Posted on 05/17/2018 4:19:50 AM PDT by Faith Presses On
What do you believe about Jesus Christ and the Christian faith? That would be helpful to know. From an article discussing what have been called the Five Fundamentals of the faith:
1) The Bible is literally true. Associated with this tenet is the belief that the Bible is inerrant, that is, without error and free from all contradictions. (And I’ll add too that the Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit).
2) The virgin birth and deity of Christ. Fundamentalists believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit and that He was and is the Son of God, fully human and fully divine.
3) The substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross. Fundamentalism teaches that salvation is obtained only through God’s grace and human faith in Christ’s crucifixion for the sins of mankind.
4) The bodily resurrection of Jesus. On the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the grave and now sits at the right hand of God the Father.
5) The authenticity of Jesus’ miracles as recorded in Scripture and the literal, pre-millennial second coming of Christ to earth.
https://www.gotquestions.org/fundamentalism.html
So what do you believe about those statements?
Every one of them are the truth. My comments to each are:
1. Agreed. While the Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and is the truth, it was not always translated nor interpreted by the reader while under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
2. Agreed. Fully human and Fully Divine does not mean equal. While the lessor is contained in the Greator, and the Greater is in the Lessor, the Greator is not wholly contained in the Lessor. Just as we are less than Jesus even though through Communion, Jesus is in us.
3. Agreed. Not just Atonement is only available through God’s Grace, but even our existance itself.
4. Agreed. The body itself is always a manifestation of Spirit, which is made in God’s image. For without the Spirit, there is no life in the body.
5. Agreed. There is no such thing as a miracle except to those of us who do not understand the science and physics utilized. The events happened exactly as described in the Bible. Jesus will not come again as He is already here. By His own words, He has been here many times as He is the Alpha and Omega. Just as some hear Yanni and some hear Laurel, not everyone hears nor sees Jesus. He is real, He is here, and He is my savior.
Most think that the soul is within the physical body. It would be more correct to say that the body is contained with the soul, as our souls are many, many times larger than the physical body created by the soul within the soul.
I am a “Fundamentalist “ but not a Legalist as I have grown in Christ my understanding has grown and evolved. Never to contradict the Bible, but to further clarify meaning. As the Bible is Divine Communication, it has new meaning when read while filled with the Holy Spirit.
Of all the fundamentals, “Loving God with all our being is the most important. “ Without this, even the Holy Spirit encounters great difficulty filling our souls.
If you say, though, that you agree that the Bible is literally true, then why do you also say here that Jesus won’t come again, which is what the Bible says?
Why also did you describe God as having a womb, something that’s in contradiction to Scripture?
What also do you think about these verses from 1 Corinthians 13:
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Do you believe yourself to be a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness and that Jesus died on the cross as payment for our sins? And what do you believe about faith?
“If you say, though, that you agree that the Bible is literally true, then why do you also say here that Jesus won’t come again, which is what the Bible says?”
How can someone arrive again when they are already here. Just because most are asleep and do not perceive Him, they are just unaware. How can Christ be in you when you take communion if He is not already here. Without Him being here, communion would be worthless.
“Why also did you describe God as having a womb, something that’s in contradiction to Scripture?”
God is Our Father and God is also Our Mother. Just as a child in in their mother’s womb, we exist within God. When Jesus grew to be aware of this He stated, “My Father and I are One.” Just as when we take communion, Jesus is in us and we are in Jesus, God that is in Jesus is also in us. Read John 14.
First, 1 Corinthians 13 is very accurate and true. It is a beautiful scripture and one of my favorites as like Jesus it expresses the most important commandments, i.e Love God and your neighbor as yourself. Love is the glue that holds the soul together so it can grow closer to God.
When Jesus was speaking of the house built on sand vs the house built on a rock, He was speaking about the need for a solid foundation. Just as cement holds the foundation blocks together for a house, Love holds a child’s soul together so they can become a healthier adult. Without Love, our lives fall apart and crumble.
But with Love, we grow, just as a plant grows toward the sun by using sunlight, we grow toward God by using the Light of the Holy Spirit and His Son Jesus who He sent to provide us His Light for us to grow. God is Light, the Bible tells us that.
1 John 1:5
[ Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness ] This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
God is both Love and Light.
And when we radiate Love and Light, we have found God within us, just as His Son Jesus is also Love and Light.
Without this Love and Light, we are nothing.
Faith Presses On,
Thank you for asking questions. Most of what I say, I experience in my daily life. The Bible is my handbook or operating manual for my life. I too am a seeker on the same path as everyone else. Also, I am a sinner and always need God’s Grace.
I say a prayer for you, that you too find and fully experience God in your Bible. Do not believe my words. Read your Bible and pray for guidance. The Light of the Holy Spirit will guide you to find greater meaning.
Blessings.
As in doing so, your Faith will grow to be a Knowing, and there will be no room for doubt. Why settle for Faith, when you can Know for sure?
That is, though, what the Bible says. And we do know things such as that God is in the world through the Holy Spirit and Christ lives within Christians. Yet Christ also ascended to Heaven and is making intercession for us there, and He said He will return one day. God’s Word tells us we are body, soul and spirit. In at least one way, which would seem to be in body, Christ is not here now and He said He will return.
Some of the things you say here bring to my mind Gnosticism and also some of the beliefs of Eastern religions. Do you accept some of those beliefs in some ways?
The Bible, though, never teaches in any way that God is our mother. What we do know, though, is that for all we know and understand about God, we still don’t know or understand much about Him while we’re in this world. The verses from 1 Corinthians 13 which I posted to you talk of that, as do many others in the Bible. We know only in part while we’re here, and that’s God’s will for us. We know that God gives us life, and we know in a natural sense we have mothers, but since God has purposely revealed Himself to be Father and not “Mother,” we should go by what He’s revealed about Himself.
What 1 Corinthians 13 says about love is all true, but as I mentioned in another post, the verses from it I quote were about us knowing only in part while we’re here as that’s God will for us.
Knowing Jesus Christ as our Savior and having faith in Him isn’t one or the other at all. God’s Word teaches that and that’s the experience of believers too. By faith we rely on knowing Him and knowing about Him, how He’s revealed Himself to us, when He doesn’t seem present and about what we don’t know. Through faith we get to know Him better and learn more about Him, but there is always still more about Him to experience and learn. He’s the Creator while we’re still mere creatures. What do you believe about all the Bible says about the need for faith?
“The Bible is my handbook or operating manual for my life.”
What about it having all authority over our lives, though? I mean, you’ve said you don’t accept what it says about the Second Coming of Christ, and you also say God has a womb and is “Our Mother,” in opposition to what it says, so how much authority do you grant it over yourself?
“You’ve said you don’t accept what it says about the Second Coming of Christ, and you also say God has a womb and is “Our Mother,” in opposition to what it says, so how much authority do you grant it over yourself?”
You are not reading my words correctly. My statement is that “How can a person be coming if they have already arrived?” The words were written in the past, foretelling a future event that has happened. Can you claim that a program is not on TV when you are tuned to the wrong channel looking for it?
Read Salvations excellent thread:
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3657559/posts
Is this World a Womb or a Tomb for You?
You will never see Jesus when you hold onto fear. God’s perfect Love casts out fear.
Fear causes darkness which is the tool of evil. Jesus taught us Love as it is where we must be tuned to perceive Him.
As I mentioned above, God is Love and God is Light. If you do not have Love for your neighbor and claim that you Love God, you are a liar.
“You’ve said you don’t accept what it says about the Second Coming of Christ, and you also say God has a womb and is “Our Mother,” in opposition to what it says, so how much authority do you grant it over yourself?”
You are not reading my words correctly. My statement is that “How can a person be coming if they have already arrived?”
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That was a later statement, but you also wrote this:
“Agreed. There is no such thing as a miracle except to those of us who do not understand the science and physics utilized. The events happened exactly as described in the Bible. Jesus will not come again as He is already here. By His own words, He has been here many times as He is the Alpha and Omega.”
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The words were written in the past, foretelling a future event that has happened.
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It was written in the past, but that stilll doesn’t mean what’s foretold has happened since then. According to what the God’s Word has revealed to us, it hasn’t.
Read Salvations excellent thread:
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3657559/posts
Is this World a Womb or a Tomb for You?
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First, I’m not Roman Catholic, and there’s a lot in that church’s teachings that I don’t believe to be true. Still, I’m sure the writer doesn’t call God “Our Mother” and would never mean to suggest that, or to call this world “Our Mother,” either, for that matter. God’s Word, including when it’s applied to this world, allows for us to draw comparisons and to use and learn spiritually from metaphors He’s created for us, but only so far as His Word permits. The other day I saw an article which I couldn’t stop to read, but the subject was “heart disease in the church,” or maybe even “heart disease in the Body of Christ.” Either way, that’s a spiritually instructive metaphor, but there’s limits to how far it goes.
God is love, meaning true love. His Word teaches us what love truly is. It often involves a lot that we in our natural state as sinful creatures don’t take to be love.
You haven’t answered some important questions here. You have said you hold to the Bible, not contradicting it, but you haven’t replied yet on your beliefs about faith. You also haven’t yet replied on what the Bible says about us knowing only in part while we’re here, and on whether or not you accept some Gnostic beliefs and/or beliefs from Eastern religions.
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