Mathew 16:18

on Peter's confession.

Do you really understand that passage ?

 

I don't, I wish someone would explain it to me. I know it has something to

do with Portugal and soccer.

I'm going to paraphrase just so the typing will go easier;

First, that is not the complete passage

Jesus ask his disciples who other people thought he was,

Their reply was pretty generic, a prophet, or so and so.

Then he ask them who THEY thought he was.

Peter said "You are the Christ (that is a title by the way), the Son of the living God."

-- now the really important part of the entire passage-

Jesus said "Blessed are you Simon "for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven"  And I tell you that you are Peter (In Aramiac "Ke'pha - or little pebble) and upon this Rock (Shu A - or massive bolder)

(In Grreek , "you are Petros (a ittle stone) and upon this Petra - (a massive bolder) I will build my church.

Jesus used two different words in talking to Peter, the first to describe Peter's faith, but the second was what He had said before "this was not revealed to you by man , but by my Father in Heaven" 

Jesus was referring to the rock (Petra) of revelation knowledge . Revelation knowledge is something that God tells you, and you know it, and you know that you know it, and nothing can take that knowledge away.

In other words, for a person to realize that Jesus is THE Messiah , the Christ, the Promised one, the SON OF GOD, it HAS to be revealed to that person by God himself.

Jesus is saying to Peter, "I will build My Church on the rock of revelation .- a bolder, certainly he was not referring to Peter , the little pebble.

 

Get it now ?

Hi Seeweed,

 

That was a very good explanation.  However, I would go a step further and say that Jesus Christ meant Himself when He said "upon this rock I will build my church."

 

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, "According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it.  But each man must be careful how he builds on it.   For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

Acts 4:10-12, "Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.  This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone' (Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16).   Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

 

Psalm 118:22-23, "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.  This is the LORD'S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes."

Isaiah 28:16, "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.' "

 

All of these Scripture passages are referring to Jesus Christ, the Chief Cornerstone upon which the church, the body of Christ, the body of believers -- is built.

 

But, like you, I do believe that the faith which Peter showed was indicative of the type of faith which Christ wants to see in His church, the body of believers.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

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So those people that were raised in a Christian home, raised with their parents telling them about Jesus, "THE Messiah , the Christ, the Promised one, the SON OF GOD", was a waste?

To be a Christian & go to Heaven, you have to first be told those things by God himself?

good comments Bill and Weed

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Jesus spoke Aramaic, the Aramaic word "Kephas" means "rock." It doesn't

mean big or little rock, It means "rock." In Aramaic, Jesus said  "And I tell you,

you areKephas, and on this Kephas I will build my Church. Almost all Jews

lived in Palestine at the time which they spoke aramaic not greek.

 Aramaic has one word for rock, kephas. Refers to a massive stone.

 

John 1:42..Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said,

"You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Kephas"

(which is translated Peter).

 

1st Corinthians 1:12...I mean that each of you is saying, "I belong to Paul,"

or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Kephas," or "I belong to Christ."

 

1st Corinthians 15:5...........that he appeared to Kephas, then to the Twelve.

 

Jesus doesn't say the words Petros or Petra. That's just the greek language.

Petros or Peter has a male gender, and then you go to Petra which has a

female gender, this happens when trying to mix languages.

Jesus didn't say these words in the Bible.

 

Originally Posted by seeweed:

Jesus is saying to Peter, "I will build My Church on the rock of revelation .- a bolder, certainly he was not referring to Peter , the little pebble.

 Get it now ?

 

What I get seeweed, is your little wishful thinking is flawed.

 

Also you say "In other words, for a person to realize that Jesus is THE Messiah , the Christ, the Promised one, the SON OF GOD, it HAS to be revealed to that person by God himself."

 

I'm not sure why you think that or where you got that idea.

 

_______

I would like to know why & where.

God can reveal Himself in many ways...often through an experience, another person,etc. I don't think anyone has to wait for a thunderous proclamation to believe. Faith isn't something that has any "rules". It just is....

I find it to be such a shame that Religion is so confusing. There's so many churches/denominations out there saying come to this church, ours is the truth & the only way to Heaven. (they all don't exactly use those words, but that's the message.)

The Bible says there's more going to Hell than to Heaven & it's my guess, that the churches & their messages is the reason why. They all can't be right.

A person could worship in their home & have a better chance of getting to Heaven than by taking the chance of not choosing the right church. No matter what church you go to, according to the very Bible some of you believe & live by, you have a very slim chance of making it to Heaven.

When you think about it, it's really very sad.

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LOL. Yup. *pass the plate around again*

 

Mo' followers=Mo' money.

 

They ain't stupid.

Hi Chick and Puppy,

 

While there are many man-made variations -- there is only one God, only one Jesus Christ, and only one Bible.  Listen to those and those alone -- and you cannot go wrong.  Deny those and you cannot go right.   Your choice.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

___________

Dove, don't let Billy Bob fool you. He's a liar & a worker for Satan. He uses pretty words to pull people in so he can later slap them with hate & lies. I would guess that Satan has no better tool doing His work than Billy Bob.

--------------------

I still have him blocked... A friend pointed this most unusual, level headed post out to me and I just had to compliment him on his rare show of decorum... We'll see...

 

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Hi Puppy,

 

Would you care to explain a wee bit further?   Any "cave man" can blurt out an accusation -- but, an intelligent person can explain his/her accusation?  I would love to hear your explanation.

 

I have been doing Christian writing for about 25 years.  And, the total of what I have earned, financially, from it is the gift of thirty postage stamps some 20+ years ago.   You see, my Friend, when I first began my Christian writing ministry, I was writing, publishing, and mailing, at my own personal expense -- a Christian newsletter which I called The Good News.   I was mailing this to  many Friends across America and to Friends in 12 other countries.

 

The pastor Friend who encouraged me to start writing, at a Bible study suggested that our church start helping me financially.  I did not ask for it, nor encourage it -- and it never happened.  But, out of this, one Christian lady Friend did, one Sunday after church, give me thirty postage stamps to help with the monthly mailing of those newsletters.

 

Other than that, I have never received any financial help or support of any kind for my writing ministry. 

 

So, I am sincerely interested in a better explanation of your post.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

___

seeweed, REVELATION concerning the divine nature of Christ is amply provided by God in the inspired scriptures. God REVEALS this and much other information and instruction in the inspired word.  You seem to be saying that God must provide a personal message to an unsaved man or woman to confirm this truth .  Why do you find this necessary if the inspired scripture, available to everyone,  teaches this very same truth?  Are you perhaps a closet Calvinist who believes that a lost person can not come to faith in Christ without some supernatural visitation by the Holy Spirit?

______________-

And you were overpaid.

===========================

Perhaps instead of writing, you'd have spent your time educating yourself and keeping your own house in order. Just a thought. Shudder at the number of people you have misled in your "feel good" theology !

Hi VP,

 

I am a great believer in and supporter of Paul's teaching in Acts 17:11 -- test the teaching and the teacher against Scripture.  I welcome folks doing this for me; for when I do get it wrong, I am happy to have a sincere Christian point out my error.

 

However, we must also test the one testing what I write; for he/she could also have it wrong.   So, it all boils down to  -- test what is being taught against Scripture.  That way, we all eventually get it right.

 

But, it would be my guess that Acts 17:11 is anathema in the Vatican -- for, if all they teach were sincerely and honestly tested against Scripture -- the Roman Catholic church would go out of business.

 

VP, my Friend, God has given us His full revelation for salvation and Christian living.  It is found in the 66 books of the Bible.  Follow that, and you cannot go wrong.  Deny it, or add to it -- and you are in deep trouble.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

Hi Dove,

 

Showing someone Biblical proof of an erroneous teaching is not hatred, nor is it hateful.  Jesus Christ tells us to love our fellow man; but, to love him/her enough to show them, Biblically, where they are on the wrong path.

 

If I called VP, or others foul names, or degrading name -- that would be hate.  But, showing VP and others where the Roman Catholic teachings are not Biblical -- is a display of true love for that person and for all who might read the erroneous teachings and be led astray.

 

My Friend, disagreeing with another is not hate -- unless one purposely takes it to that level.  But, telling folks that unless they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ -- they are condemning themselves to an eternity without God, i.e., hell -- is an act of love.

 

Everyone MUST choose to either follow Christ, or to deny Christ.  If a person follows Jesus Christ, that person will spend eternity in the presence of God, in joy and happiness eternally in heaven. 

 

If a person denies Christ -- that person will spend eternity in hell.  Simple as that:  Jesus Christ - heaven; NO Jesus Christ - hell.

 

Now, what would be true hatred would be if I see a person walking that path toward eternal hell -- and do not warn them.  That would indeed be an act of hate.

 

But, if I see that person walking toward the cliff of eternal hell -- and I warn that person, ask him/her to turn from that self-destructive path -- and turn to the right path with Christ; that, my Friend, is love.

 

Dove, are you a Christian believer?  If yes, do you witness to people, tell them about Jesus Christ and eternal life?   If you are a Christian and do not witness (Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15) to people -- is that being a loving Christian?   Think about it.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

 

--------------------------------------

'Cuz it's all about money,

ain't a damm thing funny.

Ya got ta have a con,

in this land of milk and honey.

                                                    -Grandmaster Flash

------------------------

Then you're even dumber than I thought, BeeG.

Any fool knows that robbing folks with a gun or a knife gets ya prison time,

but robbing folks with 'the word' gets ya rich.

Methinks Crusty's right. You were overpaid.

I'm with ya, Dove. Back on block. The last thing I need is to have anger in my heart when talking about faith. Bill, I will pray that your heart will someday soften and you will see the damage you do to the Body of Christ.

Hi VP,

 

I suppose the best way to answer this accusation is to repeat what I wrote to you in another discussion:

 

Finally, to address your comment, "Bill jut remember when you antagonize a fellow Christian and belittle him or her, you are tearing down the Body of Christ."

 

If you recall the words of Jesus Christ when He addressed Peter:

 

Matthew 16:23 (also Mark 8:33), "But He (Jesus) turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.' "

 

So, since Christ saw no problem with correcting Peter when he spoke wrongly -- how can I be doing wrong to correct others who attempt to speak for, or about, Christ -- and do so using erroneous teachings and doctrines?   Especially when those teachings and doctrines are from man's erroneous theologies -- and not from God's Word?

 

I pray that this help you to better understand that we must stay in God's Word when we develop any theology which is to be shared with others.  If it is in God's Word, it is the Gospel.  If it is from man's word; it is always questionable and most often wrong.

 

In Acts 17:11, we are admonished to test the teachings, and the teachers, against Scripture.  That is applicable to all of us.  If I write something which you can test against Scripture -- and show me from Scripture that it is wrong; I must change my Biblical view.

 

On the other hand, when you post Roman Catholic teachings and doctrines which are not Biblical -- I am admonished, in Acts 17:11, to refute those teachings -- based upon Scripture.

 

If we both do this, how can we be harming the church, the body of Christ?  As a matter of fact, we do greater harm to the body of Christ if we see a false teaching posted -- and do not refute it.

 

So, who is doing the greater harm to the body of Christ -- the one who posts false teachings, or the one who refutes those false teachings?

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill