Not Holy Spirit filled, Give Message in Tongues?

[TRFrance]

Originally Posted by scotty

49And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.

Don't know if maybe "because he followeth not with us" means the person did know Jesus or just simply was not a dicsiple.

I've always taken it to mean they were not one of his 12 disciples.

[Timmy]

Originally Posted by TRFrance

Well, judging from what I've seen you say before on this forum, you dont even take the Bible to be the inspired word of God.

So how much can you expect God to reveal to you from his Word when you approach his Word with such skepticism to begin with?

Nothing, apparently. So, one must approach the Bible without skepticism? And one is somehow expected to know this up front? And that it's OK to be skeptical about some things, like the Quran, teachings of Buddha, science books (if they teach evolution ), etc., in fact, everything except for the Bible?

Mmmmkay.

[chseeads]

Originally Posted by Timmy

Nothing, apparently. So, one must approach the Bible without skepticism? And one is somehow expected to know this up front? And that it's OK to be skeptical about some things, like the Quran, teachings of Buddha, science books (if they teach evolution ), etc., in fact, everything except for the Bible?

Mmmmkay.

That sounds like you have no concept at all of Faith.

[TRFrance]

Originally Posted by Timmy

Nothing, apparently. So, one must approach the Bible without skepticism? And one is somehow expected to know this up front? And that it's OK to be skeptical about some things, like the Quran, teachings of Buddha, science books (if they teach evolution ), etc., in fact, everything except for the Bible?

Mmmmkay.

Many non-believers approach the Word of God with a sense of skepticism. I can understand that. I have no problem with critical thinking; that's not the issue.

But lets not kid ourselves here, Tim.
You havent merely "approached the bible with skepticism". You have concluded that the Bible is not the word of God.

Big difference.

[Timmy]

Originally Posted by chseeads

That sounds like you have no concept at all of Faith.

I understand faith. I just think I should have some basis of deciding in what or whom to place my faith, other than someone saying "because I said so" (and it has to be the right "someone").

Thomas believed only after seeing. Jesus reprimanded him and said those who believe without seeing would be blessed. Well, you could say exactly the same thing about any religion, could you not? How is the man on the street supposed to distinguish? Is it by fruit? What fruit does the OP movement have that's better than those so-called false religions? Someone here said (paraphrasing) they know some very nice and moral and loving Mormons, but their "fruit" was bogus, since it wasn't from the Holy Spirit (the Mormons not being of the true Apostolic faith). So, how is fruit supposed to be judged? The man on the street has no way of knowing good fruit from bad, apparently. He's expected to accept or reject it based, not on the fruit itself, but on the source of the fruit! That makes no sense!

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by Stephen Hoover

Let me try to reword this.

Are any of the gifts of the Spirit evidence of the Holy Spirit in the individual's life?

For those who have said some of these can be faked - I agree.

Yes they are evidence. However that does not mean any of them are an initial sign.

[Timmy]

Originally Posted by TRFrance

Many non-believers approach the Word of God with a sense of skepticism. I can understand that. I have no problem with critical thinking; that's not the issue.

But lets not kid ourselves here, Tim.
You havent merely "approached the bible with skepticism". You have concluded that the Bible is not the word of God.

Big difference.

That's the camp I'm in now, after nearly 50 years of faith. I don't deny it. I am still open, believe it or not. But so far, I'm not seeing much to confirm the Bible's infallibility or inspiration. Maybe I should change my handle to "Tommy".

[TRFrance]

Originally Posted by Timmy

I understand faith. I just think I should have some basis of deciding in what or whom to place my faith, other than someone saying "because I said so" (and it has to be the right "someone").

Thomas believed only after seeing. Jesus reprimanded him and said those who believe without seeing would be blessed. Well, you could say exactly the same thing about any religion, could you not? How is the man on the street supposed to distinguish? Is it by fruit? What fruit does the OP movement have that's better than those so-called false religions? Someone here said (paraphrasing) they know some very nice and moral and loving Mormons, but their "fruit" was bogus, since it wasn't from the Holy Spirit (the Mormons not being of the true Apostolic faith). So, how is fruit supposed to be judged? The man on the street has no way of knowing good fruit from bad, apparently. He's expected to accept or reject it based, not on the fruit itself, but on the source of the fruit! That makes no sense!

Well Tim, if you're waiting for the heavens to open and God to send you an angel for you to believe, that's probably not gonna happen.

I normally dont waste a lot of time talking with such "skeptics", especially if they've had an experience with God before, and now have rejected it. No one has the right to hear the gospel over and over again, when there are still so many who've never heard it once yet.

Too many people use "skepticism" as a crutch -- an excuse NOT to believe. No matter what, they always find a reason not to believe, a reason to sit on the sidelines being a skeptic. They dont believe simply because they dont want to, and in some cases actually like poking holes in other people's faith. These people will have no excuse the day they stand before God.

[TRFrance]

Originally Posted by Timmy

That's the camp I'm in now, after nearly 50 years of faith. I don't deny it. I am still open, believe it or not. But so far, I'm not seeing much to confirm the Bible's infallibility or inspiration. Maybe I should change my handle to "Tommy".

Tim, maybe if you didn't seem to take on such a mocking, almost condescending, tone when speaking of the Bible and Christianity, some of us might be more open to discussing the matter with you.

But you know that scripture passage about casting pearls before swine.... some of us Christians do take that verse to heart. Most believers dont want to discuss faith with someone who despises something they hold dear to them.

[Timmy]

Sorry for the mocking tone and almost condescension, but do you have any substantive response to my posts? How about my observations about fruit? Any help for that man on the street I mentioned?