The Narrow Gate and the Road Few Find

a reply to: ChesterJohn

I am sure you think you are clever by posing a question as if I didn't know the correct answer, an incorrect assumption, but that is not even in the vicinity of clever and will be filed under 'arrogant, asinine and bratty' instead.

a reply to: ChesterJohn

I am sure I have told you what I think of your opinions.

I truly have no desire to listen to someone who thinks like you.

Authorized version, please. The KJV is far from the best translation. It has issues that have been rectified in modern versions making it less accurate.

a reply to: Wombocracy

Um what?

First of all the question is not an opinion. If you think it is you don't know English grammar very well.

Please, I am serious and being well mannered so please if you can, answer "what are the differences between "by Faith" and "through faith"".

In so doing you may be able to clear up some of the confusion you have created here since your OP. I gave you a place to go for the answer in case you didn't, so you don't have to go to wikipedia.

and if you don't mind please quote me exactly where I was being and I quote

'arrogant, asinine and bratty'

.

a reply to: Wombocracy

I am truly pleased with how this thread has gone.

I gave it a flag.

I'll eventually give some posts some stars. Personally, I'm in it for the stars. Treasure in heaven = ATS stars in the clouds(servers)

a reply to: Wombocracy

I'm not sure how to respond, so I'll just state my own faith and beliefs.

I believe Jesus is the Son of God, more specifically, God in the flesh.

As the Son of God, Jesus was perfect and it took a perfect sacrifice in order to cleanse us of our sin so that one day we would be able to live in the presence of God. Remember, Adam and Eve lived in the Garden with God until they sinned and were cast out. It took a blood sacrifice of the only perfect lamb to restore that relationship. A study on the significance and power behind the blood of Jesus is a worthy study.

While Jesus was here, he prepared his disciples for spreading the gospel and that gospel included the complete lineage and prophecy of Jesus and who he was, as well as the significance for his birth and death on earth. Besides paving the way for us to have an eternal life with God, Jesus will prove to the Jews that he was the Messiah during a thousand year reign here on earth during the Millennial period. This too is worthy of a study of it's own. Why God chose to fulfill his promise to the Jews even after they rejected him here on earth.

Jesus was so much more than a servant sent by God to teach us how to behave or how to love one another. The whole Bible is a testament to Jesus and his purpose here on earth.

I hope you'll love him with all of your heart, soul and mind and give him the attention and study that he so deserves! I think that you'll find him to be much more than a teacher, but a Savior!

God Bless!

a reply to: Deetermined

That is different, that is your definition of Christianity. Faith is a different thing than religion.

I don't see any reason to believe he was more than human, the myths allegorical, parables in their own right to be learned the inner meaning of.

The whole dying for our sins doctrine isn't in the Gospels and not a teaching of Christ, just the religion that used his name.

If I lived in that era I would have been a Nazarene or Ebionite and would have rejected Paul like they did because of this teaching and others.

But God bless regardless of differences of opinion.

a reply to: pthena

Thank you!!!

a reply to: Wombocracy
You're welcome.

I have to take a nap now. I can't expend energy as much as some people seem to be able to.

originally posted by: Wombocracy
a reply to: Deetermined


The whole dying for our sins doctrine isn't in the Gospels and not a teaching of Christ,

Sure it is. Jesus said...

Mark 10:45

5 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

originally posted by: Wombocracy
The book of James reads like a rebuttal to the entire 'gospel' preached by Paul.

Faith, Wisdom, hearing and doing the Word. A warning against factions and partiality and then a full on rebuttal of the 'faith alone' doctrine of Paul

Followed up with a lesson on taming the "tongue" which is in Nazarene lingo a sometimes reference to a big mouth liar "the Tongue" (Habakkuk Pesher). This seems deliberate.

The two types of wisdom and a warning about friendship with the world, and a warning against boasting.


Truly I believe this is a rebuttal to Paul's faith only nonsense. It says as much.

James isn't talking about the path to salvation, but the evidence of a genuine faith. James is a great book, nobody here has any problem with James. Lol

a reply to: Deetermined

You have now confronted him with the truth because when one gives their life as a ransom it is literally a sacrifice. I have made mention of this to Wombo/gnosisifaith/et al all his other user account names but he trough it off as my being arrogant.

Good job. I was hoping that Wombo would have gotten it on his own but he really doesn't know the Bible as much as he claims too.

I gave you a star.

a reply to: NOTurTypical
This is exactly why I asked him if he knew the difference between "by faith and through faith", and then later to tell us what that difference was. He claimed he does but did not expound on it.

He dismissed it, distracted from it and then went on to demean me over it.

originally posted by: Deetermined
a reply to: NOTurTypical

NOTurTypical, your posts have me thinking to myself. Just how "easy" is the plan of salvation? Is it possible for someone to love the Lord as their God and their Savior without understanding the significance of why he had to die in order to cleanse us and prepare us to spend eternity with God? Does FAITH have to mean complete understanding of WHY Jesus did what he did? I'm always torn on that question. We know that works without faith is dead, but how dead is faith without complete understanding? Does true faith lead everyone to knowledge or is it enough just to have faith? How much faith does it take?

No, justification is believing Jesus is who He said He was. I. E. the thief on the cross, or what the Ethiopian eunuch said to Phillip before Phillip said he could be baptized in water. Jesus is clear on what justifies a man in John chapter 3, likewise He also says:

"Truly I say unto you, unless you believe that I am He you shall surely die in your sins."

originally posted by: pthena
a reply to: NOTurTypical

How are you doing btw? Any special plans for the 4th?

No special plans. There is a meme from Matthew 24, (rumors of war) pops into my mind. Rumors are sounds. Although people consider fireworks to be celebration, it seems like a re-enactment of violent conflict to me. But hey, we are free-er than Canadians, eh? Rhetorical question, not really something I wish to debate on this holiday.

I could see where they could cause unease and remind people of war, or even a veteran with PTSD could have great anxiety over the then sounding like gunfire, absolutely. I'm debating on taking my 2 year old granddaughter to see them tonight, she kinda freaked out with some cheap ones I got at the supermarket last weekend. I am about to grill and sauce my pork ribs I boiled off yesterday.

originally posted by: ChesterJohn
a reply to: NOTurTypical
This is exactly why I asked him if he knew the difference and later to tell us what that difference was.

He dismissed it, distracted from it and then went on to demean me over it.

James is a great book, we all love James.

originally posted by: NOTurTypical

"Truly I say unto you, unless you believe that I am He you shall surely die in your sins."

That's what I used to tell people, but I was starting to doubt myself for a minute. It makes perfect sense with the whole theme of the narrow path. It's even worth elaborating on...

John 8:21-23

21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

Thanks!

a reply to: Deetermined

It's all a consistent message, from the woman at the well, to Peter affirming that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, to the thief on the cross, to Nicodemus, to what Jesus said above.. You need to believe in Him, believe He is who He said He was, the Messiah, the Lord. He is the gate, He is the way, He is the life, He is the only way there is to be saved, to be with the Father.

a reply to: NOTurTypical

I'm debating on taking my 2 year old granddaughter to see them tonight, she kinda freaked out with some cheap ones I got at the supermarket last weekend.

You might want to have some distance. So the big lights are still big lights but not too bright, and the sound isn't disturbing.

I just thought of a brilliant topic for a thread, about kingdom of God and how people want to separate it from kingdom of grace. Anyway, in the process of thinking while napping, this tune surfaced from memory.

a reply to: pthena

They don't start till 10 pm here I just learned, maybe next year I'll take her

a reply to: NOTurTypical

Cool. When my son-in-law gets back from an office party, we're going to watch "Game of Thrones" or something like that. My daughter and grand-daughter are going on a waterfall hike, so the guys can watch "in-appropriate for kids" movie.

A preview: What we all have in common, we on this thread, is the shared cultural mythos of Western Civilization, ie. the stories about Jesus. To claim that one must be of such and such a group or understanding to share the common cultural heritage is to shun, exile, and segregate; cut one off from his birthright.

I'm not pointing at you particularly, but to a general attitude.

Happy 4th. Signing off.