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Jesus brought the divine with him when he preached throughout the Holy Land when on earth, and when he walked among men, the Kingdom was with men, but not within them. When preachers talk of the divine within man, they are really referring to the soul, the creation of God, indeed, but a human soul withal, not a divine one. What they mean, then, by developing the divine within man must be viewed as simply developing the latent powers in the human soul through development of the will, and the natural human love through moral and intellectual growth. These, of course, were given to man at his creation, and have no part of the divine. The Divine in the human soul is the Divine Love, which can come only through prayer to the Father. The Divine comes from without, from the Heavenly Father, and can enter the soul and effect its transformation only when that soul seeks it in earnest longing. When Jesus spoke to his disciples about the divine within them, these disciples actually had some of this Love in their souls, even before the Pentecost, when the Father's Love, through the Holy Spirit, was poured out upon them in great abundance.
Some are satisfied with what their religion or beliefs tell them and do not seek further. Some are sure that there is nothing to find out and never seek past what their physical senses tell them. Some don’t want to commit themselves to anything they don’t know about and prefer to wait and see. Some just accept what the mainstream tells them to believe. While others are just confused with all the conflicting truths and lies. Here are but a few of the things that prevent the majority of people from seeking and finding The Truth.
God is the God of all his children, only God should be worshipped; only God can save us from our sins, only with God as our leader can we hope for a peaceful world where love prevails and all are treated as equals. God knows what is best for us, and if enough call out to God, the evils in this world would be no more. Take one little candle into a big dark room and it will safely guide you in the surrounding darkness. When we rely on the natural love we will always meet with failure because this love is just a shadow of what the Fathers is and is fallible. It was never meant to be a means to an end but just a way shower of a greater love which we may all possess and is a privilege that God offers to those who desire it.
There is a great truth in the bible, but not many understand the importance of it though, and that is the truth of The New Birth. “You must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven”. No blessed water or sacred words will achieve this end, but only the love of The Father can do this and it is to God we must go, being that it is God who offers us this gift.
Last edited by SisterKat; 11-18-2009 at 03:00 PM..
AMEN and Amen Again brother......the trouble is that some refuse to believe the Truth which is the Gospel.......Instead they make up their own belief system....They are decieved.....God wrath abides on those who reject the Gospel......Who ever says they have no need of a Saviour are deceived by the father of lies......Judgement awaits those who do not REPENT of sin and accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.......
The question that many people ask is: What is the Gospel? "Repenting from sin" and "accepting Jesus" is not the Gospel. "All have sinned" is not the Gospel. The "new birth" is not the Gospel, "God so loved the world" is not the Gospel, being "filled with Spirit" is not the Gospel, good works are not the Gospel, etc., etc.
What then, again, is the Gospel?
Read 1 Cor 15:1-4. Therein, Paul says what is the Gospel, and what saves us. It is Christ's substitutionary death for our sins, and His resurrection from the grave. That is what saves us. That is the Gospel. That is the righteousness of God revealed and the power of God to salvation to those believing. The problem is few believe it, or want to know it.
Paul was so adamant about this Gospel that he said to the Church in Corinth:
1Co 2:1 And when I came to you, brothers, I did not come with excellency of word or wisdom, declaring to you the Testimony of God.
1Co 2:2 For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and Him having been crucified.
As wonderful as those truths are, they are not the Gospel. Here is the Gospel that Paul received from Jesus:
1Co 15:1 But, brothers, I reveal to you the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand,
1Co 15:2 by which you also are being kept safe, if you hold fast the Word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered to you in the first place what I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures,
1Co 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised the third day, according to the Scriptures,
That is the Gospel. As you correctly pointed out, we should not add or take away from the Gospel. It is the power of God to salvation, wherein the righteousness of God is revealed:
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone believing, both to Jew first, and to Greek;
Rom 1:17 for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; even as it has been written, "But the just shall live by faith."
And why is Jesus' substitutionary death in the Gospel (Christ died for our sins) important to us?
2Co 5:21 For He made the One who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
And why is Jesus' resurrrection in the Gospel (He was buried, He was raised the third day) important to us?
Rom 4:25 who was delivered because of our deviations, and was raised because of our justification.
Christ died a substitutionary death for us, and was resurrected to declare us righteous before God.
Believe the Gospel. It is true.
Of course you must understand that Christ was resurrected That is a part of the Gospel. But the issue is that you must believe in Christ, in what He did on the Cross, or what He did on the Cross will not be applied to you for salvation. Faith in Christ comes from hearing the Gospel which means understanding the facts, which includes the fact of the resurrection. The issue is that you must trust in what Christ did on your behalf. Therefore, John 3:16,18, 36. And all the other salvation passages.
The question that many people ask is: What is the Gospel? "Repenting from sin" and "accepting Jesus" is not the Gospel. "All have sinned" is not the Gospel. The "new birth" is not the Gospel, "God so loved the world" is not the Gospel, being "filled with Spirit" is not the Gospel, good works are not the Gospel, etc., etc.
What then, again, is the Gospel?
Read 1 Cor 15:1-4. Therein, Paul says what is the Gospel, and what saves us. It is Christ's substitutionary death for our sins, and His resurrection from the grave. That is what saves us. That is the Gospel. That is the righteousness of God revealed and the power of God to salvation to those believing. The problem is few believe it, or want to know it.
Paul was so adamant about this Gospel that he said to the Church in Corinth:
1Co 2:1 And when I came to you, brothers, I did not come with excellency of word or wisdom, declaring to you the Testimony of God.
1Co 2:2 For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and Him having been crucified.
Amen.....The Gospel is the power of God to salvation to all Who believe.....Believe "WHAT": 1st) that their "sin condition" without a Saviour "JESUS CHRIST" is hopeless.....2nd)Humbly repenting of sin and turning to Jesus Christ for the remission of sin.....These 2 points are inseparable they are both sides of the SAME COIN.....FAITH and REPENTANCE go together........All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.......This is the GOOD NEWS.....The Gospel regarding salvation
Amen.....The Gospel is the power of God to salvation to all Who believe.....Believe "WHAT": 1st) that their "sin condition" without a Saviour "JESUS CHRIST" is hopeless.....2nd)Humbly repenting of sin and turning to Jesus Christ for the remission of sin.....These 2 points are inseparable they are both sides of the SAME COIN.....FAITH and REPENTANCE go together........All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.......This is the GOOD NEWS.....The Gospel regarding salvation
Paul said what we are to believe:
1. That Christ died for our sins.
2. And that He was buried and raised the third day.
That is what Paul said concerning the Gospel. Christ died for us and was resurrected for our justification. Those are accomplished facts. It's done, it's finished and it satisfied Gods justice. The Gospel is complete.
Repenting, believing and calling on the Lord are all good in and of themselves, and are biblical truths, but they are not the righteousness of God revealed, nor are they the power of God to salvation to everyone believing.
The issue with quoting salvation passages and calling it the Gospel, is that it confuses people who then put their faith in their faith, if you will, or their faith in "accepting Jesus", or repentance, or calling upon the Lord, or faith in what they do, rather than what Jesus did for them in the Gospel.
If I could use an analogy of a blind person in the midst of a thunderstorm: They hear the thunder (the proclamation of the Gospel), but they do not see the lightening or it's power (Christ crucified for their sins and resurrected for their justification), and thereby not understanding what they are to believe in. Thats the distinction I'm trying to make here.
Last edited by AlabamaStorm; 11-18-2009 at 04:37 PM..
Reason: typo
1. That Christ died for our sins.
2. And that He was buried and raised the third day.
That is what Paul said concerning the Gospel. Christ died for us and was resurrected for our justification. Those are accomplished facts. It's done, it's finished and it satisfied Gods justice. The Gospel is complete.
Repenting, believing and calling on the Lord are all good in and of themselves, and are biblical truths, but they are not the righteousness of God revealed, nor are they the power of God to salvation to everyone believing.
The issue with quoting salvation passages and calling it the Gospel, is that it confuses people who then put their faith in their faith, if you will, or their faith in "accepting Jesus", or repentance, or calling upon the Lord, or faith in what they do, rather than what Jesus did for them in the Gospel.
If I could use an analogy of a blind person in the midst of a thunderstorm: They hear the thunder (the proclamation of the Gospel), but they do not see the lightening or it's power (Christ crucified for their sins and resurrected for their justification), and thereby not understanding what they are to believe in. Thats the distinction I'm trying to make here.
No. The object of faith in salvation is Christ. Faith in itself has no merit. You must believe in the work of Christ on the Cross. You must accept what He did on your behalf. If you simply recognize that Christ was resurrected, but your attitude is, ''so what? I don't care.'' then you are not saved by the knowledge. We are told over and over again, that we must believe in Christ. The fact of the resurrection is a part of that. But you must understand that Christ paid the debt of our sins, and that He died And was resurrected. Your attitude must be one of depending on what Christ did on your behalf for salvation.
As it states in John 3:36 ''He who believes in the Son has eternal life.'' The object of your faith is not your faith but rather, the Son. And implicit in that belief, is what He acomplished on the Cross. And of course, His resurrection afterwards. We are not really in disagreement here.
No. The object of faith in salvation is Christ. Faith in itself has no merit. You must believe in the work of Christ on the Cross. You must accept what He did on your behalf. If you simply recognize that Christ was resurrected, but your attitude is, ''so what? I don't care.'' then you are not saved by the knowledge. We are told over and over again, that we must believe in Christ. The fact of the resurrection is a part of that. But you must understand that Christ paid the debt of our sins, and that He died And was resurrected. Your attitude must be one of depending on what Christ did on your behalf for salvation.
As it states in John 3:36 ''He who believes in the Son has eternal life.'' The object of your faith is not your faith but rather, the Son. And implicit in that belief, is what He acomplished on the Cross. And of course, His resurrection afterwards. We are not really in disagreement here.
Amen Brother......Faith, Repentance and Trusting in the atonning sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary are all interwined and inseparable.....If I do not recognize my "NEED for Christ for my salvation and the all sufficent sacrifce of calvary for the remission of sin then I am still LOST......
Amen Brother......Faith, Repentance and Trusting in the atonning sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary are all interwined and inseparable.....If I do not recognize my "NEED for Christ for my salvation and the all sufficent sacrifce of calvary for the remission of sin then I am still LOST......
Amen Brother......Faith, Repentance and Trusting in the atonning sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary are all interwined and inseparable.....If I do not recognize my "NEED for Christ for my salvation and the all sufficent sacrifce of calvary for the remission of sin then I am still LOST......
Recognizing your need for salvation is not the Gospel. The work of the Holy Spirit, working by grace upon your heart, shows you the Gospel, that it has been accomplished and to believe it. But even this working of the Spirit is not the Gospel. Actually, the Holy Spirit convicts of not believing the accomplished work of the Gospel, not something that still needs to be accomplished:
Joh 16:8 And having come, that One will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment.
Joh 16:9 Concerning sin, because they do not believe into Me;
Last edited by AlabamaStorm; 11-18-2009 at 08:06 PM..
Reason: Content and references
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