Results 1 - 7 of 7
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Alter Calls? | Rom 10:9 | CDBJ | 25172 | ||
I know exactly where you are coming from as our pastor does the same thing. It wasn't until I read one of his books that I found out what he was doing, and then it made sense to me. He mentioned that there are fallacies in Christianity such as baptismal regeneration, church membership regeneration, and decisional regeneration. Most true believers know of the first two but not many are aware of the last. I mentioned in another post that there are a lot of so-called believers that think that they are saved because they went forward in someone's service. Really all they did was to jump through someone's psychological hoop. The key is in John 20:30-31 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. The only thing that can help a person when going forward in any service is one on one with God's word being opened up by someone who knows Scripture; a good example is in Acts. Acts 8:26-35 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. We must remember that faith comes by hearing God's word not by walking an aisle. There are some that have faith in the fact that they went forward and they tell how they came to God. There is no mention of Jesus Christ and what He did for them. They are no more saved then before they got up out of their seat. I hope this helps but if I were you I would still talk to the pastor. CDBJ |
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2 | Does Christ come into our hearts? | Rom 10:9 | meta | 210273 | ||
Hi CDBJ, I know I am hashing up old issues here . You may have even changed the way you think by now. I believe that I have asked your forgiveness for my very emotional and rude response when I first entered the forum and replied to this post. It was then quite by accident because I did not know my way around and did not realise the the original post was 7 years old. I would like to add something new to the debate. Ephesians 3:16 to 19 seems to indicate that it is necessary for Christ to DWELL IN OUR HEARTS in order for us to comprehend His Love. Eph 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,Eph 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, Eph 3:18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, Eph 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Please note, I am not challenging you. I am thankfull for you and the others that put me in my place (a place of repentance) before. I am only interested in cooperatively seeking the truth with you. Thankyou for your forbearing spirit, I Know I will not have to clarify this again. So if we are not to ask Him to come into our hearts then how does He get there? Also. You made some really good points in this post and I know that your concern is that people know that they have come to Christ. It is however a sweeping statement to say "The only thing that can help a person when going forward in any service is one on one with God's word being opened up by someone who knows Scripture; a good example is in Acts. Acts 8:26-35 and then you go on to describe the situation with Philip. My problem here is with the phrase "the only thing" Is it necessary to broadly generalise and invalidate something in order to validate the truth. Jesus said Matt 7:18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. The scriptures also say Rom 14:4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. What I am getting at here is this. You have a desire for truth and for people to really know and honour Jesus Christ and I agree with your intention . My second question is this. Can people come to a true knowledge of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit working in ways that you do not understand or agree with? |
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3 | Does Christ come into our hearts? | Rom 10:9 | DocTrinsograce | 210291 | ||
Dear Meta, When you address a person directly after their post, it isn't necessary to mark it as a question. They will be notified of the post and will respond if they choose to do so. However, when you mark it as a question, it shows up on the "front page" as though it is a question to the forum as a whole. Consequently, we try to mark things as questions only when they really are of that nature. This convention works very well, allowing new forum users to be "heard" in the midst of the hubub of general discussion. :-) On this particular topic: I rather fond of trying to use the language of Scripture. It seems to me that when the Lord chose to express things in a specific way, it is presumptuous (even unwise) to attempt to improve on it. Furthermore, we risk deviating from the sound doctrine delivered to us by the Holy Spirit through the teachings of Christ and the apostles. In Him, Doc PS You might want to clean up that second question. There's a difference between can, may, will, and shall. Also, that question is unclear whether you are talking about human ability or divine ability. |
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4 | Does Christ come into our hearts? | Rom 10:9 | meta | 210293 | ||
Thanks for the advice about questions and notes. I will get my sea legs soon. I am not sure you understand my point. Are you implying that only by saying the exact words found somewhere in scripture can we pray and be saved? Does Jesus hear the cry of my heart when I seek Him earnestly. Or does He wait until I get the words right? As for the second question. It is very clear. The word "can", meaning, is it possible? It is also clear that the words "through the Holy Spirit working" refers to His ability. Only God can impart eternal life. I am certain that you agree with that. I agree that it is not only presumptuous or unwise but more accurately impossible to improve on His words. Furthermore It would be wise for you to communicate with me exactly which words you are referring to. It is also unclear what you are referring to when you talk about deviating from the teachings of Christ and the apostles. I thought I was referring to the words of the apsotle Paul when he said Eph 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; Was it something else you were referring to? |
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5 | Does Christ come into our hearts? | Rom 10:9 | DocTrinsograce | 210332 | ||
Hi, Meta... According to Scripture, salvation is entirely a work of God -- when we cry out to him in contrition, it is because He has already moved to make that possible. For extensive discussion of this, you might do a search under my profile name for the phrase ordo salutis. Second question: God can do as He pleases -- indeed, He will only do as He pleases. He behaves according to His nature, in complete consistency with His word. I don't know any Scripture that states that Brother Chuck must be cognizant of His ways and means. Indeed, I can't recall Brother Chuck being named in Scripture. Maybe I missed it in Romans 17. :-) Seriously, though, do you think that when the average evangelical says "Accept Jesus into your heart" that he or she has captured the essence of the Holy Spirit's imperative of Ephesians 3:17? In Him, Doc |
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6 | Does Christ come into our hearts? | Rom 10:9 | meta | 210357 | ||
Hi Doc. Now we are on the same page, Concerning your first point, I concur, therefore there is no need for further discussion. In response to your question the answer is an obvious no. However not having understood the scriptures before I read them did not prevent God from answering the unscriptural prayer of "come into my heart". If Salvation is entirely a work of God and if I did not understand His ways before I looked to Him for my salvation how then can we say that the way in which I did come to Him ie. praying a prayer that does not appear in scripture but does not conflict with scripture, was not brought about by Him. Especially in the light of Him being able to do "far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think," One more point. The statement in Eph 3:17 is not an imperative. (That according to the dictionary implies a demand) It was in fact Paul's prayer that we would " be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Eph 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." So Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith here seems to be the result of a saint being "strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man," and in this case as an answer to prayer. The third point. I agree that God behaves (if that is a correct adjective for God) according to His nature and in consistency with His word. My question was more concerning those ways being sometimes beyond our understanding even to the most accurate and learned scholar of His Word. Therefore I agree that God will not act in ways that are not consistent with His Nature and His word however He is not bound by our understanding of His Word. Eph 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us I have another question for you. What do you believe He means when He says " “ according to the power that works within us" in this context? |
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7 | Does Christ come into our hearts? | Rom 10:9 | DocTrinsograce | 210358 | ||
Hi, Meta... God's ways are indeed above our ways. If we were left with general revelation (what we observe of the universe around us), we'd no precious little of Him. He has, however, deigned to grant us special revelation (the Word) in which He reveals Himself to us. (cf Deuteronomy 29:29) To a certain extent, our every prayer and practice are flawed and inadequate. God's grace is what makes the difference. The power working within us? God is the author and finisher of the work He has begun within us. He is very present and very active in all things -- working all things -- to His glory and our good. In Him, Doc |
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