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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: njenkinsUGA Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Accountable for every commandment? | NT general Archive 1 | njenkinsUGA | 66391 | ||
Charis, Your post is very thought provoking. I hope you will not mind the respectful sharing of my thoughts with you and any other readers.. I agree, every Christian should be baptized. Jesus was baptized; that's good enough for me. Before I go any further I should indicate that I have yet to be baptized as a true believer -- I was baptized when I was eight but I have not fulfilled that commandment as of yet; nonetheless, I believe that every professing believer should declare publicly that Christ is Lord and humble themselves to be baptized -- by immersion. However, I do not think it a "requirement for salvation." There is no scriptural evidence for this. Yes, our Lord commands us to be baptized; but what of the thief on the cross next to Jesus, to whom Jesus promised "today you will be with me in Paradise?" The criminal experience conviction of the Holy Spirit and yielded to it just like all of us -- that, along with "confessing with the mouth" (Romans 10:9-11), is the only requirement for salvation. And the thief did both of these. As far as the lengthy list of New Testament commandments, I will try to sum up my take on how to fulfill all commandments not by ourselves but by our Lord through ourselves. Let's use the sermon on the mount as a starting point. The clarifications of meanings of the various commandments that Jesus outlines give an entirely new perspective on the idea of sin. We all know this: to so much as look at a woman lustfully is to commit adultery in the heart; to feel angry is to commit murder in the heart. Any male reader of this post knows deeply of the incessant internal battle with the former, and any reader with a spouse or family member or friend of any kind is thus guilty of murder, for all such relationships have disagreements from time to time that lead to one or more parties becoming angry. Hear me carefully: THIS IS GOD'S POINT. If avoidance of sin were not so difficult, no.. if keeping oneself completely clean from sin were possible, then there would be no point in FAITH in Christ. God would not be adequately able to demonstrate the vastness of his Grace. It is through this Faith that we come to be lead by his Spirit, and through this leading by the Spirit do we come to keep the two greatest commandments according to the Messiah: love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind; and love your neighbor as you love yourself. If these two commandments are met by submission to the spirit, the rest of the commandments of the New Testament will kind of take care of themselves: we will be humble because we love God so much that we immediately give Him all glory; we will be baptized because we love Him so much we want to show everyone that we want to be like Jesus; we are perfect because of the cleansing power of our spirit; we rid ourselves of sin because we love God so much that we want to be in the center of His will. |
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2 | Need some help in saying right things! | 1 Samuel | njenkinsUGA | 60510 | ||
Wow. That's a tough question. I'm only 19; obviously not experienced enough to give a complete answer. However, in my recent studies of the old testament I see an example of a parent, Eli (Samuel's mentor -- his story is told in 1 Samuel), who is a great and Godly man, but was unable to discipline his sons. They "were wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord" (2:12). God held Eli accountable for this; He said to Eli through a prophet: "Why do you honor your sons more than me..." (2:29). Now, as to how to avoid the same attitude from God, I'm not entirely sure. I do know that prayer is your foundation, which is no doubt obvious to you. From there I guess wait for God's timing. I'm the world's worst at ministering to family members -- I have yet to openly share with my dad. If your son closes up to you when you share with him God's love, either try a different approach or just pray even more persistently. If you come with him from the angle of not rebuking him but sharing with him the Biblical definition of love and how that's all you want for him, then maybe you'll have better results. The definition I would use is the famous 1 Cor. 13:4-7 which states "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It alwatys protects, always hopes, always perseveres." Now, if you go on from there to explain to him that God is Love (1 John 4:16), that if God is Love then God and Love are synonyms, then you can replace the word "love" with the word "God" in that passage. "God is patient, God is kind..." It's a very powerful illustration if you can only win his attention for just a few minutes. Explain to him that when you use tough love with him that is only your shortcomings of trying to portray to him God's love through yourself. Love him and forgive him "70 times 7" fold. I hope this helps -- let me know how it goes, or let me know if I am way off with this answer. Sorry it's so long. Nathan |
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3 | Is there a verse about smoking. | 1 Cor 6:19 | njenkinsUGA | 60507 | ||
Verses 19 and 20 of this chapter say, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." Granted, this passage is specifically relating to sexual sins; however, I think the same is true for anything that harms the body. Now, I am not condemning the occasional smoke of a cigar or something or the occasional drink -- after all, Jesus drank wine in moderation. But as for an addiction to tobacco (or anything else) -- I believe that it harms your temple of the Holy Spirit. Also, addictions are a form of idolatry. An argument can be made that anything one depends on, other than God, is an idol. As a smoker, you depend on a smoke to relieve your craving for nicotine. Thus, your addiction has become an idol to you in a way. If you want to quit, try praying about it. Maybe next time you feel a craving praying something like, "Lord, I'm suffering right now because of my addiction to to nicotine, but I know it is nothing compared to the suffering you went through for me. Please Lord, help me beat this addiction and relieve me of this craving. Help me preserve my temple." Or something like that... | ||||||