Let me ask you something.

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resurrection33

resurrection33

Banned
#1
Dec 19, 2009
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#1
Let’s say John Doe did as Jesus commanded and repented of his sin. Then most of John’s worries disappeared. "This is heaven," he thinks to himself, "just as Jesus described:"

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt 4:17 RSV

Naturally, John is excited about this and wants to share what he has learned with others. To his surprise, others do not welcome the news. “It’s unbiblical!” they say over and over again.

So, should John keep what he’s learned to himself?
 
blue_ladybug

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
#2
Feb 21, 2014
70,869
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#2
If he's learned that he has to repent of his sin to enter heaven, wouldn't he want others to have that knowledge also? :confused: The bible says to spread the Good News, not keep it hidden. :)
 
Willie-T

Willie-T

Banned
#3
Feb 7, 2015
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#3
resurrection33 said:
Let’s say John Doe did as Jesus commanded and repented of his sin. Then most of John’s worries disappeared. "This is heaven," he thinks to himself, "just as Jesus described:"

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt 4:17 RSV

Naturally, John is excited about this and wants to share what he has learned with others. To his surprise, others do not welcome the news. “It’s unbiblical!” they say over and over again.

So, should John keep what he’s learned to himself?
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Perhaps he needs to check and see if what he is preaching IS unbiblical. Very often new Christians think they are to impose their standards on others.
 
P

psalm6819

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#4
#4
I see where this is going...........
 
Willie-T

Willie-T

Banned
#5
Feb 7, 2015
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#5
psalm6819 said:
I see where this is going...........
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Not necessarily. I'll even go along with the erroneous definition of "repent." (It seems people are hell-bent on "modernizing" the word, so be that as it may.)

What I am saying is that if John is telling people they have to have ended their sinning before coming to God, then he might want to study a bit more.
 
InSpiritInTruth

InSpiritInTruth

Banned
#6
Jan 7, 2015
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#6
Luke 8:16
No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
 
resurrection33

resurrection33

Banned
#7
Dec 19, 2009
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Willie-T said:
Perhaps he needs to check and see if what he is preaching IS unbiblical. Very often new Christians think they are to impose their standards on others.
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So far, he has imposed nothing on anybody. He has simply shared what he has experienced.
 
C

coby

Guest
#8
#8
Preach the word! Be ready in season*and*out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.*3*For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine

In Dutch it says: urge, persist whether it's convenient or not
 
Agricola

Agricola

Senior Member
#9
Dec 10, 2012
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So John Doe was overcome by Holy Spirit and love of God that he thought that he was in heaven as it was the complete opposite to life prior to him becoming born again. OF course John Doe maybe excited that he thinks he is in heaven, but of course that is just simply a wrong conclusion he has come to.

Are you trying to say that the Kingdom is already here in us?
 
J

jb

Senior Member
#10
Feb 27, 2010
4,940
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#10
Willie-T said:
...definition of "repent."..
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The Greek word for "repent" is most interesting!

Matt 3v2: "And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Repent ‎metanoeite‎. A word compounded of the preposition ‎meta‎, "after, with;" and the verb ‎noeoo‎, "to perceive," and "to think," as the result of perceiving or observing. In this compound the preposition combines the two meanings of time and change, which may be denoted by after and different; so that the whole compound means to think differently after. ‎Metanoia ‎("repentance") is therefore, primarily, an after thought, different from the former thought; then, a change of mind which issues in regret and in change of conduct. These latter ideas, however, have been imported into the word by scriptural usage, and do not lie in it etymologically nor by primary usage. Repentance, then, has been rightly defined as "Such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice." Sorrow is not, as is popularly conceived, the primary nor the prominent notion of the word. Paul distinguishes between sorrow ‎lupee ‎and repentance ‎metanoia‎, and puts the one as the outcome of the other. "Godly sorrow worketh repentance" (2 Cor 7:10).

(from Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament)

Repent ‎metanoeite‎. Broadus used to say that this is the worst translation in the New Testament. The trouble is that the English word "repent" means "to be sorry again" from the Latin "repoenitet" (impersonal). John did not call on the people to be sorry, but to CHANGE (think afterward) their mental attitudes ‎metanoeite ‎and conduct. The Vulgate has it: "do penance" and Wycliff has followed that. The Old Syriac has it better: "Turn ye." The French (Geneva) has it "Amendez vous." This is John's great word (Bruce) and it has been hopelessly mistranslated. The tragedy of it is that we have no one English word that reproduces exactly the meaning and atmosphere of the Greek word. The Greek has a word meaning to be sorry ‎metamelomai ‎which is exactly our English word "repent" and it is used of Judas (Matt 27:3). John was a new prophet with the call of the old prophets: "Turn ye" (Joel 2:12; Isa 55:7; Ezek 33:11,15).

(from Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Acts 2v38: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Repent ye ‎metanoeesate‎. First aorist (ingressive) active imperative. "Change your mind and your life." Turn right around, and do it now....

(from Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament)
 
Blain

Blain

The Word Weaver
#11
Aug 28, 2012
19,214
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I'm not sure I understand the point the op is attempting to make, from one end he could be insinuating the sinless doctrine but on the other end he could simply be asking if we learn the joy of the truth and people reject us for it should we just keep to ourselves?

I cannot claim to boldly preach the gospel nor can I say I keep it to myself, in my opinion there has to be a balance. It is good to be able to boldly proclaim the gospel even if your attacked for it or the truth for that matter such as correct doctrine that isn't seen as (biblical) to many. But at the same time we should not cast our pearls to swine, if people are not willing or ready to receive it then we can bombard them with the truth until the day they day but if their hearts are simply not ready to receive it then we need to understand why Jesus told the disciples to shake the dust off there feets
 
C

coby

Guest
#12
#12
Blain said:
I'm not sure I understand the point the op is attempting to make, from one end he could be insinuating the sinless doctrine but on the other end he could simply be asking if we learn the joy of the truth and people reject us for it should we just keep to ourselves?

I cannot claim to boldly preach the gospel nor can I say I keep it to myself, in my opinion there has to be a balance. It is good to be able to boldly proclaim the gospel even if your attacked for it or the truth for that matter such as correct doctrine that isn't seen as (biblical) to many. But at the same time we should not cast our pearls to swine, if people are not willing or ready to receive it then we can bombard them with the truth until the day they day but if their hearts are simply not ready to receive it then we need to understand why Jesus told the disciples to shake the dust off there feets
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Yes balance and wisdom. If you told it and someone doesn't want to hear it anymore just be friendly, pray and God will find another way. My dad didn't want to hear it anymore lol then his grandson told him and he couldn't be unfriendly to him, he actually liked it. Well he went on and on and it got too much, so I told him that he didn't have to say it all the time, give the man a break.
 
resurrection33

resurrection33

Banned
#13
Dec 19, 2009
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#13
Agricola said:
So John Doe was overcome by Holy Spirit and love of God that he thought that he was in heaven as it was the complete opposite to life prior to him becoming born again. OF course John Doe maybe excited that he thinks he is in heaven, but of course that is just simply a wrong conclusion he has come to.

Are you trying to say that the Kingdom is already here in us?
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I think John has reached the correct conclusion. Some Christians believe heaven is a place and I think they are wrong. Heaven is what your life turns into when you repent of your sin. Why do you think the Lord told us to repent?
 
resurrection33

resurrection33

Banned
#15
Dec 19, 2009
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#15
Blain said:
I'm not sure I understand the point the op is attempting to make, from one end he could be insinuating the sinless doctrine but on the other end he could simply be asking if we learn the joy of the truth and people reject us for it should we just keep to ourselves?

I cannot claim to boldly preach the gospel nor can I say I keep it to myself, in my opinion there has to be a balance. It is good to be able to boldly proclaim the gospel even if your attacked for it or the truth for that matter such as correct doctrine that isn't seen as (biblical) to many. But at the same time we should not cast our pearls to swine, if people are not willing or ready to receive it then we can bombard them with the truth until the day they day but if their hearts are simply not ready to receive it then we need to understand why Jesus told the disciples to shake the dust off there feets
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What if John Doe is a pastor? He preaches a sermon every Sunday morning. If he preaches the gospel, it might be said that he is throwing pearls to swine, since all kinds of people sit in the pews. (There are social climbers in our churches.) So does he hide the truth from his congregation?
 
Blain

Blain

The Word Weaver
#17
Aug 28, 2012
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#17
One must consider what is ( unbiblical) the main issue is Christians have hundreds of denominations and within each one of those denominations different beliefs views different ideas of what is biblical and un biblical.
 
Willie-T

Willie-T

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#18
Feb 7, 2015
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#18
resurrection33 said:
I think John has reached the correct conclusion. Some Christians believe heaven is a place and I think they are wrong. Heaven is what your life turns into when you repent of your sin. Why do you think the Lord told us to repent?
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Depending on how this is meant, it COULD be a train heading for a wreck when John finds that he will still sin, even though not wanting to.
 
Willie-T

Willie-T

Banned
#19
Feb 7, 2015
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#19
resurrection33 said:
What if John Doe is a pastor? He preaches a sermon every Sunday morning. If he preaches the gospel, it might be said that he is throwing pearls to swine, since all kinds of people sit in the pews. (There are social climbers in our churches.) So does he hide the truth from his congregation?
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John isn't a pastor if he just became a Christian.
 
Blain

Blain

The Word Weaver
#20
Aug 28, 2012
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#20
resurrection33 said:
What if John Doe is a pastor? He preaches a sermon every Sunday morning. If he preaches the gospel, it might be said that he is throwing pearls to swine, since all kinds of people sit in the pews. (There are social climbers in our churches.) So does he hide the truth from his congregation?
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If he is a pastor then he more than anyone must first make sure he is preaching the gospel not his own view of the gospel second it's one thing to preach to a body of people but another thing entirely to bombard them with them it. people who are known as bible thumpers or at least before the entire Christian community became labeled as that were people who were relentless they bombarded people with it so much so that they actually ran people away from Christianity. The more people didn't listen the more relentless they were.

A pastor normally doesn't bombard people with the gospel he preaches and teaches it then leaves it in God's hands as to if the hearts receive it or not
 
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