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Discipleship in heaven?

Discussion in '2003 Archive' started by Joseph_Botwinick, Sep 14, 2003.

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  1. Joseph_Botwinick

    Joseph_Botwinick <img src=/532.jpg>Banned

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    My pastor is doing lessons from the Purpose Driven Life during his sermons (truthfully, the part that bothers me the most is that Rick Warren's book seems to have replaced the Bible for him in his sermons. He never seems to open his Bible anymore). In his sermon tonight, he was talking about what our purpose in life was. One of them is discipleship, which I agree. We need to do discipleship. But, he took that a step further and stated that he thought we would have discipleship in heaven since we would not know still everything about God at that point. At that moment, 1 Corinthians 13 came to mind and I looked it up on my own. Here is what I saw:

    11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

    (1 Corinthians 13:11-12)

    Now the way I understand this is that when we get to heaven, we will see God face to face and know him fully even as we are known. So I went to him in private after church and pointed this out to him. He said that yes we would know God fully in heaven but not right away. That it would take a long time. I don't think this is taught in the Bible. Does anyone know if it is. He didn't give any Biblical support for his view.

    Joseph Botwinick
     
    #1 Joseph_Botwinick, Sep 14, 2003
  2. gb93433

    gb93433 Active Member
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    Why have discipleship in heaven? We will be with the savior face to face.

    I am in full agreement with you.

    But sometimes our mind doesn't work so clearly. So I would just let some time passs and see what happens.
     
    #2 gb93433, Sep 15, 2003
  3. Watchman

    Watchman New Member

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    Joseph: I agree wholeheartedly with you about discipleship and heaven, more on that in a little bit. My first concern was what you said, "He hardly ever opens his Bible anymore." This sent up a red flag in my mind also. I can't speak here about this book, because I haven't read it. But, however good a book written by a man is, it is still, well, a book written by a man. To use any other book and neglect the one that was God breathed may be a very serious matter in deed.
    Also, back to the discipleship issue, it does seem as though he is stretching this to unbiblical limits. The passage you gave is an excellent one. I also thought of Jer. 31:34 and Heb. 8:11. These speak of a time when people will no longer say to another, "Know ye the Lord, for they shall know Me already." Sounds like God can do any further instructing that needs to be done from then on!
     
    #3 Watchman, Sep 15, 2003
  4. ScottEmerson

    ScottEmerson Active Member

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    I looked over the book and could not find where Warren says this. He says, in the book (p. 176-7)

    You are a work in progress. Your spiritual transformation in developing the character of Jesus will take the rest of your life, and even then it won't be completed here on earth. It will only be finished when you get to heaven or when Jesus returns. At that point, whatever unfinished work on your character that is left will be wrapped up. The Bible says that when we are able to see Jesus perfectly, we will become perfectly like him: "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." (I John 3:2)

    SEC
     
    #4 ScottEmerson, Sep 15, 2003
  5. Joseph_Botwinick

    Joseph_Botwinick <img src=/532.jpg>Banned

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    Scott,

    Please don't hear me as blaming Rick Warren for the abberant theology. I have read and studied his stuff for years and I think he is fairly doctrinally sound. I probably have some minor disagreements with him, but that is all. My problem is not even with his program, but with how it is being carried out. I think this is probably something my pastor came up with on his own.

    Joseph Botwinick
     
    #5 Joseph_Botwinick, Sep 15, 2003
  6. greatday

    greatday New Member

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    I hate it when Pastors don't know God themselves or His word and have to become clones of somebody else to feed or teach the sheep. Empty words from dead men are still empty. Words that come from the Holy Spirit have life in them and give miracles to those who accept them!
     
    #6 greatday, Sep 16, 2003
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