Results 1 - 20 of 69
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: ChristLifer2001 Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Can the blood of bulls take away sin? | Heb 10:4 | ChristLifer2001 | 53299 | ||
Great answer, Robert. The scripture that solidifies this Heb 9:15 - "For this reason He (Christ) is the mediator of a new covenant (in His blood), so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant (the Law), those who have been called may recieve the promise of the eternal inheritance." As you have stated, while the OT sacrifices covered sins, only Christ could take them away. God forgave the OT saints, not because of the blood of bulls and goats, but because of their faith in Him and the promise that one day God's Spotless Lamb would come. His blood takes away all sins of all men for all time. Keep growing in His grace, ChristLifer2001 |
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2 | What is imputed righteousness? | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52950 | ||
Steve, Under the Old Covenant, righteousness was only credited. Generally speaking, people received forgiveness through the OT sacrificial system. But they were declared or credited righteousness by their faith in whatever God's Word to them was - Heb 11. But righteousness could only be credited, it could not be given as a gift becauses sins were not permanently dealt with until Christ's blood was shed on the cross. Under the New Covenant, we are made righteous through our union with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. The key verse for this in found in Roman 5:17,19 - "For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of rigtheousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous." Fundamental to understanding this verse is the question "when"? So let's ask that question. When where all men made sinners? When Adam fell. Therefore, when we are born into this world, we are already sinners through our identification with Adam before we ever commit a sin. It is birth, not performance, that establishes identity. Now, when are the many made righteous? When they die? No. The death of your body does not affect your spiritual state. Spiritual identity is determined by birth, not death. We don't become spiritual dead when we physically die. Whatever our spiritual state is when these bodies die is what we will remain. We are sinners because we are born in Adam. So when to we become righteous? When we are born into Christ. When we are united with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection, we become the righteousness of God in Him. It is then that we receive the gift of righteousness. Just like the abundance of grace, we receive the gift of righteousness here and now, in this life. It is not the death of our body that makes us righteous, it is the birth of our new spirit joined to the Spirit of Jesus Christ that makes us righteous in God's sight. This does not mean that we are sinless. We still live in a fallen body and a fallen world. We still occasionally give in to sin. But we are as righteous in God's eyes as His precious Son because we have been joined to Him forever - 1 Cor 6:17. He will never leave us or forsake us. When God sees me, He sees me clothed in Christ - Gal 3:27. He sees in me the righteousness of His Son, not because of my works, but because of my identity with Christ. I am no longer a sinner in Adam. I am a saint in Christ. I hope this helps. Righteous in Christ, ChristLifer2001 |
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3 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52942 | ||
Joe, Concerning Rom 8:30 - and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also GLORIFIED - past tense." You wrote: "Traditionally, the church has understood that the past tense of "glorify" is more or less a past tense demonstrating the certainty of a future event." If the "church" takes this interpretation, then it must use the same hermeneutic to translate the past tense of our predestination, calling and justification. I.e. if the past tense reference to our glorification refers to the future then, by the same standard, the past tense reference to our justification and calling would refer to our future justification and calling also. This violates everything that scripture teaches about our predestination, calling and justification. Scripture supports that these are done - accomplished. But it accurately demonstrates the folly and human predilection of twisting the meaning of God's Word to attempt to make it fit one's private theology. "Traditionally, the church has understood that the past tense of "glorify" is more or less a past tense demonstrating the certainty of a future event." One does not even need to be a biblical scholar to see the oxymoronic interpretation that is being pushed here as truth. "And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition." ChristLifer2001 |
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4 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52931 | ||
Joe, I've tried to offer my thoughts concerning the "apparent" discrepancies between past, present, and future sanctification by demonstrating that there is biblical justification for examining man's components - spirit, soul, and body. The same analogy would apply to the righteousness that we have as Christians. Our new spirit is righteous, our soul is being made righteous, and we will one day have a righteous body to indwell. However, you will not hear or consider any of this, despite the cited scriptures. You obviously feel that it is the teachings of "the greatest teachers of evangelical Christianity over the past 500 years" that is the standard and revealer of all truth although the Holy Spirit makes it explicit that that is what He does in us. The majority vote does not determine truth. Neither does the minority vote. Truth is determined by what God says. Period. Concerning Romans 8:30, you wrote: "Traditionally, the church has understood that the past tense of "glorify" is more or less a past tense demonstrating the certainty of a future event." This demonstrates the type of interpretation twisting that "tradition" does to nullify the Word of God. God's Word says in Romans 8:10 that we HAVE BEEN justified, that we HAVE BEEN glorified. Even when it is there before your eyes in black and white that this is glorification is past tense, you deny it. You cry "foul" and must resort to the teachings of the church or to commentaries because you obviously feel that God's Word cannot be understood apart from the illuminating work of the church. The difference between my approach and yours is that I am just naive enough to take God at His Word and say, "Lord, You say that I have been glorified, would You teach me what this means." Tradition says, "Impossible! Despite the text, this cannot be true. My experience is the standard of truth and I have not yet experienced this. Therefore, God cannot possibly mean what He says and I must seek the hidden meaning." And for some reason you feel that you must resort to undue sarcasm of me and my simple faith in taking God at His Word. That is your choice. But I will not engage you further in exchange. There are many people who come to this forum seeking the truth of God's Word not the "teachings of the church". Probably an overwhelming majority are here because the church offers no real answers and it is the church that causes the confusion in the first place. All it can offer is denominationalism and self-righteous attitudes that condemn anyone who does not agree with their traditions and teachings. It is quite obvious that you have set up yourself and your "traditions" as the standard of truth here on this forum and woe be to anyone who does not agree with you. They are categorized, labeled, and demeaned in front of the whole forum. All in the name of Christ. How sad. ChristLifer2001 |
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5 | What is the new self? | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52912 | ||
Joe, The only thing that you said about Eph 4:24 is this: 2. The new self is to be put on, which assumes that it hasn't been already. I am left to conclude then that you think that the new self gets put on when we die. The greek supports that this is a one-time act, not a process of sanctification. Seems funny that Paul would tell us to do this one time act but we have no choice over when we do it. Why would Paul tell us to do something that we cannot do? If it is a one-time act that we put on the new self sometime during our physical life, when do we do this? When we become righteous and holy enough? You still have not addressed my questions concerning this verse. Do you agree that the new self is created (not being created) in God's likeness and that it is righteous and holy? Your bro, ChristLifer2001 |
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6 | What is the new self? | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52910 | ||
Joe, !Hm...seems that righteousness is in view here. He is talking about attaining physical resurrection - the entire being being righteous - spirit, soul, and body. !It is quite clear that the pressing on in this life is to become more perfect (as we see the goal is throughout the Scriptures for this life). Then you are striving to become more perfect than Heb 10:14 says you are. More power to ya, bro. You are going to need it. According to 1 Thess 5:23, God sanctifies us 1) in spirit 2) in soul and 3) in body. Our spirit is ALREADY sanctified. Our soul is being sanctified and our body will one day be (not this one but) a sanctified one. When Paul talks about the "new self" that is created (not an act of process, bro, an act of God) in God's likeness - in righteousness and holiness - in Eph 4:24, what part of you is that? Can you answer this question? Will you? Paul says to put on (the greek stipulates a one-time act) the new self. What part of you is this, Joe? Paul says that 1) it is created 2) it is created in God's likeness (so it looks like Him but it is NOT Him) 3) it is righteous 4) it is holy and 5) this is truth. Can you define what this "new self", this "new man" is? I would like to hear your explanation. Your bro in Christ, ChristLifer2001 |
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7 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52908 | ||
Joe, !It is talking about our glorification, a separate work of God from our justification. We are already spiritually glorified. Rom 8:30 - and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also GLORIFIED - past tense. !While the righteousness given to us is not based on OUR works, it is inseparable connected to the works of Christ. Amen! !There is no such thing as INTRINSIC righteousness - our own righteousness - apart from obedience to God. Our righteousness comes as a gift from God to us. As long as it is not yours, it does you no good whatsoever. But, as a gift to you, not because of obedience, but because of faith, it is yours. If you think that you are righteous in God's sight depending on your obedience to the Law or "Christian" principles, then you still don't understand righteousness or even Luther's revelation. He recognized that we receive God's righteous SOLELY by faith, apart from our works, before or after salvation. !Why do you fail to address the tense issue I raised in the verse? Joe, I did address the tense, all who have been spiritually born again in Christ since Paul wrote these verses have been made righteous. Should the Lord tarry, all who place their faith and trust in Christ alone will be made righteous the moment they do so. !You are right; it is indeed that simple. And I have HIS righteousness as a gift while at the same time I have not been MADE righteous myself. Then you don't understand the gift. You are saying that you have received the gift of righteousness but that it had done you no good whatsoever because you are not righteous. If I gift you a gift of 100 dollars, then you have 100 dollars. You did not earn it. It originally belonged to me. But I gave it to you as a gift. It is now your money and you would be foolish to not accept it and appropriate it. This is what you are saying about Christ's righteousness that has been given to you. You claim to have already accepted it, but you claim that it is not yours or that you won't open it until you die. What a pity. !What I am denying is that Christ's righteousness makes US righteous. That's too bad, Joe. You obviously don't understand either justification or sanctification because you don't understand your union with Christ. !a foreign righteousness from God. Yes, it is a foreign righteousness. But it is given to us. It then becomes ours in Christ. You still don't understand righteousness, my friend. It is not the absence of sin, it is a positive charateristic of God. Christ did not become righteous because He didn't sin. He was - and is - God. God is righteous. If we are every going to be, we must accept it as a gift from Him to us. !What Paul is talking about here is our OBEDIENCE, our sanctification. Then, brother, you will never be sanctified because you have made works a part of the process. This, despite that fact that 1 Cor 1:2 says that the Corinthians HAVE BEEN sanctified - in spite of their sinful actions - and 1 Cor 6:11 says that we WERE sanctified and Heb 10:10,29 both say that our sanctification is past tense because of Christ's blood. Praying you'll rest in Christ's completed work on your behalf. Your bro, ChristLifer2001 |
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8 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52887 | ||
Joe, Just two comments and then I will let this issue go. Concerning Romans 5:19: I think you are misreading this verse, brother. When you are born "in Adam", you don't become more and more a sinner. You are born a sinner and that is what you will remain (in spite of all your righteous deeds) unless you are born again. Likewise, when you are born again, you are "in Christ" and you receive the gift of righteousness. You don't become more and more righteous, bro. Jesus said to be as perfect (not DO as perfect, but BE) as your Father in Heaven. The only way we are going to get there is if He gives us that perfection. Romans 5:19 is not progressive sanctification, bro. It is simply stating what happens to mankind when they are born again. Allow me to paraphrase so you can understand: Because of Adam's sin, everyone born in him is born a sinner. But because of Christ's obedience and righteousness, everyone who is taken out of Adam and placed into Christ is made righteous. This has been happening for 2000 years now. This verse is NOT talking about performance, bro. It is talking about identification. Are you "in Adam" and therefore a sinner, or are you "in Christ" and therefore have His rigtheousness as a gift (vs. 17). It's that simple. Phil 2:13 - Sure it is God at work in us living out what He has already done. Phil 3:12 - You SERIOUSLY need to look at the context of this verse, bro. Paul is NOT talking about righteousness here, he is talking about physical resurrection - see vs 11,12. According to 1 Thess 5:23, God sanctifies us 1) in spirit 2) in soul and 3) in body. Our spirit is ALREADY sanctified. Our soul is being sanctified and our body will one day be (not this one but) a sanctified one. The bottom line is that if you think you are going to make yourself more holy or sanctified in who ARE (not what you do), then you believe that you are greater than God or at least equal to Him. This lie goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. Heb 10:14 still stands, bro. Christ's work is what has perfected us for all time because we are now identified with Him. I am not here to argue the point. I am just here to point to the truth for all who will accept it. I can't convince anyone, that is His job. :) May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. Your bro in Christ, ChristLifer2001 |
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9 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52842 | ||
To Joe - Part 2 The fact is, as Luther adequately pointed out, is that we AREN'T righteous in practice. I agree. We are not always righteous in practice. But it is not practice (label this works) that makes us righteous in the first place. It is received as a gift - here and now. Justification doesn't make us righteous in ourselves any more than the atonement made Jesus a sinner. Then, by this same logic, Adam's sin did not make you a sinner either did it? Romans 5:19 refutes this. Adam's sin caused all to be made sinners. As soon as you are born "in Adam", you are a sinner. You exhibit the nature of whoever you are born to. We, as believers, are no longer in Adam, we have been born again of and to God. So we take on the nature of Christ - see 2 Pet 1:4. Jesus earned our righteousness for us, but making us more righteous is a process called sanctification, and that starts at our conversion and continues until we join the Lord. Are you listening to yourself here? You say that Jesus earned our righteousness but then we also have to earn is for ourselves here on earth. If it comes from you, Joe, that it is as filthy rags in His sight. It must come from God. This is the truth that fan the flames of the reformation - that righteousness comes FROM God TO man, not vice versa. It is His righteousness that we now possess in our new spirit, not our own. We are indeed re-created, but you fail to show from Scripture how our new natures are as righteous and as holy as Christ. Yes I did - Eph 4:24. What part of you has been recreated, Joe? What part of you has been born-again? Nowhere does Scripture tell us that our new natures are perfect ones. Not true, Joe. 2 Pet 1:4, Eph 4:24. Jesus Christ is our righteousness and the continuous source of the fruit of righteousness, Amen! And our new self is created in His likeness and indwelt by Him! "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother." --1 John 3:10 Amen! Jesus in us works through us to perform the righteous acts for which were we recreated! - Eph 2:10. Your new spirit DOES NOT make you want to sin so that you can blame it on the flesh. That is the view of a babe in Christ who does not know the Christ is in him. Christ is us changes our WANT TO. I no longer WANT TO do what I used to do. That doesn't mean that I am sinless in action or thought. But I am no longer a sinner. I am a saint because God has made me so. Romans 5:17 - For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. This verse says it all. We have received the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. Christ reigns in life through us! Thanks for your interaction. Keep growing in grace, ChristLifer2001 |
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10 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52841 | ||
Joe, Romans 6:23 says that eternal life is a gift of God. It does not say that we are made righteous. Actually it does, my friend. When did you become a sinner? When you sinned? Not according to scripture. You were born into this world a sinner because you were born "in Adam." So when do you become righteous? As soon as you are born again "in Christ." Paul writes in Eph 4:24 that this new self, the new man is in the likeness of God, has been (past tense) created, and is righteous and holy. Notice the verb tenses in Romans 5:19. Many were made sinners (past) because of Adam's transgression. Many WILL BE made righteous (future) because of Christ's obedience. This supports my point, Joe. You did not become a sinner when you sinned. You were born that way. You do not because righteous when you do more and more righteous things. Then it would not be a gift. It would be earned. Your spirit is created in righteousness and holiness. Our becoming righteous in nature is still a future event. Not so, my friend. The death of your physical body has nothing to do with your spiritual state. When did Adam become a sinner? When his body died? No, his body died because he was a sinner. I think that you would agree that if you died at this moment, you would be present with the Lord, wouldn't you. Without His righteousness in you, Joe, you won't see Him. He does not give you the gift of righteousness when you die. He gives it to you when you are born again. Think about what you are saying for a moment. Synonyms for righteous include "holy" and "perfect." You can't be saying that those who have trusted Christ have now been made perfect in character? You're right, I am not saying that we always think or act righteously. But Heb 10:14 says that Christ's offering on the cross has perfected (past tense) for all time (not just when we die) those who are sanctified. It is not your physical death, brother, that makes you holy and righteous. That would be the teachings of the gnostics - that you can't be righteous UNTIL you have escaped the physical body. You are the one infering that we are not righteous until we die. I ask you again, what does the condition of your physical body, your tent, have to do with your spiritual state. None of the verses that speak of our righteousness mention that it is contigent upon our death or our deeds. What you are putting forward is the Roman Catholic view of "infused" righteousness, in which God MAKES us righteous No. What I am putting forward is exactly what Eph 4:24 says - the new self (your spirit, your identity) HAS BEEN created (something new) in God's likeness - righteous and holy. Paul calls this a new creation - 2 Cor 5:17. God classifies mankind according to this new creation - Gal 6:15. Jesus said that the Spirit gives birth to a new spirit in us - John 3:6. Joe, if you wait until you die to be born again of the Spirit of God, you've waited to long. If you wait until you die to become righteous, you won't make it. You don't go to heaven to get righteous, bro, you go to heaven because you ALREADY are righteous. 1 Cor 6:17 says that the Lord joins His Holy Spirit to our spirit. There is no way that God is going to join Himself to an unrighteous, unholy thing. End of Part 1 - see Part 2 |
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11 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52821 | ||
Hi Steve, I'll do my best to answer your question from the scriptures without examining Reformed beliefs (which I know nothing about). God calls the righteousness that we have in Christ a gift - Rom 6:23. A gift is something that is given freely by one party to another party. It can be "given" and it can be "received." God does not simply see us as righteous. He does not pretend that we are righteous. He does not see what is not there. He sees us as righteous because we ARE righteous. But this righteousness doesn't not come from ourselves or our actions, it comes from God. We are MADE righteous at salvation - Rom 5:17,19. Specifically, how does God do this? He accomplishes this by giving us a brand new human spirit that is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Now, before you label me a heretic or a mystic, let's examine the scriptures. In Eze 36:26, God promises those under the New Covenant a new spirit, does He not? Why? Because man's "in Adam" spirit is dead in trespasses and sin. Dead to God but alive to sin. We, as New Testament believers, partake in the New Covenant. Paul calls this new spirit the "new self" or the "new man" and at spiritual birth, God creates this in us in RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS - Eph 4:24. Because of this, Paul calls us a "new creation" - 2 Cor 5:17. We have been given something new, a new human spirit that is as righteous and holy as Christ. In fact, it is indwelt by Christ - 1 Cor 6:17; 1 Cor 3:16; 1 cor 6:19. This new spirit that has been born of God - John 3:3,6 - is a treasure inside us that the Holy Spirit Himself guards by uniting Himself with us - 2 Tim 1:14. Therefore nothing can separate us from God. So, when we are spiritual born again, God creates a new spirit within us and also puts the Holy Spirit within us to seal us - Eze 36:27; 2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; Eph 4:30. Because this new part of us is created in righteousness and holiness, God can freely join Himself to it. This part of us, the spirit (not the soul, not the body) is "born of God" - John 3:6 - and therefore cannot sin - 1 John 3:9. I can sin out of my flesh, but my new spirit cannot. It is not the source of sin. It is my source of righteousness and holiness and it has been given to me as a free gift. Therefore, when God looks at me as His new creation, He sees what is REALLY there, a new spirit indwelt by His Holy Spirit. It is mine, I have received it, but it comes from Him as a free gift because I have placed my faith and trust in Christ. So though my body is still under sin's curse, my new spirit is alive to God - Rom 8:10. I have been (so have you) joined to God forever. He will never leave us or forsake because our sins have been forgiven. And nothing shall separate us from Him. I hope this helps, bro. I may not be exactly the answer that you were looking for but I believe that there is plenty of scriptural support. "But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him." - 1 Cor 6:17. Not in dissolution but in union. Your brother in Christ, ChristLifer |
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12 | Self control and Spirit controlled? | 1 Cor 9:25 | ChristLifer2001 | 49953 | ||
Living in Christ, The apostle Paul makes it clear that our old self was crucified with Christ (Rom 6:6 and Gal 2:20) and that we have "put on" a new self which has been created in righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:24). This new self is a new spirit that God creates in us when we are born again of His Spirit (John 3:6) and is united forever with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:17). What does this mean in practical terms? This means that we are now a new "self" that has been joined (or indwelt) by God. Man was never meant to be autominous and function apart from Him. He is our source and He is united with us so that He can manifest His life through us. Our old self functioned as "flesh". Our new self needs to be controlled by the Spirit. The self is always controlled by something. As Bob Dylan says, "Ya gotta serve somebody." We are designed to be under the control of the Spirit of God just as Jesus abided in His Father while on earth. His "self" always looked to the Father as His source. We, as new creations in Christ, look to Him and should abide in Him. Hope this helps. ChristLifer2001 |
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13 | which nation actually resembles God? | Gal 6:15 | ChristLifer2001 | 49732 | ||
Aurrance, Skin color is not an issue with God, my friend. God's essence is Spirit - John 4:24. Man looks (and often judges) by the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. When God created Adam, He did not create him to reflect God's skin-tone. "In God's image" means that Adam (and the rest of us) are eternal spirit beings, as God is a Spirit Being. Adam didn't even know he was naked until AFTER he sinned. This was when Adam and Eve became self-concious instead of God-concious. There are only two "races" now, my friend. You have either placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and are "in Christ" or you are ignorant of or reject Him and are still "in Adam." Read the books of Romans. Being "in Adam" and his image is not a good thing. Being "in Christ" and in His image by being spiritually born-again is what matters. Flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God, Aurrance, only those who are born from above - see John 3:3-6. Skin tone is irrelevant according to God. What really matters is being a new creation "in Christ" - Gal 6:15. Have you placed your faith and trust in Christ alone, my friend? Hope this helps. ChristLifer2001 |
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14 | How were ppl saved before Jesus came? | Heb 11:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 49230 | ||
Joe, You're right, forgiveness is part of salvation (a necessary part). But as you said, not the sum total. Christ's cross provided the forgiveness of sins and His tomb provided the resurrection necessary for new life in Him. We need both for salvation. Thanks for the comment. ChristLifer2001 |
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15 | How were ppl saved before Jesus came? | Heb 11:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 49226 | ||
Chris, You're right, bro. Animal sacrifices could never take away sins and they could never impute righteousness. Christ's once-for-all sacrifice took away all sins, even those committed under the first covenant - Heb 9:15. Where folks get confused is in thinking that salvation is the forgiveness of sins. Salvation has always been by faith, in the OT and in the NT. It is not Christ's death that saves us, it is His life in us that does so - Rom 5:10. Christ's death provided the forgiveness for ALL sins that we need before we can be made righteous by His life in us. This is why the resurrection is so important to Christians. Salvation is not being forgiven, salvation is being "born again" of the Spirit of God - John 3:3-6. Salvation is the impartation of eternal life, not forgiveness of sins. A forgiven dead man is still just as dead. What we who were born dead and trespasses and sins need is life! His life! ChristLifer2001 |
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16 | God knows everything Why except the date | Phil 2:5 | ChristLifer2001 | 49221 | ||
Ivory313, The short answer is that while Jesus was on earth, He did not exercise His divine rights as God. Instead, He operated as a human man who was completely dependant, not upon Himself, but upon His Father. He said things like, "I do nothing unless the Father tells Me to do it. I say nothing unless the Father tells Me to say it. I do nothing of My own initiative but only what the Father tells Me." Yes, Christ was (and is) fully God. But during His incarnation, He "emptied Himself" of acting out of His divinity. Although He was fully God, He chose to function as a man who completely abided in the Father. And He now calls us to do the same. He said, "As I have abided in My Father, so you are to abide in Me." Of course there were times when Jesus would know, humanly speaking, unrevealed things. But these were revelations from His Father to His spirit. Now that our Savior is glorified and all power in heaven and earth has been given unto Him, He does know when He will return. He is full of grace and truth. But He chose to limit Himself while here on earth 2000 years ago to demostrate to us what a man who completely abided in His heavenly Father looked and acted like. And of course He became our once-for-all sin offering. He is now all-in-all. I hope this helps. ChristLifer2001 |
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17 | Possible definition for 'Flesh'? | Rom 7:14 | ChristLifer2001 | 47865 | ||
Evan, I'm not here to shoot anything down, brother. Just to point to the Word, written and Living. :) Yes, Jesus did come in the flesh. But there is more that one definition of "flesh" in the scriptures just as there is more than one definition of spirit. Spirit is used of the essence of God - God is Spirit i.e. He is not primaryly of the physical universe (in fact, He made it out of nothing). The word "spirit" is also used of man's immaterial part. It can also mean an attitude or an emotion. Even evil demons are known as spirits. So how do we know which spirit is which? We must look at the context to see what is being spoken of. Flesh likewise has different definitions. Sometimes "flesh" means the physical body. When the Bible states that Christ came in the flesh, this is what it means. But in many of Paul's writings, "flesh" has a different connotation. Most of the time "flesh" means a condition where man operates out of his own resources, doing things his way. Proof? Consider Gal 3:3, Paul asked them if they thought that they could be perfected by the flesh (self-effort to keep the Law). Phil 3:4-6 - Paul talks about whether or not he could put confidence in his flesh. Look at what he lists there as "flesh": circumcision, a Jew, a Benjamite, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, zealous for the Law, blameless in the Law. These traits all spring from Paul's indentity apart from Christ - his natural "self". But he said he put no confidence in all these qualifications - vs 3. Paul says in Rom 8:9 that the believer is no longer "in the flesh." Is he speaking of an out-of-body experience here? I would think not. Rather, he is saying that the believer now draws his identity from being in Christ, not from self-effort. Paul says in 2 Cor 5:16 that we no longer estimate people according to the "flesh" - self-accomplishments. Why? Because according to vs 17, the believer is a new creation. As far as flesh and Spirit refering to ages, I haven't seen that for myself in the scriptures. So I'm not sure what you mean by that statement. But I do feel that in Rom 7, Paul is making reference to flesh as self-effort. He says that no good thing dwells in his flesh - vs. 18. The human body is not inherently sinful but the power of indwelling sin causes the "flesh" to use the body as an instrument of sin. So self-sufficiency "flesh" can be either good looking (like Paul's qualifications) or it can be bad like the works of the "flesh" as in Gal 5:19. Either way, good flesh or bad flesh, it is getting our self-needs met apart from God's provision. Therefore both are unacceptable to God. Our standing with Him is never based upon self-effort to make ourselves holy or self-effort to avoid sin. It is based upon the finished work of Christ. He is our identity. And it is only as we walk in the Spirit in that identity that we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh - be they "good" or "bad." Hope this helps, brother. ChristLifer2001 |
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18 | i am confused about Romans.7:15-20 | Rom 7:14 | ChristLifer2001 | 47845 | ||
Shirleytys, Great question, sis. Paul is describing his struggle to live under the Law as a system of gaining God's acceptance. Trying to live under Law is always going to result in self-defeat and self-condemnation because we can't do it. Paul makes reference here in this passage that though he wants to do the right things, there is a power within him called "indwelling sin" that will use the Law (which is holy, righteous, and good - verse 12) to commit sin. Paul says that this "power of indwelling sin" is within him, but it is not him i.e. it is not his identity. Notice some of the statements he makes: "I am doing the very thing I hate." "I do the very thing I do not wish to do." "For the good that I wish, I do not do." "I joyfully concur with the Law of God." And yet, there was something in Paul, that was not Paul, causing him to sin. "No longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me." - vs 17 "But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me." - vs 20. This "power of indwelling sin" dwells in what Paul calls the flesh - not that the body is inherently evil, but the the power of indwelling sin will use the Law to cause the flesh to sin. Everyone still has what the Bible calls "the flesh" - the tendency to get our needs met apart from God, the desire to edify self. This is the part of us that we war against - the Spirit against the flesh. Though this power of indwelling sin is in us, it is not us. We are new Christians in Christ - 2 Cor 5:17 - with a new spirit and heart. It is only as we walk in the Spirit - appropriating our union with God's Spirit, then we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Hope this helps. ChristLifer2001 |
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19 | is masterbation a sin explain thxs | Bible general Archive 1 | ChristLifer2001 | 47809 | ||
Emmaus, Thanks for your interaction. I agree, if you are engaged in fantasy and self-gratification, you are sinning. I never intended to say otherwise. The problem is that so many questions on this forum come down to, "Tell me what sin is so I can avoid it." So we sit around and pontificate on what constitutes a sin and what does not. We can spend all our lives around this Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. "This is good...this is evil...this is good...this is evil." While this is certainly beneficial in convicting the sinners, God intends for believers to be centered around the Tree of Life - His Son. That is where true life is found. The average discussion in these areas on this forum goes like this: "Is this sin?" One person replies, "Yes, it is, God is not pleased so stop it." Another replies, "No, it is not. Go and be blessed." So folks walk away having two (or more) different answers and their real question (which goes unspoken and unaddressed) is, "Where do I stand with God?" That is what they are really asking. They think if they don't sin, then they have a right standing with God. They believe if they do sin, then God is ready to beat them with a club. And those of us who claim to know Christ should be able to show them what gives them a right-standing with God - faith in His Son alone. If people, Christians or not, would come to Christ for a real relationship and life, they wouldn't have to be continually struggling with what is sin and what is not. The Holy Spirit is faithful to point out when we are walking in the flesh. And He is faithful to point us back to who we really are, saints, so that we can find life in Christ. Keep fixing your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. ChristLifer2001 |
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20 | is masterbation a sin explain thxs | Bible general Archive 1 | ChristLifer2001 | 47807 | ||
Thank you, Inmyheart, for your honesty and understanding. I, too, don't want to debate this particular issue. The problem with debating issues of what is sin and what is not sin is that we can get so nit-picky about it that we still live under condemnation. There is no more condemnation from God or from ourselves if we are in Christ - Rom 8:1. Is it because we have stopped sinning? Hardly. We still do sin. It is because Christ has taken the full punishment for ALL our sins and the law of the spirit of Life in Christ sets us free from that old law of sin and death - Rom 8:2. There are SO many things in this life that qualify as sin. And, you're right, they have consequences. But all these things that are sin should drive us to Christ to be set free, not to try to struggle on our own apart from Him. Most Christians think that if they don't fulfill the lusts of the flesh, then they are walking in the Spirit. They have there understanding backwards. If we endeavor to walk out of our spiritual union with Christ THEN we won't fulfill the lust of the flesh. Why? Because we have no inherent power on our own to defeat the enemy or to be set free from sinful patterns. Christ alone is our strength. He has defeated the enemy and He sets us free as He renews our minds to the truth of God's Word. The Holy Spirit never points out sin in our lives so that we will try harder not to sin. He points out sin so that we will know that we must be completely dependant upon Christ and His Spirit to fight the battle. Sin show us where we are not finding Him sufficient for all we need. If I am eating from His banquet table, I have no need and no desire for the garbage on the street. He has provided everything we need for life and godliness. If I am consumed with Him as my life, I will not need to spend all of my time categorizing what is garbage and what is not. I have found, as I trust you have, the Living Bread and the Living Water. Let us learn to walk in the Spirit. That is the secret to overcoming the flesh. Thanks for your interaction, Inmyheart. I pray that you will continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our blessed Savior. ChristLifer2001 |
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