Christian Love, Deity of Christ, and Law. (Gospel, women, church)
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Christians this is a long post I understand, but examine it carefully. This is what it means when you can say, "If you are Christian be Christian."
To often we accept the idea of love in Christianity applied incorrectly. Love in Christianity is not so simplistic an idea as one could apply love to a brother or sister, love to a mate, or love to a friend. Christian love comes from The Lord God Jesus Christ. He is your First Love. He is the source of our love. In the Christian faith when one is scripturaly wrong you correct them in the love of Christ. You do not hate them, but you love. However, you do not accept sin and you do not accept false scripture. Those who ex communicate or refuse to engage a Christian in error do so to their own shame. As the Lord God came down to you in Christ Jesus, then you should not turn your back on those who are not in Christ. If you do so you do so to your own shame, however never accept what is not of Christ.
However, lets look to this often misquoted concept of Love. As Christians you know The Lord Jesus is God. As is incorrectly applied by many Christians today the idea of the importance of the ten commandments. As Christians know we are guilty by the ten commandments and can not follow them. Many state they follow them all the time. Lets look at a Jewish lawyer questioning Jesus of the commandments and where Jesus established Christian love in Matthew 22.
36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
37 Jesus said to him , " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
38 "This is the first and great commandment."
39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
On this statement is Christian love. But lets go deeper into Matthew 22 first before we get to these verses.
41 While the Pharisees were gather together, Jesus asked them,
42 Saying, "What do you think about the Chirst? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David."
43 He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord' saying:
44 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?
45 "If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"
46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
How interesting that this should come on the heels of the concept of Christian love. The Jews correctly applied he is the Son of David, but Jesus applied to scripture that David in his songs saw the coming of his Lord. This is, but a confirmation of Jesus Christ is God. Christians know this and He is God.
However, what did Jesus say before the affirmation of the Messiah being God? Those two commandments we affirm as love in Christ, but whom do we love first? I submit to you it is The Lord Jesus Christ your God. You can love no other first. This was the sin of the Church of Ephesus in Revaltion 2 verse 4, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you haveleft your first love." As Christians we must love our God first which is Christ Jesus. Let not one come before Him. However in love we must also obey His statutes and commandments. We are the watchmen spoken of in Ezekiel. Lets look at the importance of God's law to Christ Jesus. While some of the law was fulfilled in his ressurection, God's moral order still applies. In Christ you are forgiven if you are outside of God's moral order, but if you discount it and do not witness to it in Christ you stand to lose. You are still saved, but your works tested by fire will determine your reward. Truely this fire will show you how great your potential was in Christ. No one will not feel they fully measured up. Not one of us. So do not despair, but rejoice in Christ Jesus your God and Saviour. However, lets look deeper to what Christ says in Matthew 5 of the law and our obligation to Him.
16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven."
In other posts I have rightly established Jesus as God. God the Father and God the Son with the Holy Spirit are co equal Persons in One. What you have done for One you do for the Others.
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."
Jesus by his very Word establishes the legitamacy of the law of God. He comes to fulfill God's Law. Could a normal man fulfill that of God? Christians know this is not possible. With Jesus death and ressurection, He removed the penalty of sin to those who believe in him, but I say to you those who do not cover themselves in this work, their sin is upon them. They accept the law. This is paramount why Christians must never say, "I follow the Ten Commandments." No indeed we must always follow Christ our God.
18 "For assurdly, I say to you, till the heaven and earth pass away, on jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
Those who assert Christ was man still do not know He is working even now to bring His church together by quantitative and qualitative means. This work is done in Him and through Him with the Holy Spirit. The breath of God bestowed upon man. Christians are His body, yet He is still the head of the body. We can do nothing without Him.
19 "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
We as Christians can not follow the law or the commandments to perfection. However, by loving God first we must teach the error of sin and false teaching. Christians should not be afraid of this. Rightly you are told to love your God first. You are Christians of Christ. It is to him you always love first, in friendships, your children, your family, your neighbors, even your marriage. Notice also the idea of teaching. If you teach falsely in Christ you are considered least, but if you teach correctly you shall be great. Not every Christian can teach the scripture, yet even in some small way you can teach Truth. Do not hesitate to do so in some way. Inquire of Christ and he shall assist you according to your needs. Those not of Christ it wont matter what they teach. They are like the scribes and Pharisees below.
20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
Take note all of you who would be reconciled. If you falsely teach scripture and incorrectly apply what is not of Christ you are not in him. You deny him to your peril. Do not marvel at this or discount it. Prayerfully call to Christ and reject the hardening of your heart. There is penalty of sin and it will come!
In Conclusion, your must be in Christ and always look to Him first. Do not be afraid of those who wish love upon themselves and others first. This is not scriptural. You must love The Lord God Jesus Christ first. Do not be afraid of calling out sin. Do not condemn, but do affirm what is sin and what is not. This is the pinacle of love. Christ himself convicted you in His love to come to Him and in this you are saved. Always use wisdom and never stray from Christ. Inquire of the Holy Spirit through Christ. Truely then will you love your neighbor as yourself.
Thank you sirs, this is truly my lifes work. Of all I have done in 30 years truly nothing will compare to what Christ has prepared for me. What time I have wasted.
Christians I wholly encourage you to use my work to spread in whatever way you see in Christ. It is time you stood up for your Lord. Please I implore you to consider this. If you feel my work is in error please direct email me.
No, sir! This is the FARTHEST thing from meaningless work! For all you or I know, an atheist could have read this, and been inspired to read more, your work, or the Bible, and then could have given their life to the Lord, and all because of your "wasted" time. Nah, this isn't a waste of time! It truly is meaningful. You are glorifying the Lord with your writing. Keep on!
No, sir! This is the FARTHEST thing from meaningless work! For all you or I know, an atheist could have read this, and been inspired to read more, your work, or the Bible, and then could have given their life to the Lord, and all because of your "wasted" time. Nah, this isn't a waste of time! It truly is meaningful. You are glorifying the Lord with your writing. Keep on!
LoL sorry as I am 36 years old I only meant up to about that point. It was about that age of 30 I began dropping false teachings and my own sin and truly professed my Lord. I know some discount this statement or glide over it, but what many use in sin I used before them and with them. My very words of false faith convict me in such a way that to the end of my years or Christ's return I will contend against those that I spoke.
OHHHHH... okay. Understood. So exactly what false teachings did you drop?
You name em I used em. The worst of them was man being equal to Jesus so to speak. I used to refer to him as a prophet. I called Christians scared. I tell you this I truely gave a woman a Bible for a gift and then had an affair with her. My works have been shallow and of no substance. Even now I am still coming out of my sins, but the burden of them has lessened and my strength in Christ greatened. Yet, I have more work to do.
Lately I have been using facebook to hunt down every woman I have used in adultery in some fashion to ask their forgiveness. I am also hunting down every man of whom I have taken his wife from him. The latter being the most difficult. Of course I cant remember half of the women's names, but I find what I can. The men whose wives Ive used are far more difficult.
It is so easy for people to think they know something on this forum or challenge me and Christianity. But truly I tell them I am not a man who came to faith cheaply. My path has been one of self infliction and destruction. My life is a record to the lack of faith those who don't claim Christ show in themselves.
Terrible. But at least you repented. And now you preach the truth, and that's all He's requested of us.
They think that they know about Christianity. They call it "religion" and "dogma" and "fairy tales" (my favorite). But it's much more than their dense minds are capable of seeing. It is life. It is all that we need to know. It is our gift from God.
Believe me. Their day will come. They'll either accept God as their personal Savior, or... there's always St. Peter on Judgment Day!
Christians this is a long post I understand, but examine it carefully. This is what it means when you can say, "If you are Christian be Christian."
To often we accept the idea of love in Christianity applied incorrectly. Love in Christianity is not so simplistic an idea as one could apply love to a brother or sister, love to a mate, or love to a friend. Christian love comes from The Lord God Jesus Christ. He is your First Love. He is the source of our love. In the Christian faith when one is scripturaly wrong you correct them in the love of Christ. You do not hate them, but you love. However, you do not accept sin and you do not accept false scripture. Those who ex communicate or refuse to engage a Christian in error do so to their own shame. As the Lord God came down to you in Christ Jesus, then you should not turn your back on those who are not in Christ. If you do so you do so to your own shame, however never accept what is not of Christ.
However, lets look to this often misquoted concept of Love. As Christians you know The Lord Jesus is God. As is incorrectly applied by many Christians today the idea of the importance of the ten commandments. As Christians know we are guilty by the ten commandments and can not follow them. Many state they follow them all the time. Lets look at a Jewish lawyer questioning Jesus of the commandments and where Jesus established Christian love in Matthew 22.
36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
37 Jesus said to him , " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
38 "This is the first and great commandment."
39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
On this statement is Christian love. But lets go deeper into Matthew 22 first before we get to these verses.
41 While the Pharisees were gather together, Jesus asked them,
42 Saying, "What do you think about the Chirst? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David."
43 He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord' saying:
44 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?
45 "If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"
46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
How interesting that this should come on the heels of the concept of Christian love. The Jews correctly applied he is the Son of David, but Jesus applied to scripture that David in his songs saw the coming of his Lord. This is, but a confirmation of Jesus Christ is God. Christians know this and He is God.
However, what did Jesus say before the affirmation of the Messiah being God? Those two commandments we affirm as love in Christ, but whom do we love first? I submit to you it is The Lord Jesus Christ your God. You can love no other first. This was the sin of the Church of Ephesus in Revaltion 2 verse 4, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you haveleft your first love." As Christians we must love our God first which is Christ Jesus. Let not one come before Him. However in love we must also obey His statutes and commandments. We are the watchmen spoken of in Ezekiel. Lets look at the importance of God's law to Christ Jesus. While some of the law was fulfilled in his ressurection, God's moral order still applies. In Christ you are forgiven if you are outside of God's moral order, but if you discount it and do not witness to it in Christ you stand to lose. You are still saved, but your works tested by fire will determine your reward. Truely this fire will show you how great your potential was in Christ. No one will not feel they fully measured up. Not one of us. So do not despair, but rejoice in Christ Jesus your God and Saviour. However, lets look deeper to what Christ says in Matthew 5 of the law and our obligation to Him.
16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven."
In other posts I have rightly established Jesus as God. God the Father and God the Son with the Holy Spirit are co equal Persons in One. What you have done for One you do for the Others.
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."
Jesus by his very Word establishes the legitamacy of the law of God. He comes to fulfill God's Law. Could a normal man fulfill that of God? Christians know this is not possible. With Jesus death and ressurection, He removed the penalty of sin to those who believe in him, but I say to you those who do not cover themselves in this work, their sin is upon them. They accept the law. This is paramount why Christians must never say, "I follow the Ten Commandments." No indeed we must always follow Christ our God.
18 "For assurdly, I say to you, till the heaven and earth pass away, on jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
Those who assert Christ was man still do not know He is working even now to bring His church together by quantitative and qualitative means. This work is done in Him and through Him with the Holy Spirit. The breath of God bestowed upon man. Christians are His body, yet He is still the head of the body. We can do nothing without Him.
19 "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
We as Christians can not follow the law or the commandments to perfection. However, by loving God first we must teach the error of sin and false teaching. Christians should not be afraid of this. Rightly you are told to love your God first. You are Christians of Christ. It is to him you always love first, in friendships, your children, your family, your neighbors, even your marriage. Notice also the idea of teaching. If you teach falsely in Christ you are considered least, but if you teach correctly you shall be great. Not every Christian can teach the scripture, yet even in some small way you can teach Truth. Do not hesitate to do so in some way. Inquire of Christ and he shall assist you according to your needs. Those not of Christ it wont matter what they teach. They are like the scribes and Pharisees below.
20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
Take note all of you who would be reconciled. If you falsely teach scripture and incorrectly apply what is not of Christ you are not in him. You deny him to your peril. Do not marvel at this or discount it. Prayerfully call to Christ and reject the hardening of your heart. There is penalty of sin and it will come!
In Conclusion, your must be in Christ and always look to Him first. Do not be afraid of those who wish love upon themselves and others first. This is not scriptural. You must love The Lord God Jesus Christ first. Do not be afraid of calling out sin. Do not condemn, but do affirm what is sin and what is not. This is the pinacle of love. Christ himself convicted you in His love to come to Him and in this you are saved. Always use wisdom and never stray from Christ. Inquire of the Holy Spirit through Christ. Truely then will you love your neighbor as yourself.
May the Lord God Jesus Christ find you in Truth
...Amen...what a beautiful post, thank you...
God wants our life to shine in a dark place..."Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light shine before men, that thay may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).
The darkness of sin is all around us, and He needs our life to shine like a bright beacon of light. He has given us a position to fill that onle we can fill. God does not want us to remove ourselves from the world. He needs ministers from every walk of life to spread the light of the Gospel right where they are in their own sphere of activity.
You and I have this responsibility...and with this responsibility He has also given us the power and ability we need to be victorious and to shine as lights in this world, leading men and women to Christ. It is important for you to determine where you fit as a minister in the Body of Christ.
God Bless you,
Verna.
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