[jlisenbe]

Unconventionnl or unconventional??? Kidding!


God's love is, in a sense, unconditional. His acceptance of us is not.

[Wondergirl]

un·con·ven·tion·al

ADJECTIVE

• not based on or conforming to what is generally done or believed:
  "his unconventional approach to life"
  SIMILAR:
• unusual
• irregular
  unorthodox
  unfamiliar
  uncommon
  unwonted
  rare
  out of the ordinary
  atypical
  singular
  distinctive
  individual
  individualistic
  free-spirited
  alternative
  different
  new
  fresh

* Unlike any other god that has been or is being worshipped *

[waltero]

Then the person needs to change his/her answer

Really, Really? Who are you that I should listen to, rather than God?
You proclaim that the Word is dead (I'll use your own reasoning...If it isn't alive it's dead). You are welcome to blabber all you like. I am through entertaining your dribble... you're too smart for me.

WG says,

"Yes, I have experienced that."

What will it take for you to understand? You just don't get it.
The only time Jesus ever spoke about God's love was when he was alone with his disciples. Yet here we are declaring "unconditional Love. Hey everybody, God loves you and he loves you unconditionally." Good Idea! Yes, everybody gets that (don't they?). They will surely understand God's love now. If you preach God's love to those who have never experienced "God's love"...you're wasting your breath! They will never understand, being that they have never experienced "God's Love." We seem to have summed up the Bible with one Verse that explains God's love perfectly. Now we have Homosexuals and other blatant sinners wanting, demanding that the Church accept them...because if God accepts them unconditionally, then the Church must accept them unconditionally too. Our understanding of God's love is askew. We can never understand God's love. it is so far beyond our understanding. God's love is all about..."Show me." It's a life. God Spoke it we are to live it.

We know your Idea of God's Love has gone Askew, Being that many of you believe a Loving God would never condemn his subjects. What do they know about God's love? God loves them enough to let them go...when they want nothing to do with him or his love. They seek death, God gives them what they desire...He's a good good God. God said; We are God's and we will die a human death. We are currently separated from God. Some people would have it no other way.

[Wondergirl]

Ah, waltero, you hate the LGBTQ+ community. Now I understand!!!

God accepts you the way YOU are, doesn't He? Like that well-known hymn says, "Just as I am, without one plea...."

[jlisenbe]

You proclaim that the Word is dead (I'll use your own reasoning...If it isn't alive it's dead).

You're making things up again, otherwise known as lying.

I cannot help a person who is given to lying and will not acknowledge his own mistakes.

The only time Jesus ever taught about God's love was when he was alone with his disciples

Now that is an interesting comment. It's not correct, since the comment about the love of God spoken of by Christ in John 3 was directed to Nicodemus, not His disciples. Still, it's interesting that in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus never refers to God's love for people other than in Luke 11:42. However, God's love is a major theme of Romans, so unless we want to just ignore part of the NT, we must acknowledge (celebrate!!) God's love for man.

[jlisenbe]

Now we have Homosexuals and other blatant sinners wanting, demanding that the Church accept them...because if God can accept them unconditionally, then the Church must accept them.

Another interesting comment. It does illustrate the difference between God's love and God's acceptance. However, what difference is there between a man who has sex with other men and a man who routinely lies on an internet message board? And I say that with no meanness at all. It's just very worth considering.

God accepts you the way YOU are, doesn't He?

No, he doesn't, but the rest of your statement explains the key element.

Like that well-known hymn says, "Just as I am, without one plea...."

You have, for whatever reason, left off the next words. "But that thy blood was shed for me." And there is the key for God's acceptance. The sinner who accepts the sacrifice of Christ has a great plea, but that, however, is very much conditional.

[Wondergirl]

Christ's blood was shed for me before I accepted Him as my Savior. He loved me even before I was born.

[waltero]

God accepts you the way YOU are, doesn't He?

No. Mainly because I could never allow God to accept me the way I am. I love him and I want to be like him. He is my Father and I want everybody to know it!!! I can't accept myself the way I am. I trust God is transforming me into his likeness...that I like. I want to show my Dad that I love him, and I choose to go to him when he cries for me.

Ah, waltero, you hate the LGBTQ

You simply take the easy way out. I don't hate anybody. I love my Niece (which is now my nephew). I love my Brother and his male spouse. I do support them but I can never promote their way of life.

Now, do you understand? - There is no explaining God's love to somebody who has never experienced God's love.

[jlisenbe]

All of that is true, but it still requires a person placing their faith in Christ. Either that, or John 3:16 needs to be removed from the Bible. And that acceptance is certainly a condition.

When did you accept Christ as your Savior?

[Wondergirl]

At 3 weeks of age. Baptism.

[jlisenbe]

Infant baptism is never described as a placing of faith in Christ. A three week old cannot believe.

[Wondergirl]

• Mark 10:14 “Let the children come to me; because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
• Isaiah 40:11 “Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock, gathering the lambs in his arms, hugging them as he carries them”
• Ephesians 5:1-2 “Mostly what God does is love you.”
• 1 John 3:5 “Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.”
• 1 Peter 3:21 “And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Many Christian traditions that support infant baptism do so because they understand baptism to be the New Covenant equivalent of circumcision. Just as circumcision joined Old Testament Hebrews to the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants, baptism is believed to join a person to the New Covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ. This view is based on the apostle Paul’s statement in Colossians 2:11–12: “When you came to Christ, you were ‘circumcised,’ but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead” (NLT).
https://www.gotquestions.org/infant-baptism.html

[waltero]

Oh Brother. Here you guys go again.

WG, I could say the same thing about you.

Ah, WG, you hate the LGBTQ+ community. Now I understand!!!

Promoting such behavior is doing greater harm...nothing doing with the love of God. It's all you.

[Wondergirl]

Infant baptism is never described as a placing of faith in Christ. A three week old cannot believe.

God created faith in me.

Oh Brother. Here you guys go again.

WG, I could say the same thing about you. Promoting such behavior is doing greater harm...nothing doing with the love of God. It's all you.

As you said, "There is no explaining God's love to somebody who has never experienced God's love."

[waltero]

God created faith in me.

God isn't going to do it for you.

That's why it's a living Faith.

As you said, "There is no explaining God's love

Then why do you and other God-haters understand it as - I don't want to trust in a God that is capable of condemning?

[Wondergirl]

God isn't going to do it for you.

That's why it's a living Faith.

Boy, you definitely missed confirmation and Bible classes!

The Holy Spirit works faith in us, even in babies.

[jlisenbe]

• Mark 10:14 “Let the children come to me; because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

• There is no indication they were coming to be saved.

• Isaiah 40:11 “Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock, gathering the lambs in his arms, hugging them as he carries them”

  No connection there with salvation at all.

• Ephesians 5:1-2 “Mostly what God does is love you.”

  That is not at all what that text says, and I'm amazed you would put that in quotes.

  1 John 3:5 “Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.”

  No support at all for infant baptism.

• 1 Peter 3:21 “And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

  So you made an appeal to God for a good conscience at the age of three weeks? I don't think that's true.

The second paragraph is just speculation.

Can you give a single instance in the NT describing an infant being baptized? I'd hate to have my eternal security resting upon a theory that is nowhere stated in the Bible.

[Wondergirl]

So you are saying it's a waste of water to baptize babies and small children. God doesn't care about them.

• There is no indication they were coming to be saved.

• What were they coming for?

[jlisenbe]

So you are saying it's a waste of water to baptize babies and small children. God doesn't care about them.

I'm saying there is no indication in the NT that baptizing infants results in a Christian conversion. But if there is, then post the text.

What were they coming for?

What does the passage say? "so that He might touch them"

I'll say it again with all due concern for you. I'd hate to have my eternal security resting upon a theory that is nowhere stated in the Bible.

[Wondergirl]

Can you give a single instance in the NT describing an infant being baptized? I'd hate to have my eternal security resting upon a theory that is nowhere stated in the Bible.

That's why two sponsors promise to help the parents raise the child in a God-loving way.

Your eternal security???