Results 521 - 540 of 562
|
||||||
Results from: Notes Author: Rowdy Ordered by Verse |
||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
521 | Are unbelievers in any way "saved"? | Heb 11:1 | Rowdy | 118856 | ||
Please allow me to attempt some dialouge here only to try and nail down a clear understanding of your position. Are you actually trying to say you have studied this passage and concluded that God will judge that portion of the world past, present and future by Bible standards even if they've never heard of the Bible or any of its contents? Rom 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. and Rom 2:1 I've re-read these scriptures and they seem to me to be in support of my statement. (It seems incredible these verses are coming from you in support of your statement.) Please let me summarize my statement: We're all endowed by God with His image as described in the first few chapters of Genesis. Now I know the "image of God" is NOT clearly and specifically described somewhere but you will agree that it must be the major differences that distinguish us from the rest of creation, right? According to the experts w/PhDs at apologeticspress.com, some of those differences are the ability to speak, think, love, hate, make intelligent choices, worship and know the difference between right and wrong AND last of all, we humans alone have a soul. Would you agree to all that? Surely, these (possibly others) make up some of that "image of God" installed in all of us. It's that conscience and our inner soul that grows within every young person which helps them reach "the age of accountabilitiy." It's the same quality that draws us instictively to worship some greater being than ourselves and that's the same quality that enables us to determine right from wrong and thus put together a working and functioning society. A society that passes laws and makes judgements when one of their own does wrong and shows extreme disdain for those laws. It's that same innate quality that God will hold up to our lives IF we live and die without knowing anything about His Word or His Son and His dying for the lost souls of the world. Surely, we can agree on this topic, can we not? I hope so, but I also pray for God's blessings on your continued study and understanding. --Rowdy |
||||||
522 | Are unbelievers in any way "saved"? | Heb 11:1 | Rowdy | 118862 | ||
I'm saying that the Book of Romans, indeed the whole Bible is written to those who know of its existance and once hearing of its existance, yes they're bound by God to the best of their ability to check it out and see if it's true. Their conscience should tell them they'd better check it just in case they might be held accountable to it. In Romans, Paul is writing to christians. He knows they will read and re-read his letter. He also knew that we modern christians (and all the ones since then) would study it and use it for reference as Peter states in 2 Pet 3:14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. I must reiterate again with Paul's words from Rom 2:12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. So you see, one can very easily sin against his conscience AND "apart from the law." When that is done AND they die in that condition, then they're held accountable to their conscience but NOT in accordance with the Law from God of any dispensation. I don't really see how I could make this any clearer. If you're still having trouble understanding my statement, try printing it and let someone else take a look. God bless. --Rowdy |
||||||
523 | Are unbelievers in any way "saved"? | Heb 11:1 | Rowdy | 118864 | ||
Rom 2:12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. One last point you didn't address is the scripture above. How do you reconcile your statement with verse 12? But apparently you plan to do just that and somehow explain so I'll move on to my next question. Call me dense but can you please help walk me through Judgment Day and pretend I've lived the best life I could, was basically kind to my neighbors, etc. I was bascially a decent sort of fella and live up to my conscience. HOWEVER, I didn't know a thing about the Bible or any of the concepts of christianity, Jewish religion, nothing at all about organized religion; let's say I lived my whole entire life on a deserted island. Please explain to me the mechanics, step by step of this kind of Justice our Lord will meter out to people like the one I've just described. Remember now, my lack of knowledge of Godly concepts was through no fault of my own. This should be very, very interesting to read. I hope all Forum participants are following closely this thread of conversation. God bless. --Rowdy |
||||||
524 | Just what is the purpose of baptism? | Heb 11:7 | Rowdy | 129914 | ||
Thanks for your words of support. I'm only a vessel trying to shine the light on God's Word. Please believe me, and this is meant for everyone's reading. I'm NOT trying to say that baptism is a work or part of a system of earning something, least of all our Salvation. What I am trying to say is that baptism is the defining moment in our christianity when we start a whole new relationship of total submission to God in accordance with His Terms and Conditions. This baptism is very closely related to the "dipping" of Naaman, demonstrating the same quality of submission. Also similar to the total submission required of a grown man who wanted to become a Jew. Notice here again, God provides a demonstration to show us just how submissive and vulnerable a man really is in this scenario, just check Gen 34:24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. Gen 34:25 Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. Gen 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem's house, and went forth. That's the point of this whole concept to God, our submission completely and totally. And to think He's letting us off easy with a mere baptism in a tub of water. How can we refuse such a simple act? He just wants us to show the world that He truly is our Lord and King. I hope to see other posts from around the Forum. God bless. Rowdy |
||||||
525 | Just what is the purpose of baptism? | Heb 11:7 | Rowdy | 129994 | ||
Amen, dear friend. Amen!! I guess like I mentioned, my main motivation was to add these words for the benefit of others on the Forum. God bless. Rowdy |
||||||
526 | How are pre-Christians made perfect? | Heb 11:40 | Rowdy | 114675 | ||
Thanks again. Definitely something to think about although the scriptures aren't particularly clear on this subject, it certainly is quite possible. | ||||||
527 | How are pre-Christians made perfect? | Heb 11:40 | Rowdy | 114740 | ||
I'm not questioning your use of the scriptures as they are there to give us a glimpse of what Hell is like. All I'm saying is after this world is "burned up" and the whole universe as God created it is destroyed, God's spiritual world is going to be all that's left. There won't be any oxygen or fuel with which to burn the proverbial "fires of Hell." There won't be any "nashing of teeth," at least not any physical teeth that you and I know about. I've studied on this topic for quite some time and have compared this figurative language to that in Revelation and Isaiah. In my opinion it seems that our Lord uses this kind of language when He's trying to describe something for which we don't have a common point of reference. In other words, just as we don't have a clue what Heaven is really going to look like, I don't think God has been able to describe what Hell is going to be like. I don't think you really expect to see "streets of gold," or "palaces of pearl," "seas of glass" in Heaven for the same reasons as stated above, do you?. Those kind of hard, physcial items of earthly elements won't exist either after Judgment Day. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite certain there will be Heaven and Hell and in the mean time, it looks like according to scripture there now exists Hades and Paradise. Now what those actual places look like as to actual details, I don't think the Bible reveals it in the very same kind of details that we're going to recognize when we arrive at one of those places. The things we do know for an absolute fact is that Heaven is going to be wonderful because it's with God and Hell is going to be a very miserable place because it's without God. It seems the figurative language was used to motivate us to respond appropriately: love for Heaven and intense hatred for Hell. I'm sorry, but the only scripture I can recall to support my conclusions on this matter from Peter. 2 Pet 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. I'd be interested in your response. I realize this is kinda radical and you might take a while. God bless. |
||||||
528 | How are pre-Christians made perfect? | Heb 11:40 | Rowdy | 114778 | ||
I'm quite sincere about the figurative language but I'm also trying to keep an open mind. Please expound to me about this a little more. IF the whole of God's creation is going to be totally disintagrated back into nothingness or void like it was before He created, what will the Lake of Fire be fueled on? What will the New Heaven and the New Earth look like? What are the dimensions? How will we stay on this New Earth? With or without gravity? Will we be consuming food or some kind of nourishment for our new spiritual bodies? I'm not saying all of Revelation or Isaiah CANNOT be taken literally; I'm just urging caution when we think about these things. Again, we must be open minded to God and His spiritual world. We don't have any common point(s) of reference for truly understanding what His world is really like. Our world here and now is finite and very physical, that's all we know with any absolute authority. Everything about the spiritual world, we get from our Bibles and the Bible only seems to give us figurative type language to describe the actual characteristics of this spiritual world. You didn't address all the points of my previous post. Please take a shot at responding to both those and to the specific points above. For example, do you honestly expect to see "streets of gold," etc. in Heaven? The one verse I do take quite literally is the one from 2 Peter as quoted in my previous post. Please marry this verse into your response. Please feel free to expound as much as you can and God bless you. |
||||||
529 | How are pre-Christians made perfect? | Heb 11:40 | Rowdy | 114839 | ||
As I mentioned yesterday dear friend, you've given me quite a bit to consider. I'm not convinced 2 Pet 3:10 can be resolved as you've done here but I'll admit there's not much in the Bible on this subject. I did take special note of the fact that most of your post is your opinion as was mine. I really appreciate the discussion. I'm still very much interested in what the rest of the Forum might say about this subject. Any takers out there? Put your thinking caps on and tackle it and God bless you all. |
||||||
530 | Hell in the Bible: Literal or Figurative | Heb 11:40 | Rowdy | 114931 | ||
Thanks. Your logic has much merit. I'm just trying to motivate some open minded discussion about one of the toughest subjects in the Bible. I'm thankful to our God that ALL of this discussion is totally academic and if one of us is incorrect in our position or statement, that alone WON'T keep that person out of Heaven. Thanks again for contributing a solid piece of work to this thread of discussion. God bless. |
||||||
531 | Hell in the Bible: Literal or Figurative | Heb 11:40 | Rowdy | 114976 | ||
Ultimately, I have to agree with you for the most part. There are more questions than answers on this topic, especially when you try to reconcile all the guidance within God's Word. Appreciate your response and God bless. | ||||||
532 | Wisdom - Salvation in Christ? | James 1:5 | Rowdy | 121170 | ||
I have to say a Hearty Amen!! ------------Rowdy | ||||||
533 | How does mercy triumph over judgment? | James 2:13 | Rowdy | 133943 | ||
I can only add this scripture as a demonstration of the truth from Colin's statement. Good post by the way. Ex 32:7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 "They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'" 9 The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10 "Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation." 11 Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 "Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, 'With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth'? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. 13 "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'" 14 So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people. 15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other. Here we see both God's absolution devotion to perfect Justice AND His infinite Mercy. Of course, we can also see and understand why Moses issues such a harsh judgment on these Israelites in the next few verses. Thanks be to God, we too have the Perfect Advocate/Intermediary between us and God. Christ and His Perfect Sacrifice is the ONLY thing standing between us and certain, eternal destruction. I hope this helps and God bless. Rowdy |
||||||
534 | How does mercy triumph over judgment? | James 2:13 | Rowdy | 133964 | ||
My main point was the antitype of Moses in "foreshadowing" the coming of Christ as the Perfect Advocate of the whole world for all time, past, future and present. Praise the Lord for both the OT and NT. They both do an excellent job of supporting each other for their respective purpose. Like I mentioned, I enjoyed reading your post. Good to see your posts once again on the Forum. God bless. Rowdy |
||||||
535 | How does mercy triumph over judgment? | James 2:13 | Rowdy | 134001 | ||
Dear friend Kalos, Here's what I wrote: "Praise the Lord for both the OT and NT. They both do an excellent job of supporting each other for their respective purpose." Hopefully, when my statements are quoted in context, they should be pretty easy to understand. Here it's pretty obvious I'm saying the OT served its purpose which was to teach mankind (mainly through the Jews) the law of God and how important it was to obey God in order to please Him. Also it served to teach us about His Absolute Love and His Perfect Sense of Justice. The purpose of the NT was to teach us about the Perfect Sacrifice in the Life, Death, Burial and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and to describe the installation of His beloved Bride, His Body, the church of our Lord. The NT also provided some practical demonstrations of how the Apostles handled crises and the basic guidance for all christians to follow in this dispensation. So you see, the OT served its purpose and its Authority was nailed to the cross with Jesus. Upon His death on that cross, our Lord's Last Will and Testament was executed by His designated officials, the Apostles and proclaimed His Terms and Conditions in Acts 2. I hope this clears up your questions. God bless. Rowdy |
||||||
536 | Meaning "dead faith" doesn't save? | James 2:24 | Rowdy | 112336 | ||
I must commend you on a job very well done. | ||||||
537 | Does James 2 contradict Romans 4? | James 2:24 | Rowdy | 112337 | ||
I too, must commend you on a job very well done. This makes it clear why Martin Luther considered James to be the "straw epistle" and thus relegated it to the very back of his Bible. He didn't want to deal with this thorny issue as you've done so eloquently. | ||||||
538 | Does James 2 contradict Romans 4? | James 2:24 | Rowdy | 112350 | ||
Thanks, I didn't know that. I had thought most of my christian life Martin Luther died with the idea christians could go to Heaven on faith alone. It's good to know he truly was a student of the Bible. I guess we've all got some studying to do for our final exam. Thanks again and God bless. | ||||||
539 | Does James 2 contradict Romans 4? | James 2:24 | Rowdy | 112359 | ||
All I can say is Amen. | ||||||
540 | Meaning "dead faith" doesn't save? | James 2:24 | Rowdy | 112360 | ||
VERY Good illustration. If you don't mind, I'd like to use that in my next Bible lesson on this subject. It's quite powerful, just like our Lord's parables. One more reason to join and participate in this Forum. God bless you. | ||||||
Result pages: << First < Prev [ 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 ] Next > Last [29] >> |