Something Wonderful About to Happen

[Eulaha L. Long]

Amen and amen

[Mark C.]

          Well said Brent!  and also very true!

  Joe, The Reformers were great Bible students and understood that one needed to understand the Bible in context.  The Gospel is really very simple, though it has a great depth of application to our souls': salvation by grace through faith in Him.  Salvation is a gift based relationship as is the continuing Christian life.  Understanding this simple truth gives us a key tool to interpret scripture.
  There are those who get caught up in details re. the nature of Christian gathering who can't see the forest for the trees.  Christian life and fellowship is all about Jesus Christ and his Gospel.  True "testimony to Jesus" reflects both the theology of Christ as well as the practice of a life of grace.  I may not know much, but I know the voice of the Shepherd when I hear it and eagerly follow the hope of eternal life it promises.        God Bless,  Mark C.
 

[Oscar]

If God created the Sabbath for man, then man was already created. This is not the strongest argument against George's very odd teaching, reading the verses is much more powerful, but it does lend itself to the priority of the two events in creation.

If our Inhereitance was based on law, none of us would ever get it. Especially those of us who made the mistake of following Assembly practice for so long.

Christ died to fulfill the law, among other wonderful things.  In doing this, he obtained an Inheritance.  We are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and we are adopted as sons,  all by divinely revealed faith. NOT OF WORKS!  If I get more Inheritance than you because I tried harder, I have reason to boast. NO! NO! NO! It is because of Christ.  We owe it all to Him.

Now, here is where it gets sticky to me.  I realized about two years ago that I was not near the bible scholar that I had previously thought.  I am even worse off now.

I studied a little about reformed theology, which was incredibly helpful in learning about grace. I still have a very hard time with all 5 points in Calvinism however. I guess I'm a 3 and one half pointer.

I reject Arminianism, for much the same reasons that reformed guys do.  I don't believe I can lose my salvation, and I don't believe it all hinges on me.

I really can't figure out some of the other views out there, and I have been purposely avoiding them for the present.  Right now, I feel like a new believer, who memorized the bible while studying with JW's.

I know a lot of stuff. I can identify what's wrong quite well, but I am rather ignorant past that.

So, I decided to be a simple believer, and stick to the basics.  Jesus loves me. He saved me. Amazingly, I love Him, and want to please Him.

I know he can speak to me, and he is.  Even from this website and all of its humor!  He can also lead me from His Word, and He is.

I am going to make lots of mistakes, but He has taught me a slight amount of humility over that last two years. Now, if someone hits me over the head with a 2x4, I listen after the first or second time.  Before, I never did.

I know that I can't go wrong if I confess my sin, and trust Him to lead me.  I am really looking forward to the coming year.

Brent

Brent,

You are in good company.  Most evangelicals are 3.5 point Calvinists.  
A good reference on this whole subject is Norman Giesler's book, "Chosen but Free".

Thomas Maddux

[VinnieGalati]

Mark,

Thank you for your crisp and clear interpretation of the Heb 6 passage. I concur wholeheartedly.  We must have the backdrop of the New Covenant when interpreting these passages. An adage that has helped me: We interpert the difficult passages by the clear passages. Unfortunately, in the assembly it was often the other way around. We would turn to the obscure passages to reveal the clear ones. Really, we became New Testament Jews living under the law in order to please God and hopefully "inherit the kingdom" one day. I attempted to lay out my testimony in the Life after Assy- St. Louis thread. I do admit I got to lengthy, but it was borne out of 9 years of suppressed and silenced emotions. For that I apologize, but for the doctrine I declared their, I do not. It is the New Covenant underdstanding that set me free from the bondage of the assembly.  Several posts after mine dug at me for my doctrinal position. I will use the appropriate forum next time to speak.  Thanks again Mark.  The gospel is liberating. Christ's work was complete and is finished. In that we can all stand secure without fear. VPG

[lenore]

Dear Friends:

I can see that something truly wonderful is about to take place.  As we all become comfortable talking about our Assembly experience, we will soon become aware that many of us have some different ideas about things.  

Some have rejected everything that remotely reminds them of the Assembly.  Others, are perhaps looking for something that is exactly like the Assembly proclaims themselves to be, a "perfect pattern of testimony."  Still others have found pasture in denominaitonal and non-denominational churches like EV Free, Baptist, Calvary Chapel and many others.  Sadly, there are those who no longer even believe in the God of the Bible.

Let me say a few things:

• The intention of this website is to lead people out of bondage and into a love relationship with Jesus Christ
• We know that we may disagree on what the proper church should be like, but we are committed to keeping the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of Peace.
• We believe that these things can be discussed, openly, and in a manner that glorifies God, even though we may disagree on some viewpoints.
• Most importantly, we agree that none of us knows what we ought, none of us has arrived, and we can all learn from eachother.

I can forsee that all sorts of feathers may be ruffled when we discuss things like the proper role of women in the church.  Hiring and firing of pastors, Calvinism and reformed theology, Arminianism, Covenant theology, Dispensational theology, Gifts of The Holy Spirit, etc.

Frankly, it makes me nervous!  However, this was something that was NEVER allowed back at the "lodge."  I look forward to seeing what God will do here in the future.

We have some very strong, intelligent people here, as well as some fragile lambs.  Let's be careful to edify, and not break the bruised reeds out there.

I know that I don't need to remind the vast majority of our visitors here in this section to conduct yourselves in a manner that glorifies God.  There may be some people who want to snipe, etc.  Please, feel free to snipe and ridicule if you must, but if you do it here, we will move it to another section on the forum!

God Bless you all,

Editor

JULY 27, 2004 AT 12:20 PM EST

Was cruising through the posts, and came across this title, since I always go to the first post of each new thread to see what the idea was behind it.
I dont know what date this post was first printed.
It doesnt really matter.  What was relevant then, can be still relevant today.

SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN,
there are still fragile broken spirits, while others are strong in their faith. There are still some struggling to keep up on the road within their faith.

I think this thread is worth resurrecting.
Even just to say, keep going on the journey, no matter where you are at this moment, You can be at the starting gate, you can be at a bottom of a pit fall, or at a bottom of a mountain you have to climb, or you are seeing the finish post ahead.  Remember who you are , A child in Christ.  Remember where you are going. A home in eternity with him.

Talk to you later:

Lenore

[Joe Sperling]

That thread was started by Brent Tr0ckman. He hasn't posted for a long time. He is a sailor you know. I think he may have gotten lost at sea and may be drifting on a raft right now off the northern Pacific coast. When he is finally rescued he will write a book about his ordeal, and how he used his own chiropractic skills upon himself to relieve the pain, and recited all of the bones in the body over and over again to maintain his sanity.

Paraphrase: "The foot bone's conntected to the ankle bone.. , the ankle bone's connected to the leg bone.... etc.

But whether Brent posts again or not, we wish him all of the best.  Don't drink the sea water Brent!!! It will only make you thirstier!!! if you've got a nail clipper on you, you can turn it into a hook and maybe catch a bonito or a mackerel for sustenance. We look forward to hearing from you again.

take care, Joe