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@Marston, I respect your beliefs, but it is Revelation 21, and the context is always crucial in interpreting any verse. Go to Revelation 21:1-6. The first verses tell you what things are new, the new earth, heavens, and Jerusalem, not every human: Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new...

So, you believe in Purgatory, @Marston? There is nothing in Scripture to support that belief. Respectfully, you seem to be reading meaning into the lake of fire that isn't really there because of your previous assumptions.

@Frankj, talking with people with sinful lifestyles doesn't necessarily lead us to become like them. If we aren't praying and engaged with the Word of God, we had better stay away from them. Just invite them to come to our church. Prayer must bathe each and every relationship with knowledge of...

@Marston, please read Ephesians 1:1-14 a few times and tell me whether or not "all" means every human and thing in the universe. It doesn't, because Paul addresses just the believers at Ephesus and describes our future inheritance of the new universe, which God plans before he creates anything...

Our traditions must always be measured and changed by the Word of God. "We've always done it that way" must not be our measuring stick, but the Bible's principles must be.

What do you think about these five basics for the Christian faith, following the Bible's history compared to a cruise ship's voyage toward disaster like that of the Titanic? LAUNCHED--God create humans. LOST--Humans rebel against God. LOVED--Jesus, the God-man, died and rose again to open the...

That's where Paul's phrase in Ephesians 4, "speaking the truth in love," comes in, @Frankj. Praying to God is the key, not saying what you quoted, of course. If we are always going to be separate from every person with a sinful lifestyle, we can't really be a loving influence in their lives to...

@Edward429451, perhaps you can pray persistently for God to give you important things to do in retirement. He gave me a writing career after I was an English teacher and then a pastor. It could be volunteering at some food bank or at a nonprofit store. I don't know, but I know that it's...

We'll all find out how God will fulfill it; I'm very willing to wait until then instead of discussing it much.

@Holy999, the human race has been hurt most of all by ignoring or rejecting their Creator: Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Rom 1:19 For what can be known about God is...

Yes, God does answer our persistent prayers when it's his will.

At 82 years old with many difficult experiences in my lifetime, God has taught me the truth of Paul's command, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is the key to God's blessing in any and all of these experiences in life, especially in Jesus' victory for us.

I agree with @Stephen.

@SetFree, how do you know that a person who was "once enlightened," "tasted of the heavenly gift," and "made partakers of the Holy Ghost" is indeed a true Christian. I have known several hypocrites who qualify with those qualities as active church members but who never made a personal commitment...

@Edward429461, I understand your anger at their sinful lifestyles, but I love them as God's human creations, though they are tarnished severely by their sinfulness. I have sin within me too. Jesus commanded us, Mat 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate...

Yes, God has given me a little wisdom in my old age, @Edward429451. I praise him for it.

@Marston, I'm a recovering chocoholic! :) For a long time, I prayed that the Father would replace my impulsiveness in eating chocolate with the fruit of the Spirit self-control through Jesus' death and resurrection power. He did more than I asked for. He took away all my desire for food other...

I agree, @Edward429451!!

First, @Edward429451, believers are "in Christ," that is, connected with him, who is the Head of his body, the church. Second, Jesus says in John 15, that we are dependent on him for our spiritual nourishment, just as a vine's branches are on the vine. Third, therefore, because Jesus' death...

@Truth Seeker, two distinctions have to be considered. The Father and the Son have equal STATUS as fully God, but they also have different ROLES or FUNCTION within the Trinity. For example, the Father is the SOURCE, Jesus is the AGENT, and the Holy Spirit is the DIRECT CAUSE of creation...