Dowlers1 - What is the purpose to life (Christians only plz)

[dowlers]

What I am looking for is a typed answer. I don't want to click on links but i want to know is

"What is the purpose to life?"
"Is there a purpose to life?"
and
"Are religions inc. Christianity just a way of answering these questions?"

Personally I believe that there must be a purpose to life. Fulmilment of some sort. But I possibly think that way back in time people asked the questions above and found by creating something imaginary that they can believe in (such as a religion) people have given themselves a purpose to life and an answer to these questions.

Can Christians defend this without referring to the bible

Please help me. I am not here to slander, but to question

 

[SK2005]

I suggest reading The Purpose Driven Life by Richard Warren.

 

[SK2005]

By the way....Welcome to the forums!!!

 

[rmarchy]

Philosophers, anthropologists and other have been trying to define down through the ages what the meaning of life is. Many have tried to tackle that issue from different angles, albeit finite, natural views. The Bible has a different prescription for the meaning of life.

In the movie Conan the Barbarian with Arnold Schwarzenegger, they plagiarized a line in that movie as they show him being groomed as a young warrior. He is in front of a counsel and they ask this barbarian warrior what is the meaning of life? I forgot the actual words he used but I know it was plagiarized from an actual account of Genghis Kahn. When Genghis Kahn was asked this, Kahn said the meaning of life is to see your enemy driven before you, to hear the lamentations of his women and children, to see the smoke rise from the roofs of the city you’re enclosing, and to feel the enemy’s horse between your legs and his women in your arms and so on. And this to Conan and Kahn were the meaning of life, to vanquish the enemy; power through the battlefield and conquest and so forth.

To some the meaning of life is a little less brutal. Some seek power in the business world. They have aspirations of sitting at the other side of the table that is “Trump’s Boardroom”, or of having their name printed on top of a building in every city. They seek meaning through a claim in the business world, of power or money.

Some people spend their whole life in pursuit of money. Unfortunately some people look through Scripture and say “see money is an evil thing.” They’ll say that money is the root of all evil or thou shalt not kill, neither of which are in Scripture by the way. Scripture says “thou shalt not murder” and “the love of money is the root of all evil”, not money itself. It recognizes that money is necessary and certainly God has used and prospered men of great wealth, Abraham being one, Job being another. Money itself is not an evil thing but the love of money, an inordinate desire for money over everything else is.

To some the meaning of life is pleasure, the epicurean pursues pleasure. In a gentler age in this country we’d say wine, women, and song. That turned into sex, drugs, and rock n roll. They don’t have to be that crass. Some may pursue pleasure in opera or in arts rather the rock n roll, prescription pills in the boardroom rather then shooting up heroine.

So what you pursue gives you an idea of what you have answered to what the meaning of life is to you. Is it power, money, fame? What we will do and the lengths we’ll go to for a little fame, for notoriety, reality TV anyone?

Some people pursue the meaning of life through accomplishment. They want to have a wing of a hospital named after them. It could be in the political world, or as a journalist, or in science. Don’t get me wrong, there should be accomplishment and fulfillment; God has planted that seed in the soul. But I’m just talking here about the inordinate extremes people go to. They have made that the fountain of their existence.

Some people have relationships fill that vacuum, whether it is a spouse, parents or children, or boyfriends and girlfriends, hence all the great poetry and love songs of the ages. The mother who sacrifices a great deal for her children and in some cases desires to keep them “in the nest” because she is getting what C.S. Lewis would suggest, a “need love” out of it. Or the father even who wants to see little Johnny go to his alma mater. There are plenty of good and bad things about relationships. Relationships though have an echo of truth in them.

The meaning of life is about relationships. It’s certainly not about finite relationships that pass away but there’s an echo in these relationships. In the BEST possible relationships (not codependent or some other psychological terminology), we hear an echo of the Divine will for man. So relationships are a key to meaning in life, but they’re not the key.

The key to truth or the secret to life is Christ, a relationship with Christ, That’s what the Bible is all about.

Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

True Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with God.

(Just like when Pontius Pilate asked Christ, what is truth? In Latin, which is what they spoke even though the New Testament is written in Greek so I wouldn’t be dogmatic about this, but it’s interesting, Pilate asked “Quid est veritas?” It’s a question that has 14 letters in it. If you know what an anagram is, then you know that it is a word or sentence that when you take the letters that you have and rearrange then, they can spell something else. So Pilate’s question, “Quid est veritas?” can be arranged with those same 14 letters to spell “Vir est qui adest.” It is the man that stands before you! So if you think about it, Pontius Pilate answered his own question, when Christ stood there silently, asking what is truth? It is literally the man that stands before you!)

That’s why scripture has nothing really to say to the unbeliever but trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. People try to suggest that the Bible is a script of morals or something, and it’s not. If you study it, you’ll find that the Bible is a biography. When you study it even closer, you’ll find that it is an autobiography. It has many things to say to the believer, but one thing to say to the unbeliever and that is to believe and be saved.

So the true secret to life isn’t found in the accumulation of money, or power, or fame, or accomplishment, or relationships, or pleasure, or even what the stoic would say about honor. All these things may be good, they may be bad; they’re certainly all bad if they take priority over the relationship between the creature and the Creator.

I’m not defending Catholic doctrine here nor am I Catholic, but a Catholic, Malcolm Muggeridge, former editor of Punch Magazine, said rightly,

"I may, I suppose, regard myself, or pass for being, a relatively successful man. People occasionally stare at me in the streets ? that's fame. I can easily earn enough for admission to the upper slopes of the Internal Revenue ? that's wealth. Furnished with money and fame, even the elderly, if they care to, may partake of trendy diversions ? that's pleasure. It may happen once in a while that something I said or wrote was sufficiently heeded for me to persuade myself that it represented a serious impact on the world ? that's fulfillment. Yet I say to you ? and I beg to believe me ? multiply these tiny triumphs by a million, add them all together, and they are nothing ? less than nothing, a positive impediment ? measured against one draught of that living water Christ offers to the spiritually thirsty, irrespective of who or what they are. What, I ask myself, does life hold, what is there in the works of time, in the past, now, and to come, which could possibly be put in the balance against the refreshment of drinking that water?"

He brings up that metaphor that Christ used with the woman at the well.

 

[rmarchy]

Salvation is open to all, not to just the elect... that's where the Calvanists go wrong. God loved the world, not just the elect. The Son was offered for the whole world.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

First it is directed to the world, then it becomes more narrow (that whosoever believes) now... it's an elect group. It's NOT the whole world that will get the benefits of the death of Christ. It's whosoever BELIEVES shall not perish...

So when you've trusted Christ, you've said in the privacy of your own mind, you don't even have to pray... but the moment you say in the privacy of your own mind, Father I am trusting in what your Son has accomplished for me on that cross. I realize that He came to Earth as Your lamb, the lamb of God, an unblemished offering, to take away my sins. I know He has died my death and paid my penalty and I am TRUSTING IN HIS BLOOD, for my salvation.

The moment you believe that, you are transformed from a child of disobedience to a son of God, and you HAVE salvation, it's yours to keep for eternity, and no one and nothing can take it away from you. Not even God.


Sorry I’ve written quite a bit again. I apologize, but I hope that helps a bit.

 

[brotherjim]

I suggest not reading The Purpose Driven Life: it is but Galatian, albeit well-disguised.

brotherjim

 

[brotherjim]

Btw, the reason for this life is simple: do/receive from God what is necessary to be included in the next life, which be to commit in the Law of the mind (Rom. 7:21-25), at whatever cost, to allowing the Heavenly Father to perfect His Love in us, whereby we are enabled to eventually live in obedience to the Commandments of Love and Faith (1 John 2:3-5; 3:22-23; 4:16-18; etc.).

brotherjim

 

[may]

The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the true God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole obligation of man."—Ecclesiastes 12:13.so that should be our purpose in life,not to fear ,as in being frightened , but
As Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words points out, for Christians this reverential fear is ‘a controlling motive of life, in matters both spiritual and moral.
so i suppose it depends on if we think the bible is the word of God ,and want to live our lifes in line with it

 

[Melody]

I suggest reading The Purpose Driven Life by Richard Warren.

I'll second this. Why regurgitate when Warren says it so well.

 

[precept]

Isaiah 45:18 "For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else."

Having created the earth; God created humans to inhabit the earth for this purpose ONLY!

"O worship the Lord ihn the beauty of holiness: fear before Him all the earth." Psalm 96:9

"O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the lord all the erth." Psalm 96:1

God made humans to tend the earth.

"For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, aand hast crowned him with glory and honour. THOU MADEST HIM TO HAVE DOMINIION OVER THE WORKS OF THY HANDS; THOU HAST PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET." Psalm 8:5-6

Again the reason for God's creating humanity!

"....for I have created him for MY GLORY, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

" But we all have sinned and come short of the GLORY"....for which He had created us.


precept

 

[fromthe heart]

What I am looking for is a typed answer. I don't want to click on links but i want to know is

"What is the purpose to life?"
"Is there a purpose to life?"
and
"Are religions inc. Christianity just a way of answering these questions?"

Personally I believe that there must be a purpose to life. Fulmilment of some sort. But I possibly think that way back in time people asked the questions above and found by creating something imaginary that they can believe in (such as a religion) people have given themselves a purpose to life and an answer to these questions.

Can Christians defend this without referring to the bible

Please help me. I am not here to slander, but to question

I think the purpose of life for us is to be fishers of men as Jesus said when chosing his discilpes. To spread the word of God and to win as many souls over from Satin as we possibly can. We are to be joyful in the Lord...we aren't about big houses,fancy cars and becoming wealthy...our mission is to show those who are lost they way to God through Jesus Christ. We aren't here to please ourselves but are here to do good unto others and to win souls for the Lord. It's not about earthly things but the rewards we lay up in heaven...I'm not sure we can do any of this without refering to the Bible as the truths of Christianity unfold there in such a way we couldn't otherwise. The Bible IS afterall the story of the roots of our religion. Personally I have never had more fulfillment in life than what I've felt when I've led someone to the Lord. When someone falters and falls as a christian I actually feel the pain for them. It would be so easy to turn away from God and disbelieve in all of it because then we don't have any reason for purpose and aren't held accountable for the things we do....but when that judgement day comes and we are called before our Maker surprise as to His exsistence will be no excuse. I want to be ready for Jesus to return, I want to lead souls to Him...to love another human in being able to feel assured that when they die they won't suffer in the Lake of Fire is more reward than a lot of people understand.

I don't know if I answered your questions from my point of view completely; it's hard to put some things in words. I don't believe I welcomed you to the forum either...so many have been being added to the family here it's hard to keep up...so welcome and looking forward to discussions with you.

 

[brotherjim]

I think the purpose of life for us is to be fishers of men . . .

I'm afraid I must staunchly disagree.

We cannot place as a general rule upon all, that which God has specifically told one or more particular individuals at some point in their walk.

The Great Commission, for example, was a commandment to the church, to the body of Christ as a whole.

We can theorize, and we can suspect that God's Spirit most likely will, at one or more times in our life, have us share the Gospel with someone, be "fishers of men" as the poster I quote, writes. But we do not know.

The purpose of our life here is to receive one Grace after another, as the Spirit leads, being sure to not be fooled into apathy (which is usually if not always merely synonymous with hardening our hearts; but if so, then looking for yet another Grace to deliver us from even that), until we can clearly hear the V(v)oice of the S(s)pirit on a consistent and trustworthy basis.

We as New Cov. Christians are not called to obey some dead letter of the Law, even if it be NT (except of course when we are new or backslidden Christians and therefore cannot hear God), but rather to obey the moment-by-moment leading of the S(s)pirit. Period. (This is why God established a better covenant, wherein is provided via the New Birth, the "new spirit and new heart" [Ezek.; by impl.] of that instantaneous and miraculous rebirth, the latter now, along with the mind, hgaving God's Laws written upon it; all when combined hopefully being the inner force/desire enabling us to do, OR NOT DO [even when it seems the right thing to do according to our fleshly mind--"lean not upon thy own understanding. . . ."], whatever the Holy Ghost wills at any particular time and place.)

brotherjim

 

[keevelish]

I suggest not reading The Purpose Driven Life: it is but Galatian, albeit well-disguised.

that is too funny- I was about to type the EXACT same thing- it is a deceitful work of a book.

 

[keevelish]

I believe that the purpose of life is to glorify God. He created man to have fellowship with him. Being fishers of men is just one of the things that we do to glorify God, but it is not our sole purpose here. God did not put us on earth to lead others to the Lord Jesus Christ- that became a necessity AFTER man lost fellowship through sin. It is totally impossible for a Christian to tell you the purpose of life without referring to the Bible because it is God's spoken word. We wouldn't know our purpose unless God told us. We have his commandments and desires for us in his word.

 

[keevelish]

I'll second this. Why regurgitate when Warren says it so well.

i wouldn't trust another man's words- he is human and has his own weaknesses. He is able to be deceived. I'd take your guidance to life from the mouth of our Creator himself- I'm sure HE would know the purpose to life- read the Bible, not a book from a guy who thinks he knows what it's all about.

 

[brotherjim]

I believe that the purpose of life is to glorify God. He created man to have fellowship with him.. . . God did not put us on earth to lead others to the Lord Jesus Christ- that became a necessity AFTER man lost fellowship through sin. . . .

Excellent point! (I'm jealous, in a godly sort of way, that I was not led to think of that myself--I guess since I "stole" keevelish's thought on The Purpose Driven Life, the Lord thought it only fair to deal to him this Truth regarding our overall purpose. {-_-} )

My post attempted to cover the purpose of post-Adamic man, that need for each and all after the fall to receive whatever Graces are needed to return us to that which was intended for us by God before the fall . . .

. . . but the above I quote of another is of course more correct in accordance with the thread starter and its question, its answer taking us all all the way back to the very creation of man and God's purpose for him, which was simply for us to be God's children and He our Father, in whatever way that relationship unfolds and entails.

Cool.

brotherjim

 

[keevelish]

brother jim we think alike- which is rare in this site!

 

[brotherjim]

brother jim we think alike- which is rare in this site!

Hehe--well, actually, while you have no idea how much I would love those words to be true, I wanted to disagree with your other post but didn't want to wreck that touchy-feely feeling of likemindedness I felt also for you ( I also did not want to hog a thread started by some other).

But in regards to what you said concerning reading material: while for the past decade I have read little other than the Bible itself--very little other, for the 15 years preceding that time, since I came to the Lord, I used to consume as much as a Christian book a week at times, and profited greatly as a result.

Sure, in an idealistic world, after we come to the Lord if we would just spend several hours per day, every day, locked away in a prayer closet and waiting upon and listening to the V(v)oice of the S(s)pirit, He most certainly would, eventually, guide us into all Truth. Actually, we would not, in this perfect world illustration, even need the written Word (after all, the Gospel was given to a mostly agrarian, mostly uneducated and illiterate people, and in many places still the written Word is not individually available for whatever reason, and yet God made certain to provide Truth via His Spirit).

But being the quadrilateral believer I am (as compared to sola scriptura), God of course prefers us to have several witnesses to His Truth, one of which is preferably the written Word; though I have come to use this as a secondary source, it confirming what I first access through prayer--all glory to Him and not to boast, not even in Him in this case but just said matter-of-factly (or so I allege).

But we do not live in such utopia, and in practice soon after we began hearing from God and being taught of Him, we would get puffed up with pride, He would shut Himself off from us for a time, we would get frustrated and give up waiting for Him to again speak, we would drift away--. Well, I hope you get the point.

I have likely never read the penning of another, whereby I did not add some additional bit of ammunition to my arsenal, some small piece of who I have been formed to be in Christ Jesus. It would've taken too many years, and much more patience and academic study than I was either willing or able to apprehend, to collect the same background afforded me through the great works of such men as Strong (whose concordance is attached to my hip), Gurnall who opened my eyes to the evil of my Christian heart despite my unwillingness to entertain such possibilities; Katz's Reality: the Hope of Glory (www.benisrael.org) which brought me to my knees regarding my Christian arrogance and so-called "well-meaning," what were actually merely self-righteous works of dead flesh; etc.; etc.

God has ordained that we be dependent upon one another in addition to our utter need of Him, for this is yet one more vitally needed ingredient if we are to have any chance whatsoever of not disqualifying ourself through deceitful and well-hidden pride and its resultant arrogance, hence why so "that no flesh should glory in His Presence . . . that no man can boast."

Hence why He also gave, some, apostles; some, prophets . . . for the perfecting of the saints. . . ." Remember, 1 Corinthians, for example, was not at one time a book of the Bible, but a prophetically written work of a man to a church. Men still write prophetically today--albeit few, and God would not be so dictating if He did not want some to be reading and benefitting thereby.

(But yes, we are likely closer in thought than most; and yes, it is rare. PtL.)

brotherjim

 

[keevelish]

sorry thinking that we don't think so alike anymore. I don't believe that there are prophets today. I believe that our Bible is whole and complete and the only word from God to man- nothing else comes first or along with it, or else we would be like the Mormons and JWs. I believe that the gift of prophecy (meaning direct revelation from God) is no longer of any use because we have a completed Canon of scripture from creation to the destruction of this universe. There is nothing extra that God needs to tell us. Otherwise, why would he tell us to search the scriptures in order to determine whether something is of God? You can certainly search the scriptures and see that many of the gifts of the holy spirit that were in use in the early church are no longer in use today. Coming to that touchy-feely thing, I wouldn't quite go so far as to say that. Just that it is difficult to find fundamentalists here, and I was hoping you were one.

 

[brotherjim]

sorry thinking that we don't think so alike anymore.

Keevelish, do not be too disappointed, as I believe it would be quite difficult, if not altogether impossible, for a Christian to find some other Christian who believes identically--hence why, in part, I believe sola scriptura a myth.

. . . I don't believe that there are prophets today. . . .

Many feel this way, usually also believing that there are no contemporary apostles. And seeing as how the numerous ones who refer to themselves as apostles and prophets are nearly always, not, I cannot fault you or anyone for such doubt.
However, I was not even referring to the office of the prophet, so much as I was the supernatural Gift/Grace of prophetically speaking and writing--that which I believe 1 Cor. 14:1, 5 and 39 teaches should be common to every believer in Christ Jesus.[/QUOTE]

I believe that our Bible is whole and complete and the only word from God to man--nothing else comes first or along with it, or else we would be like the Mormons and JWs.

I understand your view, Keevelish, however I think your comparison unfair. The groups you refer to assert that an additional and also needed written work, along with the Holy Bible, is a must. It is that upon which their religion is based, to a large part. I was in no way suggesting such. I would agree that no contemporary written work is equal to that which the orig. Apostles and disciples penned.
But the entire crux of the New Covenant is that, whereas Old Cov. man was not able to obey God, him attempting such via the dead letter of the law and self-righteous good works works of flesh; God established a Nerw Cov. which provided "manifold Graces," among them an indwelling S(s)pirit and laws written upon a new heart and mind, when combined are to be that primary guiding and enabling force--not some written Word, which can be altered, unavailable either physically or by way or illiteracy, misunderstood, etc., etc.
But agian, God was so very gracious to have us not have to depend upon just one "witness" for Truth, but He has provided many, that when combined will yield a more trustworthy source than any other in the world--but still by no means intended to be tangibly provable.
Keevelish, kindly refer to and meditate upon in the time to come, the basic Christian principle given in John 2:23-25. It is foundational to the Christian Faith and to the nature and methodology of God--a God who desires to remain intangible, accessible most only by the Faith He miraculously provides, "so that no flersh should glory in His Presence," so as to not yield that which perhaps He hates most (Prov. 6:16-17a).

. . . why would he [God] tell us to search the scriptures in order to determine whether something is of God?

Because, per above, He does not intend that we should rely upon only one witness for Truth. For example, when we are instantly born-again on or after the age we are old enough to specifically, personally receive such a Grace from Heaven when it's offered, we should afterward have the witness of "His Spirit bearing witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." But since, for example, no doubt many Islamic fundamentalist extremists also believe via some inner witness that they are god's children, we can deduce that such a witness, by itself, is insufficient to establish Truth in the matter.
But when such an inner witness is combined with the Holy Scriptures, them telling us that Christ Jesus is the only Way to God--.
Praise God! All glory to God and His Grace!

You can certainly search the scriptures and see that many of the gifts of the holy spirit that were in use in the early church are no longer in use today. . . .

Well, I certainly respect your opinion, and do not wish to challenge it, but your statement is not coming across as persoanl the opinion it is but as asserted fact and Truth of God. I hope this is a misunderstanding on my part, for I have searched the Scriptures diligently for 15 years, half of that full time and in depth, and combined with that which I have pexperienced among hundres of congregations, I have concluded that the Gifts of the Holy Ghost as were manifested in the early first century church, are the same today--albeit widely abused, as they also were since the "beginning." But that is just my own personal opinion.
But such is a whole other topic and is drifting too far from the thread's starter.

Just that it is difficult to find fundamentalists here, and I was hoping you were one.

Keevelish, I will bump up for you the thread of another, over on the Christian discussion section, entitled "Fundamentalism" by "Iris89." Thereupon you may find the postings of others who are also fundamentalist.
I, too, claim to be fundamentalist, and even moreso than most fundamentalists I have come to meet or otherwise know of. In fact, I take so very literal such commandments as to Love enemies and turn the other cheek, for instance, that I also find myself to be an Anabaptist. I do not believe that someone must be a sola scriptura believer to be a fundamentalist.
But then I am many things, an interdenominational Christian--all glory to God. All facets of the Christian faith have something to contribute, no one group having a monopoly on Truth, "so that no man can boast" (notice that re-occurring theme of mine--and I assert God's).
We, virtually speaking, just have little-to-no idea how much our religious pride and arrogance and prejudices disqualifies us from the race that God set before us from the foundation of the world. It is perhaps the devil's greatest device to keep us in the dark--it's what got him, after all.
But thank you for the fellowship, and thank the Lord God--the latter the only worthy.
In His Grace of Love for you, keevelish, brotherjim