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Recent content by jamespyles

  1. jamespyles

    Todays State of Israel Is Not Final Return

    I didn't read all of the posts and basically skimmed the thread. I don't comment here often because disagreeing with other believers tarnishes my sense of fellowship and interferes with my relationship with my Creator. However, I've written extensively about how the Church (Big "C") has...
  2. jamespyles

    Could "Devil" mean a man or a person?

    While the Apostolic Scriptures were written in Greek, the authors were native Hebrew and Aramaic speakers, so what we read in English as "devil" would have been to them "Ha Satan" which literally means "The Adversary." He is considered, at least in modern Judaism, as the ultimate tempter, but...
  3. jamespyles

    Were the Disciples more informed than us today?

    It seems as if, even independent of Christ's teachings, people in general had a greater familiarity with demons, and at least as I read the Gospels, they seemed somewhat common.
  4. jamespyles

    Does God/Jesus speak to us via dreams?

    I think a lot of people attribute their natural dreams and emotional states to messages from God. In the Bible, the prophets of old got messages from God in their dreams, but these were specifically selected individuals. I don't believe we regularly receive messages from God, though I suppose...
  5. jamespyles

    I'm struggling with my Christian faith

    Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself, citing the rather uncomfortable relationship between the Israelites and the Samaritans in the first century. A Jewish value in modern times is to judge others on the side of good, so you try to look for the best qualities in everyone, even if they...
  6. jamespyles

    Is God's "Free" Gift of Salvation Really Free?

    Actually, it not only takes confessing Christ but actually leading a transformed life as evidence that you have indeed been saved. Not exactly free, since it requires mental assertion and behavioral changes.
  7. jamespyles

    How to Respond to False Doctrine

    I agree there is some pretty strange stuff out there, but there is also (in my opinion) some pretty strange stuff that mainstream Christianity considers "sound doctrine". The most difficult person to talk to is someone who is unwilling to question his or her own absolute faith in their "sound...
  8. jamespyles

    Do you trust the validity of the New Testament?

    You could ask the same question of the Old Testament since many scholars believe portions of it were written much, much later than the actual events the various books describe. Personally, I consider the Apostolic Scriptures to be a commentary on the Torah, Prophets and the Writings (what you...
  9. jamespyles

    Where's the second chance Passover come in?

    One way of looking at it is that Joseph of Arimathea, a high ranking Temple official, and Nicodemus buried Jesus right before the special Sabbath of the Passover feast. Since they'd touched a dead body and didn't have time to perform the ritual to cleanse themselves, they couldn't partake of the...
  10. jamespyles

    If the New Covenant was made with Judah and Israel, how does it apply to Gentile Christians?

    That's OK. You don't have to agree with me. I certainly don't agree with you. I see Acts 15 as the "starting line" for the non-Jewish devotees of the Jewish Messiah King. Also, I don't think the Apostle Paul would agree with you disconnecting the Jewish people from Israel. In essence, you seem...
  11. jamespyles

    If the New Covenant was made with Judah and Israel, how does it apply to Gentile Christians?

    The problem with your reasoning, if I'm reading you right, is that the non-Israelites who left Egypt with Moses and Israel, and who received the Torah at Sinai, were expected to fully assimilate into the tribes, probably through intermarriage in the third generation and beyond (Deut. 23:3-8)...
  12. jamespyles

    If the New Covenant was made with Judah and Israel, how does it apply to Gentile Christians?

    As you will. In the end, it will be God who fulfills his emerging New Covenant upon the world, not you or I. Be well.
  13. jamespyles

    If the New Covenant was made with Judah and Israel, how does it apply to Gentile Christians?

    If that's how you feel, fine. I know these forums can be contentious and graciousness is sometimes limited. I'm glad I will be judged by God and not by humans.
  14. jamespyles

    If the New Covenant was made with Judah and Israel, how does it apply to Gentile Christians?

    Gentile believers in Jesus were included in the blessings of the New Covenant by mercy and grace alone, not because we are actual covenant members as we see in Jeremiah 31, and Ezekiel 36. It's a wonderful gift, that through our devotion and faith in the Jewish Messiah King, we too can merit a...
  15. jamespyles

    Is "Love Thy Neighbor" Even Possible?

    It's not easy. Ask yourself if you really can't obey the commandment or if you just don't want to be bothered? My wife periodically prompts me to go through my old clothes and stuff and what I'm not using goes to charity. The same goes with donating food and money to the local food bank...
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