519 posted on 10/1/02 9:21 PM Central by drstevej
NIV James 1:12
12. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.NIV James 1:16-18
16. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.
17. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
18. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.NIV James 1:25
25. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.NIV James 2:12-13
12. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,
13. because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!NIV James 4:5-6
5. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?
6. But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."NIV James 5:19-20
19. My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,
20. remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (Sorry Mom)NIV Romans 11:13-14
13. I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry
14. in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.NIV 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
19. Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
20. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
21. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law.
22. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
23. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.NIV Acts 13:38-41
38. "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
39. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
40. Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
41. "`Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.' "
None of the verses demonstrated show anything other than a responsibility to evangelism.
Your "exegesis" is fundamentally flawed. Most of the references quoted are irrelevant. Only a few have any bearing whatsoever, and you have twisted them well beyond the meaning of the passage.
NIV James 1:12 12. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Context, context, context. If you can't use the verse in context, don't bother. The immediate context is clearly demonstrated in v. 2 -- "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials."
18. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. Your emphasis on "might" was quite misplaced. At the very least, you could have checked another translation, and you would have found the sense in which "that you might be" was used. The NASB renders that clause "that we would be a kind of first fruits." Similarly for the KJV, Darby, and RSV.
NIV James 2:12-13 12. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13. because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
Completely irrelevant to the issue. What, did you look for the word "freedom"?
NIV James 4:5-6 5. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? 6. But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
Completely irrelavant. What, do you think we calvinists are a bounch of elitists? Very much the opposite -- we realize that there is nothing good about ourselves, we know "who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive?" (I Cor. 4:7). The Arminian, conversely, must admit that he was converted (if at all) becasuse either he was more intelligent or spiritually attuned than the unbelievers, both of which are flatly contradicted by I Cor. 1-3.
19. My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20. remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Here we see the biggest shortcoming of the Arminian system -- it all too frequently takes a passage addressed to believers ("brothers", "one of you") and throws it open to the whole world. Bad exegesis. This refers to regenerated believers.
NIV Romans 11:13-14 13. I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry 14. in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.
NIV 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 19. Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
The above prove little except that we shouldnt let the law get in the way of our evangelism, nor should we let the lawless. There are times where we must subject ourselves to the legalistic attiutudes of others for the sake of evangelism. If I go as a missionary to the middle east, I'm not going to bring several kegs of beer, even though I would be well within scriptural bounds to partake (as long as it doesnt turn to drunkenness). That would harm any credibility I would have with my Muslim targets.
39. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 40. Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
Uttered to Jews believing themselves to be justufied by the law.
I stand by my, drstevej's, and RnMomof7's statements.
I suggest you learn some basic hermaneutics. The first rule, first, foremost, and always is context is of primary importance. Isolated proof texts prove nothing without a fairly good contextual understanding to back it up. Heck, if I ignore context, I can Biblically prove there's no God! (cf. Ps 14:1)