Moderators Gerr Posted September 4, 2011 Moderators Posted September 4, 2011 Christ sows the good seed, the devil sows the tares. Christ has warned us about making judgments since we can't read the heart. And even if we could tell the tares, there is danger of pulling the good with the bad. Quote
miz3 Posted September 4, 2011 Author Posted September 4, 2011 I am reading every single post with great interest. You have done very well. I hope there will be many more comments because this is good. Quote
Stan Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 Miz A number of years ago, when the World Council of Churches developed a strategy of taking the Gospel to the world, various denominations choose to work in various countries. When the Adventist Church was asked which countries, we said we will take them all. AND we have. Not sure if you know that. We are working above ground in every country that we can, and underground in those tough areas, mostly muslims. On the average about 25,000 people are baptized every Sabbath, with about 200 new Churches or groups meeting for the very first time. About 5% of the membership is in North America, we are the largest Church in places like India where we have well over 200,000 people joining every year. In many countries the Adventist Church is the largest protestant country. We are Church without borders, the largest Hospital system, the second largest school system (in the world) and several other 'largest and biggest' things Just wait another 10 years. One thing that I really appreciated about Adventists, is they have the Bible and prophecy figured out, and it all fits together, and it all makes sense as a package, that is one thing I really liked as I moved from another denomination here. On the Average Sabbath 1 in 200 of the entire worlds population visits an Adventist Church. Our biggest challenge is not to lose the passion of the great commission. Quote If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses. https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com
Administrators Gail Posted September 4, 2011 Administrators Posted September 4, 2011 I am reading every single post with great interest. You have done very well. I hope there will be many more comments because this is good. Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
Neil D Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 OOOoooo....Ooooooo...can I answer? Not withstanding Stans excellent post on what the SDA church is doing.... I think that the greatest threat to our church is critical apathy..... apathy in the sense that most people want to do thier own thing and critical because they find fault with other members....Church then becomes a battle ground for slights and backstabbing...So, people get emotionally hurt and they go do thier own thing....hence we have critical appathy..... Much like it is here on this board....I'm just sayin',, folks... Quote Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. George Bernard Shaw
Administrators Gail Posted September 4, 2011 Administrators Posted September 4, 2011 OOOoooo....Ooooooo...can I answer? Not withstanding Stans excellent post on what the SDA church is doing.... I think that the greatest threat to our church is critical apathy..... apathy in the sense that most people want to do thier own thing and critical because they find fault with other members....Church then becomes a battle ground for slights and backstabbing...So, people get emotionally hurt and they go do thier own thing....hence we have critical appathy..... Much like it is here on this board....I'm just sayin',, folks... You can go a step further and say that that which threatens our Christianity is what threatens the church. A congregation full of vibrant, joyous, busy Christians is not dying. Quote Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
CoAspen Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 Us.....is the greatest threat. Example...read the forum topics and extended responses. We want to be correct, absolutely, unequivocally and so there! Will we be a church of 'prisoners' or a church of the 'free'? What sets us free? The truth, we say! What must I do to be saved(free)...believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? What ever threatens that concept or tries to more narrowly define it, threatens the church. Quote
Musicman1228 Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 Christ sows the good seed, the devil sows the tares. Christ has warned us about making judgments since we can't read the heart. And even if we could tell the tares, there is danger of pulling the good with the bad. You are absolutely correct. But remember, both the good wheat and the bad tares are IN THE SAME FIELD. The field is not the church, because that is an ambiguous entity which contains hundreds (if not thousands) of doctrines and theologies, which has promoted disunity not unity. The FIELD is where a person can find the truth, and for our purposes this is the Bible. Therefore, Jesus planted the truth in the Bible, and Satan planted lies in the Bible. It is up to us to discover which is which, and this won't be done until the very end just before the harvest. We are now in this time. This is a real problem for those that believe that the Bible contains nothing but the truth. If this was the case then there would be NO CHOICE with regards to our salvation, and God always give everyone a choice as to what is truth and what is lies. We KNOW who has given the words of truth; that would be Jesus Christ Himself. Therefore, the problem that we face is who was it that Satan put in the Bible to propagate his lies that masquerade as the truth. If you are honest you can figure this out for yourself, based on Rev. 2:2. Quote
Stan Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 A threat, is that we will forget our mission, and think membership is more important Quote If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses. https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com
Moderators John317 Posted September 4, 2011 Moderators Posted September 4, 2011 ...The FIELD is where a person can find the truth, and for our purposes this is the Bible. Therefore, Jesus planted the truth in the Bible, and Satan planted lies in the Bible. It is up to us to discover which is which, and this won't be done until the very end just before the harvest. This is a mistaken interpretation of Matt. 13: 24-30. The wheat and the tares are people, not books of the Bible. It is not about planting the truth in the Bible. Nor is it about any lies in the Bible. The wheat (God's people) and tares (Satan's servants) are to grow together until the harvest (second coming). It isn't about separating truth from error in the Bible. The word of God is truth and it is pure. The Word of God contains no lies. That is why it is called the Word of God. Notice it is not called "The Word of God and the Devil" Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Moderators John317 Posted September 4, 2011 Moderators Posted September 4, 2011 And our mission is the Three Angels Messages. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Moderators John317 Posted September 4, 2011 Moderators Posted September 4, 2011 Both God and the Devil bring people into the SDA church Originally Posted By: aldona If this is the case, then shouldn't we (as a denomination) be less boastful about numbers, and much more circumspect about "playing the numbers game"? Yes. As to whether the above quote is true or not, see Matt. 13: 24-30. God sows wheat and the devil sows tares. They are all together until the second coming, or the harvest. Matthew 13: 47-50 teaches the same thing. Good and bad fish are caught in the net, and the good and bad fish are separated only by the angels at the second coming. The numbers alone mean nothing. According to the Bible, God is primarily interested in quality, not quantity. By quality, I mean the quality of people's devotion and loyalty to Christ. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Musicman1228 Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 Originally Posted By: Musicman1228 ...The FIELD is where a person can find the truth, and for our purposes this is the Bible. Therefore, Jesus planted the truth in the Bible, and Satan planted lies in the Bible. It is up to us to discover which is which, and this won't be done until the very end just before the harvest. This is a mistaken interpretation of Matt. 13: 24-30. The wheat and the tares are people, not books of the Bible. It is not about planting the truth in the Bible. Nor is it about any lies in the Bible. The wheat (God's people) and tares (Satan's servants) are to grow together until the harvest (second coming). It isn't about separating truth from error in the Bible. The word of God is truth and it is pure. The Word of God contains no lies. That is why it is called the Word of God. Notice it is not called "The Word of God and the Devil" Yes, the 'wheat' and 'tares' are people of both sides; but WHERE do they get the information (truth or lies) that cause them to be either on God's side or Satan's side? It is the WORDS you believe that cause you to be on the side you have chosen. so actually my interpretation is exactly correct, because that is what Jesus taught. Much of what Jesus taught was 'hard' teaching, why should it be any different today? Quote
Stan Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 Was not being boastful about numbers. Numbers are the way, or one way, not the only way, how we measure if we doing what we are to do. Our sister denomination, the millerites, and we are an offshoot of them have more than likely LESS members than join us in a month. We both started in 1844. Here is a list of all their Churches http://adventchristian.org/AboutUs/ChurchWebsites.aspx Quote If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses. https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com
Moderators John317 Posted September 4, 2011 Moderators Posted September 4, 2011 Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Gustave Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 What do you think the greatest threat is? The Trinity Doctrine. Quote
Moderators John317 Posted September 4, 2011 Moderators Posted September 4, 2011 What do you think the greatest threat is? Originally Posted By: Gustave The Trinity Doctrine. Let it be noted that you-- Gustave-- are not an SDA but anti-SDA and anti-EGW. Your statement makes no sense. The Trinity doctrine is an official doctrine of the SDA church, supported by not only the Bible but also by the writings of Ellen White, as shown in such books as Evangelism 614-617. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Gustave Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 Let it be noted that you-- Gustave-- are not an SDA but anti-SDA and anti-EGW. Quote
Moderators John317 Posted September 4, 2011 Moderators Posted September 4, 2011 Let it be noted that you-- Gustave-- are not an SDA but anti-SDA and anti-EGW. Originally Posted By: Gustave I'm not anti-SDA or EGW at all... Let the readers of your posts make up their own minds on the basis of your own words. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Moderators John317 Posted September 4, 2011 Moderators Posted September 4, 2011 Your statement makes no sense. The Trinity doctrine is an official doctrine of the SDA church, supported by not only the Bible but also by the writings of Ellen White, as shown in such books as Evangelism 614-617 Originally Posted By: Gustave That would be like me making the claim that observing the 7th day Sabbath is an "official doctrine of the Catholic Church"......I could re-define what that means and pass that off with about as much success. ...As the theological rubrics of Adventism allow for the Trinity. Let readers read Ev. 614-617 and the official doctrine of the SDA church and make up their own mind. Quote: 2. Trinity:There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons. God is immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present. He is infinite and beyond human comprehension, yet known through His self-revelation. He is forever worthy of worship, adoration, and service by the whole creation. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 14:7.) The doctrine of the Trinity was passed by the SDA world church in General Conference Session. That being the case, the doctrine of the Trinity could hardly be the greatest threat to the SDA Church, unless you're saying that the Trinity is a false doctrine. But in any case, Gustave, I think miz3's idea is to find out what SDAs believe is the greatest threat to the SDA church. I don't believe she's trying to find out what Catholics believe is the greatest threat to the church. Your viewpoint is interesting, and I am interested in what you think, but what you are saying here doesn't help anyone learn about what SDAs think about the threat to their own church. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Gustave Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 The doctrine of the Trinity was passed by the SDA world church in General Conference Session. That being the case, the doctrine of the Trinity could hardly be the greatest threat to the SDA Church. I've already demonstrated to you that a peccable Christ can't be reconciled with the Doctrine of the Trinity... ...Unless the established word is gutted of it's historical meaning so that a new and alien definition can be poured in. ...When did the General Conference of the world SDA church pass this doctrine John317? ...And where can I read their definition of what the Trinity is John317? Quote
Moderators John317 Posted September 4, 2011 Moderators Posted September 4, 2011 Gustave, you are taking the discussion off topic. The correct place to carry on this exchange about the Trinity in on a different thread. We have others on this topic already started. If you want, I will transfer your last post to a place where it can be pursued. Otherwise we need to get back to the topic. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
jasd Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 QR frame: jasd 12:12 Soonest!—thou forgettest. Wast not it told unto thee – that it is the Great Antichrist Il Papa and his system – that is the greatest threat to the .Org, as well all other like Protesting .orgs – nay, but unto all also that hath breath and troddeth the earth? Ahh, quickest!—thou forgettest – and forgetting, thou dost apostatize. Return unto .Orgism that thou mayest be doubly .Orged. (jasd 12:12 Oh, thems Jesuits, too.) Quote
jasd Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 >>If you are honest you can figure this out for yourself, based on Rev. 2:2.<< Hmmm, ...musin’. One tells us that we may call Gd – Abba/daddy. Another, tells us we are bonded servants. Does the servant call the Master of the House – Abba/daddy? Quote
miz3 Posted September 5, 2011 Author Posted September 5, 2011 Thank you all. I continue to read every word. Please don't stop. I find this very fascinating to have sooo many participating. Please continue! I hope more will come and speak and those who are speaking will continue to express their views. Again, please don't stop! Quote
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