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DIR Return to: Christian Theology
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#Post#: 4468--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 16, 2019, 8:25 pm
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[font=arial]Rom 14:13b . . Instead, make up your mind not to put
any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
The koiné Greek word translated "stumbling block" means a stub.
For example: one year I cut down a troublesome bush in my front
yard and left a bit of a stump sticking up out of the ground
that later damaged my lawn mower when I accidentally ran over it
while cutting the grass; which had grown tall enough to conceal
the stump. In that respect, stumbling blocks are hazards not
easily detected.
Within the context of the 14th of Romans, I would equate
stumbling blocks to the clever sophistry that silver-tongued
orators employ to persuade people to do things contrary to their
convictions and their conscience. In other words; there are
people out there with the skills to make a lie sound like the
God's truth (cf. Eph 4:11-14) and if you get pulled into a
debate with those people you'll probably lose.
NOTE: The Star Wars era spawned a pertinent colloquialism that
goes like this: "Let the Wookie win one." When it comes to
gray-area disputes, that colloquialism is pretty good advice.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4478--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 17, 2019, 10:04 pm
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[font=arial]Rom 14:14-16 . . I know and am perfectly sure on the
authority of The Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is
wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that
person it is wrong. And if another Christian is distressed by
what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don't
let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. Then you will
not be condemned for doing something you know is alright.
For example: We may believe that there is nothing wrong with
eating non-Kosher foods; but our Christian dinner companion
might feel very strongly about it. Well; sure, we can get by
with eating non-Kosher foods; but Rom 14:14-16 is saying don't.
In other words; it is Christ's wishes that we restrain ourselves
from eating non-Kosher foods in front of our Christian
companions out of respect for their feelings about it.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4491--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 18, 2019, 8:08 pm
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[font=arial]Rom 14:19 . . Let us therefore make every effort to
do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
The koiné Greek word for "edification" is oikodome
(oy-kod-om-ay') which is a word related to the building trades;
and in this instance would be related to structural improvements
like a new wing, or a bedroom, or another floor; and in many
instances adds square footage to an already-existing structure
and/or improves its appearance, its value, and it's utility.
Edification then, builds up instead of tearing down.
Webster's defines "peace" as a state in which there is no war or
fighting; viz: harmony and mutual concord.
"For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want
you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear
that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger,
factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder." (2Cor
12:19-20)
_[/font]
#Post#: 4527--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 20, 2019, 6:03 pm
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[font=arial]Rom 14:20-21 . . Do not destroy the work of God for
the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man
to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
The critters that God lists in the Jews' covenanted law as
unsuitable for food aren't intrinsically unsuitable. They're
only unsuitable for the Jews because that's how God wants it for
His people. But outside the covenant; and for everybody else:
whatever you'd like to eat can be eaten; all flora and all
fauna.
"Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I
gave you the green plants, I now give you everything." (Gen 9:3)
"The voice spoke to him a second time; "Do not call anything
impure that God has made clean." (Acts 10:15)
But still; you wouldn't want to invite someone over for dinner
serving foods that they sincerely believe are wrong for them to
eat. Prepare something else that you both can eat. That's the
Christian way to go about it; it's also the sympathetic way to
go about it. There are times when it's appropriate to
accommodate people's feelings about certain things. The world
has enough intolerant bigots as is; don't be one.
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#Post#: 4553--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 22, 2019, 12:41 pm
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[font=arial]Rom 14:22b-23 . . Blessed is the man who does not
condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts
is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith;
and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
In other words, it's possible to be wrong even when you're right
because it's a sin to forge ahead when one's conscience is not
sure it's okay to do so.
I once knew a Christian who felt guilty just setting foot inside
a BlockBuster video store. Was he silly for feeling that way?
Not in his mind; and it's your own personal moral compass that
counts in gray areas. Some Christians can't permit themselves to
dine in a restaurant that serves alcohol; while others see
nothing wrong with it. If those two kinds of Christians should
perchance dine out together, it's the more sensitive conscience
that determines where to eat.
In other words; it makes good spiritual sense to avoid insisting
upon your freedoms and rights sometimes in order to prevent
dragging your fellow Christians into something that makes them
feel guilty and/or uncomfortable.
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#Post#: 4576--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 23, 2019, 7:58 pm
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[font=arial]Rom 15:1-2 . . We may know that certain things make
no difference, but we cannot just go ahead and do them to please
ourselves. We must be considerate of the doubts and fears of
those who believe certain things are wrong.
Webster's defines "considerate" as thoughtful of the rights and
feelings of others, i.e. sympathetic regard; which is no doubt
near impossible for Christians afflicted with narcissistic
personality disorder: a toxic psychological condition
characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, a need
for excessive admiration, exploitive behavior in relationships,
and a lack of empathy.
I think this would be a good place to interject a note
pertaining to the statement below:
"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you
love one another." (John 13:35)
For many of us who grew up in dysfunctional families, broken
homes, foster systems and/or orphanages et al; the concept of
love doesn't resonate in our thinking; viz: it just goes in one
ear and right out the other because we quite literally have no
points of reference in our minds to aid comprehending what The
Lord means by love; and this is what makes his commandments
interspersed throughout the epistles so valuable-- many of them
not only show us how to recognize love when we encounter it; but
also how to exemplify it in our own lives so that those of us
who were deprived of love growing up are not left to figure it
out on our own.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4586--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 24, 2019, 8:13 pm
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[font=arial]Rom 15:7 . . Accept one another, then, just as
Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
That's a bit tricky but I think it just means all Christians
should acknowledge each other as Christians, and treat one
another as Christians though they may differ in opinion about
what constitutes a true Christian.
For example: it's not unusual to hear a Christian pontificate
that real Christians would never watch R-rated movies, gamble,
wear a speedo or a string bikini, use cosmetics, smoke
marijuana, expose cleavage or wear skin tight yoga pants in
public, stop for a beer on the way home from work, have a glass
of wine before bedtime, listen to RAP music, ditch church and
Sunday school for years at a time, or go in a bar or a nightclub
where there's topless female dancers up on a stage twining
themselves around a pole while leering men stuff currency into
the hems of their skimpy little costumes.
Too many Christians have the opinion that unless others believe
and practice the very same way they believe and practice, then
those others are not Christians. Well; the easiest way to settle
this is to follow Webster's definition that a Christian is
simply someone who professes a belief in the teachings of Jesus
Christ. That's it: no more, no less, and no qualifiers. They
don't even have to practice The Lord's teachings; they only have
to profess to believe in them.
An internet forum I was on in the past made it even easier. In
order to qualify as a Christian on that forum; one only had to
believe they were a Christian; viz: they didn't have to prove
they were a Christian; no, they only had to be convinced in
their own minds that they were a Christian. If we all followed
that rule it would put a stop to a lot of unnecessary
quarreling, name calling, and bad feelings.
NOTE: Heresy is subjective. In other words: what's heresy to a
Catholic may not be heresy to a Methodist, and vice versa. And
what's heresy to a Mormon may not be heresy to a Jehovah's
Witness, and vice versa. And what's heresy to a Baptist may not
be heresy to the Church Of God, and vice versa. So my advice is:
never, ever call another Christian a heretic.
Just to be on the safe side; edit that label from your remarks
because it just might be that you yourself are the one infected
with heresy and don't know it; viz: be circumspect with your
choice of words because the hapless day just may arrive when you
are forced to eat them.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4604--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 25, 2019, 8:53 pm
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[font=arial]Rom 15:27 . . For if the Gentiles have shared in the
Israelite's spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Israelites
to share with them their material blessings.
Within the context of Rom 15:25-27, the Israelites to whom Paul
refers are not those who believe and practice Judaism; but those
who believe and practice Christianity. It is unbecoming for
Christians to support religions that undermine their Master's;
especially when it's taken into consideration that 1Cor 16:22
requires Christ's followers to regard the followers of religions
opposed to his as cursed.
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#Post#: 4630--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 27, 2019, 12:04 pm
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[font=arial]Rom 16:17-18 . . I urge you, brothers, beware of
those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are
contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own
appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of
naïve people.
In the 17th chapter of John's gospel, Christ prayed for unity.
People in church who cause division and put obstacles in your
way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned are
detrimental to his wishes.
NOTE: Christianity isn't a democracy. It's a theocracy. The New
Testament Greek word for lord and/or master in Luke 2:29, Acts
4:24, 2Tim 2:21, 2Pet 2:1, and Rev 6:10 is despotes
(des-pot'-ace) from which we get our English word despot;
defined by Webster's as a ruler with absolute power and
authority.
People in church following a fire in their belly instead of the
wishes of Christianity's despot are guilty of insurrection. In
their own minds; the rebels no doubt honestly believe themselves
working for the greater good, but that path is risky. For
example: failure to obey God cost King Saul the loss of his
reign. (1Sam 15:22-26)
"smooth talk" is the practice of sophistry; defined as a reason
or an argument that sounds correct but at its core is actually
false; viz: subtly deceptive reasoning or argumentation.
Sophistry is typically rational, reasonable, and sensible; but
the thing to keep in mind is that faith believes what's revealed
to it rather than only what makes sense to it.
According to Eph 4:11-14 the very reason that Christ endows some
of his followers to speak for him is so that the rest of his
followers may have access to true premises upon which to build
their faith and thus achieve the unity for which he prayed.
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#Post#: 4655--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 28, 2019, 7:56 pm
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[font=arial]1Cor 1:10 . . I appeal to you, brothers, in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another
so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be
perfectly united in mind and thought.
I think it would be interesting to analyze the incident that
prompted Paul to issue that order.
"My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that
there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this; one of you
says: I follow Paul; and another says: I follow Apollos; and
another says: I follow Cephas; and still another says: I follow
Christ." (1Cor 1:11-12)
The "divisions" that Paul addressed were apparently related to
the sins of rivalry and elitism-- some even going so far as to
allege that their baptism was superior to the "second-rate"
baptisms undergone by others.
Modern examples of that kind of elitism today might go like
this: one might brag "I was saved at a Louis Palau crusade"
while, not to be outdone, another might retort "That's nothing;
I was saved at a Billy Graham crusade" or "My pastor got his
degree at Dallas Theological Seminary" while another may counter
by saying "So? My pastor got his doctorate at Yale Divinity
School" or "I listen to Thru The Bible with J.Vernon McGee every
day on the radio" while another may retort by saying "He's okay
for some people; but Back To The Bible with Woodrow Kroll is
where it's really at." or "I use nothing but the King James
version of the Bible" while another may scoff with "People
serious about Bible study use a Scofield Reference Bible in the
NIV." or "I can read and write Greek" while another might
retort: "You should try learning Hebrew sometime. Now there's a
challenge." And then there's the hermeneutics know-it-alls who
insist that the truth of a passage can only be seen in context
and no other way
Those kinds of petty rivalries are harmful to unity; plus: they
generate unnecessary bad feelings amongst Christians, and should
be avoided.
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