Results 61 - 80 of 361
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Bill Mc Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
61 | 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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62 | Is man still created in God's image? | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16189 | ||
Dear Charis, thanks for the clarification. To clarify my prior question to you, you had stated, 'This is the part of us that knows good and evil, and allows us know (be known by) the Lord and recognize His image in us, or conversely be led by our earthly body.' My implication was that I think that our spirits are what allows us to know God. I believe that scripture supports that many things of God are spiritually discerned. My soul (mind, will, and emotions - personality) cannot (to my utter frustration) understand the Trinity. But God has revealed it (through the Word written by, ultimately, the Holy Spirit) to be fact. It is the same way with my unregenerated spiritual death. My soul, apart from the revelation of God through His Word, would never have know that I was born spiritually dead. I would have thought, in my natural senses, sure, I'm alive. I could perceive myself and others (soul perception, soulishly alive) but I have no perception of God other than what my soul discerns from nature. I.e. I can tell from nature that God exists by I have very little information as to what He is really like. Hence the Law reflected His character in the OT (and ours) and Jesus Christ is the true, exact representation of God's nature in the NT. Well, I've probably taken this further than I initially wanted to and I have maybe confussed you (and myself). But, what I was trying to find out is this: Many co-workers are saying, "Now, Bill, you claim to be a Christian. Christians are against the death penalty and men are created in the image of God. So if you want these terrorists punished by death, than you will be killing what God created, right?" This was the point of my initial question. Are we STILL being created in the image of God? Thanks for your input and Christ-like spirit, Bill Mc |
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63 | Is God still creating man in His image? | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16190 | ||
Well stated, kalos. Thank you. | ||||||
64 | Sorry about the digression. | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16208 | ||
Sir Pent, thanks for your response. 'Meaningless dribble' - you made me smile :) Yes, the quote of the God-shaped vacuum is from Pascal. And Mere Christianity is one of my favorite books. Thanks for your input and honesty. I enjoy challenging others (and being challenged) concerning preconceived notions that we have about our faith and what scripture actually teaches. It's amazing how many people think "God helps those who help themselves" is in the Bible. So I am not always trying to settle an issue as such. But it is good for us as believers to verify is what we believe and have been taught stands up to the truth of God's Word. Blessings to you. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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65 | Is man still created in God's image? | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16211 | ||
Thanks, Steve. Blessings to you, brother. |
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66 | So what is God's vs. Adam's image? | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16214 | ||
Hi Tim, Please permit me to jump in here: Therein lies my question. We know that Adam and Eve were created perfect. But scripture also makes it clear that they fell and passed sin and death to all their offspring (accept Christ). So, as you have so aptly asked, what is this image that Seth was created in? If it was truly God's image in the sense of moral purity, then it would seem to violate what we understand scripture to say about mankind being born in trespasses and sin. If it was simply an outward physical image, then it doesn't quite seem to fit with Adam being the outward image of God, for God is Spirit. If it was a personality image (mind, emotions, will - what one would call a soul), does this interpretation carry the most weight? Or should we not even interpret 'image' to be a reasonably exact representation but merely a 'form'? Thanks for your input. It is interesting that Moses did not write that Seth was born ALSO in God's image. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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67 | Is God still creating man in His image? | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16241 | ||
Dear Lionstrong, thanks for the reply. Thanks for taking the time to explain your viewpoint fully. I appreciate it. I do agree with many of the things you've said in these two parts. I'll reread it over the next couple of days to try to understand it better (I'm a slow learner). Please don't think, brother, that I think that unregenerated man is worthless, just an animal, or any other derogatory term that sinners are labeled. I disagree with that view. "While we were YET sinners, Christ died for us, the Godly for the ungodly." Your view (or Westminster's view) bears much consideration. The only thing that I might add, as a supplement, not a substitute, is that man's worth is really based upon the fact that God chooses to love us. Regardless of whether we agree what that 'image of God' is, we can rest assured that our value is based upon the worth that God assigns to us. How great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called 'the Children of God.' Blessings in Christ, brother Lionstrong. In Him, Bill Mc |
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68 | Is man still created in God's image? | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16242 | ||
Thanks for your input, brother charis. | ||||||
69 | So what is God's vs. Adam's image? | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16243 | ||
Dear Lionstrong, thanks again for your comments. In fact, I believe that you have hit upon what I think is the 'central truth' of the matter: You said, "breathing into Adam the spirit of life" and I believe that this is what Adam and Eve lost, the Divine life in them. God said, 'The day that you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will die.' They did not die physically that die. But they did die spiritually. What exactly that means, is probably open for interpretation, but I view it as follows. (I am not going to wax 'theological' here because I don't believe that it is that complicated of a concept). The Divine life of God departed Adam and Eve. Not their physical life (at least not for 900 years or so), not their soul life, they still had knowledge, will and emotion. But rather the very life of God, spiritual life. They became dead to God, alive to sin. Christ said that He came to restore that life. "I come that they might have life and life abundant." He is not referring to physical life here. He said that He was the life. He told the Pharisees, 'You search the scriptures (OT) because you think that you'll find life there. These scriptures talk of Me, but you won't come to Me and get it.' 1 John 5:11,12 - "And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." God, through Jesus Christ's resurrection has returned His Divine life to us. If the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us (and He does), He will give LIFE to your mortal bodies. This is not more physical or soul life. This is eternal, spiritual life. We are joined to His Spirit and His very life now indwells us. We, as believers, are now alive to God and dead to sin. Though I think I understand your viewpoint, Jesus came not to give us knowledge primarily, but to give us life, eternal life. I believe scripture bears this out. "Truly, truly, I say to you; he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgement, but has passed out of death into LIFE." Thanks for your input, Lionstrong. I appreciate the time and consideration you add to this forum. Abide in His love, Bill Mc |
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70 | So what is God's vs. Adam's image? | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16245 | ||
Thanks for your input, Tim. Bless you, brother. | ||||||
71 | What is the breath of life? | Gen 5:3 | Bill Mc | 16614 | ||
Hi Lionstrong, Thanks for your reply. You stated: "The death fallen man experiences is the separation from God caused by sin and its curse, not the loss of the life God gave him." Then why did Jesus say that He came to bring us LIFE? Why does the NT make it clear that we are born DEAD in trespasses and sins? Why do these verses all say that we were made ALIVE in Christ? - See Rom 6:11; Rom 8:10; 1 Cor 15:22; Eph 2:5; Col 2:13 Lionstrong, you seem to imply that the death that God said would happen to Adam and Eve the day that they are from the forbidden tree was merely physical death. Yet they did not die immediately. Adam lived some 900 years after the fall. But God says, "The day you eat, you WILL die." If I understand your definition, the spirit of life (merely physical life, breath) is also possessed by the animal kingdom. But we know that they are not made in the image of God. "The life that man has is still spiritual, but it is no longer toward God." - Agreed. "By the breath of God, man was created as the image of God." True, but what is this breath of God. God is primarily spirit and as such, He had no human breath until Christ was born. A spirit, in the physilogical sense, does not breathe. So, if this 'breath of life' that God imparted to Adam is merely physical life, isn't that same thing evident in the animal world? In Christ, Bill Mc |
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72 | "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. | ||||||
73 | Is the Christian under Law? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12807 | ||
Is the Christian under Law? Dear Joe and Christiankl, God's design for our lives as Christians is to let Christ live His life thorugh us, not to keep the law. Please look at the Scriptures, brothers: Consider the church in Galatia. Paul had preached Christ crucified and risen again in their midst. This was a church of, as far as we can tell, believers in Christ who the Judaizers were trying to put back under the law and all it's requirements. Notice Paul's admonitions: Galatians 2:19 - Paul died to the Law so that he could live to God 3:10 - If you're under law, you're under it's curse - if you sin, you die 3:13 - Christ redeemed us from this curse 3:19 - The Law was added UNTIL the seed (Christ) would come 3:23 - Before faith in Christ came, we were under law's custody 3:24 - Law leads us to Christ so we can be justified by faith 3:25 - Now that faith in Christ is reality, we are no longer under the tutor (the Law) Romans 6:14 - we are not under the law but under grace 6:15 - again, we are under grace 7:4 - we were made to die to the Law so that we can be joined to Christ 7:6 - We have been released from the Law so that we can serve in the newness of the Spirit NOT according to the letter (law) Brothers, are these Scriptures not clear? If you were married to a woman you loved (see Paul's analogy in Roman's 7) and she died, as horrible as that would be, what relationship would you have with her? She would be dead and all the duties you had to her would be null and void. Would that mean you were against her or hated her? No. You would still, in fact, love her. But, you would no longer be in a relationship with her. The relationship is over. She would be dead. Now, Paul says that we were made to die to the Law through Christ's death (Rom 7:4) so that we could be joined to Christ. The first relationship has to end before the next can be binding. But the Law didn't die. We did. We are free of ANY relationship to it, not because there is something wrong with it, but because it has fulfilled it's purpose. It showed us exceedingly sinful so that we could come to Christ. And our relationship with Him will lead us to go places that the Law could never touch. The Law buried us under sin, as Christ did in the gospels (...the Law says...but I tell you...) so we would see our need to be justified by His death and saved by His life. So, obviously, I have a contention with your 3 conclusions: 1. The Holy Spirit now convicts the believer of sin and points us to Christ as sufficient - not the Law. 2. God doesn't want a moral people. The Pharisees were very moral. God wants a people who have Christ living through them. This goes beyond morality to miraculous. We don't need to eat from the morality Tree (of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, right and wrong), we need to eat from the Tree of Life, Jesus Christ. 3. We live out our sanctification. We do nothing to obtain it. Our spirits are 100 percent sanctified at conversion and we have the privelege of seeing that 'worked out' through our souls and bodies as we trust in Christ as our sufficiency and grow in His love. See Titus 2:11 - God's GRACE, not the Law, teaches us to live righteously and godly lives. As you said, God, through Christ, has met all His own moral demands. We, on our own, never could. We have been made holy not by our actions, but by His. We have HIS righteousness, not our own. And we have the joyful experience of living it out. We don't live holy, godly lives to gain sanctification. We live holy, godly lives because 'by this will (New Covenant) we have been sanctified through the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL. For by one offering He has perfected for ALL TIME those who are sanctified.' - Hebrews 10:10,14 What do you think? In Christ, Bill Mc In Christ |
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74 | Is the Christian under Law? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12845 | ||
Dear Steve, Here are your answers (in brief): 1. See John 16:8-11. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgement. But notice what the sin is in vs. 9 - the world doesn't believe in Christ. This is why people go to hell. Because they don't accept Christ. 2. I already stated what God wants. He desires a people that have Himself living in them as Adam and Eve did. God has made man in such a way that we are design to 'run on God.' He wants to be our source for life and everything we need and are. And, brother, look at Matthew 5:18, ALL OF IT, Christ says, "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law UNTIL all is accomplished." Did Christ accomplish the fulfillment of the law? If He did, if it is truly "finished" as He said, then He had every right to bring in the New Covenant and make the Law obsolete. As far as the Law goes, Christ did fulfill it. He was not saying that the Law would pass away until heaven and earth do. He was saying that the Law would not pass away until He fulfilled it - until the Law was accomplished. He said, "I did not come to abolish (destroy) the Law, but to fulfill it." Steve, did Christ do it? If He did, and He is our righteousness, then why are you trying to fulfill it? Do you honestly believe that you can? Yes, I am equating the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil with the Law. And, yes, the Old Testament saints you mention did know right from wrong. However, I miss the point of your question. 3. As for Rom 2:20, Paul is using sarcasm on the Jews who felt they were righteous by holding the Law above everything else, including Christ. He says in vs. 17: They rely upon the Law (not Christ) and boast in God saying, "WE know His will, WE are the ones who approve what's essential because the Law taught us. WE are a guide to the blind, WE are a light to those in darkness. WE are the correctors of the foolish, teachers of the immature. WE have the Law, which is the entire embodiment of knowledge and truth." How ludicrous. Christ is the embodiment of all knowledge and truth, is He not? These were the claims of the self-righteous Pharisees, the keepers of the Law. They felt that they had (and kept) the Law so they required nothing else. These were not Paul's claims. Paul said that if he boasted, it would be in Christ alone. Rom 5:20 - The Law did make transgressions increase. Paul solidifies this in Rom 7:7-9. Rom 6:14 - Again, brother, "you are not under law but under grace." Rom 7:12 - I agree 150 percent, the Law is holy, and righteous, and good. But it has done it's job in my life. It showed me as being utterly sinful and that I could never keep it. It showed me my need for Christ. But I no longer need it. I have something better than commandments written on stone. I have Christ in my heart. I need Christ and Him alone. In closing, let me say that I've enjoyed this discourse. But, I have to wonder, did you even read my last post? What do you do with all those Scriptures from Galatians and Romans that say we are not under the Law? Do you dismiss them? What about the marriage analogy Paul uses? Perhaps you misunderstand me. I am not anti-Law. It's not a matter of what OT laws I like or don't like. It's a matter of the fact that I am joined, not to the Law, but to Christ. If I died tomorrow, what bearing would the laws of the United States have on me? None. I would be dead and no longer bound by the laws. It's the same for the Christian. Christ has, through His death and our union with Him in it, caused us to be dead to the law. It's not that I don't like the Law. Indeed, I am thankful for the Law. I agree with what Paul says in Romans 7:7 - I wouldn't have known what sin was without the Law. Steve, the sinner, the unbeliever needs the Law to show him his need for Christ. What I am saying is that, once we except Christ, we no longer need the Law as a tutor. I have shown you numerous Scriptures to support this statement. I'm not making it up. I tried to 'keep the Law' as a Christian for 30 years of my life. And, no matter how hard I tried, it was never good enough. Their was always some area of my life where I didn't measure up, where I fell short. But, then, as a Christian, I came to Jesus for HIS life, not my own. Christ is now my life. Do I still sin? Yes, when I walk after my flesh. But I stand before a holy, righteous God not in my own efforts. I stand by faith in Christ and Him alone. Dear brother, I pray that you will search again the Scriptures that I have shared with you and rest in what your wonderful Lord has done. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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75 | Are Positional and Practical truths true | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12897 | ||
Dear Joe, thanks for the reply. Please allow me to respond to a couple of things you said: "Our spirits however, are not 100 percent SANCTIFIED at conversion." See Eph 1:4; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22 and especially 1 Cor 1:2 - '...to those who HAVE BEEN (past tense) sanctified in Christ Jesus' 1 Cor 6:11 - '...but you WERE (past tense) washed, but you WERE sanctified, but you WERE justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ...' Heb 10:10 - 'by this will we HAVE BEEN (past tense) sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ...' Heb 10:29 - '...and has reguarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he WAS (past tense) sanctified...' There is only three things you can do with these verses, Steve: 1. Accept them as truth. 2. Reject them as lies. 3. Redefine sanctification and what it is. Redefination is the road most often chosen. Most theologians get around the truth of these verses by saying what the Bible does not say and that is... "There are three dimensions to our sanctification as revealed in Scripture: initial, progressive, and final." Please show me these words used of our sanctification in the New Testament. They are not in there. What you are really saying is that you DON'T BELIEVE that Christ has done it ALL and that, somehow, YOU must do it. So theologians relegate their unbeliefs into "Positional" and "Practical" truths. "Positional" means, as I understand it, that "God said it so, somehow it's true, but it doesn't make sense to me so it's a positional truth." "Practical" means, "Though I know what God says, here is what my experience tells me. So I'll rely on what experience says instead of God and His Word." Please don't take this the wrong way, Steve, but 'hogwash.' Truth is truth. Truth is God's viewpoint and His perspective is reality. Christ has done it ALL. Because people will not except the Scripture as true they decide to put their own spin on it and attempt to invalidate what Christ has done. Or they say, "Well, yes, this is truth, but it only applies to when we get home, in God's presence." Support? "Final justification occurs when the believer enters God's presence, and is made perfect in righteousness." Let me ask you, child of God, what is it about the physical death of your body that would make you justified in spirit, soul, or body before a holy God? What is it about being 'in God's presence' that would justify you? What impact would the death of your body have upon you being righteous, holy and blameless before God? I believe that Christ alone and His work justifies me before a holy God. The state of my body is inconsequential. If a holy God can now dwell in me, it is ONLY because He has already made me holy. Paul says that the temple of God is holy and THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE. Not 'what you will be.' "We may positionally be seated with Christ, but I think you would agree that that is practically not the case in our lives as we now live them." I don't agree, brother. Again, you need to resort to positional and pratical truths because you will not accept what God says as TRUTH. I am spiritually (in God's true, eternal, outside-of-time realm) seated with Christ (Eph 2:6) though my physical body is seated in a chair typing this note. Just as I was crucified, raised, and seated with Christ spiritually 2000 years ago. In this dimension called time, I get the wonderful experience of 'seeing' what I know to be truth by faith 'worked out' in my life. We live godly lives, brother, because Christ lives in us. If Babe Ruth's spirit came inside you, would you want to take up ballet? What would you want to do if Babe Ruth's spirit dwelt in you? Well, we have Christ's Spirit, the Holy Spirit, living inside of us. He causes me to live a holy life, not so I WILL BE holy, but because, I AM HOLY. But it is not because of what I do or don't do. It is because, through Christ, I have become a NEW CREATION, created in righteousness. Do I do good works? Yes. But not to affect my status before God. I do them because OF my status before God. "God wants righteousness from His people." No, brother, God wants His people to accept and believe in the righteousness that comes FROM God. The Jews sought to establish THEIR OWN righteousness through keeping the Law. And the Pharisees would agree 100 percent with your statement and tell you exactly what that should look like. So, Steve, are you going to believe what God says about your sanctification, exercise faith and accept it, or are you going to cling to your nice little 'positional' and 'practical' truths? The truth is there, dear brother. As the Keeper of the Holy Grail said, "Choose wisely..." In Christ, Bill Mc |
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76 | Is the Christian under Law? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12898 | ||
Dear Risen, you explained it better than I! Thank you! In Christ, Bill Mc | ||||||
77 | What is your identity in Christ? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12900 | ||
Dear Joe, Please see my "Are Positional and Practical truths true?" posting before you read this one. Once again, brother, you are trying to redefine the terms. In the last posting, you redefined sanctification into 3 facets. Here you do the same thing with the Law. The Scriptures I mentioned only say " the Law." You don't believe it so you have redefined the Law into your own 3 terms: "The Law still exists in a moral sense. It is the sacrificial and ceremonial aspects of the law which were fulfilled in Christ's life, death, and resurrection." So, you've taken the word 'Law' that Scripture uses and relegated it to: 1. Moral law 2. Ceremonial law 3. Sacrificial law This way YOU can decide for yourself which of the three has been fulfilled and passes away. Joe, why not accept what God says for what it says? It has been my experience that God says what He means and means what He says. He does not stutter. And, Joe, if Christ kept and fulfilled the Law (you pick which one), and you are in Him, then haven't you also, by your union with Him, fulfilled it? Look at Romans 5:19 - Because of Adam's disobedience, we were all made and born sinners, right? Is this a positional truth or a practical truth? Are we born as positional sinners or practical sinners? Do we positionally sin or practically sin? The verse continues by saying, "even so through the obedience of the One (Christ) the many (us) will be made righteous." Is this positionally righteous or practically righteous? If God says that, because of Adam's sin, our old nature is sinful, then, using the same hermanuetic, our new nature is righteous, right? When are we made righteous, Joe? When we die? What does death have to do with your identity? Those 'in Adam' are sinners because of their birth, not because of their destination - hell. We are righteous because of a new birth, not because we will one day get to heaven. Birth, my friend, determines your identity - not where you end up. I'm going to heaven because Christ has MADE me righteous, not to be made righteous. Rest in that, won't you? In Christ, Bill Mc |
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78 | Is the Christian under Law? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12902 | ||
Hi Rob! Welcome to the forum. Seeing as you've probably been reading many of my posts in this topic (I'm rather long-winded), I'll offer my answer and you can repost the question if you would like other's input. From this topic, I've been referring primarily to the 10 commandments. Galatians, the book most cited to show that Christians are not under law, defines it in chapter 4:24 as '...the covenant proceeding from Mount Sinai...' These are the 'Words' of God given to Israel through Moses. The Jews invented the other 613 OT laws to give practical application as to how to keep the primary ten. So obviously, if the Law (10 commandments does not apply to the Christian, then the other 613, by default, are no longer applicable also. So, from Galatians and Hebrews, I've been trying to substantiate the passing of the Law as the primary 10 commandments given to the Jews. Hope this helps. In Christ, Bill MC |
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79 | What is your identity in Christ? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12913 | ||
Dear Joe, I guess we will just have to agree to disagree. Contrary to your conclusion, my friend, I am no longer a sinner. I am a saint, a child of God, who occasionally still sins. But Christ has changed my identity. I was a sinner. Now, I am a saint. 63 times in the New Testament believers are called "saints." Beleivers are NEVER called sinners in the NT. Even the Corinthians who, admittedly, had a lot of sins in their midst, are called saints. It costs Christ His life to change my identity to a saint. I will not insult what He has done by saying that I'm still a sinner. My actions do not determine my identity. My birth does. And because Christ is a righteous, perfect person, and I am IN HIM, I am righteous and perfect before God. And I never said that I don't sin. But my sin has been dealt with by Christ, once for all. As to anti-law, I already adressed that issue. I am not against it. It leads us to Christ. It's wonderful at pointing out a sinner's need for a Savior. When it has done that, it has fulfilled it's purpose. I'm joined to the Reality, not the shadow. I do believe in law - it's called the law of the Spirit of Christ Jesus (check Rom 8:1,2) and it has set me free from the law of sin and death. Paul calls it "the law of Christ" - love. Well, brother, I feel we've probably taken this as far as is profitable. You can cling to what you allege that Catholics, Protestants, Reformed, Dispensationalists, Calvin, Luther, Augustine, Edwards, and Spurgeon say. I'm going to "rest" in Sola Scriptura. Nevertheless, Joe, thanks for your correspondence. I understand your opinion. I was taught it and believed it for 30 years of my life. But I pray, Joe, that you, being rooted and grounded in love (not Law), may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth , and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. In Him, Bill Mc |
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80 | What is your identity in Christ? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12929 | ||
Well said, Joe. Untrue, but well said. The church fathers which you so highly regard "rested" their cases upon Sola Scriptura. As you know, Martin Luther was converted due to the fact that a man is justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ, and not works (keeping the Law). But, brother, since we are on the subject, let's look at a quote from Spurgeon: "According to this gracious covenant, the Lord treats His people as if they had never sinned. Practically, He forgets all their trespasses. Sins of all kinds He treats as if they had never been; as if they were quite erased from His memory. O miracle of grace! God here does that which is certain aspects is impossible to Him. His mercy works miracles which far transcends all other miracles. Our God ignores our sin now that the sacrifice of Jesus has ratified the covenant. We may rejoice in Him without fear that He will be provoked to anger against us because of our iniquities. See! He puts us among the children ; He accepts us as righteous; He takes delight in us as if we were perfectly holy. He even puts us in places of trust; makes us guardians of His honor, trustees of the crown jewels, stewards of the gospel. He counts us worthy, and gives us a ministry; this is the highest and most special proof that He does not remember our sins. Even when we forgive an enemy, we are very slow to trust him; we judge it to be imprudent to do so. But the Lord forgets our sins, and treats us as if we had never erred. O my soul, what a promise is this! Believe it and be happy. - Charles H. Spurgeon Even Spurgeon believed in a PRACTICAL, not positional forgiveness. He said that God ignores our sin now the the new covenant was ratified. Maybe Spurgeon's NT was thinner than yours... I still feel that you misunderstand my position. Let me try, one more time, to clarify it. At salvation, conversion, the new birth, we are MADE, in our spirits (our identities), holy, righteous, acceptable, saints, because of our exchange with Christ. He became sin for us, we become the righteousness OF God (not our own) in Christ. We now, as Christians, get to live out through our souls and bodies what we have been made spiritually (you would probably call this practical sanctification). This 'living out' is a process of having our souls (minds, wills, emotions) renewed through Scripture and the Holy Spirit to conform us outwardly to the image of Christ that we have already been made inwardly in our spirits. Brother, you have tried to redefine every Scripture I have mentioned into practical and positional qualifications. So you are dismissing them out of hand. You're implying that, "Yes, God sees me as positionally righteousness but that's not what I really am." Further quoting of Scripture is pointless if you don't believe them anyway. And, Joe, if you're going to redefine the Scriptures, then further discussion is, unfortunately, unprofitable for us both. But, I think no less of you. You know your Scriptures. I admire that. Unfortunately, I confess, I don't know very many. Though I have been a Christian for 30 years, most of that time has been spent listening to others interpret it for me instead of relying on the Holy Spirit and other Scripture to reveal it to me. So, practically (hey, I used that word), I have a way to go. So, I may be ignorant but arrogant? Anyway, I guess until I'm better equipped, I'll not debate this particular issue with you, brother. In the meantime, I'll search my thinner NT for where God describes His church as a fat, lazy, impotent element of soceity. Interesting view...maybe in Revelation cahpters 2 and 3... In Christ, Bill Mc |
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