Comments on: And You Will Be Saved http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/and-you-will-be-saved/ A Voice of Reason for the 21st Century Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:40:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Ed Hawk http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/and-you-will-be-saved/comment-page-1/#comment-1821 Ed Hawk Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:20:24 +0000 http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/?p=1459#comment-1821 Richard, Thanks for your response.  As I mentioned anybody I can corner long enough to discuss some of these issues I struggle with I will.  I may not learn anything but if there is the chance I can learn a speck of truth then it is worth it to me. I only mention the 4 pastors above to show how much I am trying to dig into the issues that concern or confuse me.  If I bought into everything Lucado or the others said I would be convinced at this point that baptism is not required for salvation, and I am not convinced of that.  Also, please understand that I am not trying to be argumentative.  I truely am seeking to understand Gods word as best I can.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for people such as yourself and others on these various boards.  I hope to obtain that level of knowledge someday and I do read a lot of these boards religiously and have learned so much by doing so. You mentioned some scripture in your response and I will add those to my long list of scripture concerning this topic and dive into it. You make some good points in your response.  I agree with you completely on listening to the council of God and the bible.  Thats what I try to do but for me reading the bible does not make things black and white for me.  For example you mention Romans 6:3.  Now when I read that I do not see anything that refers to baptism being essential for salvation.  I do see how it could be taken as was described to me.  That it signifies our death, burial, and resurrection in Christ.  There is scripture to support baptism for salvation and then you read a verse like Acts 16:31 where it says "believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved" along with countless other pieces of scripture that say close to the same thing.  I guess what im trying to say is for somebody that claims to be a bible moron, even though I read daily, a lot of these issues are not black and white or as easily understood.  Again, I want to say please dont confuse my ignorance here with being argumentative.  Im confident through prayer,  and reading the bible, God will give me additional knowledge when he feels im ready.  The other issues I mentioned in my first post are just as confusing to me with the exception of speaking in tongues to go to heaven.  I have not found any piece of scripture that even slightly indicates that to be the case.  But again, im confident God will lead me to these various truths as he sees fit. Thanks again Richard! God bless Ed Hawk Richard,

Thanks for your response.  As I mentioned anybody I can corner long enough to discuss some of these issues I struggle with I will.  I may not learn anything but if there is the chance I can learn a speck of truth then it is worth it to me.
I only mention the 4 pastors above to show how much I am trying to dig into the issues that concern or confuse me.  If I bought into everything Lucado or the others said I would be convinced at this point that baptism is not required for salvation, and I am not convinced of that.  Also, please understand that I am not trying to be argumentative.  I truely am seeking to understand Gods word as best I can.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for people such as yourself and others on these various boards.  I hope to obtain that level of knowledge someday and I do read a lot of these boards religiously and have learned so much by doing so.
You mentioned some scripture in your response and I will add those to my long list of scripture concerning this topic and dive into it.
You make some good points in your response.  I agree with you completely on listening to the council of God and the bible.  Thats what I try to do but for me reading the bible does not make things black and white for me.  For example you mention Romans 6:3.  Now when I read that I do not see anything that refers to baptism being essential for salvation.  I do see how it could be taken as was described to me.  That it signifies our death, burial, and resurrection in Christ.  There is scripture to support baptism for salvation and then you read a verse like Acts 16:31 where it says “believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” along with countless other pieces of scripture that say close to the same thing.  I guess what im trying to say is for somebody that claims to be a bible moron, even though I read daily, a lot of these issues are not black and white or as easily understood.  Again, I want to say please dont confuse my ignorance here with being argumentative.  Im confident through prayer,  and reading the bible, God will give me additional knowledge when he feels im ready.  The other issues I mentioned in my first post are just as confusing to me with the exception of speaking in tongues to go to heaven.  I have not found any piece of scripture that even slightly indicates that to be the case.  But again, im confident God will lead me to these various truths as he sees fit.
Thanks again Richard!

God bless
Ed Hawk

]]> By: Richard Vandagriff http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/and-you-will-be-saved/comment-page-1/#comment-1820 Richard Vandagriff Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:41:52 +0000 http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/?p=1459#comment-1820 Ed, Your concerns and struggles are not unusual. There are lots of folks teaching all sorts of things and explaining it all so that we don't have to do any thinking. Everybody has an answer --- but in all of that what does the Word of God say? People can get it wrong or put their own opinion out as the truth; but then how can you go wrong if you do what Jesus said to do? I have put this verse out many times: John 12: 48 - there Jesus is quoted, "There is something that will judge you, the word which I have spoken will judge you on that day." I believe he meant what he said. So, he also said, "he that believes and is immersed shall be saved, but the one that does not believe shall be condemned." How plain is that? Paul was told, "What are you waiting for, but get up and be immersed to wash away you sins, calling upon the name of the Lord." If Paul had to be baptized to wash away his sins, what do you think you, Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah, Charles Swindoll, and Max Lucado, and everybody else should think about baptism and do? I think that the hand chosen Apostle of Christ (who is doing the speaking in Acts 22) knows the Word of God. So, if I want to be either saved or safe - I'd better pay attention to the Word of God and forget what people who either may not care what God says or cannot read have to say. If I want to save my soul, I need to spend time with the Word of God. You get to make your own decisions. My only advice would be to note the obvious. How can you go wrong by reading and listening to the Word of God, and ignoring the rest? How is it that in Romans someone could say that baptism is not required --- Romans 6:3 "As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ..." also quoted in full at the end of the article. Is Paul teaching one thing in chapter six and something else in chapter ten? If so God IS THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION. God says that he is not. So, which is true? For my soul's sake, I will choose to listen to the council of God and His Christ and the Holy Apostles before I will ever listen to the other fellows theory. Then I will sift the rest through that filter. In the book of James, the prophet states, "...the engrafted word is able to save your soul." Is that true or not? If true then that is all that we need to know. And with that settled, we should probably spend our time in examination of the Word of God - the Bible, and in particular, the NT. Jesus saves, not Max Lucado. Read the Word. May your studies grant you knowledge and peace in Christ. Thank you for your thoughtful comments. In Christ, Richard Vandagriff (Ecclesiastes 3:14) Ed,

Your concerns and struggles are not unusual. There are lots of folks teaching all sorts of things and explaining it all so that we don’t have to do any thinking. Everybody has an answer — but in all of that what does the Word of God say?

People can get it wrong or put their own opinion out as the truth; but then how can you go wrong if you do what Jesus said to do? I have put this verse out many times: John 12: 48 – there Jesus is quoted, “There is something that will judge you, the word which I have spoken will judge you on that day.” I believe he meant what he said.

So, he also said, “he that believes and is immersed shall be saved, but the one that does not believe shall be condemned.” How plain is that?

Paul was told, “What are you waiting for, but get up and be immersed to wash away you sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.” If Paul had to be baptized to wash away his sins, what do you think you, Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah, Charles Swindoll, and Max Lucado, and everybody else should think about baptism and do? I think that the hand chosen Apostle of Christ (who is doing the speaking in Acts 22) knows the Word of God. So, if I want to be either saved or safe – I’d better pay attention to the Word of God and forget what people who either may not care what God says or cannot read have to say. If I want to save my soul, I need to spend time with the Word of God.

You get to make your own decisions. My only advice would be to note the obvious. How can you go wrong by reading and listening to the Word of God, and ignoring the rest?

How is it that in Romans someone could say that baptism is not required — Romans 6:3 “As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ…” also quoted in full at the end of the article. Is Paul teaching one thing in chapter six and something else in chapter ten? If so God IS THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION. God says that he is not.

So, which is true? For my soul’s sake, I will choose to listen to the council of God and His Christ and the Holy Apostles before I will ever listen to the other fellows theory. Then I will sift the rest through that filter.

In the book of James, the prophet states, “…the engrafted word is able to save your soul.” Is that true or not? If true then that is all that we need to know. And with that settled, we should probably spend our time in examination of the Word of God – the Bible, and in particular, the NT. Jesus saves, not Max Lucado. Read the Word.

May your studies grant you knowledge and peace in Christ. Thank you for your thoughtful comments.

In Christ,

Richard Vandagriff (Ecclesiastes 3:14)

]]> By: Ed Hawk http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/and-you-will-be-saved/comment-page-1/#comment-1819 Ed Hawk Sun, 27 Jun 2010 03:53:38 +0000 http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/?p=1459#comment-1819 As a fairly new believer I struggle with this issue a lot.  Actually several issues, probably because im new and do not understand a lot of this yet.  You have Calvinism vs Arminianism, is baptism required for salvation, trinity vs the oneness doctrine.  I even had one church we attended briefly tell me that we had to speak in tongues in order to go to heaven.  I want to become involved in a good bible teaching home church but I have gotten almost to the point to where im afraid to step foot in a church because you dont know if they are teaching you the truth or if they are worshipping the true God.  Concerning baptism, I have spoken with several pastors, actually anybody I could corner for a few minutes that may have knowledge of this.  I have called the ministrys of Dr. Charles Stanley, Dr. David Jeremiah, Charles Swindoll and Max Lucado, and received mail, CDs teaching baptism and what it means or spoke with their staff pastors.  The four pastors mentioned above all agree that baptism is not required for salvation.  All agree that it is an important step for the believer to take.  Most of them say it sympolizes our death, burial, and resurrection in Christ.  You have scriptures like Acts 2:38 or Mark 16:16 along with a few others I suppose.  But you have tons of other scripture that would lead you to believe that baptism is not required, the book of Romans is good for that as im sure all of you know. Sorry I cant contribute anything meaningful here.  Being new to the faith im sure you understand.  I do however, learn a lot from you people reading these various blogs.  This baptism issue is just one of many I struggle with. God Bless you all Ed Hawk As a fairly new believer I struggle with this issue a lot.  Actually several issues, probably because im new and do not understand a lot of this yet.  You have Calvinism vs Arminianism, is baptism required for salvation, trinity vs the oneness doctrine.  I even had one church we attended briefly tell me that we had to speak in tongues in order to go to heaven.  I want to become involved in a good bible teaching home church but I have gotten almost to the point to where im afraid to step foot in a church because you dont know if they are teaching you the truth or if they are worshipping the true God.  Concerning baptism, I have spoken with several pastors, actually anybody I could corner for a few minutes that may have knowledge of this.  I have called the ministrys of Dr. Charles Stanley, Dr. David Jeremiah, Charles Swindoll and Max Lucado, and received mail, CDs teaching baptism and what it means or spoke with their staff pastors.  The four pastors mentioned above all agree that baptism is not required for salvation.  All agree that it is an important step for the believer to take.  Most of them say it sympolizes our death, burial, and resurrection in Christ.  You have scriptures like Acts 2:38 or Mark 16:16 along with a few others I suppose.  But you have tons of other scripture that would lead you to believe that baptism is not required, the book of Romans is good for that as im sure all of you know.
Sorry I cant contribute anything meaningful here.  Being new to the faith im sure you understand.  I do however, learn a lot from you people reading these various blogs.  This baptism issue is just one of many I struggle with.

God Bless you all
Ed Hawk

]]> By: Ted Roybal http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/and-you-will-be-saved/comment-page-1/#comment-1802 Ted Roybal Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:55:13 +0000 http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/?p=1459#comment-1802 The passage from Joel quoted by Paul in Romans 10 is also quoted by Peter in his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:21).  Peter was then asked "What shall we do?"  We all know his response! The passage from Joel quoted by Paul in Romans 10 is also quoted by Peter in his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:21).  Peter was then asked “What shall we do?”  We all know his response!

]]> By: Richard Vandagriff http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/and-you-will-be-saved/comment-page-1/#comment-1800 Richard Vandagriff Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:26:09 +0000 http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/?p=1459#comment-1800 Abraham, please read Acts 22:16 again, and then tell me what was required of Paul and why it should not be required of you. It has nothing to do with Catholicism; and in all nine of the detailed conversions in Acts, the same events are recounted: belief, repentance and baptism. It is commanded, by no less than the Lord Jesus and is about what obedience accomplishes on a penitent heart. Also see Galatians 3: 26, and 27. Regards, Abraham, please read Acts 22:16 again, and then tell me what was required of Paul and why it should not be required of you. It has nothing to do with Catholicism; and in all nine of the detailed conversions in Acts, the same events are recounted: belief, repentance and baptism. It is commanded, by no less than the Lord Jesus and is about what obedience accomplishes on a penitent heart. Also see Galatians 3: 26, and 27.

Regards,

]]> By: abraham http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/and-you-will-be-saved/comment-page-1/#comment-1799 abraham Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:18:46 +0000 http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/?p=1459#comment-1799 Water baptism is not a required for salvation, I hope you were not talking about water washing away sin. That is Catholic teaching , we know water baptism is a sign of what has already happened on the inside by the Holy Spirit, when He baptise us into the body of Christ. 1 Cor. 12:13-14, Romans 6:3-4. I hope I am wrong about your comments. THE SCRIPTURE  YOU USED IS FOUND IN ROMANS 6:3-8 (NOT 7:3-8) Water baptism is not a required for salvation, I hope you were not talking about water washing away sin. That is Catholic teaching , we know water baptism is a sign of what has already happened on the inside by the Holy Spirit, when He baptise us into the body of Christ. 1 Cor. 12:13-14, Romans 6:3-4. I hope I am wrong about your comments. THE SCRIPTURE  YOU USED IS FOUND IN ROMANS 6:3-8 (NOT 7:3-8)

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