Results 161 - 180 of 1459
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Results from: Notes Author: John Reformed Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
161 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61781 | ||
Sorry hank, What club is that? |
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162 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61782 | ||
Sorry again Hank, I am extra dense today. I'm trying to work and post a the same time. And it ain't workin! John |
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163 | Is God responsible for evil? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61797 | ||
Hello 2 Sam 22, I appreciate the work that missionaries are doing among the native tribes. May He grant you an abundant harvest of souls! I an arizonan myself, but have not heard of Jeddito. Thank you also for providing us with Proverbs 16:4. It's not a verse that you are likely to hear discussed very often. John |
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164 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61815 | ||
Dear Pastor Glenn, I appreciate your response. You said: ……"No man can come unto me except the Father who sent me draw him," says the Lord Christ (John 6:44). ....But Jesus also said, John 12: 32And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." From the way you put it it sounds like they contradict each other. I know you don't believe that they do! But in stating them in the way you have thats what it sounds like. I heard a precher on the radio today that said that every time he gave a sermon it was actually 3 sermons. 1. The semon he intended to give. 2. the sermon he actually gave and 3. the sermon the congregation heard. I got a laugh out of that because I feel that way about my posts sometimes. Perhaps if you just tell me what you believe each verse means and how they compliment each other? You also gave me alot of other verses to deal with but if you don't mind, I would prefer to discuss them over a period of time. But let's start with the first two and go on from there. Fair enough? Thanks Pastor, John |
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165 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61846 | ||
Hello Pastor, Jesus when tempted in the wilderness did answer satan with Scripture and He knew exactly the right verses to choose. We, on the other hand, are not Jesus. So, we may use verses that do not always apply to the circumstance we are facing. The context of the verse, as you know, is of the utmost importance in correctly interpreting and choosing the right verse. Let's look at the verses that surround John 6:44 as well : John 6:42 They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?" John 6:43 Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:45 It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD. 'Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. Who was Jesus speaking to when He said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves.(John 6:43)? He was speaking to a crowd of Jews that did not like what Jesus had just said about Himself being the bread of life that came down from Heaven. (John 6:41) So Jesus seeing their bad attitude of unbelief and hostility answered by telling them: "Do not grumble among yourselves, No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; ". Jesus then quotes from the OT telling the grumblers "It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Now we know that when Jesus speaks He does so for a good reason, so why did He choose Isaiah 54:13? Because Isaiah 54 speaks of the restoration His chosen people to God. Jesus then explains the meaning of the verse to them: "Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me." Therefore, it seems clear that Jesus is telling them that their grumbling is a sign that they have not been have NOT been "TAUGHT OF GOD". Those who are taught by God are those who come to Jesus. Brother Glenn, I have given you my interpretation only, and if you feel that I have twisted it (even accidentally) please show me my mistake. Your Brother in Christ, John |
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166 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61868 | ||
Pastor Glenn, The grumbling jews were not taught by the Holy Ghost, because Jesus said that those who are taught by God come to Him. The grumblers did not come. Therefore, they were not taught. Why? Because they were not drawn by the Father. All that the Father draws come to Jesus because they are the ones The Holy Ghost has taught! I know that it sounds like we are going aroun in a circle so let me try to put it in a straight line. Jesus is God. So God the Son is speaking to a crowd of people. Some understand that His words are life (Peter for one, and some others) and are taught. The majority do not understand and say instead "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?". They do not understand and so they have not been taught. Jesus then tells them that they cannot come to Him unless The Father draws them. The crowd, with a few exceptions turn away from Jesus and depart. Thereby proving that they were not drawn. All that are drawn are taught and all that are taught come to Jesus. John |
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167 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61880 | ||
Dear Pastor Glenn, You aked me "Do you equate "drawn" with "born again"?" Yes I do. The reason I do is because Jesus said "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day ".(John 6:44) Now the Greek word according to Strong's is for "Draw" is helkuo which means "to draw or to drag off". Dragging is not a means of persuasion! The same greek word "helkuo" is also used in Act 16:19 "And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew (dragged) them into the marketplace unto the rulers,". (My parenthesis) As far as Judas goes, Jesus knew that from the the begnning that Judas was a "son of his father the devil". He was not different than alot of people who "say" they are followers of Christ but the truth is not in them. John |
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168 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61897 | ||
Hi Pastor, In reply to my answer ("Yes I do. The reason I do is because Jesus said "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day " which " threw in the monkey wrench. You asked: "So how do you deal with Judas' falling away seeing that he did not leave with the crowd. But he stayed to be taught." Judas did not fall away from belief in Christ because he never had belief in Christ. Jesus in referring to Judas said: " "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?". Notice that Jesus says "is a devil". That tells us that, right then and there, one of the twelve (Judas) was a son of Satan and not a son of God! Jesus did choose the twelve to be His disciples but it does not mean all were saved. You concluded by saying "Now, here is a scripture that should put a monkey wrench into your argument of "All that are drawn are taught and all that are taught come to Jesus." And the monkey wrench you say is: Heb 6:4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6if they fall away,[2] to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. Before I go on I would like to know if you were conviced by my arguement on John 6:44 or merely stumped to find an answer. God Bless Pastor, John |
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169 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61900 | ||
Hi Pastor Glenn, You made some excellent points. 1."Your argument on John 6:44 does appear to have some merit until to slams into Hebrews 6:4-6" 2. "we need to understand by studying and praying about the methods used for proper interpretation. Yes, context is important, but so is the referencing of related scripture. Now we know that Scripture does not contradict itself. Therefore John 6:44 and Heb 6:4 are both correct. The question is how do we reconcile them with each other? We also know that some verses are clearer and easier to understand than others. You said that my interpretation of John 6:44 "has some merit". Why do you say some merit? Putting aside for the moment any other related verses and focusing strictly on the context of 6:44, can you honestly say that it means something other than what my interpetation said it meant? If so please tell me. I am not perfect and if you can show me where I missed the mark, I will re-examine my conclusion. I am not asking you to disregard any verses that may bring into question my interpretation, but to put them on hold for the moment. I just want to be sure that you don't have any objections based on the context alone, before we move on to Hebrews 6:4 Is that OK with you? John |
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170 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61983 | ||
Hello Tim, I must be missing something. So forgive me if I have totally misunderstood your reply. I do understand that there may have been a small technical difficulty in my exegesis, but I fail to see anything so drastic as to abrogate it altogether! Your point to me was: "So, it is not those who have been taught, but those who listen who come to Jesus." Excuse me! I ask you, does everyone who listens come to Christ? Of couse not! Forgive me for belaboring the obvious but one may listen and yet learn nothing. (I can vouch for that from personal experience.) Now I presume that you would agree the phrase "come to Christ" means to believe in Christ; For Jesus said those who are drawn by the Father are those which are raised on the last day. Correct? Merely listening to the gospel does not profit the one who has not learned from the gospel his need for Christ. Please tell friend Tim, is my exegesis really overturned ? Your Brother John |
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171 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 61990 | ||
Dear Retxar, An unbeliever may partake of the Holy Spirit through fellowship with christians. That is, he may experience graces such as love, peace and joy in a promiscuous sense. In other words, he may find himself welcomed by these people who extend to him the grace which is in them and he may feel warmed and loved by their affection. I do not think that partaking must mean the same as indwelling. 1 Cor 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Paul is warning the corinthians that for a christian to sin sexually with a prostitute would make the christian one with her and that since he is a member of the body of Christ, that in some way makes the prostitute a partaker also. It would defile the body of Christ. John Reformed |
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172 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62019 | ||
Dear Tim, This is not a negative reflection on you, but I have been wrestling with your post for 2 hours trying to make heads and tails out of it. I have written and deleted a dozen times prior to this writting. Part of the problem is my last class on english grammer was in 1966. Tell me, why have the translators at nasb and every other translation I have looked at failed to indicate that their translations do not take into account those nuances of greek and hebrew of which you speak? I'm not saying that you are incorrect in your evaluation of the grammer, but, it would seem to me, that for such a stumbling block to go unmentioned or corrected is just not plausible. The way I read it Jesus (who is God) has been teaching the crowd. They reject him for two reasons. First because they see him as a mere man and second they doubt His truthfulness. Jesus hearing them rebukes them and then informs the grumblers why it is that they do not believe: No one (no one at all) can (is able) to come to me (be born again) unless the Father who sent me draws (drags) him. At this point, Jesus tells them that every "him" drawn by The Father is raised up on the last day. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." This is in direct conflict with your contention that Jesus is speaking of the universal call of the Gospel. If you you say that it still does'nt address man's free will ability to choose to believe or reject Christ, I would point out John 6:37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." I hope you don't mind if I include a brief commentary by a man considered even by Arminius as a great exegete. Unless the Father draw him. To come to Christ being here used metaphorically for believing, the Evangelist, in order to carry out the metaphor in the apposite clause, says that those persons are drawn whose understandings God enlightens, and whose hearts he bends and forms to the obedience of Christ. The statement amounts to this, that we ought not to wonder if many refuse to embrace the Gospel; because no man will ever of himself be able to come to Christ, but God must first approach him by his Spirit; and hence it follows that all are not drawn, but that God bestows this grace on those whom he has elected. True, indeed, as to the kind of drawing, it is not violent, so as to compel men by external force; but still it is a powerful impulse of the Holy Spirit, which makes men willing who formerly were unwilling and reluctant. It is a false and profane assertion, therefore, that none are drawn but those who are willing to be drawn, 5 as if man made himself obedient to God by his own efforts; for the willingness with which men follow God is what they already have from himself, who has formed their hearts to obey him.(John Calvin) Your Friend, John |
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173 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62038 | ||
Dear Tim, In you haste you misunderstood my point. I wrote "Tell me, why have the translators at nasb and every other translation I have looked at failed to indicate that their translations do not take into account those nuances of greek and hebrew of which you speak. You stated that the tense of the verbs in v. 45 indicated that God calls all men and in a earlier post you boldly stated: " Both of these participle phrases are active in voice, not passive. So, it is not those who have been taught, but those who listen who come to Jesus." My question was meant to elicit from you the reason no translation indicates such an interpretation. Of couse it is obvious that all of those who merly listen do not come to Christ. Please explain. John |
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174 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62039 | ||
Dear Hank, A doctrine is not true or false on the basis of a denomination or theological position but , as you implied, it's conformity to the written word alone that matters. It is impossible to remove oneself completely from the conditioning one recieves from teachers, sermons, semminaries etc. We all, in my opinion, require the enligtenment of the Holy Spirit if we are to understand and handle correctly the Word of Truth. My prayer for all of us (for we all fall short of His glory) is that God would grant us fresh eyes to see with and a pliable mind that yields itself willingly to His revelation of the truth. John Reformed |
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175 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62066 | ||
Dear Tim, The problem may be my relative ignorace of english language rules of tenses. I mentioned early on in our discussion, that my last class on the subject was almost 40 years ago. What puzzled and disturbed me was the conclusion, you say is reached as a result of a proper understaning of the verbs "heard and "learned". You conclusion was: "So, it is not those who have been taught, but those who listen who come to Jesus." This conclusion is what I don't understand. How can it be so? Brother John |
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176 | God is in control of every single atom? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62101 | ||
Dear Tim, Thank you for your patient instruction in english language usage. It must be rather tedious for you, to have to go over the same points time and time again. But, your note that signified your fellowship in prayer for all of us on the forum truly touched my heart. Please don't feel obliged to continue with me on this topic if you do not really want to. As some have noted, I am stubborn and will perservere until the issue is either resovled or it just withers away. But I don't consider it to be a sin to proclaim the truth of the Word as I see it. If I am right, it is because the Spirit of God has illumined me in that area. If I am wrong, pray that God will open my heart to recieve correction. The fact that I am of the Reformed faith is proof positive that I am not altogether intractable. I was a Catholic who became a theist who became a satanist back to Theisem who then came to Christ. First as a Nazarene, then as a Pentacostal and now I am a Reformed Presbyterian. Whew! God has changed my mind many times over my lifetime. And even the horrors of my pre-christian life God has used to draw me unto His Son. If you were to ask me why I chose to flee to Jesus for salvation; I could'nt say that it was anything within me . At the time the gospel was presented to me, I listened good humoredly to this man whom I had just recently met, and enjoyed our conversation immensely. But I was convinced that I did ALREADY have a relationship with God and was happy that he had one as well. We parted amicably and several hours later I asked Jesus to be my Lord and my God! I have oten reflected on this most important day in my life, and have wondered how it was that this could have occured. Was I better or smarter than the next man. No! Was my heart naturaly inclined to God. No, for to the natural man it's foolishness. The only answer that rings true to me is that it was a soverign work of grace alone. A gift of God that effected such a change in my heart, that 26 years later I am still following Him and by His grace alone, will hear Jesus say to me!!! "well done my good and faithful servant." The God centered theology of the reformers (and I would add the Apostles) provided my answer and now I see it on every page of the Bible. This may be the reason for returning to the same topic over and over again. I want God to get allllllll the glory! As for man....... just be grateful that He chose you. Your Brother in Christ, John Adams |
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177 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62388 | ||
Dear Emmaus, I give you alot of credit. It must be difficult at times to be RC on an overwhelmingly protestant forum. It's tough enough for me and I'm a Presbyterian! I do believe that there is a visible Church and an invisible Church. Your probably aware of the distinction already, but for the sake of anyone who is'nt, I will explain it as best as I can. The Visible Church is composed of every church regardless of demomination or theological adherence that professes Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and who also confess those truths that are found in "The Apostles Creed" and who also hold to the infallibility of Scripture. The invisible Church is composed of everone, living, dead, or yet to be born, whose name has been written down in the Lambs Book of Life from all etermity. The Bible calls them "God's Elect". Rom 8:33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; I know that the RCC believes that the interpretation of Scripture must be left to the teaching ministerium and private interpretations are not valid if they contradict sanctioned interpretation of the RCC. If I remember correctly the Popes imprimata is his seal of approval regarding questions of orthodoxy. This rule lends stability to the organization and peace of the church, but what does a catholic do who finds hiself in serious disagreement? John |
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178 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62423 | ||
Hi Emmaus, I must be brief for now, duty calls and all that... I, were I still RC, would have a boatload of differences. Some of those differences (as you well know) also have put me at odds with most evangelical protestants also. But what may surprise you, is that I am not eye to eye with every precept of my own beloved Pesbyterian (PCA) denomination. The difference is that on non-essential matters, such as are codified in the Apostles Creed for instance, my conscience is bound solely to the inspiration of Scripure as the Holy Ghost applies it to my heart. I am bound to no mere man or doctrine or confession or church dogma. As long as I believe that as a helpless sinner I must place my hope for alvaation in Christ alone, then I may retain my membership in peace. John |
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179 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62454 | ||
Dear Emmaus, You replied saying that my comment " raises the question of authority and how the Holy Spirit works in and through the Church which Christ established and of which He said, "He who hears your hears me." Luke 10:16 ". Context Emmaus, context! Who is Jesus addressing here? The Seventy He sent out before Him: Luke 10:16 "The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.". How does verse apply to the question of final authority? The final authority is the written Word of God. We have many wonderful and godly theologians in the Reformed Faith, and what they say is oft times then not a treasure of Scriptural insight and it is wise not to dismiss what they teach lightly. Nevertheless, it is not Holy Writ in itself. None of these men lay claim to infallibility but rather exhort us to prove them by the foundation laid down by the Apostles themselves. Acts 15:22, 23 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, and they sent this letter by them, "The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings. The passage above deals with the administration of the church and has no relation (at least that I can see) to the topic of Final Authority, or as I would prefer to say "Sola Scriptura". Acts 15:28 "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: Again, I fail to see the relavence. The Holy Spirit impresses the hearts of all true christians. You said the Holy Spirit still continues to "lead you (the apostles and their successors) to all truth.". What about the rest of us pew warmers, do we not have the Holy Spirit as well? John 16:7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you" You believe this refers to the Apostles and their successors. I believe it applies to the Apostles and every one who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Your thoughts? Brother John |
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180 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62470 | ||
Dear Emmus, I realize that protestantism must seem chaotic from the RC perspective. Rome was right when it claimed that placing the Bible in the hands of the laity wouldd lead to strife and division and it has. From the very beginning there were differing opinions. Luther and Calvin on The Lord's Supper was the first split in doctrine and there have been more splits than I care to think about down through the centurys. It is a natural consequence that comes when people are set free to pursue the truth for themselves. I do not believe we are to follow the pattern of the Levitical priesthood under the NT. Our High Priest is Jesus and the believers one and all are made to be a kingdom of priests, prophets and kings. I see too much error in RC doctrine to believe that the Pope is infallible when speaking ex cathedra or that these doctrines were a result of the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. John |
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