Yes, us Christian folks should judge other religions. We should judge it by the Bible, because we know and believe it to be true without a doubt. That way, we ourselves aren't deceived.
So, the folks in those other religions (JW, Catholic, Islam, etc.) have been deceived and as a Christian you have the truth. So, when you are judging these religions to be false, learn a little about why they are false. That way, if you have an opportunity to witness to a Catholic, or a JW, etc. You will be able to help explain and plant a seed for God to work. Often times those folks are born into their religion and haven't heard the truth of the gospel.
I tried to keep it short, I hope it helped. Have a good night.
gaining understanding in what we possess now of the riches we receive in Christ and what we will receive after our resurrection in our glorification.
We are to grow in godly character and endeavor to live godly lives privately and publicly. Such living causes unbelievers to take notice of what we profess because our lifestyle agrees with what the Scriptures, believers, and most unbelievers reveal about the lifestyle of those who believe in Jesus. We also need to set godly examples before our children in our home and any children we come to know or are present in a situation. This is a very important part of being mature because we are careful how we present ourselves in the presence of others so as not to cause any to fall into sin by our example or to accuse us of hypocrisy and therefore reject our testimony.
When we walk with the Holy Spirit daily we will learn to be more mature as time passes.
Getting back to you question. The more we know of the truths of Scripture the better we are at identifying false teachings and also the better we can present the truths of Scriptures to those who believe false doctrines or are involved in non-Christian religions. The Holy Spirit will help us in all of this if we yield to Him and pray with him.
Gigi, I don't understand why you say "Such living causes unbelievers to take notice of what we profess because our lifestyle agrees with what the Scriptures". Where in the Bible does it say God's children are supposed to live their lives in a manner that causes unbelievers to take notice?
1 Peter 2:12 KJVS says:
"Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."
Based on that scripture, doesn't it seem like the purpose of living a Godly life to glorify God?
I have found over the 6+ decades of my life in Christ that unbelievers who know that I am a Christian expect me to act in a godly way even though they do not wish to be godly themselves and many will often speak of the hypocrisy of believers who act in ungodly ways on a regular basis and thus can dismiss the veracity of one's claim in Christ.
And, of course we should want to give glory to God in all we do. But doing what is right can cause some unbelievers to reconsider their unbelief or may admit that God is holy and they are not.
It is true that some who are hostile to God will revile Christians for being godly or not joining in on the sin they do openly, often to shock Christians. But I find that there are many unbelievers who are "yet to be believers" who look to how Christians they know behave as an encouragement to believe the gospel. This just shows that the Holy Spirit is at work in their lives drawing them to Christ. They may be tired of living sinfully and desire to change. When believers live godly lives before them they can see that it is possible to be changed by God through the gospel.
I am glad you asked for Scripture to support what I said. We just never know what is going on in the lives of unbelievers around us. Some may continue to be hostile to us and to Christ. But others may see how we are able to have victory over sin and realize that this could be possible for them to. Godly living can be what may cause them to ask one to tell them about one's hope in Christ, as 1 Peter 3:15 speaks about.
Matthew 5:14
14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
To the contrary, if, when you refer to " unbelievers" you meant the elect of God who have not been converted to the truth, it seems that scripture supports the idea that good works could have a positive affect in their conversion process.
The idea that good works can influence the unregenerate to belief in Christ cannot be supported by scripture. God's Word tells there is none good, and that we are dead in sin unless and until God regenerates them to life as shown in the following verses.
Ephesians 2:1,5 KJVS
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; [5] Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Colossians 2:13 KJVS
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Romans 3:10-12 KJVS
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
I apologized for the slow response, this website hasn't be coopertive with me!
Matthew 5:16 is a great example of why we should do good works, because it glorifies God. But that isn't what I meant when I said I don't understand. My question refers to you use of the word "unbeliever" in the context of your response. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I assume when you say "unbelievers" you meant those who are unregenerant.
It seems important to point out that neither belief nor unbelief have anything to do with regeneration. Belief is an evidence of regeneration, not a requirement for regeneration.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says it very clear,
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Ephesians 1:4-5,11 also supoort the fact that man has no part in regeneration. It says "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: [5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, [11] In 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:
According to the plain meaning of scripture, unbelievers would not believe if they could, and could not believe if they would. Romans 3:10-12 tells us, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
As I mentioned, Matthew 5:16 is an excellent example why God's elect should do good works, but it has no spiritual affect on the unregenerate.
I agree with you that unregenerated people cannot bring themselves to God on their own. God draws the elect to Jesus by the Holy Spirit enabling them to believe the gospel and turn to Jesus in faith.
In regards to those in our sphere of influence, we do not know whether God is doing this to those who watch our lives. Those who are unbelieving but being drawn to Jesus due to being elected to salvation from eternity will see that we live godly lives and may inquire to know why we live the way we do. This is the door God uses to open the way for the gospel to be shared with such people. God does use such "means" to accomplish His purpose. By causing people to be ready to receive the gospel in faith, God uses believers to be a catalyst for such people to hear the gospel.
Our good works will either be used of God to draw elect ones to seek to know more about our faith or such works can result in unbelievers who are not elect to harden their hearts against God more.
My main point for my original post was to point out one of the important aspects of living godly lives in this world. That point is that others are watching us to see if we are genuine in our lifestyle and faith.
I think we are to judge the teachings (doctrines) of what others profess in their religion against the Bible to see if these doctrines are true or false. We are to reject false doctrines whether they are professed by one who professes to be Christian or of any other religion. We can do this privately, making note not to follow these teachings or the religion or sect that teaches false doctrines contrary to what the Bible teaches us. And, at times we may be called by the Holy Spirit to reject false teachings openly such as in a discussion or forum for debate.
Therefore, it is vital for every Christian to go on to maturity as Paul exhorts in these verses:
Ephesians 4:14-15 - That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Hebrews 5:12-13 - For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Hebrews 6:1-3 - Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Ephesians 4:13 - Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
By maturity, Paul is certainly speaking of going deeper into the truths taught to the church by the apostles of which we have laid out for us in the NT. It involves thinking seriously and thoroughly on the doctrines one has learned and seek to understand them to a greater degree to strengthen our faith and knowledge of God in Jesus Christ, His work of salvation, how God has worked over the course of history to bring to fullness His eternal plan and purpose, see pt. 2
My best response to your question would be to suggest that you search online for explanations of this topic of God's eternal decree. You can look under such titles as:
God's Eternal Decree
God's Eternal Purpose
God's Eternal Covenant
There are many good articles that explain this well with biblical support.
As for now, I do not wish to get into a conversation on this topic right now but most likely will post about it in the future.
Discernment and investigation is needed to know the truth and if a church is following the truth. Judge is a general word that can have more than one meaning, like the word love.
Yes, us Christian folks should judge other religions. We should judge it by the Bible, because we know and believe it to be true without a doubt. That way, we ourselves aren't deceived.
So, the folks in those other religions (JW, Catholic, Islam, etc.) have been deceived and as a Christian you have the truth. So, when you are judging these religions to be false, learn a little about why they are false. That way, if you have an opportunity to witness to a Catholic, or a JW, etc. You will be able to help explain and plant a seed for God to work. Often times those folks are born into their religion and haven't heard the truth of the gospel.
I tried to keep it short, I hope it helped. Have a good night.
Pt. 2
gaining understanding in what we possess now of the riches we receive in Christ and what we will receive after our resurrection in our glorification.
We are to grow in godly character and endeavor to live godly lives privately and publicly. Such living causes unbelievers to take notice of what we profess because our lifestyle agrees with what the Scriptures, believers, and most unbelievers reveal about the lifestyle of those who believe in Jesus. We also need to set godly examples before our children in our home and any children we come to know or are present in a situation. This is a very important part of being mature because we are careful how we present ourselves in the presence of others so as not to cause any to fall into sin by our example or to accuse us of hypocrisy and therefore reject our testimony.
When we walk with the Holy Spirit daily we will learn to be more mature as time passes.
Getting back to you question. The more we know of the truths of Scripture the better we are at identifying false teachings and also the better we can present the truths of Scriptures to those who believe false doctrines or are involved in non-Christian religions. The Holy Spirit will help us in all of this if we yield to Him and pray with him.
1 Peter 2:12 KJVS says:
"Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."
Based on that scripture, doesn't it seem like the purpose of living a Godly life to glorify God?
John 13:34
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
John 13:35
"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
I was thinking of this verse in my post.
I have found over the 6+ decades of my life in Christ that unbelievers who know that I am a Christian expect me to act in a godly way even though they do not wish to be godly themselves and many will often speak of the hypocrisy of believers who act in ungodly ways on a regular basis and thus can dismiss the veracity of one's claim in Christ.
And, of course we should want to give glory to God in all we do. But doing what is right can cause some unbelievers to reconsider their unbelief or may admit that God is holy and they are not.
It is true that some who are hostile to God will revile Christians for being godly or not joining in on the sin they do openly, often to shock Christians. But I find that there are many unbelievers who are "yet to be believers" who look to how Christians they know behave as an encouragement to believe the gospel. This just shows that the Holy Spirit is at work in their lives drawing them to Christ. They may be tired of living sinfully and desire to change. When believers live godly lives before them they can see that it is possible to be changed by God through the gospel.
I am glad you asked for Scripture to support what I said. We just never know what is going on in the lives of unbelievers around us. Some may continue to be hostile to us and to Christ. But others may see how we are able to have victory over sin and realize that this could be possible for them to. Godly living can be what may cause them to ask one to tell them about one's hope in Christ, as 1 Peter 3:15 speaks about.
Matthew 5:14
14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
To the contrary, if, when you refer to " unbelievers" you meant the elect of God who have not been converted to the truth, it seems that scripture supports the idea that good works could have a positive affect in their conversion process.
The idea that good works can influence the unregenerate to belief in Christ cannot be supported by scripture. God's Word tells there is none good, and that we are dead in sin unless and until God regenerates them to life as shown in the following verses.
Ephesians 2:1,5 KJVS
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; [5] Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Colossians 2:13 KJVS
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Romans 3:10-12 KJVS
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
I apologized for the slow response, this website hasn't be coopertive with me!
Matthew 5:16 is a great example of why we should do good works, because it glorifies God. But that isn't what I meant when I said I don't understand. My question refers to you use of the word "unbeliever" in the context of your response. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I assume when you say "unbelievers" you meant those who are unregenerant.
It seems important to point out that neither belief nor unbelief have anything to do with regeneration. Belief is an evidence of regeneration, not a requirement for regeneration.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says it very clear,
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Ephesians 1:4-5,11 also supoort the fact that man has no part in regeneration. It says "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: [5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, [11] In 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:
According to the plain meaning of scripture, unbelievers would not believe if they could, and could not believe if they would. Romans 3:10-12 tells us, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
As I mentioned, Matthew 5:16 is an excellent example why God's elect should do good works, but it has no spiritual affect on the unregenerate.
Continued
I agree with you that unregenerated people cannot bring themselves to God on their own. God draws the elect to Jesus by the Holy Spirit enabling them to believe the gospel and turn to Jesus in faith.
In regards to those in our sphere of influence, we do not know whether God is doing this to those who watch our lives. Those who are unbelieving but being drawn to Jesus due to being elected to salvation from eternity will see that we live godly lives and may inquire to know why we live the way we do. This is the door God uses to open the way for the gospel to be shared with such people. God does use such "means" to accomplish His purpose. By causing people to be ready to receive the gospel in faith, God uses believers to be a catalyst for such people to hear the gospel.
Our good works will either be used of God to draw elect ones to seek to know more about our faith or such works can result in unbelievers who are not elect to harden their hearts against God more.
My main point for my original post was to point out one of the important aspects of living godly lives in this world. That point is that others are watching us to see if we are genuine in our lifestyle and faith.
I think we are to judge the teachings (doctrines) of what others profess in their religion against the Bible to see if these doctrines are true or false. We are to reject false doctrines whether they are professed by one who professes to be Christian or of any other religion. We can do this privately, making note not to follow these teachings or the religion or sect that teaches false doctrines contrary to what the Bible teaches us. And, at times we may be called by the Holy Spirit to reject false teachings openly such as in a discussion or forum for debate.
Therefore, it is vital for every Christian to go on to maturity as Paul exhorts in these verses:
Ephesians 4:14-15 - That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Hebrews 5:12-13 - For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Hebrews 6:1-3 - Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Ephesians 4:13 - Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
By maturity, Paul is certainly speaking of going deeper into the truths taught to the church by the apostles of which we have laid out for us in the NT. It involves thinking seriously and thoroughly on the doctrines one has learned and seek to understand them to a greater degree to strengthen our faith and knowledge of God in Jesus Christ, His work of salvation, how God has worked over the course of history to bring to fullness His eternal plan and purpose, see pt. 2
My best response to your question would be to suggest that you search online for explanations of this topic of God's eternal decree. You can look under such titles as:
God's Eternal Decree
God's Eternal Purpose
God's Eternal Covenant
There are many good articles that explain this well with biblical support.
As for now, I do not wish to get into a conversation on this topic right now but most likely will post about it in the future.
I noticed that this site has a statement on The Eternal Decree.
You can pull it up here or else google The Eternal Decree-King James Version online
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