Results 121 - 128 of 128
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Unanswered Bible Questions Author: Aixen7z4 Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
121 | The Old Covenant lingers? | Heb 8:13 | Aixen7z4 | 135301 | ||
This different opinion on Hebrews 8:13 is reminiscent of the difficulty many have with 1 Corinthians 13:8. The thing was going to end. But when? In the first place, who said it would end? Was it the person who wrote to the Hebrews? Or was it Jeremiah? (If you say it was God then ask whom did he use to reveal it). What was supposed to end? Was it the sacrifice of lambs only? Or was it the entire Old Covenant? When was it to end? Was it supposed to go on for another seventy years after the cross? Or was it to end abruptly at the cross? The writer to the Hebrews was referring to the fact that God had spoken. He was saying that’s the way it is whenever God speaks of old and new. “ When God speaks of a new covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and ready to be put aside” (NLT). “When God speaks of a new [covenant or agreement], He makes the first one obsolete (out of use). And what is obsolete (out of use and annulled because of age) is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with altogether” (AMP). The point would be moot by now if we could decide that the Old Covenant has certainly finally gone by now, two thousand years after the cross. But alas! There is no consensus as to that. There are those who still keep the Sabbath, abstain from meats, pay the tithe, etc. Please note that someone is asking, based on the same verse, whether there are ten commandments now in force, or nine. There are Messianic Jewish churches now, and it is not a secret what they do there. But I visited a Protestant church not long ago and saw an entire observation of the Feast of Tabernacles. When will that Old Covenant die? As always, it is unfortunate when the original questioner disappears without responding to the answers that have been given. I wonder what rut and disciplerami understand by now? Is it possible they still think the New Covenant has not even started as yet? |
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122 | Why did God give ten commandments? | Heb 8:13 | Aixen7z4 | 135397 | ||
A short, sweet, poignant statement was made by one Radioman2, #77737, on 03-09-03, that everyone in the church should read and ponder. It says that the Law of Moses consisted of hundreds of commandments, not just ten. Do we know why there is so much focus on ten of the commandments? Everyone who uses the term Ten Commandments or who lifts up a plaque with that Decalogue on it, should think about it. That includes me. I have one on the wall in my office. The question is, Why ten? And I am not interested in knowing the spiritual significance of the number. I would like to know why those ten are special, above the other hundreds that are recorded. I do not know if it is true that there are 613. I did not take the time to count them. But I am certain there are more than ten. When Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22) he quoted two. What is interesting to me is that the second one he quoted is not one of the ten. The command to love our neighbor is not one of the Ten Commandments. And yet someone reading here is upset because they think this writer is minimizing or seeking to eliminate that commandment. It is because we have giving so much prominence to the ten. I do not know what the Ten Commandments are supposed to represent. They are certainly not all that the Jews were supposed to keep. The command to love the neighbor is not in Exodus 20 and it is not in Deuteronomy 6. If someone points out that it is in one or both of those places I will come back red-faced and apologize for missing it. As far as I know that commandment is recorded in Leviticus 19. It is not a part of the Ten Commandments, and yet Jesus said it is one of the greatest. Leviticus also contains many other commandments that I did not take the time to count. And yet I hear Jesus saying that those two commandments encapsulate all of the Law. Paul seems to go a step further when he says (Romans 13) that there is only one commandment. But I do not think he is going a step further. The two go together. If we love God, then we keep his commandment. And his commandment is that we love one another. Something within us protests that we can love God and not love our brother, but God says no. If you have done it to your brother you have done it to God. I suspect that it goes both ways, that hating your brother is hating God, but we should not digress to go into that here. Some of us make such a fuss about keeping the Sabbath and what meats to eat, and yet we do not take time or care to love. We talk about the Ten Commandments and miss the one. Think about your own feelings now. Can you answer the question with love in your heart. Then tell us why there has been such a focus on ten of the commandments, and not the six hundred, and not the two, or the one. I see that the Bible itself mentions the Ten Commandments only three times. The first time was when God gave them. The other two times it refers to the time that he gave them. I say that God might have said just three things. 1. I love you (And I have shown it in so many ways). 2. I want you to love me (And show it by trusting me and obeying me). 3. I want you to love one another (Do nice things for one another). But we have gotten focused on the letter and lost sight of his heart. It seems to me that God put forth Ten Commandments only as a representative sample, to keep our attention. But there is much more, and it goes much deeper. But what do you say? |
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123 | How many? | Heb 8:13 | Aixen7z4 | 135526 | ||
I wonder how we would answer the question now. How many commandments are in force? 1. 10 2. 9 3. 613 4. 2 5. 1 |
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124 | What's the proper response to injustice? | 1 Pet 2:19 | Aixen7z4 | 152998 | ||
The problem of injustice persists, and no doubt merits some attention. Many Christians experience injustice and have had difficulty in responding to it. Peter seems to be saying (1 Peter 2:19) that we should take it patiently. Moreover, it is not only deserved punishment that must be taken patiently but also suffering that has not been earned. (See v. 20). One may suffer patiently for having done good deeds. That may include situations where one is prosecuted, or otherwise persecuted, for preaching the Gospel. But what when one is innocent, having broken no laws? What when one is falsely accused or punished without due process of law? It is probably true that some people in every society experience injustice. For some, it is systematic and continual. For some, it is occasional, and they may seek clarification by consulting legal experts. Sometimes legal experts offer their assistance in an attempt to right the wrong. How are the children of God to respond when they think they are victims of injustice? There may well be different opinions, and this may depend in part on the extent to which one has suffered from injustice. Please share from the Scriptures rather than from personal experience. Is it always appropriate to identify with our Lord Jesus Christ in his trial and to suffer, simply committing ourselves (as in 1 Peter 2:23) to our God who judges righteously? Does scripture ever require or allow for any alternative or additional responses? |
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125 | How did you discover what your gift was? | 1 Pet 4:10 | Aixen7z4 | 104024 | ||
Before God ever made man, he made the world and a Garden, and in it everything for man. Then he made man and put him in the Garden and gave him a job to do. He even made a woman to help him. Before God ever saved you he had set up the church, and a local assembly to accommodate you. He put you in the church where you could get your spiritual needs met, and he gave you a job to do there. He gave you a gift and he gave you as a gift to the church to bless them. How did you discover what your gift was? And how are you using it? |
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126 | How do we know that God is love? | 1 John 4:16 | Aixen7z4 | 126954 | ||
We know that God is love. The Bible tells us so (1 John 4:8,16). But a person may sometimes find if difficult to believe that. “If God is love, then why …?”, they ask. Many evidences convince us that God is, that is, that he exists (Romans 1:20; Hebrews 11:6). We may understand from looking at his creation that God is great (Psalm 33:6-9; Jeremiah 10:12; Jeremiah 32:17) and he is wise (Psalm 104:24; Psalm 136:5; Proverbs 3:19; Jeremiah 51:15). We may even believe that God is good (Psalm 37:1; Isaiah 63:7) because the things he made are good (Genesis 1:31;Psalm 19:1) and he has done good (Psalm 136; Matthew 5:45) . Moreover, his laws are good (Nehemiah 9:13;Psalm 19:7,8) and they are designed for our good (Psalm 19:11; Isaiah 1:19). Similarly, we may see and understand that God is true. He is just. He is holy. Etc. But how do we know of a truth that God is love? It is a topic I intend to pursue, and I trust that others will join in. It is potentially a topic of great benefit, and deep. For one thing, I have noted that “true” and “good” and “just” and “holy” are adjectives. But “Love” is a noun. How can God be love? What does it mean? And how do we know it? How can we know it? |
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127 | How do we "contend for the faith"? | Jude 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 96933 | ||
How do you "contend for the faith"? Jude says that it is an urgent necessity. The need comes up when a new doctrine when a new doctrine comes along that is contrary to what we have received in scripture. In context, Jude is noting the doctrine that the grace of God allows us to lead immoral lives. It seems that paul had been accused of teaching this and he had made it clear (Romans 6) that they had misquoted him. On the contrary he had taught that the grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness (Titus 2). But now that doctrine was being preached and the church was to contend for the faith, apparently to keep such doctrines out. It may be fair to say that other false doctrines have come into the church since that time. So we may be called to contend for the faith again. Since "the servant of the Lord must not strive" (2 Tim 2;24) then how do we do it? How do we contend for the faith? |
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128 | What do we believe? | Jude 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 116973 | ||
What do we believe? What does the Bible say that we believe? Now, this is an Aixen question, and it requires thought. Please think about it some before responding. Please do not judge the question, but try to answer it. Please do not stray into controversy, or personal attacks, but consider this, that scriptural answers to this question may be of help to someone. Having come to the church, it seems appropriate that one should enquire as to what we believe. One comes in, not to bring one’s own ideas, but to join in with the assembly and to identify with it’s beliefs. The question may be asked by one who belongs; especially by a new member. A visitor who is not a believer should ask, “What do you believe?” And then, those who answer should not be stating a personal opinion. Neither should he say that there is a variety, and that there are differences among us, in what we believe. There is one faith (Ephesians 4:5). There is something called “the faith” that we should contend for . Jude reminds us that it has been once for all delivered to the saints, and we should beware of certain ones who will creep in unawares to deny parts of it or otherwise to dilute it and corrupt it. You should understand, if you stop and think about it, that I am not talking about an earthly organization, where people follow an earthly leader, or where they decide in a democratic manner what they believe. It is not a situation where the majority opinion or the latest fad or the dictates of the strong prevails. This is the church of the living God and only his word prevails. The question then is, “What does the Bible say that we believe?” I pray that we can be specific here and not say simply, that we believe the Bible. The prophets and the apostles tell us in specifics, what it is that we believe. Here are one example: We believe and are sure that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (John 6:69). We are borrowing the words of Peter here, but we see that he is speaking for all of us. We do believe that about Christ, and by “we” I mean all of us who are saved. For But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name (John 20:31) . The person who does not believe that Jesus is the Christ is not saved. He may not believe. But he is not allowed to come into an assembly and dilute what we believe. We believe what the word of God says, and it does not change. It is forever settled in heaven. It bears repeating, I hope, that we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We also believe that he is God. We believe that he is Lord. He is the head of the church. He is the mediator between God and man. Mostly, I should say, we believe in him. We believe many other things, but they are all in him. And I have chosen not to fill this paragraph with references, but some of us know what they are. I encourage us to join in to ask or to answer the question, and to search the scriptures for the answer. A visitor may be asking what it is that we believe. Can we tell them, in this thread? |
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