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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: gospelcompilation Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | God love the senner but hate the sin | NT general | gospelcompilation | 202738 | ||
Undoubtedly, you will receive a few harsh answers from this question, because some Christians, like other people in the world, feel they need to tear others down in order to make themselves feel more secure. In my opinion, it is best not to even ask others for their opinions in this matter. But, since you did... allow me to address some basic misunderstandings, and then hopefully you can draw your own conclusion regarding your son... for it is obvious that you love him. THE KINGDOM OF GOD The first misunderstanding we have is of the phrase, "kingdom of God." It does not mean "heaven." The kingdom of God is not some ethereal place in the cosmos where our soul goes when we die. Nor is it in the future. The English word "kingdom" is an over-simplified translation of an ancient Greek word which means "the authority to rule over one's territory and possessions." As you can imagine, God has authority over the earth and everyone on it, because He is the Creator. He has authority to command His subjects. He has authority to give and take. And He has authority to provide for His people as well as to demand tribute from them. But, like an earthly king, the great King of kings has built-in limits to His authority, as well. How, you ask, can God have limits on His authority? For the simple reason that He cannot FORCE His subjects to accept His authority. They are free to rebel. They are free to deny Him. They are free to live their lives as they choose. But God's authority to rule is now. It is here, on this earth, in our lifetimes. And He calls us to accept His authority, to allow Him to rule over us, and to live our lives in accordance to the laws of His rulership. So do not think that your son is automatically excluded from "heaven" because he is currently choosing another way to express his sexuality. That is not what Scripture means when it says that homosexuals cannot inherit the kingdom of God... it simply means that homosexuals choose not to give themselves 100 percent entirely over to God's authority to rule over them. But then again, very few of us do. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. THE MEANING OF SIN The second misunderstanding we have is in the meaning of the word "sin." Again, it comes from an ancient Greek word that means "to miss the mark." The word comes from the image of an archer shooting at a target. The archer's goal is to hit the target, of course. But if he misses the target, then he has "sinned" - that is to say, he has missed the target. The key to understanding this word is, how often will the archer miss the target before he gets really good at hitting it? Will he hit it perfectly on the first shot? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But the point is, the archer keeps shooting. In a similar sense, God wishes us to "hit the mark." But, if we happen to miss the mark, which we so often do, He doesn't automatically condemn us to an eternal torment in the deepest bowels of hell. That would be like killing the archer every time he missed the target; it wouldn't be long before we were completely out of archers! Our focus, therefore, should not be on condemning each other because we missed the mark, but rather on encouraging one another to hit the mark. Whatever it is that God has prescribed, that is what we should strive to "hit." God sets the target. We, as spiritual archers, must continue practicing until we master hitting the target. Jesus, on the other hand, was a Master Archer from the beginning, because He never "missed the mark." That is why He is our example. We are to learn how to stand for optimum stability; we are to learn how to hold the bow for maximum consistency; we are to learn how to aim for greater accuracy; we are to learn how much tension to put on the string; and we are to learn these things from the Master Archer Himself. He has shown us how to "hit the target" every time. All we have to do, is do what He did. CONDEMN NOT Therefore, we must stop labeling people as "sinners." And we must stop condemning people because they fall short in some particular area where we happen to be strong. I don't struggle with homosexual tendencies... but there are plenty of other things I do struggle with. And until I have mastered all my struggles and can hit every target without fail, then I have no place to criticize or condemn anyone. But then again, once I reach that point of mastery, once my character is like Jesus' character, I will probably no longer feel the need to criticize or condemn anyone. |
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2 | what can i learn about who God is? | 2 Chr 10:15 | gospelcompilation | 202734 | ||
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3 | Lord will grant me my needs not my wishe | Ps 115:3 | gospelcompilation | 202733 | ||
I have wrestled with this question myself on more than one occasion, as I am also familiar with how Jesus' words have been interpreted. And I'm not entirely convinced that we've interpreted them correctly. WHAT IS GOD'S WILL FOR US? If I understand the intent of both Scripture and the Gospel message correctly, then I believe God's will is that we "put to death" our character in order to reflect His character instead. As I understand, that is the whole purpose of the Gospel - to transform us into the likeness of His Son - that is, to change us so we may reflect the character of God. I think John the Baptist understood God's will for his life, because he said, "I must decrease, so that Jesus may increase." Some take what he said to mean politically, in that he was to "give way" to Jesus as the primary religious leader... but I think John was talking about his own character. I'm convinced that John knew he needed to become less like himself and more like Christ. I believe Paul also understood this fact, because he said "the Law was our Teacher to bring us to Christ." What was the Law to teach us? The Law was designed to teach us God's character, until the perfect expression of it could come in flesh - which was His Son, Jesus. Now we can look to Christ and learn from Him, as well as have the Law as our backup. FOR WHAT, THEN, DO WE PRAY? You mentioned that we should pray according to God's will. But the question is, What is God's will? Simply put, I believe God's will for each of us is to reflect His character in the world. That is the only way we become the light of the world, is by reflecting His same character. So, if we pray like He prayed, with the same character He had, I guarantee, it will NOT be for ourselves that we pray... and we certainly WON'T ask for material things - not for ourselves or others. Paul gave a beautiful example of this in Colossians 1:9 when he wrote that "we have not stopped praying for you." And what were they praying for? "We ask God to give you complete KNOWLEDGE of His will, and to give you spiritual WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING." Even for others, Paul didn't pray for material things. He prayed that they might know God's will (which is to reflect Christ's character in the world), and that they might have spiritual wisdom and understanding. James talked about prayer for personal gain in the fourth chapter of his letter, verses 2 through 3. He wrote, "you do not have because you do not ask; but when you do ask, you don't receive what you ask for because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." And James should know what he's talking about, because he was guilty of the same thing. I'm sure he was remembering back on an event that was recorded in Mark 10:35-38. James and his brother, John, went to Jesus and said, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask." Jesus asked them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" and they responded, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and one on Your left hand, in Your glory." I'm sure Jesus smiled at their misunderstanding (for they had taken His advice about asking anything in His name literally), and He told them frankly, "You don't know what you're asking." They asked amiss. Because that's not what our Father wants us to ask Him for. Jesus gave us this example in the eleventh chapter of Luke: He said, "I tell you, keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Because everyone who asks, receives. You fathers - if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Of course not! If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give THE HOLY SPIRIT to those who ask Him!" If I understand the purpose of the Gospel, then it seems to me the only thing we should pray for ourselves is that we be filled more and more with the holy Spirit, so that we may reflect more and more the character of Christ in the world. I hope that helps. God-speed. |
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4 | what's your preference | Heb 12:6 | gospelcompilation | 202730 | ||
I won’t attempt to answer the question concerning God’s “punishment;” however, I would like to say something regarding the question of God’s “silence” and/or “absence” in our lives. If I understand the principles and purpose of Scripture correctly, it would seem that it is physically impossible for God to be “absent” in our lives. And I believe there are numerous examples of this found in Scripture. One of the most famous is Psalm 139:7-8, which begs the question, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.” Another famous quote is Romans 8:38-39, which says, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus Himself said in Matthew 28:20 that “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” And Genesis 2:7 says that YHWH Elohim breathed into Adam’s nostrils “the Spirit of life.” So one might naturally conclude that each of us have God’s life-giving Spirit within us. Therefore, if it is impossible for us to be separated from our Father, in reality, then how is it we “feel” separated? Isaiah 59:1-3 declares that “Behold, YHWH’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your Elohim.” If we “feel” separated from our Father, then it seems only to be in our minds, and not in reality. That is why, I believe, we’re encouraged to “renew” our minds. Paul noted in Colossians 1:21 that if we feel alienated from God, it is only in our minds, because of the guilt over our sins. But, if I understand correctly, then it is physically impossible for God to be absent in our lives. I would be happy to discuss my view of God’s so-called “silence” if you are interested in hearing it. I hope this information helps. |
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