Thread: importance in knowing the Feast of the LORD--I THINK YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS
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importance in knowing the Feast of the LORD--I THINK YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS
Posted : 14 Dec, 2009 05:32 PM
As christians growing up in western Gentile churches we are not taught the Feast of the LORD. It is very important to understand them because YAHSHUA (JESUS) fulfilled the Spring Feast down to the last detail and HE will fulfill the Fall Feast when HE comes as judge. Mattithyahu (Matthew) 7:22-23 says "Many shall say to me in that day, Master,Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name? 23 And then I shall declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me, you who are lawlessness." In these verses HE is saying those who are lawless meaning those who do not keep HIS law meaning the Torah (the instructions). Those who go out and make up denominations and call them HIS. Those who do not worship on HIS appointed day, the Sabbath. Those who cast out demons, they will say they have done many works in HIS Name. Who does this sound like to you? Do you think that nonbelievers would say to HIM they cast out anything in HIS Name? NO it is the churches that have been misleading you into believing that you no longer need to keep the law. Many will preach to you and say JESUS did away with the law by shedding HIS blood on the cross. When really HE bought you with HIS blood and was the Passover Lamb, by which HE was fulfilling the Passover rehearsal they had been keeping since they came out of slavery. HE did away with the sacrifice you don't have to spill blood anymore cause HE did it for the last time. If they say that HE did away with the law then why would HE say in Mattithyahu (Matthew) 5:17-20 "Do not think that i came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. 18 For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done. " (NOW READ THIS NEXT PART WITH UNDERSTANDING) " 19 Whoever, then breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called the least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the reign of the heavens." When YAHSHUA came HE broke all of the rabbinic law that the Pharisees had put into place many of which we do the same of by saying things like well christmas means this to me and i think that HE doesn't really mean we should keep the old law that is old we are living in the new times. That my friends will get you a one way ticket to "depart from me". When HE says no yod or tittle will pass that means no yod or tittle until the end of the world. Meaning we keep these commands forever. Look closely at the part that says men teach others to not keep it, that is what religious systems are doing by telling you to worship on sungod day and not to keep HIS appointed times. If JESUS tells you to do something then what should you do? We misread Scripture to make it fit into our lives so we can live the way we want to live. YAHWAH has always wanted us to be servants of HIM to call HIM ELOHIM. Do some research on christmas and easter. For easter you can look up ,mithra and nimrod, and christmas just search origins of christmas and you'll see it is the birthdays of mithra,ra, and many other sungods that were being worshiped in those days and now.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 " Now brothers, as to the times and the seasons, you do not need to be written to. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of YAHWAH comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then suddenly destruction comes upon them, as labour pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 So then, we should not sleep, as others do, but we should watch and be sober." this is saying that they needed no writing about the times and the seasons ( The Feast of the LORD) for they knew already that it would come like a thief and if you know a thief is coming do you let them come? NO you know they are coming so you prepare for them. When he says like labour pains it means sudden, without warning. They will not be caught like that cause they are in the light and not in the dark about the true Messiah, not the one that has been made up to fit our pagan religious system. What do they teach you in religion peace and safety? If you go to church you will be okay? is that the way you think YAHSHUA taught? NO HE said keep the Torah keep the commandments. All we have to do is read them to understand them, dear brothers and sisters if we don't start to understand the Feast of the LORD we will be in darkness when HE comes,,the hour no man knows and that is the same as how no man knows the beginning of the Biblical year or the Feast dates until the new moon is sighted in Israel. And who controls the moon? It has been this way for as long as they have been there, but none of us know these things. We have been brought up in a system that does not tell us what we need to hear but what will get people in seats and smiles on faces. These verses are talking about being ready and understanding what is before us in our Scripture. YAHSHUA broke most of their laws(rabbinic laws) and that is why they killed HIM. HE taught that the Temple is not the Spirit the Spirit is alive in you not so building. He taught that the FATHER is alive in you. Little did they know it was all planned. If satan had known killing HIM was the will of YAHWAH, he would have tried to keep HIM as safe as possible. Remember the verse that talks about YAHSHUA being tempted and when satan said look see all the kingdoms of the world, i will give them to you if you kneel before me. YAHSHUA never argued that he didn't have the power to give them to HIM. HE just turned it down. From the second man fell he handed the deed to this world over to satan and this world is his brothers and sisters until YAHSHUA breaks the seals and reclaims what is in the hands of satan and his angels. So beware what you call HIS celebration and please get out and learn about the Feast of the LORD, read your Scripture for yourself stop letting preachers guide you into believing lies. They may not mean to it is just what they are taught too. Read Leviticus 23 for yourself pray and ask the HOLY SPIRIT to guide you not men. I beg you to listen to YAHWAH and come back to the Torah( the instructions) with all my love and prayers for your well being may the peace of YAHWAH our ELOHIM be with you always
importance in knowing the Feast of the LORD--I THINK YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS
Posted : 17 Dec, 2009 04:06 PM
Dear Manofgod42,
According to your statement:
" As an example, those who erroneously teach that a Christian can lose his or her salvation are, in essence, denying the sufficiency of Christ to save to the utmost. They believe sin to be greater than Christ's grace. But Christ's righteousness which he counts toward us is not only effecient for our salvation, but sufficient. His once for all sacrifice put away sin for all time in those He has united to Himself. His salvation also means that he not only saves at the beginning but preserves us to the end, sealing us in His perfect righteousness whose blood "reminds the covenant God" not to treat us as our sins deserve. Any attempt to add our covenant faithfulness as part of the price of redemption after regeneration is an "attempt to attain our goal by human effort" and thus a complete misapprehension of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must, therefore, reject any and all attempts to maintain a judicial standing before God by any act on our part. Salvation is of the Lord."
Salvation cannot be lost under no condition.
Yet, Jesus, and the apostles clearly taught that a Christian can blaspheme the Holy Ghost, backslide into sin and unbelief, or draw back unto perdition (destruction ). All of these acts are considerder conditions for the lake of fire.
Here are just a few:
12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with
me scattereth abroad.
12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall
be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
shall not be forgiven unto men.
12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be
forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it
shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world
to come.
12:33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree
corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
( Matt 12: 30-33 )
24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made
ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find
so doing.
24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his
goods.
24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth
his coming;
24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink
with the drunken;
24:50 The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not
for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the
hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
( Matt 24: 45-51)
25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I
knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not
sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there
thou hast that is thine.
25:26 His Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful
servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather
where I have not strawed:
25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers,
and then at my coming I should have received mine own with
usury.
25:28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath
ten talents.
25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have
abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even
that which he hath.
25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
( Matt 25: 24-30 )
12:35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;
12:36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he
will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh,
they may open unto him immediately.
12:37 Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall
find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and
make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve
them.
12:38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third
watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
12:39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what
hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have
suffered his house to be broken through.
12:40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour
when ye think not.
12:41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us,
or even to all?
12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward,
whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them
their portion of meat in due season?
12:43 Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find
so doing.
12:44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that
he hath.
12:45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his
coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and
to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
12:46 The Lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not
for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in
sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
( Luke 12: 35-46 )
3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief, in departing from the living God.
3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of
you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of
our confidence stedfast unto the end;
3:15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your
hearts, as in the provocation.
3:16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that
came out of Egypt by Moses.
3:17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them
that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
( Heb. 3: 12-17 )
6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy
Ghost,
6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the
world to come,
6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to
an open shame.
( Heb. 6: 4-6 )
10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of
the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,
which shall devour the adversaries.
10:28 He that despised Moses� law died without mercy under two or
three witnesses:
10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath
counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an
unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I
will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge
his people.
10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
( Heb. 10: 26-31 )
10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of
God, ye might receive the promise.
10:37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not
tarry.
10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul
shall have no pleasure in him.
10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them
that believe to the saving of the soul.
( Heb. 10: 36-39 )
2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through
the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again
entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them
than the beginning.
2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy
commandment delivered unto them.
2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The
dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed
to her wallowing in the mire.
( 2 Peter 2: 20-22 )
21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God,
and he shall be my son.
21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all
liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which is the second death.
( Rev. 21: 7-8 )
Note:********* No difference is made between the fearful,
unbelieving, or lying Christian, and fearful , unbelieving, or lying
importance in knowing the Feast of the LORD--I THINK YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS
Posted : 17 Dec, 2009 05:25 PM
dear folks, i just wanted to say that i just remembered even i, one time here called a man a liar because he said i wasnt saved.. i did use harsh words then.. for that i must apologize to him and to all of you for my actions. as that was not the right way for me to handle that situation. i do hope youll forgive me.
importance in knowing the Feast of the LORD--I THINK YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS
Posted : 18 Dec, 2009 06:02 AM
OUR PERSEVERANCE NOT DEPENDENT ON OUR OWN GOOD WORKS BUT ON GOD�S GRACE
Paul teaches that believers are not under law, but under grace, and that since they are not under the law they cannot be condemned for having violated the law. �Ye are not under law but under grace,� Rom. 6:14. Further sin cannot possibly cause their downfall, for they are under a system of grace and are not treated according to their deserts. �If it is by grace, it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace,� Rom. 11: 6. �The law worketh wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there transgression,� Rom. 4:15. �Apart from the law sin is dead� (that is, where the law is abolished sin can no longer subject the person to punishment), Rom. 7:8. �Ye were made dead to the law through the body of Christ,� Rom. 7:4. The one who attempts to earn even the smallest part of his salvation by works becomes �a debtor to do the whole law� (that is, to render perfect obedience in his own strength and thus earn his salvation), Gal. 5:8. We are here dealing with two radically different systems of salvation, two systems which, in fact, are diametrically opposed to each other.
The infinite, mysterious, eternal love of God for His people is a guarantee that they can never be lost. This love is not subject to fluctuations but is as unchangeable as His being. It is also gratuitous, and keeps faster hold of us than we of it. It is not founded on the attractiveness of its objects. �Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins,� I John 4:10. �God commendeth His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life,� Rom. 5:8-10. Here the very point stressed is that our standing with God is not based on our deserts. It was �while we were enemies� that we were brought into spiritual life through sovereign grace; and if He has done the greater, will He not do the lesser? The writer of the book of Hebrews also teaches that it is impossible for one of God�s chosen to be lost when he says that Christ is both �the Author and Perfecter of our faith.� We are there taught that the whole course of our salvation is divinely planned and divinely guided. Neither the grace of God nor its continuance is given according to our merits. Hence if any Christian fell away, it would be because God had withdrawn His grace and changed His method of procedure � or, in other words, because He had put the person back under a system of law.
Robert L. Dabney has expressed this truth very ably in the following paragraph:
The sovereign and unmerited love is the cause of the believer�s effectual calling. Jer. 31:3; Rom. 8:30. Now, as the cause is unchangeable, the effect is unchangeable. That effect Is, the constant communication of grace to the believer in whom God hath begun a good work. God was not induced to bestow His renewing grace in the first instance, by anything which He saw, meritorious or attractive, in the repenting sinner; and therefore the subsequent absence of everything good in him would be no new motive to God for withdrawing His grace. When He first bestowed that grace, He knew that the sinner on whom He bestowed it was totally depraved, and wholly and only hateful in himself to the divine holiness; and therefore no new instance of ingratitude or unfaithfulness, of which the sinner may become guilty after his conversion, can be any provocation to God, to change His mind, and wholly withdraw His sustaining grace. God knew all this ingratitude before. He will chastise it, by temporarily withdrawing His Holy Spirit, or His providential mercies; but if He had not intended from the first to bear with it, and to forgive it in Christ, He would not have called the sinner by His grace at first. In a word, the causes for which God determined to bestow His electing love on the sinner are wholly in God, and not at all in the believer; and hence, nothing in the believer�s heart or conduct can finally change that purpose of love. Is. 54:10; Rom. 11:29. Compare carefully Rom. 5:8-10; 8:32, with the whole scope of Rom. 8:28-end. This illustrious passage is but an argument for our proposition; �What shall separate us from the love of Christ?��2
Dr. Charles Hodge says,
God�s love in this respect, says is compared to parental love. A mother does not love her child because it is lovely. Her love leads her to do all she can to render it attractive and to keep it so. So the love of God, being in like manner mysterious, unaccountable by anything in its objects, secures His adorning His children with the graces of His Spirit, and arraying them in all the beauty of holiness. It is only the lamentable mistake that God loves us for our goodness, that can lead any one to suppose that His love is dependent on our self-sustained attractiveness.3
Concerning the salvation of the elect, Luther says, �God�s decree of predestination is firm and certain; and the necessity resulting from it is, in like manner, immovable, and cannot but take place. For we ourselves are so feeble, that if the matter were left in our hands, very few, or rather none, would be saved; but Satan would overcome us all.�
The more we think of these matters, the more thankful we are that our perseverance in holiness and assurance of salvation is not dependent on our own weak nature, but upon God�s constant sustaining power. We can say with Isaiah, �Except Jehovah of hosts had left us a very small remnant, we should have become as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah.� Arminianism denies this doctrine of Perseverance, because it is a system, not of pure grace, but of grace and works; and in any such system the person must prove himself at least partially worthy.
THOUGH TRULY SAVED THE CHRISTIAN MAY TEMPORARILY
BACKSLIDE AND COMMIT SIN
This doctrine of Perseverance does not mean that Christians do not temporarily fall the victims of sin, for alas, this is all too common. Even the best of men backslide temporarily. But they are never completely defeated; for God, by the exercise of His grace on their hearts infallibly prevents even the weakest saint from final apostasy. As yet we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power (or the glory) may be of God, and not from ourselves (II Cor. 4:7).
Concerning his own personal experience even the great apostle Paul could write: �The good which I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I practice. But if what I would not, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. . . . I find then the law, that, to me who would do good, evil is present. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I of myself with the mind, indeed, serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.� Rom. 7:19-25. In these lines every true Christian reads his own experience.
It is, of course, inconsistent for the Christian to commit sin, and the writer of the book of Hebrews says that those who do sin �crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open shame� (6:6). After David had committed sin and had repented he was told by the prophet Nathan that his sin would be forgiven, but that nevertheless through it he had �given great occasion to the enemies of Israel to blaspheme,� II Sam. 12:14. David and Peter fell away temporarily, but the basic principles of their natures called them back. Judas fell away permanently because he lacked those basic principles.
As long as the believer remains in this world his state is one of warfare. He suffers temporary reverses and may for a time appear to have lost all faith; yet if he has been once truly saved, he cannot fall away completely from grace. If once he has experienced the inner change which comes through regeneration he will sooner or later return to the fold and be saved. When he comes to himself he confesses his sins and asks forgiveness, never doubting that he is saved. His lapse into sin may have injured him severely and may have brought destruction to others; but so far as he is personally concerned it is only temporary. Paul taught that the life work of many people should be burned since it is constructed of wrong materials, though they themselves shall be saved �so as by fire,� I Cor. 3:12-15; and it was this teaching which Jesus brought out in the parable of the lost sheep which the shepherd sought and brought back to the fold.
If true believers fell away, then their bodies, which are called �temples of the Holy Spirit,� would become the habitations of the Devil, which of course would make the Devil rejoice and insult over God (I Cor. 6:19). �The Christian is like a man making his way up hill, who occasionally slips back, yet always has his face set toward the summit. The unregenerate man has his face turned downwards, and he is slipping all the way,� � A. H. Strong. �The believer, like a man on shipboard, may fall again and again on the deck, but he will never fall overboard.� � C. H. Spurgeon.
Each one of the elect is like the prodigal son in this, that for a time he is deluded by the world and is led astray by his own carnal appetite. He tries to feed on the husks, but they do not satisfy. And sooner or later he is obliged to say, �I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight.� And he meets with the same reception, tokens of unchanging love; and a father�s welcome voice echoes through the soul, and melts the heart of the poor returning backslider, �This my son was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.� Let it be noticed that this is a thoroughly Calvinistic parable in that the prodigal was a son, and could not lose that relationship. Those who are not sons never have the desire to arise and go to the Father.
Our judgments may at times be wrong, as was that of the bewitched Galatians (3:1); and our affections may cool, as in the Ephesian Church (Rev. 2:4). The Church may become drowsy, yet her heart awakes (Song 5:2). Grace may at times seem to be lost to a child of God when it is indeed not so. The sun is eclipsed, but regains its former splendor. The trees lose all their leaves and fruit in winter, but has fresh buddings with the spring. Israel flees once, or even twice, before her enemies, and yet they conquer the land of promise. The Christian, too, falls many times, but is finally saved. It is unthinkable that God�s elect should fail of salvation. �There is no possibility of their escaping the omnipotent power of God, so that, like Jonah, who fled from the will of God, which was to carry the message to Nineveh, yet was pursued even into the belly of the fish by the power of God until he willingly obeyed God�s command, so they will eventually return to the Saviour, and after confession receive pardon for their sins and be saved.�4
AN OUTWARD PROFESSION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS NOT ALWAYS
A PROOF THAT THE PERSON IS A TRUE CHRISTIAN
We have no great difficulty in disposing of those cases where apparently true believers have gone into final apostasy. Both Scripture and experience teach us that we are often mistaken in our judgment of our fellow men, that sometimes it is practically impossible for us to know for certain that they are true Christians. The tares were never wheat, and the bad fish were never good, in spite of the fact that their true nature was not at first recognized. Since Satan can so alter his appearance that he is mistaken for an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14), it is no marvel that sometimes his ministers also fashion themselves as doers of righteousness, with the most deceptive appearances of holiness, devotion, piety and zeal. Certainly an outward profession is not always a guarantee that the soul is saved. Like the Pharisees of old, they may only desire to �make a fair show in the flesh,� and deceive many. Jesus warned His disciples, �there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect,� Matt. 24:24; and He quoted the prophet Isaiah to the effect that, �This people honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men,� Mark 7:6, 7. Paul warned against those who were �false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ,� II Cor. 11:13. And to the Romans he wrote, �They are not all Israel, that are of Israel: neither, because they are Abraham�s seed are they all children,� Rom. 9:6, 7. John mentions those who �call themselves apostles, and they are not,� Rev. 2:2; and a little later he adds, �I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead,� Rev. 3:1.
But however effectively these may deceive men, God all the time knows �the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan,� Rev. 2:9. We live in a day when multitudes claim the name of �Christian,� who are destitute of Christian knowledge, experience, and character, � in a day when, in many quarters, the distinction between the Church and the world has been wiped out. Like Samuel, we are often deceived by the outward appearance, and say, �Surely the Lord�s anointed is before us,� when if we really knew the motives behind their works we would conclude otherwise. We are often mistaken in our judgment of others, in spite of the best precautions that we can take. John gave the true solution for these cases when he wrote: �They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they all are not of us,� I John 2:19. All of those who fall away permanently come under this class.
Some persons make a great profession of religion although they know nothing of the Lord Jesus in sincerity and in truth. These persons may outstrip many a humble follower in head-knowledge, and for a season they may quite deceive the very elect; yet all the time their hearts have never been touched. In the judgment day many of those who at some time in their lives have been externally associated with the Church will say, �Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works?� And then He will reply to them, �I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity,� Matt. 7:22,23; which, of course, would not be true if at some time He had known them as real Christians. When every man shall appear in his own colors, when the secrets of all hearts shall be manifest, many who at times appeared to be true Christians will be seen never to have been among God�s people. Some fall away from a profession of faith, but none fall away from the saving grace of God. Those who do fall have never known the latter. They are the stony-ground hearers, who have no root in. themselves, but who endure for a while; and when tribulation or persecution arises, straightway they stumble. They are then said to have given up or to have made shipwreck of that faith which they never possessed except in appearance. Some of these become sufficiently enlightened in the scheme of the doctrines of the Gospel that they are able to preach or to teach them to others, and yet are themselves entirely destitute of real saving grace. When such fall away they are no proofs nor instances of the final apostasy of real saints.
Mere church membership, of course, is no guarantee that the persons are real Christians. Not every member of the Church militant will be a member of the Church triumphant. To answer certain purposes, they make an outward profession of the Gospel, which obliges them for a time to be outwardly moral and to associate themselves with the people of God. They appear to have true faith and continue thus for a while. Then either their sheep�s clothing is stripped off, or they throw it off themselves, and return again to the world. If we could see the real motives of their hearts, we would discover that at no time were they ever actuated by a true love of God. They were all this while goats, and not sheep, ravening wolves, and not gentle lambs. Hence Peter says of them, �It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had been washed to wallowing in the mire,� II Peter 2:22. They thereby show that they never belonged to the number of the elect.
Many of the unconverted listen to the preaching of the Gospel as Herod listened to John the Baptist. We are told that �Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him he was much perplexed; and he heard him gladly,� Mark 6:20. Yet no one who knows of Herod�s decree to put John the Baptist to death, and of his life in general, will say that he was ever a Christian.
In addition to what has been said it is to be admitted that often times the common operations of the Spirit on the enlightened conscience lead to reformation and to an externally religious life. Those so influenced are often very strict in their conduct and diligent in their religious duties. To the awakened sinner the promises of the Gospel and the exhibition of the plan of salvation contained In the Scriptures appear not only as true but as suited to his condition. He receives them with joy, and believes with a faith founded on the moral force of truth. This faith continues as long as the state of mind by which it is produced continues. When that changes, he relapses into his usual state of insensibility, and his faith disappears. It is to this class of persons that Christ referred when He spoke of those who receive the Word in stony places or among thorns. Numerous examples of this temporary faith are found in the Scriptures and are often seen in every day life. These experiences often precede or accompany genuine conversion; but in many cases they are not followed by a real change of heart. They may occur repeatedly, and yet those who experience them return to their normal state of unconcern and worldliness. Often times it is impossible for an observer or even the person himself to distinguish these experiences from those of the truly regenerated. �By their fruits ye shall know them,� is the test given by our Lord. Only when these experiences issue in a consistently holy life can their distinctive character be known.
ARMINIAN SENSE OF INSECURITY
A consistent Arminian, with his doctrines of free will and of falling from grace, can never in this life be certain of his eternal salvation. He may, indeed, have the assurance of his present salvation, but he can have only a hope of his final salvation He may regard his final salvation as highly probable, but he cannot know it as a certainty. He has seen many of his fellow Christians backslide and perish after making a good start. Why may not he do the same thing? So long as men remain in this world they have the remnants of the old sinful nature clinging to them; they are surrounded by the most alluring and deceptive pleasures of the world and the most subtle temptations of the Devil. In many of the supposedly Christian churches they hear the false teaching of modernistic, and therefore unchristian, ministers. If Arminianism were true, Christians would still be in very dangerous positions, with their eternal destiny suspended upon the probability that their weak, creaturely wills would continue to choose right. Furthermore, Arminianism would logically hold that no confirmation in holiness is possible, not even in heaven; for even there the person would still retain his free will and might commit sin any time he chose.
By comparison the Arminian is like the person who has inherited a fortune of, say, $100,000. He knows that many others who have inherited such fortunes have lost them through poor judgment, fraud, calamity, etc., but he has enough confidence in his own ability to handle money wisely that he does not doubt but that he will keep his. His assurance is based largely on self-confidence. Others have failed, but he is confident that he will not fail. But what a delusion is this when applied to the spiritual realm! What a pity that any one who is at all acquainted with his own tendency to sin should base his assurance of salvation upon such grounds! His system places the cause of his perseverance, not in the hands of an all-powerful, never-changing God, but in the hands of weak sinful man.
And does not the logic of the Arminian system tell us that the wise thing for the Christian to do is to die as soon as possible and thus confirm the inheritance which to him is of infinite value? In view of the fact that so many have fallen away, is it worth while for him to remain here and risk his eternal salvation for the sake of a little more life in this world? What would be thought of a business man who, in order to gain a few more dollars, would risk his entire fortune in some admittedly questionable venture? In fact, does it not at least suggest that the Lord has made many mistakes in not removing these people while they were true Christians? The writer, at least, is convinced that if he held the Arminian view and knew himself to be a saved Christian he would want to die as soon as possible and thus place his salvation beyond all possible doubt.
In regard to spiritual matters, a state of doubt is a state of misery. The assurance that Christians can never be separated from the love of God is one of the greatest comforts of the Christian life. To deny this doctrine is to destroy the grounds for any rejoicing among the saints on earth; for what kind of rejoicing can those have who believe that they may at any time be deceived and led astray? If our sense of security is based only on our changeable and wavering natures, we can never know the inward calm and peace which should characterize the Christian. Says McFetridge, in his very illuminating little book, Calvinism In History,
I can well conceive of the terror to a sensitive soul of dark uncertainty as to salvation, and of that ever-abiding consciousness of the awful possibility of falling away from grace after a long and painful Christian life, which is taught by Arminianism. To me such a doctrine has terrors which would cause me to shrink away from it forever, and which would fill me with constant and unspeakable perplexities.
To feel that I were crossing the troubled and dangerous sea of life dependent for my final security upon the actings of my own treacherous nature were enough to fill me with a perpetual alarm. If it is possible, I want to know that the vessel to which I commit my life is seaworthy, and that, having once embarked, I shall arrive in safety at my destination. (P. 112.)
It is not until we duly appreciate this wonderful truth, that our salvation is not suspended on our weak and wavering love to God, but rather upon His eternal and unchangeable love to us, that we can have peace and certainty in the Christian life. And only the Calvinist, who knows himself to be absolutely safe in the hands of God, can have that inward sense of peace and security, knowing that in the eternal counsels of God he has been chosen to be cleansed and glorified and that nothing can thwart that purpose. He knows himself to be held to righteousness by a spiritual power which is as exhaustless and unvarying as the force of gravitation, and as necessary to the development of the spirit as sunshine and vitamins are to the body.
PURPOSE OF THE SCRIPTURE WARNINGS AGAINST APOSTASY
Arminians sometimes bring forth from the Scriptures the warnings against apostasy or falling away, which are addressed to believers, and which, it is argued, imply a possibility of their falling away. There is, of course, a sense in which it is possible for believers to fall away, � when they are viewed simply in themselves, with reference to their own powers and capacities, and apart from God�s purpose or design with respect to them. And it is admitted by all that believers can fall into sin temporarily. The primary purpose of these passages, however, is to induce men to co-operate willingly with God for the accomplishment of His purposes. They are inducements which produce constant humility, watchfulness, and diligence. In the same way a parent, in order to get the willing co-operation of a child, may tell it to stay out of the way of an approaching automobile, when all the time the parent has no intention of ever letting the child get into a position where it would be injured. When God plies a soul with fears of falling it is by no means a proof that God in His secret purpose intends to permit him to fall. These fears may be the very means which God has designed to keep him from falling. Secondly, God�s exhortations to duty are perfectly consistent with His purpose to give sufficient grace for the performance of these duties. In one place we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart; in another, God says, �I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.� Now either these must be consistent with each other, or the Holy Spirit must contradict Himself. Plainly it is not the latter. Thirdly, these warnings are, even for believers, incitements to greater faith and prayer. Fourthly, they are designed to show man his duty rather than his ability, and his weakness rather than his strength. Fifthly, they convince men o their want of holiness and of their dependence upon God. And, sixthly, they serve as restraints on unbelievers, and leave them without excuse.
Nor is any more proven by the passages, �Destroy not with thy meat him for whom Christ died,� Rom. 14:15; and, �For through thy knowledge he that is weak perisheth, the brother for whose sake Christ died,� I Cor. 8:11. In the same manner the influence of a particular person, when looked at merely in itself, might be said to be destroying our American civilization; yet America goes ahead and prospers, because other influences more than offset that one. In these passages the principle asserted is simply this: Whatever their divine security, the responsibility of the one who casts a stumbling block in the path of his brother is not decreased; and that anyone who does cast a stumbling block in the way of his brother is doing all he can towards his brother�s destruction.
SCRIPTURE PROOF
The Scripture proof for this doctrine is abundant and clear.
�Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,� Rom. 8:35-39.
�Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace,� Rom. 6:14. �He that believeth bath eternal life,� John 6:47. �He that heareth my word, and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life,� John 5:24. The moment one believes, eternal life becomes a reality, a present possession, and not merely a conditional gift of the future. �I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever,� John 6:51. He does not say that we have to eat many times, but that if we eat at all, we shall live forever. �Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life,� John 4:14.
�Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ,� Phil. 1:6. �Jehovah will perfect that which concerneth me,� Ps. 138:8. �The gifts and calling of God are not repented of,� Rom. 11:29. �The witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life,� I John 5:11. �These things have I written unto you that ye may know that ye have eternal life,� I John 5:13. �For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified,� Heb. 10:14. �The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto His heavenly kingdom,� II Tim. 4:18. �For whom He foreknew, He also foreordained. . . . and whom He foreordained, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified,� Rom. 8:29. �Having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,� Eph. 1:5.
Jesus declared, �I give unto them (the true followers, or �sheep�) eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who hath given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father�s hand,� John 10:28. Here we find that our security and God�s omnipotence are equal; for the former is founded on the latter. God is mightier than the whole world, and neither men nor Devil can rob Him of one of His precious jewels. It would be as easy to pluck a star out of the heavens as to pluck a saint out of the Father�s hand. Their salvation stands in His invincible might and they are placed beyond the peril of destruction. We have Christ�s promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church; yet if the Devil could snatch one here and another there and large numbers in some congregations, the gates of hell would to a great extent prevail against it. In principle, if one could be lost, all might be lost, and thus Christ�s assurance would be reduced to idle words.
When we are told that �There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, who shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, If possible, even the elect,� Matt. 24:24, the unprejudiced believing mind readily understands that it is impossible to lead astray the elect.
The mystic union which exists between Christ and believers is a guarantee that they shall continue steadfast. �Because I live, ye shall live also,� John 14:19. The effect of this union is that believers participate in His life. Christ is in us, Romans 8:10. It is not we that live, but Christ that liveth in us, Gal. 2:20. Christ and the believers have a common life such as that which exists in the vine and the branches. The Holy Spirit so dwells in the redeemed that every Christian is supplied with an inexhaustible reservoir of strength.
Paul warned the Ephesians, �Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption,� Eph. 4:30. He had no fear of apostasy for he could confidently say, �Thanks be to God who always leadeth us in triumph in Christ,� II Cor. 2:14. The Lord, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah said, �I have loved thee with an everlasting love,� 31:3, � one of the best proofs that God�s love shall have no end is that it has no beginning, but is eternal. In the parable of the two houses, the very point stressed was that the house which was founded on the rock (Christ) did not fall when the storms of life came. Arminianism sets up another system in which some of those who are founded on the rock do fall. In the twenty-third Psalm we read, �And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.� The true Christian is no temporary visitor, but a permanent dweller in the house of the Lord. How those rob this psalm of its deeper and richer meaning who teach that the grace of God is a temporary thing!
Christ makes intercession for His people (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25), and we are told that the Father hears Him always (John 11:42). Hence the Arminian, holding that Christians may fall away, must deny either the passages which declare that Christ does make intercession for His people, or he must deny those which declare that His prayers are always heard. Let us consider here how well protected we are: Christ is at the right hand of God pleading for us, and in addition to that, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered, Rom. 8:26.
In the wonderful promise of Jer. 32:40, God has promised to preserve believers from their own backslidings: �And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me.� And in Ezek. 11:19, 20, He promises to take from them the �stony heart,� and to give them a �heart of flesh,� so that they shall walk in his statutes and keep his ordinances, and so that they shall be His people and He their God. Peter tells us that Christians cannot fall away, for they �by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time,� I Peter 1:5. Paul says, �God is able to make all grace to abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work,� II Cor. 9:8. He declares that the Lord�s servant �shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath power to make him stand,� Rom. 14:4.
And Christians have the further promise, �There hath no temptation taken you but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, and will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it,� I Cor. 10:13. Their removal from certain temptations which would be too strong for them is an absolute and free gift from God, since it is entirely an arrangement of His providence as to what temptations they encounter in the course of their lives, and what ones they escape. �The Lord is faithful and will establish you and guard you from the evil one,� II Thess. 3:3. And again, �The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him and delivereth them,� Ps. 34:7. Amid all his trials and hardships Paul could say, �We are pressed on every side, yet not straightened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; . . . knowing that He that raised up the Lord Jesus Christ shall raise us also with Jesus,� II Cor. 4:8,9,14.
The saints, even in this world, are compared to a tree that does not wither, Ps. 1:3; to the cedars which flourish on Mount Lebanon, Ps. 92:12; to Mount Zion which cannot be moved, but which abideth forever, Ps. 125:1; and to a house built on a rock. Matt. 7:24. The Lord is with them in their old age, Is. 46:4, and is their guide even unto death, Ps 48:14, so that they cannot be totally and finally lost.
Another strong argument is to be noticed concerning the Lamb�s book of life. The disciples were told to rejoice, not so much over the fact that the demons were subject to them, but that their names were written in the Lamb�s book of life. This book is a catalogue of the elect, determined by the unalterable counsel of God, and can neither be increased nor diminished. The names of the righteous are found there; but the names of those who perish have never been written there from the foundation of the world. God does not make the mistake of writing in the book of life a name which He will later have to blot out. Hence none of the Lord�s own ever perish. Jesus told His disciples to find their chief joy in the fact that their names were written in heaven, Luke 10:20; yet there would have been small grounds for joy in this respect if their names written in heaven one day could have been blotted out the next. Paul wrote to the Philippians, �Our citizenship is in heaven,� 3:20; and to Timothy he wrote, �The Lord knoweth them that are His,� II Tim. 2:19. For the Scripture teaching concerning the book of life, see Luke 10:20; Phil 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12-15; 21:27.
Here, then, are very simple and plain statements that the Christian shall continue in grace, the reason being that the Lord takes it upon Himself to preserve him in that state. In these promises the elect are secured on both sides. Not only will God not depart from them, but He will so put His fear into their hearts that they shall not depart from him. Surely no Spirit-taught Christian can doubt that this doctrine is taught in the Bible. It seems that man, poor, wretched and impotent as he is, would welcome a doctrine which secures for him the possessions of eternal happiness despite all attacks from without and all evil tendencies from within. But it is not so. He refuses it, and argues against it. And the causes are not far to seek. In the first place he has more confidence in himself than he has any right to have. Secondly, the scheme is so contrary to what he is used to in the natural world that he persuades himself that it cannot be true. Thirdly, he perceives that if this doctrine be admitted, the other doctrines of free grace will logically follow. Hence he twists and explains away the Scripture passages which teach it, and clings to some which appear on the surface to favor his preconceived views. In fact, a system of salvation by grace is so utterly at variance with his everyday experience, in which he sees every thing and person treated according to works and merits, that he has great difficulty in bringing himself to believe that it can be true. He wishes to earn his own salvation, though certainly he expects very high wanes for very sorry work.
importance in knowing the Feast of the LORD--I THINK YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS
Posted : 18 Dec, 2009 09:20 AM
I didn't read the whole thing but this jumped out at me...
"By comparison the Arminian is like the person who has inherited a fortune of, say, $100,000. He knows that many others who have inherited such fortunes have lost them through poor judgment, fraud, calamity, etc., but he has enough confidence in his own ability to handle money wisely that he does not doubt but that he will keep his. His assurance is based largely on self-confidence. Others have failed, but he is confident that he will not fail. But what a delusion is this when applied to the spiritual realm! What a pity that any one who is at all acquainted with his own tendency to sin should base his assurance of salvation upon such grounds! His system places the cause of his perseverance, not in the hands of an all-powerful, never-changing God, but in the hands of weak sinful man."
I don't do that...I rely on God to give me strength. I fail enough that I can see I have no power to resist sin on my own. Even with God backing me up, and even with God protecting me from more then I can handle, I STILL fail more often then not. But that's what grace is for. I have zero confidence in my own ability, and I believe in free will.
importance in knowing the Feast of the LORD--I THINK YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS
Posted : 18 Dec, 2009 10:53 AM
Dear Manofgod42
I am still waitng on you to address the scriptures which I posted for your comments. I heard nothing on them.
As a man of God to another, I am asking you before God, and all who visit this post, to clearly explain what YOU BELIEVE these verses, which I presented to you, are saying to us who are followers of Christ. I am not asking about arguments, or opinions against them, but a clear explaination of what YOU BELIEVE them to be saying to the BODY OF CHRIST AND THE WORLD.
It appears that you are trying to use the scriptures, and other's commentaries to destroy the harmony of the scriptures, and what they represent as a whole.
If this is not the case, then please address.
10:3 For they being ignorant of God�s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
importance in knowing the Feast of the LORD--I THINK YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS
Posted : 18 Dec, 2009 02:19 PM
Dear manofgod42, and icebro
We must be very careful when dicussing the topic of works, and the laws, so as to not give people a false impression of what Christ and his apostles clearly taught.
We must be willing to present, and address the fulness of their teachings, so that it does not appear as though we
are deliberately distorting what they spoke, to fit how we want to believe.
Please carefully read the following:
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith,
and have not works? can faith save him?.
2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and
filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are
needful to the body; what doth it profit?
2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me
thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my
works.
2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils
also believe, and tremble.
2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had
offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was
faith made perfect?
2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God,
and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called
the Friend of God.
2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith
only.
2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when
she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another
way?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead also.
( James 2:15-26 )
2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the
things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law
unto themselves:
2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their
conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while
accusing or else excusing one another;)
2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ
according to my gospel.
Rom. 2: 14-16
2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law,
shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
2:27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law,
judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the
law?
2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that
circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
2:29 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.
Rom. 2: 27-29
3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have
before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
God.
3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have
used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
3:17 And the way of peace have they not known:
3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Rom. 3: 9-18
3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works?
Nay: but by the law of faith.
3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the
deeds of the law.
3:29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes,
of the Gentiles also:
3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith,
and uncircumcision through faith.
3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we
establish the law.
Rom 3: 27-31
5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ:
5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we
stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Rom. 5 : 1-2
6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound?
6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein?
Rom 6 : 1-2
6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should
obey it in the lusts thereof.
6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness
unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive
from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness
unto God.
Rom. 6 : 12-13
6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but
under grace? God forbid.
6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey,
his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or
of obedience unto righteousness?
Rom. 6 : 15-16
6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom. 6 : 23
7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not
known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law
had said, Thou shalt not covet.
7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all
manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
Rom. 7 : 7-8
7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just,
and good.
7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But
sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is
good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under
sin.
7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but
what I hate, that do I..372
7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is
good.
Rom. 7 : 12-16
7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with
me.
7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
7:23 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.
7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of
this death?
7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I
myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Rom. 7 : 24-25
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free
from the law of sin and death.
8:3 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:
8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom. 8 : 1-4
Guys please, stop fighting and get right
We were delivered from the law of sin and death, by the law of the Spirit of life,
which is in Christ Jesus. This is also the law of faith.
That the righteousness of God's holy law could be performed in us,
through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who makes God's righteous
laws come alive in us. Through creating a hunger, and thirst for the righteousness
of God, the Holy Spirit faithfully works to complete the work which was began
in us by the sacrifice of Christ.
That work was to present us holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight.
This work can be aborted if we to allow our conscience to become seared,
through deliberately despising, and quenching the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind
by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and
unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved
away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which
was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I
importance in knowing the Feast of the LORD--I THINK YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS
Posted : 18 Dec, 2009 05:26 PM
Again, my purpose for asking you to address these verses, was to make clear what YOU BELIEVE. I did not think that you would, I only hoped that by openly presenting the truth, it would cause you to see the gross errors in your representation of the scriptures.
It is evident by your response, or shall I say, your inability to maintain the continuity of this fellowship, that your loyalty is only in maintaining a doctrine view which Jesus and his apostles cleary did not hold. This is really a sad moment for me my brother, for I was hoping that you choose loyalty to Christ, rather than your ego.
May God truly bless you in your future pursiuts for truth.
