Posted on 05/22/2015 9:05:44 AM PDT by RnMomof7
No, I am not asking, yet I have an opinion as to why.
What have you got? But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 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? 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. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Ezekiel, Catholic chapter eighteen, Protestant verses twenty four to thirty two,
Malachi, Catholic chapter three, Protestant verses sixteen to eighteen,
Hebrews, Catholic chapter ten, Protestant verses twenty two to thirty one,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James
I wrote not that the questions were useless, rather that I do not recall them profiting the lawyers who asked them. As for the very best the Jewish magisterium had to offer, I do not view it thusly; just consider all the challengers and pretenders in any venue, this forum for example. Those who were named were another matter entirely, the good, the bad, and the ugly, so to speak.
It seems to me that I asked my question first and you have not answered it. I will likewise consider your question.
I have searched your previous posts carefully and cannot identify a question you asked that I did not answer. Not saying you’re wrong, just that I can’t figure out what question you think I overlooked. I even searched through every question mark on my ping page, all 78 of them, and not one was a question from you (unless I somehow missed it, which is always possible). But if you will repeat it I will be happy to give it a try. :)
Peace,
SR
Those are all wonderful Scriptures. They do not tell me what Rome’s formal, infallible dogma is concerning the proper interpretation of Hebrews 10. In lawyer talk (as long as we’re on that theme), we would say your answer was unresponsive to the question asked. We’re not in court, so you’re free to make that choice. Unfortunately it leaves me in a position where I don’t know how to proceed. Do you think you are speaking for Rome? If so, can you verify that what you are teaching conforms to the official, infallible Roman position on this passage? Your move.
Peace,
SR
No. Contact the closest Italian or Vatican Embassy. You might rather go to your closest parish and have a heart to heart talk with a priest and ask your questions.
What is the exact nature of the willful sin ?
Yes? No? Qualified yes? Qualified no? I'm open to hearing your true thoughts on the matter. Nuance them however you like. But I think it's a fair question, and I am not sure why it is taking so much effort to get a straightforward answer.
The scripture always applies. How it applies depends on the nature of the sin. One seeking to confess one's sins is on the right path and should bring forth fruits meet for repentance. One seeking to justify oneself and remaining an adversary to the Messiah and his one holy catholic and apostolic church is surely at risk of judgment, fiery indignation, and destruction.
No, my interest is in your position. You have effectively answered my question, with the only answer I thought possible.
Peace,
SR
And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.Do you see how the author is making a categorical distinction here? We don't belong to the category of those who apostatize. Why? What's the distinction? The nature of belief. Some belief, as James says, is mere intellectual assent. The devils believe and tremble. But we are those who have the kind of faith that results in the saving of the soul. Very clear. Very consistent, even textbook consistent, with perseverance of the saints, per the Reformed view.
(Hebrews 10:38-39)
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.The servant is not greater than the master. If we are to forgive so many times over, will God be less gracious than us? God forbid. He will always be more gracious than we expect Him to be. Those who have sinned, despite knowing the truth, if they repent, and finally come to have the faith that saves, as Hebrews 10 teaches, they do NOT qualify for the warning of the passage. Only those who unrepentantly continue in their rebellion, because until they come to true repentance and true faith, there is nowhere they can go for atonement, if they refuse the once for all sacrifice of Jesus.
(Matthew 18:21-22)
Nonconcur; the author is not writing about salvation being a done deal for anyone (save those mentioned in the Roll Call of Faith. In fact he is rather careful to write that we are only saved if we obey the Messiah. For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. 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, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 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. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Hebrews, Catholic chapter five, in its entirety,
Hebrews, Catholic chapter six, Protestant verses one to twelve,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James
For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.The mission is the thing with Paul. He was perfectly happy to accomodate expectations of Jewish believers, just as he did here:
(1 Corinthians 9:19-21)
Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.So he had Timothy circumcised, not for his personal justification, but in deference to the Jewish community to which he was to minister. But whether in principle or in practice, Paul was adamant in his revelatory teaching that these customs were not to be understood as the substance of obedience to the Gospel. They were mere accommodations to those whose consciences would otherwise be offended, inhibiting the progress of the Gospel. Missionaries today do the same sort of thing. Becoming as identified with your audience as possible is still a good way to get access to share the Gospel. But it doesn't mean the adopted cultural practices become a requirement of the faith.
(Acts 16:1-3)
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.Notice he doesn't describe it as a sudden break, or that it had ceased completely, but was in a process of decline. This suggests that Hebrews was probably written before the fall of the temple, within the timeframe of Paul and the other apostles.
(Hebrews 8:13)
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?The ministration of death, the law, was indeed glorious, but such glory was to be done away, overcome by an even greater glory, the glory of the Gospel, the ministration of the spirit.
(2 Corinthians 3:5-8)
Yes, this is what I wanted to see addressed. It brings us to the one holy catholic and apostolic church where all the apostles in Jerusalem agreed, including Paul, that he did not teach the Jews in the Diaspora to forsake Moses, either in circumcision or customs, and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. .
All the apostles in Jerusalem were in unity, agreeing to keep the law as the Messiah kept the law and commanded them to, not for justification, but to fulfill all righteousness as a testimony to Israel. What they told Paul to do, and what he did in obedience, was not a mistake. The Messiah had personally promised these particular apostles the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and given them the power to bind and loose. One might make a mistake, yet here you have all of them in Jerusalem. I'm certain you see the catholic implications, although you may not accept them. Once the temple passed away, the sacrifices stopped. How do you reconcile a third temple with restarted animal sacrifices after reading the book of Hebrews ?
Hey, the Catholics are the ones who claim infallibility.
What’s the problem with expecting them to live up to the standards they set up for themselves?
Understood; work before hobbies Almost aflame still you don't feel the heat
As certain of your own poets have said:
Takes all you got just to stay on the beat
You say it's a living, we all gotta eat
but you're here alone there's no one to compete
If mercy's in business I wish it for you
More than just ashes when your dreams come true
Words by Robert Hunter; music by Mickey Hart
The apostles may well have been doing the right thing.They were; original Jewish apostles, discipled by the Messiah himself, filled with the Holy Spirit he sent to them, binding and loosing, working love in unity; it doesn't get any more right than this.
Even so, Paul was prohibited from following through on the ritual, and so no sacrifice was in fact offered on his behalf. We could say that God preempted him through circumstances. Then the question would be, would God lead them to do something that He did not intend them to finish doing? So the "mistake" theory, while not essential to my argument, remains a live issue for me.
By this method of argument one could argue that Paul's mission to the Gentiles was a mistake and that God preempted him through circumstances, leading to his execution, and not only him but all the Apostles save John. One might further ask about the Jewish apostles entire ministry and work, would God lead them to do something that He did not intend them to finish doing and conclude since they were slain and driven out they failed and a new Gentile Christianity emerged only based on the doctrines that Paul taught. Some might even espouse those arguments on the FR forum. Now those would be ridiculous arguments.
As to the unity of the apostles in this situation, I do notice from my time here on the FR RF that RC readers of Scripture often find confirmation of things they already believe about Catholicism, and project that back onto the text.
Catholics tend to take seriously what Jesus said to, and about, his apostles, and believe the Father answered His prayers. They tend to love and honor those the Messiah chose to shepherd the flock, and regard them as blessed family. Catholics are brethren. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Matthew, Catholic chapter sixteen, Protestant verses fifteen to nineteen,
John, Catholic chapter fourteen, Protestant verses twelve to eighteen,
John, Catholic chapter seventeen, in its entirety,
John, Catholic chapter twenty, Protestant verses twenty to twenty three,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James
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