Results 1 - 7 of 7
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Zealot Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Zealot, are you a sinner or saint? | Rom 8:10 | Zealot | 18295 | ||
For example, 1 Peter 1:20 says Christ was "foreknown before the foundation of the world." Surely this means more than that God the Father looked into the future to behold Christ! It means He had an eternal, loving relationship with Him. The same is true of the elect, whom we are told God "foreknew" (Romans 8:29). That means He knew them--he loved them--before the foundation of the world." You know, this sounds logical, but contains three elemental flaws: First, Christ existed prior to creation, whereas earthly humans did not. Discussions elsewhere in this forum pretty well conclude that conception is the moment when the soul/spirit is created in each person. Without the same pre-existance as Christ, the relationship cannot be the same. Second, the term "foreknowledge" does not for God relate in any way to the future. God exists outside time. The moment you realize that there is no past or future for the trancendant creator of our universe, you will begin to change your perspective on what words like "was', "is", and "will become" mean to God. "Foreknowledge" is the past for us, but simply "is" for Him. If the elect were with Him before the foundations of the world, as Christ was, then the elect have no beginning. Finally, Jesus said "I and the Father are one". The Bible refers often to Christ being "in" His followers (transliterated more nearly to "in the same place" rather than "inside"), but never equivilates Christ with His followers. The relationship between God and Christ is one of absolute unity. Jesus was God dwelling in our midst, made for a time lower than the angels. The relationship between God and His human children is very different. This relationship does have a beginning, though (hopefully) no ending, and will be everlasting and eternal once joined, but is very temporal in this life. God views the past, the present, and the future simultaneously. He knows who will hear, believe, and repent. He knows who will not. He knows who will turn away, and who's name's will be erased from the book of life. If the choice of the elect is not involved in the relationship, if His followers have no free will, then this is a pre-arranged, forced marriage. That is not at all how the Bible reads, with example after example of those who chose not to follow, or who broke off the engagement before the wedding feast. The choice must be mutual for it to have any value whatever. God chooses those who choose Him. |
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2 | Zealot, are you a sinner or saint? | Rom 8:10 | Zealot | 18294 | ||
For example, 1 Peter 1:20 says Christ was "foreknown before the foundation of the world." Surely this means more than that God the Father looked into the future to behold Christ! It means He had an eternal, loving relationship with Him. The same is true of the elect, whom we are told God "foreknew" (Romans 8:29). That means He knew them--he loved them--before the foundation of the world." You know, this sounds logical, but contains three elemental flaws: First, Christ existed prior to creation, whereas earthly humans did not. Discussions elsewhere in this forum pretty well conclude that conception is the moment when the soul/spirit is created in each person. Without the same pre-existanceas Christ, the relationship cannot be the same. Second, the term "foreknowledge" does not for God relate in any way to the future. God exists outside time. The moment you realize that there is no past or future for the trancendant creator of our universe, you will begin to change your perspective on what words like "was', "is", and "will become" mean to God. "Foreknowledge" is the past for us, but simply "is" for Him. If the elect were with Him before the foundations of the world, as Christ was, then the elect have no beginning. Finally, Jesus said "I and the Father are one". The Bible refers often to Christ being "in" His followers (transliterated more nearly to "in the same place" rather than "inside"), but never equivilates Christ with His followers. The relationship between God and Christ is one of absolute unity. Jesus was God dwelling in our midst, made for a time lower than the angels. The relationship between God and His human children is very different. This relationship does have a beginning, though (hopefully) no ending, and will be everlasting and eternal once joined, but is very temporal in this life. God views the past, the present, and the future simultaneously. He knows who will hear, believe, and repent. He knows who will not. He knows who will turn away, and who's name's will be erased from the book of life. |
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3 | Zealot, are you a sinner or saint? | Rom 8:10 | Zealot | 18241 | ||
Yes, God chooses those who choose Him: Revelation 20 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 13 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. Revelation 3 4 "But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 "He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. Which names are written "from the foundation of the world"? Which names will not be erased? Matthew 22 14 ""For many are called, but few are chosen.' Romans 8 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 10 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. John 3 16 ""For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Matthew 3 2 ""Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'' Acts 2 38 Peter said to them, ""Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Romans 10 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; Matthew 24 31 ""And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. Time is a construct of the universe created by God for the support of the lives of His children. Eternity is not a long time, it is the absence of time. So, before the foundations of the world, God knew who to call, who would hear, who would believe, who would repent, who would confess His name (choose Him), who would be baptised, who would be saved, and who would not have their names erased from the Book of Life. Hebrews 6 4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. To elect is to choose. The Lord will gather his "elect" (His "chosen") from those who hear, believe, confess, repent, and are baptised. The "choosing" is mutual, as is appropriate in a marriage. Jesus will not divorce His bride: Romans 11 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Nor can the betrothal be broken: John 10 27 ""My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. As in Heb 6 above, only the one who becomes unfaithful and walks away from the promise will ever be able to "divorce" Jesus, thereby resulting in the erasure of their name from the book of life. The choice occurs on both sides of the relationship. |
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4 | How do we know the Bible is the truth? | Bible general Archive 1 | Zealot | 18192 | ||
Knowing that the Bible is filled with prophecies that have been born out by history definitely points towards inspiration, but inspiration from WHO? Could not Satan, or one of his princes, also do a better job of predicting the future than, say, Jean Dixon or Nostradamus (or were these guys inspired by Satan's minions?)? Is it inconcievable that this accuracy of fore-knowing could be a ruse intended to convince the reader that it is from God when it is not? Consider: The Bible contains knowledge whose only possible source is beyond the boundaries of time. This trancendant knowledge convinces readers of its inspired source. There are only two concievable sources...God or Satan (since these two are defined by the work in question, consider them "light and dark". or "good and evil") A house divided against itself cannot stand. The Bible repeatedly and openly condemns Satan and his works. Would the author of any work condemn himself? Would the author of lies inspire a perfectly accurate prophetic work, only to indict and convict himself? Of course not. If the source is NOT the one condemned (the "dark" one), then the only remaining possibility is the the "light" one. This is the same One claiming authorship. If the author is the "light" one, we can be expected to conclude that the work is not only an accurate predictor of un-knowable future events, but is also sincere in its other assertions. The Bible declares its source as the holy, inspired word and will of the one true and living God. Viewed from this perspective, the Bible asserting it's own Divine origin becomes logical, as Josh McDowell asserts. |
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5 | How do we know the Bible is the truth? | Bible general Archive 1 | Zealot | 18113 | ||
Pick up a copy fo "The Pattern and the Prophecy". It provides testament that not only is the Bible the true word and will of God, but even our numbering systems, mathematics, and languages were tailored by a trancendant and eternal God. I do not believe any sincere seeker of truth could read this work and not come away astounded by the precision and harmony of the Bible's contents. This cannot be said of any other written work, regardless of source. The Koran, the Book of Mormon, and many others were undoubtedly inspired, but by what source? These works lack the precision of the Bible. Find this book, read it, and share it with any skeptic you may encounter. | ||||||
6 | Zealot, are you a sinner or saint? | Rom 8:10 | Zealot | 18099 | ||
Christians are made saints by being chosen. God chooses those who choose him. Yet, all are sinners. Paul was arguably the most saintly man other than Jesus who ever lived, yet even he said in the epistle to the Romans: 14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. This is both plain and stated in the present tense, not the past. Paul did not write "I used to serve the law of sin". Matthew 19 17 And He said to him, ""Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.'' "ALL sin", not "All were sinners". Yes, I , like Paul, am a sinner, probably far worse. I, like Paul, thank God for His forgiveness and sacrifice on my behalf. He died for me, and rose again, the firstborn among many, as testament to me that I will be among the many. Jesus was the only pure and perfect man to ever live. Those who became saints because of their faith accepted His free gift of grace and have been sealed, purchased by His blood. But, they are all still sinners. |
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7 | Kindly explain this verse to me. | Rom 8:10 | Zealot | 18091 | ||
Everyone is a sinner (not "was", is!) because our flesh is weak. Our mind, contained in our brain, is made of weak flesh. Try though we might to avoid sinning, we always will. Matthew 5 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery If merely thinking about a sin makes one guilty of it, then true guilt must rest in the mind and the will of the sinner, which is part of the fleshly body. If the spirit of Christ is in a believer, it will influence the will of the person it is in, and promote changes in the way the person's mind works. However, having not been familiar with this spirit from conception, the biological, cultural, intellectual, and spiritual influences and experiences of the person will still have sway. No saved Christian is without sin. But the price of that sin, which is death, Romans 6 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. has already been paid by Jesus Christ when he died on the cross. Galatians 3 13 Christ redeemed [think of "redeeming" a coupon, an incredibly valuable one] us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, "" CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE''-- Having Jesus pay the price of sin for the believer, the Christian is made righteous. So the flesh of the Christian becomes incapable of causing further condemnation, Romans 8 1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus [it may be helpful for the reader to look up the greek word translated "in", which is equivalent to the english "occupying the same space", which also explains how Christ could be "in" His Father while His Father was "in" Him...the english "in" usually being understood as "inside", requiring the "inside" subject to be smaller than the "outside" object, making the obverse impossible]. and once incapacitated from it's role as condemer, the flesh, in a spiritual sense, is effectively "dead". The goal of the Christian is to willfully become Christ-like in mind and body, and should indeed do this as an example for others. But if Christ is "in" you, you can no longer be condemned to the lake of fire: 1 Timothy 2 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, Jesus is the defense council for His followers! So, the one that condemns you, yourself, dies, and the One who defends you, is alive "in" you. This is the very definition of "salvation". "Righteousness" is simply being innocent, a state of being right. With Jesus Christ having paid the ultimate price to redeem (purchase) you from condemnation, and being both your defense council and your witness, you are freed for eternity from the wages of sin! |
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