Results 1921 - 1928 of 1928
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Results from: Notes Author: Reformer Joe Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1921 | Does this explain Trinity? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 4456 | ||
I did re-read it, and the question I asked was NOT address in what you said. According to Hebrews 1:8, who is God calling "God"? And according to Hebrews 1:10, what did the Lord Jesus do? Speaking of Christ, John writes "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." NOTHING came into being apart from Christ. If Christ is a part of creation, then this verse testifies that Christ created himself, which is illogical nonsense. So, who is the creator, God (Genesis 1:1) or Christ as we see in the verses above? The answer is Trinitarian. Colossians 1:16 does indeed say that Christ is "the image of the invisible God," which loses a lot of its theological punch if that just means that he reveals attributes of his creator. After all, you yourself said that we were made in the image of God. Why would Paul need to make the point if what he was intending to say is that Christ is just like us in this respect. By the way, this understanding of Christ's representing God's nature simply does not jibe with the context of Paul's extended treatment of Christ's nature in Colossians 1. The idea that "Jesus being in the image of God and having the authority of God is allowed to be God in only a sense" contradicts every monotheistic passage in the Bible as well. How many God's are there is God the Father "lets" Jesus (an entirely separate being in your view) have the attributes of deity? In addition, the term translated "firstborn" in many translations does not necessarily mean the first one out of the womb. If can also mean "heir," or the one possessing the birthright. We see this in the Old Testament where Isaac was the heir of God's promise to Abraham, even though he was not the oldest; and how Jacob received the blessing, not Esau; and how Solomon became David's successor even though HE was not the oldest. In the same way, taken in context with the rest of Scripture (such as John 1:3 above and the two verses following Colossians 1:15 -- CONTEXT), Jesus is the uncreated heir of all things. I AM being open-minded, Elijah, and I think that you should be open-minded enough to question why in 2000 years that the unique view of Christ presented in your post has hardly ever been articulated, if indeed it ever has. Also, I would suggest you being open-minded enough to check out the book I recommended in my previous post, since the ironclad arguments for the Trinity are much too numerous to present in a bulletin-board format. If you have responses to White's thorough analysis of the Trinity which takes into account the entire body of Scripture, I will be more than happy to look at them with an open-mind! --Joe! |
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1922 | Is prayer of Jabez special? | 1 Chr 4:10 | Reformer Joe | 4455 | ||
Well, apart from the fact that I hold the whole "Bible Code" thing as completely bogus, I personally think that there is much more benefit to actually READING and STUDYING Scripture the way the Holy Spirit inspired it instead of looking for secret codes by skipping around different letters. Now, my problems with the "Left Behind" series, or rather the public's overwhelming fascination with the books (since I, like you, find what I have read of the story somewhat entertaining), has to do with the following: 1. Even if one holds to a pre-tribulational view of the end times (and many don't), the book still is largely speculation of how it will go down, but many people not well-versed in Scripture often see LaHaye's and Jenkins' tale as almost inspired in its accuracy. If we start making a list of every book in the last 60 years that interpreted the book of Revelation as imminent in light of their own cultural and technological surroundings, I would imagine that we could fill a small library. 2. Rather than studying the Scriptures to verify the accuracy of events in the books, I would imagine that for a great many individuals these books actually TAKE THE PLACE of serious study of God's Word. Instead of reading Exodus, Luke, and Romans, many opt to read _Tribulation Force_ and _The Mark._ That is a SERIOUS problem for the body of Christ, choosing entertaining reading over the life-changing message of the sovereign God. 3. I also have major reservations about any and all Gospel presentations which try and sell the message of salvation as a way to "escape the Tribulation" rather than clearly defining our depravity and sinfulness and how it will lead to an eternity of just and horrible suffering in Hell. That is much more devastating than living through what is depicted in _Left Behind_, and it will never ever ever end for those who die in their sins. And the fact is that is what we ALL deserve. I just don't see the idea depicted in _Left Behind_ that we are enemies of God; Hell is what we deserve for being enemies of God; God's only provision is Christ because of his sinless life and death in our place and resurrection; and that salvation is a merciful gift of God that comes through faith alone in Christ alone. I am not saying that the books contradict the Bible; only that the novels as far as I have seen articulate a very incomplete message when it comes to the essentials of the Gospel. Take out any of the books and see if what I am saying is true or not. Accepting Christ is not "Tribulation insurance," and one seriously has to question whether those trusting in a poorly-articulated Gospel truly are saved. This is not to say that people haven't genuinely come to Christ as a result of these books, but God uses a multitude of things (both good and bad) to reveal Himself to those whom he supernaturally calls. 4. My final problem has to do with this general over-fascination with eschatology in the first place. While God clearly reveals the future in Scripture, it is by far not a centerpiece of a balanced theology of the whole of Scripture. While we should be ready, as Christ admonished us, that is no excuse for the rampant "looking up in the sky" for Christ at the expense of glorifying God on earth (2 Corinthians 5:20; 1 Peter 2:9,10; Ephesians 2:10). Our job is not to do the modern-day equivalent of putting on a sandwich board and shouting, "The end is nigh." Our purpose is to glorify him who called us and regenerated us. How's that for a rant? No doubt someone is going to ba angered at my words, but the question isn't whether my words are offensive. The question is whether my words have the ring of truth. Longing to give all glory to God, Joe! |
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1923 | What teacher read Isaiah? | Luke 4:18 | Reformer Joe | 4380 | ||
Thanks, Hank. I only wish questions about the Trinity and divine election could be answered so succinctly! --Joe! |
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1924 | do we have any free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 4379 | ||
These three verses depict the same statement of Jesus, saying that "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." This says what the follower of Christ must do, but says nothing about WHO will follow Christ. The fact is that Scripture very forcefully teaches that: (1) God chooses us (do a NT search for the words "chosen" and "elect" and you will see way too many verses to list here); there really can be no dispute on that matter for Bible-believers, and I really have met few who will rejct that idea; (2) we are dead in our sins and tresspasses, and while we do have free will, we are morally unable to choose God without the Holy Spirit's regeneration (Romans 3:10-18; 1 Cor. 2:14); (3)the question becomes whether God chooses us because of our choice, or whether God chooses believers of His own sovereign, unconditional choice and leaves some to suffer the just punishment for their sins. Read Romans 9 and Ephesians 1 to see when God chose us, the reasons God chose us, and whether we have a say-so in the matter (pay careful attention to Romans 9:18-23). To answer the original question, Hell is for both the non-elect (i.e. those who will never place their faith in Christ) as well as for Satan and his angels. We can see eternal punishment for human beings in Matthew 25, Luke 16, and Revelation 20:13,14. Once we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we have the power to please God (i.e. not to sin) which did not previously exist before (Romans 8:8). We have been made new creatures (2 Cor 5:17), but we have the problem of having our old, sinful nature still present within us that will not be fully conquered until we are glorified in Heaven. Therefore, while we are commanded as believers not to sin (1 Peter 2:14-16), the very fact that this command is issued to believers indicates that sin is still present in our daily lives. Sanctification is the process by which, by yielding to the Spirit who lives within us, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1,2). Of course, the ability to choose to yield to the Spirit is only available to those who HAVE the Spirit (i.e. those who believe). Romans 8 gives a very good treatment of life in the Spirit. Hope this is of help, and I welcome any feedback as always! --Joe! |
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1925 | Communion, how often? | 1 Cor 11:25 | Reformer Joe | 4374 | ||
Of course unbelievers should be excluded, as it is a sacrament of the church. We do communion about once a month in my church, but sometimes I would like to see it done more often. I am torn on whether it would breed disrespect due to familiarity or not, but I myself enjoy celebrating both the communion with our Lord Jesus as well as the communion with my brothers and sisters in Christ. | ||||||
1926 | Does this explain Trinity? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 4351 | ||
Actually, we are condemned to Hell because of our sinful rebellion against God. God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is what justifies believers before God. May seem like splitting hairs, but it is important to note in evangelism taht God does not send people to Hell for rejecting Christ, but rather because we are all enemies of God unless God justifies us in his mercy. Too many times I have heard non-Christians paint God as someone who tells "morally neutral people" that they must believe in Christ or he will punish them for not doing so. Our sin is the cause of our condemnation, and it is important to share that with the non-believer, then demonstrate that faith in Christ is the only means God had provided to get our race out of the mess we got ourselves into. |
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1927 | TRINITY | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 4346 | ||
The Trinity is expressed clearly in Scripture in the following way: 1. There is one God; 2. He eternally exists in three distinct persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), all exhibiting the characteristics and attributes of deity; 3. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. If you want an excellent intro to the doctrine of the Trinity, I recommend James R. White's _The Forgotten Trinity_. It is very easy to read and is replete with the key passages of Scripture which reveal this Biblical truth. One thing I would like to add to the first answer is that the Deity and personality of the Holy Spirit is key to the doctrine of the Trinity as well. Hope this helps! |
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1928 | Does this explain Trinity? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 4345 | ||
The Trinity is indeed a biblical doctrine, and is attested to and developed throughout the entire Old and New Testaments. The proper formulation of the Trinity is that there is one God; the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God; however, the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. An excellent introductory work on the subject of the Trinity is _The Forgotten Trinity_, by James R. White. It covers a good deal of the biblical basis of this theological truth, and also traces the history of how it became codified in church councils as how God reveals himself in Scripture. Just as a follow-up question, according to Genesis 1:1, John 1:3, and Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1, who is the creator, God or Christ? I would be interested in hearing how a non-Trinitarian viewpoint addresses these passages. Thanks! |
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