The Eirc Liddell Story

[mystic]

So he did not run on a Sunday being the Lord's day and it is said God rewarded him for it so if that is true then does that mean God accepts worshipping on a Sunday as opposed to his day? 

[alon]

Dec 26, 2020 8:25:43 GMT -8 mystic said:

So he did not run on a Sunday being the Lord's day and it is said God rewarded him for it so if that is true then does that mean God accepts worshipping on a Sunday as opposed to his day? 

 That's a difficult one to answer. I had to look him up. He was a Scottish athlete whose refusal to run in the Olympic trials for the 100 meter event held on a Sunday cost him a spot in that event, which was his best. Dr. Laura Schlessinger used to say "A principle is not a principle until it has cost you something." He was willing to give up his best chance at an Olympic medal so as not to do something which he thought would offend his God.

He did get a spot in the 400 meter event, and set a world record and got the Gold.

There is a belief, and I do subscribe to it, that if one does their best to live up to the light they are given then God will honor that. Just before his Olympic race Lidell was handed a note by a team masseur that read "In the old book it says: 'He that honours me I will honour.' Wishing you the best of success always," a reference to 1 Samuel 2:30. He honored God the best way he knew how. And yes, I believe God honored him. But the rest of the story that seems to be missed by the biogaphers and historians is that he probably would have been the first to give God the credit and the glory for that Gold medal. Pastor Ed Cole used to say "Grab the gold, but leave God the glory." So often God takes what would be seen as human weakness and uses that to win victories in all walks of life in order to show the world He is still sovereign and mighty God, who shows favor to whomever He wills.

Lidell was a Christian, raised and educated in the belief that Sunday was the proper day of worship. He honored that the best way he knew how. He gave up 100 meter gold for his God, and was repaid with 400 meter gold, as well as a later matchup against the 100 meter gold medalist, who he beat.

Now, had he been shown and convicted that the biblical Shabbat was the proper day to worship and honor God, then either He would have had to honor that day or lose God's favor. I've never believed in the doctrine popular among many Messianics that once you are shown the truth, either you become Messianic or go to Hell. And I don't claim to know at what point a person who refuses a calling looses their salvation. But I do know that each time a person refuses a calling, not only is his reward diminished, but so is his present life here.

So to answer your question, all I can give is an opinion that yes, in a time and society that held Sunday to be the proper day of worship, I believe God honored Lidell because Lidell did his best to honor God. God said it in 1 Samuel, and I believe that even in Lidell's error over the proper day of worship God did as He said He would.

Dan C             

[mystic]

That makes sense, appreciate it!

[jimmie]

Dec 26, 2020 16:47:37 GMT -8 alon said:

Dec 26, 2020 8:25:43 GMT -8 mystic said:

There is a belief, and I do subscribe to it, that if one does their best to live up to the light they are given then God will honor that.

Dan C             

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Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Scientology, Baha’is, Islam, and Sikhism all trace their roots back to Abraham in one way or another. So I guess one could say they are all following the “light” that they have and are candidates for God’s blessing according to the above belief. However, I do not subscribe to this point of view. Any apparent blessing that adherents to these religions receive can be summed up in one verse:

Matthew 5:45 … for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

[alon]

Jan 4, 2021 8:26:21 GMT -8 jimmie said:

Well, you are certainly welcome to be of the opinion no one other than Torah observant Messianics are "saved." As I said, I do not claim to know where the line between salvation and damnation for any individual is. So you could be right. But that would mean very few, if any have made it for the thousand years or so before the modern Messianic movement. You did however in your example take it to extremes I certainly never intended. You also made some egregious errors in your logic:

Catholics- Catholics are idolaters, and they mix every pagan practice they possibly could in their theology and worship; so while they claim Abraham as their father, they are at best his extremely disobedient children, far worse than Nadav and Abihu

Protestants- Here's where we may have a problem. They did come out of the Catholic Church for the most part, though some not so much. Are some saved? I think probably so. Are all saved? I seriously doubt it. By the observations of every Baptist and Assemblies pastor and evangelist I listened to growing up, over half the voting members in every church are unsaved. nd their standards are far less than ours, even though they are kind of the Spevial Forces of the Christian world. However many I know show the fruits of the Spirit far more than I do.

Mormons- I've read many books on Mormonism, some by people who've come out of it. They are more the sons of a demon named Moroni than they are of Abraham. Just like everyone who flies the Messianic flag is not Messianic, so everyone flying the flag of the Hebrews is not of the Hebrews.

Scientology- Scientologists are the children of a science fiction writer named Hubbard who invented a therapy based not on the Bible but on metaphysics. The therapy is called ianetics. Look it up; it is NOT of Abraham.

Baha’is- Baha’i is based on the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Not at all biblical or Abrahamic.

Islam- Islam may claim Abraham as their father, however they can only go back to the 7th cen CE, and their religion is not based on Abrahamic principles but the writings of a thief, child molester, murderer, ... you name it, he did it all while drinking camel urine! And he wrote it all into the Quran and the Hadiths. Muslims worship not the God of Abraham, but a demon named Allah whose teachings are diametrically opposed to those of Abraham and the God he worshiped.
   
Sikhism- Another late coming religion (@ the 15th cen CE) which is based on the fundamental equality of all men. Fine, since I don't know much about them or how they define that equality I'll give them that. However they also teach that no one religion has the whole truth. The God of Abraham and the Hebrew religion He originally founded absolutely did claim to have the whole truth! Not only that, it was/is the ONLY truth! The major influences in their development were (Rabbinical) Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. While their idea and understanding of God sounds similar to ours (from what little I know of them), the practices they carried over from those religions cannot be good.

So again, I do not know where the demarkation is for salvation. I can say with some certainty that anyone saved in any of those religions are saved in spite of, not because of what they teach. And all but some Christian denominations, they'd have to come out of them to be saved. But again, that's my opinion. You may be right. Hard to imagine, but possible. However it is not possible to say that because I believe some Christians are saved that I must accept that practitioners of those other religions you list are saved. I most certainly do not believe that.

 

[jimmie]

Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
Isaiah 48:11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.

So this Eric guy claims God honored him because he refused to run on the “christian sabbath”. I wonder if he thought of the above scriptures as the gold metal bearing the image of a pagan god was placed around his neck? Eric’s claim is an affront to the LORD GOD's holy word.