crochet1949 wrote:bbyrd009 wrote:crochet1949 wrote:Describe the 'ideal pastor/evangelist'.
i like the point that i imagine you were trying to make, here--and, frankly, view "Jesus" as a cop-out answer, wadr to all--and am led to say, in defense of the +- 80%, that way too much is, by and large, expected of pastors in Western Christianity.
When one has a mortgage, and enough people demanding answers to questions that cannot be answered by anyone, no matter how learned in Scripture they are, such as "how can i be sure?" then, naturally, a "pastor" has been put in a position, admittedly of their own making, but regardless.
Your pastor is not your priest, and was never supposed to be.
Your Congregation is not the Church, and was never supposed to be.
The Bible offers no assurance of salvation, no matter who lied to you and told you that It did, and if you just bring that "blessed assurance" verse here, this will become apparent, i am sure.
What does "wadr" mean?
With All Due Respect, as the briefest search would affirm, sorry. guess i should type it out here, lol.
crochet1949 wrote:
You commented about 'Western Christianity" -- where are you from? Possibly Middle Eastern country?
no, i am a Western Christian, been Oneness Pentecostal for the last 20 years or so.
crochet1949 wrote:
Jesus Christ is our High Priest -- we have access to God Through Jesus Christ. But -- there Are spiritual gifts -- and pastor/teacher is one of them. A pastor is to be looking to God for what he presents to the congregation of believers. Believers are to reach out to their neighbors / friends with salvation. There Should be spiritual growth seen in the congregation of believers. People who Congregate to hear Scripture taught and to worship God.
that is one pov, yes; another is that all Priests should be Shepherds, in the manner of Abel.
Your "model" pastor has, undoubtedly, signed up for a 501(6) c3(6),
and claims these
monetary benefits via a form 1023(6), am i right?
crochet1949 wrote:The Church is the local body of believers who come together.
i disagree, wadr.
crochet1949 wrote:There is Also the universal church made up of All people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
there is only one Church, wadr, and we would surely differ about what "accepting Christ" means, especially if you got your definition from the guy who signed the Contract for Jesus, no offense meant. As an example, i'm sure you hold that a Muslim is "lost," regardless of the statement in Scripture that "any spirit that acknowledges that Christ has come in the flesh is from God," and the many acknowledgements in the Qur'an for Christ, and even "one must follow Christ or be doomed" there, as well as several other admonishments of this nature. Yes?
crochet1949 wrote:
The subject of eternal security / once saved always saved has been discussed in a couple of other threads.
by people who are assured of their salvation by those who have signed Contracts for Jesus? And what, may i ask, was the conclusion? ty
crochet1949 wrote:
The book of Ephesians ch.2
Romans 10:9 - 10 " That is you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" , and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with y our mouth that you confess and are saved. ......Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Will Be Saved."
So, a model is presented wherein Christ may be accepted with one's mouth, and the "believe" part--which is actually not talking about "beliefs" there, but "faith," is just kind of assumed, or disregarded, or relegated to an inferior role--as are "works" of course, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, which i'm sure you are aware of--and so anyone who does not talk like you is then "lost," disregarding that the Hebrews left Egypt Free Men, too, but none of them made it to the Promised Land, save for 2.
And also disregarding that Christ has many Names, Christ is a Spirit, Christ is
Word, and Word is not "the Bible," so iow Christ represents a Concept that no pastor can explain to you--that being "Word," Paul's
historical (for him, anyway) account of "meeting Him in the Air," that you are assured is the "Rapture," some future event, even though Ezekiel already denounced that @ "pillows" {"soft landings," iow}, and it only re-emerged in the late 19th Century, again from a "woman," both times, proffered by "women," even though you do not accept "women" as pastors, but what the heck, we can make exceptions, sometimes, am i correct there?
So, see what you will see, and i do not mean to be condemning here, ok? You have beliefs, i have some other beliefs, and neither are "faith." Beliefs are pretty much irrelevant, they are strictly a framework for faith that should grow over time, and be discarded in favor of new "beliefs" (after all, none of us knows where they came from, or where they are going, right?) even satan believes, etc. As you are reflecting, you might ponder why you have almost surely never, in your life, had
Songs quoted at you, in all of your pastoral indoctrination?
Don't find Love, until you are ready
or at best has misrepresented to you, in good faith, because It was misrepresented to him, but one hairball at a time
(and please feel free to demand proof of any of this, any time you like, from Scripture, i certainly would).
