Sayings About The Holy Spirit

Sometimes I sense malice in those who would defame the idea of God.  Other times I sense the very same malice from those who think their view of God is the only one out there which is acceptable.

 

I truely wonder at those who have the hubris to declare that people of other religions will not be "saved".  As if they have anything to say or do about it other than their own personal beliefs, and their interpretation of what a particular holy book happens to have written in it.

 

Vic I think that everyone, regardless of their religion has the same chance of being "saved".  And by saved, I mean surviving mortal death.  If you embace what God IS... that is love, truth, beauty and goodness, you are at the door of the kingdom of heaven.  And when you realize that every man women and child in the world is your spiritual brother and sister, then you are in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Its really that simple.

This also means not using profanity mixed with God's name. Example: the "G-d" word. When you hear someone use this expression/expletive remind them that God doesn't have a last name.

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It really is that simple, it's something I've gone back and forth with

some protestants some time back.

I still say God didn't create anyone for hell, God wants all of us.

Hi Al Williams,

 

You tell us, "I truly wonder at those who have the hubris to declare that people of other religions will not be 'saved.'   As if they have anything to say or do about it other than their own personal beliefs, and their interpretation of what a particular holy book happens to have written in it."

 

First, it is not we Christian believers who say that only those who follow Jesus Christ are saved -- it is declared by the Bible.

 

The apostle, John, in writing to believers -- possibly in Ephesus, tells us:

 

1 John 5:11-13, "And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.   These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."

 

If a person has, by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ -- believed and received His "paid in full" free gift of eternal life -- that person has the Son and is saved.  If the person has denied and refused this free gift, that person does not have the Son and is lost.  The Bible tells us this -- not a man or men.

 

Then, you suggest, ". . .of what a particular holy book happens to have written in it."

 

That "particular holy book" you are casting aside with your back hand slap -- is the Written Word of God, the Bible.   And, the Bible has been proven to be the Word of God and reliable as the sole authority for salvation and for living the Christian life.

 

We realize that you tried for a long time to bring your New Age Urantia Book bible religion into the Religion Forum -- and it has been proven over and over to be just another New Age book.

 

So, Al, if you truly want eternal life in Christ.  If you truly want to spend eternity in the presence of God -- you WILL pay strong attention to what His Written Word, the Bible, tells us.  Live by it and have eternal life.  Cast it aside for a New Age bible -- and have an eternity not in the presence of God.  And, you and I both know where that outcast presence is -- hell.

 

His Bible is Him speaking to us today -- just as surely as His prophets were speaking His words in the Old Testament.

 

Who can tell you if you are saved?  Only God.  And, He gives you a faultless guideline for understanding this yourself, in His Bible.  My Friend, why not give Him and His Written Word a chance?  Your eternal soul does depend upon it.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

 

 

First, the Bible tells us:

 

1 John 5:11-13, "And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.   These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."

 

So, my first question to you would be:  Do you believe the Bible is truly God's Written Word to mankind?  Do you believe that "All Scripture is inspired by God" (2 Timothy 3:16-17) -- or not?

 

If you do, you have to accept that not all people will be saved.   Yes, the Bible tells us:

 

2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."

 

We know that is God's desire.  However, from the passage above in 1 John 5:11-13 and in Matthew 6 tells us that is not what is happening:

 

Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

 

God desires that all would be saved; but, He gave each person the gift of "free will" and we each must choose to follow Christ or to deny Christ.  Those who deny Christ -- have condemned themselves to hell.

 

Vic, when dealing with one who is trying to sell us on Universal Salvation for all, i.e., Universalism -- and trying to justify if from the New Age Urantia Book bible -- I strongly recommend you take a good look at Matthew 7:15 -- Beware of false prophets.   Anyone trying to lure us into the New Age is working to pull us away from God.  Beware.

 

A person who is not a Christian believer is NOT a spiritual brother or sister -- at least, not a Christian brother or sister.  He/she may be a New Age or cult "spiritual" brother to some -- but, not to a Christian.  For that "spiritual" is NOT from God.  It is from Satan and is Satanic.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

 

#6, #11, #3.

#11, #7, #3, #6.  Embrace the system.  Find something actually productive to do in the time you will save.

Actually, the Bible is not the sole authority.  Christians were saved long before there ever was a Bible.  And even when there was a Bible, its not like we had printing presses, or that a whole lot of folks could read.  The Bible itself says that iti is not the sole authority.  Sola Scripture has long been proven false, by sCripture itself.  Only those who make false interpretations come up with such a concept.

 

God bless!!

What were they "saved" from? Who saved the cavemen? Are they in heaven cowering in a corner trying to figure out what the heck is going on?

Hi Vic & David.  I agree with both you you.  Thanks!

 

Bill, what can I say.  In fact no matter what I say, you will continue to say the same thing.  At least you are consistant.

To bestworking : heaven was closed from the tine of Adam's original sin until Jesus's descent into hell after his Crucifixion. He set captives free.

God bless!!

is bill back to attacking Mormons? this may be his most hypocritical move, yet!

Na, he's attacking me.  I'm worser by far!

 

As you suggested to Jennifer,  believers were saved all through the Old Testament -- but, they did not go into heaven yet.  They went into Hades/Paradise, i.e., also called the Bosom of Abraham.  As we are shown in Luke 16:19-31, Hades had two sides:  Torment for non-believers, and Paradise for believers.  All Old Testament believers, including John the Baptist, the thief on the cross, etc. -- who died before Christ was resurrected -- went into Hades/Paradise.  Non-believers went into Hades/Torment.

 

Like you said to Jennifer, when Christ resurrected, He led the captives (all those believers) free (Ephesians 4:8) and into heaven.  Since then, when believers die -- their bodies go into the grave, but their spirits go directly into the presence of God (2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:22-23).

 

So, yes, believers were saved before the New Testament was written.  In the Old Testament God used Prophets to declare His Word to His people.   And, that applied all through the period of the Law.  When Christ died and was resurrected -- we left the period of the Law and enter the era of Grace.

 

Along with that transference to Grace, God also inspired 40 men to write His Word.  So, now instead of having prophets to declare His Word -- we have His Written Word, the Bible, to teach us His full revelation to man.  

 

True, in the early church many people could not read -- and that is why evangelists such as Paul, Timothy, etc., went from church to church -- raising elders who could lead the local church fellowship and giving them the books inspired by God; the books which God later inspired men to canonized into one book, His Bible.  

 

Nathan, you declare, "The Bible itself says that it is not the sole authority."

 

Please show us that in Scripture.  I read in Scripture:

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

 

What more can a believer want than to be trained in righteousness, to be made fully adequate in the eyes of God, and to be fully EQUIPPED for doing the work of God?  What more do we need?

 

And, I see no mention in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 of Roman Catholic traditions, rituals, theologies, etc., or Baptist teachings, or the teachings of any other church or group of men, even the Vatican.  All I see is that the Bible, God's Written Word -- is fully adequate to prepare us for salvation and to guide us in our Christian walk.

 

What more do YOU need?  You say the Bible is not God's sole authority for teaching us in righteousness.  What else is needed?  And, where do we get it -- from the Vatican or from God?  If from God, why would He give us another book when He has already given us His Bible?

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

Good evening Bill,

This is one of your repetitive errors:  "we have His Written Word, the Bible, to teach us His full revelation to man."  The Written Word is NOT the full revelation.  As Scripture states, and as I have repeatedly noted, Jesus commanded the Apostles to preeach, not write. St. Aul tells us to hold fast to all we have learned, whether written or orally.  The oral teachings of Jesus, as passed on through the Catholic Church, are also the Word of God. 

And as previously noted, The Catholic Church told you what is Scripture and what isn't. 

 

God bless!!

 

 

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Without question, in every neighborhood I lived in while growing up in Tennessee, it was the Catholic kids who were by far the worst in using that kind of language.

Me, and my catholic friends did not use that word. Sorry you had that experience, but your neighborhood is not indicative of all Catholics.

The tender one would make the pope curse.

 

The Bible may not be the full revelation of God to Roman Catholics -- but, it is to Christian believers.

 

You say, "Jesus commanded the Apostles to preach, not write." 

 

In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus told the apostles, and us, "Go, Make disciples, Baptize them, Teach them" and in Acts 1:8 and Mark 16:15, Jesus told them, and us, to be His witnesses in all the world. 

 

Nothing specific about preaching there; more specific is "teaching" and "witnessing."  And, there are three good ways that I know of to teach people about salvation and Christian living:  (1) walk them through Scripture, explaining it as you go (this is why I strongly prefer expositional teaching through the Bible instead of topical preaching), (2) write expositional messages about the Word of God for them to read, and (3) by example, i.e., "Your life may be the only Bible some will ever see.  Make sure it reads well."

 

Where in the Bible does Jesus tell His disciple, and us, to PREACH to anyone?

 

"The oral teachings of Jesus" which you mention, is what His disciples very soon put into written form, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  And, those writings comprise what was later, under the control and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, canonized to give us the complete 66 books of our current Bible.

 

Are the Apocrypha books canonized books of the Bible?  No.  When Jerome translated Scripture into Latin for the Roman Catholic church, he excluded the Apocrypha.  Pope Leo FORCED Jerome to go back and add the Apocrypha into the Roman Catholic version of the Bible.  In other words, Pope Leo forced Jerome to corrupt the Bible canonized under inspiration and control of the Holy Spirit -- by adding non-canonized books.

 

Why did Pope Leo do this?   Because the vast majority of Roman Catholic doctrines and traditions are found only in the Apocrypha -- and not in the Bible.  To protect what he was teaching -- Pope Leo had to corrupt the Bible. 

 

And, even with that -- the Roman Catholic church still will not recognize the Bible as the full Word of God -- insisting upon adding traditions and writings of men to what God has inspired.  That is why the Roman Catholic church CANNOT and WILL NOT accept Sola Scriptura -- because it does not want to accept Sola Fide, by faith alone.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

No, we DO accept the full word of God- especially the part where it says (Thessalonians ch2:15) So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

Or this? John 6:50-71 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ...

Or this? 1 Corinthians 11:2 ESV Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.

Or maybe this: 2 Thessalonians 2:14-15 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

Oh, and also this: 1 Corinthians 11:1-2 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.

This is my fave: John 21:25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

...so much for sola scriptura.. Bye

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But the pontiff would not find anything in any of your comments to curse about, since there is basically nothing of substance there.

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LOL! Like YOU ever have anything of "substance"! Why don't you clean up your own church and stop worrying about everyone else? Or better yet, why don't you give the catholics and mormons a break and go after the "followers of islam" for a while? Now there's a "religion" that really needs to be exposed.

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Why don't YOU get your panties unwadded?  It was YOU who wrote "The tender one would make the pope curse." I was simply replying to that nonsense from you.  As to your ASSertion that I never post anything of substance, I will leave that for each forum participant to decide.  The Catholic subject matter on which I write is more often than not in response to some of the pro-Catholic stuff Invictus places here.  Should I wall myself off from commenting on that because you don't approve?  No belief system (except perhaps Islam) has been the subject of as much discussion in the news lately  as has Mormonism, which is why I and many others have been discussing it of late. It is thus asinine for you to suggest that we give that cult something of a pass. Coverage of Mormonism by the popular media has been superficial at best.  Thus some of us who have studied it in depth find it useful to post some real and substantive information on that cult, with documentation from Mormon sources.  If you want superficiality, then ignore what I post about Mormons and go somewhere  else--maybe to one of those pro-Mormon propaganda sites where the truth is carefully shaded or distorted and the embarrassing and absurd aspects of Mormonism are bypassed.

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Hi Jennifer,

 

You ask a legitimate question of Contendah, "Why don't you give the (Roman) Catholics and Mormons a break and go after the 'followers of Islam' for a while?"

 

While the Roman Catholic church is not as far from Biblical Christianity as the Mormons and Muslims; all three stray from true Biblical teachings.

 

Mormonism is a cult church.

 

Islam is merely one of many unGodly world religions, which also includes your atheism.

 

Yet, in the Roman Catholic church -- there are "some" who are truly born-again believers.   However, I find it hard to understand how, after becoming a true Biblical believer -- they can live with and tolerate so many unBiblical doctrines such as Mariology and salvation by and through the church instead of by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. 

 

And, if I were in their position, I would find it impossible to pray to all those idols, church-declared saints, etc. -- instead of only to God and His ONLY Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ.

 

You ask Contendah why he, and I, contend with the Roman Catholics and Mormons on the Religion Forum and not with the Muslims.   I have been on the Forum since 2007 and I do not recall ever seeing one Muslim post on the Forum.   Yet, we have seen a lot of false teachings and false doctrines posted from our Roman Catholic and Mormon Friends.

 

That is why we discuss Roman Catholicism and Mormonism -- and not Islam on the Religion Forum.

 

On Facebook, it is different.  There, I have contended with Islam.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

 

Thank you, my Friend -- I stand corrected.   But, I do question your correction in the spelling of disciple:  "does Jesus tell His disciple [sic]"   How would you spell disciple?   Possibly you mean that it should be written as a plural, disciples, which I will admit would read better.

 

However, I still prefer TEACH to PREACH.  I would much rather be a teacher than a preacher.

 

And in Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus did tell us to, "Go, Make disciples, Baptize them, TEACH them."          

         

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,l

 

Bill

Good evening Bill,
Your statements about theCatholic Church and salvation are wrong. We believe that we areas ex by the grace of God. We believe that the Church is an instrument of God's grace.  Big difference. And as for Marian doctrines, perpetual virginity, Mother of God, and Immaculate Conception and assumption can be seen biblically. Her appearance in revelation shows her assumption. She gave birth to Jesus/God. Her immaculate conception is shown in Gabriel's greeting: hail, full of grace," with the Greek word (ketacheromie) indicating an event completed in the past and continuing on. Her perpetual virginity we have much discussed. The Church Fathers recognized all of these. They all are in accord with scripture.  The fact that you deny them does not mean they are not true, but confirm the fact that interpreting scripture should be done by those whom the Holy Spirit protects from error in matters of faith and morals, namely the Pope and the bishops in communion with the Pope.

God bless!

.

 

Tuesday's total eclipse seen in northern Australia
11/16/2012

 

 

Bill, you can retract your statement on sola scriptura at any time- no hurry- take time and read the scripture passages I have provided for you.

Bumpin for bill

Hi Vic,

 

Since you have assigned a feminine translation to my name -- should we be calling you Victoria?  Is there any relationship of that name to the movie "Victor Victoria" where Julie Andrews impersonated a man, who was impersonating a woman?  Just curious.

 

The "church" -- the worldwide body of Christian believers, has not strayed from the Word of God.   However, in my ways the Roman Catholic church has strayed from the Word of God, taking the teachings of men, i.e., Papal writings/Vatican writings, taking the teachings of history books, i.e., the Apocrypha -- all in place of the Word of God.  

 

As you and I both know -- the vast majority of Roman Catholic doctrines, traditions, dogmas, rituals, etc. -- come from the Apocrypha or from the imaginative minds of men -- and NOT from the Word of God.  That is why you feel such a strong need to downplay the authority of the Bible.  That is why you fight so hard against Sola Scriptura, by Scripture alone.   For, without these writings of men which were not inspired by God -- you would have no Roman Catholic theology.

 

And, why does the Pope sit on a throne?  When Jesus Christ, in His earthly ministry, NEVER sat on a throne?  Is the Pope equal to God -- that both should sit on a throne?

 

The Pope lives in a palace; Jesus Christ did not even have a home of His own:

 

Matthew 8:20 and Luke 9:28, "Jesus said to him, 'The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' "

 

Why is the Pope living in riches; when the Son of God did not?

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill