Continued: division within the church
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
Among the first of these dangers as men within the church is that of division among brothers in Christ. It is a common problem among many Christians today, and it was in particular a problem in the church of Corinth during Paul's ministry. Paul in fact had to stamp out many fires that were started by the church of that time because of the desire of men to follow other men instead of the teachings of Christ alone. Paul was himself among those who had huge followings at the time, and yet in his writings we see continuous referral to following Christ instead of Peter or Paul, or Apollo. The reason for not following men of God is simple, men are not perfect in their wisdom no matter how close to God they may be. The only reliable source of truth which is in perfect sync with God's heart is that of his only begotten son Jesus.
The need for our seeking perfect instruction at all times can be easily found in the degrees of an angle to a perfectly straight line. Even the slightest change or shift in a direction although it may be undetectable with an untrained eye will miss the mark if the target has any distance to it. Any time that we assume anything about what God meant to say in his word we are missing the mark. If anyone else who is building upon our teachings that missed the mark draws their own conclusions about that same mark they will also be off that Mark and it may be by miles unless it is corrected in love. The only method of truth can be found in staying with the original truth given by Christ... No additions and no subtractions need to be made. Because we are human, and our nature is to question what we do not understand; and in most cases want to improve what we can by making our own adjustments to fit our personal liking, it is very hard for us to keep our opinions to ourselves.
We must allow the word of God to stand on its own merit. There is one God and father of all; who is all, and in all, and through all things. There are some things even though they may not make perfect sense to us that must stand without argument if for no other reason than that they are God's word. Our personal differences in desire to reach God should not hinder us in fellowship or brotherhood in Christ or they should not deal with our salvation or relationship personally to our father in heaven. Even though we may fill an important part of our personal view of God's favor to us with things that make us feel stronger and more alive in Christ not everyone receives the same benefits as we do from the same exercises of faith or gifts of the Spirit of God that we may cling to. If that is true there should still be no reason that we cannot praise God together or fellowship outside of worship services with one another in Christ. Once again the tendency to think more highly of himself than we should exist when it comes to our allegiance to and with God.
The principles that Jesus founded in the establishment of the church which he intended to be the bride of Christ upon his return was very simple. It had no hoops to jump through and no elaborate contracts to fill out. It simply said "if you love me you will keep my commandments"and if you really believe than others will see the fruit of God's Spirit at work within you. If you allow gun spirit to work and you he will transform you into a new creature that fits into the kingdom of God. We must conclude that in that the task that is before us consists of letting God set examples for those who have in some way lost their direction of what it means to be a part of the body of Christ. Today in many cases there is a rather desperate need for a church example to be given to our communities in general by simply living out this spiritual directive in the way we treat one another in Christ. Our attitudes and our teachings must become spiritually oriented instead of following the physical letter of a law that we have made from our own wisdom. Like it or not even as you read this a statement is being made by God's spirit to those around you, and an example is being given by your life. Is that example an accurate description of what Christ intended for you to be? I pray that it is. I pray that we will begin to live out that spirit of the law which is what the good news of salvation through Christ Jesus teaches us. If you have any questions regarding the importance of these teachings to the church or to you individually do not hesitate to ask. I will be more than happy to respond to you. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
YHE UNWORTHY SERVANT
Among the first of these dangers as men within the church is that of division among brothers in Christ. It is a common problem among many Christians today, and it was in particular a problem in the church of Corinth during Paul's ministry. Paul in fact had to stamp out many fires that were started by the church of that time because of the desire of men to follow other men instead of the teachings of Christ alone. Paul was himself among those who had huge followings at the time, and yet in his writings we see continuous referral to following Christ instead of Peter or Paul, or Apollo. The reason for not following men of God is simple, men are not perfect in their wisdom no matter how close to God they may be. The only reliable source of truth which is in perfect sync with God's heart is that of his only begotten son Jesus.
The need for our seeking perfect instruction at all times can be easily found in the degrees of an angle to a perfectly straight line. Even the slightest change or shift in a direction although it may be undetectable with an untrained eye will miss the mark if the target has any distance to it. Any time that we assume anything about what God meant to say in his word we are missing the mark. If anyone else who is building upon our teachings that missed the mark draws their own conclusions about that same mark they will also be off that Mark and it may be by miles unless it is corrected in love. The only method of truth can be found in staying with the original truth given by Christ... No additions and no subtractions need to be made. Because we are human, and our nature is to question what we do not understand; and in most cases want to improve what we can by making our own adjustments to fit our personal liking, it is very hard for us to keep our opinions to ourselves.
We must allow the word of God to stand on its own merit. There is one God and father of all; who is all, and in all, and through all things. There are some things even though they may not make perfect sense to us that must stand without argument if for no other reason than that they are God's word. Our personal differences in desire to reach God should not hinder us in fellowship or brotherhood in Christ or they should not deal with our salvation or relationship personally to our father in heaven. Even though we may fill an important part of our personal view of God's favor to us with things that make us feel stronger and more alive in Christ not everyone receives the same benefits as we do from the same exercises of faith or gifts of the Spirit of God that we may cling to. If that is true there should still be no reason that we cannot praise God together or fellowship outside of worship services with one another in Christ. Once again the tendency to think more highly of himself than we should exist when it comes to our allegiance to and with God.
The principles that Jesus founded in the establishment of the church which he intended to be the bride of Christ upon his return was very simple. It had no hoops to jump through and no elaborate contracts to fill out. It simply said "if you love me you will keep my commandments"and if you really believe than others will see the fruit of God's Spirit at work within you. If you allow gun spirit to work and you he will transform you into a new creature that fits into the kingdom of God. We must conclude that in that the task that is before us consists of letting God set examples for those who have in some way lost their direction of what it means to be a part of the body of Christ. Today in many cases there is a rather desperate need for a church example to be given to our communities in general by simply living out this spiritual directive in the way we treat one another in Christ. Our attitudes and our teachings must become spiritually oriented instead of following the physical letter of a law that we have made from our own wisdom. Like it or not even as you read this a statement is being made by God's spirit to those around you, and an example is being given by your life. Is that example an accurate description of what Christ intended for you to be? I pray that it is. I pray that we will begin to live out that spirit of the law which is what the good news of salvation through Christ Jesus teaches us. If you have any questions regarding the importance of these teachings to the church or to you individually do not hesitate to ask. I will be more than happy to respond to you. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
YHE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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