Search results

RWB, I have no problem with the way you are seeing that... and am not saying you're incorrect. Verbatim, Paul says, "a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." From that, it seems to me that the fullness of the Gentiles will come in, and yes, at...

I would say, BreadOfLife, that my understandings of Scripture line up very closely to John Calvin's, so yes. And you, my friend, are very Arminian in yours. But not all Catholics are... Well, again, yes, the aggregate number of professing believers is surely in decline; I never denied that...

I agree to this extent, that we can know who is and is not (believers and unbelievers, respectively) in His Church by their fruits (good ~ or the absence of good ~ or bad). And (I'm being a little facetious here, but it is true) we can know who are members of the tangible Catholic Church...

Well I don't "like it," that we'll agree on... :) But that it's actually a historical fact, no... :) Actually, we're talking about two different things, really. Which ~ and by this I'm speaking to something much bigger than you and me ~ is not a new phenomenon. :) But, speaking to you in...

The Apocrypha is not called the Apocrypha for disparaging reasons; lots of things are called “apocryphal.” but that merely means of dubious authenticity ~ without the historical evidence to back up its claim to be genuine. With regard to the Apocrypha itself, none of the books of the Apocrypha...

Yes, I mean something quite different than you by Christ Jesus's Church. I think that was established from the outset. Jesus Christ's Church consists of God's elect, those who have been called by the Lord and born again of the Spirit and are therefore in Christ. We cannot know exactly who...

You apparently missed the point. Badly. :) One of the things (among others) I was referring to, Illuminator, was the statement that "the Catholic Church... is the Original Tree from Which the Protestant denominations were born." I don't mean to disparage, but that assertion is very much...

LOL!!! Many will think it is, sure... :) The Catholic Church is certainly very visible, yes. :) As are the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian... and countless others... churches. But Christ's Church is not visible as of now because we do not know for sure who its actual members are, because...

Jesus is the "firstborn over all creation" in the same sense that David (who was actually the lastborn and youngest of all his brothers) was made firstborn over Israel, meaning preeminent over, which is exactly Paul's context in Colossians 1. Aside from that, John tells us that without Jesus...

Do you mean to say "covered with," here? Oh well, no matter. What I would say to this is that I am catholic too... part of Christ's one holy, apostolic, catholic ~ universal ~ Church. And as of right now, that Church is invisible, meaning that we don't know for sure who all is actually a...

Uh... What??? What in the world makes you ask such a question? Do you somehow think I insinuated such? Well, again, I agree regarding the particular Greek word and it's true meaning, but your understanding of the entire passage is the issue. I was clear on that above, I think, so I'm not...

Respectfully, WPM, I... am not even sure what you mean by that. Grace and peace to you.

Just an aside, here, not directed at anyone in particular... Everyone here (I think) at least professes to be Christian, and as such, I would merely exhort us all not to... snipe :)... at each other. :) Grace and peace to you all.

Well, yes, because Peter himself is doing that. As for those who did (and who do) "really did follow Christ faithfully," because salvific faith itself is the gift of God (as Paul is crystal clear in enunciating in Ephesians 2:8), then those who truly fall away from the faith ~ "go out" from the...

Your posts are very colorful... :) And large... :) And as such very... excessive... :) But that's neither here nor there, I guess... :) I agree with this, but it has different connotations depending on the context in which it is used. (As an aside, this is also true of the Hebrew of the...

Agreed. And just regarding your second sentence here, if anyone truly is a brother or sister in Christ, he or she is then freed from slavery to sin and unrighteousness and thus a slave to righteousness. In other words, his or her whole inclination will be to live as becomes followers of...

Well, yes it is. We disagree. Who is the "they" Peter is speaking of here, BOL? The "they" refers directly to "false teachers... who... secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who brought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction" and the "many" who "will...

Sometimes, yes, as I said. In the Bible, no. Consider what Paul says in Romans 8, specifically verse 16, where, speaking of Christians, he writes, "...the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God..." He's saying there is a Spirit ~ the Holy Spirit ~ who is a...

Absolutely not. While it's true there is no favoritism in God, that's most certainly not all that's being said... :) Okay, the writer of Hebrews says: "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son...

Well no, VCO, I'm not forgetting anything. But surely you remember that there is no Jew or Gentile from God's point of view; we Christians (followers of Christ) are all one in Christ Jesus. And regarding Jewish-ness, VCO, you surely remember also what Paul said concerning who are true Jews in...