Matthew

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Bible Question (short): Holiness mixed with un-holiness equals ?

Question (full): Lionheart, you responded as if you misunderstood the point.
This is a question of reponsibly keeping to the scriptures when sharing God's Truth to unbelievers...there are stiff penalties and risks for misrepresentation.

I judge no brother's personal expression of love toward God.

There are biblical guidelines to prevent the deceiver from using his well known tricks of telling the truth mixed with a lie. Easter egg mixed with Resurrection Truth does not equal biblical representation of our Lord's Resurrection...but adds an unrelated symbol detracting from the Truth. Do we allow even a little bit of leaven? (1Corinthians 5:6-8 warns even a little bit of leaven leaveneth the whole lump.)
2Timothy 4:2-5 warns us of the coming apostasy by preachers itching ears of the majority...it seems as if we are here when I read of teachers teaching only the feel-good messages of the Truth and not the warnings, now this mixing of fable/Holiness, presenting 2 unrelated celebrations as one idea. I hope we aren't too cavalier in recognizing the signs.
Presentation either makes a message clearer or it detracts from it. When you present an idea to a group of uninformed...do you make effort to clarify the meaning or obscure it with unrelated ideas/symbols/connotations? Surely you use parables/analogies...but not ones that distort or confuse your main point.
Did Paul (Acts 17) in Athens succumb to the ways of the people or did he rather use their empty celebrated customs as a contrast to the richness and worthiness of celebrating the one and only True God...the focus was only the Truth, the lie was diminished not couched in. We/world must be diminshed and Christ must be elevated.

We dangerously mix un-holiness with Holiness and it is not supported but rather warned against scripturally. Jesus discourged traditions of men, so why would he be pleased of our couching an unrelated tradition in with His most suffered sacrificial day for our eternal salvation?
Is our faith so small that we fear missing the opportunity to save unbelievers in this unbiblical manner? We need to show our faith by our desire to keep His ways pure. I respect our forefathers because of their steadfastness...their commitment...their boldness of faith giving them courage by the Holy Spirit...they didn't sell out like we are so use to doing today in the world.

As iron sharpens iron so man sharpens man. May we strive to keep our presentation of our Lord pure without embarassment but in faith and love.

God open our eyes to see and our ears to hear...may we pray, read the scriptures in context on important issues, and seek scholarly Christian counsel and discern if there is confirmation or conflict in each/every issue we encounter so that we may make decisions that are sound.

We aren't even to use eloquent words in re-telling of the gospel story, and if the gospel is presented and rejected to wipe the dust from our feet...not to bend and conform by adding interesting worldy meaningless fables to relate with them. Scriptures show to reveal the emptiness of the worlds ways and the fullness of God's Truth. The world has already made our Lord's ressurrection a minimal recognition...shall the church follow suit? I pray not! Let's be more like Christ, follow examples more like those of Paul...be loving and bold and not conform to the things and ways of the World but remain faithful to the ways of God, doesn't He deserve that?

Are we walking in faith or irreverently presenting Him to unbelievers by mixing fables/nontruths/traditions to hook them in like the schemes of the world? Is it wrong for me to encourage us to place the focus back on our first love by walking in faith and pureness of heart/word/deed as our forefathers did as instructed by God without compromise per His instruction so as not to veer off by the wiles of the deceiver?

Titus 1:9-16
1Timothy 1:3-20
1Timothy 4:13-16
2Corinthians 6:11-18

PS-it does have to start with us, Amen!:)

For Him,
Jean