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NASB | Hebrews 12:23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Hebrews 12:23 and to the general assembly and assembly of the firstborn who are registered [as citizens] in heaven, and to God, who is Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous (the redeemed in heaven) who have been made perfect [bringing them to their final glory], |
Subject: Define the true church. |
Bible Note: Dear RakPak, There are many forums, with many objectives. If the Lockman's TOU do not allow you to honestly and honorably participate, then perhaps another forum would be more suitable for you. Lockman has made very broad requests, but some folks fall outside the pale of orthodoxy. If you had a Halal Yah forum, you would not want me to come there and espouse non-Sabbatarian, antinomian, or cessationist doctrines all the time, right? I had really hoped that your interests would be less specific than what is strictly your assembly's doctrinal distinctives. You asked, "Do you keep Sunday Holy, do you work or anything?" The focus of all of redemptive history is the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:35-37; Luke 24:27). God finished His work on the seventh day of the week (Genesis 2:2); Christ finished His work on the first day of the week (Hebrews 4:7-11). All efforts of holiness are rooted in what God has done (1 Corinthians 15:17-19; 1 John 3:10; 1 Peter 2:24). I endeavor to keep all of life holy, and I am wholly dependent on the Lord to that end. Regarding the observance of the Lord's Day, I make every effort to set aside that day for and keep it especially holy unto the Lord. If you are interested, you will find the particulars of this observance in chapter 22 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. (Being confessional has its advantages for offering definitive answers to questions of this sort.) Specific to your question is paragraph 8 which reads, "The sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering their common affairs aforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all day, from their own works, words and thoughts, about their worldly employment and recreations (Isaiah 58:13; Nehemiah 13:15-22), but are also taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy (Matthew 12:1-13)." You see, I am a Christian first and foremost (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11). I would never offer up the Law as a means for Gentile righteousness -- for I could not keep, nor could the patriarchs (Acts 15:10). The Law convicts (Romans 7:7), but it has no power to save. In Christ, however, I am imputed His complete compliance (both negative and positive) to the Law, and my utter failure is imputed to Him. Amazing! That's a big part of what Paul is saying Romans 4. As John Calvin put it, before my salvation the Law was an enemy, now it is a kind and friendly adviser. The "old-fashioned legalism" I spoke of is carefully and articulately covered generally in Hebrews and more particularly in Galatians. The Holy Spirit knew the areas in which men were prone to err. In Him, Doc |