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True. We're back to square one. How can we minister to those destined to perish? Are we only able to speak to those destined to be saved? "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy...

Once upon a time I worked in a shop that hired people with special needs (including autism) to perform menial tasks. We hired a really nice "kid" (he was probably forty years old at the time but felt more like twelve) to dust the shelves. I gave him the duster and told him, "dust the shelves." I...

Possibly. The only requirement to be saved is faith in Jesus' willingness and ability to save us. Since he has been given all that is God's he has the ability, and the Bible clearly shows he has the willingness, after all he did let himself be crucified for us. Is our faith in Jesus a work...

This may be true but surely you see how judgmental it sounds. How can we bring unbelievers to Christ from this point of view? They've already been damned to Hell but good news, we can rescue them. How is that not carrots and sticks? That's really what I'm trying to figure out.

I'm not saying we should remove it from scripture. Instead, I am saying we should not make it the focus of our faith. Truthfully God will do what he will do with us when we die. The choice to save us or not is his and his alone. By focusing on salvation we turn God into a game of carrots and...

We're not children anymore. We don't need God to give us an exhaustive list of do's and don't's. Don't take my word for it. Jesus says as much. Trusting God and loving our fellow man -- if we do this then all else follows. And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one...

Perhaps we need to remove "saved" from our vocabulary? Let death resolve that particular point. While we live, focus on forgiveness, charity and love.

Christians get a bad rep as being judgemental and the truth is we are, or at least that's how we are seen. I think it's because of the saved/not saved issue. By definition, being "saved" makes a Christian better than a non-Christian. How can this not be so? It's tantamount to one child turning...

I hear you, and you make a compelling argument. Aside from a bona-fide spiritual experience, for example: meeting God, there's really only one argument that I have found irrefutable. That's the chain of cause-and-effect. Every effect has a cause, even if we can't know it. If you follow this...

Be careful with labels. They advertise themselves as descriptors but all too often become pre/proscriptions instead. For example, a "Christian" label purports to mean "a follower of Jesus" but far too often warps into "a political conservative", which means adopting lock-step the cannon of...

Matthew 5 through 7 is probably a good start.

Why is faith placed in Jesus and not, for example, in the Father himself? What is the significance of Jesus sitting at the Father's right hand? What is the significance of Earth being made his footstool? Why does it matter that the Father has given all that he has to Jesus? The Bible repeatedly...

Rare is the person who accepts "I don't know" as the final answer to his question.

Perhaps the guest lecturer has an agenda?

I suspect the world is a dream in God's mind. We are as "real" as any other idea. That book you read last month? The thought of it remains in your head. Can you point to "it?" Does it have mass or substance? Is it "real?" Perhaps not, yet there it is in your head just the same.

We are the prodigal son.

Good advice. I also find robust debate informative. For example, many of the threads here are excellent sources of knowledge.

You're gonna love this. I told my Uncle that I enjoyed Barclay's commentary on Romans ( that he had sent me). I guess he thought that meant I needed more. Yesterday this arrived in the mail! Message_1657581380559 by LearningToLetGo posted Jul 12, 2022 at 2:20 PM Ugh! ;-D It is possible to be...

Barclay's NT Commentary

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