6For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
It's not so much about the translation in my view, it's about principles. We were sinners, enemies of God, not just "sinful", and honestly, what's the difference? Mountains out of mole hills, sir. If we commit sin, we sin, we are sinners, we are sinful. Those are all equivalent statements. We must turn from our sinfulness by repentance, by Christ changing our minds from sinful minds, from the minds of sinners, to the mind of a new creature who is no longer a sinner, or sinful. Can you explain to me why you think these word translations are such a big deal? I just don't see the difference, and you're basically causing "division" over something that is meaningless. Once we are new creatures, we are no longer slaves to sin, we're no longer sinful or a sinner, even if we do sin, as long as we continually struggle and gain the victory against sin thru the power of Jesus.
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
"You need to know that you are a 'sinner'."
Romans 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Luke 18:13
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
"You need to confess all of your sins(that is all i would be doing everyday)."
1 John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
"You need to change the direction you are going,you need to make u turn and follow Jesus."
Matthew 7:13
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
"Not one of these are the Gospel,so then what is the Gospel."
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
"You do not need to do any good works, you are not working for GOD Almighty."
Luke 10:1
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
"You do non need to give any money, not one thin dime."
1 Timothy 6:17
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
"You do not need to do anything at all, Ephesians 2: 8-10."
James 2:14
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
We don't "NEED" to do anything, but a good seed brings forth good fruit. If you're not bringing forth good fruit, then there is something wrong. However, in a sense, you are right. The gospel of Jesus is simply the good news about His life, death, and resurrection, but belief in that good news is supposed to naturally lead to repentance, conversion, and good works.
The title "pastor" in the bible, literally translates into "shepherd", which is another title for "elder". Elders were not evangelists or teachers or prophets, they had a specific role. Giving a "sermon from the pulpit" is not in the bible, and giving a sermon is not limited to "pastors" or elders. The Elder's job is to be like the "president"(not a dictator) of the church, a man that can rule with the same experience and authority that he has proven thru his role as a father in his own family. He would be like a impartial and experienced "judge" or "adviser" or "counselor" for the church. The job roles we've attached to the "pastor" title today should not be limited to the pastor. We should all be visiting the sick and the backsliding, we should all be able to give a defense for our faith and stand confidently when questioned. After those elementary things, we should also each be developing our "gifts" of being a teacher, preacher, evangelist, minister, healer, prophet, etc. The elder might be someone who we would refer people to who had questions if we were still babes in the faith and could not answer, but all Christians must continue toward maturity, and all Christians are ministers to the world with their gifts. The idea that one has to have a college degree and approval from a denomination to be a minister for God is not biblical, and it's very dangerously close to the idea that only educated priests are allowed to read the bible. In most churches I've been to(I've been to many denominations), a very large majority are content to pay a pastor or pastors to spoon feed them the gospel and to do the visiting and ministering that we are all supposed to be doing, or at least equipping ourselves to do. Not to say that is the way it is for everyone or in every church, but I can't count how many times I hear "What? I can't teach, I don't know enough, I'm not a good speaker, I don't know as much as the pastor, I'll let him do it, etc". To those people I would like to say, "well, you'd better start practicing". And it's absolutely immoral to simply be a parrot for your "pastor". We MUST study for ourselves, and sometimes we might even find out our pastor or our traditions have been wrong!
The idea of "pastor" in the bible is not the same as we have today. In the bible, the highest authority of the church is the elder position. There is no dedicated preacher or leader in the bible, our current model of "pastor" is directly derived from the catholic idea of "priest", not from the original structure of the early church. It's really a form of pacifying the church body into inactivity. If we have a pastor who does all the work, then we can just sit in the pews and try to stay awake.
In truth, we are all supposed to be ministers to the world, we're all supposed to have the confidence and passion to speak the truth. People sitting in the pews are far more interested in being in the "right church" and listening to the "right pastor" than studying for themselves, going out into the world, and being the ambassador to those who haven't heard the name of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 3
1And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 4For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
The thief on the cross only had to believe 2 things.
1. That Jesus was guiltless.
2. That Jesus would enter His kingdom.
I assume that believing those two things implied that the thief believed that Jesus was the messiah that was foretold in the bible, and Jesus promised him that he would be in the kingdom. Those are pretty low requirements for salvation! However, it entails more for our lives, a recognition that Jesus is pure and good, and that we are sinful and bad. Jesus's sacrifice for us is supposed to create a new heart in us, change us into new creatures. So while we can be saved immediately after accepting Jesus into our lives, our new lives are supposed to be lives of transformation into Christ's likeness. Whether we're new christians, or old christians, or christians who have fallen but repented, we can stay on the path as long as we lean on Jesus.
The FULL Armor of God is required to endure to the end.
Posted : 2 Jul, 2015 07:13 PM
The bible condemns aggression and violence, but it applauds the defense of the oppressed and the innocent. I don't believe should we defend ourselves with violence against persecution for our faith, but the bible never says that we should just stand by and watch evil prevail against the helpless. Weapons are not condemned in the bible, and although mercy plays a large role in whatever we do, we are not called to be pacifists.
Are you aware that the early church did not consider the letters from the apostles to be included in scripture? The scriptures Jesus and the apostles talk about is strictly the old testament, and some of the things they say are in direct opposition to the old testament. The circumcision was never done away with in the old testament, does that make Paul a false teacher? Or was there continued revelation that was revealed to the apostles? In the bible, God is calling His people out of Babylon until the last days, that means we will be in confusion until the last days. He keeps sending reformers to lead us out of darkness. Maybe Ellen White was a reformer, maybe she wasn't, but there will be reformers coming. Our sons will see visions, and our daughters will prophesy. When they come and try to break us out of our dearly held traditions, don't ridicule them for going against what you THINK the bible says, study and see if there is any light in their words. I challenge you to read The Great Controversy or Desire of Ages and tell me what you think.
Again, Jesus hung out with wolves all the time. He even referred to Samaritans as dogs. He ate with pharisees, the group that ended up crucifying Him. We're supposed to flee from sin and lust, not flee from wolves.
Again, prophecy is not infallible in the bible. Paul says that prophecy will cease, knowledge with fail. The bible has many, many examples of prophets who lied, or usurped, or were cowards and doubters, or their prophecies were contingent on a reaction from people.
1 Kings 13
11Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. 12And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. 13And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the donkey. So they saddled him the donkey: and he rode thereon, 14And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 15Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 16And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: 17For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. 18He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. 19So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: 21And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, 22But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. 23And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the donkey, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the donkey stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. 25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
a. Authoritarianism: According to Jeremiah 5:31, false teachers �rule by their own authority.� Quoted is Earl Paulk who stated, �Man has no right to private interpretation of the Word of God apart from those whom God sets in the Church as spiritual teachers and elders.� In other words, the average person sitting on the pew has no right to interpret Scripture. Only those like himself whom God has set in the church. There�s a Greek word for such teaching and it is the word �hogwash.�
Adventists don't do this in the least. Everyone is encouraged to study their bible, and then we have discussion groups every week. And with your claim that Adventists have their own bible, that is simply not true. I've personally seen 2 Adventists with the "clear word" bible. It was written by an Adventist, but it is not even close to an endorsed translation of the bible.
b. What�s His Track Record: The Bible is clear about unfulfilled prophecies and many of the modern day false prophets prophesy events that don�t always come true. A prophesy of a true prophet of God always come to pass.
^Prophecy is not infallible in the bible. Paul says that prophecy will cease, knowledge with fail. The bible has many, many examples of prophets who lied, or usurped, or were cowards and doubters, or their prophecies were contingent on a reaction from people.
c. What Do They Prophesy: True prophets are often unpopular because they insist on telling people what they don�t want to hear, whereas the false prophet specializes in giving the people what they want.
Adventist beliefs are extremely unpopular, derided, and accused of heresy by most people.
d. They Are Man Centered: Isaiah 29:16 describes how the false prophet turns things upside down and around so as if to say they are the potter rather than the clay. False teachers always self and man-centered.
Also not usable as a description of Adventists. Again, if we wanted to be self-serving and popular, we would not hold beliefs that are so unpopular.
e. They Are Anti-Historical: Jeremiah 6:16 spoke of the how the false prophets mock the ancient paths.
If anything, Adventists are too historical. We're accused of being old testament, old covenant Christians.
f. They Are Greedy: Like Simon Magus in Acts 8, they are motivated by gain and greed.
Also not usable as a description of Adventists, we have internationally recognized aid and outreach organizations all over the world. Definitely not a rich denomination.
g. They Present Themselves As Mediators Between God & Man: They see themselves as having special influence with God and the link between God and man.
There is no mediator but Christ between God and man.
Oklahoma Supreme Court orders removal of Ten Commandments monument
Posted : 1 Jul, 2015 06:36 AM
Well, they are correct. If we want protection from government intrusion into religion, we must keep the state from endorsing any religion. That does not mean we can't be Christians in government, but it does mean that we don't want the government touching any part of religion. We can see that with the marriage debacle. The government should have never been involved in decided what marriage is or isn't, but unfortunately, it is now. So, the moral of the story is, be an advocate in government and live out your christian principles in your daily life and decisions. That's the best advertisement for God that we can have!
