Charlie1988

There are many points to consider in all of this, but I would just like to deal with one for the time being. Dispensationalism makes a distinction between The Old Covenant "Jews & Law" and "Christians & Grace" the problem with this view is that God's Word doesn't support this notion, in fact it refutes it and exposes it as false doctrine. We are not sons of God by nature; rather, we are sons of God by adoption, His beloved children in Christ. As such, we inherit all of the promises given to old covenant Israel. Those promises of God that Israel would rule over her enemies and enjoy abundant covenant blessings (for example, Isa. 14:1–2)—those promises are for all of God’s people, the true Israel of God consisting of Jews and Gentiles who are united to Christ by faith alone. In Him we are the true Israel of God, heirs of the glorious destiny promised to God’s old covenant people (Zeph. 3:14–20). Ultimately, the Israel of God is not an ethnic designation but a spiritual one. God’s covenant people includes all those who put their faith in the true fulfillment of Israel, Jesus our Lord. Together, Jews and Gentiles united to Christ have a common and exalted end. Let us rejoice in our status as the Israel of God and work to break down needless divisions in the body of Christ. God’s people are one Israel in the Savior. Abraham was saved by placing his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, to him Jesus was the "promised coming Messiah". Those of us, under the New Covenant look back at what Jesus did and place our trust in His finished work of atonement. But we are saved exactly the same way and by the same Person. Gal. 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Rom. 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. There is overwhelming Biblical evidence to prove that the Israel of God has nothing to do with ethnicity, so I can't see why people get caught up in this dispensational stuff.

I believe the core essentials of the Christian faith are; 1. To believe that the Bible is God’s authoritative Word and accept everything it says as the truth. 2. Trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to take away the guilt of sin. Repentance is a change of attitude toward sin which leads to a change of life. 3. Trust in Jesus Christ as your only hope to save you from God’s judgement.

All Hymns are good, as long as they're all Biblical and praise God. The original Christian Hymns, are all about the Gospel message. They're like a short testimonial message about Gods grace.

Isaiah only had types and shadows and a promise, we have the completed canon of scripture and the Savior as well. So we are far more privileged than Isaiah was. It sounds like Isaiah was looking forward to receiving a glorified sinless body.

The Church Fathers have had 2000 years to figure out what the gospel message is. If the greatest theologians in history failed to interpret the gospel correctly, then we must conclude that God is the author of confusion and we can blame Him for the 45,000 opposing denominations. The worlds greatest theologians have had 2000 years to figure out what the Bible says constitutes a valid Church. Are you suggesting that God made it impossible to interpret what He said, I accept that those who are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit will never interpret the Bible correctly. God only reveals the truth to His Elect, His Word is foolishness to everyone else. Most denominations claim the diversity is a good thing, and it is if it doesn't come at the cost o watering down the gospel message. The vast majority of Denominations were formed upon the "seeker friendly" platform. That means they are man centered and not God centered.

I can assume that they were never ever used in the Church. From my understanding drums were used by barbaric tribes to announce a war, so I can't see them having any place in the Church. As for the electric 6 string, that's a definite symbol of rock music which we consider to be Satanic. I would consider a saxophone to be noise pollution in the Church.

We still don't have any power over the spiritual realm, even with the Holy Spirit in us. It's still God alone who has all power over them, if His Holy Spirit is in us, then He protects so we never need to get involved in the battle. I'm not sure how we distinguish between a Demon possessed person and one who is totally depraved. When God hands a person over to serve sin and Satan, they are in effect possessed. As a believer in the absolute sovereignty of God over all things, I must conclude that God does hand people over to Satan. So that excludes to possibility that Demons can posses someone, unless God allows them to. God originally created the lake of ire for Satan and His Fallen Angels, but when man sinned he became equally condemned as they are so they will suffer the same fate. There's no difference between the rebellion of the fallen Angels and mans rebellion. Both are equally guilty before God.

A false Church is very easy to identify, all we need to do is find out who the head of the Church is and if t's anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ, then it's false. I realize everyone claims Jesus as their head, but you only need to scratch the surface to expose unbiblical practices which do not bring honor and glory to Jesus.

It's unclear what Paul's infirmity was, but we can conclude that it was a physical ailment of some sort. He mentions a thorn in his flesh, this could easily be an illness caused by Satan. We know that God uses Satan to bring about His will. We get to comfortable when everything is going well, and we forget about God. What are Spiritual gifts, some believe they are given as special powers to cast out Demons or haling powers. I believe them to be those gifts which are peculiar to each individual. God has given everyone special talents, just as the members of the body have specific uses, so the Body of Christ has many different members with different talents and functions.

The singing Hymns is an act of worship, so all the Hymns must reflect the Gospel message. It our response of praise for what Jesus did for us. I've heard some of the modern Hymns and the gospel message is not the central theme, so my Church would never have them. We wouldn't have drums or guitars in our Church either, as they are used by rock bands and we don't want anything to do with worldly things.

I don't deny the fact that people have all kinds of experiences. I'm sure people have seen Demons manifest in our material/physical realm. My concern has to do with their power, I don't believe they are autonomous entities who can target people and poses them. The Bible makes it clear that the Devil is Gods Devil and so are Demons. Every single one of them needs to ask God for permission do anything at all. I believe God allows them to torment or poses certain individuals, for His own reasons and purpose. I believe those accounts in the Bible were people were possessed Demons, were all caused by God so He could show His power over the powers of darkness. I believe God preordained everything that happens, so if someone is experiencing Demonic oppression it is because God has allowed it. I believe God hands people over to the Devil, when they reject Him. We don't find a single case where a Christian was ever possessed by a Demon, it's simply not possible. And it's impossible to bring a person to repentance who God has handed over to the Devil.

I never claimed that anyone here is not a true believer or that their Church is not faithful. That's not for m to judge, God is the One who judges everyone. I treat everyone who professes to have faith in Jesus as genuine believer. Everyone is at a different stages of their journey and we're all works in progress, so we can't really make assumptions or draw to conclusions about these tings.

I also had a similar very powerful experience as yourself. I was 19 or 20 at the time and it happened when I called out to God while I was in a deep state of despair and disillusion. A bunch of harsh providences seem to have come together at one time and they overwhelmed me. I cried out to God in a prayer, to help me as I felt utterly defeated and hopeless. Looking back now I believe God lead me to that place which caused me to repent. In my prayer I basically said I surrender, I can't go on running my own show and I was ready to make Jesus the Lord of my life. Then I suddenly experienced a peace which is indescribable, and there appeared a circle of light around me as if it was protecting me from the troubles of this world. I didn't actually see an Angel or Jesus, but I sure felt Gods Holy Spirit abiding with me and showering me with peace and joy. I really felt this joy and peace, in such a powerful all encompassing way, that it couldn't be mistaken for anything other than the Holy Sprit. I can't confirm or deny what others may have experienced, but our Pastor warned us to be weary of people who claim that God spoke to them, or that they received some new revelation from God. There are many scriptures to support this, I can find them and list them if it helps.

I don't think Paul was wrestling with Demos, my understanding is he was wrestling with his old nature. Born again believers still live in a fallen body of death, the flesh still cries out to have it's lusts satisfied. So we have to wrestle against our lustful desires, and strive to deny them and rebuke the temptation to sin in the name of the Lord. We obviously don't win every battle and we sin when we are drawn away by our own lust. But we always repent and continue to walk with the Lord and He is faithful to forgive us. The bible speaks about the Devil and His Demons in terms of powers and dominions in the high places. This suggests that they operate in the spiritual realm, where they use their powers of deception to corrupt the Kings and institutions of the world. They only have one goal, and that is to prevent the gospel for going into all the world. Jesus said His gospel will go into all the world and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, but that only made the Devil His Demons more determined to stop it. So they use every means at their disposal to prevent people from haring the gospel and believing it. The gospel sets people free from the Devil and the power of sin. Anyone who denies that and claims to have special power is a false prophet.

Our women obviously aren't allowed to speak from the pulpit, because the Bible makes i clear that God never ordained women to lead the local Church. But their role is equally important as they are the ones who raise children, and many teach the Children at Sunday School and they play many other important roles in the life of the Church. There are no examples of women Shepherds in the local Churches, so we don't have them either. I know some have departed from Gods instructions and they allow just about anything. That's why I was trying to draw a comparison between a faithful Church and an unfaithful Church. If the Church is the Bride of Christ, She should remain faithful to Him and not fornicate with the world.