Results 1301 - 1320 of 1459
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Results from: Notes Author: John Reformed Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1301 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41772 | ||
When you critisize something it helps if you know what your talking about. John |
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1302 | Predestination | Eph 1:4 | John Reformed | 41771 | ||
Dear Jensen, Nice analogy, bad theology. God knows the end of the mystery because He is the author, not a mere reader. God does not make man come to Christ. He does not force His will on anyone. What God does do is raise spiritualy dead creatures to eternal life. 1 Cor 2:14 "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised." He opens their eyes and ears and they are set free to repent and cryout to Jesus for salvation. Eph2:1-5 "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)" That hardly seems like making someone recieve Christ. John Reformed |
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1303 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41746 | ||
Dear NC, Rom 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Is chastisement by God a good thing for the saint? I say it is good. It demonstrates His love, it brings humility and banishes self-reliance. It drives us back to prayer and bible study and a host of blessings. It sets our hearts on striving and praying for grace to obey God. All these positive results come as a resultof sin. Should we therefore sin so grace may abound? God forbid it! We are constrained from sin by our love for Christ. You do not have an accurate understanding of calvinism, you merely parrot the rhetoric of it's arminian critics. I don't mean tobe unkind, I'm sure you believe what you have said. But you are wrong. If you wish to discover the truth concerning TULIP or reformed theology in general, I suggest www.reformed.org as a reliable source. The following is from an artcle found at that site. Total Depravity (Total Inability) Total Depravity is probably the most misunderstood tenet of Calvinism. When Calvinists speak of humans as "totally depraved," they are making an extensive, rather than an intensive statement. The effect of the fall upon man is that sin has extended to every part of his personality -- his thinking, his emotions, and his will. Not necessarily that he is intensely sinful, but that sin has extended to his entire being. The unregenerate (unsaved) man is dead in his sins (Romans 5:12). Without the power of the Holy Spirit, the natural man is blind and deaf to the message of the gospel (Mark 4:11f). This is why Total Depravity has also been called "Total Inability." The man without a knowledge of God will never come to this knowledge without God's making him alive through Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5). As far as babies in hell are concerned' I am content to trust that the Judge of the Universe will do right. You cite Rev 22:17. Those who are called have ears to hear and a thirst for God. That would indicate their election. The reprobate (or damned if you prefer) are deaf and are attemting to slake their thirst at the fountains of iniquity. John Reformed |
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1304 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41702 | ||
Dear Scribe, Your reasoning leads to the conclusion that those people who have decided to repent and turn to Christ must have something "special" about them and the others who continualy harden their hearts are really wicked and don't deserve God's grace. Perhaps a word search of choose or chosen would be instructive. In the meantime consider the following "hyper predestination" verses. Deut 10:14,15 "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. "Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day." Ps 33:12 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, he people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance." Matt 11:27 "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." Mark 13:20 "Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days." Please tell give me your proof texts that speak as plainly to the contention of yours that we chose Him. Soli Deo Gloria John Reformed |
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1305 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41691 | ||
Dear NC, "If it turns out that he finds it". If we follow your implication literaly, one could conclude that God is not omniscient!. But I know that is not your intent. I do not agree with your supposition that it may refer to man's fee will. It requires reading into the text that which is not there. To your question "Does God allow us freedom to operate within the designed limits somewhere between God's perfect will, and His permissive will?". This question arises from the idea that man can operate independently from God. The fact is that everything that occurs has been preordained by God before He even created us. At the same time He does not violate man's will in doing so. The unregenerate go about trying to destroy God, and end up fulfilling His purpose anyway! His saints desire to do His will and strive to accomplish it. Even when they stumble in sin God uses it to work sanctification inteir lives (humility, thanksgiving etc.). God's plan is "perfection in action". He has created us for His good pleasure. My scriptual supports for this doctrine will have to wait til my next post. Time to earn the daily bread. Soli Deo Gloria, John Reformed |
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1306 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41689 | ||
Dear New Creature, God in His mercy has chosen to save some. The rest are left to follow the wicked desires of their fallen natures. Yes, those who are not predestined unto salvation are predestined to damnation. Rom 9:22-24 "What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles." It is necessary to bear in mind the terrible conequence of the fall. Adam was the federal head of all mankind. When he fell the entire race of man fell. We were born sinful and rebellious creatures without love for God, but rather with hatred for Him. The spiritual nature which should have been our birthright was lost. Rom 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned--" Eph 2:1-5 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" The contemplation of our election by God should fill us with awe. Why has God chosen me instead of my neigbor? Certainly not because of anything in me! To God be the Glory, John Reformed |
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1307 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41647 | ||
Dear Meusing, I agree that God's immense intellect and knowledge are beyond our finite minds, however He has an eternal plan and He is working it out with perfection. Through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit He has revealed a great deal of this plan to His saints. He even has placed within us the desire to grow in our knowledge of Him. He is wonderful beyond words or thoughts. It is for that reason I argue for His soverign reign over His creation. When we more fully understand the wickedness of our sins and the holiness of God , it is then that we appreciate the wonder of His grace. If God had simply cast all of fallen mankind into Hell, He would have been justified in doing so. Some folks think it unfair that He extends His mercy to some and hardens others. I say thank God He has been merciful to any! John Reformed |
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1308 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41645 | ||
Dear New Creature, In reply to your Q:" Is a man predestinated by God to salvation because he believes in Christ or is he enabled to believe in Christ because he is predestinated?" If God predestined someone based upon His foreknowledge of their "accepting Christ" the term predestined would be meaningless. Rom 8:29,30 "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." (this also supports God's preservation of the elect) As you can see from these verses predestination is preceeded by foreknowledge. The arminian proclaims that "foreknew" refers to God's foreknowledge of those who would (in the future),of their own free will, choose Christ. This is isogesis (forcing into scripture something the interpreter wants it to say). Armenian theology demands that foreknew must mean what they say it means, regardless of the context. Has God not foreknown every man whom he has or will create? Are all men called? If so all must be justified. Are all justified? No. That leasds us to the calvinist position which is that God foreknew those He would call, justify and glorify because He predestined them (the elect) before the foundation of the world. The arminian says that this is unfair, that for God to do this would be injust! God replys: Rom 9:20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?" John Reformed |
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1309 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41606 | ||
Dear Newcreature, Do you really believe that God Almighty is dependent on people? Please show me a plain statement from scripture to verify your claim. Does God stand helpless before His creatures, hoping they will "do the right thing"? As far as our being puppets (a schoolboy's arguement against God's absolute soverignty), I do not hold to that idea nor do I need to in order to defend my doctrine. If you would like to post it as a question on the forum, I would be glad to answer it in full. It is plain to me that your conclusions are based upon a misunderstanding of the God's intent in exhortation. Throughout His word He commands us to carry out certain actions or to adopt particular attitudes toward others, ourselves, sin, sanctification, satan, and God Himself. These are the means He has chosen to accomplish His will. He has not left us in the dark and He does not force anyone against their will to comply. Consider Acts 4:26-28 "THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST." "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur." Here we are told that evil men committed evil deeds and that it was Gods plan from the beginning. How can this be? My theology provides a reason that is consistant throughout scripture. It is this: Those who sought the death of Christ did so out of an evil desire. God had planned it and He brought good out of evil without violating or forcing the evil men. I will continue later, God willing. John Reformed |
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1310 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41562 | ||
Dear New Creature, Where did you get the idea of a "partnership" with God? Certainly not from the Bible! Paul called himself a slave, a bond servant, an apostle but never a partner. We are God's workmanship, creatures created by Him for His good pleasure. He may dispose of our lives any way He sees fit. You cited Jude 1:21 as an example of our responsibility to keep ourselves in Christ. But a few verses later we are told: Jude 1:24,25 "Now to HIM who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." I fail to see where we may find reason to boast of our good works in this passage. He keeps us from stumbling; He makes it possible for us to stand before God. Any good works God is pleased to perform through us have already been prepared from eternity, and they will be done. Not because we're so hot, but because He has ordained them to take place! We must not confuse the means of grace with "works" that we must do to remain saved. When Jesus surredered His spirit to the Father, He said "It is finished". At that moment all the sins of all the people (past present and future) were atoned for by Christ and settled forever. The notion that a blood bought child of God could fall and perish is unthinkable. Those who profess to know Christ but die in their sin were never His at all. His work on the cross, like everything else He has done, is perfect. It accomplished the salvation of every person the Father had given Him. He never fails! I caution you, as a brother in Christ, to re-examine your conception of who God is and who you are. To God be the Glory, John Reformed |
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1311 | Clarification from John Reformed...? | Rom 1:16 | John Reformed | 41495 | ||
Dear Brent, The human race in it's fallen condition wants nothing to do with God or His Son. They are in rebellion against Him and would crucify Jesus again if given the opportunity. I don't believe we truly understand the depth to which Adam and his decendents have fallen. I contend that unless a man be born again he cannot even see the Kingdom of God! Being dead in trespasses and sin, he has no desire for spiritual truth and in fact cannot even recieve it. His salvation is totaly dependent on the grace of God. Saving faith is a gift from God bestowed upon those He has chosen from before the foundation of the world. He chose them not on the basis of any work that He foresaw them performing in the future (that would make God dependent on something outside of Himself) but according to His good pleasure. This view of God "Almighty" is the view held by the fathers of the Protestant faith, and was based on the Scripture alone. The modern popular view that places salvation in the hands of fallen mankind is dead wrong. Consider Pauls description of the "deadness" of the unregenerated (Ro 1 and 2). Can a dead man raise himself to new life through an action of his own will? The unregenerate man is a child of the devil. John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father." Eph 2:1,2 "And you were dead in your trespasses and sin in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience." 1 John 5:19 "We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." Rom 3:9-12 "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE." Until one gains a true perception of the hopelessness of fallen mankind he can never appreciate the fullness of God,s grace to those of us who have been saved. John |
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1312 | Clarification from John Reformed...? | Rom 1:16 | John Reformed | 41455 | ||
Dear Brother Brent, I am afaid our differences run much deeper than you realize. I regret this very much. But just as aleopard cannot change his spots, neither can you nor I change our beliefs. We are both totaly dependent on the Holy Spirit's enlightenment of our minds. I believe in God's absolute soverignty over mankind. He is meciful to those He chooses and He hardens others (Ro 9). You ,on the other hand, believe God desires to be merciful toward all, and He leaves them to choose for themselves. We can both offer scripture supportive of our respective positions, and it may be that He will use our communication with an another as the means by which we may be brought to the truth. One never knows. But I am convinced that there is no happy medium upon which we may agree. That's OK with me. I hope you feel the same way as I do. I see nothing sinful in two brothers attempting to bring each other into a more perfect understanding of the God we both love and seek to serve. It is now 11:30 PM. I have just recently arrived home from a 14 Hour drive and my mind is beginnig to get fuzzy. I may reread this post tommorro and wonder at it. So please extend me some extra grace on this one. Your Brother, John |
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1313 | Clarification from John Reformed...? | Rom 1:16 | John Reformed | 40468 | ||
Dear Brent, Rom 1:18-21 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." There is not a single person who does not believe that God exists. The problem lies in their suppression of that knowledge. That is the condition of mankind as a result of Adam's fall. In the time prior to the incarnation of Christ, there was but one way which God chose to redeem His people. That way was by faith. The way of faith remained the only way after the incarnation as well. All those who enter into His rest do so through faith. I am sure we are in agreement so far. The question we now need to address is the object of that faith. I would say that those believers in the OT placed their faith In the God of Abraham, Iaasac and Jacob. God had given them the law and the prophets which they were commanded to obey. When they sinned they were to follow the proscribed means which He provided (the sin offerings). It was faith in what God provided at that time that secured their atonement. Looking back from the vantage point of the new covenant, we see these things as the shadows of things to come. The prophycies regarding Messiah have been fulfiled in Christ. We now have a better covenant, with better promises. This new covenant is proclaimed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. But how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And How shall they hear without a preacher? The witness of creation reveals God to every man, but it only serves to strip him of any excuses. The Gospel alone has the power of salvation. What then becomes of those who have never heard? Is God therefore injust? And of what use is man's free will if he is not provided an opportunity? God Bless, John |
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1314 | Easter questions | Ex 12:2 | John Reformed | 40421 | ||
Dear Angel1, False gods do not exist except in the minds of pagans and atheists. Satan is called the god of this world, but he does not meet the requirement of a true god. First of all he is a created being that in itself knocks him out of the running for diety. They are false gods by virtue of the fact that people falsely believe them to be gods! Our task is to preach the Gospel. As for satan, I pray the Father will deliver me from his temptations. I do not fear him because I am in Christ. If I resist satan he will flee. Iam also warned to treat him as a roaring lion and to see to it that he does'nt get his fangs into me. That is why I wear my armor. I do believe we are to follow after the Spirit. May God give us both the grace to so do. Your Brother in Christ, John |
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1315 | Easter questions | Ex 12:2 | John Reformed | 40380 | ||
Dear Angel1, You expressed the desire to mommapbs to overturn Easter and replace it with Resurrection Sunday. You wrote " Mommapbs-definitly "ressurection day " is more worth celebrating than " Ishtar" Lets start getting rid of the false gods. and ,yes, it would wreek havoc with our vacation schedules-God Bless--angel1 Have you found "Ishtaritism" to be a problem in your church? Does your church call Ishtar "Easter"? I must confess my questions were made "tongue in cheek" but I don't mean to be cruel in the asking of them. I do want to know what has promted this negative reaction to a centuries old church tradition. The anti-easter campaign seems to be a modern day phenomena. Were the leaders of the past all asleep lo these many years? Of course not! The problem is there is no problem. The world will continue to rebel against God and His Christ until the 2nd Coming. They are spiritualy dead and cannot understand or recieve spiritual things. So they will not be moved what ever we change the name to. Those who believe the Gospel will be brought into the Church and will learn the true meaning of Easter. Can you give me one positive consequence occuring from this campaign? How do you propose to accomplish this goal? Peace and Grace, John |
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1316 | Easter questions | Ex 12:2 | John Reformed | 40334 | ||
Tim, I remember when I was a little kid, I loved Eastertime. My parents would hide eggs an my brother and I would search high and low to discover each and every one. Now I liked hardboiled eggs as well as the next guy, but it was'nt the eggs themselves that made for such excitement. It was the fun of it all. Later that morning we would be packed off to church to worship God and to thank Him for our salvation. The church itself would be decorated to symbolize the Resurrection. I liked it. It was really rather beautiful, even to my young mind. Perhaps that is part of the reason I become saddened when the term Easter is disparaged. What is in a name? How many children are decieved into idolatry because of a name? If a person considers it a sin to call the day Easter, then for him to do so is a sin. I do not. Grace and Peace, Brother John |
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1317 | Easter questions | Ex 12:2 | John Reformed | 40333 | ||
Dear Angel1, Ishtar was a false god created by man. She never actually existed. But I'm sure you know that already. I share the concern regarding the corrruption of Godly things by the decietful imaginings and wicked desires of men. Their judgement will be deserved. On the other hand I wonder if we don't get a bit hysterical about it sometimes. Rather than worrying about what the minions of satan are doing to mess up the culture, we should be looking to Christ and standing on the promises he has given us, His children. This business about changing Easter to Ressurection Sunday is a nice idea in many ways. But I believe it is wrong to think that christians can be seduced away from Christ on the basis of the name the day has been given. If you attend a church that declares the Word of God, if you are a Godly person who raises His children in Christ, what is there to fear? Rom 8:37-39 "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For 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 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." God Bless Angel1, John Reformed |
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1318 | Easter questions | Ex 12:2 | John Reformed | 40331 | ||
Dear mommapbs, The only thing that concerns me is that we don't become legalistic over eggs, bunnies and trees. I think we can find a paralell here between the topic under discussion and Paul's teaching about food sacrificed to idols. For Paul all things were legal but not all things were profitable. As long as we do not cause our weaker brother to stumble, we are free to exersize our Christian liberty. I know folks who consider the celebration of any holiday sinful. On the other hand there are those who consider the failure to worship on certain days a mortal sin! I agree in teaching our children spiritual discernment but with gentleness and goodheartedly. I'm afaid that some will be taught to look for the devil in all these traditions and have the joy robbed from them while still babes. Having fun is a gift that we christians should enjoy more than anyone else on earth. Who should be more joyous than we? Have a Happy and Blessed Easter, John |
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1319 | Easter questions | Ex 12:2 | John Reformed | 40325 | ||
Hi Tim, I began reading this thread and decided to put my two cents in. With the exception of the KJV most popular translations use passover as the translation of pascha (as well as the Latin Vulgate). The world will always corrupt spiritual things (not that I consider any day more than another) and we need to remember that when we see the paganizaion of "Christian Holidays". Just as long as the church does not fall into the error that Rome has (Treating certain days as holier than others) we are free in Christ to pay especial joy and thanksgining on these or any other days we choose. Rom 14:6,7 "He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God, For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;". God Bless Tim, John |
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1320 | The Gospel the sole means of salvation? | Rom 1:16 | John Reformed | 39979 | ||
Dear Steve, Cyclist's abounding love and joy for his Lord is truly infectious. Even as I write this note I cannot stop smiling. It is a contagion we all could stand more exposure to. Hey! Jump in my man, the water is great! Your Brother, John |
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