Christian newby questions...

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Also Did Paul ever repent of his part in the death of Stephen in Acts?

Thanks

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For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.
1 Cor 15: 9-10

Another_uniqueUsername said:

1: My GoodNews bible (or the author of this translation) states amongst Jesus' words in brackets () where its said that "Jesus declared all foods are fit for consumption"

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I think he might have missed a few.

https://nypost.com/2018/11/05/man-dies-8-years-after-being-dared-to-eat-slug/

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Ok thanks to the person who after my introduction told me about this area for asking my questions..via a link. Thank you love

1: My GoodNews bible (or the author of this translation) states amongst Jesus' words in brackets () where its said that "Jesus declared all foods are fit for consumption"
(Mark or Matthew I think...sorry for poor quotation as Im on a mobile phone and I find difficult to copy and paste at present...its the "it is not what goes into a man but which comes out which defile him" quote...seems different depending on what bible you have)
Is Jesus talking about the sin of unclean foods, or does it mean should anyone say with his mouth (which comes out of a man/mans mouth) that its ok to eat pork (ie he who tells a lie against the instruction from God who commands man NOT to eat pork because it is forbidden) or is this a reference to bodily fluids/sperm if your a man?

2: Jesus (inc the OT prophets) makes many warnings about the "yeast" of the Pharisee , if this means the "expansion of their teachings" where does this leave Paul who says he is a Pharisee?

Thanks

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Another_uniqueUsername said:

Ok thanks to the person who after my introduction told me about this area for asking my questions..via a link. Thank you love

1: My GoodNews bible (or the author of this translation) states amongst Jesus' words in brackets () where its said that "Jesus declared all foods are fit for consumption"
(Mark or Matthew I think...sorry for poor quotation as Im on a mobile phone and I find difficult to copy and paste at present...its the "it is not what goes into a man but which comes out which defile him" quote...seems different depending on what bible you have)
Is Jesus talking about the sin of unclean foods, or does it mean should anyone say with his mouth (which comes out of a man/mans mouth) that its ok to eat pork (ie he who tells a lie against the instruction from God who commands man NOT to eat pork because it is forbidden) or is this a reference to bodily fluids/sperm if your a man?

2: Jesus (inc the OT prophets) makes many warnings about the "yeast" of the Pharisee , if this means the "expansion of their teachings" where does this leave Paul who says he is a Pharisee?

Thanks

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Hi,

1. Jesus is referring to the OT passages in which the Law (most are manmade, not God given) references that some foods are unclean or Kosher if you will, and should not be consumed. Jesus is declaring that He and his work of salvation upon the cross has made those laws null and void, and all foods are fine to eat. And then He goes on the show that what makes something unclean is in the heart of man. If one’s heart is rooted in evil or bad or ungodly that is what makes a man unclean. The words of man often express the intent of the heart.

2. Yeast is reference to sin growing and consuming the whole lot, just like yeast works its way through the whole batch of bread and it requires baking to kill the yeast as stop the spread. As for Paul, he is laying out his life before conversion and expressing that he is a sinner, just all of us he is no better than the rest of us. It is through faith that Paul is saved, not because of his education or status, and the same is true for you and me. Jesus saves, because He took our sin up on the cross with him and put it to its final resting place.

TJ Christian

1. He is saying that it's not some dietary regimen or a slavish conformity to such a religious requirement that marks a man as Godly, but what he says, how he treats others, etc.

Jesus constantly spoke against thinking that holiness was just a function of following some ritual rather than living life as a Godly, merciful, compassionate, humble person.

2. Here the reference is to the attitude that many Pharisees exhibited; it is not a categorical condemnation of every last Pharisee.

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Ok thanks to the person who after my introduction told me about this area for asking my questions..via a link. Thank you love

1: My GoodNews bible (or the author of this translation) states amongst Jesus' words in brackets () where its said that "Jesus declared all foods are fit for consumption"
(Mark or Matthew I think...sorry for poor quotation as Im on a mobile phone and I find difficult to copy and paste at present...its the "it is not what goes into a man but which comes out which defile him" quote...seems different depending on what bible you have)
Is Jesus talking about the sin of unclean foods, or does it mean should anyone say with his mouth (which comes out of a man/mans mouth) that its ok to eat pork (ie he who tells a lie against the instruction from God who commands man NOT to eat pork because it is forbidden) or is this a reference to bodily fluids/sperm if your a man?

2: Jesus (inc the OT prophets) makes many warnings about the "yeast" of the Pharisee , if this means the "expansion of their teachings" where does this leave Paul who says he is a Pharisee?

Thanks

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1: (referencing to Matthew 15:11) ie not what goes into a man ...

This is an answer to the critical question of the Pharisees, mentioned Matthew 15:2, Why do thy disciples eat with unwashed hands? To which our Lord here replies, That what goes into the mouth defiles not the man; i.e. that if, in eating with unwashed hands, any particles of dust, etc., cleaving to the hands, might happen to be taken into the mouth with the food, this did not defile, did not constitute a man a sinner; for it is on this alone the question hinges: thy disciples eat with unwashed hands; therefore they are sinners; for they transgress the tradition of the elders, i.e. the oral law, which they considered equal in authority to the written law; and, indeed, often preferred the former to the latter, so as to make it of none effect, totally to destroy its nature and design, as we have often seen in the preceding notes.

That which cometh out of the mouth - That is, what springs from a corrupt unregenerate heart - a perverse will and impure passions - these defile, i.e. make him a sinner.

Paul was claiming that he HAD been a Pharisee (before his conversion)

Verse 6 already has an answer, for it states "I am a Pharisee, A SON OF Pharisees …" Paul was making reference to his past as a Jew, that he had grown up as a son of a Pharisee, that he at one time had been part of the group of the Pharisees ... prior to the experienced conversion at Damascus. Also, the Jews now interrogating him certainly didn't understand him to claim that he was still a Pharisee, else why did they continue persecuting him? According to Philippians 3:5-7, Paul made clear that he had been a Pharisee, as concerning the understanding of the Law, but that now for Christ he had counted everything else from before nothing but loss.

The apparent contradiction is solved quickly by considering the immediate context of Acts 23, and by taking into account the broader picture of Paul's life. Yes, he had been a Pharisee at one time, but now he was an imitator of Christ, a Christian, to whom all the former achievements meant nothing compared with the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Thanks solid_core

Can I ask you if grace includes the freewill to commit murder where you know you will NOT be punished by being sentenced to death (ie hanging etc).
The creator and the prophets define our own mercy from God accountable by the mercy we give or show others, Paul recieved the same mercy in the end as he bestowed upon Stephen. So is grace Gods favour not based on fairness?

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I do not belive in free will.

Mercy and grace are different things. Mercy means forgiveness for our sins. Grace is a more general concept, an undeserved gift.

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Ok thanks to the person who after my introduction told me about this area for asking my questions..via a link. Thank you love

1: My GoodNews bible (or the author of this translation) states amongst Jesus' words in brackets () where its said that "Jesus declared all foods are fit for consumption"
(Mark or Matthew I think...sorry for poor quotation as Im on a mobile phone and I find difficult to copy and paste at present...its the "it is not what goes into a man but which comes out which defile him" quote...seems different depending on what bible you have)
Is Jesus talking about the sin of unclean foods, or does it mean should anyone say with his mouth (which comes out of a man/mans mouth) that its ok to eat pork (ie he who tells a lie against the instruction from God who commands man NOT to eat pork because it is forbidden) or is this a reference to bodily fluids/sperm if your a man?

2: Jesus (inc the OT prophets) makes many warnings about the "yeast" of the Pharisee , if this means the "expansion of their teachings" where does this leave Paul who says he is a Pharisee?

Thanks

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Yeast and unclean foods are metaphors. Of course we shouldn't eat anything and everything. Peter's vision explains that we shouldn't call any person unclean or common that God through his spirit has cleansed, speaking of the gentiles. God didn't make the creepy-crawlies in the vision clean to eat.

Acts 10:28

27 And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.

28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Acts 11 follows with the vision/metaphor of unclean creatures.

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Hi, can I just ask you if you do not believe in freewill how do you think man could ever show true honest repentence?

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A true repentance is a gift from God:
"God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life"
Acts 11:18

Do not get me wrong, I believe in a free choice. Not in a free will, though.

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Jesus only referred to use of the word "Pharisees" which I thought meant just that..."Pharisees" or everything that determines that definition?
Thanks

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Well, no. That mention was categorical, just like saying "Football fans are ___" or "Southerners are ___." The Pharisees had a reputation for showiness, for self-righteousness, which was shown by external acts that we might call "religious." So that kind of thing was said to be just like the Pharisees, but it doesn't mean that Paul was necessarily that way simply for being a Pharisee (a Jewish religious group) himself. (They had a good reputation when it came to other things, by the way).

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Hi, so is freedom of choice not the same as simply our "will" to make either choice?

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Depends on a definition and a vast majority of people use "choice" and "will" intuitively and change one term for another without noticing it.

I believe we are able to make choices, but these choices are based and dependant on various reasons. Our decision making is not free, unbased, uncaused or independent.

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Is there a OT passage that shows or states the same thing as Acts 11:18 ?

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I do not know. Is the Old Testament crucial for you?

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Hi, can I just ask you if you do not believe in freewill how do you think man could ever show true honest repentence?

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We do make choices. We make choices according to our nature. We are either children of wrath or children of God. See Ephesians chapter 2.

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Hi, can I just ask you if you do not believe in freewill how do you think man could ever show true honest repentence?

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It is important to keep in mind that when we speak of freewill and/or predestination, these terms apply only to the matter of what gets us saved. It is not about every decision, every action, we may take in life.

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Ok thanks to the person who after my introduction told me about this area for asking my questions..via a link. Thank you love

1: My GoodNews bible (or the author of this translation) states amongst Jesus' words in brackets () where its said that "Jesus declared all foods are fit for consumption"
(Mark or Matthew I think...sorry for poor quotation as Im on a mobile phone and I find difficult to copy and paste at present...its the "it is not what goes into a man but which comes out which defile him" quote...seems different depending on what bible you have)
Is Jesus talking about the sin of unclean foods, or does it mean should anyone say with his mouth (which comes out of a man/mans mouth) that its ok to eat pork (ie he who tells a lie against the instruction from God who commands man NOT to eat pork because it is forbidden) or is this a reference to bodily fluids/sperm if your a man?

Click to expand...

The passage is Mark 7:14-23, and Mark 7:1-13 is the event that prompted the teaching. Jews have an ancient method of ceremonial washing before they eat certain meals, which has no real sanitary value. It was part of the Jewish oral tradition, and if I'm not mistaken, it originated with Solomon. Religious Jews take oral tradition very seriously, and part of what Jesus was doing was correcting the corruption that had taken place in their oral traditions - in this case, by not washing, he set the stage for his rebuke in verses 6-13. And a little later in verses 14-23, he expanded on the heart of his teaching, and why he was doing all this. The point about food is secondary to what he said real defilement comes from - sin in your heart. That's the main thrust of what Jesus was teaching in verses 1-23 of that chapter, similar to what he was getting at on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.

Now that we have the context, we can look at your food question. He's talking about foods, not bodily fluids. There are some Messianic teachings among the Jews that say that when the Messiah comes, all foods will be permitted to eat again (see quotes and footnotes here). Since Jesus is the Messiah, he began to inaugurate that. Besides, non-Jews outside of Israel are not held to the kosher standard in the Jewish law anyway.

Another_uniqueUsername said:

2: Jesus (inc the OT prophets) makes many warnings about the "yeast" of the Pharisee , if this means the "expansion of their teachings" where does this leave Paul who says he is a Pharisee?

Click to expand...

This mainly goes to my point above - Pharisees engaged in quite a bit of "fence-building" and legalism which drew people away from the heart of what God did command and want for his people. They conflicted over this, and it's why they wanted Jesus killed. Since Paul, out of religious zeal, fiercely went after the church before he was converted, I'm sure he was no exception. After he converted, he was a different man. He seemed to honor the law privately insofar as it didn't conflict with Gospel, but always preached the Gospel first, and he even chastised Christians who were getting dangerously close to following the law to the detriment of the Gospel in their lives. Paul was also commended by Peter (2 Peter 3:15-16).

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Also Did Paul ever repent of his part in the death of Stephen in Acts?

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Every time Paul speaks or writes of his activities in persecuting the church in the New Testament, he does so with recognition of how deeply evil it was. This would strongly infer "yes".

Another_uniqueUsername said:

Can I ask you if grace includes the freewill to commit murder where you know you will NOT be punished by being sentenced to death (ie hanging etc).

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No.

Another_uniqueUsername said:

I thought Jesus taught us to keep the Fathers commandments (obedience) (?)

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Yes, but see Acts 15. We must love God and do what he requires of us, and love people (Matthew 22:37-40). But God never required Gentiles to do many things in the law, so rather than do all 613 mitzvah, we have a much shorter list of what we are to do. Loving God means doing that well.