Results 121 - 140 of 1773
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: John Reformed Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
121 | Saved by belief or belief and baptism? | NT general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 100992 | ||
"we find that baptism is now a crucial step for salvation" This is a common error of those who presume that man is saved through his own efforts and not by grace alone through faith. They believe that salvation depends not on the will of God; but on the will of man himself. That God merely makes salvation availible, but is man is the one who holds the key to it's effectiveness. The problem, as I see it, is their God is to small. He stands by powerless in the face of human rebellion, unable to effect a change in the hearts of those who reject the gospel. Now, we are told, He has to hope they get baptized as well! My concept of God is that He is more than I can even begin to imagine. Everything that He desires comes to pass. Is 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'; Matt 1:21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Who are "His people"? The Jews; The Gentiles; Both? No! His people are those whom the Father has given Him! Jews and gentiles alike. His people are those who hear His voice. They will not follow another. Luke 15:6 "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' John 10:15,16 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. Notice the use of the word "will" in the passages above. When the Bible says Jesus will or God will...Brother, it will come to pass! To God Alone be the Glory for things which He has done, John |
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122 | Hebrews....Is this book only for the Jew | Hebrews | John Reformed | 100909 | ||
No Skeets, These Hebrews had believed the gospel and had been "born again". John |
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123 | Isn't it a relay race? | 2 Cor 5:17 | John Reformed | 100896 | ||
Dear Noble, Dis-agreement, in itself, is not a bad thing. It is our penchant for being right (regardless of the evidence) that is sinful. Our Lord engaged in many dis-agreements Himself, so did the Apostles. Oh happy day when we at last will all be of one accord! But until that day we are to proclaim the truth according to the enlightenment with which we have been blessed; correcting, and, being corrected of error by the means which God has provided: Scripture. I have enjoyed our communication and, I pray, both of us have profited as a result of it. God Bless, John |
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124 | Isn't it a relay race? | 2 Cor 5:17 | John Reformed | 100833 | ||
Dear Noble, You wrote "it is good too see this admission that we have so much to learn. But we should not minimize our ability to learn, or the opportunities we have to learn, or the fact that, the Holy Spirit teaching us, we are learning." It seems as if you are modifiying your previous statement "God is giving us his truth, and we need not remain in the land of ever learning." If I have mis-understood, and you still hold to your previous claim, please tell me: At what point will we know everything about God that there is to know? 1 Pet 1:12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look. It appears as if even the angels are still learning. Time to go to work. I look forward to your reply. God Bless, John |
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125 | Isn't it a relay race? | 2 Cor 5:17 | John Reformed | 100774 | ||
. Dear Noble, My point is that we have been given the truth but we at times err in our understanding of it. The divisions over what orthodox Christians claim to be correct interpretations are manifold. We certainly shouldn’t just ignore our differences; neither should we be belligerent in our arguments. Argue: To debate or discuss; to treat by reasoning; as, the counsel argued the cause before a full court; the cause was well argued. “Every word of God is truth and it must be accepted. If you want deeper truth, I suggest that we reconcile in our own minds statements that seem to be contradictory.” Would you mind explaining what you mean by “reconcile in our own minds statements that seem to be”? “We do not win anything when we win arguments, for words are wind.” Who said that winning arguments for the sake of self-aggrandizement was of any value? Our goal should be coming to the proper understanding of Scripture for the glory of God! When God, by His Spirit, grants us mutual understanding we all win. “We must appreciate a brother who points out a verse to us and incorporate in our understanding. Only then should we have the nerve to try to teach.” I have nothing against appreciating anyone used by God as a means of enlightenment. Teaching is a gift that God bestows on certain one’s of His choosing. I make no claim to have that gift. Reconciling seemingly contradictory passages can be difficult. What one must bear in mind is that doctrine is made through the harmonizing of verses with one another without sacrificing the truth of either one. Our appeal is to the whole Word of God. It is our touchstone. Job 8:9 "For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are as a shadow." God is giving us his truth, and we need not remain in the land of ever learning. Compared to God we know nothing. I believe we will, throughout eternity, continue to learn that which He is pleased to teach us. John |
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126 | Searching for thr truth | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 100747 | ||
Dear Noble, I believe that the Bible teaches that love for God and love for the brethren are fruits of the Spirit. Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, I point this out for a reason. The reason being is to differentiate between works and grace. While it is true that "loving" is an action or "work", it is also true that the desire to express our love is a consequence of being "in Christ. Any ability to love which we as new creatures possess is a display of Christ's love being manifested through the members of His body. Yes "Let us do it" but let us not forget that the "doing" itself is the grace of God in operation. "It is not I who live but Christ who lives in me" and apart from Him I can do nothing. I don't mean to be at all critical of what you wrote, I just wanted to put the emphasis on Jesus. God Bless, John |
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127 | Searching for thr truth | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 100742 | ||
"If we comply with just these two commandments and live our lives accordingly,we shall be on good ground and when the time comes we shall be on our way to our desired final destination--Heaven" Dear FytRobert, Ah, if only we could our dear Lord would not have to had to suffer as He did in our place. Who among us so loves God or his brothers that he could be said to be in perfect compliance to the law of God? No my friend, the "good ground" upon which we must rely is that which surrounds Calvary. Rom 3:20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. Gal 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. John |
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128 | Isn't it a relay race? | 2 Cor 5:17 | John Reformed | 100739 | ||
Hopefully Noble, one's doctrines grow deeper and closer to the full truth as we study and pray. I don't believe that we should ever take a close-minded attitude when discussing any topic; especially God's Word. Take the Incarnation for example. Can any of us say that our eagle eye has percieved it clearly or our plumb line sounded it's depths? "It has been said by some one that "the proper study of mankind is man." I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God's elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father. There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, "Behold I am wise." But when we come to this master-science, finding that our plumb-line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought, that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass's colt; and with the solemn exclamation, "I am but of yesterday, and know nothing." No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God. We shall be obliged to feel— "Great God, how infinite art thou, What worthless worms are we!" But while the subject humbles the mind it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. He may be a naturalist, boasting of his ability to dissect a beetle, anatomize a fly, or arrange insects and animals in classes with well nigh unutterable names; he may be a geologist, able to discourse of the megatherium and the plesiosaurus, and all kinds of extinct animals; he may imagine that his science, whatever it is, ennobles and enlarges his mind. I dare say it does, but after all, the most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity. And, whilst humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatary. Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead's deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead. It is to that subject that I invite you this morning. We shall present you with one view of it,—that is the immutability of the glorious Jehovah. "I am," says my text, "Jehovah," (for so it should be translated) "I am Jehovah, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." There are three things this morning. First of all, an unchanging God; secondly, the persons who derive benefit from this glorious attribute, "the sons of Jacob;" and thirdly, the benefit they so derive, they "are not consumed.' We address ourselves to these points." (C.H. Spurgeon) God Bless, John |
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129 | Do you have to be baptised to be saved | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 100567 | ||
Emmaus, E-mail is fine by me. I look forward to your reply. printguys@cox.net John |
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130 | Do you have to be baptised to be saved | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 100564 | ||
Dear Emmaus, If you don't mind, I would like to address your reply point by point in the hope of reaching an understanding of why it is that you believe as you do. You wrote, "The difference between us is that I believe the grace that saves is transmitted in baptism,“ How do you reconcile you belief with Eph 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;"? Do you see faith as being in the category of "any other manner He sees fit"? John |
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131 | Do you have to be baptised to be saved | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 100560 | ||
Dear Emmaus, I am one who does believe that baptism is necessary; not necessary for salvation itself, but, to be obediant to Christ, and as a sign to the world that one has been made a new creature. "We are saved by grace... not works". I don't know how anyone could explain away this foundational passage. I'm truly perplexed. Just a comment. Please don't feel compelled to reply. Of course, you are welcome to if you so choose. John |
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132 | Do you have to be baptised to be saved | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 100550 | ||
Dear James, The guiding principle for me is that we are saved by grace alone, by faith alone in Christ alone. This principle was the foundation of the Protestant seperation from the popes of Rome who had concocted a complex theology of salvation that included works as a requirement for salvation. John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. "Be baptized" is a command! Acts 10:48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Rom 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. The desire to please Christ by obeying His commands is an "evidence" that a person has truly been "born again" and is indeed a new creature in Christ. John Reformed |
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133 | Do you have to be baptised to be saved | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 100549 | ||
Dear Emmaus, I take it that your sentence was "tongue in cheek". Even so it seemed to me an inappropriate remark. Eph 6:6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. John |
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134 | Do you have to be baptised to be saved | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 100548 | ||
Dear Emmaus, I take it that your sentence was "tongue in cheek". Even so it seemed to me an inappropriate remark. Eph 6:6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. John |
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135 | Do you have to be baptised to be saved | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 100547 | ||
Dear James, The guiding principle for me is that we are saved by grace alone, by faith alone in Christ alone. This principle was the foundation of the Protestant seperation from the popes of Rome who had concocted a complex theology of salvation that included works as a requirement for salvation. John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. "Be baptized" is a command! Acts 10:48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Rom 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. The desire to please Christ by obeying His commands is an "evidence" that a person has truly been "born again" and is indeed a new creature in Christ. John Reformed |
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136 | How do you evangelize someone who | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 100478 | ||
I need all the help I can get! Daddio |
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137 | Is the sin nature substance or mind set? | Phil 3:9 | John Reformed | 100476 | ||
Hi Pam, As you can see from the thread, all of us struggle against the remnants of the old sin nature. :-) I find a simple reliance on Christ and His work on my behalf to be the best remedy for guilt and shame. Our trials are used by God as a means of His sanctifying work in us. Our failures are also meant to teach us to cling to the cross. Nothing in my hand I bring simply to the cross I cling john |
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138 | Is the sin nature a substance or mindset | Phil 3:9 | John Reformed | 100471 | ||
Dear Steve, Save your breath. John |
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139 | Is the sin nature substance or mind set? | Phil 3:9 | John Reformed | 100467 | ||
Dear Ken, I must ask you not to contact me. I see it as a waste of time, both yours and mine. John |
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140 | Is the sin nature substance or mind set? | Phil 3:9 | John Reformed | 100461 | ||
Dear Pam, "Who is we?" "Lets see some Bible in your answer contextually applied and not pet doctrine." Lets see...in my first sentence I said: The sin nature is the inclination of man's heart toward that which is wicked. Gen 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. "How does Jesus give us a new heart"? It is actually the function of the Holy Spirit and is called regeneration. John 3:7,8 "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." "At what point in time does that happen?" Prior to salvation (I can't give a timeline). I only know what I have learned from Scripture and God has not provided us with all we may wish to know, only that which He has been pleased inform us of. We are justified immediately upon being born new creatures in Christ. Sanctification is a process that lasts until our last breath. John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." "Who's nature is enabling me to win my battles, His or mine?" Gal 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Apart from Christ we can do nothing. It is the Holy Spirit within that causes us to desire that which pleases God. Phil 3:3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, "So what is it, some "magical wand waving thing" we do?" "Not at all". Remember that the battle is the Lord's. Even if we suffer defeat, our ultimate victory is assured. Keep in mind Pam that some people have to work for a living and just don't have the time to answer all your questions in one fell swoop! Peace and Grace, John |
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