Results 41 - 60 of 2452
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Reformer Joe Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
41 | earth 6-10000 years old | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 5907 | ||
Of course, there are many folks who would disagree with Ryrie on this (well, at least points 1 and 3). That is definitely not a can of worms I intend to serve up here, though! --Joe! |
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42 | Does God have free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 5958 | ||
Yes, I understand. I don't think it is a question of tying His own hands, however. God's nature being immutably perfect, he will never desire to act any other way than according to that perfect nature. That's why we say "God can do anything" when we really mean that "God can and will accomplish His purposes." You are correct in that when God makes an unconditional covenant with his people, he is bound to it because it would violate his nature to do otherwise. I contend additionally that God WILL NOT desire to do otherwise, since that too would violate his nature. Of course, being omnipotent and omniscient, God already sees the end from the beginning. Therefore, when He makes His covenants, there are no conditions or extenuating circumstances in the future which take him by surprise. I believe that when God makes His covenants with humanity, it is not so much a case of "Let's make a deal" as much as it is "here is what I am going to do for you." Therefore, God is not putting Himself into a box that He will ever want to get Himself out of later. The only two things God cannot do are "not be God" and do what is impossible in logical sense. For example, God cannot make a square circle if by definition a circle is round. --Joe! |
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43 | Does God have free will? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 5959 | ||
God has freedom of choice, but he is perfect by his very nature, so he will never desire anything but what ultimately brings Him the most glory. What we have to understand is that there is not even the slightest shadow of unholiness or imperfection in God, so the impossibility of him doing evil springs not from any lack of omnipotence, but the very fact that sin and God don't even belong in the same sentence. Praise be to God that one day all believers will share in this luxury of freedom from sin! Of course, being of the Reformed persuasion, I hold that the unregenerate man's free will is in bondage to sin, so that he will not desire to choose good until liberated by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, according to Romans, we are bondslaves to sin and death or liberated by Christ. Sin is bondage, not freedom. Paul expounds on sin as slavery in Romans 6. Give it a read! Sin is not an act of freedom. --Joe! |
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44 | Is infant baptism Biblical? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 6016 | ||
I myself am a 5-point Calvinist with regard to my soteriology. However, I must admit my biggest "hang-up" with the traditional Reformed position is what we are discussing here: paedobaptism. The question is not whether the Reformation and the Roman Catholics banded together against the Anabaptists or not. It is theoretically possible that both are wrong. I do not argue that the salvation of the elect is monergistic on the part of our Lord. What I need to resolve this question in my mind is more evidence that (a) the church did indeed practice infant baptism from its EARLIEST days (which is not erribly apparent from Scripture; and, tied into that, (b) the Scriptural evidence of the covenental nature of baptism. I pretty much have the answer to (b) in the fact that household baptisms were common. The question in my mind is whether that included infants or whether everyone who was baptized first believed as well. In any case, this thread is worth the in-house discussion, and your view is definitely within the realm of Christian orthodoxy. --Joe! |
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45 | What is the secret of contentment? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 6274 | ||
Christ. "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13 |
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46 | what is the will of God? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 6282 | ||
By knowing God's word (2 Timothy 3:16) By praying for wisdom (James 1:5) Did I mention knowing God's word is the source of Godly wisdom? "O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. 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 119:97-104 --Joe! |
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47 | Is harsh language appropriate? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 6467 | ||
So why is it okay for Paul to be so hard on the Corinthians and go on what some would call a sarcastic rant (2 Corithians 11-12) Why is it okay for Paul to call the Galatians "foolish" and to suggest that someone has them under a spell (Galatians 3:1)? Why is it okay for Jesus to call Pharisees "whitewashed tombs" and to refer to one of his own disciples as "Satan"? Let's not even start on the OT prophets! The fact is that while we should definitely speak "the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) that does not mean being a teddy bear when more forceful reproof is necessary. A lot of our problems in the church today with heresy stem from the fact that we place "walking on eggshells" and "being nice" above actually speaking out against what is harmful and false within our own members. --Joe! |
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48 | Is harsh language appropriate? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 6468 | ||
Well, if we use Rextar's muddled thinking as an example of proper treatment of the issues, we as the body of Christ are in a lot of trouble! Name me two people that Calvin burned at the stake. --Joe! |
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49 | Why? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 6723 | ||
Actually, it was the town council of Geneva who voted to burn Servetus at the stake for his incessant heresy. Contrary to your assumptions, John Calvin did not run the entire town, and actually opposed burning Servetus at the stake. Yes, he was in favor of hanging Servetus, but putting Calvin in the context of his times, such a punishment was not considered inappropriate. Consider the fact that in the United States during the 1800s horse thieves were hung on a regular basis. Capital punishment for repeated offenses (such as the case of Serevtus, where his heresies would do a lot more than leave a man without his horse) was par for the course. What SHOULD be appreciated, on the other hand, is that there was only one person executed for heresy during an era when many,MANY more people were killed by the Catholic clergy for their "crime" of Protestantism. In any case, whether Calvin was part of a committee which voted to execute Servetus says nothing about whether his theology was true. My post was an admonishment not to be so quick to paint Calvin as some bloodthirsty, evil overlord. That is simply an unfair characterization, and that is precisely how you were intending to characterize him in your original post. Martin Luther was pretty anti-Semitic himself. We can find all kinds of sins among the Reformers. Does this mean that the Protestant Reformation was not of God, or that their theology is flawed? Perhaps you should take a little more time to study Church history and realize what a radical turn of events it took to get us back our Bible. --Joe! |
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50 | Is harsh language appropriate? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 6724 | ||
At times, harsh language does indeed have its place. Paul himself used it. So did our Lord Jesus Christ. I am not an apostle, but nowhere do I find in Scripture that harsh language is to be used only by Messiahs and apostles. We are to rightly divide the word of truth and be discerning toward unscriptural notions and heresies. Unrelenting and unrepentent heresy certainly calls for harsh language sometimes to convey the seriousness of the matter, especially when it is confusing believers and causing some of the brethren to fall away. We are indeed to judge, using as our standard the word of God. --Joe! |
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51 | 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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52 | 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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53 | 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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54 | Question on spiritual covering? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 12260 | ||
What JVH0212 failed to mention is that despite Mantey's clear condemnation of the New World translation, the Watchtower society persists in lying by stating that Mantey supports its translation's accuracy. The truth is there for anyone with the will to examine it, Elijah. --Joe! |
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55 | Question on spiritual covering? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 12261 | ||
Satan likes people pursuing false gods and accepting anything else but the truth. truth is found in Scripture. It takes more than ten seconds at a time to understand the word of God; it takes careful study. "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,...Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;" --Philippians 1:9,27 The only thing in which we are to have unity is in the TRUTH. Unity based on falsehood and lies and compromises of truth is NOT Christianity. --Joe! |
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56 | Question on spiritual covering? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 12304 | ||
And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. --Matthew 17:11-13 See what Scripture in context will reveal? Certainly you don't fancy YOURSELF to that end-times prophet, "Elijah"? --Joe! |
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57 | Question on spiritual covering? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 12307 | ||
And how are you discerning that what you hold to be true is a correct interpretation of Scripture, and not "worldly influence" or just plain lack of understanding? And Satan is not attacking the Watchtower. In fact, I am sure he is quite pleased with its manipulative control, false doctrine regarding the nature of God and the identity of Chirst and his purpose for becoming human, the organization's long history of FALSE PROPHECY regarding the date of the end of the world (i.e. 1914, 1918, 1945, 1975--check out Deuteronomy 18 for what God thinks of false prophets), etc. I can send you documentation from their very own publications which will prove the assertions that I am making here. Defensive or not, you are just plain wrong. I didn't "choose" Mantey's side; my point was that the Watchtower has repeatedly lied by citing him as a source who approves the New World Translation. It is simply not true. Anyone who takes the time to take the whole of Scripture into account cannot help but come up with a Trinitarian formulation. Many people have posted evidence for this, all of which goes unanswered by you. All we get from you is poorly-spelled accusations that we are seduced by the world and that you are somehow the bearer of truth. Well, stop speaking riddles, O prophet, and enlighten us on what Jehovah has to tell us through you. We are all ears! --Joe! |
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58 | Question on spiritual covering? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 12437 | ||
The last two verses of Isaiah 52 and the 53rd chapter of Isaiah speak of the Messiah, not Elijah. Jesus Christ is the "man of sorrows" who "sprinkled many nations." If you think that my interpretation here is "influenced by the world," then I guess Peter was as well. Compare 1 Peter 2:21-25 to Isaiah 53. The first few verses of the epistle also tell us that the followers of Christ were chosen to be "sprinkled" by His blood. It's perfectly clear from the New Testament who is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in the Old. When you carefully study Scripture, rather than inventing your own outlandish interpretations of passages, these are some of the wonderful discoveries you can make! Your exegesis of Scripture is so dreadfully poor. Just like the authors of the New World (mis)Translation, you twist Scripture to suit your own unsupported views. That is what we call heresy. --Joe! |
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59 | Which promises? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 12667 | ||
Just as a side note, most people who view the Israel as the Old Testament church and the church as New-Testament Israel both embrace the blessings (in a spiritual sense) and the curses. I have not settled in my mind where I stand on this issue yet (having grown up in a thoroughly dispensational background), but to dismiss EVERYTHING said to Israel and even to individuals as automatically not applying to us is an oversimplification. Otherwise, we would have no need of reading the Old Testament at all. Sadly, I see this very practice all-too frequently in the church today. No, I am not holding out for my slice of the Gaza Strip. However, some promises by God to Israelites contain general truths that apply to the lives of all followers of the one, true God. I especially consider those that mention spiritual reward to be applicable to me as well. --Joe! |
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60 | Which promises? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 12759 | ||
I would love to attend a Sunday school class that went through the entire Pentateuch some time. Seems like Leviticus and Deuteronomy are quite overlooked or just dismissed as OT stuff which has no value for the believer in Jesus Christ. --Joe! |
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