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Author
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Topic: Belief a CHOICE?
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rstrats
Advanced Member
Member # 7706
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posted
Carol Swenson,
re: “Our faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ. We will not believe in leprechauns to prove that your unbelief in Christ is justified.”
What on earth did I say in the OP that would cause you to say such a thing? And anyway, how would not believing in leprechauns prove that a person’s unbelief was justified? Seems that it would help prove just the opposite.
Posts: 97 | Registered: Apr 2009
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Betty Louise
Advanced Member
Member # 7175
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posted
"I need someone to demonstrate their ability "
This cannot be done. Belief is a heart thing. Even if I could open my chest with a zipper, you would not be able to see whether I truly believe in God. Only God knows the heart of a person.
At 7 years of age, I chose to believe in God, but only after the Holy Spirit drew me to Jesus.
One example of choice is Oprah. She was raised in a Baptist Church and taught that Jesus was the only way to Heaven. She said herself that she rejected the Bible way to Heaven because she could not believe in a jealous God. The truth was not that she could not believe, but she chose to reject the truth. If Oprah had started off her talk show talking about Jesus being the only way to Heaven, she would not be successful as she is today. BUT, life is temporary and she CHOSE to reject the God of the Bible for temporary fame and glory. Hell is eternity. She sold her soul for temporary glory and rejected a eternal Heaven.
Very sad indeed.
I implore you to accept Jesus as your Savior. He is the only way to Heaven. He is the only way to salvation. You have to choose. Choose today, who you will serve.
betty
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Posts: 5051 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: May 2008
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
Believe in Your Heart
If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you will be saved (Rom 10:9).
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very heart of Christianity. In 1 Corinthians 15 St. Paul reasoned, "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. . . We are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead." In that same chapter he says "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen sleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." But then Paul triumphantly declares, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:14-20).
How Does the Resurrection Affect Us?
If we believe in the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament, what significance does the resurrection have for us?
In the resurrection of Jesus Christ we see the clear demonstration of the power of the true God. Ephesians 1:19-21 tells us that it is the power of our heavenly Father that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
The resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is God. That is exactly what God the Father wanted to communicate to us, as we read in Romans 1:4. The Jews crucified Jesus Christ because, to them, he was blaspheming when he said that he was the Son of God, equal to the Father. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates the truth that he is who he said he was.
In Romans 10:9, we are told how to be saved. It says that "if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." This means that you cannot be a Christian unless you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This should tell us that even if some people are in churches, if they reject the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they are not Christians.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates to us that all the teachings of Jesus Christ are true. Everything Jesus taught was true, including his great promise in John 6:40, "Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." Jesus' teachings concerning his person, his work, heaven, hell, and the future judgment are all true.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ secured our justification. "Christ died for our sins and he was raised for our justification," Paul says in Romans 4:25.
Our own resurrection depends completely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:14: "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." There are a number of other verses concerning this, including 2 Corinthians 4:14, and others.
The power for our Christian life in the present is the power of his resurrection. We read about this in Ephesians 1:19-21, as well as in Romans 6:4: "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." People ask me, "How can we live this Christian life?" We can live it by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates that this Jesus Christ is going to be the appointed judge of all the wicked people in the world. In Acts 17:31, Paul told the Athenians, "'For he [God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.'" We see the same idea in John 5:22 where Jesus said, "Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son." In verses 27-29 he continued, "And he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out-- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that he will raise up everyone who ever lived--some to eternal life and some to eternal damnation--and Jesus Christ will be the judge of the wicked. All who have trusted in their fallen reason and rejected the claims of Jesus Christ will be raised up from the dead by Jesus Christ himself. He will judge and damn them.
How Do We Respond to the Resurrection?
How do we respond to the resurrection of Christ? I urge you to repent now and believe in him who is the Judge of the whole world. "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved," Paul told the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:31). The Lord Jesus is the Son of God who became man. He is very God and very man. He was crucified, he died and was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. This same Lord Jesus Christ ascended into the heavens, is ruling and reigning even now, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. Will you bow down before him and be saved forever?
May God give you faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly in the fact that God raised him from the dead. May you come to know that Jesus Christ is the only Savior and there is no other. May we all remember that Jesus is the Judge whom we will all face, because it is appointed to man once to die and then comes judgment. May God have mercy on us, that we will beg for mercy and pardon from him and be saved. Amen.
http://members.dcn.org/gvcc/radio_trans/resurrection.html
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
Our faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ. We will not believe in leprechauns to prove that your unbelief in Christ is justified.
The important matter is the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Whether you believe in Him or not, He is real, He is God, and He is coming back soon.
Faith in Jesus Christ our Lord is not at all like believing in a fairy tale.
The following are the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to the Believer:
1. He assures the believer of son ship and makes him son like. Romans 8:16-17, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
2. He seals the believer as a pledge or earnest of future glory. 2 Corinthians 1:22, "set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
3. He fills the believer with Himself, giving a victorious life. Acts1:4-8, "On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
4. He sanctifies the believer with Himself, sets him apart unto holiness. 2 Thessalonians 2:13, "But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth."
5. He abides continuously with the believer. John 14:16, "But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth."
6. He takes the Word of God and teaches the believer. John 14:26, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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rstrats
Advanced Member
Member # 7706
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posted
Betty Louise,
re: “You can choose to believe or not to believe...Hope this helps.”
I’m afraid it doesn't. I need someone to demonstrate their ability so that I can see that it can be done. If you can consciously CHOOSE to believe things, I would ask you to provide that demonstration by complying with my OP.
Posts: 97 | Registered: Apr 2009
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Betty Louise
Advanced Member
Member # 7175
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posted
You can choose to believe or not to believe. When a person is in Church and the preacher is preaching on salvation. A person can choose to believe or he can reject the truth.
We make these choices every day. Your kid comes in and says they got a ticket when they were not speeding. You make a choice whether to believe them or not on past history. You ride with this person in the past and they have been known to have a lead foot, your would probably not believe them.
Sometimes people knows the truth, but chooses to disregard the truth because it is inconvenient. If a person has chosen a gay lifestyle he or she may tell themselves the Bible is mistaken so many times that they began to believe that being gay is okay.
They have chosen to accept a lie.
Hope this helps.
betty
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Posts: 5051 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: May 2008
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rstrats
Advanced Member
Member # 7706
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posted
A number of folks on these boards are saying or at least implying that they can consciously CHOOSE to believe things. If you are one of them perhaps one of you can help me. I have never been able to consciously CHOOSE any of the beliefs that I have and I would like to be able to do that. If you think that you can consciously CHOOSE to believe things, I wonder if you might explain how you do it. What do you do at the last moment to instantly change your one state of belief to another? What is it that you do that would allow you to say, “OK, at this moment I have a lack of belief that ‘x’ exists or is true, but I CHOOSE to believe that ‘x’ exists or is true and now instantly at this new moment I do believe that ‘x’ exists or is true?
Maybe you could use something like leprechauns to demonstrate your technique. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a leprechaun is “a fairy peculiar to Ireland, who appeared in the form of an old man of minute stature, wearing a cocked hat and a leather apron.” So, assuming that you don’t already have a belief in them, how about right now, while you are reading this, CHOOSE to believe - be convinced without a doubt - that they exist. Now that you believe in leprechauns, my question is, how did you do it? How did you make the instantaneous transition from lack of belief to belief?
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