Results 1 - 20 of 31
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Elijah_Jones Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90750 | ||
Most, and I believe all, of the "faith-healers" that some have decried against in this topic certainly DO promote seeking God first, and healing as part of the blessing of drawing close to him and dwelling in his presence and Kingdom. That being said.. MANY came to Jesus in the gospels looking for healing. They came to be healed but left with more than just a physical healing. I don't think it is in any way unscriptural for people to come to meetings to be healed and in so doing, to find the Lord. Finding the Lord is numero uno! The healings and other blessings He bestows are just the icing of the cake. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! |
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2 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90779 | ||
I agree with you that we are on dangerous ground when we start to place demands of God. I know of only one place he asked to come out and test him at his word, and that had to do with giving as found in Malachi. I think it is dangerous to think that God HAS to heal us, as thoughn we somehow have the "goods" on him. He doesn't have to heal us, but he has chosen to say that he will. Once he says it, THEN he is obligated by his word, due to his nature. There are quite a number of places in scripture that God has said that he desires to heal us. I do believe confessing the Word in spite of the circumstances is a correct thing to do. I am not talking about some mind-over-matter thing, but rather believing God's word despite when circumstances would cause us to doubt His Word. The disciples seemed to have the same trouble, as did others he ministered to. The classic "Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief" is perhaps appropriate in many situations we face. My concern is that we must be careful to judge those ministering in healing power as "grandstanders". Some of them may be, (although I doubt that true healing power will flow for long when someone falls into that trap).. perhaps all of them have fallen into that trap from time to time, since pride is always waiting to snare us. Fortunately, God is slow to anger and gives us time to see the error in our ways. He is much more longsuffering than seems prudent, oftentimes. Personally, I must THANK GOD FOR THAT! The thing about pride vs. most sin, is that it most often finds it crook in us for our accomplishments, rather than our failures.. and can thus be very sneaky in gaining entrance into our lives. But I digress... If healing revivals are true, there is but one Litmus test: Is the Lord Jesus, The Father, and the Holy Spirit being given credit and are people being led to HIM in finding all their needs met.. firstly spiritual and then in the natural. (the well-known "Seek first the Kingdom, and all these things shall be added to it") Are people being brought to a true salvation experience through faith in the Son of God of the bible. At this point in my life, there are certainly mainy things I ponder as to why God has chosen to do things the way he has. In the area of healing, and other much more difficult areas.. I have come to a place where the wisest thing I can say is along the lines of: I believe that God does things such and such a way... but I MAY be wrong. I believe God will honor such humility in the areas where there are no easy answers and sincere and genuine Christians find differing opinions on a matter. In all things though, the Word of God settles the matter, even when my experience seems to say otherwise. This holds true in the healing arena too. I think it is God's will that his people be blessed and walk in health and all-sufficiency as a general rule. That doesn't mean there aren't situations where God will use disease or other trials to test and teach us through.. though when that happens, it is because Satan is allowed to do so. (Job is a classic example of this) I don't think super-faith is required.. just the faith of a mustard seed. :) I am blessed to see all the various points being discussed here, as a new person to this message board. As long as we all are searching for the truth of a matter, rather than trying to prove ourselves right for the sake of being right, such discourse can be healthy and constructive. The final caveat being that when we truly see God's answer in His Word, even if it disagrees with our opinion or experience, we will put our faith in what He says and not stubbornly hold on to our ideas and conclusions. |
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3 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90799 | ||
Yes, Jesus did warn about false teachers.. however, I do think he was primarily warning about those that would teach that Salvation is other than thru the Risen Jesus Christ by grace through faith. ALL of us have flaws in our doctrine. That is a hard statement to swallow, but it is very true. Hopefully the major flaws are in the "fringe" areas, but nonetheless they are most certainly there.. for we all see with imperfection rather than full clarity. How else can those who are truly and genuinely devoted to the Lord and His word be in disagreement? My big concern is that the baby does not get thrown out with the bathwater.. to coin a familar phrase. Just because a ministry becomes prosperous or highly publicized does not disqualify it from being genuine. Those preaching a different Gospel than Christ crucified, our hope of glory certainly does disqualify us. Those seeking personal gain while knowingly using decietfull schemes and manipulations are another group whom shall suffer shame at the time they stand before the Lord. Those causing division among the body of Christ out of pride and self-serving also are on very shaky ground. The ministy of the likes of Benny Hinn, Hagin, etc.. well, I just don't feel comfortable in saying they are not following hard after the Lord in the particular stream of annointing they have been given. (in fact, there was a time where I was so bold as to publicly ridicule Benny Hinn. Within a short time the Lord dealt with me on it in a very supernatural manner, which I will gladly share with you if you are interested. It was a very humbling experience) Oftentimes people came to see Jesus to be healed or see a miracle, and walked away with their Faith built up. A primary job we as believers are duty-bound to perform is to build up one anothers faith through ministry and testimony. The questions we must ask are: 1. Are people's faith being built up in Jesus the Messiah? 2. Our genuine conversions taking place? (It would be very hard to offer proof to the contrary, since I know personally people who have come to the Lord through the vehicle of these people's ministry) 3. Is the God of the bible being given the Glory? (See Acts 3:12-16 for a most wonderful example of how that should look) 4. Is the word of God being preached? There are of course other questions, these are just some of the first to come to my mind. Getting back to the warning about "Depart from me, for I never knew you".. I really don't see how that can apply to these men of God that are being examined in this topic. EVEN IF.. and that is a big IF.. they are in major error on their doctrine regarding healing and blessings, I would be extremely surprised if they are not born-again, Jesus believing, Christians. I have to believe, thru careful examination of the rest of scripture, that Jesus was refering to the likes of those that have no personal relationship with Christ but are just out to fleece the sheep. (I once saw a movie about a "healing evangelest" that worked with spotters in the audience and secret mikes and what not with Steve Martin in it. That would certainly be a type of just such a person.) |
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4 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90802 | ||
In refence to this part of EdB's post: ------------------------------quote------------- I have asked this question of countless pastors and theologians. If you had two identical churches one had a revival in which 300 were saved and the other a revival where the Word of God was abused but a person was healed and got out of wheel chair which do you think would have the bigger crowd the second night. To a person the answer was the one where the man was healed. Think about it Salvation is the greatest miracle that has ever occurred. The Word says all of heaven rejoices when someone new is added to the Kingdom. Yet what miracle draws the most attention here on earth? ---------------end quote-------------------- I don't really think that is a fair question. Why?? Well, becuase the exact same thing happened in Jesus ministry. Wehn Jesus spoke about the hard things of the Kingdom referring to maturing.. the crowds dwindled often times. However, following healings MULTITUDES thronged to him in such an extreme fashion he had to go out into the countryside to have room. Healing and others signs very often draw large crowds. It was true in Jesus ministy, and will often be true in genuine healing ministry today. People are hungry for a supernatural touch from God. The difference is that while many will come for the miracle, some will stay to sit at his feet and learn of him and develop a personal relationship with him. That is DEFINATELY the greater blessing. So... yes, I agree. It would be wonderful if we all could see with the eyes of angels and rejoice whenever a soul is added to the Kingdom. MUCH greater rejoicing is warranted in eternal life being granted to a dead-in-sin person that in a temporary (since we shall all get new bodies) healing. Nonetheless, healing evangelism was very effective for Jesus, his disciples, and today.. and should not be discounted. |
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5 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90807 | ||
----quote------------ Show me one verse in Scripture that teaches that Jesus went to the cross for our physical healing. ------------endquote--------------------- Isaiah 53:5 By his stripes we are healed or another version says By his wounds we are healed That is one.. there are a number of others, actually. Taken literally, (and there isn't any other way to take it, unless you are trying to change the meaning of the verse intentionally) it means he suffered physical wounding that we might be physically healed. |
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6 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90882 | ||
God has purchased our salvation.. which is not spiritual healing, but rather.. spiritual resurrection. Healing is completely diffent than spiritual resurrection. Lazarus was not healed, but raised from the dead. Lazarus's resurrection is a beautiful prophetic foreshadowing of every believers resurrection of spiritual regeneration. This is my understanding on the matter. You can change the literal meaning of those verses to fit a cessasionist viewpoint, but I personally believe that is quite a stretch. Literally it is saying we are both spiritual raised from the dead with Christ and bodily healed by his willingness to take on our curse of the flesh through his punishment prior to his death. It was the wounding of his body that accomplished taking on our healing. It was his death and resurrection that bought us eternal spiritual life. And taken with the very numerous quotes by Jesus on the believer's authority over sickness, I find it hard to believe that anyone would deny that the bible promises us divine healing as believers. This is my understanding on the matter, and if we disagree.. well then, we disagree. Nonetheless, the verses can CERTAINLY be interpreted to mean exactly what they say, and that is that Christ purchased our healing by taking on physical wounds. Physical wounds for physical sickness.. spiritual resurrection for our resurrection (Col 2:12, Eph 2:4-6, Col 3:1, and many other such verses) As I have said before, this is what I believe the Scripture states very clearly, but I am willing to admit that I may be wrong. It is always important that where sincere and devoted followers of Christ who love his Word disagree, it is important to adopt an attitude of humility and be willing to be corrected. I just don't see any scriptures that cause me to doubt the validity of divine healing. Do you have any scripture to back up your position that healing is NOT provided for through Christ's and the Holy Spirit's work for us? |
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7 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90886 | ||
I mostly agree with you on these points. I would say that the bible teaches that signs and wonders can and should accompany ministry. Demonstrations of the power of the Spirit of God can certainly be used to get peoples attention, and also to validate ministry. I feel that the Scripture illustrates both principles. ( I can provide the references if requested, just for the sake of time I'll not do it unless requested). On the matter of stewardship. I believe the same principles apply to all our finances, whether gained thru "secular" means or thru funding provided thru voluntary giving. I'd go so far as to say that there is a lot more concern regarding the commercialization of many Christian materials than voluntary offerings and such.. not that I am in a position to judge that, but rather it strikes me that often times the "big name" ministries that operate on voluntary contributions recieve a lot more criticism than many music artists, authors, etc making quite a bit of money through the actual selling of the material. However, since no one is FORCING anyone to buy them, well then.. I guess it is a bit of a grey area, if it is a concern at all. Anyways... back to my point and what I agree with. Those who are financially blessed have a huge responsibility in stewardship as the Bible states clearly in a number of places. This holds true no matter what the source of that revenue. I also know people who literally give 90 percent of all they recieve to the work of the Kingdom, and are still quite wealthy. That too seems like a spiritual principle. |
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8 | We need to encourage each other. | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90887 | ||
Yes.. often I am reminded that one of the biggest ways Satan does his work is through the old "divide and conquer" methodology. Contrast that to the times in Scripture where the believers were all in prayer and one accord, and see what happened next! God Bless and thanks for this post! |
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9 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90908 | ||
I mostly agree with you on these points. I would say that the bible teaches that signs and wonders can and should accompany ministry. Demonstrations of the power of the Spirit of God can certainly be used to get peoples attention, and also to validate ministry. I feel that the Scripture illustrates both principles. ( I can provide the references if requested, just for the sake of time I'll not do it unless requested). On the matter of stewardship. I believe the same principles apply to all our finances, whether gained thru "secular" means or thru funding provided thru voluntary giving. I'd go so far as to say that there is a lot more concern regarding the commercialization of many Christian materials than voluntary offerings and such.. not that I am in a position to judge that, but rather it strikes me that often times the "big name" ministries that operate on voluntary contributions recieve a lot more criticism than many music artists, authors, etc making quite a bit of money through the actual selling of the material. However, since no one is FORCING anyone to buy them, well then.. I guess it is a bit of a grey area, if it is a concern at all. Anyways... back to my point and what I agree with. Those who are financially blessed have a huge responsibility in stewardship as the Bible states clearly in a number of places. This holds true no matter what the source of that revenue. I also know people who literally give 90 percent of all they recieve to the work of the Kingdom, and are still quite wealthy. That too seems like a spiritual principle, actually. |
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10 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90909 | ||
I believe PastorFloyd was inferring that he has no right to force his beliefs unto you and that you are free to believe as you choose, as much as it is up to him. I think you probably understand that too, right? Now if you were attending Pastor Floyd's church, he would probably adopt a bit of a different approach.. but this is an open forum where we may all share our understandings of God through our individual interpretations of His Word. From what I have been reading, I would say that Pastor Floyd has been trying to point to the scripture that he bases his understanding of the matters herein discussed. Whether you or I agree with those understandings is a matter between us and God. We need not bow to his understanding, nor he to yours. However, I find it a bit disconcerting the tone of hostility I've seen on these forums. Attacking someone's belief using terms such as Word-Faith fables, is quite serious. I am not singling you out, either. The same concern could be raised at the tone of some of Pastor Floyd's responses. I am not judging either of you, only pointing out that it is easy to get defiant, arrogant, and outright hostile when we enter the realm of debate amongst topics that MANY sincere and genuined Christians struggle to agree with each other upon. The danger of becoming divided and our love for one another being diminished is of GREAT concern.. perhaps even overriding some of the more debatable "doctrines" that history shows are challenged from both (or more than both) sides of the debate. May my words be not an offense or burden to you, but rather an expression of truth spoken in love, to the best of my limited understanding. |
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11 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90911 | ||
Pastor Floyd, Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His peace and blessing upon you, my brother! You are absolutely right that we all have a personal responsibility to go directly to the Word of God and take it at face value as the Spirit gives us understanding. It is also right that you defend and have a ready defense to give reasons for what you believe. I feel you've done a fine job of that. I give caution as a concerned brother and friend of yours thru our common bond of the Lord Jesus, to beware the snare that so often comes up in heated debates. :) I felt the Lord once impressed me in the following manner: "Let not the words of men striving amonst themselves disillusion you of My body and My Lordship of My church. Go directly to my Word. Seek me in humility, and ask for the truth to be revealed. Be quick to repent, and open to changes in understanding as they are brought forth DIRECTLY from My Word. Ask Me for the true bread, and I shall not give you a serpent." Oftentimes when we start to get riled, it is because we are walking dangerously close to the edge of making a debatable matter more important than the sheep of the Lord. I am not saying this is true of this case.. only you can know as you kneel before the Creator of the Universe and commune with Him. I know myself I've found myself too many times weeping over my sin after I realized it had passed the point of where I was trying to help someone, and I was just trying to prove myself right. I would challenge anyone that would say that you do not have the right to believe as you believe, as long as you are humbly going to the Word of God with a sincere desire to learn the truth of Him and His Word. I for one believe you are doing just that. So be of good cheer and be blessed my friend in Christ! If it means anything at all, I will offer this. I believe God certainly does want all the things you have itterated in this post. He loves you as a perfect parent, and thus wants all of these things for you.. and certainly he wants them for you more than you do for yourself! He has certainly made provision for healing and all-sufficiency. However, he also warns we will walk thru things that are less than ideal, even as he had to. It's in the Word. I believe the people you have listed have each brought important truths to the body of Christ. I also believe that just as any truth that has been restored to the church, that it is subject to the distortions of fallible man, though the basic truth be 100 percent true and genuine. I will give a couple examples ( and probably get myself into the thick of hot water and debate.. ack, I hate opening myself up for potshots.. heh): 1. Slain in Spirit (I don't really like this term, I personally prefer falling under the power of God. Nonetheless, there are several instances where a revelation of the person of God caused people to fall down as though dead or comatose. The question really isn't if God ever does this, but how much of what we see is God doing it. I don't think anyone would argue that God NEVER does this, or that when it happens it is always 100 percent God. So.. that means some of it is genuine and some of it is not. Counterfeit spirituality.. I think we would all agree.. is very serious and we should be ready to put to the test of scripture any activity we see as potentially counterfeit. right? [End of part one.. part two following. Sorry for such a long post!] |
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12 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90912 | ||
[Part two of my response here:] 2. Divine healing. Anyone who honestly searches the scripture and has the slightest amount of the Holy Spirit illuminating scripture could never agree that God does NOT heal divinely ever! Nor can we say that every claimed "Faith" healing is 100 percent genuine, right? Again, it then becomes a situation where we must not encroach or hinder the genuine for fear of the false, but also be ready to test those situations which appear to be false. I'm fairly sure that a persons fame (whether big or little) be used to test that.. nor a persons wealth. Rather, is the Lord Jesus being glorified in it! The Father and the Holy Spirit seem very intent upon glorifying the Son, don't you agree? :) And Jesus seem intent on glorifying the Father and respectfully giving honor the Spirit to help us and bring forth the master plan of God's redemptive work. right? 3. Prosperity preaching. Well, this one gets a bit sticky, since it is very true that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil". It is certainly the Lord's will that we be prosperous and provided for. However, I dare say that to many that have not matured through the work of the Spirit, that great blessing can be a very dangerous thing. God is wise and thus he is careful to test our stewardship before entrusting great wealth to us. It is in the Word. Those that are faithful, even more is given to them. To those that recieve much, much is expected. Great wealth carries with it great responsibility in dieing to self and living for Christ and his bride. right? Soo.... I have probably rambled far too much at this point. I figured I may as well lay out my hand on this matter and let the chips fall where they may. It has certainly been a pleasure to read all sides of this debate and to see the passion within the body of Christ! May my words encourage and build up. May I not be judged severely for any limitations of understandings I possess. May all who have come to this board seeking deeper understandings of our Glorious Lord and Savious Jesus, walk away with greater faith and trust in Him. May our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ grow! Be blessed! |
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13 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90913 | ||
Woops! The line that reads: I'm fairly sure that a persons fame (whether big or little) be used to test that.. nor a persons wealth Should have said this: I'm fairly sure that a persons fame (whether big or little) SHOULD NOT be used to test that.. nor a persons wealth |
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14 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90914 | ||
Umm.. he fell as though dead from fear, if I am reading the bible correctly.. not immediatly in worship. It doesn't say whether forward or backward. Probably his knees buckled and he fell whichever way his balance was at that moment, don't you think? I mean.. if you have ever swooned from fear, I think you would agree with that appraisal. And the only clear explanation is that he was knocked out (as though dead)from awe and fear of the Holy presence of God. I think it is dangerous to try to suppose that falling backward or forward is superior or more authentic to one or the other. ? Physical phenomenon accompanying the manifest presence of God is more the norm than vice versa, from accounts we have in the Bible. Tounges of fire type manifestations, falling to the ground, hair turning white, being struck dead! These and others are examples of what can happen when God meets his people in a manifest and supernatural way. There is no scripture stating that has changed any today from the way it was back in the scripture, that I've ever seen or been convinced of. Certainly some of what we see may be counterfeit to a greater or lesser degree, but that does not mean we should build doctrine around things to decry it from happening in the genuine arena. As Paul once stated (forgive the loose paraphrase)when some abuses entered into the Corinthian church.. don't forbid tongues or prophecy just because some people are getting out of order with them. That would be the greater loss! Instead eagerly DESIRE these things to happen! And thank God that they happen to me more than the rest of you! (end of loose paraphrase) |
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15 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90918 | ||
Good post! Be blessed and may our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ continue to reveal himself to you in ever-increasing measure! |
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16 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 91016 | ||
That sounds like it was most likely an abuse of the principle. But if someone abuses a specific principle for personal gain, that does not render the basic principle void. We see in the new testament believers being asked to give to the needs of the body of Christ, but then we also see those asking people to give working hard to support themselves so that they might not give the appearance of "fleecing the sheep". That is also balanced by the "worker is worthy of his wages" principle. As with anything, when selfish motives and desires come into play, the pure and beautiful principles of God can become twisted and harmful. I am saddened that such a practice would be considered to be part of the various principles we have been discussing here. I would emphatically state that it is not, but rather appears to be a blatant abuse. God alone can judge this particular instance you mention, but I would not want to be in his shoes if he was acting on his own selfish reasons. I don't really see a precedant in scripture that giving a specific amount of money (apart from the tithe situation) was ever rewarded with "the desire of ones heart".. so if I were forced to judge this situation, I would judge it as false. |
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17 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 91017 | ||
Thank you for your gracious response. I hope you see that I'm not necessarily "encouraging" the assembly line slain in the spirit thing.. I'm just saying that depending on the situation it may be false or genuine. Jesus promised that the sheep know his voice. If we are humble and come to His Word and meditate upon it with sincere desire to know Him and His truth, I think we can rest in His ability to lead us. I've met and seen what I believe to be 100 percent genuine supernatural manifestations of the spirit, and I've seen what I believe to be charismatic antics... the counterfeit always seeks to draw people away from the true. But we must not allow the counterfeit to create disdain for the genuine, or we are playing directly into the enemy's hand. That is my best understanding of things, which I admit is limited and totally dependant upon God to illuminate for me as I grow in wisdom and understanding. |
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18 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 91058 | ||
Hello again brother in our blessed Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ! I would have totally agree with you that miracles alone do not make a Christian. Nonetheless, signs and wonders were obviously an important part of Christ's ministry as well as the recorded events of the followers of Christ. I thank God that He has chosen to prove himself thru signs and wonders. I know that many DO come to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord as a result of them. But you are right that more than just coming for the signs, one must come to know Him. As I've heard many say in the charismatic circles.. signs and wonders should be following US, not vice versa. :) Now.. I can only refute this incident with the same information that I have already posted. That although some may in fact try to use deceptive tactics to "fleece the sheep", that does in no way discredit those that are operating in true annointing. The sternest warning in all of scripture came right on the heals of the religious "correct" group of the day attesting that Jesus was delivering people using a familiar spirit, or the power of Beelzebub. That deserves serious consideration, in my estimation. I feel we must exercise extreme caution and humility as we come before the Lord on these matters, lest we be guilty of the same offense. |
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19 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 91380 | ||
Just a quick thought on this matter. If we lack faith, that is NOT a guarantee against recieving healing.. though there are times where unbelief WILL create a situation where healing will NOT come. Even Jesus was in a situation where he could not do many miracles in a place due to chronic unbelief. On the flip side.. the Word of God clearly states that the prayer of FAITH will bring healing, and that if we believe in our heart and ask God we are promised healing. Does that mean.. and here is the sticking point that I see as the basis of this disagreemtn... Does this mean that God will ALWAYS heal if there is enough faith and we've met the other requirements set forth in Scripture? (ie clear of unforgiveness, uncoffessed sin, etc) I think that an argument from Scripture can be built on both sides of the debate. It appears, from Scripture, not everyone was healed but it also appears the healing IS promised and HAS been appropriated for the believers of God. In the end equation, I would place my confidence that I should do all to confess the Word of God on the matter, believing in my heart that God is willing and able to heal me and deliver me. I would continue to pursue God for healing and believing His Word. Faith is a very important part of recieving ANY blessings from God... including salvation. I don't believe we have to "twist God's arm" to deliver on his promises. Just believing will appropriate what he has already promised. There are many precepts in the Word that are difficult to get our minds around, nonetheless.. God clearly HAS stated that faith is the most important part of the equation on our side of things, to recieve from God. By FAITH we inherit the promises. I pray my words do not cause any division.. as I feel that unity in the body is SOOOO much more important than doctrinal debates around "peripheral" points of limited understanding. |
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20 | Matt 16:6 explained | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 91393 | ||
I agree that when we recognize ungodliness in our lives we need to get rid of it, to experience the fullness that God has for us. However, that being said, I believe Jesus was really hitting hard on something else here. The Pharisees were FANATICAL in their approach to living out the exact letter of the law. They tithed right down to the seeds of plants! They made LONG prayers, they did everything they could to follow the law of God. The problem is that they trusted in THEIR ability to fulfill the law to save them.. rather than trusting GOD to save them. They searched the scriptures thinking in them they would find salvation, and yet they would NOT come to the LIVING WORD.. the very person of Jesus. Legalism.. trusting our performance rather than God's performance of redemption.. was the leaven that they had added to the pure laws of God. Jesus illustrated that very clearly in his parable of the tax collector smiting his chest before the Lord going away justified, whereas the Pharisee was thankful that he was walkiing the "straight and narrow". There is a warning that infuriated the Pharisees here. That their strict adherance that started at a very young age was NOT SUFFICIENT to enter the Kingdom of God. The pharisees would be right at home in many our our churches today.. I fear. Another way it has been stated is the Jesus-Plus doctrines. That something more than genuined faith in the person and work of Jesus is required for salvation. This at the very simplest term is teh yeast to which Jesus refers. The greatest danger for SINCERE Christians is not so much being trapped into sin as it is to trust in our level of obediance to save us. This is an affront to God leading to having our hearts empty of forgivenss, grace, and mercy. Which Jesus again said was the downfall when he said to learn what mercy and compassion was all about. They were keeping people from entering into the place of worship because those people did not measure up to the Pharisees standards of holiness and purity. Not understanding that LOVE was the fulfillment of the law. The Pharisees... instead of helping to lift the burden of sin from people.. were actually piling heavy loads upon the very people that God wanted to save. Thus Jesus warned of the YOKE of the Pharisees, and that His yoke was light. Now... as it is written.. we do not turn the grace of God into license to commit sin. That would be a perversion of the truth Jesus is revealing here. But rather, we understand that GRACE has been given us through faith in Jesus. That is our confidence and worthy trust. Our obediance will bring us into the fullness of God's riches, and will spare us from much unpleasantness. So my words are NOT to be confused that we can eat, drink, and be merry, but rather we can have life, and life abundantly.. as we sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of Him. We can REST in his work, and show obediance to Him out of a glad and grateful heart! Be blessed in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! |
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