Neil wrote:
Jim likes this article, thus a powerful incentive to don one's Thinking Cap ...
It reads like a puff piece for the Gettys' new Christ-mass🎄 album. Traditional music for this genre is nothing if not sentimental. And they follow hallowed Tradition: practically every major pop singer or group in the past, no matter how ungodly they were, thought it worthwhile to publish a Christmas album, e.g. Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Beach Boys.

Dr. Tim wrote:
I think I’ll go ahead and dust off the Bing Crosby and Andy Williams LPs today. Ho ho ho.

Adriel wrote:
Hymn singing has now turned into an entertainment show for sinners in churches.

Frank wrote:
I remember doing a really long study on the incarnation. When I finished I had lots of issues that I couldn't understand, but that had no effect on the truth that Jesus was always God.

Amishchristian wrote:
Our challenge is to get people to change their shopping habits. People like our plain appearance and simplicity, also no tobacco or liquor sold.

Dr. Tim wrote:
Amen, Brother John. People give all kinds of reasons why they’ll be glad to get to heaven—no sickness or pain, reunion with loved ones, etc. While these are all valid, for my own part I think the thing I look forward to most is saying goodbye forever to my own corruptions. No tempter! No temptation! No more sin nature! No wonder we shall be forever praising King Jesus.

The Quiet Christian wrote:
Can't wait for the annual celebration of the Incarnation.

The Quiet Christian wrote:
Total depravity is a lot like gravity. You have leave this world to escape them.

The heart is not merely wicked, it is desperately wicked. All of mankind therefore is capable of all kinds of lawbreaking.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 KJV
(9)  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
(10)  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Dr. Tim wrote:
Jim, I’m sure we all want to study the most accurate version of the Bible. In pursuit of that objective, I will abandon my KJV and adopt the NIV instead if you can just explain what any one of the following verses means as it appears in the NIV: Matthew 17:21, 18:11 or 23:14, or Mark 11:26 or 15:28 or Acts 8:37.

Frank wrote:
Hey Brother,
Here is what I was referring to regarding reproduction.
Imagine a cell forming out of nothing and then that cell multiples and forms a human being; somehow overcoming the irreducible complexity of our vital organs. IOW, none of our vital organs can be alive unless they all are alive. Now, let’s say this human exists, but it obviously can’t reproduce. So, no evolutionist can or will hazard a guess as to how this entire process could start over again and somehow form the opposite sexual organ necessary to reproduce.
In a hurry, so I hope this makes sense.

The Quiet Christian wrote:
Great and hopeful post, John UK! Often I wonder as well if the Lord hasn't stricken the sexually immoral of all sorts with these diseases. It is interesting that the diseases would die out in a generation if people would stop sodomy, fornication, and adultery.

Yet there is hope in Christ. Psalm 107 includes those fools who are stricken with illness for rejecting the Lord's commands, but when they cry out to Him, He saves them.

James Thomas wrote:
Good morning to you John,
Thanks again for your kind reply and glad you agree.
Some may think the simplicity that is in Christ is complex. Paul says its simple. I'm glad we can agree with Paul.

What is simple to a believer is complex to an unbeliever.

However, the knowledge of God and of his Christ, we don't even scratch the surface. God is Creator, man is creature.

Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
(Proverbs 1:20-22 KJV)

Knowledge is good, and Christ has appointed teachers in the assembly to teach others the word of God, in which they are particularly spiritually gifted to do so.

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
(2 Peter 3:18 KJV)

Especially poignant was the testimony at the close, where a decades long sodomite was present at Grace Church when Johnny Mac was preaching. The sodomite was dying, had only a few days to live, but God spoke to his heart during the Bible reading (Psalm 107) and he could not wait to speak to John after the meeting. It turned out he was one of the main leaders of Gay Pride Los Angeles, and he knew he needed saving by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise be to God he was saved and baptised shortly before his death. Many of his sodomite friends came to the baptism, hearing the gospel, hallelujah!

I am happy to be able to agree with your entire last post. The gospel truth itself is a mystery (to the natural man), but God reveals it to his elect, he makes it manifest to their mind. Your proof texts show this.

In the text we are looking at, are you looking at "simplicity" as referring to either Christ or the gospel? If so, I believe you got it wrong, the KJV not helping much in its use of words. It refers rather to the singleness of devotion of the saint towards Christ. Note,

I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ — in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake's clever lies. For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached; and you accept a spirit and a gospel completely different from the Spirit and the gospel you received from us!
(2 Corinthians 11:3-4 GNB)

James Thomas wrote:
Hey John,
I'm fine with exchanging thoughts, but I'm having a hard time following your reasoning on saying its a "complex" gospel rather than simple one by the reason you gave at the outset.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
(Ephesians 6:18-20 KJV)

When men of God, duly anointed with the Holy Spirit, preach the gospel, there is something most special about it. This is why Charles Spurgeon had a couple of hundred of his congregation praying out back for him throughout the services.

Frank wrote:
Yes Neil, evolution is such a ridiculous concept that is hard for me to even argue against it today. I can sit down with an evolutionist ask him a couple simple questions and none of them have even remotely offered an answer. IOW, they just look at me.
What bothers me more than these scientists are Christians who try to appease them while supposedly professing creationism. They do this through theistic evolution or Old earth creationism. All they are doing is trying to appear to be intelligent to unbelievers.

I honestly believe you are mixed up with regard to this "simplicity", which you claim is so simple that even a child can understand it.

The reason for this may relate to your belief concerning the actual state of a man who is a sinner. In my book, the man is born a sinner, by inheritance. He doesn't become a sinner at his first sin. Note,

There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
(Romans 3:11 KJV)

This is the natural state of all men.

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
(Romans 3:19 KJV)

The whole world (by nature) is guilty before God.

Thusly, putting those two scriptures together, the gospel (as it says in the NT) is a mystery, a mystery. Without enlightenment of the Spirit, no man will ever understand it, nor will any child.

The Fall brings spiritual death, so the natural man understands nothing gospel-wise. He needs that Ephesians 2 quickening, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins..."