Vic C said:
I haven't really followed this topic, but I've learned (at the very least) one valuable thing;
The Body is not to conform to the world, rather, the world is to be conformed to the Body (image of Christ), through the spreading of the Gospel. This is the ONLY way it will work.
I agree Vic that the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10, emphasis on vs. 15-17) is not to conform to the world. As far as the world conforming to the image of Christ, I believe that only Christ can
transform a life and that transformation starts with faith.
Romans 10 goes into this subject of faith, but more specifically verse 17 outlines my perspective in this matter.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rob Bell may not be preaching in a style that some are accustom to, but then he is able to reach different crowds of people. My goodness, look at Paul and the resistance he got, even from Peter!
Furthermore, Acts 15 shows us how the some in the Body of Christ were pressing Jewish customs that were in the Torah on Gentile believers. Verse 11 emphasis’s my view in this matter, but the conclusion I get is summed up here.
Acts 15:19-20 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
From what I’ve read, heard or watched from his video’s, Rob is not only preaching that salvation comes through Christ alone, but that that one live in accordance with what the Bible teaches as it is the best possible way to live. This in turn will make a difference.
Vic C said:
Quantity should NEVER be substituted for spiritual quality. A large body of salt water that all of a sudden finds itself flooded with fresh water, has its salinity diluted.
Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
A large tree, all of a sudden, covered with flocks of resting and grazing birds, cuts off the light from the branches and they also pick away at the fruit.
I will keep posting this passage until it starts to sink in: Matthew 13:31-32
These are my thoughts, not Rob’s.
I liked your commentary on Mt 13:31-32, If this is the case, then it’s by God’s design to test and strengthen the faith of the believers. Once we recognize this, then perhaps we can begin to see that everyone is created in God’s image and that it is God’s desire that everyone comes to repentance. One thing to note, in Genesis 1:29, God said that humanity could eat of any fruit bearing trees that had seeds…and after examination, Eve found the fruit good for food (Genesis 3:6) If a grazing bird eats the fruit, what happens to it’s seed? (Do you think Mt 21:43 applies here?)
Just as Humanity was told to spread out to the world (Genesis 1:28), they would have never left the garden if they had not been given that one choice. (Genesis 2:17) for life was sustained from the tree (Genesis 3:22) and as we know, it was pretty tough outside the garden.
Just some thoughts, but if history repeats itself, what has really changed since the fall and will I be shunned for entertaining these honest, tough thoughts?
