Discuss Romans 3 Page 5

Thank you again David0921. Clearly, we don't agree on the meaning of God's Authorship of the Bible; i.e. we believe that the Bible is God's Word, but your belief is that every word or phrase given therein matches what God had spoken. To this I disagree, so we will need to leave that matter out.

You asked, "who decides when God is using hyperbole (language)?" Well to answer that, I would have to say, that I, the reader would, because I, the reader am expected to read God's Word, understand it & digest it. If I can convince myself that camels can go through a needle's eye or a great many good believers staying true to the Word, are walking amongst us with a gouged out right eye, then yes, every Word in the Bible must be understood literally. Hopefully, I have been blessed with a little common sense, and so I refuse to be swayed with nonsense.

You shared from Romans 3:10-18. Yes, man's spiritual condition is really that bad, but do we in our wicked state have the poison of asps under our tongues or all our throats resemble open sepulchres. We should understand the state & extent of their wickedness, but the use of metaphors is quite normal to drive the meaning home. So is God "exaggerating for effect rather than stating a fact? On this passage, I would say that as Paul took reference to Psalm 5:9 & somewhat to Deuteronomy 32:32,33, Paul confirmed what has always been man's unregenerate state, where all these references have used metaphors for effect to highlight the fact.

And yes, in Psalm 58:3 that is exactly what is implied: not a verbal language from a babe but from a sin-infected heart from birth. But the basic problem we have here is how much that we read is exactly what God has given for man to record & how much of it has man placed from his own knowledge & experience. The fact that God has allowed all of it shows that Truth is what matters not the verbatim production of the Word, which could never happen.

Chris,

Allow me to make one other comment regarding hyperbole.

Who decides when God is using hyperbole and when he is not? Who decides when God is exaggerating for effect Rather than stating a fact? Is Romans 3:10-18 hyperbole? Is man's condition really that bad? I could give countless other examples that can take us in any direction that suits us.

In the passage we are discussing could "speaking" refer not to a verbal language, but to what is in the sin infected heart or spirit of mankind from birth.

When we begin to apply the methods that mankind may use in writing to interpret the Word of God, our understanding becomes very subjective and of "private interpretation".

And that is a snare that will lead us away from truth, not into truth.

I never want to even tinker with that idea.

Chris,

I understand why we might concoct a theory of an "age of accountability". But God puts that idea to rest in very clear and concise language.

Psalms 58:3

The wicked are ESTRANGED from the WOMB: they go ASTRAY as soon as they BE BORN, speaking lies.

Romans 3:10-18

As it is written, There is NONE righteous, no, NOT ONE : There is NONE that understandeth, there is NONE that seeketh after God. They are ALL gone out of the way, they are TOGETHER become unprofitable; there is NONE that doeth good, no, NOT ONE. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Ephesians 2:1

And you hath he quickened, who were DEAD in trespasses and sins;

Because of Adam's sin, mankind is infected with SIN and is spiritually DEAD from the moment of conception. And it requires God's action to change that condition. The Bible declares that action as becoming BORN AGAIN. That is SALVATION.

There is no "age of accountability". No matter how much we may wish it to be so.

Apart from salvation, a new born baby is subject to the wrath of God and eternal death, whatever that may be.

Richard,

I am unaware of any verse or passage in the Bible that speaks of an "age of accountability".

The Bible does say some very ugly things about our condition from the moment of conception apart from salvation. And that we are spiritually DEAD.

Psalms 58:3

The wicked are estranged from the WOMB: they go astray as soon as they BE BORN, speaking lies.

Romans 3:10-18

As it is written, There is NONE righteous, no, not one: There is NONE that understandeth, there is NONE that seeketh after God. They are ALL gone out of the way, they are TOGETHER become unprofitable; there is NONE that doeth good, no, NOT ONE. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Ephesians 2:1

And you hath he quickened, who were DEAD in trespasses and sins;

Romans 3:10-31

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full

of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ {Christ's faith, not our faith} unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 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...

To clarify my meaning to the Rule I use, Charlie, I don't think my "question suggests restriction in acceptance of truth", rather, my restriction is not dependent on what I perceive to be truth, but the yardstick I use to determine it. If no gauge is used against any body of writing, then I would think that my mind would accept all the ideas & beliefs presented therein, not giving much concern as to what is written & then digested, believing that time & eternity will reveal all.

Rather, the Bible is given to us (i.e. those parchments recovered & preserved for us), so that we might not only learn the Mind & Purpose of God in humanity, but be able to confidently treasure those doctrines & Truths taught, to see how they measure up to anything else presented to us. I don't believe that man needs to attain a heightened state of spiritual understanding to be able to weigh up the differences between truth & error. If we are careful in our reading & study of the Scriptures & knowing that not everything presented to us is true, then Truth & error become apparent.

Even "that God is within every man, male and female" can't be correct, as there are too many Scriptures to show that wickedness & deceitfulness lies in the heart of each one of us and none of us our righteous, not even one ( Jeremiah 17:9; Psalm 14:1-4 & Romans 3:9-18). What we have here then, is whether the words & instructions of men are equal to or more worthy than the Word of God. Not only from the pages of the Bible, but also from visible demonstrations of the workings of men's hearts, we find that mankind has rejected his Creator & His Word, doing all that satisfies his flesh & corrupt mind - all proving that God could never be found in man, but He is clearly evident when He sends His Spirit to regenerate & restore man from an unrighteous to a righteous state. And this is where Truth comes to the fore: when the Bible is held against any other writing, & this other one is found wanting.

Jimbob,

I think we both agree that the atoning blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ is very important. I was drawn to your comparison of Colossians 1:14 between the NIV and the KJB. I do not own an NIV but I have a few bible software programs that give me access to multiple bibles.

Anyway, I looked this up for myself. You are correct. But was it the intent of the NIV to eliminate or diminish the blood sacrifice? I don't believe so. I read a little further down in the same chapter (Verse 20) which reads, "and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross"

If it was the intent of the NIV to leave out the words "through His blood," why would it be mentioned in other places, especially in Ephesians 1:7 (NIV) which reads, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins."

You would think that if the NIV was intentionally trying to remove the blood sacrifice, then it would not be found in any other place.

Is there any reason why you fail to mention other verses in the NIV such as Romans 3:25 that says "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood," 1 Peter 1:18-19 which mentions the precious blood of Christ, Ephesians 2:13 which says we have been brought near by the blood of Christ," Hebrews 9:14, "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" or Revelation 1:5 which says "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood."

It doesn't seem fair to only bring up Colossians 1:14 without mentioning these other verses, especially Ephesians 1:7.

I am not defending the NIV, but I'm also not condemning it either.

Blessings to you in Christ Jesus!

Apart from Salvation, "there is none righteous no not one" ( Romans 3:10). God declares that Job was righteous because God had saved Job. When God saves us, i.e. we become Born Again, God gives us a new Resurrected Soul which "can not sin" ( 1 John 3:9). Once God has saved us, the Righteousness of Christ is IMPUTED to us ( James 2:23) and we will have an earnest ongoing desire to be obedient to the Law of God. But we can and do fall into sin because or new Resurrected Soul still resides in a body that still lusts after sin and we are an integrated personality, body and soul ( Romans 7:18-25).

Therefore Job is called righteous because God had saved him.

The Bible IS THE WORD OF GOD. There are no contradictions nor "lies" in the Bible because God is the author of the Bible.

What I'm saying here is that, for instance, if I'm writing a letter to someone or somebody but the postmaster read it to the whole world, was it good..? where is the privacy..? what I mean is that, if Paul is writing to the Romans then keep it with the Romans because he says in Romans 3:10 that there is no righteous person, not one which I beg to disagree because Job is a righteous person according to the book of Job and he's perfect and upright...so it only proved that Paul is a liar as he states in Romans 3:7

Did Israel faithlessness void God's promises to Israel?

Romans 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

Paul is asking if there is someone without faith, shall their lack of faith cancel out the faithfulness of God?

Paul answers that in vs 4 God forbid:

Israel's failures doesn't void out the promises of God.

God's promise to send Israel the redeemer was not voided by their wilful disobedience and rejection.

All his promises for the future of the nation will be fulfilled to his glory in spite of their unbelief. This is the unconditional covenant God made with Abraham.

Here's a few more verses causes people to believe the Church is the new Israel.

Galatians 3:28-29.

There 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.

And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Romans 2:28-29

"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Now these verses is not talking about an ethnic group.

Paul gives us the subject of the matter in Romans 3:1.

"What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?"

Now here is where Paul was actually contrasting the Jews and the law, and the promise by faith of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2:11-12.

This contrast the belief that righteousness came by the outwardly circumcised jew and the circumcision of the heart, in the spirit,

In other words Abraham was given the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith before he was circumcised.

Romans 4:11-13.

So Jew and Israel is not always used synonymous in the scripture.

STU,

No, the Bible does not say that Mary was without sin. Romans 3:23 says that ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This means that every human being except the Son of God made man (Jesus) never sinned.

Dear STU

I agree that the Bible says that Mary was a virgin. In being a virgin and becoming pregnant by the Holy

Spirit, Jesus was then born of a virgin, as God prophesied through Isaiah (Is. 7:14)

STU, I stand by what I wrote to you. The Bible never says that Mary was without sin. It says that only Jesus is without sin. He alone is perfectly holy. All men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ( Romans 3:23).

So, Mary was saved by the sacrifice of Jesus like every Christian. But, because of God's sovereign selection of her to be the mother of Jesus, she indeed, is blessed of all women.

Even so, the Bible says that every knee will bend and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God (Phil.2:10)

But the Bible nowhere says that every knee will bow to Mary.

So, STU, I challenge you to read the four gospels and the epistles to see

-whether it says that Mary was sinless or not,

-whether it says that we should bend our knee to her or not,



-whether we are asked to pray to her or not, whether she is called our mediatrix (having the power to be our mediator between God and man) or if Jesus is the one Mediator between God and man ( 1Tim. 2:5),

-whether she is man's co-redemptrix with Jesus or if Jesus is the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins ( Heb 7:27; 9:14)

-whether she was translated to heaven without dying

After you have read all of the New Testament to find the answers to these points, then you can get back to us and give us Scripture citations that support any of the Catholic beliefs about Mary.

Dear Phillip Mezzapelle, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God ( Romans 3:23). But if we confess those sins He will forgive us ( 1 John 1:9). We confess them at the moment we accidentally commit them and other sins that come to mind during the confession part of the time(s) we set apart to confess, praise, sing, quote Scripture, read and study the Bible, etc. We confess our sins and ask Him to help us repent--or to never repeat that sin.

The problem is--the sin, if you will--is that those accidental sins can become deliberate. Some of them become our pet sins. We may hate them but they give us pleasure and are habit-forming and we just keep on doing this. This stunts our growth in Christ. You cannot continuously commit deliberate sin and expect to live a joyful, victorious, life in Christ.

Repent of those sins right now and determine never to do them again with Christ's help--ask Him, and He will help you, but repenting is up to you.

Establish a special, lone time of devotion to our Lord, as I mentioned above. Stay faithful to Him. Go to a Gospel-preaching church. Serve others. Tythe. Stay repented of your sins...

Psalms 1

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

God Bless!

Barbara, Hold on sister! Help is on the way! God has heard your prayer. He does love you, and JESUS does love you. Keep knocking on Heaven's door. Jesus WILL make a way for you and those precious children. Matthew 7:7-8. Keep crying out to Him.

I'm praying for you this morning. Heaven knows YOUR name!

Romans 3:23

Romans 10:9

Repentance is so important. Lay down everything you can think of that you know is sin. Ask God ( in Jesus mighty and powerful name ) to help you repent and forgive you. He will help you with all of these needs. And make up your mind that you're gonna live for Him no matter what comes your way. If you fall get back up again, this is a battle and you will get knocked down sometimes but don't stay down. His mercy is brand new every single morning so hit your Heavenly Father up first thing in the morning as soon as you open your eyes.Go and find a Bible teaching preaching church. James 5:16. Call on God,call on Jesus!

Much love to you sister. Jesus loves you.

Seek FIRST the Mercy Seat. Christ is our Mercy Seat in heaven, where Christ's Blood has been applied for sinners on the gold lid of the true Ark of the Covenant, in the True Tabernacle in heaven. Seek FIRST His Mercy Seat.

Romans 3 is a key chapter in the New Testament. We all come to God on an equal basis- SINNERS in need of His Salvation. God has set forth Christ as our MERCY SEAT, we come to God by Faith in Christ and His BLOOD shed for SIN.

Hello, let's compare scripture with what I understand you to be saying. Please correct me if I am wrong in understanding your position.

God: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23 KJV

You: It sounds like... you don't "need" or "want" God's grace and may not even need to follow Christ (be a Christian)? "In regards to "having a free get out of hell card", it appears you are assuming Alex and others who believe as we do, want one or even need one. "

God: "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:" Matthew 7:13 KJV

You: "salvation is all inclusive." It sounds like you're ignoring God or calling Him dishonest when He says that most will go to hell, that salvation is intended for everyone but most will not choose to follow Jesus and thus will go to hell. Acts 4:12

God: "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." John 3:16 KJV

You: It sounds like you don't believe what the Bible says or don't believe God, because there is a risk of everyone going to hell. Someone must make a choice and "believe" as it says above. How someone can ignore this obvious verse I do not yet understand.

God: "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." Acts 2:38 KJV

You: It sounds like you ignore the above command, that you DON'T need to repent or do anything, and that you don't even need to be forgiven? Because you assume you're already saved regardless of your actions and will be in heaven with Hitler, Mao, Stalin, and the worlds worst mass murderers dining and hanging out with them?

Do you consider yourself a Christian and can you please share what criteria you followed to believe you are one?

God bless.

Six things determined upon Daniel's people and the holy city.

Part 3

To make an end of sins.

To make an end; as put an end to/make an end to, affix a seal, to seal up, a document is rolled up and sealed with wet clay. The signet ring of the owner bears the image of his seal and is pressed into the clay. This is what was done by the Holy Spirit, 2 Cor. 1:22 Eph. 1:13 2 Tim. 2:19.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. Sin reaches for things, such as safety, knowledge, peace, happiness, and pleasure. Nevertheless, behind the act of good, sin ultimately creates a confrontation between obedience and rebellion. If not in faith, it is sin.

Psalm 32:1 Matthew 1:21 Matthew 22:11-13 John 1:29 John 3:5 Acts 5:31 Romans 3:25 Romans 8:3 Hebrews 9:26 Hebrews 10:8-12 1 Corinthians 15:3 1 John 3:5-6 Revelation 16:15

The covering of our sins was accomplished on the cross at Calvary. When he said IT IS FINISHED, he provided us with the garments (wedding garments) to cover our sins. Sin has not completely stopped yet but it is covered by the blood of Jesus and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

This passage points toward the Messiah who died because of our sins. In Jesus's death, punishment for our sins is paid for. Jesus's death we are dead to sin. Walking in the Spirit meant that we are trusting in Christ by faith to be made right before God, and not trusting in the law.

Whenever Paul speaks about walking after the flesh, it is in the context of trying to be made right before God by the law, which is equivalent to self-righteousness. I believe the prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus Christ and if we are in Jesus Christ, it is fulfilled for us. Praise God that Jesus Christ made an end of sins! As Jesus said from the cross, "It is finished!"

See Part 4

Six things determined upon Daniel's people and the holy city.

Part 4

To make reconciliation for iniquity

Reconciliation is an element of salvation that refers to the results of the atonement, to coat or cover, Isaiah 61:10 Rev. 3:4 Rev. 16:15, iniquity is guilt, crookedness, twistedness, perverseness, that which is not straight or upright, and moral distortion in the dark.

Colossians 1:20-22 Isaiah 53:5-6 Isaiah 53:11 Ephesians 2:16 Titus 2:14 Romans 4:7 2 Romans 5:10-11 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Colossians 1:19-22

The word reconcile means to bring back to a former state of harmony, Jesus reconciled both Jew and Gentile unto God in one body by the cross and now through Jesus we both Jew and Gentile have access by one Spirit unto the Father, no more strangers or foreigners but fellow citizens. Making reconciliation for iniquity concerns our involvement in the work of salvation. God has reconciled himself to us and empowered us by his Spirit to reconcile ourselves to God and one another.

To bring in everlasting righteousness.

Everlasting, no end, long duration, antiquity, futurity, forever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, continuous existence. Righteousness, God's attribute, justice, mercy, loving-kindness, in conformity to the demands of the covenant, and according to God's will, fair and balanced.

Isaiah 61:10-11 Hebrews 8:12 Romans 3:21-26 Romans 5:17-21 1 Corinthians 1:30 2 Corinthians 5:21 1 Peter 2:24

Everlasting righteousness was what our Lord manifested in His sinless life. Jesus by His blood entered in once into the holy place not made by hands having obtained eternal redemption, everlasting, and in Jesus we have everlasting righteousness and salvation, through faith, given by grace from God, by the blood of the Lamb freely offered for us. We have no righteousness apart from Jesus Christ.

See Part 5

Page 2.

A very telling verse is Romans 10:9: "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." In this chapter the apostle writes about the weakness & finality of the Old Law & the righteousness of the Law that becomes us by the working of the Spirit ( Romans 10:4). If re-birth occurs at the resurrection or later, then there is no Holy Spirit given to indwell believers - it can't be as we're still unregenerate. If no Holy Spirit, we are then subject to the Law or laws we wish to obey, to obtain our righteousness. The Jews tried to obey the Commandments - they failed - the Law was given to show them their sin & need of a Savior ( Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:19).

Every other religion of the world teaches that man has to do his best to please his god, & even after all that, there's no certainty of a 'happy future'. I know this more certainly of Islam, where a Muslim can never know if God has been pleased with his life. He might have all the boxes ticked in accepting & applying the six Articles of his faith & five Pillars of Islam, even going on Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca), but that dreaded angel overlooking his left shoulder weighing up his bad deeds, being more than the good ones weighed over the other shoulder. The concerned Muslim must dread the day of his death because he doesn't know which way his path to eternity will go. Now is that any different from the Christian who says that only at death can there be any certainty? We might have the worth of Jesus' Sacrifice & the true justice of God in our minds, but have we done enough, obeyed enough, to know an abundant entrance. The message of the Cross is one that's wholly based on God's Grace through Faith in Christ's Work & nothing of our efforts. For if we applied our works, even obedience to the Laws, to guarantee acceptability, then it is no more of Grace, but of our efforts ( Romans 11:6). See Page 3.

2 Peter

3





2 Peter 3:16



"As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction

This is Peter describing people like you who use Paul's writings.

But just in case your confused here are the words of Paul

Romans 6:1



"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?"

Romans 6:6



"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."

Romans 3:31



"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."

I could keep this up all day but I figure no amount of scripture will sway you from this doctrine of demons you have swallowed.

No the Bible does not teach anywhere that belief in christ is all that is required for salvation.

It repeatedly from beginning to end continues to teach faith together with obedience to God's ten commandments are a prerequisite to salvation. Everyone in the Bible is judged according to their works. Not according to their faith. Romans 3:31



"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." 1 John 2:4



"He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

King James

Luke 18:18



"And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Luke 18:19



"And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God."

Luke 18:20



"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother."

King James



Matthew

5





Matthew 5:17



"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

King James

John

15





John 15:10



"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." John 14:15



"If ye love me, keep my commandments."

King James

Luke

13





Luke 13:24



"Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."

King James

Romans 2:6



"Who will render to every man according to his deeds:"

King JamesRevelation 22:12



"And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."

King James

There is a ton of more verses that could be attached that continue to back up truth.

The main thing is you must read the Bible for yourself because ultimately you are responsible for your own salvation. Trusting what I say or what this person says is not the way to work out your own salvation.

Page 2.

Fourthly, the Ten Commandments were given to Israel & were binding upon them. Some of their objectives were:

a. to reveal the Holiness of the Eternal God to His people, Israel: Leviticus 19:2; Leviticus 20:7-8.

b. to set Israel apart as distinct from all the other nations: Exodus 19:5.

c. to reveal man's sinfulness: Galatians 3:19. Although the Law is "holy, just & good ( Romans 7:12), it did not provide salvation for the nation of Israel; and it cannot provide salvation to anyone who wants to or tries to keep the Law. No one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin ( Romans 3:20; Acts 13:38-39).

d. to show to humanity that not one person can fully keep the Law but everyone falls short of God's Standard of Holiness. Realizing that, should cause us to cast ourselves upon a Merciful God for His Forgiveness. When Jesus came, He fulfilled the requirements of the Law completely and by His death fully paid the penalty for their breaking it ( Galatians 3:24; Romans 10:4). Therefore, by His Obedience, He was qualified to be the accepted Sacrifice for all mankind, for all of our sins ( Hebrews 10:10-12). If Jesus failed in fully keeping the Law, He would have been disqualified as a Savior - all mankind would be forever stuck in the quagmire of their sins & hell would be the destiny. But He was raised from the dead to show His Father's acceptance, our justification & deliverance ( Romans 4:23-25).

I hope you can see Ani, that even though there was nothing wrong with the Law, even keeping the Sabbath by Israel, anyone who puts themselves under the Law (i.e. to find forgiveness or acceptance by God by it), is doomed to fail. Our Rest - continual rest (Sabbath) is now found in Jesus & not in Law-keeping & we can only be subject now to the Holy Spirit who enables us to fulfil both the spirit of the Law & finding the true rest in Christ Jesus ( 2 Corinthians 3:6-9; Romans 8:1-4).

Hi Bonnie. There are probably several methods that people have used to help in memorization; and as the old adage goes, 'Repetition is the mother of learning' is one that is most often used.

However, when it comes to Scripture memorization, we need to remember that this is the Holy Word of God that we have in our hands, as 2 Timothy 3:16,17 tells us, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

So I believe that both memorizing & understanding God's Word must have God's Holy Spirit to assist & guide us. Without Him, all that is written in the Bible are simply words holding limited value, with any memorization attempt only little more than what a child at school would memorize by rote. You probably already know many verses, with Psalm 23, John 3:16, and Romans 3:23 among the top ones known by many Christians. One good way to add to this, is by reading & meditating on the verses around them & as you read them over & over again, the Spirit will cement these others verses, not just in your mind, but more importantly deep in your heart. And when they are stored in the heart, they will more easily come to remembrance - very useful when you need to hear it when in trouble.

My other advice is, not to attempt to memorize large portions of Scripture, because that will be very difficult & if you forget something, you may get discouraged. Go one verse at a time, slowly building up on other verses, particularly those that specially speak to you, meaningful, which you can also use to help others. And if possible, try to memorize the Bible references as well, alongwith the verse, so you can easily go back to it or show the verse to someone else. I'm sure others here will give you some good advice. May the Lord renew your love & memory power for storing up His Word in your heart.

Covenants part 3

The basic situation in this world is that man is under the bondage of the law ( Romans 3:19-20; also see Galatians). Therefore; the universal application of the old covenant of works essentially is expected for all who wish to come to the one true faith. Christ; of course has allowed us to be "grafted in" to the promises of Israel. We see this in the second half of Romans 13.

We have been called and chosen to be God's children. Nonetheless; we are just as required to follow the stipulations of Christ; namely loving God and obeying His commandments. ( John 14:21). Our love; of course only comes from the Lord; as any who love the law of God ( Psalm 119). The flesh abhors the law as it cannot obey it.

The church therefore; once again doesn't sign any paperwork with God but is held accountable to God's terms for calling themselves a believer. Greater punishment for those who have knowledge of the law is seen in Matthew 11:21 and the following verses. This is why churches that want signed agreements as to membership requirements aren't a failsafe method. God isn't fooled by those who say "Lord, Lord" but don't do what He says. ( Luke 6:46). God knows man's heart and that is what He gets to the bottom of in terms of man's attitudes and actions which is the focus of the New Testament and new covenant as the Lord Himself explained and of course is further discussed in the Epistles. We should be careful not to call ourselves Christians if we are not; it is better not to know the truth than to follow Christ in this way ( 2 Peter 2:21). We see the two classes of people who are either unbelievers or reprobate in many scriptures. More on that later.

Regards to your belief on unsecure salvation: how many sins does it take to lose your salvation? The bible tells us here in Romans 3:23. All have sinned and come "short" of the glory of God, meaning we don't deserve it, that it is a gift. As far as the east is to the west no one can pluck us out of His hands.

There is only one sin that sends you to hell and that sin is to reject Christ. Do you believe that?

Because according to what your saying is that, a person would have to be completely sinless to hold onto their salvation.

I was saved 23 years ago and I was so born again, became a new creature, repenting of all sin, giving my whole life to God. No longer of the world, and still that way, except in the last 12 years I backslid lacking in visitation, and commiting to church activities. But before that I head usherd, cleaned the church, went on visitation, led my mom and brother to Christ and spread the word to others, worked in the church office adding up tithes. I had to stop a lot of that because of health reasons; it kept me from being faithful to my services. I don't think God is going to close the doors on me for that.

Knowledge of Good and Evil (part 3)

What is good and evil? To get a definition we must first adhere to God's standards rather than our own; while acknowledging that His ways are higher than ours. For instance; we are not commanded to fight against the whole world of wicked man and the Antichrist and False Prophet and usher in God's Kingdom. There are some Dominionists who seem to go pretty far in that direction though; acting like Christ coming in vengeance ( Isaiah 63:3) is going to somehow be preceded by a red carpet welcoming mat of a world that is subjugated to Christianity. That isn't even what Post Mil reformers are saying! In any case a mass slaughter of most of the surviving earth at the end of the Tribulation isn't something that would be classified as good for anyone but the King of Kings. No doubt; of course Antichrist will beforehand attempt to justify his wars of conquest as a "man of peace" and when that is proven to be wrong; as the only one who can fight God who will be; to put it mildly called unjust.

To the world; Psalm 2 will seem like a way to "loosen their fetters" so to speak; this will seem like the ultimate revolutionary act to do for the world against those "aliens" attempting to invade the earth!

The other side of the coin; of course is the concept of what exactly "good" is. We know that God Himself can do no wrong; and is love itself ( Job 34:12; 1 John 4:8). We know that no one does good and all are estranged from the womb ( Romans 3:12; Psalms 14:3). Christ mentions this with those who are "evil" that give good gifts to their children. ( Luke 11:13). Therefore; the action may be the same among the regenerate and unsaved; but the motivations will be different; for instance pride of self or family; or an attempt to appease God and men through behaviors. This may be why the young man wasn't disputed when he said that he obeyed certain things since a youth. ( Matthew 19:20 and elsewhere). Hidden covetousness was thus exposed.

Hello Adam and David. I think both of you have made good points concerning the teaching of Scripture.

My understanding of what David was emphasizing is that from the standpoint of Galatians 2:16, our justification is based wholly on what Jesus did to bring about our salvation. Also, elsewhere, in Romans 3:22, it is said that our righteousness is not of ourselves but of "the faith of Jesus," (this is the same phraseology as used in Gal. 2:16). This Romans verse is attributing our righteousness to that of Christ's pure righteousness being imputed to us. So, in both of these verses, justification and righteousness come from Jesus and even our faith comes from Him. It is a gift that we received that enables us to believe the Gospel. Adam, I think that you have stated such in past posts, as I recall. So, I think we a ll agree on these points, but I may be mistaken.

What is at issue here, from what I can tell, is the matter of the extent of the freedom of man's will in being able to choose to have faith in Jesus. Many Christians will speak as David has, that mankind cannot on his own will choose to turn to God or believe. We must be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We can not regenerate ourselves. Along with this regeneration comes the gift of faith and the power of the Spirit to activate this faith. Many who believe along this line of theology will say that man's corruption from sin has left his free will depraved and able to only choose to not serve God, have faith in Him, and turn to Him.

This is why there needs to be an initial action from God to regenerate us and make us new so that our free will can be made new (along with the rest of our being) so that we can turn to God and walk in faith provided for us in Jesus Christ.

There are other Christians who believe that we are able to cooperate with the Spirit of God to believe before we are regenerated. This would mean that man's free will was corrupted ny sin but not to the point that he cannot desire after God.

Hi InaMi.

We don't go to heaven by being good, nor in just believing in the existence of God. One would have to recognize his sinful and lost state and have faith in Gods plan of redemption.

God is Holy and there is nothing man can do to reconcile himself to God.

Romans 3:10-11 says "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

The wages of sin is death, we're all sinners and sin have to be paid for, so I don't like to say Christ done away with sin on the cross but rather "Christ paid the penalty for our sin on the cross". He was the sacrificial lamb, He died in our place. Jesus was sinless and when the Lord took upon our sin God the father didn't spare him.

There is no way to the father but through the son. John 14:6.

You asked "Is it right to put a good man into hell because he doesn't believe in God?

No one is good but God as shown here in Mark 10:18 "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

God Holiness is above our comprehension.

Isaiah 55:6-9.

God bless.

I love God with all my heart