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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Religions & Faiths > Christianity

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  #11  
Old 06-06-2011, 12:33 PM
LisaLisa
Posts: n/a
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gracey
"For by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as result of WORKS, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8,9

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Yes, one of my favorite scriptures!
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  #12  
Old 06-06-2011, 05:14 PM
theophilus theophilus is offline
Master
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,537
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluegreen
It is the only law that matters. Love God, thy neighbour--all of creation.

Whenever I read that God or Jesus will punish and send people to Hell, I mentally drop out because it so contradicts the message of love.
It doesn't contradict the message of love. It is simply the consequence of our failure to obey God's commands to love.

God didn't just tell us to love him, but to love him with all of our heart and mind.

He didn't just tell us to love our neighbor, but to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Do your love for God and for your neighbor measure up to those standards? If not, then you have violated God's greatest commands.



Look at how God shows his love for us.
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 ESV


Have you ever thought about why God would express his love by allowing his son to die for us? It is because we have fallen short of his standards and deserve death as a result. God is not only a God of love but is also a holy God whose nature can't allow sin to go unpunished. Jesus died to pay for our sins so that he could forgive us and still preserve his holiness.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:23-26 ESV

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  #13  
Old 06-06-2011, 06:43 PM
gentledove
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Quote:
So what does Jesus really want from us then? He tells us in Matthew 22:37-40 “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

This is easy for me to do Lisa, as I've experienced the love God has for me and (presumably) all of us.

I won't call myself a Christian, or adherent to any religion because there's too much judgement, fear-mongering and unnecessary dogma in general within most of these systems of belief. However, much of what Christ is purported to have said deeply touches the truth in my heart.

I think if you followed the tenets you've written about here God would be very proud of you. However, I think truly loving your enemy might be even harder than quitting cigarettes. Indeed I needed, and received help.
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  #14  
Old 06-06-2011, 08:37 PM
LisaLisa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gentledove
This is easy for me to do Lisa, as I've experienced the love God has for me and (presumably) all of us.

I won't call myself a Christian, or adherent to any religion because there's too much judgement, fear-mongering and unnecessary dogma in general within most of these systems of belief. However, much of what Christ is purported to have said deeply touches the truth in my heart.

I think if you followed the tenets you've written about here God would be very proud of you. However, I think truly loving your enemy might be even harder than quitting cigarettes. Indeed I needed, and received help.

You're right! It's so hard to love your enemy, I struggle with it and I think most everyone does to some degree.

I understand that you won't call yourself a christian, and that's ok. God reads the heart anyway.
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