Results 21 - 40 of 42
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Results from: Notes Author: Hiskid84 Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
21 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Hiskid84 | 129404 | ||
Hello, Hank. In reference to Mark's statement, "IF anyone hears His voice and opens the door...", I was going to ask the very same question of Mark concerning who is able to hear His voice, since it appears that only some can hear it. Which would lead to the next question (also asked by you), how is it that some can hear and some not? Ah, well...you phrased them better. :) I do hope Mark will respond. In Christ, Karen |
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22 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Hiskid84 | 129459 | ||
Greetings, Mark. :) Thank you for clarifying your statements. Please forgive me for coming to a wrong conclusion from your posts with BradK. I stand corrected! (And please accept this post as my response to your request that I read 129449) I think we are probably in more agreement than appears on the surface. I definitely agree that this is a sensitive subject and we walk a fine line in keeping with board rules. I completely agree with your statement, "God’s choice is sovereign, and man’s repentance is required." Scripture does clearly teach both. Where people begin to part company seems to be in the order it takes place, which becomes an issue of ability. On the one side, it is believed that we are not capable (being spiritually dead) of recognizing our sin, and hence, our need for a Savior. Therefore, God must do a work in us (regeneration) and the repenting and believing naturally follow. This is how we are able to say that salvation is all of God and yet it is we who do the repenting and believing. Scripture seems to bear that out because we read in Eph.2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." It would seem that God has established His plan of salvation in such a way that He gets all of the glory for it. We are only able to do (repent and believe) what God enables us to do. On the other hand, some believe that we, through the hearing of the Word and conviction of the Holy Spirit, are able to see our sinfulness and our need of forgiveness. When we acknowledge these things before God, He responds and saves us. That would seem to be in line with the first statement except that in this scenario we are able, of our own ability (apart from God), to recognize that we are spiritually dead and in need of spiritual life. That puts the ball in our court first. Does Scripture back this up? It would seem to with verses that command us to repent and/or believe in order to be saved (Acts 16:30-31 or as you pointed out above, Luke 13:3). The doctrine of election is most definitely a difficult one to grasp and I'm certain that no one person has ever had it exactly right (being fallible humans with only the tiniest understanding of the things of God). I would like to say that one reason this doctrine is dear to those who embrace it is because it acknowledges a truly sovereign God. It's difficult to see Him being sovereign in a scenario where He is waiting and hoping that we will make the right choice. Wouldn't that make Him dependant upon man? (If not, in what way wouldn't it?) I'm going to stop (and hope I am not in trouble for this post). I do appreciate your honesty and your earnest search for truth. May God richly bless you in your endeavors! I pray that we all come to the Scriptures with a true desire to learn and the humility needed to do so. When you have time, would you please share your definition of "sovereign" with me? In the meantime, I'm going to give myself the assignment of defining what it means to me. :) In His love, Karen |
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23 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Hiskid84 | 129461 | ||
Hank...thank you so much for taking my attempt at exegesis and, not only graciously being kind in your comments but, for tying together so many wonderful points that were in my mind but never made it into my post! I just wasn't able to express my thoughts as clearly as I wanted to (partially due to that sense of needing to tiptoe through certain issues). Yet you took what I was wanting to convey (but couldn't) and made it wonderfully clear! Maybe we can form some sort of tag team. :) "Defenders of the Faith": I'll come in and make them dizzy with my random thoughts and you come in behind me and knock 'em out with your clear and rational explanations. (Sort of a one-two punch) In Him, Karen |
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24 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Hiskid84 | 129486 | ||
Hank, I'm sure Doc will be happy to referee... he's wonderfully helpful that way. And I just know that he will make a fine and impartial referee, as per Matthew 5:9. (That's my Scripture reference for this post) I woulda asked him to be my tag-team partner but sorting out my random thoughts can be a daunting task. (Feel free to resign if the job gets too hard) --Karen |
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25 | One God, One Jesus Christ | 1 Cor 8:5 | Hiskid84 | 130359 | ||
Psssst...ROGER459...actually it's vs. 3 and 4 of Acts 5. (You offered vs. 4 and 5 as proof text that the Holy Spirit and God are One) Also, a tip if I might; it would be easier to email you if you would post your email address in your personal profile. I would like to see your web site. My email address is str8narroway@yahoo(dot)com. Would you please email me the link? Thank you. Or should I say Thank You! :-) Karen |
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26 | We should quit competing with the Top 40 | 1 Cor 14:40 | Hiskid84 | 130311 | ||
Hank, Your comments are (as) equally scary as they are true. I know this has been discussed on the forum before but I haven't had a chance to go through all of the posts. I was wondering if you are aware of any posts (or threads) that give a basic outline of what the true function of the church (as a gathering place) is from a biblical standpoint. If there aren't any, it might make for a good topic. That seems to be where most of the confusion comes in. Here are some things to consider: Is the primary purpose of the church building a place for the saints of God to gather or a place to bring the lost so that they might be saved? Is God's Word taught for the growth and edification of the saints (discipleship) or so that the lost might be saved? Is God worshipped in song as a means to glorify and exalt Him in unity or so that the lost can feel something emotional and as a result, might be saved? Do we offer up prayers to give thanks to an awesome and holy God because, for His purposes alone, He has made a way for us to become children of God, in spite of our utter unworthiness, or so that we might present God as One who is standing by eagerly waiting to fulfill our every need (physically, emotionally, financially, relationally and ummm...oh, yeah, spiritually) in the hopes that the lost might be saved? Does the church building exist so that saints of God might come together with reverence for a holy God as they worship Him through the reading of and attentiveness to His Word, in song, in giving, in prayers, and in fellowship with one another and thereby building up the body of Christ as a living temple of God or is it so that the view of Christianity being projected to the world is one of a people who are "in step with the times", who will "go the extra mile" to make them feel at home (even providing a continental breakfast), whose music mirrors the world's in the hopes that they will find the worship of God an enjoyable experience, whose preaching and teaching consists of taking one or two verses and building a sermon filled with pop psychology and "instant gratification" phrases in an attempt to persuade them that, if they will just untie God's hands and allow Him to, He can fix their every problem and in such a presentation hope that the lost might be saved? We cannot save anyone. Only God saves. He saves through His Word (the gospel of Christ) and through the work of His Holy Spirit. We are commanded to preach the gospel. We are commanded to love. Do we do these things because we love Him who saved us? Or do we do them in a way that says we think God needs our help (our slogans, our ideas, our wisdom in knowing how to get them into the Kingdom and entertain them sufficiently to keep them there)? I humbly suggest that God does not need our help. He has given us His commands. He works in our obedience to them to bring others to the cross, where He alone saves them. Yes, we invite others to attend church services with us. It is here that they (hopefully) witness the community that exists between God's people, our love for one another and for God. It may be here that God chooses to bring His Word to life in a heart. But let's leave the world outside the door. If we bring the world inside, what do we offer that the world doesn't already offer (i.e., a quick fix)? God meets the lost at the core of their need; forgiveness of sin. If recognition of our sin and hopelessness as well as our desperate need for a Savior brings pain and suffering to our heart and causes us to cry out for relief from the only One who can supply it, why are we trying so hard to make the lost feel comfortable in our pews?? May we show forth God's truth; we are a set apart people called to a life of holiness, not worldliness. Halfway up the driveway leading to our church there are identical signs, one on each side. As you arrive at the church, the signs welcome you there. As you leave, this is what the (backside of the) signs read: YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE MISSION FIELD Because of Him, Karen |
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27 | Fruit vs. Works: the same or different? | Gal 5:22 | Hiskid84 | 129841 | ||
Posted by Doc: "Hi, Karen... don't I know you from somewhere? :-)" Karen: Hi, Doc. Yes, you do seem vaguely familiar...Oh, I know! Weren't you sitting across from me at the dinner table? Doc wrote: "(Will I still get dinner if I'm mistaken?)" Karen: See answer above. :) Doc wrote: "Based on these scriptures, it is my very humble opinion that it is safe to treat them as pretty synonymous." Karen: Doc, you know that I'm absolutely crazy about you. You also know that when I am presented with information that does not "gel" in my mind I must pick it apart in an attempt to find what is truth (and will not rest till satisfied). As mommapbs so eloquently put it, "the hair shaft/truth remains but the nit/error is removed." So on that note, let the nit-picking begin. :) For the sake of space I am not going to quote the verses in the previous post in their entirety. I'm only going to post the portions that pertain to my point: "unfruitful works" Eph. 5:11 "fruitful in every good work" Col. 1:10 "good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful." Titus 3:14 In each of the verses that you based your conclusion upon (that fruit vs works could be treated as "pretty synonymous") you are using the word "fruitful" (or "unfruitful" in the case of two of them) to prove your point. I (lovingly!) object to your equating the word "fruitful" with "fruit". I don't think it would be in error to say that the word "fruitful", as used in the aforementioned verses, basically means to "be productive". Am I butchering Scripture to say "unproductive works" (Eph. 5:11), "productive in every good work" (Col. 1:10), or "works for necessary uses, that they be not unproductive." (Titus 3:14)? In the verse, "fruit of my labor" (Phil. 1:22) you would be refering to the result (or outcome) of "my labor." In this sense, the word "fruit" and "fruitful" are similar. But can the the word "fruitful" be shown to be similar to the word "fruit" when used in verses such as Gal. 5:22? Well, this is interesting...here is Gal. 5:22 as shown above this post in the Amplified version: "But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness," When read in that version the word "fruit" is equated with "work"! Maybe you're on to something! Here's something I find even more interesting: in the Amplified version, the "fruit of the Spirit" is "the work which His presence within accomplishes"! Wow! Does this mean that if any of the attributes named in Gal. 5:22-23 are evident in my life they are not the result of something I have done but what God has done in me? Fruit of the Spirit: the evidence of God's work in me. :) To be continued later. For now, "works" of a different nature call. :) In Christ, Karen |
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28 | Fruit vs. Works: the same or different? | Gal 5:22 | Hiskid84 | 129842 | ||
In my last post, I wrote (okay, typed): "Fruit of the Spirit: the evidence of God's work in me. :)" This is a continuation of that thought which also ties back to my original post, asking if "fruit" and "works" were one and the same. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5 Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. What can a branch do apart from the vine but wither and die? What can the branch do when connected to the vine? Produce fruit. Where does the fruit come from? It is manifested on the branch but where did its life, its ability to grow or even exist, come from? It came from the vine. The branch simply manifests the evidence of the life supplied by the vine. Jesus supplies the life needed to produce fruit within us. We simply cannot "grow fruit" apart from Him. Any evidence of fruit in our lives only exists because of Him. In His own words, "Without Me you can do nothing." Nada. Zip. Zero. No fruit. Thoughts? In Him, Karen |
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29 | Fruit vs. Works: the same or different? | Gal 5:22 | Hiskid84 | 129875 | ||
AO, I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't know what it is other people believe about the fruit mentioned in John 15:5. I only know what I believe based on my understanding so far. Before I say what that is though, I would like to explain that I have posted as I've tried to reason this out. This means that everyone that reads my posts will be seeing the process I've gone through to arrive at the point where I am right now. (It also means that perhaps I should work it all out before posting) With that said, here goes: I wouldn't say they (fruit) are "righteous attributes" in and of themselves. I think it has more to do with how those attributes affect how we interact with others. The fruit (attributes) on a branch (me) may look lovely but they serve no real purpose until they are plucked and eaten (i.e., put to use in my relationship with others). In fact, how can attributes even be visible unless they are exhibited in my interaction with others? If I am patient in dealing with others, if I am loving and kind, if I exhibit peace and joy, if I put others before myself, I am being Christ-like. I, as the branch, am an extension of the vine, Christ. I cannot produce this "fruit" within myself. I am dependant upon Him to produce it in me. The fruit He produces in me is an extension of His relationship with me and mine with Him. I believe that somehow this is all tied together with John 15:10. Jesus abides in the Father's love for Him. We abide in Jesus' love for us. As the Father loves the Son and the Son loves us, we are to "love one another" (John 15:12). On our own, we are unable. With His life flowing through us (as the vine) we are able (we exhibit His fruit-- His life within us). This has become much longer than I anticipated when I started. Because of the lateness of the hour I am going to try to sum up what I am trying to say (so far). Any "fruit" within our lives has to come from God. He produces it within us. The same with "works". I believe our works are directly related to our relationship with Him. These things come from Him and therefor, bring glory to Him. They are simply the evidence of His working in us. So whether fruit or works or any good thing...they are all His handiwork so that it is He who is glorified and not we. What is your opinion regarding your question? In Him, Karen |
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30 | Fruit vs. Works: the same or different? | Gal 5:22 | Hiskid84 | 129985 | ||
Hi, Country Girl. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. They gave me some new things to think about. I'm not sure if it was intentional on your part but you refered to us as the vine and Jesus as the Branch. I believe it is always the other way around in Scripture (He is the vine, we are the branches). I would also address the point where you and I differ in every post. I understand that you are compelled to say that we may be surprised with a one-way ticket to hell on Judgment Day if we aren't careful in accumulating enough "good works" to gain us entry into heaven. I know you say this in sincerity of heart, believing it to be both true and also to be beneficial to the readers of this forum. In the same way I am compelled to disagree. Though I do appreciate your thoughts on fruit and works, I believe that both are born out of our relationship with God, not the other way around. You wrote: "Some of these fruits are also inter-related but we should strive to add them all to our spiritual person and upon adding them, strive to improve them and grow in our spiritual relationship with our Lord." According to your order we must first gain fruit, then work (with diligence) to improve them, and lastly, grow in the Lord. Even if I agreed that we could do these things on our own (and I don't), I would beg to differ with the order. As I stated in my previous post, in my understanding of Scripture our fruit and/or works come out of our relationship with God, not the other way around. Just as you feel it is imperative to continually tell people they should constantly work at gaining access into heaven (just in case all that work is needed), lest they miss it, I feel it is just as imperative to refute your statement and suggest that people should rely on the finished work of Christ for their eternal heavenly home. You see, for me it is not a matter of "covering all the bases." It is a matter of helping people to see God for who He truly is. The Sovereign Creator of everything and Ruler over all His creation. To make salvation dependant upon our works is to make God impotent rather than Omnipotent. Thus man's view of God becomes smaller and smaller. Okay. That's all. May you be blessed, Karen |
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31 | Fruit vs. Works: the same or different? | Gal 5:22 | Hiskid84 | 129986 | ||
Hi, AO. I'm sorry I didn't reply to your questions today. I hope to do so tomorrow. I'm sure you must know what my answers will be if you are a regular reader of this forum. I do not hide the fact that I believe any/all of our (Christ-like) works are EVIDENCE of our salvation, not the MEANS of (keeping) salvation. However, I want to give your questions appropriate consideration when answering and appreciate the chance to exercise my ability in defending what I believe to be true. In Christ, Karen |
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32 | Rule or Ideal? | 1 Tim 3:2 | Hiskid84 | 129984 | ||
Hi, GB. The following statement that you wrote is very puzzling to me: "In such a day as this, your phrase "one woman man" reeks with the stench of the same arguments that grew to advocate same sex marriage. Your thought could very well be interpreted as anti marriage." Would you please share how you came to that conclusion? I honestly can't see it, though I've tried. (However, occasionally I have been known to be slow on the uptake). I don't see how the term "one woman man" would imply anything other than Doc's definition of "a man who has never in his life loved more than one single woman." As in, no fooling around for him. No previous marriages, either by death or divorce. Only one wife. Period. Unless you took it to mean "loving only one woman at a time" but this is not the definition Doc used. Or does your "anti marriage" statement mean you think this "one woman man" and his woman are only living together? Or is this another instance where I realize I live a sheltered life? Is this some kind of new slang (since you wrote "in such a day as this") meant to be used in a derogatory or homosexual way? Does the "woman" in "one woman man" mean a man impersonating a woman? I hope you can clarify your answer. Now I'm really curious as to your meaning. I do like your phrase, "I wouldn't know whether to debate your thought or light a fire under it." Cute. :) Karen |
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33 | Rule or Ideal? | 1 Tim 3:2 | Hiskid84 | 130078 | ||
Hi, GB. Thank you for replying to my post. I understand very well what you mean when you say, "assuming that others are aware of what it is that I am stating." The longer I am on this forum the more I believe that this (making this same false assumption) happens more often than we may realize. In regards to your statement that I was responding to, your comments did seem a little overly zealous in the context of Doc's entire post. Of course, it's obvious that your response to his initial post was one of those things I just commented on above (i.e., Doc falsely assumed that people would see, after reading his entire post, that his true perspective is that we use the ideal, God's best, for a standard). Your words, "reeks" and "stench" seemed pretty strong but there's nothing wrong in being passionate about defending truth. Since you prefaced your statement with, "I doubt you mean it this way, but" and followed it up with, "I know what you appear to be saying, but..." you did give the general impression that you really understood what he meant. However, your statement in the middle is still difficult to understand, even in light of your explanation. Soooooo... ...if time permits would you please tell me how you concluded that a woman and a man living together but not married, which I understand certainly could be considered as "anti marriage", would lead you to say that it "reeks with the stench of the same arguments that grew to advocate same sex marriage."? What argument would that be? The only conclusion I can come to is this: In a downward spiral, men and women who have no regard for marriage whatsoever do away with marriage entirely and live openly in sin. This leads to gay partners who have lived openly in sin to claim they have the right to exchange wedding vows and be considered married in the eyes of the world. This would be taking something that God instituted and corrupting it in every way (both in the exclusion of marriage by a man and a woman and by the inclusion of marriage by two people of the same gender). You know, that thing that Satan does so well. Am I even close? You know, your answer to my question (as to how you came to the conclusion that led to your statement above) doesn't really matter as far as biblical truths go (the main purpose of the forum). But it might give me insight as to your line of reasoning and help me to better understand your statements, possibly eliminating the need to write as many posts asking for explanations. :-) You certainly didn't offend me and I hope I haven't offended you. In Him, Karen (Mrs. Doc) |
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34 | what does it mean in chpt2 11,12? | 2 Tim 2:11 | Hiskid84 | 130108 | ||
Well, personally I take these verses pretty much at face value. 1 Timothy 2 11: Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12: And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. 13: For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14: And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (NKJ) Verses 13-14 explain why women are not to usurp man's authority. Who was it that fell for Satan's lies? Eve. It was the woman that was deceived. (Adam just ate what his wife served him, see vs. 6 below) Look at these verses: Gen. 3 1: Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2: And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3: "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die." 4: Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5: "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. In the first place, she chose to totally disregard God's command. In the second place, she fell hook, line and sinker for the lies of the enemy. She reasoned with her mind that the fruit was "good for food" (lust of the flesh?), "pleasant to the eyes" (lust of the eyes?), and "desirable to make one wise" (pride of life?). And when she'd totally messed things up in the worst way possible, she turned to Adam and said, "Here, honey, try this." (My paraphrase) Now many people try to reason that everything changed when Christ came. However, that's not what the verses in 1 Tim. say and after all, they were written after Christ fulfilled His work on earth and ascended back to heaven. So after Christ had come and gone (I say that loosely), we see that God is still telling us that men are to be the leaders, not under the authority of the woman. So what does all of that have to do with a woman preaching? Well, it would take far too long to address all the Scriptures that support what I am about to say so I am just going to condense it down to this: Men and women are not made the same. We may have equal value but we are not made the same. God made us different to compliment one another. He gave man the role of authority (both in the church and in the home). It is to him that God gives the great responsibility of discerning the truth and then leading his flock in that truth. Women's Lib is not in God's plan. In Him, Karen |
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35 | once saved always saved? | 2 Tim 4:18 | Hiskid84 | 128882 | ||
GB, Proverbs 3:5 is an awesome verse and is not only appropriate to lean on in many situations, it is good instruction for all times. And though I would agree with you that it appears the Bible sometimes contradicts itself (certainly with the OSAS issue), we both know that no such contradictions exist. Does this mean that God would have us to be ignorant of the things that are not easily understood or where it seems contradictions do exist? In my humble opinion, I believe it means we are to be even more diligent in studying Scripture. I can see why you would say that OSAS is a dangerous belief. Rather than the love, gratitude, and trust it should evoke in any true believer, many use it as a license to sin. I would certainly use caution when discussing it and would try to balance it with verses contrasting the life of believers vs. nonbelievers (i.e. Eph 5:1-7). As you pointed out in Proverbs, we are not to be wise in our own eyes. However, we know this does not mean we should not search the Scriptures and seek to know God's truth. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim 2:15 Though I'm sure you can post a verse to imply otherwise I would like to post the verses that I lean on when I think of the all-powerful God that not only saved me but keeps me till the end, all for His glory: "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13-14 Seeking to rightly divide the Word of truth, Karen |
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36 | once saved always saved? | 2 Tim 4:18 | Hiskid84 | 128958 | ||
Thank you for the warm welcome to the board (and your generous comments concerning my "late night, should have been in bed" post), Hank! We enjoyed a good laugh over your "chip off the old Doc" comment. :) I enjoyed reading your well written (and Scripturally sound) post and I trust that others will be blessed by it as well. Karen (aka Chip, the choir member) |
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37 | once saved always saved? | 2 Tim 4:18 | Hiskid84 | 128991 | ||
CG; you wrote, "Now my question to you: If there's no chance of this kind of thing happening to a christian as Hank is depicting, why would God spend so much time in His Word on this subject?" Could you please explain what, exactly, Hank is depicting in his post concerning Christians? I'd like to respond but will wait to see if you are able to answer my question first. Thank you, Karen |
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38 | once saved always saved? | 2 Tim 4:18 | Hiskid84 | 129022 | ||
Country Girl; thank you for taking time to reply. I'm sorry that your post wasn't completely clear to me. Is it your belief that Christians are saved not once but many times? This is the conclusion I come to when it appears you are saying that there can be no eternal security if the Bible speaks of Christians repenting after they have been saved. I would really like to know your thoughts on this (and please forgive me if I've misinterpreted). I found it interesting that you would interpret Hank's post (as quoted above) to mean there are no Christians that sin (since the verses you quoted dealt with those who are "overtaken in any trespass" or "sins against you") and you wrote that according to "what Hank is depicting" there is "no chance of this happening" (i.e. no chance of Christians needing repentance). When I read the quote from Hank's post that you used above it quite plainly says that "sincere and well-meaning CHRISTIANS...continue to live a life of sin". Wouldn't these be the people you are talking about when you quote verses saying we are to "restore one another in a spirit of gentleness", "bear one another's burdens", and "go and tell him his fault"? Again, just trying to clarify what you are saying. I hope we are able to continue this discussion. Blessings to you also, Karen |
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39 | once saved always saved? | 2 Tim 4:18 | Hiskid84 | 129094 | ||
Country Girl, Thank you again for taking time out of your busy schedule to reply to my post. I know that you won't have time to reply right away but I thought I would go ahead and respond. In the meantime I would be happy to see Hank or anyone else reply. I'm a little rusty and I think my iron may need sharpening. I would like to say something about this statement you wrote: "With that relationship intact with both our God and our fellow christians, then we can look forward to the benefits of coverage by our God even when we're "caught off guard" and die suddenly. As long as we've establish a regular habit of repenting regularly of the sins of commission and omission, we're good to go." It seems as if you believe at least two conditions are placed upon our salvation. From what I gather, you believe these conditions must be met in order for one to "make it into heaven": 1) We must (currently) be in a right relationship with all Christians we personally know. (By this I mean we cannot harbor any bitterness, resentment, jealousy, etc., towards any other believer) 2) We must have repented of all sins to the best of our ability, making sure all of our sins are "covered by the blood of Christ". I'm wondering what your direct answer to Hank's question might have been when he asked you where you believe a born-again believer that dies with unconfessed sin would end up for eternity (heaven or hell). Hopefully, you'll find time to answer directly at some point. I know that it would take a considerable amount of time since he asked for Scripture references, etc. The other thing I would like to say is that you have pointed out something very important that I believe many times is ignored in the body of Christ. And that is, our love of God and our love of fellow believers is an inseperable thing. Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments are to love God with our whole being (sorry, my paraphrase) and love our neighbor as ourself. He said the second command was like the first. (Matt. 22:37-39) Ephesians 2:11-22 reveals a lot about God's plan for our relationship with other believers. When God saved us He not only established our relationship with Him but with all other believers as well (both a vertical and horizontal restoration). I would like to discuss this very important part of our walk more but have to stop for now. I need to go back and see what's already been written about this on the forum. I do thank you for mentioning this in your post. Question to any who happen to read this: Is my description "born-again believer" redundant? In Him, Karen |
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40 | once saved always saved? | 2 Tim 4:18 | Hiskid84 | 129126 | ||
Hi, Mark. Thanks for sharing. :) I hesitated about phrasing it the way I did but I did want to make sure there was no mistaking what I meant. I figured "born-again believer" covered it all. :) Though I haven't been involved with very many forums this one is set up quite differently than what I am used to. Besides having a different format, I normally participate on boards that have a reformed slant. This forum is very diverse. It's taking a little time to get used to. I'm sure I'll have some opportunities to defend what I believe from a Scriptural standpoint and that can be beneficial in many ways. And who knows...maybe I'll learn how to post without rambling on and on... :) In Him, Karen |
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