Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Question for the holy guys

We tend to over think, "It".

Not your guy - the only thing holy about me is that old favorite pair of wool hunting socks. I am given the gift of salvation by Grace.

But, from a thankful and grateful heart I do try to walk the Christian talk and do good works for others where there seems to be worthwhile opportunity. I fail more than succeed, but keep trying.

Maybe some failures are due to a human trait to place such efforts where they will do the most good (after all, I am 3/4 Scot) - probably too much quest for efficacy. Successes might be enhanced by reducing discrimination among opportunities - looks like I need more growth.

I love it.

I remember walking into church many a time right before service officially started while Amazing Grace played.

A lot of nonbelievers will try to brand believers that make mistakes as hypocrites. What most Christians understand is that we all have shortcomings and make mistakes daily. It’s about believing and trying in good faith to do the best that we can. Believing in God and striving to do what the Bible teaches will smooth out some of our rough edges but it absolutely doesn’t make us perfect or change our core personalities.

I think I understand the question and get where the OP is coming from.

In many Protestant churches I’ve attended and from which I’ve heard sermons they’re quick to take away with the left hand what the right hand gives in the much-cited “solas” of the reformation.

That is, they’ll say “salvation can’t be earned it’s only by grace” and then, if not explicitly then implicitly, “so now that you’ve been regenerated & justified by grace, get to work on yer sanctification” or “if you were grateful for the grace shown you you’d be nicer to people…” or some such.

I asked a long time friend yesterday while we were fishing whether he thought his Christianity (that is, the gift he received of the HS) has helped him become holier or just to see his sin more clearly. He said the latter and I agree.

The Gospel is supposed to allow us to gratefully rest in Christ’s finished and perfect work on our behalf, and that’s why it’s to be received week after week in the preaching and sacraments. Those who preach “Gospel! And then you better…” rob the saint of his rest whether they separate salvation from this equation or not.

There is a TRUE theology of the cross and those false ones of glory. There is no glory for us; it is all God’s.

Of course I'm a hypocrite, not that I want to be.

Amen!
📖🙂👍

"holy and reverend is his name.

Psalm 111

There is a contradiction between Peter and Paul.

How so?

The Parable of the Good Samaritan.

I'm only stopping in to see who considers themselves a "holy guy."

LOL

You wouldn't know Leviticus from an ear of corn.

Speaking of retards...

word

Good to see you here, glad you chose to join.

Several things, in this instance faith and works/faith alone.  

"...a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).

''For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians.

Peter IMO was the most “human” of the disciples. At his best he showed great courage. At his worst he had a short fuse and the doubts that we all sometimes have.

While amped up on adrenaline and loyalty towards Jesus he tried splitting the Roman soldiers scull with a broadsword but was a fisherman by trade and so was off center and only managed to lop off an ear. Later that night alone and with the adrenaline gone he denied knowing Jesus.

Peter was wrong in the sense that he was interfering in a plan that was already in place and that he didn’t fully understand it even if he should have. On the other hand I believe that Bible teaches for men to be loyal and fight when called for. Men should be slow to anger and seeking vengeance but there absolutely is a time and a place for it. To sum it up. Peter was wrong for not understanding the events that were about to unfold but he wasn’t really wrong otherwise and Jesus wasn’t all that hard on him for his actions (attempting to kill a Roman soldier).

Yep. Jesus’ New Covenant command…which the Apostle Paul later called the Law of Christ…was to give and to serve and to love other’s, just as He gave and served and loved us. Jesus wasn’t satisfied with being good for goodness’ sake, or good for His sake, He came to be good for our sake. And we’re not all that good.

It’s possible to be self-controlled, and judgmental. It’s possible to be personally careful, and uncaring. It’s possible to be blameless, and unsympathetic. It’s possible to be financially responsible, and selfish. It’s even possible to keep your hands clean, without offering anyone else a hand. Basically it’s possible to be good, without doing any good. It’s possible to be a good person, without doing good for another person.

Are we really a good person if we’re unwilling to do good for another person…? Does being good for goodness’ sake do any good…?

Jesus’ endgame wasn’t simply to keep the Law of God, His endgame was to demonstrate the love of God. And to demonstrate it in such a way that we would embrace that way of living, and that it would become our endgame as well.

To me that means that a person needs to believe in God and then try to live a life that reflects it. If you sincerely believe in God it would make sense to me that you would also strive to live a lifestyle which reflects it. We all fall short. So it’s about believing and making a real effort to try to live that lifestyle.

Most of the biblical parables are told in a way that require a common sense approach and easy to understand key points. It’s human nature to want to argue over the details. Believing and making an honest attempt to do what is taught is enough. IMO. It had to be because it wouldn’t be possible to write a book long enough to cover every conceivable possibility throughout thousands of years of human history.

Well said.

Jesus frequently railed against the Pharisees that were all about good works. Upholding the Sabbath above all else, giving money that they could easily afford ect. Those kind of works are not what God teaches and will not save you. You need to believe and then make a sincere effort to do what is taught. All of us will fall short and are saved not by displays of our goodness but by believing and making an honest effort to do what is taught. So that we’re saved by the grace of God. That’s my understanding.