Author Topic: Christ's Ways (Read 10967 times)

Olde Tymer · « **Reply #143 on:** June 21, 2019, 09:31:49 am »

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2Cor 6:1-2 . . As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain; for He says: In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

There's a saving relative to the sum of all fears.

A saving relative to providence and support.

A saving relative to regeneration,

A saving relative to hope, and

A saving relative to resurrection.

When people fail to discuss those five savings separately and distinctly, they inevitable embroil themselves in futile debating that never gets to the bottom of anything.

The saving relative to the sum of all fears is of course obtained entirely thru faith via the kindness and generosity of God, viz; it's a gift, totally free of charge and no strings attached; no works required. In point of fact, it has to be obtained that way or nobody would make it to safety when they passed on-- all would be lost.

On the other hand; works are very key in the saving relative to providence and support.

"No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." (John 15:1-7)

Nobody really wants to be a stick of ol' dried up yard debris, but that's what happens when Christ's followers go off-reservation and follow their own noses.

Anyway, the Corinthian church was in danger of losing out on God's providence and support due to their leniency with sinful members in their midst. Were that to continue, then they'd still be a Christian church alright, but it would be a christless Christian church.

"If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth." (1John 1:6)

The Greek word for "fellowship" is koinonia (koy-nohn-ee'-ah) which basically refers to partnership and/or participation.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #144 on:** June 22, 2019, 07:38:16 am »

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2Cor 6:14-18 . . Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?

. . . for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith The Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith The Lord Almighty.

That commandment clearly forbids intermarriage between Christians and non-Christians. Failure to comply is not only grossly disobedient, but it's unwise and can have tragic results; for example:

"When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose." (Gen 6:1-2)

If we assume that the "sons of God" were believers and the "daughters of men" were not; then it would appear that back in Noah's day, believing men threw caution to the wind and built themselves harems of unbelieving women. What happened to those believing men when it came time for the Flood? Well, for one thing; they had lost their piety.

"The Lord then said to Noah: Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation." (Gen 7:1)

None of the other sons of God in that day were righteous; hence they weren't invited aboard the ark. All of those men-- whose wives were chosen based solely upon sex appeal sans any spiritual prudence whatsoever --perished in the Flood right along with everybody else.

Another incident is located at Nehemiah 13:23-31; which led to the break-up of homes. Were Nehemiah to do so in our day, the media would crucify him for cruelty to children. But Nehemiah wasn't the one at fault. God's people had entered into illegal marriages; consequently their families became collateral damage.
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guest8 · « **Reply #145 on:** June 22, 2019, 07:37:40 pm »

Quote from: Olde Tymer on June 22, 2019, 07:38:16 am

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2Cor 6:14-18 . . Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?

. . . for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith The Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith The Lord Almighty.

That commandment clearly forbids intermarriage between Christians and non-Christians. Failure to comply is not only grossly disobedient, but it's unwise and can have tragic results; for example:

"When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose." (Gen 6:1-2)

If we assume that the "sons of God" were believers and the "daughters of men" were not; then it would appear that back in Noah's day, believing men threw caution to the wind and built themselves harems of unbelieving women. What happened to those believing men when it came time for the Flood? Well, for one thing; they had lost their piety.

"The Lord then said to Noah: Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation." (Gen 7:1)

None of the other sons of God in that day were righteous; hence they weren't invited aboard the ark. All of those men-- whose wives were chosen based solely upon sex appeal sans any spiritual prudence whatsoever --perished in the Flood right along with everybody else.

Another incident is located at Nehemiah 13:23-31; which led to the break-up of homes. Were Nehemiah to do so in our day, the media would crucify him for cruelty to children. But Nehemiah wasn't the one at fault. God's people had entered into illegal marriages; consequently their families became collateral damage.
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Oh my
Blade

Olde Tymer · « **Reply #146 on:** June 23, 2019, 09:29:35 am »

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2Cor 7:1 . . Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of deference to God's wishes.

Webster's defines "deference" as affected and/or ingratiating regard for another's wishes. Deference is the opposite of resistance, rebellion, defiance, indifference, stubbornness, and/or going your own way.

Contaminations of one's body would include things like drug addiction, alcoholism, adultery, promiscuity, gluttony, eating blood, etc.

Contaminations of the spirit likely refers to things that influence one's thinking and/or have an effect upon their personality.

The promises are those listed at 2Cor 6:14-18.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #147 on:** June 24, 2019, 08:56:52 am »

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2Cor 8:11-15 . . If the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.

NOTE: "if the willingness is there" tells me that church officers should not pressure and/or shame their people into giving, viz: break down their resistance; like talking people into buying cars and vacuum cleaners, so to speak.

That directive is an excellent passage for debunking the so-called Faith Promise; which is a popular scheme for tricking church members to pledge money they don't have while expecting God's providence will somehow provide it. That is not the Lord's wish. By means of Paul, the Lord says to give out of what you already have, not what you hope to have later; I mean: it is not His wish to copy ENRON's mark-to-market accounting practices and/or futures trading with pork bellies and soy beans.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #148 on:** June 25, 2019, 07:44:37 am »

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2Cor 9:7 . . Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver.

Towards what end is the giving spoken of in the New Testament? To finance ambitious building programs? Well; Christians back then met in homes. Did their contributions go towards obtaining more homes to meet in? No.

Within the context of the New Testament, giving in the early church was charitable. It met needs rather than expenses; and those needs were typically congregational rather than universal; viz: their charity went towards those amongst themselves and/or other congregations that were hungry, sick, injured, homeless, alone, helpless, missionaries, full-time-church officers, orphans, widows, abandoned, and/or persecuted, etc.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #149 on:** June 26, 2019, 08:41:30 am »

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2Cor 10:7 . . If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should reconsider that we belong to Christ just as much as he.

It's amazing that any Christian's ego would be so inflated as to think themselves holier than an apostle, however, there are some people out there with a pretty bad case of conceit who are up to it. I can just hear the sneer in their voices as they think to themselves: "What's so special about him? He puts his pants on one leg at a time just like everybody else." That's the voice of one of the most destructive human passions there is: malicious rivalry. It got Abel murdered (1John 3:12) and it got Christ crucified. (Matt 27:15-18)

"And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words" (Mark 12:13)

Just look at that! The Lord's enemies actually stalked him, hoping he would slip up and say something they could use against him. Who were the "they" in that passage? None other than Judaism's religious elite: the best of the best among Moses' people.

"And as he taught them, he said: Is it not written: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of robbers. The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching" (Mark 11:17-18)

"Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. But not during the feast-- they said --or there may be a riot among the people." (Matt 26:3-5)

You've got to wonder how it came about that holy men ordained to represent God, and to speak for God, ever became so Machiavellian.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #150 on:** June 27, 2019, 08:13:08 am »

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2Cor 13:5 . . Examine yourselves, whether you're in the faith; test your own selves. Don't you know of your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you're all reprobates?

The only proof-positive way for individuals to know for sure whether Christ is in them is by getting it from the horse's mouth.

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." (Rom 8:15)

The koiné Greek word for "testifies" means to corroborate; defined by Webster's as: to support or help prove (a statement, theory, etc.) by providing information or evidence.

This kind of support usually isn't public: it's private. In other words: it's one-on-one, spirit to spirit, heart to heart. Needless to say then, this kind of corroboration is supernatural rather than academic which is why Paul said to test "your own selves" rather than others because no one but you and God together can do this for you.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #151 on:** June 28, 2019, 08:47:29 am »

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Gal 1:8 . . But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

The koiné Greek word for "accursed" in that passage is anathema (an-ath' em-ah) which has to do with banishment and/or disassociation, viz: do not think of these people as fellow Christians.

An application of this, within the epistle to Galatians, is 5:4 where it says:

"You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace."

Whenever Paul spoke of "the law" he was usually referring to the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. So, in a nutshell; the anathema clearly applies to people who insist that it's necessary to comply with the Ten Commandments to get to heaven.

More groups worthy of anathema are those who insist that Christ's crucified dead body wasn't restored to life; for example Jehovah's Witnesses. Another group is the Latter Day Saints-- a.k.a. Mormons --whose version of the gospel is embellished with some very strange notions. And then there's Muslims, whose holy book, the Koran, says that Jesus wasn't put to death on the cross. The JWs currently number around 8.2 million, the Mormons around 16.3 million, and the Muslims around 1.2 billion.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #152 on:** June 29, 2019, 08:45:08 am »

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Gal 5:1 . . Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

The yoke of bondage about which Paul wrote is no doubt the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; which is described by Acts 15:10 as "neither our fathers, nor are we, able to bear"

A very serious problem with that covenant is that it allows no atonements for willful disobedience.

"Anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes The Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised The Lord's word and broken His commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him." (Num 15:30-31)

"Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out." (Deut 27:26)

"If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment." (Heb 10:26-27)

The pronoun "we" in that passage refers to the author's fellow Jews whose association with God is regulated by the first covenant, viz: the yoke of bondage. Christians don't associate with God by means of that covenant; nor are they expected to.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #153 on:** June 30, 2019, 07:34:05 am »

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Gal 5:2-3 . . Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

The koiné Greek word for "man" in the above passage is anthropos (anth' ro-pos) a common word in the New Testament for humans of either gender. The specific word for males is arrhen (ar'-hrane) and/or arsen (ar' sane).

Modern females undergo conversion to Judaism by means of a ritual bath called Mikveh; which, for them, is equivalent to male circumcision. The exact process by which females in the Old Testament underwent conversion-- e.g. Ruth --is unknown.

I think it safe to assume that the circumcision Paul warned against was a nondescript label that included not only the male kind but also by whatever means that females in his day underwent conversion to Judaism.

Seeing as how the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy doesn't specify a God-given procedure for female conversion to Judaism, then I'd guess that just about any method would be sufficient so long as the ritual is conducted by someone authorized to do so.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #154 on:** July 01, 2019, 09:28:49 am »

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Gal 5:13a . . You, my brethren, were called to be free. But do not use your liberty to indulge the base nature;

A number of years ago, I raised my hand in Sunday school and asked the teacher for an explanation of "the flesh". Well; before he could answer, his wife chimed in uninvited and, in a confident tone, went on to give me and the class a rather confusing spiritual definition. The teacher embellished her comments with a few of his own and by the time they wrapped, I figured neither of them knew what they were talking about.

Well; in time I discovered that "the flesh" is just simply humanity's base nature, a.k.a. human nature; and most everyone instinctively knows what that is without me having to explain; so I won't.

Christ's followers are sometimes accused of practicing a religion that gives people a license to steal, so to speak. Well; that is very true to a certain extent because his followers do have immunity from any, and all, of the curses that the Old Testament imposes on scofflaws as per Lev 26:3-38, Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:1-69. However, God prefers that people dead to Old Testament law not allow human nature be the dominant force in their lives. (cf. Rom 6:1-13 and Col 3:1-17)
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #155 on:** July 02, 2019, 08:02:40 am »

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Gal 5:16 . . I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the base nature.

Some years ago, in a boatyard where I was employed on Shelter Island in San Diego, I was listening to a young Christian boast of his dedication to Christ. So I asked him: What about the command to walk in the Spirit? How are you doing with that one?

Well, the brash, pleased-with-himself youngster admitted he didn't even know what that meant, let alone how to do it. (chuckle) In regards to "dedication" Mr. Super Saint hadn't even got to first base yet. (judging by the fact that was on a third marriage last time I checked, I'd have to say he never did get the hang of it.)

Anyway, there's nothing mystical about this. Walking in the Spirit is just simply doing what God wants rather than letting your natural impulses and/or your own thinking control your conduct all the time.

For example: the instructions: "Abstain from food tainted by idols, from promiscuity, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood." When a Christian complies with those instructions; they're walking in the Spirit; but when they're ignoring those instructions and eating whatever they want and sleeping around without regard for God's feelings about it; then they're fulfilling the lusts of the base nature. It's just that simple.
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