Results 681 - 700 of 701
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Sir Pent Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
681 | Offices today? | Matt 15:9 | Sir Pent | 14397 | ||
There are many offices within the church today, and of course they vary slightly from one denomination to the next. However, I would suggest that there are basically just three categories. 1. There are high administration offices (usually called Bishops, Superintenants, or the Pope), which are responsible for the direction and guidance of entire denominations. I don't know of any Biblical equilivant to this other than maybe the apostles. For instance, Paul had to be approved by them in Jerusalem before going out as a minister. 2. There are offices in charge of particular congregations (usually called Pastors, Priests, Ministers, Reverands, Preachers). These would be what I would compare to the Biblical idea of "Bishops" (see 34 refs post). 3. There are also offices within a particular congregation (usually called Elders, Deacons, Lay Leaders). These would be what I would compare to the Biblical idea of "Deacons" (see 34 refs post). I don't really see any Biblical precedent for how many people should be able to hold any of these positions, and it doesn't seem to be really important. What does seem to be very important is the qualifications of holding these positions. These are adressed very completely in I Timothy chapter 3 and Titus chapter 1. As for who judges these qualifications, I would submit that the officers in category 1 judge those in category 2 who would in turn judge those in category 3. |
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682 | What in the Word is an 'office?' | Matt 15:9 | Sir Pent | 14395 | ||
I did a search, and found 34 occurences of the words "office" or its derivatives (offices, officer, officers) in the Bible. They all appear to fall under three basic catagories. 1. Offices of military nature. In the OT there are of course many references to officers in the armies of Israel and other nations. In the NT there are two kinds of military officers, Roman soldiers and officers of the Pharisees and chief priests (ie. John 18:3). 2. Offices of administration. In the OT there are several officers in government positions, which report to kings and pharaohs. In the NT an example of this kind of office are the tax collectors (ie Luke 5:27). 3. Offices of church responsibility. These are what I think your questions is referring to. In the OT the priesthood was referred to as an office, although in the NT this particular office seems to possibly be limited to only Jesus Himself (Hebrews 7:21-25). Paul makes a claim to an office of minister of the church (Col 1:24-26). There also are verses referring to the offices of Bishop (I Tim 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9) and the office of Deacon (I Tim 3:8-13). Of these two offices, that of Bishop seems to be higher and refers to being responsible for the care and stewardship of a church. The office of Deacon seems to be one of lay leadership within a church and a person whom others can look to as an example. |
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683 | Are we do pray to Jesus? | Matt 6:9 | Sir Pent | 14296 | ||
Nolan, I am going to say somthing here, and I ask that you please consider it. My purpose is not to offend you, but hopefully to help you to be a more effective witness for Christ, in this forum, and in your life. The first instinct will probably be to get defensive, and come back and attack me. But I know you, and am confident that if you take some time to think about these things, you will understand my perspective and will be able to rise above that. One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control, and there are times where certain posts of yours do not exibit this characteristic. I have seen several examples, which I could quote for you if it will help, but this is a good example here, and I would prefer not to pile them up on you. Just looking at this example, Steve asks a question about whom we should address our prayers to according to scripture. This is a question that I have heard other Christians ask me before. It was not that they questioned the Deity of Christ, but rather that it seemed to them that prayers should be specifically addressed to the Father. There is some biblical basis for this in that the Lord's Prayer (Jesus recommended example) is addressed to the Father. Also most churches teach that Jesus' purpose was to bring us to the Father, therefore, Jesus interceeds for us, making it possible for us to pray to the Father. That is why many people start prayers with "Gracious heavenly Father" (acknowledging who they are addressing), and end them with "in Jesus name, Amen" (giving credit to Jesus for making it possible). There are of course other scriptures, which do seem to indicate that it is appropriate to pray to Jesus also like Acts 7:59, where Steven prays to Jesus as he is being stoned. However, it is possible that Steve was not aware of these verses. In fact that is the whole purpose of this forum. To allow people to ask questions in a place where others may be able to help them find the answers in scripture. I therefore appreciate rextar?s response on this topic. Now contrast that with your own response. Instead of trying to see Steve's point of view, it appears that you make a very big assumption that he is questioning Christ's deity. Then instead of asking him to clarify his intentions, you immediately jump to the drastic recommendation of barring him from the forum. This shows an apperant lack of self-control, and is not treating him with dignity or respect. I realize that I'm new here, and possibly Steve has in the past made statements, which have strongly affected your perspective of him. However, even if that is the case, today is a new day, and this is a new post which seems to be genuine and potentially of interest to the community at large. In conclusion, Nolan, you are a strong defender of the faith, and have much wisdom to share with others (which I have seen in many of your posts). Please consider taking a little more time to wrap this in a package, which others will be willing to sign for. |
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684 | Are praise and worship different? | Ps 63:4 | Sir Pent | 14270 | ||
Nicodemus, I regret that you too are so offended by my chosen screen name. I have a three perspectives on this issue. 1. I believe that you are wrong to be so apperantly judgemental towards another person just because of a screen name. Especially when the name has been clearly defined in a biblical perspective in both the user profile, as well as by other forum members (thanks for your defense Joren). I would also submit that when God created the serpent or snake (as part of the overall creation), He said it was "good". And in the verse that I reference in my profile, Jesus encourages believers to emulate the positive attribute of wisdom modeled after the serpent. Besides this, my user name is not even Serpent, as such, emphasizing that side of things. But instead is Sir Pent, emphasizing the ideas of chivalry and knighthood. The combined word is only a secondary meaning. 2. My second perspective is this. You are a fellow believer in Christ. I know this from your postings, and from other knowledge which will at this time remain unspoken. Therefore, as a Christian, you must allow the Holy Spirit to guide your life. If just writing my user name in a post is somthing which the Spirit convicts you as being sinful, then I support your decision to refrain from doing that. 3. My final perspective is this. There is a biblical precedent for "judging a tree by its fruit". I would encourage you and all other members of this forum to read several of my responses to others questions. I believe this should give a much more accurate perspective on where I'm comming from than just deciding based on my screen name. |
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685 | Does God have multiple motivations? | Deut 29:29 | Sir Pent | 14262 | ||
Fran, Thanks for your input. It seems that you mentioned three sepperate motivations here. 1. The desire to have someone to love. 2. The desire to have someone to love you. 3. The desire to nuture a loving relationship between two or more other people. Are you suggesting that God is motivated by all three of these reasons, and do you think that He is more motivated by one of these than the other ones? What order of importance would you put them in? |
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686 | Did God make mankind to show His love? | Deut 29:29 | Sir Pent | 14261 | ||
So if I interpret correctly, Lionstrong feels that discovering God's purposes and motivation is irrelevant and doesn't really matter, because after all He is God. vkey, agrees with the idea that Steve tipped me off to, that God's motivation is to love mankind, therefore creating so that there is a mankind to love. Are there any other thoughts on this? | ||||||
687 | Are praise and worship different? | Ps 63:4 | Sir Pent | 13965 | ||
Dear Steve and Nolan, Lifting up of hands is not a way that I personally choose to worship God. However, I have known many people whom I respect who do choose to worship that way, and it seems to bring them into closer communion with God. I am curious about your definition of worship Steve. If I understand your post, you agree that lifting of hands can be related to praising God (Psalm 134 below). However you say that this is not worship. I always thought that praising God was one form of worship. Could you please explain the differences that you see between them. Psalm 134 1: Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD! 2: Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the LORD! 3: May the LORD bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth! |
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688 | book of barabus | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 13954 | ||
I had never heard of this book, however, I found a site on the internet where you could go read it (and other texts) if you like. From what I could find out, the text was only discovered in the 1900's and was translated and published in 1908. It was never included in the Bible, and has been surrounded by controversy almost ever since it was discovered. I hope this helps out. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/9429/TextsandDocumentsC.html |
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689 | How does Selah fit into 2 Tim 3:16? | Psalm | Sir Pent | 13949 | ||
I think that is a terrific question Dmadden, I completely agree with you that God wouldn't go to the trouble to have things in the Bible to be read for eternity unless there was a good purpose for them. I wonder if in this case it was God's way of tipping us off to the fact that it was a song at all. Without words like "Selah", we might think that the Psalms were just poems, or even just regular prose. I think that it is an important distinction. In my experience, music has a way of connecting with the human spirit in a way unlike anything else. This can be dangerous if the music is unholy. But if used the way that God intended, it can also enable us to worship God at a deeper level. | ||||||
690 | destruction | Psalm | Sir Pent | 13948 | ||
Dear Peches, I'm sorry, but I don't understand your question. Are you looking for specific Bible verses to encourage you in times of fear? Please clarify. |
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691 | Perhaps we found God's purpose in life | Deut 29:29 | Sir Pent | 13946 | ||
Welcome to the discussion Steve, That is an interesting point that you bring up. I read Romans chapter 8 again, keeping this idea in mind, and it would seem to say that God's purpose is to bring about good for the people who love him. Based on that interpretation, then God created the universe becuase if there were no universe, there would be no people to love Him, and He would not be able to bring about good for them. What does everyone think? Is this the answer? |
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692 | What's God's purpose in life? | Deut 29:29 | Sir Pent | 13935 | ||
Once again, I must wholeheartedly agree with my fellow believers. You have both done an excellent job of articulating two very important characteristics of God. Namely His "transcendance" (focused on by Debbie), and his "imminence" (focused on by Lionstrong). I also appreciate and agree with your suggestions about OUR purpose in life. At the same time, I would still appreciate more input as to ideas about what God's purpose is. As a follower of Christ, I strive to understand God as much as possible. I feel therefore, that discovering His motivations, can help us immensly. Any more ideas? |
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693 | Who created god? | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 13933 | ||
Dear SummerChick, I too have thought about this question, and something which helped me out greatly was realizing that something had to always be here no matter what. As Christians we believe that God always existed, but what about Atheists? Most would subscribe to theories of the "Big Bang" and "Evolution". They would basically say that everything was in a small point (either in the form of energy or extremely compact matter), and it exploded creating the universe. Then specific elements of that energy and matter combined randomly over a long time to produce life as we know it on earth. Therefore, in that perspective, the chair that your sitting on has always existed in some form. The lunch you ate has always existed in some form. The car you drive has always existed in some form, etc. Now from a logical perspective, I agree that it doesn't make sense that something exists with no beginning. So I ask you, which makes more sense: that there are an innumerable number of things which deny this logic, or that there is only one exception to this logic (God), and that He made everything else. In my opinion, believing that God always existed make a lot more sense than any of the alternatives. |
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694 | God has the right, but why do it? | Deut 29:29 | Sir Pent | 13873 | ||
Greetings Lionstrong, Thank you very much for your response to my question. I must admit that I felt a little attacked by the first two responses. For the most part, I completely agree with your perspective. I too think that it is "logical" for God to be the "end of all things", for indeed He is the only true purpose for our existence. I also agree that He has the right as God and Author of everything to do whatever He pleases with the universe. I do have two thoughts though. The first is that the universe is different than a book or movie, in that the characters are real people. I don't think we would enjoy a movie if we knew that the actor who played the bad guy REALLY got killed in the end. The second thought is that although God should be the purpose of our existence and actions, that doesn't really tell us what the purpose of God's actions are. We don't do everything that we have the "right" to do, so why did God choose to act on His right to make the universe as we know it? Or more personally why did He make me? |
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695 | May we return to the original question? | Deut 29:29 | Sir Pent | 13792 | ||
1. The only reason the I started my question with the word "if" is because it is a statement which some would disagree with (although probably not on this forum). However, God's omniscience, is a necessary assumption for the question to make any sense. I do not intend to be merely hypothetical, but am genuinely interested in discovering God's purpose here, as I hope are you. 2. As for my user name, I apologize that you were offended, but the meaning is clearly stated in my personal preferences, and is actually biblical. Anyone can click on my name to find out. 3. I would appreciate any input that you have as to the original question. |
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696 | If God knows all,why create the universe | Not Specified | Sir Pent | 13783 | ||
If God knew from before the beginning of time, everything that would ever happen, then why go to the trouble to actually go through it. In other words, if God know everything, then what is the purpose of the universe? 1. I can think of a couple examples on the level of humanity, but neither seem to fit. Humans eat the same foods over and over even though they know what they'll taste like, and how long they will be filling. This is becuase we need food, but does God NEED the universe. In my view, He is self-sufficient. 2. Humans often will watch a movie that they have seen before, just because they enjoy it. But the universe contains real people and real suffering (even eternal suffering for some people), and in my view, a holy God would not enjoy experiencing that. The "Sunday School" answer to this question is that God created the universe for His glory. But isn't that the ultimate of selfishness to create a universe where some people would eternally suffer just for a beings own glory? |
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697 | If God knows all,why create the universe | Deut 29:29 | Sir Pent | 13788 | ||
If God knew from before the beginning of time, everything that would ever happen, then why go to the trouble to actually go through it. In other words, if God know everything, then what is the purpose of the universe? 1. I can think of a couple examples on the level of humanity, but neither seem to fit. Humans eat the same foods over and over even though they know what they'll taste like, and how long they will be filling. This is becuase we need food, but does God NEED the universe. In my view, He is self-sufficient. 2. Humans often will watch a movie that they have seen before, just because they enjoy it. But the universe contains real people and real suffering (even eternal suffering for some people), and in my view, a holy God would not enjoy experiencing that. The "Sunday School" answer to this question is that God created the universe for His glory. But isn't that the ultimate of selfishness to create a universe where some people would eternally suffer just for a beings own glory? |
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698 | IN 1Cor.3:15 Is it the person or the wor | 1 Corinthians | Sir Pent | 13769 | ||
I'm glad to be able to help. We all can benefit from the ideas of others, and often that is how God speaks to us. | ||||||
699 | IN 1Cor.3:15 Is it the person or the wor | 1 Corinthians | Sir Pent | 13702 | ||
The interpretation of this verse requires the context of the verses preceeding it (see below). Some people would look at this individual verse and think that it says that everyone goes to Heaven. They would think that it says that the only difference is if one lives a holy Christian life they have a mansion there, and if one lives however they want (fulfilling sinful desires) that these works will be discarded and the person will slide into heaven anyway. When seen in context with verses 11-14, this is clearly not the case. This whole passage is specifically talking about Christians, because it speaks of building on the foundation of Christ (which the pagans and other religions do not do). Instead this is just comparing between people within the Christian faith who have lived lives of varying commitment to God. All will be saved becuase of their faith, but some will have more to show for their lives because their works were done out of the right motivations (love for God) instead of wrong ones (approval of men, selfish gain, etc.). 11: For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12: Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw -- 13: each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14: If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15: If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. |
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700 | salvation/baptism | Bible general Archive 1 | Sir Pent | 13701 | ||
There are two important answers here. The first has been covered well by previous responders (Baptism is NOT necessary for salvation). However the second has been completely overlooked. If you are a Christian, you SHOULD be baptized. First of all, you are a follower of Christ, and should follow his example (see below). Second of all, Jesus said that baptism is a part of righteousness (see below), and as a Christian, you should want to show your love for God by living out righteousness. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change. The inward change (faith) is the critical, but the outward sign (courageously displaying devotion to God) is also important. Matthew Chapter 3 verses: 13: Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14: John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15: But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. |
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