ARose88

Kwik. That is not the same thing. When unmarried couples live together in sin, they are mimicking what married couples do, so they are committing evil but giving out the appearance of good. When a pastor raises his glass to the bride, he is doing good but looks like a drunkard and is therefore giving out the appearance of evil. Couples have always lived together. It's called marriage! Does that mean that every married couple with families have to display their marriage certificates in the window of their houses, just so that people know that they are married? After all, they don't want to give the wrong impression do they? People may think they are living in sin. Now I'm not saying that the OP should continue living like this. It may be better that her and her partner live separately. All I am saying is that this is not an appearance of evil. An appearance of evil would be if a former Satanist finds Jesus but still insists on keeping Satanic symbols around his house and still dresses like a Satanist for nostalgia's sake. An appearance of evil would be a gay man who finds Jesus, becomes celibate, but still insists on walking down the street holding hands with his ex-boyfriend. Two people of opposite sex living together could be any number of possible and likely scenarios. 1/ They could be single but having sex with each other. Everybody knows this. 2/ They could be single but having a sexual relationship. Everybody thinks they are married. 3/ They could be single and celibate. 4/ They could be married and having a fulfilling sexual relationship. 5/ They could be married but not had sex in years because they hate each other, but stay together to keep up appearances. One of them is having an affair. 6/ They could be a gay man and a lesbian who live together as friends. 7/ They could be brother and sister. Men and women living together is normal. They are supposed to (especially in marriage). Men and women living together gives out no message other than the message of tradition. Grown men walking down the street holding hands (no matter how harmless) only gives out one message (in our culture), and that is a message of evil. Now if the OP separates from her partner and moves out, people may think "oh look, they've split up. I wonder why. Perhaps he was cheating on her and she found out." Messages of evil can't come from behind closed doors. What goes on behind closed doors is private! While I think it's the appearance of evil for any man and woman who are not related or married to live together, I think what specifically puts the OP's situation into the context of "appearance of evil" is that they are in a relationship. Yeah, we can say people will judge us no matter what, and they probably will, but as Christians we are responsible for doing our best to give them nothing to judge us about. When you are living with someone with whom you are in a relationship, the fact is that temptation is present-- that's why it appears evil. Fornication is just as much a sin as satanism, so what is the difference between not removing satanic symbols from your house after getting saved, and not moving out after living in sin with your boyfriend? To me they look the same. The same would go for a porn addict not getting rid of his porn videos, an alcoholic not getting rid of his alcohol, a drug addict still hanging out with others while they're doing drugs. All of these things leave the door to falling back into sin wide open, when it needs to be locked, and the key destroyed. As Christians we have to draw a distinct line between ourselves and the world, otherwise, to the world's point of view, nothing will set us apart. Christ should be evident in all areas of our life. "In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you." Titus 2:7,8 We also need to remember that the appearance of evil isn't just about me, it's about people who are watching me, particularly younger Christians who are weaker in the faith, and may look up to me. If they see me living with my boyfriend, whether or not we are sexually involved, they in turn may use that to justify themselves moving in with their boyfriend/girlfriend, and while they may not intend for it to go too far, being weak in the faith they fall. In such a case, I have become a stumbling block to my brother/sister. "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." Rom. 13:12,13 I say this because I believe your POV may be harmful to the original poster. If she is feeling convicted about living with her boyfriend, I admonish you in respect and love, don't put a stumbling block before her, brother.

To clarify, are you saying that it is impossible for anyone not to sin (thus, impossible to keep God's commandments); or that it is impossible to reach a point where we cannot sin; or both? Thanks.

I agree. I don't think we can expect anything too deep from Hollywood, nor should we. It's obviously meant to be a blockbuster, and it likely will be. Of all the movies Hollywood has produced, I do have to say that this is not at all a bad choice. did you notice the "heresy" of that fallen angel banging the flaming sword into the earth, and sending a shockwave towards the men? i bet this movie will twist the Biblical story and suggest that fallen angels try to "help" Noah. Also, if you look very carefully at the preview, for a split second your can see white lights (angels) flying to earth. Yes, no doubt they've changed the story. In fact, I saw a disclaimer on an ad for it, stating that it strives to stay true to the spirit of the story, but artistic license was taken. The fact that fallen angels are in the story at all is not biblical-- sadly that's a misconception drawn from a misinterpretation of Gen. 6:4. I do not expect the story to be 100% biblically accurate (I don't think I've seen a movie that is), but I am curious to see whether it has any facets of truth to it, which is why I'll withhold further judgment until I see it.

Hey Douggg, thanks for sharing your thoughts. It is very common in scripture for singular context to sometimes refer to a body of people. This is especially true for the church, which is referred to as the "body" the "bride" the "lady", etc. In the book of Daniel a single statue is used to represent several nations. I don't believe there is a contrast in those scriptures that refers to many antichrists and one antichrist, I believe John is saying "You heard that antichrist was supposed to come, I'm telling you he's here now!" In Revelation, especially, the language is spiritual and figurative. A little horn can refer to many people, just as, again, back in Daniel, horns on a beast are used to refer to nations. Hi Arose, the comparison is to the one with many. 18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. Actually John is talking about them who departed Christianity. Likening them to the Antichrist. As they we exhibiting the spirit of Antichrist. The Antichrist is one person, the "another" that Jesus told Nicodemus that they the Jews would unfortunately temporarily embrace as "the" messiah. "the" messiah, in context of its true meaning means the special King of Israel, son of David, anointed that God promised to send to lead Israel and the world into what we would call the messianic age of peace and harmony. The Anti-messiah, or Antichrist, is the person who the Jews will embrace as their king instead of Jesus, who they rejected, as Jesus told Nicodemus they would. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Why would you think the little horn is anything but one person? The Antichrist goes through 4 stages of his career (for lack of a better word). His rise, then his fall. 1. the little horn politician of Daniel 7 and 8 2. the prince who shall come, illicit perceived King of Israel, son of David, anointed (messiah) of Daniel 9. 3. the revealed man of sin, son of perdition, of 2Thessalonians2 4. the antichrist-beast of Revelation. Hi Doug, sorry it took me so long to get back to this! I don't believe the antichrist is just one person because I don't find solid scriptural evidence for the idea. I believe scripture does give us a clear indication as to who/what the antichrist is: "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son." 1 John 2:22. What is antichrist? Anything that opposes Christ, it is anti-Christ. Concerning the little horns in Daniel 7 & 8, why would we jump ahead thousands of years and suppose that that little horn is someone yet to come, when all of the beasts and horns mentioned represented nations that would be in authority, chronologically, following Babylon's rule (Medes and Persians, Greeks, Romans, then Christ's eternal kingdom which was established at the cross)? Yes, all of those nations were a part of the anti-God system which, after Christ's coming, became the anti-Christ system, but no single facet of them is exclusively "the" anti-Christ. The Daniel 9 prophecy (24-27) does not mention an antichrist. The prophecy is about the first coming of Christ (it gives us a precise timeline for His coming), and the ultimate destruction of Jerusalem, which happened in 70 AD. It is not indicated here that "Messiah the Prince" is referring to anyone but the Messiah and Prince, Jesus Christ.

beautifulmarilou, I realize you asked this question a couple weeks ago, so an answer may now be irrelevant, but if you have not yet confronted your friend about the issues, I advise you to leave your personal feelings out of it. Don't go to her out of anger or because she hurt you by using you, but out of love as a sister in Christ. Pray about it, of course, and ask the Lord if it's the right thing to do, and to give you the right words to speak. If it's still on your heart to address the issue, then do it humbly and out of love for her soul because you don't want to see her lose her relationship with God. She may not like what you say, and she may accuse you of many things, but "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Proverbs 27:6

Excellent verses. It's so important for us to realize that through Christ we can resist all temptation to sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13 - "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

I agree. I don't think we can expect anything too deep from Hollywood, nor should we. It's obviously meant to be a blockbuster, and it likely will be. Of all the movies Hollywood has produced, I do have to say that this is not at all a bad choice.

Thank you for the encouragement. My husband and I have been seeking opportunities to share the gospel more. We've both done open air preaching, and were so blessed by it, hopefully we will get the chance to do more again soon! To clarify, I'm not afraid of the world, but I do fear for them, and that's why I want to share the gospel with them.

Hey Douggg, thanks for sharing your thoughts. It is very common in scripture for singular context to sometimes refer to a body of people. This is especially true for the church, which is referred to as the "body" the "bride" the "lady", etc. In the book of Daniel a single statue is used to represent several nations. I don't believe there is a contrast in those scriptures that refers to many antichrists and one antichrist, I believe John is saying "You heard that antichrist was supposed to come, I'm telling you he's here now!" In Revelation, especially, the language is spiritual and figurative. A little horn can refer to many people, just as, again, back in Daniel, horns on a beast are used to refer to nations.

Thanks for the warning. I certainly don't want to invoke too much wrath. With so many people from so many denominations and schools of thought, we're bound to have disagreements, but I just enjoy discussing the scriptures and their meaning. It's always a challenge for me and gives me the opportunity to sharpen my knowledge of God, and hopefully does the same for others. As for my part, I intend to keep wrath out of it, and should any be hurled my way I'll try to counter it with cute pictures of kittens or something... I agree.

Hi, blessings to all! I would like to point out that the bible does not indicate that there will be a single antichrist, but a spirit of antichrist which is already present in the world, and will be present until the end of the world. We are not looking for any one man. 1 John 2:18 - Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 1 John 4:3 - And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 2 John 1:7 - For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Homosexuals can and have repented and come to a relationship with God. There is no sin out there that the world can commit which God won't forgive if they sincerely repent and turn their lives around (the unpardonable sin can only be committed by people who are saved, and even then is very rare). 1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

I fear God! In the biblical sense. Also, I fear for the world, I fear for people who are bound for hell, especially if they are people I know. Prayer is so important, as well as sharing Truth. I want to demonstrate the love of Christ and point as many people to Him as possible, because time is surely short.

I think of tares as anyone who is not in a true relationship with God, be they within the churches or in the world, but there are definitely "false brethren" within the churches who may appear to be wheat but are actually tares when you look more closely. As scripture says, "you shall know them by their fruits", and we have the works of darkness and the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5. Another verse that comes to mind is 1 Jn. 3:10, "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." Yeah, I'm not sure how many churches deal with such situations biblically. "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." Matt. 18:15-17 Those are my thoughts. Hope it answers your question!

I think the tares know they are tares, because we all know our spiritual state at any given time-- our conscience bears witness. So, rather, the tares can turn into wheat and the wheat can turn into tares. When God created all things he said "it is good", He sowed good seed, but the enemy has come along and planted seeds of sin in God's creation. God is patient and merciful with the world, waiting for as many of those tares as possible to turn into wheat, before he comes to reap them. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

I saw The Bible Miniseries (which, as I understand it, has many of the same scenes and was filmed at the same time with the same actors), but haven't seen Son of God. They definitely changed some of the things in the story of the gospels, and I was, quite frankly, annoyed with the actor who played Jesus, as he only ever seemed to play in one note-- gushing with tenderness at all times. However, that's not to say it was a waste of my time. I will probably wait until Son of God comes out on DVD and rent it just so I can have a more informed opinion of the movie as a whole. I was surprised to see that some people are getting very stirred up over the controversy concerning this movie, as certain reviewers bring up the argument that the film's creators are New Age. Here is one such review http://thelasthiker.wordpress.com/2014/02/23/the-son-of-god-movie-is-not-what-we-think-do-you-know-the-voice-of-your-master/. When I realized how judgmental some people were being about the movie, I wrote this blog entry.

The answer is simply free will. If we did not have the ability to make our own choices, then it would be impossible to love God or to disobey him (we would just be doing whatever God pre-programmed us to do). What pleasure would God have from someone's obedience if that obedience was not their choice? Also, would it really be love if we had no choice but to love God?

Oakwood, Certainly sometimes we will get that "warm, fuzzy feeling" when we are thinking about God or praying/worshipping. It's a joy to serve the Lord, and nothing gives us peace like that, but we know that our walk is based on so much more than just a feeling. I have had times in my life where God felt very far away, yet I knew He wasn't, and as I prayed and pressed in my confidence grew and peace came. Also, remember that one of the ways God speaks to us is in His word. We don't always "hear" a voice from Heaven (though God does speak to people at times), and sometimes what we need to hear has already been said in the Bible. God has also given us an indicator of what is good and evil-- because the truth is in our hearts-- we all have a conscience, and if we have a knowledge of God's word as well, then we are equipped to recognize evil when it comes our way. Thank God for discernment. All of these are a part of living for God, but the firmest confidence we can have before Him is that we live this life in obedience to His word. When we know what His word says, and we seek His word, and we believe His word, and we obey His word, then He will work in our lives. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33 If I need to clarify anything in my last post, let me know.

OakWood, I realize this reply is quite long, but you asked a very good question, and I want to do my best to answer it in full to the best of my ability. Let's start with, What/Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead (therefore, one with God Himself, just as Jesus is one with God). The Holy Spirit was present from the beginning (in Genesis 1, the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters), He had a role in the creation of the world (God said, "Let US make man in OUR image" The reference here is not God and the angels, but God and the Spirit and the Son, all present at creation. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have a different role-- in scripture we know God to be the Divine Creator and the Planner; Christ is the Word, the Blood; the Holy Spirit is spoken of as the work agent, the One who gives us power (if you would like verse references let me know). In the Old Testament we read about the Holy Spirit resting upon the kings, priests and prophets. We also see that when a sacrifice was accepted in God's temple a cloud appeared over the alter as a sign that the sacrifice had been accepted by the Lord-- this is a form of the Holy Spirit (sometimes referred to as the Shekinah Glory, though that term itself is not in scripture)-- again, if you need references, please ask. But, it is important to note that it was not possible for any person in the Old Testament to have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, because their sins were still in their consciences (See Heb. 9:6-9 & 10:4). This is why in John 14 Jesus tells his disciples, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (v16,17) Jesus states that the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit, because the world does not know God, they are in their sins, He also says that the Spirit dwells with the disciples, and will in the future be in them. This is important. Again, the reason the Spirit could not dwell in the disciples was because their sins were only covered under the OT, they were not yet removed by the blood of Christ. After Christ is crucified and raises from the dead, he breathes on his disciples and says "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 20:22). It would seem natural to assume this is where the disciples received the indwelling or baptism of the Holy Spirit, but we need to look at what else Jesus said to his disciples before ascending to the Father. I will explain this in further detail in a moment. For the time being, I will state that this was not the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised, this was, however, the promised cleansing from sin. When we are saved, it is the Holy Spirit that washes our sins away (Titus 3:5), but that is not where His work ends. So what else did Jesus say before he departed from his disciples? "And, being assembled together with them, [Jesus] commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the father, which saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. ... But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these thing, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight." Acts 1:4-5, 8-9 Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit spoken of by John. This means that when he breathed on them in John 20, they did not receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but salvation, the "washing of regeneration" mentioned by Paul in Titus 3:5. Quick history lesson: In the OT there were many holidays and feasts. I would like to talk about two major feasts/celebrations-- Passover, to commemorate Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Jesus was crucified during Passover week-- appropriate, since He delivered us from slavery to sin. The other is Pentecost (or Shavuot), this was a time of giving gifts and offerings. It is linked to the giving of the Ten Commandments. Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Passover, and for both holidays Jews were required to come from wherever their homes were to Jerusalem to observe it. We read about the first Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection in Acts 2. "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (v 1-4) Those who heard them speaking in other tongues supposed that they were drunk (v 13), "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:'" (v14-18) Peter is quoting from Joel 2, stating that on that day it was fulfilled. This was also the fulfillment of what Christ told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Remember, Jesus said that they would receive "power". It's no coincidence that we have Peter, who in the gospels was so often well-meaning but misled, stand boldly and proclaim truth after receiving the power of the Spirit. It is also at this point that we see the disciples beginning to work miracles for the first time since Christ's resurrection. Shortly after this, they also go forth and begin to bring the gospel to other parts of the world, as Jesus commanded. I strongly suggest reading through the entire book of Acts for a clear understanding of the Holy Spirit, but I will try to point out some key verses. "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." 8:14-17 Note that the people of Samaria were saved (they were baptized in the name of Jesus), but did not have the Holy Spirit. Why is this? Because they are two separate experiences (just as Passover and Pentecost were two separate celebrations) Salvation is the cleansing away of our sins, making our temple clean, so that we can then invite the Holy Spirit to come live within us. The world can receive salvation, but Jesus said the world cannot receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because before God can live in us, sin must be removed from us. God is light, and will not dwell in darkness. We must, after we are saved, ask the Holy Spirit to fill us. Then, as scripture indicates multiple times, we will begin to speak in other tongues. This is the initial evidence that we have received the baptism, just as it was for the disciples on Pentecost. What is the purpose of speaking in other tongues? We are limited in our human understanding, we don't always know what to pray, or how to pray, so when we run out of words in our known language (English for me), we can begin to pray in the Spirit the perfect prayer to God for the needs we can't see or know (Romans 8:26,27). There are many, many more verses, but I'll sum it up with one more instance from Acts 19... Paul is in Ephesus, and finds there certain disciples (v 1). Then "He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." (v2-6) So, yes, you are saved, you have a relationship with God, but my question to you, Oakwood, is this: Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? He is not a warm fuzzy feeling in your heart, He is not just a burst of confidence or joy in the Lord, He is literally God dwelling within you. I encourage you to seek this out for yourself in the scriptures, there are so many verses about it, ask God to help you, and decide for yourself what is truth. Blessings as you seek. ARose