Bill wrote > God was in Christ reconciling the
world to himself, but the world was not made the Church in the
atonement: Paul says, "therefore be reconciled to God." The Church
universal is made up of those who have not only not
rejected Jesus Christ but have themselves believed the good news of their
salvation and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
jt: Would the above include both repentance and
obedience since God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey
Him?
Well, yes, I believe that "believers" do do these things, but not as a
means of salvation (if that is what you are getting at); rather it is as a
result of our salvation in Christ.
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I wrote > Local churches may be frequented by
"non-believers" of varying degrees, and this for different reasons, but the
"Church" itself is populated by believers. Bill
jt: This is good to know Bill - So ... why do
you constantly retreat?.
I am not sure I know what you are talking about.
But I would rather retreat than get into protracted arguments with people
with whom there is no hope of agreement. I love discussing ideas and I enjoy
reading or listening to the ideas of others (that is why I am still on
TT) -- but I hate debate. If there doesn't appear to be any
chance of resolve, I would rather disengage than ride a disagreement into
the gutter.
I'll talk to you later,
Bill
