Results 161 - 180 of 361
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Bill Mc Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
161 | Where are the scriptures, believers? | Matt 6:15 | Bill Mc | 15300 | ||
Radioman, Thanks for your comments. Maybe sometimes ignorance IS bliss (sorry, no scripture reference for this) :) We love labels and classifying people, don't we? In Christ, Bill Mc |
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162 | Does this apply to Christians? | Matt 6:15 | Bill Mc | 15304 | ||
Dear Radioman, Thanks for the post. I do not have an 'amplified' Bible, so I found your post very interesting. It sure makes the translation 'fresh.' See, even an old dog like me can be taught a new trick occasionally. The 'divine sperm' is a little wierd but I understand the meaning of it. I am thankful that you don't view me or my view as a threat. I honestly do try to balance what I feel is the truth with love. But I sometimes have little patience with legalists. Unfortunately, many people hear what they want to hear (myself included) and sometimes all they "hear" is, 'Bill is saying that he doesn't sin and that he has no need for God's forgiveness.' or 'Bill is saying that a Christian does not confess his sins.' That is so far from what I believe that I sometimes don't know where to go to even start to counter it. A true Christian (by even your translation) has God's Spirit within Him and that Spirit ALWAYS confesses (agrees) with God. I may not immediately turn from my sin when convicted, I may even try to (hopelessly) justify it, but I NEVER deny that it is sin. And I never deny that I will ALWAYS, while I dwell in this body, have a need for God's forgiveness. God knows that I have personally broken the '70 times 7' limit many times in my 42 years on this earth. I don't ALWAYS feel forgiven. In fact, I don't ALWAYS feel saved. But my feelings are not the determining factor for where I stand with God. His Word is. I am gradually learning to rely upon God and what He says instead of my own understanding and feelings. Radioman, could you do me one more favor before leaving this subject? I would greatly appreciate it if you could post 1 John 1:8-10 in the 'amplified' Bible here for myself and other readers to see. Ultimately, each one of us must decide for himself/herself what the truth of the issue of forgiveness is. That is where the Spirit will lead us into (not always instantaneously impart) ALL truth. Blessings (even forgiveness) In Christ, Bill Mc |
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163 | Does this apply to Christians? | Matt 6:15 | Bill Mc | 15306 | ||
Dear Debbie, Sure it's OK to tell God you're sorry when you goof up. He knows your heart (even better than you do). The fact that you're sorry is evidence that you do indeed have God's Spirit in you. Want to know the truth? **whisper** sometimes my flesh even enjoys sin - but it makes me miserable afterward. And God knows that too. He is grieved when we sin. Why? Because He is holy? Sure, but also because sin hurts someone that He loves even more than His own life, whether myself or a fellow believer or a sinner I may know. And sin NEVER satisfies my soul like Jesus and God's Word does. But, Debbie, because Christ has dealt with all our sins, His Holy Spirit never leaves or forsakes us. What a wonderful salvation we have! God indwelling us! Do I tell God I'm sorry when I goof up? Yeah, then I tell Him that I'm probably not always as sorry as I should be and that I am SO THANKFUL that Christ has allowed my sins to be behind the back of God, as far as the east is from the west. As one other person posted, he who is forgiven much is the most thankful. In EVERYTHING give thanks. When I do sin, it ALWAYS shows me my need for Christ. So, dear sister, "be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God IN CHRIST also has forgiven you." Don't forget to forgive yourself also. If God has forgiven you, and you KNOW that, then you can forgive yourself, too. Blessings in Christ, Bill Mc |
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164 | Does this apply to Christians? | Matt 6:15 | Bill Mc | 15365 | ||
Dear Nolan, Thanks for your response, brother. I appreciate your clarification on your position. And, Nolan, my comments about "some on this forum" were not aimed specifically at you. 1 John 1:9 comes up quite often in the queue, as I'm sure you know, and the 'keeping short accounts' is usually the reponse. Please permit me to clarify my view of repentance. I do believe in repentance, brother, but I think that true repentance is changing your mind concerning what you think about God and Jesus Christ and what He has done. Why do I think this? Because until we see God for who He really is, Christ as our total righteousness, and ourselves (before salvation) as dead in sin, we will not come to Him. Most of the scriptures you listed for repentance support this idea. As I understand it, repentance is much more than making promises to God that we will not sin. Why? Because, if we are honest with ourselves, as long as we are in these unredeemed bodies and being 'matured' in Christ, we still have the capacity to sin and we will do so (prayerfully less and less as we walk in the Spirit). So if repentance is a measure of how much or how little we sin, we will NEVER, on this earth, truly repent of every sin. If all I am concerned with is 'cleaning up my act,' it will never be totally clean. I believe that true repentance is allowing God to change our minds through the renewing of it by His Word. Paul said, "Walk in the Spirit (allow Him to be your complete source) and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." He didn't say that the desires of the flesh would go away (I assure you that they do not) but we WON'T fulfill them AS we walk in the Spirit. Only as our minds are exposed to the truth of God will our actions follow. Otherwise, Satan keeps us so busy 'keeping our sins confessed' and 'staying right with God' that all we ever focus on is ourselves. Christ calls us to come to Him and His sufficiency. Our actions may or may not change overnight. It is different with different people. The changing of our actions is involved in the process we frequently call sanctification. That is different from repentance. Repentance is seeing God's truth and accepting it. Sanctification is the 'working out' of the truth. If all we focus on is outward actions, then the Pharisees were righteous. But Jesus buried them. He said that God is primarily concerned with our hearts. As our hearts are changed, our actions will follow. Thanks for your comments. As I previously stated, I don't believe 1 John 1:9 should split Christian brothers and sisters. There is so many questions on this passage because of the double-talk we give to people about forgiveness. What I do have a problem with is the 'altar call' attitude of "come forward, get ALL of your sins forgiven, and get in fellowship with God. Now that you've accepted Christ and His forgiveness, you need to keep yourself forgiven through confession or you'll lose that fellowship with God." That's double-talk. If we want to preach that in our churches, we should tell all of it. If that if what we believe, we should tell people, "Come forward and get only your PAST sins forgiven. All your future ones still need to be confessed and forgiven. And, fellowship with God? Well, you will be doomed to being in and out of it for the rest of your earthly life because, as you know, you will never completely stop sinning until Christ calls you home." That kind of a message is not 'good news.' And I don't believe it is the truth. Christ did so much more for us than we often give Him credit for. Why not tell people, "I've got some good news for you. You were born dead to God, separated from Him. But Christ has done a wonderful thing! He has reconciled you to God. Your sins will no longer keep you from God. And if you believe it to be true, then God Himself will come inside you and LIVE there. He will never leave you, He will never forsake you. And nothing shall separate you from His love. Nothing. Will He change you? You bet. He loves you to much to leave you the way you are. Allow Him to do it." Now that's good news! Blessings in Christ, Bill Mc |
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165 | Should this be taken only personally? | Matt 6:33 | Bill Mc | 17315 | ||
Dear Nolan, I don't think that very many people take the Sermon of the Mount literally. Why? How many people have you seen with only a left eye or a left hand? (No offense to the physically challenged here.) If we took what Jesus said literally, I myself would be blind and handless many times over. So would the whole Christian world. I am not trying to be funny. I am trying to say that we pick and choose what we want to believe and what we think requires obedience. I have already stated elsewhere that I believe that the Sermon on the Mount was primarily spoken to unregenerate people under the Mosaic law. What application it has for the Christian is, obviously, debatable. But the fact remains that Jesus was trying to demonstrate that NO ONE is righteous enough to enter God's kingdom by His works. Christ said, "You want to get into the kingdom of God? Good. Then be as perfect as God, and you can walk right in." He buried us under, not just the Mosaic law, but God's righteous character law so that we could see that we all need HIM. In Him, Bill Mc |
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166 | Should this be taken only personally? | Matt 6:33 | Bill Mc | 17336 | ||
Good explanation, Nolan. I like what you said about 'relationships based on love.' I don't want to digress too much from your subject but you have hit upon an important concept. One commentator (not on this forum) said that the Sermon on the Mount in many ways reflects how people will treat each other as the are led by the Spirit of Christ in them. This echoes the truth that you stated about letting our relationships be ruled by love instead of by loving rules. Here is an analogy that helps me. BTW, I AM NOT calling you a legalist, brother. I am drawing an illustration :). Jesus says, 'If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.' - John 14:15. A legalist (I used to be one, still being set free) looks at this verse and sees, "If I really love God, then I had better keep His commandments. If I don't keep them, then I must not love God." His motivation is based on rules - if this...then this. Period. A 'gracer' looks at this same verse and sees, "As I abide in the love of God (because He loved me first) and reflect that love back to Him and to others, I will keep His commandments." His motivation is based upon relationship - "Since God has done this...I can, through Christ, do this..." Jesus' new commandments are to love God and to love others. All men will know we are His disciples not because of the rules we keep, but because of His love that we exhibit. We don't even have to try to drum up the love that we think God 'requires.' What God wants from us, He Himself supplies: Rom 5:5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. The love of God HAS BEEN poured out within our hearts through the Spirit. So even what God desires from us, He first gives us. What grace! Sorry to digress...(Ok, not really) Lord bless you, Bill Mc |
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167 | what's the difference in these two | Matt 10:5 | Bill Mc | 12615 | ||
An important thing to remember with any biblical teaching is that, from God's perspective, there are 2 basic covenants. There is the Mosaic covenant (Law) given only to the Jews (to show them their sinfulness so they would come to Messiah) and there is the New Covenant that Christ instituted at His death. Both the books of Galatians and Hebrews make it clear that believers are no longer under the Law and that Gentiles never were. Because the New Covenant did not go into effect until Christ's death, our Lord taught under law and, mainly, to the Jews. He did, however, proclaim that the New Covenant was coming when His blood would be shed. Remember the Lord's Supper? "This is the New Covenant in My blood..." So, what we call the Great Commission was given to believer's after the New Covenant (Grace) when into effect. And the rest of the New Testament (Acts, Romans, etc.) were all written under the New Covenant. Another good example of this is that, in the Lord's prayer, Christ says, "If you don't forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive yours." But the rest of the New Testament (Covenant - same word in the Greek) makes it clear that God has forgiven ALL our sins because of Christ's offering of Himself to "take away the sins of the world." Let me also add that we must rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. As you have said, not everything in the Bible has direct application for us as New Testament believers. We must consider the context of all the teachings in Scripture and understand who we are in Christ in order the correctly discern the Word. I hope this helps. |
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168 | 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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169 | Heb. 8 and Jer. 31 | Matt 10:5 | Bill Mc | 12706 | ||
WDC, This is a great passage. Look at the following verses carefully. They are inspired by God. My opinion is not infallible. So search it for yourself to see if these things are so. As I understand it, it has a dual fulfillment (hear me out). As you probably know, the original manuscripts did not have verse numbers in them. So look at verse 6. This describes Christ's role as the mediator for the new (better) covenant. Then this passage quotes from Jeremiah 31 where, even in the OT, God says that there is a New Covenant coming. Yes, this does describe Israel during the Millenium, but it also is applicable to us as NT believers. My reasons: 1. Check Heb 9:15-17 - Christ is the mediator of this covenant but it only goes into effect when the one who made it dies. Just like a will (same word in the greek - check it out). Christ will not die again to make a subsequent covenant. 2. This covenant does apply to Israel FIRST. But they, as a nation, have, for the time being, rejected it. This refers back to the passage you originally mentioned. Jesus said to only go to the Jews with the good news. The gospel was preached FIRST to the Jews. But they rejected it (Matthew 21:43) so the gospel, through Paul, was taken and preached to the Gentiles. This covenant was made FIRST with the Jews. Some have accepted it, but most, until Christ returns, have rejected it. But, during this age of grace, we, as believers, enjoy it's benefits (see Ryrie's comments on this passage). 3. (Back to Hebrews 8) Verse 13 reinterates that the first covenant has been made obsolete. Christ fulfilled it. It was still relevant during Christ's lifetime on earth. They still had temple sacrifices. It ended spiritually at Christ's death. The New Covenant (will) goes into effect when the one who made it (Christ, the mediator) dies. But the old covenant physically disappeared when Jerusalem burned in AD 70. 4. Look at Hebrews 10:9-18 - Christ took away the first covenant to establish the second (at His death). By this covenant (Christ's death to take away our sins) we have been sanctified once for all. Note verse 14. Then the Holy Spirit testifies about this great, new covenant. God puts His laws in our hearts and mind (instead of on stone tablets) and He remembers our sins no more. 5. Verse 17 solidifies it - there is no more offerings for sin. Why? Because Christ's once for all offering was suffucient. So we have forgiveness. 6. Verse 19-23 conclude the whole matter. Since we have forgiveness and there is no more sacrifice, we can enter into God's very presence. We can draw near to God. He has washed us clean. 7. Christ, Himself, declared that the new covenant was coming. See Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25. This covenant was inauguarated with His blood being shed. So we see the Lord, the Holy Spirit, and the Son all telling us that there is a New Covenant that we are under and that the Old Covenant is obsolete. By this covenant, we are made holy, forgiven, redeemed, and have eternal life. What so you think? In Christ, Bill Mc |
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170 | Heb. 8 and Jer. 31 | Matt 10:5 | Bill Mc | 12712 | ||
Dear fellow believers, For those who believe that this covenant is made ONLY with Israel and Judah (the Jews) exclusively, during the Millenium, permit me to ask a couple of questions: 1. What does this new covenant provide? See Hebrews 8:12, Hebrews 10:16-18. Do we not have these today as believers? Is God's Holy Spirit not in us to renew our minds? Aren't we forgiven people of God? 2. What covenant is Christ describing in Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 9:15; Hebrews 8:6? He says it is the New Covenant, does He not? Didn't His death and resurrection graciously provide for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins? 3. If this New Covenant that Christ describes is not the same one the Lord talks about in Hebrews 8, and the Holy Spirit testifies to in Hebrews 10, how are they different? Did not the gospel go FIRST to the house of Israel and Judah? 4. Whose death will inauguarate the, according to your interpretation, future New Covenant with Israel? Hebrews 9:17,18 makes it clear that covenants only go into effect with the shedding of blood. So what sacrifice will bring in this 'future' New Covenant that only applies to the Jew? In Christ, Bill Mc |
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171 | 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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172 | Blessings IN Christ | Matt 10:5 | Bill Mc | 12778 | ||
Dear WDC, One last note. I'm not trying to trivialize your question but, what would you rather have - a long physical life IF (key word) you keep ALL the commands OR an eternal life found only by faith in Jesus Christ apart from works? Christ came to give us life and life more abundant. But it is only found IN Him. It is not something He dispenses apart from Himself. It is Himself. Christ told the Pharisees (who were DOING everything right and their best to keep the law), "You search the Scriptures (OT) because you think that that's where life is. But they (OT Scriptures) all point to ME. But you won't come to Me." They were too wrapped up in self-righteousness to see their need for Christ. He doesn't just give us life, He IS our life. Paul said (not verbatim), 'The life I live in the body, I live BY FAITH (not works) in the Son of God who loved and gave Himself up for me. I no longer live but Christ lives IN ME.' See these verses - Rom 8:32; Eph 1:3; Phil 4:19; 2 Pet 1:3. God has given us Christ Himself through the indwelling Spirit. What more do we need? In Christ, Bill Mc |
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173 | Heb. 8 and Jer. 31 | Matt 10:5 | Bill Mc | 12786 | ||
Thank you, JVH0212, for that wonderful clarification. | ||||||
174 | Old T. and New T. | Matt 10:5 | Bill Mc | 12908 | ||
Dear WDC, I agree with Reformer Joe's answer above for the most part. God's attributes have never changed and never will. The Bible makes that very clear. But, for time's sake, as you know, I believe that God deals with mankind in different ways in different periods. Man has ALWAYS been saved by faith in what God says. But God has said different things to mankind down through the ages. (That is why your Bible is so thick) As you know, Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham - none of these had 'the Law' as we know it. But they did believe in God's revelation to them during their respective time periods. They all had faith, and acted upon their beliefs. And, according to Hebrews, their faith was credited to them as righteousness. Old Testament saints were saved by belief in God's word to them. But, in these last days, as I'm sure you know, God has spoken to us through His Son. The Old Testament contained a progressive revelation of the 'once for all' sacrifice that Christ would make. There are many 'types' of salvation pictured in the OT. Hebrews says that the Law was a 'shadow' of the better things that were coming (Christ). Christ is the full revelation of God's plan to save mankind and, once again, to put His divine life back into His creation where it was designed to be. As to the seeming descrepancies of God's characteristics, I will leave that for others to reply to who may have a better answer than I. I'm not saying this as a cop-out. I'm just being honest. I don't understand why God has mercy on whom He will have mercy. There are too many specifics to answer every question as to the Lord's motives or actions, like, "Why did He allow innocent children to be slaughtered?" I believe that God gives us everything in the Bible that we need to know about Him and salvation. But He doesn't tell us everything He knows. His ways are not our ways. And I try not to use my limited understanding of Him to force Him into a box of neat little compartments so that I can fully comprehend Him. But, WDC, I can tell you this. I trust Him. He has ALWAYS been faithful to me. I, too, will have many questions to ask when I finally see Him face to face. This much I know - it was not just for the Son of God to leave heaven, take the form of a puny creation, live a perfect life amongst a sinful world, and to die a thief's death on a cross. It was not just for Christ to bear the sins on the world in His body. It was not just for Him to be separated from the Father when He never did one thing wrong. It was not just for Him to take my sins and for me to get His righteousness. It was not just for Him to take my death and to give me His life. It wasn't just, but it was love. And for that, I'm eternally grateful. In Him, Bill Mc |
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175 | Should we shake the dust from our feet? | Matt 10:14 | Bill Mc | 16859 | ||
Should we use this verse as justification to pull our missionaries out of countries like Afghanastan, Pakistan, or China where Christians are in danger of being killed or persecuted? There are many countries in the world that are hostile to Christians and the gospel message that salvation is found in Christ alone. Why do we maintain a missionary presence there if Jesus has told us that if we are not received, then we should leave and not come back? Also, would Matthew 7:6 apply? Jesus said not to throw your pearls before swine or they would turn and tear us to pieces? Is this what we are seeing with the terrorists' attacks on America? | ||||||
176 | So what does this passage mean? | Matt 10:14 | Bill Mc | 16912 | ||
So what did Christ mean in this passage? There are those on this forum that insist that everything Christ said applies to Christians in the here and now. Christ did say this to His disciples. Does this passage apply to Christians? If so, how do we know when enough is enough and to 'shake the dust off'? If Christ said to do this, then how can we negate it? |
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177 | Where do we draw the line? | Matt 10:14 | Bill Mc | 16915 | ||
Dear charis, Thanks for the response. You said that you think that this verse CAN be applied to countries and religions but only with individuals and households can we discern this. I'm not sure what you mean by this statement. Is it a typo? But how should we respond to countries that are ready to kill and have killed missionaries? Should we just say, "Well, they knew the risk"? Do we continue to send in more people into harm's way into countries that see Christians as the enemy? We have missionaries on trial right now that could be executed for sharing the gospel. It is illegal to share the gospel there. How do we reconcile this with the admonishion to obey the laws of the land that the Bible speaks of? I've heard that some missionaries even have to have a 'cover' so that they can still stay in the country and share the gospel. Does God condone us telling lies to the foreign governments in order to accomplish a 'higher goal'? If we followed what this verse says, it would eliminate some of these problems. Why did Jesus say this if He didn't intend for it to be followed? Granted, if we literally follow this verse, then many more will also die without God. So, is there a balance? If so, where? Also, why do you say that 'don't throw pearls' and 'shake off the dust' are not permanent? Thanks, in Christ, Bill MC |
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178 | So what does this passage mean? | Matt 10:14 | Bill Mc | 16917 | ||
OK, Hank, thanks for your response. I just have mixed feelings concerning our missionaries who could die for sharing the gospel where it has been made imperatively clear (under sentence of death) that Christ is not wanted there. I'm outraged that our government can do nothing about it. We can obviously pray for them. But it seems hypocritical to pray, 'God, keep them safe and spare their lives', then support sending them or others right back into the lion's den. | ||||||
179 | Where do we draw the line? | Matt 10:14 | Bill Mc | 16934 | ||
charis, thanks for your response. And the grace to not be 'preachy.' There is much wisdom in what you write (not just here, but in other posts too). Thanks for the balanced view and your honesty to admit, like me, that you do not know exactly where the balance is. I do understand what you are saying. The Lord bless you as you serve Him in Japan, my friend. Resting in Him, Bill Mc |
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180 | Can A Christian disown Christ? | Matt 10:33 | Bill Mc | 15609 | ||
Hi Steve, Sorry to answer your question with a question but I would like to know your view of what a Christian is. Rom 8:9 says, 'However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.' Scripture makes it plain that to be a Christian means that you are indwelt by the living Christ. Paul said, 'I no longer live but Christ lives in me.' You can't be a Christian without the Spirit of God living in you. So, my question is this: Why do you quote something that Christ says in the gospels to either His disciples or the Jews (who were being pleaded with to make a descision to accept Jesus as Messiah) and assume that His audience are all Christians? The Holy Spirit was not given to ALL believers until Pentecost. That is a historical fact. Yes, Christ did call His disciples. And Christ did dwell among them. But He did not dwell IN them until Pentecost. Before Christ died the Holy Spirit was only given on a limited basis to a select few in order to accomplish God's purposes. We need to be careful in saying, 'Jesus said this...so, Christian...blah, blah, blah.' Jesus said many things. He talked to individuals, small groups, whole crowds, Jews and Gentiles and half-breeds. But to take everything that Jesus said and say that He is now saying that to the Christian is dangerous, brother. Here is an example: Jesus told the rich man that came to him in Matt 19:21 - "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." So, Steve, should every Christian do this? God's Word says that IN CHRIST, we have been already made complete. Does Jesus require you to go sell ALL your possessions and give to the poor in order to be made complete? I don't think so or you wouldn't have a computer to access this forum. Can you follow Jesus to the cross and see Him crucified there for your sins? No. You can read about it and accept it by faith because it is a historical fact. Use care, brother, in the way you word your questions. If a was a new Christian in the Lord, your question might lead me to believe that everything that Jesus said was then directed to me personally. And any serious student of the scriptures knows to consider the grammatical and historical context of the scripture. Thanks for your questions and responses. Some of them are excellent. But, please, consider that many on this forum are looking for answers, not just a debate. Not everyone that is asking a question here is seeking confrontation. Blessings in Christ, Bill Mc |
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