MartyS

I haven't accepted it! I know it is sin, but I believe the Bible teaches it isn't greater than another sin. Nevertheless, it degrades one's body and one's mind. And it is defiant towards God, because He speaks so harshly against it. Does anyone remember Sodom and Gomorrah? As an American, I don't think the majority of our country has accepted it. They are just intimidated by the loud, angry, rebellious, mean-spirited, power-hungry individuals who don't want anyone, including God, telling them how they should live their lives. I know God would forgive them and set them free if they repent. I believe Jesus died for their sin at the same time He died for mine. So, I should not judge one of God's servants. I might end up spending eternity with them! Blessings!

Thank you, Abu Nur, I love the way you quote the Qur'an and the Injeel. We both feel the burden of warning those who have chosen the wide road. We know we must choose righteousness instead of evil. And we agree only God can help us do that. We agree that Ezekiel, Solomon and Jesus went to people who believed in God. But we believe the message of the Injeel had a more advanced spiritual level. It moved beyond monotheism to salvation, grace, faith, sanctification, and holiness. As Christians, we believe Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation of God. His life and teachings are the measure. 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the Prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. - Hebrews 1:1-2 Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. - Mark 13:31 We believe that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, became flesh and redeemed us from sin. He is our true Adha. We believe Jesus Christ proved that he is the true messenger of God by resurrecting from the dead, which we celebrate on Easter! Respectfully, Marty

As a Christian, who has cancer, I know some would say, "God is punishing her for her sins." But in my heart, I don't believe this. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior--God's gift for the forgiveness of my sins--He saved me and He healed me. He delivered me from my drug addictions and He healed me of Hepatitis from sharing dirty needles with Vietnam vets. Now, 42 years later, I am dying with stage 4 breast cancer. But I'm not unhappy about it, because it means I will soon get to be with my Lord and will have a glorified body, like His after He raised from the dead. I do believe sin can cause illnesses. When Jesus healed the blind, crippled, even the dead, sometimes He said, "Pick up your mat and walk." Other times, He said, "Your sins are forgiven." Once... 1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. - John 9:1-3 Blessings!

This thread is so interesting to me! I am a Christian, and I have friends who don't believe the flood actually happened, that it is an allegory, a picture story to give a moral principle. But, according to the Bible, Peter (the leader among Jesus' disciples) said that after Jesus died in the flesh, His Spirit went to the prison of those who perished in the flood and preached to them the good news of His salvation! 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. - 1 Peter 3:18-20

Hi. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus was speaking about Himself, quoting the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 61:1-2. Jesus proclaimed this before His sacrificial death. He was declaring He was the Messiah who Isaiah had prophesied would come by the Spirit of God. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." - Isaiah 61:1-2a Yes, you are both correct. The verses in Hebrews 2:16-17 do not mention the sacrifice Jesus (God in human flesh) would Himself become, to die in place of sinful men and destroy Satan; nor do they specifically mention Jesus by name. Let me go back to earlier verses in Hebrews 2:9,14-15... 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. -Hebrews 2:9 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. - Hebrews 2:14-16

Yes. I agree. And I believe that does not negate God's faithfulness to the Jews at the end of human history. These verses are prophecies that may not have yet been completely realized; however, Jesus did say He fulfilled this prophecy of Isaiah... 17 And the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." - Luke 4:17-21 The Jews did not recognize Jesus that day as their Messiah. In fact, they tried to kill him for speaking those and these words... 24 And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no Prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the Prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away. - Luke 4:24-30 Nevertheless, these next verses make it clear that God will yet accept the sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins on behalf of the offspring of Abraham, who are literally Isaac and Ishmael... 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. - Hebrews 2:16-17

Jesus came to Earth to bring the good news of God's favor and His gift of salvation through His own death on the cross and resurrection from the dead to the house of Israel. But they rejected him and crucified Him (accomplishing God's plan). They didn't recognize the Savior they had waited millennia for when He came. So God called the gentiles to come to the banquet instead, to provoke the Jews by jealousy. But God says they will come to believe. They will recognize the One they pierced... "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. - Zechariah 12:10 "On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. - Zechariah 13:1

Hi. Thank you. That is very interesting to me. I knew that Ishmael and Isaac were brothers, each of them the father of a great nation. I don't exclude any of their descendants--or even Gentiles by faith and fear of God--from God's promise of salvation. Therefore, I believe we are meant to be brothers. I get my understanding from these verses in the Old Testament and the New Testament: The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael. - 1 Chronicles 1:28 You are the sons of the Prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families of the Earth be blessed.' - Acts 3:25 "Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation." - Acts 13:26 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying "In you shall all the nations be blessed." So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. - Galatians 3:7-9

Hi. Thank you. That is very interesting. But perhaps we should not be surprised. We are all children of Abraham. Of course, I am the least entitled to that claim, for I am of gentile descent, grafted into God's Kingdom by grace. And I believe the era of the gentiles is ended. And the end times are come. Blessings and peace!

I believe he did it because there is evil in the world. This is why there are unwinnable wars. Satan is the enemy of mankind and he knows his time as ruler of this world is very short. Jesus said... As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false Prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. - Matthew 24:3-14

Thank you for explaining your beliefs. Please permit me to share my beliefs about Jesus' return... Jesus was God, and was with God, before He came to Earth in human form. He is one part (or person) of the One Triune God. Jesus is the Word of God--who was and is and is to come. When He comes again, He will judge the world and cast Satan into the Lake of Fire. This is why God speaks of Himself in pleural form... Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." - Genesis 1:26 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." - Revelation 1:8 Peace and blessings!

Thank you. Perhaps this is what Jesus was referring to when He said... "Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me." - John 16:2-3

Please forgive me for interrupting your conversation. This is such a wonderful topic to me. It seems this statement may be referring to Imam Ali as being an intercessor for you with Allah? This statement seems to be a parallel statement to one in the Bible referring to Jesus... No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. - John 1:18 As a Christian, I believe Jesus is at God's side, making intercession for me (already having atoned for my sins through His death and resurrection) with God; and at the same time Jesus is revealing God to me (through His life and Word) so that I may know God. Jesus is my refuge.

I see that is very generous of Allah. If salvation is a matter of doing more good deeds than bad, one can hope to be found on the positive side of the scales. That would be very comforting except that the Bible says if someone sins, they need to die. It makes no distinction between the pettiest of sins and the most heinous crime. An example in Nabeel's book... "Imagine you were sent to court for jaywalking (crossing the street illegally). The guy before you is found guilty of rape and murder and sentenced to execution. Then you are found guilty of jaywalking and also sentenced to execution." (p 201) But since our sins are against God, He has the right to forgive us. And since Jesus is God, He can die in our place. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23