Like you Tammie I have taken a short hiatus on JD, he got stuck on the vax and there is too much else to focus on than to dwell solely on that- hopefully his rest time restores him and he regains his joy in the last minutes of the race. I really like Billy Crone!! He is funny and bright but also preaches very sound doctrine- can't wait to watch theses!! thanks! If I don't have the music channel on Christian music, then it is on Sirius XM 70's or 80's or that new channel yacht rock....easy listening when music was awesome!! "My mother just called me to tell me that my sister has been having very detailed nightly dreams about the Rapture, how near it is and how close we are to it." Well how close are we? How near??!?! This year? This month? Next year?! As I expected would happen, many have been given the same word, that He is near! Not driven by teaching of the prophets but by personal revelation! TR Yes, you will get very excited at what is waiting for us when you listen to Billy — he is funny, yet so doctrinally sound — love his presentation —- Just remember. I got the Joy, Joy, Joy ….. :mdrmdr: :mdrmdr: :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: Hi Derrick, I have been down that sad road in a local church I quit in 2000. Their SOF said we are saved by grace thru faith alone; but this church and its leadership had been corrupted by John MacArthur's Lordship Salvation false teachings. I hope things have changed there since, but I have my doubts. It seems every church has some form of trying to put sealed believers back under the OT law and keep the Law of Moses. Getting believers to tithe is a big way they try to keep people under control. I know some here disagree with me on this, but the church is never directed to tithe. This was only for the Jews under the old covenant-and there is no such thing as a "tithing principle" for the church.. There is, however, a heart felt Spirit lead giving principle for the church that Paul talks about in 1 and 2 Corinthians. I don't want to start an argument on tithing; if you believe in and practice tithing then that is up to you. But being pressured into tithing and other legalistic practices like lordship salvation and works salvation are reasons that I will not "join" or become a "member" of any local church. Besides, the Bible doesn't say anything about "joining" or becoming a "member" of a local church, only coming together and meeting in a fellowship. Besides, if you are saved and sealed you are already a member of the only church that counts for eternity; the church of the first born or new born whose names are forever written in Heaven. Phil Hi Phil, I must admit I am really not all that familiar with the Lordship Salvation teaching, but I fully agree there is no room to bind sealed believers under the Law of Moses - but I think there is a place in the believers life for the Law of Moses and I think sometimes there is a great deal of confusion on the matter so let me be absolutely clear on my position lest anyone misunderstand me or misconstrue what I am about to say. There is absolutely NO VALUE to the Law of Moses for SALVATION - anyone who teaches that is a heretic and has defiled the sacrifice of Christ. However, too often I think this causes most to toss the Law of Moses in the garbage bin as useless. I think this is equally heretical in its own right. My opinion after diligently studying the Word for many years is that the best place for the Law of Moses is as a “moral compass” for believers. I came to this conclusion because we know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever - so I had to conclude that since He is One with the Father, indeed He gave that law to Moses which expresses His perfect will. We also know that God is no “respect or of persons” - So this caused me to wonder, why would He make one law for Israel and lave the rest of the Gentile world to their own devices or “Noahide” laws (another heresy). So the long and short of it for me became this - the 4 requirements given in acts were basic requirements for Gentiles to enter fellowship in the church (do not fornicate, do not worship idols, do not eat things strangled or with blood) - but do not murder, murder, steal, lie are not included in that list and yet we know we are still bound by those things. So I think the Law of Moses is an extended moral compass which gives the believer a framework for righteous acts which mirror the character of Christ and will earn us REWARDS in heaven NOT SALVATION. But we all know we cannot keep all of it perfectly, so the Holy Spirit guides us as to how to follow this “moral compass”. Some follow it more closely and other less so, but as long as we are not judging one another or telling a fellow believer you must keep the “law” exactly as I do we will not fall into the trap of legalism. I totally agree, this means we are not bound by the laws of tithing, but if the Holy Spirit leads us to we will observe the law of the tithe, or perhaps some will give more, or perhaps the Spirit says its ok, depending on your circumstance, to give less - as long as it is given with love and joy towards God. When I had a congregation years ago I used to try to explain it this way, Christ came to do away with the curse of the Law, but He never came to do away with the BLESSINGS of the Law and there are many blessings still available in keeping the Law, if we choose to keep them of our own accord out of a desire to be obedient to God’s perfect will our of a love and gratitude for Him and a desire to lay up rewards in heaven. I hope I didn’t stir up a hornets nest because I know that this subject can cause quite a controversy - but I also hope I was clear enough so everyone knows my position and no one brands me a legalist in any way because clearly we are only SAVED by grace through faith, but so many get hurt in churches because of the misunderstanding of what the law really is, still a moral compass that we have available to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance and direction on. I think this is what the scripture probably means “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” - we all get saved the same way, but then we all walk our own individual walk as we live out our faith. I believe tithing is a choice and if you give 10% of our gross earnings, the Lord does indeed bless those who give. :yes: I know of a few who didn’t tithe at all and they struggled big time making ends meet and had many hardships. I asked them have they considered tithing? They replied … what, are you crazy? No, they can’t afford to dish out extra money for that. I urged them to try it and watch the Lord work miracles but they refused and continued to struggle and complain and complain. Our church in NJ was able to support their missionaries by the tithes that came in but the little church in Massachusetts we used to attend didn’t have the funds and would ask each fall for additional promise donations to support their missionaries. I felt the Lord wanting me to give. Then when both my parents died, I had to quickly find a smaller place to live … the place I wanted .. I was short the amount of money I had given to the missionary tithes for the past 10 years. So I prayed for the Lord’s help and He arranged it so the place I bought was discounted that same amount of missionary tithe money plus an additional $1,000 reduction. Coincidence? I was praising the Lord for His provision … He does take care of those who are obedient and generous in giving. I don’t look down on people who don’t give … it is a choice … I only encourage people to give if they can and watch the Lord work miracles in their lives. You are also laying up treasures in heaven by giving as well. Its a win/win investment situation. Thanks Derrick. "Lordship Salvation" is the false teachings that Paul condemns in Galatians, that is, that a person must not only trust Christ as his Savior but also keep the Law and Commandments to be saved. There is nothing new about LS; Its origins come from Calvinism, which insists that a believer must also persevere to make good on his salvation or he is not really saved. Some may be shocked, but even Billy Graham preached lordship Salvation. (Listen to his crusades if you don't believe me) To the LS teachers simply believing the gospel of your salvation and having eternal security is just too simple and they see this as a "license to sin." So they add living a Christian life as an additional requirement to be saved. They should read Paul's emphatic warning to those who add to the gospel of grace alone in Galatians 1:6-9) As for the Christian believers, God's law of love and His Commandments are written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit to guide us. They are not written on tablets of stone, but on our fleshly hearts. (See 2 Cor 3) Phil “Once SEALED always saved” – since in truth that is why we are once saved always saved because once the Holy Spirit comes to live in us, He will not depart. We might grieve Him a little, or sometimes a lot, but He will not depart and because of that we are sealed for redemption and will always be saved. I agree with this and I highlighted "a lot" in bold because I go through periods where I feel my sin nature heavy on me and think that I just cannot be saved with a heart this sinful but it is in the grieving of the Holy Spirit that I realize that I am saved because He will have had enough of it and will snap me right out of my own way. :yes:
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