All Discussion PAGE 382

Page 2. GiGi.

Though open to opinion, the best I've read is: "The difference may be explained from the fact that the real Jew already has a germinating faith from the completion of which, justification arises as fruit from a tree. The Jews are justified out of (Gk word 'ek' used for 'out of') the faith which their father Abraham had, and which they are supposed to have & demonstrate. However, the Gentiles must enter that door (of faith granted by the Spirit) and pass through it (Gk. dia) in order to be justified." (words in brackets are mine).

The Faith is the same for both, but the Faith of those pre-Cross were regarded by God that made their justification possible by Christ's Sacrifice. Whereas, Gentiles had no such heritage or even a Law to draw them to God, but needed the same faith (given by the Spirit now) to believe & accept this strange God & His Sacrifice of Love. The righteous of Israel already had faith, knew God & awaited that Sacrifice that would seal their justification. If you believe that the faith that Israel expressed was also given them by the Holy Spirit, then we have no proof of that; or that their ordinary faith expressed under the Old Covenant, including their obedience & their standing as God's Elect was accepted by God; again a lack of proof to support this, so we just have to leave that point for further research. But ultimately both secured their salvation & received full justification at the Cross & nowhere else. Thanks for your input.

Page 1.

I guess GiGi, we would remain in disagreement here. I can only understand the faith that saves as applying to those looking back to the Cross, understanding its message, being convicted, repenting, receiving Christ by His Spirit, & being born again. This is something (all of it) that the OT folk could never do. But it is true, the Word is silent about the way the faith of those before Christ worked. You believe that their faith was also a gift from God, as ours is for salvation. Again, this understanding is left open as to how we understand the meaning of faith & its application (both in everyday life & in salvation). So, I don't make a doctrine out of this, but just sharing how I read & understand the Word (maybe it is as you suggest, through my Dispensational eyes). Yet, I don't believe in "two ways of salvation", only one, in & through Christ's Blood. But what I do see is that the Cross which has the same implications on both, the Jew before Christ & the Jew & Gentile after Christ, has to be approached with 'faith'.

So if we look at Romans 3:28-30: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision BY faith, and uncircumcision THROUGH faith".

'Faith' is what saves (i.e. necessary for justification) for both Jew & Gentile - the deeds of the Law having no part in it. So this same God (of Jew & Gentile), justifies the one (Jew) BY Faith & the other (Gentile) THROUGH Faith. These words are generally disregarded by students of the Word as insignificant (whether BY faith or THROUGH faith) as they are too similar to warrant argument, yet Paul was inspired to pen them in this manner. See Page 2.

To S Spencer - I beg to disagree with what you stated.

Firstly, the 8 verses in John 15:1-8 certainly refer to Christians being grafted into Jesus so as to produce the required "fruit" - but your understanding of 'the fruit' associating with the "fruit of the Spirit" as you stated in Galatians 5:22-23 is not correct. In other words, does God the Father seek "...love, joy, peace..." back to Himself from Christians?

As an example, if I meet a Christian man who is abrupt, discourteous, angry and generally offensive, I know that he does NOT have the Holy Spirit's presence within him. On the other hand, if I meet another man who exhibits, "...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" and especially is a LOVER OF BIBLE TRUTHS - then I know that such a man has the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit within him.

In John 15:2 and especially verse 6, Jesus is very clear that if Christians FAIL to produce unto God the required quantities of "spiritual fruit" expected, God the Father will remove them permanently from Christ. When that happens, John 15:6 says they become "withered" (spiritually) prior to men (or angels - Matthew 13:40-42) later gathering them prior to burning in the Lake of Fire.

Therefore, the "spiritual fruit" that God the Father requires to be seen brought unto Him from each Christian during their lifetime on the Earth represents the souls of men, women and children "lost" in Satan's kingdom and brought into God's kingdom ( Luke 15:7) through the preaching of the Gospel.

In the parable of the Sower and the Seed, Jesus described the quantities of "souls saved" through the preaching of the Gospel as being 100, 60 or 30 souls (my understanding). If Christians fail to produce less than 30 lost souls into God's kingdom throughout their lifetime on the Earth, it is questionable whether they have Salvation, given the words of Christ in John 15:2, 6.

Any comments you might have would be appreciated.

Chris, Sorry that scripture should read John 5:14 & John 8:11

Page 2. Bro. Dan.

Maybe some actual recent personal examples are reluctantly called for: I'm out shopping & someone barges past me in a hurry, knocking me to the side; or, the next day, the solar system technician fails to keep to his appointment that I've been waiting all day for; then the third day, a person walking her dog fails to control it & the dog manages to make contact on my leg with its teeth. Three different days, three different sins as I failed to take adequate control of my internal responses: not having a total peace, calmness & understanding in those situations if Christ by His Spirit was truly abiding in me. I'm sorry to write in such a manner, but I'm earnestly trying to find out if no-one else finds these 'daily' sins popping up in their lives or is it just me, or maybe, others don't regard such matters as sins. If 1 John 3:6 is as you read it, I am lost & without hope. I'm earnestly working on my internal feelings in such situations as I gave, but till then, sin has its control over me, & should I die shortly, I'm doomed. So then, what is sin? If abiding by the Decalogue determines it, then I think I'm a sinless specimen, but if under the working of the Spirit, I fall short & always will while sin appeals to the flesh.

Maybe "we can get to a state of sinlessness" as you say, but if we don't in our lifetime, then we not only never had Christ abiding in us, but we actually belong to the devil, simply because we have committed even that one sin, never finding freedom from it or any other sin. That would be an awful state to live in, if those verses are read & interpreted as given. GBU.

Page 1.

I do agree Bro. Dan of the great work & expertise applied to the KJV, to make it the best we can have in our hands. Yet, without laboring this point of how the translators understood the Hebrew, Aramaic, & Greek languages & then used English words to reflect their understanding, the fact is that the Truth lies in those languages & not wholly in translation work. There are always going to be differences in how words are used & even understood in past centuries, and so it is with 1 John 3:6. We read it as given as we are taught to read; so we would correctly say, that since "sinneth not" means 'does no sin', therefore, those who claim to abide in Christ, simply do not sin. And I've already shared what I understand is the Greek rendering of that verse.

But assuming that the verse is to be understood as given: that the one abiding in Christ does not sin (not even one); if he does sin, it proves he doesn't know Christ at all. Sorry, I have transliterated the verse to emphasize your point. Based on this, I'm not at all referring to one living a life of sin, or even slipping up & momentarily sin overtaking him; I'm referring to even one sin that proves that we really don't know Him & are hypocrites. I read your last sentence, "are we really pursuing God, or are we performing mouth service, while pursuing worldly things and Sin". This sounds like you're referring to a life that's in pursuit of & enjoying things sin-related. I don't speak of such a practise, but of just one sin that prevents us from abiding in Christ & He in us. Onto Page 2.

John 14:15.

AN ABSOLUTE TRUTH.

"IF YOU "LOVE" ME KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS".

Let's put some emphasis on Love for a chance.

What manner of Love is this?

Is it not agape?

Can you generate this height of Love on your own?

Is it not a fruit of the Spirit given once one IS saved?

SO WHAT IS THIS SAYING?

To get the context you have to pick it up the from John 13 on through John 14:23.

John 13:34-35.

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

BY THIS SHALL ALL MEN KNOW THAT YE ARE MY DISCIPLES, if ye have love one to another.

Jesus taught that those who follow Him will show love for the brothern ( John 13:12-15, 34).

That is the primary sign of faith to the outside world ( John 13:35). Here, he indicates that obedience to His command is the primary sign of our love for Him.

A person cannot claim to know Christ and hate other Christians

1 John 4:20.

Proceeding from John 14:15 on thru John 14:16-23 Jesus is telling them he was going and sending them the Holyspirit that will guide them.

Throughout this section, a person's love for Christ, their obedience to His teachings, and the indwelling of the Spirit are intertwined

All the law hangs on this.

Matthew 23:37-40.

AND THE MINISTRATION OF THE LAW COULDN'T PRODUCE THIS.

2 Corinthians 3:8-11 concedes that regeneration by the gift of the Holyspirit in those who believe in Christ exceeds the ministration of the law.

"How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?

For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of THE GLORY THAT EXCELLETH.

FOR IF THAT WHICH IS DONE AWAY WAS GLORIOUS, MUCH MORE THAT WHICH REMAINETH IS GLORIOUS.

It's the fruit that is on exhibit.

That's what James is also saying in his letter.

Also see

Titus 3:4-8.

God bless.

I need a prayer for a good job to support myself and get my own place and my life back on track. I am back at my daughter's place since Hurricane Ian and I am not sure what god want's me to do. Thank you

The only thing that matters is what the Bible says.

You might be misleading people by de-emphasizing some verses while focusing narrowly on other verses.

"If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15 KJV

Why would Jesus say this if people automatically obeyed? Jesus didn't say if you love me you will automatically keep my commandments. He didn't say if you responded to an altar call once when you were 12 you will automatically love me and automatically keep my commandments. Over and over He challenged is followers (Christians) to mature and grow. It's a choice. It takes effort. Many followers in the Bible messed up on occasion and chose sin instead of obedience and had consequences. Those who claim God is going to serve you and that you don't have to put in any effort whatsoever are misleading others with a falsehood. The Bible says we are to become slaves to righteousness. Slaves. Not everyone is willing to live the life as a Christian. Many will cry Lord, Lord in the end assuming sitting on the couch was enough to get in the gate. Loving and obeying does not automatically mean someone is trying to earn salvation, we hear this straw man argument all the time. But genuinely following Jesus and transforming takes intentional effort. Reading the Bible reveals many examples of this.

Have a nice day.

Hi Giannis,

Thanks for your response regarding the your comparison of the scripture 1 John 1:8-9 in contrast to 1 John 3:6 and 1 John 3:9

I see no contradiction in 1 John 1:8-9 as you state. Why? John is talking to unbelievers/unsaved. Please read from the beginning 1 John 1:1-10 in the entirety. John is talking to unsaved unbelievers currently walking in darkness. He is inviting them to join him and other Christians to walk with God. A key verse:

1 John 1:3

"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."

John states: That which we (Believers) have seen and heard declare we unto you (unbelievers) That ye (unbelievers) also may have fellowship with us (believers) and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

In 1 John he is telling those unbelievers walking in darkness 1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." John was an unbeliever prior to being saved so he is telling them that we were all sinners and if we don't admit it - then the truth is not in us.

Once we accept Christ and we are saved we are supposed to walking with God and striving to follow Christ and this includes overcoming sin. Hence, the scripture 1 John 3:6 and 1 John 3:9 targeted at those who are Christians who are to be following God's commands. We can't follow God and the devil simultaneously, and this is what God is telling us. It's one or the other!

GBU

Hello Chris,

We may be mincing words here, but I do not agree with your statement that the Old Testament believers did not have saving faith or faith as a gift of God. I don't believe any person can be saved without this gift of faith through grace.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Joseph, David, Elijah, Isaiah, and the other prophets were elected for salvation so they would have been given the gifts we receive from God by merit of Christ's sacrifice. Just as it extends ahead of His work to us, it extends back in time to these saints.

The Bible no where says that they did not have a gift of faith by grace, so we cannot really make a doctrine by something that was not revealed in the Scriptures. If the Scriptures say that it is by grace one is saved through faith, then this truth is for all time, since no Scriptures state any other way to be saved. To state that there is a different method of salvation for the Old Testament saints than for New Testament saints is to say that the gospel promise was not for them, just for us.

This two ways of salvation doctrine is classic dispensational teaching going back to Darby. Today, many dispensationalists do not accept this belief.

If God can apply the merits of Christ's sacrifice to those who live long or centuries after the sacrifice was made, then He can apply those merits back in time to those who He elected to salvation. He is not bound by time as we are. We do not know all that God said to these Old Testament saints in their private conversations. Not everything was recorded, but some of this was communicated to children, grandchildren as the patriarchs aged. So, I do think that these saints knew more about the Messiah than is recorded in Scripture. Job knew that the Messiah would be resurrected and that he would be resurrected on the last day and behold His Redeemer in life after death. Abraham knew that God could raise the dead. He most likely knew the Messiah would be raised from the dead.

Page 2. David0921.

I don't believe that the OT folk found or experienced this type of faith (they didn't need to - Christ had not come, nor did they have the Holy Spirit indwelling); but expressed an ordinary faith, like we would towards others deserving of it. But when their salvation was finally sealed (i.e. after Christ's dying for all), they, now dead for a long while (yet alive in spirit), had their faith that counted towards righteousness (righteous standing before God), realized in the eternal securing of their souls through Christ's Blood. They were still the beloved of God even before Christ's coming, but it took Christ's Blood to give them the Seal of God's Acceptance, not based on their works, but their unflinching faith & hope of the future, towards Him.

I know you would disagree with some or all of this, but I don't ever see that God gave those OT folk any gift of Faith, even looking ahead to Christ, but that they came before God in their faith, with their works & were found in right standing before God - something that couldn't be applied to those of us post-Cross, where ONLY God's Gifts of Grace & Faith (or, Christ's Faith as you have written), can make His Salvation effective in our hearts.

All the scripture verses on murmuring and complaining.

Page 1.

Thanks David0921; I think that this matter of 'believing on God' or even 'believing that God is able', is to be seen as different as to what we call 'saving faith', or a faith (act of trusting) in God to effect His Work of Salvation. It might sound like a 'grasping at straws' to convince another, but for me to adequately understand & apply this matter of 'ordinary faith & saving faith', is important. In the case of the OT folk, as we read here in Romans 4 about Abraham & David, the mention of Abraham's faith being "counted for righteousness", I understand that from what he knew & experienced of God, he exhibited human (ordinary) faith towards Him. And this was a faith based on his knowledge & his works to please God (as with Enoch, Hebrews 11:5). I don't perceive this was a special gift of faith for these men to exhibit, but an ordinary faith resulting from God revealing Himself to them & their desire to serve only Him.

But then we come to the NT & Ephesians 2:8,9. Even though unregenerate man, as those of the OT, can still express faith, whether towards God or man, in Ephesians we see that for the saving Work of Christ to be effective, we have the indivisible combination of both God's Grace & His Faith given for that to happen. In other words, God could have just given the sinner His Grace by way of sending His Son for them, but can that sinner, from an unregenerate heart, create a faith that can truly understand, embrace, & consistently live out the great salvation of God? And that is why Ephesians 2:8 shows, "and that not of yourselves": the Gift of God is both His Grace & His Faith that would instigate & complete salvation in that lost soul. Onto Page 2.

Frankie,

I am done with errands and need to prepare dinner now. I will be preparing to go out of town tomorrow, so I will be packing tonight. I am not sure if I will get to your request or not. But I recommend that you read the accounts in the gospels of Jesus' resurrection and appearances to His disciples, also Acts 1 tells of the ascension.

You can read the Last Supper Discourse in John 14-16 to see what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit dwelling within believers and when the Holy Spirit dwells in us, the Father and the Son makes their abode in us, too.

1 Corinthians 15 speaks about the resurrection of the dead. And there are several places in John that say He will raise up our bodies on the last day.

There is no place in the New Testament that says that Jesus removed His humanity when He ascended to sit on His throne at the right hand of the Father. Stephen, in Acts 7:55, said he SAW Jesus sitting at the Father's right hand. His eyes saw Jesus and recognized him as the Lord he knew on earth.

If I get time in the next few days I will give you more Scripture.

Hi Chris,

It is a widely held established view that the Bible is "The word of God" in particular considerable effort was put into the KJV Bible by highly capable language experts in Greek/Hebrew/English to interpret and transcribe God's words correctly. I believe most would agree that this is true.

1 John 3:6 This verse is from God's mouth. It's meaning is clear. It only becomes unclear if we have a reason to dilute it, minimize it, or ignore it to fit a particular doctrine.

The verse is literal, and again very clear "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not"

God tells us we can't abide with Him, and sin at the same time. At the time we sin we begin to serve the devil. As long as we continue sinning we are serving Satan. God gives us the will to make the choice to serve him by refraining from sin, and He tells us there is a consequence. What is that consequence? Separation from God during the time(s) we sin, if continual sin - eventually death, and hell, as opposed to eternal life with him.

If we are sinning more than staying true to God, we are separated from Him more than we are with Him. God hopes, and we as Christians hope that we can sin less, and remain with God more and more, as our faith and strength to refrain from sin improves. Hopefully, we can get to a state of sinlessness, this would then conform with Jesus telling us that if we had stronger faith - nothing is impossible for us! Matt 17:20

Does this take effort on our part, yes, and it is God's/Jesus command that we do. John 5:14 John 5:18

If we as Christians continue to tell each other "we can never stop sinning" we are telling God/Jesus that we don't believe that we can even with the Cross/Holy Spirit -if so we should STOP and rethink our path. I believe this weakness with sin relates directly back to our lack of faith that Jesus emphasized in his Gospel.

Are we really pursuing God, or are we performing mouth service, while pursuing worldly things and Sin.

GBU

thank you friend.

Hi Giannis,

Thanks, that would be great. I await the findings of your study.

God bless,

RLW

Hello Ronald

Never mind about grk philosophy, no worry.

I want to do a study about that "spirit of life" that God breathed in Adam and I will come back to this conversation later on.

It is possible that it actually means the Spirit of God or it means that the Spirit of God created life in Adam. Anyway I will leave it for now. GBU

Hello Bro dan

1 John 3:9, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Also 1 John 3:6, "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him."

BUT the above verses seem to be in contadiction to what is written earlier on, ie 1 John 1:8-9, "8, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

So what is wrong? The former verses say that we dont (and can't) commit sin BUT the latter says that if we say we don't commit sins we are liars.

This is one of the few points in the Bible that the grk makes the difference. The grk doesn't say that we don't commit sin but we don't keep doing sins (in grk "amartano"), i.e. we don't live a sinful life, we don't stay in sinning. It is not a present continuous like we are continuously doing something but it shows that something is done regularly in the present without any stop. Since there is nothing respective in English, the nearest we can come to is the simple present that the KJV iuses. But it gives a different understanding.

GBU

So true. King Herod's own paranoia caused him to destroy his adversaries (executing 45 of Israels wealthiest makeing their wealth his own) and his wives & family (because of greed including friends of Queen Cleopatra). Herod built a temple..19bc- 63ad..Remember, God knows all.! Our Life's in His hands. His will be done by allowing His 1 & Only Son to shed His blood ONCE and FOR "ALL SIN". Which inturn, Instantly demolished 613 laws becoming two. It's very simple to know yet harder to swallow for the hard heart. #1. Love God w/All your being & 2. Your neighbor as yourself. Do these, & you shall inherit the kingdom of God.! Period. Loving & praying for ALL, even our enimies.! Continuing to live by 'the law' we shall die by the law.! We now live by Faith in Gods heavenly Grace because He first loved us sending His Son for a FINAL Blood sacrifice.!! Readers: do not forget, Jesus spoke in parables & we are to study His word learning what He meant. Not pick and choose our own selfish outcome. It's ALL for His glory, in His time. Trying to live otherwise is futile & will lead to our demise. He created 1 race and 2 genders just as ..We have 2 choices to end up in 1 eternity. "Love, peace & prayers to those w/a hard heart & corrupt mind". Father in heaven hear my voice, I ask for all to open their minds & hearts to your truth bringing all to their knees. In Jesus name, Amen.! Matt 15:24/ Mark 7:27 reads to a set ppl for a set time. God has rightly divided the bible & demands we learn His word. He may have been *INRI* yet He came to save ALL. All means All. Forgive them Father for they know Not what they do.! As Jesus said "it is finished". 344/49/7

Jesus said after one called Him good master, there is none good but God, this is Jesus speaking who was tempted but never sinned, the sinless spotless lamb of God. Why would he say that? My take on it is he was referring to the flesh, flesh and blood cannot enter into the Kingdom of God, Only those born again of the spirit shall enter in. The word also says, "If we walk in the spirit we will not fulfil the lust of our flesh" , then if we continue in our old sinful nature fulfilling the lust of the flesh have we truly been born again. And yes our righteousness is as filthy rags , the old man trying to justify ourselves , oh I'm a good person , I don't steal, lie or commit adultery, one is trying to get by on obeying the commandments, yet if we are guilty of one, we are guilty of all, however the new man that has been born of the spirit, we obey righteousness from our heart, because we have received the spirit of Christ. Does that mean that it is impossible to sin, No, but at the same time it is possible to walk a clean holy life before God, with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Did Jesus come to save us from sin? Yes He did, but being set free from the old creature that we was, it is possible to obey The Lord, when He says go and sin no more, however God made a way that "IF" we sin we have an advocate with the father The Lord Jesus Christ, we must repent and trust The Lord, His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. God made provision if we sin, thank God He did, if not none could be saved. AFTER ALL, sin is what separated us from God in the beginning. But our Lord and Savior , His mercy and grace is greater than all our shortcomings. I'm so glad He loved me while I was yet in my sin, amen God bless us all as we share our hearts and thoughts, and the Goodness of God. amen

Adam,

I do think you are not reading my comments carefully. What makes you think that I'm saying a True Believer should not be concerned about being obedient to God's commandments? I believe that the passage in James is precisely in line with what I'm saying about the Nature of Salvation.

What I am saying, or at least trying to say, is that our obedience to God's Commandments, the Law of God, the Bible is the EVIDENCE of our Salvation and the RESULT of our Salvation. But it is never the CAUSE of our Salvation. And if we do not see an increased EVIDENCE of obedience to God in our life and a real "want to" in our life to do the will of God, God in all likelyhood has not yet "saved" us. And that is what the Bible in James is teaching.

So let me ask you a few questions to help me understand your belief regarding the Nature of Salvation, if I may.

What is Mankind's condition before God has "saved" us?

What does it mean to become Born Again? What has happened to us at that moment?

How will our attitude and behavior toward God and the Bible change when we have become Born Again?

Is it possible to have assurance in our life that we indeed have become a child of God? How can we know that?

If we indeed have become Born Again, i.e. God has indeed "saved" us, can we lose our Salvation?

If Christ has paid for each and every one of the sins that His Elect will ever commit, is He obligated to at some point in their life to apply that Salvation to their life, and to keep them from falling away, and to complete their Salvation at the Last Day?

Or, as some would teach, did Christ actually pay for the sins of every Human Being and it is now up to US to "ACCEPT" that Salvation and do other things in order for that Salvation to become effective in our life and to be completed at the Last Day?

Thank you Adam

why noah was so old ?

im getting into the bible more trying to learn it , god more so if yall guy can help that would be good

why noah was soo old when he went into the ark?

GOD be praised and magnified as we go about HIS work and to do so diligently. We wait for HIS coming; but we work and declare the salvation of the LORD, and pray for strength to "...not be weary in well doing."

May I faithfully execute the will of my LORD and SAVIOR to go and make disciples. Praying also for the leadership of our country and for the lost and harden hearts to be saved and to have the mind of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

GOD to shine HIS face on all who are on this forum; and to bless us gloriously. May our testimony in CHRIST show the peace of the LORD and cause others to thirst for the same.

GOD bless all the Saints to love HIS word and to trust and obey HIM.

June 27, 2023

Good morning, Antipas. :-) I think the scriptures are clear on who the lost sheep of the house of Israel are and where.

Romans 1:16

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

They are god's chosen people whom through their fall we have obtained salvation.

Romans 11:11

"I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy."

It was god's good pleasure to do this so that we may all be saved and become one.

Galatians 3:36-29

26For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

It was his promise from the beginning.

Genesis 26:4

"And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;"

Right now things are going to well for any of the nations including Israel.

Revelations 18:1-3

1And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

Keep preaching and praying because the 7 last plagues are coming soon.

Hello Frankie,

I will be glad to give Scriptural citations later today. I am off to do many errands for now.

James 2:14-26 already explains this. You might consider taking a look at that passage.

It sounds like you're assuming once someone becomes a Christian that he doesn't have much responsibility to obedience, that God does it all? If that is your belief what scriptures do you feel support that?

You speak of a new nature. Do you feel like this nature is instantly and fully given by God or that it something a Christian develops into maturity? Which do you think comes first- this nature you say God gives that forces the follower to obey regardless of his freewill, or that the follower genuinely decides to obey and then is blessed by God?

The Bible I'm reading says in many places we have responsibility, especially ongoing responsibility as Christ followers. Proof of this is Paul writing many of his books to churches who were already believers, warning them of backsliding and avoiding sin. If God 100% controls people's actions as followers instead of the followers, why then would Paul write so many warnings to Christians? And if God is 100% controlling of people, does that mean God is responsible for causing sin when a Christian inevitably sins as the Bible says we all do? These are things to consider on this topic.

I think Christians are 100% responsible for their own actions, whether obedience or not and that excuses are used to justify sin and disobedience, which is another clever satanic deception.