Results 281 - 300 of 1928
|
||||||
Results from: Notes Author: Reformer Joe Ordered by Date |
||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
281 | How Does Baptism Save? | 1 Pet 3:21 | Reformer Joe | 78589 | ||
You wrote: "Before Abraham obeyed God, his faith was not perfect (James 2)!" We can examine what James could have meant by that, but in the meantime, even James 2 indicates that faith is united with works, demonstrating that the faith was present for the works to be added to them. Hence, the faith through which people are justified precedes obedience. Secondly, whatever James means by writing that faith is perfected by obedience, Romans 4:1-11 still tells us that Abraham was saved by his faith prior to and apart from obedience. "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness" --Romans 4:5 You wrote: "You ought not put on that superior tone when you know NOTHING of his faith prior to his obedience." No superior tone here, but I humbly do know something of his faith prior to his obedience, because the Bible tells me about his faith prior to it. Hebrews 11:8-10. You wrote: " I think the Hebrew writer has as much sense as you, and he could only speak of what Abraham DID to describe faith." I think the writer of Hebrews was inspired by the Holy Spirit, so his words are God's words, and therefore could comment on things beyond what he perceived with his own five senses. And what did he say? "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." --Hebrews 11:6 So did Abraham obey God, possessing faith, or not? --Joe! |
||||||
282 | How Does Baptism Save? | 1 Pet 3:21 | Reformer Joe | 78587 | ||
Exactly. And you know as well as I that it takes careful study of Scripture not to jump to false conclusions. Faith in Jesus Christ and works are inseparably united, but to consider them the same thing is error. One group tends to go to one extreme, saying that works are faith, while another rejects any theology which even mentions works at all. Same with baptism. Some see it as what justifies individuals. Others see it as a nice "extra" or an empty symbol or picture. It is none of these things. --Joe! |
||||||
283 | How Does Baptism Save? | 1 Pet 3:21 | Reformer Joe | 78525 | ||
You do not know if Abraham had faith before he obeyed God? You think it is possible Abraham's obedience was faithless? "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God." --Hebrews 10:8-10 So I ask again, did his faith cause his obedience or not? --Joe! |
||||||
284 | How did baptism heal naaman of leprosy? | 1 Pet 3:21 | Reformer Joe | 78451 | ||
Hello, sniper. You wrote: 'I am not familiar with the term "household baptisms".' In the entire New Testament, only nine individuals (other than Jesus himself) are mentioned by name as having been baptized. The Ethiopian eunuch and Saul/Paul were probably single. Simon Magus and Gaius are not identified as either heading a household or not heading one. The households of the other five (Lydia, Crispus, the jailer, Stephanas, and Cornelius) were baptized upon profession of faith by the head of household. In most of the cases, the belief of the other members of the household is not mentioned at all. You wrote: "The Bible teaches that a person must believe and repent." In order to be justified, yes. I do not argue that baptized infants are automatically declared righteous before God. "If the whole household believed and repented, then they all participated in a valid baptism. Acts 16 tells us that the household was baptized so according to the Bible they all must have believed." The accounts make no mention of their belief. You are imposing your assumption that faith and repentance must precede baptism. "I am not aware of a doctrine which teaches household baptism, whereby the household leader believes and his belief is transferred to the others because of his position." We can clearly see, beginning from Genesis on, how God works not only with individuals, but also with whole families. Entire families and tribes are included among God's covenant people, even when many of them show themselves individually not to be true children of God. Again, note that I am not saying that someone is born again by being sprinkled as an infant, nor does the parent's faith serve as the instrument for the child's justification. --Joe! |
||||||
285 | How did baptism heal naaman of leprosy? | 1 Pet 3:21 | Reformer Joe | 78449 | ||
"You seem to have some inside information on these households. Do you know something about the makeup of those households that isn't recorded in the Bible? Because if you do, I think you should share that with all of us." Why, yes, Disciplerami...I have uncovered first-century census data verifying that Lydia, the jailer, Stephanus, Cornelius, and Crispus each had eleven infants in their household! :) Seriously, do you have any data which would indicate that these five first-century Mediterranean households were so exceptional for their time and place as to have absolutely no small children in them? "I understand though that infant baptism is based upon such assumptions." Actually, infant baptism is not based solely on such assumptions (which are contrary to the assumptions you yourself hold), but rather on a covenantal understanding of how God works with His people. Mine is supported in both Testaments. Please show me where the individualism you hold to is demonstrated in Scripture. Note: I am not saying that infants who are baptized are regenerate. You have one other problem to solve if you dismiss both infant baptism and baptism by any other mode than immersion: where was the church between the age of the apostles (assuming they only baptized professing believers by immersion themselves) and the rise of the Anabaptists in the mid-16th century? --Joe! |
||||||
286 | How did baptism heal naaman of leprosy? | 1 Pet 3:21 | Reformer Joe | 78421 | ||
"May I intrude? Thank you." No problem! You weren't intruding at all; every thread is fair game. :) "Are you referring to Acts 16?" Among other places, yes. --Joe! |
||||||
287 | How did baptism heal naaman of leprosy? | 1 Pet 3:21 | Reformer Joe | 78411 | ||
You wrote: "Is infant baptism effectual when the child has no faith?" Are "household baptisms" effectual when only the head of household has professed faith? --Joe! |
||||||
288 | How Does Baptism Save? | 1 Pet 3:21 | Reformer Joe | 78408 | ||
''"Did Abraham's faith exist before he offered Isaac up?" Obviously it did, he left his homeland when God told him to.' Good. We are in agreement there. Now, did Abraham's faith exist before or after he left his homeland at God's command? In other words, did Abraham believe God before he actually did ANYTHING God told him to do? --Joe! |
||||||
289 | Is Jezebel part of the church? | Rev 2:20 | Reformer Joe | 78189 | ||
Not really, sorry. We have the queen in the Old Testament and a false prophetess that goes by the same name in the church at Thyatira. Both of these were human beings who had those names. Scripture says nothing more, and that's where we should close our mouths. Did the carpenter who raised Jesus have a "Joseph spirit" that Jacob's son also had? Seeing that my name is also Joseph, do I have that same spirit? --Joe! --Joe! |
||||||
290 | Does God hear the prayers of nonbeliever | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 78188 | ||
"Yes there is. Cornelius believed and wouldn't be saved until Peter preached to him (Acts 11:14). " So you are suggesting that if Cornelius believed in all that God had previously revealed to him but had died between the Resurrection and Peter's visit, that he would be in hell now? Nothing in Acts shows that Cornelius was not already regenerate. What it does show is that he received both the Holy Spirit (which no regenerate believer had in that sense prior to Pentecost) and that he received the complete gospel gladly. One has to remember that, once Jesus rose from the dead, no one posted the information on the Internet. There were undoubtedly meny people who were looking in faith for the Messiah, as the Scriptures spoke of Him, who died not knowing that he had come and died and risen from the dead. "And John 3:16 says that the person who believe SHOULD not perish; it does not say SHALL not perish (there is a difference). John 3:36 qualifies (as does Heb 3:18,19) the statement to show that an obedient belief is required." The King James reads, "should." Other translations read "shall" or "will." What is the Greek verb? What is its tense and mood, disciplerami? In English, "should" is not always a synonym for "ought to." True belief manifests itself in obedience. No argument there. "John 12:42 shows that many believed but were unwilling to confess for fear of being put out of the synogogue. These people believe but are not saved." The Greek verb for "believe" also means "to be persuaded." It does not necessarily mean the entrusting of oneself to Christ for the forgiveness of sins that can be characterized as biblical faith. "What is ridiculous is that plain Bible is ignored." You mean like when Paul wrote that "having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"? Or when he wrote that we are saved by grace through faith? Or when he contrasts faith and works in Romans 4, showing that our works will never be the basis of us being declared righteous before God? Speaking of the plain Bible, you wrote: "Does God hear the prayers of unsaved people? If their heart is seeking the truth, the answer is 'yes.' " Plain Bible coming up: "as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." --Romans 3:10-12 --Joe! |
||||||
291 | Paul is commanded to wash away sins? | Acts 22:16 | Reformer Joe | 78183 | ||
You wrote: "I have not said that baptism is a literal death, burial and resurrection" No, but you HAVE said that it is a literal washing away of sins, even in this post. Nothing in your post explains why when Jesus says, "This is my body," why we should not take it as anything but a literal explanation of what the elements are. I agree that the purpose of the two are different, but that doesn't change the fact that the Lord Himself described the things we eat and drink at His table as his body and blood. So, I repeat my question: why is baptism the same as washing away sins, but communion isn't the same as eating Jesus? --Joe! By the way, communion is more than a memorial (1 Corinthians 10:16). |
||||||
292 | Is Jezebel part of the church? | Rev 2:20 | Reformer Joe | 78065 | ||
I was talking about the alleged "spirit of Jezebel," which is supposedly in the church today and about which an author wrote an apparently authoritative book. Biblical support for this...? --Joe! |
||||||
293 | Paul is commanded to wash away sins? | Acts 22:16 | Reformer Joe | 78020 | ||
You are posting answers to your own questions, now? :) Baptism is indeed CONNECTED to washing away of sins. Baptism is not the same thing as having one's sins washed away. Let me ask you a question in return. Let's take the other ordinance established by Jesus for His church: the Lord's Supper. When Jesus says that the bread and the cup ARE His body and blood, does that make us cannibals every time we come to His table? If you take the act of baptism as the literal act of having one's sins washed away, it seems that it would be logical for you to conclude that the partaking of Communion is literally eating Jesus Christ. If you do not hold that to be true, please explain why the language surrounding the Lord's Supper is figurative or sacramental but the language surrounding baptism is not. Thanks! --Joe! |
||||||
294 | Does God hear the prayers of nonbeliever | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 78017 | ||
You wrote: "The original question is 'does God hear the prayers of nonbelievers?' Ridiculous question! The right question is 'does God hear the prayers of unsaved people?' People like Cornelius?" There is no such thing as a believer who is unsaved. --Joe! |
||||||
295 | Does God hear the prayers of nonbeliever | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 78004 | ||
No, it is more like a person presuming that they can come to God apart from Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:3 refers to those who are not saved as "children of wrath." What person in his/her right mind would presume to boldly approach the throne of grace clothed in their his/her own unrighteousness? --Joe! |
||||||
296 | Do I have to be Baptized to be saved? | Rom 10:9 | Reformer Joe | 78002 | ||
Welcome to the Forum. I haven't been on much lately, as I am taking a lot of time with my new twin baby girls, but feel free to email me! --Joe! |
||||||
297 | Is Jezebel part of the church? | Rev 2:20 | Reformer Joe | 78001 | ||
And the Scriptural support for this is...? --Joe! |
||||||
298 | in gen1:26 who is (us) ? | John 1:3 | Reformer Joe | 77628 | ||
We pray to the Father in the name of the Son with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, who PRAYS with us and for us. An impersonal force that prays? Romans 8:26-27. The difference of roles among the three Persons of the Trinity does not contradict that they are the same in substance, equal in power and glory. --Joe! |
||||||
299 | Is this about water baptism at all? | Acts 2:38 | Reformer Joe | 77627 | ||
Tim: "There simply isn't any time reference given as a command." Agreed (except in the case of Saul). But my question was whether it is prudent to put off a specific command of God. God says, "Be baptized." Is it really consistent with Scripture for a convert to respond, "I will, when I get around to it," or "When I fully understand what baptism represents," or "I really intend to, but not now"? Time frame references are not given with the commands to repent or to abstain from sexual immorality, either, but few would argue that Jesus and Peter could have meant that we are just supposed to repent at some point in the future. "My only issue was that many on this thread were making a time frame a direct command of God, when there is no time frame commanded." While there is no time frame specifically mentioned, it seems that when God says, "Do this," He normally doesn't mean "Whenever it suits you." The other thing is that we join the visible church via baptism. It is a visible mark of our new birth and ingrafting into Christ. And while it isn't the thing itself, I am convinced that there is a union between the sign and the thing signified that under normal circumstances should not be broken. --Joe! |
||||||
300 | Is this about water baptism at all? | Acts 2:38 | Reformer Joe | 77594 | ||
Tim: Where in Scripture do we see that a correct response to obeying God is ever a delayed one? Your fellow heir, ---Joe! |
||||||
Result pages: << First < Prev [ 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ] Next > Last [97] >> |