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Teskas
May 31, 2012 10:16:28 GMT -5
Post by newburydave on May 31, 2012 10:16:28 GMT -5
I love the way Peterson translates the verse "Strive to live at peace with one another" (KJV).
In the Message he renders it "your primary job is to get along with each other".
According to 1 John 1 "When we walk in the light as He is in the light (live according to all the truth we know) [first] we have fellowship with one another, [then] the Blood cleanses us from all sin." (KJV with comments).
Paul's warning to the Corinthian church in 1 Cor 11 about taking communion without "discerning the body of Christ" was not aimed at people living in outbroken sin so much but rather it was the clincher of his long argument that those who divided the church up with their notions and refused to "love each other as I (Christ) have loved you," were defiling the church of God and them God would destroy.
As the old bluegrass Gospel song says in its chorus; "If you don't love your neighbor, then you don't love God."
So yeah it's hard to release our notions and love those we don't agree with; but that is exactly why Jesus says we have to do it. We can't do it in our own strength, we have to turn to Him for the continual supply of Unselfish, Unconditional love with which He loved and Loves us.
Our mission, should we choose to accept Him, is to live in this world the way he lived. Impossible Mission? Yup, unless we surrender every aspect of our being to Him and let Him ressurect every part of us from "dead in sin" to "ALIVE IN CHRIST" through the power of the indwelling, baptising (think immersion) Holy Spirit.
We are after all bought with a price, we are not our own anymore (look where self ownership and self will got us; damned) therefore we must glorify him in both our Bodies and Spirit. Only one I know can do that is Jesus in us, our hope of glory, living through us.
Lord please make it so!!!
Write on and live on Bear His Flame; Be the Light!
SGD dave
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Teskas
May 31, 2012 12:53:24 GMT -5
Post by yoda47 on May 31, 2012 12:53:24 GMT -5
I love the way Peterson translates the verse "Strive to live at peace with one another" (KJV). In the Message he renders it "your primary job is to get along with each other". According to 1 John 1 "When we walk in the light as He is in the light (live according to all the truth we know) [first] we have fellowship with one another, [then] the Blood cleanses us from all sin." (KJV with comments). Paul's warning to the Corinthian church in 1 Cor 11 about taking communion without "discerning the body of Christ" was not aimed at people living in outbroken sin so much but rather it was the clincher of his long argument that those who divided the church up with their notions and refused to "love each other as I (Christ) have loved you," were defiling the church of God and them God would destroy. As the old bluegrass Gospel song says in its chorus; "If you don't love your neighbor, then you don't love God." So yeah it's hard to release our notions and love those we don't agree with; but that is exactly why Jesus says we have to do it. We can't do it in our own strength, we have to turn to Him for the continual supply of Unselfish, Unconditional love with which He loved and Loves us. Our mission, should we choose to accept Him, is to live in this world the way he lived. Impossible Mission? Yup, unless we surrender every aspect of our being to Him and let Him ressurect every part of us from "dead in sin" to "ALIVE IN CHRIST" through the power of the indwelling, baptising (think immersion) Holy Spirit. We are after all bought with a price, we are not our own anymore (look where self ownership and self will got us; damned) therefore we must glorify him in both our Bodies and Spirit. Only one I know can do that is Jesus in us, our hope of glory, living through us. Lord please make it so!!! Write on and live on Bear His Flame; Be the Light! SGD dave Bearing in mind, of course, that loving each other is not the same thing as tolorating sin. Some people read this passage, and the others like it, and take it to mean (and I'll use an extream example here that hopefully doesn't happen just to illistrate the point) that we should be okay with Brother Smith being a murderer, because, after all, he claims to be a Christian and we are to live in unity. We are also commanded to correct each other (in the above example, someone should probably point out to Brother Smith that that God really doesn't like murder...). The part that most of us seem to miss is that we are to do so in Christain love, praying about it, and gently pointing out to our fellow Christains that they are dis-obeying God. Not out of superiority, better-than-you-ism, or with a judgemental attitude, but out of genuine love and commpasion for them. 1 Chorintians 5 is a good example of this. There were people in that church that were sinning and happy about how tolerant they were being. Paul calls them on it; not because he wants to shove his version of Christainity on them, but because God hates sin, and Paul loved and cared for the people and didn't want them to face God's wrath and not even know they had done anything wrong. Sometimes, it's more loving to call someone on something that we know they're doing wrong. But, we have to do it with meekness and love. We want to show our brother who is stumbling the love of Christ, not a self-superior attidute of hate and supposed superiority. We have to remember that it is not us who saves, it is Christ. It is not us who makes all these rules about what is right and wrong, but God. I think what gives Christians a bad name in this area is that many forget this. We, as Christians, are to hate sin because God hates sin. What we forget, is that only Christ can conquer sin. Ridicluling someone's sinful behavior and attemping to force them into outward appearances of good can only end in disaster for all. Only Christ can change the heart, and we have to lovingly point wayward belivers back to Christ. To not do so would be not to love them.
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Teskas
Jun 1, 2012 12:59:10 GMT -5
Post by newburydave on Jun 1, 2012 12:59:10 GMT -5
We must Love the Sinner while Hating the Sin. Sometimes I think the visible church gets that backward.
John Wesley said "Give me 100 men who Love nothing but God and their neighbor, hate nothing but the Devil and sin and I'll change the world for God in a generation."
God did (more than 100 at final count) and Wesley did.
The Bible still says we are to reprove our brother/sister in a loving way and not allow them to continue on in sin they are unaware of. Most people who are living in the habitual practice of something the Bible calls sin are convinced due to ignorance of God's word or the deceptiveness of human logic and reason (Science falsely so called) that what they are doing is not really wrong.
We must lovingly try to persuade them of the wrongness of it. Notice the emphasis here is on persuade. It takes a lot more to persuade someone of something close to them than to just blast them with condemnation.
I think that judgmental people forget (or never considered) is that the whole purpose is to save a soul from misery and eternal loss, not make yourself feel better because; "bless god, I told 'em, I sure did and didn't pull any punches either!"
IMHO that approach is neither loving nor persuasive; and it certainly isn't meek like Paul exhorts us "such an one restore in/with a spirit of meekness, lest you also be tempted." It always struck me that the temptation Paul warns against there is spiritual pride.
When Paul was before Aquilla he "Reasoned" about Sin, Righteousness and the divine Judgement that is coming. Reasoned means that he used his best, most persuasive arguments (in the sense of logical arguments) to make Aquilla see the higher truths of God's revelation. In short he tried to lead the king to "Think with His Higher Mind (Metanoia) about his life and eternity."
Ultimately it is the Holy Ghost using our fragments who truly convinces people of their sin and gives them repentance, but he expects us to intervene in the drunken spiral of thier thoughts and inject the truth so He can spark it to life.
Our words must find entrance into their minds and hearts (like seed in the prepared soil). Perceived love is the only thing I know that can do that between people, make what we say worthy to be listened to and seriously considered.
Blessings on you beloved siblings
SGD dave
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