James 1:27 likes to differ with you, especially the last part of it. The correct way to define Christianity "if you must", it is both religion & relationship.

Remember the price Christ paid is not for relationship with us but for believers sin. We must not forget that even the Seraphim (Considered as one of the most powerful angelic being and closes to God in Judaism) can't fully bear God's present in Isaiah 6. We should not think of Him and our relationship with Him is like the relationship with another human being.

Though we like to emphasis in God's mercy, grace, & love. We must not forget his other attributes like holiness and righteousness which is equally important as well. After all He is the King of Kings.

This post has been edited by Piros: Feb 22 2012, 02:32 PM

But your context is from verse 26-27, The context should be from verse 21-27

James was not saying "if you wanna be religious", he is saying this is religion. He gave an example of those people who claimed to be religious in verse 26 then move on to say "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this" (NKJV)

On the account of Matt 27:51, I agree. But it is all due to sin right? If no sin, no broken relationship with God, no deaths, etc. That's what I meant when I said "not relationship". In another words by Christ death what was destroyed by sin was restored.

Polygamy was never allowed by God. The patriarch (Abraham, David, Solomon) all sinned in this area. However God save them and forgave their sin

Yahweh can take life whenever He wants using whatever methods because all life belongs to Him. He created and gave life and he has the power to take it back and destroy. God gave the 10 commandments to men, the 1st 4 of them is our duty to God and the rest 6 our duty to fellow man.

He did not fail, Ephesians 1:3-7 tells us God choose and save those belongs to Him before the creation, He choose to save us through Jesus Christ when the creation was not

He knew sin would enter the world but He allowed it. In fact He told Adam & Eve not to eat of the fruit yet they disobey. The fault lies on them not God.

He never failed, we failed and now we are paying the price. The devil failed and they too will pay the price.

Bro, this is not a good place to discuss this issues. Mainly because they're many Christians here from different denominations with different doctrine.Don't ever think "Christians" can be grouped. They're just way too many teaching that's out of the way of the real teaching.

Best way? Pick up the bible and read it up for yourself (NKJV or ESV is the better translation due to the way they translate it. KJV is usable but mostly in old english so a bit hard to understand). If you don't understand get a commentary.

Finding a pastor to guide you is the best way, that person then must be someone who expound from the scriptures itself, meaning no own thoughts put into the expounding.

Is it OK for a Christian couple to live together if they aren't married?

You might wanna be careful by saying "an interval of time". There some problems associated with that.

1. If the 7 days are not literal 7 days like ours, we have a problem in the 3rd Commandments. "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:11). If let's say the 1 day of creation is a thousand years, means we should keep 1 sabbath for a thousand year which doesn't make any sense.

2. Ezekiel 28:13-18, The starting on verse 13 “You were in Eden, the garden of God". Means, he was at the garden and also if you continue to read you'll realize he is the serpent. This could indicate that all the angelic being was created during the 7 days of creation history.

3. Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.", Genesis 2:4 "This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens". Which means everything contain in the heavens and the earth was created in 7 days.

Nope, living together means either in the same room or the same house. You don't have to define that. For example "I live in that house but not in my parent's room" doesn't mean you don't live in that house.

Yes, I would advise one of you to move out. Find a temporal place, you can live you things there just bring what you really need. Furthermore the video addresses the same problem as you have, just that they don't have a 3rd party involved. But it is still not wise to portray the imagine of marriage when you are not married.

Example when a person comes and ask the both of you, "Where do you live"? You'll reply the both of us live in this or that apartment which brings the thought to that particular person "Oh, they're OK with sex before marriage". That's the problem.

Listen to the church, God place them and you at the same place to edify each other. They're you brothers & sisters in Christ. Don't look for the convenient way out but what is God glorifying and honoring.

You asked for advise and I gave

You cannot draw a conclusion like so. The serpent in different books points it to the Satan, The price of darkness, of infamously known as Lucifer. In Genesis, he was the one that tempted Eve. Furthermore, nowhere in Genesis 2 does God say Eden was on earth.

"So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life." (Genesis 3:24)

If the garden was on earth, we would have known it due to the presents of cherubim and a flaming sword. If so what happened to Eden? God drove them away but never recorded for us Eden was destroyed. You might also want to look into the heavens. There are 3 heavens drawn from 2 Corinthians 12:2.

Which means Eden could be place on either the 1st heaven or the 2nd heaven.

Hence i said to be "careful" on the mention possibility. I'm not saying that you concluded.

I'm with the young earth creationist camp. The reason is because the way the science interpret is firstly hypothesis, secondly it is based on carbon dating which have be proven to be inaccurate time over time (carbon-14 and carbon-12). Just Google problems with carbon dating. Thirdly their reasoning is circular reasoning.

For example,

A: "How do you know the age of the Fossil ?"

Professor: "Well, we date the rocks where the dinosaur lied and came up with the date."

A: "How do you know the age of the rocks"

Professor: "Well, we date the fossil where the rock was found and came up with the date."



Anyhow, that is not the problem. The problem is when they try to bring new scientific findings and find how to fit it into the word of God. God's truth never change. If He said first day, it is then first day. If He said second day, then it is second.

I think even Christians take this verse out of context: "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3:8).

What Peter is saying is that God is not bound by time & space, He created time!(Genesis 1:1) That's why Genesis 1 starts with "In the beginning", it's the beginning of time.

This post has been edited by Piros: Apr 17 2012, 03:33 PM

I see, that explains. I don't believe in a Pre-Adamic age. For I subscribe to 7 literal days and that's where I'm coming from. I speculate that the fall of Lucifer took place in between the end of Genesis chapter 2 and the beginning of Genesis chapter 3.

The Gap Theory brings 3 problems with it as I've mention on my previous post.

This post has been edited by Piros: Apr 17 2012, 03:40 PM

Most versions of the "Gap theory" places millions of years of geologic time (including billions of fossil animals) in between these two first verses of Genesis 1. I believe Genesis 1:1-5 was the first day and the second day was the second day in the context of a week.

Secondly, there is a problem which comes in the form of Genesis 1:31 if the war in heaven broke out during/before the 6 days of creation.

"Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." (Genesis 1:31)

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)

I don't see a problem with Gen 1:2 & Isa 45:18. Would you enlighten me on what are you trying to bring across with this 2 verses?

What talking you? You think suka suka change word is it? The psalmist quotes the part as God have spoken.

Yahweh: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Don't suka suka change words?

I don't think there's a text in the bible that say's "You shall not use condom". However is very clear from the bible that sexual relationship/intimacy are only to take place in the context of marriage, which indirectly says condom usage outside marriage is prohibited.

As for a married couple, condom usage is not norm/encourage because Christian's believes children are from God not from how many time you have/had sex. It is not so much of allow or disallow, but the matter of children are from God.

We are called to be sexually pure means masturbation is not being sexually pure. However having an intimate relation with your wife with condom part, the bible is silent on it.

Like I said, if we believe children are from God, would we even use condom in the 1st place? By using condom, we are saying "I can determine when I want a child, and if I want a child". You are robbing God of His kingship in this part of our life! Having sex =/= means children. There are cases where the couple is childless.

This post has been edited by Piros: May 10 2012, 01:40 PM

You might have spoken the truth especially with the feminist movement trying to mess up the order God has set for man & woman in their different roles, strength & weakness.

Paul have written for us in the NT how we ought to treat our husbands/wives (Titus, 1 Corinthians etc). Seek biblical counseling with pastors or elders instead of going to the secular counseling whom tend to push world views.

I think the confusion arises from how you use/choose the wordings.

Yes, Christians today are not under the Law (The Moral Law) but under Grace. We are not Justified by keeping the 10 Commandments but we are Justified through Christ's atonement when we repent and believe.

However we are still to keep the 10 commandments because, firstly it is God's precepts and secondly because Jesus Himself told "If you love me, keep my commandments" which He went on to the 2 greatest commandments (The 1st commandment and the 10th commandment) which is where all the Law & Prophets hangs.

No one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith in Christ. (Galatians 3:11)

Which means keeping the 10 commandments doesn't save anyone but we keep the 10 commandments to please God. That's where the process of Sanctification comes in where the Holy Spirit helps us to mortify sins and we grow to be spiritual fathers.

You fail to see Galatians in the light of the arguments in Romans by Paul on Grace, Law, & Sin.

Start by reading Romans 6

Romans 7:7

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”

Romans 13:8-10

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

9 For the commandments, “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

(Sorry only have King James Version in my computer)

What is Paul saying? That without the law, he doesn't know coveting is a sin. How could one know what is sin without the 10 commandments? This is exactly what Paul is saying. Which is why Galatians 5:22 only can be viewed accurately and what does Paul means "Against such things there no law".

What is Jesus commandment? Love one another... In other words Love your neighbor as yourself. How do you do that? It's right there in Romans 13:9.

Though we are not under the law but we are required to know the law in order to know what is sin. When you sin it displeases God and when you don't? It pleases Him because you obey Him.

Furthermore, I did not say nor imply the 10 commandments produces sanctification but the Holy Spirit.

You're asking a question that is not related. I nowhere said the law save you but only Christ saves, you sir really needs to read my posts. What I'm saying is that the law shows what is sin and God hates sin, That is why the judgment day is coming. Because sin not only displeases Him but because He hates it too. It is Evil! This is not a base factor. The Bible clearly teaches this.

You need to remember one thing first and utmost, Jesus was sinless because He perfectly kept the 10 commandments of God. If even in just one time He fails to keep even one of the commandment, He couldn't save us at all!

When you keep the 10 commandments perfectly, you are as the angel and Christ, sinless. But human can't keep the commandments perfectly due to original sin which makes us incline to sinning. Which is what God is saying in Romans 3:10-18.

So if any human can keep the laws perfectly, He will not be judge because He obeyed and kept God's precepts. However no human can do that. Even the rich young man when he says I kept the commandments since young, but he didn't kept the most important one that is to love the LORD your God with you whole being" as we see his heart was set to riches.

It is possible for a man to enter heaven without Christ's atonement if he keeps God's commandments perfectly but again as I pointed out, we don't have that capability due to original sin. The only 2 humans had that was Adam & Even when they were still sinless.

Now let me ask you a question, why would God judge a person and say he is sinful when he keeps the 10 commandments perfectly? Without sin, they'll be no need for a savior.

A person who keeps the commandment perfectly is the person who love the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and Loves His Neighbor as himself. None of us except Christ have kept it.

On top of what unknown warrior had said, I disagree with the bold statement above for these reason below.

We grow stronger or sin less and less is because of sanctification by the Holy Spirit not "the more Holy Spirit in you".

This post has been edited by Piros: Oct 22 2012, 02:02 PM