Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 2410

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True, many who are 'saved & baptized' show no evidence of it except by an appearance on Sunday. But lest we fall into sin, we are not called to judge others in their behaviour, rather to judge ourselves in the matter of our faith & Christian walk ( Mt 7:1,2,24; Romans 14). No one can live in sin (i.e. make sin their way of life) & still get to Heaven. A life of sin proves that there is no regard for Jesus' Sacrifice & either they are kidding themselves or have a warped view of the Word if they believe that Heaven is their hope. Read 1 John 3 where the message is about those with God's Seed in them (the Holy Spirit) cannot sin (v 9), but in the flesh sin can occur but is dealt with & we are forgiven. Those who disregard sin & live careless lives believing that being saved means that they are secure in spite of anything they do, are in grave error.

I've kept this response lengthy, hoping to give you a firm basis on which to build your knowledge & faith. Keep your eyes affixed on your Saviour - in Him is joy & victory.

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Regards to dealing with sin: purpose in your heart to hate that which keeps you lukewarm & estranged, repent & seek daily strength to gain victory over sin & the Enemy that fosters it.

Briefly: Salvation. Eph 2:8-10. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." Few things in operation here: 1. it is only by God's Grace (i.e. His calling & drawing you to Himself) that you are where you are; 2. your salvation is wholly faith dependent (i.e. your trust in God that Jesus is the only Way to be forgiven & accepted); 3. and to make all this so special, is that the 'whole deal' is God's Gift to you (i.e. both His Grace & your Faith are gifts from God to someone specially selected to be His child). You could never earn what He has given - Man has tried over the eons through religion & self-effort, but to no avail since God's salvation can only be designed & given God's Way. Not even water baptism, partaking at the Lord's Table or any good works can help to secure that salvation: salvation is all of Grace through faith alone. Of course, spiritual works do follow a spiritual salvation but that comes from the indwelling Spirit of God.

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Confused: I was in a slightly similar situation to yours, in that I too grew up in a Church but went away from the Lord completely: my sin knew no bounds. I was then saved by the Holy Spirit many years later in the late '70s, (by that I mean, no one shared the Gospel with me or made me recite a prayer of repentance, or guided me for my next steps, etc.). I had to go it alone: had to seek out a Church, listened to various messages (didn't have internet or much by way of Christian tapes (cassette variety), etc.) & try to put together all that was coming to me into a sound, meaningful, God-intended manner, just as you are trying to do now.

I was all over the place in my belief as to what took place (which in itself was quite dramatic, when one encounters the Spirit of God descend upon you in convicting power). My only answer from the Lord in all my personal struggles was: "attend ONLY to My Word". I had never read the Bible at all, except for the Gospels & the usual Bible stories children read, but after some years as a Christian, the Lord put it on my heart to study His Word. Giving up work for six months, I got down to it & learned much. Church teaching of course was necessary & helpful, but ultimately it was (and is) God's Word that spoke & interpreted itself to my heart.

Reading your testimony, I picked up on a lot of self-effort from you (trying to pray, trying remove sin). That might be a worthy desire to get closer to God, but the old Christian adage: "Let go & Let God" is applicable. This is not to say, that you remain stagnant & motionless in your faith, but when you are focussed on knowing God's Mind on matters, then in the study of His Word & prayer, God sees your sincerity & love, & His Spirit will teach you accordingly. In regard to prayer, remember prayer is simply talking to God; no need for special words or being in a special state of mind, just talk to the One Who hears the cry of your heart rather than the words.

I want to get closer to God, he's been so good me. Please Pray for me!!, I need Prayers. Where I live its get so bad, these young people don't have any morals and respect. I Try To Talk To Them but they so hard headed. My God, I'm so glad we had strict parents!! They really need Jesus.... Really The Lost Generation

First I want to tell you that just now, Jesus showed me you are much beloved. I thought of John 4, about his meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well. He is meek and humble of heart. He had this conversation (you read it too) and he gently dealt with her about her sin. He didn't rail on her. Just simply stated what she already knew. She was so overjoyed she ran to town and told friends, Come see a Man who told me all things! The whole town gets saved. The disciples tried to get him to eat & take a nap, but nothing doing. That's what he is Like.

I met Him; face to face, for seconds. You met him too. Never doubt what you know to be true. The wonderful part is that The Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Jesus wants you to be sure of your salvation and of what the Holy Spirits ministry is...for you. You have expressed some confusion and I will address that. In your Bible read John 3 where Jesus tells Nicodemus about being born again. You should see the links to press on to read those chapters on here now.

You can pray this prayer to be sure. "I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That Jesus was born by Mary, a Virgin. I believe that Jesus lived a perfect sinless life on earth. I believe he was crucified for the sins of the whole world, throughout all time. On the 3rd Day, God raised Jesus from the dead. Where He ever lives to make intercession for all Saints."



John 3:18, 6

Acts 2:38 Hold up your arms and say: I receive the Promise of the Holy Spirit. I am born again.

Acts 2:1. You've been quickened and your spirit is alive to the Holy Spirit, and you are baptized.

How do you know that Jesus and the Holy Spirit just came into your life?

Because God promised it. God never Lies and never changes His mind. "I change not".

The Holy Spirit will help you understand your Bible. He's your Teacher. Your Helper. Your Comforter; He tells us when we are wrong: convicts us in the heart. He speaks through the heart.

John 8:44 44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

1John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Jesus speaking to the Pharisee Jews - Bible book of

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

48 Then answered the Jews Then answered the Jews

King James Bible Jesus speaks to some of the Jews in

John 10:23 - 29:And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the JEWS (THE JEWS) round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

"But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you."

But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever ever shall seek to save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. Luke 17:32-33. What it means?.

If you were born again, you have the Holy Spirit ( some call it the holy ghost, same thing) How can you know? By faith. Faith is the same a trust. If you can't trust God, who can you trust. The Holy Spirit is like the little cartoons you may have seen when you was a kid. Where there's a little angel whispering in one ear and a devil whispering in your other ear. Listen and that little angel (which really is the holy spirit will guide you.)

The church is not a building. The church is the people in the building. Jesus said, where 2 or 3 are gathered together in my name, there I am also.

Linda, the one that immediately comes to mind is: 1 John 3:8-10. I think you will find other references to what you're looking for, but the one I've given seems to include what you are wanting.

Ezekiel 18 has been one of my favorite chapter in Scriptures, because it reminds me and assures me that my Lord will judge me by who I am and not for who I was, that my righteousness is solely in my hands and in my power. Knowing that my God is a just god gives me comfort in my life knowing His words...his promises...his assurances in Ezekiel 18.

Terri, so, so True. How a Church Service is enriched in unanimous voice & praise when suddenly an old hymn has been dug out & brought into the light of glorious worship of our God. Sadly, most of these hymns are kept hidden away so as to cater for other people's preferences.

Some of the hymns that are particularly meaningful to me: Holy, Holy Holy; Be Thou my vision; Rock of Ages; It is well with my soul; Blessed Assurance; The old Rugged Cross; To God be the Glory; What a Friend we have in Jesus; I come to the Garden alone; At the Cross; Jesus paid it all; Crown Him with many Crowns; The Battle Hymn of the Republic; I love to tell the Story; Standing on the Promises; I am Thine O Lord; Great is Thy Faithfulness; When I survey the Wondrous Cross; Sweet hour of Prayer; When we all get to Heaven; I will sing the wondrous Story; Living He loved me (with old tune); are just a few. Even when I think of just one stanza of these hymns, a tear comes to my eye because of its richness & some written from deep personal experiences. And this is the more special to me as I recall, when on the mission field & had no one with me or a Fellowship to attend, my prayer time was made even more special when singing these hymns, albeit with a less than satisfactory voice & no musical accompaniment. How blessed we are to have these hymns that helps keep our focus directly upon the Lord.

I know what you are going through. Most of us were the same way. I don't know what you need to hear but I will say this, keep going forward, never backwards if that makes any sense. Sometime the answer you are looking for is in the next chapters of the bible.

Looking for a verse that clearly explains all that do not know Christ as their savior are children of Satan.

Adam - well said. repentance is becoming a dirty word among many so called preachers nowadays.

Yet John the baptist and Jesus preached it. Obedience and good works are almost a heresy to modern preachers it seems. As if being obedient is optional, just believe they say. Does not even Satan believe in God?

Matthew Chapter 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (we need to do the will of the Father)

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

This is a harsh reality.

Proverbs 1:24 - 33: Because I have called, and ye refused; I [The LORD] have stretched out my HAND, and no man regarded; But ye have set at [nothing] nought all my counsel, and would none of my [correction] reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the [respect] fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

To answer your question directly means I won't refer to the first & other previous occasions when the Apocryphal books were disputed. But to your question about the 1611 KJV, those books were present in that KJV version but removed later in AD 1885.

They were considered as not Divinely inspired writings, having questionable origins, authors & whose canonicity (i.e. Scriptures that are accepted as standard & worthy) was doubtful. For example, the following references speak of money also being able to help in sin's atonement: Sirach 3:30, Tobit 4:10; 12:9; 14:11 & 2 Macc 12:41-45 (included prayer for the dead & purgatory). This speaks of also being saved by works: 1 Macc 2:52. The dead are praying: Baruch 3:4. And many more.

The apostles of Christ nor Jesus, ever considered those writings as part of the body of Scripture though allusions to it were made a couple of times: e.g. 2 Tim 3:8 & Jude 14,15. Therefore, the Apocryphal books are not totally without Truth or useless, but they have sufficient spurious information that should make us cautious & particularly for someone unfamiliar with the Bible & its specific teachings on the accepted doctrines.

Jesus did ascend up to Heaven. But the rest of us that dies before His return goes to a place called paradise. This paradise is a place where we wait until the end of time. We can't go to Heaven until we are judged, which we will be for all things good or bad. Reward will be given out according to how you lived your life. Heaven is not a commie place. We all don't get the same rewards. I think it was Paul who said strive for the best rewards. I don't care much for rewards myself, I just want to get there. I'll sweep out the stables if so assigned.

"And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:"

If you are confused, sometimes you just need to read on and you will see and your confusion will go away. Some times the bible is kind of like a movie that has flashbacks.

You can search and find all these rivers and all the lands they are in. Try bible maps. I could tell you but it will be more fun for you and help you by doing it yourselves.

Hello, you're asking good questions. Please note that you will get different answers on some of your questions depending on who you ask. The Bible does say believe and be saved, but it also says to repent, confess your sin, pray, to seek Jesus, proclaim that Jesus is Lord and the son of God, and be baptized and other things. Link

Some cherry pick one verse and say that's all you need, perhaps to justify doing the bare minimum. Others dedicate their life in pursuit of Jesus, do as much as possible, and strive to be like Jesus as much as possible. Yes, the Bible says most people will go to hell. I personally don't want to risk going there and I want to follow Jesus's teachings as much as possible. There's no downside and only upside. But satan likes deceiving people, even among Christians, so you will definitely find people who try to tell you that doing good works is 'bad'. So, I would watch out for that. It's grace that saves us and we can have confidence, but that assumes we're following Jesus, which is an active pursuit. If we do nothing to grow we will be like the parables that Jesus talked about- some have no root, wither and die, etc. Hope this opinion helps. There's also a link at the bottom of this website Become a Christian with more verses. God bless!

Charles Jordan,

You are correct! Satan will knows and exploits our weakness.

However, Samson was not beguiled (as Eve was) and led astray by the Devil, because:"his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he (Samson) sought an occasion against the Philistines?" ( Judges 14:4)

The Bible reveals that (certain parts of) the life of Samson was guided by the LORD.

Samson only took one wife ( Judges 14:3); not many.

Keep praying; keep studying my friend

The word 'Amen' is a Hebrew word, essentially meaning "so be it". It was first used in Scripture in Numbers 5:22 & many times after.

We generally tag it onto the end of our prayer, not because it is normally done this way, but because we are affirming before God that what we have prayed (whether praise to God or requests), is our affirmation of what we've said. And when we also pray in Jesus' Name, we're stating before God, our affirmation is in the authority of Jesus Name that we use to approach His Throne & so we declare confidence in our prayer & in God Who hears & answers prayer ( 1 Jn 5:14).

Come on people, we have all saw earth from the space station. It's round. The moon is round, Mars is round all the planets are round. The sun is also round.

Jim, the accepting of God's Word in its entirety as Truth, is paramount, not only for the way of salvation but the way we live in this life. However, I seem to read the Genesis 3 account differently to what you have written.

So sorry for your loss. Prayers for strength and healing for you and your family. Please look for a support group for yourself and encourage your family to do the same. Opening up and dealing wirh the pain in a safe environment will help. Other sources of help are online support groups. Facebook has loss support groups. Also the United Way has resources for counseling where you can call on the phone, or see someone in person, if you would like. There is a really good book called "Good Grief" which may help. And another called "The Hurt & the Healer" and "It's OK that You're Not OK". This is just a start. Allow yourself space to grieve. You've suffered a great loss. It's OK to hurt. Allow yourself that space to hurt. Please lean on God. He cares for you. Prayers for healing and strength.

I have so many questions.

I grew up in church. Have read the Bible(not the whole Bible, yet.) I have read and listened to Joyce, Stanley and countless others. Attended Methodist, Protestant and "New Age" Evangelical services. Have been through forums. Have listened to many, opinions or versions of faith. Read books. I find MANY things to be confusing. I have faith in God,(nurturing and fostering growth)Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I was in a bad accident in which I had an experience very similar to the boy in the movie "Heaven Is Real." Have not spoken to but a few people about it. I believe 100% God is real and amazing. I am trying to pray better and more often, to remove sin(as much as possible), to find a church where I feel comfortable, etc.

Some of my questions are in regards to being saved and going to heaven.

-Some say simply BELIEVE in Jesus and you will be saved. The Bible specifically says very few will enter even for the believers who cry out "Lord, Lord" to him. Due to their sin he will say I never knew you. Some say you must be baptized to be saved. Some say in water some say by the Holy Spirit..through the love and grace of God only. Some say we will ALL be saved and enter Heaven because God is loving and forgiving. Personally, I believe we will be forgiven but still must suffer the consequences. I can keep going for quite some time here but hopefully you understand the matter of my questions here. I would also like to add that many who are "saved"(baptism) continue to be Sunday Christians and nothing more. Some say since saved they will go to heaven. Some say since saved but still sin will go to hell. This area of topic I find very confusing.

I have many more questions but for now I would like to start here!

Please forgive my ignorance as, again, I have not read or understood the entire Bible. Many versions of faith, many different groups. If your advice is to raise these questions to God please understand my "phone connection" isn't strong.GodBless

Paul, your spiritual definition of racism is correct, that its root is found in man's hatred of another & that based on his race or culture & ideology. I could even add, that man's sin of believing he is of greater worth than another, would also lead to his view & treatment of others. Fortunately, most of us endeavour to treat everyone equally, but this sin of superiority permeates every area of society, with its seed in each of us. However, I don't see that Cain was the first racist murderer: he & Abel were of the same race, culture & ideology, but that Abel's offering was respected by God & Cain's was not seems to be the motive.

I can't seem to ascertain the 'first racial murder' except to think of God's command to the Israelites to drive out & destroy the Anakim & other nations ( Deut 9:1-3) but that was based on the nations' wickedness & for the possession of those lands for Israel. So, in a sense, Israel was commanded to seek & destroy based on another's race & religion.

Slavery, we discern, started with Abraham ( Gen 12:16) & when the Law came ( Lev 25:44-46). Further direction was given as to the treatment of slaves ( Ex 21). Admittedly, slavery then would have been quite different in many respects to what we term as 'modern slavery', where slaves legally had a better life & protections & on the whole were treated as part of the family community (especially when a slave turned to Judaism).

Every government which has laws in place that afford their citizens equality & freedom to practise their faith, culture, language, etc., must also ensure that those laws are respected & applied in every area of society. What we're seeing now is that failure in policing those laws & indeed, turning a blind eye to the 'minorities' in society & possibly even harbouring those racist tendencies within their own walls.

I think you are right. It is how you want to appear to others. I don't see a thing wrong with a short tennis skirt. It's practical.