Following Christ will cost you. It's always been that way with true discipleship. If you're looking for an easy, popular, comfortable way to follow Christ, forget it! Unless a man deny himself (and this does not mean THINGS, but denying HIMSELF) he cannot be Christ's disciple.
@LivingGodsTruth Brother, pastor's who commit such immorality have absolutely no business of being in the ministry any longer. They have forfeited that right!
If there's one place I would dearly love to visit before I pass into the presence of my Lord Jesus, it's Esterhazy Palace near the Austria-Hungarian border.
Why? because that is where Haydn composed and performed most of his symphonic works for Prince Esterhazy from 1761 to 1790.
@ChristCovCO (1/2) Brother, I want to tell you a most important principle when you interpret scripture: you must avoid the deadly trap of trying to build theology out of words.
Theology HAS TO BE built upon contextual flow. You cannot....
Martin Luther had great consternation, reasoning that the book of James was not an inspired book; he thought that St.Paul and St.James were contending with one another over the principle of justification by faith alone.
Of course he was wrong!
@ChristCovCO (2/2)Theology HAS TO BE built upon contextual flow. U cannot pick out a word(like Justified)and jump on that word,& surround it with all of the thoughts that come flooding into your head,&then decide that you know what is being said.
Theology is built on context,not single words!
@ChristCovCO I know,but are you implying by that statement that there is something that you must do in order to be saved or justified?I hope not for your sake!
When St.James uses the word JUSTIFIED he's not speaking of the theological proposition of justification like Paul does in Romans 3&4
Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit: Three in One,
While in essence only One;
Undivided God we claim Thee,
And adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.
Ignaz Franz, c. 1774; trans. Clarence Alphonsus Walworth,1858
God is not interested in the outward show of religion. God is wholly committed to righteousness and holiness, but in truth from the heart and not in a vain show of religious tradition.
How common and how sad it is to see those who were once on fire for the Lord, wasting their lives in vain pursuits, while the gold that does not perish, is ignored as fables!
@glockman092 Baptism is essential to be saved (justified) sir, but not baptism in water as you suppose. You might think it’s not a big deal, but it is! If you’re not mystically baptized in Christ then you’re not one of His, as Romans 8 declares.
Martin Luther reasoned that the book of James was not an inspired book because it was arguing with the great principle of justification by faith alone. He could not see any way to reconcile the teachings of James with other passages of Scripture. That’s why he had no use for it!
Martin Luther, whether he was aware of this at the time or not, has muddled the issue of Justification and Sanctification.
This is an unfortunate confusion not only in the mind of the great man M.Luther, but more so in the minds of many Christians today!
If there is one thing I've come to appreciate over the many years of being a believer in Jesus Christ, it is this most ancient and honored axiom of the Historic, Orthodox Christianity: THE BIBLE IS THE ONLY GUIDE TO THE FAITH AND PRACTICE OF THE CHURCH.
@FrankyMacDonald You’re absolutely right, brother. Prophets in the Church have the gift (because not everyone has it,according to 1 Corinthians 12:29,etc) of insight into the things of God, the Word of God and of Truth, usually having to do with some aspect of Christ, His coming and His work.
John MacArthur is misleading many people because of his position on Lordship; and those who follow his teaching on this subject are being hurt because of it.
In fact, one of the tragedies of MacArthur’ position is that reintroduces Arminianism into the evangelical camp!
(1/2) Preachers who declare (like John MacArthur, etc) that a person cannot receive Christ as their Saviour without at once accepting Him as their Lord (i.e. if He is not your Lord, He is not your Saviour), are doing a great disservice to their hearers. Why? because….
(2/2)…making Jesus Lord of your life involves one making a decision(after justification)to submit to the Lordship of Christ.This is demonstrated every time a person is baptized in water: he is submitting to the Lordship of Christ; he does it after he’s been justified,not before.
@FrankyMacDonald That's similar to the heretical statement of R.C.Sproul who claimed that the world is going to be renovated (not destroyed) at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.