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My release from legalism was't passive (as in "You have been released". It was very active in that God led me (passive on my part) as He does others, but I had to trust Him and walk in His light (both things active on my part) in order to escape legalism's grip. And I can testify that the moment...

No, I'm solidly in the eternal security camp. I was just opposing (poorly) the false notion that a person loses his salvation and must be saved again when he adopts a legalistic approach to Christian living. It should be obvious that Paul was telling them that their actions made them look like...

Actually, I understand the book of Galatians pretty well. I once understood it from a legalistic perspective to not apply to me, but then I began to trust the Lord as He led me to the correct perspective. It took a long time (and much anguish) to unwind the many false notions I had about...

Christians can be legalistic. There is no doubt about that. This does not mean they lost their salvation. If so, the Galatians, Colossians, Romans, Ephesians, and Corinthians (and Peter and James) would have lost their salvation. And course-correction is not the same thing as getting saved...

There are apparently two NT Greek words translated "begotten". Here is the first (gennáō): γεννάω a beget: 23.58 b give birth: 23.52 c be born of: 13.56 d cause to happen: 13.129 Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). In Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains...

I think "only begotten" refers to Jesus becoming a human being. He was not created, but created everything. He did not come into being because He always existed. But He did become a man, and He was not always a man. I wonder if having this point of view makes people think I'm heretical since...

There are two paths to rightness with God. One is to be perfect (i.e., never commit even one sin). This is the only path open for angels, since Jesus did not die for them and as a result forgiveness is not available to them. But this path is not open for mankind. The only path to rightness with...

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. (Ac 3:19)

Yes!!! Otherwise this would be a circular argument... For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Co 1:21)

Unfortunately, if all you hear is crickets, you're gonna have to wait... "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;" (Jn 6:44) When you hear Him, take what He says to heart, and go to Jesus as instructed... "It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by...

This discussion reminds me of the story Jesus told people who trusted in themselves... 9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The...

I know several people whose journey away from God started in a similar way that you are describing. I would just say to you that you should not let other people's ideas about Christianity interfere with your intimate personal relationship with the One who died for your sins and lives in your...

You were mostly on track until the very end. The main issues I see in this are 1) confusing "the Word of God" with "the Bible", and 2) thinking that the KJV is the only valid version of the Bible. On the second point, have you never really understood that the writers of the NT did not write in...

Fortunately, Koine Greek is inflected in a way that helps eliminate the confusion that the English language often creates. He is saying "the flesh" (singlular subject) "lusts" (verb) "against the Spirit" (direct object), "the Spirit (singlular subject) "lusts" (borrowed verb) "against the...

It sounds like you are ascribing the lusts of the flesh to evil spirits who are living in our hearts. Maybe we see things mostly the same but using differnt words. Maybe you could throw in some Scriptures to support your wording.

I colorized your post to make it easier to follow what you are saying. In a nutshell, you are saying that the flesh is simply the body, and it follows the instructions of the person who lives in it. And you wanted me to noticed more so that God also lives in our bodies with us. In my post that...

This reminds me in some respects to Paul's commentary on the flesh having desires in adversarial opposition to the desires of the Spirit -- "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you...

Yes, of course. This is one of the defining characteristics of being a Christian. Romans 8:14 says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." He leads around everyone who is His child. In my experience, His voice is most clear (and most undeniable) in His...

Your friend may have cataracts. They tend to add yellow to images, thus making this owl look more green.

The "saved by faith alone" moniker has a false premise, which I stated in my post... Faith doesn't save people. God saves people. But His decision to save those who beleive the seemingly foolish message that Jesus died for their sins precludes the introduction of other requirements (which those...