Here's some things to get you thinking
Was Jesus nice? Compassionate, truthful. but never bowed to any lie or evil.did not sugarcoat.. anything Woes to Scribes and Pharisees (Luke 11:37-54) 1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: 2“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy, burdensome loadsa and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, 7the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.b 8But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ. 11The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 13Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.c 15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of helld as you are. 16Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? 18And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ 19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred? 20So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. 22And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it. 23Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.e 25Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish,f so that the outside may become clean as well. 27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every impurity. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. 29Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. 30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. 33You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell? 34Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town. 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John 13:33-35"Little children, I am with you a little while longer You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Luke 6:35 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Matthew 5:44 KJV, But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Matthew 25:40. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other authors. Acts 7:52-60"Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. Proverbs 25:21-22If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you. Job 31:29-30"Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy, Or exulted when evil befell him? "No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse. 1 Corinthians 5:11But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is 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. Who are our brothers? in the time of Jesus, believing Jews, In the present age of Grace, all believers. Everyone else is an enemy... go through the verses again. We are to be kind to our enemies, We are never to rejoice in their suffering . ( ah oops there goes Facebook) All human beings are made in the image of God; all are under His jurisdiction. the fact that they do not acknowledge Him is not to influence OUR thinking as holy and consecrated members of the Body of Christ, but we do know that by being kind, we can also heap coals on our enemies heads.sometimes they will come to salvation. sometimes they continue straight to Hell. our actions are holy unto God. ie.. it comes down to attitude, If you insult someone ( Jesus also said gossip and slander are evil) Matthew 5:22 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. So,, your first allegiance is to brothers and sisters in Christ. ( even pagans love their families it is human nature. you get no godly credit for that oops) If you make public mockery of a brother or sister, you have erred. the idea presented in Paul's writings is that you go to your brother or sister privately, and then with church elders to make your case, and then, you evict them from the body That's right, persistent sin will eat the church alive ,, you are not to fellowship with them.what you hope is that Satan;s work is done before they renounce Christ ( boy we have a lot of that today) you hope for a turning from sin and reconciliation with the church, or death. physical death. I guess that sounds harsh too. if all that is left is salvation, you pray they cling to that. better a beggar in Heaven than any position in Hell. As well, we ARE to call out false prophets, heresy. because people's souls depend on it. no quarter given.But never to do it so as to ruin someone publicly, ( take down an enemy with words ah oops our entire media apparatus seems to do that)these are quite fine distinctions, I guess we fail sometimes, but we accomplish nothing if we are.. nice ( bending to the world.) Christ is about souls ,,,saving souls. He trusts us to pray, and work with authorities to the benefit of everyone. If we vote, our vote has meaning, Even understanding that secular authority is rife with sin, we do our best to protect All.every person .We hope for good leaders that we may spread the gospel and live in peace. When Jesus returns, it is not as a lamb, but as a lion. King of the whole earth, and with a rod of iron to discipline the nations. and that will be so much above any human government, any system..justice and mercy both. Cling to that hope Maranatha! |
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