Posted on 01/12/2014 5:53:46 AM PST by knarf
You don't need a priest, or sacraments, or a "church", or a denomination, or charismatic 'gifts' or baptism or hierarchal permission, sanction nor absolution ...
Because of my job I move every 2-3 years, meaning I need to find a new church. Sometimes I am traveling on Sunday and need a church to worship in.
In the past six years
- I attended Christmas Eve service at a Reformed Baptist Church in Germany.
-When in London I worshiped at Spurgeon’s old church, The Metropolitan Tabernacle. (Baptist)
-Attended a conservative Lutheran church for over a year. ( I was the strange Reformed guy)
And on and on and on.
-My daughter is off in college and is having difficulty finding a church. I suggested she visit a Calvary Chapel about 2 blocks from her dorm.
From reading this boards it seems our FRoman Catholic FRiends want to make everything crucial to salvation, which makes nothing crucial.
True.
But this begs the question of what true "faith" is.
What is it that we have to believe about Christ? What do we have to believe about His commands? Do we have to fulfil His commands, to truly believe in Him? Do we have to fulfill His command to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Luke 6:31)? IOW, do we have to evidence our faith through our works, because "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26)? Must we be baptized (Mat 28:19)? Must we "remain in Him" (John 15:4)? Is it true that, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you"? (John 6:53)
I think the best example Jesus Christ gives us of “holding areas” is the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus was in the bosom of Abraham as a son of Abraham and the rich man according to the KJV to hell. If you look at the OJB they use Sheol. If we look at the critical texts they use the Greek form Hades. I think the distinction used in Luke 16 is there is a holding place for the faithful and another for the soon to be condemned. As we see in the parable there is a gulf where one cannot pass to the other. I believe the Jewish tradition of the time called the bosom of Abraham Gan Eden and thus the understanding of Paradise.
As I thank the Louvre for maintaining all those great works of art. Although the curators of the Louvre need not tell me what they protect is art.
Can you?
LOL. Stopped that years ago when I blew out my knee. Now I coach the sport.
In my experience, they make just one thing crucial to salvation - kissing the Pope's ring. Ultimately, everything else is negotiable for them. IMO nothing else explains why Trinitarian pro-life Protestants are anathemized, while atheistic pro-abort Democrats receive Pope-presided communion wafers and Cardinal-presided funeral masses.
Does not faith imply faithfulness?
What is it that we have to believe about Christ? What do we have to believe about His commands? Do we have to fulfil His commands, to truly believe in Him? Do we have to fulfill His command to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Luke 6:31)? IOW, do we have to evidence our faith through our works, because "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26)? Must we be baptized (Mat 28:19)? Must we "remain in Him" (John 15:4)? Is it true that, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you"? (John 6:53)
Good grief. Way to over complicate things.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
He is FAR away from 'fellow' protestants!
I go with the SLEEP statements; found oh so many places in the text.
I watch sports from the couch.
Thank you for your comments.
I agree with you and see what is coming.
Legalism is one of the lowest levels of spiritual development. When the Holy Spirit enters, consciousness grows, it expands and it’s processing speed increases. It truly changes a person more than most can ever imagine.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
Added to my homepage, naturally with proper citation!
LOL, those quotes.
The scriptures defines faith as follows:
We persevere because we have the assurance and conviction of these things. We know them to be true. And, just like Elisha opening the eyes of his friend to the spiritual realm existing around them, so Christ opens our eyes. This assurance and conviction is a gift from God.
This is not our home land.
LOLOL!!! I’m glad gamecock captured this moment. :O)
Yup. And where do we get that particular virtue?
Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I don't have a personal experience to cite in support of my opinion and belief, not like those you have related here, just a "near sense" sort of feeling of something just beyond my grasp, sorta like with a temporarily forgotten name or fact just beyond the reach of recall.
It seems like I've always had that "feeling" but other than doing research, I haven't yet been able to fully scratch that itch. Ego undisciplined often finds a way to get in the way, perhaps for my protection or something else's. (The accounts of "Walk-ins" I read as a kid were unnerving.)
With the hope I'm not being too noisy or intrusive, I'm curious about where your thoughts and opinions were about the things you're sharing here before your NDE.
Amen HD!
Yet so often the man in the mirror appears to act as though none of it were true! Thank God that HE IS ABLE to keep that which we entrust to HIM!
We need to be persuaded,FULLY persuaded that He IS able because our adversary,one way or another,will test that assurance to the Nth degree!(and for all the bluster on the RF,in the end,you either have it,or you don't.We will all be found out) Those who endure will ultimately see that same adversary in the dirt under our feet!
"Lord I believe,help thou my unbelief"
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