Results 21 - 40 of 1773
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: John Reformed Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
21 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102554 | ||
Mal 3:6 "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Dear Tim, Think about it...If God actually changed His mind, it would mean that His original judgement was less than perfect! You have already agreed that He never learns new information, rather, He is omniscient. Therefore, (unless you want to re-think this doctrine as well) the times in which He say He changed His mind, were instances of God's graciousness in speaking to us in terms which we are capable of grasping. Like a mature parent to a child just beginning learn to understand complex thoughts. You know.. using baby talk. It is God condescending to our weakness. Giving us milk instead of strong meat. It's not a matter of sweeping difficulties under the rug, but of using our God given reasoning abilities and prayerfully attempting to reconcile difficult passages. Of course, we also have pre-suppositions and cultural biases which also influence our conclusions. We must bear them in mind and be scrupulous in preventing them from taking precedence in our interpretation the texts. I have to return to work. John |
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22 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102549 | ||
Dear NC, You wrote " I do however believe that God in His omniscience fore-knew everything that would happen before it came to pass. I also stated that I also believe that the actions or inactions of God's creatures can never in any way alter God's purpose or divine plan." The problem is that that is not what the text says. Please found what you believe on the Bible and then we will have something solid to work from. What do you believe that Acts 4 28,29 teaches us? John |
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23 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102517 | ||
Dear Tim, You have made a good point. Nevertheless, the fact of the immutability is inextricably bound with His omniscience and His omnipotence. He never recieves new information nor does He ever face a difficulty. His planned pupose is eternal and it never changes. It merely appears to us as if God is re-acting to change. In reality everything that occurs does so because it was so ordained by the Creator to occur. Is 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'; But thats a new topic. I still maintain that the verses that speak of God' apparent change of mind, are God's way of helping us to understand. I confess that His ways are Higher than mine, and, I am at a loss as how to understand how an omniscient Being can change His mind about anything. But am content knowing that His will, will be done. John |
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24 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102509 | ||
Dear New Creature, You asked "It seems to me that you believe that God fore-ordained the sinful acts of men. Is that so?" It matters little what I believe, if what I believe is based on anything but God's Holy Writ. Acts 4:27,28 "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, TO DO WHATEVER YOUR HAND AND YOUR PURPOSE PRE-DESTINED TO OCCUR. Forgive me for resorting to caps, but, you seem to be ignoring or missing this crucial part of the passage. What are your thoughts on Acts 27,28 ? May God Bless You, John |
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25 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102502 | ||
Dear NC, I have copied a previous post and reposted below. The reason I have done this is because you did not address the passages,but, asked a question ans made a conclusion but did not tell me what the passages lead us to conclude. -------------------------------------------------- God is not the author of sin, but, He has ordained that the sinful acts of man (which He fore-ordained) work together for ultimate good. We see one example in the story of Joseph and his brothers: Gen 50:20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. Another in Is 10:5-7 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation, I send it against a godless nation And commission it against the people of My fury To capture booty and to seize plunder, And to trample them down like mud in the streets.Yet it does not so intend, Nor does it plan so in its heart, But rather it is its purpose to destroy And to cut off many nations. From these verses we learn that God uses the wicked intentions of man for His own purpose. Acts 4:27,28 "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. Those listed; Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, sought the death of Christ out of pure hatred, yet God was working underneath for the greatest good that the world will ever know. God Bless, John |
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26 | Are you onced saved always saved? | John | John Reformed | 102501 | ||
Does anyone have the Pope's email address? :-) John |
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27 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102497 | ||
Dear Tim, I can't except the arguement (God repents in the same way we repent) because it is not consistant with the nature of God and is contradicted elsewhere in Scripture; "God is not a man that He should repent". How do you reconcile the passage from Jonah with Num 23:19? "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? I am interested in hearing your answer. Bro. John |
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28 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102495 | ||
NC, We know that Adam and Eve were created with absolutely free wills, but because of their mis-use of this freedom, their desendents were born in bondage to sin and Satan. That is why no person born of Adam has the ability to live a sinless life. You said "Since God created his beings and gave them the freedom to obey or disobey or rebell, then the origin of sin is no longer a mystery." That explains how it is possible that Adam and Eve sinned, but not why the possibility of sinning exists. Returning to our subject...we were talkiig about the question of God has foreordaing the wicked deeds of men. Does He or does'nt He? John |
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29 | Are you onced saved always saved? | John | John Reformed | 102425 | ||
Excellen point Radioman, I never realized that. Thanks and God Bless, John |
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30 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102423 | ||
Dear NC, "How can God who according to this statement of yours fore-ordain the sinful acts of people, and yet somehow not be the author of sin?" God did not create sin, it is not a created "thing". Sin is a rebellious act commited by a creature against the stated will of His creator. The following is from Easton's Bible Dictionary "The origin of sin is a mystery, and must for ever remain such to us. It is plain that for some reason God has permitted sin to enter this world, and that is all we know. His permitting it, however, in no way makes God the author of sin.". Neither do I know the answer to your question. To the best of knowledge (and Easton, who knew more than I'll ever know) the Bible has not provided us with the answer. Anyone who pretends to know must be relying on another source. What is certain, for the Bible says so, is that God fore-ordained every act of those who killed Jesus. They did it for their own wicked motives (as did David's brothers and the Assyrians) but God had a motive of His own. John |
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31 | Are you onced saved always saved? | John | John Reformed | 102421 | ||
Dear George, 2 Pet 2:21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. "better for THEM". Who are "them"? They are the "many" in v.2 and the "them" of v.8; the unrigteouss of v.9; the "these of v.12, the "They"of v.13 etc. Paul is speaking of two groups of people that may be found in every church. The godly whom God "knows how to rescue" and "the unrighteous" whom He knows how to keep" under punishment til the day of judgement". 2 Pet 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. Mere knowledge may be of some benefit in keeping one from drunkeness or fornication etc., but without faith it is worthless as far as salvation or godliness is concerned. 2 Pet 2:21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. Many people who have never had an opportunity to hear the truth about Jesus will be in Hell. How much worse will that punishment be for those who had heard and even thought it inspiring, but who never truly trusted and believed in Christ for their salvation. Instead they viewed it as interesting; a beautiful story perhaps, but, one of many ways to God. You know the kind Peter is describing. We meet them all the time..."Oh yes", they say, "I belive in Jesus, but...." You fill in the blank. I'm sure you have heard a variety of "buts". The group in verse 21 are the same group John said in 1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." God Bless, John |
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32 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102408 | ||
Dear NC, God is not the author of sin, but, He has ordained that the sinful acts of man (which He fore-ordained) work together for ultimate good. We see one example in the story of Joseph and his brothers: Gen 50:20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. Another in Is 10:5-7 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation, I send it against a godless nation And commission it against the people of My fury To capture booty and to seize plunder, And to trample them down like mud in the streets.Yet it does not so intend, Nor does it plan so in its heart, But rather it is its purpose to destroy And to cut off many nations. From these verses we learn that God uses the wicked intentions of man for His own purpose. Acts 4:27,28 "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. Those listed; Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, sought the death of Christ out of pure hatred, yet God was working underneath for the greatest good that the world will ever know. God Bless, John |
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33 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102405 | ||
Dear Tim, Jon 3:4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk; and he cried out and said, "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown." I am well aware that God's proclamation was unconditional, that it did not include any conditions by which Niniveh might escape being overthrown. At the same time, we both believe that God knew they would repent and that He would grant them mercy. So, what was God's ultimate intention regading this people? Keep in mind the fact that an omniscient being never learns new information, as your interpretaion implies. God wrote the Bible for our edification. Therefore, He wrote it in such a way that we could comprehend it. Take for instance Jon 3:10 "When God saw their deeds," does that mean that the omniscient One looked down and discovered that they had changed their ways? Of couse not. If that was the case then He is not All-Knowing and "Open Theism" is correct in saying that God does not really know the future! "You made the statement that God never changes His mind, and I posted about a dozen verses where Scripture says that God did change His mind, not just one!" Orthodoxy depends on the harmonizing of ALL passages of Scripture. It' not an election or a ball game. :-) John |
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34 | Are you onced saved always saved? | John | John Reformed | 102389 | ||
"Eternal life IS ETERNAL. ETERITY is forever, not bondage. To have something, one MUST accept something, and retain it as well." ---------------------------------------- You have life George, when did you agree to exist? And what power do you have to retain your existence? -------------------------------------- "In the case of the "prodical son". Had that son died in the process of splurging his inheritance, would he have died within the will of his father? I think not. The father would have grieved because he loved the child, but he would have never condoned the childs action." -------------------------------- The father in the parable is God. He cetainly could have saved the boy from death if that was His will. -------------------------------- "Just like that prodical son, we all have to "accept" the will of the Father, and continue to live and strive to the best of our ability to be pleasing in His sight." -------------------------------- I hate to say it George, but that sounds too close to "salvation by works" to me. ---------------------------------- "I appologize. I do not believe "Once saved, always saved." I do believe that those who do believe this way believe dangerously. I believe in "Grace." "No one can convince me that the man or woman who has served God all their life, and because of one of lifes tragedies fallen away from their belief, will enter the gates of heaven. For the righteous are not saved by their acts of righteousness. Nor are the sinfull condemned by their acts of sin." ------------------------------------- We are given life and are forced to live until we die. We are given eternal life, not on the basis of our will but God's (John 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.). Happily, with this gift of grace, we also recieve the gift of God's Spirit dwelling in us (Eph 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,). But what does it mean to be "sealed in Him"? It means our security in Christ has been made an unalterable fact, cofirmed by God Himself. In olden times royal documents were sealed with a wax seal which had imprinted on it the signet of the King. No one, but the one to whom the document was intended for, could break that seal. Therefore, those who are sealed cannot unseal themselves. We were drawn by the Father and given to the Son and He said that we would be raised on the last day (John 6). Where I think you are going wrong is in your idea that any person who is in Christ may be anything but gratefull and happy for having recieved such a wonderfull gift. Those who fall from faith, fall from a faith that was false to begin with. Only the Spirit of God is able to have you see this; I pray that He will. To God be the Glory, Your Brother John |
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35 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102373 | ||
Dear New Creature, "As I read Scripture I notice that God is able to predict future events accurately and with certaintity. God alone is able to speak from an eternal perspective." Does God's ability to " predict future events accurately and with certaintity" come from His foreseeing of what will occur, or, because He fore-ordained the events themselves? In other words, does anything occur that is not part of His plan? Before answering, I would appreciate your reading of Acts 4: 24-28. Thanks, John |
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36 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102371 | ||
Matt 1:21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Dear AO, If, indeed, it had been God's plan to save all men, then, God's plan was worse than imperfect, it has been a catastrophe! Out of the millions that existed prior to the flood, all perished in their sins, with only Noah and His little family being saved. Then instead of choosing all the peoples of the earth to be His chosen nation, He called a tiny band of people to be His, and (except for a few converts) the rest of the world died in their sins. Even among the nation of Israel, all perished in their sins except those who He called a "remnant". He even became a man, Jesus Christ, died on a cross and rose again from the dead. Surely that should have worked! But no! The vast majority of pagans and jews died in their sins. Well...2000 plus years later the community of the saints is still a small proportion of mankind and the rest are dieing in their sins. No my friend, Jesus Christ never fails to accomplish the will of His Father. He came to save His people from their sins and that is exactly what He did. John |
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37 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102369 | ||
Dear Tim, I wish you would drop the arguement that you are correct, and to take a different position one must accept that God is a liar. There are other alternatives! We cannot focus on a single passage to the exclusion of other related passages. You said that God intended to something (overthrow the ninivites), but changed what He had intended to do on the basis ot the ninivites repentance. What does this conclusion imply about His attributes? Surely, you do not mean to imply that God did not know that the ninivites would repent. For that would impugn His omniscience and call into question verses such as ACT 15:18 "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world". The only way to harmonize these passages is by recognizing that God's plan from the beginning was to grant repentance to this nation, and, that by telling them that they would be overthrown in 40 days was the means by which they were brought to seek repentance. Did God lie to the ninivites in telling them that they would be overthrown in 40 days, when He knew that they would repent as a result of His proclamation? A thousand times NO! "God is not a man that He should lie". Therefore, we must take His proclamation, not as a prophecy, but, a warning! This is consistant the truth of God's immutability, omniscience, omnipotence, justice and mercy. John |
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38 | Please I'm looking for your opinion! | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102286 | ||
Yeah Radio, Now that you mention it, I have noticed that. Odd is'nt it? Seems I had the same take myself once. It seemed to make sense at the time. But I remember that skipping over the passages that spoke to God's rule over all things kept me from getting to confused. Of course when He decided the time was right to open the eyes of this old squid...well that was that for human autonomy. And I chucked it over the fantail! Oh happy day! Your surprisingly bright for a marine! Did you hang out a lot down by the ships? John |
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39 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102278 | ||
"Nevertheless, the outcome of whether God would resort to plan A or plan B was up to the response of the people." Dear NC, Before we go jumping to conclusions, perhaps it would be wise to consider that God has no need to resort to anything at any time and that a perfect Planner has no need for alternative plans. If plan A is less than perfect and must be scrapped in favor of plan B, we might as well abandon our bibles and turn on the ballgame! How would we know that further changes may not be required? I know you believe that new creatures may chuck away their faith; What if they all did and Christ died in vain? Whose in control? man. God forbid it! John |
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40 | Is God subject to change? | Bible general Archive 2 | John Reformed | 102274 | ||
No. God is ignorant of nothing. He is "All Knowing". Ignorance is a human condition. John |
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