Dear Perry,
We are responsible for what we are given. It is better to be a door man in
the kingdom than not to be there. The gift of eternal life is tremendous.
But I expect when Jesus brings His rewards it will be like the parable of
the talents.
Marlin
MAT 25:29 {For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have
abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even
that
which he hath.}
MAT 25:30 {And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.}
MAT 25:31 ¶ {When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his
glory:}
MAT 25:32 {And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his]
sheep
from the goats:}
MAT 25:33 {And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on
the
left.}
MAT 25:34 {Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the
foundation of the world:}
----- Original Message -----
From: "Charles P. Locke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2003 10:31 AM
Subject: RE: Re: [TruthTalk] The Sabbath Breaker of Numbers
> David, and fellow TT'rs,
>
> This may be a good point to bring up some questions, and I hope that
> other TT'rs chime in as well.
>
> Many of the points that we discuss on TT require a tremendous amount of
> research (biblical and extra-biblical) in terms of scanning, cross
> referencing, and word studies, to understand. And, to understand many of
the
> NT concepts, we even need OT knowledge into characteristics, traits, and
> customs of OT Jewish society, to fully understand all of the implications
of
> the NT.
>
> Do you really think that it takes all of that research to be a
Christian?
> If you tell me that one can gain all of the knowledge of the things you
> purport to know with just a daily reading of scripture, without all of the
> digging and research, I must disagree.
>
> While we all have time (or can at least make time) to read the
> scriptures, not everyone has the time (or can make the time) to perform
the
> research that most theologians, bible scholars, and commentators have, and
> to be honest, most people may not even have the mental focus or the skills
> it takes to do that type of research and arrive at the level of
> understanding at which every commentator believes they have arrived.
>
> I am sure all great (and even more not-so-great) biblical scholars
> believe that their study was led by the Holy Spirit, and perhaps in many
> instances it was. But if that is so, how can we have Arminius and Calvin,
> both claiming to have been led by the Holy Spirit, yet arriving at two
> completely opposing viewpoints. How can the irreconcilable differences of
> the many "christian" organizations claim to all have been led by the
spirit
> to the exclusive truth of scripture when they are diametrically opposed on
> so many points? God is not a God of confusion, and the Holy Spirit does
not
> lead men down mutually exclusive paths.
>
> When I read a commentary, including all of those opinions on TT, I
cannot
> take it as the 100% truth, because men have agendas, preconceived notions,
> desires to see things a certain way, and most (if not all) commentaries
are
> tainted by certain theological assumptions. For example, I find the
> futuristic view of dispensationalists to be flawed, yet the
> dispensationalists I debate are sure that theirs is the ONLY proper
> eschatological view, and most are willing to argue their futurist
viewpoints
> to the death! Regardless of how sincere any commentator is when they
produce
> their commentaries, they are always colored by their pre-beliefs. If I
want
> to trust a commentary, then I have to go off and repeat the same research
as
> the commentator, and I will most likely arrive at a different conclusion
> (depending on how persuasive an argument he has produced, and how astute I
> am as a bible scholar) because I do not have the same theological
background
> or training that he has.
>
> Thanks for going this far...you are over half way...now the rest...
>
> I believe that there is a simple answer to this. I believe that the
> message is simple. I believe that our salvation and standing with God
cannot
> be based upon our ability to do the deeper research necessary to arrive at
> many of the concepts that we discuss here on TT, and also that we cannot
> depend on the many commentators to reveal the truth to us, lest we find
> ourselves jumping through many man-made hoops to no avail. And, also, our
> salvation and eternal destiny cannot depend on whether we are Arminianists
> or Calvinists (or adhere to any other of the broad-ranging theological
> "formulas").
>
> I have faith that God's tremendous grace and mercy have saved me, and I
> did not learn this by reading commentaries or by believing any man, or
> jumping through any hoop. It is an easy message to glean from the
scripture.
> Even a topical reading reveals this. And, I think anyone who can read can
> read the Bible, or can hear a simple presentation of the Gospel from the
> Bible, can understand this. And the message is not difficult. Yes, I
believe
> that the Holy Spirit is agent in the process of understanding and heeding
> this simple message.
>
> Many of you now may be anxious to tell me that I have to be perfect
> (without sin), or that I have to observe the sabbath, or that the sabbath
> has been moved to Sunday, or that I have to be of a certain religion, or
> that I am still under the law, or that I have to be circumcised, or I have
> to circle the sanctuary three times before going into it, or that I have
to
> participate in secret rites derived from occultic practices in a temple
> adorned with Masonic symbols, and a whole bunch of other stuff onto which
> you dearly hold. You each probably want to point out my error and place me
> on the "correct" (pronounced "your") path to salvation. Folks, it is not
> that complicated. None of these rituals or hoops can add one thing to the
> salvation Christ has already provided.
>
> Perry
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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> ----------
> "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may
know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6)
http://www.InnGlory.org
>
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