Results 2281 - 2300 of 2452
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Reformer Joe Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
2281 | Do I have it? | Is 27:11 | Reformer Joe | 11702 | ||
You are right; it is a blessing. The problem becomes when believers start trying to use the Holy Spirit as some diviner or fortune teller ("should I date Denise or Danielle"?) rather than listening to Him as he testifies to what he has already told us in His word. The Holy Spirit ALWAYS works in conjunction with God's revealed will in Scripture, and it is dangerous to trust in feelings and impressions alone. Pastors can testify to the fact that they have people coming up to them all the time and telling them that God has given His rubber-stamp to something that is clearly forbidden in Scripture. I know we would both clearly agree that in such instances it was NOT God talking to the Christian. Whenever God had a specific, major role for people in the Bible, it was customary for Him to give an unquestionable, visible sign (burning bush, pillars of fire, angel visiting, audible voice, light from heaven, etc.). The "still, small voice," as popular as the notion is, just doesn't seem to have any Scriptural support. When I said my role in the church was discernment, I was speaking of the universal body of believers, not the role within my own congregation. In fact, like most with this particular gift, I am sometimes "blown off" by people who think that they know better, despite the fact that they cannot refute the Scriptural support that I give for my statements. Hope this helps clear up my position! --Joe! |
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2282 | Do I have it? | Is 27:11 | Reformer Joe | 11699 | ||
I just spent a week at a summer camp teaching teenagers about discerning God's will for their lives, and here is what I glean from Scripture regarding what our role is: 1. Know God's moral will as it is revealed in the Bible. The Bible is God's self-revelation, in which He gives us everything we need to know about what we must do to honor Him (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If one does not know Scripture, s/he does not know what God's will is. Knowledge of Scripture is a lifelong pursuit, and it does take time, but it is a must for anyone wanting to know what God's will is. 2. In making decisions, analyze the situation, and analyze your motives. Our motive should always be to live our lives so that in every way God is glorified (Deuteronomy 6:5; 2 Corinthians 5:20; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:58). Nothing less should be our goal. There are some actions we take that neither honor nor dishonor God (e.g. the color shirt we decide to wear, in most instances). Likewise, there may be one or more avenues available through which we may bring honor to God. In both these instances, we have freedom to choose wisely. Once we understand that God is sovereign and that we can't "mess Him up" and that He already has taken our future decisions into account and that he has prepared good works for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10), we can rest comfortably that God will honor and bless our God-honoring decisions. That does not mean that there aren't necessarily better decisions and worse ones. For example, there are both pros and cons to attending a Christian college rather than a secular university, or marrying this Christian rather than that one. Therefore, both our motives and situations must be carefully evaluated, to see both that we are seeking to honor God and that the likely outcomes of our decisions will bring us the results that we desire. 3. Making wise decisions based on our analysis is the final step. Rather than calling for us to ask God for divine revelation at every fork in the road, the Bible calls us to be wise decision-makers (James 1:5). After doing (1) and (2) above prayerfully, and realizing that God has given us freedom to act within the boundaries of his moral will, we are called to the responsibility of making a decision, of getting off the fence and pursuing one course of action or the other. If we truly trust in the sovereignty of God, if we truly follow his revealed will as set forth in the Bible, and if we pursue wise courses of action, we know that Romans 8:28 will be a reality in our lives. Hope this helps! --Joe! |
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2283 | Do I have it? | Is 27:11 | Reformer Joe | 11697 | ||
Of course, the situation you are describing here is not the same situation that the original questioner brought up. As someone whom God has blessed with the gift of discernment, I would not say that I am always getting impressions/feelings from the Holy Spirit as to every move that I need to make. Rather, God utilizes me in the context of His church as a sound doctrine detector (I prefer that term to "heresy hunter" since what the Christian seeks to do is keep the body of Christ focused on what is pure). I would even go so far as to argue that trusting feelings and impressions solely and attributing all of them to the Holy Spirit's leading can often get us into some serious trouble, especially when he has clearly revealed all the will we need to know in the Bible. --Joe! |
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2284 | Is this promise for believers today? | Deut 8:18 | Reformer Joe | 11696 | ||
In the context of Deuteronomy 8, I don't see this as a promise of health/wealth to anyone. Rather, it is a commandment to remember God, because he is the one who enables us to possess what we do. The warning expressed in Deuteronomy 8 was against forgetting that God is the provider for Israel (and for us as well). In this sense, the command is most definitely applicable to God's people of all generations. --Joe! |
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2285 | What is the entire Christian walk proces | 2 Pet 1:8 | Reformer Joe | 11618 | ||
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." --1 Peter 1:14-16 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. --Romans 12:1-2 Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from usinstruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. --1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. --Deuteronomy 6:5 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh--for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. --Romans 8:12-13 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. --Philippians 2:12-13 Short answer? Glorify God by being sanctified by the Holy Spirit and through the Bible. --Joe! |
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2286 | CAN A CHRISTIAN FALL FROM GRACE? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 10606 | ||
I never expected a Wesleyan to so eloquently cite the Reformation view of perseverance of the saints! :) --Joe! |
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2287 | Are all Christians going to heaven? | Matt 7:21 | Reformer Joe | 10604 | ||
The main thrust of Jesus' commentary here in Matthew 7 is that not all those who call him "Lord, Lord" are followers of Christ. Those who truly put their trust in Christ will not refrain from doing God's will. That is not to say that believers do not sin at all (I wish I could honestly say that!); however, those who are not believers in Christ cannot even please God in the slightest, despite their apparent "good works" (see Romans 8:7-9 for the Scriptural backup on that one). A good way to interpret this verse is to look at its context, particularly those verses that follow it. Jesus explains this hard saying by comparing the one who truly trusts in him as one who builds his house upon a rock. In contrast, the one who does not truly put his trust in Christ alone is like one who builds his house on sand. Both have nice-looking houses, but it is the foundation which makes all the difference. This verse, in any case, is really a wake-up call to those who claim to be Christians. Do we truly build our lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ, or are we just paying Him lip service? True, saving faith will lead to a change in our lives and also result in obedience to God. Kind of rules out "easy believism," doesn't it? --Joe! |
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2288 | WILL WE HAVE BODIES? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 10219 | ||
Thanks...I was away on missions work the past several weeks. Our sovereign God was doing some great things and allowing my unworthy self to be a part of it. But to get back on topic, but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." --1 Corinthians 2:9 Later! --Joe! |
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2289 | WILL WE HAVE BODIES? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 10114 | ||
"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself." (Philippians 3:20, 21) We will have a body like Christ's glorified one. If that is what John sees in Revelation 1, I bet we will be quite impressive. In any case, we see nothing of ghost bodies, and I see no reason why we would not recognize each other. Certainly there is nothing in Scripture that says we will not. Jesus does tell us that marriage between a man and a woman is an earthly institution and is not an eternal state of matrimony (Matthew 22:23-32). Actual houses? Hmmm...good question, but we will be in holiness and perfection serving the Lord our God for all eternity, like we should be doing completely now. --Joe! |
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2290 | Thomas being sarcastic or serious? | John 11:16 | Reformer Joe | 8342 | ||
I always took it as sarcasm. Since obviously Thomas wasn't too keen on dying with Jesus any more than the other disciples who would desert Him on the eve of His death, it shows Thomas' reluctance to go back into the jaws of trouble, which is definitely where they were heading. In fact, I found myself laughing the last time I read this passage, simply because Thomas seems to be such the comical cynic. I imagine he would have made quite a good sit-com character...but he eventually made a better apostle, of course! --Joe! |
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2291 | Churchianity to be answered: | NT general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 8243 | ||
Actually, I attend a non-denominational church, but I myself am not anti-denominational. I think most true followers of Christ in denominations would not say, "Upon the (insert denom here) I stand." My point was that the church was established by Christ, and that the visible church does operate best when it is organized. And it indeed does keep out heresy when operating correctly. Imagine where we would be if in the first five centuries of Christianity we did not have councils which recognized Gentile believers, fixed the canon of Scripture, codified the Trinity, recognized original sin as a doctrine of the Bible and recognized the need for God's grace, etc. etc. All were done by organized groups of believers to resist Gnosticism, Pelagianism, Arianism, etc. Also, the Reformers acted as an organized group as well, giving us back our Bible and reacquinting the world with justification theough faith alone in Christ alone. God indeed works theough organized groups of believers to keep the faith pure. "Every man for himself" leads to chaos. Just check the last verse of Judges. --Joe! |
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2292 | After Salvation, What? | Luke 9:23 | Reformer Joe | 8239 | ||
Well, I can't take credit for most of the words! :) It is amazing, however, when we truly do put the words of God forward to speak for Him! Thanks! --Joe! |
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2293 | After Salvation, What? | Luke 9:23 | Reformer Joe | 8192 | ||
Well, let's see: "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15) "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.'" (1 Peter 1:14-16) "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) "Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. (1 Peter 2:1-3) "the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." (1 John 2:6) "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ." (Ephesians 5:15-21) Pretty tall order, wouldn't you say? How in my weakness can all this be accomplished? "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9) "O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day... How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way." (Psalm 119:97, 103-104) "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2) "My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:25) "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16) SUMMARY: Just as the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God to regenerate the sinner, resulting in justification, so also the Holy Spirit and the Word of God are the essential components of the believer's sanctification. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less! In addition, those who truly possess saving faith also will be gradually growing in holiness and righteousness, beoming more like Christ, a process that glorifies God and will only become complete when we ourselves are glorified at the Resurrection. Any other verses you folks want to share? Sanctification is one of the least-emphasized doctrines in the church today. Much emphasis is placed on evangelism and "soul-winning," but so little on developing as disciples of Christ. Thanks for bringing up the topic, Hank! --Joe! |
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2294 | Is the Word-Faith movement biblical ? | John 10:27 | Reformer Joe | 8170 | ||
I did not intend the "scoffing" remark to be a personal attack, Mark. I apologize if it seemed so. It was more of a general statement to those who unquestioningly accept whatever is said to be a prophecy from God. Having some experience with such groups, I am sure you have heard at least one leader try and put himself above discernment and correction by some out-of-context quote such as "Touch not the Lord's anointed." The fact I was trying to put forth is that for us, there is nothing like a strong and ever-growing familiarity with orthodox Christianity as expressed in the Holy Scriptures to discern and name false prophets and heresies which threaten the pure bride of Christ. We all must be zealous for the truth, and even our emotional experiences and joy must be based on God's true character and revelation. After all, as we simply dwell on the chracteristics of our amazing Lord, the Spirit who indwells us causes us to marvel and praise him for who He really is! As a side note, my mother-in-law, while not so steeped in Word-Faith, is very much a product of a less-than-discerning, jump-on-every-bandwagon kind of Christianity. I do indeed love her, but I am often saddened at how frequently I have to gently "burst her bubble" about some trend, fad, emerging cult-like leader (e.g. Gwen Shamblin), or other flavor of the month for a movement which emphasizes signs and wonders and emotional experience over solid exegesis of God's holy Word. --Joe! |
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2295 | Is the Word-Faith movement biblical ? | John 10:27 | Reformer Joe | 8104 | ||
That isn't what God told Israel to do But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. You may say in your heart, "How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?" When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22) In other words, the guy who prophesied a worldwide revival for last October that would be unprecedented in the history of the human race is -- yes -- a FALSE PROPHET. One who claims to speak for God but is inconsistent with Scripture is a FALSE PROPHET. One who denies the essentials of Christian doctrine and prophesies in the name of the God of the Bible is...well, you get the idea. God has already passed judgment on the false prophet and has given us the tools we need to identify him. The apostle Peter did not say "leave it up to God" in 2 Peter 2, so I will follow the advice of Scripture on this one. True, Biblical discernment is an absolute essential in the church; and scoffing at those of us who possess such spiritual gifts is doing nothing but inviting heresy, false teaching, and apostasy right in the front door of the church. --Joe! |
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2296 | How did Paul know they were checking? | NT general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 8103 | ||
1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. About the essentials of the Christian faith? I hope so, since a good chunk of the New Testament has his name on the by-line. I hold that his words in the epistles were divinely superintended rather than brought about by convincing arguments from other infallible people. 4. "If he was wrong"? Where do we ever get the slightest hint from Acts 17 that the Bereans proved Paul wrong about anything? They examined his words in light of the Scriptures, and -- surprise -- it checked out! Therefore, many became believers. That is all he wrote. 5. Yes, and I also know what Peter wrote about them in 2 Peter 2. Much more colorful, in my opinion. Still, I don't know where this question fits into your argument. What we have here is an extreme leap in logic. Examination does not equal correction. If I come to you and insist that sinners are saved by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and then you go examine my claims for yourself in the Bible, does that mean I am wrong? --Joe! |
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2297 | Churchianity to be answered: | NT general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 8102 | ||
Prayon: Actually, I would debate that Jesus did come to establish some form of organized religion. I am not arguing for an all-encompassing body such as the Roman Catholic Church or any particular denomination; however, Jesus did come to establish a CHURCH, not a disorganized group of individuals who just happen to be saved by God's grace on the basis of faith in Christ alone. Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to forsake the assembly. It is a command in Scripture, not a mere "helpful hint." Yes, there are bad (dare I say APOSTATE?) churches out there, and obviously those are not congregations with whom we should be affiliating for spritual fellowship and growth. However, the "Lone Ranger" model of Christianity is found nowhere in the New Testament. In addition, your paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 12:13 is faulty. The very thrust of Paul's argument is that nationality and social status are not distinctions recognized within the body of believers, not that one can either fellowship or not and be following God. As you have quoted, we are members of one another, and just as the hand doesn't accomplish a whole lot without the feet, so the Christian who chooses to isolate himself from his brethren is not functioning properly. Now that having been said, Christ is the "head of the church" and the "chief cornerstone" and the vine of which we are the branches. One of the main problems that we do see among leaders (and congregations that follow them) is forgetting of their place and thinking that they are the head or the hinge upon which the church turns. When this is the case, we have the age-old "cult of personality" problem. --Joe! |
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2298 | What happened to the disciples? | Mark 3:16 | Reformer Joe | 7088 | ||
Hank is right about the Bible saying nothing about the fate of the apostles (with the exception of James the brother of John in Acts 12:2 (and Judas Iscariot, of course). Other histories/legends hold that all of the the Twelve with the exception of John were martyred. Peter was crucified upside down during the reign of Nero. Thomas became a missionary to India and was run through by a spear. I can't remember about the others right now. Does anyone know of a good book which details the specifics for each of the Twelve? As Hank said, a lot of the material we do have is scattered in histories and writing of the Early Church Fathers. Perhaps Eusebius gathered them together in his history... --Joe! |
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2299 | How do you respond to these passages? | 1 John 2:2 | Reformer Joe | 7025 | ||
Tim: You wrote, "May I point out that every time you deal with a passage that says "all" or the "world", your objection is based upon your theology, not upon the text itself. 2 Cor. 5:11-20 simply does not make any sense under Calvinism, but it makes perfect sense under Arminianism. Our reconciliation is an accomplished objective fact at the cross (God was reconciling the world to Himself), but we must accept God's gift (and be reconciled.)" Actually, I used to hold a view similar to yours, so my adoption of Calvinist theology was based in part on the fact that ALL are obviously not saved, and therefore reconciliation is not an "accomplished objective" for all human beings. In addition, I do not conclude as you do that the other passages we previously have discussed reveal a "nations" view, rather than an "individual" view on election, unless one pre-supposes an Arminian free-willism. Actually, the more troubling thing about 2 Corinthians 5:19 for me is that the "Be reconciled" command seems to be directed toward those who are believers already (i.e. already "reconciled" in a salvific sense). Why do you think Paul would tell the saints to "be reconciled"? --Joe! |
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2300 | How do you respond to these passages? | 1 John 2:2 | Reformer Joe | 7024 | ||
Tim: You said, "You ask whose sins are people suffering in hell for? Their own, because they refused to accept the sacrifice of Christ, which was sufficient to pay for all our sins." This is precisely my problem with the view of unlimited atonement. Did Christ die for any ACTUAL sins? Take a person (let's call him "George" for simplicity's sake). The view of unlimited atonement says that Christ died for George's sin on the cross. If George "refuses the payment," according to Arminianism, then George pays for his own sins for all eternity. Therefore, we have a case where Jesus AND George pay the penalty for George's sin. The only other alternative I see is viewing Jesus' death on the Cross as only a POTENTIAL atonement for everyone, rather than an ACTUAL atonement for the elect as Calvinists view it. Christ's death really saves no one unless we act in accordance with it. It is terribly troublesome to think that Christ and I both have to do something for Christ's sacrifice to not be a futile one. If there is another alternative that I am missing in which God ends up being just (no "double jeopardy") and Christ's sacrifice was an actual payment for the actual sins of actual people on the first Good Friday, please point that out to me. Thanks! --Joe! |
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