The fact is, the New Testament does not mention Christians that are not saved or justified, are not sons of God, are bereft of the indwelling Holy Spirit and a heavenly hope.
All Christians
what were we thinking?
mat_10:32 whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will i confess also before my father which is in heaven.. mat_10:33 but whosoever shall deny me before men, him will i also deny before my father which is in heaven.. mat_12:50 for whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.. mat_16:25 for whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.. mat_18:4 whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.. mar_10:15 verily i say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of god as a little child, he shall not enter therein.. luk 6:47,48 whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, i will shew you to whom he is like: he is like a man .
which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock.
The fact is, the New Testament does not mention Christians that are not saved or justified, are not sons of God, are bereft of the indwelling Holy Spirit and a heavenly hope.
All Christians
shower thought entered my mind the other day... jesus christ.
as per doctrine.
is still alive in heaven right now correct?
Hi Sea Breeze,
Christians are ransomed and redeemed now... so it is not only sheol that we are delivered from.
Ransom
Deliverance of humankind from its state of alienation from God has been accomplished through the death and resurrection of Christ (Rom 4:25; 2 Cor 5:18-19). In the New Testament, redemption requires the payment of a price, but the plight that requires such a ransom is moral, not material. Humankind is held in the captivity of sin from which only the atoning death of Jesus Christ can liberate. ("Entry for 'Redeem, Redemption'". "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology")
Therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through him. Ro.5:9
Rom_3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
1Co_1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Eph_1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Col_1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Heb_9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
one thing i notice from sitting through a number of broadcasts is just how much these guys love their titles.
it's always brother such-and-such, member of the gb, helper to the teaching committee, etc.
it's never simply brother such-and-such, a local elder with such-and-such congregation.. it seems to me the witnesses are pretty quick to pick up on catholics who call their priests father, which at the end of the day is in much the same vein simply a title.. i suspect these titles point to a huge amount of narcissism of the part of those who revel in such titles, certainly it doesn't seem to fall in line with christ's advocation that the greatest amongst you should be be the least.
shower thought entered my mind the other day... jesus christ.
as per doctrine.
is still alive in heaven right now correct?
JP writes
Here’s the clue I’ve mentioned from the Old Testament about God being the recipient of a ransom. In Psalm 49:7–8, we read, “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice” In Psalm 49:15, we then read, “But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.”
I don’t think this is a direct reference to the ransom of Christ, but rather a picture of how difficult it is to get people out of Sheol, which is laying claim on all these human beings like a kidnapper. But it certainly is suggestive that if a ransom is to be involved in rescuing humans from death, it’s not going to be unbiblical to talk about paying it to God.
So when Jesus comes into the world, he says in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:20, “You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Here’s why I think the ransom was paid by God to God, and in what sense it was a ransom. The key text that is absolutely crucial, I think, is Romans 3:24–25. Here’s what it says: “[They] are justified by his grace as a gift” — that’s what it means to be treated graciously — “through the redemption” — the ransoming — “that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood” — in other words, a sacrificial offering made on the mercy seat to God to avert his wrath and restore men (what a ransom does is restore us to the rightful parent or God or whomever we’ve been kidnapped from, so to speak) — “to be received by faith.”
“The payment was not silver and gold, but the blood of Christ exalting and restoring the glory of God.”
The picture is the following: Man has fallen short — far short of the glory of God. He has offended the glory of God. He has besmirched and dishonored the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have committed treason by exchanging the glory of God for images (Romans 1:23).
God in his holiness and wrath upholds the glory of his name by sentencing us in condemnation — to eternal suffering in hell. But he’s also a God of great mercy, and he prepared another way for his glory to be upheld in justice. That’s what Romans 3:25 is about — namely, by sacrificing his Son for those who believe ...
That sacrifice, Paul says, ransomed or redeemed people from the wrath of God. What a glorious gospel! Saved from the wrath of God! Romans 5:9 says, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”
That’s the big issue. That’s the big problem in the universe — God’s wrath. By the shedding of blood, we have escaped the wrath of God. The blood ransoms; it redeems from the wrath of God. If someone asked, “How did it do that? How did the payment actually work?” I would say that what was paid was the repair of God’s dishonor. The repair of God’s dishonored glory. The death of Jesus, in giving up so much glory out of love and honor to the Father, has repaired all that has been dishonored by the sins of God’s people. That’s what’s been paid.
In that sense, I think the ransom was paid by God in Christ to God in sending his Son to die. He died to rescue us from God’s wrath because we could never, ever pay the massive debt of glory that we owed to the Father. The payment was not silver and gold, but the blood of Christ exalting and restoring the glory of God.
sadly, jehovah's witnesses depend on their religion to save them, and the bible does not point to religion as a saving point for salvation.. the video message below shows from the bible that for salvation, jesus paid it all for you.. are you saved?.
@JW Answers,
I hope you are not a fan of Calvin's theology.
sadly, jehovah's witnesses depend on their religion to save them, and the bible does not point to religion as a saving point for salvation.. the video message below shows from the bible that for salvation, jesus paid it all for you.. are you saved?.
@JW Answers
Jesus paid it all is a great hymn by the way.
Here is the absolute best version in my books
after being around this site for 21 years now, i've heard many recount their stories and feelings.
many times i can immediately relate but other times they seem to have had a very different experience with the church.
i'm sure that is because not only are all of us different in personality, but congregations and family dynamics vary as well.
Here is the PR spin on disfellowshipping.
i wonder how many have doubts about the gb teaching that only baptised jws would survive the big a?
even then they still only say you may make it as with unbaptised kids of jdubs.
i think most people physically in don’t agree with the gb on this and are hoping jehovah would let other good people into the new world even if they are not baptised jws.
Here is a classic example of child baptism pressure.
10 " any israelite or any alien living among them who eats any bloodi will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.
12 therefore i say to the israelites, "none of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.
15 'anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean.
...which of course proves divine origin
10 " any israelite or any alien living among them who eats any bloodi will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.
12 therefore i say to the israelites, "none of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.
15 'anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean.
Lev 20:18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and has intercourse with her, he has laid bare the source of her flow and she has uncovered it. The two of them shall be cut off from the people.
Lev 15:24“’If a man has sexual relations with her and her monthly flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.
Commentators agree that in the first case (20:18), both husband and wife were aware menses had started before engaging in intercourse, whereas in the second, (15:24), they were not i.e. her flow had not yet started and was probably precipitated by the sexual act itself.
“There are no research studies that demonstrate a definite relation to having sex and altering the start date of menses. That said, it is well known that orgasms (associated with intercourse, or without) cause contractions within the uterus as part of the autonomic response associated with that event....In theory, those contractions may precipitate the start of menses. For women that engage in penile-vaginal intercourse, semen causes the cervix to soften slightly, due to a type of chemical called a prostaglandin that is present within the ejaculate. This, coupled with orgasm, could potentially lead to the start of a period.”