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WHAT IS MAN'S CHIEF END ?
  
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A CLOSER LOOK AT SO-CALLED CALVINISM III Mar 20, 2006 1:39 pm
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One very important matter which those who believe man has " Free-Will ", must consider is; God's predetermined counsel. To put it simply; what God has predetermined ( planned before hand ) to take place in history; is unchangeable. Just as He is unchangeable. I have often heard people say, that Judas didn't have to betray Christ; he could have changed his mind. Not according to God's plan he couldn't, Judas did just what God planned for him to do, and neither Judas, Satan or any other thing in all creation can thwart God's predetermined plan.

" Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided before hand should happen. " Acts 4:27

Now, I don't think anyone will want to argue; that Peter and John didn't know what they were talking about. They clearly understood how God's sovereign, predetermined will effects history ( His-Story ) .

Man often attempts to reconcile God's sovereignty and man's responsibility; this is an impossible task and any such attempt should be avoided. In the above text neither Peter nor John attempts to reconcile the two; they just state the fact, and we must submit to it; rather we like it or not. God is indeed sovereign and we are responsible for our actions. Remember when Peter rebuked Christ, when He fore-told of His coming suffering, death and resurrection. Jesus said to peter:

" But He turned and said to Peter, " Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. " Matt. 16:23

Its interesting to note; that as long as God saves a man that deserves to go to hell; He is considered a loving God, but if God sends a man to hell who deserves to go to hell; then God is not fair or loving. There seems to be that same kind of self interest, an interest in the things of man; rather then the things of God.

TO BE CONTINUED
2 Comments
HIS SHEEP Mar 18, 2006 5:56 am
472 Views
As Christians when did we become Jesus' sheep ?
When we were baptised.
When we opened our hearts to let Jesus in.
After confessing our sins.
After receiving the Holy Ghost.
Before the world began; so we have always been His sheep.
I haven't got a clue.
0 Comments, 11 votes
A CLOSER LOOK AT SO-CALLED CALVINISM II Mar 16, 2006 8:13 am
735 Views
Probably the clearest picture of how God saves us; is given in John 11: 38-44. There are many others such as Christ giving sight to the blind etc.; but this is by far the best. I'm sure you all know the story, if not read it ( the entire 11th chapter ).

We are told that Jesus loved Lazarus, yet after hearing of his illness; He delayed going to see him. Why did Jesus wait ? Well, it was all part of God's Omnipotent plan. God wanted Lazarus to be good and dead, so much so that he began to smell ( he was really ripe ). Two things are clear from a study of the text:

1. Lazarus was in fact dead.
2. Jesus has the power to give life to the dead ( He is the resurrection and the life ).

Thanks to our forefather Adam, who choose to disobey God in the garden; sin and death entered the world. Not just physical death but also spiritual death as well, and Adams sin is imputed to the entire world. We are all guilty before God for Adams sin as well as our own. So, all men are born spiritually dead to the things of God and held accountable to God. Since we are all born with this corrupt nature; there is no such thing as reaching the age of accountability. We are accountable from birth.

In the raising of Lazarus from the dead; we have a picture of just what it is God does for us when He saves us. We were dead in sin ( dead to the things of God ), even though we have the ability to walk around; go to work, choose a college to attend or become religious. We were still dead. So, God has to give us life, new life as it were, so that we may indeed worship Him in spirit and in truth.

It should be clear that Lazarus had absolutely nothing to do with being raised from the dead. He was incapable of crying out for help. He did not co-operate in any way; with his being raised from the dead. This is a very clear picture of the way in which we are saved, and the Lord proved that He is indeed the Messiah the one who gives life to the dead. But the way some people view salvation, you would think; that when Lazarus walked out of the tomb; he dusted himself off, looked at Christ and said " I let you do that. "
How absurd

TO BE CONTINUED
12 Comments
WHO IS JESUS ? Mar 14, 2006 11:09 am
618 Views
Who did Jesus claim to be, and who do you think He is ?
The incarnate Son of God, thereby making Himself equal with God.
Just another man in a long line of prophets. No better than Muhammad.
He was a good man but not equal with God.
What's incarnate ?
An angel like Micheal the arch angel.
I'm not sure.
1 comment, 14 votes
PROPERTY Mar 14, 2006 10:22 am
713 Views
Who owns you ?
I belong to Jesus and yield to Him.
I belong to Satan and yield to him.
No one owns me I'm free and do whatever I like.
I know I belong to Jesus, but sometimes I feel like I belong to Satan.
I wasn't aware that I belonged to anybody.
2 Comments, 22 votes
PURPOSE OF HIS COMING Mar 14, 2006 5:11 am
634 Views
Why did Jesus come ?
To show us an example of how we are to live.
To reveal the love of the Father to us.
To die.
To show us a way to the Father.
To give us a second chance.
To make a name for Himself.
Only to redeem His lost sheep.
To save sinners.
All the above.
I'm not sure.
5 Comments, 10 votes
A CLOSER LOOK AT SO-CALLED CALVINISM Mar 13, 2006 12:43 pm
713 Views
I can't help but notice the various Blogs which are talking about " Free-Will " or Calvinism. So, I'm going to enter this debate, its a debate that's been going on long before Calvin; and there have always been two sides to this issue. Men like Augustine ( 354-430 ) who defended the orthodox Christian position, and debated men like Pelagius; who took the humanist ( godless position ), and those who hold to the idea of man having free-will; fall into one of two categories; they are either secular humanist or religious humanist.

1.The humanist position is basically this...... there is no God and man has " Free- Will "

2. The religious humanist view is basically this...... there is a God and man has " Free- Will "

Almost immediately; you can see the flaw with the religious humanist view. It was Luther who said " The only one who we can attribute " Free-Will " to is God, for He alone is the only one; not bound by anything . As soon as you introduce God into the formula " Free- Will must give place to Him. "

The Dead don't cry out for help !

" But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. " I Cor. 2:14

I'm sure many of you have often quoted this verse, to your unbelieving friends when they wouldn't accept some biblical truth; you were trying to convey to them. Never realizing that it applied to you too before God saved you. Neither could we receive the things of God as the text implies. But some seem to think they could, in spite of what this and other text say about man's condition... being dead in sin. Not wounded... not sick ..... not dieing ..... BUT DEAD He made us alive in Christ.

TO BE CONTINUED
17 Comments
IF THIS BE FROM MAN Mar 9, 2006 10:10 am
767 Views
In the fifth chapter of the Book of Acts; we have recorded the advice of Gamaliel concerning the Apostles and their message of Christ as the promised Messiah. Gamaliel suggested that if the massage the Apostles were bringing was of men and not of God; that nothing would become of it, but if it were of God there was nothing they could do to over-throw it; less they be found fighting against God ( see Acts 5:33-39 ). Sound advice; perhaps .....perhaps not.

Though Gamaliel's advice could have been more decisive, and less pragmatic; there was some wisdom in what he said. The KJV only advocates would be wise to think more like Gamaliel concerning the sovereignty of God over His Word. They seem to forget that the KJV had it's opponents when it was first under-taken; as a new translation of the word of God into the language of the people. It too was viewed as a perversion of the Word of God. Yet in spite of its critics the KJV went on to be the most widely read English Bible on the planet. Until just recently it was the most popular Bible found in American homes. All of this in- spite of those critics who swore to die, before they would use such a perversion of the Word of God. When God is in control who can stop it ?

Today in-spite of the critics; the NIV has surpassed the KJV as the most widely read English translation of the Bible and again ......... who can stop it, if its of God ?
16 Comments
IF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL WERE MADE INTO A MOVIE Mar 8, 2006 8:43 pm
657 Views
If the Book of Ezekiel were to be made into a movie; what rating do you think it would receive ?
G
PG
PG-13
NR-17
R
X
I don't know........ i never read it.
1 comment, 11 votes
DID THE APOSTELS QUOTE FROM THE GREEK SEPTUAGINT ? Mar 7, 2006 9:39 pm
771 Views
Some here at BigChurch seem to want to deny the fact; that the writers of the N.T. quoted from the Greek LXX. The Septuagint is the first and probably most important of a number of ancient translations of the Hebrew OT into Greek. Nor was it by accident that God chose to have the ancient Hebrew text translated into the Greek LXX; for the Greek language became the language of the people. Both the Hebrew and Greek languages were the two most eloquent languages on the planet. With the Hebrew language you could say more with fewer words, and with the Greek language you could say the same thing several different ways. God chose to use these two languages to give His written Word to mankind. It's important to not put God into a box and limit the languages He has chosen to use or to try and limit which translations of the Bible we can use.

The LXX is of use for us in two different ways:

1. It's valuable in aiding us in our understanding of the OT pre-Christian era.

2. It's an important tool for use in textual criticism and can be helpful in bringing light on the original MS of the Bible.

As an example in several places the Masoretic Text and the LXX do not agree. Just by comparing Amos 9:11-12 with Acts 15:16-17; James quotes Amos, yet his quotation agrees in general with the LXX, which is very different from the Masoretic Text. A different example of how the LXX is useful is Psalm 22:16 where the Hebrew Bible reads " like a lion my hands and my feet " is rendered in our English Bible's " they pierced my hands and my feet "; which follow the LXX.

Questions For the KJV onlyist:

1. Where in the Bible does God guarantee that any translation ( or translator ) of the Bible, anyone who copies the Bible, anyone who teaches the Bible or anyone who preaches the Bible will be infallibly correct ?

2. Why did the translators of the KJV expect; that others would one day make theirs even better ?

3. Did our Pilgrim forefathers have the wrong Bible; when they brought the Geneva Bible with them ?

4. If the KJV differs from the Greek text; should we correct the English so it agrees with the Greek; or should we correct the Greek so it agrees with the English ?

5. Why did the Lord Jesus and the Apostles quote from the Septuagint, even though it differed from the original Hebrew scriptures in places and was not a perfect translation.
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