Live4Him

Nope!

I would not have a prOBlem with the archaic words being replaced. I'm not talking about changing anything in the Bible, but just updating English words that have changed over the years. Pretty much the same thing that has been done on the current version that we have in our hands.

My point is this, I think we have started to re-write history and there is no way of knowing what we would have done until we truly consider history and our heritage. Thank God for the King James...but thank God just as much, if not more, for the Bible of the Puritans / Pilgrims that was the first English Bible to land on our shores!

Would you have said the same thing in 1611 when the Authorized Version was just coming out? Weren't there already several good translations out there such as the Geneva, Tyndale, etc? Why did there need to be another one? Wasn't the good ol' Geneva good enough?

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." Romans 16:17, KJV

I'm not a fan of Rick Warren at all, but I do enjoy a lot John Piper's stuff. He is truly passionate about God and the Gospel, though I don't agree with him 100% on everything. I'm not defending Piper and it still seems weird to me that he invited Warren to the conference, but from what I understand, the reason he invited Rick Warren to the conference is because he wants to find out what really motivates Warren to do what he does, and Piper wants Warren to understand the importance of sound theology more.

Yes, John Piper is a Calvinist, and although he doesn't say so, he's not a classical Calvinist; he's definitely more moderate, or more specifically, New Calvinist, if you listen to the way he preaches. If you guys want to find out more about him, just check out his materials on http://desiringGod.org

The only verse I know of that seems to make any kind of mention of it is 2 Samuel 12:23.

GotQuestions.org has a decent article on the subject.

http://www.gotquestions.org/age-of-accountability.html

What do you think of this article? Agree? Disagree? (By the way, it's written by a fundamentalist.)

http://seminary.wcts1030.com/resources/nick-of-time/169-lets-get-clear-on-this

There are a lot of places where I agree with him. This isn't so bad in my church; however, when I go to various conferences and such, there just seems to be so much division. I hate going somewhere and hearing someone who is trying to reach the lost for Christ trashed by another preacher. If they're preaching a false Gospel or are in OBvious error, I can understand. But it's usually such minor issues that are singled out.

Also, here is an older, longer article by the same man:

http://www.aaccs.info/media/Bauder%20A%20Fundamentalism%20Worth%20Saving.pdf

So what are your thoughts?

There's nothing more fulfilling on earth than to lead someone else to the Lord. Don't stress the details. Be personable, be real, and don’t be rOBotic. Get them to talk; you don't want them to feel like you're forcing something down their throat. At the same time, you must be uncompromising when it comes to the truth.

Big things to remember:

1. SIN SIN SIN SIN SIN. They need to hear that word from you, and they need to know they are guilty before God. Once you've already broken the ice, it's good to say something like, "Can I ask you question, do you think you're a good person?" Everyone says they are. Then go to the 10 commandments and see if they've kept them. Tie murder in with what Jesus said about hating people in your heart, or hating without a cause. Tie adultery in to visual lust. False witness is lying.

2. Explain that God looks at things differently than we do. There is no way we can comprehend his holiness. God says if you've done one sin, in His eyes you're just as guilty as if you've done all of them - because God is the one who put the law in your heart. James 2:10-11 But God doesn't leave you there, He provided a solution in Jesus Christ.

3. Put the emphasis on the conversation and making sure they know the truth in their heart, rather than emphasizing the prayer. Salvation takes place in the heart; a prayer with the correct words means nothing. At the same time, if they don't cross all their "t"s and dot all their "i"s in their prayer, they're still saved if they believe from the heart.

I'm not a great soul winner, but I've won a few here and there. There's nothing better, and it is one of the most important things we need to be doing actively and aggressively. It's like anything, the more you do it the better you get. You'll prOBably feel like your tongue is two inches thick at first, but you'll get better. My wife and I are very active in door to door visitation, one day a week every week. We've found that it takes a lot of doors, but it's worth it knowing that someone is on their way to Heaven and God used you as the messenger.

If you have to knock on 300 doors, it's still worth the work.

Thank you for your response, Rick. I want to share the Gospel with people, I just don't know how to do it!

And how about we keep this thread free of argument, please?

...start witnessing to random people you run into while out walking on the sidewalk or through a park (or something similar)? What kind of responses have you received? How did you strike up a conversation?

Thank you, guys, for your patience with me as I try to shed my Calvinistic thinking!

What do you guys think about this. Is an unsaved person so lost in his sin that's he unable to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Does the Holy Spirit have to deal with him before he's able to accept it? Or is he completely responsible for either accepting or rejecting the Gospel? If the Spirit is necessary to open a person's mind to the Gospel, does He deal with everyone?

Furthermore, is an unsaved person able to choose to do good? What do we mean when we say someone is "dead in his sins"?

I tend to think the Calvinistic doctrine of Total Depravity (or at least, as I understand it) is in error, and the story of Cornelius in the book of Acts seems to oppose it. Cornelius, who had not yet received Christ as Savior is described thusly: "He was a devout man and feared God."

John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

John 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

but who are the ones the Father gives to Jesus?

All those that will come to Him through Christ.

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

2 Thessalonians 2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the OBtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is offered to all, but all will not receive it. Those that do so are placed in Christ - and in effect, are given to Christ.

Crown is a great school. It was one of the two colleges that I was praying about going. My Pastor and his wife both went and graduated there. The teens in our church go to the camp there during the summer. I researched it quite a bit and its a very solid school and their standards are in the right place. They have high emphasis on the Bible.

A friend of mine goes to Crown college there. She is a public school student (and honor roll as well) and she says it was very hard to adjust because it is a very high standard college. she was used to watch tv and wearing whatever she wanted and they don't allow that. But she is adjusting and like the college very well. But that's all I can say about the college.

How can I explain John 6 (esp. 37, 39, 44, 65)? I know that Christ's being lifted up (on the cross) is the Father's way of drawing people, but who are the ones the Father gives to Jesus?

Thanks.

Judas Iscariot as well as Peter.

Add to that the whole Corinthian church.

Hey, can anyone think of someone from the Bible was either too concerned with the works and lives of others or was always looking to see what others would do before doing anything?

*I apologize if this is the wrong forum.

Sites like Facebook are similar to going to town. It's up to the individual to decide where they go, who they choose to associate with and what they are going to do.

There are plenty of Christians, plenty of Christian organizations, groups and causes. There are plenty of conservative political things. There are plenty of non-prOBlematic people and things there.

Of course, just like town, there are also many wicked things and people to avoid.

With regards to children, I do believe their internet access should be limited and closely monitored. My sister is generally rather liberal with her children yet she won't allow her 15 year old daughter to have a Facebook account. This daughter could likely be trusted with such but my sister won't take the time to monitor such (which is bad) but to her credit she won't allow her daughter to have open access to this.

For adults it's a matter of maturity and strength. Some folks can go on a site without prOBlems while others will be tempted towards the bad that is there.

I checked out Facebook recently and was surprised at just how many true Christians are there, the number of good Christian groups, organizations and causes. The number of conservative minded folks and groups, etc. If one chooses, they can spend whatever amount of time on Facebook they choose only with such.

Given the prOBlems I have with my computer I don't have the time for much online anymore.

I was under the impression that you did.......

I would like to believe like you guys do, but how can you explain passages like Romans 9?

Not all Calvinists are saved.

And they are wrong - God's Word teaches that salvation is freely offered to all of mankind, not just some few "elect" that "God sovereignly chose" to be saved. There are no Bible verses to back up God choosing some to Heaven and some to Hell, some to believe/have eternal life and some to reject Christ/be damned. The elect are those who have received Christ - they weren't elected to trust in Christ, they became the elect when they did so. All those who are truly saved are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ, to have an inheritance in Christ, etc.

This may help: What Is Biblical Predestination?

Not dangerous at all, the Bible is quite clear for those who take God at His Word, whosoever believeth can be saved.

That's so disgusting and so sad.

We should pray that God will turn their hearts to Him.

Those who teach that just certain people can be saved, and everyone else is doomed to hell, preach another Gospel, and they are not of the living God nor Christ.

Notice that, as in the two passages you posted, (Ephesians 1:11 ands Romans 8:29-30)every mention of 'predestination' or'the elect', in this context, is always addressed to or about a group, not individuals. "Elect", as I understand it, has to do with service and "Predestination" has to do with being conformed to the image of Christ. When you get saved, you become part of the group "the elect" and you also become part of those "predestinated" to become conformed tot he image of Christ. Someone else can prOBably explain it better than I.

As far as the Revelation 17 verse goes, notice it says "FROM" the foundation of the world. I think it simply means that everyone who never got saved, FROM Cain down throughout history to the present, and did not have their name written in the Book Of Life. But I could be wrong.

I don't want to start a debate or anything, but I honestly want to know the non-Calvinistic way of looking at verses such as Romans 8:28-30, Ephesians 1:11 and Revelation 17:8. Again, I don't want to start any debate, I would just like to know the alternative way of looking at verses like those.