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USER COMMENTS BY ICON O'CLAST |
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Page 1 | Page 3 · Found: 202 user comments posted recently. |
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4/21/08 8:25 PM |
Icon O'Clast | | Oz | | | |
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Derek - where does the Bible say that we are born with faith, that is, saving faith? We are born in sin! We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. It is our natural, inherent nature. By nature we are children of wrath, not children of faith. By nature we hate God and want nothing to do with Him. We are born needing 3 things; a new heart, a new record and a new life. Our heart is evil, our record is corrupt with sin and our life is unholy. God gives us a new heart in regeneration, a new record in justification and a new life in sanctification. These are produced by Christ and applied by the Spirit at conversion. Faith is man's response. When our eyes are opened and we see our wretched condition we cry out to God who points us to Christ. That is why the law is our tutor who points us to Christ. You say we won't believe, but the Bible says we CANT believe. The preaching of the cross is foolishness to us, it is not believable. What we believe in is ourselves. We are not so bad, we try our best to please God, and He will be pleased with our efforts. God says NO; if you are not perfectly holy you will die eternally. And that perfection is only found in Christ. But until God opens our eyes we can not even see the kingdom of God, let alone believe in it. |
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4/21/08 8:18 PM |
Icon O'Clast | | Oz | | | |
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The "light" as you call it, comes when God's Spirit regenerates you. Before then you are in darkness, dead, blind, without hope. Paul said, "We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumblingblock and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." The gospel makes no sense to the unconverted. The Jews stumbled over it, the Greeks thought it was gibberish. But to the called, it was the power and wisdom of God. Not everyone is called, for this call is efficacious; it is an effectual call. All who hear it, and there are many, are saved everlastingly. Our personal testimony is both in our words (confession) and in our life. But we must not put the cart before the horse. It is not a call that everyone hears, for natural man is deaf to that call, just as Lazarus was deaf to Jesus call to come out of the tomb. First the Spirit of God resurrects you, then you hear the call and respond in the faith which the Spirit of God gives you. Read Acts 5:31; 11:18; IITim 2:25,26; Acts 16:14; 18:27; Phil 1:29. These all speak of the gift of faith, of the gift of repentance, of the gift of believing. In the light of that how can anyone say to themselves, "Well at least I had the good sense to have faith and believe?" |
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4/21/08 7:48 PM |
Icon O'Clast | | Oz | | | |
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I am not a greek scholar, but every Orthodox theologian I have read (and there are dozens) agree with this definition put forward by Kuyper who paraphrased Pauls's words, "I had the right to speak about the surpassing riches of His grace for it is indeed by grace that you are saved, through faith: and lest you should now begin to say, 'But then we deserve credit, at least, for believing,' I will immeditely add that even this faith (or, even this exercise of faith) is not of yourselves but is God's gift."I don't agree with Kuyper on everything, but I think he hit the nail on the head here. Faith is almost analogous with belief. Who among us did not feel akin to the man who cried out to Jesus, "Lord I believe, please help my unbelief." Just as we are filled with the Spirit and need to pray for that, so we need to pray that our faith may be strengthened. And our faith is strengthened the same way we are filled with the Spirit - through the means of grace, namely, the word and the sacraments. |
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4/21/08 7:33 PM |
Icon O'Clast | | Oz | | | |
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I know this is an old discussion, but I feel compelled to make a few comments.Yes, our righteousness is imputed. But after our conversion, after we have received the righteousness of Christ, we begin to hunger and thirst for righteousness. This is the meaning in the Beatitudes. The ones rejected by Christ for false profession are told (literally) "Depart from me, you who practise lawlesness!" Two times in Revelation the saints are referred to as those who "Had the testimony of Jesus Christ AND kept the commandments of God." The Bible defines a Christian as one who now has the law of God written on their heart. I know legalism is a curse and many are trying to earn their salvation. But antinomianism is just as bad for it rejects the very words of Jesus, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." What - you thought the Son had a different set of "thou shalt nots" to the Father? "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul" (Ps 19) "Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law" "Oh how I love Your law, it is my meditation all the day" Oh how I love your law, it is My meditation all the day |
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4/21/08 7:18 PM |
Icon O'Clast | | Oz | | | |
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[QUOTE]His pre-history PURPOSE was to include "IN CHRIST" all who would be saved, that is in his body, the church.[/QUOTE]Casob, you are coming so close to the truth with this statement, you half scared me to death! God did indeed have a purpose. He said, "My purpose will stand, and I will do all My pleasure." Now the question is, what is God's purpose? It can only be the salvation of all men, the salvation of no men or the salvation of some men. Did God purpose from before the foundation of the world (pre-history, as you said) that all would be saved? It is obvious this is not so. Did He then purpose that none would be saved? Then the salvation of men would depend on each man walking that narrow gate, God urging them on as best he can. Or did He purpose to save many (but not all men) and make their salvation sure? Romans 8 tells me that I can have confidence in all things because God works all out for good, why, because He has made salvation 100% certain for His elect and works out everything at all times for their good to His glory. God's eternal purpose Casob; all, none or many? I can't think of a third option. Which do you think it is, and do you really believe that God's purpose will stand and He will accomplish all His good pleasure? |
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4/21/08 6:57 PM |
Icon O'Clast | | Oz | | | |
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Sorry Mike, but that Ephesians text specifically talks about faith being a gift. For by grace (free gift) you have been saved, through faith, and that (that faith) is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. That is the proper meaning of the text. Of course, you are also correct, all of salvation is a gift. That is what Arminians cannot see. As soon as you give something back in exchange for a gift, it ceases to be a gift. So if I give back to God anything in return for His free gift of salvation, it ceases to be a gift. Somehow, even if it is in a tiny way, I have done something to earn it. |
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4/21/08 12:26 AM |
Icon O'Clast | | Oz | | | |
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Daddy wrote: Let us know when you are done with your itchy-twitchy dance and are ready to get back on point. I was born ready, and I don't know how to dance. If you have something to say, say it. If not, stop wasting my time. |
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4/21/08 12:11 AM |
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The NIV is an abomination and not worthy of the name Bible as it has removed, changed and mutilated the Word of the Living God. Time after time I come across small, subtle changes which pull the teeth out of the text and make it of no effect. Check, for example, Proverbs 16:4. The 'translators' of the NIV had no more integrity than the 'translators' of the JW Bible - they were just more subtle about it. There are numerous websites which catalogue endless pages devoted to showing what the NIV did to the Word of God. That it is the most popular Bible today does not surprise me one bit, as today's churches show little respect for the Word of God to begin with. |
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4/20/08 11:57 PM |
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Who is my daddy? Not you, and for that I am profoundly grateful. Once again you wrote a whole lot of nothing. So answer me the following, Father Woodshed;When the Bible tells us that we are dead in sin, does it mean dead or something else? When Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless first granted by God was He serious or not? When Nicodemus was told that he must be regenerated before he could even see the kingdom of God, was that only in special circumstances or did that apply to all men? When Paul answered every Arminian objection in Romans 9, and did so in language that was as clear as crystal, did he mean what he said or do we have to take it with a grain of salt? When Christ said He came to do God's will, did He actually achieve this, and if so, was it God's will that all men turned to Christ? When God said He does as He pleases and no one can resist His will, was He boasting or being wishful? But above all, tell me what your opinion is of man's condition due to sin. That is the bottom line. Did sin leave him capable of choosing good? Did sin leave him with enough life to turn to God? Did sin leave him with enough spiritual awareness to be aware of his need for a Saviour? Or did sin leave him dead, blind and bereft of spiritual faculties??? |
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