If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.
~ Saint Augustine
Belief Systems or JESUS?
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Just wanted to let you know I have a new post up that I just wrote on my site if you would like to read it. 
I seem to recall having read somewhere that the Lord is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.brakelite said:
"I am the Lord," God tells Israel. "I change not."
And yet, we dare to think that He may change...we dare to think that we may "revise" His Holy Word to fit our puny "doctrines".
To me it comes down to this (but I am not limiting it others may view differently) religion is man's mere search/explanation of God. Yet Jesus came not to start a religion but to bring redemption. If we understand that being man and knowing that our own understanding is flawed and that we serve a God who ways are higher, greater and more purer than our own. Thus any interpretation we may gather about Him is limited and faulted then we can begin to submit ourselves to His plan because He has the Master Plan! And though we may not understand His plan we recognize and know that its the better way! Simply put most of these "isms" and divisions in Church history have come about from men (who's understanding, interpretation and even spirituality were flawed) and once we realize that and not make our beliefs unto an idol god then we can truly be unified and receive the spiritual and natural blessings of Christ our Savior! Because "great is the mystery of godliness.."(1 Timothy 3:16)
Exactly. We should all be sticking together and working for HIS KINGDOM, not to build our own here. It does not matter how many good things we do in the name of CHRIST, it doesn't even matter how many times we go to CHURCH or what denomination we are. If we do not LOVE one another then we are nothing. When we say "what you are doing is wrong" and act like we are HOLIER than though we are not showing CHRIST'S love. All of us sin, our sins are no greater than anyone else's, and we all need to learn how to rebuke sin, and love the man. Just like JESUS did. The more we tear each other apart for this or that the more divided the body of CHRIST becomes, when will we realize that this is exactly what the ENEMY wants?
Our 'cannibalism' :blink: is a symptom of not seeing the big picture of redemptive history...a basic lack of not understanding or at least losing sight of the foundational message of scripture..and it is incredibly simple...
....that from Genesis to Revelation God has revealed that His prime yearning, His most cherished desire above everything else, is to be with His people. From "Adam where art thou?" to His request to Moses "make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among My people" to His incarnation to the second coming...all reflect this. The problem, Isaiah put so succinctly, is that "your sins have separated you from your God", and the gospel is God's cure for the cancer of sin, so that once believed and accepted, once again God may dwell with His people. As we are, we are not fit to dwell with a holy God. Forgiveness or justification is not enough.
It is our misunderstanding of the gospel which impedes the Lord's purpose, to dwell with us. We cut short the redemption story. We say that Calvary is all it takes...that Christ's work was completed at the cross, when nothing could be further from the truth. The OT sanctuary started at the altar (Calvary) of sacrifice, but didn't end there. The priest, after offering the innocent victim, took the blood into the sanctuary. We also need to enter into the sanctuary with Him.
What is in the sanctuary? The Bread of Life....the Light of the World....and our intercessor. But we are not yet in the true presence of God. What was behind the veil? God's presence. But the veil has been removed you say. Indeed it has, but many are still hanging out outside the tent. They have not yet entered the sanctuary...but the sanctuary isn't here any more you say. True, but when Jesus rose into heaven where did He go?
Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
And for what purpose is Jesus now in the heavenly sanctuary, and what else is there with Him?
Simple...God wants to live in you and with you and is willing to anything to make it happen.
10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Rom. 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
. Only through partaking of Christ's death, and assimilating His life, can we have any hope of freedom from the sin that separates us from God.
Romans 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Grace not just forgives, it empowers us to be freed from not just condemnation, but the practice, of sin, thus enabling the Lord of glory to live with and in us. Remember, if you go with Jesus all the way into the sanctuary, then with boldness we may approach the throne of God. And remember also that the throne was represented in the OT sanctuary by the ark of the covenant, in which is the law of God.
Re 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
The ones in the last days to most enjoy the presence of God in their lives are described here....Rev. 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The dragon attacks where the Spirit of God is. The ones who have dared to venture with Christ past the altar of sacrifice and by faith followed Him into the most Holy place and embraced the righteousness of Christ as embodied in His law ...
1 Thess.5:23 ¶ And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
....that from Genesis to Revelation God has revealed that His prime yearning, His most cherished desire above everything else, is to be with His people. From "Adam where art thou?" to His request to Moses "make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among My people" to His incarnation to the second coming...all reflect this. The problem, Isaiah put so succinctly, is that "your sins have separated you from your God", and the gospel is God's cure for the cancer of sin, so that once believed and accepted, once again God may dwell with His people. As we are, we are not fit to dwell with a holy God. Forgiveness or justification is not enough.
It is our misunderstanding of the gospel which impedes the Lord's purpose, to dwell with us. We cut short the redemption story. We say that Calvary is all it takes...that Christ's work was completed at the cross, when nothing could be further from the truth. The OT sanctuary started at the altar (Calvary) of sacrifice, but didn't end there. The priest, after offering the innocent victim, took the blood into the sanctuary. We also need to enter into the sanctuary with Him.
What is in the sanctuary? The Bread of Life....the Light of the World....and our intercessor. But we are not yet in the true presence of God. What was behind the veil? God's presence. But the veil has been removed you say. Indeed it has, but many are still hanging out outside the tent. They have not yet entered the sanctuary...but the sanctuary isn't here any more you say. True, but when Jesus rose into heaven where did He go?
Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
And for what purpose is Jesus now in the heavenly sanctuary, and what else is there with Him?
Simple...God wants to live in you and with you and is willing to anything to make it happen.
10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Rom. 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
. Only through partaking of Christ's death, and assimilating His life, can we have any hope of freedom from the sin that separates us from God.
Romans 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Grace not just forgives, it empowers us to be freed from not just condemnation, but the practice, of sin, thus enabling the Lord of glory to live with and in us. Remember, if you go with Jesus all the way into the sanctuary, then with boldness we may approach the throne of God. And remember also that the throne was represented in the OT sanctuary by the ark of the covenant, in which is the law of God.
Re 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
The ones in the last days to most enjoy the presence of God in their lives are described here....Rev. 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The dragon attacks where the Spirit of God is. The ones who have dared to venture with Christ past the altar of sacrifice and by faith followed Him into the most Holy place and embraced the righteousness of Christ as embodied in His law ...
1 Thess.5:23 ¶ And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Didn't like that hyperbole brakelite?brakelite said:
Our cannibalism is more a sign of not having the LOVE of God in our hearts for all things we do. It shows up in so many areas of life when Christians interact about the world in forums like this or as part of a larger anonymous organization. A good sign of that would be how MANY right wing Christians react, vilify and denigrate gays for having the same rights as ALL other citizens in our democracies do.
A very good example of that would be Kentucky's Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who tried to force her personal beliefs and convictions on gays who were legally trying to obtain marriage licences after the Supreme Court ruled the Kentucky law against them as ILLEGAL.
If your confession of Christ contradicts your public persona then the old adage that "actions speaks louder than words", applies.
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