Bible Discussion Thread

Several passages in Revelation refer to those who "dwell on the earth." These are those who are not written in the Book of Life and who will take the Mark of the Beast.

All of us are asked to be in the world but not of it as believers. ( John 17:15-21). That which appeals to the flesh is not of God and the flesh and the Spirit contend with one another ( Galatians 5:17). We understand this in light of the fact that we are not to think that anything done in the flesh is inherently evil as those who accused Christ of being a "glutton and winebibber" ( Matt. 11:19). Marriage is honorable and the marriage bed undefiled ( Heb. 13:4); but God judges all those who go outside of the parameters God has set forth as indicated by the rest of that passage. We see more of this in the book of Corinthians ( 1 Cor. 10:31) to give glory to God whenever we eat or drink or do anything else.

In this world; the spirits of disobedience ( Eph. 2:2) and the Prince of the power of the air were who we were subjected to. 2 Corinthians 4:4 states that the god of this world has blinded men's minds to the truth. We should as believers hold fast to the promises of God in regard to verses such as Luke 10:19 as to Christ's victory over Satan and his minions. What the enemy can do; however is gain legal access into our lives with unconfessed sins; and destroy our testimony. I think I can say fairly confidently that the warfare in Ephesians 6 is almost always increased once one truly is saved; and particularly when the Lord has great plans in our lives. Great; of course is defined as important for His Kingdom not necessarily seen or acknowledged by anyone; or just a few should we need encouragement.

We should expect that much physical; emotional and mental suffering in our lives is due to interference from these entities. It is hard to extricate spiritual warfare in regard to the wounds on the soul and those on our physical body. I will elaborate on victory in future posts.

Hello again,

Pt. 2

Our sinfulness is fueled by our sinful nature. This type of "fleshly works" are evil and we should see that we do not condone such acts in ourselves or others while at the same time knowing how we cannot renovate ourselves into a godly person. So we are to look upon people in general as in need of sympathy without haughtiness towards others or feeling superior to others in any way. We are all in the same way as far as our sinfulness. But the difference between believers and non believers is that believers have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and brought to faith by Him and are being sanctified by Him. Instead of being aghast at the depth of terrible sins that others create, but rather we should look at such awful outward behaviors as needing the blood of Jesus to take them away and as requiring this work of the Holy Spirit to create anew those offenders who do such horrendous things. The best thing we can do is to pray for the salvation of their soul and also use any opportunity we may be given to share Christ with others.

Sometimes we just need to remove ourselves from those whose conduct is corrupting or harmful to us. We may need to do what is safe for ourselves and our children who depend on us. We may need to all the more live in godly ways to heap hot coals upon the heads of those who revile us for doing what is good and godly. ! Peter has a lot to say about this topic.

But overall, we must be humble in our souls, mind, heart, knowing how easy it is for us to fall into sin. We must think that if it is so easy for us who are being saved to sin, how much more so for those without the Holy Spirit's indwelling Presence and work in them. We ought to wonder how it is that they can even resist sinful desires at all!

We must remember that we are but "flesh" and therefore we are weak and far from the glorious beings God intended for us to be at the beginning and how much more glorious we will be when Jesus comes and glorifies us forever.

Good Evening Richard.

Good ideas posted here. One thing for us to remember is that of the several ways the Bible uses the word "flesh".

When it is referring to the sinful nature that resides in our soul, then we can say that this is evil in all of its ways.

When it is referring to the natural needs and desires of the body, we can say that any of these that do not proceed from the action of the sinful nature upon a person can be considered good and a positive part of how God made us from the beginning before the fall. We are not to hate our physical flesh and its natural needs. We also are not to be overly concerned about the needs we feel since Jesus said that we are not to worry about what we will eat or wear because the Father knows what we need and supplies these needs according to His love, mercy, and grace.

When we are referring to the flesh as pertaining to as temptations of our flesh by the world, society, peer pressure, etc., then we are to resist such temptations and flee from all occasions that will lead us into sin. We are not to be worldly minded or run after the appetites of our flesh because we are to keep our desires and how we express these contained into godly ways to satisfy them.

When we are referring to all mankind or people with the word flesh, then we can remember that each person is a good creation of God. It is good that He created each of us. The way He created our bodies and its functions are good. So we are to look at others through the lens of love and compassion, respect and acknowledgment of their intrinsic value God.

But we are also to remember that every person God has created in all ages has a sinful nature and is a sinner in need of salvation, God's grace and mercy, and benevolence ad goodness to survive from breath to breath, heartbeat to heartbeat. We depend on God always. But sin causes estrangement from Him, offends Him, and requires a satisfactory way to bring us back to Him. Jesus does this to the ultimate degree.