Bible Questions & Discussion PAGE 508

Brother Chris,

Amen! When I look back at the time I received Christ, and His gift of salvation, I ask myself, did I deserve to be saved? Why would God save me, a sinner? Was I righteous enough in God's eyes for Him to give me this gift? What is the standard of righteousness? I know God is righteous. But how do I compare with His righteousness?

When looked at this way, I can see that I fall short. It had to be a gift, not a reward. It is a gift, totally undeserved, meaning no amount of good deeds or righteousness on my part could ever earn this gift.

Christ's sacrifice paid for it all. But there are some who still say that salvation is conditional, based on our works and human effort, meaning we have to work for it. If this is the case, then Christ's sacrifice was insufficient. And if man still has to work to obtain salvation, then salvation is no longer by God's grace, but by grace plus works, meaning man plays a part in His/Her own salvation. How does God receive all the glory if I play a part in my salvation? If I'm saved partly by works, then I have something to boast. The only thing I had to contribute to my salvation was the sin in which I needed to be saved from.

I do agree with you that God's gift of salvation comes without any conditions. All we must do is surrender our lives to Christ, receive His gift of salvation, remain in submission to His Spirit working in our lives, and trust in God's power alone to keep us until the day of redemption. We can't work for our salvation. If we have to work for it, then what we receive is a reward, not a gift!

God Bless!!!

Gigi,

I originally posted my belief regarding the KJV Word of God. You were and still are the only one to reply to it. You accused me of making assumptions of you. That is an assumption. I merely replied to your words of challenge. My only point is the simple fact that the KJV is the current perfect Word from God to fallen humanity. You declare that no perfect translations exist today, yet you say the original writers of Scripture wrote God's Word perfectly. That conflicting logic fails to see the fact that if God's perfect Word was once Divinely given to imperfect fallen humanity, that it must also be Divinely KEPT by the God who Divinely authored it. If God doesn't Divinely ordain perpetually perfect truth to every generation, then his final judgment cannot be just. So, he arbitrarily ordains his translation of truth, and identifies it to humanity at large. For 400 years humanity has identified the KJV as God's Word of absolute truth. Revisions are not translations. There was a time when children were taught to memorize the KJV. Today we force them to reply, "Which translation, Mommie?"

Your history of serving God is admirable. I too have a history of serving him. I was saved at age 21. I attended a noted accredited Christian college, sat under nationally recognized theologians and professors, sat shoulder to shoulder with men who are now household words, studied Biblical languages, and graduated with high honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Lack of financial backing blocked me from my Doctorate, but I spent over 60 years of intensive study equivalent to it. In a few weeks I will turn 89 years old. But let me say to you and all who read this: None of that matters one bit for either of us. The definition of doctrine is simply what one believes, and that belief determines where one will spend eternity. Therefore, one's doctrine had better be right!

The Catholic church has been doing its work, with the biblical reputation that is written in the scriptures.

While governments destroy the lives of people, creating tent cities for the homeless, famine on the horizon in some places of the world, the church is doing the work feeding and clothing those who are the victims!

If the church would speak out the truths of Christ, preaching the law and the gospel, instead silent , condemning those who help create this world we live in.

Amerika, Russia, China, Europe, greedily, selfishly, have turned out this generation we see now! Unfortunately, with the different cultures, there has not risen one with the faith that would be recognized by the world!

With the help of lawyer's we see a world spoken of by Jesus. The truths of which are more apparent with each passing day.

Time, such as these are not much different from those when the white man took the Indians land from them.

The church is like the cross worn around the neck of the white man, as the Indian says we will wait to see if this cross effects the heart of man!

Does God use vessels of dishonour and nations to perform his will?

I believe so, here's a few reasons why

Romans 9:18-23.

Habakkuk 1:5-11. Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's.

They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.

Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.

They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.

Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.

Another question asked is there such things as demon possession?

Here's what I believe and I'm not sure if it classifies as demon possession.

I believe there's ministers of Satan.

2 Corinthians 11:14-15.

These are amongst us everywhere we go and can be identified as tares. Matthew 13:36-42.

EVIL SPIRITS.

Satan is the prince of the world and he influences the flesh. the natural man. and the nations.

1 John 4:1-3.

These tares may also be seen in Jude 1:1-25.

You can't always identify these tares with their Doctrine, some of their Doctrine sounds very familiar, but what they "seem" to believe in doesn't humble them and in areas of baring fruit they seems to be lacking. This causes a closer look at their theology and you find them taking a sharp left on the path.

1 John 2:19.

God bless.

Are we now in judgements from the Lord , farmers are complaining of not enough rain , fires in mountain areas because of lack of rain , many anti christs , wars some we don't even know about media does not report them . Etc maybe you know have seen things not listed here

I find it interesting that Billy Graham was closely associated with the RCC during his many preaching events , did they not even call them crusades ? The great whore has daughters too , who are they ?

Thank you Steve .

Thank you for your lovely post , may God continue to bless you .

Hello Jesse, While I agree, without faith it is impossible to please Him/God: And, Cain's offering was a sin offering, a product of the curse (religious yes but in his own way) where exactly may I read of this account you speak of? in scripture of course (because I have not read)

And I quote

"If you read the account, Cain sees what Abel is doing, and Cain decides he's going to bring an offering too. But his was religious. He wasn't doing it under the inspiration of God's Spirit. His heart wasn't right."

Hiya Robert GBU .....Lemme tell you that we are now under a new COVENANT by the blood of Jesus....Being a Jew now means we must be bornagain by Promise....Which is the H.G. a Spiritual being....Its only the H.G. that is born by Promise ,Only he is the seed of Jesus....That Promise seed....Its exactly like Romans 9:8 ... says....The Children of the flesh are not the real Children of God its only the Children of PROMISE that are counted for that goodly seed....The seed of Jesus, as his Words are his seeds...If you are not bornagain by his SEED THE WORDS OF God ....He neva knew you thus you will not bring forth any fruit unto God which is the H.G. that Child of Promise....Remember in Acts 1:4 Jesus said behold i send the PROMISE OF MY FATHER upon you which was baptism of the H.G. a birth of a baby Christ in them....That Child of Promise...And it was also new Jerusalem and mt Sion the city of that great King...Gbu Robert.....There is a Child in your future.....Unless ya receive the Kingdom of God as a lil CHILD YOU WILL IN NO WISE ENTER THERE IN...

Ronnette Need to take spelling lessons lol

Chris. Amen It is written!

Praise the Lord young lady continue to let God use you, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. The Trinity one God existing in three coequals

Jesse. Amen. Cain's heart was corrupt so all deeds were the same.

With all the evidence before them, those in the synagogue who wish to destroy Christ, calling Him Beelzebub!

A last effort to change the minds of those who believe and His followers!

Their final attack ,Calling Him Satan.

Jesus however will not be sidetracked into these who wish to destroy His character. In fact He gives us some insight into the evil one and His kingdom they accuse Him of!

When He says Satan cannot cast Himself out of Satan. Jesus is making a clear distinction about kingdoms, those who are divided, and those that stand!

Christ's kingdom Belongs to Him, He is never divided against Himself, if it were so , It could not stand!

We as Christians must come to understand these words. Kingdoms rise and fall when there is division! The kingdom we belong too, is a kingdom who's king is Jesus Christ! No one can remove you from His kingdom, unless you let them!

We are strongest when we are in Him! Unless we let the evil one take that which belongs to us, denying the holy Ghost.

We are MIGHTY, when we are in and moving in the Holy Ghost! Amen! This, the evil one cannot afford, He has no weapon to strike against us with! This is the power given to those who trust Christ and His word!

This is a huge picture that we must come to understand given that anyone, who sins against the Holy Ghost is in fact in "danger" of eternal damnation.

All sin shall be forgiven! Blaspheming the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven.

If you are outside the kingdom, you are in danger of eternal damnation! These words spoken by the King of heaven and earth, the savior of the world! Repent and be Baptized

No other religion on the face of the Earth so mirrors the attributes and characteristics of the Whore of Babylon as does Roman Catholicism. She is a city (the Vatican) that sits among seven hills/mountains; her cardinals and bishops adorn themselves in scarlet and purple; throughout their rule, the papacy has raised and disposed the kings of Europe and beyond; she is drunk with the blood of saints through her Inquisitions and Crusades; she has a false holy father; a false vicar of Christ; she presents a false gospel of works; she presents a false Jesus in the Eucharist; she worships a false and pagan deity in the "Queen of Heaven and presents a false "Mary" or "Mother of God"; she tells her "Christian" followers that they will have the opportunity to purge leftover sins that apparently Christ could not atone for in a false place called Purgatory; she defies God repeatedly through her papal bulls and false proclamations and edicts by a supposedly infallible pope. All of her false characteristics, teachings, doctrines, and anathemas leveled at true Christians does not add up to the "One True Church". She was never a part of Christ's Body. The idolatry and blasphemy of this whorish entity, her drive to unite all under her rule and her continual desire to diminish who Christ is and what He has done for us leaves no doubt that Revelation 17 is pointing directly at her. She will be destroyed midway through the Tribulation period by the antichrist and his 10 cohorts.

Thank you T. Levis - great Scriptures to assure our hearts that our only hope comes from & lies only in our Lord. Hope in anything or anyone else may truly disappoint us, leaving us hopeless.

Great post , thankyou Don . So many people place such emphasis on what they read on the internet , which in my opinion is THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION . Young people especially don't seem to realise that we all survived quite well without it . We need our Bibles , thats all . I almost never go on the 'net' which is such an apt description of it ! Christians have known the Truth for literally thousands of years , for the most part as far as I'm concerned the internet is part of this world so I keep my usage of it to a very very bare minimum . What God wants me to know He will teach me , through His Word the Bible , His Word made flesh in Christ and through my life experiences . God bless you Don .

Your faith in him will save you .

I see that there may be a confusion between a gift and a reward. A Gift is something given voluntarily without any expectation of a return; usually given out of love or deep concern. A Reward is something given to recompense or requite someone for some hard work, acknowledging an achievement, or meritorious act.

If the salvation of God to mankind required that man do a worthy work to gain it, then it would be God's reward for our efforts. If then it is our efforts to gain this gift of salvation, it would make our efforts of greater worth than what Jesus achieved, thus nullifying His Sacrifice for us. We can never hope to be able to do anything or contribute anything that would make Jesus' Sacrifice more effective.

Therefore, Salvation must be a Gift & not a Reward. Sinners certainly can't do anything to gain a reward from God, for "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6), in God's Sight. And for this reason, God had to step in to help the sinner in his predicament, drowning in his sin, on his way to judgement for it. God's love could only bestow upon the sinner a Gift, undeserved & unmerited by us. It came without any conditions, just to receive it with grateful repentant hearts, with joy that our sins are fully paid for & dealt with. But if God left it there, we might be thankful for His Gift of Salvation, but have no power & convictions over the enemy that ever lurks to make us reprobates before God by compelling acts of sin.

Thus the Holy Spirit was sent as part of that Divine Gift, Who ensures that these redeemed lives remain true to God, living lives in the power of the Spirit. And yes, faith & salvation must now produce good works because of the Spirit's Presence & enabling, or else James 2:14 becomes very valid, 'can faith without works save him?' Salvation is the Gift from God - Works is our response - the two must go hand-in-hand - but Salvation stands alone as a Gift from God, apart from works or else it's no longer a gift.

This reading was very inspiring, I Will finish reading the book of1-Samuel God Blessings To You!

Hope

Here are some scriptures on hope, when & if anyone needs it:

Psalms 31:24, Psalms 33:18, Psalms 38:15, Psalms 71:5, Psalms 78:7, Psalms 119:114, Psalms 130:7, Psalms 146:5, Jeremiah 17:7, Ecclesiastes 9:4, Lamentations 3:21-26, Joel 3:16, Romans 5:5, 2Corinthians 1:7,

Psalms 147:11, Romans 12:12, 1Timothy 1:1, Psalms 139, Romans 8:14-39

Romans 15:4, Romans 15:13,

Hope these are encouraging

Hi Robert. Was there a particular verse in Romans chapter 11 that leads you to believe that being a Jew is a matter of choice? We are indeed "all seeds of Noah", but not all of us are descended from one of Noah's sons, Shem then many others through to Jacob.

Here are few Scriptures that tell us of this special people, chosen of God, to be His Own: Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 14:2; 1 Chronicles 16:13; Psalm 89:3,4; Psalm 105:6, & many more. So Israel, because of their rejection of their Messiah & depending on the Law (to gain righteousness - Romans 10:3,4) have been rejected (cut out of the olive tree). But those amongst them who believe & also from the Gentiles who have turned to Christ, are God's true Israel ( Romans 9:6,7). Maybe, you're thinking of the true Israel that belongs to God.

Perhaps the questions arise because of teachings not actually in scripture.

John 17, Please read whole chapter, Isaiah 11:1,2, John 3:16, Matthew 10:32,33,

Ephesians 4:30, Luke 11:13, Ephesians 1:1-13, Ephesians 1:17-23, Matthew 24:35,36,

John 14:26, John 16:7,

Hopefully these are helpful

Mark 8:22

If your referring to New Jerusalem Revelation 21,

But it's not a day nor hour we, nor the angels know Matthew 24:34-36,

Hopefully this is helpful

Hello Cort. I would encourage you to read Romans 1:18-32: a long portion but which the Apostle Paul gives a selection of sins that people commit, sins if unrepented of, are deserving of God's Anger & Punishment.

And particularly to your question, verses 26 & 27 can be read. Here, we read of how some men & women have distorted the expression of love & God-appointed male & female behaviors to that which was never in God's Design for us. Homosexual relationships are unnatural, sinful, angers God & deserving of His Anger.

But, as with all sins that we commit, there is forgiveness when we repent of our sins before God & turn away from engaging in them. The Bible tells us that when we confess our sins, the sins that has led us off the path that God has set for us, God will accept our sorrow & will forgive us. And this He does because Jesus gave His Life for us to pay for our sins ( 1 John 1:9). Since God accepted Jesus' Sacrifice as payment on our behalf, we can be confident that our sins will be forgiven, even to those who have led unnatural lifestyles & engaged in unnatural relationships.

God never wants to send anyone to hell ( 2 Peter 3:9), so He is patient waiting for all sinners to come to Him in sorrow, to be made new by Him, & to be received into His family. Yes, even homosexuals who truly turn to the Lord can be changed, given new hearts & minds to serve the Lord in purity & holiness of life.

Genesis 4:26, Genesis 5:22, John 1:12, Romans 8:14,

Luke 3:23-38

Hopefully you find these helpful

Exodus 12:48,49, Exodus 20:10, Leviticus 16, Leviticus 17,

Leviticus 18:26, Leviticus 19:33,34,

John 1:12, Romans 8:14,

Acts 13:39, Galatians 2:16, Deuteronomy 10:16, Galatians 6:15, Romans 2:25, Romans 4,

Romans 3:29-30

Here are just a few, there are many, hopefully these are helpful to your study & decision

Mary,

Hebrews 11:4 says that by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of, or literally, over his gifts: and by it he being dead yet he speaks.



What is it about Abel's life that continues to speak in witness and in testimony? It's that by faith, he offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.



Now let me share this to you because there are those who say "Well, he presented a better sacrifice, or more excellent sacrifice because it was an animal, or blood sacrifice, a lamb, vs. Cain's sacrifice which was vegetables from out of his garden."



That's not what the bible says.



As a matter of fact, if you look further back in the law, because there is no law in Genesis Chapter 4, but if you look into the law about God's requirement for sacrifices, it wasn't just animals and blood.



There were herbs. There were meal offerings. So it wasn't that God looked at Abel's and said you got the right kind and Cain doesn't, so we'll reject his and we'll accept yours.



Why was it a more excellent sacrifice?



Because it was given by faith. Abel was governed by the influence of God's Spirit to bring a sacrifice to God.



If you read the account, Cain sees what Abel is doing, and Cain decides he's going to bring an offering too. But his was religious. He wasn't doing it under the inspiration of God's Spirit. His heart wasn't right.



And so when Cain brought his, God rejected it because it was religious and human motivated. Abel showed that he was under the influence of God's Spirit.



God testifying of his gifts: You see, it's by faith. It doesn't make any difference what it is. It's the motive behind it.

Genesis 4:3-24,

Note Genesis 4:4 "._..._respect unto Abel & his offering:"

Genesis 4:5 "But unto Cain & his offering._._."

Genesis 4:7

It seems to clearly say it was the person, giving it & how. There are other times GOD didn't accept bad attitudes, behavior nor their sacrifices, or offerings. Hosea 8:13, Jeremiah, Amos 5:22, Malachi 1:10,

Notice Isaiah 58, Proverbs 21:3, Psalms 19:14, Proverbs 21:3,

Proverbs 18:5,

Isn't it interesting how when Jesus was helping people, healing & teaching, His brothers in the Temple also were likewise ready to kill Jesus making Jesus sacrifice acceptable to GOD & not their own? Mark 12, Hebrews 12,

Romans 12:1,2, Ephesians 5:1-21, 1Peter 2:5,20,

Hopefully these are helpful