No Covenant, No Commitment

Posted by Michaelsei (that's me!) on Helium.com

In everything that you do, you are investing in your future. If you live like hell today, you should expect to receive hell tomorrow ('you reap what you sow'). This principle speaks succinctly to the issue of premarital sex. There are no rewards for having sex before marriage: instant and immediate gratification of lust will only bring the judgment of God. In the long run, there can only be negative results. If you engage in this immoral behavior, you will have sinned against God, you will have sinned against your own body, and you will have sinned against the one with whom you had sexual intercourse.

In the seventh of the Ten Commandments, God has commanded all of mankind to be morally pure: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Although it seems like a stretch to apply this command to premarital sex, it must be understood that this commandment is really a summary of all the commands like those found in Leviticus 18, which are considered a definition of the seventh commandment. The Westminster Shorter Catechism states: "Question 71: What is required in the seventh commandment? Answer: The seventh commandment requires the preservation of our own and our neighbor's chastity, in heart, speech, and behavior." Furthermore, Jesus Christ stated: "Ye have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:27-28 (RSV). What an indictment! No man will ever be found guiltless of committing this sin. I think that if Jesus Christ condemned guys "checking out" girls, then He severely condemns premarital sex.

You also sin against your own body and the one you are involved sexually with when you engage in sexual intercourse outside of the marriage covenant. You take the risk of contracting an STD and/or getting pregnant. Abstinence until marriage is the only 'safe sex' and 'no fail' contraceptive.

Our bodies were made for God's glory not our own pleasure. On the other hand, God extends to us these pleasures inside of the marriage covenant. "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled..." Heb 13:4 (KJV). We rob ourselves and pillage our future delight with the wife or husband of our youth. We trade our birthright for a pot of porridge, so to speak. We have the opportunity to give our future spouse a beautiful gift on our wedding night, 'you are the first, I have remained true to you even before we met.'

Everyday the number of single parents increases. Consequently, there is a major problem with thinking that premarital sex is okay. For those who value long-term commitment, it is clear to see that if there is no marriage covenant; there is no assurance of true commitment.

Biblical Paradoxes

If the Bible teaches that God has predestined the elect and yet calls all men to repentance, then we must hold both as scriptural not rejecting the one we don't like. One day we will fully understand how they are consistent with each other.

If the Bible teaches that God hath declared the end from the beginning and that He is not the author of sin, then we must hold both as scriptural not rejecting the one we don't like. One day we will fully understand how they are consistent with each other.

If the Bible teaches that God changes His mind and says that He changeth not, then we must hold both as scriptural not rejecting the one we don't like. One day we will fully understand how they are consistent with each other.

The Will of God

Posted on OAO Message Board, Topic: The future as both CERTAIN and CONTINGENT

I believe that God created the world, because that's what the Bible says. I believe that God has an elect and that He will lose none of them, because that's what the Bible teaches. But I think that we are missing something, all of us. How do we determine these ideas to be philosophically equivalent? But that is what God is calling us to. The Bible is true, it is God's word. We are required to understand His Word comparing scripture with scripture. I don't really have a great answer for the scripture you quoted (scriptures which seem to imply that man is a free moral agent), I can give you the textbook response:

God's eternal decreetal [perfect] will is what must happen because God has determined that it will be so. And yet nothing happens but by the will of God, thus it is by His permissive will that He foreordains that sin will enter the world and His plan of redemption executed (no pun intended).

God doesn't want some poor soul to be raped, murdered, mutilated, castrated or incarcerated/tortured. Except for the restraining work of the Holy Spirit, we would see quite a bit more evil in this world. It is not that he chose this person to be decimated, but that He chose you or me not to be...THIS is the grace of God...God hates sinners, while I was a sinner Christ died for me, Christ died for someone He hated. Love is a decision that God made according to His own pleasure.

Ron Paul Statement of Faith

Borrowed from covenantnews.com

Statement of Faith

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By Rep. Ron Paul, MD.

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The Covenant News ~ July 21, 2007

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We live in times of great uncertainty when men of faith must stand up for our values and our traditions lest they be washed away in a sea of fear and relativism. As you likely know, I am running for President of the United States, and I am asking for your support.

I have never been one who is comfortable talking about my faith in the political arena. In fact, the pandering that typically occurs in the election season I find to be distasteful. But for those who have asked, I freely confess that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior, and that I seek His guidance in all that I do. I know, as you do, that our freedoms come not from man, but from God. My record of public service reflects my reverence for the Natural Rights with which we have been endowed by a loving Creator.

I have worked tirelessly to defend and restore those rights for all Americans, born and unborn alike. The right of an innocent, unborn child to life is at the heart of the American ideal of liberty. My professional and legislative record demonstrates my strong commitment to this pro-life principle.

In 40 years of medical practice, I never once considered performing an abortion, nor did I ever find abortion necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman. In Congress, I have authored legislation that seeks to define life as beginning at conception, H.R. 1094. I am also the prime sponsor of H.R. 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v Wade by removing the ability of federal courts to interfere with state legislation to protect life. This is a practical, direct approach to ending federal court tyranny which threatens our constitutional republic and has caused the deaths of 45 million of the unborn. I have also authored H.R. 1095, which prevents federal funds to be used for so-called “population control.” Many talk about being pro-life. I have taken and will continue to advocate direct action to restore protection for the unborn.

I have also acted to protect the lives of Americans by my adherence to the doctrine of “just war.” This doctrine, as articulated by Augustine, suggested that war must only be waged as a last resort--- for a discernible moral and public good, with the right intentions, vetted through established legal authorities (a constitutionally required declaration of the Congress), and with a likely probability of success.

It has been and remains my firm belief that the current United Nations-mandated, no-win police action in Iraq fails to meet the high moral threshold required to wage just war. That is why I have offered moral and practical opposition to the invasion, occupation and social engineering police exercise now underway in Iraq. It is my belief, borne out by five years of abject failure and tens of thousands of lost lives, that the Iraq operation has been a dangerous diversion from the rightful and appropriate focus of our efforts to bring to justice to the jihadists that have attacked us and seek still to undermine our nation, our values, and our way of life.

I opposed giving the president power to wage unlimited and unchecked aggression, However, I did vote to support the use of force in Afghanistan. I also authored H.R. 3076, the September 11 Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001. A letter of marque and reprisal is a constitutional tool specifically designed to give the president the authority to respond with appropriate force to those non-state actors who wage aggression against the United States while limiting his authority to only those responsible for the atrocities of that day. Such a limited authorization is consistent with the doctrine of just war and the practical aim of keeping Americans safe while minimizing the costs in blood and treasure of waging such an operation.

On September 17, 2001, I stated on the house floor that “…striking out at six or eight or even ten different countries could well expand this war of which we wanted no part. Without defining the enemy there is no way to know our precise goal or to know when the war is over. Inadvertently more casual acceptance of civilian deaths as part of this war I'm certain will prolong the agony and increase the chances of even more American casualties. We must guard against this if at all possible.” I’m sorry to say that history has proven this to be true.

I am running for president to restore the rule of law and to stand up for our divinely inspired Constitution. I have never voted for legislation that is not specifically authorized by the Constitution. As president, I will never sign a piece of legislation, nor use the power of the executive, in a manner inconsistent with the limitations that the founders envisioned.

Many have given up on America as an exemplar for the world, as a model of freedom, self-government, and self-control. I have not. There is hope for America. I ask you to join me, and to be a part of it.

Sincerely,

Ron Paul


For More Information Contact:
Paul Dorr
Iowa Field Director
RonPaul2008@iowatelecom.net
Phone: 712-758-3660

Ron Paul 2008
Presidential Campaign Committee
www.RonPaul2008.com
Phone: 703-248-9115
FAX: 703-248-9119

Maxed Out

God's Foreknowledge and Predestination

Posted by Me on an OAO Message Board:

joem said:...exhaustive foreknowledge...equals exhaustive predestination...

jesse said:...If God eternally foreknew all that will unavoidably occur, God could never decide what will occur...

I think these statements are mutually exclusive. And as such, one or both statements must be wrong. And if wrong, then the philosophical underpinnings of these statements must also be wrong. So which one is wrong?

I agree with foryou that in God's perfection He could foreknow all events in time including His active role in it and not need to change anything. God is powerless to originate a current idea/action in the same way that He is powerless to sin, IE change from being perfect.

Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

In addition, God is the creator...Including being the creator of time. If you say He sovereign; He is not limited by time. There can be no "moment" for Him in eternity. To discuss sequence or moments, presupposes that He is limited by time. Is God in time or eternity? Time begins and ends. God has given us this picture in creation/natural revelation. God has no beginning and no end. If you can comprehend this, you can comprehend the incomprehensible.

I being a creature in time and space cannot fathom anything that is beyond time or space. This is why God has to reveal Himself for someone to know Him. That is why He uses Parables, analogies (heck, all knowledge is analogical), poetry, allegories, prophetic imagery and such the like. He cannot say I am like "X". Because there is only one "x" like Him and that is the "X," IE Himself; thus all knowledge of God is derivative and is in universal terms: the three "universal" omni's or universal negative (versus affirmative) definitions: eternal (without time) and pure/holy (without blemish). For we know not what "eternal" or "pure" really mean since we experience neither eternity nor consummate holiness.

I agree with foryou that we must always return to scripture. We cannot start with the scripture and finish with philosophy. We must start with scripture, and be always checking our philosophy each step of the way by scriptural principles; concluding with something that does not contradict scripture or else we have erred in our surmising.

RPCNA

Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America

USA

Messiah's Church Reformed Presbyterian

In North Syracuse, NY

McDonald's on I-90

What a ripoff! $1.15 for one cheeseburger, not even a double-cheeseburger. And they don't even have the Dollar Menu.

Is Hell a real place or a metaphor to deter evil-doers?

Posted by Michaelsei (that's me!) on Helium.com

God is sovereign. God is Holy, Pure, and Just. God hates sin and evildoers. God created man in His image.

Man erred from conforming to God's attributes. Thus, sin was brought into the world. From Adam, the sin nature passed from father to son, on and on. All have sinned. God cannot stand sin to be in His presence.

Hell is real, but hell is not a place. It is being without a place. It is being away from the presence of God. Hell may be depicted as a place of fiery torment, but it is usually depicted as a place of outer darkness. A cold, dank morgue where solitude and fear reign over you. You scream and cry out for death to take you, but death has already taken your mortal body. You are experiencing what is called the second death. Your immortal soul is separated from your creator. You have been cut off from your source of life, but again not in the corporeal sense. This death is not a perishing away but an eternal perishing that ceases not. This is hell.

It ought to deter evildoers. The commandments given to the nation of Israel served to conform them to God's image. In so doing, evil was not allowed to persist. Capital crimes required capital punishments. Lesser crimes required retribution. If I was starving, I may steal to replenish my strength, but I would be required to pay back many times more than I stole. If I took a life in premeditated murder, my blood would be required; however, if I committed manslaughter in the heat of a struggle unpremeditated, then I would have refuge according to the Law. Capital crimes are deterred by capital punishments, this is God's design. On the contrary, not every individual is unilaterally deterred from doing what they will. They will serve as examples and will be punished.

On deterrence, another example is Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan was an authoritarian ruler who went far beyond God's perfect justice to his own form of deterrence. I use him only as an example of how punishments are deterrents. He used capital punishment even in cases of lesser crimes. He achieved a peace that would still be seen in his grandson's lifetime. When Kublai Khan was in power, Marco Polo passed through the region, living the adventure story that he would later bring home.

Ultimately, God determines the number of the elect. However, in a society where God's justice is utilized, the restraint of the Holy Spirit will be seen at work in that nation against evildoers. Hell can be lauded as the final punishment for evildoers, and for some, I hope and pray that it is a deterrent from evil. The only thing that he would lack is to seek after Jesus Christ and His salvation.

Updates coming soon...

I had opted to get rid of the internet to spend time with my newborn. Well he is no longer a newborn and I need to get back online for banking etc. So will I also get back into writing and updating my blogs.