Results 281 - 300 of 495
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Results from: Notes Author: Aixen7z4 Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
281 | So what do we learn from all this? | NT general Archive 1 | Aixen7z4 | 104805 | ||
I am still as puzzled as ever. Where do Christians learn this attitude? Is it something they read in the Bible? Is this the idea that these folks are supposed to take over and rule the world? Have they, or some of them, been appointed already as judge? I know that some of them believe that, and it is a fantastic thing. You say that the questions and concerns you raised were motivated by a desire for me to succeed. I do not believe you. You are illustrating to me a fact I’ve learned. You do not know your own heart. The heart is deceitful. You ask “If we do something we shouldn't even though it appears to harm no one can God still bless it?” and I have no idea what you are talking about. It sounds like you have appointed yourself a judge of what “we shouldn’t do” and you do not seem to be qualified at all. You appear to be a frustrated father looking for other children to control. I suppose anyone who seems gentle and humble is a candidate for your program. Or maybe you are a retired policeman. I wonder why you speak of “the right way” to do things when I know nothing of your qualification or authority to do this. I could understand if you had begun with, “I have been appointed monitor of web manners and I judge that …” Your statement about asking permission tells me that you are ignorant of the thing called the Internet and how it works. As far as I know the Internet is a free-for-all information sharing medium. When someone puts something on the web it is available to anyone and anyone can link to anything without asking your permission. Anyone can say anything and only the owner of a site has the opportunity to change it. And now you are arrogant enough and presumptuous enough to tell me that I am “at the very least” being presumptuous. I suppose it could be worse and you will check with your superiors in the legal hierarchy before you decide. If you wanted to put a sign in your yard pointing to your ministry I would let you. But if I knew that your ministry was to judge and attempt to control people, I would remove it. You say unless I have asked permission to speak of my ministry on another web site then I am being presumptuous. I can just imagine what would happen if I visited your church. Then I could not talk there about mine. Then there’s the kicker: “That speaks volumes about you and your website”. EdB. I could ignore retorts like this. I wonder why it causes my blood pressure to rise. Somehow, in responding to this I feel that I am stooping low. But I know that there are others like you, on Christian web sites, in Christian churches, in Christian and non-Christian places everywhere. I have met some of them. Likely as not there are others reading this who feel the same way you do. They may well write in to say that they support you. You may find support from Lockman. I may be shocked but not surprised to find that I have broken their rules. They may ban me from their site. I do not know if it is their rules you use to judge my post. OK. I absorbed the shock you gave, and I will absorb theirs too, but I am still as puzzled as ever. I should actually say I am amazed, for that is what I am. For the life of me I cannot understand where Christians get this attitude. I thought we were supposed to be humble and loving people. But alas, we are the judges. Is it in the Bible that you learn this behavior? Of course not. You have not so learned Christ, though perhaps you think you have. One of the ways we learn is by imitation, and I just dread to see this spread. What if I accepted you as my teacher, then I’d be imitating you. I would say that you are not only arrogant, but you are yourself presumptuous. I could assume I knew you and find some other faults as well. I might even be able to gather some of your posts to substantiate my charges. But that would not be God’s way. Who appointed me your judge? Along life’s way I’ve met you, and my only responsibility is to love you. That is why I spent the time to redo my site because I thought you really wanted to visit it again. But with all the volumes you have read about me and my site, I suppose you won’t. That is why, one of the reasons, I took the time to write this. Since you have a gavel, I hope you also have a mirror. Take a look. We have been talking about sanctification. My the Lord help us in it. Mote or log I trust we can remove them. We are together in this, my brother, if we name the name of Christ. Your behavior affects me. My the Lord help us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. May we not be resentful. At the end of the day there is one Lord, and one faith. May we be found promoting him and it, and not hindering. |
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282 | Christianity and Culture - Competition | Phil 1:27 | Aixen7z4 | 104786 | ||
Competition is a key ingredient in many cultures. Some would say that it is a necessary fuel for progress. But what saith the scripture? What is the scriptural view of competition? We are called to fight a good fight (1 Timothy 6:12, etc.) but the fighting is not against each other. When we fight against our enemies (Ephesians 6:12), the idea is not to win but to stand (Ephesians 6:13). The idea to pull down strongholds, so that they do not stand (2 Corinthians 10:4). It is not to prove oneself better than someone else, but in this Christian warfare, it is to stand together against the foe. We are called to run a race (Hebrews 12:1, etc.) but it is not a race against each other. I submit that it is a relay race, with those who have gone before us having handed on the baton (Hebrews 11:35), and we being ready to do the same (2 Timothy 2:2). In the world, only one receives the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24). But we will all receive our prize together (Hebrews 11:36). It seems to me the Lord has called us together, not for competition but for cooperation. Bear one another’s burdens. Comfort one another. Encourage one another. Help one another. Cooperate with one another the way the parts of your body do, for we are the body of Christ. |
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283 | Are your answers authoritative? | Bible general Archive 2 | Aixen7z4 | 104784 | ||
Isn't interesting, though, that the site is not very popular. It does not generate nearly as much traffic. Would you say that people are more interested in expressing their views than in listening? And yet, people can ask questions there. The answers are reviewed by a committee to be sure that they are scriptural and trustworthy. They may even be edited. Anyone can ask a question, but even that may be edited for clarity. Those who are willing to go through that process monitoring in order to maintain the quality of the information, they are invited to write. So why don’t you try it? My apologies to those who resent this type of “advertisement”. Perhaps we can start a discussion as to whether this idea of “sharing” is appropriate. |
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284 | Does God hear the prayers of a sinner? | Gen 1:1 | Aixen7z4 | 104633 | ||
A sinner has many reasons to pray to God. He can give thanks for the many blessings God has given him. When he is in trouble, there is something that makes him say, "Oh, God!", and he knows instinctively that it's is OK to say that. It is to sinners that God says, "Call unto me and I will answer you". And he is waiting for them to call on him. One of the things they can ask for is salvation. Why would a sinner pray? It's because he know he needs to. |
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285 | Saved from sin? | Matt 1:21 | Aixen7z4 | 104616 | ||
I am also blessed to see the love of God for others, and to observe as they come to see God's love for them. I saw it again today with a 19-year old male. He was thinking this morning that no one cared for him and had decided not to get out of bed, but he came to church instead. When he learned how much God loved him, he wept. He decided then to repent of sin and to trust him, and it was wonderful to see. Please pray for Chris. I trust he will know from the start to the end that he has been saved from sin. |
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286 | Saved from sin? | Matt 1:21 | Aixen7z4 | 104612 | ||
Hello again, pbs. I do believe the life of the believer is simple and straightforward, if we would keep it that way. We must be devoted to him enough to trust him and obey him. What he asks of us is pretty simple: Love one another. If we keep that in mind, I think we can relax and just do it. Much can be said about the experience. We obey the new commandment to show our love for him (John 15). We love him because he first loved us (1 John 4), etc. These are given to encourage us. But the task is clear and (1 John 5:3) not hard. We should avoid the distractions, keep it simple, and do it. |
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287 | Evidence of holy spirit in a Christian? | 2 Tim 1:14 | Aixen7z4 | 104611 | ||
I agree. The maturing process takes longer and is more difficult when we do not practice mentoring. I have always yearned for the influence of older brothers. It happened sometimes, but not as often as I would have liked. Sometimes I had to stretch to get it. I spent part of my pilgrimage in your part of the world and would drive regularly from Muncie to Indianapolis to experience the influence of giants such as Leonard Sheldrake and Ray Morgan. One of the reasons I moved to Florida is to have more older brethren in my life. My counseling ministry includes mentoring and linking with mentors. It helps. The passage we are discussing comes from a letter from Paul to Timothy. I am sure you are aware of the relationship they had. Then he gave him 2 Timothy 2:2. If you are thinking of mentoring a younger person, I would encourage you. I think one of the best examples you can set for that person would be to let him see you relating to an older person yourself. Older men know a lot, from the word and from their experience, walking with the Lord. It is such a waste when they cannot pass that on to others. Each of us is aware of the Holy Spirit in our own life. When we can sense it in another person it is good. He is the same spirit in all of us. Therefore we should be able to relate, and agree, and learn from one another. It is a shame when we don’t do it. It is such a privilege when we can lead a soul to Christ. I know. I have the experience often, the last one just a few hours ago. It is such a privilege to help a person to walk with him. That is the vitality of the Christian life, I think. The Spirit gives us life, and we share our life with others. |
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288 | Saved from sin? | Matt 1:21 | Aixen7z4 | 104586 | ||
I will not search my heart to see if that lapse in capitalization was a Freudian slip. | ||||||
289 | Saved from sin? | Matt 1:21 | Aixen7z4 | 104585 | ||
Hi! I thank God for you because you bring thoughts that have not occurred to me. They cause me to consider new issues. I trust that I can be a benefit to you by addressing them. We have considered the idea that sin must be clearly labeled and described when we present the Gospel. Sinners must recognize sin for what it is, and turn from it in repentance. They must turn to God in faith and look toward a life with him, without sin. They must know that they are entering a relationship with God who is holy and separate from sinners (Hebrews 7:26). Believers must shun sin because it is an offence to God and hinders our fellowship. There are also other fearful consequences to sin. The concept of a "sin of obedience" is a difficult one since the Bible does not use such a term. You say that a "righteousness apart from the Law has been revealed" and yet you suspect that we still persist in the notion that we must live according to the law to be righteous. It is not clear why you think so. Surely we must live righteous lives. But it is because we are righteous. We do not do it in order to become righteous. You speak of “performance Christianity” and call it a trap. Again, I think it is clear that we must live and work and do things for God. But this is our response to him, because we love him. We do not do those things to be accepted of him. If we are saved we are his children and he loves us first, not because we love him first. It is possible that some Christians think God loves them more because of what they do for him. But God’s love is without measure. He loves me more than I can tell, in spite of what I may or may not do. What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Let me say that we should be aware of our own love for the Lord and live in the light of it. Beyond that too much introspection is not good or necessary. From time to time we may find ourselves saying, as Jehu did, (2 Kings 10) “Come and see my zeal for the Lord”. I am not saying we should talk like that, but I believe that story is given to us to suggest that it can happen and that the Lord does not resent or condemn it. We should therefore not condemn ourselves for it. For example, if your service or ministry to others is generated (partly) out of a desire to be thought well of by them, don’t worry about it. You are doing for others because God's word tells you that you should. That is your motivation. If they appreciate it you may find reinforcement in that, but it was not your motivation. You would do it even if it caused you pain instead of pleasure. Do not doubt yourself because your soul responds to pleasure. God asks us to encourage one another. He does not expect us to feel guilty or to doubt our motives when we are encouraged. I guess the point of this one is that too much introspection is not good or necessary. The fact is we do not really know our hearts anyway. It is God who searches the heart. Let him search and find your love for him there. If there is anything else he will show you and you can forsake it then. Without him, I say, do not try too hard to judge your motives. Are you following me? We can pray together. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Let us go on to serve the lord, and leave the soul searching to him. |
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290 | Evidence of holy spirit in a Christian? | 2 Tim 1:14 | Aixen7z4 | 104580 | ||
My dear brother, take some time to think about it. You have been describing an ideal Christian. But all saved people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit he produces what he will. When we are discipled we grow and become more like the Master. But being indwelt by the Spirit is another matter. Once we are saved, and forever thereafter, we are indwelt by the Spirit. That is a fact, and we might have been left to accept it on the authority of the word of God (John 14:17; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 5:16; Ephesians 2:22; 2 Timothy 1:14, etc.). But God in his grace has given us indications and evidences of His Presence. Recognizing His presence, we can surrender to him to be filled at his will, and empowered, and to learn and grow. But we can also resist him. Even with that, He never leaves us or forsakes us. He is ever present, and the one whom he indwells can know it. |
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291 | Evidence of holy spirit in a Christian? | 2 Tim 1:14 | Aixen7z4 | 104568 | ||
OK, Makarios. These things can be. We should not be surprised to see the things you listed in the life of a believer. They are desirable and possible. However, they are not inevitable. In many cases they are not present. If we make them out to be evidences we are saying that their absence indicates the Holy Spirit is not in the life. That cannot be true. As I indicated before, Paul is asking the Ephesians to put on these things. If they were already there he would not have to ask them to put them on. They can be there. They should be there, in a believer‘s life. But they are not always there. Therefore they are not evidence. As you noted before, some of these things are found in unbelievers. Again, their presence in an unbeliever would not be evidence that the unbeliever possesses the holy Spirit. That cannot be. You can take any of the items you have mentioned and recognize that a believer sometimes does not have it. Does that mean then that he does not have the Holy Spirit? I think I have read you enough to know that you believe every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. I hope I have not read you wrong. I wish I did not have to write this, but I guess truth is sometimes sad. I was speaking to a pastor today about a lady who made a profession of faith earlier this year. She showed the joy of the Lord and other evidences of salvation. She was baptized and spent three months in joyful fellowship. She declared that she had given up all other goals for the goal of living for the Lord. I found out today that she has gone back to her former life as a common-law wife. For those who are not familiar with that term, she is living with a man to whom she is not married. Evidence of salvation, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, would not now be joy and peace. It would be a sense of guilt and shame. I hope you understand me. If a person is saved and living for the Lord he will have some or all of the things you mentioned. If he is practicing sin, he will not. He will have the opposite. Yet I am assuming in all cases where we say a person is saved, that we also know the person is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not leave a believer. So, evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit varies. And yet, I feel embarrassed to have had to say these things. I think it should have been clear if a believer is being asked to replace irresponsibility and stealing with industry and benevolence it would not be logical to think that the change had already taken place. I think it is not the change which is evidence but the willingness to change. Learning, perhaps starting with a reading of the epistle, produces the change. The Holy Spirit uses the word of God to convict and to encourage. But even a believer can resist and grieve the Holy Spirit. This in itself is proof that the Holy Spirit is resident. OK. Enough said. Let us think on these things. |
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292 | Evidence of holy spirit in a Christian? | 2 Tim 1:14 | Aixen7z4 | 104545 | ||
Dear Eli, Welcome. My advice to you would be to take it easy and tread softly. A statement such as "in the Bible this is not true" is a bold statement. It is also accusatory and condescending, as are other statements such as “what you need to understand …”. It suggests that the people who have gone before you are wrong and you are right. Moreover, it suggests that you know the Bible and they don't. I am not sure why people make statement s like that, but it happens. Personally, I find these statements offensive and unnecessary. Mostly unnecessary. This is a place where everyone reads the Bible and some have learned more than others. It is not because of ignorance that I say the Holy Spirit enters a person's life at the moment of salvation. I may even think that you need to understand that. But I have to be careful no to say that. Believe me, I am aware of the passages you quote. I might even undertake to teach you to put those passages into context. But I do not know you well and I am not sure at this point that you will listen. I would only suggest that you say what you think and think about what others say. To say that, because you read in Acts the apostles were laying their hands on Christians caused the Holy Spirit to come upon them, then that is the way it is today, does not make it so. Let me just say this, and perhaps you will think about it. Some of the things in the book of Acts are transitory. They were done as signs in order to assist the Jewish Christians in understanding what the church would be like. Now, we walk by faith, not by sight. The Holy Spirit comes like a wind and no one knows whither it comes or where it goes. The person who repents of sin and trusts in Christ is saved and his life comes under the control of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who baptizes us into the body of Christ, seals us, gives us assurance of salvation and helps us to understand the word of God. I advise you not to go ahead and say you disagree. Think about these things. Search the Scriptures. And may the Lord give you understanding in all things. In this thread we were considering evidences by which we know that we have received the Holy Spirit. Interesting that we are seem to be finding inward evidences and not outward signs. You might want to read about those in this thread and tell us what you think or look for them in the Bible and tell us what you find. |
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293 | Saved from sin? | Matt 1:21 | Aixen7z4 | 104508 | ||
Hi. Can I join in? One reason that I’d like to is that I think this is such an excellent question, and a very important question. It relates to the very nature of the Gospel and whether we are preaching it correctly. The other reason is that I have known Brian McLaren personally. I have worked with him and, if I may say so, I think I know his heart. Brian believes, as I do, that a person once saved is guaranteed a place in heaven. He cannot lose his salvation. The concern is that people may seek this sure salvation and believe that they can get away with practicing sin, subsequent to salvation. It is the issue of Romans 6 again. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? But this time we face it at the time of the preaching of the Gospel. To make this short, let me say that the issue has already been addressed by Paul, speaking to Christians, people who are already saved. But what if we are presenting the Gospel to people and they perceive of salvation as a fire escape over hell? I think Brian would say that we need to make sure we give the proper message. The motivation should be to get right with God, to have a love relationship with him, and not simply to avoid his wrath. We should repent of sin because we realize that sin offends God. We should want to get sin out of our hearts in order to have a right relationship with God. It is still a problem when people think that they can sin and believe that it will not get them to hell. It is one thing when people are genuinely saved and we can remind them that they are dead to sin. It is another matter when we are calling people to salvation without pointing out the essential problem with sin. What it comes down to is that the people may not really be saved. They would not have repented because they had not seen sin for what it was and they had not actually turned from it. A person who is saved is saved from sin. They are saved from the power of sin. They are saved from the penalty of sin. However, as they come to Christ, it is not the penalty that they should be focused on, but on the effect of sin on a relationship with God. Before we are saved we are dead in sin. We are without God in the world. We must seek the Lord. Since he hates sin, we must turn our backs on sin in order to come to him. Can we then continue in sin? God forbid. As Ray Comfort would say, we should not preach the Gospel without making people aware of sin in their lives and the problem with it. Some people are motivated by fear. Some are motivated by love. But all must know a need for a change of heart. We must cause people to feel godly sorrow for sin. Only then can we be confident that we are leading them to repentance and faith and true salvation. |
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294 | Evidence of holy spirit in a Christian? | 2 Tim 1:14 | Aixen7z4 | 104506 | ||
O, Makarios, my dear brother, I’m just not sure. I’m just not sure. It might be the issue of practical vs. positional sanctification again. When a person is saved, does his behavior change, automatically? He is changed. He is a new creature. But those new behaviors have to be learned, I think. The issues in Ephesians in Ephesians 4 are commands, exhortations, encouragements. “Let him that stole steal no more”. Paul is not saying, “Look at yourselves and notice that you are not stealing anymore”. He is saying, “You are saved now, so make sure there is no more stealing”. My point is that I think these new behaviors do not appear automatically. They have to be taught. The teaching requires awareness, explanation, modeling, practice, and reinforcement. I do not think we can say that these behaviors appear automatically. It is only if they did appear without the volition of the believer that we could point to them as evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. When a person is saved, he finds himself with joy of salvation, the peace of God may flood his heart. But it seems to me that other attributes such as patience and longsuffering have to be developed. “Tribulation worketh patience”, etc. It seems to me that a desire for patience is an evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit, not the patience itself. Again, the things Paul is mentioning are things the believer has to do, not just things to look for. He might have said, as Peter said, “Giving all diligence, add to your faith …”. If the question is what evidences exist, I think they would have to be things we simply look and see, like joy and peace, not things we have to give diligence to put on or put off. What do you think? |
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295 | Evidence of holy spirit in a Christian? | 2 Tim 1:14 | Aixen7z4 | 104505 | ||
Brother Ray, I am seeing two things here. First there is the focus of the conversation itself. Second is the idea of a spirit in us other than the Holy Spirit. I think I have been focused on answering the question posed by the person who started the thread. The questioner asked for evidences that the spirit dwells in a Christian. I assumed they could have used caps because they were talking about the third Person of the Godhead. I also thought they might have referred to a person rather than a Christian because the Holy Spirit indwells every Christian. We may say that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is automatic when a person becomes a Christian. If those things are true, then asking for evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is tantamount to asking for evidences of salvation. But it is evidences of His presence that I was focused on. I think I gave three or four items as evidences of His presence. Now, with the varying uses of capitalization (Holy Spirit versus Holy spirit and holy spirit) comes a different idea that I will need to look into. I have thought of that idea before, that there are other spirits in us (spirit of envy, spirit of jealousy, spirit of wisdom) but I have not visited that subject recently. For purposes of this conversation then, I will have to say I do not know. I think you are making a valid point that there is a spirit (maybe spirits) in us beside the Holy Spirit. Whether or not it is He Himself who fills us or whether He fills us with another spirit, I cannot say at this point. I expressed what I thought, that it is He Himself who fills us, but I will need time to look into the matter further. Now I see that Makarios is saying there are certain behaviors which can be taken as evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. I am not sure about that either. Maybe we can look into that together. I suspect we may not want to tell a person that the fact he has stopped stealing is an evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Let’s talk with Nolan. What do you say? |
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296 | Can one who commits suicide be saved? | Ex 20:13 | Aixen7z4 | 104470 | ||
Hello: I have not read much on this thread, but my ministry is in counseling and I was led to your note. I agree with you that suicide is not an answer. Depression is a common problem and can be overcome. Please seek help. I hesitate to tell you that suicide does not send a believer to hell, but I hope it does not make the idea any more appealing. I want to encourage you to trust the Lord and give your life to him. You should know that baptism is not the answer. God requires repentance and faith, trustng him. Baptism is good, but it comes after those two. Trust in the Lord, and live for him. |
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297 | Can one who commits suicide be saved? | Ex 20:13 | Aixen7z4 | 104469 | ||
Unless he got saved before the act. There is no repentance after death, but the death of jesus takes care of everything, once you've placed your trust in him. | ||||||
298 | Natural man understanding truth? | Mark 12:34 | Aixen7z4 | 104467 | ||
You caught me again, Ray, and now I think I will never get this capitalization thing down pat. I do not even think of it when I am responding to others. In this case I was cutting and pasting and it did not occur to me to change the form of the words. But I agree. It is the Spirit who gives life. He brings us to life and makes us able to respond to the Gospel. If we do not respond to the Gospel, then we die the second death. My point to Huron was that when we are unsaved we are indeed dead in sin. However, that is not a problem to God. He brings us to life and renders us capable of responding. It is not a matter that a man who is dead in sin is nevertheless close to understanding about God? There is no such thing as being almost a child of God. You are either alive or dead. However, the Holy Spirit is able to awaken us to our responsibility toward God, to the need for repentance, and while under His influence we can respond. Without Him we are not able. Every person is near to the kingdom of God. We need to be awakened to that fact. One might wonder why Jesus said those words to that man. Was he near to the kingdom while others were far. There is a song we sing that says, “I’ve wandered far away from God”. Was that man nearer to the kingdom than others? I think that Jesus said that to him because he was asking about it. But it is Acts 17:30 that tells us specifically that God is not far from “any one of us”. I trust that Huron will be able to use some of these verses when he talks again with that particular person, or any others like them. If what we say here is true, then the Holy Spirit will bring them to life. |
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299 | Natural man understanding truth? | Mark 12:34 | Aixen7z4 | 104447 | ||
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the words that we speak, from the word of God, they are spirit, and they are life. The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. |
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300 | Evidence of holy spirit in a Christian? | 2 Tim 1:14 | Aixen7z4 | 104445 | ||
Hello again, Brother Ray. Once again I apologize for my lack of capitalization. I had promised to do it for you sake. Rest assured that I do not consider the Holy Spirit a thing. In making reference to his presence I did not think I was using neuter gender. But if it pleases you better, I do recognize His presence. I certainly appreciate the fact that He is a Person. It is only a person, I think, who can indicate their presence and give assurance by speaking and explaining things and by being grieved. I could be wrong about that. Maybe things can do them. But I do believe the Scriptures hold that we recognize the Holy Spirit in our lives as He does these things. I also believe that it is because of His work in me that I understand these things. However, I am afraid I do not detect the difficulty with the different renderings of 1 Corinthians 2:10. To my mind there is no difference between "revealed them through His Spirit" as you indicated is in the NKJV, and “revealed these things through His spirit." It seems clear that “them” refers to “these things”, and that both refer to the things that God has prepared for those who love him. It is interesting for me to note that “the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Co 2:9) are actually “the deep things of God” (verse 10). According to Psalm 92:5 , God’s thoughts are very deep. As the man with the metal detector finds the treasures buried deep while others pass on by, so the child of God finds the hidden treasures in the word while the natural man cannot. It is because the believer possesses the Holy Spirit. I think that those of us who have Him understand these things. |
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