and yet John 20:31 says; these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 8:43 is NOT literal Jack, it is metaphorical in context. Obviously those men could HEAR, they just didn't comprehend Jesus' message, just as all those who heard His parables did not comprehend, as shown in v 27.
I think we agree on that Stan for different reasons. It isn't metaphorical at all. But the Greek word AKOUW, means to hear and comprehend. There is another Greek word that means simply to hear something that is not a message, but that is not this word. So, they heard the Lord's words, but could not understand them.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. "[/I]
You believe this group was a group of Christian believers? WOW! Did you read the passage? Jesus said to them that were enslaved to sin (v34-35). They sought to kill the Lord Jesus (v37, 40). Jesus said of them that they were doing the deeds of their father Satan, the father of all lies. How in the world do you think these are believers in Christ? It says in verse 30 that they came to "believe" in him, but I don't think for a moment it was belief in his redemption. They were Jews who believed that He was the Jewish messiah who would come with an army to throw off the schakles of Roman oppression. But they certainly were not Christian believers. I can't believe you believe that. Do you honesty think Christians would seek to kill Jesus and would accuse Him of being demon possessed?
[quote="Remember Jack you can't cherry pick verses, you have to use the ENTIRE Bible to understand Jesus and God.
Here are a few more scriptures for you to THINK about.
Romans 1:17
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Col 1:6
that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
[/quote]
Excellent verses. Okay this is my first attempt at using BB codes, what am I doing wrong?