Do Local Missionary Work

[Jock]

There are things out there that appear to be "good" but are really wicked.

Paul warned: 
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

To go off to do this in the name of love is nothing more than dead works. Dead works is when there is a chasm between us and Christ. If we try to breach that chasm, that is dead works, only Christ can breach the chasm.

Principalities and powers are massively powerful angels who can appear as an angel of light and can deceive many. There is always safety found in the Body of Christ!  1Cor12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ

To sit with people who deny Christ or deny His Soverienty and speak of Christ and try to fellowship in the spirit is a type of spiritual fornication.

I have an idea, instead of this back and forward debate (it's like watching a tennis match  :rolllol:) why don't you guys pray about this for a couple of weeks, put it on the back burner and if after the two weeks, it's still as strong, then do what is in your heart to do. I don't see anyone here condemning you, just speaking the truth in love.

Jock  :Pray:

[Jock]

A peek at the unity/universalist church:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FGM7CBJLHc

[Lloyd]

So.... love most certainly is what it's about, but we need to read all/many verses to understand what God's definition of love is...

I'd say some of us need to read many verses, but some need not read any, to know what Love means, since God probably determines largely whether a person has understanding.

Fear of Being Taken in by Deceitful Devils
I don't think fear is really helpful for anyone, but caution certainly is. The Bible might be considered a book of caution as well as good news. It gives many examples of people who were taken in by foolish ideas and suffered greatly or were ruined or physically died as a result.

Now, some or many of you are applying this caution to those of us who believe that people do not need to "know or believe in Jesus Christ" in order to be saved. Although most English versions of the Bible say that sort of thing, we know that Jesus' teachings are largely symbolic, and the Bible says Jesus taught the disciples things that he never preached publicly, because the public could not understand.

The main reasons I'm not persuaded that anyone needs to profess belief in Jesus to be saved are: 1) There doesn't seem to be any reason for God to care if anyone believes in a person with a certain name, appearance and title; 2) God has provided proof that the Bibles we have are corrupted, but doesn't tell us how much they're corrupted, at least up to now.

But what does make sense of the whole Bible, not just small parts, is that God wants us all to learn to behave in the same way Jesus behaved. And to believe in something must mean to actually do the thing believed in, not just give lip service.

Has anyone ever had an addiction? I did. Do you know what it's like to escape from an addiction? I do. That's what I believe salvation is. My main addiction was overeating. By following Biblical principles taught by others I let go of many of the bad thinking habits that caused my addiction. Then God released me from the addiction. That's when I first started thinking the idea of "salvation" might be real. Here's a Bible quote on gluttony:  Philippians 3:18-19 (ESV) For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

[jabcat]

This thread is locked until further notice.  I'm waiting on further directions from Gary, but in the meantime, TM is not a place to promote other religions, argue for the acceptance/overlooking of flaunted sin, trash and discount the scriptures (no, just because someone actually believes them doesn't mean they're making them an idol - get real), tell people that whatever they believe (or not) they're just fine and already saved/it doesn't matter - or that nothing else in the whole world or the scriptures matter except "love" (deceit)..  This is a place, as the new member said, that is to be a refuge, not only from the world, but from within the ecclesia itself from wolves in sheep's clothing, or at least those that for whatever reason insist on teaching in direct opposition to the scriptures (or twist them beyond recognition, or even totally discount them).

If Gary tells me differently, I'll let you know.  In the meantime, drastically change directions and get back to the purpose of the boards.  It would probably do well, for whoever decides to stay, to read or re-read the Expectations/FAQ, Guidelines, and what Gary has written regarding "TM's Beliefs on Universal Reconciliation" in that section.  Posting at TM indicates an agreement to abide by those guidelines.

James