Results 441 - 460 of 500
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Reformer Joe Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
441 | Prerequisite-infallibility? | 1 Cor 12:27 | Reformer Joe | 12651 | ||
The office of apostle was a foundational one...people particularly used by God to initially establish the church. We see that the apostles were indeed "larger than life" in the sense that they possessed special gifts which were not displayed by other believers (e.g. healing)--we never see anyone but Jesus and those he specifically sent out displaying true "signs and wonders" in the NT. This is not saying that God does not miraculously heal today. However, He isn't doing it at the behest of the Benny Hinns of the world! Another thing that needs to be pointed out from church history (something that all believers should study to get themselves some perspective): this sudden "apostolic movement" is clearly a product of the 20th-century Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. Even those who claim to be apostles today do not say that the office of apostle has been occupied since the first century. Rather, they claim that the office is something that God has "re-established" for the last days. In other words, this "essential" office for the functioning of the church has gone unoccupied for centuries! Doesn't seem like our omnipotent, sovereign God would allow that if it was such a necessary office for the body of Christ to function. The apostles were mere men, but they were especially set apart by God for a particular purpose at a particular time. And the power that God manifested in them was so powerful that they often were feared by other believers (check out Acts 5 for a good example of why that was the case). Show me one individual legitimately displaying the kind of signs and wonders on the scale of the apostles of the Bible. On a side note, Martin Luther did not re-introduce grace. The Catholic church has always held that grace is necessary for salvation. What Luther and the Reformers contended was that salvation was by God's grace ALONE (no merit on our part), and that we are justified by faith ALONE (no works at all on our part). Therefore, it was not a "new" thing in any sense of the word. Martin Luther was indeed a man used by God, but he certainly did not consider himself to be an apostle. The contrasts between Luther and the present-day "super-apostles" demonstrate the difference between what the church needs today (Reformation) and what our over-stimulated American society selfishly craves (a "revival" complete with all the smoke and mirrors). The Holy Spirit is alive and well and working in His church! Let's do the studious work of discerning what is truly of Him and what is just fabricated nonsense. --Joe! |
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442 | "Who am I?" How important is it? | 1 Chr 17:16 | Reformer Joe | 12284 | ||
My answer is: "Not very." Instead of trying to find secret messages/codes/numerological minutiae somewhere hidden in Scripture, why don't you actually read and study the text itself. Want to show that God is Triune? You don't need some kind of crackpot way of doing it. Read the Gospel of John, Hebrews 1, Colossians 1, Philippians 2, Revelation 1 and 19 and 20 and a whole host of other passages. By the way, there is no capitalization in the original Hebrew, which has no copyrights, as far as I can tell. It is lunacy like this which lends to even greater lack of credibility of evangelical Christianity to the world... --Joe! |
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443 | "Who am I?" How important is it? | 1 Chr 17:16 | Reformer Joe | 12282 | ||
My answer is: "Not very." Instead of trying to find secret messages/codes/numerological minutiae somewhere hidden in Scripture, why don't you actually read and study the text itself. Want to show that God is Triune? You don't need some kind of crackpot way of doing it. Read the Gospel of John, Hebrews 1, Colossians 1, Philippians 2, Revelation 1 and 19 and 20 and a whole host of other passages. By the way, there is no capitalization in the original Hebrew, which has no copyrights, as far as I can tell. It is lunacy like this which lends to even greater lack of credibility of evangelical Christianity to the world... --Joe! |
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444 | Does David bear part of the blame? | 2 Sam 6:7 | Reformer Joe | 11850 | ||
Well, he definitely shouldn't have had the ark on an oxcart...but Uzzah is the one who reached out his hand in pride thinking that he was worthy to touch the holiest of holies, no matter what the circumstances. | ||||||
445 | Be perfect? | Matt 5:48 | Reformer Joe | 11713 | ||
In the Reformed tradition, there exists what is known as the law/gospel distinction. What is considered to be law is God's demands of righteousness from us. Since God demands complete obedience (i.e. complete holiness and righteousness), it should be evident that none of us ever measure up. The gospel is what God has done to compensate for our falling short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), namely, the complete obedience of Jesus with regard to law and his substitutionary death and resurrection. The regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer in Jesus Christ enables us to begin our approach to the goal of righteousness, and even to become more righteous in practice. However, complete perfection and righteousness will only come when we are completely sanctified at the resurrection. This statement of Jesus definitely falls under the "law" category, since it demonstrates God's standard of righteousness. In the life of the Christian, it causes us to throw ourselves upon Christ as our advocate and proxy fulfiller of the law, and to rely on the Holy Spirit as our helper/sanctifier. --Joe! |
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446 | 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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447 | 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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448 | 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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449 | 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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450 | 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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451 | 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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452 | 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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453 | 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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454 | 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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455 | How do you respond to these passages? | 1 John 2:2 | Reformer Joe | 6999 | ||
Now on to part (b): Paul is again writing to the church at Corinth and also to believers (v.1:1), which is important to note. This passage is a little more packed, so forgive me if I ask a few questions myself to clarify your take on it. Identifying the pronouns again is a good place to start. The "we" and "us" here in this passage (at least starting in v. 12) seem not to be all Christians, as in the Romans passage, but rather Paul and his fellow ministers. There is a "we"/"you" distinction between two groups of believers who are experiencing some, ah, "friction." The "you" are the Corinthians, and the "Him" is clearly the Lord Jesus. The big question is who the "they" is referring to. Obviously it refers to "all" and "the world" (vv. 14,19). Verse 19 in particular says that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself." Again, I ask, are we all reconciled? Are those who die rejecting Christ "reconciled"? Even those who do not wish reconciliation and are alive right now are "reconciled"? Of course, another interesting question is why Paul begs his audience to be reconciled to God. Wouldn't they be reconciled already, being part of "the world." I do not see how they could be both "reconciled" and "not reconciled" at the same time. Part of being reconciled also apparently entails God "not counting their trasspasses against them." (v. 19) What about those who will be suffering in Hell for all eternity. For whose tresspasses are they paying? If Christ died for their sins, that would imply that sufficient payment has been made; and either Christ died needlessly for the sins of the damned, and/or God is imposing the same penalty twice for the same offense. --Joe! |
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456 | How do you respond to these passages? | 1 John 2:2 | Reformer Joe | 6995 | ||
Okay, let's look: a) I admit unfamiliarity with the "middle passive" voice in Greek, so I am unable to comment on the grammatical particularites involved here. In any case, I do not contend that the active reception of a gift or faith runs contrary to the Reformed position in any case. Calvinists contend that we do choose Christ, that we do place our faith in Christ. It is volitional and active on our part, but only because the disposition of our hearts have been changed logically prior to exercising saving faith. This differs from Arminianism in the sense that it is more than a "prevenient grace" that merely makes us ABLE to receive Christ; it makes us WANT to do so. The verse does not imply that there are some to whom it is offered but not received. And, of course, the verse itself does not identify who those people are that will "receive the abundance of grace." However, let's see if we can infer who those individuals may be. We know that they are initially "ungodly" (5:6), which does describe everyone, but doesn't necessarily mean ALL ungodly men. The same verse also identifies the ungodly as "we," so does the "we" mean "we humans" or "we Christians" to whom the letter is addressed? Obviously the latter category is a subset of the former, so we need more to go on. We see that the "us" is continues in verse 8, in that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Same people being referred to here as in verse 6, unless you can see some reason why the "we" has shifted. Verse 9-10 shows that "we" have been "justifed by His blood" and "shall be saved of the wrath of God through Him" and "shall be saved by His life." Do Arminians hold that all humans fall into this category? Verse 11 shows the pronoun "we" again, in terms of having received reconciliation. Have all human beings been reconciled to God now? It seems that the "we" referred to is limited to Christians. Now it may be that Paul is not emphatically saying in this passage that the unsaved are unatoned for, but the "we" seems to be dealing with those who have been justified, reconciled, saved through Christ from the wrath to come. Therefore, the "ungodly" in verse 6 and the "us" in verse 8 seems very likely to be referring to believers. Now verse 17 is in the middle of a passage where Paul is comparing Christ's atonement to Adam's transgression. He uses the words "the many" to refer to both the condemned and the saved in all the verses except for 18, in which he states that Adam 's sin resulted in condemnation of "all men" and through Christ's death and resurrection "there resulted justification of life to all men." First of all, were ALL human beings condemned until Christ? Secondly, were ALL human beings justified through Christ? Keep in mind that justification means a "declaration of righteousness" and that there is no evidence that Paul is speaking of a "potential justification," just like he wasn't writing of a "potential condemnation." This is why Calvinists hold in many cases that "all men" means "all kinds of men" (which is really not any grammatical stretch) rather than "each and every human being." --Joe! |
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457 | Receive? | 1 John 2:2 | Reformer Joe | 6950 | ||
Hello, again, Tim! Just wanted to put in a few brief points myself. Been busy working on a teen mission trip (yes, Calivinists DO evangelize! :) ), so I haven't had the luxury of following this thread too closely. 1) What evidence is in the text that receiving in Romans 5:17 is an active deed rather than a passive kind of receiving? 2) If we hold that election is conditional, who is really the one doing the choosing? Does that match up with Sho is choosing in every passage in the NT where this is brought up. In other words, where is there any comclusive, incontrovertible verse that states that we are at any point "free to accept or reject Christ." We both know that the "whosoever believes..." passages are not ignored by Calvinists, but easily fit into the TULIP framework. Is there anything else besides those, since we both agree that all who will believe are saved? 3) My biggest problem with this (and I am a fairly new Calvinist by the way -- last couple of years), is that a God who is not willing that any should perish is a God who fails to some extent in his redemptive plan. What I mean by this is that if he loves us all in a salvific way, then why would he not "do more" (which is within the capability of an omnipotent God) to change the minds of all who have rejected him? A corollary to this is the question, What makes some accept Christ and others reject Him, if the Holy Spirit works equally to "try and save all"? Thanks again for your dialogue. I do enjoy it! --Joe! |
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458 | How does God make Himself known? | Rom 1:20 | Reformer Joe | 6792 | ||
Through nature (Romans 1), which points to an Intelligent Designer. Through direct, divine revelation (Take your pick of a whole host of passages, but Revelation 1 and Isaiah 6 are a couple of my personal favorites). NOTE: This is not a "dime-a-dozen" thing that any of us should expect or actively seek. Most definitely through the earthly ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1). Most clearly for us in the 21st century? Through His word, the Bible. Both in the Old Testament, by his Law (Psalm 119:97-104) and in the New, by means of the Gospels and the epistles (2 Timothy 3:16). Want to know what God is like? Read His book! --Joe! |
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459 | Is prayer of Jabez special? | 1 Chr 4:10 | Reformer Joe | 6776 | ||
Hank, one of the best pray-ers in the Bible was King David, "the man after God's own heart." I have just finished reading 1 Chronicles, which contains that one-verse "Prayer of Jabez." In my opinion, while it was a sincere prayer, in terms of Biblical elaboration, it pales in comparison to David's prayer of praise to the Almighty in 1 Chronicles 29:10-19, after the preparations for the temple have been made. I recommend that everyone take a look at that passage and see everything that David ascribes to our great God! --Joe! |
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460 | Pelagianism or Arminianism? | Rom 5:6 | Reformer Joe | 6775 | ||
Tim: Doesn't election (choosing) imply that some are set apart and that some are not? How can election really be called "election" if everyone is elected? Furthermore, does that jibe with Romans 9:15 ff.? Semi-Pelagianism and Arminianism are not identical, but what they do have in common is the notion that salvation is synergystic. In other words, that at some point we are capable of choosing Christ with only an "assist" from the Holy Spirit. Arminians declare that our depravity requires prevenient grace to enable us, while semi-Pelagians deny that we are completely and totally depraved in the first place (i.e. not spiritually dead, but spiritually "wounded"). Thanks! --Joe! |
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