Posted on 01/05/2010 9:46:47 PM PST by the_conscience
Desert sand = "Allah"
Rushing river = the Heavenly Father of Christ.
My point was that whatever the Muslims call God and what ever they attibute to Him doesn’t change Him. There is only one God.
John 9
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
The main point is that without grace a man will sin and not care. He will love his sins because man is naturally egocentric. Even his own sin delights him.
With grace a man will sin less and care very much when he does. He will know he is being disobedient and hate that failing. .
Not all men care. The only ones who care are those whom God has changed from natural men to spiritual men through a supernatural and free application of the Holy Spirit. Whatever is good in us, whatever is true and obedient and repentant and God-glorifying, is Christ within.
Therefore we have no reason to boast. It is all God, all the time, everywhere.
"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." -- Philippians 2:13
Yet it also says that when they speak of something with ungodly attributes, the something of which they speak is not God.
Not only is Satan subject to God, but they are subject to man in the name of Jesus
"Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Amen!
Of course there is evil in the world. And we must fight that evil, knowing the devil loses evey time.
Post 3,000!
Oh, wait, not yet. :o)
God’s elect is as you specify, people who have chosen Christ. They can be of any ethnicities.
The Vedas are the original source teaching of the Hindu tradition from which its many branches of Vedanta, Yoga and Tantra have emerged. They are also the background from which Buddhism evolved. They are the oldest known Indo-European religious tradition and pre-date the Greeks by several centuries.
They began in the civilization of the Indus Valley culture, and as they speak of Sarasvati River going from the mountains to the sea, this dates the Vedas well before 2000 BC, contemporary with the pyramids of Egypt.
The Vedas are said to be a manisfestation of Sanatana Dharma, which literally means the eternal truth. This is the oldest literature of the Indian people.
Amen! Rome's denial of that fact resulted in the Reformation.
We are saved by Christ's righteousness and good works and obedience, all mercifully imputed to us, and by not our own righteousness, good works or obedience. If that were not true, then salvation would be based on debt instead of mercy.
Amen!
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" -- Galatians 5:1
Chronos: A flaw in your argument -- Jews DO that and we can't deny that they worship the God of Abraham.
FK is correct on this one. Even the Jewish mechanism of worshiping God requires this. Consider how any priest must cleanse themselves prior to entering the temple to have fellowship with God, to worship Him. First there would be a burnt offering, pointing the object of our faith in the sacrifice being made to God for cleansing, pointing to Christ. Next they would wash themselves at the Bronze Laver, which acted as a mirror, washing part of their body while looking at themselves before God. This is also synonymous to the act of confession after we turn our face back to Him (repentance) in that we look at ourselves and confess our sins by washing them by what He has provided, that Perfect Sacrifice.
No Jew could enter into the Holy Place prior to this action, just as no believer in the Church Age is able to have fellowship with God without looking first through faith in Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross.
Looks pre-destined to me
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you
And then we have Paul who says he's a prisoner, speaking of his call to be the Apostle to the Gentiles
Because of this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ (Jesus) for you Gentiles--
2 if, as I suppose, you have heard of the stewardship 3 of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit,
3 (namely, that) the mystery 4 was made known to me by revelation
In a similar vein, we have Samuel searching out Saul, who was clearly predestined for kingship, as well as David. Could they refuse?
Judaism does seem to have been influenced by Zoroastrianism post the Babylon exile and Zoroastrianism is derived from the Iranic flavor of the Indo-Irani Aryanic religion
Ma certo! Queste gente sono tutta pazze e un po dolorose.
You bring up a point that first made me draw back fro the PD side...when I realized that folks thought it meant we were saved, and then had faith.
There is an order of salvation as follows:
The Father has determined that the normative way of salvation would come through His Word. The Bible places a heavy emphasis on the reading and preaching of His Word, as well as the carrying of this Gospel to all peoples. This general call of the Gospel, containing the supremacy of God, His wrath against sin, and the promise of salvation through His Son, exhorts fallen man to repent from their sins and believe in the redemption offered in Christ. (see Is. 55.7, Matt. 28.19-20, Rom. 10.14,17, 2 Tim. 1.9-10, 3.15; WCF 10)
Regeneration:
The general call of the Gospel is made effective when the Holy Spirit makes the Word of God understood, appreciated and believed upon in the heart of an individual. Because of the fallen, sinful nature of man. he is at enmity with God and refuses to acknowledge the truthfulness of the Gospel. God sends His Spirit into His elect to change this spiritual rebellion by regenerating, renewing and transforming the inward condition of the depraved into a love for the Lord. In effect, these hearts and natures have been born again, and their eyes and ears have been opened to see the glorious truths of God's salvation. (see Ez. 36.26-27, Matt. 16.17, 1 Cor. 2.12-14, 2 Cor. 3.3,6, 2 Thess.2.13-14, Titus 3.5; WCF 3.6, 10)
Conversion:
The regenerate heart that hears the Gospel is faced with the guilt of his sinful condition and the certainty of a just judgment against him. Despairing in this state, he sees his only hope of escape through Christ and both trusts in the promise of salvation and repents from his sins. Through faith, he recognizes himself as a sinner in need of grace, and pleads to God for His power and love to save him through the blood and righteousness of Christ. Through repentance, he loathes his sinfulness and turns to God as the only source of righteousness and goodness, endeavoring to live obediently for Him. Those who repent and believe are converted from being followers of Satan to being followers of God. (see Is. 55.11, Hos. 14.2,4, Acts 17.30-31, 20.21, Rom. 1.17, Eph. 1.17-18, 2.8: WCF 14, 15)
Justification:
The promise in the Gospel is that those who trust in the Lord will be saved. The forgiveness for the sins of God's people, and the righteousness that allows a sinner to be in the presence of a holy God, comes from the perfect obedience and atoning sacrifice of Christ. As a substitute for the elect two things happen: 1. Christ earns their salvation and standing before God by fulfilling God's law and covenant on their behalf, and
2. He bears the punishment for their sins. As Christ fulfilled this role, God promises that those who trust in Him will have the righteousness of Christ imputed (or given) to them, just as their sins will be imputed to Christ.
Thus as a holy Judge, God legally declares that His people are "just," or "not guilty." The sinner is justified before the Lord when, in faith, he rests not upon his own goodness and/or good works (of which he has none), but upon the magnificent work of God's Son.
(see Jer. 23.6, Rom. 3.24-26, 4.5-8, 5.17-19, Gal. 2.16; WCF 11)
Adoption:
God's grace converts sinners from being servants of Satan to being servants of Christ, yet God promises more than just that. He manifests His fatherly love towards lost sinners by adopting them as His own children. Through adoption, He gives them all the rights, privileges and protection as belonging to His household and having His name. They become adopted sons and daughters of the Father, and brothers, sisters, and joint-heirs with Christ. (see Psalm 103.13, John 1.12, Rom. 8.15-17, Gal. 4.5-7, Eph. 1.5; WCF 12)
Sanctification:
The next step in this process of salvation is the purifying work of the Holy Spirit in a believer's daily walk. Not only are the elect presented as blameless through the imputation of Christ's righteousness, they are also developed spiritually in righteousness by the Word and the Spirit. As the Spirit indwells the believer, He works in them growth in grace and knowledge and produces in them spiritual fruit and good deeds. Believers are especially sanctified when involved in a church where the Bible is taught and the sacraments are administered. Though none can become perfect in this life, and though this sanctification can be a very long and slow work, the elect are strengthened effectively so that they will pursue holiness. (see 2 Cor. 7.1, Eph. 2.10, 5.26, 2 Thess. 2.13, Heb. 13.20-21; WCF 13, 16)
Glorification:
As a believer dies, his soul goes into the presence of God while he waits for the resurrection and redemption of his physical body, and there is comforted and beholds the glory of God. The final realization of salvation will come as Christ returns, gathers His people, and glorifies them together with Him. When the New Jerusalem is established, which is commonly referred to as heaven, the Bible promises that the curse of sin will be no more and that the elect will dwell in heaven with the Lord eternally, with perfect peace, love and joy. (see Eccl. 12.7, John 5.28-29, Acts 24.15, Rom. 8.30, 1 Cor. 15, 2 Cor. 5.1,6,8, Phil. 1.23; WCF 32, 33)
2Ti 2:25-26 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
Unless, of course, "all" doesn't exactly mean "all."
On the flip side, to take a name which essentially means "objectors" would suggest that it's at least more true formally for some than for others.
If I met somebody whose understanding of Catholic doctrine was so weak that he thought that text contradicted it, I'd say he was right to be scared.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.