I agree – and exactly where that line is (ownership v. idolatry) varies from person to person.
They are real and come into play as you surrender your life to Lord Jesus. You don’t have the right to rebel against God after that. But to use a example from the Law of Moses, a child need not understand laws about adultry or homosexuality or sexual immorality, they are not at that point where they can understand it. The same thing for the spiritual teachings, at baptism the rebirth comes, the person in a spiritual infant and just can’t understand all the teachings. Paul frequently uses the reference of a woman giving birth and providing milk and solid food as reference to how he must raise believers.
This has to do with strongholds in ones’ life. Someone who is rich most likely has things and money as their ‘god’. That stronghold has to be broken, repented of and turned away from (repentance is turning away from). Other strongholds are alcohol, false religions including man made rules and regulations that have nothing with God, fame, power, gluttony, lust, drugs, anything that you would put infront of God.
No and maybe. No as in you have to give everything to God, for His use as He leads you, Maybe because God may allow you stewardship of such treasures.
Which commandments are you referring to? I know there are the Big 10 (the ones they made a movie about) and then JC clarified them in the New Testament. None of them said anything about tunics, cloaks, treasures or koalas for that matter. Anything else is not a commandment any more than you can say that a law is the same as a Constitutional Amendment. They were either Talmudic laws or else the expressed written opinions of the various Biblical authors, and were not necessarily the views of JC.
This is a lie from the pit of Hell:
All are quotes from Jesus (NIV)
By your own words Jesus meant what He said, Jesus not only established a church but that was the reason He came. To unite us and God. The Church is the body of Christ, we are part of the family of God, adopted children of the Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus.
bolding mine. Slight nitpick but Jesus did establish a church when he said And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. Jesus established his Church with Peter being the first of its leaders. This site gives additional evidence to that idea.
I agree that you don’t have to be Christian, etc. to be compassionate. You can be rich and generous or poor and miserly. You can be Christian by label but not acting in a Christ-like manner because you act hypocritically to your fellow man. You can be an atheist but be more altruistic than most people. And being charitable doesn’t mean you are necessarily a nice person.
If I lived near the Jordan river, where according to Weather Underground it is currently 60 degrees fahrenheit, in February, at night (at time of posting), I would probably only need one coat as well.
Just sayin’…
The only part of the Bible Christians take literally are the parts about gays burning in hell, etc.
Try Matthew 22:34-40 . There he specifically names Commandments. What Jesus says in Matthew 19: 16-30 about giving up all worldly possessions is his admonishment to care more for the life in the Kingdom of Heaven than with the life on Earth. It is not a commandment or a law. He wants to essentially slap the people in the face and say, “Look, if you really give a shit about what I’m teaching then you shouldn’t give a shit about what you have here. This stuff is temporary. I’ll give you something eternal.”
Call it what you will. My point is that self-described Christians feel no accountability to follow the specific teachings of Jesus despite what he said:
Can you submit a single thing that Jesus taught that is absolute, that Christians can be held accountable for by others as testament to their faith? Or are they accountable to god only, no matter how hypocritical they may appear to men?
God only:
So if someone tells me they are a Christian, what can I infer with any certainty about their faith?
The problem is just who is a Christian? You ask some Evangelicals and they will say the Catholics aren’t Christians! Some denominations don’t consider Jesus as the son of God but as a man transferring the word of God. So how can you say that Christians can be held to something if we don’t know what a Christian is?
However, the one thing that Jesus said that everyone, Christian or not, can believe in is the notion of loving your neighbor. You don’t have to believe Jesus was the son of God or even believe that God exists to agree that it would be a much better world if everyone was nicer to each other. It is something we all aspire to and wish we could do but we frequently fail. How many people can honestly say that they treat everyone the way that they wish they were treated? Very few, I bet.
Everyone is accountable for their actions, whether it is by the laws of man or the laws of God (if they believe in Him).
Unfortunately not much as many false apostles and fake christs have gone out into the world, we are instructed to look for the Fruit of the Spirit:
and to test the spirits
Where is this from?
What I said before, Matthew 22:39 . Love thy neighbor. Pretty straightforward. Anyone who claims to be a Christian but doesn’t follow that rule is not doing what Christ asks. Actually, anyone, no matter whether they believe in God or not, who doesn’t follow that rule is pretty much an asshole.
It is true that Jesus did not establish, build, preach in, or otherwise conduct church services. I know what it says in the Bible, but I don’t look upon the Bible as the final truth. Jesus’ words come to us through the pens of others from their memories, and I doubt we have the whole of what he said. Remember Peter had denied he even knew Jesus, doubtful Jesus would have Peter establish a church in His name. Actually Jesus said “I come to bring you life, and life more abundantly.” He never said I come to establish a church in my name, that would have been out-of-character because Jesus was not a friend of the established churches.
The main teachings of Jesus are to love one another, give to those in need, heal the sick, resist not evil, and don’t judge others. You can learn this in a church, but you don’t need a church to follow the teachings. The church will not bring you abundant life, however, the teachings will. No one is special for going to church, all are equal in the sight and love of God.
Establishing a church did not mean, “Peter, I want you to get some stones and 2x4s and build me a building where people can worship me.” It meant that he wanted Peter to begin spreading the word of Jesus, his teachings and his message. Jesus’ church is anywhere that his message of love is spread. It can be in a religious structure or someone’s basement or in a park. His church is everywhere.
Yes, Peter denied knowing Jesus (he had even been told he would do it. Spooky!) but Jesus understood that if Peter acknowledged knowing Jesus that he would have been captured and possibly killed, thus not being able to spread the word. So Jesus gave him a pass on the denying bit. That’s just the kind of guy he was.
Might I enquire as to how you are able to dismiss the Bible on one hand, and then put forth what Jesus actually meant with such certainty on the other? Do you have an alternative source for what Jesus meant?
I could put up a good argument on this saying that Jesus told the disciples to go forth and preach the gospel, while saying nothing about a church, but I won’t. I can accept the fact that “anywhere two or more are gathered together in my name, there I am also.” You may call the whole universe His church with my blessing if you wish. But it is not the church that changes lives, it is the teachings.
Jesus gave Peter a pass? OK, I can accept that because Jesus also gave the prostitute a pass, Jesus also gave all His killers a pass saying: Forgive them, for they know not what they do." Jesus lived His own teachings saying: “For I do not judge.” We all have a pass for our mistakes and shortcomings, Jesus, like God, loves us all the same regardless of our “sins.”
Now, the real builder of the Christian church was Paul, blinded by a brilliant light, he changed sides in the battle, bringing the teachings to many until Constantine saw the value in Christianity and made it the official religion.