Is the soul the fruit of life? Or does the soul provide life to the body? What does Gen 2:7-8 say? God breathed the breath of life into man and man became a living soul/being. The soul, the breath of life gives life to the body. In the same way, action/works give life to faith. This is EXACTLY what James says in James 2:26, "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."
You prove my point, Paul persecuted the Church without any remorse whatsoever. He did not regret martyring Stephen until after he met Christ on the Road.
What does it mean for a plow horse or ox to "kick against the goads"? It means to be stubborn, to resist the guides and encouragement that the driver is giving to get the animal to go in the direction he wants it to go.
Absolutely I believe the words found in Acts 7. Nothing I said contradicts Acts 7.
I never claimed to be an "Abraham". Yes, he is much mightier in his faith than I am. God has not yet seen me as worthy enough to suffer for the faith as Abraham did. But I fight the good fight every day, striving against the false doctrines with which Satan has infested the Church, and seeking to be a Light in this dark world.
Yes, he trusted that God would send him a son, and before that he left Ur and traveled for the rest of his life, living in tents and having no place to call his home. And after his son was born he sacrificed that one son to God trusting that God would restore him and keep His promise. His faith was great, and of long endurance.
He doesn't have to say that. He said in John 3:5 that only those reborn through water and the Spirit will enter the Kingdom of God. That covers the negative side of Mark's statement. He who believes and is NOT baptized is not reborn through water and the Spirit, so he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. And the Kingdom of God is made up only of those who are saved.
Says you, but that is what the words say, and agrees with the rest of what Scripture says about what is required for salvation.
Says you, but again that is exactly what the words say.
Yes, they do. It is in baptism that the circumcision without hands occurs, and because of that spiritual circumcision we are united to Christ's death and resurrection.
Says you, but you are not correct here either. Jesus says that rebirth (not original birth as an infant) must be through water AND the Spirit.
No, I do not reject the blood of Christ. You are correct that it is the only thing that can cleanse us from sin, but as Scripture says, it is not the water that does the cleansing. It is the Holy Spirit that does the cleansing by the power of the Blood of Christ while we are in the water.
That is your biased interpretation, because you think that Scripture says that there is nothing man has to do to receive the gift of salvation from God. But that belief is proven false by Rom 10:9-10 which says explicitly that there is a physical action that leads to/results in receiving salvation. That concept goes against your preconception, but it is God's Word and so must be the truth.
In regard to James 2:26, the comparison of the human spirit and faith converge around their modes of operation. The spirit (Greek pneuma) may also be translated "breath." As a breathless body exhibits no indication of life, so fruitless faith exhibits no indication of life. The source of the life in faith is not works; rather, life in faith is the source of works. (Ephesians 2:5-10) You have the tail wagging the dog, the cart before the horse.
Again, look at Gen 2. What does the Scripture say?
man is born a living being thats why man still has value and is redeemable because all men are still made in Gods image- that is why all people have value/worth to God. that is why the gospel is universal and God has made provision for everyone- man must believe to be saved- that is the condition.
Man is indeed able to create new souls through procreation, but the first soul was breathed directly into the dirt form that God had made to be the body of man. As you say, it is the soul that makes man valuable, makes man a living being. And it is exactly that same connection that James makes between faith and works. Faith is the body and works the soul.
"Now Terah took his son Abram, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they departed together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran and settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran." - Gen 11:31-32
Oh really? Tell that to the people Jesus talked about in Matt 7:22-23. They believed in God. They did mighty works in His name. They "praise[d] His name throughout all [their] days". But they were condemned as being workers of iniquity and sent to Hell for eternity.
First off, James didn't make the choice of what to include here. God was inspiring him in what to write down. God is the author of the "Book of James"; James was just the "ghost writer".
No, that did not break him. It made him so mad that he held the coats of the men who stoned Stephen, thereby condoning and taking responsibility for Stephen's execution. It did not break him. It galvanized him to exterminate all the other Christians he could find.
Indeed it does hurt, and it hurts even more when you resist and kick against them. Saul was continually being "probed" (as you want to call it), but he wasn't listening, and was fighting against the One who was probing him (God).
Not all reject Him the first time they hear His Gospel. Some of the people identified in Acts heard the Gospel and accepted it immediately. But as you say, many reject it at first. Some even reject it to their graves.
Doug just does not get it.
I do not believe that God made an unwise choice in His reference to Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. Of all the examples God could have chosen, I believe that to be the perfect example to get across what He meant.
So what you are saying is that you trust your human reason more than the Word of God. If that is the case, then there is no hope for you.
No, I do not agree with you at all in this.
I get it, Dan. I really do. You have reinterpreted Scripture to fit your preconception, and ignore clear, explicit, easy to understand Scripture. That has lead you, and many others on this forum and in pulpits around the world, to teach a false doctrine that is resulting in exactly what Jesus said it would in Matt 7:23. He will say to those you teach, "I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness." I pray that you and they come to your senses before the end comes.Doug just does not get it.
You don't get it because you teach salvation by faith + works (contrary to Scripture - Romans 4:2-6; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; 2 Timothy 1:9) and it's you who tries to force Scripture to "conform" to your biased church doctrine. I properly harmonize Scripture with Scripture before reaching my conclusion on doctrine. Example below:
IN MY BOOK, Paul was Born again before he hit the ground since he acknowledges Jesus as LORD right there. And then there was the "Back side of the Desert" experience where he received his commission, and the knowledge for his ministry apparently FROM Jesus in his post ascention form.
That's my understanding also. "Baptism" is an ordinance, but (as it was in my case) changed / added nothing. I was saved, and infilled with the Holy Spirit in my bedroom that evening, and the baptism 4 days later changed nothing.
Yup, that covers it When Jesus died, He had a meeting in the place of the dead (Abraham's Bosom) ANNOUNCING to the Old Testament faithful that what they looked forward to HAD HAPPENED, and it was time to go to their heavenly places (He led captivity captive - Eph 4:8).
