heart one that loves God and believes that Jesus is His son and died for our sins? Are they trying with all their spirit to serve the Lord? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, then I will receive them as my brother or sister and let God make the judgement on their soul's place in eternity. We need to use WISDOM in dealing with each others differences. Without wisdom, we will not be able to look past things that do not matter. As far as other people belonging to other religions are concerned, my view is this: Jesus said in John 6:44 "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me DRAW him: and I will raise him up at the last day." So if God is not drawing or calling someone, you cannot witness to them. Also in John 10, it talks about how Christ's sheep know His voice. If someone is being called of God and they are one of His, then when they hear the Word of God, they will recognize it as truth and follow it without question. If they are not one of God's sheep, we can preach the Word to them all day and it won't do any good. Remember that there were people who did not receive Jesus' words as truth. Now if there were people that Jesus Himself couldn't reach, what makes us think that everyone we talk to should believe our words as truth? Fact is, not everyone is called of God. And that's the bottom line. Hope that clears stuff up. Let me know. Yours in Christ, Sal |
||||||
3 | How is unity possible in diversity? | John 17:11 | Joyce Ong | 92400 | ||
I agree that there should be their problem. However, if the view is held by one's spouse it becomes a shared problem. How can we love the same Father and Lord Jesus, see the difference in practises and still practise likemindedness unless we are accomodating and respectful. It is harder for a wife to have a choice of faith in the context of Asian culture. Wives have to follow husband. This is my difficulty. The best I could manage is to be there with him. To ask to not switch over, afterall it is the same Lord is too much. | ||||||
4 | How is unity possible in diversity? | John 17:11 | bronx hulk | 92401 | ||
Wow, Sounds like you have a real situation on your hand. The best advice I can give you is this: Get to know God as best as you can. Through Him, you will gain wisdom to handle your situation. If you can become the best Christian you can, your husband might see the change in you and follow suit. There is no guarantees to this. Read 1 corin 7. Pay particular attention to verses 13-15. I suggest you get counseling from your pastor on the correct way to handle this. It will take much time and patience. In the meantime, do not try to convince your husband with words. Let your life do the talking. If you need someone to talk to, I will be available. You can email me @ salvatore.capaccio@aviano.af.mil I will pray for you. Your brother, Sal |
||||||