Yep. I agree.Just vote Republican, no matter what. [just kidding]
Not bad at all.
How about "conservative," rather than "Republican"?
Not sure I want to take advice from Creflo, but I suppose even a broken clock is correct twice a day. But he is also wrong. There is a fourth team: the crowd. A team will fail if it lacks the crowd's support. A crowd's support during the game can profoundly affect players' performance, just as their disdain can. A crowd's support, or lack of support outside the gameplay can bankrupt a team.I heard good advice on this from the most unlikely of places ... Creflo Dollar [I know, who would have guessed?]
When you watch a Soccer game [Football for you people in foreign countries], there are THREE teams on the field. There is the HOME team and the AWAY team, each with its cheering fans and each striving towards a different goal. There are strict rules for each team about what they may or may not do and where they may or may not go. Then there is a THIRD team on the field wearing striped shirts. This THIRD team owes allegiance to NEITHER of the other two teams and is free to move about the field through, among and between each of the other teams. This is allowed because this "Striped" team owed allegiance to something higher than the local fans of either team. They are sworn to uphold the RULES and owe allegiance to THE GAME.
WE are IN this world but not OF this world. We are not playing for any POLITICAL team. We owe allegiance to a HIGHER AUTHORITY. So we are free to move among either or both Political Team as need arises in pursuit of the Goals of OUR SUPREME COMMANDER. Whichever person or organization or program supports and aligns with the PLAN of God, we should support. Whatever does not support or align with the plan of God, we should not support. We play for a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TEAM according to COMPLETELY DIFFERENT RULES than the World.
Not bad advice, imho.
Yep. I agree.
Not bad at all.
Who wins the contest among the "Powers and principalities and rulers of this world" is of no concern to us who are citizens of another Kingdom and answer to another King. It would be like concerning oneself with whether the CROWD is choosing HEDONISM or LEGALISM when we are born from above into TEAM GRACE!
That is incorrect.
) all agree: the book of Revelation is not linear; it is not written in chronological order. So nothing I write in this post should be read to say anything different. The simple fact is this: Nothing in Revelation has the new city coming before the fiery lake! .So, when we open the Bible we find God is concerned with the earth and we find His very first command and blessing are explicitly about the earth. We find this same exact theme running through the Bible from beginning to end, and the final event reported is a fulfillment of what we now call the cultural mandate and great commission.
Then feel free to stay up nights concerning yourself whether the unsaved choose a false religion of LEGALISM of embrace the carnality of HEDONISM as their chosen path of rejecting God. I will sleep sound at night trusting God to deal with the world as I focus on the more humble task that He has assigned to me: Giving a reason for the hope that is within me.
Self-contradicting posts speak for themselves to their own lack of veracity. Ad hominem red herrings and straw men do not change that fact.
Should have kept the posts about the posts and not the posters.
There was no ad hominem.
As should you.
Conservative is good
To preach the Gospel.
Good question. I'm sure some would say numbers in the pews but I would say faithfulness to services. Are people coming regularly, not the number of people but the same people. For example, from an Orthodox perspective, parishioners coming to Vespers in the evening, Orthros before Divine Liturgy, etc. In other Christian faith traditions, Wednesday prayer meetings, etc.
From the Orthodox perspective, baptism. When baptized, one dies to this world and is born again in the resurrection of Christ into eternal life; the one who is baptized is clothed with the "garments of salvation" symbolized by the white baptismal robe which is the "new humanity" of Jesus Himself who is the new and heavenly Adam (John 3, Romans 5). During the baptismal rite in the Orthodox Christian faith, the words of St Paul are chanted three times, as the symbol of his procession to the Kingdom of God and his entrance into eternal life: “For as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia” (Galatians 3.27).
Trials occur because they are part of life in this world. There are three sources of suffering. First, from persecution of others in body and soul. Second, sickness and disease and finally, suffering is spirit because of the sins in this world.
One could just read the New Testament lol but in all honestly here are some verses that I think show us the purpose of suffering, "all who who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (1 Timothy 3:12)"; and that Christians should “count it all joy” when they “meet various trials” (James 1:2), “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name (Acts 5.41)."
Women were of course loyal coworkers from the Apostle Paul's point of view for example, he depended on them to help spread the gospel. He spoke of consecrated virgins and widows. He wrote that in Christ there is neither Greek [Gentile] nor Jew, slave nor free, male nor female; all are one in Christ. Now, that being said, a women's major role in leadership is in the home, with her children. I was just at a conference where an Orthodox scholar, a woman, spoke about the Orthodox phronema (mindset). This is fine and good and was a great talk. It did not of course take place in a Liturgical setting.
1) The role, purpose or chief-end of the Church is to Glorify God and enjoy him always. We measure the Church's success through the Standard of Scripture; the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints...
Maybe each of those 9 questions should be a separate topic for each thread?
I answer Posts like this one question at a time. You have to; otherwise the responses will be too long (especially you, since you have long Posts anyway). As an Original Post, it's OK to ask it... https://christcentered.community.fo...the-church-the-body-of-christ.1145/post-42006
When it is not about the success of the church but rather sharing what the Lord Jesus Christ has done & is doing in the body of Christ.
By believing in the Lord Jesus Christ & that God has raised Him from the dead is how we are saved and has become a member of the body of Christ.
Matthew 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
God makes us a Member of the Universal Church of Christ; we are members/parts of HIS Body, as he is the Head. We are the branches and he is the Vine; we've been grafted in by Grace through Faith. Justification and the Spirit's Seal make us Members of God's Church...
Long posts is one of my shortcomings.
I understand that Catholic means universal but since Jesus nor any of the apostles had used that term, it seems like using Catholic which identifies with that synagogue of Satan, the Vatican, is giving the appearance of evil as if identifying with the RCC in the eyes of the world for which we should avoid.
I changed it...
There is water baptism and then there is that baptism of the Holy Spirit which happens at salvation as faith comes by hearing the gospel.
Not Biblical nor was it ever practiced by the early churches as far as the ones in the N.T. is concern.
