In a message dated 5/12/00 12:24:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
<< Now ,next time - give your own opinion - I respect that. I also can
quote the Bible to prove anything I want. >>
Trisha,
I was giving my own opinion, just as you gave yours. We both referred to
Biblical passages, but it can be misleading to take something out of context
in any reference used because that leds to misinterpretation so I was
clarifing what was actually happening in King Solomon's life, as well as his
son's life. And yes I am a BA (born-again) as you refer to it so I hold the
Bible in highest regard for my life. However I don't expect you to
understand me as 1Corinthians 2:14 implies: "The man without the Spirit (of
God) does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually discerned." In regard to your mention of Leviticus 21: 16-23,
in the old tesetament, the priest was to match as closely as possible to the
perfect God he served. But the old testament has been fulfilled with the
death of the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, God's son. Our salvation is
freely given by this gracious act. We receive salvation through faith. The
Old Testament laws are of no value for salvation. Our bodies become Christ's
temple now when we become believers in Christ and we are to be living
sacrifices by daily laying aside our own desires to follow Him. Matthew5:17
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have
come to fulfill them." Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. The purpose of Jesus'
first mission on Earth was not to judge people, but to show them the way to
find salvation and eternal life. However, when He comes again, one of His
main purposes will be to judge people for how they lived on earth. On the day
of judgement, those who accepted Jesus and lived his way will be raised to
eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:51-57, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18; Revelation
21:1-8) and those that rejected Jesus and lived any way they pleased will
face eternal punishment (Revelation 20:11-15). So the choice is yours and I
personally choose to follow God's Word and thus I base my life and opinions
on His Truths! Membership in God's family is based on internal, not external,
qualities. We receive our salvation not through law, but through faith in
Jesus Christ. Each of us falls into sin, but God, through Jesus Christ, has
redeemed us and offers to forgive us if we return to him in faith.
I know we're on opposite ends of the spectrum on this issue. I would
prefer that we would communicate on more common ground which is CP, for which
this site was designed. However if you choose to bring up issues that go
against my beliefs and use Biblical references to support them, then I will
be compelled to respond. Cindy
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