Common ground

[Angelina]

Hey there,

I know that there are many denominations on this forum but I am interested in finding out how many of us actually believe in things that would be generally accepted as common Christian beliefs and practices. :huh:


Your thoughts?

 

[lforrest]

A list would be very helpful.

 

[Angelina]

Okay
1. The divinity of Christ
2. His sinlessness and mans sinfulness due to the fall
4. Christ's atoning work on the cross ~ His death and resurrection
6. Salvation and Eternal life because of the sacrifice of himself on behalf of all who believe in him by faith.
7. Communion

There may be more but perhaps we could begin with these essentials to Christian living :huh:

 

[lforrest]

Okay
1. The divinity of Christ
2. His sinlessness and mans sinfulness due to the fall
4. Christ's atoning work on the cross ~ His death and resurrection
6. Salvation and Eternal life because of the sacrifice of himself on behalf of all who believe in him by faith.
7. Communion

There may be more but perhaps we could begin with these essentials to Christian living :huh:

Yes to all points.

My denomination (Church of the Brethren) meets once a gear for the love feast where we share Communion and wash one-another's feet. It is a time of introspection and sacrificial love in remembrance of Jesus' gift. The bread and grape juice are considered symbolic. I decent from my own denomination on this point, believing it is something spiritual as well, linking us with the great feast we are to have in heaven with our Lord.

 

[StanJ]

Okay
1. The divinity of Christ
2. His sinlessness and mans sinfulness due to the fall
4. Christ's atoning work on the cross ~ His death and resurrection
6. Salvation and Eternal life because of the sacrifice of himself on behalf of all who believe in him by faith.
7. Communion

There may be more but perhaps we could begin with these essentials to Christian living :huh:

All but 6.... uhh what happened to 3 & 5?

Jesus died for ALL sin, not just for those who believe in Him by faith. Rom 6:10, Heb 9:28, 1 Peter 3:18.
John 3:16, for God so loved the world, not just those that believe in Him.

 

[Angelina]

Yes to all points.

Hey iforrest, are you open Brethren?

Hi Stan

All but 6.... uhh what happened to 3 & 5?

As you can see, I lumped some together...

Jesus died for ALL sin, not just for those who believe in Him by faith. Rom 6:10, Heb 9:28, 1 Peter 3:18.John 3:16, for God so loved the world, not just those that believe in Him.

I understand what you mean but that was not what I meant. Salvation is for all mankind without question and with it, eternal life but only through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. John 20:30-31, Acts 4:11-12, Romans 1:16, Romans 10:10, Ephesians 1:13,

Shalom!

 

[lforrest]

Hey Lforrest, are you open Brethren?

Nope, my denomination originates from the Anabaptist movement.

 

[Angelina]

We have Brethren in our country and they are called either closed [exclusive] or Open. I think there may be some significant differences between the two...

 

[StanJ]

Hi Stan
As you can see, I lumped some together...[/size]
I understand what you mean but that was not what I meant. Salvation is for all mankind without question and with it, eternal life but only through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. John 20:30-31, Acts 4:11-12, Romans 1:16, Romans 10:10, Ephesians 1:13,
Shalom!

Sorry, I did not see, but thanks for clarifying.

 

[Angelina]

Wow, I'm just reading a little bit about Anabaptists and frankly, I'm totally blown away by it's history and I agree adults should be baptized through their own free will rather than child baptism... :huh:

Bless ya!

 

[lforrest]

Wow, I'm just reading a little bit about Anabaptists and frankly, I'm totally blown away by it's history and I agree adults should be baptized through their own free will rather than child baptism... :huh:

Bless ya!

Yea, it seems pretty common sense to us now. I guess back in the 16th century I'd be a radical, or dead.

 

[StanJ]

Wow, I'm just reading a little bit about Anabaptists and frankly, I'm totally blown away by it's history and I agree adults should be baptized through their own free will rather than child baptism... :huh:
Bless ya!

Then you may be blown away by the fact that Calvin supported infant baptism. One of the vestiges of his RCC upbringing.

 

[rockytopva]

The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The only thing to clarify is that the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church does not mean one specific denomination.

 

[StanJ]

The Nicene Creed
The only thing to clarify is that the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church does not mean one specific denomination.

Properly read as it was meant, It indeed does NOT depict one specific denomination.

 

[OzSpen]

Nope, my denomination originates from the Anabaptist movement.

lforrest,

I'm a graduate of Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland OH, which is a seminary of The Brethren Church, a related Anabaptist denomination.

Oz

 

[OzSpen]

Okay
1. The divinity of Christ
2. His sinlessness and mans sinfulness due to the fall
4. Christ's atoning work on the cross ~ His death and resurrection
6. Salvation and Eternal life because of the sacrifice of himself on behalf of all who believe in him by faith.
7. Communion

There may be more but perhaps we could begin with these essentials to Christian living :huh:

Okay
1. The divinity of Christ
2. His sinlessness and mans sinfulness due to the fall
4. Christ's atoning work on the cross ~ His death and resurrection
6. Salvation and Eternal life because of the sacrifice of himself on behalf of all who believe in him by faith.
7. Communion

There may be more but perhaps we could begin with these essentials to Christian living :huh:

Angelina,

I endorse this list, but I would add the Inspiration of Scripture as a core belief. For me, 'inspiration' is defined as 'breathed out by God' as in 2 Tim 3:16-17 (ESV).

Oz

 

[OzSpen]

Hey iforrest, are you open Brethren?

Hi Stan
As you can see, I lumped some together...


I understand what you mean but that was not what I meant. Salvation is for all mankind without question and with it, eternal life but only through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. John 20:30-31, Acts 4:11-12, Romans 1:16, Romans 10:10, Ephesians 1:13,

Shalom!

Angelina,

I'm not understanding your nuance of salvation very well. Since you said you were not talking about Stan's comments and Scriptures in support of universal atonement (rather than limited atonement), what do you mean when you speak of 'salvation is for all mankind without question'?

Is your view in agreement with, say, Titus 2:11 (ESV), 'For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people'?

Oz

 

[tom55]

Okay
1. The divinity of Christ
2. His sinlessness and mans sinfulness due to the fall
4. Christ's atoning work on the cross ~ His death and resurrection
6. Salvation and Eternal life because of the sacrifice of himself on behalf of all who believe in him by faith.
7. Communion

He is divine
He was sinless and we are sinful
He did atone for us on the cross upon which he died and rose again on the third day
We must believe in him to have eternal life, however, that belief is backed up by works throughout ones life. We are not saved by faith alone (James 2:24)
Communion is His body and blood. Not a symbol.

 

[Angelina]

Then you may be blown away by the fact that Calvin supported infant baptism. One of the vestiges of his RCC upbringing.

Not so much blown away since I am not a Calvinist advocate... :huh: If I am going to be placed in some sort of category I guess I lean more towards Aminianism....

I'm not understanding your nuance of salvation very well. Since you said you were not talking about Stan's comments and Scriptures in support of universal atonement (rather than limited atonement), what do you mean when you speak of 'salvation is for all mankind without question'?
Is your view in agreement with, say, Titus 2:11 (ESV), 'For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people'?

Oz, I don't know what you mean? :huh:

 

[OzSpen]

Not so much blown away since I am not a Calvinist advocate... :huh: If I am going to be placed in some sort of category I guess I lean more towards Aminianism....




Oz, I don't know what you mean? :huh:

Angelina,

Sorry for my oversight in not explaining the text further. This may be a bit technical for some. Let's try.

Titus 2:11 (ESV) reads, ‘For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people’. What is a plain reading of the text saying? When did God’s grace appear? What was it? How did it bring salvation to all people? Are all going to be saved? Is this a verse that promotes universalism (salvation for everyone)?
What is the meaning of 'appeared' (epiphainw) in this verse? I could not say this better than Gordon Fee, emeritus professor of New Testament at Regent College, Vancouver B C, Canada and editor of Eerdmans’ New International Commentary series on the New Testament. Fee, a very competent Greek exegete, wrote of Titus 2:11,

An explanatory for opens the paragraph and thus closely ties verses 11-14 to 2-10. It proceeds to explain why God’s people should live as exhorted in 2-10 (so that the message from God will not be maligned [v. 5] but instead will be attractive [v. 10]): because the grace of God that brings salvation to all people has appeared.

In the Greek text all of verses 11-14 form a single sentence, of which the grace of God stands as the grammatical subject. But contrary to the NIV (and KJV), Paul does not say that this grace appeared to all men; rather, as almost all other translations have it, and as both Paul’s word order and the usage in 1 Timothy 2:3-6 demand it, what has appeared (see disc. on 1 Tim. 6:14; epiphaneia) is grace from God that offers salvation to all people.
Paul does not indicate here the reference point for this revelation of God’s grace. Most likely he is thinking of the historical revelation effected in the saving event of Christ (v. 14; cf. 2 Tim. 1:9-10), but it could also refer existentially to the time in Crete when Paul and Titus preached the gospel and Cretans understood and accepted the message (cf. 1:3 and 3:3-4). That at least is when the educative dimension of grace, emphasized in verse 12, took place (Fee 1988:194, emphasis in original).

In Titus 2:11-14, the emphasis is as in Titus 3:5-7, that God’s mercy brought salvation through regeneration, renewal of the Holy Spirit, justification and their becoming heirs of hope. This was the readers’ own experience of salvation.

So what appeared in this epephane, which refers to something becoming visible or making an appearance? All human beings could not have reached a satisfactory understanding of God’s grace without the manifestation of Jesus Christ through his incarnation and atonement. Titus 2:11 shows the effects of this grace, ‘bringing salvation for all people’ (ESV). Thus the universality of the salvation offer is made available thanks to Christ’s epiphany.

Its saving effect depends on God’s election and a personal response of faith. The human will is freed for all people in regard to salvation. This is implied by all of the verses in Scripture that exhort people to turn to God (see Prov 1:23; Isa 31:6; Ezek 14:6; 18:32; Joel 2:13-14; Matt 18:3; Acts 3:19); to repent (1 Kings 8:47; Matt 3:2; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3, 5; Acts2:38; 17:30), and to believe (2 Chron 20:20; Isa 43:10; John 6:29; 14:1; Acts 16:31; Phil 1:29; 1 John 3:23).

Oz