Results 221 - 240 of 729
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Results from: Notes Author: charis Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
221 | What about those who never heard of JC ? | Bible general Archive 1 | charis | 30997 | ||
Dear Jesusman, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Are you saying that because Abraham was apprehended directly and personally, without the written Word or a preacher of the Gospel, that it still DOES happen, or still CAN happen? One (CAN) is simply theory, therefore may be possible, but with no practical way to measure one way or another. The other (DOES) is propounding more than just possibility, and requires proof from the Bible. This said, I don't think that it is possible anyway. Abraham is the 'father' of our faith, the first recipient of God's saving faith that we know of a certainty. His experience is unique, and not an example to be followed or sought after. While it may be possible to come to a saving relationship solely by reading the Bible (by the Holy Spirit), I don't think it is possible without the Word of God. Anybody preaching the Gospel would, by definition, be preaching the Word. IMHO. In Christ Jesus, charis |
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222 | Are the "sons of God" pre-Fall children? | Gen 6:2 | charis | 30996 | ||
Dear Servant7, Greetings in Jesus' name! Indeed, Evolution (with a capital 'E') and "Rosemary's Baby' are contrived fiction. True also, we seek here the understanding of the Bible. Living in Japan, I don't have the luxury of a local Christian bookstore, and having materials sent from overseas is expensive. Would you please just give me the gist of "The Flood of Noah?" (Just the facts, please :-)) Is this a book to explain the liaison between angels and humans? In Christ Jesus, charis |
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223 | We perfect our faith? | Matt 22:37 | charis | 30897 | ||
Dear ArtS, Greetings in Jesus' name! Sorry about your lost post. :-( If it's any comfort, we've all had them. If sin is just sin, then we can do as much of it as we please as long as we don't deny Jesus? Hmmm. According to Strong's: confess, 3670 - Greek 3670 homologeo hom-ol-og-eh'-o from a compound of the base of 3674 and 3056; to assent, i.e. covenant, acknowledge:--con- (pro-)fess, confession is made, give thanks, promise. From Robertson's Word Pictures: Deny - Note accusative here (case of extension), saying "no" to Christ, complete breach. This is a solemn law, not a mere social breach, this cleavage by Christ of the man who repudiates him, public and final. Art, this is not just my opinion. A good many faithful Christians believe that Jesus would not deny them lightly. To sever our relationship with God is serious business! I am not sure of your true feelings, but you make it sound almost whimsical. And you make God sound like some bean-counter, tallying denials and repentances until the day of our death. You said that you don't want to judge people that have been 'led away,' but you just DID judge them! You said that they are now going to hell. If that is not judging, what is? No, we know next to nothing about the thief on the cross. I do not deny that deathbed repentance is possible, I just have to wonder about those 'calculated' deathbed repentances. :-) "All we do is accept or deny it." Again and again? How droll! No, no cape or insignia! :-) OK, no labels... Uh, what was your name? :-) Blessings in Christ Jesus, charis |
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224 | The Spirit and the Word: How Related? | Rom 8:11 | charis | 30889 | ||
Dear Eagle One, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Maybe I'm just not one to wax poetic, but... Jesus is the Word. Sometimes people (like me) write Word or Scripture to mean the Bible. There are many names that describe God and His relationship with us in the Bible, but there are but three distinct Persons of the Godhead: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Any reference of the Word in the Bible is talking about Jesus, IMHO. In Christ Jesus, charis |
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225 | What about those who never heard of JC ? | Bible general Archive 1 | charis | 30869 | ||
Dear bobwilkins99, Greetings from Japan in the name of Jesus! In addition to the 'Americans' before 1492, the Orientals, Aborigines, Africans, etc. got a raw deal, too. Not to mention all non-Jews of the Old Testament, and anyone else not given 'opportunity' to know God. It seems that there is no end to the 'unfairness' of God! :-) Been there, done that! I went through all these hypotheticals years ago. The result? God is God, and God is just, anyway! If there is any such thing as 'salvation apart from Christ,' it is not clearly spoken to us. God MAY have a plan that He hasn't deemed necessary (or prudent!) to inform us about. But He DID give us all WE need to know about life in Christ now! To me, this is enough. I trust Him with my life, and will trust Him with everybody else's life, too. I will preach Jesus, and not worry about the rest. Frankly, 'inclusivism' is (to me) just a balm for the (human) emotions. It does my spirit nothing, and changes my faith in Jesus naught! In my own experience, I may have needed (wanted?) that when my faith was immature, but as the years of trust, obedience, and Holy Spirit sanctification accumulate, simple faith is sufficient for me. Blessings and peace to you in Christ Jesus, charis |
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226 | We perfect our faith? | Matt 22:37 | charis | 30857 | ||
Dear ArtS, Greetings in Jesus' name! To me, your idea of salvation speaks nothing of sanctification or covenant. Every time we 'deny' Christ by sinning, we are unclean and the God-initiated covenant is broken. True? After all, sin is any thought, action, or inaction that is against the will of God. When Our will supercedes the will of God (which happens to all!), then we effectively deny Christ. Or are you saying that we can sin without denying Christ? This leads us to a mortal sin/venial sin/overlooked sin type of theology. 1) Matthew 10:32 speaks of a confession that is a promise, a covenant, not a temporary relationship. (until we 'deny' Christ) In 10:33, the word deny (disown) cannotes a final decision, not a 'side-track.' 2) I agree that the door is always open for repentance, both for the lost and for the saved. The saved are called to repentance, too! It is part of our sanctification by the Holy Spirit! 3) I understand you Arminian leanings, but this goes beyond the choice to choose God or not. Choose, deny, choose, deny...etc. clearly implies that we did NOT choose God with much conviction! It also implies that the God-initiated covenant is not very strong or binding. 4)The thief on the cross had no previous saved/unsaved gyrations. He was moved upon by the Holy Spirit to recognize Christ. To say that we can know salvation, then 'lose' it by denial of Christ (willfully living 'our way' with no compunction) until just prior to death, then be fully reinstated to a sinless state with no accountability (judgment at the seat of Christ), mocks God, and denies sanctification by the Holy Spirit. 5) But you ARE saying that Jesus is the Author of our salvation, but we choose to finish (perfect) it according to our will. We alone decide whether or not we want to 'keep' our salvation or 'lose' it! I would make a lousy Calvinist, but your Super-Arminian stance is beyond me! :-) Peace to you in Christ Jesus, charis |
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227 | Are the "sons of God" pre-Fall children? | Gen 6:2 | charis | 30781 | ||
Dear Servant7, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Though I thoroughly understand your curiosity, some lines of 'free thought' can lead to some pretty weird conclusions. "Rosemary's Baby,' for instance. Many Christians assume it is possible for demons to have relations with humans and produce offspring because of these kind of worldly movies. However, the Bible states in Genesis 1 that all things are produced after their own kind. Science propounds the same thing. Beyond this is conjecture. One group that loves this verse are the followers of von Daniken. :-) He use the Bible to prove the existence of aliens! In Christ Jesus, charis |
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228 | Is Christian school tuition a tithe? | Mal 3:8 | charis | 30768 | ||
Dear timurray2000, Greetings in the name of Jesus, I see now where you are coming from. Just one problem...this would assume virtually unlimited responsibility to pay for a lot of other things, and also assume that the church has unlimited resources after recieving a ten percent tithe and freewill offerings. As a shepherd of God's flock, I would love to provide all my sheep with every need. Kid's education, rent-free housing, money for the unemployed, free movies, pool, and an amusement park to keep the kids out of trouble, etc. :-) Back to reality... The Bible speaks clearly that those who shepherd the flock are to be cared for, common sense dictates that a meeting place be found (bought if possible, cheaper in the long run) and maintained, and *basic* Christian education for the nurture and care of the entire flock. To go the next step and ask for a free education (to what grade, pray tell?) goes beyond anything I can imagine, and I can imagine a lot! :-) It just so happens that our church has a school for our kids. (17 children, K-12. Well, K-10 this year) We provide a full, but modest education for our precious ones. There is simply no way that we could provide classrooms, curriculum, science projects, school outings, etc. for free. We have no set tuition, parents who tithe are simply asked to pay what they can, and those that cannot, do not. Even this is nearly impossible, but parents soon see the parallel between their contributions and the allocated resources, and are faithful to give enough that we can continue. I don't know about your church, but here it is imposssible and unreasonable. Good luck on convincing your leadership! :-) Frankly, this radio person sounds like an *idiot.* (forgive my French!) In Christ Jesus, charis |
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229 | The Sons of God in Genesis 6:1-4 | Genesis | charis | 30720 | ||
Dear Jesusman, Greetings in Jesus' name! You don't scare me! :-) But... Though we have many peripheral encouragements in the facts of history, science, and common sense, our faith is not based on them. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." Heb 11:1-3 NASB. In Christ Jesus, charis |
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230 | The Forum -- Your Opinion? | Romans | charis | 30714 | ||
Dear Mike, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Friend, I do know what you are saying, but if you agree with my point that leopards don't easily change their spots, then you will know why I am not too worried about our accountability as teachers. Frankly, I don't think that many forum readers are going to *receive* bad teaching here. They will just ignore it! In fact, most ignore good teaching, too! :-( I do agree that those who teach have a greater responsibility, but I remain convinced that few will be much influenced by the ongoings at an internet forum. Surely there may be SOME influence, but little in comparison to the influence we receive in our 'real' lives. In addition, being an optimist, I will trust that the great majority of influence exerted here is good influence. Any bad influence will fall mostly in the category of disgust, not false teachings. :-) And many blessings to you in Christ Jesus, charis |
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231 | The Forum -- Your Opinion? | Romans | charis | 30630 | ||
Dear Hank, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Brother, I vote that we double your salary! No, triple! We can't afford to lose you! :-) Keep up the good work. I'll make sure and put in a good word for you to the 'Boss.' In Christ Jesus, charis |
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232 | "ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED"!!! | Matt 22:37 | charis | 30626 | ||
Dear ArtS, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Friend, we should not assume that God will take away our salvation when we sin. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, I don't think that we can say that he 'lost' his salvation. Certainly, he 'lost' his way (like a kid in a departmant store or my wife in a parking lot) and even 'lost' his portion of the inheritance, but he did not stop being a son. His father was still his father, and he was still the father's son. If we were to 'lose' our relationship with the Father when we sin (we ALL sin!), and since we cannot know the hour of our death, then our salvation would become a matter of luck or fate! Will you be 'in' or 'out' when YOU die? This is a scary doctrine! I do see that the Bible speaks of an 'unforgiveable sin.' I have no doubt that this sin is not a casual sin, a stumble or a weakness. This is purposeful, outright rebellion against the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit. Few are capable of this kind of sin after knowing the Lord Jesus. So, for most practical purposes, once you are saved, you will continue to be saved. Starting in God's grace, and finishing by God's grace. Peace and love in Christ Jesus, charis |
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233 | Are the "sons of God" pre-Fall children? | Gen 6:2 | charis | 30619 | ||
Dear Servant7, Greetings in Jesus' name! Angels (and demons) are spirit beings. Angels can take on human appearance when God allows, but they do not 'have' bodies. I would counter and ask where the Bible shows that angels can procreate with men?! What kind of children would they be? This would also suggest that demons could procreate with humans. I don't see anything in the Bible that would support this unnatural union. Friend, unity would be to say that we do not know as much about the early parts of the book of Genesis as we would like. Peace and joy in Christ Jesus, charis |
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234 | Christian Response To Eastern Thought? | Is 55:11 | charis | 30558 | ||
Dear Jensen, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Friend, please do not misunderstand me. I do not preach ignorance of cults. I am saying that merely becoming expert in them will not make you able to battle against them. Apologetics is the ability to accurately portray your faith in Christ Jesus, not the study of other religions. That is a peripheral study. Fear not for empty shelf space at the local Christian book store. :-) By the way, I do speak from some experience. I have been involved in Eastern cults myself, before Christ, and know first-hand (close up and personal) about ki, ki-ai, aikido and bushido. Knowing about these things may give me some insight into the heart of the deceived, but it is the Word of God that convicts someone to abandon these practices. Truly, it would be much easier if my knowledge of such things would help my ministry. I could just 'subdue' them unto Jesus! :-) Peace to you in Christ Jesus, charis |
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235 | Christian Response To Eastern Thought? | Is 55:11 | charis | 30408 | ||
Dear Jensen, Greetings in Jesus' name! Check out the following: http://www.religiousfreedom.com/nwslttr/icrfrpt040172.pdf You said you went to the official page, and you are right, it is just religious propaganda. You may want to also check out Trancendental Meditation, much of it is similar. Also very close is the religious aspect of Karate and other martial arts. Most focus on 'qui' (Chinese) or 'ki' or 'ki-ai' (Japanese) which is the 'power that is within you.' These religions say that when you become aware of 'that which is in you,' you have power. Finally, you seem to think that if you know more about it you may know how to help your friend. Frankly, I don't think that this is so. These fellows 'cover every base' with mysticism, so there is little room for hearing common sense. Pray for him, and speak the Word that is so much more than 'common sense!' In Christ Jesus, charis |
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236 | False prophets glorify God? | 1 Pet 2:12 | charis | 30395 | ||
Dear Steve, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Thank you for the clarification. I see what you are saying. I just don't know if I would go as far as you are! :-) If we start saying that all 'false teachers' are unsaved and of satan, we can narrow the way to heaven more than would be comfortable, possibly even for ourselves. Some have a very broad definition of false that makes the 'saved' a very elite group. :-) Blessings and love in Christ Jesus, charis |
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237 | Christian Response To Eastern Thought? | Is 55:11 | charis | 30286 | ||
Dear Jensen, Greetings in Jesus' name! I hope that what I share is of some use to you: I heard a bit about Fulan Gong from a missionary that recently returned from mainland China (Beijing). According to him, this 'religion' is as much an organization of 'political activism' as anything else. The religious aspects seems to be made up to give some kind of legitimacy to their agenda to change the system from the status quo (at least in China). What they will change it to seems to be somewhat vague. I guess the only thing you could infer is that the leaders of the cult will be 'up there' somewhere. :-) Details are wanting because there are none! It seems to be a purposely vague 'everything ought to be better' religion that uses all kinds of stimuli. Included would be bodily health, world peace, (empty) philosophy of a mystical nature, and more than anything, disatisfaction with the present coupled with (idealistic) claims of an answer for a better future. As usual, the plan or agenda has little in the way of concrete methodology to attain this goal. Friend, I know this continues to be a bit shallow, but that is because Fulan Gong is so shallow. It doesn't even seem that their ways are a 'secret of the enlightened' either, like some cults. It is simply lack of content. Maybe this is what is so enticing? I pray that this will give you something to bring up to your friend. See if he has knowledge of any true 'depth' to this rather empty cult. As others have already noted, prayer on your part, and using the Word of God effectively are the best ways to battle with cultic influence. In Christ Jesus, charis |
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238 | Please explain the Trinity. | John 1:1 | charis | 30150 | ||
Dear Tim and Ethan, F equals 9/5C plus 32. 40C equals 104F. C equals 5/9 (F minus 32). 30F equals -1C. At least mathematics is pretty precise. :-) In Christ Jesus, charis |
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239 | 'Seed' salvation? | John 14:6 | charis | 29987 | ||
Dear moedee, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Friend, I appreciate your response and accompanying commentary on the Parable of the Sower. Honestly, though, I cannot fathom the relevance to my post. I hear what you are saying about John 14:6, but I do beg to differ. What do YOU think about children that die before birth? The mentally infirm? The clear references to Israel in the Book of Revelation? The unsaved spouse of a believer? Do you pack them all off to Hell, quoting John 14:6? I KNOW that God is just, and that He knows that heart of man, while we do not. I trust Him completely. But He has not addressed these issues except to imply that grace may be applied. Therefore, I do not propose 'extra-Gospel' salvation lightly, but only give these things over to God's sovereignty. Peace to you in Christ Jesus, charis |
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240 | 'Seed' salvation? | John 14:6 | charis | 29966 | ||
Dear Robert, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Yokohama is a bit cold, too! But not like Canada! :-) Friend, I agree with all you wrote here. I do believe that Jesus is the door to heaven. However, I cannot *absolutely* state that no one else will make it to heaven, because the Bible DOES make room for 'loopholes' in His divine plan. No doubt these 'exceptions' are by His grace, and according to His sovereignty. The *everlasting covenant* to Abraham is one example. I, personally, do not feel I have sufficient Scriptural evidence to negate this holy covenant to the 'father of our faith.' So, I give that to God. Another is children, especially of unsaved parents. I do not believe that the Bible clearly explains their status with God. This is a very emotional topic! Nobody wants to say these 'innocents' belong in Hell. (I put 'innocents' in quotes because I have witnessed that at about 6 months old the 'innocence' seems to be gone, replaced by good old human will :-)) Yet, the Bible does not say that all are saved until a certain age, then they lose their salvation. Another is the sad case of those that do not have the mental capacity to manifest any kind of relationship with the Lord Jesus. True, we do not know what is going on in the mind of a mentally disabled person, but some really do seem incapable of a salvation realtionship based on repentance from sin. Yet another is in 1 Corinthians 7 regarding the sancification of an unbelieving spouse. This portion of Scripture seems to put a covering upon the children of believers as well. Does this mean that they are 'automatically' saved? I doubt it, but I don't know in an absolute sense. Some would even go a step further and tie it in with Acts 11:14 and say that one person's belief covers all family up to first cousins! No kidding! I think this is foolish, but some are so sure. :-) What I am saying here is that many spend an inordinate amount of time and effort to 'prove' either the 'narrowness' of salvation or the 'breadth' of it. I don't. I preach to Jews of salvation in Christ Jesus. I preach to the infirm the Gospel, and pray that the Lord would quicken their understanding. I preach to children the need for knowing Jesus, and starting their own walk with Him. And I preach to unsaved relatives that THEY need to know the Lord Jesus! Even if there are 'loopholes,' I am not off the hook to preach the Gospel of hope to the lost, AND to the saved. Thank you for your kind words! In Christ Jesus, charis |
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