Scriptural Preservation - Circular?

I have, several times, and others were present as well. And no, I was not at some “Christian” circus way up in a distant balcony—I was right there!

 

Thank you, Phillip!

I must admit that the utterly blind KJO type of response surprised me in THIS thread. It’s no wonder that the KJO crowd does not understand that they are blind, for they don’t see any more light in the arguments of their adversaries.

 

Craig, the age of miracles has ceased. I don't konw what you saw, but it was not a biblical miracle. That would be a contradiction of the Scripture.

I agree with you that the fruit of the Christian life is an evidence for the truth of Scripture. But we must understand the limits of that. Those same results can be obtained from any good motivational speaker. People's testimonies are often a vital part of God's bringing others to faith, but ultimately, being convinced of Scripture is only the work of hte Holy Spirit.

 

You shall answer to God for these false statements. No where in the Bible does it say or suggest that there was or is an “age of miracles” or that such an age has ceased. Your hyper-dispensationalism has no more scriptural support than the KJOism. It is an exclusively man-made divisive doctrine and the Bible tells us very clearly where such doctrines come from.

No, they cannot.

Yes, but the Holy Spirit used the life of a very godly 14-year-old boy to show me that I was a sinner. Before I met that boy, I didn’t believe in one word of the Bible—including the word sin. But the light of Christ shined through that boy’s life, and it was his life—not any verses out of the Bible—that showed me that I was a sinner.

Ironically enough, at the very moment that boy walked past me, his father was reading to me from the Book of Romans, and I thought that it was about the stupidest thing that I had ever heard.

 

This is what I said:

Craig exactly what did I say in my “argument” that was the “hogwash” part?


HankD

[ February 26, 2005, 08:22 PM: Message edited by: HankD ]

 

James 5
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

For now, as far as I am concerned, there are no more miracles, only answers to prayer.

1 John 5
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

HankD

 

I for one would not be at all comfortable telling God he can't perform miracles anymore.

I see nowhere in scripture that refers to this "age of miracles", nor that miracles ceased.

 

The "we" in the passage that you quoted is a reference to Paul himself and other true apostles of Christ in contrast to the carnal Christians in Corinth. Some of us may fall into the second category, but I doubt that any of us fall into the first. If all Christians had the “mind of Christ,” there would not continue today to be debates over the canon of both the old and the New Testaments, nor over individual disputed verses in the ancient manuscripts of the New Testament. Neither would there be the debate over OSAS, etc., etc., etc.

Please forgive my choice of words if they offended you, as that certainly was not my intention.

 

Why I believe my Bible?

2 Timothy 3:16-17..."All scripture is given by inspiration of God,and is profitable for doctrine,for reproof,for correction,for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect,throughly furnished unto all good works."

And.....

Romans 10:17..."So then faith cometh by hearing,and hearing by the word of God."

Now people...I didn't believe either of the verses above(or any others for that matter) until the Holy Spirit worked in my heart and opened it to receive the truth.At that point(when I got SAVED)I was able to (as James 1:21b says)"receive with meekness the engrafted word,which is able to save my soul."The bottom line is that we accept the Word of God by FAITH....and God has to regenerate our DEAD SPIRIT and put a new spirit within us that possesses that FAITH.Then...and only then does the Word of God become "alive" to us.Remember that Hebrews 11:6 says that "But without FAITH it is impossible to please Him:for he that cometh to God must believe that He is,and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."The grace to be saved and the faith to believe and be saved are BOTH the GIFT of a loving God who wishes none to perish but all to come to repentance.Acceptance and belief of the Bible as God's Word will only come by FAITH.Basing your acceptance or faith in the Word of God on the lives or experience of fallible men is shifting,uncertain,and quite probably SINKING sand.

Greg Sr.

 

OK, I see your point.

Disagreement among ourselves is an ancient problem. Look at Acts 15 where even the Apostles had a "debate" where there was "much disputing".

The only conclusion that one can come to that I know of is that the "mind of Christ" was/is available to us (possibly only the Apostles in the sense that you mentioned) but as the word implies, we must ask for His wisdom or "avail" ourselves of it and do His will that He has already revealed to us through the Spirit.

1 John 2
27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

John 7
16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

So, IMO, as we walk in the Spirit (the source of inspiration) all these passages given will bring this knowledge into the realm of experiential reality. It is not a horizontal reality which can be passed on from one to another or even proven though it is recognizable by one another. In fact the world is confused about this reality and cannot experience it.

John 3
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

So, I will repeat the essence of this reality is of a spiritual nature because we are His seed (born of the Spirit) and therefore we recognise the voice of our God speaking to us from the Scripture.

John 10
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30 I and my Father are one.

BTW you didn't offend me, so there is nothing to forgive, although I would have.

Actually I guess in one way you are correct.

I was hog until Jesus washed me and I became a sheep.

HankD

 

Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

It is IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to know if the Bible is true or not until they have been born of God.

Unless and until you deal with the persons relationship with God, all arguments about whether the Bible is true or not are just so much hot air.

You are wasting your time trying to prove that which ONLY God can prove to the heart of a person.

IMO. And I think that it is born out by the testimony of Scripture that I am right.

Just "cut to the heart" using the
"Sword of the Spirit" and God will do the rest. One way or another. He will harden whom He will, and He will show mercy upon whom He will. Our ONLY call is to use the SWORD!

In HIS service;
Jim

 

That is an interesting stat - could you share the documentation for that please? A PM would be fine since this is off topic, I'd like to learn more about that.