Still dreaming goodnight!:)
Posted on 05/17/2003 7:07:49 PM PDT by drstevej
Puts the 'amazing' in Amazing Grace.
What was Spurgeon's use of the Word "Arminian"? Is it possible that he was thinking of Pelagian here?
While he was a Calvinist, is this "radical use" of the term Arminian normal in his writings? i would have probably said that it is in the confessions of all Arminian churches, and i'm no friend of Arminianism.
i am reminded of an old Jonathan Edwards sermon title: "Thieves, Robbers, and Deists, (with apologies to Thieves and Robbers)"
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
So pray to God. Tell him you know you are a sinner, tell him you know you deserve to be apart from Him forever. Tell Him you know that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that he came, in the flesh, and was crucified for your sins. Tell Him that you know that the Lord was resurrected three days later, and even now is alive in heaven. Tell Him that you receive him. Tell him that you accept his sacrifice for YOUR sins. Believe it. Confess it.
(Then tell someone about it, because no one that Jesus called was ever called in secret. We are not to be ashamed of Christ, confess Him, and He will confess you before the Father. )
If you prayed that, and meant it, you know that you have everlasting life. Nothing, no one, not even yourself, can take you away from God now (John 10:28). Now it’s time to get to know God. You do that by reading His Word, the Bible. As a new Christian, you must be aware that you have a new enemy, Satan. Satan will do whatever he can to discourage and confuse you. Don’t let him.
Read God’s Word. Don't be deceived. There are many false teachers and prophets out there. If it doesn't line up with God's Word, then run from it. Satan is a masterful deceiver, and will come as an angel of light, pretending to be of God (2 Corinthians 11:14). He will do his best to deceive you into accepting something less that God’s words. Read it and study it (2 Timothy 2:15), and believe it. Realize that God is revealing Himself in the Bible.
Goodnight restornu, may His Rest be on you, goodnight stevie, pocket fishermen of men, and goodnight Dr. Eckleburg, whereever you are!
I didn't know Larry King's wife was a Mormon which explains King's recent onslaught of psychics, mind-readers and dead-body babblers. They're probably all LDS.
I know she's a follower of that wigged-out, hyphenated charlatan, John-Roger.
Incestuous bunch.
It is certainly good to see you quoting Mr. Wesley. I was wondering, do you really agree with the above-quoted portion of your quotation?
Do you think the traditional, hard-shell Calvinist (I know from your posts that you depart from Calvinist orthodoxy in some areas) would subscribe to the view that "...good tempers, good desires, good purposes and intentions, ... all these flow from the free grace of God ...?"
I am immediately struck by three things: first, he is brutal in his attacks on Erasmus. Do you think that Luther goes a tad overboard, like he is really trying to get back a Erasmus, or is this just his style (I am not questioning his style Biblically; "You foolish Galatians" screamed Paul. That is what Luther reminds me of).
Second, he is brutal in his attacks on the Pope and the whole structure and institution of the Roman Church. Did he always feel this way, did he ever simply want to reform the Roman Church or had he always felt this sort of contempt for the Holy See and the boyz?
Third, I'm only about half way through it and, while I am getting a profound insight on the real meaning of God's grace, I am still unconvinced about such Calvinistic teachings as Limited Atonement or Preservation of the Saints. Does Luther deal with these later in this volume, in any other of his works, or are these simply Calvin's teachings which originated with Calvin, and not any of the other reformers (Luther, Zwingli, et al)
Other that these questions, it is an amazing work so far which is having a profound effect on my faith and love for Christ, probably because it seems so far removed from the meaningless and irrelevant drivel spewing from our pulpits (well, at least from the Charismatic/Evangelical pulpits I am used to.). From now on I think I will only be reading the good stuff; any other suggestions for a "meat/not milk" reading list?
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