Results 161 - 177 of 177
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Results from: Notes Author: Bill Mc Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
161 | Sir Pent and GeneralWas, notice please. | Bible general Archive 1 | Bill Mc | 14549 | ||
Sir Pent, there was no offense taken whatsoever. Please don't feel that I've taken any. I just wanted to make it very clear that I have no ties with GeneralWas (as far as I know). To be honest, that link was forwarded to me from another forum poster and I have not even read anything on it concerning Fowler's theory of the Trinity. The Trinity issue, for me, is something that I (rightly or wrongly) have never been able to comepletely understand and I accept it as fact by faith. Go in grace, brother. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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162 | What are the provisions of the NC? | Rom 7:4 | Bill Mc | 14434 | ||
Steve, I agree, the New Covenant is with His Church, which is made up of born-again Jews and Gentiles. But where did the gospel first go? To the Jew, who (as a nation) rejected it. So it was then taken to the Gentiles. And the main provisions for this New Covenant are found in Hebrews 10:16-18 - God writes His laws (plural) not Law (Mosaic) upon our hearts and minds. And He remembers on sins no more. Also, reitterated in Hebrews 8:12-13 - He is merciful to our sins, and He remembers them no more. Verse 13 says that the first covenant (Mosaic) has been made obsolete. We are no longer under that Old Covenant. And, when Christ returns, the nation of Israel will recognize Him as Messiah and the New Covenant will then be brought to fruition. If you are resting in this Covenant, Steve, then your standing before God should not be a struggle. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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163 | What law(s) did Christ fulfill? | Rom 7:4 | Bill Mc | 14355 | ||
Append: the Christian is now under what is called the 'law of Christ' - love God and love others. But, once again, Christ will fulfill even this law as we trust Him to live through us and abide in His sufficiency. | ||||||
164 | What do YOU think, fellow Berian? | 1 Thess 5:23 | Bill Mc | 14349 | ||
Ed, understood. I see your meaning. I may not use the same words, but I do understand about reminding yourself of your position in Christ. Sometimes our experiences and emotions lie to us (as well as the Evil One himself) and we do need to remind ourselves of who we are in Him. I may not use the same terminology, but I can relate to the concept and I frequently renew my mind through scripture concerning my new identity in Christ. Paul expresses a similar idea, "God has reconciled you through the death of His Son...so be reconciled (it's a true fact so appropriate the truth to your experience). This is not name-it-and-claim-it theology because God Himself is the initiator. We are only availing ourselves of what is already true in God's eternal realm into our realm of experience. Anyway, God bless and keep growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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165 | What do YOU think, fellow Berian? | 1 Thess 5:23 | Bill Mc | 14337 | ||
Ed, thanks for your comment. I have already been accused of being both prideful and ignorant. I did agree with the ignorant accessment, that is why I ask questions. But my allegiance is to Christ and His Word alone. I am just curious as to what has happened to critical thinking in the Christian community. I.e. many Christians will say that Christ has forgiven all our sins - past, present, and future, then they will turn right around and say that, as a Christian, you must continue to confess your sins to get more forgiveness. These cannot both be true unless you redefine forgiveness into sub-categories such as judicial, parental, experiential, positional, practical, etc. on and on, which scripture never supports. If truth is truly true, it will stand up under the closest scrutiny. Truth is what God says. And God says that His Word is truth and that Christ is full of grace and truth. I am not trying to be adversarial. I am trying to get some of my questions answered in a way that departs from platitudes and Christian cliches. Fortunately, I cannot be hung. I have already been crucified with Christ :) In Christ, Bill Mc |
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166 | Why are we so quick to take offense? | 1 Thess 5:23 | Bill Mc | 14301 | ||
Nicodemus, I concur 100 percent. That is precisely why I am here (on this forum) asking some of my questions. I believe the NASB is the most accurate, literal translation we have in the English language today. But I believe that because of a consensus of biblical scholars, not because I know greek. I can read what it says, but I don't always know what it MEANS. That is where I need the Holy Spirit (primarily), other scripture, and fellow believers, theologians, and scholars to help me. So, no, we should not AVOID the use of great resources that are available. And I am not asking you (or anyone else) to discontinue using them. But, as you have said, they are 'someone else's opinion' as are ALL my posts. Thanks again. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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167 | Lifting up of hands? | Ps 63:4 | Bill Mc | 14116 | ||
Dear Steve, unfortunately, I don't know anyone who knows Arabic, Japanese, or another language NOT influenced by English - I'm sheltered culturally :). I'm going to have to stay with English, brother. | ||||||
168 | Is the Christian under Law? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12942 | ||
Dear JVH0212, I, for the time being, stand corrected. I will look into the other 613. Please accept my apologies until I do further research. I though the reference was to not picking grains of wheat on the sabbath, etc. But, my initial assertion still stands. We, as Christians, are not under the 10 or the 613. Thanks for the 'gentle' correction. In Christ, Bill MC |
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169 | Are Positional and Practical truths true | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12938 | ||
Dear Joe (not Steve, my apologies), In Philippians 3, look at what Paul is talking about. Consider context. Look at verse 11 - "In order that I may attain to the resurrection of the dead. Not that I have already obtained it..." Joe, is he not talking about the completed creation? When we stand before God redeemed not only in spirit, but in soul and body also? He is talking about PHYSICAL bodily resurrection in verse 11, is he not? How could you miss this? As I understand it, this perfect can be translated 'complete.' We will not be 'complete' until we have our new resurrected bodies. But our spirit is our identity. And our spirits have been joined to Christ's Spirit, haven't they? As to righteousness, Rom 5:16 says that it is a gift that must be received. How can you earn a gift? 2 Cor 5:21 - When was Christ made sin? When we made righteous (it says made, not declared, brother)? Eph 4:24 - Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God HAS BEEN (past tense) created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Phil 3:19 - the righteousness which comes from God (not ourselves and our efforts) on the basis of faith (not good works or Law-keeping). You said, "Therefore, in one sense Christ's righteousness has been imputed to our account and we have been declared righteous (rather than the "infused" righteousness of Roman Catholicism), but another sense in which that spiritual reality is to be lived out in our day-to-day existence, with a goal in mind and by the power of the Holy Spirit." Bingo! You do understand! So it is, as you say, a spiritual reality. Right! Because it is a reality, we live it out! I have never said, "Let go and let God." What I would say is, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. My "resting in Christ," which you seem to loathe is far from an inactive, stagnant, lethargic,'robotic'attitude which you seem to think it is. I agree, our wills ARE definitely involved with our outward conforming to Christ's image. But, it is a attitude that says, as Christ did, "God, I trust that YOU and YOU ALONE will be my source for everything I do. And that I will do it only because YOU are doing it through me." This was Christ's attitude. He said that He said nothing and did nothing unless the Father told Him to say or do it. He relied COMPLETELY upon the Father as His source for everything. Let me ask you, Joe, was Christ a 'robot?' Did He 'turn everything off?' No, of course not. He trusted God the Father to operate through Him every moment of His life, even when, in the garden, His human will wanted the cup to pass from Him. This is my goal, brother. Not to keep the Law of Moses, but, rather, the law of Christ. I want to say, as Paul did, "I, Bill Mc, no longer live, but Christ (not the Law) lives in me. And the life I live in my body, I live BY FAITH (not rules) in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. It is anything but 'turning everything off.' It is almost scary to trust God that way. I lived out of my flesh (self-sufficiency) for so many years. My life is now hidden IN Christ. And, trust me, Joe, it is anything but inactive. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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170 | What is your identity in Christ? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12929 | ||
Well said, Joe. Untrue, but well said. The church fathers which you so highly regard "rested" their cases upon Sola Scriptura. As you know, Martin Luther was converted due to the fact that a man is justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ, and not works (keeping the Law). But, brother, since we are on the subject, let's look at a quote from Spurgeon: "According to this gracious covenant, the Lord treats His people as if they had never sinned. Practically, He forgets all their trespasses. Sins of all kinds He treats as if they had never been; as if they were quite erased from His memory. O miracle of grace! God here does that which is certain aspects is impossible to Him. His mercy works miracles which far transcends all other miracles. Our God ignores our sin now that the sacrifice of Jesus has ratified the covenant. We may rejoice in Him without fear that He will be provoked to anger against us because of our iniquities. See! He puts us among the children ; He accepts us as righteous; He takes delight in us as if we were perfectly holy. He even puts us in places of trust; makes us guardians of His honor, trustees of the crown jewels, stewards of the gospel. He counts us worthy, and gives us a ministry; this is the highest and most special proof that He does not remember our sins. Even when we forgive an enemy, we are very slow to trust him; we judge it to be imprudent to do so. But the Lord forgets our sins, and treats us as if we had never erred. O my soul, what a promise is this! Believe it and be happy. - Charles H. Spurgeon Even Spurgeon believed in a PRACTICAL, not positional forgiveness. He said that God ignores our sin now the the new covenant was ratified. Maybe Spurgeon's NT was thinner than yours... I still feel that you misunderstand my position. Let me try, one more time, to clarify it. At salvation, conversion, the new birth, we are MADE, in our spirits (our identities), holy, righteous, acceptable, saints, because of our exchange with Christ. He became sin for us, we become the righteousness OF God (not our own) in Christ. We now, as Christians, get to live out through our souls and bodies what we have been made spiritually (you would probably call this practical sanctification). This 'living out' is a process of having our souls (minds, wills, emotions) renewed through Scripture and the Holy Spirit to conform us outwardly to the image of Christ that we have already been made inwardly in our spirits. Brother, you have tried to redefine every Scripture I have mentioned into practical and positional qualifications. So you are dismissing them out of hand. You're implying that, "Yes, God sees me as positionally righteousness but that's not what I really am." Further quoting of Scripture is pointless if you don't believe them anyway. And, Joe, if you're going to redefine the Scriptures, then further discussion is, unfortunately, unprofitable for us both. But, I think no less of you. You know your Scriptures. I admire that. Unfortunately, I confess, I don't know very many. Though I have been a Christian for 30 years, most of that time has been spent listening to others interpret it for me instead of relying on the Holy Spirit and other Scripture to reveal it to me. So, practically (hey, I used that word), I have a way to go. So, I may be ignorant but arrogant? Anyway, I guess until I'm better equipped, I'll not debate this particular issue with you, brother. In the meantime, I'll search my thinner NT for where God describes His church as a fat, lazy, impotent element of soceity. Interesting view...maybe in Revelation cahpters 2 and 3... In Christ, Bill Mc |
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171 | What is your identity in Christ? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12913 | ||
Dear Joe, I guess we will just have to agree to disagree. Contrary to your conclusion, my friend, I am no longer a sinner. I am a saint, a child of God, who occasionally still sins. But Christ has changed my identity. I was a sinner. Now, I am a saint. 63 times in the New Testament believers are called "saints." Beleivers are NEVER called sinners in the NT. Even the Corinthians who, admittedly, had a lot of sins in their midst, are called saints. It costs Christ His life to change my identity to a saint. I will not insult what He has done by saying that I'm still a sinner. My actions do not determine my identity. My birth does. And because Christ is a righteous, perfect person, and I am IN HIM, I am righteous and perfect before God. And I never said that I don't sin. But my sin has been dealt with by Christ, once for all. As to anti-law, I already adressed that issue. I am not against it. It leads us to Christ. It's wonderful at pointing out a sinner's need for a Savior. When it has done that, it has fulfilled it's purpose. I'm joined to the Reality, not the shadow. I do believe in law - it's called the law of the Spirit of Christ Jesus (check Rom 8:1,2) and it has set me free from the law of sin and death. Paul calls it "the law of Christ" - love. Well, brother, I feel we've probably taken this as far as is profitable. You can cling to what you allege that Catholics, Protestants, Reformed, Dispensationalists, Calvin, Luther, Augustine, Edwards, and Spurgeon say. I'm going to "rest" in Sola Scriptura. Nevertheless, Joe, thanks for your correspondence. I understand your opinion. I was taught it and believed it for 30 years of my life. But I pray, Joe, that you, being rooted and grounded in love (not Law), may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth , and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. In Him, Bill Mc |
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172 | Is the Christian under Law? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12902 | ||
Hi Rob! Welcome to the forum. Seeing as you've probably been reading many of my posts in this topic (I'm rather long-winded), I'll offer my answer and you can repost the question if you would like other's input. From this topic, I've been referring primarily to the 10 commandments. Galatians, the book most cited to show that Christians are not under law, defines it in chapter 4:24 as '...the covenant proceeding from Mount Sinai...' These are the 'Words' of God given to Israel through Moses. The Jews invented the other 613 OT laws to give practical application as to how to keep the primary ten. So obviously, if the Law (10 commandments does not apply to the Christian, then the other 613, by default, are no longer applicable also. So, from Galatians and Hebrews, I've been trying to substantiate the passing of the Law as the primary 10 commandments given to the Jews. Hope this helps. In Christ, Bill MC |
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173 | Is the Christian under Law? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12898 | ||
Dear Risen, you explained it better than I! Thank you! In Christ, Bill Mc | ||||||
174 | Is the Christian under Law? | Ex 1:1 | Bill Mc | 12845 | ||
Dear Steve, Here are your answers (in brief): 1. See John 16:8-11. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgement. But notice what the sin is in vs. 9 - the world doesn't believe in Christ. This is why people go to hell. Because they don't accept Christ. 2. I already stated what God wants. He desires a people that have Himself living in them as Adam and Eve did. God has made man in such a way that we are design to 'run on God.' He wants to be our source for life and everything we need and are. And, brother, look at Matthew 5:18, ALL OF IT, Christ says, "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law UNTIL all is accomplished." Did Christ accomplish the fulfillment of the law? If He did, if it is truly "finished" as He said, then He had every right to bring in the New Covenant and make the Law obsolete. As far as the Law goes, Christ did fulfill it. He was not saying that the Law would pass away until heaven and earth do. He was saying that the Law would not pass away until He fulfilled it - until the Law was accomplished. He said, "I did not come to abolish (destroy) the Law, but to fulfill it." Steve, did Christ do it? If He did, and He is our righteousness, then why are you trying to fulfill it? Do you honestly believe that you can? Yes, I am equating the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil with the Law. And, yes, the Old Testament saints you mention did know right from wrong. However, I miss the point of your question. 3. As for Rom 2:20, Paul is using sarcasm on the Jews who felt they were righteous by holding the Law above everything else, including Christ. He says in vs. 17: They rely upon the Law (not Christ) and boast in God saying, "WE know His will, WE are the ones who approve what's essential because the Law taught us. WE are a guide to the blind, WE are a light to those in darkness. WE are the correctors of the foolish, teachers of the immature. WE have the Law, which is the entire embodiment of knowledge and truth." How ludicrous. Christ is the embodiment of all knowledge and truth, is He not? These were the claims of the self-righteous Pharisees, the keepers of the Law. They felt that they had (and kept) the Law so they required nothing else. These were not Paul's claims. Paul said that if he boasted, it would be in Christ alone. Rom 5:20 - The Law did make transgressions increase. Paul solidifies this in Rom 7:7-9. Rom 6:14 - Again, brother, "you are not under law but under grace." Rom 7:12 - I agree 150 percent, the Law is holy, and righteous, and good. But it has done it's job in my life. It showed me as being utterly sinful and that I could never keep it. It showed me my need for Christ. But I no longer need it. I have something better than commandments written on stone. I have Christ in my heart. I need Christ and Him alone. In closing, let me say that I've enjoyed this discourse. But, I have to wonder, did you even read my last post? What do you do with all those Scriptures from Galatians and Romans that say we are not under the Law? Do you dismiss them? What about the marriage analogy Paul uses? Perhaps you misunderstand me. I am not anti-Law. It's not a matter of what OT laws I like or don't like. It's a matter of the fact that I am joined, not to the Law, but to Christ. If I died tomorrow, what bearing would the laws of the United States have on me? None. I would be dead and no longer bound by the laws. It's the same for the Christian. Christ has, through His death and our union with Him in it, caused us to be dead to the law. It's not that I don't like the Law. Indeed, I am thankful for the Law. I agree with what Paul says in Romans 7:7 - I wouldn't have known what sin was without the Law. Steve, the sinner, the unbeliever needs the Law to show him his need for Christ. What I am saying is that, once we except Christ, we no longer need the Law as a tutor. I have shown you numerous Scriptures to support this statement. I'm not making it up. I tried to 'keep the Law' as a Christian for 30 years of my life. And, no matter how hard I tried, it was never good enough. Their was always some area of my life where I didn't measure up, where I fell short. But, then, as a Christian, I came to Jesus for HIS life, not my own. Christ is now my life. Do I still sin? Yes, when I walk after my flesh. But I stand before a holy, righteous God not in my own efforts. I stand by faith in Christ and Him alone. Dear brother, I pray that you will search again the Scriptures that I have shared with you and rest in what your wonderful Lord has done. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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175 | Heb. 8 and Jer. 31 | Matt 10:5 | Bill Mc | 12786 | ||
Thank you, JVH0212, for that wonderful clarification. | ||||||
176 | Heb. 8 and Jer. 31 | Matt 10:5 | Bill Mc | 12776 | ||
WDC, We are all trying to rightly divide the word of truth. I am not about to label anyone. Your only label is child of God. I can relate to your frustration in trying to determine what, in the Bible, directly applies to us as Christians and what applies to Israel. There is much discussion of this topic here and elsewhere. There are some who would say that Israel forfeited being God's people so the Christian now 'inherits' everything Israel was supposed to. I believe that certain promises were given only to Israel and that God is not finished with that nation yet. Certain promises are only given to the believer. To discern those, we must know who we are in Christ. Your Bible (and mine) is divided into the Old Testament (covenant, will) and the New Testament (covenant, will). The words testament, covenant, will are all the same in the greek. Check me out on this. These Bible headings are not there in the original Hebrew and Greek. They were added later. And, unfortunately, the New Testament title was put before the gospels instead of after. I do not believe, for reasons that I already stated, that the New Covenant went into effect until Christ's death. Christ did not come to abolish the law. He came to fulfill it. And He did. He was the only one who ever could. He met all the righteous demands of a holy God. Then He exchanged all of that with us. He became sin for us. We become the righteousness of God (not our own) in Christ. That is where righteousness is - in Christ, not the law. Look at the book of Galatians. The Judaizers had moved in after Paul left the church and basically said, "Now that you have accepted Christ, you need to keep the law." That was their 'gospel' - keep the law and all it's regulations - Gal 1:6. It 'sounded right' to the Galatians. We need to remember how radical the gospel was in that day. Paul strongly argues the point that Christians are not under law but free in Christ. Believers in God were used to offering sacrifices to God and could never go into the Holy of Holies. Paul comes along and says, "That has all been done away with. You can now approach God by faith in Christ alone. Only Christ justifies." See the following references: Gal 2:16; 2:19; 2:21; 3:1-3; 3:10; 3:12; Why the law? Gal 3:19 'until the seed (Christ) would come; 3:21,22; 3:23 - before faith came, we were under law; 3:24,25,26 - the Law lead us to Christ so we can be justified by Him, not by keeping the Law. We are no longer under it - 3:25,25; 5:1 - Christ has set us free from the law. Stand firm in that fact. Don't be subject to it again. If you do, Christ is of no benefit to you - 5:2,4; 5:18 - you're called to freedom, but use it to serve others. So... 5:25 - live by the Spirit, child of God, not by the law. As you have received Christ, walk IN HIM (not in the law) - Ephesians 2:6,7. He is our life. Yes, wdc, we have everything we need in Christ. Our problem is that we often don't really know what it is that we need. If you would like more info on our identity in Christ and what promises we have in Him, click on my name and send me an email. I will send you Scripture references, only references (no 'questionable teaching'), of who we, as New Testament believers, are in Christ. Hope this helps. In Christ, Bill Mc |
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177 | what's the difference in these two | Matt 10:5 | Bill Mc | 12655 | ||
Yes, ALL scripture is true. But, my friend, would you take an animal sacrifice to your church for offering next Sunday? Why not? Animal sacrifice was COMMANDED in the Old Testament, was it not? Will you attempt to track down the Levitical priesthood and offer them your tithe? Shall we check men at the church doors to make sure they are circumcised? (It'd give a whole new meaning to our greeters, wouldn't it?) Agreed, ALL Scripture is true and is profitable but not ALL Scripture is directly APPLICABLE to us as believers. Should we build an ark because Noah did? Has God promised to each believer to make a nation from him/her so that the Messiah can be born? Has God instructed us to build temples like Solomon? Shall we each go to Israel and take the land? We MUST properly discern the Word of God. The New Testament tells us to boldly come before the throne and we'll find mercy and help in our time of need. We can enter, because of Christ's sacrifice, the very presence of God and His presence has entered us. Old Testament believers seldom could. How many Israelites can you name that walked right into the Holy of Holies? How many Gentiles? God has brought in a new covenant at Christ's death and it has forever changed the way we approach God and how He can now live IN us. To not recognize this truth keeps us in bondage to the Law. He whom the Son of God sets free is free indeed. |
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