Results 1 - 20 of 38
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Results from: Notes Author: ChristLifer2001 Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Can the blood of bulls take away sin? | Heb 10:4 | ChristLifer2001 | 53299 | ||
Great answer, Robert. The scripture that solidifies this Heb 9:15 - "For this reason He (Christ) is the mediator of a new covenant (in His blood), so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant (the Law), those who have been called may recieve the promise of the eternal inheritance." As you have stated, while the OT sacrifices covered sins, only Christ could take them away. God forgave the OT saints, not because of the blood of bulls and goats, but because of their faith in Him and the promise that one day God's Spotless Lamb would come. His blood takes away all sins of all men for all time. Keep growing in His grace, ChristLifer2001 |
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2 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52942 | ||
Joe, Concerning Rom 8:30 - and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also GLORIFIED - past tense." You wrote: "Traditionally, the church has understood that the past tense of "glorify" is more or less a past tense demonstrating the certainty of a future event." If the "church" takes this interpretation, then it must use the same hermeneutic to translate the past tense of our predestination, calling and justification. I.e. if the past tense reference to our glorification refers to the future then, by the same standard, the past tense reference to our justification and calling would refer to our future justification and calling also. This violates everything that scripture teaches about our predestination, calling and justification. Scripture supports that these are done - accomplished. But it accurately demonstrates the folly and human predilection of twisting the meaning of God's Word to attempt to make it fit one's private theology. "Traditionally, the church has understood that the past tense of "glorify" is more or less a past tense demonstrating the certainty of a future event." One does not even need to be a biblical scholar to see the oxymoronic interpretation that is being pushed here as truth. "And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition." ChristLifer2001 |
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3 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52931 | ||
Joe, I've tried to offer my thoughts concerning the "apparent" discrepancies between past, present, and future sanctification by demonstrating that there is biblical justification for examining man's components - spirit, soul, and body. The same analogy would apply to the righteousness that we have as Christians. Our new spirit is righteous, our soul is being made righteous, and we will one day have a righteous body to indwell. However, you will not hear or consider any of this, despite the cited scriptures. You obviously feel that it is the teachings of "the greatest teachers of evangelical Christianity over the past 500 years" that is the standard and revealer of all truth although the Holy Spirit makes it explicit that that is what He does in us. The majority vote does not determine truth. Neither does the minority vote. Truth is determined by what God says. Period. Concerning Romans 8:30, you wrote: "Traditionally, the church has understood that the past tense of "glorify" is more or less a past tense demonstrating the certainty of a future event." This demonstrates the type of interpretation twisting that "tradition" does to nullify the Word of God. God's Word says in Romans 8:10 that we HAVE BEEN justified, that we HAVE BEEN glorified. Even when it is there before your eyes in black and white that this is glorification is past tense, you deny it. You cry "foul" and must resort to the teachings of the church or to commentaries because you obviously feel that God's Word cannot be understood apart from the illuminating work of the church. The difference between my approach and yours is that I am just naive enough to take God at His Word and say, "Lord, You say that I have been glorified, would You teach me what this means." Tradition says, "Impossible! Despite the text, this cannot be true. My experience is the standard of truth and I have not yet experienced this. Therefore, God cannot possibly mean what He says and I must seek the hidden meaning." And for some reason you feel that you must resort to undue sarcasm of me and my simple faith in taking God at His Word. That is your choice. But I will not engage you further in exchange. There are many people who come to this forum seeking the truth of God's Word not the "teachings of the church". Probably an overwhelming majority are here because the church offers no real answers and it is the church that causes the confusion in the first place. All it can offer is denominationalism and self-righteous attitudes that condemn anyone who does not agree with their traditions and teachings. It is quite obvious that you have set up yourself and your "traditions" as the standard of truth here on this forum and woe be to anyone who does not agree with you. They are categorized, labeled, and demeaned in front of the whole forum. All in the name of Christ. How sad. ChristLifer2001 |
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4 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52908 | ||
Joe, !It is talking about our glorification, a separate work of God from our justification. We are already spiritually glorified. Rom 8:30 - and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also GLORIFIED - past tense. !While the righteousness given to us is not based on OUR works, it is inseparable connected to the works of Christ. Amen! !There is no such thing as INTRINSIC righteousness - our own righteousness - apart from obedience to God. Our righteousness comes as a gift from God to us. As long as it is not yours, it does you no good whatsoever. But, as a gift to you, not because of obedience, but because of faith, it is yours. If you think that you are righteous in God's sight depending on your obedience to the Law or "Christian" principles, then you still don't understand righteousness or even Luther's revelation. He recognized that we receive God's righteous SOLELY by faith, apart from our works, before or after salvation. !Why do you fail to address the tense issue I raised in the verse? Joe, I did address the tense, all who have been spiritually born again in Christ since Paul wrote these verses have been made righteous. Should the Lord tarry, all who place their faith and trust in Christ alone will be made righteous the moment they do so. !You are right; it is indeed that simple. And I have HIS righteousness as a gift while at the same time I have not been MADE righteous myself. Then you don't understand the gift. You are saying that you have received the gift of righteousness but that it had done you no good whatsoever because you are not righteous. If I gift you a gift of 100 dollars, then you have 100 dollars. You did not earn it. It originally belonged to me. But I gave it to you as a gift. It is now your money and you would be foolish to not accept it and appropriate it. This is what you are saying about Christ's righteousness that has been given to you. You claim to have already accepted it, but you claim that it is not yours or that you won't open it until you die. What a pity. !What I am denying is that Christ's righteousness makes US righteous. That's too bad, Joe. You obviously don't understand either justification or sanctification because you don't understand your union with Christ. !a foreign righteousness from God. Yes, it is a foreign righteousness. But it is given to us. It then becomes ours in Christ. You still don't understand righteousness, my friend. It is not the absence of sin, it is a positive charateristic of God. Christ did not become righteous because He didn't sin. He was - and is - God. God is righteous. If we are every going to be, we must accept it as a gift from Him to us. !What Paul is talking about here is our OBEDIENCE, our sanctification. Then, brother, you will never be sanctified because you have made works a part of the process. This, despite that fact that 1 Cor 1:2 says that the Corinthians HAVE BEEN sanctified - in spite of their sinful actions - and 1 Cor 6:11 says that we WERE sanctified and Heb 10:10,29 both say that our sanctification is past tense because of Christ's blood. Praying you'll rest in Christ's completed work on your behalf. Your bro, ChristLifer2001 |
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5 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52887 | ||
Joe, Just two comments and then I will let this issue go. Concerning Romans 5:19: I think you are misreading this verse, brother. When you are born "in Adam", you don't become more and more a sinner. You are born a sinner and that is what you will remain (in spite of all your righteous deeds) unless you are born again. Likewise, when you are born again, you are "in Christ" and you receive the gift of righteousness. You don't become more and more righteous, bro. Jesus said to be as perfect (not DO as perfect, but BE) as your Father in Heaven. The only way we are going to get there is if He gives us that perfection. Romans 5:19 is not progressive sanctification, bro. It is simply stating what happens to mankind when they are born again. Allow me to paraphrase so you can understand: Because of Adam's sin, everyone born in him is born a sinner. But because of Christ's obedience and righteousness, everyone who is taken out of Adam and placed into Christ is made righteous. This has been happening for 2000 years now. This verse is NOT talking about performance, bro. It is talking about identification. Are you "in Adam" and therefore a sinner, or are you "in Christ" and therefore have His rigtheousness as a gift (vs. 17). It's that simple. Phil 2:13 - Sure it is God at work in us living out what He has already done. Phil 3:12 - You SERIOUSLY need to look at the context of this verse, bro. Paul is NOT talking about righteousness here, he is talking about physical resurrection - see vs 11,12. According to 1 Thess 5:23, God sanctifies us 1) in spirit 2) in soul and 3) in body. Our spirit is ALREADY sanctified. Our soul is being sanctified and our body will one day be (not this one but) a sanctified one. The bottom line is that if you think you are going to make yourself more holy or sanctified in who ARE (not what you do), then you believe that you are greater than God or at least equal to Him. This lie goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. Heb 10:14 still stands, bro. Christ's work is what has perfected us for all time because we are now identified with Him. I am not here to argue the point. I am just here to point to the truth for all who will accept it. I can't convince anyone, that is His job. :) May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. Your bro in Christ, ChristLifer2001 |
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6 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52842 | ||
To Joe - Part 2 The fact is, as Luther adequately pointed out, is that we AREN'T righteous in practice. I agree. We are not always righteous in practice. But it is not practice (label this works) that makes us righteous in the first place. It is received as a gift - here and now. Justification doesn't make us righteous in ourselves any more than the atonement made Jesus a sinner. Then, by this same logic, Adam's sin did not make you a sinner either did it? Romans 5:19 refutes this. Adam's sin caused all to be made sinners. As soon as you are born "in Adam", you are a sinner. You exhibit the nature of whoever you are born to. We, as believers, are no longer in Adam, we have been born again of and to God. So we take on the nature of Christ - see 2 Pet 1:4. Jesus earned our righteousness for us, but making us more righteous is a process called sanctification, and that starts at our conversion and continues until we join the Lord. Are you listening to yourself here? You say that Jesus earned our righteousness but then we also have to earn is for ourselves here on earth. If it comes from you, Joe, that it is as filthy rags in His sight. It must come from God. This is the truth that fan the flames of the reformation - that righteousness comes FROM God TO man, not vice versa. It is His righteousness that we now possess in our new spirit, not our own. We are indeed re-created, but you fail to show from Scripture how our new natures are as righteous and as holy as Christ. Yes I did - Eph 4:24. What part of you has been recreated, Joe? What part of you has been born-again? Nowhere does Scripture tell us that our new natures are perfect ones. Not true, Joe. 2 Pet 1:4, Eph 4:24. Jesus Christ is our righteousness and the continuous source of the fruit of righteousness, Amen! And our new self is created in His likeness and indwelt by Him! "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother." --1 John 3:10 Amen! Jesus in us works through us to perform the righteous acts for which were we recreated! - Eph 2:10. Your new spirit DOES NOT make you want to sin so that you can blame it on the flesh. That is the view of a babe in Christ who does not know the Christ is in him. Christ is us changes our WANT TO. I no longer WANT TO do what I used to do. That doesn't mean that I am sinless in action or thought. But I am no longer a sinner. I am a saint because God has made me so. Romans 5:17 - For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. This verse says it all. We have received the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. Christ reigns in life through us! Thanks for your interaction. Keep growing in grace, ChristLifer2001 |
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7 | Imputed Righteousness | Rom 4:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 52841 | ||
Joe, Romans 6:23 says that eternal life is a gift of God. It does not say that we are made righteous. Actually it does, my friend. When did you become a sinner? When you sinned? Not according to scripture. You were born into this world a sinner because you were born "in Adam." So when do you become righteous? As soon as you are born again "in Christ." Paul writes in Eph 4:24 that this new self, the new man is in the likeness of God, has been (past tense) created, and is righteous and holy. Notice the verb tenses in Romans 5:19. Many were made sinners (past) because of Adam's transgression. Many WILL BE made righteous (future) because of Christ's obedience. This supports my point, Joe. You did not become a sinner when you sinned. You were born that way. You do not because righteous when you do more and more righteous things. Then it would not be a gift. It would be earned. Your spirit is created in righteousness and holiness. Our becoming righteous in nature is still a future event. Not so, my friend. The death of your physical body has nothing to do with your spiritual state. When did Adam become a sinner? When his body died? No, his body died because he was a sinner. I think that you would agree that if you died at this moment, you would be present with the Lord, wouldn't you. Without His righteousness in you, Joe, you won't see Him. He does not give you the gift of righteousness when you die. He gives it to you when you are born again. Think about what you are saying for a moment. Synonyms for righteous include "holy" and "perfect." You can't be saying that those who have trusted Christ have now been made perfect in character? You're right, I am not saying that we always think or act righteously. But Heb 10:14 says that Christ's offering on the cross has perfected (past tense) for all time (not just when we die) those who are sanctified. It is not your physical death, brother, that makes you holy and righteous. That would be the teachings of the gnostics - that you can't be righteous UNTIL you have escaped the physical body. You are the one infering that we are not righteous until we die. I ask you again, what does the condition of your physical body, your tent, have to do with your spiritual state. None of the verses that speak of our righteousness mention that it is contigent upon our death or our deeds. What you are putting forward is the Roman Catholic view of "infused" righteousness, in which God MAKES us righteous No. What I am putting forward is exactly what Eph 4:24 says - the new self (your spirit, your identity) HAS BEEN created (something new) in God's likeness - righteous and holy. Paul calls this a new creation - 2 Cor 5:17. God classifies mankind according to this new creation - Gal 6:15. Jesus said that the Spirit gives birth to a new spirit in us - John 3:6. Joe, if you wait until you die to be born again of the Spirit of God, you've waited to long. If you wait until you die to become righteous, you won't make it. You don't go to heaven to get righteous, bro, you go to heaven because you ALREADY are righteous. 1 Cor 6:17 says that the Lord joins His Holy Spirit to our spirit. There is no way that God is going to join Himself to an unrighteous, unholy thing. End of Part 1 - see Part 2 |
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8 | How were ppl saved before Jesus came? | Heb 11:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 49230 | ||
Joe, You're right, forgiveness is part of salvation (a necessary part). But as you said, not the sum total. Christ's cross provided the forgiveness of sins and His tomb provided the resurrection necessary for new life in Him. We need both for salvation. Thanks for the comment. ChristLifer2001 |
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9 | How were ppl saved before Jesus came? | Heb 11:6 | ChristLifer2001 | 49226 | ||
Chris, You're right, bro. Animal sacrifices could never take away sins and they could never impute righteousness. Christ's once-for-all sacrifice took away all sins, even those committed under the first covenant - Heb 9:15. Where folks get confused is in thinking that salvation is the forgiveness of sins. Salvation has always been by faith, in the OT and in the NT. It is not Christ's death that saves us, it is His life in us that does so - Rom 5:10. Christ's death provided the forgiveness for ALL sins that we need before we can be made righteous by His life in us. This is why the resurrection is so important to Christians. Salvation is not being forgiven, salvation is being "born again" of the Spirit of God - John 3:3-6. Salvation is the impartation of eternal life, not forgiveness of sins. A forgiven dead man is still just as dead. What we who were born dead and trespasses and sins need is life! His life! ChristLifer2001 |
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10 | is masterbation a sin explain thxs | Bible general Archive 1 | ChristLifer2001 | 47809 | ||
Emmaus, Thanks for your interaction. I agree, if you are engaged in fantasy and self-gratification, you are sinning. I never intended to say otherwise. The problem is that so many questions on this forum come down to, "Tell me what sin is so I can avoid it." So we sit around and pontificate on what constitutes a sin and what does not. We can spend all our lives around this Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. "This is good...this is evil...this is good...this is evil." While this is certainly beneficial in convicting the sinners, God intends for believers to be centered around the Tree of Life - His Son. That is where true life is found. The average discussion in these areas on this forum goes like this: "Is this sin?" One person replies, "Yes, it is, God is not pleased so stop it." Another replies, "No, it is not. Go and be blessed." So folks walk away having two (or more) different answers and their real question (which goes unspoken and unaddressed) is, "Where do I stand with God?" That is what they are really asking. They think if they don't sin, then they have a right standing with God. They believe if they do sin, then God is ready to beat them with a club. And those of us who claim to know Christ should be able to show them what gives them a right-standing with God - faith in His Son alone. If people, Christians or not, would come to Christ for a real relationship and life, they wouldn't have to be continually struggling with what is sin and what is not. The Holy Spirit is faithful to point out when we are walking in the flesh. And He is faithful to point us back to who we really are, saints, so that we can find life in Christ. Keep fixing your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. ChristLifer2001 |
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11 | is masterbation a sin explain thxs | Bible general Archive 1 | ChristLifer2001 | 47807 | ||
Thank you, Inmyheart, for your honesty and understanding. I, too, don't want to debate this particular issue. The problem with debating issues of what is sin and what is not sin is that we can get so nit-picky about it that we still live under condemnation. There is no more condemnation from God or from ourselves if we are in Christ - Rom 8:1. Is it because we have stopped sinning? Hardly. We still do sin. It is because Christ has taken the full punishment for ALL our sins and the law of the spirit of Life in Christ sets us free from that old law of sin and death - Rom 8:2. There are SO many things in this life that qualify as sin. And, you're right, they have consequences. But all these things that are sin should drive us to Christ to be set free, not to try to struggle on our own apart from Him. Most Christians think that if they don't fulfill the lusts of the flesh, then they are walking in the Spirit. They have there understanding backwards. If we endeavor to walk out of our spiritual union with Christ THEN we won't fulfill the lust of the flesh. Why? Because we have no inherent power on our own to defeat the enemy or to be set free from sinful patterns. Christ alone is our strength. He has defeated the enemy and He sets us free as He renews our minds to the truth of God's Word. The Holy Spirit never points out sin in our lives so that we will try harder not to sin. He points out sin so that we will know that we must be completely dependant upon Christ and His Spirit to fight the battle. Sin show us where we are not finding Him sufficient for all we need. If I am eating from His banquet table, I have no need and no desire for the garbage on the street. He has provided everything we need for life and godliness. If I am consumed with Him as my life, I will not need to spend all of my time categorizing what is garbage and what is not. I have found, as I trust you have, the Living Bread and the Living Water. Let us learn to walk in the Spirit. That is the secret to overcoming the flesh. Thanks for your interaction, Inmyheart. I pray that you will continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our blessed Savior. ChristLifer2001 |
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12 | is masterbation a sin explain thxs | Bible general Archive 1 | ChristLifer2001 | 47765 | ||
Emmaus, Sin happens in the mind. Jesus made this clear. It bears fruit in the body but it originates and happens in the mind. Are you telling me the an adolescent going through puberty (a normal bodily function) is an idolator? Do you know what the punishment for idolatry is under the Law? Do you wish to be under the Law? ChristLifer2001 |
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13 | is masterbation a sin explain thxs | Bible general Archive 1 | ChristLifer2001 | 47764 | ||
Inmyheart, I'm neither condemning masturbation or nor am I defending it. As the Bible does not speak specifically to this ACT, I am not going to be dogmatic on it. If others want to be, that is their option. The woman who was brought to Jesus, caught in the act of adultery, should have been stoned. That is what the Law said. Did Jesus break the Law? As you have said, the Bible does speak to issues like lust. Is it possible to engage in masturbation without lusting? Yes it is. But satan and the world tempt us to sin in almost every area of our lives and they will use this area to cause us to sin through lusting. They will also use this area to condemn other brothers and sisters in Christ without mercy. Have you ever looked at another person with lust? Then, according to Jesus' standard, you have already masturbated in your mind, haven't you? The problem is that we love to rate sins. That way, my sin of worrying is not as bad as your sin of lusting. My sin of a critical spirit is not as bad as your sin of masturbation. My sin of running another brother or sister down with my tongue is not as bad as what you may do with the other parts of your body. Sin is sin in God's eyes. Did you ever tell a lie? Then you are just as guilty as a cold-blooded murder in the eyes of God (James 2:10). Popular Christianity is so consumed with what is a sin and what is not a sin that we never get around to finding life in Christ. We're too busy rating sins and trying to judge ourselves against others. Hebrews says that whatever is not of faith is sin. By the time the legalist piles the 10 Commandments, the Mosaic Law, the sins of omission, and the sin of living life apart from faith in every act on top of people, the "good news" of the gospel is nullified. We spend our whole lives trying to keep short accounts with God and trying to keep our sins (which God says He no longer remembers - Heb 10:17,18) confessed. The goal of the Christian life is not to stop sinning. The goal of the Christian life is to abide in Christ and let Him live it. As we do, we will sin less but, while on earth, we will never be sinless. Sure God wants to renew our minds. This is how He changes our thinking and therefore our actions. As we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. But the flesh is not just "evil" deeds. It is self. The flesh can look very good: self-discipline, self-confidence, self-effort, self-achievement, self-righteousness. But it is all evil in God's eyes. It is only when we come to see that our righteousness comes from God alone that we will be set free to "think on these things." Christ in us will cause us to fulfill the law of love. You write: "we are not to associate with those who call themselves Christians who are idolaters (1Corinthians 5:11)" I wouldn't believe how judgmental Christians can be if I wasn't being set free from it myself. Anything you put before God makes you an idolator. You can stick the word "habitual" in there is you want to, but the scriptures don't. We do it so that we can say, "Well, I'm only occasionally idolatrous. I'm not like so-and-so who is habitually idolatrous." Even the church at Ephesus who was doing everything right had left their first love. We would do well to teach people about how much Jesus loves them and how He has shed His blood to forgive them. His perfect love casted out all fear of punishment. As I said, I'm not going to be dogmatic on an issue that the scriptures to not speak directly to. And even the ones where scripture is definately clear on call for us to restore others in a spirit of love, not condemnation. Let the one without sin cast the first stone. Any sin. Don't rate them. There was only One who was not and He didn't condemn. Neither will I. ChristLifer2001 |
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14 | is masterbation a sin explain thxs | Bible general Archive 1 | ChristLifer2001 | 47728 | ||
Emmaus, Without entering into this debate, I wanted to comment on your statement: Yes, let's get real here! In the context of your statement above, can you imagine Jesus performing this act? I hear this often within the context of "What would Jesus do?" or "Would you do that if Jesus where standing here?" The reality is, HE IS HERE. If we are believers in Christ, He is ALWAYS here, no matter what we are doing. Even if we sin, He never leaves us or forsakes us. As I said, without entering into this debate, there are certain bodily functions which we participate in as physical creatures. Our Lord came in the flesh and therefore had all the physiological functions that we are subject to. So let me ask a couple of questions: Can you imagine Jesus eliminating waste from His body? He did so. Was He still God when He did this "socially unacceptable" thing? Can you imagine Jesus occasionally passing gas or emitting a belch? If He was indeed human, then He must have done so. Can you imagine Jesus entering puberty with those associated changes manifesting themselves in His body? He did so. When we strip Christ of His humanity, we diminish who He really is. We have no right to attempt to remove either His deity or His humanity - He was completely both. No, I do not imagine Jesus masturbating. Neither do I imagine Him eliminating waste from His mortal body. There are more important aspects of Christ to dwell on. But in closing, if you want to use that "What would Jesus do" analogy, let me ask: Would you eliminate waste from your body with Jesus standing there watching? Would you make love with your wife with Jesus standing there watching? How REAL do you want to be? He is more REAL. The truth is that He is there. He always is. As long as we have submitted our bodies as living sacrifices to Him to live through (Rom 12:1), I don't believe He is repulsed by our humanity. Let's be careful of this "Can you imagine Jesus..." mentality. He is a real Person, He lived in a real flesh and blood body with all its functionality. If He had been married to a woman during His earthly life, I'm sure He would have been passionate with her. And I'm just as sure that He is passionate today with His bride. I can't wait for the honeymoon! ChristLifer2001 |
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15 | How are we to understand? | Bible general Archive 1 | ChristLifer2001 | 47639 | ||
Hank brings up some excellent points here. I would like to add one more if I may. We must never lose sight that it is primarily the Holy Spirit's job to teach us the meaning of scripture. John 16:13 makes this abundantly clear. He wrote it, therefore He is prime interpreter of it. Knowing what the scripture says does not inheritantly guarantee that we know what it means. If knowing Greek were the only prerequisite to understanding God's truth, then the entire Greek world would have been saved :) and all Greek scholars would be saved (which is certainly not the case). Am I saying that it is not helpful to understand the source languages? Not at all. It is very helpful to be familiar with the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic languages, especially in biblical passages where the meaning of the text is not immediately apparent. But the fact of the matter is that most people are NOT going to learn the ancient languages. Therefore, as Hank says, they need to be educated in what criteria makes a translation a "good" translation and where a particular translation may have problems. Lastly, people need to be taught good Bible study methods. There are way too many self-proclaimed Bible scholars that take the text out of the context and do more damage than good. If we combine a good English translation with good Bible study methods and the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit Himself, most of the time we will arrive at very similar understandings of what the scripture means. If this 3-legged "stool" becomes 1 or 2 legged, then there is more potential for problems. I know many people who claim that the Holy Spirit has given them "revelations" that either aren't found in the Word of God or contradict God's Word out-right. I know a few who have made a particular translation their "god" and will not consider any other (including the Greek and Hebrew). And I also know of a few Greek scholars who can cross every Greek 't' and dot every Greek 'i', but know nothing of the love and compassion of God. In the end, our understanding must come down to God revealing Himself to us. He does this through the scriptures, through others and their gifts, and through circumstances. The scriptures need to be our primary "plumbline" for truth. But I am not entirely convinced that the majority of interpretational problems stem from not knowing the original languages. I believe that most of the problems arise from "hearsay" interpretation ("my pastor says"), poor Bible study methods, and little reliance upon the Holy Spirit to do what He promises. Let's endeavor to give the Holy Spirit as many "tools" as possible by advocating good translations and excellent Bible study methods. Great topic, saints! ChristLifer2001 |
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16 | Jesus said PRAY THIS PRAYER | Matt 6:9 | ChristLifer2001 | 47594 | ||
Dosaquies, Actually, Jesus did not say, "Pray this prayer." He said, "Pray in THIS WAY." Is there a difference? I think so and a BIG one at that. You have listed some of the themes in what we have named the "Lord's Prayer." Those themes reflect the intimate relationship that our Lord has with His Father and that we should have with our Father. But, in many cases, we have done exactly what the Lord has told us NOT to do. He says in verse 7, "When you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words." The Gentiles thought that the more often they repeated a prayer, the more likely that their gods would sit up and take notice. Christians, on the other hand are heard, not because of repetition, but because God is our Father. Now, I am not saying that the Lord's prayer in this passage is meaningless repetition. It certainly is not. But we only have one record of our Lord using these exact words and phrases this one time. He did not use this particular "formula" in His High Priestly Prayer. No where does Jesus say to use this prayer as a mantra. In fact, He is teaching the exact opposite. But it is human nature to substitute religion for reality of relationship, so now in many churches people just go through the motions of mouthing these words falsely believing that they are "praying." Prayer is, and should be, first and foremost an expression of the heart, never meaningless repetition. The church has done the same thing with the prayer of Jabez. What was one man's petition to God, we have taken and turned it into a chant to try to get God to do something for us. So while our Lord's prayer in this passage does reflect an intimate relationship, we must be careful that we don't take the letter and turn it into the law. Pharisees loved to do this. Legalists love to do this. They love formulas and endless lists of do's and don't's, thinking that it is what a person does or does not do that makes them holy. Jesus is not a formula nor is He a list. He is a real Person and He lives inside us. The Holy Spirit is faithful in leading us to pray as we should. We have no need for a mantra, we have Christ. Hope this helps. ChristLifer2001 |
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17 | Do the Old and New Testaments Agree? | Bible general Archive 1 | ChristLifer2001 | 47266 | ||
Evan, Excellent answer, brother. While God does not change, His covenants with man did. This is reflected throughout the Bible. Where many Christians get tripped up is trying to blend the Old Covenant with the New. There are trying to mix Law and grace to try to make sense of the whole Bible. But as you have correctly stated, we need to view the Old Covenant through the New - it was a shadow of the reality of Christ. At my website, we are doing a verse-by-verse study of Romans 5-8. If you would like to participate, please email me and I'd be happy to give you the link. ChristLifer2001 |
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18 | What the scripture say about morality? | Ps 119:1 | ChristLifer2001 | 46768 | ||
Makarios, Amen, bro! Is the Law sin? Certainly not! It is indeed holy, righteous, and good (a reflection of the perfection of God). And it is certainly necessary to bring sinners to a knowledge that they are dead and require a Savior. As you have rightly stated, the sinful flesh uses the Law to cause us to sin. This is why Christians must not try to live under the Law. If we do, we will certainly be walking in the flesh. Thankfully, God has placed us under a higher law - the law of love - and He fulfills the righteous requirements through us! What a wonderful salvation we enjoy! Thanks for the correspondence, bro! ChristLifer2001 |
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19 | What the scripture say about morality? | Ps 119:1 | ChristLifer2001 | 46594 | ||
Makarios, I remembered this verse also: Romans 5:20 - "The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more." How's that for motivating to sin? The Law causes us to sin all the more so that we would run to Christ and be saved and sanctified by grace! ChristLifer2001 |
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20 | What the scripture say about morality? | Ps 119:1 | ChristLifer2001 | 46592 | ||
Makarios, I found your statement, "One cannot be motivated to sin from reading the Bible," to be interesting. While I understand what you are saying, have you considered Paul's statements about the Law (contained in the Bible) in Romans? There he writes in Rom 7:4: "For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, WHICH WERE AROUSED BY THE LAW, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death." He writes in verse 8: "But sin, taking oportunity through the commandment (the Law), PRODUCED IN ME coveting of every kind..." And in verse 10: "And this commandment (the Law) which (I thought) was to result in life, proved to result in death for me." The Law is indeed holy, righteous, and good, but it's effect in us is to stir up sin. It is not the Law that is the problem. It is indwelling sin that uses the Law to cause us to sin. ChristLifer2001 |
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