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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Mark108 Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Must we be Baptized to enter Heaven | John 4:14 | Mark108 | 102941 | ||
Hi, I take "Born of water" to mean natural birth which is accompanied by water (actually amniotic fliuid). But the person who was crucified with Jesus was told that he would be with Jesus in paradise and yet he had no chance to be baptised. Salvation does not depend on works (not even baptism). If salvation were not possible without baptism then Satan could stop people from being saved by preventing them from being baptised. There is a big gap between "he who believes and is baptised will be saved" and "he who does not believe ..." In that gap is God's discretion. We are commanded to be baptised and we should obey but it is not a salvational issue. |
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2 | God's love | Hebrews | Mark108 | 102500 | ||
I feel that I am supposed to answer your question because I was preaching on this topic yesterday. Love is not something that we can create. It is a gift from God so we can't keep the commandment unless God enables us to do so. We need to admit that our righteousness is as filthy rags, that we are incapable of sincerely loving God unless he enables us and that we deserve the death penalty for our sins. This is not popular these days and no self-righteous person can ever keep this commandment. Somewhere Paul says: "What do you you have that you were not given and if you were given it why do you boast about it as if you were not?" (my own rough paraphrase). We can't create love but we can choose to nurture or neglect the love that God has given us. Five things that I asked of my congregation yesterday were: to love God's people and meet with them regularly to love God's word (the bible) and read it often and eagerly to love God's work and to serve him whereever and whenever you can to love to spend time with God in prayer and to love to spend time with God in worship. From what you say you need to start with the first one. I know that so many Christians are not easy to love but get used to it - you are going to spend eternity with them! Again it is Paul who says: "Who are we to criticise another man's servant? It is to God that he stands or Falls and Stand he will because God is able to make him stand." (again my poor paraphrase) As you love the unlovely christians that God brings accross your path and as you realise that from God's perspective you are just as unlovely (there is no difference in God's sight) you start to see how much God has given you and that will help you to love the God who loves unlovely people like us. God Bless, Mark. |
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3 | Where is it written that Jesus said it? | Acts 10:46 | Mark108 | 101819 | ||
Jesus said: Matt 28:19 - go and make disciples of all nations Matt 25:32 - all the nations will be gathered before him. John 10:16 other sheep I have that are not of this pasture. There are others but I am out of time to look them up. "If I be lifted up from the world I will draw all men unto me" and "On that day men will come from the east and from the west as sit down with Abraham and ??? but the children of the kingdom will be cast out." If I recall my greek correctly the word "ethnos" is variously rendered "gentiles" and "Nations". It is a mistake to place some scriptures as more important than others because ALL scripture is inspired by God. and also Men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God - if every word of God was in red then the whole bible would be in red. If you accept the trinity why single out the words of Jesus as if they were different from the words of God and the Holy Spirit? It is also a mistake to play one verse off against another. Scholars for the last 2,000 years (almost) have had the scriptures to compare and probably did so more diligently than anyone today and yet the wisest have believed in the infalibility of the whole bible. When we find an apparent contradiction we reveal the limitation of our own intellect not the limitation of scripture. |
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