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NASB | 3 John 1:11 ¶ Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 3 John 1:11 ¶ Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but [imitate] what is good. The one who practices good [exhibiting godly character, moral courage and personal integrity] is of God; the one who practices [or permits or tolerates] evil has not seen God [he has no personal experience with Him and does not know Him at all]. [1 John 3:6] |
Bible Question:
Hey Tim, I've just finished reading all (and I mean all of them, not all kinds:-) of your posts, and I am quite impressed with your knowledge and your ability to express your views clearly! I was wondering what other beliefs you hold, say about end times or anything else. I applaud you for your patience and thoroughness when involved in discussions with the Reformed folks. I have not been quite as succesful myself, I am ashamed to say. I wanted to ask you a few more questions: 1. Rom. 9:19-21: I can adequately interpret all the other verses in this chapter assuming the Arminian point of view, but these three verses give me trouble. What's your take? (I know you wrote 60 pages, so a summary will suffice! I can work around these verses if I try, but it is not as you so eliquantly say, the most natural, clear reading. By the by, I do not ascribe to Arminianism, but I am certainly bent toward that direction when compared to 5-point Calvinists. I suppose I am a Election/Responsibility person, which means they're both true but only GOD knows how.) 2. I noticed your know-how with Greek. I was wondering what some of the best resources are? I have just purchased the "Key Word Study Bible" and the "Complete WordStudy Bible CD" both edited by Spiros Zodhiates. Have you seen these works? Any opinions? (The theology may not suit you, and it is quite prevalent, but the language info is worth it, in my opinion, but then Dr. Z is not that far from my beliefs.) Final note on this work, it is not as typical as you might think of an evangelical work, you had a question on I Tim 2:12, Dr. Z is quite adament about the fact that I Tim 2:11,12 should be wife and husband, rather than man, woman. And he is quite convincing, I never realized how ignorant I was just using the Strongs concordance!(I would have fought to the death that this verse COULD NEVER mean 'wife' but a little time with a better understanding of Greek and I've changed my mind!) The language is so much more than just the root words!(Voice, Mood, etc.) 3. Would you consider yourself Charismatic or Conservative? I don't want to get to personal, so if your not comfortable with this one, thats OK. I'm quite conservative, but I certainly desire a close relationship with my Lord. |
Bible Answer: Greetings Chris! If you read all of my posts, you sure are a glutton for punishment! :-) Thanks for the kind words! The shortest way to list my beliefs would probably be to use common labels: I hold to a: Arminian, Pre-Wrath-Millenial Eschotology, Evangelical Theology. Through the years, I have had contact with many different theological bents (my Father-in-Law is an American Baptist Pastor.) Because of this, I have learned that many good Christian people have differing views on certain topics. I think it was JVHO212, who dealt with the issue of historic Chrisianity in one of his posts. He made an excellent point. There are core beliefs that define Christianity. In those core beliefs, there can be no debate. In all else, we can gracefully agree to disagee. 1a) Rom. 9:19-21: Romans is a wonderful book. From my study of it, I have developed the following interpretive paradigm. The main issue in Romans is this: Why are Gentiles being saved, while Jews are not? The Jewish nation had a tremendous amount of pride in their status as "God's choosen nation." This pride turned into an assumption that they were automatically "right" with God. In Romans, Paul destroys this believe. In chapter one, He argues that God's wrath is revealed against all pagans who have exchanged the truth of God for a lie (1:25). Every Jew reading this would have been saying, "Amen...Paul!" But, in chapter two, Paul includes the Jews under God's wrath for their violation of the Law God had given them. Consequently, according to Romans 3, all have fallen short of the glory of God. He the goes on to argue in chapter 4 through 8 that salvation is obtained only through faith in Christ, not by works. Chapters 9-11, focus specifically on the question of Israel's rejection of Christ. Has God failed in His promises to Israel? Of course not, Paul replies! You haven't understood His promises to begin with: a) Israel is an Israel of promise not of birth - Rom. 9:1-9. b) God has the sovereign right to extend His mercy to whomever His wishes - Rom. 9:10-29. So my short answer concerning Rom. 9:19-21, would be this: Israel (the clay) has no right to complain about how the potter (God) chooses to use them (the nation.) His purpose, according to Rom. 11:32 is clear, "For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all." 1b) In my opinion, the views of people like Robert Shank or Hank Hanagraf(?) are views that do justice to both election and responsibilty. I would highly recommend their writings. 2) I am very familiar with Dr. Zodhites(?). I have the utmost respect for his works. I'm not sure what the best resources are, there are so many. You need a good text (I used the UBS Greek text). You need a good lexicon or dictionary. The best is probably Kittel's, but it is very expensive. Good commentaries, which deal with the orginal text, are also helpful. Someone else might have some helpful suggestions as well. I have never used the Complete WordStudy Bible CD. I currently use the Logos Systems Bible program. 3) I would consider myself conservative, but I do believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers (including the gifts.) Your Brother in Christ |