ANSWER:
I can't comment on what you heard on TEMA, since I didn't get to listen to the program you're referring to. One of the things you need to remember is that the guys on the program are giving their opinions on the questions asked, and Calvary Pastors are by no means monolithic in their views and thinking on different issues. We have some distinctives that we all hold to, but there are plenty of "flavors" out there.
That said, keep in mind you're getting my take, here.
While the O.T. saints are part of Israel and are not part of the Church, they will be at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. They will not be a part of the Bride of Christ (the Church) but they will be "guests" at the feast. Jesus gave a parable specifically on this in Matt 22:1-14. Israel of Jesus' day had been invited and declined the invitation and that's what the judgment in the passage is about. Jesus called John the Baptist "the friend of the Bridegroom" in reference to this. That correlates to the best man in our culture. John was not part of the Bride because he was the last of the O.T. prophets and not a part of the Church, also according to Jesus.
The O.T. saints are definitely part of the New Jerusalem...the first mention, and promise, of the city is in Isaiah, an O.T. Prophet. If you look at the building materials of the city, they are a typical mixture of Church and Israel, Jew and Gentile; 12 foundation stones that correspond to the stones on the High Priest's breastplate, each with an Apostle's name on it. 12 gates made of pearl (a gentile jewel), each with a name of an Israeli tribe written on it. And the name is Jerusalem. And so on (Rev 21).
O.T. saints are saved by faith (Habakkuk 2:4); the Jews were saved like Abraham was, by believing God (Rom 4). Jesus is their Messiah and the fulfillment of the Law (Rom 10:4, Matt. 5:17, Col 2:13-17). They were never saved by the Law or sacrifices, the Law was always designed to drive people to the fulfillment of the sacrifices in Christ (Rom 3:19-20). People who died before Jesus came were looking forward, in faith, to God's provision for them.
Dispensationalism is a systematic theology based on the grammatical/historical method of interpretation. Grammatical meaning you must interpret words and concepts according to the rules of grammar of the language being used, including context grammatically and historically; words mean things. Historical meaning passages must be interpreted in the way the people would take them at the time they were given. That type of interpretation forces you to realize that God has a specific plan for Israel that is yet to be fully completed. God has another plan for the Church that is in the process of being fulfilled. Thus, "Dispensationalism", God working in different ways at different times with different groups, although all are saved by grace through faith. So Jews in the O.T. were under the Law, while Christians in the N.T. are not; two different dispensations.
Calvary's are dispensational in the strict sense of the term. The reason I make the caveat is because many "dispensational" Churches don't believe in the continuation of the gifts of the Spirit, Calvary's do.
ANSWER:
I have heard this argument. Problem is, with the same argument you can get rid of the doctrine of the Trinity, salvation by grace, primacy of scripture, etc. For example the doctrine of the Trinity was finally nailed down and codified in the 300's AD. Reason being, it was never really assaulted till that time. When it was, they had a council in which they went through scripture and hammered home exactly what the Bible said on the subject to refute false teachers. That doesn't mean it was made up (they got it from the Bible) or that nobody believed Jesus was God (which they did) before that time. Salvation by grace alone was hammered home by the reformers in the 1500's. Doesn't mean that they made it up, the whole book of Romans is about it.
Since the teaching about the rapture is found in the Bible, it would be incorrect to say that it's a fairly new idea. It dates from the first century when Jesus spoke about it in Matt 24 & Jn. 14, and Paul taught on it in 1 Thess 4. Goes further back than that, Isaiah speaks about it (Is. 26:19-21 compare with Jn. 14:1-3), and Enoch (Gen. 5) and Lot (Gen. 19) are both types of believers taken out before judgment.
As to Church doctrine, the Church from the 400's (after Augustine) till the reformation was teaching that Western Europe was the Kingdom of God, that the Church had replaced Israel, and that there was no literal 1000 year reign of Christ. Their eschatology (teaching on the last days) was all messed up. All of this is contrary to the plain teaching of the Bible. And yet, throughout that time the one thing they did get right was that Jesus was coming soon. So, whatever time period you looked at, the believer's were trying to put themselves in the Great Tribulation.
This is important, because the Bible teaches that Jesus could come at any moment. To make that happen, scripturally, you either have to believe in a Pre-tribulational Rapture or that we are in the final days of the Great Tribulation. The only way you can put the church in the tribulation is to spiritualize scripture, which is what happened for the last 1500 years or so with part of the church. We know now that Israel was not replaced, that there will be a literal tribulation and Kingdom Age, etc.
Before the 400's the teaching on last days stuff is, for the most part, vague, except that the believer's thought Jesus could come at any time. There is, though, a sermon by Ephraem the Syrian (a highly respected pastor of the 300's) who very clearly teaches that believers will be removed before the Tribulation. This means the doctrine of the Rapture predates this guy's theology (which is derived from Augustine) by over 100 years. So, on every level the argument that the Rapture is a new doctrine and should be rejected doesn't hold water.
ANSWER:
No, the term "positive confession" refers to the false teaching that all Christians should be healthy and wealthy. Part of that teaching is that Christians should always speak positive things. For example, they teach that if a believer says, "I may be getting a cold," God will allow them to get one because of their lack of faith. On the other hand, they say if a believer is "manifesting" the "symptoms" of a cold, they should "positively confess" that they are well, and God must heal them. Or more correctly, they would never have actually been sick, they were only "manifesting the symptoms". They call this "faith". This obviously has nothing to do with true biblical faith.
ANSWER:
The Apostle's Creed is not found in the Bible, although what it affirms is based on biblical doctrines. It's a compilation of various doctrinal statements given by Church Fathers dating back to about 170 AD. The shorter form is dated about 340 AD and the longer form, CA 500 AD.
ANSWER:
When you line up the events, then the numbers get easier. Antichrist is shown in true colors (abomination of desolation) halfway thru the 70th week. He lasts 1260 more days and is destroyed at the 2nd coming (Rev:13:5 with 12:6, 12:14, 19:20 and Dan. 7:25). After Jesus' return there is a gathering of the living Gentiles to Jerusalem for a judgment as to whether they will enter the Millennial Kingdom or be destroyed, Matt 25:31-46. There is also a physical gathering of the Jews to Israel for the same type of judgment (Matt 24:31, Is. 66:20, Ezek. 20:34-38).
The gathering of the nations takes time, Isaiah says they come on horseback, in carts, on litters, etc. This, most likely accounts for the number 1290 in Dan. 12:11. 30 days to get to Israel for the judgment. But the blessing is on those who "wait" till the 1335th day. Most likely the judgment of the Gentiles and Israel will take a total of 45 days (Lot of people left over from Great Trib judgments & it looks like the lord does the judging in real time (Joel 3:1-2, 14)). 1260 (Great Tribulation) + 30 (Gathering of the Nations) = 1290 days + 45 (Period of judgment) = 1335 days. If tribulation saints make it to this date, they are blessed because they are counted worthy to enter the kingdom age.
ANSWER:
Mark 16:17-18 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (NKJV)
ANSWER:
The Bible says that Jesus is the one coming back: Acts 1:9-11 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This [same] Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (NKJV)
And the Bible says that Jesus is God: Titus 2:13 while we wait for the blessed hope -- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, (NIV)
ANSWER:
Lk 19:11-27 (too long, look it up), Matthew 19:28 So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (NKJV)
Luke 22:29-30 "And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed [one] upon Me, 30 "that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (NKJV)
Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him,] that we may also be glorified together. (NKJV)
1 Corinthians 4:8 You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us -- and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! (NKJV)
2 Timothy 2:12 If we endure, We shall also reign with [Him.] If we deny [Him,] He also will deny us. (NKJV)
Revelation 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." (NKJV)
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy [is] he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (NKJV)
I'm also answering some stuff about who gets their new bodies when and all, if the dead will have to wait for the 2nd coming to go to heaven as it appears in 1 Thess 4.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive [and] remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (NKJV)
Notice that in vs. 14 Paul says that at the rapture God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. That means they are with God before the resurrection that happens at the rapture. So, a man dies, his spirit goes to heaven, the Lord brings the man with Him at the rapture to raise his body, then we all (those who've died and those who're alive at the rapture) return to heaven.
Seems like when Jesus says that "today you'll be with me in Paradise", that he infers that today
for the thief will be a different today on the time line for Jesus, cause Jesus wasn't going to Paradise that day.
Paradise at that time would be in Hades, in what Jesus called Abraham's bosom in Lk 16. So, Jesus actually did go to Paradise that day. And so did the thief.
So, I am about to go with a guess that when we die, we will immediately go to heaven to be with the Lord as the thief was, and since it seems to be outside of the restrictions of time (re. Jesus saying he'll be with the thief THAT DAY in Paradise) it will be in the manner of 1 Thess 4 coinciding with the return of Christ. Am I wet? Maybe Jesus was without the restriction of time while the thief is, and he'll just have to wait for the second coming to get his new body?
It would be at the Rapture.
Right now, the people in heaven just are souls with no glorified body yet? (ie, the bald guys are still just bald souls, waiting for their new hair?)
I don't know about us being outside of time in heaven, angels apparently aren't (it took one 3 weeks to get to Daniel at one point), the martyrs under the altar in Rev 6 apparently aren't; Revelation 6:9-10 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (NKJV) As you read thru Revelation 4-5 and Rev 21-22, it looks like events take time and follow each other, which may, admittedly, be a construct to show us events in a timeless place.
It does look like people in heaven are souls with no glorified body.
ANSWER:
Yes, the passage is in Deuteronomy
22:5 A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor
shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so [are]
an abomination to the LORD your God. (NKJV)
But the prohibition is not against clothing
style. For example, at the time it was given, women didn't wear
dresses and men didn't wear pants. Everyone wore robes. But
there was a difference between a man's robe and a woman's robe.
Just like there is a difference, today, between men's pants
and women's pants. Men who wear women's clothing today are called
cross dressers or transvestites. They are trying to look like
a woman. It's a sexual perversion and the Canaanites did the
same thing. That's what the prohibition was about.
As to makeup and jewelry, the passages
you're thinking of are:
1 Timothy 2:9-10 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves
in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided
hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is
proper for women professing godliness, with good works. (NKJV)
1 Peter 3:3-4 Do not let your adornment be [merely] outward
-- arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on [fine] apparel
-- 4 rather [let it be] the hidden person of the heart, with
the incorruptible [beauty] of a gentle and quiet spirit, which
is very precious in the sight of God. (NKJV)
Both are speaking of modesty in dress.
Not making the outward appearance the main focus of what people
see in you. The inward should be what makes a person distinct.
At the time Paul wrote the Greek and Roman
women were doing ridiculous things with braiding their hair,
to the point that they were making animal shapes with it and
sometimes even making birdcages with real birds inside - out
of their hair! That's why he mentions braiding hair. He's not
saying that a woman can never put a braid of any sort in her
hair, just that she's not to be known by her magnificent braids,
the outward appearance.
The same with jewelry and clothing: In
Genesis 24:52-53 it says, And it came to pass, when Abraham's
servant heard their words, that he worshiped the LORD, [bowing
himself] to the earth. 53 Then the servant brought out jewelry
of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave [them] to
Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to
her mother. (NKJV) It wasn't a sin or a temptation for the servant
to give Rebekah fine clothing or expensive jewelry. The servant
was a godly man and Rebekah was a godly woman. And that's the
point, although Rebekah did have those things, and obviously
wore them at times, she is known for her godliness, not her
wardrobe.
In Ezekiel 16:10-13 God says, "I clothed
you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin;
I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11
"I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists,
and a chain on your neck. 12 "And I put a jewel in your
nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.
13 "Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your
clothing [was of] fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You
ate [pastry of] fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly
beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. (NKJV) He's speaking figuratively
of the love and care that He had for Israel and he uses the
common marriage customs of the time to illustrate it.
Sometimes, by going to the opposite extreme,
some women disobey the point of Paul and Peter's commands. If
a woman wears a totally unstylish black ankle length dress,
covers her head with a hat or piece of linen that's out of the
norm, and then goes to the grocery store, she will get a reaction
from people. And they won't be commenting on her inner beauty,
they will be focused on her outward appearance. It would be
much better if she just looked modestly normal and were known
for her kind heart and love for Jesus.
*Also Asked: "Well I don't know my dad doesn't want me going to the
UCP church anymore now that he knows about it, and I believe
I shouldn't either, but I like some things they do in there
church just not there teachings and doctrine. Do you know of
any churches in the Tri-Cities area that are like the Russian
Pentecostal Church described above"?
I don't know of any specifically, but if
you stay away from the United Pentecostal you should be fine.
Most Pentecostal churches are pretty similar.
ANSWER:
There isn't
one. The idolaters in Old Testament times didn't do Christmas
trees. The passage is talking about making an idol along the
same lines as Isaiah 44:9-20. You can tell, in the context,
that they're making an idol because of vs. 5. "They are
upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak." We don't
paint mouths on a tree and we don't expect a Christmas tree
to speak.
Christmas trees started in Germany in the
middle ages with what were called "Paradise Plays".
They were plays about the fall of Adam & Eve. What we call
the Christmas tree was, in the plays, the tree of life (it's
why they used an evergreen), and later the tree of the knowledge
of good & evil. That's why they hung apples from the tree,
which is where we get the tradition of ornaments. In fact, that's
where the apple & Eve thing got started. The Bible doesn't
say what type of fruit she ate. From the plays the Christmas
tree was incorporated as a German Christmas tradition. You can
go back in history and find times when Romans, druids, or other
pagans used evergreen branches, or oak trees in their pagan
worship, but no one ever did what we would call a Christmas
tree.
ANSWER:
About the Trinity and Oneness Doctrine:
The oneness doctrine is an ancient heresy called "modalism".
Basically, they teach that God is one and that He puts on different
forms to reveal himself. So if he wants to show Himself as Jesus,
He would put on a "Jesus suit." If He wants to reveal
Himself as the Spirit, He would put on a "Spirit suit."
Same with the Father. I'm kind of messing around with the "suit"
thing, but that's the essence of their idea.
Problem is, it isn't scriptural. If Jesus
is the Father, and if Jesus is the Holy Spirit, then we have
some problems with some very clear passages of scripture. When
Jesus was being baptized, He was in the water, the Spirit was
descending in the form of a dove, and the Father was speaking
from heaven. Unless Jesus' was playing games with our minds
(lying), He cannot be in the water and at the same time be a
dove descending. Same with the voice of the Father, is Jesus
acting like a ventriloquist?
You have the same problem with Jesus praying
to the Father from the cross, or just praying in general. Who
is He talking to? Himself? To believe oneness doctrine you have
to ignore lots of scripture and try to explain it away. I never
want to be in the position of explaining away scripture.
The Doctrine of the Trinity goes like this:
Within the nature of the One God, there simultaneously exist
three Eternal Persons, namely, God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. All three are co-equal in attributes,
eternity, power, and Glory.
This is the only position that deals with
all the verses in the Bible on God. So, one God in 3 persons.
That's hard to conceive of but that's what God has said about
Himself in the Bible. We have to trust that He knows what He's
talking about when He describes Himself. You are made in the
image of God, and the Bible says you have 3 parts. Body, soul
and spirit (1 Thess 4:23 and Heb 4:12). So you are one person
and only one person and you have 3 parts. God is one God and
only one God and He has 3 parts. The Father, Son and Spirit.
When dealing with any doctrine, if there is one verse that contradicts
my position, and it's in context, I have to change my position.
Oneness people do not deal with contradictory verses, they ignore
them, or try to explain them away.
Cults will always attack the Doctrine of
who God is. They'll either make God less than what the Bible
says He is, or they'll try and make Jesus less than He is (like
the Mormons or Jehovah's witnesses do.). The Bible says that
there will be people who preach another Jesus, another Gospel
and another Spirit. That's what UPC does and it's why they are
classified a cult. You need to get out of there. The reason
you are having problems with them is because the Spirit is warning
you.
If you'd like more verses on the Trinity, click here. There's lots more information
there.
You are right about baptism. The reason
we baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is
because of Matt 28:19. That obviously includes Jesus. They're
playing word games to try to make themselves different from
everyone else. That's another mark of a cult.
Baptism does not save you, anyway. You
were saved when you received Christ (Jn 1:12-13), His blood
washed away your sin (Rev 1:5), not the Columbia River. You
cannot be saved by any works, otherwise you could boast about
it (Eph. 2:8-9), like they do about their style of baptism.
Baptism represents dying to our old nature and being raised
to a new life, like Jesus was (Rom 6:3-4). And getting baptized
is an act of obedience, not a work that saves you. Nothing can
save you but the free gift of Jesus' death in our place. (Rom.
6:23) If baptism were needed for you to be saved, Paul would
never have told the Corinthians that Jesus never sent him to
baptize or that he (Paul) was glad that he hadn't baptized them
(1 Cor 1:14-17). When a church teaches that there is some work
that you must do to be saved, it's another mark of a cult. (Gal
1:6-9)
I need to ask why you stopped attending
Calvary? I really don't have a problem with people going to
other churches but you need to go to a church that is faithful
to teach the Bible.
If you want to know more about UPC
and other cults, you can pick up any book on cults at the Bible
bookstore. I recommend "The Kingdom of the Cults",
by Walter Martin.
ANSWER:
To get what's happening in the passage,
you need a little background. Gadara was part of Jewish territory,
so there shouldn't have been swine or swineherds, pigs are unclean
according to Jewish dietary laws. Demons apparently desire to
possess a body, human or otherwise. Matt 12:43-45 In John 8:43,
Jesus says the devil has always been a murderer. Demons want to
destroy the lives of those they possess.
So, to answer your question, the demons
went into the pigs. Jesus allowed it because the swineherds
were doing something against the will of God for the Jews. When
they got there, they did to the pigs what they had been trying
to do to the men they were possessing, destroy them. After the
pigs were dead, the demons would still be free to roam around
the earth, doing what demons do, until the judgment day.
ANSWER:
In John 14:17 Jesus told the Apostles
that the Spirit dwelt with them and would be in them. He was speaking
of the ministry of the Spirit in their lives. The Spirit begins
in a person's life "with" them. Drawing them to Christ.
Showing them the need for a savior. Convicting them of sin (Jn
16:8). When a person becomes a Christian the Holy Spirit comes
in them. We become the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19).
This happened with the Apostles in Jn 20:22 when Jesus (after
the resurrection) breathed on them and said, "receive the
Holy Spirit." He then commanded them to wait in Jerusalem
until the Holy Spirit came *upon* them (Lk 24:49, Acts 1:5,8)
for power.
So there's a *with* experience with the
Spirit, an *in* experience and an *upon* experience. The upon
experience is generally called the "baptism of the Spirit"
or the "filling". Nomenclature isn't really a big
deal, the reality is. We need power to live the life and that
comes through the ministry of the Spirit. This experience can
happen at salvation or afterward as in the case of the Apostles.
But it's not just a one time event. As you read through Acts
you'll see that the disciples were filled numerous times with
the Spirit. This coincides with Eph 5:18 which literally says
"be being filled with the Spirit", a continual action
not a single event. Also as you read through Acts you'll see that different people had different experiences
as far as timing. The Apostles were empowered after salvation,
Acts 2. The gentiles at Cornelius' house received the power
of the Spirit at the time they believed. Acts 10:44-48. The
Samaritans were filled subsequent to salvation in Acts 8:5-17.
The Holy Spirit came upon the Ephesian disciples after they
were baptized. Each of these groups had the Spirit *indwelling*
them at the moment they were saved. Only one (the gentiles)
had the Spirit come *upon* them at the moment they believed.
The others had the two events separated by a period of time,
whether it was weeks (the Apostles) or days (Samaritans) or
minutes
(time it took for Paul to baptize and then lay hands on the
Ephesians.).
As to the evidence of the power of the
Spirit, Jesus said it would be the power to be a witness, in
Acts 1:8. In Acts 4:31 it says that when the disciples were
refilled with the Spirit, they spoke the word of God with *boldness.*
I think that's the evidence, the power to live the life, to
boldly confess Jesus. Another evidence of the power of the Spirit
is love, Gal 5:22. That is what the Bible says. There is no
verse that says the evidence of the filling of the Spirit is
the gift of tongues. Don't want to denigrate the gift, because
it is important, and most people spoken of in Acts received
it. We need to pray that God gives us all He has for us. But
the Bible does not say if you don't have tongues, you haven't been baptized with the
Spirit. In fact, the baptism of the Spirit is received as an
act of faith when we ask for it (Lk 11:11-13).
As to passages you can look up, I referred
to a lot of them, you'll want to go through and read them for
yourself. You can also read 1 Cor 12-14 and Rom 12. They deal
with the gifts of the Spirit.
ANSWER:
If the letters are in all caps, it
means YHWH. That is called the tetragrammaton and it's the name
that God gave Himself. When it's transliterated into English it's
usually Jehovah, but nobody really knows how it was pronounced.
Most likely, Yahweh. Now the question remains, is it talking about
Jesus or the Father (assuming you're equating "God" with the Father). The name may refer to the Son or the Father
or the Spirit or all three collectively, since the three are what
God is. For example, Paul in Philippians 2:10-11 says that Jesus
is YHWH in quoting from Is. 45:23. John identifies Jesus as YHWH
in Jn 12:37-41 (esp. 41) where he says that Isaiah was seeing
Jesus when he had his vision of God in Isaiah 6. There are lots
of these types of references in the New Testament. In the Old
Testament there are some interesting passages that show that the
one God is a compound unity (3 in 1). Is 44:6 is a good example;
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, (that's one guy) And his
Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: (that's another one, and He's Jehovah,
too) 'I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no
God. (At least 2 guys that are the one God)
Here's another one;
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour on the
house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit
of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me (earlier
in the context it's stated the YHWH is speaking) whom they pierced.
(when did Jehovah get pierced?) Yes, they will mourn for Him
(notice the change of pronoun? Now we have one YHWH talking
about the other one, and apparently they were both pierced,
somehow. 2 Cor 5:19)as one mourns for [his] only [son,] and
grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
If you want more on this, you can get some
documents on the trinity page.
Question - Was Job a Jew?
Probably not, there is no mention of the
law. Most commentators believe Job lived before Abraham and
that the book is the oldest in the Bible.
Question - Was it God who inflicted all
these things unto Job, or was it Lucifer (i.e. when the Lord
says to the Devil, "Everything he has is in your hands" seems to imply that it is the Devil, although reading the book,
I get the impression that it is the Lord)?
God takes responsibility for it, even though
Satan performed the acts. Look at Job 2:3. Ultimately, that's
where it sits for us as believers. 1 Cor 10:13 says that God
will not allow anything in our lives that we can't handle and
so we can rest in the fact that anything Satan wants to do to
us has to come through God first. Job is a good example of that.
Also need to remember that the reality of what was going on
in Job's life is stated in chapters 1-2 and then in chapters
38-42. Everything in between is man philosophizing and pondering
and wondering and arguing.
Just one thing, Job is a great book
to address the issue of suffering and why believers go through
it. In Job's case, it was because he was so godly.
ANSWER:
No, baptism does not save you. The
bible says that salvation is a free gift, separate from any works
that we can perform:
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the
gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. (NKJV)
You need to remember that the word "grace"
in the bible, means "an undeserved gift."
You will find many people who will try
and tell you that there is some work you have to do or ritual
you have to perform or church you have to go to, before you
can be saved. But the bible teaches that salvation does not
come from our righteous works but from our freely accepting
the mercy of God:
Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and love
of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous
things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through
the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom
he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become
heirs having the hope of eternal life. (NIV)
In fact, the idea that I can earn salvation
by doing anything would mean that salvation is not a free gift
offered by God's grace, but a matter of God having to pay me
a debt that he owes:
Romans 4:2-5 If, in fact, Abraham was justified
by works, he had something to boast about -- but not before
God. 3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God,
and it was credited to him as righteousness." 4 Now when
a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but
as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but
trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as
righteousness. (NIV)
You asked:
In Mark 16:16 it reads that "He who believes and is baptized
will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned..." According the the passage baptism is required to be saved, but
non belief will be condemnation. Does this mean if I am baptized
and not truly believe, I am condemned. However if I truly believe
and have not been baptized, I am still condemned.
The bible teaches that without a real relationship
with Christ, whether you've been baptized or not, you will not
be saved. Matt 7:21-23. But you'll notice that Mk 16:16 says
that you will be condemned if you don't believe, not if you
are not baptized. Unbelief is always the reason for condemnation,
Jn 3:16-21. The reason that baptism is so closely connected
with belief for salvation in the first part of the verse, is
because in the 1st century, in Israel, the first thing you did
when you got saved was get baptized. It was similar to standing
up in church and publicly accepting or confessing Jesus as your
Savior. It was a public confession of Christ. It still is.
Paul said this in 1 Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 1:14-17 I thank God that
I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 lest anyone
should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 Yes, I also
baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know
whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me
to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words,
lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. (NKJV)
If baptism saves you, then Paul is blaspheming.
It is important that we be baptized after we are saved, because
Jesus commanded it and we're to be obedient to the Lord. But
you are right, it is a symbol of our faith.
ANSWER:
The key is in verse 26, "If we deliberately
keep on sinning..." It has the same implications as Gal 5:21,
"...those who *practice* such things will not inherit the
kingdom of God." We're not talking about a fall here, we're
talking about unrepentant sinful lifestyle. This is the warning
of Hebrews, not to turn away from Christ. You'll notice that throughout
the book, Paul continues to get more radical in his warnings.
This is one of the most pointed and it's needed because people
have a tendency to rationalize their sin and rejection of Christ
with the excuse that "I'm still religious." That's where
some of the Hebrews were, and he's making the point that your
lifestyle indicates where your heart is at. Walking in sin indicates
a heart far from God, no matter how religious you are.
