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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | INVITATION | NT general | jlhetrick | 199995 | ||
IrishEyes- It may be that you have made a rush to judgment on this particular subject. Futhermore, by offering the poster advise to "seek another church..." you may be actually steering her away from where God has lead her. Consider 2 Corinthians 6:14. If we are commanded to not be "unequally yoked together with unbelievers" then it must be that it is possible to know a believer from an unbeliever. The answer is found in scripture and the place we start is John 13:35; working forwards and backwords from there. I'm not suggesting that I, or any other person, can know for sure the spiritual condition of another; whether he is saved or unsaved (nor do I believe that these passages are teaching that directly). But we are commanded to do the work of not allowing ourselves to become "unequally yoked". In the end, if we are fooled, let it not be because we are to lazy or uninterested in doing a proper investigation. Currently, my daughter is in a long-lasting relatinship with a man that she says she loves and wants to marry. She met him at church and originally knew him as someone who attended church and was "active". She recently put some distance between herself and him because she read something he had posted referring to himself as an agnostic. She confronted him and he admitted that the posting was true. I am not championing her as a righteous saint, but she said to him as well as her mother and me that she would not marry an unbeliever. Her heart was broken as she related it to me and she holds hope that Christ will save him. Otherwise, she is standing firm. To the young man's credit, he did not simply confess something he doesn't believe in order to have her hand though I know as much as a father can know that he wants to marry her. So let's be careful in how we give advise on the Forum and even more careful regarding what we declare is or is not in Scripture. Otherwise we err regardless of our good intentions. God Bless, Jeff |
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2 | INVITATION | NT general | Hank | 200001 | ||
Hi, Jeff :: Your caution against hastening to dole out specific advice or rushing to judgment is wise indeed, for as you and the rest of us regular posters on SBF know all too well, questions seeking advice are all too common, as are answers proposing to give it. The problems with these kinds of Q. and A. exchanges are many. Three come quickly to mind. (1) The web site is first and foremost a forum for Bible study, as its name implies. It is not, therefore, in competition with the "Dear Abby" type of advice columns that appear in newspapers. ...... (2) Most of us here are lay persons who are not qualified to dispense advice on specific personal problems, and even if we all were professionals in that area (there are some professionals who have registered on SBF), that is not what the Forum is all about. Moreover, I believe that professional counselors would be very wary of trying to treat a private personal problem on a public forum. (3) Finally, the problems that questioners present to this forum are often vague, incomplete, and one would guess that they are rather lop-sided, usually presenting only one side of an issue, namely, that of the questioner's, and may not tell the whole story. ..... Anyway, I've rambled enough. But thanks, Jeff, for calling attention to the unwisdom of rushing to judgment even before it is determined whether all the facts are in. It's a dangerous business, and one needs to make sure he is not unwittingly giving bad advice, which is far worse than giving none at all. --Hank | ||||||
3 | INVITATION | NT general | Irish Eyes | 200002 | ||
Point taken, Jeff. It was not something I wrote with a nonchalant or cavalier attitude. It was only after prayerful reflection and serious discussion with my husband that I even responded at all to Sandra's inquiry. My husband was even more adamant than I. I would not and did not presume to tell her what to do in this matter. I truthfully told her what I would do in this situation IF IT WERE ME. It is not only legalism in the truest sense, but it is also an invasion of privacy. No believer should ever have to 'prove' himself worthy to another human to obtain membership and/or fellowship. Should a member become disruptive or divisive within the local church, however, it is then the responsibility of the pastor/teacher of that local church to send the member out from among the congregation. | ||||||
4 | INVITATION | NT general | Hank | 200004 | ||
Irish Eyes :: Your post addressing Jeff was directed to me. Anyway, thanks for responding and I'm sure Jeff will see it on the thread. Keep the Irish Eyes smiling :-) (I'm sure you remember the lyrics from the song, "When Irish eyes are smiling..." --Hank | ||||||
5 | INVITATION | NT general | Irish Eyes | 200005 | ||
Apologies for directing the response to you by mistake. You're correct. It is from the song that I chose my username. :-) In Christ |
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