Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 93

Psalms 31:3

"For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me."

Proverbs 29:25

"The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe."

Hebrews 13:6

"So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

Blessings

Hello Bob,

I am sorry for not responding sooner. I thank you for your kind message. Amen! As long as Christ is in us, we are secure. And He has promised to never leave. Yes, as believers, we will stand before the Bema Seat Judgement of Christ. We will be judged, but not for salvation. We will be judged on our response to Christ, the things we did as believers. That which we do under the influence and persuasion of His Spirit, we will be rewarded for. Everything else that was not of Christ will burn, but we ourselves will be saved!

God Bless!!!

Part 2

I don't have the strength to really pray much at this point; not that I'll stop but anyway continuing on my last post I can only state that I don't have malice in regard to lack of prayer but not mentioning it would be wrong. My one friend says it can be a pitfall but she doesn't watch the news anymore. Again we can expect the world to spiral into destruction; and worst case scenario God allows certain judgments even before the Tribulation. I am practically begging here that people more than anything else will be in prayer and continue to do so no matter how bad things get. It is hard to think past the coming weeks or month or two; I pray the Rapture is this fall but if not who will continue praying another year or two especially if we have major trials in this country?

It is theoretically possible things could improve slightly for a short time but in general it seems this is going to be an extended and worsening trial. I will be lucky to get through I am supposed to be encouraging and such.

This helps me just to know some out there will seek His face. I encourage people out there if you see others who are believers who are apathetic or lukewarm please warn them this is not the time for that.

It would be good also to pray for ways to escape; and that includes if the Rapture is very near but also physical survival. Let us face things trusting God; if our time on earth indeed is cut short let us keep looking up.

Lord willing wherever I go I will find those who are of this mindset.

Finally as for those I help and work with pray for patience. I have spiritual battles still; sometimes in my sleep. I need to also have boldness something which I have always struggled with as to following His calling.

Keep the faith; as He keep you; sealed until the day of redemption.

Agape; RIch P

Am seeking the Lord's will

Dear readers:

I am asking for wisdom. I plan to go one more time back to some property I purchased in a rural area and hopefully it is going to be hooked up to electricity soon. I have 2 options; and it seems the first of spending most of the time there and only occasionally maintaining the house here may be the best option merely as a survival mindset. Scriptures do state such as this one A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. ( Proverbs 27:12 I think).

Unfortunately my city would likely be a target should a major conflagration come. It seems that will be a matter of weeks away the way things are going. The other option is staying here and risking the all too likely scenario that society will shut down completely based on what is coming (and that could come from several things) and it will be too late to go anywhere if one should survive the worst case scenario.

I have a couple things to do the next couple days; and after that some time that I could get away. I feel the Lord would have to show me something specific or things would have to sufficiently change to feel safe here; but again of course it is hard to deal with everything we read and see.

I am trying to get some help with a couple of chronic health issues; I won't get into all the details at present. There are certain times that seem more critical than others; again though I'm sure the enemy would have destroyed everything by now if the Lord weren't restraining things.

I am worn down as many of us are. One of the hardest things to deal with is the apathy that I've seen in my church; no one seems particularly burdened with what is to come. Obsessing admittedly is something I don't want to do but it is hard to pray when no one is in agreement. There is media spin on all these wars and such; I believe prayer can still be effective but no one seems convicted; that's how I've seen it.

Agape; RP

GiGi,

Oh my, "Wings for dinner?" Now I'm hungry! I was reading along and trying to stay focused but I'm not sure how I can focus now thinking about wings! Anyway, thank you so much for sharing these things with us along with all those scriptures!

Enjoy your dinner. I had leftovers, not that I'm complaining. The Lord is good!

Blessings!

Brother Ronald,

(Part 1):

Thanks again for your reply. I am happy to hear that you will not walk away from Christ. I suppose if I were to ask you the same question every day for the rest of your life, you would give me the same answer.

There are many reasons why people say they will not walk away from Christ. I have asked this same question to others who believe salvation can be lost and they always have given me the same answer. Most of the people who tell others that salvation can be lost seem to only want to apply it to others, not themselves, because when you press them on it, they will tell you that they don't believe they will ever lose theirs.

The biggest and most common reason I have heard from those who say they will not walk away is because the "love Jesus too much to do so." I guess the people they are trying to warn about losing their salvation don't love Jesus the way they do?

This person you know who lost a child perhaps was angry with God for letting this happen which prompted them to walk away. As a parent, I know how tragic and painful this must have been. Personally, I can't imagine myself walking away from the Lord for any reason.

You ask, and say, "We are drawn or called, but is it not up to us to go and believe?"

Here is how I understand this:

When a person has been testified to about the truth that there is a God (which creation itself is a testimony), there will always be a response. A person will either be receptive to the testimony, or they will want to get away. But there will always be some sort of response in a person's heart. God knows everyone's heart. He knows those who are receptive and those who want nothing to do with the testimony. Those who are receptive, God will continue to draw to the point that they eventually receive Jesus Christ.

Brother Ronald,

(Part 2):

Now, those who are not receptive, those whose hearts are not open to the truth, God continues to give them opportunities to come to Christ, but if they continue to reject the testimony, eventually God will give them over to a reprobate mind, a mind that allows them to continue to reject. Once that happens, there is no hope for that person.

This is why I was unable to connect the dots on what you were saying about this individual and using Romans 1:28. You say that those who knew this person considered him/her to be a Christian but if you read Romans Chapter 1 beginning at Verse 18, this person who seemed to be a Christian doesn't fit the description of a person who God gives over to a reprobate mind. If you go beyond Verse 28, it gives a long list of things which describe the things they were involved in. Also, they rejected the truth from the beginning and continued in their rejection, and the outcome is given to us in Verse 28.

Anyway, we stand in disagreement on whether or not salvation can be lost. I don't believe I will lose mine, and it has nothing to do with me being a good or righteous person because I have no righteousness of my own. But as long as I have Christ, I have righteousness because He is righteous. And He will never leave me, impossible!

If you don't mind, can you please give me your understanding of 1 John 2:19? Who are the "us" and "they" in this verse, and what is this verse saying to you? Thanks, brother!

God Bless!!!

THE FATHER GRANTS POSITION AND AUTHORITY TO JESUS

Pt. 6

The Father gives to Jesus as the incarnate Word of God all dominion, power, and authority Mt. 28:18) over creation before creation as it is through the Son that all things were created. The Son is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords over all creation. Jesus gives eternal life to all whom the Father brings to Him and He is given the right to judge all of created beings, humans and angelic. ( Heb 1:8, Jn. 17:2)

The Father wills that every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord of all to the glory of God. The Father has commanded the angels to worship the Son ( Heb 1:6) and all the redeemed are to worship Jesus as well as shown in Rev. 5:6-13 acclaiming that Jesus was slain and redeemed for Himself by His shed blood His people who come from every tongue tribe and nation.

The Father has ordained that His Son will secure the victory over sin, death, hell, and the devil, destroying all the evil works and sins of Him who deceived Eve and enticed Adam to disobey God in the beginning. ( 1 john 3:8, 1 Cor. 15:55; Rev. 1:17-18; 1 Cor. 15:26; Rev. 20:1-10; 21:1-5)

The Father commands that the Son be given the same honor as the Father ( Jn. 5:23) and restores the glory to Jesus upon His resurrection ( Jn. 17:1, 4-5) that He always had before His incarnation.

The Father has the Son, Jesus, sitting on the Father's throne in heaven, at His right hand ( Acts 7:55; Jn. 12:41; Mk. 16:19) displaying that Jesus is equal in nature to the Father and worthy to receive all that the Father receives in worship.

Got to go for now. Making wings for dinner. I realized that I did not cite verses for thr other parts. Sorry, but in this section.

See Pt. 7

T-rex,

(Part 1):

Blessings to you also!

As you said, it is true that God's Word has many commands to follow, not just a la carte. How many commands are there and do you follow all of them?

You may have misunderstood what I said when I wrote "If there is one command that we are to follow that would be sufficient and acceptable to God, it would be the command Jesus gave to His disciples where He says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

First of all, no, I am NOT saying that only one of God's commands are acceptable to God. If you notice the words "if" and "it would be," that's much different than saying (there is) only one command that we are to follow, and that is the command Jesus gave to follow Him. It's funny how a two-letter word changes everything. Hopefully this helps in understanding the point I was trying to make.

When Jesus said "follow me," that was a command. Do you think it's possible for a believer to follow Christ while simultaneously breaking the commandments of God? What does it mean to you personally to follow Christ?

T-rex,

(Part 2):

Please, tell me, what is the greatest commandment you speak of? I'm guessing you are going to tell me that thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. If so, please tell me what the command is.

You quoted only part of my post where it says, "they are saved no matter what," only you misquoted me by saying "I am saved no matter what," and then you go on to tell me that is not what Paul means by having assurance of salvation.

Please re-read what I said. What I said was "Those who believe salvation cannot be lost often get accused of thinking that they can sin all they want to because they are saved no matter what."

Please, I respectfully ask that if you are going to quote me, please include the entire statement, not just a part of it and then go on to correct me by telling me what Paul says. In case you missed it, I went on to say that I do not think that way at all.

You say that "some believe obedience is only a suggestion and optional, like tipping." I have yet to meet a brother or sister in Christ who believes that obedience to Christ is optional. Do you know anyone who believes that way?

Thanks for sharing James 1:21 which literally reads, "On account of which, after having put off all filthiness and abundance of evil, in meekness receive the implanted Word, the one being able to save your souls."

What a great piece of scripture!

THE FATHER GIFTED THE SON WITH A CHOSEN, HOLY, ROYAL PEOPLE

Pt. 5

Within the Godhead, the Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have forever loved one another and agree in unity to accomplish the eternal purposes set forth by the Father, who, in relationship (not in nature or Being) is the head of the Godhead.

The Son submitted (though equal with the Father as to nature (morphe)) to the Father to become incarnated to be the perfect, efficacious sacrifice for the sins of all who believe the gospel.

The Son submitted as the incarnated Word of God, to obey the Father's will, not His human will, as His divine will was in agreement with the Father eternally), to only speak the words the Father tells Him to do as to His humanity (He did not allow his human thought to be spoken, but only the divine words of God spoken through His humanity by His divine nature as the Word of God).

He submitted to all that the Father told Him to do and did nothing that was only from His humanity (His divine nature always does all things in unity with the Father and the Son.).

And the Son did everything to the glory of the Father. He never once failed at any of these acts of obedience to the Father in His humanity (as His divine nature could not sin). So He lived a perfect life as the divine Son of God.

The Father created the humanity of Jesus through the agency of the Holy Spirit, as all of His works are done through either Jesus or the Spirit, or both.

The Father promised to bring to Jesus all members of the chosen people before the creation of the world and it is the Father who draws them to Jesus through the Holy Spirit who regenerates the elect and brings them to faith in Jesus through the hearing of the gospel.

The Father accepts all who are justified in Christ as His children as Jesus' brethren. He counts every one of them as righteous because Jesus' perfect righteousness is given to each of the elect.

See Pt. 6

THE GLORY OF JESUS DISPLAYED IN THE CHURCH

PT. 4

Another aspect of the eternal purpose of God is that the Father, in love, gave to Jesus a people who Jesus' redeems and reconciles to the Godhead.

In truth God, by the will and decree of the Father, is pursuing with omnipotent delight a worldwide purpose of gathering a people for his name, which is Jesus, from every tribe and language and nation ( Revelation 5:9; 7:9). He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the fame of his Son among the nations.

1Peter 2:9-10

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

The ones who are given to the Son are the believers since they will come to Christ ( John 6:37), that Jesus will lose none of them ( John 6:39), will not be snatched out of Christ's hand ( John 10:29), will have eternal life ( John 17:2), and will be with Christ ( John 17:24). Therefore, we must conclude that the ones given to the Son are the Christians, the elect. They are the ones chosen for salvation ( 2 Thess. 2:13) and it is those whom Jesus came to redeem. Furthermore, since Jesus cannot fail to do the will of the Father, those who are given to the Son by the Father cannot be lost. Otherwise, Jesus will have failed to do the will of the Father.

The Father sent His Son, the Word, into the world in human flesh, to save, redeem (as a kinsman redeemer), and glorify a people chosen from humanity to the praise of the glory and grace of God in Christ. The Father calls Jesus His Beloved Son audibly in several places in the gospels. The Father, in love, decreed that all that would be done to accomplish His eternal purpose would be accomplished by the son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit within time and history, even into eternity.

See Pt. 5

Blessings to you. My thoughts on this topic are below:

"If there is one command that we are to follow that would be sufficient and acceptable to God, it would be..."

God's Word has many commands to follow, not just a la carte. Jesus says what the greatest commandment is and it's not that one. If you're saying only one of God's commands are acceptable to God that's like saying God wants you to ignore what HE says. That doesn't make sense. Of course we're to obey all of God's moral commands.

"I am saved no matter what."

That is not what Paul means by having assurance of salvation. God favors the meek, humble, pure in heart. Proverbs 16:18, Matthew 7:21, Proverbs 22:4, James 4:10, Matthew 12:32, 1 Peter 1:5

"The command to follow Him means 24/7, not when we choose to do so or not do so."

Or else, does anything happen or not? Some believe obedience is only a suggestion and optional, like tipping. James 1:21 to the end explains it well.

Brother Jesse,

We are not far apart. First, to answer your question, will I walk away? The answer is NO! I know Romans 1:28 didn't fit, but it reflects what I was thinking of someone I knew when I wrote it. Only God knows the heart of man. What was in my mind was a person I knew, and anyone who knew them would say this person was a true Christian.

This person lost a child, and they completely changed. Over time, they turned into the opposite of who they were, and this verse fits what I saw happen to this person. This is one of the reasons I believe someone can fall away; only God knows if that is what happened. John 6:44, we may see this as the gospel today, the words of God are preached, which draws people, but that is not coming to Christ himself.

Then we have Matthew 22:14: Many are called, but few are chosen. Some who hear will fully embrace it and be accepted by God, while others will not. We are drawn or called, but is it not up to us to go and believe?

How do we understand verses like Hebrews 3:12-14? This is directed at those in Christ. 1 Timothy 4:1-2, My understanding, this goes with 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and Revelation 13:7-10; here is the patience of the saints. This is a true falling away, John 1.5:4-6; we must continue to abide in Him. Romans 11:19-22, we can be cut off.

James 1:12 is another blessed is a man that endureth, if he does, he will receive a crown of life. As in Revelation 2:10, faithful unto death. I respect you, but to me, there are too many warnings to endure and overcome until our death. We cannot ignore that; we must encourage each other to stay strong in our faith.

Not to spark another debate, I believe the great falling away is connected to when the beast rises and the persecution begins. Many think they will be taken out, but are not; they will be here. My understanding is Christ will never forsake us; the only thing that can separate us from Him is us.

Thanks again, brother,

God bless,

RLW

Rom.5.8 "Law of sin and death" (2 of 2)

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."(Rom.8.1-2)

Moses failed to honour God which explains that flesh and the Spirit works at cross purposes. Similarly Simon Peter could correctly say who Christ was,"Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."(Mt.16.17) But in v.23 Jesus chides,"But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."

"For I delight in the law of God after the inward man./But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."(Rom.7.22-23)

Let us go back to the Psalm quote: My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth." This secret is in the Father Son relationship into which by faith I was adopted. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."(Ps.91.1) Abiding in Christ is the safest spot you could be in. "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."(Jer.10.23)

The Word of God is like a two edged sword: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."(Heb.4.12)

Heresy is the grindstone on which Satan helps sects blunt their knives, more to make quacks than surgeons.

Pt. 3

JESUS IS ALL IN ALL

The pre-eminence of Jesus over all of creation with Him being all in all ( 1Cor 15:28) and His reconciling all things to God does not mean that all humans and angels will be redeemed. Rather it means that all things will come under the rule, dominion, and authority of Jesus until all that opposes and is at enmity to God will be conquered by Jesus, even death. Then will Jesus give the kingdom up to His Father, having accomplished the eternal purpose of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit from eternity past.

Those who remain unbelievers and all evil spiritual beings will be condemned by Jesus and thrown into the Lake of Fire to be subjected to God's wrath forever, never more to pollute with sin and corruption that which Jesus reconciled.

But to us, who are saved by Jesus, and the elect holy angels, we will be "summed" up in Jesus in that we will forever dwell in His completely restored heaven and earth and He will dwell with us and in us, which is the fullness of His kingdom where His glory fills all of creation. God is truly over all in sovereignty. When history is summed up with the return of Jesus and He conquers all enemies and He has gathered to Himself a people for His glory, then will God's glory permeate all of creation.

See Pt. 4

Have to be out for a while. will get back later.

Rom.5.8 "Law of sin and death" (1 of 2

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

'While we were yet sinners,' God a Spirit revealed truth so as we were even while covered in mothers womb so Law of the Spirit on the basis of the Word, has to account for our flesh. "My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."(Ps.139.15) Lowest parts of the earth must account for my flesh. Law of sin and death explains the substance of dust which is in part. Dust does not remain as it is for long. Dust settles down and subsequent layers falling upon it gives us sedimentary rock, which is science. Law of the Spirit and of sin and death work under different sets of rules. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." This law came into force with Adam who sinned. So we shall find where did the flesh come from.

God commands Ezekiel to prophesy upon the bones,"And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above." (Ezek.37.8) As the Law of the Spirit possessed man in his mother's womb his flesh with the sinews were under the cover of the skin. It was thus with Adam and it is called the glory of the Lord. The deep sleep of Adam recalls the death of his Son and God takes one of the rib and 'and closed up the flesh instead thereof," meaning that there was no other bone that of Christ to fashion His bride. "Bone of my bones and flesh of flesh without the glory of God' is a lie. In closing up the flesh instead therof' sets that there is no other alternative than Law of the Spirit, so the Covenant of Seven days refers to life in the Spirit. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit./For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free'

PT. 2

THE GLORY OF GOD

Everything in and about creation is for the outpouring expression of His glory. God's sovereignty, power and will ensures that all things work to make known His glory. Because of these aspects of God's Being, His purpose cannot fail, it will be completed in just the way that He willed and decreed. His glory will permeate creation.

And, another aspect of the glory of God is that He purposed to receive praise for this Divine Glory from those He elected and redeemed in His Son, Jesus. We, His redeemed, along with the elect angels will forever offer up praise to God for the glory of all His works.

The other ultimate purpose of God in creating is for Christ to gather together in Christ all things, uniting heaven and earth as we see in Rev. 21:3, that all whom God elected-angels and saints will be one in Christ as He is one with the Father. John 17:10, 19-23.

God's overflowing grace and love is poured out upon the saints and angels whom He elected in eternity past because He willed and purposed for the elected beings to share in the glory and life of God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

What an outstanding privilege and inheritance!

Col. 1:12-20 speaks of the pre-eminence of Jesus, who made all things and all things created are FOR Him; that God's son is before all things, not only that He existed before creation, but also that in position of greatness and exultation and glory, Jesus is pre-eminent and all things consist in Him. (Vs, 15-18)

Verse 19-20 sums this up with by the cross and the shedding of His blood, Jesus has reconciled all things unto Himself, both in heaven and in earth-that is all the elect angels and saints, and all the physical universe which was corrupted by man's sin and heaven which remained and always is uncorrupted by sin. This reconciliation and making of the corrupted uncorrupted (at the consummation of Jesus' return in glory) establishes an eternal peace between God and that which was redeemed.

See pt. 3

To any who care to read,

This is a follow up to what I had posted many months ago, having spoken of state of fallen man and the mercy and grace of God along with the justice of God in administering His wrath upon the unrepentant unbeliever.

To continue, the next portion of my learning is on the purpose and plan of God which He decreed in eternity past. Please feel free to comment on what I write here. As always, I welcome comments and discussion.

Let me begin with GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE

When we consider what God intended in His decree to create the heaven and the earth and the universe and all that He formed from nothing, rather speaking all into existence.

I will first refer to Ephesians Chapter because it expressly speaks of God's purpose for creating everything being the only Being who is uncreated and self-existent. I want to highlight vs.8-12

"8Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,

according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might

gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11In whom also we

have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of

his own will: 12That we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Him."

Here we find the ultimate purpose for creation, that the redeemed in Christ would be to the praise of His glory and to gather all

things together in Christ.

TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY

Here is revealed God's overarching purpose for creation, redemption, and the glorification of those God chose in Christ before the foundation of the world-that it was done precisely for God's glory to be demonstrated to the elected creatures through His grace, mercy, love, union with Him through Jesus Christ.

See, Pt.2

Hebrews 8:10

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:"

Isaiah 58:13

"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:"

Isaiah 58:14

"Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

Matthew 24:35

"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

Blessings

Correction #2

"Instead of going onto perfect neither Moses or his Son could not succeed with them. It is similar that the sects serve heresies so they are seeds fallen by the wayside."

Please read as

"Instead of going onto perfect neither Moses nor his Son could succeed with them. It is similar that the sects serve heresies so they are seeds fallen by the wayside".

A correction:

"Knowledge of the holy is something we receive from man."

Please read as

"Knowledge of the holy is something we receive from God."

Ps.139:13 "In my mother's womb"

"Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." Psalmist tells us that everything we shall ever need to know the Truth has been revealed to us. Knowledge of the holy is something we receive from man. How do we make this knowledge put to work? Knowledge of the holy is understanding. It is not learnt after traditions of man. God is a Spirit so the impulse to seek comes from the Word of the Spirit. "For thou hast possessed my reins." It is to which St Paul caegorically affirms," For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.(Rom.1.20). God reveals through dreams and vision which are every bit of it is within the word, Thy word is truth. God seals His instructions to man so he may direct his steps in the correct path. ( Job 33.15-16) So Moses had only truth from God to go by. Proof of it we have in these verses," By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." (Heb.11.23-27) The Spirit multitasks where God knows who are His. So at the end when Moses failed to honour him his punishment was clear. (Num.20.12)

"He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works." Where God has invested He watches over them so the word as seed, incorruptible seed comes to fruition. It explains why God categorically refused to go with the Israelites," Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;" Num.14.22) .'These ten times' as a phrase refers to the law of sin and death. Law of the Spirit is tagged by Seven a whole number. Instead of going onto perfect neither Moses or his Son could not succeed with them. It is similar that the sects serve heresies so they are seeds fallen by the wayside.

Thank you, Free. Your prayers are much appreciated. May the Lord bless you and your family.

I wanted to take the time to thank everyone that has prayed for me and my situation, things have been much better this week!! And I am so thankful!!

Ezek.37.7-14 "Israe' (2 of 2)

Blessings come from the greater to the lesser. So making a heresy by making it explain as reasonable is to vitiate faith and the glory of God Jesus referred new creation in terms of the wind.." Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." If you are born of the Spirit how can you explain heresy to say otherwise? God is not mocked, brethren. You are still in the same open valley with those dry bones. Can thistles produce fruits?

"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." ( Jn 3.6,8)

God callls for winds of heaven," Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live./So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet."(37.9-10)

What do the four winds signify? The entire word of God which you do not pick and choose,-it is doctrine of man. The rich young man was offended in one thing. "One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me/.And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions./And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" Mk 10.21-22) Faith is whole which you do not cut according yo your choice. God did not spare his Son. It is whole or nothing. Doctrine of Christ is what four winds of heaven signify.

Ezek.37.7-14 "Israel' (1 of 2)

Whole Isael is intended in this verse,"Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel."(v.11) The Bible is the book of life. So everything needful for life and godliness of 'thy people' is given here. Firstly what is the definition for Israel? " Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."(Gen.32.28). Here it is not about Tom,Dick and Harry but about a new creationand it is Person specific.

Thus if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. Thus the Law of the Spirit lines up the man in whom is the fulness of God,"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."(Col.2.9). The Spirit gives us what it means to be 'in our image' and it refers to the Father Son relationship. Adam is a label for the Son who shall be sent to the world in fulness of time. The Last Adam is what we need focus upon. It is thus God, a Spirit blesses the man. The whole house of Israel consequently refers to Jesus Christ who overcame death and opened a new way for 'thy people.'

Ezekiel is set as a stand-in for Jesus Christ. Here the Spirit is demonstrating the verse,"All things were made by him."( Jn 1.3) So The Word was God and the Word was with God ( Jn 1.1) "So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone."(37.7) Creation of 'Thy people' and their number and names are all subserveint to the Power and Wisdom of God so David in his psalm marvels," Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me." The difference with the Dry Bones were that it lay in an open valley. Whereas the whole house of Israel is secured in the Will and in the Son. So any interpretation that in means literal Israel is erroneous.

Blessings come from the greater to the lesser. So making a heresy by making it explain as reasonable is to vitiate faith and the glory.

Indeed Lbooth1955, we have very limited biblical records of the apostles' journeyings for the sake of the Gospel. Though I suspect, as was written of Jesus' full Life & ministry, the same could be said in this regard of the extent of the apostolic ministry ( John 21:25).

But as GiGi wrote, we can believe that the Gospel was taken out much further afield than we might think, if not directly by the mouth of the apostles, certainly by those who might have traveled with them & by converts who ventured into their "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria", etc. ( Acts 1:8). We can truly rejoice that the Gospel of Salvation had gone out by the best of the abilities & opportunities of the apostles & continued to go out after them, even as it is today. I pray for the day when every people & tribe will come under the sound of its life-giving/life-changing message, releasing many from the bondage of sin, religion & self.

Hi Jesse,

I appreciate both your reply and Chris's cultivated input. Things are much clearer now.

Please note, I'm not well versed in Bible, hence seeking your expertise & intellectual proficiency here.

The individual I'm referring to is real & well versed in Bible, self-identifies as a Christian, often stating that faith in Christ ensures salvation regardless of one's actions.

I'll explain in short with few details possible, This person has cited examples like the thief on the cross being saved.

And claims, at times, lying or causing harm may be justified for a greater purpose or to save ourselves or many others. Furthermore, this person, who is married, having children and in a leadership role, at 40's, had inappropriate exploitation of a financially vulnerable minor, after abortions, fathered to her children again. Never addressing of the exploitation, later justifies his actions by saying he had no option as he has no other source of income, to support the children involved (the wife's & the exploited) and to feed them(but often starving the exploited) and also the many dependent on his leadership work, had to lie about his exploitation & reject the children as his own, that his actions were not sinful in God's eyes. Because, he had used that God's money to take care of them as he didn't abandoned. But, the victim endured long-term heinous emotional & physical abuse(severe beatings included), brutal treatment, crippling the health and the some of the many awful things mentioned earlier & while he's leading sinful life. Ultimately says, God at best will only punish him with whippings(quoting some verse i don't remember) or just remove his rewards(also quoting a reference verse i can't remember), but surely he will enter the Heaven.

When asked about his mistreatment, he says God choose you for this role.

Hence i refered as a Christian, & asked about hell & salvation. There are other questions raised by this person that made me question a lot.

Thanks again!

Thank you Lbooth1955 for sharing an excellent commentary on Tithing. And even more than that, I get saddened when believers in Christ being led of the Spirit in ALL things, still find reason to appeal to the OT Laws to justify their walk with the Lord. All those Laws could only reveal the sin in the heart of every Israelite & had no redeeming value at all; in fact had an end date affixed to them: "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" ( Romans 10:4). "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" ( Romans 8:3,4).

How then do we (believing Jew & Gentile) attain the "righteousness of the law"? Only by the Holy Spirit, now indwelling in us, Who not only brings us into a state of submission to the perfect Will of God, but also to know & obey all that our Heavenly Father requires of us. And this obedience goes way beyond the Laws once engraven in stone but what has been given us by the Spirit ( 2 Corinthians 3:6-8). And His "ministration" goes deep within us showing us where obedience is lacking and needed in our lives & then gives us the power to obey - this "glorious" work the OT Law could never do, nor designed to do. Tithing may be a good rule of thumb for giving, but what the Lord seeks is an earnest cheerful giver (as you shared), as the Spirit directs us to the needs around us. Blessings and thanks again.