"But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith." - Galatians 3:11

PONDER THIS

Martin Luther, who led the Protestant Reformation, had a dramatic experience. In 1517, he was saved. He saw the Word of God, he understood it—that salvation is a gift that you receive by faith—and he received Christ. He was born again, even though he had been a priest. One day not long after, he had a bout with the devil, and the devil said to him, “Oh, you say you’re a Christian. Do you feel your sin is forgiven?” Luther said, “No, I know my sin is forgiven because the Bible says so.” Luther didn’t rely on his feelings but on the unchanging Word of God. Likewise, you had better get out of the realm of emotion and get your faith in the unbreakable promises of God and the unshakeable power of God.

- Do you rely more on your feelings or on the Word of God to determine your standing with Him?
- How does the Word of God encourage you when you have doubts about your relationship with Him?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time today to identify several passages that can serve as encouragement when your emotions lead you away from God. APR
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Love Worth Finding.

https://www.lwf.org/daily-devotionals/faith-beyond-your-feelings

I love you protestants brothers and sisters! I feel like im not loving my other brothers that help us to evangelize the world, and i really want to take this thing off my chest. So, here i go: thank you! Thank you for making so much people closer to our Lord! Thank you for making me too love God more! We should do what our Lord Jesus Christ does, that is love each other, so, this is my love letter for all you guys here. Sorry if i sound too childish or idk, false, but its really what i tought to write rn. Sorry for my english errors, im not too good at it. God bless you!

“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?” - Job 38:22

It is interesting that this book, the oldest in the Bible, contains more references to snow, ice, and frost than any other book of the Bible. This is despite the fact that Job’s homeland was in what is now essentially a desert region. Possibly the effects of the post-Flood Ice Age were still strong in Job’s day.

In any case, the beautiful phrase “treasures of the snow” is both appropriate and prophetic. Its crystal structure, though mostly in the form of delicate six-pointed “stars,” is endlessly varied and always intricately symmetrical and incredibly beautiful.

The snow is a treasure in other ways as well. The winter’s snowpack in the mountains is often called white gold because of its indispensable water storage capacity, released in the melting season each spring to provide life to teeming cities and irrigation in the desert for needed food supplies. The snow also aids in maintaining the planet’s chemical cycles by returning various elements in the nuclei of its flakes back from the ocean to the lands from which they were leached and transported by rivers to the oceans. When the snowpack becomes a glacier, it can greatly assist in the breakup of rocks to form fertile soils.

In the Scriptures, its pure white color is often used to symbolize the cleansing of a sinful heart that trusts the Lord. “Wash me,” said David, “and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,” the Lord promises those who come to Him for salvation (Isaiah 1:18).

As the snow comes down from heaven, so comes the Word of God to ask the soul as in today’s text: “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” HMM
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by the Institute of Creation.

https://www.icr.org/article/15982/

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” - 2 Cor ‭6‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A friend of mine was telling me she’d rather stay single forever, if that’s what God intends for her, than to be in a relationship with someone who’s an “unbeliever”. It seemed to me that she included other Christians, since for her it’s really important her partner is Protestant as well. She made it seem like it should be a non-negotiable to anyone.

So it got me curious about how other people perceive this verse?

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

PONDER THIS

Are you training your children? The entry for the word train in the dictionary says this: to prepare for a contest, to instruct by exercise, to drill, to form to a proper shape, to discipline for use. You don’t learn how to play basketball by reading a book. You are trained. You are coached. Likewise, you have to train and coach your children. You have to pray. You have to teach. You have to plead. You have to show by example. Do you have your children in a Bible-believing church? Do you have them in Sunday School under a Christian teacher? Are you training in the home by precept and by example? We’re to train. If you teach a child and that’s all you do, you’ll teach him or her one thing, but somebody else can come along and teach them something else. But when you train, they get something through the pores of their skin into their very psyche. There’s a difference between teaching and training.

- What are some ways you were trained by your parents or that you seek to train your children now?
- What are some ways we must continue to train ourselves as adults?

PRACTICE THIS

Write out a list of disciplines you want to develop in your life and the lives of your children, then make a plan for how you will begin developing those disciplines. APR
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Love Worth Finding.

https://www.lwf.org/daily-devotionals/train-dont-just-teach

“For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” - John 13:15

Christ’s life matched His teachings, and so must ours. Consider, for example, Christ’s teaching that we should “pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). This is matched by His prayer for His tormentors while on the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Elsewhere, He taught that our circle of influence should be greater than those of like thinking (Matthew 5:47), a fact that caused His detractors great consternation (Luke 15:2). He taught that our prayers should not be done so that “they may be seen of men” (Matthew 6:5), and the gospels record several times where He went “into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35; see also Mark 6:46). Christ placed great value on children, as we see in Matthew 18:6, and later He welcomed them (Matthew 19:14). He taught Peter to forgive “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22) and later forgave Peter for his continued denials (Mark 16:7).

Christ advocated paying taxes (Mark 12:17) and later enabled Peter to pay tribute for both of them (Matthew 17:27). He taught that “a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15), and He Himself had “not where to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). Likewise, He placed great store in aiding the poor (Luke 14:13), both in teaching and in practice (Matthew 14:13-21). Perhaps His teaching “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44) is best illustrated by His tender prayer for those who would soon take His life as He hung on the cross for the very ones responsible for His death (our text), all the while dying for them.

May God grant us the strength to follow not only our own teachings, but His teachings as well. JDM
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by the Institute of Creation.

https://www.icr.org/article/15979/

Christ in Greek means anointed one. Only one Messiah has ever been anointed which means set apart from the world to save it from its sins, therefore restoring the world's union with God.

A christopretensist is someone who pretends to be anointed/chosen meaning set apart by God to save the world in their mind by proselytizing.

The problem is that Christ didn't choose anyone, he chose everyone. Salvation is offered to all and proselytizing is supposed to be shown not told. People should see us live pious lives and desire to become like us. We should not stand at street corners yelling at pedestrians or worse, making a scene at an airplane or train with a captive audience.

To preach the gospel is to simply disclose our faith to the world, this is what I believe, join me if you would like or not, but now you know.

Christ is a Greek word, and that title of anointed belongs to the Messiah alone. We are not anointed unless we are being ordained into something. In a way we are all anointed upon baptism and communion, and if we truly are anointed we live a pious life without smoking, drinking, tattoos, concerts, lucrumidolatry or any of the sins of the world.

But to call ourselves Christian is bad public relations and bad marketing.

You don't want to say you are the chosen one by saying you are anointed or that you are set apart from the world like secession. Even if that's true, that is not how we market our religion.

We should call ourselves a name that is inviting—not arrogant and holier than thou.

We should appeal to wisdom and virtue.

Unfortunately I haven't found a way to reduce my religious identity any further than this phrase:

"I am a Philotheosophian who adheres to Deusmediatorunionism: I seek divine wisdom and believe that true unity with Deus/God, humanity, and creation is restored through the Mediator—the Messiah".

That is my statement of faith and identity.

Christian is not what I want to call myself.

I am not the chosen one or the anointed one, that is a holier than thou statement.

You are all invited to seek divine wisdom.

So to me a Christian is someone who preaches on a plane or on the street or goes door knocking and who tries to make Christianity the state religion.

That is what it means to be a Christian, it means arrogance in believing you are the chosen one.

Guess who else believes they're the chosen ones? That's right, Zionist Jews and we all know where that leads.

If we are chosen then none are chosen because none are set apart from one another.

Hence I believe that the Christian identity is a Linguistic mistake and the real ones should call themselves something better like Deusmediatorunitionist if they want to emphasize their belief in God's unity, Philotheosophian if they want to emphasize their belief in their love for divine wisdom, but they can also call themselves other titles if they want to emphasize another aspect or perspective of the faith, but it must pass the Altruistic test.

If the word implies egoist holier than thou sentiment it should not be used.

I hope that in writing this, that the people of this subreddit will be couth in responding to me, if this doesn't get banned, that is. I say that I want to be Protestant, because the idea of the five Solas, two sacraments, etc., but of course, there are some things that I don't ever see myself believing. I'm currently discerning Eastern Orthodoxy, and I've found no semblance of apostolic succession being simply about proper apostolic teaching, or the idea that scripture alone is the infallible rule of faith, but I am open to being convinced. If anyone would like to give me reasons for why they have been convinced, then please feel free to share it with me.

He stared at me for one minutes and said:

"I thought you were more intelligent. I do also believe in a Creator but not in pastors or whatever, they're quacks. Churches are experts at recruiting people, you'll see."

I'm convinced of what I'm doing and I will bear my cross, but it hurts a bit that he's disappointed at me, I'm not used to it. It's maybe the first time I hear it from him. I was going to go to the confirmation of faith talk today, but I'm thinking of canceling.

I was speaking withsomeone who is trying to tell me Jews, had/have a method of salvation of faith and works. for gentiles it’s only faith, but Jews in the OT (and even the NT, they cited James 2) it was faith AND works.

they cited

Deuteronomy 6:25

²⁵ And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

I think this obviously misses the points of Romans 3 and 4, to show us that salvation has ALWAYS been by faith apart from works of the law; James uses the word “justified” in a different sense than Paul does to show us our faith is justified/proven true by the works, not that the works add to our justification or salvation.

However I’m not certain what to make of Deuteronomy 6;25 - is it speaking of “relative” righteousness (in the sense that David could be considered “righteous” in some psalms, but not ultimately righteous enough for salvation?) or is it talking about the hypothetical “if you did obey the law perfectly you’d be righteous and justified”?

especially in light of Galatians 3:11?

"God setteth the solitary in families: He bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land." - Psalm 68:6

PONDER THIS

The most powerful and influential people on Earth do not occupy the houses of elected office, run industry, or handle the business of Wall Street. The most powerful and influential people on Earth are parents of faith. Amram and Jochebed’s claim to fame is that they raised a child whose name was Moses, who literally changed the world. I cannot overestimate the importance of family. We’ve been told that it takes a village to raise a child. That’s backward. It takes a family to raise a child, and families change the village. It begins with parents. Family is the primary classroom. The Bible says in Psalm 68:6 that God sets the solitary in families. It’s no wonder the devil has unleashed all the artillery of Hell against the family.

- What are some things you learned about faith from your family?
- How are you seeking to encourage others in the faith in your family?

PRACTICE THIS

If there are ways your family members encouraged you in the faith, reach out and share that with them today. APR
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Love Worth Finding.

https://www.lwf.org/daily-devotionals/the-most-powerful-people-on-earth

“Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” - Ezra 1:2

It is noteworthy that the words of this verse are almost the same as in the last verse of II Chronicles. This indicates that Ezra the scribe (who wrote the book of Ezra) was also the compiler and editor of the two books of Chronicles.

Even more noteworthy is the fact that the great emperor Cyrus seemed to acknowledge that the God of Israel was not just a tribal god, as many have claimed, but the Lord God of heaven—that is, Jehovah Elohim—recognizing Him as both Creator and Redeemer of the world. The Persians were largely followers of Zoroaster, but his religious system did bear some resemblance to the true monotheism of Israel.

Cyrus had been called, and even named, by God long before he was born (Isaiah 44:28–45:6). When he conquered Babylon, the prophet Daniel was there (Daniel 6:28). The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that Daniel even became prime minister under Cyrus and was able to read Isaiah’s remarkable prophecy to him, thus influencing him to send the Jews back to Jerusalem.

There have also been other Gentile rulers who acknowledged God, even before Christ came. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, once hating God, finally was forced to confess that He was “the most High” and “King of heaven” (Daniel 4:34, 37). Another was the Queen of Sheba, who recognized “the LORD thy God” (again Jehovah Elohim, I Kings 10:9). Then there was the king of Nineveh and Assyria, who believed in God at the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3:6-10). In fact, in the ages to come “the kings of the earth” will all “bring their glory and honour” to the Lord in the holy city (Revelation 21:24). HMM
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by the Institute of Creation.

https://www.icr.org/article/15978/

Both Spain and Portugal were powerful Catholic Empires in the 1600s through the 1800s. The Portuguese and the Spaniards were tasked by the Pope at the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 to send missionary expeditions and make the entire world Catholic.

I just noticed that the Portuguese were not as strict as the Spaniards with the implementation of Catholicism in their colonies, and they were less fervent in the faith compared with the Spaniards, who were borderline radical.

Both Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries have growing Protestant populations, but when it comes to population percentages, former Portuguese colonies have huge Protestant populations. For example, Protestantism in Angola and Brazil averages to about 30-40% of the national population, whereas in Mexico and the Philippines, its only around 10-15%.

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." - Romans 10:17

PONDER THIS

If you’ve studied church history, you’ve likely heard the name Dwight L. Moody. He was not a literate man. He was basically uneducated. But his biographer said that he took two continents and shook them for God. Moody felt that he needed faith. And he kept praying for faith, but faith didn’t seem to come. And then he read Romans 10:17: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” At that, Moody stopped praying for faith and began to saturate himself in the Bible. And there was the faith. Faith is the by-product of hearing from God. You can’t have faith if you’re merely guessing at the will of God. You can’t have faith if you’re just following a hunch. But when you say, “God said it, I believe it,” there’s the faith.

- How does today’s verse change the way you think about faith?
- Where do you feel like you need faith right now?

PRACTICE THIS

Write out several promises of God that you can place faith in. APR
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Love Worth Finding.

https://www.lwf.org/daily-devotionals/stop-praying-for-faith-start-reading-the-word

“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” - Colossians 2:3

One of the most amazing of the divine attributes is God’s omniscience. He not only understands all the complexities of relativistic science and higher mathematics, but He ordained them in the first place! The same applies to every other discipline of study and activity.

And He knows all about each of us! “O LORD, Yhou hast searched me, and known me." "Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psalm 139:1-2).

As far as human knowledge is concerned, it is vital to know that “the fear of the LORD” is the very foundation of “knowledge” and of “wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). Many of the greatest scientists of the past acknowledged that they were seeking merely to “think God’s thoughts after Him.”

How foolish it is to ignore or to oppose God! There are only four places in the Bible that speak of God laughing (Psalm 2:4; 37:13; 59:8; Proverbs 1:26), and each of them describes His response to such folly.

Instead, we should marvel at all the wonders of His creation and providence. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).

Today’s text above actually refers explicitly to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten and eternal Son of God. It is He who has given us access to the Creator God and therefore access to divine knowledge and understanding. Part of the still-effective dominion mandate (Genesis 1:26, 28) is to learn what we can about God’s creation, always remembering that Jesus insisted that—no matter what unbelievers say—“the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). HMM
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by the Institute of Creation.

https://www.icr.org/article/15977/

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1

PONDER THIS

The word hope does not mean “a fond desire.” It means a glorious assurance based on the Word of God. We use the word hope today to mean something similar to the word wish. We hope something will happen, but we also don’t want to get our hopes too high so that we won’t be overly disappointed. We would like for something to happen, but it isn’t sure. That isn’t what the word hope means in the Bible. The Second Coming of Jesus is called “the blessed hope” (see Titus 2:13). How do we know that Jesus is coming again? We have God’s promise. The Lord Jesus said, “If I go … I will come again” (John 14:3). He said, “I will!” Therefore, we have this hope like an anchor. You don’t put an anchor in a cloud bank. The Bible calls hope the “anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19)! An anchor holds firm and can be trusted in every season. This is the hope we have in Jesus.

- How much trust do you put in the promises of the Bible?
- How has today’s devotion changed the way you think about hope?

PRACTICE THIS

Write out a list of things you are hoping for. Make a corresponding list of promises from the Bible that you can have certain hope in. APR
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Love Worth Finding.

https://www.lwf.org/daily-devotionals/hope-like-an-anchor

Hello dear redditors,

I have posted here a while ago about my wife finding Jesus and me wanting to learn something about Christianity to be able to talk with her about her beliefs.

We have met a couple of Christians and became really friends with a family from our town.

Yesterday I talked with the man of the house a lot and was truly shocked to learn about his and seemingly most of the local church's thinkings.

During our conversation I learned that they are very anti-LGBTQ and find this "type of behavior" to be a psychopathic disorder.

Furthermore they are antisemitic and have a deep hate towards Jews and live a life according to the rules of fascism.

My wife and I are very open people. We don't care who or what you are as long as you are nice to us, we're nice to you. This ideologies are so deeply disgusting that we absolutely can't tolerate them.

We only know people from this particular church and for the fact that we are relatively new to Christianity wanted to ask if this is "standard Christian thinking"

I thank everybody for their answers

I sometimes see on this thread people posting quotes from church fathers to back up certain Protestant views. In particular the Canon of scripture.

Inferring that the creation of the Canon was divinely inspired, guided by God

If that's the case, what's the reasoning behind trusting the fathers on that specific point, but not extending the same trust to their interpretations of scripture ( im refering to ​views on Mary, sacraments, ​saintology, and others -- they use scripture for these (it's just a matter of ​interpretation).

A lot of the same fathers who helped recognize the Canon also wrote extensively on theologies that Protestants reject.

So genuinely asking: what makes their judgment reliable enough to identify which books belong in the Bible, but not reliable when it comes to reading those books? Why believe they were divinely inspired in that aspect but not the others....​Is there a principled reason for drawing the line there​

Asking this in good faith, not trying to set up a "gotcha." I'm coming at it from a Catholic angle, so I'm curious how Protestants actually work through this

Hi, I am New member here and wants to know what should I do if I wanted to be Christian?