Results 81 - 100 of 100
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Country Girl Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
81 | "All things belong to you" means what? | 1 Cor 3:21 | Country Girl | 127775 | ||
I would infer a lot from the context: 1 Cor 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Cor 3:17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. 1 Cor 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. 1 Cor 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS"; 1 Cor 3:20 and again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS." 1 Cor 3:21 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, 1 Cor 3:22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 1 Cor 3:23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God. We must remember Corinth in the first century was one of the world's most well developed cities. They even thought about making a canal across their isthmus long before it was actually built in the past century. So they were very modern but they also had all the sin and controversies to go with it. Paul dealt with a lot of problems detailed throughout both 1 and 2 Corinthians. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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82 | Is it ever okay to judge others? | 1 Cor 5:12 | Country Girl | 126618 | ||
You've received many good responses but I'd like to throw mine in for your consideration. First of all, I would refer you to James. James 2:14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? James 2:17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. James 2:18 But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." James 2:20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? James 2:22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; James 2:24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. So we see that we as christians having true faith in our Lord, we will be producing works to show that faith. Christ made this plain in his discussion about our being part of His vineyard. In order for us to maintain that connection to our Lord, we must produce fruit of our faith and not be cut off. So when we see our fellow christians having difficulty in this area, we should love them enough to talk to them and strive to assist them in being fruitful. If a person refuses in this effort to be fruitful, we shouldn't judge Him as we can't see into his mind or his conscience and know his actual motivation unless he tells us. But we can at least see his fruit or the lack thereof and assist him with love and concern for his soul. In the final analysis, we humans must be very careful in judging the producitivity or fruitfulness of fellow christians as shown in Jesus parable of those men with 5, 2 and 1 talent(s). Instead Jesus encourages us to allow the wheat and tares grow together and He will determine the genuine christian from the imitators. See Matt 13. Hope this helps and blessings to you. |
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83 | Staying together before marriage. | 1 Cor 8:9 | Country Girl | 127997 | ||
I can only remind you that since you question it and you know the temptations you are causing yourself, it's not wise to follow this practice. The following verse from Paul doesn't apply only to eating, the principle applies to our whole christianity. Rom 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. Instead Paul admonishes in: Col 3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Since it's obvious you've already indicated you can't possibly be doing this sleeping on the bed with the woman of your life with a completely clear conscience, I would advise you to stop immediately. Sure it would be wise to show your girlfriend when you're making such a choice. Among those reasons would be your resolution for both of you to follow God's wishes on His priorities and set a precedant of following Him for the entire duration of your relationship together. All of us will praying that you following your conscience in accordance with God's Word. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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84 | Please stop laying blame -Marylin Manson | 1 Cor 13:1 | Country Girl | 126907 | ||
I've read all the posts so far...very interesting. But my question is, why all the sudden interest? What motivated you to start this discussion? Please enlighten us. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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85 | Bible ... be “a doubting Thomas."? | 1 Cor 13:8 | Country Girl | 132994 | ||
I think I've presented my case rather thoroughly so I would answer your question with more questions. Why do you think the episode of Thomas' doubting the ressurected Lord and verifying Christ's nail prints and wound in his side was included in our Bible? If I were to show up at your door claiming to be Jesus Christ, would you not expect to see some sort of Godly endorsement of such a claim just as in the first century? It seems the same principle should be applied to anyone who claims to have powers reserved for someone actually representing God as all Bible prophets did. Naturally you know my answer to your question frin James 5 so I won't address it at all. It's curious that you would question my encouraging the practice of "testing the spirits" as commanded, especially in this day and age where deception has become very common throughout the business AND the religious world. What narrow parameters would you suggest that we invoke this guidance from 1 John? I would have to say that God through the Bible does indeed expect us to be fruit inspectors and check out one another's relationship with Him as the Father of us all. Here on earth, when a brother or sister goes out and misrepresents the family name, bringing shame and reproach on that family, don't you know each family member is motivated to approach that misbehaving family member and attempt to rectify the situation. The same is true with God's family as we really ARE our brother's/sister's keeper. The Lord really DOES expect us to love our christian brother/sister enough to approach them and attempt to rectify the wrong that going on in their life, in this case the deception. Now of course, this must be done with genuine Agape type love and concern for that person's soul. We should study and show that person the truth as displayed in God's Word, showing them what real Biblical miracles are all about. In this regard, Jesus Himself said in Matt 10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." I hope this is a little clearer to you. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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86 | John 1:18-1 Cor 15:23,24 comparison | 2 Cor 5:8 | Country Girl | 123965 | ||
I'm looking forward to this discussion. Copied for context: Jn 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, "He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me."' 16And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. 19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" 23He said: "I am "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD,"' as the prophet Isaiah said." 24Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose." 28These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. compared to 1 Cor 15:12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 1 Cor 15:13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 1 Cor 15:14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 1 Cor 15:15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 1 Cor 15:16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 1 Cor 15:17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 1 Cor 15:18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 1 Cor 15:19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. 1 Cor 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 1 Cor 15:21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Cor 15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, 1 Cor 15:24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 1 Cor 15:25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 1 Cor 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 1 Cor 15:27 For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 1 Cor 15:28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all. The conclusions from this discussions should be very interesting. What in particular do you draw from these two sets of scriptures? Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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87 | What is it about these two natures? | Gal 5:17 | Country Girl | 129996 | ||
We also see this battle depicted rather clearly within the life of the Apostle Paul in Romans 7. Thus as we grow more and more mature, our spiritual nature hopefully wins more and more of these battles over that of our physical, human nature. Then we can truly KNOW that we are spiritually mature as John described in 1 John 5. In my lifetime, I've known some wonderful christian couples who counseled us and were such a wonderful example of a loving Christ-like leadership. They were about as near perfect a representative here on earth as I could imagine. We do have so much to be thankful for as Americans. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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88 | Fruit vs. Works: the same or different? | Gal 5:22 | Country Girl | 129936 | ||
I do see some close correlation between fruits of the Spirit, fruit of our vine being connected to the Branch of our Lord and the works or acts of Christianity as discussed in James 2. It seems from the verses as given in the Bible that the fruits are reflective of our spiritual personality. We see some christians who are more talented in showing their fruits than others. Thus, some are better at showing patience or others may find it easier to be loving or kind. Some of these fruits are also inter-related but we should strive to add them all to our spiritual person and upon adding them, strive to improve them and grow in our spiritual relationship with our Lord. This results in a better, well armed christian to ward off sin in our life. Now as to works or acts of Christianity, the fruits of the spirit help support those works. When we're truly kind and loving to our fellow man, then we can show those acts of kindness with genuineness and Agape type love. The wonderful thing about working in the Lord's vineyard in this way has a receprical return as the Lord told us it would. Acts of Christianity has a way of spreading the love and enthusiasm in His Name, all to His Glory. We experenice growth both spiritually and numerically. We see our fellow christians round about us grow and mature in their relationship. They help us grow as we help them. We talk about our weaknesses and exchange them for each other's strengths. Thus the body of our Lord grows all the more. So you see, all of this is very closely intertwined as it should be. But I would also add that our Lord does expect to see some of the evidence of Christianity both in our lives now and on Judgment Day after living a faithful live. Rev 2:10. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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89 | Just the name? | Phil 2:9 | Country Girl | 132669 | ||
It seems to me that the missing ingredient in this picture is the idea of "follow through." When a person really does completely believe in someone or something, they respond in complete obedience to the commands or whatever statements come out of that person or being. I think Naaman's story is quite instructive here. He was looking for a demonstration of majestic and awesome power and instead, Elisha told him through a messenger to dip himself in a dirty ole river not once but seven times. He went home disgusted but with no healing. But finally upon obedience and dipping himself in the River Jordan as instructed, he was healed completely; his skin was a clean and look like that of a baby. Notice he didn't get the healing he was looking for; not one iota until the seventh dip. Here on earth, when a child truly believes his earthly parents, he/she puts ALL his faith and trust in that parent. No wonder why our Lord used children as an example to us. We simply MUST follow through with our belief and simply obey God's commands if we truly want what He's offering us as His children. I hope this helps and Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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90 | But why the focus on the name? | Phil 2:9 | Country Girl | 132685 | ||
Well, I can only respond with what I've been told. I think (if I remember accurately) the name Jesus was the modern name 2000 years ago for the Hebrew name Joshua. I guess I would suggest a note of caution about this discussion as it could easily end up with someone thinking we should worship the name "Jesus" itself. The name itself shouldn't be worthy of our worship, only the Being Himself Jesus, His Father, and the Holy Ghost (or Spirit) get that honor. As you mentioned in your original post/question, a rose by any other name is still a rose AND has all the characteristics attributed to that rose. But notice when we as humans pluck it to pieces to better analyze its wonderous beauty and magnificence, it's no longer a rose and nowhere near as beautiful and even looses it powerful scent. So it is with our God. When we humans in our physical and finite world try to completely understand a Being as wonderfully Infinite and Absolutely Perfect in every way as Jesus, all our comments and questions, all our words fail miserably. I guess this is about all I could think to say. But I do think your question is good and should result in interesting discussion. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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91 | Rule or Ideal? | 1 Tim 3:2 | Country Girl | 130001 | ||
It's been my experience here in America that we're seeing less and less christian men who qualify for this office. Of course, one of the most important qualifications is the desire for that office. As the ideal conditions encouraging the growth of Christianity continue to deteriate, I think it's important all the more to stick to the pattern that God has set out for us to follow. His commands, both by imperative statements and by the examples as demonstrated by NT christians paint a picture of Perfect Success in the first century. There in the first century, they had every imaginable kind of sin, especially as displayed in the Books of I and II Corinthians. So we would be well advised if we want to ensure the church as intact, living and viable through the next generation, we need to resolve to teach our kids and our grandkids an awesome level respect for God's Word. We CANNOT possibly exceed or even come close to the level of Perfection we see in our NT Bible but we need to give it our best shot. I would suggest we just stick to the simple qualifications for church leadership as cited in the NT. That's the safest and most logical way to be certain we're true to God. Adding or attempts to improve will just get us into trouble, as afterwards who gets to say when we stop. It's a long and slippery slope you're suggesting, one with very, very dangerous consequences. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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92 | baptism regenerate? | Titus 3:5 | Country Girl | 132270 | ||
Baptism is just the final step to actually get us into the family of God much like the ritual of circumcism did for those wishing to become part of the Israelite family in the OT. Regeneration is an ongoing process. It's God's refining process by which he gets mankind to an acceptable level of righteousness or spiritual condition so we can enter Heaven. Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Also from Apostle John, Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. We could talk about perfecting your "armor of God" or "adding the fruits of the Spirit." There are many ways God expects us to "work out our salvation." All of these are aspects of Christianity God wants to see perfected in us as much as possible. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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93 | the last judgement and be heaven bound | Hebrews | Country Girl | 128149 | ||
In contrast to the somewhat vague and highly symbolic language, we have other scriptures Heb 9:24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; Heb 9:25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Heb 9:26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Heb 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, Heb 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. In verse 27, it's clear that Judgment Day is final and forever. Also Christ talks about this rather clearly and thoroughly in Matt 25. Nothing in Revelation should be understood to override Jesus Words in Matt 25. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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94 | Discerning supernatural effects? | Heb 5:14 | Country Girl | 133073 | ||
I would have to say one vital ingredient in making such a determination is patience. God assures us "things work out for good for those that love the Lord." But sometimes this involves some waiting and see the results. In my life, sometimes I finally figured out that God was having his way in my life many years prior to my discovering that fact. I think we see the Bible endorsing this kind of of hindsight in the life of Joseph in the OT. I think most everyone remembers Joseph's dreams, his trials and tribulations but He finally sees God's providence in his life and even shares this discovery with his brothers. But I emphasize it took a lifetime, apparently for Joseph to see this as a definite plan of design from God. Personally, I think the more we study God's Word, the more we're inclined to see God's handiwork in our lives. Just my opinion but I think I'm on solid ground. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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95 | What do this chapter means James2? | James | Country Girl | 127833 | ||
The Book of James is known by most Bible Scholars as being one of the practical, down-to-earth books in the Bible. James 2:1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. James 2:2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, James 2:3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool," James 2:4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? James 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? James 2:7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? James 2:8 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well. James 2:9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. James 2:11 For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT COMMIT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. James 2:12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. James 2:13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? James 2:15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, James 2:16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? James 2:17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. James 2:18 But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. James 2:20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? James 2:22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; James 2:23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God. James 2:24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. James 2:25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. Here in Chapter 2 is James' way of telling us christians that our christianity has to be real and genuine, not fake or artificial. IF it's merely fake or false, our whole christianity is worthless. So this chapter takes one through a series of demonstrations showing us just how real and practical James means this christianity should be to us. We should love others more than ourselves, especially when we see their need is greater just as described in 1 Cor 13. We must watch out for opportunities to demonstrate this real and genuine love every day, all day with acts of kindness. Now, this is NOT to say that we must earn our way to Heaven for that CANNOT be done. The Lord expects us to act like we are living our lives in His very presence so we should do our best to imitate His life and the Christ-like actions we see in the NT. A true christian should see this as a debt we all owe to our Redeemer as He bought and paid for our very souls from the Devil himself. Our Lord is just letting us off easy by imitating His lifestyle and adopting His priorities. Hope this helps and blessings to you. Country Girl |
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96 | Why is the thread associated with ID# .. | 2 Pet 2:4 | Country Girl | 127352 | ||
The post 127074 was restricted by the Lockman Foundation of the Forum because they are dedicated to God's Word and Its rightful claim to being the absolute Truth. It is a basic self-evident contradiction of His Word to think that God could have created evil and is thus banned as soon as the Foundation know of its existance. I'm not an expert on the subject but in the Gospel of John, Chapter 1, we see that EVERYTHING in the universe, even the physical and spiritual was created by God. In Genesis, we're told that everything God created was good. BUT that's not to say that everything stayed that way. We see the Fall of Mankind and the spoiling of the world by the introduction of sin. This sin was introduced by Satan. So our conclusion is that although Satan was an angel created by God, apparently he turned bad and was sentenced to Hell by God as referenced above. So even the angels are given their freedom to choose whom to serve: God or their own ungodly way. Hope this helps and blessings to you. Country Girl |
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97 | When did the devil sin? | 2 Pet 2:4 | Country Girl | 127428 | ||
We're not given all the details and the actual sequencing of these events so we're left to discuss and draw our own conclusions. The only thing we do know for certain is that EVERYTHING God created was good and then a relatively short time later, the Devil tempts Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. Like it's already been shown by Stultis and your questions, this is a tough subject to figure out. I really don't think God meant for us to spend a whole lot of time discussing this stuff. I'm just thankful that our opinions on this subject are NOT going to influence our Day of that Final Exam or our Lord's final evaluation therefrom. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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98 | What consitutes a "righteous act?" | Rev 19:8 | Country Girl | 123972 | ||
I don't see how. Like I mentioned, we're following the lead of Savior. He set a whole standard of behavior for the whole world. I'm convinced if it hadn't been His influence in this world, it would probably have been destroyed again by now. It's just not in the nature of mankind to stay up with God's standard of doing anything decent and righteous for very long. We're just too prone to choosing the easier path as He talked about with the straight and narrow gate to Heaven. What do you think? Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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99 | What is the "straight and narrow gate"? | Rev 19:8 | Country Girl | 124016 | ||
I think you probably have already figured out I was trying to say that Jesus "set a whole NEW standard for the world to imitate." I see your point as well as Angel's and Emmanus' points. Believe me, I'm not saying we can even come close to earning our salvation as there's ABSOLULTELY no way that can be done. But just like a good, loving parent invests his/her lifetime in a rearing a child or children and then hopes that child(ren) behave like they've been reared, in the same way our God wants us to behave like we've been bought and paid for by His Son. We should wear His Name somewhat proudly like Apostle Paul did while minimizing our measly acts of kindness as weak, feeble attempts to imitate Paul or even better Christ Himself. I don't think God keeps a score card on us and compares us to each other, again learning from our earthly parenting experience. He just wants us to stay in contact with Him through prayer and constant study of His Word because even the most mature christian needs a boost now and again to keep fighting the battle with the Devil and avoid the temptations of this world. As we mature in this spiritual relationship with our Father, we should realize our needs and priorities aligning themselves closer and closer with His. And then I think we'll realize more and more of His answers to our prayers. We should all strive to see things in this world as He does, listen to our fellow christians, seek to encourage them and love them in spite of their shortcomings and ask for their forgiveness for our shortcomings. Part of the unpleasant duties of a christian is to be an influence for good even to those that don't appreciate it. Sometimes we may even feel compelled by God to do what we can to correct some of the wrongs in this world BUT we MUST do so in love and show that we really do love people's souls like He does, without condition. We must show them over and over again and again, that whatever we say and do, we say and do so in the Name of the Lord. Your reference to John's words are good words as they make it plain that we are indeed dependent on Christ for His guidance and sustanance. Only by His representing us to His Father, can we hope to live with Him forever. But the toughest item of controversy as I've noticed it in the Forum is this battle between faith and works. As you've stated, our righteous acts counts as absolute zeros in the final judgments but that DOES NOT mean we should stop doing them. Jesus makes this very plain in the scriptures I referred to earlier. We MUST see ourselves as the debtor set free and go and share the good news, spreading the Word everywhere we go AND we MUST behave like we have a Father above watching us. He expects us to dispense acts of kindness and goodness not because we're earning our salvation but we must prove to the world we have it. Otherwise, how will the world know our christianity, our salvation is real and genuine? Hopefully, this may clear up some questions for you. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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100 | What is the "straight and narrow gate"? | Rev 19:8 | Country Girl | 128682 | ||
Mommapbs, I was re-reading your questions here and thought of another way of answering. Yes, I have to agree with you for the most part. Our acts of kindness ARE indeed but filthy rags to our Lord and we all must look forward to "trading" those rags in for that perfect linen as you've mentioned so eloquently. But if we don't even have those filthy rags to "trade in," then we'll be naked as warned against in 2 Cor 5:1-7 and Rev 3:17-18. No, I'm afraid, dear friend we can't possibly think about approaching our Maker and our Judge without giving Him our very best. We must carry our cross as Jesus has given to each of us. We must imitate Him and His representatives throughout the NT as best we possibly can, while keeping in mind that we CANNOT possibly earn this salvation but we must be found faithful as cited in Rev 2:10. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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