Religious debating- Sparks devotional

[jiggyfly]

This is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (1 John 5:11)
Christ is never proved to be alive from the dead, nor to be Lord, by doctrinal statements. Your statement of faith may include the fact that you believe Jesus died and rose again, ascended to heaven, and is at the right hand of the Majesty on High, but how are you going to prove your statement? What has God given as the evidence of that? You may believe it; you may be willing to lay down your life for that faith; you may state it with tremendous emphasis, and yet you are not thereby proving it. You will never prove anything by saying: "I believe with all my might that this is the case!" You will never prove a thing by standing up and declaring it as something which you believe. You will never prove a thing by saying: "I believe in all the fundamentals of the Christian faith!" and calling yourself by some name which indicates that you believe in the inspiration of the Bible. Nothing is ever proved in that way. Reducing the whole matter to these two points – that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and is Lord of all – you have still to prove your statement after you have made it. If you have appealed to the fact that the Word of God says so, even then you have proved nothing. Your proof can never be by argument, because what argument can build up, argument can pull down, and what logic can construct, logic can destroy.
How, then, are you going to prove that this is so? By the expression and manifestation of His risen Life, that is all – but it is a mighty "all!" That signifies that you are the embodiment of the thing which you declare – that besides the doctrinal statement there is the living expression. Thus the resurrection and the lordship of Jesus are bound up with this expression which is called the "testimony." The testimony is not a system of truth. It is that extra factor to the statement and presentation of truth which is the power of a Life which conquers death. How, then, will you prove that Jesus has conquered death? The proof of it will be a death-conquering Life that expresses itself in you.
By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Battle For Life - Chapter 5

 

[williemac]

This is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (1 John 5:11)
Christ is never proved to be alive from the dead, nor to be Lord, by doctrinal statements. Your statement of faith may include the fact that you believe Jesus died and rose again, ascended to heaven, and is at the right hand of the Majesty on High, but how are you going to prove your statement? What has God given as the evidence of that? You may believe it; you may be willing to lay down your life for that faith; you may state it with tremendous emphasis, and yet you are not thereby proving it. You will never prove anything by saying: "I believe with all my might that this is the case!" You will never prove a thing by standing up and declaring it as something which you believe. You will never prove a thing by saying: "I believe in all the fundamentals of the Christian faith!" and calling yourself by some name which indicates that you believe in the inspiration of the Bible. Nothing is ever proved in that way. Reducing the whole matter to these two points – that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and is Lord of all – you have still to prove your statement after you have made it. If you have appealed to the fact that the Word of God says so, even then you have proved nothing. Your proof can never be by argument, because what argument can build up, argument can pull down, and what logic can construct, logic can destroy.
How, then, are you going to prove that this is so? By the expression and manifestation of His risen Life, that is all – but it is a mighty "all!" That signifies that you are the embodiment of the thing which you declare – that besides the doctrinal statement there is the living expression. Thus the resurrection and the lordship of Jesus are bound up with this expression which is called the "testimony." The testimony is not a system of truth. It is that extra factor to the statement and presentation of truth which is the power of a Life which conquers death. How, then, will you prove that Jesus has conquered death? The proof of it will be a death-conquering Life that expresses itself in you.
By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Battle For Life - Chapter 5

Amen. This is true. However, just wondering why we would need to prove anything? If God gave us this life that you are attesting to, then He already verified the genuineness of the faith that was involved. As far as man proving anything to man...this is a waste of time. We are not judges of one another, the last time I checked.

As far as the effectiveness of the life we are living is concerned, Jesus will walk us through it individually on His judgment seat. But our assurance is that this is not for the purpose of determining our eternal destiny. That was already established when He responded to our faith and gave us the new birth. We are all individuals. We all have our own place from which we were brought up and our own set of circumstances and mindsets and struggles. Some have been greatly damaged. Some greatly abused. Some are dysfunctional in a greater way than others. Only God knows what kind of life a person would have had if he had not been reborn. It will not look the same in every case. It will not look the same in any case. For these reasons, the healing and newness of life that we receive will have a varying effect on individuals. Some will bear fruit of 100, some 60, some 30, and so on. To they who are fortunate enough to be walking in those higher numbers, I say well done! But I would also expect the kind of fruit in them that would prevent them from rubbing their victory in the faces of those less successful. This is not aimed at anyone in particular. But it is seen in the parable of those hired at different parts of the day. In the end they all got the same pay. (Math.20:1-16) For they who did the most work and were offended by the Master's generosity to the others, He as much as told them to mind their own business. Again, who are we proving anything to?

 

[Angelina]

However, just wondering why we would need to prove anything?

For the purpose of a being a living testimony. More people believe a family member, a friend or a neighbor through personal testimony. than they do reading the bible or trying grasp the concept of the salvation message. We are living testimonies for Christ and powerful witnesses of the crosses work manifested in our lives. This translates into a new creation and a complete lifestyle change for us.... and for our listeners....salvation because our testimony of Jesus...

Be Blessed!!!

 

[Robertson]

That's like asking you to prove that you were born in the city that your parents said you were. You have absolutely no proof except the proof of witnesses who were there to bear record of it.

The apostles, the seventy, and the disciples all saw and felt His resurrected body. The Spirit testifies of this and ratifies it. It has nothing to do with faith, it is a reality. Sadly, you have no proof otherwise.

 

[Angelina]

A living testimony of the work of Christ in our lives can be proven by those who know us personally and have seen the change in our lives...that is all the proof some people need to show that this Jesus is true and living in the lives of those who believe in him by faith. Some testimonies are more powerful than others but all testimonies are a witness of Holy Spirit's power through the work of the cross....

Shalom!!!

 

[horsecamp]

Luterans are all about doctrine

Doctrine is what give us our faith in Jesus ----------- romans 10:17

doctrine smply means teaching

the bible teaches us about Jesus and the holy spirit works through HIS doctrines creating faith ..

This is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (1 John 5:11)
Christ is never proved to be alive from the dead, nor to be Lord, by doctrinal statements. Your statement of faith may include the fact that you believe Jesus died and rose again, ascended to heaven, and is at the right hand of the Majesty on High, but how are you going to prove your statement? What has God given as the evidence of that? You may believe it; you may be willing to lay down your life for that faith; you may state it with tremendous emphasis, and yet you are not thereby proving it. You will never prove anything by saying: "I believe with all my might that this is the case!" You will never prove a thing by standing up and declaring it as something which you believe. You will never prove a thing by saying: "I believe in all the fundamentals of the Christian faith!" and calling yourself by some name which indicates that you believe in the inspiration of the Bible. Nothing is ever proved in that way. Reducing the whole matter to these two points – that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and is Lord of all – you have still to prove your statement after you have made it. If you have appealed to the fact that the Word of God says so, even then you have proved nothing. Your proof can never be by argument, because what argument can build up, argument can pull down, and what logic can construct, logic can destroy.
How, then, are you going to prove that this is so? By the expression and manifestation of His risen Life, that is all – but it is a mighty "all!" That signifies that you are the embodiment of the thing which you declare – that besides the doctrinal statement there is the living expression. Thus the resurrection and the lordship of Jesus are bound up with this expression which is called the "testimony." The testimony is not a system of truth. It is that extra factor to the statement and presentation of truth which is the power of a Life which conquers death. How, then, will you prove that Jesus has conquered death? The proof of it will be a death-conquering Life that expresses itself in you.
By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Battle For Life - Chapter 5

Austin sparks doctrines will never create Faith in Jesus but the bibles doctrines will because they are aive and have the holy spirit
WORKING THROUGH THEM CREATING FAITH IN Jesus---------- doctrine simply means teaching

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

I take a somewhat different view ...... I do not think it is possible to prove my salvation to others ...... but I could sure fool them if I wanted ..... i could dress nice .... attend church regularly .... memorize all the christian catch phrases etc ..... yes fooling others is not hard.

But I cannot fool myself in what I believe and what I dis-believe .... I find that intriguing and a brilliant idea on behalf of the Lord ..... it cost nothing to Believe in Jesus .... it requires no religious exercises ... and like I said .... you either believe something or you dont .

I think in Christianity the word believe means we believe and accept the Gospel of course .... but it also means we put our complete future in the hands of Jesus with complete confidence

At least that is what I believe