I don't think you have a very good understanding of what regeneration is.
The Calvinists misunderstanding of the New Birth as taught by Jesus to Nicodemus
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Complete
Well-known member
Subject Heading:- The Calvinists misunderstanding of the New Birth as taught by Jesus to Nicodemus
'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.'
(Heb 11:1)
Hello @charismaticlady & @Jim,
To suggest that it is necessary to have experiences in order to prove that you have been born from above is very wrong I believe. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. We live by faith and not by sight. We reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God. Asking for evidential experiences is evidence of doubt and not of faith.
* Jim does not have to produce evidence of his indwelling faith to you, Charismaticlady, it is between him and his Lord.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.'
(Heb 11:1)
Hello @charismaticlady & @Jim,
To suggest that it is necessary to have experiences in order to prove that you have been born from above is very wrong I believe. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. We live by faith and not by sight. We reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God. Asking for evidential experiences is evidence of doubt and not of faith.
* Jim does not have to produce evidence of his indwelling faith to you, Charismaticlady, it is between him and his Lord.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
charismaticlady
Active member
Being taught the Bible is one thing, but that was me for the first 30 years. And if I had died, I would still have gone to hell. You MUST be born again of the Spirit. Let me ask you another question as this is important. Do you commit any of these sins of the flesh? Look up Galatians 5:19-21.
charismaticlady
Active member
Let me ask you if you believe our sin nature keeps us sinning so we must keep repenting of sin like 1 John 1:9? That is what Calvinism and Luther brought to the Protestant table.
charismaticlady
Active member
charismaticlady
Active member
I care so I won't stop. You might want to keep learning also. There are some on this thread who answered correctly and I don't have to worry about them as much as you two.
Complete
Well-known member
Hello @charismaticlady,
Thank you for your concern, but there is no need to worry about me.
With love in Christ Jesus
Chris
When I sin, it's me, as a person, who sins. I take full responsibility for when I sin. I don't dodge the guilt and accuse my nature of sinning. God does not create sinful natures.
At that point then yes 1 John 1:9 guides us on what to do when we sin.
charismaticlady
Active member
Let's see if you believe the Apostles or John Calvin. If the Apostles then I won't worry about you. But I have been given the office of Teacher from God to teach what He taught the Apostles.
Do you sin? Do you have a sin nature or a clean nature? What do you truly believe Jesus came to do?
Complete
Well-known member
Hello @charismaticlady,
I have no real understanding of what John Calvin taught.
I believe God in Christ Jesus
My Saviour, Lord & Head.
Chris
MTMattie
Active member
Actually you are wrong about that...
Luteher believed ... Excerpt from the book, Martin Luther: Catholic Critical Analysis and Praise, Chapter Eight:
Although he didn’t regard it as a sacrament (but maybe he did, according to one citation below?), Martin Luther nevertheless thought very highly of absolution (preceded by confession) and wished to retain the practice in Lutheranism:
What is the Office of the Keys?
It is the peculiar power which Christ has given to His Church on earth to forgive the sins of penitent sinners, but to retain the sins of the impenitent as long as they do not repent. . . .
Here is the link if you want to read the entire post. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/davea...-luther-on-absolution-private-confession.html
And then pop over to this one...
Martin Luther: Sin Boldly — "No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day"
Both texts are from Scroll Publishing: Let Your Sins Be Strong: A Letter From Luther to Melanchthon Letter no. 99, 1 August 1521, From the Wartburg (Segment) Translated by Erika Bullmann Flores from: _Dr. Martin Luther’s Saemmtliche Schriften_ Dr, Johannes Georg Walch, Ed. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, N.D.), Vol. 15,cols. 2585-2590.
Luther clearly believed in once-saved-always-saved false doctrine (also called eternal security) to the fullest extent! This is so sad. I was raised a Lutheran. No wonder why the church had no life.
There are dozens of thing written on him and you owe it to yourself to read them before parroting what some pastor
said.
BTW I am Anti Luther as well as Anti Calvin but I wont tell a falsehood that can easily be proven wrong.
CALVIN:
Calvin on the Public Rites of Confession and Absolution - The Davenant Institute
In the third book of his Institutes, John Calvin argues that the church’s worship should begin with a corporate prayer of confession: "Besides the fact that ordinary confession has been commended by the Lord’s mouth, no one of sound mind, who weighs its usefulness, can dare disapprove it....
davenantinstitute.org
Calvin on the Public Rites of Confession and Absolution
IV. Calvin says that it is the “minister” who prays this prayer of confession. This reflects Calvin’s high view of the pastoral calling. He writes of pastors in the following section:
In this context, Calvin is speaking of private admonition and assurance, in which the ministers have a primary role. Though all Christians should admonish one another and console one another in God’s mercy, pastors have a unique and primary role because of their ordination and pastoral office. What is true in private is also true in the corporate gathering: pastors, by virtue of their office and calling, have a primary role in confessing sin on behalf of the congregation and in assuring them of God’s mercy.
V. Calvin therefore favors not just a pastoral prayer of confession in the corporate gathering, but also a pastoral assurance of pardon. Pastors should not just confess sins on behalf of the congregation, but they should then afterward “give us consolation through assurance of pardon.” He writes of this pastoral assurance or absolution a couple sections later on: “For when the whole church stands, as it were, before God’s judgment seat, confesses itself guilty, and has its sole refuge in God’s mercy, it is no common or light solace to have present there the ambassador of Christ, armed with the mandate of reconciliation, by whom it hears proclaimed its absolution.”[4] Calvin’s preference is reflected in many Reformed liturgies, in which a pastoral absolution follows the pastoral confession.[5] There is no naked confession for Calvin. Confession terminates in “assurance of divine mercy.”
That's enough as I will run out of room. You have no good information on either Luther or Calvin. Neither taught as you seem to think they did.
It is doubtful that you read this far, but just in case you did , go back to post 199 and answer @synergy
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MTMattie
Active member
Question. Why were you taught the bible? Did you find it difficult to understand?
charismaticlady
Active member
Hi C, you missed this question of mine I added above. Your answer will reveal what church father your denomination follows, or if it is the Apostles. Thanks.
Complete
Well-known member
Hello @charismaticlady,
'Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
He also Himself likewise took part of the same;
that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death,
that is, the devil;
And deliver them who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels;
but He took on Him the seed of Abraham.'
(Heb. 2:14-16)
'Little children, let no man deceive you:
he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,
that He might destroy the works of the devil.
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin;
for His seed remaineth in Him:
and He cannot sin, because He is born of God.
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil:
whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God,
neither he that loveth not his brother.'
(1John 3:7-10)
This is as far as I can go tonight,
In Christ Jesus
Chris
John Calvin is about the last person I would believe in the field of soteriology.
Thanks for that interesting information about Luther. What he said about "Sin Boldly" is like saying stab yourself boldly. What a demented mind he had when it comes to this subject at least.
charismaticlady
Active member
Looks good. 1 John 3 and 5 are the best texts of walking in the Spirit. I live my life by them and 2 Peter 1:2-11. Of course there are Paul's teachings on the same, like Romans 6 and 8. Even though Romans 7:5-6 say the same, Calvinists live by Romans 7:14-25 and 1 John 1:8 about life before accepting Christ and being born again of the Spirit. Those are about still being IN the flesh, but Romans 8:9 says we are NOT in the flesh any longer.
I'm not sure how you are interpreting Heb. 2:14-16 with regards to being born again of the Spirit, so please explain.
