Results 81 - 100 of 1459
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Results from: Notes Author: John Reformed Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
81 | Speaking in tongues...not saved? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 36373 | ||
Dear Raven, Perhaps it was just a slip, but in your reply to Nedra you wrote: "The bible says obediance to the Gospel and the culminating act of baptism saves us. Did you really mean to say that in addition to faith in Christ, we must be baptized before our salvation is recieved? Your Brother John |
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82 | Speaking in tongues...not saved? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 36447 | ||
Dear Raven, Thank you for responding to my post. I agree with you, when you said: "You can't dispute what the bible says no matter how hard you try. Picking and choosing certain scriptures to make a point." False teachers do this all the time. They take scripture out of context and twist it. This wicked practice will lead to their destruction! I would suggest that we read Paul's letter to the Galatians to help us understand the nature of our salvation. Then perhaps we can dicuss what we have learned from this particular book. God Bless Raven, John |
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83 | Speaking in tongues...not saved? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 36472 | ||
Dear Raven, We were talking about the necessity of baptism. Is it necessary for salvation or not? You say it is and I say it is not. I suggested reading Galatians as a way of finding out what Paul says about faith and works. Your reply to me was about the salvation of babys. I never mentioned babys or offered an opinion about where they go if the die. I would be happy to discuss the question that Nedra asked, so can't we stick to that? John |
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84 | What if God did not join them tohether? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 39186 | ||
Dear Rainbowmaker, We all are guilty of attempting to get around God's commands. The world, the flesh and the devil are more than happy to supply us with all the phoney excuses we want. Our problems arise from our unwillingness to accept God's rule over our lives. We look for loopholes and exceptions to His written Word. It is hard to go through trials and tribulation. So we seek a way to escape from them. We ignore the plain teaching of Scripture and look elsewhere for "easy" answers. I would encourage unhappy couples to turn to Christ, repent of their sins against one another and to pray for grace to perservere til the end. "For without faith it is impossible to please God". Climb up out of the swamp by using the promises of God as your stepping stones. "having done all to stand; stand therefore". God Bless, John |
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85 | What if God did not join them tohether? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 39187 | ||
Dear Rainbowmaker, We all are guilty of attempting to get around God's commands. The world, the flesh and the devil are more than happy to supply us with all the phoney excuses we want. Our problems arise from our unwillingness to accept God's rule over our lives. We look for loopholes and exceptions to His written Word. It is hard to go through trials and tribulation. So we seek a way to escape from them. We ignore the plain teaching of Scripture and look elsewhere for "easy" answers. I would encourage unhappy couples to turn to Christ, repent of their sins against one another and to pray for grace to perservere til the end. "For without faith it is impossible to please God". Climb up out of the swamp by using the promises of God as your stepping stones. "having done all to stand; stand therefore". God Bless, John |
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86 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41562 | ||
Dear New Creature, Where did you get the idea of a "partnership" with God? Certainly not from the Bible! Paul called himself a slave, a bond servant, an apostle but never a partner. We are God's workmanship, creatures created by Him for His good pleasure. He may dispose of our lives any way He sees fit. You cited Jude 1:21 as an example of our responsibility to keep ourselves in Christ. But a few verses later we are told: Jude 1:24,25 "Now to HIM who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." I fail to see where we may find reason to boast of our good works in this passage. He keeps us from stumbling; He makes it possible for us to stand before God. Any good works God is pleased to perform through us have already been prepared from eternity, and they will be done. Not because we're so hot, but because He has ordained them to take place! We must not confuse the means of grace with "works" that we must do to remain saved. When Jesus surredered His spirit to the Father, He said "It is finished". At that moment all the sins of all the people (past present and future) were atoned for by Christ and settled forever. The notion that a blood bought child of God could fall and perish is unthinkable. Those who profess to know Christ but die in their sin were never His at all. His work on the cross, like everything else He has done, is perfect. It accomplished the salvation of every person the Father had given Him. He never fails! I caution you, as a brother in Christ, to re-examine your conception of who God is and who you are. To God be the Glory, John Reformed |
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87 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41606 | ||
Dear Newcreature, Do you really believe that God Almighty is dependent on people? Please show me a plain statement from scripture to verify your claim. Does God stand helpless before His creatures, hoping they will "do the right thing"? As far as our being puppets (a schoolboy's arguement against God's absolute soverignty), I do not hold to that idea nor do I need to in order to defend my doctrine. If you would like to post it as a question on the forum, I would be glad to answer it in full. It is plain to me that your conclusions are based upon a misunderstanding of the God's intent in exhortation. Throughout His word He commands us to carry out certain actions or to adopt particular attitudes toward others, ourselves, sin, sanctification, satan, and God Himself. These are the means He has chosen to accomplish His will. He has not left us in the dark and He does not force anyone against their will to comply. Consider Acts 4:26-28 "THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST." "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur." Here we are told that evil men committed evil deeds and that it was Gods plan from the beginning. How can this be? My theology provides a reason that is consistant throughout scripture. It is this: Those who sought the death of Christ did so out of an evil desire. God had planned it and He brought good out of evil without violating or forcing the evil men. I will continue later, God willing. John Reformed |
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88 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41645 | ||
Dear New Creature, In reply to your Q:" Is a man predestinated by God to salvation because he believes in Christ or is he enabled to believe in Christ because he is predestinated?" If God predestined someone based upon His foreknowledge of their "accepting Christ" the term predestined would be meaningless. Rom 8:29,30 "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." (this also supports God's preservation of the elect) As you can see from these verses predestination is preceeded by foreknowledge. The arminian proclaims that "foreknew" refers to God's foreknowledge of those who would (in the future),of their own free will, choose Christ. This is isogesis (forcing into scripture something the interpreter wants it to say). Armenian theology demands that foreknew must mean what they say it means, regardless of the context. Has God not foreknown every man whom he has or will create? Are all men called? If so all must be justified. Are all justified? No. That leasds us to the calvinist position which is that God foreknew those He would call, justify and glorify because He predestined them (the elect) before the foundation of the world. The arminian says that this is unfair, that for God to do this would be injust! God replys: Rom 9:20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?" John Reformed |
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89 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41647 | ||
Dear Meusing, I agree that God's immense intellect and knowledge are beyond our finite minds, however He has an eternal plan and He is working it out with perfection. Through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit He has revealed a great deal of this plan to His saints. He even has placed within us the desire to grow in our knowledge of Him. He is wonderful beyond words or thoughts. It is for that reason I argue for His soverign reign over His creation. When we more fully understand the wickedness of our sins and the holiness of God , it is then that we appreciate the wonder of His grace. If God had simply cast all of fallen mankind into Hell, He would have been justified in doing so. Some folks think it unfair that He extends His mercy to some and hardens others. I say thank God He has been merciful to any! John Reformed |
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90 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41689 | ||
Dear New Creature, God in His mercy has chosen to save some. The rest are left to follow the wicked desires of their fallen natures. Yes, those who are not predestined unto salvation are predestined to damnation. Rom 9:22-24 "What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles." It is necessary to bear in mind the terrible conequence of the fall. Adam was the federal head of all mankind. When he fell the entire race of man fell. We were born sinful and rebellious creatures without love for God, but rather with hatred for Him. The spiritual nature which should have been our birthright was lost. Rom 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned--" Eph 2:1-5 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" The contemplation of our election by God should fill us with awe. Why has God chosen me instead of my neigbor? Certainly not because of anything in me! To God be the Glory, John Reformed |
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91 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41691 | ||
Dear NC, "If it turns out that he finds it". If we follow your implication literaly, one could conclude that God is not omniscient!. But I know that is not your intent. I do not agree with your supposition that it may refer to man's fee will. It requires reading into the text that which is not there. To your question "Does God allow us freedom to operate within the designed limits somewhere between God's perfect will, and His permissive will?". This question arises from the idea that man can operate independently from God. The fact is that everything that occurs has been preordained by God before He even created us. At the same time He does not violate man's will in doing so. The unregenerate go about trying to destroy God, and end up fulfilling His purpose anyway! His saints desire to do His will and strive to accomplish it. Even when they stumble in sin God uses it to work sanctification inteir lives (humility, thanksgiving etc.). God's plan is "perfection in action". He has created us for His good pleasure. My scriptual supports for this doctrine will have to wait til my next post. Time to earn the daily bread. Soli Deo Gloria, John Reformed |
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92 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41702 | ||
Dear Scribe, Your reasoning leads to the conclusion that those people who have decided to repent and turn to Christ must have something "special" about them and the others who continualy harden their hearts are really wicked and don't deserve God's grace. Perhaps a word search of choose or chosen would be instructive. In the meantime consider the following "hyper predestination" verses. Deut 10:14,15 "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. "Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day." Ps 33:12 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, he people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance." Matt 11:27 "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." Mark 13:20 "Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days." Please tell give me your proof texts that speak as plainly to the contention of yours that we chose Him. Soli Deo Gloria John Reformed |
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93 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41746 | ||
Dear NC, Rom 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Is chastisement by God a good thing for the saint? I say it is good. It demonstrates His love, it brings humility and banishes self-reliance. It drives us back to prayer and bible study and a host of blessings. It sets our hearts on striving and praying for grace to obey God. All these positive results come as a resultof sin. Should we therefore sin so grace may abound? God forbid it! We are constrained from sin by our love for Christ. You do not have an accurate understanding of calvinism, you merely parrot the rhetoric of it's arminian critics. I don't mean tobe unkind, I'm sure you believe what you have said. But you are wrong. If you wish to discover the truth concerning TULIP or reformed theology in general, I suggest www.reformed.org as a reliable source. The following is from an artcle found at that site. Total Depravity (Total Inability) Total Depravity is probably the most misunderstood tenet of Calvinism. When Calvinists speak of humans as "totally depraved," they are making an extensive, rather than an intensive statement. The effect of the fall upon man is that sin has extended to every part of his personality -- his thinking, his emotions, and his will. Not necessarily that he is intensely sinful, but that sin has extended to his entire being. The unregenerate (unsaved) man is dead in his sins (Romans 5:12). Without the power of the Holy Spirit, the natural man is blind and deaf to the message of the gospel (Mark 4:11f). This is why Total Depravity has also been called "Total Inability." The man without a knowledge of God will never come to this knowledge without God's making him alive through Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5). As far as babies in hell are concerned' I am content to trust that the Judge of the Universe will do right. You cite Rev 22:17. Those who are called have ears to hear and a thirst for God. That would indicate their election. The reprobate (or damned if you prefer) are deaf and are attemting to slake their thirst at the fountains of iniquity. John Reformed |
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94 | Show in the Bible once saved always | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 41772 | ||
When you critisize something it helps if you know what your talking about. John |
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95 | Are we expected to keep the sabath? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 42216 | ||
Dear Arnie, I'm convinced that we are saved by grace thru faith alone. Of course if a person says he's a christian but misuses the Word of God as an excuse to sin, I would be unsure if his salvation was real. God Bless Arnie, John Reformed |
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96 | Are we expected to keep the sabath? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 42235 | ||
Dear Arnie, The works that we do are an assurance of the faith that God has given us. If a person says he is a christian but has no works, that is an indication that his faith is a dead faith. Even the works of a true christian are ones that God has prepared for him to do already. Eph 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Read Galatians, as I suggested, it explains in depth why we are saved by faith alone. John Reformed |
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97 | Are we expected to keep the sabath? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 42239 | ||
Dear Pastor Scott, A hearty Amen to your post Scott, and welcome to the forum! God Bless Scott, John Reformed |
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98 | Are we expected to keep the sabath? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 42240 | ||
Hi Searcher, You make a good point. If a person who believes it is a sin to observe the sabbath day, and then does so, for him it is a sin because he sins against his own conscience. John |
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99 | Are we expected to keep the sabath? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 42251 | ||
Dear Arnie, Gal 2:16...nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. Gal 2:17..."But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! Gal 2:18..."For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. Gal 2:19..."For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. Gal 2:20..."I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Gal 2:21..."I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." I believe that because of our love and gratitude toward our Lord Jesus and through the grace of God we will desire to be obedient to all of the commandments. But thank God we will not be judged according to our ability to keep them. Regarding the sabbath I believe that Jesus is our sabbath rest and not any particular day of the week. Col 2:16,17...Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Your Brother John Reformed |
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100 | Are we expected to keep the sabath? | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 42252 | ||
Hi Arnie, I agree, we are true sons of Abraham and are his seed and heirs according to the promise. But keep in mind that the OT signs were shadows of things to come. Col 2:16...Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- Col 2:17...things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Have you read Pastorscott's post on this thread? He explains the sabbath very well. God Bless Arnie, John |
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