To be forgiven, do we not need to ask for constant forgiveness? (ie. Daily prayer)
The Bible talks about 2 kinds of forgiveness, what I will call judicial and personal. Judicial forgiveness is a once for all transaction, that occurs when we believe upon Christ and are forgiven. This makes us children of God, gives us a relationship with God, and secures our eternal destiny. 1 John 2:12 refers to this forgiveness. Personal or relational forgiveness is a forgiveness we seek when we become conscious of sin. This sin has interrupted our relationship with God. We seek forgiveness to make that relationship healthy. 1 John 1:9 is an example of this.
Was Christ able to not sin or not able to sin?
This is a large theological debate I have never been interested in. It seems obvious to me that he was able to sin because the temptations were real, but some maintain that because he was the “God man” he was not really able to sin. They say that he was able to be tempted but he could not sin. So I am not sure that the Scriptures tell us. What is clear is that he was tempted and he did not sin
Wasn’t Christianity going through a ‘falling away’ period after Jesus was crucified? Thus the formation of philosophies and anti-Christ concepts. But as Christians became more organized after the first century “truth” of scripture minimizes anti-Christ philosophies.
As the church was not persecuted, settled down, and wrote things down, they certainly began to clarify what they believed. I think it is accurate to say that Anti-Christ Philosophies were reduced to some extent, at least “in the church”. Yet such philosophies are still rampant today, in the church, in cults, and in the world.
How can god be Jesus, when god states that he gave his only begotten son.
The verse you are speaking of is likely john 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Often times when the Bible speaks of “God”, it is referring to the whole of the Godhead, what we call the Trinity. Sometimes when it speaks of “God” it is referring to the Father. This is the case in John 3:16. John has already made this relationship clear in John 1:18. “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”
Jesus is God in nature or essence because he is one with the Father, but distinct as a person who is at the side of the Father.
Are the spirits the same as our souls or are they spirits that live outside of us?
The Bible uses “spirit” to refer to at least three things. 1- it refers to good and fallen angels as spirits. 2- It sometimes refers to the Sprit of God, the third member of the Trinity. 3- It sometimes refers to the spirit of a man, along with the body and soul. 1 John 4:1-6 uses it to refer to the good and fallen angels when it says “test the spirits”.
Kurt Warner a well know but less expressive christian quarterback than tebow recently said that tebow may be more effective if he toned it down and just let his actions do the talking. Are we called to be expressive and polarizing or is there also something to be said for letting our actions show Christ more than our words.
How we express Jesus really varies from person to person. Paul was expressive and polarizing at times. It got him in a lot of trouble. Yet most of us do not feel the call to be Paul. Paul says this in 1 Thess 4:11 “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. “ Follow the personality and calling God gives you to determine how to wear Jesus.
How do you test the spirits?
By judging the truth of what they are saying, in this case about Jesus. “Test the spirits” means to see if what they are saying is true. I have also heard of people who talk to demons and do exorcisms who try to question the demons to see if they will confess Jesus as the Christ come in the flesh. Apparently a demon cannot do that. I have not ever had this experience.
Was Jesus a common name in that time, the way it is in many cultures? What does/did it mean?
Jesus means “savior” or “Jehovah is salvation”. It seems to have been fairly common.
How can we tell who the anti-Christ will be?
1 John 4:1-6 is talking about many Antichrists, which would refer to anyone who denies the deity and humanity of Jesus. Someday a figure will come who will oppose Jesus that we often refer to as “The antichrist”. If he tries to put “666” on your hand it is probably him.
December 12, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Doug:
Foxnews.com had a great opinion piece on Tim Tebow today. If you get a chance, it’s a very good read. The author said many of the same things that you did, except that he also placed some of the blame of bashing Tebow on us Christians.
The link is as follows: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/12/12/why-are-anti-christian-bigots-so-eager-to-prey-on-tim-tebow/
Scott