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Who Owns the Copyright to All Creation?
ConstitutionallySpeaking.Wordpress ^ | Jan 18, 2013 | ConstitutionallySpeaking

Posted on 01/18/2013 11:45:12 AM PST by patlin

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To: HarleyD
Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly, these are all results of obedience to ‘The Way’ spoken of in Ps 119:1,142,151,160 & Dt 32:46-47 that defines what Messiah was speaking of in John 14:6.

Yes, the fist leaders of “the Way” were Jewish, the 1st 50 and it wasn't until a gentile took the position that all was changed by the throwing out of what Messiah spoke and gave to us through Moses. They lived out Mt 6:10, ‘His will be done on earth as it is in the heavens’

Why do I believe that the religious systems teach differently? That is very clear in ALL their doctrines when they say because we are spiritual we do not have to obey what Moses wrote. Everything Moses wrote was about Messiah. the entire bible is about the Son who from the beginning in the garden, has been pointing and directing mankind back to the Father.

So why does the ‘church’ not practice this? Yeshua was rebuking the unbelieving Judeans, not because they searched the Scriptures, but because they missed the foundation that is taught in them, that foundation being it has ‘always’ been the Son speaking to mankind on behalf of the Father. He was stating to them that they had missed the point of Moses all together because their hearts were not grounded in the Messiah that Moses took all his dictation from.

So the way I see it, as it is the way Messiah taught it, we have to choices. We can follow Him as He follows the Father or we can choose to disobey and follow another that is not of the Father. One is Hebrew, the other is Roman as the anti-messiah rises out of Rome. If one is following all things that were put in place by the religious elite in Rome, can one truly know the Messiah? Scripture says not.

John 3:36 He who believes in the Son possesses everlasting life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Elohim remains on him.

Those commands give us His calendar and all that defines how we are to walk out every aspect of our daily lives, including when and how we are to worship the Father.

The doctrines of the NT are not new, they have been since the beginning. Love, kindness, humility, etc, etc are the core foundation of all that was given through Moses and Moses is replete. Something most in the ‘church’ system do not know because they do not take the role of Berean seriously is that in Mt 19 when Yeshua is speaking to the rich man is the fact that when He cites the commands to follow, He is not citing them from Ex 20, He is citing them from Leviticus 19 & 20. How many even know that the commands are given again in Leviticus?

There is nothing new in the NT, it is all simply true of what was to be, was is, and what is yet to be. The Scriptures of the Messiah speak nothing of a ‘new’ religious system that is to be separate from Israel. that is to look and walk differently from Israel. But until one humbles themselves, that is to say repent and then begin walking in His ways, one will never gain the knowledge, understanding of that knowledge and the wisdom to implement it. That is what Messiah is speaking of in regards to John 5:39-40.

When we put man's ways above the Way of the Father, we are blinded in part by the stone of stumbling, the stone that came to remove the ways of man and to teach us the pure, unadulterated path to the Father. The stone that is Messiah that was with them throughout the entire journey in the wilderness. (1 Cor 10:1-14 (see specifically v. 4,6,9,11-12,14))

41 posted on 01/21/2013 8:38:08 AM PST by patlin ("Knowledge is a powerful source that is 2nd to none but God" ConstitutionallySpeaking 2011)
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To: HarleyD; DouglasKC; BereanBrain
Let's let Scripture define ‘Holy Spirit’ shall we? Is it a ‘person’ per-say?

John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

John 15:18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ... 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause. 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

John 16:12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority,but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

John 17:14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

The Spirit is ‘Truth’, so what is truth?

Ps 33:4 For the Word of YHVH is right, and all His work is done in truth.

Ps 119:142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your Torah (Law) is truth.

Ps 119:151 You are near, O YHVH, and all Your commands are truth.

160 The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous right-rulings are forever.

The Scriptures define the holy Spirit as Truth. It is referred to as an entity, but it is not a separate entity as all Truth belongs to the Father only who then gave it to the Son who in turn gives it to us. This is much like referring to the ‘church’ as a ‘she’ or ‘her’.

there is a Father and there is a Son, both of which have the same ‘Holy Spirit’ that comes from the Father.

John 17:22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.”

Truth is not a person, Truth is the substance of the Father that was in the Son and is to be in us. If the substance of the Son is in all, then the Father's Truth will be shown in all, in all they say and do.

42 posted on 01/21/2013 9:13:37 AM PST by patlin ("Knowledge is a powerful source that is 2nd to none but God" ConstitutionallySpeaking 2011)
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To: patlin
Actually I agree with much of what you have written. Every commandment ever given to us by our loving Father has been for our benefit. This includes all of those commands in Leviticus including priests who should wear undergarments when climbing steps, inspecting houses for mold, and the rest. These laws and regulations were given to us to show to others our honoring of God, help us not embarass ourselves, and keep ourselves healthy. Some of these commands evolved; either by going away or turning into something else. That doesn't mean they aren't important to study for each and every one of them tells us something about God and how He cares for us.

But the study of the Old Testament also shows how the Israelites would constantly disobey the teachings and commandments. The generation that died in the wilderness for their rebellous heart, their children who went in to conquer the territory carrying their idols, and it wasn't soon after they settled in that they ceased to obey God. The laws in Leviticus states that God's wrath would go forth against a people who would sacrifice to Molech. Solomon built temples for that specific purpose. This was not surprising to Moses who prophesized:

I would not be so hard on the church since Israel NEVER followed the laws of God. It isn't that the laws are bad. On the contrary they are given to us in love and for our benefit. But they served to show that we simply refuse to keep them. This was true with Adam. It is true with us. (How many of us love our neighbors as ourselves?)

The true church, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Samuel, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, John the Baptist, Peter, James, John, Paul, etc., are all people who are cut from the same cloth. They are those who were led by faith. It isn't that there is a Hebrew church or a Rome church. There is only one church. These are people who had failings in obeying God's laws. Noah got drunk. Abraham lied. Moses, David, and one could even say Paul were murderers. Yet they are also people who knew God in a personal and real way-because God came to them and revealed Himself to them. And that's the way God wants it to the praise of His glory. To call us, to know Him and let Him lead us.

Israel is not the church. The church is Israel. It always has been. That includes those obedient Israelites who believed in the coming promise and those Christians who look back to the resurrected Savior. They all realized their sins at obeying the Law and a need for God to forgive them and redeem them. If we didn't understand the Law, we would not understand grace.

43 posted on 01/21/2013 12:22:23 PM PST by HarleyD
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To: HarleyD; BereanBrain
The Father and the Son do not indwell us. Believers ALREADY have the Spirit and that Spirit is giving them grace and peace.

Rom_8:10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Rom_8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Verse 10 says Christ is in us.

And in verse 11 who raised Jesus from the dead? Whoever it is, Christians have HIS spirit dwelling in us too.

Gal_1:1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),

The father raised Jesus from the dead. The spirit of the father dwells in us and the spirit of Christ.

In other words, the holy spirit IS the spirit of the father and the son...who ARE God. The holy spirit isn't a separate "person" at all, but it is the spirit of the father and the son.

Also history and any good Catholic will tell you that the notion that the spirit is another person besides the father and son is an "evolved" doctrine and wasn't fully developed until centuries after the death of Christ.

This, btw, is WHY it is important to study the teachings of those who come before us as well as the scriptures; to avoid serious errors like this.

It certainly is wise. But it's equally wise to be able to discern traditional teaching from biblical teaching. They're often at odds.

44 posted on 01/21/2013 6:33:44 PM PST by DouglasKC
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To: HarleyD
You have it all backwards. Yeshua did not come to form a ‘church’, He came to redeem His nation. The ‘church’ is a man made concept.

The ‘Torah’ was given for His nation to set them apart from all the other nations and grace came in because of man’s disobedience. First to Adam and then again on down the line all the way through the NT. But as Paul says, just because grace was given freely, that does not mean we are then free to disobey Torah. Paul delighted in Torah as did David. James called Torah perfect and liberty giving because through Yeshua Messiah we are no longer under the curse of the Torah which is death. That is what we were freed from, the curse not the Torah.

Titus 2:11 For the grace of Elohim that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, renouncing ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live sensibly, righteously, and reverently in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed expectation and glorious appearing of our great Elohim and Savior Yeshua Messiah, 14 who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from lawlessness and cleanse for Himself His own peculiar people, ardent for good works.

Ex 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.

There is not one place in all the Greek transcripts of the NT where the words ‘grace’ and ‘alone’ are used in the same passage, however, the words ‘faith’ and ‘alone’ are used together just one time in all Scripture.

James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

And Paul agrees with this over and over and over again in all his epistles. Doing Torah evidences our faith, it is our fruit. No manifestation of works of Torah is equivilent to dead faith, BUT, because of grace one can not boast that one guaranteed a place in the eternal kingdom because grace is a gift givewn to all the world, not just a select few. One can not say that Elohim is indebted to anyone through their works. Yeshua Messiah is the ‘grace card’.

Faith evidences our receiving of that gift of grace through Yeshua Messiah and then we are to protect that gift so it is not taken away or lost due to neglect.

Now who is Yeshua Messiah? I have already given that answer, He is the walking talkiing Torah of Elohim that put on flesh to instruct us how to walk in all righteousness, to do what is right in the eyes of the Father lest we choose what is right in our own eyes that only leads one to death.

Deut 8:2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

Deut 10:12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good.

Deut 32:46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this Torah. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life,

Deut 29:14 “I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, 15 but<.u> with him who stands here with us today before the YHVH our Elohim, also with him who is not here with us today

Elohim is outside of time, when He speaks, He speaks to ALL generations of all peoples for all time. All the covenants build upon each other, one does not nullify another, they merely enhance what was previously given, therefore

Deut 33:4 Moses commanded us a Torah, an inheritance of the assembly of Jacob (All Israel, both native and grafted in)

Ex 19:9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”

John 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Mt 23:1 Then Yeshua spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever he (Moses) tells you to guard, guard and do (see Jn 14:15), but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.

45 posted on 01/21/2013 11:05:35 PM PST by patlin ("Knowledge is a powerful source that is 2nd to none but God" ConstitutionallySpeaking 2011)
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To: DouglasKC

I think you are confusing the definition of the word “person” when used in reference to the Godhead, as it is different from the “person” used when talking about mankind. Sometimes a single word has multiple meanings (look in any dictionary).

Let me attempt to describe how there is harmony in the scriptures.

When you and I talk about an person, we are really taking about a man/woman. Now how does that person exist? He exists three-fold. That is, he/she exists a a physical being, a soul, and a spirit.

Do you remember God saying to Adam and Eve “in the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die.”? But did Eve die when she ate the apple? Yes. She suffered at that point spiritual death. We lost the ability to naturally commune with God because we are spiritually dead (we are no longer in the image of God, we are missing our spirit).

So mankind was originally designed a Triune creature, in the image of God.

Romans 1:20 says the entire creation testifies to God’s eternal nature and Godhead. So let’s take that verse as the truth that all scripture is, and amplify it.

Space exists in three dimension (X,Y,Z). If you have any less than 3 dimensions, your total volume of the universe would be ZERO. Once you add the third dimension (any will do), the volume of the universe is INFINITE.
Time exists as Past, Present, and Future. Without any of those three, could not exist.
Matter exists in three natural states (liquid, solid, gas), which itself is made up of protons, neutrons, elections.

Now consider that each of these “threes” Space, Time, Matter themselves add up to one thing, our whole universe!

Now to the word person, from the greek persona, which implied an appearence as in a mask an actor might wear on a stage. Not that God is trying to deceive, but that the same God appears to us differently.

Like in our universe, Height looks different than Depth, which looks different from Length — does that mean the universe is trying to trick us?
No, there is a difference, but the SUBSTANCE is the same, and each is infinite.

So when I die, and my body is gone, I still exist, at least my soul does, until I receive my (new) glorfied body, and my new spirit.

For now, I am stuck in this old decaying body, with my eternal soul, with a dead human spirit, but am counseled and indwelled by the Holy Spirit, by who I am made alive again.

Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, my soul would continue to wither and corrupt itself. But with the Holy Spirit, it will renew my mind (soul).

So this is my defense of a true understanding of the Trinity.

No, I am not a “oneness” person. Oneness believes come from trying to understand God by human reasoning like “how can three things be one thing?”. God create the WHOLE UNIVERSE as three in one. That’s what Romans 1:20 implies.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.


46 posted on 01/23/2013 8:47:58 PM PST by BereanBrain
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To: BereanBrain
When you and I talk about an person, we are really taking about a man/woman. Now how does that person exist? He exists three-fold. That is, he/she exists a a physical being, a soul, and a spirit.

I think it's important to define these so there's no misunderstanding in further discussion. The best way is to look at a verse that mentions the creation of man.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

This is the King James version. First God makes man (the physical). Then he breathes life into him. Then he BECOMES a living soul.

Let's start with "soul". Scripture says that man BECOMES a living soul.

"Soul" is the hebrew "nephesh". It means a living, breathing creature. This isn't the first time it's used in scripture though. The first time is here:

Gen 1:20 Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens."

"Creatures" is the same word translated "soul". The next three verses also use the word and translates it "creature" . It's meaning here is any kind of animal that lives and breathes, including man as we see later. It apparently doesn't extend to the plant world.

So biblically a "soul" IS any creature that lives and breathes. It doesn't become a soul until it is alive and sustained by the spirit of God.

We're not talking about the holy spirit here that indwells in Christians, but about the spirit of life, given from God, that makes everything alive. When that spirit is withdrawn things that were alive die.

That's because there is nothing immmortal about our soul. We are only a soul because the spirit of God sustains us. When that breath of life is withdrawn, we die. We cease to be a soul.

Note that man does not become alive in any sense until God breathes life into him. Up until then he's a dead, inert, hunk of perfectly formed flesh.

The life that God breathes into him is his spirit. It's the same spirit that keeps everything living on earth alive. It's the engine that keep everything physically alive.

BUT when that spirit or breath leaves, living things die.

Gen 6:17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.

Do you remember God saying to Adam and Eve “in the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die.”? But did Eve die when she ate the apple? Yes. She suffered at that point spiritual death. We lost the ability to naturally commune with God because we are spiritually dead (we are no longer in the image of God, we are missing our spirit).

I think scripture means exactly what it says here. Adam and Eve had an abundant supply of God's spirit that not only kept them alive, but overcame corruption and death. When they sinned, they lost access to that abundance and had only the same breath of life common to all creatures. When they sinned, they literally began to die that day. It was a slow steady march to death, but it was real, physical death that was inevitable and predicted by God.

So mankind was originally designed a Triune creature, in the image of God

I would agree that he was designed in the image of God because of the duality built into the physical world including our bodies, genders and relationships. But based on scripture there was no thought of building "three" creation. Space exists in three dimension (X,Y,Z). If you have any less than 3 dimensions, your total volume of the universe would be ZERO. Once you add the third dimension (any will do), the volume of the universe is INFINITE.
Time exists as Past, Present, and Future. Without any of those three, could not exist.
Matter exists in three natural states (liquid, solid, gas), which itself is made up of protons, neutrons, elections.
Now consider that each of these “threes” Space, Time, Matter themselves add up to one thing, our whole universe!

In this case I think you've repeated a conclusion that seems logical but is based on fault or non-provable suppositions.

For example matter can exist in 4 or 5 states depending on the application. Plasma is usually considered the 4th state.

Protons and neutrons are now thought to be made up of quarks or perhaps even smaller elements.

Time is an uknown element full of speculation especially when it comes to perception of past, present and future.

The universe is thought to be made of many many dimensions, most of which we're not capable of seeing.

So to my understanding it's not clear and obvious to get "three" out of nature and use it prove the existence of a triune God. However as was shown in a previous post, 2 screams out at us.

47 posted on 01/24/2013 6:28:40 AM PST by DouglasKC
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To: DouglasKC

Plasma is NOT a state of matter at rest. It exists ONLY in so much as you keep pumping energy INTO a gas. As soon as you stop injecting a foreign substance INTO the gas, the plasma decays to gas. FACT.

Again, it determines what you mean by the word STATE. I mean it in the strictest (and might I say original) sense.

The fact that components are made up of individuals does not matter either. As I demonstrated, many “threes” are “threes” inside of threes.

You are MISSING the design of the universe.

There is no DUALITY of the Universe. Only in Star Wars, and Taoism is there a duality of nature/universe.

In Gen 2:7 you see the three components of Man right in front of you — body (formed of dust), breath (spirit) and Soul.
Mankind does not exist in the same way birds or other forms of life do, and as such you cannot compare animal life to human as animals were NOT created in the image of God.

Again, just because a word (like Napesh) is used in several places does NOT mean it means the SAME thing each time. The word “set” has 464 DIFFERENT meanings in an unabridged dictionary! Strong’s has multiple definitions as well, and Strong’s is at best a poor analysis of the depth of meaning of each word.

There are THOUSANDS of proofs of how the nature of all things are three.
How about LIGHT? Any color of it is comprised of Red/Green/Blue.
FIRE? It needs oxygen/fuel/heat any less and it does not occur.
WATER? it’s H20 (two hydrogen, one oxygen)
ELECTRICAL CHARGE - Positive/Negative/Ground or 0 or rest (depending on whether your local ground is floating will determine what is rest)
FAMILY - Husband, Wife, Child
EARTH- Land/Air/Ocean
DNA - Phosphate/Deoxyribose/Nitrogen Base

check this out. http://www.icr.org/article/2590/


48 posted on 01/24/2013 3:33:21 PM PST by BereanBrain
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To: HarleyD

HarleyD,

I challenge YOU to look for verses that CONTRADICT your beliefs about the 5 points.

For example, Limited Atonement. Could I make a suggestion? Look for verses about the will of God. For example that none should perish.
Or try John 3:16 or Romans 5:8

God has the RIGHT to have created vessels (man) for destruction. This is what scripture says. It also says we have no right to question his will or motives. What it also clearly says is that God’s will is that NONE should perish and that he LOVED the WHOLE world so much he sent his only begotten Son.

God’s gift is Salvation...It is NOT his FORCED WILL upon a robot. So GRACE is RESISTABLE. Look in Romans chapter 1 — what happens to people who continually reject God? He leaves them to their own devices — is this not having resisted Grace?

As far as total depravity, we are depraved, but we long for something different. There is a God shaped whole in our heart. A hole is NOTHING. ZERO. Which is also what we can accomplish on our own toward salvation.
We have to GIVE up and let God save us....This is NOT the same as the traditional Total Depravity point, but similar.

Lastly, I revere John, and Paul and all the other disciples teaching because of the way they lived and died after Jesus...the way they treated their enemies (or people who wanted to be their enemy). Now read about John Calvin and how he handled his opponents. He could have spoke out and spared their lives. He did not (google Michael Servetus)

So it you want to defend the 5 points via scripture, how do you handle the scriptures that contradict your points?

If you are truly interested in the truth, you must examine the whole scripture, and we know scripture cannot be broken, so then, if there exist a theory (like the 5 points) that does not agree with a scripture, therefore it MUST be wrong.

Unless of course, you place more trust in “Institutes” than the “Holy Bible”


49 posted on 01/24/2013 3:51:42 PM PST by BereanBrain
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To: BereanBrain
What it also clearly says is that God’s will is that NONE should perish and that he LOVED the WHOLE world so much he sent his only begotten Son.

God's will is that all will be saved, and that is precisely what will happen unless you believe that what God wants to happen can be stopped by one of us puny humans. Every believer who is saved is just as God ordained it.

Yes God so loved the world that He sent His only Son. But read the rest of the text.

God sent His Son into the world KNOWING that man hates the light because our deeds are evil. Christ's coming exposed our evil heart and brought judgment onto the world.

God’s gift is Salvation...It is NOT his FORCED WILL upon a robot.

God never forces anything on anybody. He only reveals Himself to us just like He did with Moses or Paul. With each Christian He comes to us directly and tells us to "Follow Him". By HIS power WE willing drop what we are doing and follow Him. If you think this is wrong just ask yourself the question do you think Christ saved you? Please note the order of those words. I know of no Christian who would say otherwise.

As far as total depravity, we are depraved, but we long for something different.

We don't long for anything different. There is no where in scripture that states this. Man's history throughout the scripture shows that we are rebellious towards God. As John 3:19-20 shows that Christ came just to show us how evil we are. When staring love directly in the face, man ends up crucifying Him. That is our nature.

Now read about John Calvin and how he handled his opponents.

Well that may be true. But David committed adultery with Bathsheba while Uriah was off fighting David's battle and then tried to cover it up by murdering the honorable Uriah. This in my mind was far worst that what John Calvin might have done. Would you complain about David or dismiss his life as well? Calvin also started over 250+ churches as well as writing works that are still in use 500 years later. As David correctly pointed out, whatever sins we might create, ultimately all sin is against God and that's His business.

You can't judge believers based upon particular instances of their lives. I always find the Book of Kings very interesting. It always starts out with "This king did what was good in the sight of the Lord" or "This king did what was evil in the sight of the Lord". Then it goes into their life story. In some cases the good kings might have done some bad things. In other cases evil kings might have done some good things. But God does not look a single instances of our lives (thankfully). In fact, for believers He doesn't look at our lives at all but Christ's life.

Perhaps that is why we shouldn't judge one another.

BTW-I don't place my trust in the Institutes. Rather I would suggest meditating on Cyprian's question, "What do you have that you have not received from God?" Answering that question will help understand where Calvin was coming from.

50 posted on 01/25/2013 6:52:01 AM PST by HarleyD
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To: BereanBrain
There are THOUSANDS of proofs of how the nature of all things are three.

If there are thousands of three's there are hundreds of thousands of two's and these are ones that are fundamentally and easily understood by anyone with no scientific background or knowledge.

The earth and the moon.
Day and night.
Man and woman.
Black and White.
Hot and cold.
Good and evil.
Mother and father.
North and south.
East and west.
Positive and negative.

And consider that two is the only even number that is prime. And again that's not to mention the duality built into all animals and humans.....two hands, two arms, two lungs...etc. etc.

Combined with the overwhelming scriptural descriptions of the Godhead as seen in heaven (FATHER AND SON) the evidence is overwhelming that the Godhead is two, not three.

51 posted on 01/25/2013 12:27:48 PM PST by DouglasKC
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To: DouglasKC

You said thousands of proofs of duality as the basic nature, you listed some examples, like

Positive and Negative. Every heard of Ground? Without it there could be no potential (positive and negative)

Mother and Father. If no children (offspring), no life would exist

Man and Woman (I assume you mean male and female as in life)
Plenty of non-sexual life exists — M,F, and Asexual.

North/South/East/West are concepts describing flat progress on a curved surface (the earth) that exists in 3 dimensional space. In other words for YOU to go straight north on earth, requires movement in 3 dimensions simultaneously.

Black and White. Does the universe really exist, in any way/shape/form as only black / white. Can you point to an object in the universe emitting or reflecting 100% black or white? No, you can’t. These are concepts we can only approximate.

Good and Evil? Some actions are neither. They are devoid of morality. Is a planet good or evil? A person’s actions may be good/evil or neither.

Yes, there is BI-lateral symmetry in humans/animals but all exist as three. You would not be alive to move your hands without a soul and spirit.

What of Matthew 28:19 - go and make disciples of all men, baptizing them in the NAME of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the greek, it uses the singular NAME, and the definitive for each of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Clearly in this verse we are taught three in one. There are many other proof texts that draw distinctions between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. If you don’t think the Holy Spirit is a full person in the Godhead, please review Acts 5:3-4, where the Holy Spirit is lied to.

Also, the Holy Spirit can be grieved. Eph 4:30

When writing about the Holy Spirit (our helper), in the greek, the masculine form is used, rather then the neuter, which would have been correct had the writer intended to imply the Spirit were a impersonal force, rather than a person in the Trinity.

I studied the Trinity for years, because I have family members who belong to a small sect that reject the definition of the Trinity. So I spent a long time looking at the situation from both sides, and have arrived at what we call the classical definition of the Trinity. One God, somehow existing as three individual “persons’. I put quotes around persons because God is not a person as in you and I are. This is one reason for the confusion.


52 posted on 02/02/2013 2:28:48 PM PST by BereanBrain
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