No human or organization is a mediator between man and God. To put an organization as an extra step to get to Christ the Mediator is not biblical nor logical. Once we are in right relationship with God by grace through faith in a person, we should then be part of a local expression of the Body of Christ. It is also wrong to avoid local churches because of a rebellious anti-establishment/organization bent. I Jn. shows us that vertical relationship with God and horizontal relationship with fellow believers is connected/vital. Those who avoid imperfect church to just have me and Jesus are also unbiblical, just as those who make compliance with man a condition of compliance with God. We go to church because we are saved, not in order to be or to prove we are saved. It is normative for a believer to go to church; it is cultic to make a group (joining/obeying) a condition of being right with God.
Encouragement letter, insight on the truth behind Jehovah's Witnesses
by Butterflyleia85 22 Replies latest jw experiences
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Butterflyleia85
Those who avoid imperfect church to just have me and Jesus are also unbiblical
Alot of things are unbiblical... as long as it's not a sin I don't have a problem with it.
I just find it hard to draw closer to God with out a place of worship, to come together and encourage one another.
We go to church because we are saved, not in order to be or to prove we are saved.
I don't believe anyone is saved til the end.
We all do are best to follow God's standards and only through Jesus he has given away for us and be forgiving of our sins.
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godrulz
Doing our best will still leave us falling short of the perfection and glory of God. This is why faith in Christ and His finished work alone (grace) saves us now, apart from works. We must continue in the faith vs revert to godless unbelief. We are saved now, but there is still the possibility of falling away (Heb. 6:4-6; I Jn. 5:11-13 eternal life now if in Christ).
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flipper
BUTTERFLYLEIA- This is really great how you have laid all these links out for newer members to do research themselves ! Great job ! Hope you, your hubby, and new baby are doin great ! Peace out, Mr. Flipper
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Butterflyleia85
godrulz We must continue in the faith.
Totally agree!
4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.
Hmm not sure how your trying to translate this but I totally agree with this passage. (Thank goodness we are humbled to know not all of us are perfect and hold such high positions cause yeah you are worse off then you are in ignorance)
11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not have life. 13 I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
You explaination doesn't make sense to me but again what I see here is if you learn the ways of the Christ how he lived and imatate his example we will have eternal life.
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Butterflyleia85
flipper
Thank you so much! We are doing great. Hope you, your wife, and family are doing well as well.
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godrulz
I Jn. 5 uses present, continuous tenses. It makes faith in Christ alone the issue. A common debate in Christian circles is OSAS (once saved always saved) vs one can lose their salvation. It is not a debate in JW circles because they are hyper-insecurity of the believer. The biblical position is conditional vs unconditional eternal security (Calvinism vs Arminianism is also relevant here). One must continue and remain in Him (which is not a work). Those who fall away/apostasize are no longer in Him. Eternal life is in Him, not resident in us apart from Him. The present tense also shows that we can know now that we have life, not just hope for it if we are good enough in the end (Muslim/JW works system vs grace/faith).
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Butterflyleia85
godrulz I'm not sure what your point is? Are you agreeing with me or not agreeing with me? Are you trying to debate a point or are you just stating your understanding? Sorry I'm just confused with your statements and where you getting at? It's kinda how you are wording things too that gets a bet confusing, if you want to rewrite it you can...
Personally I'm not a debater but I do apressiate all comments made.
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godrulz
I was reinforcing the statement about continuing in the faith. Those who fall away are not in the faith. In Christian circles, there is a belief held by some that once a person is saved, they are always saved. I do not believe this is true. JWs have the opposite extreme by having no assurance for at least over 1000 years from now.
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FollowedMyHeart
Wow, Butterfly, a lot of great info! Thanks for sharing!