The Quiet Christian wrote:
Grateful for that half of the population who have the ability to emigrate with a UK passport, Brother John.

DKH wrote:
Another interesting note. In the book of Acts, the Apostles rairly (if not ever) talk about the atonement when sharing the gospel. That comes later in the epistles (letters written to believers). The Apostles preached Jesus and told people to follow him in Acts. They didn’t preach a fact about about Jesus which is walk a lot of Christians today preach. To be clear, the atonement is important but overused in witnessing.

For example:

John 3:16 KJV
(16)  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Would you say that God "gave his only begotten Son" refers to the atoning sacrifice at Calvary, made by his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, particularly, redemption by his blood?

And that "whosoever believeth in him" refers to believing this about Christ, and believing, comes to him, receives him, and in receiving him, receives eternal life, because "he that hath the Son hath life"?

Frank wrote:
Brother JohnUK,

I have been elected and chosen by God through faith in Christ from before the foundation of the world. This election is based solely on God’s righteousness, and grace that have been bestowed upon me not based on works that I have done, am doing, or will ever do, but to fulfil His desire and purpose. Because of God’s effectual calling and the new nature He has given me, I confess that Jesus Christ is God, very God and man, very man and that He is my Lord and Savior. God Himself is then my Messiah and my Redeemer who came to this earth, took on humanity, lived a perfect life as the Son of Man and willingly shed His blood and was pierced through for my iniquities. His death on the cross was a singular event (IT IS FINISHED) and reveals His victory over Satan and demonstrates His righteousness for all to see.
God loved me from before the foundation of the world and because of His love, desire and purpose, He will conform me into the image of His precious Son as He has promised. He has given me a new heart that loves Jesus and based on that love, I desire to obey Him and to walk in a manner worthy of my Lord and Savior.

Frank wrote:
...
Interesting comment on Paul. Yes some consider him to be a misogynist and they pick and choose what to believe is spiritual.
Well said brother.

Frank wrote:
Brother John UK, yes I was instantly born again and became a permanent part of Christ's family. Well said brother.

To be born again is the most wonderful thing that can happen to any sinner in this world. It is evidence of God's electing love and sovereign grace, and all things flow from this new creation, including faith in Jesus Christ, which justifies immediately the sinner. This faith will have accompanying works, which will come later, having no effect on justification, except to prove its reality, because faith without works is a dead faith, that is, not genuine but pseudo.

DKH wrote:
And yet, if I would say “repent and do works meet for repentance” people would say I’m a heretic or quickly explain that Paul didn’t mean what he said.

But the word of God is true and unashamed, and you quoted:

Acts 26:20 KJV
(20)  But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

There is a certain type of person who regards Paul the Apostle as their enemy rather than a great man of God.

Salvation IMHO is instantaneous. That is, justification comes to us in an instance in time, when we put our trust in Jesus Christ. This is a work of God in the heart. He also works a new attitude in the heart: hatred of sin and a desire to serve, love and obey the Lord Jesus Christ, thus submitting himself to the "law of Christ" as opposed to the 10 commandments, salvation being by grace alone. The submission is not a meritorious work, and comes not from the sinner's heart anyway. However, no submission, no salvation.

Sermon by Charles Spurgeon called "The Agreement of Salvation by Grace with Walking in Good Works" on the text:

Ephesians 2:9-10 KJV
(9)  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
(10)  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Met Tab Pulpit Volume 37

Mike wrote:
In my State, NY establishes what are called standards to which all school districts must adhere. A district is allowed to decide their curriculum that would meet the standards. It's kind of like a parent telling a child he must wear shoes and socks, but allowing the child to decide what color socks to wear. IMO, the farther away control over education goes, the more unacceptable and inferior much of the education becomes. My daughter is a teacher in another State. She recently told me she is not allowed to fail students. One result? The students know this. There are some with character who will continue to work hard, and those who are less willing, get even lazier. They don't worry about failing, because they can't.
Biblical principle issue- no warrant for government schools. Parental authority to raise, educate children

B. McCausland wrote:
John, you seem to dismiss the comments accounting for inaccuracies of death counts and the contradicting reality at ground zero at the sole expense of infallible Somerset belief, this is your choice.

What if I could prove to you with incontrovertible evidence, that the numbers of deaths occurring since the C19 outbreak, were of such a higher figure than the average, that it would be necessary to say that there has to be a definite cause of those extra deaths.

Question: Do you believe I can do that?

If your answer is Yes, then what do you put those extra deaths above average down to?

If your answer is No, do you really believe that the Death Certificate System in place in the UK is being abused, and that there are people wandering about the UK whose deaths are recorded in Somerset House?

B. McCausland wrote:
Please, try a media fast, and stay away from the news screen for a month. You will be back with a different outlook.

My recommendation for you is to go to Somerset House and do your research, using facts, to ascertain the numbers of deaths, and compare them with an average over twenty years. When you see a huge difference in the numbers of deaths beginning with C19 outbreak, you can then try to ascertain the cause of that big leap. I put it to you that the cause was an infectious disease, and that without lockdown and isolation, the numbers would have been even higher.

B. McCausland wrote:
Those are personal speculations based not on knowledge, but derived from all the given propaganda that withholds and often twicks real facts.

I would put it to you that the graphs shown on BBC every day were true not engineered. That the increase of deaths daily until they reached a peak of over a thousand every day, were due to the spread of C19, and that the peak was held at just over a thousand a day due to the lockdown measures and self-isolation, without which the graph would have increased and increased to an unknown figure.

B. McCausland wrote:
Any figure has to be put in the right context.
What is the world wide population?
How many deaths of average flu occur yearly world wide?

"The WHO estimates that between 290,000 and 650,000 respiratory deaths globally each year are associated with seasonal influenza."

JD Saved by Grace wrote:
Too much craziness is happening in the world, and it gets worse, day by day. Always something. If it's not one thing, it's another. Help me Lord Jesus.

The Quiet Christian wrote:
I think we all saw this coming.

Mike wrote:
It's robbery when some of what you give them is given back, but disguised as aid. There is no issue with state gov maintaining state roads and bridges, state courts and police, etc. There is issue when they decree what shall be taught local schools. That isn't their realm of responsibility. State money used for schools, given as carrots to donkeys, would be better used for the services of which you wrote. If schools cannot pay their own way, where does the the funding come from, other than from the people in the first place? The districts need provide their own funding, or adjust superintendents' and teachers salaries and retirement packages according to what they can afford. Biblical, no?

Mike wrote:
It would be better if school districts paid their own way, instead of pretending State "aid" is anything more than robbery from taxpayers in all districts to bribe them each in return with the money robbed. Math seems to evade. It's like if I give $100 to Jim, and Carl gives $100 to Jim, and Jim keeps $40 for managing, then gives Carl and me back $80 each, calling it Jim aid in the process. Why is this hard to figure out?