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Bible Study whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words

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Three of the gospels record the story of Jesus sending the twelve out to preach the good news. Mat. 10, Mark 6, and Luke 9.

Mat 10:1 ¶ And when he had called unto [him] his twelve disciples, he gave them power [against] unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. ...
Mat 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.


He gave them instructions about where they were to go, who to preach to, warned them about the opposition that they would face in their journeys

Mat 10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

And then He instructed them on what to do if they were not received. They were told to shake of the dust as a testimony against them.

Mat 10:13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
Mat 10:14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

Mar 6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Luk 9:5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.


Should we also be doing this in cyberspace? I am astounded at the page after page after page that we post, preaching to those who do not receive it. The non-believers here are not seekers. There is no hungering and thirsting after righteousness. They are not wanting to learn from those who have gone before. The non-believers that frequent these forums are here to challenge our faith in the Word of God. They are trying to distract the believers from the thread topics, sometimes in quietly leading the believer off topic, sometimes by asking the same questions over and over. Sometimes with outright stupidity that gets them banned from the forum.

Mat 10:16 ¶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Is it necessary for the believers in this forum to cater to the wolves? I am not talking about those who have legitimate questions about doctrines, Scriptures, churches, and other faith topics. I am talking about those who surf the forums to find a place to post "No it isn't" every time they see a Christian has posted "Yes it is."

I believe that praying for these people is going to have a much greater impact than all of the research in the world. If they are going to come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are going to do it by learning from those who already know him. Not by trying to teach out of their lack of faith.

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Whenever anyone questions the Christian faith - as they should be given every right to - the Christian should be able to defend his/her position with two things; i. a THOROUGH understanding of WHAT they are preaching, and 2. the use of his/her God-given brain to discern the literal from the figurative, the hyperbolic, the illustrative, the opinionated, and the symbolic. Unless they can do this then they need to stay silent until such times as they CAN respond in an appropriate manner. We can't effectively 'sell' something if we don't know our 'product'. Preaching to others is a very serious issue. Always we need to choose our battles since no one knows everything about everything.
 
Little Angel
I agree with what your saying in a certain contex. First, I love those scriptures you quoted. They are some of my favorites..

The reason I put up a fight with these false teachers, cults, false prophets, heretics, etc is for one reason. For the Guest or forum member who is following along that never or rarely post. You and I are not going to change the minds of these false teachers, cults, false prophets, heretics, etc .. That is a Job/function of the Holy Spirit.. I can tell you that I have recieved many PM's and E mails asking questions or simply to say thank you because of this forum. We do this for those who are trully seeking God. Fighting the good fight.

If it were a one on one situation then I would just walk away.
 
The difference, Gabby, is that you liken yourselves to those sent out by by Jesus but you are not able to "heal the sick and raise the dead". Who is it really that lacks faith? Christians on this board, and everywhere, are skeptics also when it comes to every faith but their own. We are just skeptical of one more religion than you.
 
Let me explain how skeptics on this forum provide a necessary service to the Christian community here...

Practically the only time Christians of different denominations and doctrinal positions here show any "oneness" is when they unite to do battle with the skeptics. Otherwise, they are bashing one another :smt021 over everything from "once saved always saved", the timing of the rapture, faith vs. works, Mary mother of God, and dozens of other things they can't agree on. If the skeptics here were to withdraw, all that would remain would be Christians at each other's throats - not a very persuasive testimony of unity - that is, it would appear even worse than it already is.

I think skeptics/atheists/agnostics are underappreciated here and deserve more recognition for the vital service they bring to the forum :smt109
 
BradtheImpaler said:
The difference, Gabby, is that you liken yourselves to those sent out by by Jesus but you are not able to "heal the sick and raise the dead". Who is it really that lacks faith? Christians on this board, and everywhere, are skeptics also when it comes to every faith but their own. We are just skeptical of one more religion than you.

*******

The parable in Luke 16:30-31 has a message for you as well as for me.
But, I believe it & you do not even understand it. :robot:

---John
 
BradtheImpaler said:
:smt102 I am not sure why you laugh at that, Gabby, but I like it when you laugh :smt039

BradtheImpaler said:
...but you are not able to "heal the sick and raise the dead"....

God does not force His miracles on anyone:

Mat 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Mar 6:6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief.

Mat 17:16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.....Mat 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.



He works miracles in the lives of those who believe in Him.

Jhn 14:12 ¶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Jhn 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Jhn 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].

Believe it or not. Faith produces results. Unbelief produces results. It is the whole reaping and sowing thing.

I am still praying for you Brad. You often challenge the beliefs of Christians. I have discovered two catagories of atheist. One does not believe in the existance of God. The other knows God exist, and is mad at Him as a result of expecting Him to do something that He did not do, or that they are more righteous than He. Which of these catagories do you fit in, or is there another?
 
Gabbylittleangel said:
God does not force His miracles on anyone:

Mat 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Mar 6:6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief.

Mat 17:16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.....Mat 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you

So you are saying it is because of your unbelief that you cannot heal the sick or raise the dead? How is it then that you exhort me to believe when you have a lack of faith?

He works miracles in the lives of those who believe in Him

Yeah, and "every flower is a miracle" :roll:

I'm talking about real miracles.

Jhn 14:12 ¶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Jhn 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Jhn 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].

Believe it or not. Faith produces results. Unbelief produces results. It is the whole reaping and sowing thing

I can't believe that you quoted that verse to prove your point when it is that verse that condemns you. Do you do the same or greater works than Jesus? I haven't seen you on CNN lately so I doubt it. What's the problem then?

I am still praying for you Brad. You often challenge the beliefs of Christians. I have discovered two catagories of atheist. One does not believe in the existance of God. The other knows God exist, and is mad at Him as a result of expecting Him to do something that He did not do, or that they are more righteous than He. Which of these catagories do you fit in, or is there another?

I am not an atheist, I am a realist. I believe what there is indisputable evidence for and those beliefs there is not indisputable evidence for I consign to the catagory of conjecture. Christianity, along with every other religion, falls into the 2nd catagory but Christians act like it is an established fact and everyone who doesn't agree is blind and doomed. My attitude towards evangelicals is a reaction to this, I am not the one who is provoking.
 
"I am not an atheist, I am a realist. I believe what there is indisputable evidence for and those beliefs there is not indisputable evidence for I consign to the catagory of conjecture. Christianity, along with every other religion, falls into the 2nd catagory but Christians act like it is an established fact and everyone who doesn't agree is blind and doomed. My attitude towards evangelicals is a reaction to this, I am not the one who is provoking."
_________________
"Any doctrine that will not bear investigation is not a fit tenant for the mind of an honest man" (Ingersoll)

**********
John here: All you need to do then to be truthful :wink: , is find a Saul who would had killed you & thought nothing much about it, (Might even have enjoyed it? :sad Acts 8:1-3) and then find the Paul who would had died for you because he was recreated & now LOVED you! What in the world made that change, huh?? . (1 Timothy 1:15)

But you are still a Saul & most likely know it to boot?? ( John 3:3 John 15:19 )

Anyway, the killer Sauls & the Born Again Paul's are still around today, if you go look for them. And if you think that you can change yourself? :robot: then you are a bigger fruit cake (for a lack of a better word) than you admit too here on this forums! You got that, right? :fadein:
 
John here: All you need to do then to be truthful :wink: , is find a Saul who would had killed you & thought nothing much about it, (Might even have enjoyed it? :sad Acts 8:1-3) and then find the Paul who would had died for you because he was recreated & now LOVED you! What in the world made that change, huh?? . (1 Timothy 1:15)

But you are still a Saul & most likely know it to boot?? ( St. John 3:3 John 15:19 )

Anyway, the killer Sauls & the Born Again Paul's are still around today, if you go look for them. And if you think that you can change yourself? :robot: then you are a bigger fruit cake (for a lack of a better word) than you admit too here on this forums! You got that, right? :fadein: [/b]

Yet another incomprehensible post by the master of that genre :bday:
 
BradtheImpaler said:
The difference, Gabby, is that you liken yourselves to those sent out by by Jesus but you are not able to "heal the sick and raise the dead". Who is it really that lacks faith? Christians on this board, and everywhere, are skeptics also when it comes to every faith but their own. We are just skeptical of one more religion than you.

BradtheImpaler said:
So you are saying it is because of your unbelief that you cannot heal the sick or raise the dead? How is it then that you exhort me to believe when you have a lack of faith?

Brad,
You confused yourself here. I was pointing out what Jesus Christ says, and how it contradicts what you said. You are the one without faith, and I am the believer. Remember?

The way you took your statement, twisted it up to contradict Scripture, and tried to put your words in my mouth ~ again ~ leads me to ask you the following questions.

What grade are you in?
How old are you?
 
Gabbylittleangel said:
Brad,
You confused yourself here. I was pointing out what Jesus Christ says, and how it contradicts what you said. You are the one without faith, and I am the believer. Remember?

No, you are also without faith, apparently, because Jesus said that he that believes in Him will do greater works than He (Jesus) did (Try to follow this, I know it's difficult :roll:) Since you don't do greater works than Jesus, or even equal works, then how can you say you have faith? The very quote you utilized condemns you.

The way you took your statement, twisted it up to contradict Scripture, and tried to put your words in my mouth ~ again ~ leads me to ask you the following questions

How did I put words in your mouth? YOU chose to quote Jesus who said His followers would do miracles and then when they weren't able to he chided them for unbelief. So I ask you again - what's your excuse, and how is it you chide ME for lack of faith?

What grade are you in?

Apparently I'm in the grade you missed...."Logic 101"?

How old are you?

Old enough to have seen some things you haven't, but too young for senility :fadein:
 
Come on Brad..... Give me something to lean on...... Give me something to understand..... Give me something you can prove ..... Why should I give up my faith Brad.... Why should I listen to you..... Remember here, your a realist, well be real with me man..... Give me something indisputable that I may acknowledge.. And PLEASE stop giving me your opinion Brad.. I mean your the man??? You the man right??? You the man with the answers right???? Well come on man to man.... Give me answers.... If not... Your the biggest FOOOOL on here..... OH and BTW before you say I'm judging you.....
Psa 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
 
Atonement said:
Come on Brad..... Give me something to lean on...... Give me something to understand..... Give me something you can prove ..... Why should I give up my faith Brad.... Why should I listen to you..... Remember here, your a realist, well be real with me man..... Give me something indisputable that I may acknowledge.. And PLEASE stop giving me your opinion Brad.. I mean your the man??? You the man right??? You the man with the answers right???? Well come on man to man.... Give me answers.... If not... Your the biggest FOOOOL on here..... OH and BTW before you say I'm judging you.....
Psa 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.

You seem to be rambling so let me explain again. You (Christians) are the claimants. You are the ones who claim to have the answers. You are the ones who are telling me that if I don't believe as you do I am lost. I am not claiming to have the ultimate truth, I am only pointing out that there are problems with your belief-system along with all those other religions which you also reject.

Oh, and I never said there was no God...how could I know there is no God?
 
BradtheImpaler said:
You seem to be rambling so let me explain again. You (Christians) are the claimants. You are the ones who claim to have the answers. You are the ones who are telling me that if I don't believe as you do I am lost. I am not claiming to have the ultimate truth, I am only pointing out that there are problems with your belief-system along with all those other religions which you also reject.

Oh, and I never said there was no God...how could I know there is no God?

***
Well, if you don't like what you hear, why force yourself to even come on this forum???
And you talk about rambling? :roll: :robot:

And if [you] don't know the answer to my question?, go get the K.J. and read Gen. 4:7, and whose DESIRE Cain 'ENDED' up with!

---John
 
Luke 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Time and space would not permit me to even begin to make a simple list of the miracles I have seen. I would never be able to give all of the details.

CNN is not a good resource for reports on miracles. Try a Christian broadcast.

You accuse me of lacking faith. As if somehow you know who I am and what I have been through. Your attitude is what keeps me from casting pearls before swine.

You see, if you will notice the verse that I posted above, even if I told you of the miracles that I have personally experienced, you would come back with some foolishness claiming that if God were God, everything would be perfect all the time and there would be no need for miracles. You see, people have bought a boatload of that dime a dozen attitude. If satan can't get you to buy it, he gives it to you free.

Brad,
Let me give you some examples. If you really are seeking truth, your
response will be Praise God. If you are so full of yourself that you refuse to allow God place in your life, you will leave just a little bit worse than you were when you got here.

I was blind, but God healed me. I can see.
I was crippled, but God healed me. I can walk.

Two out of a list of countless miracles that I have experienced.

Oh yeah. The every flower is a miracle thing that makes you roll your eyes? Grab one of those little paper envelopes full of flower seed that you can purchase at any garden shop. Open the envelope and pour the seed out in your hand. Look at it real close. Now tell me ~ is that hard, dried, shriveled up, tiny stuff in your hand dead...or living?

In order to believe the truth ~ you must want to believe the truth.
 
I was blind, but God healed me. I can see.
I was crippled, but God healed me. I can walk

Can you tell us more about this? :angel:
 
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