John 3:5

[Mclachlan]

They are all gifts except to be content therein.

What do you mean 'to be content therein?'

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

What do you mean 'to be content therein?'

Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Timothy 6:6-12
Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
The Good Fight of Faith
11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.​

Paul says he had to learn to be content. Peter would place it as virtues learned or applied one after the other.
Peter's ladder of success led from one virtue to the next beginning with faith and displayed in moral standards with self-control as a means. Perseverance in godliness is keeping the eyes fixed on Jesus in all things. That practical awareness means that all thoughts are brought captive to Christ in constant prayer. It's reckoning Him as a part of everyday life because His are one with Him. Showing forth undeserved love because He loved first and turned the enemy into a friend of God. Fruit from this tree can only increase as the sinful nature decreases. Stumbling on the different steps can be halted. Stop the sinful behavior, start again by picking things up at the cross, and keeping Jesus in view on the walk forward. Constant vigilance. Closing the eye to Christ just means following some other blind beggar away from the entrance into peace and grace.

 

[Guojing]

Repenting has nothing to do with being born again, where this is mention in John. The Gospel of John never states repenting as a condition for receiving God's free gift of Eternal Life.

In the first place, John was not preaching that eternal life was ever free.

1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him

1 John 3:
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

 

[Mclachlan]

Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Timothy 6:6-12
Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
The Good Fight of Faith
11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.​

Paul says he had to learn to be content. Peter would place it as virtues learned or applied one after the other.
Peter's ladder of success led from one virtue to the next beginning with faith and displayed in moral standards with self-control as a means. Perseverance in godliness is keeping the eyes fixed on Jesus in all things. That practical awareness means that all thoughts are brought captive to Christ in constant prayer. It's reckoning Him as a part of everyday life because His are one with Him. Showing forth undeserved love because He loved first and turned the enemy into a friend of God. Fruit from this tree can only increase as the sinful nature decreases. Stumbling on the different steps can be halted. Stop the sinful behavior, start again by picking things up at the cross, and keeping Jesus in view on the walk forward. Constant vigilance. Closing the eye to Christ just means following some other blind beggar away from the entrance into peace and grace.

Thanks! I get you now.

 

[d taylor]

Repentance and faith go together-- they are inseparable. Repentance is not a condition it is a gift from God. Just like faith. It is a gift from God.

No you are confusing faith and sin. Repentance goes with sin not faith. I believe that Jesus is the Messiah and gives Eternal Life to all who trust in Him for Eternal Life. Not once did i have to repent, to be able to believe this.

 

[Mclachlan]

In the first place, John was not preaching that eternal life was ever free.

1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him

1 John 3:
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

I believe John does teach that eternal life is free.
But the price, (God's Son), it took to offer the free gift of eternal life was incomprehensibly expensive.
John 4:10, John 4:14; John 10:28, John 17:2; 1 John 5:11.
Notice how he uses language that implies a free gift. Eternal life is 'given' to us. As a result of God's Spirit in us we are new creatures in Christ to practice the righteousness of God in Christ which John refers to in the verses you mention.
The price of the gift demands our obedience even though obedience doesn't merit eternal life.

See also Ephesians 2:10, Romans 6:23

 

[Mclachlan]

No you are confusing faith and sin. Repentance goes with sin not faith. I believe that Jesus is the Messiah and gives Eternal Life to all who trust in Him for Eternal Life. Not once did i have to repent, to be able to believe this.

Do you confess your sins to God? Have you turned away from sinful passions you once had?

 

[d taylor]

In the first place, John was not preaching that eternal life was ever free.

1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him

1 John 3:
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

He was, and i have seen your twisted Bible theology before so you can post to someone else, i wil not waste time back and forthing with you.

 

[Mclachlan]

Do you confess your sins to God? Have you turned away from sinful passions you once had?

The reason I ask is because in order to believe in Christ, one must repent of unbelief. They must repent of their trust in the world, and do a 180 degree turn instead to trust Christ. They must repent of trust in sin, and go the opposite to trust in Jesus Christ.
Faith and repentance go hand in hand.

 

[d taylor]

Do you confess your sins to God? Have you turned away from sinful passions you once had?

I did not have to confess one single sin to be able to believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah from the prophecies of The Tanakh.

You show me one single verse stating that a person has to repent to be able to believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah from the prophecies of The Tanakh.

 

[Mclachlan]

I did not have to confess one single sin to be able to believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah from the prophecies of The Tanakh.

You show me one single verse stating that a person has to repent to be able to believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah from the prophecies of The Tanakh.

Brother, just to make sure. I want to be clear. Repentance is not a work, it is a gift from God. Nobody can come to the Son unless the Father draws him. God grants repentance.
See:
Acts 3:19
Acts 11:18

 

[Danthemailman]

To automatically read "baptism" into John 3:5 simply because it mentions "water" is unwarranted. There are those who would argue that Jesus mentions "living water" in John 4:10, 14; 7:37-39 and in John 7:38-39, we read - "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the source of living water and spiritual cleansing.

If "water" is arbitrarily defined as baptism, then we could just as justifiably say, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living baptism" in John 7:38. If that sounds ridiculous, it is no more so than the idea that water baptism is the source or the means of becoming born again.

Yet there are others who would argue that "water" is used in the Bible as an emblem of the word of God, and in such uses it is associated with “cleansing or washing.” (John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26)

When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begets new life, divine life, so that we are said to become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). The new birth is brought to pass through "incorruptible seed, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever" (I Peter 1:23) and the Holy Spirit accomplishes the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5)

 

[Guojing]

I believe John does teach that eternal life is free.
But the price, (God's Son), it took to offer the free gift of eternal life was incomprehensibly expensive.
John 4:10, John 4:14; John 10:28, John 17:2; 1 John 5:11.
Notice how he uses language that implies a free gift. Eternal life is 'given' to us. As a result of God's Spirit in us we are new creatures in Christ to practice the righteousness of God in Christ which John refers to in the verses you mention.
The price of the gift demands our obedience even though obedience doesn't merit eternal life.

See also Ephesians 2:10, Romans 6:23

I think you have that perspective of John, because you are reading Paul's revelation of the mystery into the Gospel of John.

 

[Guojing]

He was, and i have seen your twisted Bible theology before so you can post to someone else, i wil not waste time back and forthing with you.

How do you interpret those passages from 1 John?

 

[d taylor]

Brother, just to make sure. I want to be clear. Repentance is not a work, it is a gift from God. Nobody can come to the Son unless the Father draws him. God grants repentance.
See:
Acts 3:19
Acts 11:18

Whether is is a work or not is not the point.

The sole condition given to receive God's free gift of Eternal Life. Is to believe that the man Jesus, is who He said He is. That is the promised Messiah from the prophecies of The Tanakh and trust in The Messiah for the free gift of Eternal Life.

Are going to take two verses over a whole book of the Bible, whose stated purpose for being written is to tell people how to have life (Eternal Life).

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Acts 3:19 is a re-offer of the Messianic kingdom to the nation of Israel. It is not a verse dealing with what one must do to be born again.

Why do you think this is said in Acts 3:19 so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, from the presence of The Lord that is directly from The Messiah being there again with Israel.

https://faithalone.org/journal/1998ii/J21-98c.htm

All the above has to do with Matthew 12 and the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit the nation of Israel committed.

A discussion on Acts 11:18

https://faithalone.org/radio/why-ca...rom-sins-and-also-turning-from-false-beliefs/

https://faithalone.org/blog/how-can-a-layman-understand-repentance-and-salvation/

 

[d taylor]

In the first place, John was not preaching that eternal life was ever free.

1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him

1 John 3:
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

How do you interpret those passages from 1 John?

These are addressed to believers.

​

Jesus is sinless, so if a believer abides in The Messiah they will be sinless. If the believer does not abide in The Messiah they will be sinful.

So some were believing that they could still commit sin and be in fellowship with God.

 

[Guojing]

These are addressed to believers.

Jesus is sinless, so if a believer abides in The Messiah they will be sinless. If the believer does not abide in The Messiah they will be sinful.

So some were believing that they could still commit sin and be in fellowship with God.

So are you saying, to abide in the Messiah, you cannot be committing sin?

Where is the source of those pictures, out of curiosity?

 

[d taylor]

So are you saying, to abide in the Messiah, you cannot be committing sin?

Where is the source of those pictures, out of curiosity?

That is correct a believer abiding in The Messiah will mirror The Messiah's life.

Pictures, do you mean the scans from pages of a book. If so the book is this commentary

https://faithalone.org/shop/downloads/grace-nt-commentary-logos/

 

[Guojing]

That is correct a believer abiding in The Messiah will mirror The Messiah's life.

Pictures, do you mean the scans from pages of a book. If so the book is this commentary

https://faithalone.org/shop/downloads/grace-nt-commentary-logos/

So even with that, you will still claim that eternal life is a "free gift", knowing that if one don't abide with the Messiah after that and keep sinning, that free gift can be lost?

Thanks for sharing that source.