This is a continuation of the conversation I am having with a person via email who is asking me questions about what I believe. I am posting his questions and my answers just for anyone who might be interested in what my beliefs are on these issues.
What do you think would have become of us, (their (Adam & Eve) decedents) if they had not partaken of the forbidden fruit? Do you believe that they would have still been able to have children in the state they were in?
The Bible doesn't speak to that so I can only guess. Genesis 2:23-24 God instituted marriage and marriage is intended for procreation, so I think they would have had children and families and life would have gone on only in a state of perfect unity with God as long as sin was not introduced. But that is only my best guess.
Also, do you believe that Adam and Eve were wicked and rebellious after that, or did they repent and obey God, after the fall?
When they disobeyed, their hearts became wicked and rebellious by nature and it was passed on the human race as a whole. Romans 5:12 says" Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" As far as I know, the Bible does not address whether or not Adam and Eve repented and sought to obey God after the Fall, so I can not speak to that.
I do not believe that we pre-existed before we were born.
So, you do not see us as God's offspring in spirit before we were born on earth, but only an image of what God wanted to make us to be?
No, I do not see us as God's offspring in the spirit before we were born on earth. The Bible speaks of salvation in these terms---as adoption and of becoming the sons of God.
Ro 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Ga 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
It would be inconsistent with what the Bible says to say we were already sons and daughters of God before we were born. If that were so, then there would be no need for the Bible to speak of adoption or of becoming the sons of God.
What about the evil people, did God create them knowing that they would be evil, so he could then later destroy them?
Here are some Bible verses that speak to this: Read especially Romans 9 for this answer.
Ex 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Mt 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Ro 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Ro 9:14 ¶ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
So, where do you believe Hell is, and what do you think it is like?
Isaiah 14:15--down to Hell Numerous verses speak of Hell as being "down" somewhere. Exactly where, I don't know.
Here are some verses that speak of what it is like:
1 Sam.22:6- Sorrow
Job 11:8- Deep
Psalm 116:3- Painful
Prov. 27:20- never full
Matt. 5:22- fire
Mark 9:43- fire that is never quenched
Luke 16:23- Torment
2 Pet. 2:4- darkness
(I assume you know what the abbreviations for the Bible books are...if I am assuming incorrectly, let me know and I'll tell you what books they refer too.)
Do you believe in Hell?
There are those who say that all people will go to some form of heaven one day and that there is no Hell. But I would say to them, "If the Bible is right and you are wrong, where does that leave you on judgment day?" Conversely, I could say to this person, "If the Bible is wrong and you are right, where does that leave me on judgment day?" I'd still make it to some form of heaven believing what I do, but the other person, would end up in Hell believing as they do if they got to the end and found the Bible is true. Makes a person sit back and think a bit, doesn't it?
Jesus, though equal with the Father in being God, was subordinate to His Father.
So, are there two beings then, or is Jesus subordinate to himself? Did he pray to himself, or refer to himself as "His Father"? I just wonder what you mean by they are all of the same essence?
The Bible teaches that there is only one True and Living God and apart from Him there are no other gods.
De 6:4 ¶ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Isa 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isa 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
Isa 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
The Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost are not separate gods or separate beings, but are distinct Persons within the one Triune Godhead. Throughtout the New Testament the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as the Father are separately identified as and act as God yet at the same time the Bible teaches that these three are only one God.
Mr 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
Joh 20:26 ¶ And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Philippians. 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Ac. 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
2 Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.
From a human standpoint, this is incomprehensible, but God is God and we are only finite humans.It is of the highest arrogance for us as mere humans to think that we could explain God, for to do so, would be to bring Him down to our level, which is tantamount to blasphemy.
De 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
(KJV)
From the verse above we learn that there are things that God has not revealed to us in His Word. For us to insist that we should be able to know those things is arrogance against God.
Do you believe you have the correct view of the Bible?
I believe that the Bible is God's truth. It is the standard that all other truth should be measured by.
Jesus said in John 17:17 ¶ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.(KJV)
The Psalmist said in Ps 119:11 ¶ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
(KJV)
2 Tim. 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
(KJV)
Either the Bible is what it claims to be or it is good for nothing but to be thrown in the fire and burned.
Do you believe that the Bible has come down to our day complete with nothing missing from it? It has been translated into many languages.
I guess it's not so much do I think I have a correct view of the Bible or is it complete, but is the Bible what it claims to be in the verses above? If I choose to throw out certain passages of the Bible as incorrect and not true, then I might as well throw the whole book out. None of it can be trusted.
How do you determine what truth is?
How do you view the Bible?
If the Bible is incorrect in some places, what is incorrect and why is it incorrect?
How do you determine what is incorrect and not true in the Bible?
What gives someone the authority to sift through the Bible and decide what is truth and what is not?
Have you thought about the fact that the Bible is the only book that has survived attack after attack down through the ages and is still the most widely read book on the face of the earth?
Have you ever thought about the fact that there are more ancient manuscripts for the Bible than any other ancient book around? We can go back to the ancient languages and varify what we hold in our hands today. Other religions don't have that claim to make.
Do you believe that there can exist any other scripture that are not a part of our Bible, as we have it now?
No, I don't believe that there can exist any other scripture that is not part of our Bible. Jude says this: Jude 1:3 ¶ Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
If you look at this with an interlinar Greek text, the idea in the original language was that of one time. The faith was delivered once and it was complete. There was no more to be added.
In the verses below from Colossians, the Apostle Paul warns believers to beware of those who would spoil you with anything that is not after Christ because as believers in Christ you are complete in him. This means that everything I need for salvation and Christian living is in Christ and where do I learn about Him? In the Bible!
Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
We have to be very careful to measure all doctrine by what the Bible says. If we are being taught something that is not Biblical, then it is not true.
We learned in church yesterday that Satan's design is to discredit the Bible, God's Word. This is what he did with Eve. "Hath God said???" was his question to Eve. Satan seeks to make us doubt what God has said in His Word. Satan will add to what God has said and he will subtract from it. He never will leave it alone because he doesn't want people to know the truth. Satan will always appear as an angel of light too. He wants us to believe what he presents is good and true even though it is an imposter and a fake..
2 Cor. 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
(KJV)
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