Results 21 - 40 of 645
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Results from: Notes Author: JCrichton Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
21 | can you lose your salvation or not? | 2 Cor 1:22 | JCrichton | 151801 | ||
""Belief in the N.T. denotes more than intellectual assent to a fact. The word (Gk. pistis, noun; pisteuo, verb) means *adherence to, committal to, faith in, reliance upon, trust in* a person or an object, and this involves not only the consent of the mind, but an act of the heart and will of the subject. "Whosoever believeth in him" is equivalent to "whosoever trusts in or commits himself to him [Christ]." Belief, then is synonymous with faith, which in the N.T. consists of believing and receiving what God has revealed"" Hi, Kalos! You have not argument from me! As long as "Belief" is understood as adherence to Christ's Authority and Command... sadly, what I have been exposed to is an empty "Belief." One based on "feelings" and "liberties" that claims to exonerate a Christian while condemning a nonbeliever for the same transgression/s and the same obstinacy of refusing to confess the transgression/s (sin/s)... Some "Belief" that Jesus has given Christians carte blache for living a dual life (saying we are of the Light and transgressing against God at will and with full impunity--never having to denounce our transgressions, ergo do as you please for Christ has granted you the freedom to sin!). It is this false doctrine which I question, not the fact that Believing in Him (in all of the cited definitions above) is Life! God Bless! Angel |
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22 | Is Jesus always the Light? | Acts | JCrichton | 151667 | ||
Hi, Seedling! Jesus is speaking on the thing to come... for as long as He is in the world, as the Lamb of God, He is the center of the world... yet, there will be a time when the prince of this world will seek Jesus followers (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 12); it will be up to Jesus' disciples to become the light/s of the world, in Jesus stead, so that man can be brought into the fold... God is Light and in Him there's no darkness (1 John 1:5) and since Jesus is God, He is the Light! God Bless! Angel |
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23 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | JCrichton | 151666 | ||
Hi, Ray! You've hit on another excellent (more outstanding) passage: Colossians 1:28! There is a goal for the Believer (as in the Old Testament) to be perfect/ed in Christ Jesus... as the Holy Spirit works everything for the edification of the Body... Believe in Christ, yes!... is is through Faith that we are brought into the fold... but as our temporal existence, our spiritual existence deepens and growth in the knowledge and existence of God... we are commanded by Paul to go past the initiation (preaching, believing, baptism) and to embrace all that is God (including abedience to His Will)! (1 Corinthians 13:11-12; Ephesians 4:30 thru 5:21; Hebrews 6:1-6). God Bless! Angel |
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24 | can you lose your salvation or not? | 2 Cor 1:22 | JCrichton | 151660 | ||
Hi, Kalos! It is not I who tells you it is He! It is beautiful to believe! I believe the children are our future... wonderful line from an old song! I believe in God, says... well almost every body... but they create their own version of what that "God" constitutes... for some new age Christians it is a God that loves everything and allows everything including homosexuality and interfaith worship (which allows for homosexuality, atheism, a female divinity, and the acceptance of evil and good as part of God's inner structure...); it is Jesus who tells you to abide in Him and if you refuse to abide you will be cut off and burned! 1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:1-6) And abiding in Christ does not mean saying "I believe in Christ!:" 15If ye love me, keep my commandments. 21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:15, 21) Saying that we are "saved" or "born again" or that we "believe" does not make it so! Obeying Christ when He Command us to abide in Him or when He Command us to change our ways and be perfect or when He Commad us to stay the course that is what "Believing" means... it never means an easy route to salvation (jumping in line or committing ourselves to sin because we "believe" or because we are "saved..."); if you abide in Me and I in you so that you can bear much fruit... if you do not abide in me... well... just don't go around calling Lord, Lord, because I tell you, "I know you not!" (a little play on words as I paraphrased for your John 15:4-6 and Matthew 7:21-23) Believing without abiding is nothing more than the echo of sound dissipated into nothingness... even the demons believe that Jesus is who He says He is, but they do not obey; they seek to transgress any and all of God's Authority... so does the man who walks with a Bible because he believes... yet, transgresses against God as his will dictates! Was Jesus simply using double talk when He spoke to the disciples? "Abide in me... without me you are nothing!" Does that sound like "Believe in Me (well, I mean 'say you believe in me') and everything is secure... now, go on, go be yourself?" Salvation is free--for the asking! But that "born again" thing is permanent and a person cannot be born into the Light and continue to live in darkness!: 5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10) God Bless! Angel |
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25 | God being lonely? | Gen 1:1 | JCrichton | 151659 | ||
Hi, mommapbs! You've missed my point completely: "we, humanity, long for His companionship!" It is this longing that can bring us to believe that God is lonely as He longs to be with us! "I suspect that many seek companionship from others and things" It is this emptiness, in us, that could cause man to think that God could ever be lonely... and you are correct, many seek to fill a void in their lives that only God can fill--unfortunately, Satan has taken the reigns and he leads humanity into all sorts of inverted doctrines (bad means good; good means bad)... so we search to satisfy our loneliness in everything and anything except God... and because, as human, we experience the suffocating tentacles of this vacuous feeling we call loneliness, we may suspect that, because we are created in God's image, God too experiences loneliness. God Bless! Angel |
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26 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | JCrichton | 151656 | ||
Hi, Ray! I agree with you fully! I think that this is part of Scripture which people tend to omit when searching for answers... it is not just what sin is and what sin does that matters... we cannot, on our own, correct every single impulse that compels us to transgress against God... it is through His Grace that we are made alive... it is through humble obedience that we can submit our will to His! Just take a look at 2 Corinthians 5:20: ""Therefore, we are ambassadors for (Christ)..."" if we were to abide by it, we would not have any need to worry about sin... we would be compelled to abide in humble obedience acquiescing to God's Will instead of defying it! (Hebrews 10:26-39) God Bless! Angel |
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27 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | JCrichton | 151650 | ||
Hi, Doc! I understand what you are saying and I do not suggest that Scripture say otherwise... but there are sins that actually build up (as addictive drugs)if allowed to fester (anger, envy, lust, greed...); there's hardly any moderation once a person engages them... I agree with you fully a transgression does not have to be extensive nor repetitious: sin is sin! God Bless! Angel |
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28 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | JCrichton | 151584 | ||
Hi, Doc! Check out Romans 1:29 and 2 Peter 2:13! God Bless! Angel |
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29 | Holy Spirit / Tongues for Today? | Acts 2:39 | JCrichton | 151332 | ||
Hi, Huron! We are at complete accord!... I think that this is the result of coming together in His Name! I pray that more and more Believers come together in the Holy Spirit so that we can share Christ's Peace! God Bless! Angel |
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30 | Holy Spirit / Tongues for Today? | Acts 2:39 | JCrichton | 151209 | ||
Hi, Mike! I am not suggesting otherwise (water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit)... what I am saying is that it was understood that they were part of the initiation into the Body of Christ... the best examples I can offer you are found in Acts 8:14-17 and 10:34-48; on the first passage the people had been preached to and had been baptized; yet they did not receive the Holy Spirit till Peter and others visited them and infused the Holy Spirit on them... the second passage speaks of a totally reversed situation as the Holy Spirit was acting in these Believers but they had not received water baptism... Peter commanded that they be baptized (water) as well as having the Holy Spirit's baptism! Today, we are so engrossed in our individual congregational's views that at times we think that we can omit one part or the other or that we can be at higher spiritual levels than even Jesus who was both baptized in water and anointed by the Holy Spirit! Again, though different events, both water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit are part of the make up of Christians... it is, as they say, "the whole enchilada!" God Bless! Angel |
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31 | Holy Spirit / Tongues for Today? | Acts 2:39 | JCrichton | 151172 | ||
Hi, Huron! I think that the distinction of water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit is only a matter of later generations of Christians... if we follow closely the early Church we must see that whenever there was one the other soon followed... it was indispensable for Christians to simply do without either! I think the root concern is to identify the reason for Pentecost and the mini/semi Pentecosts that would follow... it wasn't a mandate that Christians would speak in strange tongues! The manifestation of the Holy Spirit in signs such as the rumblings and the tongues of fire and the demonstration of an enhanced ability (speaking in tongues) is simply that... a demonstration; a tool to gather both Believers and non-believers about the Apostles and disciples... Notice that there is a difference between Pentecost's revelations and Paul's admonishions: Peter and the others spoke or seemed to be speaking in the various languages of those present during the actual incident... while Paul is speaking about strange tongues or languages not discernable to the human mind--languages that have their originins and their afinity in God! What I have tried to clarify is that when the Believers are baptizedthe, the Holy Spirit will not always be manifested by the signs of strange languages or multilingual ability of those baptized; yet, Christians are baptized in the Holy Spirit and receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, this includes the ability to speak in tongues--this will not cease till the end of times because the Holy Spirit was given to the Church to teach Her and guide Her to the fullness of truth and God's Gifts are perpetual (they will accomplish God's Will by assisting man's limitations throughout the ends of time)... Recap: Manifestation of the Holy Spirit in a manner similar to Pentecost--not necessary once Christians are aware of Hi presence... The ability of Christians to speak in tongues--it is part of the Holy Spirit's Gifts and He will detemine who, what, where, when, and how often and to what degree Christians are to become cognizant of them and practitioners of them. Again I refer you to Paul's words... his concern was not so much that Christians spoke in strange languages... his concern was that Christians aspired for those Gifts that would serve to edify the Church... We get so caught up in this issue that we miss the whole exercise completely: speaking in tongues is only of benefit to the person who is speaking (unless there is an interpreter and the matter must deal directly with the edification of the Body of Christ, not some personal revelation about a particular individual/s)... God Bless! Angel |
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32 | Holy Spirit / Tongues for Today? | Acts 2:39 | JCrichton | 151070 | ||
Hi, Huron! Not all were convinced... some just simply played it down as though the Apostles were drunk or crazy... this is the reason why Peter corrected them (Acts 2:14-42)... true, wonderous things happened to demonstrate the Coming of the Holy Spirit... but we must use reason when reading the Holy Scripture: *We must understand that neither all of Jesus' nor all of His disciples' accomplishments and teachings were recorded (way back when there was no such thing as printing pressess and copying machines, everything was done within certain constraints). * Not every single even occurred in a single formatted fashion. * The Holy Spirit did not come to perform wholesale signs and miracles. * There's always a purpose for God's revelations and demonstrations of Power/Authority. * The Holy Spirit is with us forever, till the end of times! I offer the following passages where baptism took place but there was no mention of any special signs: Acts 8:12-26; 8:26-39; 9:18-20; 16:9-15; 16:25-34; 18:5-11... since the Bible does not enumarate every single event in the life of the Church, we must accept the fact that there were way much more baptism performed than those listed and that there would be a variation in the revelation of the Holy Spirit--the Holy Spirit is not performing for Believers or non-Believers; He is exacting God's Plan and, as the Divine executor, He has full Authority and control over what transpires as demonstration of His presence among the Believers! In example: How many people came to their conversion as Saul? How many were placed as precursors to Christ? It is God who determines what must transpire to keep His Plan functioning within His appointed time! Speaking in tongues, as any other Gift, is part of the Church's past and is part of the Church's continued function... however, there is but one Pentecost, and one demonstration that the Holy Spirit has been given to the Church! (John 14:16; Matthew 16:17-18; Acts 2:17-21; John 17:9, 19-23) "1 Cor 13:8-10? (The reason I say that is because it's possible to interpret "when the perfect comes" as heaven)" I must disagree with you on this point... read 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 in light of 1 John 3:2-3... it is Jesus who must come so that we can inherit the final transition as children of God: perfection: the essense of God! Further, the Kingdom of God is at hand! Jesus elevated His disciples to this understanding (where would we go--John 6:68) and He announced that if these things were happening (miracles, cures, baptism...) it was a demonstration that God's Kingdom was at hand (Matthew 4:11; Luke 21:31; 17:19-22). God Bless! Angel |
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33 | Jn3:16 ;1Jn2:15 Do/don't love the world | John 3:16 | JCrichton | 151021 | ||
Hi, Doc! I agree with you completely! The problem I have is with those who are purporting to being spiritual or advanced and pass judgment on all who do not have the same intimacy with Jesus or the same understanding of the Word... it is the Holy Spirit who gives to one the ability to know God and to other the ability to be intimate with God... We find that not even the twelve had the same understanding nor the same receptiveness nor the same intimacy with Jesus... Peter is always at the ready, outstripping everyone else in zealousness for Christ; yet, it is John who experiences the greater intimacy with Christ! As with any relationship, our relationship with God grows stronger the more we employ our time with worship and study of the Holy Scripture... yet, knowing God for a very long time does not equate to receiving greater abilities or understanding... we find that human frailty can diminish our relationship with God--even to the point of being detrimental to our spiritual wellbeing: ie: Aaron's and his wife's jealousy of Moses' relationship with Yahweh--they actually thought that they could dictate who God would choose to bring into His intimacy! Further, we are called to lift those who are weak in faith--we are not called to tear them down by removing the slightest hope and strength that they may possess! God Bless! Angel |
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34 | Holy Spirit / Tongues for Today? | Acts 2:39 | JCrichton | 151019 | ||
Hi, Huron! Peter is not saying that all who are baptized and receive the Holy Spirit will be speaking in tongues as a sign that they are part of the Body of Christ... what he is saying is that all Believers throughout time till the return of our Lord will receive the Holy Spirit--this is the same premise made by Christ (John 14:16-17--compare similar inclusion in 2 Timothy 1:7-9 and John 17:15-21); Scripture never stipulates that all who were baptized and received the Holy Spirit spoke in strange languages or that they performed any extraordinary signs! God Bless! Angel |
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35 | Holy Spirit / Tongues for Today? | Acts 2:39 | JCrichton | 150980 | ||
Hi, Huron! The Amish, as well as others, believe that technology should not be part of the Believers' life... there are various interpretations of Scriptures that, for the most part, are extremist views that hinder rather than aide man in worshipping God... There were Christians buying into extemes way back when.. Paul addressed the issue of speaking in strange tongues as follows: 1 Corinthians 14 :2 those who speak in them speak to God not others; :4 they help themselves only; :5 I would rather that you proclaim God's Word; :12 aspire for the gifts of the Spirit with which you can help the Church; :19 in Church worship I would rather speak five words that can be understood by all, than thousands in strange tongues; :22 speaking in strange tongues is proof for unbelievers (those who reject God) not for believers; while proclaiming God's message is proof for believers! I've paraphrased these verses, for the unedited version read 1 Corinthians 14:1-25; for mandates on orderly service with reference to speaking in tongues, read 1 Corinthians 14:26-33--note that Paul specifically calls to order that no more than two or three should speak in tongues, and that there should be an order (not everyone all at once); he also cautions that if there is none who can interprete then those speaking in tongues should be doing it in a quiet manner in order to facilitate and orderly service... it is understood that any revelation must be for the edification of the Church--pesonal revelations or any other revelation is unwarranted! Now, since the Holy Spirit did not just appear on earth for the sole purpose of introducing the disciples to the Jewish and Gentile communities, we must understand that He is able to give any Gift to any member of Christ's Body; the gift of tongues is no exception--there's no time restriction to the Holy Spirit's function in the Church! Sadly, we take the Holy Scripture to extremes and we create theologies that, in essence, places God under our control: speaking in tongues; handling serpents; transportation to Heaven; discerning spirits; having the keys to Heaven, life, wealth, health, longevity, exclusive relationships with Christ, the Father, the Holy Spirit; personal revelations; special knowledge of the future... all for the asking, by following some formula or "little known secrets" of the Holy Scripture... When we claim to be able to do something that other Christians cannot do or when we claim that to be in Christ a person must do precisely what we demand of them to do... does that not verge on egocentrism? Speaking in tongues is possible for Christians... but the lack of the ability to speak in tongues does not demonstrate lack of faith or some form of disenfranchisement from God! It is the Holy Spirit who determines what Gift to bestow upon the Believer and when (1 Corinthians 12:4-11); He will impart you, me or any other Christian with the ability that we need to edify the Church... no one can demand or subscribe to a special forum of "self-service" gifts! God Bless! Angel |
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36 | Jn3:16 ;1Jn2:15 Do/don't love the world | John 3:16 | JCrichton | 150972 | ||
Hi, Doc! Sorry... but I can be obtuse at times... I don't follow you! ...are you saying that all Christians have complete understanding of the Holy Scripture?, or Anyone not having complete understanding of the Holy Scripture lack the Holy Spirit? We can be confounded by Scripture when we view the Word at extremes... there are congregations stipulating that to be "saved" or that to "have the Holy Spirit" a person must (no exception), a person must speak in strange languages; others stipulate being impervious to venom; others, that we cannot use modern technologies, doctors, medicines, coffee, tea... Understanding of the Word of God is through Divine Inspiration--does that mean that only a select few are capable of reading the Holy Scripture? Jesus never stipulated a point grade level to His disciples... and there is no teaching in Scripture that having the Holy Spirit guarantees complete and unabridged comprehension of God or God's Word... Every element in Christ's Body operates in his/her capacity as the Holy Spirit deems it... there are no "division of classes" in Christ's Body... every member is a codependent element in the Body; not all are Apostles, not all are preachers, not all are teachers... some will have basic understanding and some will have deeper understanding; some will have litte faith and much knowledge; some will have much faith and little knowledge... it is the Holy Spirit who convicts both the Believers and the world... To exclude poeple from the Body on the grounds that they lack the Holy Spirit because they lack full understanding of the Holy Scripture is not only an irresponsible act, but it is a stumbling block to those whose faith is not strong and to those who are mere beginners! Saul was very knowledgeable about God (Philippians 3:4-6)... still, he was not receptive to the Holy Spirit... God chose him to lead the missions to the gentiles; though we cannot claim Paul's miraculous conversion, our conversion is just as important as his--and it was through his submission to Christ's Authority that allowed the Holy Spirit to enlighten his mind and spirit!: the man that knew much was blind; the man that confided in God saw the Light! God Bless! Angel |
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37 | Jn3:16 ;1Jn2:15 Do/don't love the world | John 3:16 | JCrichton | 150967 | ||
Hi, Starfire! Thank you for your generous words! "...I now see that there is no shame or defeat or disappointing God..." I think that this too is part of God's Plan... we are called to be part of One Body... every one of us has something to contribute (the Holy Spirit bestows upon us what the Church needs)... coming together in Christ is the culmination of both humble obedience and true worship... and since we've not yet become what we can be, we must each bring forward our weaknesses or strengths... not a single one of us will be deemed less valuable to Christ! As Paul said, it is in our infirmities that Christ is Strong! God Bless! Angel |
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38 | Reincarnation, scripturally founded? | Heb 9:27 | JCrichton | 150893 | ||
Glad to have helped! Thank you for the encouragement! God Bless! Angel |
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39 | So HOW do you walk in the Spirit ? | Gal 5:16 | JCrichton | 150890 | ||
Hi, Jlhetrick! Thank you for the encouragement! You are so correct... there are way too many people memorizing a single Scriptural verse or part of a verse and formulating a whole theology about it... to the point of ignoring/excluding the rest of the Holy Scripture, including the verses preceding or proceeding the specified text... I remember that at one time I thought that Romans 6:23 was comprised only with the term: "the wages of sin is death;" unwillingly, I had adopted only a portion of that particular verse which, as in the Old Testament warning (the sin visited to the fourth geneneration), offers much more than simply death: God's free gift of Life! Keeping in mind that many people who are asking questions are simply not familiar with the Holy Scripture, we can better serve othes and ourselves by referencing corroborating or hermenutical passages that can expand their understanding of a single Scriptural passage... Context is not just a guide but an importand aide to understanding... this is one reason why I refuse to entertain those "what if" scenarios--nothing is relevant but the clause itself, making all and any interpretation valid! God Bless! Angel |
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40 | Whats the point? | Bible general Archive 2 | JCrichton | 150885 | ||
Hi, Katebote! I've have encounter this exact problem several times... one way to avoid is to open a computer program (word/works...) and work on that pad then copy on to the forum's pad--the original can be edited to remove any symbols that is not supported by the forum's server; another way is to copy the text on the pad before depressing the "Previe Follow-up" button--the material would be in temporary memory and can be pasted and edited... God luck and God Bless! Angel |
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