All Discussion PAGE 338

I love this site , so much good food on here :) . Let's all keep feeding each other and stimulating each other and showing each other the love of God through Christ. Hope you all have a great day today , love from me .

Hi GIGI,

Well said, and I'm in total agreement with your explanation here on how we evolve to become more Christlike!

Whenever I think about why, and how, we should be following Jesus this verse becomes so meaningful to me.

Luke 6:46

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

GBU

Ronald Whittemore

Ronald this "simple one" is not so simple if we look deeper into it.

( Acts 12:3-4) v3 Tells us "he proceeded further to take Peter also (Then were the days of unleavened bread).

A look at ( Leviticus 23:5-6) v5 "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover". v6 "And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread".

The 14th day is passover, THEN the 15th day starts the feast of unleavened bread for 7 days.

( Acts 12:3) "Then were the days of unleavened bread" this would have been the day ((AFTER)) passover when the feast of unleavened bread begins.

( Acts 12:4) "And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people".

In this verse Easter is still to come, so it came AFTER the feast of unleavened bread at that time, he's keeping him till after Easter. Passover is the day BEFORE the feast of unleavened bread begins.

Do you see this is not a mistake in translation? There are no mistakes in the KJB!

( John 14:23) The word (words) is #3056; it means something said ((including the thought)), Divine Expression (i.e. Christ) doctrine. (If a man love me, ((he will keep my words)) and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him) If we keep His Words then the Holy Spirit will lead us into All truth.

(Including the thought) How did He do this? In ( 2 Pet 1:19-21)

( Rev 1:3) "and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things ((which are written therein))". IT IS WRITTEN!

( Rev 22:7) "blessed is he that keepeth the (sayings) of the prophecy ((of this book))". WRITTEN IN A BOOK!

The word (sayings) is the same meaning as the word (words) above. Which says (including the thought) of Christ.

The KJB is the True Word of God.

Thank you for your reply Ronald.

God Bless you.

INTRODUCTION TO 1 TIMOTHY (Part 6):

V. THEME OF 1 TIMOTHY:

Pastoral Instruction. Paul presents principles and instructions that should prevail in a local church.

VI. SECTION OUTLINE OF I TIMOTHY:

I TIMOTHY 1:1-2 - The Preface

I TIMOTHY 1:1-2A - Introduction

I TIMOTHY 1:2B - Salutation

I TIMOTHY 1:3 - 2:15 - The Principles of Proper Order in the Church:

I TIMOTHY 1:3-20 - Instruction Concerning Doctrine

I TIMOTHY 2:1-8 - Instruction Concerning Prayer

I TIMOTHY 2:9-10 - Instruction Concerning Dress

I TIMOTHY 2:11-15 - Instruction Concerning Function

I TIMOTHY 3:1 - 4:16 - The Principles of Proper Leadership in the Church

I TIMOTHY 3:1-7 - Instruction Concerning Overseers

I TIMOTHY 3:8-13 - Instruction Concerning Deacons

I TIMOTHY 3:14-16 - Instruction Concerning the Church

I TIMOTHY 4:1-5 - Instruction Concerning the Apostasy

I TIMOTHY 4:6-16 - Instruction Concerning Ministry

I TIMOTHY 5:1-6:19 - The Principles of Proper Treatment of People in the Church

I TIMOTHY 5:1-2 - Instruction Concerning Age Groups

I TIMOTHY 5:3-16 - Instruction Concerning Widows

I TIMOTHY 5:17-25 - Instruction Concerning Church Elders

I TIMOTHY 6:1-2 - Instruction Concerning Slaves

I TIMOTHY 6:3-10 - Instruction Concerning False Teachers

I TIMOTHY 6:11-16 - Instruction Concerning Worldly Pursuits

I TIMOTHY 6:17-19 - Instruction Concerning Wealthy Christians

I TIMOTHY 6:20-21A - Instruction Concerning Timothy's Function

I TIMOTHY 6:21B - The Postlude (The Benediction)

I will share the introduction to 2 Timothy soon. God Bless!!!

INTRODUCTION TO 1 TIMOTHY (Part 5):

Timothy ministered in at least 5 churches as Paul's representative:

1) Thessalonica ( I Thessalonians 3:2, 6)

2) Corinth ( I Corinthians 4:17; 16:10; II Corinthians 1:19)

3) Philippi ( Philippians 2:19-23)

4) Berea ( Acts 17:14)

5) Ephesus ( I Timothy 1:3)

So, here's somebody who spent 15-20 years with Paul all the time. He knew his teaching. He was able to live with him and watch his walk with the Lord, and he was sent out as Paul's representative to these different churches.

Timothy was with Paul during Paul's first imprisonment ( Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; Philemon 1:1) and went to Philippi after Paul's release ( Philippians 2:19-23). After Paul's release from his first imprisonment ( Acts 28:30), he revisited several cities leaving Timothy at Ephesus.

Paul went to Macedonia where he wrote Timothy this letter ( I Timothy 3:14-15). Timothy was around 35-years old when Paul wrote I Timothy. Timothy also suffered imprisonment ( Hebrews 13:23).

IV. DATE OF THE LETTER:

Written around 62 - 63 A.D. between Paul's first and second imprisonment. Paul wrote both 1 Timothy and Titus during this time. Paul was arrested again sometime after 64 A.D. and condemned to death. July, 64 A.D was when Rome was burned by Nero and blamed on the Christians. So, from 64 A.D. onward, Christianity was an illegal religion.

That's why there was persecution all the way from 64 A.D. to 313 A.D. Christians were persecuted and put to death because Christianity was an illegal religion until Constantine decided to bring Christianity from the underground and make it a legal religion.

Christianity joined Constantine's sun worship religion, which is why we have a lot of the traditions we have in the church today. It hasn't come from the bible. It hasn't come from the Christian church in the first 300 years. It came from Constantine's false religious system.

Paul wrote this letter during his second imprisonment; he also wrote II Timothy.

INTRODUCTION TO 1 TIMOTHY (Part 4):

Timothy was raised hearing Old Testament Scriptures ( II Timothy 3:14-15).

He joined Paul, along with Silas and Luke, during second missionary trip ( Acts 16:3).

Paul had Timothy circumcised so that he might have the freedom to preach the gospel in Jewish synagogues ( Acts 16:3; I Corinthians 9:20). He could not do that unless he was circumcised. And of course, Titus (another Gentile), he was not circumcised by Paul, and he even went to Jerusalem with Paul to attend the Jerusalem council.

And Paul refused to have him circumcised because he wasn't doing it out of the necessity of keeping the law, but as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:20, that whatever he does, he does for the purpose of reaching people for Christ.

So, when he had Timothy circumcised, it was because he knew that he would be in the Jewish synagogues and amongst the Jews, and they would not receive anything that Timothy had to say unless he was circumcised.

And by the way, a person is considered Jewish if your mother is Jewish and your father is not. You are considered Jewish as long as your mother is. If the father is Jewish, but the mother is not, you're not Jewish.

So, Timothy was accepted as a Jewish person, and he would be in the synagogues, but he was not circumcised, so Paul had him circumcised. Timothy was ordained by Paul and the Presbytery ( I Timothy 4:14; II Timothy 1:6). He accompanies Paul on his third missionary trip ( Acts 19:22; Acts 20:4; II Corinthians 1:1, 19).

INTRODUCTION TO 1 TIMOTHY (Part 3):

1 Timothy and Titus were written between Paul's first and second imprisonment. And 2 Timothy was Paul's last letter that he wrote, some believe hours before he was executed outside of Rome. Tradition says that he was beheaded.

But then you have Philemon which goes with Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. The reason why Philemon is there on the end is because the final four letters are the only four letters written to individuals. And that's how they canonized scripture. They put the individual letters at the end and put the church letters at the front.



So that's why Philemon is on the end, but it really was part of the prison epistles, or prison letters.

I. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Written by Paul. Paul's Inscription is on all thirteen of his letters.

II. TO WHOM IT WAS WRITTEN:

To Timothy who was pastoring in Ephesus

III. THE HISTORY OF TIMOTHY:

His name is mentioned 24 times in the New Testament. Timothy was from Lystra and saved during Paul's first missionary journey ( Acts 14:19-20; 16:1-2). His mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, were godly Jewish women. In fact, Timothy was taught the Old Testament scriptures since he was a little boy. So, he has a scriptural background.

Timothy was about 15 years old when he first met Paul. And when Paul writes his letter to Timothy, he's approximately 35. So, he has spent approximately 20 years with Paul in ministry learning.

Even though Timothy's mother and grandmother were godly Jewish women, his father was a pagan Greek ( Acts 16:1; II Timothy 1:5).

INTRODUCTION TO 1 TIMOTHY (Part 2):

God has laid it out very simply, and we can see that as we go through. The problem is not what God's word says verses what people believe it says. The problem is that we believe by doctrine, but not by function, that Jesus Christ is the head of His church. He's in charge. And if He says this is the way I want my church to be, then that's the way it is. It has nothing to do with what I believe or don't believe, or what I care for.

It's really responding to Christ as head of the church and knowing that this is His letter saying here's how I want the church to be when it officially gathers together for an assembly, to represent Christ, to worship Christ, and to learn of Him. So, it is very important to understand that perspective. You will probably find at least one thing in 1 Timothy that's going to offend you, maybe even make you angry.

Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16, that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for:

DOCTRINE: The book of Romans is the doctrine of the Christian faith.

FOR REPROOF: That is conviction, and that's 1st and 2nd Corinthians.

FOR CORRECTION: That's the book of Galatians.

FOR INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS: That's Ephesians through Philemon. Of course, Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, and those are called prison epistles, or prison letters because they were written by Paul in his first imprisonment in Rome, along with Philemon.

If Philemon is part of this group, what's it doing on the end? 1st and 2nd Thessalonians were written to the Christians in Thessalonica. 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus, these are called pastoral epistles, or pastoral letters.

INTRODUCTION TO 1 TIMOTHY (Part 1):

1 Timothy is laid out like a handbook. In every section of 1 Timothy there's instruction. There are commands all the way through this letter. There are three major sections in 1 Timothy.



First of all, the principles of proper order in the church concerning doctrine, concerning prayer, and concerning dress, and concerning function.

Secondly, the principles of proper leadership in the church, instructions concerning overseers in the church, concerning deacons, concerning the church in general, concerning the apostasy, which is about to come, that is, in our day, and instruction concerning ministry in general.

And then the final section, the principles of proper treatment of people in the church. And this has to do with our response to the various age groups, instruction concerning age groups (elderly people, and younger people), what kind of relationships we are to have with one another.

Also, concerning widows, and there are instructions on how the church should be treating and approaching, and handling the situation with widows.

Church elders, slaves, false teachers, worldly pursuits, wealthy Christians in the church, how they are to be taught, there are some instructions for them. And for Timothy's function as pastor of the church.

And then it concludes with a half a verse at the end of 1 Timothy Chapter 6 with a postlude, and he provides his benediction.

So, in every section, it's laid out in commands. And you can see each one of these areas, and each one of these people. It is arranged in such an order that no matter what situation comes up in church, the functioning together as a church, you just turn to the page under the category of that particular issue and problem.

Thank you Bro Dan, I feel the same. Thank you for your reply. It may be tomorrow or Tuesday when I can more thoughtfully meditate some more on your thoughts and my own on this subject. Stay the course!

Good evening all.

Let's make this clear, A Christian should do ALL he can to live a sinless life.

The question is, Can he do it?

John 1:29.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, WHICH TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD.

This is the penalty of sin!

Christ was the perfect sinless offering, God wouldn't take no less than the perfect sacrifice.

That's the only sacrifice that could be offered!

Who offered this perfect Lamb? God. John 3:16.

Would Jesus be the Lamb of God if he fell short and only committed one sin but did his best? No! It had to be perfect from the time he was born until his death on the cross.

Jesus didn't inherit a sin nature as a son from Adam as we.

Jesus was begotten of the Father!

This was a display of love from God in offering up his own son.

We can't offer up a sinless life in these sinful bodies.

Yes, we can do our best and have a good report in what we do in the body,

But we can never get from under the cover of the blood of Christ.

You could never make atonement for yourself and come to the Lord "NAKED"!

This is shown in Exodus 19:11-25.

No matter how well you do or how spiritual you are when you die you will not be sown incorruptible.

However, you will be SOWN IN CORRUPTION; SOWN IN DISHONOUR; And SOWN IN WEAKNESS;

When you are raised, you will be RAISED IN INCORRUPTION, RAISED IN GLORY, AND RAISED IN POWER:

Then you will cast off this body of sin and Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15:42-43.

Question;

Is doing your best enough for salvation?

If you do your best all your life "as most of us do" However, commit one sin, are we saved?

If so, Why?

God bless.

The Lord willing we can converse more! Hope your rest this eve is nice!

God Bless our faithfulness and care for one another.

Hi Carleton,

I am the one that appreciates the opportunity for this conversation. I read your posts, I have pulled those you speak of up and copied them, and I will reread and study them deeper in the context of this conversation. It's late here I will get back to you soon.

Your love for people shines in your words.

God bless,

RLW

Hi Jimbob,

I agree with you the KJV is the best translation into English, but from one language to another at best, there will be errors. We must rely on the Holy Spirit to show us the meaning of what we read and study.

A simple one, it is like in Acts 12:4 James was killed, and Peter was put in prison and was probably going to be killed after Passover, but they used the word Easter for the Greek word Passover, which means Passover.

In context, it is clear it should be Passover, even if they were thinking the Romans and Greeks probably celebrated Easter they would not end at the same time. This is a wrong translation, but it is clear the meaning whether it says Easter or Passover.

God has preserved His word for us today and the Holy Spirit is sent to help us understand it as it is the exact words God inspired the writer to write.

God bless,

RLW

Thank you Ronald for your kindness. A few more of my thoughts. I can believe that the persons of God have an order. God made in Jesus it seems all visible creation and for His own purpose. Jesus to please the Father's Will as the Son was Faithful in this endeavor even to enduring the Cross as the Second Adam. God's Spirit is this communication of Will. One great blessing for the regenerated believer is the abiding of this Spirit of God in our hearts and lives. This blessing does not make us by any means equal to God or God but we can know the Father because we were found by faith in the rest from our sins provided by the Son in the flesh. If we deny the person of God by not attributing Him as God in the flesh then we are in someways denying He came in the flesh. Likewise if we deny the abiding Comforter of our rest as a person of God then we do not please the Son which will not please the Father.

As a side note. The scriptures regarding the Son that I copied down yesterday and the day before and posted are on this subject and I believe there is an inspired order to them.

We can be faithful in Him.

I appreciate the opportunity for this conversation.

Concluding thoughts on the mundane

I work currently in a high school kitchen (location anonymous). My current circumstances made a part time job the best choice.

The job is something like work I did in restaurants many years back; notwithstanding a challenge for speed; rules and now the latest challenge on a cash register; where a job failed for me 20 years ago atttempting such work. I am thankful to have decent benefits and having also recieved bonuses and a significant pay raise this coming fall. Thankfully I have made incremental improvement on my evaluation; it will be seen if the full load of students on the register is something that doesn't mess me up bigtime in a few weeks when I start up again. Other than one other individual who I had a few good talks about the Lord with while washing dishes; there is simply too much to do and with loud music and other noise it is hard to have quality conversations on such matters. That makes the last post significant for me personally; seeing God at work. My last job in Pittsburgh gave me many opportunities with one employee an Accountant for many deep conversations about the Lord which I have missed lately. Of course there is the whole political agenda where I work as with many other places; being in the kitchen I am somewhat removed from those influences at least in order to keep my job; thankfully no one seems to get into politics.

Unlike those who say they should dominate the world as a cultural mandate; I propose that it is the "little people"; those with labor and other inauspicious jobs who are able to shine the brightest by working heartily unto the Lord; going the extra mile and whose presence makes the light of God; the fear of the Lord and the love of Christ be made apparent to those around them; whether or not they get it. Frankly NOT being cussed at on a regular basis made this position much superior to my earlier file clerk job in a law firm.

I praise God to have any work in this time.

Ordinary life and extraordinary circumstances

When a couple from my church went somewhere 60 miles from home and just happened to talk to my boss and another worker (who they didn't know and never met) then I knew it was a "God thing". It just so happens that I had a dream about a place where this couple went last year but I didn't know until a few months ago that was where my boss works in the summer. If I hadn't mentioned her by name before they went they may not have put two and two together; apparently last year they didn't meet up (since she works in a kitchen). Now it turns out she may come to one of our church events; I am hopeful for another young guy I work with as well who works with my boss; at least in talking more about God as he claims to believe but doesn't seem to show evidence of it. As for my boss; again I will be vague here; but some personal issues may have made her more amenable to hearing about the Gospel.

As you can see I'm being vague about specifics. I felt led to share to show how God is doing something specific in my life (although the dream itself for some vague reason only involved a parking garage somewhere outside this facility). As for myself I may be able to work at this place in a summer in the future; as for now it is too far from home and I need to be living here to take care of elderly parents.

There are other cases where I have heard friends of mine describe people they have met in other cities from where they first witnessed to particular individuals. My basic point here is that we need to persevere even if we have a mundane or difficult job and trust God will open doors when He wills. We shouldn't be hasty on moving on until God makes it clear; whether it is work or personal relationships. I also have the privilege of starting Bible Study number two; my first one that I started was only 6 months ago or less. The first case was after an inquiry of a social worker at church; the second a walk in on my end

Hi Carleton,

Thank you, brother, I know I differ in this fervently held belief from most, and not believing it is offensive to many. I just would like to share just a little of my understanding of where I am on this, I know many will disagree.

We cannot deny the divinity of Christ, He came forth from the Father. Do I believe Jesus was created? NO. Do I believe the Son of God began at Bethlehem, at His birth? NO. If we look at Micah 5:2 at the prophecy of His birth Micah says He will come forth, the Hebrew word yatsa means to go or come out.

"Whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting." The Hebrew word for everlasting is olam means long duration, antiquity, futurity, and days of eternity.

Jesus came forth and was the Son of God before creation as we see He is the beginning of creation all came through Him and for Him, Rev. 3:14 Colossians 1:16. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God who came forth from the Father, (came out of) not created. Does Jesus confirm this, John, 7:29 John 8:42 John 16:27 John 17:8?

My understanding is Jesus is the literal Son of God, truly begotten of the Father. Jesus came out from God, His true Son, of the same matter, and divinity as the Father with divine inheritance, John 5:26 John 6:57 Heb. 1:4, not a title as a part of God. God truly gave His true only begotten Son John 3:16.

As the Gospel of Jesus tells us, all who believeth that Jesus is truly the only begotten Son of God. My understanding is if I do not believe Jesus is truly the Son of God I deny Him. That brings in 1 John 2:22 if I say Jesus is God, I deny that there is a Father and a Son.

Just a little and thank you again for your caring reply, you do not have to reply I just wanted to tell just a little.

God bless,

RLW

Ronald Whittemore

Think about this, if you have 2 books and one of them is the original, the other is only a copy that changed the words to make it easier to read. Which book would you trust for complete Truth?

In the Old Testament we are told in ( Ps 12:6-7) v6 "The words of the LORD are pure words" Do you believe the Words of the LORD are pure Words? I believe that is 100% Truth!

I believe EVERY WORD of God is pure! ( Prov 30:5-6) v6 "Add thou not unto his words" All modern versions add to His Words!

v7 "Thou shalt (keep them), O LORD, thou shalt (preserve) them from this generation for ever".

I don't understand how anybody could believe that God would preserve His Words in the Manuscripts but not preserve His Words for the people in the last generation, for us today and for ever? How could that help us today?

That would mean God didn't care if we have ((His Truth)) written down in a book to study in the Lastdays, or if we didn't have ( 2 Tim 2:15) How do we rightly divide the word of truth if we don't have the word of truth today? If He didn't preserve His Words for this generation then all we have to study right now is the words of men, which would NOT be the word of truth. that would mean these verses are a lie.

These verses and all of the KJB verses are 100% Truth!

If we do not have the pure Words of the LORD today then how do you know what is truth and what is not? You would not know.

The Holy Spirit will not lead us into all truth if we are studying a book, or a copy that was written by men and is not the truth, not the Words of the LORD. There is only one truth!

We must study the word of truth, to be led into the truth! We should all speak the same thing ( 1 Cor 1:10) and be perfectly joined together in the same mind.

Anybody who thinks the KJB is just another translation written by men please show how you come up with that from the word of God. I will put the Word of God over any interpretation of any man, any day!

God's Word is Truth!

Blessings to you.

Hi Carleton,

Always nice to hear from you, and thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I see it as: It is His way, not our way. Regarding the kingdom, hopefully it should be residing in us as in Luke 17:21 but we must be aware of 1 John 3:28 and Matt 6:24 as well as trying to save our lives, and surely we need to Matt 16:24 and must surely die to this life/world Matt 16:25.

And finally, Matthew 16:26

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

GBU

Brother CJF asked if

Is the Godhead one God or 3 persons

See,in my view,what matters and prevails is the Word of our GOD. First of all, the Word is GOD-Jo.1:1-,self-executing/self-executable, great mystery, well, it's the Power.As we all know, the Word was made flesh,i.e. materialized in human form exactly according the EXPRESS IMAGE(is written in the Bible,in the book of the Lord)of the Person of GOD-Heb.1:3;Phil.2:6-11 combined with Col.1:15-19,among other references,and the NAME that the Person of GOD chose for He Himself was JESUS/YESHUA Mat 1:20-21

By the way,JESUS has Genealogia,He is the stone which was set at nought of you builders(the Jews),which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other NAME UNDER HEAVEN given among MEN, whereby we must be saved- Acts 4:11-12-EXCEPT JESUS/YESHUA.(NOTE:Adonai,Jehovah,Yahweh,HaShem,Yehovah,Elohim,Yahusha, YEHshia,YEHvah has nothing to do with salvation or for salvation),neither for to bow before this colection of"God pseudonyme"

Concerning the person of the Holy Spirit,who is like our Lord JESUS- Revelation 1:12-13, in fact he is unknown as a person, mainly because he has no Genealogy as JESUS has, without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days,nor end of life;but made like unto the Son of God;abides a priest continually,something after the similitude of Melchisedec

It's a profound mystery-1Cor.2:9-11&7

9 But as it is written,Eye hath not seen,nor ear heard,neither have entered into the heart of man,the things which GOD has prepared for them that love him

10 But GOD hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:for the Spirit searches all things,yea, the deep things of GOD

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man,save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of GOD knows no man,but the Spirit of GOD

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory

Thank you Jema for your reply

Our Lord JESUS said: John 17:22-23

22 The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in One; and that THE WORLD MAY KNOW that thou hast sent me, and hast loved THEM, as thou hast loved me.

This union is a very difficult work to accomplish, but for our GOD nothing is impossible

Hi Jema,

Thanks for your reply.

It's wonderful to hear you are taking loving care of your parents, that takes a lot of effort on your part. You will receive many blessings from God, as He asks us to specifically do this Exodus 20:1 "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."

I understand your trials/tribulations and caring for your family members. You have my respect, as I know first hand how trying this is, my wife and I cared for her parents until they passed. One had Alzheimer's, the other overall poor health. I truly believe that lots of prayer will help to provide you with the continued support for dealing with this life issue.

It sounds to me that you are continuing to pursue the goal of overcoming sin in your life which is what God wants us to do. Yes, I agree, This is what Paul was working on and struggling with, and if it wasn't "important " he would not have been focused so much on it! One of the points I was making in my original post on this topic was: Many Christian's continue to tell themselves and others that they can never stop sinning. I feel this is a defeatist attitude! We stop ourselves before we can even get started. Nothing that is worthwhile accomplishing in life can be mastered or completed successfully - if we continually tell ourselves - we can't.

In an effort to understand how one group can continue to live sinful worldly lives, while ignoring some or all of God's Commandments and scripture, while telling themselves and others that they can never stop sinning, and believe still - they will receive salvation.

Personally, I wish there were more Christian's encouraging each other to stop sinning, and how to get there constructively, rather than resigning to living a sinful and worldly life that does not agree with the scripture.

GBU

24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36:24-28

When we think that we do anything to contribute to our salvation we fool our self's, it is the Lord who brings and cleans us, it is the lord who separates us from our idols. It he God who gives us the new hearts, and removes our stoney heart. He puts his spirit in us, which now causes us to walk in his commands. He is the cause and our obedience is the effect. Do not stop striving against sin, but remember Christ, who paid it all. While we wait for the Lords return , we trust him and grow in submission. Purposefully, to the Glory of our Saviour Jesus Christ, our God.

Father we Praise you this day for all that you say you will do for those in Christ. Those who belong to you as children. Those who submit to your will as servants of righteousness. Since you are the one who begins the work, oh Lord help us trust you to finish it and not in our self's So that all will know all glory belongs to you.

Amen

Hello Chris

I have read your comment but I still have some things that prevent me from believing that the Israelites were forgiven during the OT era.

My thoughts are: We know that sin separates us from God. Father God even took His eyes away from His crucified Son as He was laying on the cross full with mankind's sins. God can not live with sin, with sinful people. So we go back to the OT. Why did God send the "saints" (as considered in the OT) of the OT into Hades and not in Heaven to live together with Him if they were sinless, forgiven? You said He didn't send them together with that rich man to be in torment. Yes but He couldn't do that to people who strived to live according to His commandements (but still failed/sinned sometimes). That would be unjust. Those people had never heard of Jesus' Blood (which would occur centuaries later) and they had no escape exit from their sins. But on the other hand God couldn't move them to Heaven with Him since they had sins. So God in His wisdom found a way out. He created a place of comfort in Hades, a place of temporary residence for the rightous people of the OT where they waitng for the right time to come, the time of Jesus' Resurrection when they were carried by Jesus into Heaven since their sins were now covered by His Blood. I think this was God's plan. So why did God ordered those sacrifices and things in the OT? They pointed to Jesus' sacrifice, a shadow of things to come. So were they of no real use? Since they couldn't erase sins, what was their actual use apart from being symbolic of Jesus' sacrifice? It was not the sacrifices that sent people to Abraham's bosom, but obedience to His commandements. This is the way I understand it, Chris.

Prophecy: How to remain balanced scripturally.

No man knows the day or hour. I will let the reader find the reference; but most believers are familiar with that verse. Let us focus on what we do know. The full wrath of God is being held back; restrained until the Lord removes the restrainer. ( 2 Thess. 2:7). Everything as we know it is being stacked up like dominoes; economic collapse; war; societal upheaval; natural disasters; plagues; etc. With those who struggle today we need to trust God as Psalm 56:8 states where a book actually is said to record every tear in a bottle (it says "your bottle" to be precise). Part of faithfulness is appreciating the miracle that any of us can still have any sort of life today; food and clothing with 1/5 of the earth going hungry can't be taken lightly. The issues are overwhelming; truly we have more than enough to spend all of our spare time on our knees in prayer. The fact that Roe vs Wade was overturned; and such movies as the Sound of Freedom can come out show at least a temporary counterculture as it were against the onslaught of today's moral tidal wave of doom.

Overall; with the plans for one world domination with organizations we are all too familiar with there is no need to put specifics here. God will determine how soon or yet distant Satan's fruition will be; as the first seal CANNOT open until CHRIST HIMSELF opens it and that appears from my viewpoint to be after the Rapture of the true church. I don't agree with Post Mil ideas but will agree with one tenet that they claim that many Christians have shrugged their shoulders giving the Devil the upperhand rather than continuing to trust the Lord is still able to work through the remnant church at least to push back. We can't go the other extreme either and say that Christ can't come back until the church is ready; if that is the case we may as well give up because scripture says many fall away in the last days. Let us follow Matt. 10:16!!!

Dear Ronald, Jesus is the way, the life and the truth. His divinity and his coming in the flesh inThe likeness of man is the Gospel that matters. One side of the message alone is not enough to preach salvation. I can believe that some can find salvation with part of the message though.

To CJF, Derek, and all,

First, I ask your forgiveness, and say the KJV is one of the most trustworthy English translations, but they are not perfect. When we study pray, and the Holy Spirit will give us understanding, we can trust the Holy Spirit will lead and teach us because the Spirit is truth, 1 John 5:6 do not doubt that. Believe the Scripture by being led by the Holy Spirit, not the traditions of man.

(Milk, then meat) it is a lifelong walk, and some answers will not be known but the one answer that matters is Jesus is the way.

John's gospel, his letters, and Revelation have one thing in common, to show and give evidence that Jesus is the Christ/Messiah, the only begotten Son of God who the Father sent, and in Him is life, our salvation, eternal life. Acts 4:11-12 The Father sent the Son John 4:34 John 5:30 John 6:29 Jesus came down from heaven to do the will of the Father John 6:38.

Jesus came out from God John 16:27 Jesus is the beginning of creation Rev. 3:14 Before Mary could touch Him, He said I ascend unto my Father, and to my God John 20:17 John's writings are full of who Jesus was, is, and will be.

What I posted was not a lie, it is a fact, maybe I should not have posted it on an open forum like this. I wanted to inspire the study, searching for the truth, and not causing doubt. It touches on a subject that many consider non-discussable, the Trinity doctrine.

This is from my heart; this doctrine has been placed equal to the gospel of Jesus. In many Churches, you are not saved and are not a Christian if you do not believe and confess this doctrine. Does the Church have the authority to say this?

Is there any Scripture that says our salvation is dependent on this doctrine that was 400 years after the Scriptures we have? Was it even discussed by Peter, John, Paul, or in any of the letters we have? I'll leave it there.

I am sorry if I have offended you.

Love you all and God bless,

RLW

Good morning Bro Dan,

I agree that obedience to God by following His commandments is what we are to do as believers and it does take work and will to do so. But this effort and will is not all of our own strength. We cooperate and submit ourselves to the work and power of the Holy Spirit in us. This is the only way that we are made holy and are made to be Christlike. The Spirit gives us the strength and power to say no to what is wrong and more so to say yes to what is right and good. I do not denigrate the importance of obedience to the commands of our Lord. I rejoice in them and it is a blessing for me to do what Jesus told us to do. What is good and right from the heart with gratitude will always make us more like Jesus and make us fit for the eternal life that we enter after this mortal life is over.

Paul was responding to things that had been said by others to subvert the truth and cause anxiety concerning the return of Jesus. People were saying the return was imminent and would happen even right then. Thus, Satan was seeking to cause undue and inordinate anxiety among the new converts to where they might be preoccupied with their own souls so much that they would not reach out to others with the message of salvation. Today, many are still taken with this preocccupation with the "any moment" return of Jesus, which Paul said was not part of his message, but rather that that Day would not come until there was "a falling away first (people leaving the faith) and the man of sin is revealed." Therefore, as believers we can see the signs of the end play out and observe the gradual progression toward a day of firm expectation of the then imminent return of Jesus after many signs written in the Bible well ahead of time have happened. Thus "you are not in darkness that that Day should ovetake you as a thief." should be the quiet and faithful testimonial of every Christian believer after they shall have learned the word of God on this subject.