The Kerygma - God's Requirement for Salvation
- Thread starter GWH
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Bro, i said let's start with ACTS 16:31 and i asked you a question about ACTS 16:31.
What do you do?
You respond with ACTS 16:31 again.
I can't even begin to understand this.
You either take out acts 16:31 in your response in order for me to understand ACTS 16:31 or you respond to it directly.
It's very simple.
What do you do?
You respond with ACTS 16:31 again.
I can't even begin to understand this.
You either take out acts 16:31 in your response in order for me to understand ACTS 16:31 or you respond to it directly.
It's very simple.
I responded by sharing GW that tells what to do after accepting Christ as Lord (LK 2:11, JN 14:6, ACTS 16:31), which included
MT 22:37-40, JN 13:35, RM 13:9, MT 10:22, PS 113:2, JN 14:6, 17&26, RM 8:6-17, GL 6:7-9, EPH 1:13-14, HB 10:36, 12:1, JM 1:2-4,
MT 5:6, MT 4:4, MT 7:21, EPH 5:8-10, and 2TM 3:14-17.
If that was too big of a load to dump on you at once, feel free to read/digest only a few at a time at your leisure before you get back to me. :^)
MT 22:37-40, JN 13:35, RM 13:9, MT 10:22, PS 113:2, JN 14:6, 17&26, RM 8:6-17, GL 6:7-9, EPH 1:13-14, HB 10:36, 12:1, JM 1:2-4,
MT 5:6, MT 4:4, MT 7:21, EPH 5:8-10, and 2TM 3:14-17.
If that was too big of a load to dump on you at once, feel free to read/digest only a few at a time at your leisure before you get back to me. :^)
Good morning major. 
I thought that you’d be able to do this topic but I guess I was mistaken.
This is your way of loving God, I get it and respect it, but I am also allowed to annoy your style.
You have build a statue made of steel and when I ask you a question about the hands or the feet, you respond by giving me the whole statue again.
Good job!
I thought that you’d be able to do this topic but I guess I was mistaken.
This is your way of loving God, I get it and respect it, but I am also allowed to annoy your style.
You have build a statue made of steel and when I ask you a question about the hands or the feet, you respond by giving me the whole statue again.
Good job!
I don't want to pick on you about your technology skills because it wouldn't be fair, but you're so isolated in your thinking that you think that another thought different from yours is a "troll". While not realizing that you may be seen as a passive troll too, consciously or unconsciously. But i think you're just a lovable stubborn guy which is why i enjoy having coffee with you.
Let's do a summary major.
1. You gave me your solid understanding on how do we get to Heaven.
2. I gave you about 4-5 partial agreement responses.
3. I asked you how would you like to proceed? Should we discuss them one by one?
4. You said "go ahead and start".
5. I started with ACTS 16:31.
6. You then respond by giving me the whole speech again which includes ACTS 16:31 instead of responding to my question.
Let me know if and when you're ready to do this or how you want to do this.
You're the driver and i'm the passenger major.
Let's do a summary major.
1. You gave me your solid understanding on how do we get to Heaven.
2. I gave you about 4-5 partial agreement responses.
3. I asked you how would you like to proceed? Should we discuss them one by one?
4. You said "go ahead and start".
5. I started with ACTS 16:31.
6. You then respond by giving me the whole speech again which includes ACTS 16:31 instead of responding to my question.
Let me know if and when you're ready to do this or how you want to do this.
You're the driver and i'm the passenger major.
I don't want to pick on you about your technology skills because it wouldn't be fair, but you're so isolated in your thinking that you think that another thought different from yours is a "troll". While not realizing that you may be seen as a passive troll too, consciously or unconsciously. But i think you're just a lovable stubborn guy which is why i enjoy having coffee with you.
Let's do a summary major.
1. You gave me your solid understanding on how do we get to Heaven.
2. I gave you about 4-5 partial agreement responses.
3. I asked you how would you like to proceed? Should we discuss them one by one?
4. You said "go ahead and start".
5. I started with ACTS 16:31.
6. You then respond by giving me the whole speech again which includes ACTS 16:31 instead of responding to my question.
Let me know if and when you're ready to do this or how you want to do this.
You're the driver and i'm the passenger major.
Let's do a summary major.
1. You gave me your solid understanding on how do we get to Heaven.
2. I gave you about 4-5 partial agreement responses.
3. I asked you how would you like to proceed? Should we discuss them one by one?
4. You said "go ahead and start".
5. I started with ACTS 16:31.
6. You then respond by giving me the whole speech again which includes ACTS 16:31 instead of responding to my question.
Let me know if and when you're ready to do this or how you want to do this.
You're the driver and i'm the passenger major.
For example, I already replied to your complaint about me not responding to your question by saying you must begin by asking new specific questions, but now instead of asking a new question you repeat the same complaint and so we are in a stupid loop instead of moving a discussion forward.
Someone who does not hunger and thirst after righteousness (MT 5:6) and LGW (PS 119:9) needs to reevaluate the sincerity of his/her profession of faith in the Lord. As Paul says (in 2CR 13:5), “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.” The spiritual beauty of God’s truth is as awe-inspiring or attractive as the physical beauty of God’s world for one who has the Spirit/mind of Christ (1CR 2:12-16).
How we become new and improved versions of ourselves is taught in EPH 4:1-16. We see that God’s goal for our faith is attaining Christ-like moral maturity and spiritual unity, so God’s will is resisted or contradicted by people who have a judgmental and divisive spirit rather than God’s loving or Holy Spirit. Jesus warned against this evil spirit early in his ministry (MT 7:1-5&21). Also near the end of his earthly life, Jesus prayed for godly unity (JN 17:20-23). It is up to each of us to cooperate with God in answering this prayer.
The third stage of a Christian’s relationship with God, called glorification (1PT 5:10) or immortality (1CR 15:53), occurs in heaven, when Believers will walk with God perfectly and eternally. Of course, grammatically and historically, this stage is in the future. Somehow, in heaven saints will be both free to sin and free of/from sin, perhaps because they will have perfect memories of the lessons learned in this earthly life (2PT 1:12-15), which will enable them to appreciate the blessings of heaven forever.
Like physical walking, spiritual walking has two steps. Another apt analogy is the act of breathing. The meaning of both analogies is simply communion or communication with God’s Holy Spirit. The first step or inhale is listening to God (LGW), and the second step or exhale is responding to or cooperating with God. God’s message for mankind is revealed partially by the world He has created but more fully by the Scriptures He has inspired. The crux of God’s Word is the Gospel of salvation (kerygma), while the secondary teachings (didache) consist of the manifold applications of the law of love (1JN 3:11, cf. Part I).
How we become new and improved versions of ourselves is taught in EPH 4:1-16. We see that God’s goal for our faith is attaining Christ-like moral maturity and spiritual unity, so God’s will is resisted or contradicted by people who have a judgmental and divisive spirit rather than God’s loving or Holy Spirit. Jesus warned against this evil spirit early in his ministry (MT 7:1-5&21). Also near the end of his earthly life, Jesus prayed for godly unity (JN 17:20-23). It is up to each of us to cooperate with God in answering this prayer.
The third stage of a Christian’s relationship with God, called glorification (1PT 5:10) or immortality (1CR 15:53), occurs in heaven, when Believers will walk with God perfectly and eternally. Of course, grammatically and historically, this stage is in the future. Somehow, in heaven saints will be both free to sin and free of/from sin, perhaps because they will have perfect memories of the lessons learned in this earthly life (2PT 1:12-15), which will enable them to appreciate the blessings of heaven forever.
Like physical walking, spiritual walking has two steps. Another apt analogy is the act of breathing. The meaning of both analogies is simply communion or communication with God’s Holy Spirit. The first step or inhale is listening to God (LGW), and the second step or exhale is responding to or cooperating with God. God’s message for mankind is revealed partially by the world He has created but more fully by the Scriptures He has inspired. The crux of God’s Word is the Gospel of salvation (kerygma), while the secondary teachings (didache) consist of the manifold applications of the law of love (1JN 3:11, cf. Part I).
The Believer’s main types of responses to God’s Word are prayer to God and good works unto others for God (cf. 1JN 4:20, EPH 2:10). The kerygmatic prayer that is necessary in order for a sinner be saved and walk with God is confession (1JN 1:9, PS 32:1-5). Prayer is simply talking to God. From the moment of repentance onward, whenever a Believer acknowledges to God his/her known sins of immoral attitudes and actions, God forgives all sins (1JN 1:9b) including those the confessor is not conscious of committing. This means he/she is pleasing rather than grieving God or once again is Spirit-filled (walking in the Spirit) and has a right relationship with Christ Jesus (EPH 4:30, 5:10 & 18).
Paul exhorted Believers (in EPH 6:18) to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, which leads into a discussion of didachaic prayers/thoughts a Believer might address to God. When a Believer confesses sin and is refilled by the Spirit, he/she experiences divine love, joy and peace (GL 5:22-23), which prompts prayers giving thanks. Jesus led a prayer of thanksgiving during the Last Supper (1CR 11:23-24). Paul frequently expressed thankfulness for believers he had helped to convert and who had helped support his ministry (1THS 1:2, PHP 1:3). He instructed Believers to “Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.” (1THS 5:17-18)
A type of prayer akin to thanksgiving is praise, which expresses love and glory to God for who He is and what He means to us. Numerous Psalms express this type of prayer, from 9:1-2 to 150:1-6. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice [prayer] of praise.” Revelation 5:13 refers to prayers of praise in heaven: “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth . . . singing: To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
A fourth kind of prayer is petition, which may be the most used and least understood type. The Lord’s Sample Prayer (MT 6:9-13) has a series of petitions. In Philippians 4:6 Paul taught: “By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” A petition in which we ask God for something on behalf of another person is called intercession. Paul frequently prayed for others (EPH 1:16-18, PHP 1:3-4&9, CL 1:3&9), and he asked believers to pray for him (EPH 6:18-20, CL 4:3-4, 1TM 2:1, 2THS 3:1), so perhaps intercession should be our most frequent type of petition (EPH 6:18b).
The privilege of petitioning God should not be viewed as a blank check, nor is the primary purpose of prayer to persuade God to do our will like a genie. Rather, in prayer we should express our agreement with the perfect will of God. As 1 John 5:14 says, “if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” Although agreement with God is not always mentioned (cf. EPH 3:20, JN 16:23), Jesus exemplified this principle when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (MT 26:36-46).
Again, we should approach God’s “throne of grace” (HB 4:16) not to ask Him to do some good He otherwise would not do, but rather to remind ourselves of His presence and that He is the source of all blessings (JM 1:17). In order to pray in accordance with God’s will, we must know God’s Word (JN 15:7). Like bread and butter or romantic love and spiritual marriage, prayer and LGW go together. Pray for God’s will to be done.
Paul exhorted Believers (in EPH 6:18) to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, which leads into a discussion of didachaic prayers/thoughts a Believer might address to God. When a Believer confesses sin and is refilled by the Spirit, he/she experiences divine love, joy and peace (GL 5:22-23), which prompts prayers giving thanks. Jesus led a prayer of thanksgiving during the Last Supper (1CR 11:23-24). Paul frequently expressed thankfulness for believers he had helped to convert and who had helped support his ministry (1THS 1:2, PHP 1:3). He instructed Believers to “Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.” (1THS 5:17-18)
A type of prayer akin to thanksgiving is praise, which expresses love and glory to God for who He is and what He means to us. Numerous Psalms express this type of prayer, from 9:1-2 to 150:1-6. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice [prayer] of praise.” Revelation 5:13 refers to prayers of praise in heaven: “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth . . . singing: To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
A fourth kind of prayer is petition, which may be the most used and least understood type. The Lord’s Sample Prayer (MT 6:9-13) has a series of petitions. In Philippians 4:6 Paul taught: “By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” A petition in which we ask God for something on behalf of another person is called intercession. Paul frequently prayed for others (EPH 1:16-18, PHP 1:3-4&9, CL 1:3&9), and he asked believers to pray for him (EPH 6:18-20, CL 4:3-4, 1TM 2:1, 2THS 3:1), so perhaps intercession should be our most frequent type of petition (EPH 6:18b).
The privilege of petitioning God should not be viewed as a blank check, nor is the primary purpose of prayer to persuade God to do our will like a genie. Rather, in prayer we should express our agreement with the perfect will of God. As 1 John 5:14 says, “if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” Although agreement with God is not always mentioned (cf. EPH 3:20, JN 16:23), Jesus exemplified this principle when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (MT 26:36-46).
Again, we should approach God’s “throne of grace” (HB 4:16) not to ask Him to do some good He otherwise would not do, but rather to remind ourselves of His presence and that He is the source of all blessings (JM 1:17). In order to pray in accordance with God’s will, we must know God’s Word (JN 15:7). Like bread and butter or romantic love and spiritual marriage, prayer and LGW go together. Pray for God’s will to be done.
God may answer a petition in various ways:
1. He may grant it as requested (1KG 18:37-39),
2. He may grant the underlying desire in a way different than requested (GN 17:18-19),
3. He may grant the request, but it will not satisfy our desire (NM 11:4-34, PS 106:15), and
4. God may say “no” or “not yet”, perhaps but not necessarily because we are committing some sin, including:
a. lack of faith (JM 1:6-8), MT 21:21-22),
b. disobedience or lack of love (1JN 3:21-23, PR 21:13, JOB 35:12-13),
c. marital strife (1PT 3:7), and
d. selfishness (JM 4:3).
Knowing God’s will is necessary in order for us to pray more specifically than “Thy will be done”. Much of God’s will is prescriptive or stated in clear moral teachings such as the Ten Commandments (EX 20:1-17, MT 19:17-21, GL 5:22-23). We may not know how to pray, but we can “live up to what we have already attained” (PHP 3:16).
That we pray is more important to God than our wording (EPH 6:18a, 1THS 5:17, RM 8:26-27). Not praying would be like giving God “the silent treatment”. The power of prayer is God’s, and Believers should not talk as though God would not act if they did not pray! In brief, prayer is like surfing: One does not need to ask God to send waves, but rather for readiness to ride them.
The way God has chosen to answer our prayers for the kingdom of heaven to come on earth in our lifetime is for us to partake of the bread of truth (MT 6:10-11, cf. LGW above). We cannot live by physical bread (or prayer) alone; our souls need every word God speaks (MT 4:4). Jesus said that He is God’s way and the word/bread of life (JN 14:6, 6:35&63). He also said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” (JN 14:23) In order to obey, we must learn, even as Jesus did (HB 5:8).
This is the reason Believers should attend a local church (fellowship) where the pastor/lead learner is a good Bible teacher (HB 10:25, RM 10:14). The numerous practical problems we experience in this pre-heavenly life—poverty, war, disease, divorce, crime and so forth—find their solution to the extent that as many people as possible LGW as soon as possible. Again, we do not live by prayer alone but need Scripture inspired by God (MT 4:4, 2TM 3:16-17).
We have considered prayer in some detail, because it is an integral aspect of spiritual dynamics or how the Spirit of God communes with Believers. The second main type of response by Believers is doing good works, which would lead into discussion of a myriad of moral (didachaic) topics. Let us simply say that saints should seek to become morally perfect (MT 5:48) or pure (PHP 1:10& 2:15) or spiritually mature (EPH 4:13, PHP 3:12-15), which means to remain filled by or to be in step with the Holy Spirit (GL 5:25) more and more of the time (PHP 1:9, 1THS 4:1 &10).
Some people wonder whether God’s will includes a specific plan for their lives, including career and spouse. While some Believers may feel called to serve the Lord in a specific way, probably most Christians do not have a “Damascus road experience”, and so they are free to choose whatever morally respectable vocation (1THS 4:11-12) or spiritually compatible spouse (if any, 1CR 7:8-9, 2CR 6:14) appeals to them. Every soul’s general calling has been revealed or taught in the Holy Scriptures, which is to experience the miraculous fullness of Christ or become a Christ-like person (EPH 4:1-2, 2THS 1:11-12). We may make any moral choice.
1. He may grant it as requested (1KG 18:37-39),
2. He may grant the underlying desire in a way different than requested (GN 17:18-19),
3. He may grant the request, but it will not satisfy our desire (NM 11:4-34, PS 106:15), and
4. God may say “no” or “not yet”, perhaps but not necessarily because we are committing some sin, including:
a. lack of faith (JM 1:6-8), MT 21:21-22),
b. disobedience or lack of love (1JN 3:21-23, PR 21:13, JOB 35:12-13),
c. marital strife (1PT 3:7), and
d. selfishness (JM 4:3).
Knowing God’s will is necessary in order for us to pray more specifically than “Thy will be done”. Much of God’s will is prescriptive or stated in clear moral teachings such as the Ten Commandments (EX 20:1-17, MT 19:17-21, GL 5:22-23). We may not know how to pray, but we can “live up to what we have already attained” (PHP 3:16).
That we pray is more important to God than our wording (EPH 6:18a, 1THS 5:17, RM 8:26-27). Not praying would be like giving God “the silent treatment”. The power of prayer is God’s, and Believers should not talk as though God would not act if they did not pray! In brief, prayer is like surfing: One does not need to ask God to send waves, but rather for readiness to ride them.
The way God has chosen to answer our prayers for the kingdom of heaven to come on earth in our lifetime is for us to partake of the bread of truth (MT 6:10-11, cf. LGW above). We cannot live by physical bread (or prayer) alone; our souls need every word God speaks (MT 4:4). Jesus said that He is God’s way and the word/bread of life (JN 14:6, 6:35&63). He also said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” (JN 14:23) In order to obey, we must learn, even as Jesus did (HB 5:8).
This is the reason Believers should attend a local church (fellowship) where the pastor/lead learner is a good Bible teacher (HB 10:25, RM 10:14). The numerous practical problems we experience in this pre-heavenly life—poverty, war, disease, divorce, crime and so forth—find their solution to the extent that as many people as possible LGW as soon as possible. Again, we do not live by prayer alone but need Scripture inspired by God (MT 4:4, 2TM 3:16-17).
We have considered prayer in some detail, because it is an integral aspect of spiritual dynamics or how the Spirit of God communes with Believers. The second main type of response by Believers is doing good works, which would lead into discussion of a myriad of moral (didachaic) topics. Let us simply say that saints should seek to become morally perfect (MT 5:48) or pure (PHP 1:10& 2:15) or spiritually mature (EPH 4:13, PHP 3:12-15), which means to remain filled by or to be in step with the Holy Spirit (GL 5:25) more and more of the time (PHP 1:9, 1THS 4:1 &10).
Some people wonder whether God’s will includes a specific plan for their lives, including career and spouse. While some Believers may feel called to serve the Lord in a specific way, probably most Christians do not have a “Damascus road experience”, and so they are free to choose whatever morally respectable vocation (1THS 4:11-12) or spiritually compatible spouse (if any, 1CR 7:8-9, 2CR 6:14) appeals to them. Every soul’s general calling has been revealed or taught in the Holy Scriptures, which is to experience the miraculous fullness of Christ or become a Christ-like person (EPH 4:1-2, 2THS 1:11-12). We may make any moral choice.
Understanding GW regarding prayer of other doctrines requires a proper hermeneutic or Bible-based parameters for interpreting Scripture. It seems that the apostle Paul (in 1THS 5:21) recommended that one “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” A truthseeker is guided by the question: What is most true or closest to the truth, especially the Truth of God’s Word? The method for discerning truth is subjective logic or right reasoning that is made as godly or objective as possible by learning from other truthseekers.
I value two NT teachings or parameters as key points from which to triangulate or use to guide interpretation of the Bible, especially problematic statements. First, God loves and wants to save everyone (1TM 2:3-4); Christ died to show God’s love and the possible salvation of all (RM 5:6-8) including His enemies (ungodly, atheist, anti-Christ). Second, God is just (2THS 1:6a, cf. RM 3:25-26 & 9:14, DT 32:4, PS 36:6, LK 11:42, RV 15:3). Explanations of God’s Word should not impugn or blaspheme God’s justice and love for all people (JL 2:13, JN 3:16). I find this hermeneutic affirmed in the OT (PS 145:17): “The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.”
This principle leads me to conclude that even the wrath of God is an expression of His love and justice. The writer of Hebrews (12:4-11) indicates that divine wrath is intended as discipline or for the purpose of teaching people to repent of their hatefulness and faithlessness (PR 3:12, IS 33:14-15 RV 3:19). If a righteous explanation cannot be found for a passage of Scripture purporting to describe God’s will (such as JSH 6:17-24, 8:2&24 & 10:28-40, 11:6-23), then it should be considered as historical or descriptive of what people perceived rather than as pedagogical or prescriptive of God’s nature. Unrighteous rage should not be attributed to God.
The justice of God is a source of comfort and joy to those who have decided to accept His loving Lordship, but it is experienced as judgment or wrath by those who rebel against Him (IS 13:13, RM 1:18, RV 19:11). The fire that warms (purifies) also burns (punishes). Stating God’s requirement for salvation negatively: a person would do well (be wise) not to reject Him in order not to experience the miserable but just consequence (JN 3:17-18). Just consequences teach good behavior.
I value two NT teachings or parameters as key points from which to triangulate or use to guide interpretation of the Bible, especially problematic statements. First, God loves and wants to save everyone (1TM 2:3-4); Christ died to show God’s love and the possible salvation of all (RM 5:6-8) including His enemies (ungodly, atheist, anti-Christ). Second, God is just (2THS 1:6a, cf. RM 3:25-26 & 9:14, DT 32:4, PS 36:6, LK 11:42, RV 15:3). Explanations of God’s Word should not impugn or blaspheme God’s justice and love for all people (JL 2:13, JN 3:16). I find this hermeneutic affirmed in the OT (PS 145:17): “The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.”
This principle leads me to conclude that even the wrath of God is an expression of His love and justice. The writer of Hebrews (12:4-11) indicates that divine wrath is intended as discipline or for the purpose of teaching people to repent of their hatefulness and faithlessness (PR 3:12, IS 33:14-15 RV 3:19). If a righteous explanation cannot be found for a passage of Scripture purporting to describe God’s will (such as JSH 6:17-24, 8:2&24 & 10:28-40, 11:6-23), then it should be considered as historical or descriptive of what people perceived rather than as pedagogical or prescriptive of God’s nature. Unrighteous rage should not be attributed to God.
The justice of God is a source of comfort and joy to those who have decided to accept His loving Lordship, but it is experienced as judgment or wrath by those who rebel against Him (IS 13:13, RM 1:18, RV 19:11). The fire that warms (purifies) also burns (punishes). Stating God’s requirement for salvation negatively: a person would do well (be wise) not to reject Him in order not to experience the miserable but just consequence (JN 3:17-18). Just consequences teach good behavior.
Other important elements in this hermeneutic include the following: 3. Everyone lives by fallible faith/belief/opinion and sufficient knowledge of evidence rather than by absolute certainty or proof or coercion (2CR 5:7). 4. A logical train of thought leads an unbiased truthseeker to have a propensity to believe in an all-loving God, who is not tricky and does not hide the way to heaven (HB 11:6, ACTS 13:10). 5. Humanity’s understanding of God evolved or progressed through the millenniums, so that the OT was superseded by the NT, which is the apex of divine revelation (HB 7:18, 8:13, 9:15).
The method employed in this hermeneutic is additive or eclectic as taught by Paul (in 1THS 5:21), exemplified by Jesus (in MT 4:6-7) and illustrated by the transparent overlays of bodily systems found in some books on anatomy. I want to include all true assertions in the picture of reality without making a “Procrustean Body” by cutting off or ignoring parts that do not seem to fit, because 6. The correct understanding must be self-consistent or else God would be tricky. The whole truth combines parts without sawing!
The Bible says God’s Spirit is love and truth (1JN 4:8 & 5:6), which means all love (agape, RM 6:5-8) in all people is God’s operation, and all truth in all cultures is God’s revelation. Thus, 7a. Becoming a Christian theist does not mean rejecting what is good and true in one’s pre-Christian experience or culture. As the philosopher Hegel taught: when considering two different understandings (thesis A versus antithesis B), 7b. The truth may not be either one or the other but rather the proper harmonization of the two. (Both A and B = synthesis C.)
The Bible teaches (GN 1:3, JN 1:1-3) that 8. Both the world and inspired words are expressions of God’s Word/Logos, and thus scientific and spiritual truths must be compatible or else God would be tricky. So, while belief that God is love and Jesus is Lord is based upon the biblical revelation, knowledge also is gleaned from the natural sciences and common sense. While interpretation of reality should be influenced by the Bible, one must also utilize logical thinking, especially where the Bible seems silent, hoping to be guided by the Spirit of Truth (JN 14:17).
9. Everyone ought to embrace this or a similar ecumenical hermeneutic. Logic is the way every sane soul has direct access to the supreme Mind or Logos (1CR 2:11-16). Right reasoning is the glue that binds all individual truths together in one catholic or universal faith. Logic provides the rationale for believing that the history of humanity is not a farce, and it sustains the hope of experiencing love and joy in a future heavenly existence. The beauty of this hermeneutic is the harmonization of whatever is good and true in all religions or isms that are not ungodly or anti-Christ. However, I realize that—just as frequently happens when a person shares favorite musical or scenic beauty with someone else—it may not move your soul like mine (MT 11:16-17).
The method employed in this hermeneutic is additive or eclectic as taught by Paul (in 1THS 5:21), exemplified by Jesus (in MT 4:6-7) and illustrated by the transparent overlays of bodily systems found in some books on anatomy. I want to include all true assertions in the picture of reality without making a “Procrustean Body” by cutting off or ignoring parts that do not seem to fit, because 6. The correct understanding must be self-consistent or else God would be tricky. The whole truth combines parts without sawing!
The Bible says God’s Spirit is love and truth (1JN 4:8 & 5:6), which means all love (agape, RM 6:5-8) in all people is God’s operation, and all truth in all cultures is God’s revelation. Thus, 7a. Becoming a Christian theist does not mean rejecting what is good and true in one’s pre-Christian experience or culture. As the philosopher Hegel taught: when considering two different understandings (thesis A versus antithesis B), 7b. The truth may not be either one or the other but rather the proper harmonization of the two. (Both A and B = synthesis C.)
The Bible teaches (GN 1:3, JN 1:1-3) that 8. Both the world and inspired words are expressions of God’s Word/Logos, and thus scientific and spiritual truths must be compatible or else God would be tricky. So, while belief that God is love and Jesus is Lord is based upon the biblical revelation, knowledge also is gleaned from the natural sciences and common sense. While interpretation of reality should be influenced by the Bible, one must also utilize logical thinking, especially where the Bible seems silent, hoping to be guided by the Spirit of Truth (JN 14:17).
9. Everyone ought to embrace this or a similar ecumenical hermeneutic. Logic is the way every sane soul has direct access to the supreme Mind or Logos (1CR 2:11-16). Right reasoning is the glue that binds all individual truths together in one catholic or universal faith. Logic provides the rationale for believing that the history of humanity is not a farce, and it sustains the hope of experiencing love and joy in a future heavenly existence. The beauty of this hermeneutic is the harmonization of whatever is good and true in all religions or isms that are not ungodly or anti-Christ. However, I realize that—just as frequently happens when a person shares favorite musical or scenic beauty with someone else—it may not move your soul like mine (MT 11:16-17).
Although it is easier to explain how the world operates by saying God causes/determines everything rather than by trying to understand how/why souls operate with enough freedom to make them morally accountable, this mystery is not very different from understanding or explaining how God is connected to His creation, thereby causing matter/energy to operate how it does.
The problem with affirming determinism of human beings is that it is more difficult to explain how it does not deny or contradict the love of God and view people as robots, negating the accountability of souls, which makes the entire biblical plan of salvation a farce.
Thus, it is best to believe that all normal human souls are free to seek salvation and exercise volition either to have faith in God/Christ or to reject GW as revealed by creation, conscience and Scripture, and thus it is God's POS via the Gospel of Christ that is predestined or determined, not souls, so those who exercise volition by ignoring GW/POS justly reap condemnation in hell.
The problem with affirming determinism of human beings is that it is more difficult to explain how it does not deny or contradict the love of God and view people as robots, negating the accountability of souls, which makes the entire biblical plan of salvation a farce.
Thus, it is best to believe that all normal human souls are free to seek salvation and exercise volition either to have faith in God/Christ or to reject GW as revealed by creation, conscience and Scripture, and thus it is God's POS via the Gospel of Christ that is predestined or determined, not souls, so those who exercise volition by ignoring GW/POS justly reap condemnation in hell.
"You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. (Jn. 13:13 NKJ)
"...God our Savior...desires all men to be saved meaning to actively come into (from without) usable knowledge of truth. (1 Tim. 2:3-4 with some clarification)
This is not too hard for all men to understanding. God our creator exists, and all human beings know this. He made Jesus His King over all His creation, and He commands all mankind to accept Him as their King. To Him all knees will bow. He is Teacher. He is Lord. He saves men who willingly submit to Him from deviating from the glory of their true and eternal design by believing who He is by learning truth from Him and living according to that truth.
As you note, all men have the capacity to learn and accept this. I'll add, until they don't.
The explanation of how the infinite and holy God communicates with finite and fallible humans affirms two phenomena: accommodation and distanciation. It appears that God accommodated His revelation so that it corresponded with the stages of human moral and intellectual development, imparting His Spirit/Word by means of words, both literal and allegorical or metaphorical (cf. MT 7:24-27, 16:6-12, etc.). In order to create volitional beings having moral free will, God designed reality so that His presence is less than compelling, so that we experience God as distant from us and “unknown” (ACTS 17:23).
Even Jesus (God the Son) on the cross cried out “My God [the Father], why have you forsaken [taken God the Spirit from] me?” (MT 27:46, PS 51:11) We may feel distant from God even though He is close or immanent, “for in Him we live and move and have our being” (ACTS 17:28), because God’s normative means of conversion is persuasion rather than coercion (MT 12:39, 24:24, 1CR 1:22-23). This is seen very clearly in Jesus’ lament over the obstinacy of Jerusalem (MT 23:37).
Apparently, undeniable miracles would be coercive or tantamount to demanding conversion and love at gunpoint. Because of human limitations and the necessity of accommodation and distanciation, we must be content with sufficient rather than perfect or inerrant knowledge of God’s revelation and not be unduly concerned when we find grains of sand (discrepancies and problematic passages) amid the gold or truth.
The truth that God’s method of conversion is NOT coercion was taught by Paul:
TOP #120: God’s normative method of conversion is via persuasion. [2CR 5:11] This method was practiced by Paul in the synagogue at Thessalonica (ACTS 17:1-4) and in Athens at a meeting of the Areopagus (ACTS 17:16-34)
TOP #160: God’s normative method of conversion is via the gifts related to teaching His Word/Truth. [EPH 4:2024] Jesus indicated (in JN 14:26, 15:26 & 16:13) that GW is taught by the indwelling HS. This truth jibes with TOP #119 & 120.
Even Jesus (God the Son) on the cross cried out “My God [the Father], why have you forsaken [taken God the Spirit from] me?” (MT 27:46, PS 51:11) We may feel distant from God even though He is close or immanent, “for in Him we live and move and have our being” (ACTS 17:28), because God’s normative means of conversion is persuasion rather than coercion (MT 12:39, 24:24, 1CR 1:22-23). This is seen very clearly in Jesus’ lament over the obstinacy of Jerusalem (MT 23:37).
Apparently, undeniable miracles would be coercive or tantamount to demanding conversion and love at gunpoint. Because of human limitations and the necessity of accommodation and distanciation, we must be content with sufficient rather than perfect or inerrant knowledge of God’s revelation and not be unduly concerned when we find grains of sand (discrepancies and problematic passages) amid the gold or truth.
The truth that God’s method of conversion is NOT coercion was taught by Paul:
TOP #120: God’s normative method of conversion is via persuasion. [2CR 5:11] This method was practiced by Paul in the synagogue at Thessalonica (ACTS 17:1-4) and in Athens at a meeting of the Areopagus (ACTS 17:16-34)
TOP #160: God’s normative method of conversion is via the gifts related to teaching His Word/Truth. [EPH 4:2024] Jesus indicated (in JN 14:26, 15:26 & 16:13) that GW is taught by the indwelling HS. This truth jibes with TOP #119 & 120.
