Your favourite Parable?

Onesimus

Mine has to be the Prodigal son. I choke everything time I hear it or read it. Probably because it relates to me quite a bit and my return to the Father although I must admit I live this story every day because of my sins.

And yours? ( remember your only allowed to pick one ).

philologos

I don't have a favourite. They are all absolutely cracking - I think they all play a part in communicating the history of what Jesus came to do. The gospels need to be read and understood as a whole I think.

Onesimus

philologos wrote: »

I don't have a favourite. They are all absolutely cracking - I think they all play a part in communicating the history of what Jesus came to do. The gospels need to be read and understood as a whole I think.

Says the man whose sticky post on Christianity is one that proposes we post our favourite scriptures verses: Favourite verses / quotes from the Bible

emuhead

Parable of the wise and foolish builders (Luke 6:46-49)

lmaopml

philologos wrote: »

I don't have a favourite. They are all absolutely cracking - I think they all play a part in communicating the history of what Jesus came to do. The gospels need to be read and understood as a whole I think.

You are right Phil they do! Of course.

If I were to say, as a Christian knowing Scripture the best I can and with the best understanding I know how, in a Catholic tradition, I would say that the historical books are the beginning, but that the Psalms are among the best prayers ever...Afterall Jesus, himself was a Jew - he sang them in the Temple. He took a deep breath and he sang...

What do we make of it? Many things...:)

homer911

The parable of the Sower is the first that comes to mind..

Benny_Cake

I love all of them, but the parable of the lost sheep is probably my favourite.

Run_to_da_hills

The Parable of the Sower is one I find quite powerful because it exposes the myth of "Once saved always saved".

In the parable of the sower, the seed that falls upon a rock refers to those who when they hear the word of God, receive the word with joy but they have no root, so for a while they believe but in time of temptation, they fall away.

georgieporgy

I think I would nominate the Pearl of Great Price as mine

philologos

homer911 wrote: »

The parable of the Sower is the first that comes to mind..

That reminds me I should post the continuation of the Mark studies soon (this weekend maybe). The next topic is the Parable of the Sower

Run to da hills: you should post a thread on Once Saved Always Saved theology. It'd be nice to walk through the New Testament on it.

antiskeptic

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

The Parable of the Sower is one I find quite powerful because it exposes the myth of "Once saved always saved".

In the parable of the sower, the seed that falls upon a rock refers to those who when they hear the word of God, receive the word with joy but they have no root, so for a while they believe but in time of temptation, they fall away.

That's what happens to those with no root. But what of the ones who have a root? These ones for example:

"so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love.."


The chances that you build a once saved not always saved doctrine from a single parable are as your chances of building a once saved always saved doctrine from similar quantities of material.

Limited.

Run_to_da_hills

philologos wrote: »

That reminds me I should post the continuation of the Mark studies soon (this weekend maybe). The next topic is the Parable of the Sower

Run to da hills: you should post a thread on Once Saved Always Saved theology. It'd be nice to walk through the New Testament on it.

Gone down that road 5 years ago.

Once saved always saved is a false doctrine.

The parable of the vine and the branches is further proof that a branch in the vine, a CHRISTIAN, can be thrown into the fire and burned if he bears no fruit. John 15:1

Rasheed

This might not even be a parable and may sound stupid to you but my granny used to tell me a story from the bible where these rich men were in a temple and making a big show of giving money to charity.

Then in came an elderly lady and gave her last coin to the same charity. The men were laughing at her paultry sum until Jesus, I think, showed then that her megre sum meant more because it was her last coin then the mens because they could afford to give more.

Now I could have it totally wrong but I thought it was a beautiful story of real generosity!

Run_to_da_hills

Rasheed wrote: »

This might not even be a parable and may sound stupid to you but my granny used to tell me a story from the bible where these rich men were in a temple and making a big show of giving money to charity.

Then in came an elderly lady and gave her last coin to the same charity. The men were laughing at her paultry sum until Jesus, I think, showed then that her megre sum meant more because it was her last coin then the mens because they could afford to give more.

Now I could have it totally wrong but I thought it was a beautiful story of real generosity!

Luke 21 1 to 4.

antiskeptic

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

The parable of the vine and the branches is further proof that a branch in the vine, a CHRISTIAN, can be thrown into the fire and burned if he bears no fruit. John 15:1

The first parable wasn't proof of your doctrine (if it was then you wouldn't need 'further proof'). A better term would be 'evidence submitted in argument...'

And so we examine this latest evidence and wonder how you suppose every branch a Christian? A word on the word 'abide' suggests further argumentation is required on your part.


"Meno" passages:

Passages using the Greek word "meno" are often misinterpreted due to misunderstanding the translation of this word. The word "meno" means simply "to live, to abide, to dwell". A command such "abide in me" is often misunderstood to mean "continue to remain in me just as you have been" when it may simply mean "Live in me starting now and continuing on indefinitely." The issue here is whether a person who has been "living" in Christ can stop living in Christ and live a lifestyle of sin and lose his salvation. John says NO!

1 John 3:6 "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." According to the second part of this verse, no one who lives a lifestyle of sin was ever a real Christian. He had never known Christ. He had never been born of God. Furthermore, according to the first part of this verse, of those who do "live in him" (are born of God - are real Christians) not one of them lives a lifestyle of sin. Why is that? John explains a few verses later in 1John 3:9



"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains ("meno") in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God."


The word "cannot" is the greek word "dunamai" where we get the English "dynamite" and it refers to ability. Those who have been born of God have lost the ability to live a lifestyle of sin because God's seed (the Holy Spirit) lives in them. The word "remain" is the word "meno" which in 1John 3:6 is translated "lives" and means the same thing here.
"Living in Christ" is not so much a condition for salvation as it is a description of a saved person. Are there any verses which indicate that a person who has been living in Christ and who then stops living in Christ and loses his salvation status? Let us continue to consider other verses with this in mind.



John 15:5-6 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains ("lives") in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain ("live") in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."


"If anyone does not live in me": This is not to say that such a man ever lived in Christ to begin with. But those who are real Christians will inevitably produce fruit, not by their own efforts, but simply because Christ produces such through them.



John 15:2 "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit" Here he doesn't use "live, abide or dwell", but simply says "in". I believe he's speaking of those who associate with the visible church, who have a surface knowledge of Christ, but who have not established a living relationship with Christ as is evident of their fruitlessness.
Notice from verse 5 that it is inevitable that branches that have a living relationship with the vine produce fruit. How does a branch produce fruit? It simply allows a passage way for nutrients to flow through it from the vine to the fruit. Why do some branches not produce fruit? Because they are only attached on the surface, but have not opened up inwardly to the Lord. These are nominal Christians.

http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/etsec.html

totus tuus

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet. (Matt 22: 1-14)

zoomtard

<PEDANT ALERT> My favourite parable is the parable of the TWO prodigal sons! </PEDANT ALERT>

lmaopml

The Parable of the Wheat and Tares. I think it's the most challenging in light of the Gospel, and history too, and the Gospel message. It challenges for sure -

strobe

Matthew 18:21-35
Do as I say, not as I'll do.

Also the one about sowing seeds.