Izzy’s responses in fuschia. J
I think that the
“conflict” between James and Paul is imaginary—a definite
clue to the fact that Paul is misunderstood.
Neither do I see a conflict. But I am curious as to why the clue doesn't
work from another view -- that James is
misunderstood. In my church, brethren run to James to prove
that salvation is essentially up to you. The life line has been thrown
out and floats near enough to us that all we have to do is reach out and lay
hold of it (thus gaining justification via works) It is almost that
Jame's comments trump Paul. They never, and I repeat
"never," give an explanation for Paul's words to the effect that we
"are saved by faith apart from obedience to the law --- apart
from obedience to any "law" understanding "law" to mean a
"code of ethical conduct."
I think that Paul’s
writings are taken out of context of the entirety of the Bible more than James’
are. For many Believers, Paul’s
words are used to dispute James’ words, rather than to fit together with
them.
When I counsel those who are not only messed up but broken to the point of not
knowing their true value as a person, I often
tell them "stop allowing what you do, your sins, your addictions, to
define who you are." The fulcrum of my life
changed when I decided to define myself by God’s Word, rather than by the
opinion of any human being. I have been horribly independent since that
day, many years ago. So blame the Lord. He is the One to which I answer, and
the only One whose approval I seek. J
Is the
God in Christ that you met in the biblical message indwelling, alive,
dynamic -- the force in your life that causes you to be what you were
created to become? If "yes," our disagreement is
semantical only.
Perhaps. “the” God in Christ is the only True and Living God. When I conform myself to His plan I am
free to grow without limitation. He
is so alive and dynamic in me (more each year!) that I find life to be
endlessly exciting and creative. Each
day is way too short. Each day is
full of challenges, surprises, and opportunities. Before I gave my life to Him my life was
endlessly depressing and pointless—an ever downward spiral.
must be combined another principle. We are
defined by creation and the birthing event that extends from Adam and because
we are all children of the Almighty God, our
worth and who we are is defined by that reality. John, I
think the Bible teaches that all are welcome to become children of God, but
very few really are.
I believe that we are all children of God in that our Father is the same
creator God who invented Adam and Eve. Procreation was His idea.
The prodigal son parable gives us the picture that those living in sin --
the prodigal -- are nonetheless children of the Father. Some are
saved and some are not. Typically, however, the "child of
God" in the biblical message is someone who has come to repentance and has
been "added" to the family.
If my explanation above solves the problem, I will
leave this alone. In the parable of the prodigal son, assuming it
is a parallel to the Christian journey, the prodigal was family, but was in
need of rebirth.
He is our partner. And He can accomplish what we
cannot. Hitler was a child of God.
If what you say is true, then everyone born of
the flesh is a child of God. Can
you back this up with scripture? Jesus taught that one must be born again of
the Spirit to even see the Kingdom
of God. Being born of the Spirit requires
repentance and a decision to make Christ the Lord of your life, rather than Self. I consider
it a great insult to the Lord to call anyone like Hitler a “child of God”. God does not condemn His children to
eternity in hell.
Izzy
