Adriel wrote:
Frank;
Not trying to be contentious or anything. But how does the church remain autonomous with Romans 13; in mind....

But, the subject of the church and our ability to worship the way we choose is a separate issue. The below touches on that.

Acts 5:29 “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”

Scripture also teaches that Jesus is our “Lord” and Savior. If He is my Lord, then I am obligated to obey Him at all costs. A good example would be if the government tells me to murder someone, should I murder them; of course not.

What if a Christian lived in China, Iran, Pakistan or North Korea. Would you say the same thing? Ch.13 applies to all Christians regardless of the countries they live in.

When the governments of the world are controlled by the antichrist; both of us would say we will not comply with what our governments tell us to do.

Neil wrote:
Here, "village" is a euphemism for "federal government." Leftists do not tolerate local autonomy.

And let me just add, they have done an outstanding job of destroying the family structure.

Jim Lincoln wrote:
excerpt from, "...Biden on day 4 of the Democratic National Convention"
https://tinyurl.com/yy8mlwaz

Phillip Mezzapelle wrote:
This is just my opinion. And I am not interested in any political agenda. The church should have never gone along with the first lockdown. If there happens to be a second lockdown, then what? Once again, no politics please, this goes much beyond politics.

The Quiet Christian wrote:
I'm glad that Biologos is standing up for science. At least they stand for something.
The problem is that science seems to waffle back and forth. And because truth lies dead in the streets, even the data is suspect and the analysis tends to be strongly biased. It is increasingly difficult to have much trust in science.
Whether or not my family and I take the vaccine will be our decison. We'll base our decision primarily on whether or not the vaccine is made from aborted baby parts. Then there is the safety aspect.

And brother, there is no one that will tell my wife and I what to do. When I read the headline the first thing that came to my mind was the RCC. I can guarantee you they would never advise a woman to go home and ask their husbands. The church hierarchy rules.

John UK wrote:
And you brother!
I'm just about to turn in. Ah, the bliss of being unconscious for a while.

John UK wrote:
Brethren Quiet Brother & Pilgrim Frank, there are men better than myself who could evaluate this statement, especially as it is tied to your First Amendment.
The RCC did not believe in freedom of expression in the dark ages, and communism and socialism are obviously in our day seeking to deny freedom of expression.
But even in the west there is no such thing as absolute freedom of expression. Imagine if there was. No, it cannot be. No, no matter where we stand, we will always draw a line. It is the only way.
As an observer, it seems that Republicans draw the line around themselves and permit nothing else. And that Democrats draw the line around themselves, and permit nothing else. And do they both uphold the Constitution?
Please note that I speak out of ignorance, as I have never been interested in politics, especially since after conversion, and can never fathom why so many Christians are so fascinated by it.

Have a great evening brother.

P.S.

Me – just musing.

Very interesting comment brother! I believe that we are called upon to tolerate the views of others, but we should only accept things that do not negate the things of God. So, I believe a pro-abortion person has a right to think and speak that way and I tolerate their views. To me toleration simply means that I will do nothing sinful to stop them. Accepting something is different. If I accept something that would mean that I tend to believe it and support it.

Tolerate - allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with) without interference.

Acceptance - believe or come to recognize (an opinion, explanation, etc.) as valid or correct.

Now I admit that I picked and chose which definitions to post.

In our world today, the anti-Christian folks demand we “accept” and support their movements. I have seen homosexuals crash church gatherings and condemn the churches for the way they worship. IOW, they don’t practice the excellent paragraph you posted.

I believe we are not to love this world and that our real homes are in heaven with the Lord. To me that means regardless of who is president or what country we live in; this is not our homes. The only spiritual lights in this world are those that have been born again from above.

Every politician simply panders to those who elected him or those that can get him elected. They all will lie with no remorse at all. But Trump was elected with the help of genuine Christians; I voted for him. What that means is that he will indeed pander to us. So regardless of what is in his heart, he will promote some things that are from the Lord.

The Quiet Christian wrote:
Amen, Brother Frank! Thanks again for prayjng for my wife. She got a very positive word from her oncologist at her post-surgery follow up appointment today.
Chrisgp, appreciate very much your comment. In terms of UK resources, HSLDA has an international section. There are three organizations on the bottom of this description for our UK neighbors under "contact": https://hslda.org/post/united-kingdom

Mike wrote:
Of course, there is no contribution "to climate change" in the manufacture of windmills and solar panels. No problem with disposal of all those batteries, either. Greening of the power grid is the color of the money to be made reinforced by faulty thoughts of saving the planet.

Jeremiah 5:22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand [for] the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

Genesis 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

The Quiet Christian wrote:
The big reason that families are choosing to homeschool is COVID-19, but I'm curious as to any other reasoning. Watching footage of the BLM protests, I wonder how many many parents suddenly saw the end of what their children are being taught? We've had several people tell us recently how children went off to college and came back either as guilty for being white or angry at their parents for being white.

What happened next was so many people then started to see them as loving and kind individuals. It is called brainwashing. Now look where we are! If someone in politics or in the media says they are abominations in the sight of God and if unrepentant, they will experience the wrath of God, they will in fact lose their jobs or not get elected. Even those who are simply working some blue collar job will be fired or denied promotion if they simply say it is an abomination.

Joe Biden is simply a cultural Christian the same as all of his followers that name the name of Christ. Biden simply panders to his base because his base is just like him or close to what he thinks. Every one of us draws lines and my understanding of the gospel is that it is literally impossible for anyone to support or promote the Democratic Party and claim they are in the faith.

Biden is so against the true faith that he cannot even pretend to pander to genuine Christians. And let me just add a thought I have presented before. This election is “not” about Biden since anyone with reason knows he will not finish his term if elected, it is about Kamala Harris.

1 Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”

Chrisgp from England wrote:
No, my watcher friend from Canada, John Mac Arthur is not rebellious, the lawless Marxist governments in California, and in your own country of Canada are. They sponsor and support BLM riots, defund their police, encourage abortion clinics to keep on murdering babies and marijuana shops to cloud and fog the minds of the young, while closing down small businesses and banning churches from meeting, or imposing severe restrictions on them. Pastor MacArthur loves his people, and by the way, it wasn’t the pastor or his elders initially that opened up the church. They actually closed it down at the beginning of the lockdown in March and kept it closed, until the congregation kept coming back and back in greater numbers. The Marxist governors in the USA and elsewhere who govern by decree, with no parliamentary debate or discussion, and who are backed by the leftist social and news media are preparing the countries in the world for the final human one-world government of Antichrist and his False Prophet, but they will be defeated by our glorious Kord, and King and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

The pastor of the church I was attending when I got saved used to say that not a drop or alcohol would ever touch his lips. And to the best of my knowledge the congregation agreed.

This isn’t aimed at you, MS, but for the last time: it is sinful to drink to excess unless there is great pain or turmoil and no other remedy is available. For those of us who have experienced the effects of alcohol, this is very clear.

Proverbs 31:6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.

7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

I personally would never advise anyone to drink alcohol at all, but strong alcohol I would definitely not encourage them. And unless Proverbs 31:6,7 are applicable, never to excess.

Everyone knows that someone can get drunk on beer or wine. So, it isn’t the alcohol content that is important, but the person using it.

P.S.

10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

The above verse 10 will only be understood by someone who understands the effect of real alcohol. When someone gets buzzed, they cannot tell the bad from the good. Christ made real alcohol; not grape juice. Not saying He approved of them drinking to excess.

Matthew 11:19 “The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.”

The term winebibber means a drunkard. Yes, they saw Christ eat and they also saw Him drink alcohol. If He had been drinking a form of grape juice, this comment makes no sense. And of course Christ never drank to excess.