Results 41 - 51 of 51
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: seeking4truth Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
41 | Insufficient grace? | Luke 14:26 | seeking4truth | 101625 | ||
Good verses, Aixen. Can I probe a little bit? (I promise to be gentle.) When I was 12, I was presented the "Roman Road." I would suspect that most of the folks on this forum are familiar with this formula for evangelism. So as I began to understand that my sin and my being a sinner separated me from a holy God, I naturally asked questions. It went sort of like this: "My sin separated me from God because He is holy and pure?" YES, THAT'S RIGHT. "So how do I get myself clean so that I too am holy and pure like God." SON, THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO CLEAN YOURSELF FROM SIN. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. THERE IS ONLY ONE THING THAT CAN CLEAN YOU FROM SIN - THE BLOOD OF JESUS. "But Pastor, don't I have to clean up my act before I can come to Jesus?" NO, SON, YOU CAN'T CLEAN YOURSELF. ALL OF YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS AS FILTHY RAGS IN GOD'S SIGHT. ONLY JESUS BLOOD CAN CLEAN YOU. "Let me see if I understand: God is perfectly holy and righteous. I am a sinner and unclean. There is not ONE thing that I can do to make myself clean before God. All I can do is to trust Jesus?" THAT'S RIGHT, SON. IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU - IT'S ABOUT JESUS. YOU TRUST JESUS AND HE WILL PURIFY YOU. YOUR SINS WILL BE WHITER THAN SNOW. (seeking4truth trusts in Jesus as Lord and Savior) "Wow, Pastor, Jesus has washed me whiter than snow?" THAT'S RIGHT. "Now what do I do?" NOW, SON, YOU NEED TO KEEP YOURSELF CLEAN BY NOT SINNING AND IF YOU SIN, YOU GET YOURSELF CLEANED UP THROUGH CONFESSION AND YOU NEED TO PURIFY YOURSELF AND YOU NEED TO LIVE HOLY AND YOU NEED TO SANCTIFY YOURSELF AND YOU NEED TO... If I could go back 30 years, I would say, "Wait a minute, Pastor, BEFORE I came to Jesus, it was all about HIM and what HE has done. Now that I have come to Jesus, why is it all about me and what *I* must do?" Funny, evangelicals tell folks that they can't possible make themselves pure enough to be acceptable to God or to enter His kingdom. "It is finished!" we say. But after "conversion", the focus dynamically shifts 180 degrees to our standing being completely dependent upon what WE do or don't do. To me, this effectively means that the grace (a gift of God) that is sufficient to initially save us is powerless to keep us clean and pure before God AFTER we become saved. It would seem that "sinners" are saved by grace but that "saints" are perfected (purified) by works. Something smells fishy and fleshly to me. Any thoughts? seeking4truth |
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42 | Insufficient grace? | Luke 14:26 | seeking4truth | 101632 | ||
Justme, ***"I have wondered if we said don't introduce anyone to Christ unless you are willing to either disciple or get someone else to keep this "new creation in Christ" growing. Any thoughts?" Yessir, I have a thought (I'm alotted one per week): You are dangerously close to agreeing with me. Beware! :) I didn't go into it in my last tirade, but a Bible was slapped into my hands without: 1. Anyone offering me a place to start. 2. Anyone showing me a few good principles of Bible study. 3. Anyone giving me any sort of history as to how we got the Bible. 4. Anyone helping me to understand the differences between the Old Testament (Covenant) and the New. 5. Anyone helping me to learn to compare scripture with scripture. 6. Anyone helping me to understand HOW the Holy Spirit teaches us from God's Word. 7. Anyone showing me what the proper role is concerning God's written Word in my life. I was simply a number by which to judge the effectiveness of a church's VBS program. That's enough for now. I don't want to lay too much blame at "Anyone's" feet. I was simply told to read the Bible. To me at that age, it was analogous to handy me a Chilton's Repair Manual and telling me to read it in order to repair a car. I had no context of where to begin and where to go. And the Elizabethian English made it that much harder. So your post is most welcome to me, justme. We have a similar heartbeat. "People want to know that you care before they will care what you know." seeking4truth |
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43 | Questions and more questions? | Luke 14:26 | seeking4truth | 101654 | ||
Searcher, I will ask you to forgive my ignorance before-hand as I don't know the original languages. But please allow me to examine this from a couple of different angles to see if I understand. "to have one's mind changed so that he lives a new life and one conformed to the will of God" As I understand it, repentance also means "to change one's mind." So what is the difference between repentance and being born-again? Also, could you clarify this concept a little concerning who does what? In other words, I could change my mind or God could change my mind. But is it proper to say that I can cause myself to be born-again or is it something that God does for and in me? What is my role in the event? Do you think that being born-again is merely a non-substantive change in the way one thinks or do you think that there is actually a substantive (although not physical) change in the nature or spirit or soul? In other words, is being born-again really being a "new creation" in Christ or is it just a new-improved creation or is it just the same old creation who tries to think and act differently? I know that these are alot of questions. But I do wonder about the meanings behind much of "Christianese" and what we really believe when we say something. (I wish there was a way to "bump" this to a new thread. This could turn into a rather lengthy discussion.) seeking4truth |
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44 | Did Jesus teach hate? | Luke 14:26 | seeking4truth | 101655 | ||
I appreciate your post. It does help to put some things into perspective. It is just a struggle to understand why Jesus said and did some of the things that He said and did giving the general consensus of Him and His ministry. For instance, though He is the Prince of Peace, He claimed to bring a sword and to divide. It takes much time, patience, and humbleness to truly understand this God-man. seeking4truth |
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45 | What is "born again?" | Luke 14:26 | seeking4truth | 101699 | ||
Ken, as far as I know. I'd like to hear your take on being "born again." seeking4truth |
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46 | Insufficient grace? | Luke 14:26 | seeking4truth | 101708 | ||
THANKS to ALL who have responded to this particular thread. So many of you have posted with (at least it seems to me) wise counsel and encouragement. Everyone of you have shared something here that has given me pause to think, to evaluate where God has brought me from, what He is doing in my life now, and where He might lead me. Everyone of you are sharing something from the Word and (it would seem) something from Christ in your heart that ministers to me and maybe to others who might read these convoluted posts. But isn't that just the way life is? We look for Him despite the confusion and the mess? Jesus Christ makes us what He requires of us. Wow. What a thought! Where is my pen? I couldn't help but wonder as I read these posts, are we becoming...friends? seeking4truth |
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47 | Insufficient grace? | Luke 14:26 | seeking4truth | 101710 | ||
Oops, we must be discussing something that is a no-no here at SBF. I've noticed that this thread has been turned off for viewing. Well, thanks again to everyone who has responded to my controverial posts and wild ideas. I appreciate all of you who had something truthful and encouraging to say, even if I disagreed or if it stung a little bit. Grace and peace to you all. seeking4truth |
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48 | Born again. Giving or receiving? | John 3:3 | seeking4truth | 101722 | ||
Ken, I appreciate your exhortion to "grow up" in Christ. And I see some of the distinction you have made between being a child and being a son. At the same time, I think that we might need to consider that growing up does not make us more or less of a son. Sons (and daughters) are born, not made. I have two sons. Both of them were born to me as sons though one is now a man and the other is 4 years old. It is their birth, not their performance or maturity, that makes them related as sons to me. To me, being born again entails a few similarities to natural birth. But it is only different. I did not have a choice as to my natural birth. But I seemed to have some type of choice in my new birth (if indeed I have been born again). No matter what you want to call it, I somehow acknowledged it. But what I struggle with is that, it seems to me, new birth is new life and I think we have, in many cases, missing that point. I hear almost every week in my church that we need to give our lives to God. Why? As I understand it, according to Ephesians, we have NO life to give. Jesus didn't say that He came to get OUR lives FROM us, but to give HIS life TO us (John 10:10). Granted, Jesus did say that we must lose our life if we want to save it. But I think that perhaps it is more important to understand that, in being born again, we receive NEW life from God, not just make a bunch of commitments to improve our old lives. I can't help but wonder if we don't often come to God asking Him to wash or improve our dirty rags instead of letting Him cloth us with Himself. seeking4truth |
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49 | What about man's spiritual condition? | Eph 2:1 | seeking4truth | 102086 | ||
The Bible seems to teach that we are born into this world "dead in trespasses and sins". As I understand it (and I may misunderstand it), Adam's fallen spiritual nature is passed on to every human being born since? Is this an accurate understanding? seeking4truth |
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50 | Death? | Eph 2:1 | seeking4truth | 102139 | ||
In Romans 5:14, is this "death" that reigned spiritual death or physical death or both? seeking4truth |
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51 | How is Jesus' death substitutionary? | Eph 2:1 | seeking4truth | 102289 | ||
So what Paul was saying is that physical death came upon all men because of Adam's sin? If that is the proper understanding, then how does Jesus' death on the cross do anything for us? I.e. I have heard, since I was a kid, that Jesus' death is "substitutionary." But it would seem that if Jesus died in my place, then I wouldn't have to die. Yet, Christians STILL die. So how is His death substitutionary? Thanks. seeking4truth |
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