I've been having a heated discussion with a fellow church member about the differences between James and Paul. How James was under a different dispensation than Paul, my friend can't buy that. I was wondering what scriptures I could show him that would back up my argument? I tried to explain how James was a legalist, that his teaching was faith plus works for salvation, and Paul's teaching is Faith. Can you help?
Many people believe that the Gifts of the Spirit are no longer with us. What does the Bible say about this?
I read about the 14 steps of losing your salvation and I totally agree, but one of the arguments some Christians have is, What about your free will? Can you give the free gift of salvation back once have received it from God by announcing that you don't believe and want it anymore? Will God accept his free gift back? Is our Free Will so strong and powerful, that God has to honour it?
I recently read an interpretation of Ephesians 2:8-9 that said, "faith there is not the gift - salvation (the subject of the entire passage) is the gift of God. Faith is a feminine noun, while the demonstrative pronoun that ("it is" is not in the Greek) is neuter and could not refer to faith. The Greek will not permit "faith" to be the gift." How do you interpret this passage?
Was Jesus born with a sin nature? If He is truly human and truly God, what is it about Him besides His body of flesh and blood that makes Him human? How can it be truly said of Him that He was tempted in every way that we are if He didn't inherit the sin nature from Mary? Why did Satan bother in the wilderness unless he knew that there was something in Jesus to which he could appeal? What makes it so remarkable that He didn't sin if He wasn't even born with the sin nature?
