Comments on: Our Responsibility For Others: Law and Gospel

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:03:43 +0000

Amen. Thanks for convicting this sinner. I really needed to hear this. Extending grace is a beast, but so possible through Jesus.

By: chas pike

chas pike — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:13:50 +0000

thank you javetta. i agree.

By: Javetta

Javetta — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:00:10 +0000

Chas-
If I may, let me just say a few things…

1. In order to enjoy a discussion, learn, teach, or engage over the bible, there does not always have to be a disagreement. There have been times and there will be more times when such things will ensue.

2. The chief purpose of this forum was not to debate/argue over the bible. It is a DEVOTIONAL that is supposed to encourage Christians in the faith, and it is a ploy to get people reading through the bible (as most Christians have never done so). That’s it. There are plenty of other forums that have been created for debating the Scriptures.

3.I am very sorry that you feel alone in your walk, but if that has always been the case maybe you should examine yourself. Maybe you intimidate people. Maybe you haven’t been gentle in your approach. Maybe people have no idea what you are talking about. I know that when I read your comments I am left scratching my head and thinking, “What?” Forgive me if I am not as theologically astute as you, but from the looks of things nobody is because they can’t engage with you.

4. Perhaps maybe you should make a more concerted effort to gently and patiently help people understand your point of view and bear with them and try to understand yours.

By: chas pike

chas pike — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:32:29 +0000

steve, i am unable to engage christians in conversation about the text of the bible. i do not find this in the churches i attend, and i thought that here in the presence of mdiv’s i would be able to ask, and converse about the text. it is easy to reduce everything to Christ, agree, and ignore the particulars. i am discouraged as a christian, and this forum has added to my grief. that is my issue to deal with in my own heart, and i have resolved to live with it and to not further alienate myself by participating in online bible studies. perhaps i expect too much from my fellow christians. without discussion,(read-not merely simple agreement) where is the learning? where is the discovery? where is the life of the text? where is the holy spirit. thank you for asking. i am sorry that you too sometimes feel alone as a christian and i will pray for you. myself, i never feel more alone as a follower of christ than when i am among other christians.

By: Steve Scott

Steve Scott — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:23:36 +0000

Chas,

“I have always felt alone as a christian. this forum reinforces that isolation.”

Please pardon me if I’ve missed other things previously from February, but could you elaborate a bit more on this? I have often felt alone as a Christian, too, and I was wondering if we had something in common.

By: Steve Scott

Steve Scott — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:21:00 +0000

All,

Well, I’m way behind on my reading, currently at the Feb 1 post. I started school on Jan 26 and picked up today at Jan 29, reading three days worth. I notice from the blog schedule that it seems we’ve all hit some kind of brick wall with the commenting, and jumped ahead to this post to see where people stood. There are only a few posts scheduled the rest of the year.

Are we done? Can this be revived? I was looking forward to doing a few posts, but that won’t happen for at least a few more days as I have some midterms. Is everybody still reading the bible plan every day? Thanks for your input.

By: chas pike

chas pike — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:27:55 +0000

i have always felt alone as a christian. this forum reinforces that isolation.

By: chas pike

chas pike — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:53:10 +0000

i was hoping to hear you speak more of mark and less of matthew this time around, but that’s okay. so we are in mark, are we? a couple of things that strike me about the opening of mark,1) the opening line, “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God”, this opening line gains more weight when balanced with the original intended ending of the book, at 16: 8, where we are left with the empty tomb, and Christ is alive and out there somewhere, the story still being told. 2) peter recognizes Jesus as the messiah in this chapter. we are given the picture of a desperate israel, impoverished, fomenting rebellion, subjugated, awaiting the promised messiah, and peter says to Jesus in 1:27, “…everyone is looking for you” or in other translations, “everyone is expecting you”. 3) this, i think, is very important: the first miracle of the gospel. Jesus performs an exorcism in the synagogue. the author is telling us that the priesthood, the temple, and israel, is corrupted by evil. the first thing he does is send satan out of the church.
this is all i have for today, but even though i am laying low, i will be back.

By: Javetta

Javetta — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:36:51 +0000

Often times, I think this kind of compassion–biblical, godly compassion–escapes us because we fail to meditate on God’s compassion toward us. We mostly concentrate on the end result (that we are saved. I am very guilty of this, and reading this post has brought that to my attention. This is something to pray about…