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Posted on 03/10/2004 9:37:27 PM PST by malakhi
| Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue. - John Adams |
A better question to ask was why was all of Noahs sons and wives allowed on the boat. If you buy into this theory then why didn't God just pick and choose?
Noah preached God's deliverance through the ark for one hundred years.
It is conceiveable that everyone in the populated world (at that time) had heard of Noah's preaching of the need to board the ark.
Everybody had the opportunity to board the ark (to escape the flood).
But, in the final analysis, ... only Noah's family (his wife, sons and their wives) boarded the ark in the time afforded by God.
Every other person on the face of the earth declined to board the ark (they, likely, thought that Noah was a flake).
God sealed the ark's door directly before the flood rains began.
As those first drops fell, and began to accumulate, ... others began to realize that Noah had been right all along.
But by then, ... it was too late.
As the scriptures tell us, ... it is vital that we respond in belief and obedience when God offers His salvation to us.
All those that respond so will be saved.
There were 4 very spiritual pastors who had a series of theological arguments on deciding just what the will of God was. 3 were always against the 4th. One day, after the usual "3 to 1, majority rules" statement that signified that he had lost again, the odd pastor out decided to appeal to a higher authority.
"Oh, God!" he cried. "I know in my heart that I am right and they are wrong! Please give me a sign to prove it to them!"
It was a beautiful, sunny day. As soon as the pastor finished his prayer, a storm cloud moved across the sky above the 4. It rumbled once and dissolved. "A sign from God! See, I'm right, I knew it!" But the other 3 disagreed, pointing out that storm clouds form on hot days.
So the pastor prayed again: "Oh, God, I need a bigger sign to show that I am right and they are wrong. So please, God, a bigger sign!" This time 4 storm clouds appeared, rushed toward each other to form 1 big cloud, and a bolt of lightening slammed into a tree on a nearby hill.
"I told you I was right!" cried the pastor, but his friends insisted that nothing had happened that could not be explained by natural causes.
The pastor was getting ready to ask for a very big sign, but just as he said, "Oh God...", the sky turned pitch black, the earth shook, and a deep, booming voice intoned, "HEEEEEEEE'S RIIIIIIGHT!"
The pastor put his hands on his hips, turned to the other 3, and said, "Well?" "So",shrugged 1 of the other pastors, "now it's 3 to 2".
Actually, I don't think I've ever said this. I just let my actions speak for themselves.
Probably because more than a few posters have complained that the NES was populated by small minds, wagging tongues, apostate Christians, baffoons, sophomoric humor, idle thoughts, back-biting snickers, crude remarks and weak debate.
You're a good show. Stick around, seriously. I haven't had this much fun since jael (another male-posting female) was on the thread.
And yet we've known you were both ladies for quite some time.
I suppose this is not sophomoric humor or an idle thought? And your creative spelling was not crude or a wagging tongue or a small mind was it? I delight in your double-standard of debate. It is refreshing. Pull up a chair and stay awhile. Oh, and one more example of your large minded, non-wagging tongue, non-buffoon, advanced humor, purposeful and meaningful thought, open rebuke in love, pure comment, and strong debate:
Retread.
Please stay!!!! For the children?
Another statement I'm pretty sure most Arminians would not have a problem with. You will delight in this again as more acceptance of Calvinism. I will simply say that it's evidence that we have much in more in common than those who paint Arminians with the broad brush would have the rest of the world believe.
Only if you put something like "fool" or "tool" behind it. Hope you and yours have a great weekend, Cindy!
I think you mean "Deist."
And vice-versa.
A week or so ago we had 7-8" of rain in a 48 hour period. We had some local flooding, cellars flooded, (my duck pond overflowed it's banks) and stuff like that but it wasn't a disaster.
I read where you had 4" of rain and it was like the world was coming to an end. What gives?
A 1947 Studebaker pickup truck would do just fine. ;-)
Mack this just shows you do not really read the TULIP posts . What is need to be saved is exactly what the scriptures say ..Repent and Believe . PERIOD nothing else added to it
Not one of us has ever said differently .
Mack , I have always considered you , and Becky and Quester and 808 and Cindy and johnny and my Protestant friend on FR as my brothers and sister in Christ . There has never been a shadow of doubt in that .
The discussion on reform doctrine vs. Arminianism or Baptist doctrine has to do with how we view God and our salvation, nothing more , nothing less.
BTW I have never intended to "stab" you in the back , if I have ever done that I apologize to you .
But, in the final analysis, ... only Noah's family (his wife, sons and their wives) boarded the ark in the time afforded by God.
And the earth was re-populated by .............. ?
Scripturally, ... Noah's sons and their wives ?
I have heard of kids as young as 5 (I met a girl that remembers giving God her life in a preschool Sundays school class ). Many believe that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost in his mothers womb (not we never read of him being saved or Baptized in the NT ).
Our salvation is in Gods time (Kairos) .
I always thought my youngest would become a Pastor ..he is an engineer , but I have still not given up hope. In recent years I have met a lot of former engineers that became Pastors.. so we never know . That is in Gods hands and timing too..
Nobody is going to change their minds here IMO. It has seemed to me no one really listening to each other and lot's of zinging (from me too) going on in God's name by Christians. I have a lot going on in my life right now and have been kind of down. I have missed seeing the funny side of life . This kind of helped put things in perspective this morning for me though .I was reading this and started laughing. Sometimes I'm with the majority sometimes I'm not. If it's old to yall I apologize but enjoy the repeat
Hey CD, I'm praying that the Spirit grants you a larger portion of His gift of joy.
I enjoyed your joke.
I'll try and see what I can come up with in this department.
CD, ... here's one that I really like ...A burglar broke into a house one night. He shone his flashlight around, looking for valuables, and when he picked up a CD player to place into his sack, a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying, "Jesus is watching you."
He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off and froze. When he heard nothing more after a bit, he shook his head, he promised himself a long vacation after his next big score, then clicked the flashlight back on and began searching for more valuables.
Just as he pulled the stereo out so that he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard, "Jesus is watching you."
Totally rattled, he shone his flashlight around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot in a tall cage.
"Did you say that"? He hissed at the parrot.
"That was me, all right" squawked the parrot."
The burglar relaxed. "So you think you're a smart bird, huh ? What's your name ?"
"Moses," squawked the parrot.
"Moses," the burglar laughed. "What kind of people would name a parrot Moses?"
The parrot quickly answered, "The same kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus."
I have run across them in my internet travels.One particular forum that I can think of, but the guy got alot of arguments from the other posters.
I do not disagree with you , that there are unsaved people that can give you the doctrine from memory .
(Not that I think you are in that category....)
(how generous of you to believe I might be saved) .
I know people that think that compromise will bring people to truth ...I have lived long enough to know that is not true..neither , Peter or Paul ever compromised and they built a church
Luk 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from their company], and shall reproach [you], and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
Yeah, I remember "preaching Jesus" to my young uncle when I was 5 and lecturing my mother that kids should not be lied to about SC ,easter bunny etc or they might not think Jesus real either when they find out. Cheeky little brat wasn't I? My mom and I still fight about this. She thinks I deprived my kids . The teachers weren't happy with me either.
I was 8 when I "got the call" Actually I was called 3 times. The first x I started down the halter (i saw this on edit but i had to leave it up for Becky lol) I got cold feet and sat by some other people. The second x the preacher got distracted and turned away and I went right out the side door. A deacon asked me after the services if I needed to talk with the preacher. I lied. I said no, I had to go to the bathroom. The third Sunday everyone sat by the edge so there was no room to stop and the preacher never took his eyes off me lol. Funny thing was that my grandmother was the one taking me to church. She never said anything to me. She just kept taking me back.
I had to say that because in the past people have thought I was excoriating the person I was posting to when I post a generalized critique.
Amen, Nobdysfool!
This one sentence contains everything needed to turn the Arminian misperception of God's grace into the truth.
Faith is a gift from God, based solely on His mercy for His fallen creature, unmerited and non-refundable. It is ALL of God, and none of us.
Once we surrender the ego-driven error that we have anything to do with God's eternal decree regarding those He has saved and those He has hardened from before the foundation of the world, the rest falls into place. We can do nothing else but to drop to our knees in praise and thanksgiving.
"Faith in Christ is the evidence of God's choosing, not the cause of it."
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