Results 221 - 240 of 386
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Country Girl Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
221 | NOR OF HUMAN DECISION...but born of God | John 1:13 | Country Girl | 132272 | ||
I agree with you 100 per cent. There's absolutely NOTHING we can possibly ever hope to do or say to earn our way to Heaven or to receive salvation based on our actions. BUT there are some things that God does expect from us to PROVE we really do belong to Him. James is most clear on this in his letter, Chapter 2. Ja 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! 20But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. 24You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Just wanted to complete the picture. You see, it's not the works that saves us, it's our faith in God BUT real, genuine faith will produce these works. If there is no such works, according to James, we should be suspicious about the actual condition of our faith. IF that faith is dead as would be indicated by the lack of works in such a person's life, then it (the faith) is worthless to him, to you and me and most of all, to God. So, what is a person to do under this kind of guidance? We must look around, maybe in the world, maybe in our churches, wherever there is a need for Christianity, we must adopt a ministry of some kind and apply our talents as best we can. Lk 9:23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. I hope this helps and Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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222 | What is the meaning of John 4:5-42? | John 4:42 | Country Girl | 125428 | ||
To me this seems to be a straight forward story of an encounter with the Lord and Savior of the world. He made such an impression on her that she went to her fellow villagers and the testimony she gave compelled them to come out and verify for themselves as made plain in verse 42. What a wonderful priviledge for this forever unnamed woman, who in spite of her sin, like the rest of the world, she was still good enough to be selected as a vessel to carry the Good News for God and His Son. Is there something more important that I'm missing? Did you have a specific question about a particular verse? Please share with us. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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223 | What is the meaning of John 4:5-42? | John 4:42 | Country Girl | 125491 | ||
Very, very good post. Nice digest of the whole story. Good conclusion. Country Girl | ||||||
224 | Are Jesus and God 2 or 1? | John 8:17 | Country Girl | 130749 | ||
Provided for context: John 10:24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." John 10:25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me. John 10:26 "But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. John 10:29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. John 10:30 "I and the Father are one." It seems pretty obvious (to me at least) that Jesus was saying that He and Father are one Being. That is they think alike. Their priorities are one and in perfect harmony. Don't get me wrong, there are just a few things that even Jesus didn't know, at least not then. Mk 13:32 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. Thus we see in this some clear distinctions among the three that make up this Godhead but for us humans in our finite understanding, God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit are all one. I hope this is clear. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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225 | A stranger they will not follow | John 10:4 | Country Girl | 125521 | ||
I'm thinking the biggest reason why this analogy of comparing mankind to sheep keeps popping up in Christ's words throughout the Gospels is their accuracy in our understanding of the Bible. Our world is so literal, so finite whereas our God's world is so spiritual and infinite. When one really thinks about it, we really are like sheep. We're easily distracted from our focus on Him as the center of our lives, our leader. We're so timid when we're faced with real trouble in our lives, especially our spiritual relationship with Him and His/our Father. We're so prone to listen and spend far too much time discussing and debating on issues not really that important to our God, like the Rapture and other questionable areas of the Bible. We even get sheared every once in a while and start all over again with our struggle to maintain some balance and a proper amount of humility in our lives. If we could only learn from sheep and follow the voice of our Shepard and keep ourselves out of trouble, the world of Christianity would be far better off. What are your thoughts on this matter? Anyone else? Blessings to you all. Country Girl |
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226 | Would you consider Hebrews 12:14? | John 10:34 | Country Girl | 127728 | ||
If I may interject, it seems obvious Who is the primary active Agent in verse 9 as quoted below. The same Person is primary in verses 10 and 11. Heb 12:9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? Heb 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. Heb 12:11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. So what are we to conclude from this discussion? Everyone knows we humans certainly aren't Gods or gods either one. So apparently Jesus once again was speaking to His "testers," his biggest political enemies while here on earth, the Scribes and Pharisees. So many of the discussions and statements from Jesus to these people were often filled with difficult concepts and quotes from the OT. It's obvious Jesus' main priority was to humble their thinking and their attitude to Himself and His Father. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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227 | The Teacher and His teachings? | John 14:23 | Country Girl | 127534 | ||
There seems to be a rush to reach a conclusion without including the rest of God's Word on this subject. Yes, we do absolutely nothing toward our own salvation, I agree but that doesn't mean we get out of doing the works of faith as described in James, Chapter 2. We must remember, we must in addition to obeying Jesus' Words actually spoken by Him, we must also follow and obey the words written by God's representatives throughout the NT. James is very clear on this matter, a true and genuine faith in God WILL produce fruit/works of Christianity like we see encouraged throughout His Word. Without those works, James says our faith is dead and being dead would not be of any value to anyone. Hope this helps and blessings to you all. Country Girl |
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228 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128618 | ||
I agree with Mr. Owen in that we have no power to do anything without the specific approval and blessing to do so. The only reason we're allowed to keep breathing, eating and sleeping is by the Grace of God and His Infinite Mercy. BUT that doesn't negate the message of James. We are to do our fair share of God's business just Christ started when He was twelve years old. We all must adopt a truly Godly lifestyle and spread the Good News that His Son has died for the whole world. Further we must imitate Christ and go about our lives bestowing acts of kindness on those whom we see in need. This is the only way God will accept our Christianity as being real and genuine. This is the only way we can be assured Christ's cleansing blood keeps us free from our sins as shown in 1 John 1. In this way, we'll keep our attitude in check and realize it's not anything we could possibly do or say to earn this Gift of Salvation. We simply owe a debt to our God, our Creator. We can merely hope to be counted worthy to be His vessel, His conduit, His lantern through which we must shine His light, show His priorities in our lives. In this way, like Paul, we must be willing to "become all things to all people, so that we might win some" to this lifestyle of God. Yes, indeed the power of the cross rests in our Lord and Savior of this world, IF we'll let Him become our Master and King of our lives. BUT that Mastery and Kingship must be true and genuine. Something only our God can measure on Judgment Day. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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229 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128672 | ||
You seemed to have overlooked a key passage: Rev 3:20 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. The Bible is clear on this matter (in my mind). God is not going to impose His Will and have His Way with us if we refuse Him. Sure He desparately wants to come into our lives and be placed on the throne of our hearts but He leaves that decision up to us. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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230 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128681 | ||
There is no actual verse in the Bible that I could recall to depict God in this condition of being desperate. However, I do think we can draw the proper conclusion from God's actions. If you or I as parents were to offer one of our own child(ren) as a sacrifice, we would be either considered completely crazy or someone worthy of a prison sentence. But since God offered "His Only Begotten Son" as that Perfect Sacrifice, we can only say thank you, dear Lord. So in effect, it looks as if God is willing to do literally anything in His power (a pretty good picture of desperation if you ask me) to get you and me to re-evaluate our lives and become one of His. This is especially true when one re-reads the story of the crucifiction and Jesus' mockery of a trial. But again, in submission to your comment, I have to admit it's a difficult concept to think of our God as being desperate for anything since He created the whole universe and could make any one of us do as He please IF He chose to. I guess that's the crux of the whole matter, He chooses NOT to but He still wants very badly to have the whole world repent and give up this world of sin. I appreciate your giving me reason to make me think about what I've stated. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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231 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128809 | ||
Can you or Doc T show me in the Bible an example where someone established a relationship with God, lost it like King Saul and then God overpowered them and insisted on bringing him/her back into His Good Graces? Just need Book, Chapter and Verse to see this eternal security at work. Thanks. I guess I really open the challenge to anyone else on the Forum. Let's call it "Pick Up and Smear" just like we were kids. But I still pray for God's blessings on you all. Country Girl |
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232 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128816 | ||
Can you refer me to a Forum post discussing such a Biblical example of eternal security as I described in my previous statement/question? Still hoping. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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233 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128819 | ||
Quoted for reference: Rev 3:14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: Rev 3:15 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. Rev 3:16 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Rev 3:17 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, Rev 3:18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Rev 3:19 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Rev 3:20 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. Rev 3:21 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Rev 3:22 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" Obviously, I don't have the education background you show but it seems this letter to the Laodiceans was simple and straight forward like the other six letters to the churches in Asia. Some churches were praiseworthy but most received harsh criticism from our Lord like most of us would if we were all judged today. Anyway, verse 20 is just a simple statement that our God wants to be the center of our lives as shown throughout the rest of Bibles, BUT the Lord's attitude is obvious here. He's NOT going to barge in and thrust Himself on anybody if they don't want Him in their lives. I hope this is clear. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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234 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128827 | ||
Thanks, I'll check it out. Blessings to you. Country Gir | ||||||
235 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128962 | ||
I sincerely apologize as I didn't mean to put words in your mouth. The main point of my quoting from that particular passage was also to point out that with God, we can't take the middle ground or staddle the fence on the major issues in the Bible. Our Lord and Savior expects us as His children to study ALL of His Words on a particular topic and draw the proper conclusion considering His intent behind all of it. We also must include the words of His official representatives, the writers throughout the NT. I really thought you were coming down on the Pro side of this Eternal Security issue. As I've stated several times, our salvation individually is an incredibly fragile thing, something we have to work at with much diligence. God of course never waivers or moves in this process as He is the most constant Being in the whole universe. We humans on the other hand are very fickle and moody. We'll say we love our life long spouse at one point and seconds later we'll confess we love our favorite ice cream. At any rate, God certainly does want a life-long relationship with all of us but I believe He also gives all of us complete and total freedom to choose a life with Him or without Him. He also gives complete freedom to change our minds afterwards, just as He did with Sodom, Gomorrah and Ninevah before destroying them. Notice Ninevah repented and changed their ways for a little while at the preaching of Jonah. But according to Nahum, they soon went back to their evil ways and God did such a complete destruction of their whole country, that we didn't even know they existed outside of the Bible until a 100 years ago. Again, I apologize to you. Remember "to err is human, forgive is divine." Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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236 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128995 | ||
I'd like to think I could recall several examples but at the moment with my being so tired, I can only recall the one cited below. In Acts 8, we see Simon the sorcerer become a christian and of course this is after he has repented and apparently is trying to turn his life around but he blunders very badly by lusting after the miraculous powers as displayed by Peter. Peter of course rebukes him rather harshly but I guess that's just my weaker side coming out of me. But the conclusion is that all of us start out as "babes in Christ" upon first being converted to God's family. And like all babes, our condition is fragile, that is our faith is young and immature. We're prone to make mistakes in judgments, where to go and with whom to associate. Paul teaches that the stronger, more mature brethren should watch out for the younger christian amongst them so as to not lead them astray. For example, we all know about Paul's admonition not to eat meat that had been offered to idols in front of a newly converted christian that's just come out of that practice, that is offering meat sacrifices to idols. So you see, it's a matter of drawing the proper conclusion from God's Word and using our common sense. But thank you for taking a new and objective look at my post. It does give me "pause for the cause." Blessings to you, my dear friend. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to come knocking. Country Girl |
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237 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129001 | ||
Quoted for context: 1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. There's a slight difference between the folks cited by John and those in Jesus' letter to the Laodiceans. Basically, it boils down to the hypocresy as described by Jesus. The church there was trying to stay popular with the world and yet be in Christ's army against sin. Whereas John was apparently talking about people who had already clearly shown their alligence to the devil as being called part of the antichrist is pretty strong language. But like I stated before and Christ stated as much about the Laodiceans. On Judgment Day, there will be two groups, those decidedly and emphatically in Christ's body and all others in the other group. So to be lukewarm is very, very dangerous ground indeed. That's been my point all along. When it comes to major principles and truths in God's Word, we cannot afford to be wishy washy and take a chance with vauge scriptures on a particular topic when there are other scriptures on that same topic that clearly dictate one way, the Lord's Way. Blessings to you, dear friend. Country Girl |
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238 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129167 | ||
I guess I didn't make myself clear. I'm talking about Eternal Security, or as most call it "Once saved, always saved." I'd say this concept clearly failed Ananias and Sapphira miserably. Where was their Eternal Security? I'm saying let's see some specific proof of this very focused idea that once you are considered part of God's family of christians, there's absolutely no way you can lose that salvation. Please show me Book, Chapter and verse proving that this is an absolute benefit from God. Of course you understand, I'm talking about God's saving us in spite of what we do after we're in Christ. So for example if a christian goes back to his previous life of sin, mudering, stealing, lying, cheating, etc., God assures him and all of us that He'll just say on Judgment Day, "Come on in, my Son's blood wasn't all that important after all. I really did want all of my children to come home anyway." Or some semblance of that sentiment. I'm hoping this makes my query a little more clear. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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239 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129186 | ||
Since we know the Bible to be absolutely complete and true, we have to think of ways that these kinds of passages compliment one another. In my mind, without a whole lot time to study the matter, I think back to the verses on God's Grace. You see, as long as we're giving God our very best then His Grace covers us, just in case we die suddenly we're good to go. I'm convined it's after a significant period of neglect of our precious relationship with God, that we christians jepordize our salvation. We must see ourselves in constant (at least daily) need of prayer and repentance to our Lord for the sins of yesterday and the sins we might commit or the good deeds that we ommit from our lives in the day ahead of us. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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240 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129189 | ||
I'm not sure how you could have possibly misunderstood my statement but I'm of the opinion like most christians that Ananias and Sapphira died in their sins. Acts 5 seems pretty clear on that point. I'll have to check later on this thread. I simply must leave you all now and do some homework. Blessings on you all. Country Girl |
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