Studying the Bible With Kirk Douglas

The New York Times ^ | February 6, 2020 | David Wolpe

[Torahman]

Good points. If you continue reading Matthew 5 you will get to his teachings on Torah Observance. There he explicitly states that every word of Torah will endure till the end of time, and that all are obligated to keep it.

[odawg]

“I don’t take it upon myself to decide who is ‘saved ‘ or ‘condemned’.”

No one can. However, the way to salvation is spelled out clearly in the Bible and is not subject to personal interpretation.

[Jamestown1630]

There are people on Earth - and perhaps all over the Universe - who have never been exposed to the ‘Bible’ that you recognize as ultimate Truth.

What’s God’s plan for them?

[daniel1212]

I read the article in full without signing in.

I cannot, even though I am not in private mode of running ad-block software, but only the mvps host which simply reroutes bad or known ad links to a non-existent address.

It is better than ad-block software, and I can edit it and have, but the NYT wants me to see ads in order to see their articles. Some other sites do the same. With about 6 browsers sometimes the page will load in another one, and there are ways around the black, but I decided I wanted to be honest.

[just Grace]

Silly me! I thought he was Catholic.

[caww]

Yes, He’s bigger than our understanding....However He does tell us “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”.....

[thecodont]

Amen.

[Ancesthntr]

We do not and will not pray to the Messiah. He will be the Redeemer sent by G-d to carry out His will. The Messiah will be a man, not divine...and Jews will be able then, as now and in the past, to pray to G-d all by themselves. No intermediaries needed.

[Bommer]

38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

41 “I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

John 5:38-47

[caww]

Well we shall certainly see the day when one or the other of us proves true. As every knee will indeed bow either by faith or force...but they will bow.

[righttackle44]

Jesus gave us plenty of instruction as to how we must behave, in order to be ‘saved’. I’m especially fond of the Sermon on the Mount.

Scripture makes it quite clear that behavior is not what saves someone. It is faith and belief in the Saviorhood of Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9-10 and 12 is clear: V.9, confess with one's mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, v.10. believe in one's heart that God raised him from the dead. V.11, no one who believes in Jesus Christ as Savior will ever be put to shame (rejected, turned away), v.12 everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, as in vv 9 and 10, will be saved.

This is an important verse because Jesus says explicitly that there are some who believe they have behaved properly but will still be rejected by him in eternity and in Heaven. This is how he says it in Matthew 7:21-23--"21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

This means that even some preachers and others will be rejected even though they thought they were behaving as people acceptable to and by the Lord Jesus.

[bramps]

Have you read the New testament and are comfortable with your determination that Jesus was a nut? He said he was the ONLY way to the Kingdom Of God. Would you not say that makes him quite a loon or else he was ...?

[odawg]

“What’s God’s plan for them?”

That is God’s purview.

Jesus was asked a very similar question. His response: Be concerned with your own condition. You can’t manage anyone else’s.

[Twotone]

I’ve been reading Dennis Prager’s Rational Bible series. I never knew that Israel means ‘to struggle with God.’

[thesearethetimes...]

Amen. Interesting thread, even though I fell into the would not subscribe group 😉

[Jamestown1630]

I believe that the New Testament is subjectively interpreted by most people, according to their individual lights. I don’t think that can be changed by insisting that there is only one meaning or interpretation of any scripture - the same words might mean very different things and strike hearts very differently, in different people.

And I think that God is a lot ‘bigger’ than many of us give Him credit for being, and leaves room for that.