Results 1 - 8 of 8
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Free in Christ | John 8:31 | sonofmom | 240328 | ||
What does it mean to be "Free In Christ"? I am aware of being free from the law of sin and death, but I had a interview with a pastor today who talked of the centrality of God's word and then he claimed to be free in Christ which seemed to allow him some latitude but am not sure what. |
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2 | Free in Christ | John 8:31 | DocTrinsograce | 240329 | ||
Hi, sonofmom... So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-32 NASB) The phrase "free in Christ" alludes to salvation. People imagine that they are free, just as the Jews did here in John 8. Instead, they are slaves to sin (v34) doing the deeds of their father the devil (vv41,44). They have an illusion of liberty. Our Savior is the only One who can grant freedom (v36). The saved person is adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:5). The evidence of that adoption is that the believer continues in the Word (John 8:31) and bears much fruit associated with the Word (John 15:1-7). This is not the freedom to do whatever one wants but rather that freedom to do whatever one ought. Herein is God glorified (15:8) and the child of God receives great blessing (Romans 8:15). In Him, Doc |
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3 | Free in Christ | John 8:31 | sonofmom | 240334 | ||
Thank you, Doc, very much. I am in a class to become a church member, and the leading pastor had said, we were free from sin. I corrected him, saying we are not free from sin, but free from the law of sin and death. (Rom 8) I am not sure if I want to join this church now, as the pastor accused me of being prideful, and again, as I was discussing the practice of infant baptism. I am not in favor of it, the pastor is not in favor either, but he will erform it if the parents want it. I am now thinking this is a compromise on the part of the denomination, and may want to continue shopping for a church home. |
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4 | Free in Christ | John 8:31 | DocTrinsograce | 240335 | ||
Hi, sonofmom... It is a good thing for a church to have a thorough new member's class. It helps the new members to understand the church's position and allows the church to understand the new member's position. This prevents serious problems from arising much later. The teaching that you have mentioned is called moral perfectionism, entire perfectionism, or sinless perfectionism. You can read a summary of it, as explained by R. C. Sproul, here: www.ligonier.org/blog/heresy-perfectionism/ We will be praying for you as you seek to find a biblical congregation. On that subject, I have found the book "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church" by Mark Dever to be a very good resource. Here is a brief summary of these biblical evidences for such a church: www.9marks.org/what-are-the-9marks/ In Him, Doc |
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5 | Free in Christ | John 8:31 | sonofmom | 240336 | ||
Thank you for your reply, I agree that it is a good thing to have member classes, and I will look into the references you mentioned later tonight. The perfectionism thing scares me, as I thought my wife and I have finally found a church home, and she likes it so much, but we have been to ten churches in the last several years and cannot seem to find a good fit. I realize that no church will be perfect, so I am trying to decide the true depth of the issues where we differ, to see whether they would actually be divisive enough to leave this church, because I know my wife would think not. Yet she also understands that I need to lead my house down the correct path. We have been married only 4 years, and each have children over 30 yrs so it is not a huge issue, but, since my last post, I found the affirmations of this church's denomination, and it maybe actually deeper than what I originally thought. I would like to paste a section of this for your perusal, and if you could be so kind as to post your opinion in the next day or so, I will be exceeding grateful. Lord bless you, and yours. Following, are the 6 affirmations of faith, and then, a paragraph that caught my abrupt attention: We affirm the centrality of the word of God. We affirm the necessity of the new birth. We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church. We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers. We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit. We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ. The Evangelical Covenant Church celebrates two divinely ordained sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Recognizing the reality of freedom in Christ, and in conscious dependence on the work of the Holy Spirit, we practice both the baptism of infants and believer baptism. The Evangelical Covenant Church embraces this freedom in Christ as a gift that preserves personal conviction, yet guards against an individualism that disregards the centrality of the Word of God and the mutual responsibilities and disciplines of the spiritual community. |
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6 | Free in Christ | John 8:31 | azurelaw | 240337 | ||
Dear sonofmom, As I read your posts, I pray that God will guide you to a church where you may grow and serve there for His glory. I believe Doc will give you his feedback concerning the affirmation of faith in your church. However, I would like to share a bit of my thought here with you. My church uses the Apostle Creed to confess our faith and we recite it on every Sunday service. The Creed talks mainly about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The central focus is on Christians' core belief instead of believers duty as the affirmation you have laid out. There is no SPECIFIC EMPHASIS on freedom in Christ either. All in all, the Apostle Creed's confession of faith is God-centred. While I agree your church's affirmation of faith is important for new members to guard their behaviour, however, I am afraid too much emphasis on them could side-track our central belief. I always wonder why churches like to develop their own affirmations of faith instead of using the jewels or refined gold that have been passed onto us by the saints of the old. Shalom Azure |
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7 | Free in Christ | John 8:31 | sonofmom | 240339 | ||
Azure, Thank you for your helping heart in this matter. We do use the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed and etc. I checked briefly into the Church's beliefs before attending, and have been there for a while before being prompted towards becoming a member. However the first member meeting did send up a red flag, when I was told that they actually do perform infant baptism, if the parents prefer that method, however the pastor told me that he instructs the parents that baptism has nothing to do towards salvation. This did not convince me, as I feel that infant baptism leans more towards cultic behavior. That is when pastor Mike started talking about "Freedom in Christ" which started to send up more red flags, but then as I pondered this, I thought that maybe I was being too harsh and decided to consult with this forum |
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8 | Free in Christ | John 8:31 | sonofmom | 240340 | ||
Additionally, the affirmations of this church do actually mention the Word of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, as well as the mission of the Church, fellowship and the new birth. What they do not mention is the inerrancy of the Word, or infallibility and I will be questioning this at the next meeting, since all I have heard is talk about the centrality of the Word, but then there is the infant baptism (only if parents request it) and there is no biblical basis for that. | ||||||