Posted on 12/04/2006 7:52:47 PM PST by Pyro7480
In fact, ... if the older brother had any love for his younger brother, ... he should have been thrilled to have him return.
And he might well have been — until he realized that as much as good behavior does not warrant a reward, bad behavior does not suffer consequences.
So ... the older brother's love ... should be conditioned upon reward ?
How fortunate is it indeed ... that God's love is unconditional (agape) ?
Indeed ... it is fortunate that our parents displayed a more agape-type love themselves.
Recall that love is the basis of all things christian. Without love, ... nothing else matters ...1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
...
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
In a Pavlovian/Skinnerian psychology model, you could very well make a case that the father was conditioning his younger son to do it again.
Isn't it fortunate that the foolishness of God ... is greater than the wisdom of men.
The parable says "do what you want, it will all be forgiven if you repent (even if the 'repentance' is under duress)."
The parable says that "all that is repented of ... will be forgiven".
It is the basis upon which any of us ... have any hope of God's salvation.Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
As far as D-fendr's comment in 10,339Note also that he is not less rewarded for his faithfulness than his brother is for his repentance: "you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.",I believe you are forgetting that in the Judaic society the older brother gets everything anyway unless he sells his birthright.
And this absolves the older brother of his debt of love toward his brethren ?
Or is it not true that ... "To whom much is given, ... much is required" ?
As I understand your representations of what the EO believe is that a person will only be considered righteous after they have died and the sum of their good deeds are weighted. I believe this is also how Judaism views salvation. It is a result of good works.
It certainly would explain your inability to understand the unmerited free gift of Grace.
Wouldn't the greatest disrespect be to come before God without the Holy Spirit in you?
IOW, if you are not saved by Grace through Faith you will not have the Holy Spirit indwelling you and when you are judged you will not be found righteous.
I think this verse is directing us right back to our Saviour Jesus Christ.
DM: The bible is not the Word of God?
So when the bible says "The word of God is living and active and sharper than a two edged sword". It's not talking about the bible. Therefore you would say "the bible is dead and still and dull as a lead pipe?" What's going on here?
It is not possible for anyone who believes that God is omniscient to escape the conclusion that every destiny is known and has been set since the creation of the world.
The only option is to remove omniscience from our understanding of God.
But omniscience does not equal double predestination.
Of course it does. There's no escaping it. God knows everyone, and God knows the end from the beginning; therefore, God knows the end of everyone.
Not sure what +John is but the revelation is from Christ to John and to all the saints who are blessed to hear it.
Foreknowledge does not equal double predestination either.
Apparently but the bible, including Peter states:
Mark 7:13
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
2Th 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
10504 was for you.
xzins wrote:
Of course it does.
Hmm. D-fendr and xzins... how do each of you define double predestination?
Such a good post should include Kosta50.
I'm sorry but Revelation is a summing up and an explanation. There is no theology contained therein that is contrary to the rest of the bible. It does not advocate the worship of angels, but just the opposite. Nowhere is one led to use witchcraft to divine the future. The Jews don't like to think that Christ revealed anything so that point is moot.
See 10507.
God either knows everything or He doesn't.
If He does not, then He is not omniscient. To get out of the dilemma, one has to change the definition of omniscience or of God. Either way, that gives us a different God than we had before we changed definitions.
It means that those who are to saved and those who are damned are both covered. In this instance, it means that God knows the destiny of any of us.
Lol, and the giver of it too
It's not the definition of omniscient that's the error. It's equating it with double predestination.
That takes two more steps.
Whoops. I meant to ping you to 10,512.
It really is a fascinating verse. I think the reason for it is to stress as strongly as possible that Christ is within us in real time today, this minute and every minute of our lives because we are His. If we deny the active and predestined work of the Holy Spirit to nourish and guide our new man in Christ, then we deny God's presence in our lives at this very moment.
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