5452	Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Romans and the Flesh Monster.	on: February 22, 2009, 10:21:51 AM
I consider this the central issue of the christian faith.... As most the others here. Is the gospel of grace alone plus faith alone in Christ alone ... in and to the glory of God? Or is it grace plus our struggle? Does our works count before God as righteous? Is the scripture all we need to live a life of godliness on this earth or do we need science plus scripture ... mens philosophies .... psychology.... semi palagienism ...evolution...wealth... religion? If salvation is in God alone then its in His revelation alone that we are saved. Is there anything in this universe that is independent of God? Or are all things to Him ... through Him.... and for Him. If there is anything that is independent then there is a will that is greater than His will. If our faith is expressed in dependence then you can be sure that He is in absolute control of everything about us. We depend upon God that those who will suffer for eternity will suffer because they did not have Gods grace... they could not depend on God. We can know that there is nothing about anyone for God to give His grace to. For Gods grace is in His pleasure alone. If we redefine these doctrines then we will change our understanding of who God is and who we are. These three paradigms are the most important concepts to understand in our life.  I can distinguish between a revival going on in a person and his particular brand of religion. I even distinguish between a Tozar and an Edwards. Now as I have always said the the devil is in the details. Now this is a figger of speech. figger old english. But dont presuppose on the natural influences that come from our adamic natures that we understand these dis positional paradigms. Men are bent toward thinking in terms of starting with the will... and ending with the philosophy ... what works the best is what is true or the ends justify the means. But we all know that there is a reality beyond our understanding by our physical sight. Or it is impossible to do something that is required until there is a desire to do it. Most men think that all things are possible if you are willing... they dont consider that much of life we are faced with impossible things... we could never do what we imagine we could do... cause we are not able. So religion is defined by man not having a proper understanding of how he goes about in this life. This is a matter of intellect... i mean some people can never understand the intricate nature of how we function... they are not smart enough. But we can define grace in many ways by this paradigm. And even tho we have this fire in us that is a revival paradigm... there are other markers for us to understand what is going on and to then think properly about this special nature of the Spirit. What ever we understand in the details of all of this will determine how we view the grace that is described by this intense fire. As i have said.. there is a brand of Spirit filled religion that is awfully difficult to stomach in the heat of this religious fervor.                   5453  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: ...And so, the heretics were burned! on: February 22, 2009, 09:54:41 AM I dont think the apostle considered his life of value in comparison to the gospel. In fact most of the martyrs did not because the were preaching the gospel of God. That is that Jesus came into this world as the eternal Son of God. Paul preached God in a trinitarian fashion so that every word of the bible was a proof that they came from a divine source so that even the little inflections bled trinity. In fact most of the saints died as martyrs being accused of heresy. The adage that the seed of the church is the blood of the martyrs is in fact supported by this message continuing to be proclaimed throughout the world and is only enhanced by persecution. So we conclude that this gospel of God is not in direct opposition to men necessarily... but it is a battle between Satan and His minions and Christ. Christ was put on the cross for His trinitarian stance. It is the center of the fight between Satan and Christ. It will continue to the stone that men cut themselves against until Christ will have placed all things under His feet. For every man will confess that Jesus is Lord of the universe and the Eternal Son of God on the day of judgment. The martyrs will be given positions of authority in the new heaven and earth. For it was because of being persecuted for His sake and confessing Him as God that they endured floggings, stoning s, being place on a rack, hung on a cross... upside down as well. The true heretic will find his place in eternal flames for all eternity. I am not saying that Roy will be punished because only God knows. Only God knows if any one will be punished. But we can be assured of eternal life in this life. 5466  Forums / Main Forum / Re: The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him on: February 20, 2009, 12:36:27 PM I think RR is a little more coy than that. He has said that he is not developing his philosophy because of any past experiences in the church. My only problem with both Jim and RR is that its circular. RR makes the statement that gets Jims feathers up and Jim comes back with the same question. RRs philosophy is that we must talk this through. Theres no absolute understanding in a sense.... But the fact that we come to the truth by everyone sort of chipping in.  But i think the philosophy that we dont know anything until we resolve the issue is the philosophy of synthesis. Everyone brings in their view and then we agree that it is the truth. Jim is saying that just because its the building does not mean that its all bad. But it could be 70 percent bad, which is close to all bad. I mean its bad. It really doesnt matter what we think anyway. It doesnt matter whether we talk this out and come to an agreement. It only matters what God has said. That is the way to know the truth. We can make as many arguments as we can to keep a conversation going ... in the end it may be a waste of time. We believe in absolute truth. 5468  Forums / Main Forum / Re: The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him on: February 20, 2009, 09:48:38 AM i am only responding because of Caseys address to me. I am not going to get caught in this advice stuff or defending something that does not exist or exist and i dont have enough information to understand someones situation in giving personal advice. If someone ask me i will tell them what i think and that will be that.  But the old adage that you dont have a rite to judge me until you have walked in my shoes is so true. I honestly can see why someone would sorta distance themselves from the organized church. And it could be a number of things. Its possible that a person would try to find a church that preaches sovereign grace in the place he lives and not find a home. I am not one who puts up with foolishness just so i can be in a social setting. If you want that kind of advice , dont come to me. I am for exiting the churches that are legalistic. It could be that the guy is suffering physical problems and the church has gotten into so many ventures that its not going to happen. It could be that a person is struggling with depression or some kind of emotional problem and there is not another person in the church that has this kind of ministry to meet those needs. I do not believe the people are for the church...no.. but the church are for the people. Just like Christ is a shepherd who goes out to get the lost sheep. He doesnt wait for the sheep to wander back. The most obnoxious statement i have heard from the ministers of the church is, you got to let us know that you have needs. It could be that there are people who are business oriented who actual run the church. I mean any thing is possible these days. I mean ...i do believe that the sins of religion can become more complicated as that religion degenerates in a society. Its possible for a church to be completely orthodox and void of the Spirit. It could be that the church has let the state into the discipline part and just created a legalistic environment.There are so many reasons to avoid the strife of tongues.  Christ warnings are about protecting ones self is equally or more important than trying to change something that is non of your business. We dont really think the devil is in the strife of tongues in today's world. So i was just offering advice to someone who i dont know ....never met and who i dont even know is a real person. I dont know much when it comes to this on line advice.   5469  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Romans and the Flesh Monster. on: February 19, 2009, 08:33:08 PM i think like Gene said is that an alcoholic father has an very wide range of feelings in his disposition. He can go from being happy and accepting to blaming and hostile. Now thats why the scripture says not to be drunk with wine. I am not making a case here about alcohol. I am just showing that the control of something other than the Holy Spirit is what causes these mood swings. The reason it is so important for us to be filled with the Spirit is because we will display the fruits of the Spirit. We will be filled with love , kindness, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, self control and joy. Now if we have God dwelling in us then this is His will for us. Now if the Father is different in His disposition towards us then He is disobeying His own desire. If the Holy Spirit is in us then we are the temple of God. We died to sin, we no longer are slaves to sin. We are slaves to righteousness. So that the Holy Spirit has filled us from head to toe. The Holy Spiri is not going to dwell in a body that where the Father is expressing His anger toward. Gene is rite. That is like calling Father a drunk. The Holy Spirit a helpless ruler. When ever you find this cursing in scripture it is talking about the nation of Israel. There is a clear difference in scripture between cursing and blessing. The remnant within the nation of Israel were under the blessing of God. They were preserved by the grace of God. The rest of the nation who participated in the religious ceremonies were just participants. They were still under the curse of God even tho they were identified with Gods people as Israelite. If you confuse this you turn the gospel of grace upside down.If you teach this then you in essence denying the existence of irresistible grace.Now we all know about the covenant. There are so many possibilities in todays situation. These days are especially evil.