How do preachers or teachers explain this?

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DavidLamb said:
I would encourage people to read the whole Bible because all of it is God's word. Yes, we need His help to understand Hs word.

When have I ever said that God is mysterious? Certainly, because He is God and we are not, there are things about Him that we cannot fully understand. But that doesn't mean that He is a complete mystery. He has told us many things about Himself in His word, including the fact that He is eternal, unchanging, holy, almighty, gracious, merciful, and much more.

My name is written in the book of life because the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to save me and to grant me eternal life. I cannot actually read my name in the book of life, because, as the Bible tells us, the book of life will only be opened at the time of the great white throne judgement.

How? The Bible tells us that the book of life is closed at the moment:

NKJV Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

It's not open for you or me to read now.
Click to expand...
I would encourage people to read the whole Bible because all of it is God's word. Yes, we need His help to understand Hs word.

I’m not forbidding you, nor will I oppose what you want to happen.
What I have shared with you is enough.

And I am certain that the lost sheep will not use what you want as their basis.
 
DavidLamb said:
I would encourage people to read the whole Bible because all of it is God's word. Yes, we need His help to understand Hs word.

When have I ever said that God is mysterious? Certainly, because He is God and we are not, there are things about Him that we cannot fully understand. But that doesn't mean that He is a complete mystery. He has told us many things about Himself in His word, including the fact that He is eternal, unchanging, holy, almighty, gracious, merciful, and much more.

My name is written in the book of life because the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to save me and to grant me eternal life. I cannot actually read my name in the book of life, because, as the Bible tells us, the book of life will only be opened at the time of the great white throne judgement.

How? The Bible tells us that the book of life is closed at the moment:

NKJV Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

It's not open for you or me to read now.
Click to expand...
How? The Bible tells us that the book of life is closed at the moment:

NKJV Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

It's not open for you or me to read now.

You said that you agree that we need to ask God, through Jesus, for help in understanding the Bible.

But this contradicts what you said, because you have already interpreted it according to your own understanding.
It now appears that what you are saying is not what is truly in your heart.

That is why the Lord said this: The Word of God does not pass away, even in our time, as it continues to be fulfilled (Ecclesiastes 1:9 and Matthew 24:35).
ISAIAH 29:13
13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

This is the truth that God reveals what is in the hearts of people.
 
DavidLamb said:
I would encourage people to read the whole Bible because all of it is God's word. Yes, we need His help to understand Hs word.

When have I ever said that God is mysterious? Certainly, because He is God and we are not, there are things about Him that we cannot fully understand. But that doesn't mean that He is a complete mystery. He has told us many things about Himself in His word, including the fact that He is eternal, unchanging, holy, almighty, gracious, merciful, and much more.

My name is written in the book of life because the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to save me and to grant me eternal life. I cannot actually read my name in the book of life, because, as the Bible tells us, the book of life will only be opened at the time of the great white throne judgement.

How? The Bible tells us that the book of life is closed at the moment:

NKJV Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

It's not open for you or me to read now.
Click to expand...
My name is written in the book of life because the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to save me and to grant me eternal life. I cannot actually read my name in the book of life, because, as the Bible tells us, the book of life will only be opened at the time of the great white throne judgement.

It may feel good to you to say these things about yourself. But the truth is what God has said: the heart is the most deceitful of all, and no one truly knows it.
JEREMIAH 17:9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
 
DavidLamb said:
Do you mean how does a sinner come to God? As the apostles said to the jailer in Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." And Jesus Himself said:

Jhn 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
NKJV Jhn 3:15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Jhn 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Click to expand...
In the Lord Jesus’ statement, “I am the way” (John 14:6), different groups within Christianity also claim what you have said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

However, the fact that there are at least four different understandings of who the Lord Jesus is is enough to say that this is not in accordance with the truth.

It appears that you have interpreted Acts 16:31 according to your own understanding, or that your understanding comes merely from people.
It should come from God in order for it to be the truth.
 
Godsgood said:
When have I ever said that God is mysterious? Certainly, because He is God and we are not, there are things about Him that we cannot fully understand. But that doesn't mean that He is a complete mystery. He has told us many things about Himself in His word, including the fact that He is eternal, unchanging, holy, almighty, gracious, merciful, and much more.

You may not say directly that God is mysterious.
However, the fact that you do not see your spiritual name, which is not written in the Book of Life, is already an example of how God continues to remain mysterious in your life.
Click to expand...
No, as I have said before, I know that my name is written in the book of life, because I have, by God's grace, eternal life in Christ Jesus. Nowhere does the Bible tell us that the book of life is available for Christians to read. Here are the eight verses where the book of life is mentioned:

NKJV Php_4:3 And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
Rev_3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Rev_13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev_17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev_20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Rev_20:15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev_21:27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Rev_22:19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Not one of those verses says anything about us reading the book of life. Indeed, one of the verses says that the book of life is opened, and the context of that verse in Revelation 20 is the judgement at the great white throne. God is not a mystery to me, though there are things about His being that I do not know, because He is God and I am not.
 
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Godsgood said:
If that is the case, are you ready to refrain from relying on your own understanding of God’s Word written in the Holy Book, even when it seems clear to you?

For example, if what you see is white, but God says it is black and not white, are you willing to accept that it is black even though you clearly see it as white?
Click to expand...
If God says something, I believe it. You use the example of black and white. Let's look at a similar example, love and hate. One Bible verse seems to say that we are to hate our family members:

NKJV Luk 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

I could read that verse, and think, "God wants me to hate my parents, my wife and my children." But when I read the way it is written in Matthew, I know that is not what Jesus meant:

NKJV Mat 10:37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

Jews sometimes use "hate" to mean "love less."

When I come across something in the Bible that I don't understand, I pray to God to help me.
 
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Godsgood said:
I would encourage people to read the whole Bible because all of it is God's word. Yes, we need His help to understand Hs word.

I’m not forbidding you, nor will I oppose what you want to happen.
What I have shared with you is enough.

And I am certain that the lost sheep will not use what you want as their basis.
Click to expand...
I was not talking about lost sheep, but about "found sheep", Christians, lost sheep who have been found by the Good Shepherd. Christians should want to know all that God has revealed to them in His word, not just part of it.
 
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Godsgood said:
How? The Bible tells us that the book of life is closed at the moment:

NKJV Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

It's not open for you or me to read now.

You said that you agree that we need to ask God, through Jesus, for help in understanding the Bible.

But this contradicts what you said, because you have already interpreted it according to your own understanding.
It now appears that what you are saying is not what is truly in your heart.
Click to expand...
Yet again, you seem to be claiming to know what is in my heart. You do not. When Jesus was on earth, He was able to see into people's hearts:

NKJV Mat 9:3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!"
Mat 9:4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?

You are not the Saviour, and you cannot see into my heart.

Godsgood said:
That is why the Lord said this: The Word of God does not pass away, even in our time, as it continues to be fulfilled (Ecclesiastes 1:9 and Matthew 24:35).
ISAIAH 29:13
13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

This is the truth that God reveals what is in the hearts of people.
Click to expand...
I have already told you that I fully agree that the word of God does not pass away. It is always true and living and powerful.
 
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Godsgood said:
My name is written in the book of life because the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to save me and to grant me eternal life. I cannot actually read my name in the book of life, because, as the Bible tells us, the book of life will only be opened at the time of the great white throne judgement.

It may feel good to you to say these things about yourself.
Click to expand...
It is not that it "feels good" to say those things. Rather, they are written in God's word. For example:

NKJV Jhn 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
Jhn 3:15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Jhn 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

1Pe 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
Godsgood said:
But the truth is what God has said: the heart is the most deceitful of all, and no one truly knows it.
JEREMIAH 17:9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Click to expand...
That is funny. Here you have said that no one truly knows it (the heart), yet previously you claimed several times to know what is in my heart.
 
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Godsgood said:
In the Lord Jesus’ statement, “I am the way” (John 14:6), different groups within Christianity also claim what you have said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”
Click to expand...
It is not "different groups within Christianity" claiming it. It is a direct quote from God's word.
Godsgood said:
However, the fact that there are at least four different understandings of who the Lord Jesus is is enough to say that this is not in accordance with the truth.

It appears that you have interpreted Acts 16:31 according to your own understanding, or that your understanding comes merely from people.
It should come from God in order for it to be the truth.
Click to expand...
Acts 16:31 contains words spoken by the apostles to somebody enquiring about how to be saved. They replied simply, not in some mysterious dark sayings. What else could "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" mean, if it doesn't meant that belief on the Lord Jesus Christ is required for salvation? That does come from God. It is the same as what Jesus preached in John 3.
 
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Godsgood said:
You may not say directly that God is mysterious.
However, the fact that you do not see your spiritual name, which is not written in the Book of Life, is already an example of how God continues to remain mysterious in your life.
Click to expand...
That is a ridiculous assertion. You can't see your name either, so every insult you throw at others belongs on you first.
 
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Godsgood said:
I would encourage people to read the whole Bible because all of it is God's word. Yes, we need His help to understand Hs word.

I’m not forbidding you, nor will I oppose what you want to happen.
What I have shared with you is enough.
Click to expand...
Enough for what? What you have shared is replete with error, misinterpretation, and rank stupidity. Only when you quote Scripture in context and without your own circuitous babble is it worth anything.

Godsgood said:
And I am certain that the lost sheep will not use what you want as their basis.
Click to expand...
You have used this word "basis" many times in your posts. Every time you use it with the mistaken idea that anyone is teaching to use something other than the gospel of Jesus Christ as the basis for salvation. Nobody has made such a claim.
 
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Godsgood said:
It appears that you have interpreted Acts 16:31 according to your own understanding, or that your understanding comes merely from people.
It should come from God in order for it to be the truth.
Click to expand...
Are you saying the words of Scripture don't come from God?
 
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Godsgood said:
In the Lord Jesus’ statement, “I am the way” (John 14:6), different groups within Christianity also claim what you have said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

However, the fact that there are at least four different understandings of who the Lord Jesus is is enough to say that this is not in accordance with the truth.
Click to expand...
Wrong. The fact that some people misinterpret the truth is not evidence that it "is not in accordance with the truth."
 
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Godsgood said:
JOHN 14:12
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
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I dont know about teachers but if you look at the situation and co text of what's going on . It's a discussion with his chosen apostles as the last supper is concluding. He said alot of things to them that we see in" the acts of the apostles "

Peter and Paul healed and raised the dead like Jesus did did many signs and wonders as he had been doing in thoer sight beforehand. Notice first Jesus was filled with the holy ghost and did many miracles and signs and wonders amd then later in John 14-16 he's explaining to them that after he dies and is raised they will reveive the holy ghost and they will do many things and be his witnesses with power to the world. Later the book of " the acts of the apostles " witnesses some of those things....


I'd say it's possible we should sometimes separate what he's saying or said to or gave authority to specific folks like his 12 apostles including Paul....

if you look at the spiritual gifts only some would do miraculous things some would heal and monsoons and wonders....

Just a thought to consider however God bless
 
DavidLamb said:
No, as I have said before, I know that my name is written in the book of life, because I have, by God's grace, eternal life in Christ Jesus. Nowhere does the Bible tell us that the book of life is available for Christians to read. Here are the eight verses where the book of life is mentioned:

NKJV Php_4:3 And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
Rev_3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Rev_13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev_17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev_20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Rev_20:15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev_21:27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Rev_22:19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Not one of those verses says anything about us reading the book of life. Indeed, one of the verses says that the book of life is opened, and the context of that verse in Revelation 20 is the judgement at the great white throne. God is not a mystery to me, though there are things about His being that I do not know, because He is God and I am not.
Click to expand...
Those of us who have come to know the one true God proclaim the truth through His words. We are very bold in testifying to Ecclesiastes 1:9 and Matthew 24:35, because God has declared that His words are alive throughout all generations.

Therefore, the events recorded in the Old Testament, which people literally understand as stories that happened in the past and will no longer happen today, we see as continuing to happen in our present generation. This is why we believe that the Word of God is alive in our generation.

Likewise, the things written in the Holy Scriptures that people literally understand as events that will happen only in the future, we see some of them already being fulfilled today. One example is the Book of Life, which the Lord spoke about. Through God's revelation we can already see its reality today. For if the Book of Life did not yet exist in our time, then, from our perspective, the Word of God concerning the Book of Life would appear as though it were still dead because it had not yet come into existence.

So, if you believe that the Lord was referring to a future time when He spoke about the Book of Life, I will respect your belief and leave you to it. My purpose is to reach out to God’s lost sheep, not to those who already have their own established beliefs.

And the verses you mentioned, although they are the Word of God, are understood according to human interpretation. That is why they are believed to refer to things that will only happen in the future.
 
Godsgood said:
Those of us who have come to know the one true God proclaim the truth through His words. We are very bold in testifying to Ecclesiastes 1:9 and Matthew 24:35, because God has declared that His words are alive throughout all generations.

Therefore, the events recorded in the Old Testament, which people literally understand as stories that happened in the past and will no longer happen today, we see as continuing to happen in our present generation. This is why we believe that the Word of God is alive in our generation.

Likewise, the things written in the Holy Scriptures that people literally understand as events that will happen only in the future, we see some of them already being fulfilled today. One example is the Book of Life, which the Lord spoke about. Through God's revelation we can already see its reality today. For if the Book of Life did not yet exist in our time, then, from our perspective, the Word of God concerning the Book of Life would appear as though it were still dead because it had not yet come into existence.

So, if you believe that the Lord was referring to a future time when He spoke about the Book of Life, I will respect your belief and leave you to it. My purpose is to reach out to God’s lost sheep, not to those who already have their own established beliefs.

And the verses you mentioned, although they are the Word of God, are understood according to human interpretation. That is why they are believed to refer to things that will only happen in the future.
Click to expand...
If the things we read happening in the Old Testament are happening today, please explain why the whole world is not flooded, why God is not still rescuing the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, why Daniel is not still in a lions' den, why Elijah is no longer on Mount Carmel, why Gideon's army are not still drinking water in two different ways to work out who should fight and who should go home. All those things are recorded as happening in the Old Testament. Where are they happening today?
 
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DavidLamb said:
If God says something, I believe it. You use the example of black and white. Let's look at a similar example, love and hate. One Bible verse seems to say that we are to hate our family members:

NKJV Luk 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

I could read that verse, and think, "God wants me to hate my parents, my wife and my children." But when I read the way it is written in Matthew, I know that is not what Jesus meant:

NKJV Mat 10:37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

Jews sometimes use "hate" to mean "love less."

When I come across something in the Bible that I don't understand, I pray to God to help me.
Click to expand...
If God says something, I believe it. You use the example of black and white. Let's look at a similar example, love and hate. One Bible verse seems to say that we are to hate our family members:

Luke 14:26 is a truth that must be fulfilled in order to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus.
Therefore, it should not be disregarded.
And it does not correspond to my example.
LUKE 14:26
26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.


When I come across something in the Bible that I don't understand, I pray to God to help me.
If you truly pray to God, you will not disregard Luke 14:26, because the Lord speaks the truth.
 
DavidLamb said:
If the things we read happening in the Old Testament are happening today, please explain why the whole world is not flooded, why God is not still rescuing the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, why Daniel is not still in a lions' den, why Elijah is no longer on Mount Carmel, why Gideon's army are not still drinking water in two different ways to work out who should fight and who should go home. All those things are recorded as happening in the Old Testament. Where are they happening today?
Click to expand...
Because the eyes you are using are merely human eyes, your understanding of God’s Word comes only from human understanding and not from God.
That is why you cannot see it.

But we, because we have come to know the one true God, have been given eyes by Him to see everything you mentioned.
Therefore, we see all of these things happening in our time.

You ask where they are happening? They are happening in the world today.
 
DavidLamb said:
If the things we read happening in the Old Testament are happening today, please explain why the whole world is not flooded, why God is not still rescuing the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, why Daniel is not still in a lions' den, why Elijah is no longer on Mount Carmel, why Gideon's army are not still drinking water in two different ways to work out who should fight and who should go home. All those things are recorded as happening in the Old Testament. Where are they happening today?
Click to expand...
I already told you this before. During His time, the Lord Jesus saw that what happened in the days of Noah was happening again, the great flood that killed people throughout the whole world.
MATTHEW 24:38
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

The reason He could see this was because He knew the one true God, who had given Him the vision to see the events that happened in the past.
JOHN 8:54-55
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
 
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