Results 201 - 220 of 975
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Aixen7z4 Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
201 | The Old Covenant lingers? | Heb 8:13 | Aixen7z4 | 135368 | ||
That is a beautiful passage. I am sure you must have been thrilled to hear it. Little words like “But” and “Now” can have such an impact! For example, we were dead in trespasses and sins ... "But God who is rich in mercy ..." (Ephesians 2) and, what if the dead rise not? "But now is Christ risen ..." (1 Corinthians 15). The work of Christ on the cross, with all of its ramifications, is an accomplished fact. As he said, “It is finished”. Praise God. |
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202 | The Old Covenant lingers? | Heb 8:13 | Aixen7z4 | 135367 | ||
Thank you for pointing out that a question can be rhetorical. Even when it is not, a question may be designed, not to show ignorance, or to request information, but to encourage the reader to think. Don’t you think so? For example, I might have asked, “Are you sure the Old Covenant did not fade away in the moment that the New Covenant came into effect, at the cross?” The immediate response might have been a defensive “Yes, I am”. With the thoughts generated by all the other questions, the reader might have come, hopefully, to a more reasoned conclusion in his own mind. Might it not work that way? Jesus had a way of asking questions that did not suggest he was lacking in knowledge and needing to be informed. For example: Once while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?” They say unto him, “The Son of David”. He said unto them, “How then does David in spirit call him Lord, saying, ‘The LORD said unto my Lord, “Sit thou on my right hand, till I make your enemies thy footstool?”’ If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” In all of this, Jesus was not seeking information, but making a point. At other times he might ask, “Which of you convinces me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?” Or he might ask, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you go about to kill me?” Questions like that can cause a person to think, don’t you think? In this case, my barrage of questions was meant to ask Emmaus, “Won’t you reconsider the combination of statements, that ‘The New Covenant was established with the death of Jesus on the cross. (But) The Old Covenant lingered and was fading when Hebrews was written’”? Surely that would mean that the two Covenants coexisted for a while. I would hope his response would be, not Yes or No but, “Let me think about it”. He might think about it in light of the other facts submitted: that there are those who think the two Covenants coexist to this day, what with tithing and Sabbath keeping and all. He might even recall, without my saying it, that Jesus said you do not put new wine into old wineskins. Sometimes a barrage of questions does not work. But it could cause a reader to think. It could cause him to think more deeply about the issue, don’t you think? |
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203 | The Old Covenant lingers? | Heb 8:13 | Aixen7z4 | 135301 | ||
This different opinion on Hebrews 8:13 is reminiscent of the difficulty many have with 1 Corinthians 13:8. The thing was going to end. But when? In the first place, who said it would end? Was it the person who wrote to the Hebrews? Or was it Jeremiah? (If you say it was God then ask whom did he use to reveal it). What was supposed to end? Was it the sacrifice of lambs only? Or was it the entire Old Covenant? When was it to end? Was it supposed to go on for another seventy years after the cross? Or was it to end abruptly at the cross? The writer to the Hebrews was referring to the fact that God had spoken. He was saying that’s the way it is whenever God speaks of old and new. “ When God speaks of a new covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and ready to be put aside” (NLT). “When God speaks of a new [covenant or agreement], He makes the first one obsolete (out of use). And what is obsolete (out of use and annulled because of age) is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with altogether” (AMP). The point would be moot by now if we could decide that the Old Covenant has certainly finally gone by now, two thousand years after the cross. But alas! There is no consensus as to that. There are those who still keep the Sabbath, abstain from meats, pay the tithe, etc. Please note that someone is asking, based on the same verse, whether there are ten commandments now in force, or nine. There are Messianic Jewish churches now, and it is not a secret what they do there. But I visited a Protestant church not long ago and saw an entire observation of the Feast of Tabernacles. When will that Old Covenant die? As always, it is unfortunate when the original questioner disappears without responding to the answers that have been given. I wonder what rut and disciplerami understand by now? Is it possible they still think the New Covenant has not even started as yet? |
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204 | How do Philippians 1:3-11 compare and... | Col 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 135063 | ||
OK. One who are tired and unable to concentrate enough to proofread such a short post is not ready to do this assignment. | ||||||
205 | How do Philippians 1:3-11 compare and... | Col 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 135062 | ||
An interesting academic exercise, and some college professor would ask for it. But for one who are not in class, the two passages are saying exactly the same thing. I thank God that you are saved. Now I pray that you will allow the Holy Spirit to work in you, to give you what it takes and to guide you, as you live the Christian life. |
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206 | Does Heb.8:13 say N.Cov. hasn't started? | Heb 8:13 | Aixen7z4 | 135061 | ||
"Jesus came and come" means "Jesus has come". And he has established the New Covenant that Jeremiah saw ahead. When Jeremiah spoke, it had not yet started, but it is now in force. | ||||||
207 | Does Heb.8:13 say N.Cov. hasn't started? | Heb 8:13 | Aixen7z4 | 135060 | ||
It was saying that when it was first revealed to the Jews (See Jeremiah 31:31). Back then, God was saying, "The days are coming". But now it has been fulfilled, since Jesus came and come and established the New Covenant. Back in Jeremiah's day it had not yet started, but now it is well established. It is a matter of time perspective, don’t you see? It is like back in Genesis 3 when it was said that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head. In the process of time it has been accomplished. It is like when Joel said, "Whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be saved". When it was quoted in Acts 2:21 it was future for those listening, but it became present when they believed and called, in Acts 2:41. Someone can quote it, as Paul does in Romans 10:13, and it is future for those considering it. But once we call upon the name of the Lord, we are saved, and that makes it present. I have multiplied words here to try to make it clear and also to get in a word on behalf of the gospel. But the fact is New Covenant was future when Jeremiah spoke (and the writer to the Hebrews is quoting him) but the New Covenant has been established, and it is in force today. |
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208 | Who is the Son of God? John 3:8 | Bible general Archive 2 | Aixen7z4 | 134642 | ||
Is it 1 John 3:8? Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if you can tell? God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, “you are my Son, this day have I begotten you”? And again, “I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son”? And again, when he brings the first-begotten into the world, he says, “Let all the angels of God worship him”. Of the angels he says, “Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire”. But unto the Son he says, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom”. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. But … In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And … Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. |
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209 | Was Paul speaking a believer or not one | Rom 7:15 | Aixen7z4 | 133929 | ||
Please consider the other possibility: that Paul as not talking about himself, but about an unregenerate man, a wretched man still wrestling with the law, who has not yet found the Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was an apostle, and he would likely say as John did, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves”. But would he go so far as to say that he always did wrong and never did right? He preached the gospel (Romans 1:1,13,15; Romans 15:19). Was that not a right thing? On the other hand, he did not covet (Acts 20:33) and that is at least one example of his ability to resist a wrong thing. Paul endeavored to have a conscience void of offense toward God or man (Acts 24:16) and the record of his life shows that he was largely successful (2 Timothy 4:7). It is hard enough to accept that all unregenerate men live as Paul described in Romans 7. I wonder how well it describes the way it was with Cornelius, “a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always (Acts 10:1,2). It is hard to see how it could even apply to Paul before his conversion. He describes his life in Judaism (Philippians 3:6) and "touching the righteousness which is in the law", he saw himself as "blameless". I think that in Romans 7 Paul is describing the man who would try to attain righteousness by means of the law. He is repeating the point made in chapter 4 and laying the groundwork for the fact the solution is found, not in a continual struggle to keep the law, but in faith in Christ. In spite of the fact he is using the words “I” and “me”, it is apparent he is putting himself in the place of a person who would seek to be justified by works. That person will not succeed. I write here to try to dispel the notion that a believer cannot resist sin and cannot live a righteous life. John would not agree. He says those who have been born of God do not practice sin (1 John 3:9). The previous verse used stronger language. All in all, John says that sin can occur in a believers life, it is neither persistent nor inevitable. The believer can live a righteous life (1 John 3:7). When he writes to us that we sin not (1 John 2:1) he is not proposing an impossibility. Another passage which seems to pose a related problem is Galatians 5:17 which in some translations seems to say that we cannot do what we should. For this I recommend that we consider the NLT rendering. It says, “The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict”. If we think that Paul had no ability to do right and no ability to resist wrong, we may think that we are also in the same situation. I submit to you that Paul was not. I submit that it is not even the situation with all unregenerate men. It is the situation with one who is attempting to attain righteousness by keeping the law. |
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210 | what passage is it? | Phil 1:21 | Aixen7z4 | 133781 | ||
In Philippians 1:23 Paul says, “I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you”. In Romans 9:3 he says, “I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh”. In Galatians 5:17 he says, “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would”. James also takes on that issue. He says, “He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:6-8). In 1 Kings 18:21 Elijah came unto all the people, and said, “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word”. This conflict is something we seem to experience often. I myself have been wondering if I should respond to the question for while I was preparing an answer I noticed that others had done so before me. Now wonder if you are experiencing the same thing, trying to decide if you will tell us if we found the passage you were looking for. |
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211 | How much time spent on the Forum? | James 1:25 | Aixen7z4 | 133759 | ||
It is a good question, and each of us needs to answer it for ourselves, I suppose. Interesting that you pose it in terms of time spent on answers and notes as opposed to time spent asking questions and reading answers. It suggests, as others have indicated, that much more time is spent in giving than in receiving. This seems to meet the approval of the Lord who has said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Act3 20:35). It also causes one to think of what he said in Luke 6: “Give, and it shall be given unto you” (v.38). In judging how much time we spend on anything, one may think in terms of the potential for profitability. Will the time be well spent? What is the probability that it will bring about the results we desire? And what is it, by the way, that we desire? Good when we can say like Jesus, that “I came … not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). It seems reasonable to suppose that those who give answers and write notes are trying to communicate information that they think others need. “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved (1 Corinthians 10:33). One may spend time providing direct answers, then, and more time clarify and defending those points in response to questions and answers offered by others. One might like to exercise patience with those who have not seen the light, and take even more time as we follow principles such as that enunciated in Romans 15:2 to let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. Of course, as Jesus said, we will get as we give, whether we expect it or not, or want it. For example, many have found here the truth of what Jesus said in Matthew 7, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again”. But there is the issue of motive, why one would spend any amount of time on an activity. What exactly does one expect to gain from it? In this case, there is at least the satisfaction of knowing that we are communicating, and we may spend extra time and effort to ensure that. It has already been pointed out that one may spend lots of time not only posting but researching a topic in order to give quality to one’s post. This writer thinks it is worth the time to search the Scriptures on any topic, but especially when it is clearly related to the person of Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:39). The time to post is small and almost insignificant compared to the time comparing what others have said to Scripture and comparing Scripture to Scripture. It is possibly and hopefully true that some people spend some considerable amount of time on those activities even if they do not post. In the end there is the question whether it is worth the time. Is it worth it just to know that the point got over? Is it worth it to simply provide information if there is no indication or assurance that the facts served to information action? See 1 Corinthians 8:1. Even in the midst of writing this I must ask myself the question: if it is worth the time. How much good will it do? Our time really is not ours but God’s (Psalm 31:15) and we spend what he has given us. We do well to use it wisely and with his direction. |
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212 | Baptism-What Does the Bible Teach? | Acts 2:38 | Aixen7z4 | 133527 | ||
I think your point is well taken, that baptism allows one to be publicly recognized as a part of the church. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is a matter of entrusting our eternal destiny into his hand (2 Timothy 1:12). It is more than giving mental assent to some facts about him. It is done from the heart (Romans 10:10) and others cannot see it. Baptism is a thing of outward appearance that is shown to them afterwards. And yes, it is a sign that the person’s repentance was genuine, that the heart is now right with God (1 Peter 3:21). It may be a part of faith as well if it says that we trust him enough to obey him. |
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213 | Demon possesed? same as mentally ill? | 1 Thess 5:23 | Aixen7z4 | 133526 | ||
The Bible says that we are body and soul and spirit and any of these can be sick. Read, for example, 2 Chronicles 16:12 “Asa … was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great”. That is a disease of the body. Read Isaiah 1:5, 6. “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint”. It sounds like a physical problem, but when you read the story, it is a spiritual condition. Read Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick”. That is a mental condition. The Bible does not describe physical problems or mental problems in detail, but it talks about both. We can be physically sick, we can be mentally sick, and we can be spiritually sick. And Jesus says that those who are sick need a doctor. See Matthew 9:12. First, the sick person should pray (James 5:13). After that he should seek help (James 5:14). “Mentally ill” is not the same as “demon possessed”. Demon possession is a spiritual problem. “Mentally ill” is a psychological problem. In the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) you can read many stories about people with demons and about Jesus casting them out. In some passages, such as Isaiah 50:4, it speaks about people being able to minister to those with mental problems. The Bible does not tell us details about any science or about those who study and practice in areas such as medicine or psychology. It does say that we will learn more and more, and hopefully we can use that knowledge to help people. I would suggest to you that it is not good to spend a lot of time reading about mental illness, unless you are trained to deal with those things. You might find it pretty depressing. So I say, leave it to the doctors. And don’t spend a lot of time reading about demon possession. Just remember that Jesus had the power to remove it. Read the good news instead (Proverbs 25:25). Share some good news with someone (Isaiah 52:7). Especially, share the Good News (Romans 10:15). You and those around you will be the better for it. |
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214 | Baptism-What Does the Bible Teach? | Acts 2:38 | Aixen7z4 | 133446 | ||
We should go back to kalos’ post, I would suggest, and thank him for a masterful job of exposition. It was not logic that he used, as in “Don’t you think …?”, but a very noble and necessary practice of allowing Scripture to shed light on Scripture. I would only add this, that while we say that water baptism follows salvation and is not a part of it, we should not at the same time minimize the importance of water baptism. It is very significant. According to Peter, it is the answer of a good conscience toward God (1 Peter 3:21). Baptism is the natural next step after a person professes faith in Christ, and it should happen promptly because there is no suggestion in scripture that we delay it. There is a serious problem, I think, and I am not sure what to think, if a new believer refuses to be baptized. Unfortunately, some believers refuse or delay baptism as if o prove the point it is not essential. Some churches find it prudent to give a new believer words of assurance of salvation before getting into the subject or the activity of water baptism. Sometimes there are issues because the person may have been baptized before. It may then be necessary to show that baptism follows salvation and does not precede it or facilitate it. But the new believer should receive it. Whereas most churches almost always do baptize new believers, one may wonder why this discussion comes up so often. If there is repentance and faith and baptism, then why is there an issue? It seems that those who emphasize baptism are concerned not only that it take place but that we believe it was essential to salvation. To do it is not enough, they say, we must profess belief that it was essential. Scripture seems to say that acceptance of baptism is an evidence of faith (Mark 16:16; Acts 8:36,37) and it is therefore received with joy, even as there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7,10). Both the new believer who is receiving it and those who observe it have reason to rejoice, as in Acts 16:33,34. |
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215 | What's this about the Rapture? | Rev 4:1 | Aixen7z4 | 133434 | ||
Interesting. I take it that there is a Rapture, referred to in I Corinthians 15:51,52 and in 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17. I take it that the church is in heaven in Revelation 4, not because John is there (Revelation 4:1) but because the twenty-four elders are there (vv. 4,8; Revelation 5:6,8). I understand that in Matthew 24 Jesus is talking about the Jews and not the church, and in Revelation 6 John is seeing the Jews and not the church. The tribulation is the time of Jacob’s trouble. Jews will go through the Great tribulation and out of it some 144,000 will be saved, but during all of this the church is in heaven. I imagine that the subject of the rapture has been discussed elsewhere, but it seems appropriate that the post above be answered here. Meanwhile, I will look for other discussions on this topic. |
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216 | What is this "open door?" | Rev 4:1 | Aixen7z4 | 133430 | ||
Hello: I found your question while looking for discussions in Revelation and wondered what further thoughts you might have had on the subject, the door, since 6/28/02. You noticed that there is a door in Revelation 3:18 and a door in Revelation 4:1 and wondered if they were the same. It was said the first door was an entrance into the kingdom or a door of opportunity, while the second was a view into heaven or an entrance into heaven in order to see certain things. Mention was made also to the door in John 10, which represents the Lord himself. It seemed to me significant that in all these cases it was a door and not a window. Surely a window could provide a view, but a door is the one we actually go through. As Jesus would say (John 10:9) “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” So it seems that a door is that which allows entrance and exit. Not that a window cannot be used for the same purpose, but Jesus referred to that in John 10:1. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber”. He would go on to say that those who enter in that way come to kill and to steal and to destroy. It is evident that he was talking about false prophets who may come into the church. Interesting that Jesus himself enters through the door. This seems to say that he enters in the right way, legitimately, but also that someone lets him in. In John 10 it is the porter who opens the door, and it would seem that the Porter is usually the Holy Spirit. In Revelation 4:1, John heard a voice. Whose voice? It does not say. But in the next verse there is the influence of the Spirit leading him through the door and into heaven. In 1 Corinthians 12, it is the Holy Spirit who brings new believers into the church. Otherwise it may be a leader of the church or any believer in the church who can open the door, as in Revelation 3:20. I might note in passing that the door in this last instance is evidently the entryway into the church and not into the heart as is often supposed, though Ephesians 3 does picture him settling down in the heart. But then Jesus is himself the door into the fold, which I take as another reference to the church, the body of believers. It is through this door that we pass in and out (John 10:9). We go through that door, into the world, and one purpose is to find sheep that are lost and to bring them in. He did say that there are sheep who belong to him that are not yet in the fold. He might have been referring to the Gentiles at that time, but I take it there is a double meaning there and it applies still today. And all of this to say that a door is different from a window and it is more than a view that is in view. A door is to let people in and out, and there is a door to the church. We should let Jesus in and not the false prophet. They will enter anyway, but it is partly through their mode of entry that we will know them. A door is for us to go in and out of. It was used in Revelation 4 to let John into heaven. It remains a fixture in the church to let us go outside the church and to come back in, bringing something with us. Interesting that Jesus comes through the door, he is the door, and he is also the shepherd who leads us in and out the door. “When he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him” (John 10:4). Have you thought about these things? |
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217 | Do you believe this? | 1 Tim 1:15 | Aixen7z4 | 133272 | ||
Let's say we are saying that God has done everything he could do and said everything that needs to be said. Now all that awaits is final judgment. Now the unchannging message until the end of time is the Gospel, Repentance and Faith. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Can you believe that? Or do you believe? Or would you believe? | ||||||
218 | A New Perspective!??! | Bible general Archive 2 | Aixen7z4 | 133268 | ||
Vrey itestnreign. And one is empted to say something about that in terms the psychology of it, in terms of attention and perception and cognition and maturation and levels of processing, and it is very hard to resist the first and the last of these especially, because they seem to be the important issues here. This writer did a study once on the effects on recall of facts from randomizing the order of sentences in a paragraph, and the results were interesting. Many explanations have been offered for the effects of these things and it is interesting to read them. The nature of this forum being what it is, though, I suppose we must seek a scriptural correlate and a spiritual lesson. With all the explanations that are given for spiritual things, what can we say? Persfsoor Jnoathan Ewdadrs says, “Beileve on the Lord Juses Csriht and tohu sahlt be svead”. Prfossoer Steevn Schacs says, “Tehre is olny one God and Maammohd is his porhpet”. Waht is the dcifferene? All reliogins wshorip the smae God. It deos not mettar what you beleive as lnog as you are sencire. Some say that words are converted into pictures in the mind. But what picture do you see when you read “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”? What does believe look like? And we have no idea what the Lord Jesus Christ looks like. We may have a picture of the place in the Bible where we read it or the physical location we happened to be in when we heard it “and knew the grace of God in truth” (Colossians 1:6). Some preachers believe they need to help you to create those pictures by giving stories or other illustrations. For example, they would say that believing is like sitting in a chair and trusting it to keep you up. I have done that. But one wonders sometimes whether the effect God wants to create is not a voice rather than a picture, his voice. After all, it does say, “Faith cometh by hearing”. What if you are reading the Scriptures? Does he not want to convert that into his vioce (sic) in your heart and mind? Why is it people have such little difficulty with the passage in spite of incorrect spelling? One reason is that we are influenced by words such as “research“ and “university” and “professor” and we are more open and less critical towards what is to follow. Thank God for a heart that is similarly influenced, but more so, by the words, “God said” and “Jesus said”? It causes us to think of passages such as Exodus 14:15 and Luke 5:5. One other reason is that we sense we are expected to make sense out of it regardless of the errors. We read these strange words with an optimistic expectation that we will be able to understand it. Initial success breeds subsequent success, and eventual success. It reminds us of the process we go through in our spiritual understanding, adding spiritual truth to spiritual truth (1 Corinthians 2:13) and going from faith to faith (Romans 1:17). One can go on and on with this but again, the most important issues seem to be those of attention and levels of processing. As we read the Scriptures, are we focused and expecting to hear the vioce of God? Are we into it with a “Speak, Lord, for your servant heareth”? Or are we focused on the physical words on the page? What if the translator did make a mistake? Can we hear the voice of God anyway? How deep do we go, and do we allow the Spirit of God to take us there? We can ask ourselves even now what it is we see when we read, “Beileve on the Lord Juses Csriht and tohu sahlt be svead”. |
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219 | Some questions on cleansing, new birth, | 2 Cor 7:1 | Aixen7z4 | 133141 | ||
Dear Friend: You seem to have a correct apprehension of the entire matter. Regeneration is a synonym for being "born again" or experiencing the "new birth". Regeneration is a not a continuous process, and being “born again” is not a continuous process. What does Scripture say about regeneration? Paul says that God saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5). There is a sense in which we die daily and are resurrected. In 1 Corinthians 15:31 Paul says, “ I die daily”. He says, “our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). We are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 4:11). He who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you (2 Corinthians 4:14). The term regeneration might have been used to describe this process of dying and being resurrected, but to the knowledge of this writer the term is not used that way. It is not used that way in Titus 3:5. Likewise, the term “renewing” might have used to describe this, but it is not so used in that passage. “God saved us” is a completed action, and it says we were regenerated and renewed at that time. In light of the fact that we have been “regenerated” and “renewed”, we should “cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”. The command to do these things are in light of the fact God has made some special conditional promises to us. If we decline to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, if we come out from among them and be separate, if we refrain from touching the unclean thing, then God will do as he has promised: “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters”, says the Lord Almighty. Salvation (regeneration, as per Titus 1:5) is a one-time, instantaneous event in which God, through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new life in Christ. Sanctification is the process by which we "cleanse ourselves … perfecting holiness". We do this by putting off the old habits which we learned from the world, and putting on the new behaviors we learn from Christ. In saying that sanctification (and here we are referring to practical sanctification) we should not get the idea that God wants us to go very slowly on this. It says we should “bring [our] consecration to completeness”. Let no one get the idea I am saying we can be sinless. But it seems God is saying we should be holy (Romans 12:1) completely separated unto him. We should aim now for the situation where we can say that we know of nothing in our life that is offensive to God (1 Corinthians 4:4). We should exercise ourselves to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men (Acts 24:16). We will never be able to say that we are perfect. There may be sins in our lives that we are not aware of (Psalm 19:12). But we can confess and forsake the sins we are aware of (1 John 1:9). Also, we can pray that God would show us what he sees and lead us in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23,24). I realize that some believe salvation is a gradual process. This matter has been debated and I hope it is not revived here. I wrote in order to contribute to the idea of practical sanctification and to suggest that we should aim for a sense of completion in this. A sense, I say, because we can admit that the process is incomplete and yet have a clear conscience that we are not harboring any known sin. |
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220 | Why was there fear here? | Acts 5:11 | Aixen7z4 | 133129 | ||
Greeting, my sister: I appreciate the thoughts. God’s grace is truly amazing. My point is that human behavior is in its own way amazing; I might even say “unbelievable”. But it is the situation in which God shows the nature and extent of his grace. We are indeed sinners. We have rebelled against God and shown so much ungratefulness. It is unbelievable. But God, who is rich in mercy, for the great love with which he has loved us, even when we were dead in sins, has brought us to life with Christ, and hath raised us up, and made us sit in heavenly places in Christ. And it is all because of his grace. I do not know how clearly we see it now. But in the ages to come he will show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. His grace is greater than all our sin. Even now that we are believers, some aspects of our behavior are unbelievable. Look at the way we behave toward each other. How can it be? Look at our interest and efforts in bringing the Gospel to those who are without God and without hope. Please note how all of this is expressed in terms of ourselves as the recipients of God’s grace, in the plural. One important word that I left out in the reference to Ephesians 2:4,5 is the word “together”. It may be another aspect of all this that we fail to appreciate as we should, that we who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are in this together. Our attitude toward this fact continues to reflect our attitude toward God whose chief command to us is to love one another. But in spite of this, his grace abounds. We should not take advantage of it to continue to behave badly. We should not only stand amazed at his grace. We should worship him because of it, and other aspects of his nature, and recommit ourselves to obey him. I appreciate your point of view on 1 Timothy 1:15, that the emphasis is on one being the foremost or chief of sinners. Surely Paul was amazed at the grace bestowed on him. But the point is also there that the whole idea, that Christ came into the world to save sinners, is worthy of acceptation. As much as it is true that he came to save the chief, it is also true that he came to save the others. As much as it is amazing, it is also true, and it should be accepted. If I could, I would change the question to read as you suggested. As it is, I hope that someone who reads it will say, “I can. I will. I do believe”. |
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