Comments for The Brown Bible http://brownbible.com Researching the Word of God for the Will of God Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:31:29 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 Comment on Why do people say Jesus was both the Son of God and God the Son? by Keld http://brownbible.com/you-questions-answered/what-does-it-mean-when-people-say-that-jesus-was-both-the-son-of-god-and-god-the-son/comment-page-1/#comment-193 Keld Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:31:29 +0000 http://brownbible.com/you-questions-answered/what-does-it-mean-when-people-say-that-jesus-was-both-the-son-of-god-and-god-the-son-2/#comment-193 But the bible also say that Jesus is God! so, in my view, it makes sence to call him God the Son!? But the bible also say that Jesus is God! so, in my view, it makes sence to call him God the Son!?

]]> Comment on Who is the Old Man and What is He Doing? by Richard Spivey http://brownbible.com/rev-ken-brown-articles/the-gift-of-righteousness-series/who-is-the-old-man-and-what-is-he-doing/comment-page-1/#comment-190 Richard Spivey Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:43:29 +0000 http://brownbible.com/?p=126#comment-190 May the Lord God continue to bless you always: Your writing will free a tremendous amount of believer souls from constant fear of sin and the law for still in the Faith, to this day, are those who wonder whether, or not, they are totally saved or are still bound because they cannot control their worldly desires. You have also freed my conscience from the bonds of fear, whereas, "...God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; - 2 Timothy 1:7-8 KJV Please remain faithful to serving those who are still drinking 'the milk' of the Word and have not graduated to chewing and digesting 'the meat'. God Bless You Continually, Minister Richard A. Spivey rspivey48@aol.com May the Lord God continue to bless you always:

Your writing will free a tremendous amount of believer souls from constant fear of sin and the law for still in the Faith, to this day, are those who wonder whether, or not, they are totally saved or are still bound because they cannot control their worldly desires. You have also freed my conscience from the bonds of fear, whereas, “…God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; – 2 Timothy 1:7-8 KJV

Please remain faithful to serving those who are still drinking ‘the milk’ of the Word and have not graduated to chewing and digesting ‘the meat’.

God Bless You Continually,

Minister Richard A. Spivey
rspivey48@aol.com

]]> Comment on Ecclesiastes 12 and The Whole Duty of Man by Brian Lincoln http://brownbible.com/rev-ken-brown-articles/biblical-considerations/ecclesiastes-12-and-the-whole-duty-of-man/comment-page-1/#comment-188 Brian Lincoln Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:51:59 +0000 http://brownbible.com/?p=2131#comment-188 There certainly are parts of the Word that I just don't understand as written but thankfully there are ways to get to the meaning if I only put in a little effort. I just pulled out my copy of Orientalisms of the Bible (vol 1). Nicely written Ken. Thank you. There certainly are parts of the Word that I just don’t understand as written but thankfully there are ways to get to the meaning if I only put in a little effort. I just pulled out my copy of Orientalisms of the Bible (vol 1).
Nicely written Ken. Thank you.

]]> Comment on What is the Story with 1 John 1:9? (Part Two) by Danny M http://brownbible.com/rev-ken-brown-articles/the-gift-of-righteousness-series/what-is-the-story-with-1-john-19-part-two/comment-page-1/#comment-185 Danny M Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:09:01 +0000 http://brownbible.com/?p=419#comment-185 Hi again Ken. Let me clarify something I said at the end of my first post. I agree with you that there aren't two natures within us. I agree that the old man refers to me before I was saved, and that the new man refers to me after salvation. What I was saying is that I don't buy the interpretation of 1 John 3:9 that says that "he who is born of God" only refers to the incorruptible seed within you, not your total person. That is, this interpretation says that a believer never sins as a result of the incorruptible seed within him (interpreted as one component of you called the new man), but sins as a result of the old man within him. This interpretation sees children of God and children of the devil as experiential terms - that is, it sees a sinning believer as positionally a child of God, but experientially a child of the devil. In other words, this interpretation says that believers only sin as a result of the "old nature." The new nature within you is sinless. I think it's clear that "He who is born of God" refers to our total person, not a part of us. 3:9b wouldn't make sense if 3:9a doesn't refer to the total person. 3:9b says that Jesus' seed remains in him - this can't mean that Jesus' seed remains in your incorruptible seed - that would be nonsensical - there is only one seed, Jesus' seed. It makes more sense that 3:9a refers to the total person. The compartmental view is essentially saying that "the incorruptible seed in you does not sin, for Jesus' seed remains in your seed." There's only one seed, not two! But like I said in my previous comment, it's obvious that from Paul's epistles, and the Synoptics, that believers are eternally secure, yet can fail in the Christian life. It becomes a reward issue. Going back to my previous comment, 1 John 3 deals with sin in general in verses 1-8, and specifically failing to love the brethren in verses 10-24. Please consider my first post very carefully, especially the part about 3:17. Hi again Ken. Let me clarify something I said at the end of my first post. I agree with you that there aren’t two natures within us. I agree that the old man refers to me before I was saved, and that the new man refers to me after salvation. What I was saying is that I don’t buy the interpretation of 1 John 3:9 that says that “he who is born of God” only refers to the incorruptible seed within you, not your total person. That is, this interpretation says that a believer never sins as a result of the incorruptible seed within him (interpreted as one component of you called the new man), but sins as a result of the old man within him. This interpretation sees children of God and children of the devil as experiential terms – that is, it sees a sinning believer as positionally a child of God, but experientially a child of the devil. In other words, this interpretation says that believers only sin as a result of the “old nature.” The new nature within you is sinless. I think it’s clear that “He who is born of God” refers to our total person, not a part of us. 3:9b wouldn’t make sense if 3:9a doesn’t refer to the total person. 3:9b says that Jesus’ seed remains in him – this can’t mean that Jesus’ seed remains in your incorruptible seed – that would be nonsensical – there is only one seed, Jesus’ seed. It makes more sense that 3:9a refers to the total person. The compartmental view is essentially saying that “the incorruptible seed in you does not sin, for Jesus’ seed remains in your seed.” There’s only one seed, not two! But like I said in my previous comment, it’s obvious that from Paul’s epistles, and the Synoptics, that believers are eternally secure, yet can fail in the Christian life. It becomes a reward issue. Going back to my previous comment, 1 John 3 deals with sin in general in verses 1-8, and specifically failing to love the brethren in verses 10-24. Please consider my first post very carefully, especially the part about 3:17.

]]> Comment on What is the Story with 1 John 1:9? (Part Two) by Danny M http://brownbible.com/rev-ken-brown-articles/the-gift-of-righteousness-series/what-is-the-story-with-1-john-19-part-two/comment-page-1/#comment-184 Danny M Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:25:42 +0000 http://brownbible.com/?p=419#comment-184 Hi Ken. I wanted to examine your view of the way "sin" (hamartia) is used in 1 John. Your point seems to be that in this epistle it refers to not having a share in God. While "to be without a share in" is a definition for hamartia according to Strong's , I can't find one instance of that use elsewhere in the NT. Perhaps it is used that way in secular Greek literature - I just don't see it in the NT. You conclude that sin doesn't refer to bad things in 1 John 3:9. The problem is that the context disagrees. 3:4 states that all sin is lawlessness (Gk - anomia). 3:8 states that the devil has sinned from the beginning, and the verse makes it clear that it is indeed talking about the devil doing bad things, since Jesus came to destroy the sinful works of the devil. Then in 3:10-24, John narrows his focus on failure to love the brethren, which he touched on previously in 2:9-11. The topic of love continues through chapter 4 and into chapter 5 (4:7-21, especially verses 20-21, and 5:1-3). Of course 3:23-5:3 also talks about belief in the Son, so in chapters 3-5, we see John focusing on belief in the Son and love for the brethren. 3:23 shows that "keeping His commandments" refers only to 2 things - believing in the Son and loving the brethren. 3:9-10 either refers to lawlessness in general (b/c of verses 1-8) or it specifically refers to not loving the brethren, as 10-24 focuses on that topic. 5:18 is re-statement of 3:9-10 - but notice that the preceding verses 5:16-17 give advice about praying for believers committing sins that don't lead to death, but not praying for those who commit sin leading to death. So 5:18 seems to refer to sin in the general sense, and it's a re-statement of 3:9. Even 1 John 2:1 obviously refers to Jesus interceding for believers who sin (obviously the "not having a share in" definition won't work here since the sinning believer does indeed have a share in God). Now, you also say that believers always abide in God since their sins are forgiven. For the reasons mentioned above, I still see "abiding" as having nothing to do with salvation. 1 John 3:17 is clear that the believer who shuts up his heart to another believer in need doesn't have the love of God abiding in Him. Ken, since you take the view that abiding is a salvation issue and not a behavioral issue, what do you do with 1 John 3:17? Do you believe that all believers always love the brethren ? You would have to conclude that to be consistent with your own view. We've already established that John only has 2 commandments - belief in the Son and love for the brethren. Look at 3:23-24 - whoever keeps these 2 commandments abides in Him, and He in Him. We know that Christians don't always love one another, and that's exactly why I can't see "abiding" as a salvation issue. I agree with you that all of our sins for all time are forgiven at the moment we believe, and I think we both agree that Christians can stop believing as well as act unlovingly. I think you can see why your view on "abiding" puts you in a tough spot. John believes that loving the brethren, as well as continued belief, is how you abide. If you say that 3:17 refers to pre-Gnostics refusing to help Christians you would still be in a tough spot. If that were true, then any believer can brush off 3:17 by saying that it only refers to those who deny that Jesus came in the flesh refusing to help Christians. Look at 4:8 - He who does not love does not know God. Do you really want to make that a salvation issue? Compare 1 John 3 to John 15 - John was obviously referring back to John 15 when he penned 1 John 3. John 15:2 introduces the idea of bearing fruit, and this is done through abiding. Read all of John 15 - notice the connection between abidng, bearing fruit, and love. Notice that 15:2-6 is clear that a "branch in Jesus" that does not abide is taken away and burned (this can't refer to salvation). Now I have a friend who takes your view that believers always abide regardless of behavior. He says that John 15:2 only refers to the members of national Israel prior to the death and Resurection. He claims that all unbelieving Jews were "branches in Jesus" in the sense that Jesus was among them. Those who came to faith, according to my friend, were made to permanently abide after the death and Resurrection. I don't buy it, especially since John continues to tie love for the brethren as part of abiding in his epistle, 1 John. My friend also says the loving the brethren has nothing to do with actions - that's nonsense in light of the plain meaning of the text and 3:17. The bearing fruit in John 15:2,5,8,16 is tied to love (see 15:9-12, 17, etc.) , which is tied in with abiding. Look at John 15:10,12,17 - abiding in Jesus' love by keeping the commandments to believe and love. And again, the context of 1 John 3:9-10 includes general lawlessness (3:1-8) and failure to love the brethren (3:10-24). 3:9-10 either refers to all sins, or just failing to love the brethren. As you can see, I haven't fully solved what 3:9-10 is saying. The habitual sin view of these verses fails in light of Paul's epistles - not all believers persevere. The new man vs. old-man view is unsatisfactory as well. Ken, I'd appreciate your response on all of these points. Hi Ken. I wanted to examine your view of the way “sin” (hamartia) is used in 1 John. Your point seems to be that in this epistle it refers to not having a share in God. While “to be without a share in” is a definition for hamartia according to Strong’s , I can’t find one instance of that use elsewhere in the NT. Perhaps it is used that way in secular Greek literature – I just don’t see it in the NT. You conclude that sin doesn’t refer to bad things in 1 John 3:9. The problem is that the context disagrees. 3:4 states that all sin is lawlessness (Gk – anomia). 3:8 states that the devil has sinned from the beginning, and the verse makes it clear that it is indeed talking about the devil doing bad things, since Jesus came to destroy the sinful works of the devil. Then in 3:10-24, John narrows his focus on failure to love the brethren, which he touched on previously in 2:9-11. The topic of love continues through chapter 4 and into chapter 5 (4:7-21, especially verses 20-21, and 5:1-3). Of course 3:23-5:3 also talks about belief in the Son, so in chapters 3-5, we see John focusing on belief in the Son and love for the brethren. 3:23 shows that “keeping His commandments” refers only to 2 things – believing in the Son and loving the brethren. 3:9-10 either refers to lawlessness in general (b/c of verses 1-8) or it specifically refers to not loving the brethren, as 10-24 focuses on that topic. 5:18 is re-statement of 3:9-10 – but notice that the preceding verses 5:16-17 give advice about praying for believers committing sins that don’t lead to death, but not praying for those who commit sin leading to death. So 5:18 seems to refer to sin in the general sense, and it’s a re-statement of 3:9. Even 1 John 2:1 obviously refers to Jesus interceding for believers who sin (obviously the “not having a share in” definition won’t work here since the sinning believer does indeed have a share in God).

Now, you also say that believers always abide in God since their sins are forgiven. For the reasons mentioned above, I still see “abiding” as having nothing to do with salvation. 1 John 3:17 is clear that the believer who shuts up his heart to another believer in need doesn’t have the love of God abiding in Him. Ken, since you take the view that abiding is a salvation issue and not a behavioral issue, what do you do with 1 John 3:17? Do you believe that all believers always love the brethren ? You would have to conclude that to be consistent with your own view. We’ve already established that John only has 2 commandments – belief in the Son and love for the brethren. Look at 3:23-24 – whoever keeps these 2 commandments abides in Him, and He in Him. We know that Christians don’t always love one another, and that’s exactly why I can’t see “abiding” as a salvation issue. I agree with you that all of our sins for all time are forgiven at the moment we believe, and I think we both agree that Christians can stop believing as well as act unlovingly. I think you can see why your view on “abiding” puts you in a tough spot. John believes that loving the brethren, as well as continued belief, is how you abide. If you say that 3:17 refers to pre-Gnostics refusing to help Christians you would still be in a tough spot. If that were true, then any believer can brush off 3:17 by saying that it only refers to those who deny that Jesus came in the flesh refusing to help Christians. Look at 4:8 – He who does not love does not know God. Do you really want to make that a salvation issue? Compare 1 John 3 to John 15 – John was obviously referring back to John 15 when he penned 1 John 3. John 15:2 introduces the idea of bearing fruit, and this is done through abiding. Read all of John 15 – notice the connection between abidng, bearing fruit, and love. Notice that 15:2-6 is clear that a “branch in Jesus” that does not abide is taken away and burned (this can’t refer to salvation). Now I have a friend who takes your view that believers always abide regardless of behavior. He says that John 15:2 only refers to the members of national Israel prior to the death and Resurection. He claims that all unbelieving Jews were “branches in Jesus” in the sense that Jesus was among them. Those who came to faith, according to my friend, were made to permanently abide after the death and Resurrection. I don’t buy it, especially since John continues to tie love for the brethren as part of abiding in his epistle, 1 John. My friend also says the loving the brethren has nothing to do with actions – that’s nonsense in light of the plain meaning of the text and 3:17. The bearing fruit in John 15:2,5,8,16 is tied to love (see 15:9-12, 17, etc.) , which is tied in with abiding. Look at John 15:10,12,17 – abiding in Jesus’ love by keeping the commandments to believe and love. And again, the context of 1 John 3:9-10 includes general lawlessness (3:1-8) and failure to love the brethren (3:10-24). 3:9-10 either refers to all sins, or just failing to love the brethren. As you can see, I haven’t fully solved what 3:9-10 is saying. The habitual sin view of these verses fails in light of Paul’s epistles – not all believers persevere. The new man vs. old-man view is unsatisfactory as well. Ken, I’d appreciate your response on all of these points.

]]> Comment on if we are all reading the same Bible, how are we coming up with different beliefs? by Robert http://brownbible.com/you-questions-answered/here-do-all-of-these-branches-of-christianity-get-their-different-viewpoints-and-interpretations-of-the-bible/comment-page-1/#comment-182 Robert Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:56:16 +0000 http://brownbible.com/you-questions-answered/with-all-of-the-different-branches-of-christianity-and-all-of-the-different-interpretations-of-the-bible-where-do-all-of-these-branches-get-their-different-viewpoints-what-are-they-basing-their-dif/#comment-182 A very relevant question, and an excellent choice of scriptures, but don't you think that back of the problem is the fact that many do not really accept the divinity of Christ, and His authority over all things heavenly and earthly? "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:" Matthew 28:18-20. Also If we all agree that He is the Word of John 1:1, That Hw said, I will build my church, and that He has all power, then how can we quibble about such things as baptism, communion and such. These are commands, described by the very meaning of the words of scripture. The church is His, He has all power, everywhere. We are but His servants, actually the word here is slaves. Who are we to question His commands? He also will be our judge as to whether we enter the place that he has gone to prepare for faithul servants. A very relevant question, and an excellent choice of scriptures, but don’t you think that back of the problem is the fact that many do not really accept the divinity of Christ, and His authority over all things heavenly and earthly? “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:” Matthew 28:18-20. Also If we all agree that He is the Word of John 1:1, That Hw said, I will build my church, and that He has all power, then how can we quibble about such things as baptism, communion and such. These are commands, described by the very meaning of the words of scripture. The church is His, He has all power, everywhere. We are but His servants, actually the word here is slaves. Who are we to question His commands? He also will be our judge as to whether we enter the place that he has gone to prepare for faithul servants.

]]> Comment on Give Unto Caesar by Pro-abortionists furious at Tim Tebow ad - Page 23 - US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum http://brownbible.com/rev-ken-brown-articles/biblical-considerations/give-unto-caesar/comment-page-1/#comment-181 Pro-abortionists furious at Tim Tebow ad - Page 23 - US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:58:55 +0000 http://brownbible.com/biblical-considerations/give-unto-caesar/#comment-181 [...] that it helped me to form my answer, but it was basically what I was attempting to say anyway: Give Unto Caesar | The Brown Bible Quote: Jesus was being confronted by two different groups of men who had two different sets of [...] [...] that it helped me to form my answer, but it was basically what I was attempting to say anyway: Give Unto Caesar | The Brown Bible Quote: Jesus was being confronted by two different groups of men who had two different sets of [...]

]]> Comment on It’s The Lord’s Prayer, not Yours by terryciesielski http://brownbible.com/rev-ken-brown-articles/biblical-considerations/it%e2%80%99s-the-lord%e2%80%99s-prayer-not-yours/comment-page-1/#comment-180 terryciesielski Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:09:06 +0000 http://brownbible.com/?p=2097#comment-180 P. S. , Sorry about the typos. I can never seem to catch them all. P. S. , Sorry about the typos. I can never seem to catch them all.

]]> Comment on It’s The Lord’s Prayer, not Yours by terryciesielski http://brownbible.com/rev-ken-brown-articles/biblical-considerations/it%e2%80%99s-the-lord%e2%80%99s-prayer-not-yours/comment-page-1/#comment-179 terryciesielski Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:05:46 +0000 http://brownbible.com/?p=2097#comment-179 Dear Ken, "Reciting" ther "Lord's Prayer" over and over must be rather an annoyance to God, for the reasons you state above, if you are reciting instead of praying. Praying the IDEAS in this prayer modeled by Christ is, on the other hand, very sound and practical. Ask God to help you remember that his name is holy, and that he is our Father, and that his dwelling place is in heaven where we soon shall be. Don't let people use his name as a swear word around you today. Ask for his kingdom (which is "at hand!") to make its appearance. "My kingdom is not of this world," Jesus told Pilate in John 18.36. Ask for his will to be made known to you, so that you may do it. You can find his will in his Word. I wouldn't worry about making anyone else do his will until I was sure I was doing it myself, but I do ask that his will be done in matters where I have no personal control, as in our government, the situation in Haiti, things like that. If everyone did his will here on earth we would have a taste of what it is like in heaven, but as long as humans are fallen, we will not see his will perfectly carried out. Asking God to supply what we need for the day reminds us that he is the source of everything we have and everything we are. Better to ask him for our daily needs than to try to plan things out for ourselves. As a friend said to me, "We plan -- God laughs." Although as Christ's modern-day disciples we are indeed forgiven, I think it is still a good idea to ask God to help us forgive others. We are called to do this: "As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." (Colossians 3.13 ESV). We, as fallen human beings, do not do this naturally; we need the Holy Spirit's help ("Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Mark 2.7). I think we need not ask God to "Lead us not into temptation." It's what he does for us while we are being tempted that is of importance. Remember that in any temptation, "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1Corinthians 10.13) Ask him to show you that way of escape. Ask that he lead you AWAY from temptation. Ask that temptation will make your faith stronger. And as for asking God to deliver us from evil, this is something we need to do all the time. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Keep Satan away from us. Help us to recognize evil when it approaches so that we can arm ourselves with spiritual armor and with the great sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. (As an aside, how much DO we really recognize evil when we see it? Think about TV, for example Just because something is funny does not mean it is not evil.) And finally, whether the world knows it or not, all glory DOES belong to God, all power DOES emanate from him, and his mighty kingdom DOES belong to him alone. It is good to remember these things and to praise him for them. I don't need to think about how good I'll look in front of other people -- God gets the glory in the end. I don't have to worry about having the strength to get things done -- God's strength will be sufficient. And I look forward to my eternal home -- the everlasting kingdom of God. May his grace be on you today, and may your eyes be opened ever wider to see his power at work around us. Dear Ken,
“Reciting” ther “Lord’s Prayer” over and over must be rather an annoyance to God, for the reasons you state above, if you are reciting instead of praying. Praying the IDEAS in this prayer modeled by Christ is, on the other hand, very sound and practical.

Ask God to help you remember that his name is holy, and that he is our Father, and that his dwelling place is in heaven where we soon shall be. Don’t let people use his name as a swear word around you today.
Ask for his kingdom (which is “at hand!”) to make its appearance. “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus told Pilate in John 18.36.
Ask for his will to be made known to you, so that you may do it. You can find his will in his Word. I wouldn’t worry about making anyone else do his will until I was sure I was doing it myself, but I do ask that his will be done in matters where I have no personal control, as in our government, the situation in Haiti, things like that. If everyone did his will here on earth we would have a taste of what it is like in heaven, but as long as humans are fallen, we will not see his will perfectly carried out.
Asking God to supply what we need for the day reminds us that he is the source of everything we have and everything we are. Better to ask him for our daily needs than to try to plan things out for ourselves. As a friend said to me, “We plan — God laughs.”
Although as Christ’s modern-day disciples we are indeed forgiven, I think it is still a good idea to ask God to help us forgive others. We are called to do this: “As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Colossians 3.13 ESV). We, as fallen human beings, do not do this naturally; we need the Holy Spirit’s help (“Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2.7).
I think we need not ask God to “Lead us not into temptation.” It’s what he does for us while we are being tempted that is of importance. Remember that in any temptation, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1Corinthians 10.13) Ask him to show you that way of escape. Ask that he lead you AWAY from temptation. Ask that temptation will make your faith stronger.
And as for asking God to deliver us from evil, this is something we need to do all the time. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Keep Satan away from us. Help us to recognize evil when it approaches so that we can arm ourselves with spiritual armor and with the great sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
(As an aside, how much DO we really recognize evil when we see it? Think about TV, for example Just because something is funny does not mean it is not evil.)
And finally, whether the world knows it or not, all glory DOES belong to God, all power DOES emanate from him, and his mighty kingdom DOES belong to him alone. It is good to remember these things and to praise him for them. I don’t need to think about how good I’ll look in front of other people — God gets the glory in the end. I don’t have to worry about having the strength to get things done — God’s strength will be sufficient. And I look forward to my eternal home — the everlasting kingdom of God.
May his grace be on you today, and may your eyes be opened ever wider to see his power at work around us.

]]> Comment on Why was Jesus baptized? by Christopher Preston http://brownbible.com/you-questions-answered/why-was-jesus-baptized-2/comment-page-1/#comment-177 Christopher Preston Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:12:26 +0000 http://brownbible.com/you-questions-answered/if-baptism-washes-away-our-sins-and-christ-was-without-sin-why-was-jesus-baptized/#comment-177 I like to take a more practical approach at this event. Lets put ourself in John the baptists shoes for a second. Here we are in the water with Jesus Christ... OK lets stop there for a second. If I were John I'd say "Dude, you're holy shouldn't you be baptizing me!?" but Jesus says "For now this is how it should be, because we must do all that God wants us to do." so then John says ok... (probably very confused) and then He submerges Jesus... now it says that the Heavens OPENED UP!!!! WHAT!? and The Holy Spirit comes down, and a voice (God's Voice) says "Check it bro! This is my Son, and I'm proud of Him" I honestly think this was confirmation to the people that were present that Jesus was truly who He said He was. Now Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but It is something that I believe every Christian should do. (Full submersion) because Jesus tells us in this verse that it's something we should do, to show everyone around us that we are openly admitting that Christ is our King!!! so if you can schedule your baptism to be public then do so! if not, no big deal because there may be some people in your church that haven't chosen Christ as there savior yet... I hope that this is some good insight on these verses. God Bless you www.myspace.com/halfpricehero I like to take a more practical approach at this event. Lets put ourself in John the baptists shoes for a second. Here we are in the water with Jesus Christ… OK lets stop there for a second. If I were John I’d say “Dude, you’re holy shouldn’t you be baptizing me!?” but Jesus says “For now this is how it should be, because we must do all that God wants us to do.”

so then John says ok… (probably very confused) and then He submerges Jesus…

now it says that the Heavens OPENED UP!!!! WHAT!? and The Holy Spirit comes down, and a voice (God’s Voice) says “Check it bro! This is my Son, and I’m proud of Him”

I honestly think this was confirmation to the people that were present that Jesus was truly who He said He was.

Now Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but It is something that I believe every Christian should do. (Full submersion) because Jesus tells us in this verse that it’s something we should do, to show everyone around us that we are openly admitting that Christ is our King!!!

so if you can schedule your baptism to be public then do so! if not, no big deal because there may be some people in your church that haven’t chosen Christ as there savior yet…

I hope that this is some good insight on these verses.

God Bless you

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