Results 221 - 240 of 253
|
||||||
Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Beja Ordered by Date |
||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
221 | Good and Evil logycally ANTERIOR to God! | Gen 6:6 | Beja | 221215 | ||
Dear Bruno, Indulge me a long response in three steps. First let me state your question in easier terms. I'm not sure everybody understands words like "caprice" and "anterior." The sum of the question is this. Is morality something that God authoritative even over God Himself such that He is obligated to follow it, or is morality rather something that God has chosen and set out of His own good pleasure? The real "catch" that this question seems to give us is two troubling thoughts. On one side is the notion that there is something above God that governs his actions. On the other side we wonder if it would have been just as possible for God to perhaps have decided that murder, stealing, and survival of the fittest was "good." Could God have chosen a completely backwards set of morality, right? Alright, so there is the question. Let me continue by offering some pastoral advice on questions like this. This is a question that I suspect many Christians ponder as they mature and think more deeply about God. I myself have wondered over this before, so I would never be harsh with one who did. However, just because it is a common question does not mean that it is a good one. Contrary to popular sentiments, there are such things as bad questions. Let me give you my deffinition of a bad question. A bad question is any question that is continual pursued despite scripture not addressing it. What I am saying is that when you've managed to frame a question that no passage in scripture seeks to answer, then you've framed a poor question. Somewhere in your mind, prior to the question, you have some sort of unbiblical thinking. The best thing you can do at this point is go back to studying what scripture does say, and about what lest you wander off into speculations and eventually heresy. I repeat: when you ask a question that scripture doesn't, you know you've gone wrong somewhere. Ofcourse we typically have to study quite sometime before we realize it doesn't. Ok, now to an answer. As I ponder this I think where the question has gone wrong, is in understanding morality as something so seperated from who God is, rather than flowing from who He is. We are asking is it something prior to God that God must bow to, or is it God's invention? Neither is true. Let's find a starting point for exploring this...I suspect I'm going to reach my limit in length here so I will post this and finish in a reply to my own response. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
222 | Scrpture on helping selfish? | Ex 20:9 | Beja | 221214 | ||
Dear Puppytoes, Our church does its best to use our benevolence to balance three different scriptures. 1 Tim 5:8, Titus 3:14, 2 Thess 3:10. These are not the only relevant passages but fine examples of three strains of thought. First being that we absolutely must take care of our own. Second being that we are trying to become a people that actually wants to help whoever we can through good deeds, not just those we feel obligated to. Third being that if a man a person is simply being lazy rather than dealing with misfortune then well...they don't work, they don't eat. So first we prioritize our money with these things in mind. I think you will find there is too little to give and too much need to provide sluggards. Next, our goal is to sincerely help people, not just to feed them. So this means different things at different times. We try to ask ourselves one question. Why are they in this jam? This isn't to judge them but rather to help them best. If it is a situation where a person is doing a really horrible job with their money and clearly have no experience using a budget then the best way to help them is not simply to hand them money and see them back in 6 months in the same bind. In that case we offer financial counseling. www.daveramsey.com is a great educational program for money. So we may still help them while they are learning, but the answer to a lack of understanding is not money, its learning. Second, if the problem isn't their know how, but lazyness, then sometimes the only way you can help a person is to let them fall. Enabling a person isn't helping them either. It breaks my heart, but it breaks my heart more when we tell a single mom we are out of money because we gave it to a man who doesn't work who is perfectly capable. Don't let this excuse mask an ungiving spirit though. Finally though, if somebody is seriously doing what they ought and they simply have some bad misfortune, then we just help them. This is just how our church has tried to think through the issue, it may or may not be helpful to you. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
223 | How could Satan sin? | Ephesians | Beja | 221209 | ||
Dhudspeth15, I encourage you to do a few things. First, what scripture are you using to state that there is no sin in heaven? I know that is going to, from a knee jerk reaction, sound heretical, but consider it. And if you find something, make sure you aren't confusing eternity past, with the new heavens and the new earth which God is preparing for those in Christ. So first, make sure you are thinking in scriptural terms. Second, I encourage you to look at the references in the book of Ephesians to the place referred to as the "heavenlies." Ephesians 1:3,20 2:6, 3:10, 6:12. Especially the last reference. See if these things can help you come to any conclusion on the matter. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
224 | Gen 6:6-7 vs. allmighty and omniscient | Gen 6:6 | Beja | 221199 | ||
Dear Bruno Dosca, I wanted reply to your original post so forgive me if I side step some of the later discussion. The question you posted is how does God in his omnicience and his omnipotence ever feel sorrow for his actions. The answer is that God's "relenting" is in fact a constant aspect of God. Keep in mind that we are trying to convey Hebrew words here into english concepts. So, lets look at the passage you cited. Gen 6:6 "The Lord was sorry (nacham) that He made man on the earth." The word used for sorry here is actually the hebrew word nacham. Now its a good question that you asked, but lets look at a passage that specifically talks about God doing this. We should always let scripture answer our questions when possible. Jer 18:7-10 "At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent(nacham) concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of (nacham) the good with which I had promised to bless it." Can you see here how scripture is saying that this "sorrow/relenting/repenting/changing His mind" is actually a constant feature of God? It is not to suggest that God failed to see something coming and then thought to Himself, "Man, I sure blew that one!" Rather it is trying to communicate in human terms that whenever God sees such sin as He did in the context of Gen 6 He will revoke His blessings, and whenever He sees repentence, He will forgive and pardon, relenting from the judgment that would have come had the sinner continued his path. When we let Jeremiah 18 inform us how to understand this language concerning God, it moves from a troubling notion, to a beautiful and constant attribute of God. Praise God that we serve One who in Jesus Christ relents of the evil we deserve when we repent in faith! In Christ, Beja |
||||||
225 | Leviticus 26:29 | 2 Kin 6:29 | Beja | 221112 | ||
Dotanddro, This was a warning of what horrors would come upon Israel should they continue in disobedience to God. It was referring to the depraved actions that would happen while they were starved from armies laying siege to their cities. This actually did come to pass. See 2 kings 6:29 and Lamentations 4:10. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
226 | contraception | Rom 14:1 | Beja | 221041 | ||
Dear Rajeeb, Here is a sermon that drastically changed my perspective with regards to children. No single scripture impacted me as did grasping a biblical opinion of kids. I hope this can help you and your wife as well. I will pray for you. http://www.evangelismteam.com/sermons_vbaucham.php In Christ, Beja |
||||||
227 | Can you be pro-life but not do anything? | Genesis | Beja | 220761 | ||
Arundel, There is, of course, no biblical basis for our inaction. I believe if I recall correctly that it is around 3 percent of churchmembers that even support their church financially. If we can't motivate them to do this, how much more difficult for a pastor to get his people to join a protest? I can assure you that the biggest obstical in my own church is not a lack of pro-life protests. If it makes you feel any better I loathe abortion and I try to instill the same mindset in the church I serve. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
228 | do u tithe on unemployment checks | 1 Tim 1:8 | Beja | 220602 | ||
Unbrown, I would respectfully challenge you to reconsider your question. Let me offer a quote from Paul then explain what I mean. 1 Timothy 1:8-11 says, "But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righeous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted." Paul's point, I believe, is that even though it is still wrong for a Christian to murder, what is that command to us? What is the command to not murder to one who is following the spirit of God who leads us to love even those who wrong us? It's be like giving me a command not to go to mexico when I'm on my way to Canada. So, let us apply this to your question. What is the command to tithe, the law, to one who is being led by the spirit to live in such a way as to be able to generously give to others? As you grow in your walk with God, the question should shift from what you are required to do, to, "how can I live so that I can have the means to give liberally?" When that is your heart what need do you have for the law? The tithe law, sir, is for non-givers. Though if that is the category you are in, then yes, the tithe is for you. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
229 | What happen when we confess our sin? | Bible general Archive 4 | Beja | 220600 | ||
Tckprncss, First, let's make sure you understand what is the basis of your confession resulting in forgiveness from God. Your sin, and your lie, is not simply overlooked. It took Christ dying on the cross, enduring the punishment for your sin. When we trust in Christ for salvation, what we mean more explicitly is that we are trusting that all the wrath that God ought to pour out on us has been already poured out on Christ. God then, through our faith, credits to us the perfect rightousness of Christ. If you confess and hope for forgiveness based on that, then the blood of Christ truely clenses you from all sin. Now many may read this and wonder why I'm going over something so basic, but the truth is many professing Christians do not understand this and the reason is because pastor's have decided to assume the gospel is clear and they have moved on to teaching other things. However, if you truely are hoping in the finished work of Christ for your forgiveness and rightousness then you still may have a heavy heart as an effect of repentence. I encourage you to read 2 Corinthians 7:10,11. In this Paul lists indignation and longing as two of the marks of repentence. Indignation means that you are loathing your own sin. Longing is referring to your yearning to actually be and walk in a manner consistent with the rightousness God has given you in Christ. So if you truely are trusting on the work of Christ, then I would say to you that longing and indignation over your sin is a good sign, sir. Your hatred of your own sinful actions marks you a child of God. Weep when your heart is indifferent over sin, rejoice when God can make even one such as you into one who longs for the rightousness of God. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matt 5:6) In Christ, Beja |
||||||
230 | Sexual | Lev 18:22 | Beja | 220169 | ||
Here are some scriptures concerning it. Leviticus 18:22 2 Corinthians 6:9-10 I believe these will answer your questions respectively. Don't missunderstand and think this is the unforgivable sin though. A person who repents and trusts Christ alone to wash him clean of these sins, will be saved. But as with all types of sin, a person is to repent. Beja, In Christ |
||||||
231 | Is Salvation lump sum? | Heb 7:25 | Beja | 219946 | ||
Dodoy, Absolutely. So many think of salvation as a momentary transaction. But you have clearly come across the fact that scripture does not see it so. We have been saved. Scripture teaches that at the cross of Christ the atonement was made for all the elect of all time. Salvation was accomplished. Beyond this when we through faith received Christ we are justified. I say this to mean that at that time our sin is forgiven and the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to us. We have been saved. We are being saved. Even now though we are being saved through God's constantly holding us to Him through faith. We are continually being sanctified and made more like Christ. 2 Peter 1:4 says that we not are only saved from final judgement but from the corruption of this world. This is a process going on now. Philippians 2:12,13 says even now we are to be working out our salvation because God is working in us both to will and to do this. We are being saved now. We will be saved. Our salvation will be fully realized on that day we stand before the judgement seat of Christ, and while all those who do not know Christ will be judged and found guilty, we will be pronounced as innocent as the Lamb who bore our sins. We will be saved. Praise God for what He has done in Christ. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
232 | Holy vs. Unholy | John 3:16 | Beja | 219826 | ||
Scripture is true, because scripture is true. All scripture is true because all scripture is true. This is what it means when it says all scripture is inspired by God. The given, is that scripture is true. God's Holy Spirit does not affirm some scripture as true, and other scripture is not true. God's Holy Spirit confirms the truth of scripture in its entirety as a whole category. Now, that being said can scripture be preached wrongly, to where it misses what a passage was saying and therefore be preached wrongly? Absolutely. So, the way I'm going to take your question is as if you had said, "Given that scripture is true, how do we know we are interpreting it correctly?" First, the Holy Spirit does indeed guide us through this. As Paul says in 1st Corinthians spiritual things are indeed discerned by the guidance of the Spirit. Second though we know that scripture does not contradict itself. How do we know this? Because all scripture is inspired by God, and God is not going to give contradictory messages when they are rightly understood. So whenever we look at any single passage, we have every other scripture in the Bible to guide us in what it can be saying, because it is informed in light of them, and it can not be contradictory to any of them. So how do we know? We study it hard in light of scripture, we pray for guidance, and it is this which God will be present with to guide us to all truth. So what we are armed with for telling the truth of scripture is the scripture. In 1 John 4, John tells us that we are to test the spirits, because many false ones have gone out. What does this mean? It means, as you have stated, many have false spirits guiding their reading rather than the Holy Spirit. But how do we know which is leading us, Holy or false? John here says we are to know by whether it matches what we know and confess to be true, that Jesus is God in the flesh. Now, I do not think he means here to limit it only to that one test, God in flesh. Rather he is giving us an iron principle, that we test the spirtual guidance in us, by the truth of scripture. The Holy spirit will not lead us contrary to Christ and the apostles' teaching. So how this plays out, is that we constantly pray and test everything as to whether it matches scripture, and in the midst of this the Holy Spirit will guide us to do so. It does not guide us in a vacuum, it guides us as we interpret scripture with other scripture. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
233 | Inspired to Understand and Recognize | John 3:16 | Beja | 219823 | ||
I'm not sure I caught an answer in that. Perhaps you did, let me recap and see if I read you correctly. Timothy already knew it, and when he came to this scripture he found it to be true with what he already knew, or perhaps recognized it for the first time though its truth was already hidden in his heart? Is that correct? If that is correct then what you are saying is that what this passage says IS TRUE, and timothy recognized it as such. Therefore if the passage is true that has certain implications does it not? That means that the scriptures were inspired by God, is true. I disagree with you as to how Timothy came to it, but even if Timothy was recognizing a truth he already knew then it is still a truth, and it says something that we are affirming as true. And that something it is saying is that all scripture is true and trustworthy! If THAT is true, then we need not test all scripture by Holy Spirit given feelings, but we must rather try to understand it, knowing that a right reading of scripture yields trustworthy authoritative truth. Because that is the truth Timothy discovered, attested to, or found true, etc. In Christ Beja |
||||||
234 | stay connected to thevine | John 15:5 | Beja | 219813 | ||
A good look at this passage will show a clear answer I think. First, we need to understand all the vine imagery is a rich metaphor for what Christ is trying to teach in this passage. And what he is trying to teach is in verse 4 where He says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch can not bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me." So staying connected to the vine is abiding in Christ. So, lets shift the question. How do we abide in Christ? Continuing in the same passage two verses are key. Verse 10 states, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." So first, we abide in Him by keeping His commandments, by doing the things He taught us to do. Another important verse in the text is verse 7. It states, "If you abide in me, and My word abides in you..." Now, this is not as expressely stated as in verse 10, but Christ seems to be saying the two go hand in hand. We in Him, and His word in us. So another part of abiding is that we let His word richly dwell in us. We cling to His teaching, we meditate on it, and we especially cling to the gospel. I think this answers how we stay connected to the vine. We obey Christ, doing the things He taught us to do, and we cling to the gospel. Hope this helps. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
235 | Is these quotations contradictions? | John 15:19 | Beja | 219810 | ||
This in fact is not a contradiction. And to prove this we need go no further than the passages themselves. Simply read previous verses in John 7 to see who he is talking to in that passage. In john 15:19 the problem is resolved if you simply read the verse in its entirety. Please do look these up yourself, and it would be beneficial to develop that habit of looking at context, but to finally answer...The world cannot hate its own who do not believe, but will certainly hate Christ's who do believe. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
236 | John Mills 30k inconsistancies in the NT | Rom 10:17 | Beja | 219624 | ||
Hello Kevo, While you've been given some good words on this question. I felt it might build your faith to hear a bit more of what is actually going on with these errors in the manuscripts. First of all we need to take an honest look at what was going on when they were copied. Most have heard stories about how reverently the Hebrew text was copied and how carefully they preserved it from error. This was done by professional scribes and even the slightest error found would cause the copy to be burned. However, when you come to the new testament documents this isn't what you see. What is happening then is largely uneducated people are copying letters written from the various apostles and evangelists. They are using very cheap materials and they don't have the training or financial means to just scrap them if one letter is wrong so that they can start again. So we would expect many errors in these manuscripts. However, also consider the nature of these errors. As you said something like 90 percent is in perfect agreement, but there is a more remarkable statistic. Of the errors, the vast vast majority are of what we would call a negligible nature. In other words its something like this: Four manuscripts read as follows... Jesus is the Son of God Jesus is the Sun of God Jeus is the Son of God Jesus is the Son of God This is a made up example, but bear with me. In these four "manuscripts" now we have already counted two errors. But look at the nature of the errors. Their source is so obvious (a mistaken letter, and somebody hearing and writing a phonetically identical word) that there is literally no doubt whatsoever as to what is the original author's writiing. This is the nature of the huge majority of "errors" in the manuscripts. Now, if one of these errors occur within a passage on the virgin birth, we can rightly say there is error in such passages, but they mean to make it sound like there is a significant variance in which one manuscript teaches something crucially different. Do you see how their words are true yet deceiving? Are there errors that can affect the sense of a passage? Yes, rare but yes. But even in these there are no errors that affect a passage's teaching of a doctrine that doesn't have ample teaching to show the error for what it is in other areas of scripture, or more often just in other copies of that manuscript. Most expect God to have preserved his word through one copy with no errors. But if that was the case how would we know it had never been tampered with? No shortage of wicked men have tried to alter scripture I suspect. But God has preserved his word by a sudden amazing spread of copies throughout all the known world at the time, so that if in any place and in any passage wicked men have altered his word, or have translated it carelessly through tired eyes, manuscripts throughout the world shout out corrections to it. So we have many errors, but many witnesses to the true writing of God's word, showing us clearly what it is. Such is the wisdom of God. In Christ, Beja |
||||||
237 | speaking in tounges | 1 Cor 12:30 | Beja | 214993 | ||
Paul is clear that not all Christians receive the gift of speaking in tongues (1 Cor 12:30). 1 Cor 12 would be a great chapter for you to read. The people who told you this are flat mistaken, speaking in tongues is not an issue that shows you do or do not have the Holy Spirit. In Love, Beja |
||||||
238 | Buddha statue in a house of a christian. | 1 Cor 8:1 | Beja | 214353 | ||
Let me answer with another question. Do you think that it could cause a younger Christian, who fails to grasp that Buddha is nothing and that the decoration is nothing more than an item, could it cause such a one who sees it in your house to stumble? 1 Corinthians chapters 8-10 might be good reading for you. Romans 14 also. As for me, I don't judge you for it but... Rom 14:6 "Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind." In Love, Beja |
||||||
239 | Actual bodies in heaven? | 1 John 3:2 | Beja | 213859 | ||
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. I think this verse might help you. Will we have bodies? Most certainly, but heavenly ones. What will that mean exactly? We don't yet know but we know it will be a body like Christ's glorified body. And we know it will be free from the constant urge to sin that we face now. Those two things are more than enough to satisfy me! Hope this helps some, if nothing else than to affirm our not knowing. In Love, Beja |
||||||
240 | The people that never heard of Jesus? | Rom 1:20 | Beja | 213837 | ||
Skasian, I encourage you to read my reply to Vintage also, but to answer your question...It is not failure to receive Jesus that sends us to hell, it is sin. Sin sends a person to hell. Sin is why we rightly deserve to go to hell. Rejecting Jesus is simply refusing the solution to the problem that is already there. So, in applying this to your question, yes they would go to hell. Though not because they didn't get to hear about Jesus, but rather because they have in fact sinned. And as a sinner, they are rightly and justly condemned by God. The gospel is the life line being extended to those who are already perishing. In love, Beja |
||||||
Result pages: << First < Prev [ 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 ] Next > Last [13] >> |