Did you keep your old textbook?
Posted on 01/20/2016 1:53:12 PM PST by metmom
"You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance" (Eph. 1:13-14).
The Holy Spirit is God's first installment on your eternal inheritance.
The Holy Spirit's ministry in your life is multifaceted and profound. Among other things He brings salvation, conviction, guidance, and strength. He indwells and equips you for spiritual service and gives assurance of your salvation. He is your Helper and Advocate. He is the Spirit of promise, who seals you until the day when your redemption is fully realized (Eph. 4:30).
Sealing speaks of security, authenticity, ownership, and authority. Ancient kings, princes, and nobles placed their official seal on documents or other items to guarantee their inviolability. To break the seal was to incur the wrath of the sovereign whom it represented (cf. Dan. 6:17; Matt. 27:62-66).
A seal on a letter authenticated it as from the hand of the one whose seal it bore. Legal documents such as property deeds and wills were often finalized with an official seal. Those who possessed the sealed decree of a king had the king's delegated authority to act on that decree.
Each of those aspects of sealing is a picture of the Spirit's ministry. He is God's guarantee that your salvation is inviolable and that you are an authentic member of His kingdom and family. You are His possession-having been purchased with His Son's precious blood (1 Cor. 6:20). You are His ambassador with delegated authority to proclaim His message to a lost world (2 Cor. 5:20).
The Spirit is the pledge of your eternal inheritance (Eph. 1:14). The Greek word translated "pledge" in that verse (arrabon) was used of down payment or earnest money given to secure a purchase. Rejoice in the assurance that God, who cannot lie (Titus 1:2), has given you His Spirit as a guarantee that He will keep His promises.
Suggestions for Prayer
Praise God for the security of your eternal inheritance. Praise the Spirit for His many ministries in your life. Be sensitive to His leading today so that your ministry to others will be powerful and consistent with His will.
For Further Study
Read Esther chapters 3, 8. What role did the king's signet ring play in the decree of Haman (chapter 3)? The decree of Ahasuerus and Mordecai (chapter 8)?
But catholics believe you can only do this if you go through mary.
A couple months.
Where did Jesus teach that if we follow a *path* that we’re saved?
So, the effort is YOURS then, right?
And if you don’t do good enough, you’re not saved. Right?
I solved Korman's enigma. Korman asked me why I no longer belong to a WBR. I solved that problem.
:-)
That's about what I was told. Oops, how do I know, I slept through those classes.
:-)
Uh...
Except Mary; of course.
(See how easy it is to spin!)
Protestants did; however; ACCEPT what Jesus is giving away.
Isaiah 55:1-3, 10-11
1 "Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
I've heard differently...
Bonaventure: …the gates of heaven will open to all who confide in the protection of Mary. Blessed are they who know thee, O Mother of God, for the knowledge of THEE is the high road to everlasting life, and the publication of thy virtues is the way of ETERNAL SALVATION . Give ear, O ye nations; and all you who desire heaven , serve, honor Mary, and certainly you will find ETERNAL LIFE.
Ephem: …devotion to the divine Mother…is the unlocking of the heavenly Jerusalem.
Blosius: To the, O Lady, are committed the KEYS and the treasures of the kingdom of Heaven.
Ambrose: …constantly pray ‘Open to us, O Mary, the gates of paradise, since thou hast its KEYS.
Fulgetius: …by Mary God descended from Heaven into the world, that by HER man might ascend from earth to Heaven.
Athanasius: …And, thou, O Lady, wast filled with grace, that thou mightiest be the way of our SALVATION and the means of ascent to the heavenly Kingdom.
Richard of Laurence: Mary, in fine, is the mistress of heaven; for there she commands as she wills, and ADMITS whom she wills.
Guerric: …he who serves Mary and for whom she intercedes, is as CERTAIN of heaven as if he were already there…and those who DO NOT serve Mary will NOT BE SAVED.
Anselm: It suffices, O Lady, that thou willest it, and our SALVATION is certain.
Antoninus: …souls protected by Mary, and on which she casts her eyes, are NECESSARILY JUSTIFIED AND SAVED.
"The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem,
no matter how difficult it is, wheter temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families...that cannot be solved by the Rosary.
There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary."
Sister Lucia dos Santos
The 15 promises
(Given to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche)
| 1 | Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive powerful graces. |
| 2. | I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. |
| 3. | The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies |
| 4. | It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means. |
| 5. | The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish. |
| 6. | Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying Himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise Him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life. |
| 7. | Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. |
| 8. | Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise. |
| 9. | I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. |
| 10. | The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven. |
| 11. | You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary. |
| 12. | All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities. |
| 13. | I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death |
| 14. | All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ. |
| 15. | Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination. |
Did you keep your old textbook?
:-)
Actually, those classes I was required to go to, while I was a member of a works based religion, (WBR) didn't use that "old textbook," which may be the reason I slept through them. They used fairy tales, so there was no reason to stay awake.
At that time, I was experiencing a Matthew 15:8-9, up close and personal. Thank God that the Navigators came along and told me the truth.
Being as my middle name is "Berean," I searched the scriptures to see if these things were so. I came to the conclusion that my WBR had deceived me. I never knew for sure if it was deliberate or inadvertent, but I guess it's all acedemic now.
We have Bible studies, specifically designed for members of WBRs. What a coincidence. Many of them also have the same middle name (Berean) as I do. Imagine that. People that actually want to know the truth. What a novel concept. How about that MM?
:-)
That’s the work of the Holy Spirit in a person.
There's not a knowledgeable Catholic who ever existed that believed that......ever
I didn't say that, you did. Salvation is a gift....however, like any other gift we are certainly free to reject it. If everybody was automatically saved, there would be no need at all to have an institutional church.We could all just read and interpret the Catholic Bible (the real one) and lo and behold, we'd be saved. I believe in James2:14 he says "of what use of it , my brethren, if a man claims to have faith, and has no deeds to show for it".....Do we "earn Heaven", of course not, but we can at least try to show our thanks for the gift.
Nope, no spin there, Mary's salvation was indeed a SPECIAL gift from God, we call it the Immaculate Conception....not a routine gift, but one granted for a very special reason...God can do that you know.
WAIT A MINUTE...he asked you how long you were a Catholic and you answered a couple of months........and you made a decision that a 2,000 year old religion was completely in error and did so by reading and interpreting a book which THEY had written????????
my goodness.....wow.....amazing.....and you base your salvation on that???? I guess that's O.K., but I'd never have the nerve to do it.
That's a distinct possibility, or you were paying attention to that cutie in seat 5......whatever it was, you misinterpreted the Catholic message if you EVER heard it described as works based. It was probably pointed out to you that you could reject salvation by continuing to perform evil works, but NEVER could gain salvation solely through works of any nature. Either you were Catholic for a very short time, had a rare instructor who was in error, or misinterpreted what the church teaches.
There is no need for an institutional church at all. People are free to receive God's gift of eternal life without the *help* aka interference, of any church or institution.
God offers eternal life to INDIVIDUALS by convicting them through the Holy Spirit of their need for Him. Once the person accepts by faith, that God is going to do what HE promised He would do, that person is saved and sealed, guaranteed a place in heaven.
The Holy Spirit is doing the sealing. Baptism does not seal anyone.
A person can refuse to accept the gift of eternal life and thus they remain lost.
But once accepted, there is a transfer of ownership and the eternal life belongs to the person who received it.
Catholics do try to earn heaven. Nothing else explains the hoops they demand that one jump through to make it there.
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