what is faith?

If Jesus' sacrifice was a once and for action ... doing anything that seeks to forgive us of our sins with a repeated nature does one of two things

1. States we never had faith

2. States Jesus alone is not enough, thus 1 still

How does this apply to certain church denominations

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who is abraham's seed?

First read Genesis 12 and Genesis 13 to find the section where God is promising Abraham about his descendants.

Next read Galatians 3:15-21: When Abraham was promised the land to be inhabited by his descendants, there is a correction: Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ.

Using the concordance link (left sidebar) read again the parts you found in Genesis, specifically the word descendants (Strong's number 2233).

So what appears to have occurred is the translation has caused the word seed to be read as a plural (more than one item) rather than the single (only one item).  This is similar to how we use the word sheep or fish. According to the correction made in Galatians, who is the seed?

Therefore, if the same word is being used in Genesis 15 and Genesis 22, then their meanings will need to be reexamined.

Perform the same concordance research and look for the sections that speak of God's promises when he uses the analogies of stars and sand.

Now to gain an understanding of what God was really promising Abraham:

1. Write out the following quote from Gen 22:17-18 "indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore ; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
2. Replace the word descendants with the answer to who the seed is
3. Reading the sentence like this sounds a bit weird so you will need to discover how a few other Hewbrew words translate (highlighted)
4. Use the meaning which makes sense in the new context
5. Feel free to look at any other words you need to

When I did it, it came out as follows:

"Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will make  Jesus mighty.  He will be as the stars of the heavens and the sand on the seashore.  He will possess the gate of the enemy.  In Jesus all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because My voice was obeyed."

Now read John 10:1-8 and John 11:52 from the new testament.  Remember to read the surrounding text for context.  Does anything sound familiar about God's promise?

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are you an intecessor?

An intercessor as defined in church terminology is a person who goes to God on behalf of someone else (e.g. in prayer or request) to seek something for them. It is generally understood that intercession is a God-given calling or role.

But is this true?

Are only some people called to be intercessors or is it the responsibility of all of God’s people?  Indeed, is intercession a special gift at all?

• What does Paul mean when he asks the church of Ephesus to be persistent in their prayers for all believers everywhere (Eph 6)?
• If Paul is considered an intercessor why would he ask for others to pray for him too (Eph 6:19; Col 4:3; 1Thes 5:25; Heb 13:18)?
• What does Paul mean when he asks Timothy to pray for all people, to ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them?  Or to encourage people generally to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy (1Tim 2:1-8)?
• What about Jesus asking us to pray for those who are against us (Mt 5:44)?
• Why are we asked to pray for one another at all (Jam 5:16)?

If it true that God send his Spirit to some key chosen people, why is it that Jesus sent God’s Spirit to all believers so all could understand God’s will and interact with him personally and directly?  If God is trying to communicate with all his people, then it is possible for anyone to reveal what God wants, to intercede.

Yet, regardless of all this, the one thing above all we must remember is that there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.

And as such, how did Jesus intercede?  He took on the sins of people so they could be forgiven, no longer to be punished for them.  He took on the responsibility for what others had done, so they would not becausevthey could not.

Is this the kind of intercession we see in the church?  This willingness to be sacrificed so others may lice.

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