One of my coworkers and I were talking today. We both think teh Colts will take the hog home this year. They are strong and consistent. Two prerequisites for a champion.

My perception of a fundamentalist Christian is changing. I used to think they were uptight,self-righteous, over-bearing people with a holier-than-thou attitude. While these adjectives fit some FC's, they don't fit most FC's. And now that I am reaching a plateau of sorts in my walk with Christ, I see myself as an FC who tries really hard to not take on the afore mentioned characteristics.

And there are a lot more non-believers with those characteristics than believers. While hypocrisy is alive and well among Christians, its breeding and nurturing ground is among non-believers.

Am I uptight? A little, I think. But I try to be tolerant without violating my belief system. And in today's American culture, Brother, that can be very difficult.

Am I self-righteous? Not in a realistic sense. If there is anything righteous about me, it is because of the shed blood of Jesus covering my unrighteousness. It is certainly not a result of anything within my own power.

Am I over-bearing? I suppose sometime I am. But that is MY nature...not Christ's supernature. (God is working on that in my life.) 

Am I holier than "thou"? Or anyone? HAHA! I assure you, my Brothers & Sisters, there is NO ONE less holy than me. When Paul called himself the chiefest of sinners, he made that claim having never met me. But one day, we'll meet and Paul will say, "Well, I don;'t feel so bad about myself now." 

Am I an FC? Oh, yeah. And glad of it. I think now that an FC is one who believes in the fundamental truths of God's Word. An FC believes in the inerrancy of God's Word. An FC knows without a doubt where he/she will spend eternity. An FC believes Romans 8 (kinda covers everything) to every jot an tittle.

Spot on, BP! AMEN!

So far, all your Scripture quotes say nothing about works being a requirement for salvation but a result of salvation. And, yes we were made to do good works. That is what worship is...good works resulting from salvation. Our purpose in creation is the worship of Almighty God. If we have faith that God is real, but do not worship Him, we are as the demons who believe and shudder but are damned to eternal hell. That is faith without works friend.

But we have a positional sanctification...eternal life upon trusting Christ as Savior, forever sealed with the Holy Spirit. But if we want to have fellowship with the Father, we are expected to repent our sins as we commit them. This avails us to God's will and His blessings in our dailey lives.

[That depends on your religion. I am Baptist and believe baptism is necessary. If not necessary to obtain salvation then it should still be seen as a way to become closer to God. Either way, being baptized isn't a bad thing.]

That depends on your religion. I am Baptist and believe baptism is necessary. If not necessary to obtain salvation then it should still be seen as a way to become closer to God. Either way, being baptized isn't a bad thing.

Then you believe a lie. I hate yo be so blunt but truth is, by nature, offensive.

Hey, Cat,

Us old guys have to boil everything down and not waste time - it's precious to us as The End approaches.  We have already wasted too much of it.

The word believe is used in my NKJV NT 148 times - half those are in RED, and you know what that means.

I must do what The Word commands to be assured of my salvation, so every one of those "believe" commands will be followed by me as He empowers me through His Holy Spirit.

Don't ask us, Cat, read what He says and do it, and He will give you the power to do it.

"Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."  James 1:21-22  NKJV


Can you say AMEN?

doc

Not to that, Doc. Ephesians 2:8,9 makes it clear that salvation comes by GRACE through faith..."

Grace, man, grace. I repeat...grace. Five little letters (in our language). Not grace and works. Not grace and deeds. Not grace and anything else. Just grace. Even the faith that brings grace is from God, not from within ourselves.

If you teach that salvation requires works/deeds for assurance, you teach heresy. This is not an opinion. It is fact drawn from the Word of God.

It is quite likely someone has posted this here but here goes anyway. We have moved away from God as a nation because we have moved away from God as individuals. A closely related thread is in the Debate Forum. And I was reading in Haggai this morning about God telling the Israelites that they lived in paneled houses but His temple had not been built. That is a picture of each individual today meeting personal worldly desires rather than building a temple for God in our hearts. The need for tending to the temple of the heart is confirmed in Matthew 6:33 if we truly want to be fullfilled and blessed of God.

If we are to claim the promise of God in 2 Chronicles 7:14, we must each one make our heart a temple for God. He cannot bless us unless we allow Him to do so.

Who IS qualified?

"For there is not one righteous, no, not one." "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Apparently, no one is qualified. Fact is, we are not worthy to even whisper His precious name. Yet He calls us to shout His story from the roof tops.

Who is qualified?

Only the Holy Spirit is.

[Being saved is asking forgiveness and repenting of your sins,asking Jesus Christ into your heart and life, followed by being baptized under water]

Being saved is asking forgiveness and repenting of your sins,asking Jesus Christ into your heart and life, followed by being baptized under water

While baptism should follow conversion (being saved), it is not necessary for salvation. I don't know if you meant to say it is necessary but I think it is important to know that salvation was finished at Calvary.

I am having a hard time understanding what Jesus said about Homosexuality.  I understand what you wrote about all the Old Testament references and even Paul's letters but what did Jesus say about Homosexuality?

John 1

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God" (literally..."and God was the Word").

Later in John 1

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

The subject of these verses is Jesus. He was God's Word in the flesh. So if you know what Scripture (the Word) says, you know what Jesus says.

And I am sure I do not miss the mark if I say it is because parents are in God's will as it pertains to raising our children.

We have been asked about our 10 year old's socialization. I simply say I wouldn't want him socializing with most of the kids I see in public school. They have trashy mouths, no respect for adults...never mind peers, and are faring poorly academically.

There was one homeschool proponent who posted on a HS web site and addressed the "socialization issue". She said in order to provide the public school socialization, they performed the following acts for their children:

Monday..."Wedgie Day"...all their kids got wedgies; 

Tuesday..."Bully Day"...all their kids were taken outside and pushed to the ground;

Wednesday..."No Lunch Day"...all their kids forked over a fifth of their allowance;

Thursday..."Pop Quiz Day"...each kid were administered tests individually while the rest loudly whispered, "Pssst. What's the answer to number 3?"

Friday..."Peer Pressure Day"...each child is ridiculed for his/her clothing.

Of course, it was posted in jest but the point was made. We are blessed to be able to HS our son since K5. We are sure he would have been drugged and set in a corner. LOL. But what we found is that early on, he did not absorb anything if he was sitting still. My wife noticed that as she read to him, he was constantly moving. She figured it was a lost cause till she tested him at the end of the day. He had heard and absorbed every detail of what she read to him. He was a 100% little boy with a huge energy reservoir and needed to work it all out. And now he has grown out of most of it and still does well academically. Parents' involvement in every facet of a child's life is critical to the welfare of their children. Scripture gives a great example of this fundamental truth in the Shema in Deuteronomy 6. I believe that, by extension, it applies to life even beyond spiritual guidance.     

Other than God, nobody loves a child as much as his own mom and dad. That love should manifest itself in time spent together.

Are homeschoolers ready for the real world? I think the question should be, "Is the real world ready for homeschoolers?"

[THAT]

They really chafe me. Ohio State just beat Michigan. But one numbskull says because the game was played in Columbus and the score was just 3 points in separation, that Michigan should be declared #1.

THEN WHY DID THEY PLAY THE FREAKIN' GAME?

Heck, if that's the way it's done, colleges can just give the AP their roster (could even make them up), and the pundits could determine who's #1.

BUT THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT'S DONE! PAY ATTENTION, PUNDITS! THEY PLAYED THE GAME AND OHIO STATE HAD THE GREATER SCORE! THAT IS HOW YOU DECIDE WHO IS BETTER! THE FREAKIN' SCORE! THOSE ARE THE RULES!

Ask me how I really feel about sports pundits sometime.

I believe that the truth, lies in the Bible.  Not in the doctrine of man.

Well, I sure cannot argue with that.

I believe the truth IS somewhere between Calvinism and Armenianism.