Results 461 - 480 of 562
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Results from: Notes Author: Rowdy Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
461 | Do we have to earn grace? | Gal 2:21 | Rowdy | 118192 | ||
Just to give this thread some balance, let's not forget what James says in James 2:14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. Also from Jesus Himself in Matt 7:15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' So you see it's a balancing act. Yes most definitely we're ALL hopelessly lost without grace, you can count on it BUT our Lord expects to see us show up on Judgment day with fruit of our labors in His vineyard. Works in this scenario is another word for fruit, call it proof of the spirit that lives within us. If we don't have works in our favor, how can we prove to our Lord we are His? In other words, if a 1st century judge persecuting christians comes knocking on our door, will you and I be found guilty like those martyrs of long ago? Yes, tough call, I agree. God bless. --Rowdy |
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462 | Do we have to earn grace? | Gal 2:21 | Rowdy | 118215 | ||
Sometimes it's difficult to follow these threads as they develop and spread out but it looks like you're questioning BradK's comment. IF, however, you're questioning my comment, please confirm and I'll try to clarify with more scriptures and more examples. Thanks and God bless. --Rowdy | ||||||
463 | Do we have to earn grace? | Gal 2:21 | Rowdy | 118232 | ||
Kalos, I agree there's absolute NO way that any of us can earn salvation. It's a gift. But we do need to take James seriously and do our best to honor that gift by sharing God's light and His good news throughout the world as we're doing on this Forum. I just wanted to emphasize James' words "Faith without works is a dead faith." Thanks for the excellent post. God bless. --Rowdy | ||||||
464 | Do we have to earn grace? | Gal 2:21 | Rowdy | 118233 | ||
Very, very well put. That's an outstanding analogy. God bless you, dear friend. --Rowdy | ||||||
465 | Do we have to earn grace? | Gal 2:21 | Rowdy | 118246 | ||
I think you've gotten most of my thoughts on the subject but I did think of one more item. To me it all boils down to attitude. We dare NOT think we can approach God with the attitude that "We've earned that salvation." That's a plan sure to fail. We must put our faith in God's grace and His Plan of Salvation. BUT we must also feel compelled to honor that grace by "taking up our cross," acting like and behaving like we've got a Father up there watching us. Like EdB said, if we're christians we need be clothed with Christ, so we'll feel comfortable in Heaven because we've been wearing Christ-like attributes all our life. God bless you for starting and stimulating a good thread of discussion. I wish I could. --Rowdy |
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466 | Do we have to earn grace? | Gal 2:21 | Rowdy | 118363 | ||
It's been a struggle but I'm glad you and I fianlly found something we could agree on. Bless you, dear friend. --Rowdy | ||||||
467 | God is one | Gal 4:4 | Rowdy | 121724 | ||
Norm, I gotta admit Hank is quite right. As I see it, you're out on a very dangerous limb here. Your statement appears to NOT be a typo but you appear to be serious. Please tell us you were ill that day and made bad call. Your statement as it is, sounds completely luny. I do hope you'll reconsider. God bless. --Rowdy | ||||||
468 | Church requirements for helping others? | Gal 6:10 | Rowdy | 121205 | ||
I've been reading your original question and most of the responses which have been pretty good advice. If you'll take some advice from this old man, I'd suggest that you allow all these words settle into your mind and try to mellow out. Yes, I have to agree with you, most kids in America seem to not know what good manners are all about; they also seem to suffer from a lack of responsibility and respect for their elders. But when you've lived a few more years after your own kids break your heart a couple of times with some big mistakes, kids who you thought were raised with more sense than that, you'll grow a little more mellow. I used to be quite the strong believer in discipline but nowadays I don't know what I'd do what with the fact you can land in jail if you spank your kids in public, something I did when it was needed. Thankfully, our world even here in America comes and goes in cycles and hopefully the pendulum is swinging back toward God. (I pray that it does.) Meanwhile, I can only cite the fact in our congregation, we're having similar problems with unruly kids and neglegent parents so we talk about it at men's meetings and resolve to strive for improvement. Yes, God expects us to grow, even us grown-ups but it's amazing He's so patient, kind and willing to let us do this growing up at our speed. He still forgives us even when we mess up our lives something just awful. So the least we can do is forgive our fellow man when they let their kids go and be kids for a little while longer. I would recommend that you go back and re-read 1 Cor 13 and remember all the mistakes and stupid things you've done in your life, maybe even thank your parents for not killing you like they may have been tempted. If in your case, the kids really are getting out of hand, I can only suggest your bringing it up somehow in discussions with the whole congregation BUT with the kind of love as cited in that 1 Cor 13. Hopefully, you'll win some friends who will agree with you, especially if it's as bad as you say it is. But you'll also run into some hardheads who love to spoil kids a little too much. Remind them of 1 Cor 14:40 which really should apply to almost everything in our lives. Well, I've said enough, probably more than enough but God bless you in your struggle to grow and mature in Christ. --Rowdy |
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469 | Saved without faith? | Eph 2:8 | Rowdy | 120876 | ||
Sorry to butt in but it seems that WTB and Angel are much closer to presenting a well balanced view than your statement above. You seem to overlook the clear guidance from 1 John. Yes, indeed, we should be thankful for God's Grace to cover us when we sin IF we maintain that fellowship of light in God's Will and His Word. This means we must see ourselves as we really are to our God and that means we're weak and sinful, we're inclined to sin for at the very least we can't hope to fill our lives with all the good we should be doing. It's so easy to be tempted to be lazy and rest on our accomplishments in the past and think we can retire; we've earned it. No, "may it never be," but instead we must prove over and over again that we truly are part of the Lord's vineyard by producing fruit of His Grace and our faith in our lives. I agree with you in that there's nothing we can do to be more saved but we can most certainly lose our salvation as clearly depicted in the 7 letters in the first few chapters of Revelation. We must see ourselves in constant need of repentance. The only really big difference between christians and unbelievers on Judgment Day is our relationship with Christ as our advocate. But this relationship is fragile as it has to be maintained like the wineskin in Matt 9. I hope this clarifies the matter and God bless. --Rowdy |
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470 | Saved or hoping to be saved? | Eph 2:8 | Rowdy | 121051 | ||
Cited for reference: John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. I'm sorry Tim, but I can't agree with your overall statement but somehow you guessed that was coming, right? I'm afraid to me and most other Bible students I know this passage is a very clear picture of the future, that is Judgment Day. To me, it's imperative that we as christians take heed of this warning, especially verse 8 for Jesus said we must "prove to be My disciples." I do agree with one of your statements. As long as we're in God's family, that is we have complied with His Terms and Conditions, yes we're entitled to receive that gift of salvation. BUT according to Rev 2:10, we also must be faithful till death. So it doesn't matter how long we've been a christian. What matters most is the condition of our soul and our conscience. Are we striving to get closer to God? OR are we content to "tread water" and maintain our status quo with our relationship to God? For the latter, I would refer you to the letter to the Laodiceans in Revelation. I can't think of anything more I could possibly say about this subject so I'll let you have the last word and trust all those reading these posts will make up their own mind as to who's closer to the truth. God bless you, friend. --Rowdy |
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471 | What do you like about the church? | Eph 2:22 | Rowdy | 117897 | ||
I have to agree with the spirit of Kalos' difficulty. Your question is far too vauge to be discussed intelligently on this Forum. There's a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience represented by the Forum participants. So why don't you help us out and pinpoint the particular aspect of the church to which you're referring? I'll even say pretty please with sugar on top. Thanks and God bless. --Rowdy |
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472 | What do you like about the church? | Eph 2:22 | Rowdy | 118074 | ||
I really do sincerely appreciate your opening and starting this thread of dialouge. I sense you feel that it was a failure but I think it was and is a great success. I think it helps to remember that God created all of us and He wants ALL of His creation to come home BUT he knows only a "remnant" will find the way. This concept is well established in the OT and is maintained throughout the gospel story and on into the NT with Jesus' story of the straight and narrow to Heaven and the broad way to Hell. What am I saying: I'm saying that out of all our Lord's creation, He already knows there's only going to be a small portion to make it to Heaven. If it was any other way like a majority of us made to Heaven, then it would be too much like our world instead of His world. Remember our ways are NOT like God's ways; our thoughts are NOT like God's thoughts. His foolishness is far better than our highest thoughts. Isaiah 55:8 and 1 Cor 2:20. So in any given scenario of wide discussion with the kind of variety of backgrounds as represented by this Forum, we can only expect to see a similar response as the Lord gets to His Word. You may have noticed that a few of my posts to this Forum have met with a similar spirit of negative feeling. But I (one of many I'm sure) want to encourage you to keep the faith and keep studying. You're in good company with all those persecuted in the past 4,000 years plus. God bless. --Rowdy |
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473 | references to church unity | Eph 4:3 | Rowdy | 122330 | ||
Although I would rejoice with you, dear friend about your growth, I must remind you that the Lord's second coming will happen when very, very few people will expect it. Both Jesus and Paul confirm this very clearly as follows: Matt 24:43 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 1 Thess 5:2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. If we do things the Bible way, that is follow the pattern God gave us in the NT, we can't help but grow. The simplicity of God's Word and the simplicity of the church is very attractive. The Lord knows that the world needs His Grace and Forgiveness. God bless. --Rowdy |
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474 | What is "one baptism" in Eph. 4:5? | Eph 4:5 | Rowdy | 119445 | ||
Let's not forget the other verses from God's Word that describe this one baptism such as this one example: Acts 8:34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?" 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" 37 [And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. Of course, I'm already anticipating your response with a different opinion but I must ask if this one baptism from the Bible DOESN'T include immersion in water, how can you dismiss all the many scriptures which describe baptism in just this way? Don't you see the safer position is to assume the same position the Bible presents and that is that baptism includes ALL the features as ascribed to it. Yes, indeed it is about being baptized into our Lord Jesus AND it is being baptized into His death, putting that man of sin to death and raising up as a newborn babe in Christ. It's all done then and there at that very moment, forgiveness of sins, contact with the blood of Christ through faith. The act of baptism, being totally immersed is an act of humble submission to God's terms and conditions as set forth throughout the Book of Hebrews, as posted previously. God bless. --Rowdy |
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475 | What is "one baptism" in Eph. 4:5? | Eph 4:5 | Rowdy | 119469 | ||
You may have noticed my seeming to be almost obsessive about reflecting what I like to call a fully balanced thread from God's Word on any particular subject. You or some of the other scholars of the Bible are very good at digging up some really challenging questions. Sometimes the Bible doesn't answer all the questions on a particular topic. BUT when the Bible does give several different passages representing different facets on a particular subject, I like to TRY to do my part and make certain that balance is maintained. As you know, one of the most controversial subjects in all of Christendom is that of baptism as our dear friend CDBJ has just made obvious. IF by any chance at all, I assumed incorrectly that you have a different opinion, please accept my sincere apology. In my opinion, it is paramount that we as God's children represent God's Word as accurately as possible, especially when there are so many folks on this Forum with varying levels of Bible knowledge and a wide span on the spectrum of conservative to the liberal. I really do appreciate all the tremendous amount of Bible study and the amazing amount of time that you spend on the Forum, along with Hank, CDBJ, Mekarios, Kalos and all of the other Bible scholars I'm overlooking. In my mind our Lord is literally banking on this kind of teamwork to maximize the greatest number of human beings to make it to Heaven. It's this kind of exchange and discussion that keeps our "spiritual swords" sharp AND refines our other skills like loving souls and praying for them, compassion for their pains and their problems in life. Well I've "pontificated" enough now. I must say "kala mera," that's Good Day in Greek and God bless. --Rowdy |
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476 | Baptism or No? Our Forefathers said... | Eph 4:9 | Rowdy | 133992 | ||
I must admit, dear friend Tim, I read your posts and sometimes I can't tell whether you're on my side arguing in favor of my posts or on the other side arguing against. "Faith is a complete trust in God. It is a surrender to His will. It even includes obedience to His commands. But, faith is not 'mere mental assent'! "Would you care to show me anywhere in Scripture where faith is defined as 'mere mental assent'?" I'll mention here again there is, by the Forum's count exactly 87 verses from the NT to add to this discussion. (Just be sure to insert the word "bapti" in the Word Search to get them all.) Please don't misunderstand me, I'd be literally the last person in the world to deny the solid truth behind every one of the scriptures you cited above. But please take another look at the article with the quote from Martin Luther. Even he agreed to baptism being essential to one's salvation. "[I] affirm that Baptism is no human trifle, but that it was established by God Himself. Moreover, He earnestly and solemnly commanded that we must be baptized or we shall not be saved. No one is to think that it is an optional matter like putting on a red coat. It is of greatest importance that we hold Baptism in high esteem as something splendid and glorious. The reason why we are striving and battling so strenuously for this view of Baptism is that the world nowadays is full of sects that loudly proclaim that Baptism is merely an external form and that external forms are useless…. Although Baptism is indeed performed by human hands, yet it is truly God’s own action" (1978, pp. 98-99). Don't you see baptism is merely the real and genuine demonstration of real and genuine faith just like you've described above? It is the same principle Naaman discovered in being healed from leporsy. It's the same principle the Israelites discovered when they accepted the gift of the promised land. Although it was a gift of the Promised Land, they still had to obey God in conquering the Cannanites who were there first. God even told them to kill everyone, men, women and children. That too wasn't easy, I'm sure but God said it and Joshua obeyed. King David discovered this principle when he obeyed God, He knew with genuine, absolute confidence that God was with him. How else could he have conquered giant Goliath at least twice as tall as he and at twice the warrior as David? How? Because Goliath was dwarfed when placed beside David AND his God Almighty. When we're baptized and obey ALL of God's other commands then and only then can we approach God with absolute confidence, even to the moment of Judgment Day, as per 1 John 2. With reference to your question about "mere mental assent," that's the modern way to emphasize the point of complete obedience that our friend, Kyle Butt is trying to make. If we as humans hold anything back but absolute obedience to ALL of God's commands, we might as well as stay home. It has the same effect as "mere mental assent." Again, don't you see, King Saul discovered this very important principle when Samuel told him "It's better to obey than to offer sacrifice." When we do/say anything less, it's like we're telling God "OK God, I'll obey but I gotta do it my way, on my terms and conditions; here's my counter-offer." Ananais and Sapphira discovered this principle in Acts 5 and paid with their lives AND their souls. When we hold back from God and actually choose NOT to obey His commands, how can we truly call Him Father and then dare to think we're good to go to Heaven where only the faithful and the obedient with the blood of His dear Son covers their sin? No, my friend, I would beseech you. Study ALL of this article, the truths contained therein but most especially keep studying and praying on this matter. I'll keep on praying for you and God bless. Rowdy |
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477 | Pearls of Wisdom from the pen of bumpas5 | Eph 4:14 | Rowdy | 121768 | ||
I'm not sure how to respond to this post. Is this done in jest? It seems most of this statement is submitted for entertainment. Portions of it are kinda funny but surely you're not serious about all of it, are you? I also noticed quite a few typos/errors, far more than your usual well written and proofed work. So this was done to show us something of Bumpas5' quality of work, correct? Maybe I'm a little dense, if so, please explain. Thanks. God bless. --Rowdy |
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478 | Pearls of Wisdom from the pen of bumpas5 | Eph 4:14 | Rowdy | 121775 | ||
He did seem a rather "strange bedfellow." I'm glad there are folks watching the flock. God bless you, dear friend. --Rowdy | ||||||
479 | Pearls of Wisdom from the pen of bumpas5 | Eph 4:14 | Rowdy | 121776 | ||
Thanks for your note but I've already been schooled by BradK's and Tim's notes on his AKAs. God bless. --Rowdy |
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480 | What are dispensations? | Col 2:14 | Rowdy | 113963 | ||
I'm afraid I have to pony up to that reference. There I was trying to distinguish between the two most basic dispensations by citing the cross in the middle. At least for us on this side of the cross, the OT has no authority. HOWEVER, I have great respect for the OT and consider It an incredibly valuable tool in understanding the NT. To me Paul's letter to the Colossians made this very clear. Also the following scriptures are quite helpful: Rom 8:2-4, Eph 2:11-18 and Heb 10. God bless. |
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