Importance of Original Sin

I did:

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When Paul spoke to the Corinthians, he wasn't just talking about the Corinthians. If he had wanted to specify Corinthians only he could have said "you". I'm sure that even your self-servingly narrow interpretation means other Christians besides Corinthians, so whom he was addressing is irrelevant. He said "anyone" and I'll take it as written - he meant "anyone".

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Again, "to" is not "about". What makes you think what Paul said to the Corinthians wouldn't also apply to the Ephesians or the Galatians or anybody else who had the same problems? So we're back to what it means to "call on Jesus", to "believe in Him", to "follow Him". It means to do what He wants you to do, not just to join an organization that mouths, "Lord! Lord!" So you are either a sheep or a goat. Being persuaded is not the same as knowing.

Not at all. I'm just talking about what the Bible says. You should have added verses 8 and 9:

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Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.

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"Confessing Him" doen't mean empty profession of belief. It means doing His will, loving thy neighbour. I have said we should fear the creation that He uses as His instrument. We should also fear its natural consequences whether He deliberately aims them at us or not.

There is simply some misunderstanding here. The "what makes you think ... etc" is totally unnecessary as I did not state what you state.In fact I clearly said the letter was to and about all those who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is their Lord and our Lord.This would include the churches in Galatia and the church in Ephesus too. In fact they did circulate the apostle Paul's letters. Call can simply mean call out loud.Ideally calling would be accompanied by walking with Him. With that I have no complaint. But all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.Men begin to call upon the name of Jehovah in the fourth generation of mankind with Enosh. And Enoch walked with God. So to call normally should result with walking with the One on whom you have called.But anyone who cries out " O Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus, Lord I call on You." with the heart to contact the Lord will not be put to shame in his effort to touch the living Lord.No, preaching " Jesus is not Lord and Jesus is not risen from the dead" and helping old ladies across the street is not calling on the Lord. The sheep and goats don't address the Lord until they see Him in His glory with the holy angels. At that time it hits them that Deity is a Man - the Son of Man. "Lord, when did we ... ? " Now "sheep" is used for different groups in the Bible. Certainly, John 10 us all about the sheep who are the disciples of Christ.But in the Old Testament it says that all the nations are the sheep of His hand. I know that I have eternal life.
I am persuaded that Christ is able to complete His work of grace in me.Sounds like you are just hunting for a disagreement.All very theologically liberal interpretations of the New Testament like Matthew 25:31-46. I was raised in the liberal Presbyterianism with its social gospel and "What are you doing for the PEOPLE?" attitude.Look, I am not saying don't be charitable to the sick, the poor, the hungry, the naked, the inprisoned. If you want to take the passage as an inspiration to do the kind of work the Salvation Army does, that is good.I do not mean to dampen your incentive to generosity in any way.However, if you want to teach me that the new covenant established in His blood (Matthew 26:26-30) is not necessary because we can be charitable and therefore erase all our sins, then I point out your misunderstanding.So the application of the passage to be inspired to be generous I would never oppose.An interpretation that the passage renders Christ's redemptive death and resurrection unnecessary, I would oppose.The latter is the preaching of "another Jesus" - a Jesus of merely humanitarian social works of charity.When the church is raptured, (at least a remnant of the church) the dispensation changes in this transitional time going into the next age.In either age and in any age, salvation is obtained when men are justified according to God's standard of righteousness. It is not according to man's standard but according to God's standard.IE. If there is a divine judgment on a building and God says to take the window out, and you go out of the door instead, you have not been justified according to God's standard.If God says that the building is going to be judged, "Now take the DOOR out," but you try to take the WINDOW out, you have not done what God has required.Justification is according to God's way He says you will be justified. It is not according to the way YOU decide YOU will be justified before God.This is what Cain had to learn and what Abel knew. Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

Verses 8 and 9 then. Let's add them as you want:

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" But I will show you whom you should fear: fear Him who, after killing, has authority to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, fear this One. (v.5)

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Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? And not one of them is forgotten before God. (v.6)

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But even the hairs of your head have all been numbered. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (v.7)

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Moreover, I tell you, everyone who confesses in Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess in him before the angels of God; (v.8)

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But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. "(v.8)

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Now what is the point you have about verses 8 and 9 ? Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

That isn't what Jesus said:

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Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

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It all comes down to doing. Matthew 25 is clear about what God's way is, despite your attempts to worm your way out of the judgement.I've asked you before, if you're responsible for your own sins, what possible reason can there be for even mentioning Adam's sins?

This will go a lot quicker if you actually read what I write:

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"Confessing Him" doen't mean empty profession of belief. It means doing His will, loving thy neighbour. Message 482

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It will go even quicker if I run with my initial impression. You have no valid point. Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

You have several choices: you can pretend to miss the point, you can run away saying, "No point! No point!" or you can actually address the point.Edited by ringo, : Added missing quotation mark.

Im of the strong opinion that Matthew 25 means that "works" or what we do is a natural fruit of the Spirit...not necessary for salvation thanks to the gift of Grace...but a logical task among those hoping for a future with Jesus in control.to jaywill: I understand totally the Gospel of Grace brought forth by Paul and I am not going to attempt to be arrogant enough to brush him off or blame the redactors...to Ringo: I agree that works are a normal fruit of the spirit but wont go so far as to claim that we will be judged solely on what we do. Trust Him first....then do good works because you love Him so much...not because He is gonna give you a promotion for brown nosing. (Unbelievers take note: You have an advantage because its impossible for you to brown nose a non existent Boss. It migt be wise to never assume that you are the boss or are in charge, however. Strange things may happen! ) Edited by Phat, : No reason given.

Calling on the name of the Lord means calling on the name of the Lord.
Calling on the name of the Lord does not mean - "give to the poor and don't open your mouth."No can say "My calling on the name of the Lord is feeding the hungry and not calling out to God." This is delusional.Saul, when he was persecuting the church was dragging men and women out of houses because he heard them calling out to the Lord Jesus. He heard them in the houses calling "Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus we love You! O Lord Jesus!". He heard the name Jesus being spoken, being prayed to, being called upon.Ananias said to God -

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"Lord, I have heard from many concerning this man, how many evil things he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Your name." (Acts 9:13,14)

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Ananias didn't complain that Saul had authority to bind all who were giving alms to the poor. Ananias was afraid of this man who HEARD people calling "Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus!" and would bind them, probably threatening them to shut up, and doing "many evil things" to them.Ananias knew that Saul hated to hear people calling "Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus we love You!". If the Christians kept their mouths closed and just clothed the naked, Saul might not be able to identify them.Saul had a bad reputation for harassing the calling on Jesus people.

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And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is this not the one who ravaged those who call upon this name in Jerusalem ... (Acts 9:21)

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Whether the Christians gave alms and fed the hungry is beside the point. I of course believe that they did. But Saul's reputation was not about him binding people who gave alms. His reputation was about persecution people who CALLED on the NAME of Jesus.

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... Is this not the one who ravaged those who call upon this name in Jerusalem and came here for this, that he might bring them bound before the chief priests?

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Saul hated the name of Jesus. He hated even more the mention of "the Lord Jesus". And he would listen to hear what was going on inside the houses. If he heard them calling out to or praying to or praising Jesus, he would drag the callers out, bind them, and take them to Jerusalem to be punished.Calling on the name of God is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible. And no one should substituted "calling" with the word "giving charity".In Psalm 116 the psalmist says that he loved Jehovah because Jehovah HEARS HIS VOICE.

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"I love Jehovah because He hears My voice, my supplications, Because He inclines His ear to me;

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Therefore I will call upon Him all my days." (Psalm 116:1,2)

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If you have not yet discovered that God hears your VOICE when you call upon God then you are in for a great adventure.The Psalmist LOVED God because of his discovery - "You know, GOD hears my voice !!" He was so excited about this revelation that he said he would call on God all His days. Then he gives an example:

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"The bonds of death encompassed me, and the distresses of Sheol fell upon me; I fell upon trouble and sorrow. But I called upon the name of Jehovah, O Jehovah, I pray; deliver my soul.

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Jehovah is gracious and righteous, Indeed our God is compassionate. Jehovah preserves the simple: I was brought low, and He saved me." (Psalm 116:3-6)

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The man was "simple" . The man did the practical thing when he was in trouble. He called upon the name of God. And he even gave us an example - "O Jehovah, I pray, deliver my soul." Do not listen to any garbage like " I am too busy doing good deeds to the needy. I don't open my mouth to call on God." Calling on the name of the Lord brings man out of the fallen nature to touch God's Spirit. This empowers. This enables. This supplies man with life.The Psalmist goes on about calling is like drinking in God from a cup of salvation.

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"What shall I return to Jehovah for all His benefits towards me? I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of Jehovah. I will pay my vows to Jehovah, in the presence of all His people." (vs.12,13)

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The grateful psalmist does not say only that he will pay his vows in return. He says first that he will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of Jehovah. He will DRINK in salvation. He will drink in the Spirit of God. How will he drink in salvation ? He will drink in salvation from every kind of trouble, by CALLING on the NAME of Jehovah God.And the New Testament saints lifted up the cup of salvation and CALLED upon the name of the Lord Jesus. They discovered that God HEARD their voice when they called "O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus we call out to You. Lord Jesus we praise You." More ...

Psalms never mentions or refers to Jesus.You are just making shit up again and rewriting the Bible to suit your fantasies.As my dear mama said: It ain't what you say it is what you do that counts. Jesus himself said that calling Lord Lord don't count.

Calling on the name of the Lord means just that - CALLING on the NAME of the Lord. Calling on the NAME of the Jesus. It was THIS name - the name of Jesus, that Saul heard people call, and persecuted them.

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"Is not this the one who ravaged those who call upon THIS NAME in Jerusalem ... ?" (Acts 9:21)

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In fact when Saul became a Christrian, the man who baptized him charged him to call upon the very name that he had been persecuting people for calling.

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" And now, why do you delay? Rise up and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His [Jesus'] name." (Acts 22:16)

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To wash away his sins Saul was admonished to CALL upon the name of Jesus Christ. He was to be baptized in the name of Jesus and CALL upon the name of Jesus. Formerly, he persecuted all who called upon the name of Jesus.The prophet Jeremiah speaks of calling on the name of God as breathing. We know that if you do not breath you will not get oxygen into your blood stream. Very shortly you will die if your blood gets no oxygen. The spiritual man must breath too. He breaths by calling on the name of God.

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Lamentations 3:55-56 indicates that calling upon the name of the Lord is equivalent to our spiritual breathing. I called upon Your Name, O Jehovahdo not hide Your ear at my breathing, at my cry. Our physical breathing is incessant and necessary for sustaining our biological life. As we exhale, the negative element is released, while inhaling fresh oxygen is supplying our system. How much more is the spiritual breath needed to maintain our vitality with the Lord. This may really be the way the apostle Paul unceasingly prayed (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

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Calling on the Lord

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Calling " Lord Jesus " is for "breathing" in the Holy Spirit. To call on the name of Jesus is to call upon God.Saul, before he was the Apostle Paul, was a strict Pharisee. He knew a lot about God of the Old Testament. And he would never blaspheme God for he was pious as a Jew. But after he became a disciple of Jesus he realized that his persecution of the name of Jesus was his \[b\]blasphemy.\[b\]

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" .. He [Christ Jesus] has counted me faithful, appointing me to the ministry, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insulting person; ..." ( See 1 Timothy 1:12,13)

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A blasphemer is one who blasphemes God, and a persecutor is one who persecutes man. Saul of Tarsus, a strict Pharisee (Acts 22:3; Phil. 3:4-5), could never have blasphemed God. But he did speak evilly of the Lord Jesus. Here he confessed that this was blasphemy. This indicates that he believed in he deity of Christ. [RcV Footnote, 1 Tim. 1:13(1)]

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Paul became a caller and one who breaths in the Holy Spirit. Then the God he had learned about so much could now get INTO him. If you call " O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus I receive You. Thank You Lord Jesus " God will get into your being. If you call on the Lord Jesus call on the name of Jesus confessing even some of your known sins, Christ will wash away your sins. This is very practical.

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" And now, why do you delay? Rise up and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His [Jesus'] name." (Acts 22:16)

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So Paul wrote in the most basic book on Christian doctrine, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved -

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But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith which we proclaim,

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That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; (Rom. 10:9)

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Someone will say "But I am not interested in my personal being SAVED. I just want to give alms to the poor."There is no reason why being SAVED by the Lord Jesus cannot mean also being SAVED from selfishness, stringiness, indifference. We need to be saved from eternal perdition. We also need daily to be saved from many other things. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord with the MOUTH as to the Christ Who has been raised from the dead, will be saved.We need to be saved from ourselves. We need to be saved from the fallen Adam nature. We need even to be saved from religion and doing things just out of religious duty and not out of fervent love for God.The MOUTH is involved in calling "O Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus I believe that You are risen from the dead. "

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"That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (v.9)
For with the heart there is believing unto righteousness, and with the mouth there is confession unto salvation. (v.10)
For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on Him shall not be put to shame. (v.11)
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him; (v.12)
For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (v.13)

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I have learned that critics against calling on the Lord Jesus are quick to refer immediately to Matthew 7:21,22. Many times the hidden motive is opposition to the Jesus the Son of God outright. But it is done in a seemingly biblical way.Such people usually want to establish a false dichotomy - Don't Call on Jesus but Rather give alms to the poor. But to overcome the fallen selfish nature you should even more CALL upon the Lord's name to be empowered to overcome.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

You might have a fallen nature but not all of us are fallen and we can still get it up.

Related to calling on the name of Jesus is also calling to the God the Father as "Abba Father". Both use the mouth. Both are using the voice and the human spirit to reach out to God.Some may want to read "giving alms and doing good deeds" wherever they see "call on God." But this could just be the subtle serpent's way of denying God or claiming independence from God.Paul writes about the Christians calling also "Abba Father, Abba Father" which is a calling on God as "daddy" or "Pappa".

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"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery bringing you into fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba Father!

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The Spirit Himself bears witness with out spirit that we are children of God." (Romans 8:14-16)

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The believers in Jesus call out to Christ "Lord Jesus." And they also cry "Abba Father!". Because they have a regenerated spirit of sonship, they cry out Abba!" they cry to God as their Daddy, their Papa. Abba is a intimate term of endearment. God is not longer just their Creator but their Papa - God - their Abba.The Holy Spirit bears witness within with their reborn human spirit - that they are children of God. The two spirits bear joint witness that the man or woman has entered into a intimate family union with God Almighty.As a unbeliever, you may get in trouble and call out "O God!!". Lots of young people may have done something like wreck their parents' automobile. Then they were afraid and may have uttered "O God. Am I in trouble."But calling "Abba Father! Abba Father!" is much more sweet and intimate. The believer now doesn't just know about God so to say "O God, am I in trouble!" But she calls "Daddy! Papa! ... Abba God, my Father. my Father God!" Calling on the name of the Lord and calling on the Father as Abba Father are closely related.Again Paul writes that the sons of God call Abba Father to God:

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"That He might redeem those under the law that we might receive the sonship. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father!

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So then you are no longer a slave but a son; and if a son, an heir also through God." (Galatians 4:5-7)

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The man is no longer a slave of religious duty but a dear son of the Father calling intimately to Abba. Even while seeking to live unto the Father in love and kindness toward others, he is energized and empowered by calling to his Source of divine life - the Father.Both calling Lord Jesus and calling Abba Father are good for getting us into the presence of God.

Genesis 4:26 -

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"And to Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of Jehovah."

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In the fourth generation of man after Adam was created, the man Enosh was born to his dad Seth. At the time of Enosh, "men began to call upon the name of Jehovah".Now some may want to read this as "men began to give alms and distribute to the need of the poor." But the passage is not focused on giving alms or doing any good works to the least of these my brothers.The passage says that men at that time began to CALL. The Hebrew word means to call out to, cry out to, etc. Men realized that after Adam's expulsion from the garden of Eden, they were getting farther and farther away from God. To counteract the societies drift away from God, some men at least began to CALL upon the name of God.The name Enosh means something like "frail mortal man". When men began to realize how frail and mortal they were, they began to call upon the eternal and everlasting God. They began to call upon the living God.Today calling Lord Jesus is also all the more calling upon God. Christians who realizes how mortal they are and how frail they really are, will at some time call on the Lord Jesus - "O Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus receive me. O Lord Jesus wash me in your precious blood from my many sins. Lord Jesus."Just like the people of the days of Enosh in Genesis chapter four, we can call on the name of the Lord Jesus the Son of God. And doing so we touch God deep within.The Bible goes on to mention Enoch who walked with God. But before it mentions the man who walked with God it mentions the men who began to call upon the name of God.The Bible does not say a lot about what Enoch did. If you imagine that he fed the poor and clothed those with little clothing, you just have to imagine that. All the Scripture says was that Enoch walked with God - period.Oh, it does mention that he was translated which means that he was taken off the earth. Today Christians call that to be raptured. But I am not writing a lot about Enoch in this post.I mention that the Bible mentions the man who walked with God.
And the Bible mentions the people who called upon the name of Jehovah.
Both are important. And calling on the name of God preceeds walking with God.Only a fool boasts that he walks with God and keeps his mouth shut so as not to call upon God. His "walk" with God is questionable. It sounds like he is quite strong without God and independent from God.Abraham also called upon the name of God - (Genesis 12:7-8)

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"And Jehovah appeared to Abram and said, To your seed I will give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him.

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And he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to Jehovah and called upon the name of Jehovah."

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The Bible mentions that he built a altar, pitched a tent, and called upon the name of Jehovah. It doesn't say he pitched a tent, built an altar and gave alms to the poor. I am not saying Abraham gave no alms. I am saying what is important for the Holy Spirit to indicate to us here is that Abraham called upon the name of Jehovah. He called out to God. He cried out in the way to invoke God and to communicate with God Himself.We should be suspicious of any attitude of "I don't call on God. I give alms instead."Charity to the needy is not verses calling on the name of God. Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.