Results 161 - 180 of 6029
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Results from: Notes Author: DocTrinsograce Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
161 | how can we minister to homosexuals | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 209496 | ||
Hi, Brother Jeff... It is a very old position to take. The one you are espousing is the more recent one. I'm simply stating that Scripture denies that a man can serve two masters. You argued the "and such were some of you" of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Note the past tense, buddy. How do you think those folks who ONCE WERE practicing drunkenness, adultery, deception, thievery, sorcery, and idolatry differed in behavior from the lost guys that ARE NOW practicing drunkenness, adultery, deception, thievery, sorcery, and idolatry? :-) The teaching of Christ and the apostles doesn't allow for one foot on the dock and the other in the boat. Every genuine conversion is accompanied by radical change. We never, ever suggest to lost people who are acting like lost people, talking like lost people, and sinning like lost people that they might be stealth Christians. Because, bro, there ain't no such critter. The only hope for anyone is through redemption in Jesus Christ. Those who willfully practice sin can be wonderfully and marvelously saved... and when they are saved, the willful practice of these kinds of sins will disappear. They will no longer be the "them" of 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, but they will become the "you" of verse 11. In Him, Doc |
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162 | how can we minister to homosexuals | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 209549 | ||
Dear Tim, Every road has a ditch to the left and the right. Sinless perfectionism, however, is somewhere way back yonder, after having made a bit more than five wrong turns. The fact that the Lord Himself mightily changes the lives of His own -- definitively, progressively, eternally, and completely in glory -- repudiates rather than rescues sinless perfectionism. The Lord's eternal purpose isn't to enthrone the fallen human will. The sovereignty of the human self determinism is a shaky foundation, theologically, philosophically, practically, and biblically. God won't share His glory. In Him, Doc |
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163 | how can we minister to homosexuals | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 209550 | ||
Dear Brother Steve, I understand what he means and what he intends. I'm trying to help him to say it in a doctrinally precise way, such that it can't be leveraged or twisted by fallen human hearts. We encourage one another to be good stewards of the truth. Sometimes we get so worried about being judgmental, that we shy away from the mandate to be discerning. We worry too much about eliminating someone's hope. But it isn't their hope that saves them. In Him, Doc |
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164 | how can we minister to homosexuals | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 209551 | ||
Dear Brother Jeff, You asked, "I don't think they were different; do you think they were different?" :-) It reminds me of an anecdote: George Whitfield, it is said, was walking along the docks in Boston Harbor. A drunken sailor approached him and said, "George! Do you remember me? You saved me four years ago!" The venerable evangelist replied, "I must have saved you. Had you been saved by Christ, you would not now be drunk." Don't get frustrated. These truths are important. If it weren't so, the Lord wouldn't have called us to be judges of the world and of ourselves. Within our own SBC tradition, Tom Nettles addresses these issues much more ably than do I: http://www.founders.org/journal/fj06/article3.html Perhaps if you read that article it will help you understand. In Him, Doc |
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165 | how can we minister to homosexuals | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 209644 | ||
Dear Brother Jeff, You asked, "I don't think they were different; do you think they were different?" (post #209514) and "...would you answer the question please?" (post #209615). Quoting Paul again: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV) They differ in ownership, forgiveness, purity, and divine judicial standing. All of those things have external manifestations. However, in the narrow context of this discussion, we are talking about their visible behavior. The saved person differs from the sexually immoral by living in sexual purity. The saved person differs from idolaters by worshiping and serving the One True God. The saved person differs from thieves by carefully and thoughtfully protecting rightful ownership. The saved person differs from adulterers by diligently maintaining the sanctity of marriage. The saved person differs from people who practice homosexuality by offering up their body unto the Lord as a living sacrifice. The saved person differs from the greedy by being content with God's provision. The saved person differs from drunkards by sober living. The saved person differs from revilers by loving and ministering grace to others. The saved person differs from the swindler by being honest and fair in his business dealings. In other words, the saved person stops committing the sins of sexual immorality, idolatry, thievery, adultery, practicing homosexuality, greed, drunkenness, reviling, swindlers. Saved people having ceased these activities is visible evidence of their redemption. Lost people continue these activities as evidence of their lack of redemption. You wrote, "Had you asked if the behavior differs NOW, for the one who ONCE practiced it (referring to the saved) then the answer would be yes. Their behavior is different. The unsaved is continuing in sin while the saved is no longer continuing in the sin." Which is exactly what I've been saying. If we tell the unsaved who is continuing in their sin that it is possible that they are now saved, then we have given them false assurance. We have judged according to Biblical standards. Your choice of words to this point could have been used by the lost to justify their continued lifestyles. I knew that isn't what you meant. We work together to be good stewards of God's truth, allowing no corrupt communication to arise from our keyboards, but such that edifies the reader. In Him, Doc |
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166 | how can we minister to homosexuals | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 209678 | ||
Dear Val, By Brother Jeff's admission he was attempting to avoid being judgmental (post #209614). There is a great distinction between being judgmental and being discerning. We are told to eschew the former (Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:37; James 4:11-12), but we are commanded to exercise the latter. Your exegesis states that Matthew 7:16-27 is only about false teachers because of verse 15. Let us do a brief exegesis of Matthew 7, as it forms the basis of much of our discussion. Look at the whole passage. Who is Christ speaking to? Matthew 5:1-2, the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, states that He was teaching His disciples. Sure, there was a bunch of people listening in (5:1; 7:28). However, this teaching was meant for the apostles, for these things formed the foundation of the church. Was Christ speaking only about false teachers in vv7:1-5? How about the dogs and pigs of verse 6? (How are we to avoid giving that which is holy to dogs and pigs if we are not to judge that some men are dogs and some are pigs?) Nevertheless, Christ speaks of his magnanimity and generosity in v7-12. We must avoid giving holy things to dogs and pigs, nevertheless we must give holy things unto those who seriously seek them out. How do we tell the difference without discernment? Then Christ makes an incredible statement about the wide gate and the narrow gate. Do you think He is only talking about the world wandering off through the wide gate and the church making its way through the narrow gate? I know that many teach it that way. But to whom is Christ speaking? He is speaking to the church -- which is full of both wheat and tares. Wheat and tares look a whole lot alike. Then Christ warns of false teachers. Why would He suddenly make that shift? Because the false teachers are the ones leading the way through the broad gate. Tares love to draw false teachers to themselves (2 Timothy 4:3). Why? Because the message these fleshly people want to hear, simply springs out of the nature of their own hearts (Galatians 5:20). So how can we tell the false teachers and their tares from the wheat? We know that those of the narrow way produce much fruit (John 15:5;Luke 8:8). Here in Matthew 7:16-20 we are told that those of the wide gate and those of the narrow gate are intrinsically different, right down to their basic nature. Any given kind of fruit only springs from a specific kind of plant. (I never have understood why this is so clear to everyone when it comes to figs and thistles, but is so easily rejected when it comes to people.) Now Christ tells us that "not everyone who says to Me 'Lord, Lord'" will be saved. Clearly this is not just talking about false prophets. No, indeed. Christ makes this quite clear when He says "Everyone who hears these words of Mine" (vv24, 26). He is talking about responses, the visible fruit arising as a response to the Word. Take a look at all the various passages that speak of fruit. Fruit is always visible. It is a metaphor used in the Old Testament as well as the New. In Him, Doc |
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167 | how can we minister to homosexuals | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 209679 | ||
Dear Val, If my argument regarding the difference between being judgmental and discerning is not sufficient, here are a few words from some more qualified commentators: "These words of Christ do not contain an absolute prohibition from judging, but are intended to cure a disease, which appears to be natural to us all. We see how all flatter themselves, and every man passes a severe censure on others. This vice is attended by some strange enjoyment: for there is hardly any person who is not tickled with the desire of inquiring into other people’s faults. ... "We now see, that the design of Christ was to guard us against indulging excessive eagerness, or peevishness, or malignity, or even curiosity, in judging our neighbors. He who judges according to the word and law of the Lord, and forms his judgment by the rule of charity, always begins with subjecting himself to examination, and preserves a proper medium and order in his judgments." --John Calvin "To “judge” here does not exactly mean to pronounce condemnatory judgment, nor does it refer to simple judging at all, whether favorable or the reverse. The context makes it clear that the thing here condemned is that disposition to look unfavorably on the character and actions of others, which leads invariably to the pronouncing of rash, unjust, and unlovely judgments upon them." --Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown God is gracious to have given us clear guidelines. We must avoid self righteousness. However, our discernment is necessary in order for us to wisely and Scripturally minister to others. In Him, Doc |
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168 | how can we minister to homosexuals | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 209892 | ||
Dear Jeff, If I make ridiculous assertions, I may hope that 1 Corinthians 4:10a may apply. Most likely, though, it is just my own inadequacies. As semantics are so crucial to our Sovereign Lord -- the inventor of language -- it would be, at the very least, dangerous for us to treat semantics lightly. Great doctrinal issues are sometimes based on very slight semantic differences (e.g., homoousios versus homoiousios). Furthermore, the Fall was fostered by the Enemy through simple questions of semantics. Ah, well... for now, we've wrung all we'd hope to wring from our word wrangling. :-) In Him, Doc |
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169 | Do we have the whole Bible | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 210128 | ||
Hi, Confused... We have a fallible canon of infallible Scripture. Interestingly enough, our Lord saw fit to draw the discussion to a satisfactory conclusion. A conclusion for which we have consensus. Remember what I said about the naivete of expecting simple answers to simple questions? There are always answers, but sometimes they take a bit of education -- which requires a bit more intellectual sweat than "checking out a website." But that education will be necessary for you to begin to understand the answers. Unfortunately, the path from being confused to being confident isn't one that we can provide a quick and easy ride. In Him, Doc |
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170 | Do we have the whole Bible | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 210138 | ||
Oh, Cheri... "first five books especially" Please tell me you don't think that the rest of Scripture is LESS inspired? | ||||||
171 | Do we have the whole Bible | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 210147 | ||
http://www.monergism.com/directory/ link_category/History/Formation-of-the-Canon/ |
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172 | Do we have the whole Bible | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 210148 | ||
Dear Cheri, Take particular care, then, how you say things. Many will come and go on the forum -- often without posting -- and we must be very careful that we render doctrinally precise answers so that they won't be mislead. As a forum based on sola Scriptura, we need to render up answers perfectly in accord with that Bible teaching. Thank you for your correction. In Him, Doc |
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173 | Aren't feelings specific to humans? | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 210489 | ||
Hi, nam... We are complicated beings! Physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual... all these things are interconnected. One often effects another. In Him, Doc |
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174 | Are old words proper for Scripture? | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 210630 | ||
Hi, gruv... This forum is founded on the doctrine of sola scriptura. We believe in the verbal plenary inspiration of the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). It is the sole authoritative revelation of Himself, given us in words of His own choosing. Although one might know some things about Him through general revelation (Romans 1:19-20), one cannot truly know God except through what He has chosen to reveal about Himself. The Scripture is certain, necessary, infallible, sufficient, and clear (see post #156917) for you, me, and everyone else! Our membership in this forum is an affirmation and a declaration of these doctrines to a confused and ignorant world. If you want to use "old words" then use Hebrew in quoting the Old Testament and Greek in quoting the New Testament. In Him, Doc |
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175 | Was Pink rightPs 115:3 | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 211557 | ||
Amen! The sovereignty of God is a truth wherein rests our deepest hope. If God is any less than wholly sovereign -- although I have to admit linguistically I have no idea what partial sovereignty might mean -- if He is anything less than utterly in control, His every promise can be little better than wishful thinking. This is why, as believers, we so deeply love and need this doctrine! Thanks again, brother hopalong, for the quote! |
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176 | Could this be the great apostasy? | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 211785 | ||
Hi, John... Christianity was brought to pagan Britain by the Romans, only to be wiped away again, until it was reintroduced by the Celtic Christians. The same sort of thing repeated itself in other parts of Europe, as well as in Asia and Africa. Why would it surprise us if it happened in America? Did you know that Chinese Christians -- suffering greatly in the process -- have more missionaries in the middle east than any other group? Our Lord has His own agenda. Our concern is to walk faithfully with Him. The heathens will adopt many flavors of unbelief. Nevertheless, unbelief is still just unbelief. There is no reason to believe that this is connected to the event Paul mentions in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. In Him, Doc |
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177 | Could this be the great apostasy? | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 211805 | ||
Dunno... I doubt it is possible to give it a definitive exegesis -- despite dispensationalist, preterist, and amillenialist efforts to the contrary. However, we can say what it is NOT... and it is not a reference to Islam in the 21st century. | ||||||
178 | TRUE HEART OF WORSHIP | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 212737 | ||
That had crossed my mind before I answered. However, the phrase is too ambiguous for me to be certain. Better to ask her to be more specific. | ||||||
179 | TRUE HEART OF WORSHIP | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 212740 | ||
Hi, Kelly... I think you might want to refine that definition a bit. It isn't so much about man's effort to make worship God centered, as it is about God's effort to make it God centered. God Himself prescribes and provides for how He is to be worshipped. John Knox put it this way: "All worshiping, honoring, or service invented by the brain of man in the religion of God, without His Own express commandment, is idolatry. We may not think us so free nor wise, that we may do unto God, and unto His honor, what we think expedient." The only way to worship God is by the single way in which He has provided for worship. Valuing God as He is genuinely worthy is only possible by the redeemed, and is expressed in the heart and in the mind; per John 4:24, as you have already mentioned. That reminds me of another good quote -- a contemporary one, this time: John Piper wrote "There are always two parts to true worship. There is seeing God and there is savoring God. You can't separate these. You must see Him to savor Him. And if you don't savor Him when you see Him, you insult Him. In true worship, there is always understanding with the mind and there is always feeling in the heart. Understanding must always be the foundation of feeling, or all we have is baseless emotionalism. But understanding of God that doesn't give rise to feeling for God becomes mere intellectualism and deadness. This is why the Bible continually calls us to think and consider and meditate, on the one hand, and to rejoice and fear and mourn and delight and hope and be glad, on the other hand. Both are essential for worship." In Him, Doc |
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180 | TRUE HEART OF WORSHIP | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 212743 | ||
Hi, Lionheart... That's correct... Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the LORD spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'" (Leviticus 10:3a NASB) Only those called by God and purged of iniquity (like Isaiah in Isaiah 6) can even begin to rightly worship the Holy Lord. In Him, Doc |
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