by Neil Anderson
July 21
John 1:14
The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth
What effect did the Fall produce in Adam’s mind? He and Eve lost their true perception of reality. We read in Genesis 3:7, 8, that they tried to hide from God. Doesn’t that reveal a faulty understanding of who God is? How can you hide from God? After the Fall, Adam and Eve weren’t thinking straight.
In essence, when Adam and Eve sinned, their minds were robbed of the true knowledge of God. In God’s original design, knowledge was relational. Knowing someone implied an intimate personal relationship. You can see it in Genesis 4:1: “Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived” (KJV). Yet we don’t generally equate a knowledge of someone with personal intimacy.
Before the Fall, Adam and Eve knew God, not sexually of course, but in the intimacy of a close, personal relationship which we associate with marriage. They knew God by being with God. When they sinned and were banished from the garden, Adam and Eve lost their relationship with God and the knowledge of God which was intrinsic to that relationship. And you and I inherited Adam and Eve’s darkened mind. Before Christ, we knew something about God, but we didn’t know God because we had no relationship with Him.
The necessity of being in relationship to God in order to know God comes into sharp focus in John’s announcement: “The Word”– logos in the Greek–“became flesh” (John 1:14). The word logos represented the highest form of philosophical knowledge. For the Greeks, saying that the logos became flesh was the same as saying that ultimate knowledge became personal and relational. God was announcing to the world through John: The true knowledge of God, which can only be discovered in an intimate relationship with God, is now available to the world through God in the flesh–Jesus Christ. In Christ we are able to know God personally, not just know about Him.
Prayer: Lord, I thirst for deeper intimacy in my relationship with You. I want to know You more personally today.
Do You Have Friends You Can Count On? 
In Our Own Image
WHY DO CHURCH LEADERS QUOTE MEN WHO TEACH DOCTRINE CONTRARY TO SCRIPTURE? BY STEVE FINNELL
Why do preachers of the gospel quote men who pervert the Scriptures? Why would you ever quote these men in a positive light? Why would church leaders ever believe men who teach and preach doctrine contrary to Scripture are worthy of being quoted.
Max Lucado Quote: “We never taught–the buzzphrase is baptismal regeneration, where you go into the baptistery lost and come out saved. We never taught that. Now, I am not saying there were not people in our church who believed that…”
Water baptism is essential to salvation. (Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21).
Why would any serious church leader quote Max Lucado in a positive light?
John Piper Quote: “We are not saying that final salvation is unconditional. It is not. We must meet the condition of faith in Christ in order to inherit eternal life. But faith is not a condition for election. Just the reverse. Election is a condition for faith. It is because God chose us before the foundation of the world that he purchases our redemption at the cross and quickens us with irresistible grace and brings us to faith.”
God want all men to be saved and all men have that choice.(2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.)(NKJV)
Why would a preacher of the gospel quote John Piper in a positive light?
Pope Francis Quote: “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the blood of Christ, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists…….”But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: We will meet one another there.”
Good works cannot save anyone. (John 8:24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”)(NKJV)
How is it possible to quote Pope Francis in a positive light?
Billy Graham Quote: “….or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus but they know in their hearts that they need something that that don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think that they are saved, and that they’re going to be in heaven.”
Can you not believe in Jesus and be saved? (John 8:24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”)(NKJV)
Tony Campolo Quote? “going to heaven is like going to Philadelphia… There are many ways…It doesn’t make any difference how we go there. We all end up in the same place.(Carpe Diem: Seize the Day, 1994 pages 85-88)
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.(NKJV)
Why would preachers and teachers of the gospel quote men in a positive light who pervert the gospel of Christ?
Why not just quote Scriptures?
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Some of this is correct, but some is not.
You are way off base with the comment that water baptism is required for salvation. It most certainly is NOT required. The verses you quote are used out of context.
Go back and study the what the Bible says on baptism. Baptism is commanded us by Christ, but the Bible does not say it is required for salvation. The proof text of salvation is Ephesians 2:8-9 and there is no mention of baptism. Baptism is merely a symbol, an important one yes but a symbol still. Baptism is the outward symbol of the internal transaction between a person and Jesus Christ. The proof that baptism is NOT required is in Acts 10 where Peter was speaking to Cornelius and others the Holy Spirit was given to all who were listening, and they were baptized- AFTER receiving the Holy Spirit. If these folks were not saved, they assuredly would not have received the Holy Spirit. There are other instances of this as well, check out this article on that: http://carm.org/baptized-filled-with-the-holy-spirit
I have had this conversation with so many people, baptism is not required to be saved! Only Jesus is! Say a baby dies without being baptized, by your logic that baby would go to hell, not true!
As far as John Piper goes, well he was right. Man does have free will, we are free to choose Christ or not as we decide. But might I remind you that at the same time God is omniscient, therefore despite our having free will, God already knows who will choose Him and who will not, therefore He knows who the elect are. I would not word it the way John did but he is basically correct. None can come to Father unless they are called, that is in the Bible as well.
Open your heart to the Scriptures and I believe you will come to see these things.
Blessings
Greg