Isaiah43:25

All the ones you mention here have the word grace except John 6:63, but I do see there is grace in this verse. Your other post didn't mention the word grace at all, and I'm having trouble connecting the dots to see where God's grace is in them? Take for example 2 Pet 3:3 or Jer 13:10, how do you see God's grace in those verses?

All great verses, although I'm a little confused on how some of them tie to God's grace.

Nothing. I mentioned I'd like to ask him for some clarity on what exactly he meant, but he's not responded.

All great verses. I also like your thoughtful observation of each verse, very well put! May I ask your thoughts on people He doesn't show grace to, or at least people who are shown less grace? For example, He chose Israel in the OT to have special blessings, but there were millions if not billions of people prior to Christ that He didn't choose who never had the opportunity to know Him and be redeemed from their sins? Or in the NT, of all the Pharisees, God chose to reveal Himself to Paul in a way that He didn't to hundreds or thousands of other Pharisees. I totally agree with you that grace is an essential part of who God is, but He doesn't show the same grace to all people. So I'm curious what you think about the people that receive less grace. Thanks!

Hi Eman I agree with you that hell is the default position. But what do you mean that we have to work towards finding His grace? I believe the Bible clearly teaches that His common grace comes to us without us working towards finding it (Matt. 5:45), and that His salvific graces comes without us working towards it (John 15:16). How do you understand these verses if God's grace doesn't come to us by His own choosing?

Alva McClain wrote a classic book on the Kingdom. It's old (1950's i think?), so it can be a somewhat difficult read, but still very insightful. It's call The Greatness of the Kingdom. He addresses nearly every verse in the Bible that talks about the Kingdom. As a theologian who spent his life dedicated to this study, he would conclude that the Kingdom would not be within us. What's cool about it too is that at the end, he lists every single verse discussed in the book and what page they're on. So if a person were wondering how to interpret a verse, they can quickly look it up to see his discussion of the verse. But if you're asking the question: is the kingdom of God within us? I would say no based on the case Alva makes as well as my own study. The Kingdom is a literal Kingdom with a King (Jesus Christ), subjects (the redeemed), and land (all the earth with special emphasis on Israel and Jerusalem, proceeding through time to the millennial kingdom and finally to the New Jerusalem). Full disclosure, he writes from a dispensational, pre-mil perspective and makes an excellent case for these.

Revlori, I think we need to be careful on how we state this, because it can lead to a major misunderstanding as well. I highly recommend taking a look at AW Tozer's book The Knowledge of the Holy, and read his chapter on Love. It does a nice job breaking down what scripture means when it says God is love. It helped correct a lot of my theology. If you're able to read this, I'd be very interested to know what you think of it.

This is more or less my understanding and thoughts as well. Which is probably why this pastor's original comment prompted my question here.

That is a good point, but that would be more on the lines of common grace and not special/salvific grace. The forgiveness of sins and imputation of righteousness is of infinitely higher value than a diverted earthquake, and it's that grace that seems to me to be very much the exception and not the rule.

At the time of the prophet Jonah, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of cities and civilizations all around the world. Jonah, though, was only sent to preach to Ninevah. It seems like God was showing that mercy, grace, forgiveness, and patience only to a very small few. Why would He show that to Ninevah and not all other other cities and people?

A pastor I know has recently made the statement that God is a God of grace first. I haven't been able to speak with him about this yet, and that is a somewhat ambiguous statement. He said an author of a book discusses this, but i can't remember what book. I have several questions I'd like to ask him to clarify what is means, especially the following: What does this mean exactly? What would he be a God of second? What exactly are the implications of this? As I've been pondering this, I seem to have come to the conclusion that grace is the exception, not the rule. Consider Matthew 7:13-14: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (NIV) I understand that God has lavished extreme, overwhelming, wonderful, extravagant grace on us by forgiving our sins, you don't need to tell me that. The problem is that the majority of the 7.5 billion people currently living on this planet are destined for hell. And while God does show common grace (God makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust - Matt. 5:45), His saving or special grace is not the norm. I believe that God is Holy first and foremost, and just in everything that He does. So my question is: do you believe God is a God of grace first, or am I off base by concluding that grace is the exception, not the rule? Hopefully this can be discussed outside of the predestination realm, but maybe that is the difference between these two thoughts. In one, God doesn't pick who is saved and therefore is holding out His grace to everyone hoping they'll receive it. And in the other He has picked who He is going to save which would make judgement the "rule" and grace the "exception". I would prefer to hear some thoughts that are outside of this predestination realm if possible. Thanks!

I read through an NIV chronological bible last year and am doing it again. Pretty crazy how books like Isaiah and Jeremiah jump ALL over the place. While i don't believe the chronological interpretation by that group is inspired, it is still very helpful. It was also cool to see in context how different prophets prophesied to the different kings of Israel and Judah. It was definitely edifying, and probably more helpful than reading articles on it.

I agree with whoever said Stryper. I wouldn't call them death metal or screamers or anything (i don't like that type), but if you're looking for some harder stuff with a lot of guitar and strong godly lyrics, they'd be the closest. Especially their newer stuff. 7eventh Time Down and Nine Lashes are also some of my favorites. Stryper - Yahweh - King of Kings - Take it to the Cross 7eventh Time Down - Alive in You - Religious and Famous - Wait for You Nine Lashes - Breaking Out - Break the World - Anthem of the Lonely

Some theologians argue that the only unforgivable sin is blaspheming the Holy Spirit which is not something that can be done today. Unbelief - which many posts above comment on - is not an unforgivable sin ("unforgivable" in the sense that if you ask for forgiveness for something you won't get it). Any person today in the world who repents of their sins and asks forgiveness from God through Christ will be given forgiveness. If you die without asking forgiveness from God, you can't say that's unforgivable because you've not asked for it. "Unforgivable" does not equal "not forgiven". Blaspheming the Spirit is described by some as those who saw Jesus and His miracles yet refused to acknowledge Him as Lord. They were fully convinced and had all the evidence they would ever need that He was God in human flesh, but they had so much pride and sin that they rejected Him. So if these people asked for forgiveness (and they more than likely never would), they would never be forgiven. Thus it was unforgivable. I would recommend that you are fully considering your life, that you have repented of your sins, and are trusting the finished work of Christ to cleanse you of your sins.