In our recent discussions, we looked at intent and the issue of pride. We agreed that the Bible is the benchmark on which life is judged and lived. Once you are well-read, dare I say familiar with the teachings of the Bible AND if you profess to be Christian i.e. Jesus is your saviour AND lord, then, the rules of the Bible must apply. This would mean your culture or creed pertinent to your racial heritage no longer has relevance, because it is the culture and creed of the Bible that becomes your way of life. And if you still wish to cling on to your old ways of living, AND profess to be Christian, think again loser, and stop making a fool about yourself.
Intent: It's not enough to do "good" things - it's not about good deeds, but to do the good things the Lord wants you to do. This comes from reading His word, praying to God and fasting for God's purposes. If you don't do these, you have not tried your best. And if you have done these things, do it in accordance with the Bible, don't be a pharisee about it. The Bible also spells out the things we must do as Christians, so it's not rocket science, it's not all mysterious and esoteric. If it is, you are fool, a liar, or both. If you are trying to make it out to be mysterious and esoteric, you have embraced gnosticism, I hope and pray you repent of this because to add to or deduct from the bible which includes misrepresenting it and warping its meaning, warrants special punishment.
Conflict resolution: Steps have been laid out, and if the Christian is recalcitrant about it, regard them as non-believers. The Church has used this as a means of ex-communication, but really, once the Christian has been "written off" as a non-believer, sons and daughters of belial as they are, it still only means they are lost sheep and must therefore, be prayed for as such, not written off per se. It is hard to speak with an alleged Christian who is recalcitrant about sinning, because such a person is not under the influence of the Holy Spirit, but is under demonic influence and control. The only way to minister to such individuals is to pray for them, to intercede for them. Do not engage them in argument, because this will only lead to a physical exchange. It does not profit a Christian at all to beat up or even kill a pseudo-Christian hypocrite because the bible has not authorized us to do so, much as we'd like to at times. A pseudo-Christian is lukewarm, and this is worse than being an outright non-Christian.
Benchmarking everything we do: There can be no latitude or leeway in anything we do. Being Salt and Light of this dark, accursed realm, ours is to set a standard of righteousness and holiness. Not impose it, but be exemplary about it. How do we decide what such standard is? Ask yourself - is what I am doing glorifying God? Now, the Bible is all-encompassing but it does not cover every little detail of life in an explicit form. It does however, give us guidelines to deal with every little detail of life. This is where detractors of the Word want to justify their sinful, willful ways, arguing that "the Bible has nothing to say about this". Well, I am sure the Bible has heaps to say about your intent. In any case, if the Bible is not explicit about it, fast and pray about it, consult spiritually-mature church elders, your pastor and mature Christians about it. No point consulting like-minded sinners who will only give you an answer your sinful nature wants to hear. If your vanity comes in, if the issue is about self-beautification, or self-glory, then you already have sinned by intent. I know many who relish expensive watches, flashy cars, branded clothes, trophy girl/boy-friends etc etc. Their deriving security from things of the world already tells me how lacking they are in their walk with God. Granted, God will bless, and He will give and take. It is up to us to use whatever God has given us for His glory, not ours. Look, you idiot, dress your Sunday best if you must out of reverence and fear for God, not because you want to attract attention from the mortals. The Bible has mentioned dress standards anyway, so this isn't rocket science. In any case, we are to be at our best at all times for God's glory and being at our best really, is much more than just dressing appropriately for the occasion. Much more than that.
TV: Television and the media, is by and large, the enemy's portal, his way of bombarding us, with his temptations, lies and brainwashing. Tell me honestly, when was the last time you saw a movie or TV show and could say "wow, this is giving glory to God, a show Jesus himself would approve". Or have you sunken to accepting, embracing or even, being addicted to such sugar-laced poison that only pander to your intrinsic selfishness as a sinful being driven by lust and deceit? We live in a time of sinful, meaningless distraction. Do not let the lies of the media corrupt you, or worse, steal your time from doing better things like prayerful reading of His word or maybe, housework.
The Bible has much to say about intent. The book of First Corinthians addresses many issues that churches face. The whole Bible itself addresses many things that if you don't read about, you would never know. And if you don't know it, you can't practice it. If you don't practice it, you have failed to be exemplary, you have failed to be the Salt and Light for this broken, accursed realm. And if you continue to fail as a Christian, you are worthless and useless, a fig tree that is not bearing fruit, salt that has lost its flavour, and you bring shame and dishonour to our Lord Jesus and other Christians.
I look at it two ways - if you hunger for God's righteousness, then by all means, read His Word, pray and fast according to what the Bible dictates. God will surely hear your prayer and respond if you do so. On the other hand, if you aren't trying your best to be Salt and Light, or worse, you are a stumbling block, repent, make yourself right with God, then He will lend ear to your plea. The worse is to be deluded, doing good deeds in Jesus' name but to have Jesus cast you away as an evil-doer. When you go to an alleged "church", and see all sorts of garbage being said and done and proposed by the idiots who call themselves Christians, stop and think and go by the Bible to see if they really are Christians or are using the church as as platform for their own games. Do not fall prey to Christian charlatans because many are gullible and after getting hurt by the "church", or alleged "Christians", they fall away from God and this is of course, tragic for a variety of reasons.
It was concluded that we are not reading enough of the Bible, and that we are not fasting enough either. Those of us who don't even pray sincerely to God are yet worse off and their lives will show it. Being a Christian is almost a no-brainer - the Bible already states that we are not to lean on our own understanding. So if you are seeking the truth, which I hope most of you are, or if you even have any modicum of intelligence, which is worse because pride can get in your way, none of this matters because you are not to lean on your own understanding but to trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Intent: It's not enough to do "good" things - it's not about good deeds, but to do the good things the Lord wants you to do. This comes from reading His word, praying to God and fasting for God's purposes. If you don't do these, you have not tried your best. And if you have done these things, do it in accordance with the Bible, don't be a pharisee about it. The Bible also spells out the things we must do as Christians, so it's not rocket science, it's not all mysterious and esoteric. If it is, you are fool, a liar, or both. If you are trying to make it out to be mysterious and esoteric, you have embraced gnosticism, I hope and pray you repent of this because to add to or deduct from the bible which includes misrepresenting it and warping its meaning, warrants special punishment.
Conflict resolution: Steps have been laid out, and if the Christian is recalcitrant about it, regard them as non-believers. The Church has used this as a means of ex-communication, but really, once the Christian has been "written off" as a non-believer, sons and daughters of belial as they are, it still only means they are lost sheep and must therefore, be prayed for as such, not written off per se. It is hard to speak with an alleged Christian who is recalcitrant about sinning, because such a person is not under the influence of the Holy Spirit, but is under demonic influence and control. The only way to minister to such individuals is to pray for them, to intercede for them. Do not engage them in argument, because this will only lead to a physical exchange. It does not profit a Christian at all to beat up or even kill a pseudo-Christian hypocrite because the bible has not authorized us to do so, much as we'd like to at times. A pseudo-Christian is lukewarm, and this is worse than being an outright non-Christian.
Benchmarking everything we do: There can be no latitude or leeway in anything we do. Being Salt and Light of this dark, accursed realm, ours is to set a standard of righteousness and holiness. Not impose it, but be exemplary about it. How do we decide what such standard is? Ask yourself - is what I am doing glorifying God? Now, the Bible is all-encompassing but it does not cover every little detail of life in an explicit form. It does however, give us guidelines to deal with every little detail of life. This is where detractors of the Word want to justify their sinful, willful ways, arguing that "the Bible has nothing to say about this". Well, I am sure the Bible has heaps to say about your intent. In any case, if the Bible is not explicit about it, fast and pray about it, consult spiritually-mature church elders, your pastor and mature Christians about it. No point consulting like-minded sinners who will only give you an answer your sinful nature wants to hear. If your vanity comes in, if the issue is about self-beautification, or self-glory, then you already have sinned by intent. I know many who relish expensive watches, flashy cars, branded clothes, trophy girl/boy-friends etc etc. Their deriving security from things of the world already tells me how lacking they are in their walk with God. Granted, God will bless, and He will give and take. It is up to us to use whatever God has given us for His glory, not ours. Look, you idiot, dress your Sunday best if you must out of reverence and fear for God, not because you want to attract attention from the mortals. The Bible has mentioned dress standards anyway, so this isn't rocket science. In any case, we are to be at our best at all times for God's glory and being at our best really, is much more than just dressing appropriately for the occasion. Much more than that.
TV: Television and the media, is by and large, the enemy's portal, his way of bombarding us, with his temptations, lies and brainwashing. Tell me honestly, when was the last time you saw a movie or TV show and could say "wow, this is giving glory to God, a show Jesus himself would approve". Or have you sunken to accepting, embracing or even, being addicted to such sugar-laced poison that only pander to your intrinsic selfishness as a sinful being driven by lust and deceit? We live in a time of sinful, meaningless distraction. Do not let the lies of the media corrupt you, or worse, steal your time from doing better things like prayerful reading of His word or maybe, housework.
The Bible has much to say about intent. The book of First Corinthians addresses many issues that churches face. The whole Bible itself addresses many things that if you don't read about, you would never know. And if you don't know it, you can't practice it. If you don't practice it, you have failed to be exemplary, you have failed to be the Salt and Light for this broken, accursed realm. And if you continue to fail as a Christian, you are worthless and useless, a fig tree that is not bearing fruit, salt that has lost its flavour, and you bring shame and dishonour to our Lord Jesus and other Christians.
I look at it two ways - if you hunger for God's righteousness, then by all means, read His Word, pray and fast according to what the Bible dictates. God will surely hear your prayer and respond if you do so. On the other hand, if you aren't trying your best to be Salt and Light, or worse, you are a stumbling block, repent, make yourself right with God, then He will lend ear to your plea. The worse is to be deluded, doing good deeds in Jesus' name but to have Jesus cast you away as an evil-doer. When you go to an alleged "church", and see all sorts of garbage being said and done and proposed by the idiots who call themselves Christians, stop and think and go by the Bible to see if they really are Christians or are using the church as as platform for their own games. Do not fall prey to Christian charlatans because many are gullible and after getting hurt by the "church", or alleged "Christians", they fall away from God and this is of course, tragic for a variety of reasons.
It was concluded that we are not reading enough of the Bible, and that we are not fasting enough either. Those of us who don't even pray sincerely to God are yet worse off and their lives will show it. Being a Christian is almost a no-brainer - the Bible already states that we are not to lean on our own understanding. So if you are seeking the truth, which I hope most of you are, or if you even have any modicum of intelligence, which is worse because pride can get in your way, none of this matters because you are not to lean on your own understanding but to trust in the Lord with all your heart.
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