In regard to what Jesus said to Peter, it appears that the Apostle John's presumption is in error.

[The Third One]

Humankind had the exact same mental problem in Jesus’ day. The Pharisees and Sadducees were shouting “So be it!” under the proud banner of Judaism. John the Baptist and Jesus (miles apart) began shouting a Divinely-Revealed and revolutionary solution for ALL of what ails humanity — the exact same solution at the exact same moment in Time. Metanoeo. Hey, humankind. You need to change your way of thinking.

John in the Judean wilderness:

Matthew 3:1-2 (Original Greek) “Now, in those days comes John the Baptist, in the wilderness of Judea proclaiming, ‘Change your way of thinking. And, the Kingdom of Heaven will soon be here!’”

At the same time comes Jesus, a hundred miles AWAY in the city of Capernaum:

Matthew 4:17 (Original Greek) “From then began Jesus to preach and to say, ‘Change your way of thinking. And, the Kingdom of Heaven will soon be here.’”

Word for Word. The exact same revelation.

If the Kingdom of Heaven can come back to planet Earth... merely... by us changing our way of thinking — and, mind you, the True Reality of the Kingdom of Heaven is just around the corner (so says Jesus) — the divine revelation becomes only too clear.

We need to change our way of thinking... for the better.

Ya think?

The God’s-honest Truth? The Holy Spirit is compelling us to change our way of thinking ALL the way back to the very best our thinking ever was. The Place of Life. Our Factory Setting. To accomplish this exponential “change of mind” (worldwide), what does our Father in Heaven have in mind?

Metanoeo. One human mind at a time. One right after another. Until “few” becomes “many.” And “many” becomes ALL. ALL we need is a powerful psychological handle. A stronghold. A starting point. A restart.

So why send Jesus? What is his Mission?

To provide that powerful psychological handle. In the form of an outrageous psychological spectacle. The cross.

Why the cross?

In modern-day English? Because we are natural-born rubberneckers. Not unlike the psychological impression of witnessing the twisted wreckage of a once PERFECT car purposefully driven into a concrete divider. At high speed. By a flesh and blood driver. Executing that unthinkable swerve. To save ALL of us.

Mind-blowing. Yet, even more mind-blowing than the horrific, bloody mess at the crash site is the official report passed on to us. Not by the state police. By Almighty God Himself courtesy of the Holy Spirit. This was done to buy us our FREEDOM. My FREEDOM. Your FREEDOM. To buy everyone’s FREEDOM. And, ALL one has to is simply accept it. Take it. A special kind of pay-off that gives each and every one of us the absolute power of KNOWING. A psychological slam-dunk of such massive proportion, we can never turn our eyes AWAY from it. Perpetual rubberneck. We no longer see the highway of destruction — Shame, Guilt, Sin and Evil. For, our eyes are eternally locked upon the fatality at the crash site — the effect of wood, nail and gravity. Much more than a psychological restart. This is an eternal psychological fortress. Now and forevermore, ALL of our “Shame,” “Guilt,” “Sin,” “Evil” and “Slavery” has been gifted AWAY. Paid in full — AWAY. By a very special delivery.

RANSOM

You can be RANSOMED from the captivity of your kidnapper — your Master — and set FREE. “FREE-Indeed.” For, your knowledge of Good & Evil can be powerfully rendered entirely inconsequential. Truly accepted, in its pure form, 100% — with no ifs, ands or buts. This paid-in-full RANSOM is the undefeatable psychological power of GOD — the God-Given-Power to FREE one kidnap victim. Yes. ALL that, for just little ol’ you. One person. (One person at a time, that is.) It works for any one. It works for every one. By one truly accepting this gift, one is psychologically forced to joyously admit the God’s-honest Truth. “There is no ‘evil’ within me.”

Simple.

For, ALL of my (evil)... past, present and future... has been taken AWAY.

Can something that simple REALLY work?

 

[theefaith]

@theefaith asks, Are you saved? If yes: how were you saved?

LOL. Now, I warned you, if you found the totality of my religion education funny, you would find my “salvation story” hilarious. And, by the way, in place of “saved” I would say... RANSOMED. And, yes, I have been RANSOMED, or saved, whatever you'd like to call it.

What Evangelicals refer to as “salvation” I got at the age of six. First grade. Parochial school. One of the nuns must have said something to us kids about Jesus having died for the sins of the world. My internal response to this news was instantaneous and, as Time would tell, revolutionary.

“Cool. I’ll take that. Now, I don’t ever have to worry about sin.”

That was that. No stars. No bells. No whistles. Just an unknowing teacher giving us another boring speech about Jesus. That’s a fact. She was unknowing as to what had just transpired in her classroom. No Catholic nun would have suspected any serious response from the likes of us. A quiet troop of yard apes, chained to our wrap-around-desks. Forced to listen to “blah-blah-blah... Jesus died for the sins of the world... blah-blah-blah...” — much less “the sins” already piled-up upon our own little wicked plates. We were six-year-olds. I mean, come on. This was 1967. How many mortal or even venial sins could a kept-comfortably middle-class child possibly commit (back then) between the ages of newborn and six?

The revolutionary part was that I grabbed it. I took it.

None of that knees to the floor, arms raised on high, shouting the metaphorical Warshed-In-the-Blood religious defecation. Yes, that’s the word for it. Metaphorical. (Not metaphysical.)

I simply took PERFECT-Grace. For myself. That instant. Rather nonchalantly. Yet, for Real. Like taking an apple from a fruit basket. Instantly terminating the concept of worrying about sin. As in, never having to concern myself with it... forevermore. Same as Forest Gump terminated the concept of worrying about money when he learned of his Apple stock.

“One less thing.”

Granted, against the monstrously serious, incapacitating reality of “SIN” this was a childishly ignorant and notably effortless stand on my part. Jesus died for my sins. That means I don’t ever have to worry about sin. One less thing.

Unpretentious and undeniably, a pure stand. By-God, it was a PERFECT stand. PERFECT in many ways, including its most valuable way. The way we think way. In other Words... it was PERFECTLY psychologically undefeatable.

Matthew 11:25 (KJV) “...thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.’”

It is rare for someone with any wisdom and prudence to stick-with a childish and simple-minded conclusion. We revise and replace most of our childhood conclusions. Santa brings the presents turns into mom and dad are behind ALL this. They found me under a cabbage leaf gets modified into the stork brought me and ultimately replaced with, “Wow. Now that’s totally different.” However, the sins-AWAY/cross-thing was one childhood conclusion that no one could sway, disprove nor dismiss out of me. Not even the most frank and brutal critic of them ALL.

Time.

Truth is, as I kept getting older, wiser and more prudent, it became more and more apparent to me that (in our physical realm at least) Time was the only established old icon in PERFECT agreement with me.

At age seventeen, I remember shaking my head in innocent laughter during a conversation with one of my high school friends. Stan. He was extremely intelligent. He was also a rock & roll lead guitarist... that is... until he became a Born-Again Christian (almost overnight). I could not help but laugh as he preached to the choir — me (Heaven’s Choirboy) — on and on, religiously ignoring the choir and its solo a-Cappello question...

“Stan, if you really ‘believe’ he died for your sins, why are you still so concerned about your ‘sins’?”

There was absolutely no getting through to him. It was as if Stan had been irreversibly brainwashed. I was talking to a brick wall. Likewise, what I had personally come to accept with the Living God would never pass Stan’s test. Nor the test of any other Church-Taught Christian as the proving years marched on.

The only test it continued to pass was the test of Time.

i too was a middle class catholic school boy but you should admit you were saved (justified) before that when you got born again at baptism! I was 16 days old myself

 

[The Third One]

The power of the human mind can literally send a mountain AWAY. The puny, intangible, conception of “evil” and “sin” is no match for such power. Psychologically, in the aftermath of TRULY ACCEPTING what’s been done for us on the cross — 100%, with no ifs, ands or buts — your outlook becomes incredibly positive. You forget what the world thinks (for more than just a moment). Truly accepting what’s been done for us on the cross makes you focus on... you.

Your CORE-SELF.

To your CORE-SELF, IT’S-ALL-GOOD. (For, ALL of “your bad” has forever been taken AWAY.)

Such a mindset makes it PERFECTLY easy for you to love the Living God with ALL your mind, soul, heart and strength. Exactly as He loves you. This symbiotic chain-reaction makes it PERFECTLY easy for the Holy Spirit to show you exactly how to honestly feel about yourself (your metamellamai). What’s not to like? You are RANSOMED-PERFECT. PERFECT even as your Father in Heaven is PERFECT.

Why would you care what anybody else says or thinks? You love you as you are. Your Creator loves you as you are. Quite naturally, it is impossible not to fall completely in love with the Living God Who brought YOU into this amazing thing called “Creation.”

Why is that?

Because, once you truly accept what’s been done for us on the cross, you cannot help but fall completely in love with your self. Your core. What you truly are. For... what you truly are... is... 100% GOOD. Better still, as your Creator assesses: “Very GOOD.” (Genesis 1:31)

One does not “achieve” this. There is no work to be done. The RANSOM has been paid. This IS your natural Factory Setting. You need no pilot telling you what to do. You are on Autopilot. It will truly amaze you how naturally GOOD a creation you naturally are. Then... as you continue onward in your natural GOODNESS, you begin to take a GOOD look at others. Trust me on this one. You will find yourself... automatically... (quite naturally) sharing this love outward.

When we unwrap “AWAY,” we will cover this natural phenomenon (truly loving others as you truly love yourself) in much more detail. Suffice to say (here, at the very beginning of unwrapping our RANSOM) your outlook becomes naturally positive. Because your in-look is in such PERFECT working order. You will truly and PERFECTLY love yourself, 100%, with no ifs, ands or buts. And, yes, as you continue onward in such absolute self-GOODNESS (and this fact will really amaze you) you cannot help but truly love others — as you love your self.

Now... that is the difference between Truth and conjecture.

Thank you for joining the discussion, @VictoryinJesus

More later. A lot for us to chew on, in this post. Any questions or comments about ALL of this should be addressed before we move on to Romans 6:16. Although...

Halleluiah! It’s comin’ soon! We will (at long last) discuss Romans 6:16, as face2face (thank God) has finally reduced it to stone.

Out of the mouth of babes: “You're grabbing nothing here!”

You are exactly right, my dear friend. Be glad someone on Team Light is alive and well and has the authority to do so.

I’m grabbing NOTHING, and popping a cap in ITS donkey.

 

[theefaith]

“After Alexander had conquered the known world (around 300BC) he had a problem communicating with the many Greeks under his rule. Rather than learn ALL the different types of Greek himself, Alexander invented a Greek language called ‘Koine’ or common Greek. It was common in that ALL the Greek-speaking world would be required to learn it in order to resolve the communication problem.

“This new Greek language was very precise and mathematical in its precision. Every word had a four-fold navigational fix. A word could have only one meaning. It could have several applications, but only one interpretation.

“In English, words can have several meanings, but not in the Koine Greek. It was one word. One meaning. In other words, there was no doubt about what a person said in this language.

“Eventually, this language became the dominate language of the New Testament.

“If you look up ‘repent’ in your handy Bible dictionary, you will likely discover that it gives a definition of everything that I said repent is not: to ‘turn AWAY from sin,’ to ‘quit sinning,’ to ‘feel sorry for sin’ or to ‘change your sinful ways so you can be saved.’

“Why is this?

“Dictionaries get their definitions of a word from its common usage without regards to the original language from which it was translated. Historically, the word ‘repent’ is an obsolete English word. The word was not used in the Scriptures until (the King James Bible came along in) 1611AD. The serious problem is, ‘repent,’ in no way reflects the actual meaning.

“Compound words were very common in the Koine Greek and this brings us to our subject.

“In the New Testament there are two different Greek words which, beginning with the King James Bible, have since been translated ‘repent.’ They are Metanoeo and Metamellamai.

1. Metanoeo. This is a compound word. “Meta” means change. “Noeo” means thinking. Derived from “nous” which means mind. So, metanoeo means to “change your mind.”

2. Metamellamai. This is also a compound word. “Meta” means change. “Mellamai” means emotions. So, metamellamai means to have a “change of emotions.”

Upon fact-checking his claims, I found everything this renowned Greek scholar wrote about “repent” to be the undisputable, God’s-honest Truth. There is no other valid Greek-to-English translation for metanoeo and metamellamai. Keep in mind, every word in the Koine Greek has “a four-fold navigational fix.”


Moreover, I found the exact same ecclesiastical-monkey-business happening with the word “repent” in the Old Testament.


Original Hebrew: יִנָּחֵ֥ם

Transliteration: yin-nā-ḥêm

English translation: “Change their minds” or “Change their way of thinking.”


How did the Catholic bandwagon first translate these Words into the Latin Vulgate?


By substituting metanoeo and yin-nā-ḥêm for: paenitentiam agite.


Okay. What does paenitentiam agite literally mean in plain English?


“Do penance.”

Question. How does one substitute “Do penance” for “Change your mind”?

There is no accurate answer for that question. Nevertheless... in comes the Protestant bandwagon. Come on Reformers. Wake up. Where are you when we really need you? The Reformer Bible-Makers (Luther and Tyndale) had complete access to the Koine Greek New Testament. Question: Why did these staunch “Reformers” not reform this obvious Church-Error (“do penance”)?

To this question, there is an answer. The Reformers were victims of the same brainwash. Consequentially, none of the Reformers had any opposition to the Formed-Church Fundamentals already stamped upon their brains. This is truly the worst problem that comes along with religious brainwashing. Having no idea where FREE thought begins and religious dogma ends. To a Paul/Augustinian-Church-Taught zealot, fundamental dogma never ends. The Reformers were so anxious to find a Protestant-Substitution for the Catholic-Latin (paenitentiam agite) — their heads consumed with not needing priests anymore to “do penance” — they completely missed what Jesus originally said. And, so... they simply subbed-out “do penance” with...

“Repent.”

This is very important. Do the research. Even though I and others have done it for you, you should not trust us. Learn these facts for yourself. SEEING is “believing.” In this case, SEEING is KNOWING. The word “repent” starts with Tyndale — his Do-It-Yourself-Penance “translation” was Protestant-Welcomed and enthusiastically applied throughout the KJV Bible. And so... in every verse of Scripture where the prophets, the Apostles, John the Baptist or Jesus of Nazareth use the Holy Spirit-Inspired Words “Change your mind” the Church-Taught publishers of the King James Bible insert the word “repent.”

Nearly ALL Christian Bible publishers since then have followed suit.

Accepting the inserted practice of “repentance” is a major stumbling block to truly accepting what’s been done for us on the cross. Obviously, the practice of repentance means that our sins have... not... been taken AWAY. They are still very much... here. So, we just have to deal with them — religiously.

“Repent” is not an English translation. Worse than an insertion. Worse than religious nonsense. It is an outright lie. The only truthful English translation for metanoeo is “Change your mind” or “Change your way of thinking.”

there are more scriptures that at least imply doing penance and having contrition do what constitutes “penance “?

 

[theefaith]

So there is nothing us to do but accept Christ and his blood sacrifice on the cross by faith alone?

 

[theefaith]

Does changing you’re mind make you a Christian in the new covenant?

 

[Waiting on him]

If not that, then it certainly sounds like what an Atheist would say.

And, I know you’re not an Atheist, no matter how wrong the rest of my perception of you has been. See? I can admit when I’ve made a mistake. Two mistakes. I thought you were a man. And, I thought you were honest.

You purport: “Nothing is predicted...other than Peter's agape love for Christ would led him to his death!”

Is that really your answer for everything we have already belabored at this point? Is this your counter-plan? “Nothing is predicted?”

Do you know what the Word “will” means?

It is not a reference to the past. Nor the present. Jesus has already reminded Peter about his total FREEDOM in the past. You did as you pleased with your own body… and walked wherever you wanted (even on water). However, “When you are old, you will extend your hands and another will gird you, and carry you where you do not want to go.” To slavery. Romans 6:16 will prove that beyond ALL doubt (if we can ever get to it).

And you are honestly saying, "This is not a prediction"?

Well… it is certainly not a prediction of Pete’s death. “Gird” and “where you DON”T want to go” rule out the possibility of crucifixion. Undisputedly.

Nor is it a prediction of “Peter's agape love for Christ.”

On the contrary, Jesus has already questioned Peter’s love for him... two times.

Each time Peter says, “Yes, I love you”; to which Jesus immediately counters, “Then, feed my sheep.”

Which, we ALL know, did not happen.

How many New Testament quotes do you guys fire back and forth to each other that Peter fed to you? And, how many from Paul’s kitchen?

The Truth (as well as THE REALITY of what has come to be) is beyond overwhelming.

In theefaith’s dissertation, I count 3 quotes he included from Peter. Ready for no surprise? Open your eyes.

He used 34 quotes from Paul!

See the disaster Jesus was PREDICTING? Peter, you are the one I trained for 3 years... to "FEED MY SHEEP."

Theefaith, in turn, is feeding us — over ten times more — with Paul’s food, than with Peter’s.

Even 90% of our "Peter quotes" might as well have Paul’s name on them. For, Paul’s name is written ALL over them! Exactly as Jesus predicted!

“ANOTHER will gird you, and carry you (— meaning, Peter and ALL the rest of us — ) where you do not want to go.”

The REALITY (of how amazingly TRUE this is) could even actually bring a few Atheists around. Their biggest argument against Jesus’ prophecies coming True, is always: “Well, these are merely ‘self-fulfilling prophecies,’ brought about by his followers.” Certainly not in this case, since his followers (even John) had no idea... exactly... what it was... he was predicting.

Honestly, I am trying to help clue you in... to… exactly… what it was... he was predicting. At the room’s pace. I am trying to teach you, one step at a time, as much as you can stand in one feeding. But, this is getting almost to the point of stupidity. I am close to grabbing the reins hard and moving us forward to Romans 6:16. But, I respect your ignorance.

While you disrespect my knowledge: “It's very clear you havn't a clue about the Scripture and its meaning.”

That comes from a man/woman who claims: the Word, “‘Another’ is merely Jesus referencing to Peter: ‘the change from a young impetuous man to one clothed with humility’.”

Okay. Let’s plug that light-bulb into the Works and see how it glows.

John 21:18 (The F2F Version) “The change from a young impetuous man to one clothed with humility will gird you, and carry you where you do not want to go.”

I do not “dislike” Paul. And, I have never denied the Apostleship of Peter. You should shove your words down your own throat and choke on them: “You can't see the Lords mind on this so you fabricate some cockamamie story to fit (your dislike of The Third One so that you can save your OWN pathetic ‘Faith’) - it's lame! Worse than lame, its an arrogance and incompetence.”

A Christian would tell you to “examine your heart,” brother, but Jeremiah quite knowledgably tells us, “The heart is the most deceitful thing.”

Do you really “believe” that Jesus was encouraging Peter to be led off to crucifixion?

Do you really “believe” that Jesus wanted Peter to be crucified for "the cause"?

Wasn’t what Jesus did for Peter on the cross, enough?

If John could speak to you face to face, face2face, and personally admit to you that he simply made an honest, incorrect assumption, you still wouldn’t “believe” it. It would be easier, boxed into your brainwashed belief-system, as you are, to “believe” that the person standing before you is only the devil, dressed up like John, who is telling you ALL this!

You don’t want to be able to hear LIVE from the Apostle John. “Please dont!” you request.

Well, okay bro (or sis)... don’t worry. You got your wish. Saves John the trouble. After ALL, you’re my problem, not his. But, you cannot stop John from talking to you from the Scriptures.

The Apostles (James and John) mistakenly presumed that it was a good idea to wipe out an entire city:

Luke 9:54-55 (KJV) “James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them. But he (Jesus) turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.”

If John were actually HERE, in this room, what do you think he would tell us? “Hey, it was no mistake at ALL on me and James’ part. We should have leveled that city!”

My guess would be, no. John is on Team Light. Therefore, he is ALL about the Truth. He clearly knows that the Truth is more important than he is. I think, in retrospect, John would thank God (for the sake of the city) that Jesus was there to curb his mistaken presumption.

And, when ALL the Apostles mistakenly presumed what Jesus meant by something else Jesus said in his Good-Bye speech — that John would never die. John himself was the one who came to their “Let’s-Get-It-Right” rescue.

REPEAT:

John 21:23 (NIV) “Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he (‘this disciple’ — John) would not die; he only said, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?’”

Likewise, Jesus did not say to Peter: Peter, you will be crucified upside-down.

He only said, “You will extend your hands and another will gird you, and carry you where you do not want to go.” To slavery.

Only in OUR hindsight can the Holy Spirit correct John's mistaken presumption.

So who is HERE, willing and able, to help John with his wrong assumption... this time (what he assumed Jesus was saying to Peter)? Jesus has physically gone forward to his Second Coming in the future. And, John is unable to go back to where his mind, spirit and body already ARE.

John would thank me for BEING HERE for him to get it right.

So would Peter and Paul. Because we are ALL on the same Team.

Mark 13:3-4 KJV
[3] And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, [4] Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
Matthew 24:9 KJV
[9] Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

no one wants to be hated of their own kindred.

 

[VictoryinJesus]

@theefaith asks, Are you saved? If yes: how were you saved?

LOL. Now, I warned you, if you found the totality of my religion education funny, you would find my “salvation story” hilarious. And, by the way, in place of “saved” I would say... RANSOMED. And, yes, I have been RANSOMED, or saved, whatever you'd like to call it.

What Evangelicals refer to as “salvation” I got at the age of six. First grade. Parochial school. One of the nuns must have said something to us kids about Jesus having died for the sins of the world. My internal response to this news was instantaneous and, as Time would tell, revolutionary.

“Cool. I’ll take that. Now, I don’t ever have to worry about sin.”

That was that. No stars. No bells. No whistles. Just an unknowing teacher giving us another boring speech about Jesus. That’s a fact. She was unknowing as to what had just transpired in her classroom. No Catholic nun would have suspected any serious response from the likes of us. A quiet troop of yard apes, chained to our wrap-around-desks. Forced to listen to “blah-blah-blah... Jesus died for the sins of the world... blah-blah-blah...” — much less “the sins” already piled-up upon our own little wicked plates. We were six-year-olds. I mean, come on. This was 1967. How many mortal or even venial sins could a kept-comfortably middle-class child possibly commit (back then) between the ages of newborn and six?

The revolutionary part was that I grabbed it. I took it.

None of that knees to the floor, arms raised on high, shouting the metaphorical Warshed-In-the-Blood religious defecation. Yes, that’s the word for it. Metaphorical. (Not metaphysical.)

I simply took PERFECT-Grace. For myself. That instant. Rather nonchalantly. Yet, for Real. Like taking an apple from a fruit basket. Instantly terminating the concept of worrying about sin. As in, never having to concern myself with it... forevermore. Same as Forest Gump terminated the concept of worrying about money when he learned of his Apple stock.

“One less thing.”

Granted, against the monstrously serious, incapacitating reality of “SIN” this was a childishly ignorant and notably effortless stand on my part. Jesus died for my sins. That means I don’t ever have to worry about sin. One less thing.

Unpretentious and undeniably, a pure stand. By-God, it was a PERFECT stand. PERFECT in many ways, including its most valuable way. The way we think way. In other Words... it was PERFECTLY psychologically undefeatable.

Matthew 11:25 (KJV) “...thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.’”

It is rare for someone with any wisdom and prudence to stick-with a childish and simple-minded conclusion. We revise and replace most of our childhood conclusions. Santa brings the presents turns into mom and dad are behind ALL this. They found me under a cabbage leaf gets modified into the stork brought me and ultimately replaced with, “Wow. Now that’s totally different.” However, the sins-AWAY/cross-thing was one childhood conclusion that no one could sway, disprove nor dismiss out of me. Not even the most frank and brutal critic of them ALL.

Time.

Truth is, as I kept getting older, wiser and more prudent, it became more and more apparent to me that (in our physical realm at least) Time was the only established old icon in PERFECT agreement with me.

At age seventeen, I remember shaking my head in innocent laughter during a conversation with one of my high school friends. Stan. He was extremely intelligent. He was also a rock & roll lead guitarist... that is... until he became a Born-Again Christian (almost overnight). I could not help but laugh as he preached to the choir — me (Heaven’s Choirboy) — on and on, religiously ignoring the choir and its solo a-Cappello question...

“Stan, if you really ‘believe’ he died for your sins, why are you still so concerned about your ‘sins’?”

There was absolutely no getting through to him. It was as if Stan had been irreversibly brainwashed. I was talking to a brick wall. Likewise, what I had personally come to accept with the Living God would never pass Stan’s test. Nor the test of any other Church-Taught Christian as the proving years marched on.

The only test it continued to pass was the test of Time.

interesting. But I do have one genuine question. This is not to debate or throw a wrench in what you shared but because I seriously have this question. What about conscience? You mentioned never having to worry about sin. Can you clarify? Do you mean no worrying how our actions affect another? As in never having to worry about sin by simply no longer acknowledging any harms done, because Jesus died for me?

 

[The Third One]

@theefaith writes: i too was a middle class catholic school boy but you should admit you were saved (justified) before that when you got born again at baptism! I was 16 days old myself

16 days old. Very cool. That is really beautiful! Sounds like you, too, must have had wonderful parents. (As did I.) You’re post got me curious. I have two siblings; and, my mom put together three very thick (I guess you could call them) Baby-Books — one for each of us. Pictures, school achievements, etcetera. I dug it up. I knew my Baptismal Certificate (beautifully ordained with angels and such) was in there, but I had never checked the date. You got me beat. I was baptized on my 43rd day! I guess the parish had a backlog (and I was made to wait in line — pouty-face). Quite understandable. The baby-boom was booming back then. (lol)

My son (my one and only child) has us both beat. My ex was a Baptist (strictly against “baby-sprinkling”) and although (I guess) I’m still a registered Roman Catholic (in a dusty old parish archive somewhere); still, I knew the ecclesiastical ordeal I was up against — to do it planned-out, big-time, officially with godparents, a priest and the Church’s fine blessing. (Not to mention, starting WWIII at home.) So… while my wife was at work one fine afternoon, I baptized my son, my own self, on his eighth day.

Of course, @theefaith, this personal back-and-forth of ours brings up the obvious question. If you truly accept what’s been done for us on the cross, in addition, do you have to be baptized?

To do so is nice, but not necessary.

TRULY ACCEPTING what’s been done for us on the cross is being born-again. Upon truly doing so, it is impossible for the Holy Spirit not to come along for the ride, whether you have a public commemoration or not. Like celebrating one’s 21st birthday. It is nice to have a party; however, whether you have one or not does not change the fact that you are twenty-one.

Learn the true meaning of “baptismo.” It translates into English as “totally immersed.” At Luke 3:3, baptismo simply modifies metanoeo. It indicates how big a change of mind Team Light is talking about.

A “totally immersed change of mind.”

Careful, Protestants. Do not let the Words “totally immersed” take anything AWAY from the act of “sprinkling” an infant. It is for this reason (coupled up with much ignorance, concerning little ones) that the Re-Formed Church denounced the baptizing of babies.

How should you, as a loving parent, decide whether to baptize your baby or not?

With the same nurturing mindset of deciding whether you should leave your infant in a garbage can or not. Or whether you should give your baby sustenance for physical Life or not. Just as surely as your baby wants to be warm, safe and fed, your baby wants to be baptized. As wonderful as it is to come into this world (in the flesh), the cats-meow is to be in this world, in the flesh and to have the Spirit of The Living God of Light with-you-within-you as well. With-you-within-you as soon as possible.

Yes, we are ALL born into the flesh in absolute PERFECTION. Still, ALL infant babies want to be baptized. Born from water, the infant is in gleeful-gimmie-gimmie to be “born-again” by water and the Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit does not barge into a person, like a brute breaking down a door. The Holy Spirit must simply be asked to come in. Knock and the door shall be opened. Ask, and you shall receive. When asked, it is the Holy Spirit Who actually opens the door and comes in (from our perspective, like a front door swinging out). And, since the infant, although in joyful-want for this, cannot yet (in the flesh) ask for this introduction of ALL introductions; someone, who is able in the flesh must ask for the child — usually a loving parent or guardian.

Does this require a priest and permission from the Formed-Church?

 

[The Third One]

Nope. Anyone can do the asking (DIY). You can Do-It-Yourself without the drawn-out ordeal often involved, including ALL the demanding hoops to jump through (tedious Catholic protocol). DIY takes less time than changing a diaper. “I ask the Holy Spirit to come into this child. And, in doing so, I hereby baptize (here, you say the child’s name, pouring water upon his or her forehead, a drop is ALL it takes) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit will come with-and-within this soul, much to the little child’s delight. For, the Holy Spirit, to the soul, is ALL things.

Comforter, Nurturer and Truth.

theefaith further asks, “So there is nothing for us to do but accept Christ and his blood sacrifice on the cross by faith alone?”

It has nothing to do with “Christ,” the Messiah, or “faith.” You guys need to stop thinking about this in terms of “faith” and “belief.” That can be a toughie when "faith" is part of one's name... (theefaith). Consider this:

What is What’s-Been-Done-For-Us-On-the-Cross?

It’s a gift. (Certainly not something for us to “believeth on.”)

In the context of Gift-Reality, “faith” and “belief” are weak, cheese-headed, religious words. These are unsubstantial words. These are irrational words. “Faith” AND “Belief.” These are words that have no business being associated with What’s-Been-Done-For-Us-On-the-Cross. Have “faith” in Santa Claus. Have “belief” that it will rain tonight or that the Cubs are going to win the pennant next year. It does a person no good to have “faith” in What’s-Been-Done-For-Us-On-the-Cross.

It is a DONE-DEAL. What does “faith” have to do with something that has already been done for us?

What are we supposed to do with a gift?

BELIEVETH in it?

(Buzzer sound!) Wrong. Duh. We are supposed to ACCEPT it.

Yes, ALL we have to do is truly TAKE it.

There is not one more thing we need do but, truly accept that what’s been done for us on the cross, takes ALL our sin AWAY. “Truly” means 100%. NO additions (no “ands”). NO “buts” or “ifs” either. Pure acceptance of the pure power of it.

It is not our knowledge, nor our wisdom, nor our carefulness, nor our self-righteousness, nor our conduct, nor certainly not our “faith” that has to be PERFECT. It is something much more simple, God-given and basic to human nature. Our ability to TAKE must be in good working order. God did not make this difficult. We did. It is stupidly-simply, for this is one of our natural abilities that requires NO WORK. Our gift-taking ability.

It is our TAKING of what’s been done for us on the cross that has to be PERFECT. One-hundred percent. With no ifs, ands or buts.

More important, what’s been done for us on the cross is not a blood sacrifice. Jesus tells us exactly what it is. It is a RANSOM. We have barely touched the surface of digging up our RANSOM. We do Romans 6:16 first, then we can get our picks and shovels out and dig up our RANSOM. However, these are ALL excellent questions the Holy Spirit is compelling you to ask. They need to be asked; and, we have been given the green-light to answer them at this point.

Does changing you’re mind make you a Christian in the new covenant?

“Christian,” “Savage,” “Heathen,” “Atheist,” “Agnostic,” “Scientologist,” “Hindu,” “Buddhist,” “Muslim,” “Jew,” etcetera, etcetera. Whatever the label, be it made-up, self-imposed, inherited, inspired or put-upon-a-person. However it is we have decided to divide ourselves, we are ALL the brotherhood and sisterhood of MAN.

Isaiah 53:6 “ALL we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us ALL.”

Changing you’re mind… IS… the new covenant!

Back to being baptized, same as with the seven days old babe, once a “come-of-age” mind has changed and one finds himself in the flesh and in absolute PERFECTION, he may likewise find himself in “gleeful-gimmie-gimmie” to bring the Holy Spirit along for the ride. Although, unlike the little one, the come-of-age true acceptor is PERFECTLY capable of asking… for him or herself.

I can promise you this. If any true acceptor does not sense an overwhelming desire to ask the Holy Spirit to come along for the ride, guess what? Most likely, She is already there. Unbeknown to you, you may have already been baptized as an infant. Or, perhaps you already asked (and you do not even realize you asked).

Still... the true acceptor may be in joyful want of an outward demonstration of IT’S-ALL-GOOD. A celebration. The true acceptor may simply want to be baptized.

Be that the case, I highly recommend the full-blown immersion-version. The grown-up, adult ceremony of Dunking-Baptism (total immersion and then coming out of the water) is the Living Parable of baptismo metanoeo. Totally immersed. For, the change of mind is ALL-encompassing. Then coming out of the water. Born again. Joining the world PERFECTLY unsoiled by the consequences of The Knowledge of Good & Evil.

 

[The Third One]

@VictoryinJesus writes:

interesting. But I do have one genuine question. This is not to debate or throw a wrench in what you shared but because I seriously have this question. What about conscience? You mentioned never having to worry about sin. Can you clarify? Do you mean no worrying how our actions affect another? As in never having to worry about sin by simply no longer acknowledging any harms done, because Jesus died for me?

Bravo. More excellent questions.

“You mentioned never having to worry about sin. Can you clarify?”

I can. Which do you think is more powerful: the power of the most horrible sin in the world, or the power of what’s been done for us on the cross?

In such a truly changed mind, a mind that has truly accepted what’s been done for us on the cross, one knows, that even if you were to commit the worst sin imaginable, a million times over, such would be inconsequential to you and to your Father in Heaven. For, it has ALL been turned into NOTHING. It has ALL been truly and absolutely taken AWAY. That is the pure power of truly accepting what’s been done for us on the cross.

Having this clear knowledge, certainly does not mean that you are going to run out and commit such a sin, simply for the sake of committing it. (lol) As in: I can sin! I can sin! Hurrah! Gosh, what should I do first? Tell a lie to someone? Or go kill my old math teacher, now that I know I won’t burn in Hell for it?

On the contrary, such a renewed mindset does not promote lawlessness. Just the opposite. For the huge power of SIN has, equally, been taken AWAY. Like, pulling its plug out of the wall. You know in your mind, 100%, with no ifs, ands or buts, that the entire idea of “sin” has been turned into NOTHING. Within such a changed mind, the power of sin has been rendered absolutely dead.

Here is Wisdom — this is the God’s-honest Truth — spoken directly out of the mouth of the Holy Spirit (so, listen up): “The allure of sin diminishes equally with the power you give to sin. You give it no power, it has no allure.”

As to “how our actions affect another” and “harms done,” best to save the answers to those questions for when we get around to talking about “AWAY.”

On the other hand, the Holy Spirit suggests that we address your biggest question... right now. (So, wow, VictoryinJesus, thank you for asking it)

“What about conscience?”

Are you ready for this? (the Holy Spirit says that you are, so here goes)

Creating a conscience is the first dreadful consequence of us contracting our mental disease. Adam and Eve ate of the fruit that opened their minds to The Knowledge of Good & Evil. Thus, Adam and Eve’s minds became so polluted.

The Diabolical result?

Out of their imaginations they grew a conscience; which, in turn, took immediate control of their imaginations.

The conscience (or “the heart” — as the Old Testament writers refer to it) OWNS the imagination. Out of the imagination of the conscience (or “the heart”)... is from where evil comes.

The next obvious question: What EVIL, in and of itself, could possibly come from growing a conscience?

Judgments.

We judge EVERYTHING in terms of Good & Evil. That is what... having a conscience... is. Judging EVERYTHING (including one’s own self) in terms of Good & Evil.

Having a conscience is not part of our Factory Setting. Meaning, the Living God of Light never gave us a conscience.

Inspired by NOTHING, IT is of our own invention. We invented a Thought-Master. IT is very tricky. According to the prophet, Jeremiah, IT is the most deceitful thing, and, yet, we do whatever IT says. IT dictates how we think.

What Jesus came to set right is the very foundation of how we think. Most especially, what we think about ourselves, individually and as a entire species.

A mindset is based upon knowledge — the core of our everyday thinking. To escape the bonds of a false mindset, it is imperative for us to know the Truth.

Cause and effect.

 

[The Third One]

So... let’s put the Truth together. Add it up. One: The Knowledge of Good & Evil leads us directly into... Two: Growing a conscience. Which leads us directly into... Three: Judging. There are other things that follow, Guilt, Religion and Sin, which, ultimately, leads us into... self-destruction. Death.

Keep in mind, ALL of this was Parentally-Forbidden to us from the get-go. Learn these Truths. For, they are exactly why Jesus counsels us to “Judge not.”

Adam and Eve are Scriptural proof. Both of them Lived PERFECTLY sinless Lives before they gained The Knowledge of Good & Evil... and, consequentially, a conscience.

Go back to what the Holy Spirit tells us:

“The allure of sin diminishes equally with the power you give to sin. You give it no power, it has no allure.”

Try your best to imagine one-step beyond that. (We imagined our way into this mess, perhaps our first step in stepping out of it is by imagining our way out.) Imagine if you had never even heard of the concept of sin — never heard of the concept of right & wrong. Imagine Living in a world where there is no such thing as sin. No such concept as sin. No such word as sin. The entire idea of such a thing is simply not part of Reality; but, rather, that which has always remained... in Never-Never Land.

It should not take much of an imagination to consider such a Reality. That is our original Reality. That is our Factory Setting. Adam and Eve enjoyed this Reality continuously, until they gained The Knowledge of Good & Evil. You and I enjoyed it, too. You probably do not remember, but you did (you were so little). Our little ones enjoy this exact same Reality... continuously... until the moment little he or little she gains... what?

The Knowledge of Good & Evil.

We change our minds from our Factory Setting "IT'S ALL GOOD" to our new prime directive: "There is both Good & Evil." The change of mind we regain from truly accepting what's been done for us on the cross, is our Factory Setting again: IT'S ALL GOOD. (*Including yourself*)

That is the absolute God’s-honest Truth.

We. Me. You. Humankind. It is ALL about what-you-think. Our world is exactly what we make of it. You ARE what you think.

Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

As humans, we ALL have a limited perspective. A limited perspective coupled up with The Knowledge of Good & Evil is a dangerous combination. Suffice to say, we are terribly ill-equipped to judge what is truly GOOD and what is truly EVIL.

Go ahead. Assimilate ALL of the Church-Taught knowledge available to humankind. Become the most thoroughly equipped Christian in the universe... and you will still be ill equipped to discern. To judge.

From the moment of realization (accepting “the Reality” that both Good & Evil exists) how much time do you suppose it takes for a human being to grow a conscience?

It happens instantaneously. Within the mental framework of our Factory Setting, we have the phenomenal ability to leap beyond our Factory Setting into the Boundless Bigness — what we call “our imagination.” The place of dreams, fantasy, creativity and invention.

Most people assume that a human being is born with a conscience (same as being born with fingers and toes). The God’s-honest Truth? Having a conscience is foreign to what we naturally are. IT is nonhuman. At best, IT is extra-human. To put IT in human terms, a conscience is the mutation of both courtroom and judge amalgamated into one entity. Each one of us creates our own Courtroom of Conscience out of our imagination — an imagination shanghaied and kidnapped by The Knowledge of Good & Evil. Within IT, we judge what we “believe” to be Good and what we “believe” to be Evil.

Our “judgeship” is certainly not given to us by our Creator.

IT is self-appointed.

Growing a conscience was and remains expressly forbidden to us by our Creator. And, with GOOD reason. Father knows best. Our Creator set our Factory Setting to “GOOD” (as He did with ALL of Creation).

To continually do GOOD in a world in which EVERYTHING is already ALL GOOD is the natural order of things.

And, yet, human beings are responsible for bringing evil into this world.

Before we could do that, we had to imagine what “Evil” is.

One of these days (hopefully soon) we will come to the conclusion that “being made in His Image” is more than enough for us in the “being like God” department. Gaining the Knowledge of Good & Evil makes us “like God” only in that we know... simply... that Good & Evil exists. Period. As to the ongoing discernment of what actually is GOOD and what actually is EVIL, well... that is exactly what is determined by the “evidence” (both considered and imagined) within the shadowy depths of our Diabolically inspired invention: The Courtroom of Conscience.

Come on, The Third One! Do you REALLY think our conscience is a “Diabolically inspired invention” of human imagination?

 

[The Third One]

What do YOU think? (That’s a trick-question.) Before you consult your conscience, keep in mind, growing one is the direct result of the human mind gaining The Knowledge of Good & Evil. You cannot have one without the other. Some Bible translations even refer to The Tree of Knowledge as The Tree of Conscience.

Without The Knowledge of Good & Evil, there is no reason for the human imagination to erect the Courtroom of Conscience out of the Boundless Bigness. EVERYTHING is ALL GOOD. However, upon gaining The Knowledge of Good... and Evil... our entire way of thinking about EVERYTHING changes to: divide and conquer. As in, let us don our robes as “judges” of what is Good and what is Evil and... proceed... to divide Good from Evil... throughout this world. Throughout Creation.

But, what is “Evil”? At the beginning of our quest, where could we find evil within the Living God’s Creation?

We had no idea. For, EVERYTHING in God’s Creation was ALL GOOD.

So, then (with the help of Master Knowledge of Good & Evil) let us become damned and determined to imagine what it is. In putting our imaginations to work at the task of dividing Good & Evil (the bad joke is) we are the ones who were conquered. We became the active field slaves of Master Knowledge of Good & Evil. And, ever since? What do we produce in great abundance o’er here on de plantation?

We have become the workers of every Evil upon this earth.

The idea ITSELF (Good & Evil) is more powerful and more overwhelming to us than anything else in the entire universe. IT is the cause of our decline. IT is the stumbling block in the way of our advancement. We pursue IT endlessly to our loss, thus far, barely scratching the surface of The Knowledge of Heaven & Earth. IT dictates how we think. IT decides our actions. IT being ALL that we imagine to be “Good” and ALL that we imagine to be “Evil,” IT dictates ALL of what we do. Some of us even imagining little angels and little devils on our shoulders, whispering into our ear.

So stealthy is IT within the overall presence of ongoing human existence, it took us many generations to even pinpoint this thing (we call “conscience”) as something that speaks to us from our minds. Our ancestors “believed” IT spoke to us from our heart.

In the King James Version of the Bible, the word “conscience” first appears in the New Testament. That is historically accurate. Meaning, the word “conscience” is entirely absent from the vocabulary of the authors of the Old Testament Hebrew texts. Although these ancient generations had no specific word for “conscience” still, they wrote plenty about IT. Referring to conscience (this internal GPS-voice of human judgment) as one’s “heart.” Not the beating one with valves. Rather, the idea of thinking in one’s heart. “Speaking in mine heart.” (Genesis 24:45) “The breastplate of judgment upon his heart.” (Genesis 28:29) This is not Biblical-Theory. This is Biblical-Fact.

Moses is the first inspired author to accurately copyright the Truth about the human conscience. That this “voice-of-the-heart” is not given to us by the Living God; rather, IT is imagined within us. The Living God reveals this Truth to Noah. Our imagination is the creator of conscience. Again, Moses, the author of Genesis, PERFECTLY nails it:

Genesis 6:5 (KJV) “…the imagination of the thoughts of his heart.”

Jeremiah also confirms that this “voice of the heart” is imagined within us. See 3:17, 7:24, 9:14, 11:8, 13:10, 16:12, 18:12, 23:17 (ALL Jeremiah, KJV verses).

Perhaps the worst deception of conscience is IT’S own self-promotion; inasmuch, our conscience likes to convince us that having a conscience is a “Good” thing. Nothing could be further from the Truth. There came a day when, save for Noah, the adult human collective-conscience had become universally loud and entirely EVIL.

It is quite common to hear it said of a serial killer in his posthumous bio-documentary: This is a man who had no conscience. When, in Reality, a serial killer is a prime example of a man HAVING a conscience — a conscience that goes into super-drive, speaking loud volumes above ALL reason. Again, consider Jeremiah’s illustrious warning:

Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV) “The heart (our conscience) is deceitful above ALL things, and desperately wicked.”

What is the worst contributing factor we bring to the “imaginary bench”?

As human beings, we have a limited perspective. Coupled up with our limited perspective, judging EVERYTHING in terms of Good & Evil (in our imagined Courtroom of Conscience) IS our fatal mental disease. IT is worse than cancer. Much worse. IT is what leads directly to “Shame,” “Guilt” and “Death.” The growing of a conscience via The Knowledge of Good & Evil is more foreign and fatal to a person’s natural GOODNESS than the growing of a brain tumor.

We are doomed. Oh — if only there could be a cure for this psychological calamity.

Well, there is. The Jesus-Concept.

Psychologically, to truly accept the absolute Reality of what’s been done for us on the cross is the PERFECT cure for our mental illness. If a person truly accepts (100% with no ifs, ands or buts) that ALL of his or her wrong, bad, sin, evil, etcetera has been taken AWAY, such a person is rendered totally sinless (past, present and future).

Such a person is PERFECT and ALL-GOOD; for, that person truly accepts that he is. 100%, with no ifs, ands or buts. Taking us ALL the way back to the mindset we had in the Garden of Eden (before disaster struck).

We are what we think.

 

[VictoryinJesus]

“Christian,” “Savage,” “Heathen,” “Atheist,” “Agnostic,” “Scientologist,” “Hindu,” “Buddhist,” “Muslim,” “Jew,” etcetera, etcetera. Whatever the label, be it made-up, self-imposed, inherited, inspired or put-upon-a-person. However it is we have decided to divide ourselves, we are ALL the brotherhood and sisterhood of MAN.

I haven’t had time to read all of your post yet. Busy day today. But I will read what you shared …it is interesting. A few immediate thoughts. What you said here: “Christian,” “Savage,” “Heathen,” “Atheist,” “Agnostic,” “Scientologist,” “Hindu,” “Buddhist,” “Muslim,” “Jew,” etcetera, etcetera. Whatever the label, be it made-up, self-imposed, inherited, inspired or put-upon-a-person. However it is we have decided to divide ourselves, we are ALL the brotherhood and sisterhood of MAN.

wrong or right, for me you explained perfectly what I think John assumed (too much?) of Peter. When you pointed out “we are ALL the brotherhood and sisterhood of MAN.” To me which helps with (Imo) why the verse beginning your topic was submersed in “Feed My Sheep.” When you are “converted” “turned” and yes I do like better “change your mind” . You said we are ALL a Man. To me that is what that passage speaks of when you were “young”(divided?) and when you are “Old” (undivided?)
not predictive of literal age but instead of: However it is we have decided to divide ourselves, we are ALL the brotherhood and sisterhood of MAN.

you seem to disagree here but to me what John spoke of where “another will gird you (as a Man) and carry you where you wish not (not my will, but Your Will be done Father?) to go”
To me into the brotherhood of a Man. Maybe the hardest most difficult “change of mind” when everything about us screams division as if it is our nature to divide and conquer. You brought up about Paul binding Peters hands because Paul had forgotten. I don’t see that. Instead Peter had forgotten the brotherhood you mentioned for a little when he separated himself from the gentiles whenever the Jews come in? But that is only what I think pertaining to “when you are old” …no longer “young” (another reference to what you share of “change your mind” consider “be you Men in what?, but in malice be children.”)
…another will gird you and carry you where you wish not to go. But still, at least to me, it seems to be pointing all over what you shared multiple times concerning “change your mind”.

your post, all of them actually make me think of where they wanted to call down fire on one they said was not a follower of Christ. Where Christ responded “let him alone. He that is not against us, is for us.” To explain…I’m scratching my head while reading all your post and asking “is he crazy?” Or is there some truth there? I’m thinking some truth…

 

[VictoryinJesus]

We judge EVERYTHING in terms of Good & Evil. That is what... having a conscience... is. Judging EVERYTHING (including one’s own self) in terms of Good & Evil.

So... let’s put the Truth together. Add it up. One: The Knowledge of Good & Evil leads us directly into... Two: Growing a conscience. Which leads us directly into... Three: Judging. There are other things that follow, Guilt, Religion and Sin, which, ultimately, leads us into... self-destruction. Death.

Keep in mind, ALL of this was Parentally-Forbidden to us from the get-go. Learn these Truths. For, they are exactly why Jesus counsels us to “Judge not.”

the two quotes above I can’t ignore. So much you described there has been a fact about my life. It is scary to consider “We judge EVERYTHING in terms of Good & Evil. That is what... having a conscience... is. Judging EVERYTHING (including one’s own self) in terms of Good & Evil.”

it is scary because you described me perfectly. Like whenever I grew a conscience it was “Let the Judge come Forth”
Some good things for example patience with my mom. Care for and seeing others.

but also with it…to see my sins…I see everyone around me sins magnified…becoming a Judge. I can’t ignore ..if you asked my husband who voices often that I’m the arbitrator(is that the right word?). Truth is before I grew a conscience I would praise things he did, a long time ago saying “that is so good. Thank you.” Or “wow, that is special what you did for us.” Seeing talent. Good things. But now I’ve become “it is not enough.” Never enough! Sneering, maybe not saying it out loud but in actions “I expect better from you.” Does that make sense? While I do see some positives in my life with a changed mind…I’ve also become the most judgmental of everything always, always “could be better”…I’m really going to have to consider what you shared there. How judging I’ve become. I say or think …I just want better for those around me. BUT at the same time there is a bar set so high that I’m never satisfied that bar is not met….always waiting for it to be reached. Can you help explain why I do that?

 

[face2face]

@VictoryinJesus

I can. Which do you think is more powerful: the power of the most horrible sin in the world, or the power of what’s been done for us on the cross?

Interesting question and the answer would clearly depend on which side one stands or falls.
If you were Judas sin had the greatest power!
If you were the repentant thief on the cross then faith is victorious.
The chasm between resides fear and trembling Philippians 2:12
F2F

 

[theefaith]

@theefaith writes: i too was a middle class catholic school boy but you should admit you were saved (justified) before that when you got born again at baptism! I was 16 days old myself

16 days old. Very cool. That is really beautiful! Sounds like you, too, must have had wonderful parents. (As did I.) You’re post got me curious. I have two siblings; and, my mom put together three very thick (I guess you could call them) Baby-Books — one for each of us. Pictures, school achievements, etcetera. I dug it up. I knew my Baptismal Certificate (beautifully ordained with angels and such) was in there, but I had never checked the date. You got me beat. I was baptized on my 43rd day! I guess the parish had a backlog (and I was made to wait in line — pouty-face). Quite understandable. The baby-boom was booming back then. (lol)

My son (my one and only child) has us both beat. My ex was a Baptist (strictly against “baby-sprinkling”) and although (I guess) I’m still a registered Roman Catholic (in a dusty old parish archive somewhere); still, I knew the ecclesiastical ordeal I was up against — to do it planned-out, big-time, officially with godparents, a priest and the Church’s fine blessing. (Not to mention, starting WWIII at home.) So… while my wife was at work one fine afternoon, I baptized my son, my own self, on his eighth day.

Of course, @theefaith, this personal back-and-forth of ours brings up the obvious question. If you truly accept what’s been done for us on the cross, in addition, do you have to be baptized?

To do so is nice, but not necessary.

TRULY ACCEPTING what’s been done for us on the cross is being born-again. Upon truly doing so, it is impossible for the Holy Spirit not to come along for the ride, whether you have a public commemoration or not. Like celebrating one’s 21st birthday. It is nice to have a party; however, whether you have one or not does not change the fact that you are twenty-one.

Learn the true meaning of “baptismo.” It translates into English as “totally immersed.” At Luke 3:3, baptismo simply modifies metanoeo. It indicates how big a change of mind Team Light is talking about.

A “totally immersed change of mind.”

Careful, Protestants. Do not let the Words “totally immersed” take anything AWAY from the act of “sprinkling” an infant. It is for this reason (coupled up with much ignorance, concerning little ones) that the Re-Formed Church denounced the baptizing of babies.

How should you, as a loving parent, decide whether to baptize your baby or not?

With the same nurturing mindset of deciding whether you should leave your infant in a garbage can or not. Or whether you should give your baby sustenance for physical Life or not. Just as surely as your baby wants to be warm, safe and fed, your baby wants to be baptized. As wonderful as it is to come into this world (in the flesh), the cats-meow is to be in this world, in the flesh and to have the Spirit of The Living God of Light with-you-within-you as well. With-you-within-you as soon as possible.

Yes, we are ALL born into the flesh in absolute PERFECTION. Still, ALL infant babies want to be baptized. Born from water, the infant is in gleeful-gimmie-gimmie to be “born-again” by water and the Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit does not barge into a person, like a brute breaking down a door. The Holy Spirit must simply be asked to come in. Knock and the door shall be opened. Ask, and you shall receive. When asked, it is the Holy Spirit Who actually opens the door and comes in (from our perspective, like a front door swinging out). And, since the infant, although in joyful-want for this, cannot yet (in the flesh) ask for this introduction of ALL introductions; someone, who is able in the flesh must ask for the child — usually a loving parent or guardian.

Does this require a priest and permission from the Formed-Church?

wow that’s amazing I too had a Baptist wife but she converted before we married and we had one son

born again is the application of the merits of Christ to our souls in baptism Jn 3:5 by water and the spirit

More to follow

 

[theefaith]

Baptism is the initiation of the new and eternal covenant!

You cannot enter on you’re own or by “faith alone”!

Jn 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

2 pet 1: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Baptismal regeneration a new creation in Christ! 2 Cor 5:17








A sacrament is an oath! A sacred promise from God! Ez 36:25-27
Acts 2:38-39 (this promise)


A sacrament is an outward sign for all men including infants And a gift from God to help us see what he does inwardly and invisibly by his grace!

As grace Washes our souls in the merits of Jesus blood from original and personal sin, so the outward action of washing is visible!

without the outward action the inward action cannot take place!

Jn 3:5 Titus 3:5 water and washing
acts 22:16 wash away your sin!

Jn 3:5 Born again BY water and the spirit! Not by “faith alone”!

They did not go to Jerusalem and preach “accept Christ as you’re personal Lord and savior “

They went to the river (water) and they baptized! Jn 3:22

A covenant requires an outward sign of the inward action of grace!

Ez 36:25 I will sprinkle you with clean water and you shall be made white as snow.

Acts 22:16 washing away your sins.

Eph 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

1 pet 3:21 baptism saves you.

You cannot enter on you’re own or by faith alone!

2 pet 1: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Heb 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,


Baptism!

God breathed life into Adam, gen 2:7 and we received this life from our fathers!

Christ breathed on the apostles our spiritual fathers, we receive the new covenant life of God’s grace from them thru faith & baptism! Jn 20:21-23 Mk 16:16 acts 8:36-38 eph 2

Born again! Born from above!

'The Father has set his seal' on Christ (John 6:27) and also seals us in him (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:23, 4:30). Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Baptism,

Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life." 87 The faithful Christian who I has "kept the seal" until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life "marked with the sign of faith," 88 with his baptismal faith, in expectation of the blessed vision of God - the consummation of faith - and in the hope of resurrection.

St. Paul tells the faithful at Ephesus that they have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” This is in terms of an indelible character imprinted on the soul in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. It is not as if this invisible mark is simply decorative. Rather, through it, we are enabled to participate in Christ’s mission and in his offices of priest, prophet, and king. Eph 1:13

Sealed by God eph 1:13 sealed by God (ez 36:25-27) in the ark of salvation by baptism just as Noah was sealed by God in the ark of the flood gen 7:16

1 Pet 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us!
(Ark of Noah a type of the church, member of Christ and his church and salvation by baptism!)
(Outside the ark of Noah none were saved, outside the church (the ark of salvation) none are saved!)

Sealed in the ark, sealed in the church the ark of salvation by God thru baptism!



Christ instituted the holy church for the salvation of all men, (repent and believe the gospel, with the institution of the sacraments to convey grace to sanctify souls!


Effects of faith & baptism!

Ez 36:25-27 washed in baptism, with a new heart and the Spirit
Jn 3:5 born again in baptism
Mk 16:16 faith & baptist
Acts 2:38 repentance & baptism
Acts 8:36-38 faith & baptism
Acts 22:16 baptism washes away sin
Rom 6:3 died with Christ
Col 2:12 risen with Christ
1 cor 12:13 baptized into the church
Gal 3:27 by baptism put on Christ
2 Tim 1:10 eph 2:1 and 5 brought to life
2 cor 5:17 new creation
Eph 1:13 sealed by the Holy Spirit
Eph 4:5 one baptism
Eph 5:26 faith and baptism
Titus 3:5 baptismal regeneration
1 pet 1:2 washed in Christ’s blood
1 pet 2:9 the kingdom of light
1 pet 3:20-21 baptism saves us!

“Faith alone” accomplishes nothing!
1 cor 13:2 even all faith (alone) without charity avails NOTHING!!!

Faith and baptism!

Scripture says none of the things about “Faith alone”!

2 Peter 1:11
For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Christian sacrament of baptism is the Initiation into the new covenant and must be ministered to you by the apostles!

 

[The Learner]

pray tell us what we must do to have eternal life?

The Gospel is outlined in I cor 15 and John 3:16

1 Corinthians 15
Easy-to-Read Version

The Good News About Jesus Christ
15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to remember the Good News I told you. You received that Good News message, and you continue to base your life on it. 2 That Good News, the message you heard from me, is God’s way to save you. But you must continue believing it. If you don’t, you believed for nothing.

3 I gave you the message that I received. I told you the most important truths: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say; 4 that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day, as the Scriptures say; 5 and that he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve apostles. 6 After that Christ appeared to more than 500 other believers at the same time. Most of them are still living today, but some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James and later to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, he appeared to me. I was different, like a baby born before the normal time.

John 3:16
Easy-to-Read Version

16 Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8-10
Easy-to-Read Version

8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.

 

[The Learner]

great

Are you saved?
If yes: how were you saved?

I grew up in an LDS plural wife sect known as Sextons. My Father was murdered while going after his 18th wife. One of my Mothers was Jewish, so the oldest of us were required to attend Temple and After Regular Public School Attend Hebrew School. I was expected to become an Rabbi and as such recieved the training. Dad married women of other religions we all had to attend too(even those in other cults). When my Father was killed, I became the new Prophet. I called everyone together for my first and only prophecy. I said, "There will be no prophets after me. For the men to stop marrying their Sisters, that everyone is to have a normal life of one man and women in marriage." I next preached the Biblical Gospel and taught about the real Jesus. Many came to Christ that day. The Ladies were delighted about the normal marriage part. The guys who did not come to Jesus have not spoken to me since then. My Father was murdered March 17, 1993 and I was born again on Easter 1974 at 11:46 AM at Westland Free Methodist Church. I followed a good looking girl to Church that day.