What matters most to God? (purification, Gospel, doctrine, preach)
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I saw the following question posed on another religious site recently and thought I'd pose it here...
Have you ever wondered, if the essence of being a Christian is to believe the right theology, why the burden of Jesus' own teaching was always ethical and behavorial?
I saw the following question posed on another religious site recently and thought I'd pose it here...
Have you ever wondered, if the essence of being a Christian is to believe the right theology, why the burden of Jesus' own teaching was always ethical and behavorial?
I think about that a lot these days. Living a godly life is usually portrayed as what NOT to do, rather than what Jesus taught us TO do. If we all lived according to the "golden rule," and forgave others easily, and all the other things we are supposed to do to love our neighbors as ourselves, it would be a totally different world! It is amazing when you think about all Jesus' teachings, but he didn't say, "Now listen up. I'm going to die and rise again, so make sure you believe it or you will be eternally punished." If that's true then it stands to reason that it would have been an extremely important message for Jesus to get across while he walked the earth.
I saw the following question posed on another religious site recently and thought I'd pose it here...
Have you ever wondered, if the essence of being a Christian is to believe the right theology, why the burden of Jesus' own teaching was always ethical and behavorial?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bright Hope for Tomorrow
I think about that a lot these days. Living a godly life is usually portrayed as what NOT to do, rather than what Jesus taught us TO do. If we all lived according to the "golden rule," and forgave others easily, and all the other things we are supposed to do to love our neighbors as ourselves, it would be a totally different world! It is amazing when you think about all Jesus' teachings, but he didn't say, "Now listen up. I'm going to die and rise again, so make sure you believe it or you will be eternally punished." If that's true then it stands to reason that it would have been an extremely important message for Jesus to get across while he walked the earth.
The intellectual "believe in" crowd have held sway far too long in religion and corrupted the message of love Jesus died to bring . . . it is now time for those who are among the "believe on/into" crowd to make their voices heard in the name of Jesus to proclaim His "love God and each other" loudly and devoutly.
The intellectual "believe in" crowd have held sway far too long in religion and corrupted the message of love Jesus died to bring . . . it is now time for those who are among the "believe on/into" crowd to make their voices heard in the name of Jesus to proclaim His "love God and each other" loudly and devoutly.
Believing in, relates to time; believing on, is an association outside of time.
I saw the following question posed on another religious site recently and thought I'd pose it here...
Have you ever wondered, if the essence of being a Christian is to believe the right theology, why the burden of Jesus' own teaching was always ethical and behavorial?
What matters is that we Love one another. That's all. Just Love.
"You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another"
"If you love me, keep my commands."
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."
"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law."
"For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."
"For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another."
"Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
"No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."
I saw the following question posed on another religious site recently and thought I'd pose it here...
Have you ever wondered, if the essence of being a Christian is to believe the right theology, why the burden of Jesus' own teaching was always ethical and behavorial?
Jesus was asked that question in Matthew 22. Here is what He said: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Having the *right theology* isn't what pleases God.
Our soul's condition and following His Will. Not my will, but Thy Will be done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katzpur
I saw the following question posed on another religious site recently and thought I'd pose it here...
Have you ever wondered, if the essence of being a Christian is to believe the right theology, why the burden of Jesus' own teaching was always ethical and behavorial?
Jesus' teachings are to help us discover the way to purify our soul's condition, either through the purification of our natural love by God's forgiveness and following the Ten Commandments is helpful here, but his most important teaching is the soul's transformation by receiving God's Divine Love from the Holy Spirit.
Last edited by SoCalAngel2009; 04-12-2011 at 04:45 AM..
Well, it just seems to me that Jesus spent a whole lot more time talking about how we should behave than He did about what we should believe. Whenever I read a post explaining what we have to do to be saved, I find a list of things we must supposedly believe. Seldom is there any mention of how we must treat our fellow human beings. I'm not suggesting that correct doctrines aren't important to God, but at the end of the day, I think a lot of people are going to be very surprised to learn that the message Christ left with us pretty much went over their heads. For instance, I imagine the following two people standing before God to be judged:
Person #1: God says to him, "You really studied that Bible of yours, didn't you? I listened to you preach the Gospel to a lot of people while you were on earth, and you really did have a good grasp of the truth. You got all of the "doctrines" right, down to the last detail. You "believed all the right things." But look how many people you turned away from me! Look how many times you passed judgment on people who didn't understand my plan of salvation the same way you did, how many times you were sarcastic in your dealings with people, maligned their beliefs, and did whatever you could to make them that I somehow loved them less than I love you. You seem to have forgotten that my Son suffered and died for them, too."
Person #2: God says to him, "I see your Bible is pretty well-worn, too. You also used it to share the Gospel with people you met. I'm afraid you didn't always teach them correctly, though. That's probably because your own beliefs weren't exactly 100% correct. There were a few doctrines you failed to understand as I wish you had, because it is important to me that my children know the truth. I want you to know, though, that I noticed the charitable way in which you interacted with your fellow men. You were unfailingly kind, respectful and civil towards them, even when you thought their beliefs were in error. You were such a fine example of the core message of my Son's gospel that you turned hearts to Him wherever you went. People couldn't help but feel His love for them as it shone through you.
I don't think it's really all that big of a stretch of the imagination to think that both of these scenarios are going to be repeated countless times before each of us are judged. The purpose of this thread was to get Christians to stop and consider what God is really going to take into account when He judges us. Obviously, the ideal scenario would be one in which a person understands every doctrine of Christ's gospel perfectly and is also a perfect example of Christian love, and I'm sure God will see a few people who are like that. But what about the millions who will fit into one of the two examples I've posted. What do you think God will have to say to them?
Last edited by Katzpur; 04-12-2011 at 03:00 PM..
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