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DIR Return to: Christian Theology
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#Post#: 4676--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 29, 2019, 10:35 pm
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[font=arial]1Cor 1:26-31 . . Remember, dear brothers and
sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes, or
powerful, or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God
deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order
to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who
are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things
despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and
used them to bring to nothing what the world considers
important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
. . . God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus.
For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the
one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and
he gave himself to purchase our freedom. As the Scriptures say:
The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what The
Lord has done.
Some of us tend to think ourselves pretty smart for having
enough good sense to believe the gospel. But according to the
passage above, we didn't become believers due to our IQ; were
that the case, then Carl Sagan would've stood on the side of
intelligent design instead of opposing it.
No; the credit is due to God's IQ, i.e. God alone was smart
enough to make it possible for any of us to be in Christ Jesus.
Personally, I look upon that as something not for me to boast
about, rather; an incredible stroke of luck. (One of the
meanings of "blessed" is fortunate.)
Boasting in what the Lord has done is sort of like the pride
that sports fans feel for their favorite teams; especially when
they win. Well; it goes without saying that God is a winner--
maybe He's not accounted a winner by the world's best and
brightest, but certainly by those of us very pleased that
Christ's mission succeeded.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4692--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 30, 2019, 9:53 pm
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[font=arial]1Cor 3:21-23 . . So don't take pride in following a
particular leader. Everything belongs to you-- Paul and Apollos
and Peter --the whole world and life and death; the present and
the future. Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ,
and Christ belongs to God.
I've noticed that avid sports fans are afflicted with chronic
identity syndromes. When their favorite team wins; they say "we"
won; as if they were on the field playing the game instead of up
in the bleachers or on the couch at home watching the action on
TV.
Christians that idolize their favorite pastors and/or Sunday
school teachers are just as avid. They want to be identified
with those kinds of church luminaries because it makes them look
really smart and elite; when in reality it just makes them look
silly and star-crossed.
But the thing is; when it comes to inheritance; Christ's
believing followers are equals-- the big shots with the little
nobodies --because they are all, regardless of status, co-heirs
with Christ (Rom 8:17) which is somewhat different than a
regular heir.
Regular heirs each receive an individually specified portion of
a benefactor's estate while co-heirs are heirs in common. For
example: supposing a benefactor's estate totals 60 acres of land
plus $10,000 in a bank account. Co-heirs-- i.e. heirs in common
--inherit the whole ball of wax corporately as one beneficiary
instead of six; viz: all six inherit the 60 acres and the
$10,000 as if each one were the only heir. So then, whatever the
Father bequeathed His son, He bequeathed everyone belonging to
His son.
I honestly cannot wrap my mind around that because the
ramifications are just too, too remarkable; I really don't even
want to think about it.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4715--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: March 31, 2019, 9:50 pm
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.
[font=arial]1Cor 4:1 . . So then, men ought to regard us as
servants of Christ, and as those entrusted with the mysteries of
God.
Big names like Mother Teresa, Charles Spurgeon, and Billy Graham
are practically sacred cows-- but Christian celebrities like
those are only human rather than divine. Just be grateful you're
not one of them because their responsibility is proportional.
"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers,
because you know that we who teach will be judged more
strictly." (Jas 3:1)
_[/font]
#Post#: 4732--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: April 1, 2019, 9:18 pm
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.
[font=arial]1Cor 4:5 . . Judge nothing before the appointed
time; wait till The Lord comes. He will bring to light what is
hidden in darkness and expose the motives of men's hearts.
The "appointed time" is probably referring to the event
described at 1Cor 3:5-15 when the work done by outstanding
Christians will be evaluated for performance awards.
Human nature has a propensity to shower accolades on religious
celebrities without having all the facts.
For example; we now know from Mother Teresa's private letters--
made public by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk's book "Mother Teresa /
Come Be My Light" --that Ms. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was a nun
with so little personal belief in God as to be an agnostic; and
yet for decades everyone the world over thought she was the
cat's meow and the bee's knees: a veritable poster child of
piety in thought, word, and deed. It turns out Teresa was a
remarkable actor. Her public image bore no resemblance
whatsoever to the secret life of her inner being.
The Spirit's corroboration that comes to Christ's followers via
Rom 8:16 never happened for Teresa. As a result, the remarkable
nun came to the end of her life worried that if perchance there
is a God, He didn't particularly like her and might actually be
quite intent upon condemning her.
Well; I'd have to say that if somebody is a Christian missionary
with those kinds of thoughts going thru their head, maybe they
really ought to seriously consider another line of work.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4757--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: April 3, 2019, 7:17 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
.
[font=arial]1Cor 5:1-5 . . It is actually reported that there is
immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not
exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's
wife. And you have become arrogant, and have not mourned
instead, in order that the one who had done this deed might be
removed from your midst.
. . . For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in
spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as
though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you
are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our
Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for
the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in
the day of The Lord Jesus.
Gentiles of course do sleep with their stepmothers on occasion;
but the world's practice of that kind of behavior is more an
aberration than a custom.
Well, the Corinthians were treating that man's behavior as if it
were a norm, i.e. they apparently felt that the man's conduct
was trivial, undeserving of either attention or criticism. They
must have wondered why Paul was reacting so badly rather than
just "get over it". After all; it's none of his business what
goes on behind closed doors. Had he not heard of the right to
privacy? And besides, didn't the Lord say: "Let he who is
without sin cast the first stone."
Delivering someone to Satan for the destruction of the flesh
just simply means to cull them from the herd, so to speak. In
other words: exclude them from congregational activities; e.g.
worship, Sunday school, and prayer meetings. This is not as
radical as totally breaking off contact with someone; it's
purpose is church discipline rather than the social blacklisting
practiced by Jehovah's Witnesses.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4775--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: April 4, 2019, 7:28 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
.
[font=arial]1Cor 5:6b-8 . . Do you not know that a little leaven
leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven, that
you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For
Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Let us therefore
celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of
malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth.
. . . I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral
people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this
world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters;
for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I
wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he
should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a
reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-- not even to eat with
such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you
not judge those who are within the church? But those who are
outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among
yourselves.
The apostle Paul's leaven analogy indicates that the shameful
conduct of just one member of the congregation is the whole
congregation's shame.
This isn't a proprietary Christian principle. It first shows up
in the 7th chapter of Joshua. The insubordination of one
insignificant Jewish man-- just one --caused God to stop
assisting Joshua's army in battle. As a result, 36 men were
needlessly killed in action; and ultimately capital punishment
was inflicted upon not only the insubordinate man himself, but
also his sons and his daughters. What did God say? Achan has
sinned? No: Israel has sinned. (Josh 7:11)
This is one of the best arguments against church expansion. The
bigger a congregation gets, the more difficult it is to keep an
eye on everyone's conduct.
FAQ: What about saved and born-again LGBT? Do they have to be
culled from the herd too?
A: There was a time in the not-so-distant past when there would
have been no need to ask that question. But the question is very
pertinent nowadays what with so many State, local, and Federal
laws practically giving LGBT the status of protected species.
It's got to the point when labeling their sexual preferences as
sin is considered hate speech.
The key to correctly applying Paul's instruction to Christian
LGBT is the word "indulges" which Webster's defines as:
excessive compliance and weakness in gratifying another's or
one's own desires. In other words: before culling an LGBT they
have to be sexually active; and not just active, but openly
active.
And please; let's not level all the heavy guns at LGBT because
the list takes in all forms of immorality; plus slander, heavy
drinking, greed and swindling.
Those last two were responsible for the Wall Street crash of
2008 that led to thousands of people everywhere losing their
jobs, their retirements, and their homes. LGBT are of no
consequence at all in comparison to the power of greed and
swindling to ruin people's lives, collapse entire economies, and
create fear, panic, and havoc on a titanic scale.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4797--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: April 5, 2019, 10:38 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
.
[quote author=Olde Tymer link=topic=306.msg4775#msg4775
date=1554424126]Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the
whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a
new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened.[/quote]
[font=arial]If there's an old leaven, then there must be a new
leaven; which, I believe, requires an explanation.
Well; biblical leaven has practically nothing to do with yeast;
after all, even freshly milled flour contains an amount of
naturally-occurring fungi so it's just about impossible to find
flour that doesn't contain some. But the presence of fungi isn't
the focus in leaven. It's all about age rather than ingredients.
Naturally-occurring fungi will, in time, spoil even the very
freshest lump of pure dough. Old leaven then, probably speaks of
a lump of dough that has been allowed to get so old, and
consequently so spoiled, that it's no longer fit for human
consumption, not even for making sour dough bread, and has to be
thrown out.
Paul's instructions relate to a parable that Christ told of a
woman mixing some spoiled dough in with fresh (Matt 13:33 and
Luke 13:20-21). That's an old trick for making fluffy bread,
which in our day has been replaced by adding cultured yeast to
the mix instead of spoiled dough. In other words: adding yeast
and/or spoiled dough speeds up the aging process; and if done
just right, results in a pretty tasty product; which is a useful
metaphor for saying that many of us, even the most dedicated
Christians, prefer the flavor of our old ways rather than
Christ's because our old ways are an acquired taste, so to
speak, whereas Christ's ways take some getting used to.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4813--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: April 6, 2019, 9:12 pm
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.
[font=arial]1Cor 5:6a . .Your boasting is not good.
The Corinthian church was liberal in its attitudes about sex.
That's no surprise considering the city's culture in that day
and age.
Then, as now, liberals tend to think of themselves as
sophisticated and progressive; and vastly superior to the
stodgy, old-fashioned ways of conservatives.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4823--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: April 7, 2019, 10:19 pm
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.
[font=arial]1Cor 6:1-6 . . If any of you has a dispute with
another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead
of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge
the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not
competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will
judge angels? How much more the things of this life!
. . .Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint
as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this
to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise
enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one
brother goes to law against another-and this in front of
unbelievers!
Apparently some of the Christians in the church at Corinth let
the Sermon On The Mount go in one ear and out the other.
"But I say unto you: That ye resist not evil; but whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat,
let him have thy cloak also." (Matt 5:39-40)
"Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are
going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be
reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the
judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the
officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out
until you have paid the last penny." (Luke 12:57-59).
The Lord began his teaching in Luke with the words "Why don't
you judge for yourselves what is right?" In other words; if
someone threatens to take you to court over a tort matter, and
you know darn good and well he's in the right; don't force him
to go to law. Instead, admit to your wrong and settle out of
court. According to The Lord, it’s unrighteous to tie up the
courts when you know your own self that you are the one who's in
the wrong. There's just simply no righteous reason why Christian
defendants and plaintiffs can't be their own judge and jury in
tort matters.
"Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go
to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do
ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do
wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren." (1Cor 6:7-8)
The koiné Greek word for "defraud" is apostereo
(ap-os-ter-eh'-o) which is an ambiguous word with more than one
meaning, and more than one application. The meaning that seems
appropriate in this instance is "deprive".
It works like this: Were I to trip and fall because of a crack
in the walk leading up to the front door of the home of one of
my kin; I wouldn't haul them into court over it because we're
related; viz: any injury I might incur by tripping and falling
because of a crack in their walk would be a family matter rather
than a legal matter; and they have a right to be treated by me
as family rather than as enemies in a lawsuit because we're
related. Were I to sue them for tripping and falling because of
a crack in their walk; I would be depriving them of the love
that kin have a right to expect from one another.
Well; Christians are supposed to be brethren; in the highest
possible sense of the word.
"We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we
love the brethren. . . We know love by this, that He laid down
His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren." (1John 3:14-16)
I think it's safe to say that if somebody is comfortable taking
a fellow Christian to court; then they certainly are not
prepared to lay down their life for the brethren.
It's sad to see relatives suing each other in court; but it
happens all the time. When the world does it; well, that's to be
expected; but when Christians sue each other; that's
dysfunctional.
_[/font]
#Post#: 4838--------------------------------------------------
Re: Christ's Ways
By: Olde Tymer Date: April 8, 2019, 7:09 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
.
[font=arial]1Cor 6:18 . . Flee fornication. Every sin that a man
doeth is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins
against his own body.
The koiné Greek word for "fornication" is porneia (por-ni'-ah)
which doesn't especially mean pornography; it means harlotry; a
term that Webster's defines as sexual profligacy. Porneia would
include things like prostitution, adultery, promiscuity, date
sex, free love, shacking up, one-night stands, swingers, wife
swapping, and that sort of thing.
The command is not to walk away from fornication; but to run
away from it as if your very life depends upon putting distance
between you and it. The same Greek word is used at Matt 2:13
where an angel instructed Joseph to flee into Egypt in order to
save his little boy's life.
Fleeing is different than shunning. I think what we're talking
about here are the times when a golden opportunity comes along
to mess around with somebody who is absolutely irresistible.
Some people would call that getting lucky; but in God's
estimation, it's getting stupid if you play along and see what
happens.
Young Christian couples often want to know how far they can go
with their dates before they're into forbidden territory. Well,
we all instinctively know the upper limits, but since the lower
limits aren't chipped in stone then I would have to say let your
own conscience be your guide in accordance with The Lord's
principles stipulated in the 14th chapter of Romans regulating
gray areas. The key principles are:
"Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." (Rom 14:5)
"Happy is he that feels no guilt in that thing which he allows."
(Rom 14:22)
"He that doubts is guilty if he eats, because he eats not of
faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." (Rom 14:23)
However, as an old senior guy of 72 who's been around the block
a time or two: I must forewarn youngsters that the human
conscience is trainable. What I mean is, if you manage to
suppress your first-time pangs of guilt, the second time will be
easier; and each succeeding suppression of your conscience gets
easier and easier till the day comes when you feel no guilt at
all. In other words: you will eventually succeed in cauterizing
your conscience. (cf. 1Tim 4:1-2)
The phrase "sins against his own body" is sort of the same
wording as at 1Cor 11:27 where it's said "whoever eats the bread
or drinks the cup of The Lord in an unworthy manner will be
guilty of sinning against the body and blood of The Lord."
Some Christians construe 1Cor 11:27 as murder. Well if so, then
sinning against one's own body would be suicide. But actually,
what we're talking about here is gross contempt and disrespect.
In other words; Christian fornicators are treating their body
like a chamber pot instead of a holy vessel; and all the while
dragging God's Spirit into situations that He finds extremely
unbecoming.
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,
who is in you, whom you have received from God?" (1Cor 6:19)
"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed
for the day of redemption." (Eph 4:30)
They're also dragging Christ into shame and disgrace too.
"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?
Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with an
harlot? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with
an harlot is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will
become one flesh." (1Cor 6:14-16) (cf. Gen 2:18-24)
_[/font]
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