God's divine intervention BOTH WAYS because all circumstances can turn or don't turn people to God. People may despise it instead of embracing it. Romans 9:18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. I have learned to understand the true nature of the Christian life which is unpredictable and expanding called "sanctification". God does not desire to destroy my will, but to sanctify “my will into His will”. The primary work of Christ in redemption is to justify and sanctify believers.
The Word of God stresses the importance of conviction and concern and repentance when being born from above by the Spirit of God, not from man's within. This is the same word Jesus used in John 3:3 when He told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again (anothen, lit. "from above"). God came from above and regenerates me, gave me life. And in the process cleanses my old dead life so that regeneration which is called a washing that I became a new creature from above. I didn't save myself from within but God saved me from above.
There are only two possible ways to God. One involved your work, your effort, your righteousness, your goodness. The other acknowledges that you have none of that which pleases God. It either involves something you do to please God or nothing you do to please God and there can’t be any other way. Through the Holy Spirit, in our humility we hungered and thirsted for the righteousness that we knew we can't attain on our own. Purity of heart comes after you've hungered and thirsted for Christ's righteousness. Jesus Christ took our sin upon Himself and paid the penalty for it and then He imputed His own righteousness to us (Rom. 4:24). Because Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Pet. 2:24), His righteousness is given to us. It is by faith that God makes us pure, not by personal achievement.
I can see why those who believe will take credit for salvation because it is man-centered more than God-center. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote, “Your salvation is nothing you have achieved by your good works. It is a gift of God. You receive it by faith. That way no one can boast of his own accomplishments.” We have to remember that doctrines are man-centered more than God-center. Christian faith is not to manipulate and intimidate people with doctrines but rather allow the Holy Spirit to do the work in convicting people's hearts. One of my favorite teachers have said "It is perilously close to being sinful for any person to learn doctrine for doctrine's sake."
People can debate all they want about "this".. "that". Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. We are so entangled with "reasonings" regarding the doctrine of Salvation. We are so temporal in our focus and forget God's eternal promises. The spiritual knowledge is received by faith. This knowledge consists of data given by divine revelation and received by the believing mind without proof that by faith, I trust based on God's Character and God's great faiths in the Biible. We need to understand that this New Covenant is sealed in the blood of Jesus, Who is our Savior and Mediator, brought us together with His Grace and Mercy that we have great spiritual and eternal freedom. God's promise is eternal because Christ is the mediator of the covenant, that we receive the promised eternal inheritance. With that promise, as a Christian, I always thank God continually for my guarantee of my spiritual security and freedom in Christ. Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, that we receive the promised eternal inheritance.
Debating and behaviors....
Disliking or hating Calvinists nor Lutherans or even Catholics.... that kind of behavior is UNbecoming a Christian. Often Christians are using sacarsm when debating doctrinal issues. I will still fellowship and debate with my Christian brethren even though I may not agree with their beliefs. I just don't worship with them and I won't submit to their beliefs/teachings. We cannot close our minds to everything that is happening around us because if we do that, others are grieved by burdensome legalism. In our Christian fellowship (not individual), we must recognize that the Holy Spirit desires to take us and lead us, and use us as instruments through which He can express Himself in the Christian community (Christian Forum).
I enjoy debating with all Christians from different doctrinal backgrounds because I can learn alot about my own faith by studying more. Key point to remember when debating, Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Proverbs 20:9 says, "Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" Matthew 5:8 says that those who are pure in heart "shall see God." When my heart is purified by Christ that I will see God. And the purer my heart is the more of God I will see. If I don’t have a regenerate heart, my heart is not worth keeping, and it’s impossible for such a heart to produce any true righteousness.
With the Holy Spirit and love, We CAN and WILL walk in the Spirit because Christ produces the fruit in us through His GRACE.
Galatians 5:21-23 The VERY FIRST Fruit of the Spirit is:
1. LOVE (John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.) and then followed by:
2. joy (1 Thessalonians 5:16 Be joyful always) James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
3. peace (1 Thessalonians 5:13 Live in peace with each other.)
4. patience (Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.)
5. kindness (2 Peter 1:7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.)
6. goodness (2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness)
7. faithfulness (Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.)
8. gentleness Philippians 4:5 ("Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.")
9. self-control.1 Peter 5:8 (Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.)
True spirituality manifests itself in certain dominant desires. These are ever-present, deep-settled wants sufficiently powerful to motivate and control the life. For convenience let me number them, though I make no effort to decide the order of their importance. (A.W. Tozer)
The Word of God stresses the importance of conviction and concern and repentance when being born from above by the Spirit of God, not from man's within. This is the same word Jesus used in John 3:3 when He told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again (anothen, lit. "from above"). God came from above and regenerates me, gave me life. And in the process cleanses my old dead life so that regeneration which is called a washing that I became a new creature from above. I didn't save myself from within but God saved me from above.
There are only two possible ways to God. One involved your work, your effort, your righteousness, your goodness. The other acknowledges that you have none of that which pleases God. It either involves something you do to please God or nothing you do to please God and there can’t be any other way. Through the Holy Spirit, in our humility we hungered and thirsted for the righteousness that we knew we can't attain on our own. Purity of heart comes after you've hungered and thirsted for Christ's righteousness. Jesus Christ took our sin upon Himself and paid the penalty for it and then He imputed His own righteousness to us (Rom. 4:24). Because Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Pet. 2:24), His righteousness is given to us. It is by faith that God makes us pure, not by personal achievement.
I can see why those who believe will take credit for salvation because it is man-centered more than God-center. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote, “Your salvation is nothing you have achieved by your good works. It is a gift of God. You receive it by faith. That way no one can boast of his own accomplishments.” We have to remember that doctrines are man-centered more than God-center. Christian faith is not to manipulate and intimidate people with doctrines but rather allow the Holy Spirit to do the work in convicting people's hearts. One of my favorite teachers have said "It is perilously close to being sinful for any person to learn doctrine for doctrine's sake."
People can debate all they want about "this".. "that". Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. We are so entangled with "reasonings" regarding the doctrine of Salvation. We are so temporal in our focus and forget God's eternal promises. The spiritual knowledge is received by faith. This knowledge consists of data given by divine revelation and received by the believing mind without proof that by faith, I trust based on God's Character and God's great faiths in the Biible. We need to understand that this New Covenant is sealed in the blood of Jesus, Who is our Savior and Mediator, brought us together with His Grace and Mercy that we have great spiritual and eternal freedom. God's promise is eternal because Christ is the mediator of the covenant, that we receive the promised eternal inheritance. With that promise, as a Christian, I always thank God continually for my guarantee of my spiritual security and freedom in Christ. Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, that we receive the promised eternal inheritance.
Debating and behaviors....
Disliking or hating Calvinists nor Lutherans or even Catholics.... that kind of behavior is UNbecoming a Christian. Often Christians are using sacarsm when debating doctrinal issues. I will still fellowship and debate with my Christian brethren even though I may not agree with their beliefs. I just don't worship with them and I won't submit to their beliefs/teachings. We cannot close our minds to everything that is happening around us because if we do that, others are grieved by burdensome legalism. In our Christian fellowship (not individual), we must recognize that the Holy Spirit desires to take us and lead us, and use us as instruments through which He can express Himself in the Christian community (Christian Forum).
I enjoy debating with all Christians from different doctrinal backgrounds because I can learn alot about my own faith by studying more. Key point to remember when debating, Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Proverbs 20:9 says, "Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" Matthew 5:8 says that those who are pure in heart "shall see God." When my heart is purified by Christ that I will see God. And the purer my heart is the more of God I will see. If I don’t have a regenerate heart, my heart is not worth keeping, and it’s impossible for such a heart to produce any true righteousness.
With the Holy Spirit and love, We CAN and WILL walk in the Spirit because Christ produces the fruit in us through His GRACE.
Galatians 5:21-23 The VERY FIRST Fruit of the Spirit is:
1. LOVE (John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.) and then followed by:
2. joy (1 Thessalonians 5:16 Be joyful always) James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
3. peace (1 Thessalonians 5:13 Live in peace with each other.)
4. patience (Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.)
5. kindness (2 Peter 1:7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.)
6. goodness (2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness)
7. faithfulness (Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.)
8. gentleness Philippians 4:5 ("Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.")
9. self-control.1 Peter 5:8 (Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.)
True spirituality manifests itself in certain dominant desires. These are ever-present, deep-settled wants sufficiently powerful to motivate and control the life. For convenience let me number them, though I make no effort to decide the order of their importance. (A.W. Tozer)
