Post by iris89 on Aug 22, 2007 9:09:53 GMT -5
Revealing Reality is Upbuilding And Positive:
The message that all genuine (true) followers of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ have been commissioned to preach is both good news and the exposure of wrong practices. As Jesus (Yeshua) said as recorded at Mark 13:10, "And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations." (American Standard Version; ASV). In this work of preaching the good news, Jesus (Yeshua) himself set the example as shown at Luke 4:43, "But he said unto them, I must preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also: for therefore was I sent." (ASV). Also, what the apostles preached was also described per 1 Thessalonians 2:1-4 as good news, "For yourselves, brethren, know our entering in unto you, that it hath not been found vain: 2 but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as ye know, at Philippi, we waxed bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God in much conflict. 3 For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: 4 but even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted with the gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who proveth our hearts." (ASV); and at 2 Corinthians 2:12, "Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ, and when a door was opened unto me in the Lord," (ASV). Such a message is upbuilding and positive.
In harmony with the declaration by angels given at Revelation 14:6-7, "And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he saith with a great voice, Fear God, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters." (ASV). It is imperative that everyone everywhere be told about the true God, Almighty God (YHWH), his name, his marvelous qualities, his wonderful works, his loving purpose, what he requires of all mankind, and our accountability to him. The good news will of course include the fact that Almighty God (YHWH) will destroy the wicked, who dishonor him and spoil life for other humans such as those who destroy the property of and murder others. Of course, all genuine (true) followers of Christ have a great warning work to do which consist of two parts; (1) telling them of the good news of the Gospel of Christ contained in the Bible; (2) And, warning and educating them with respect to false religion, doctrines, and practices. But it is not the position of genuine (true) Christians to judge anyone as this assignment has been given to Jesus (Yeshua) Christ by his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) per John 5:22, "For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son;" (ASV). The desire of genuine (true) followers of Christ is that as many as possible will respond favorably to the Bible's message so that it truly will prove to be good news for them per Proverbs 2:20-22, "That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. 22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it." (ASV).
To that end, all false doctrine and practices must be exposed since all need to be showing love to their neighbors including Jews and telling them of the first step toward salvation given at John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (AV). Messages of hate assist no one in learning the truth per John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Authorized King James Bible; AV).
Genuine (true) followers of Christ in showing true love are under obligation to exposing false doctrine so individuals can correct their wrong path. Doing so is NOT being hateful, but of loving necessity exposing false doctrine and wrong practice so amends can be made. It is necessary to expose false doctrine and practices in order to assist all in knowing the truth, per John 8:32, and to assist all in making a change in their lives by getting out of groups and/or religions that practice false doctrine and wrong practices.
All need to learn about love and that includes warning others with respect false doctrine and wrong practices instead of thinking of wrong things such as hate, greed, and a lust for violence all of which Almighty God (YHWH) hates. What true love of neighbor is clearly shown in the following,
<<"Love is patient and is kind, love does not envy. Love does not brag, is not proud, does not behave itself inappropriately, does not seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil. does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things... I Corinthians 13
Love is the power of faith. Faith needs love to be made perfect, because perfect faith results in faithfullness and faithfullness is a work of love. Faith and love go hand in hand because faith wants to believe, just as love trusts, faith sees through the darkness and weathers the storm, just as love endures all things, and faith seeks to put God first just as love always gives. 1 Corinthians 13 :4-7 Our faith is not just knowledge about God but a personal relationship with Him as Lord, and any relationship requires love to succeed, to endure trials and to grow, including our relationships with one another because we are called to be family in the Lord and to love one another. The perfect example of faith powered by love is seen in the life of Jesus Christ, who manifests Gods love ...
Because love is the power of faith we should focus on love, seize it and cultivate it... and we can because God is love, and He imparts that love to us when we draw near to Him as the scripture says... whatever touches what is holy shall become holy Leviticus 6:27, and love is of the Holy Spirit. By faith we draw near to God through sincere prayer, entering into His presence, because when Jesus died on the cross, the temple curtain separating God and man was torn in two from top to bottom... Matthew 27:51 Gods promise says that if we draw near to Him then He will draw near to us, James 4:8 and when He who is Holy draws near to us then our spirits are sanctified by His Holy Spirit as His holiness is imparted to our spirits. If we allow God to fill our hearts with His Holy Spirit then we are filled with the love of God because love is the pre-emanate characteristic of God's holiness. Because God is the source of our love, love is the fruit of faith... Galatians 5: 22.
When we submit to the love of God we have combined faith with love and have the power to fulfill the royal law, which is to love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul... Matthew 22:37-39 If we keep the royal law James 2:8 we are being faithful and are perfecting faith by faithfulness... James 2:22 If we love God we will seek to please Him and keep the royal law because the royal law embraces Gods will and all of His commandments. Without love we can't fulfill the royal law because we can't love the Lord unless we have love. To manifest the love of God is to overcome sin, whereas to not manifest the love of God is to sin. For the royal law is not to know about the Lord, but to love the Lord... and to love one another as ourselves. We can't do one without the other, because we can't truly love God whom we can't see if we don't love mankind who is made in the image of God. When we love one another we are manifesting our love for God whom we can't see by loving His image. If we love one another then we also love God because we can't love the reflection without loving its source. And if we love God we will love Jesus Christ and allow Him to reign in our hearts, keepings all of His commandments John 14:21 by subduing the will and power of the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that faith working through love does the will of God by turning the thought into reality which pleases Him and fulfills the royal law...
Faith without love is incomplete, residing only in the mind as knowledge, and knowledge of Gods will alone can not perfect us by saving us from sin but allowing Jesus Christ to reign in our hearts. If knowledge of God's will alone could save us then salvation would have been through the law of Moses or even a Christian law handed down by Jesus, and there would not have been any need for Christ to die for our sins Galatians 2:21 and dwell in our hearts. If Jesus reigns in our hearts then the love of Christ also reigns because He is the manifestation of God's love. The heart without the love of God does not have Jesus Christ and the soul without the Spirit of Christ is not born again Romans 8:9 and cannot be perfected by being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ which is true salvation and the result of faith. But the soul which manifests the love of God has been washed clean by the Holy Spirit Romans 15:16 and manifests the spirit and glory of Jesus Christ... "[source - Simon Strahler]>>.
The need to lovingly try to assist others is stressed in the example of the watchman of old, the one who lovingly and faithfully warned others and the one who failed to do so as shown at Ezekiel 33:1-9, "And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman; 3 if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 4 then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul. 6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. 7 So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. 8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand. 9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul." (ASV).
So as can be seen, i***enuine (true) follower of Christ is to show true love to his neighbor in keeping with Jesus (Yeshua) Christ direction as given at Matthew 5:43-48, "Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: 44 but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; 45 that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. 46 For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same? 48 Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (ASV).
Your Friend in Christ Iris89
The message that all genuine (true) followers of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ have been commissioned to preach is both good news and the exposure of wrong practices. As Jesus (Yeshua) said as recorded at Mark 13:10, "And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations." (American Standard Version; ASV). In this work of preaching the good news, Jesus (Yeshua) himself set the example as shown at Luke 4:43, "But he said unto them, I must preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also: for therefore was I sent." (ASV). Also, what the apostles preached was also described per 1 Thessalonians 2:1-4 as good news, "For yourselves, brethren, know our entering in unto you, that it hath not been found vain: 2 but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as ye know, at Philippi, we waxed bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God in much conflict. 3 For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: 4 but even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted with the gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who proveth our hearts." (ASV); and at 2 Corinthians 2:12, "Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ, and when a door was opened unto me in the Lord," (ASV). Such a message is upbuilding and positive.
In harmony with the declaration by angels given at Revelation 14:6-7, "And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he saith with a great voice, Fear God, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters." (ASV). It is imperative that everyone everywhere be told about the true God, Almighty God (YHWH), his name, his marvelous qualities, his wonderful works, his loving purpose, what he requires of all mankind, and our accountability to him. The good news will of course include the fact that Almighty God (YHWH) will destroy the wicked, who dishonor him and spoil life for other humans such as those who destroy the property of and murder others. Of course, all genuine (true) followers of Christ have a great warning work to do which consist of two parts; (1) telling them of the good news of the Gospel of Christ contained in the Bible; (2) And, warning and educating them with respect to false religion, doctrines, and practices. But it is not the position of genuine (true) Christians to judge anyone as this assignment has been given to Jesus (Yeshua) Christ by his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) per John 5:22, "For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son;" (ASV). The desire of genuine (true) followers of Christ is that as many as possible will respond favorably to the Bible's message so that it truly will prove to be good news for them per Proverbs 2:20-22, "That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. 22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it." (ASV).
To that end, all false doctrine and practices must be exposed since all need to be showing love to their neighbors including Jews and telling them of the first step toward salvation given at John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (AV). Messages of hate assist no one in learning the truth per John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Authorized King James Bible; AV).
Genuine (true) followers of Christ in showing true love are under obligation to exposing false doctrine so individuals can correct their wrong path. Doing so is NOT being hateful, but of loving necessity exposing false doctrine and wrong practice so amends can be made. It is necessary to expose false doctrine and practices in order to assist all in knowing the truth, per John 8:32, and to assist all in making a change in their lives by getting out of groups and/or religions that practice false doctrine and wrong practices.
All need to learn about love and that includes warning others with respect false doctrine and wrong practices instead of thinking of wrong things such as hate, greed, and a lust for violence all of which Almighty God (YHWH) hates. What true love of neighbor is clearly shown in the following,
<<"Love is patient and is kind, love does not envy. Love does not brag, is not proud, does not behave itself inappropriately, does not seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil. does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things... I Corinthians 13
Love is the power of faith. Faith needs love to be made perfect, because perfect faith results in faithfullness and faithfullness is a work of love. Faith and love go hand in hand because faith wants to believe, just as love trusts, faith sees through the darkness and weathers the storm, just as love endures all things, and faith seeks to put God first just as love always gives. 1 Corinthians 13 :4-7 Our faith is not just knowledge about God but a personal relationship with Him as Lord, and any relationship requires love to succeed, to endure trials and to grow, including our relationships with one another because we are called to be family in the Lord and to love one another. The perfect example of faith powered by love is seen in the life of Jesus Christ, who manifests Gods love ...
Because love is the power of faith we should focus on love, seize it and cultivate it... and we can because God is love, and He imparts that love to us when we draw near to Him as the scripture says... whatever touches what is holy shall become holy Leviticus 6:27, and love is of the Holy Spirit. By faith we draw near to God through sincere prayer, entering into His presence, because when Jesus died on the cross, the temple curtain separating God and man was torn in two from top to bottom... Matthew 27:51 Gods promise says that if we draw near to Him then He will draw near to us, James 4:8 and when He who is Holy draws near to us then our spirits are sanctified by His Holy Spirit as His holiness is imparted to our spirits. If we allow God to fill our hearts with His Holy Spirit then we are filled with the love of God because love is the pre-emanate characteristic of God's holiness. Because God is the source of our love, love is the fruit of faith... Galatians 5: 22.
When we submit to the love of God we have combined faith with love and have the power to fulfill the royal law, which is to love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul... Matthew 22:37-39 If we keep the royal law James 2:8 we are being faithful and are perfecting faith by faithfulness... James 2:22 If we love God we will seek to please Him and keep the royal law because the royal law embraces Gods will and all of His commandments. Without love we can't fulfill the royal law because we can't love the Lord unless we have love. To manifest the love of God is to overcome sin, whereas to not manifest the love of God is to sin. For the royal law is not to know about the Lord, but to love the Lord... and to love one another as ourselves. We can't do one without the other, because we can't truly love God whom we can't see if we don't love mankind who is made in the image of God. When we love one another we are manifesting our love for God whom we can't see by loving His image. If we love one another then we also love God because we can't love the reflection without loving its source. And if we love God we will love Jesus Christ and allow Him to reign in our hearts, keepings all of His commandments John 14:21 by subduing the will and power of the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that faith working through love does the will of God by turning the thought into reality which pleases Him and fulfills the royal law...
Faith without love is incomplete, residing only in the mind as knowledge, and knowledge of Gods will alone can not perfect us by saving us from sin but allowing Jesus Christ to reign in our hearts. If knowledge of God's will alone could save us then salvation would have been through the law of Moses or even a Christian law handed down by Jesus, and there would not have been any need for Christ to die for our sins Galatians 2:21 and dwell in our hearts. If Jesus reigns in our hearts then the love of Christ also reigns because He is the manifestation of God's love. The heart without the love of God does not have Jesus Christ and the soul without the Spirit of Christ is not born again Romans 8:9 and cannot be perfected by being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ which is true salvation and the result of faith. But the soul which manifests the love of God has been washed clean by the Holy Spirit Romans 15:16 and manifests the spirit and glory of Jesus Christ... "[source - Simon Strahler]>>.
The need to lovingly try to assist others is stressed in the example of the watchman of old, the one who lovingly and faithfully warned others and the one who failed to do so as shown at Ezekiel 33:1-9, "And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman; 3 if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 4 then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul. 6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. 7 So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. 8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand. 9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul." (ASV).
So as can be seen, i***enuine (true) follower of Christ is to show true love to his neighbor in keeping with Jesus (Yeshua) Christ direction as given at Matthew 5:43-48, "Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: 44 but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; 45 that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. 46 For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same? 48 Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (ASV).
Your Friend in Christ Iris89