Casob wrote:
The promise of regathering and salvation after dispersion for diobedience was unconditional. God said he would do it. Now, he must do it!

You cannot escape the clear Biblical teaching that there is no longer an Israel as there was in the Old Testament, but one body of believers comprising of people from all nations, tribes and tongues. How many olive trees are there in Romans? Only one, and it is made up of natural and wild branches, all partaking of the same promises.

The Bible puts it in the hands of Almighty God. You don't base your faith on election or anything else. You receive your faith as a gift from God. Faith includes obedience and surrender. How is that possible before the Spirit has taken out your unyielding heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh?

It could as well be called Lutheranism, as Luther wrote on the topic in more detail than Calvin did.

Michael Hranek wrote:
Preacher
I whole heartedly agree with what Jesus Himself says in the Sermon on the Mount.
But that does not nullify the reality of what the Holy Spirit moved Paul to write in Romans 10 and no amount of Greek will nullify the context either.
Shame on you.
Do you by any chance remember the Pharisee and the Tax Collector?
Did Jesus by any chance approve of this Tax Collector, who cried out, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'
Just what kind of a stumbling block are you trying to put in the path of people to hinder them from, Yes! Even in their panic at the discovery of how lost a sinner, deserving nothing but death and hell they are, from calling upon the Name of the Lord, to be saved from their sins?
Shame on you.
This kind of teaching whatever it is simply doesn't come from the Lord Jesus Christ for God abounds in mercy to all who call upon Him, perhaps you might read that part and repent.

Sorry Michael, but go and check your Greek. To call on the Name of the Lord is to invoke His Name in worship. It is not just to cry out to Him in a moment of panic.

Casob wrote:
Eph 2:12 That at that time (before God extending his grace that brings salvation) ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

How many covenants do you think there are anyway? Can you not see that they all pertain to the one covenant of grace? That God had one plan of salvation from all eternity, and that this first pertained only to the Jews and then to the whole world?

The Lord said to my Lord, sit Thou at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.

Christ will return when things are the way they should be, and that doesn't mean a restored Jewish religion complete with sacrifices.

I never use allegorical interpretation, unless the Bible indicates it is an allegory. The whole concept of literal where possible is a fallacy. It is literal where indicated, allegorical where indicated etc.

Rev. Joel Garrett wrote:
It is right and good for the Royal Family to remain unequivocally UN-CATHOLIC. Remaining Roman Catholic means remaining loyal to the absolute monarch of Vatican City - the Pope - who is anti-christ; and who believes he holds authority over all the kings of the earth. That is pure rubbish, indeed!

Casob wrote:
1) They killed the Prince of Life v 13
2) God has glorified him V 12
3) God has raised him from the dead and took him to heaven v 13
4) This is literal fulfilled prophecy concerning his suffering V 18
5) repent THEREFORE was the command and be converted and your sins will be blotted out.
This is a message to the national leaders in Jerusalem who held sway over the people and so far everything is literal even to the promise that he would send him back to them.
I'm out of room.

To see regeneration as coming after faith and repentance, as someone stated below, is to misunderstand completely what it is to be saved. The Arminian MUST have faith preceding regeneration or else his whole free will theology falls into a bottomless hole. But if regeneration is what the Bible says it is, ie, a raising from spiritual death, then this is not possible. Regeneration must precede faith and repentance because the spiritually blind and dead cannot even see the kingdom or discern spiritual things.

During the Reformation it became important to nail down exactly what the Protestant Church confessed. Thus in Holland the Belgic Confession was adopted. This was written by one man, Guido De Bres, and its purpose was to bring to the attention of the king of France what the Protestant church believed.

Each confession dealt with the issues of the day. Therefore they can never be seen as fully comprehensive of all that the Bible teaches. The early reformed confessions did not have a fully worked out theology of regeneration, because justification was the burning issue in the fight against Rome.

That is not unusual. In Reformed circles He is almost treated like a poor relative. The Westminster Confession of Faith does not even have a seperate chapter on the Holy Spirit.

MurrayA wrote:
Faithful Remnant,
I don't think that the behaviour of Anglican bishops during the Stuart era can be glossed over in such a blithe and cavalier manner, as merely a few "over zealous and faulty folk". These were the Church leaders of the time who embarked on a programme of rigid conformity, and any deviation was to be dealt with in the utmost severity.
You obviously have not read the history of the times. I suggest you do.
As to the Puritans, they were under no illusions about any alleged finality or infallibility of the KJV. And the Anglicans wanted the KJV used exclusively not because they thought it was a perfect translation, but for reasons of uniformity (ecclesiastical oppression again).

Vs 3 says that "These were the days of unleavened bread", and according to Leviticus the Passover Day was on the 14th of the month and the days of unleavened bread started on the 15th. So the KJV guys probably thought Herod was not referring to the Jewish Passover, which was already past, but the Pagan Easter Festival. This mid-Spring pagan feast was in memory to Tammuz, you can read all about him in Ezekiel.

I don't know if they got it right or wrong in the KJV. The old Dutch Bible, and the old Afrikaans Bible both translate it as the KJV did. The old German Bible also makes a difference, calling Passover "Osterfest" but the reference in Acts 12:4 is just called "Fest".

I just found it interesting.

The reason the sheep hear is because they are sheep. God has given them ears to hear, eyes to see and hearts to understand. The difference between the two is that all are taught by men but only the sheep are taught of God.
"Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but My Father in heaven."

Many listen to the word and don't obey it. Were we not chosen unto good works, prepared for us from the foundation of the world? What are good works if not obedience to the commandments of God?

Obedience is faith in action. Israel could not enter in because of unbelief. This unbelief was manifested in their rebellion, ie, their disobedience.

DJC49 wrote:
Dr. Phil
Are you suggesting that the apostles' selection of Matthias was not recognized and disapproved of by God?
Peter did make mention that the main qualification for being numbered among the Twelve was that the candidate must have been a witness to Christ's ministry from His baptism to the Ascension being able to testify to His Resurrection.
Paul wouldn't meet this criteria ...
Or ... was Peter, once again (and true to his character) "jumping the gun" on this need to fulfill prophesy by finding a twelfth apostle?
I know it's not a big issue, but I've sometimes wondered about there being 13 apostles.

I think that God rejected Matthias because he was chosen by men and Apostles are appointed by the Lord.
How James fits in I don't know.

Adelphos wrote:
The main purpose of the church is to glorify God, plain and simple. Everything else flows from this understanding!

So if you look at the church today, with its endless man-made programs of progress and church growth, you will see that they are all doomed to failure because the church has lost focus of its primary purpose. There will be no growth, no evangelism, no blessing until we go back to the Old Paths and regain our primary focus; God's Holy and Awesome Name.