Christ's Instructions

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122) 1Cor 16:1-3 . . Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I
told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of
you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it
up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I
arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send
them with your gift to Jerusalem.

The "God's people" to whom Paul referred were Jewish Christians whose
church was located at Jerusalem. They were having it pretty rough in the
early days of Christianity.

Lest somebody should get the wrong idea, that wasn't a tithe. Christ left it
up to each individual in Corinth the amount that they felt like donating
towards the Jews' relief effort.

● 2Cor 9:7 . . Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to
give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Tithes are not gifts; no, tithes are demanded rather than donated out of the
goodness of one's heart. I don't give the government my taxes; no, they
wrest them from me by force of law; viz: I pay taxes against my will, both
reluctantly and under compulsion; and I have little to no say in how revenue
is allocated. When it comes to taxes: I am not cheerful; no, I am grudging.
Well; that is not Christian giving. No; Christians have a faith that works by
love, not by law. (Gal 5:6)

NOTE: It would be interesting to take a poll among America's churches just
to see, out of curiosity, how many have a program for assisting Jewish
Christians over in the modern State of Israel.
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123) 1Cor 16:13a . . Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of
courage; be strong.

The Greek word for "men of courage" basically means to act manly; defined
by Webster's as: (1) having qualities generally associated with a man; viz:
strength and virility, and (2) appropriate in character to a man.

Well; we sure don't want the Christian women in church to become so-called
strong women; i.e. she-males. Masculinity is appropriate for men; but
definitely not for women. We want them to stand firm in the faith in a
feminine way rather than a masculine way.
_

 

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124) 1Cor 16:14 . . Do everything in love.

The Greek word translated "love" in this instance doesn't necessarily indicate
fondness or affection but does indicate benevolence; defined by Webster's as
the disposition to do good, e.g. generosity, charity, altruism, compassion,
and sympathy, i.e. thoughtful, cordial, affable, genial, sociable, cheerful,
warm, sensitive, hospitable, considerate, tactful, diplomatic,
accommodating, cooperative, kind, courteous, lenient, tolerant, patient,
helpful, civil, approachable, and friendly, etc.

I would imagine that "everything" includes the business of managing a
Church.

If a church officer's management practices tend to be more Machiavellian
than Christian, then maybe he really ought to consider stepping down and
finding himself a seat in a pew rather than a chair on the board. I mean it;
this is not something to take lightly. 1Cor 16:14 isn't optional; it's
mandatory.
_

 

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125) 1Cor 16:15-18 . .You know that the household of Stephanas were the
first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of
the saints. I urge you, brothers, to submit to such as these and to everyone
who joins in the work, and labors at it. I was glad when Stephanas,
Fortunatus, and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was
lacking from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men
deserve recognition.

Paul and his associates depended pretty heavily upon the hospitality of local
believers for accommodations and daily necessities. Congregations do well to
follow the examples of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus either by
opening their homes to missionaries or by funding their stay in a motel,
providing them with some pocket money, and possibly a rental car.
(Universal gift cards would be good too.)
_

 

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126) 1Cor 16:20 . . Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Kissing was a common form of greeting in the old world; and still is in the
Middle East and certain parts of Europe; but here in America-- a super-sized
racial/cultural/ethnic amalgam of customs from all over the globe --it's wise
to dispense your kisses with discretion. Some of us don't even like to be
hugged, let alone bussed; and if you should perchance try to make physical
contact with an autistic Christian, you're liable to cause them a panic attack;
so go easy on the touchy-feely stuff.

* The people to whom Paul referred as "one another" are one's fellows
unified with Christ. We're not required to be religiously cozy with outsiders.
_

 

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127) 1Cor 16:22 . . If anyone love not The Lord, let him be accursed.

One's love of The Lord is exemplified by loyalty.

● John 14:15 . . If you love me, you will comply with what I command.

● John 14:21 . .Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one
who loves me.

● John 14:23-24 . . If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching . . He who
does not love me will not obey my teaching.

Does a Muslim have to be a terrorist to be accursed? No; they only have to
be a loyal follower of Muhammad ibn `Abdullāh instead of a loyal follower of
Jesus Christ; same goes for Atheists, Nonreligious, Baha'i, Buddhists,
Chinese Universalists, Confucianists, Jains, Kabbalah mystics, Shintoists,
Spiritists, Taoists, Zoroastrians, Jews, Sikhs, and Hindus-- they're all
accursed and there is nothing to be gained in arguing about it.

How many people am I talking about? Well, as of mid 2014, worldwide there
were:

550,000 Scientologists
1,500,000 Mormons
8,200,000 Jehovah's Witnesses
18,479,257 Seventh Day Adventists
7,794,000 Baha'i
515,951,000 Buddhists
451,292,000 Chinese Folk Religionists
8,424,000 Confucianists
974,597,000 Hindus
5,567,000 Jains
14,142,000 Jews
1,673,590 Muslims
2,819,000 Shintoists
24,918,000 Sikhs
14,183,000 Spiritists
8,660,000 Taoists
196,000 Zoroastrians
828,594,000 Nonreligious
692,111,000 Agnostics
136,483,000 Atheists.

The grand total of just those categories alone is 5,3387,550,257

If those figures are in the ball park, and if classical Christianity is the reality;
then a minimum of at least 75% of the world's 2014 global population of 7.2
billion people weren't unified with Christ.

NOTES: Scientology, though not actually a religion, has an IRS tax status as
such.

Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons are Christians in the popular sense, but
not in the classical sense.

Joseph Smith's movement is a spin-off; in other words: there's some
classical Christianity in Mormonism, but comprises only a portion of
Mormonism. The rest of it is extreme, to say the least.

Neither do Jehovah's Witnesses qualify as Christians in the classical sense.
Charles Taze Russell's movement is a spin-off too. There's some classical
Christianity in the Watchtower Society's doctrines, but comprises only a
portion of Russell's doctrines; and his slant on it is very peculiar.
_

 

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128) 2Cor 2:6-8 . . The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is
sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so
that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore,
to reaffirm your love for him.

The cause for which Paul wrote that piece was a guy in the Corinthian church
sleeping with his stepmother (1Cor 5:1). Paul had instructed the
congregation to not only hold the man's feet to the fire, but also to ostracize
him.

Some time had passed since then, and the man was apparently regretting
his actions, and broken off the illicit relationship with his kin, so it was time
to let him back into the group. No doubt the humiliation of it all had a
tremendous impact upon his attitude-- probably upon the congregation's too
because at first their attitude wasn't all that good about it either. (cf. 1Cor
5:2)

Here in America scolding and ostracizing a church member would probably
just make them resentful rather than repentant. (cf. Ps 51:17)

FAQ: Does 2Cor 2:5-10 support the Watchtower Society's shunning and/or
Scientology's disconnection?

REPLY: Those organizations practice vindictive forms of ostracizing that
oftentimes destroy friendship bonds, destroy family ties, destroy marriage
vows, and even endanger careers.

Christian ostracizing is pretty much limited to fellowship, i.e. congregational
functions, e.g. worship services, communion, prayer meetings, banquets,
etc. Extreme shunning practices put Christians in jeopardy of failing to
comply with Christ's instructions per Matt 5:44-48. (cf. 2Thess 3:14-15)

* A rough-hewn example for us to think about is located in the 15th chapter
of 1Samuel wherein king Saul disobeyed God's instructions to utterly destroy
Agag. Afterwards Saul entreated Samuel to accompany him to church but
the prophet refused until the king fully admitted he was in the wrong.
_

 

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129) 2Cor 2:10-11 . . If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I
have forgiven-- if there was anything to forgive --I have forgiven in the sight
of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are
not unaware of his schemes.

One of the opposition's tactics is to create disunity in a church. Sure enough
when that happens-- as when one portion of the congregation believes in
judging and ostracizing while the other doesn't --people start taking sides
and the church will end up divided into cliques and factions. According to the
lord and master of New Testament Christianity, a house divided against itself
cannot stand.

Paul mentioned that his extension of forgiveness was "in the sight of Christ".
There exists some controversy as to the exact meaning but I think it's just
saying that Paul's forgiveness of that man was done in accordance with
Christ's approval; to the end that the Corinthians all go along with it, i.e.
stand together as one in their compliance with the apostle Paul's decisions.
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130) 2Cor 5:20-21 . . We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God
were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be
reconciled to God.

There's two different aspects to reconciliation. One is a criminal justice kind
of reconciliation (Rom 5:6-11, Rom 6:3-11, 1John 2:2) and the other is a
fellowship kind of reconciliation. (Gen 4:1-7, Gen 5:22-24, Gen 6:9, Gen
17:1, 1John 1:3-7)

For example, a man and his wife may not be speaking to each other; and
sleeping in separate beds; but they're still married: they're just not getting
along; in other words, they're out of fellowship with one another. It's God's
wishes that His own walk with Him in fellowship while they're waiting for
their departure; and the Corinthians weren't doing very well at it.

In order to restore diplomatic relations between themselves and their Father
above, that congregation had to knuckle down and deal with sin in their
midst in accordance with their master's wishes rather than their own.
Compare Josh 7:2-26 where Moses' people couldn't win anymore battles
until they first dealt with a sin in their midst.

It's ironic that a fully functioning Christian church like the one at Corinth was
in need of reconciliation with God. How many Christian churches are just like
that today? They pride themselves in being Spirit-filled congregations, yet
their congregational attitude is completely out of touch with Christ. Yes,
Christian congregations are oftentimes out of touch and need to come to
their senses and reconnect or else they risk becoming like the church at
Laodicea where the central figure of Christianity is depicted outside the
building banging on the door trying to get someone's attention to let him in.
(cf. Rev 3:14-22)
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131) 2Cor 6:1-2 . . As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive
God's grace in vain; for He says: In the time of my favor I heard you, and in
the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor,
now is the day of salvation.

Salvation is a project similar to tearing down a house and building it back
better. Well; the Corinthians had undergone the demolition phase in concert
with Christ's crucifixion and resurrection; but they were stuck in the rubble,
so to speak.

Well; Paul said, in so many words; that they shouldn't wait till the afterlife to
begin building back better, rather, God wanted them to begin now, in this
life.

"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to
do-- living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and
detestable idolatry." (1Pet 4:3 cf. Rom 6:1-14)
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132) 2Cor 6:14-18 . . Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with
Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what
agreement hath the temple of God with idols?

. . . For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said: I will dwell in
them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate-- saith
The Lord --and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will
be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters --saith The
Lord Almighty.

That commandment clearly forbids intermarriage between Christians and
non-Christians. Failure to comply is not only grossly disobedient, but it's
unwise and can have tragic results; for example:

● Gen 6:1-2 . .When men began to increase in number on the earth and
daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of
men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.

If we posit that the "sons of God" were believers and the "daughters of men"
were not; then it would appear that back in Noah's day, believing men threw
caution to the wind and built themselves harems of unbelieving women.
What happened to those believing men when it came time for the Flood?
Well, for one thing; they had lost their piety.

● Gen 7:1 . .The Lord then said to Noah: Go into the ark, you and your
whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

None of the other sons of God in that day were righteous; hence they
weren't invited aboard the ark. All of those men-- whose women were
chosen based solely upon sensual allure sans any spiritual prudence
whatsoever --perished in the Flood right along with everybody else.

Another incident is located at Nehemiah 13:23-31; which led to the break-up
of homes. Were Nehemiah to do so in our day, the media would crucify him
for child abuse. But Nehemiah wasn't the one at fault. His people had
entered into impious marriages; consequently their families became
collateral damage.
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133) 2Cor 7:1 . . Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse
ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting
holiness out of deference to God's will.

Webster's defines "deference" as affected and/or ingratiating regard for
another's wishes. Deference is the opposite of resistance, rebellion, defiance,
indifference, stubbornness and/or doing things your own way.

Contaminations of one's body would include things like drug addiction,
alcoholism, adultery, promiscuity, gluttony, eating blood, etc.

Contaminations of the spirit likely refers to things that influence one's
thinking and/or have an effect upon the personality; for example: Critical
Race Theory, the political philosophies of Carl Marx, Mao Zedong, and
Vladimir Lenin, Planned Parenthood, Liberalism, LGBTQ sex education,
transgender propaganda, Anti-Semitism, etc.

* The promises are those listed at 2Cor 6:14-18.
_

 

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134) 2Cor 8:11-15 . . If the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable
according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our
desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but
that there might be equality.

. . . At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in
turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it
is written: He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who
gathered little did not have too little.

* The equality we're looking at here has nothing to do with private property,
nor the distribution of wealth; viz: we are not looking at politics, so please
don't attempt to defend and/or promote Socialism with that passage.

It's inevitable that some churches would be disadvantaged compared to
others. For example: here in the USA's big cities, churches have no lack of
resources to take care of themselves; while small town churches are barely
scraping by. The charitable thing for the big-city church to do is take a small
town church under its wing, like any normal person would a needy relative.
The idea here is to moderate the small church's disadvantages and keep
things closer to a level playing field, so to speak, i.e. fair vs. unfair.

NOTE: "if the willingness is there" tells me that church officers should not
pressure and/or shame their people into sharing their abundance, viz:
should not attempt to break down their resistance; like talking people into
buying cars and vacuum cleaners, so to speak.

The directive is an excellent passage for debunking the so-called Faith
Promise; which is a popular scheme for seducing congregations into pledging
money they don't have while expecting God's providence will somehow
provide it. That is not the Lord's way. By means of Paul, the Lord says to
help out with what you already have, not what you hope to have later; I
mean: it is not His wish to copy ENRON's mark-to-market accounting
practices and/or futures trading with pork bellies and soy beans.
_

 

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135) 2Cor 9:7 . . Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to
give, not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver.

Towards what end is the giving spoken of in the New Testament? To finance
ambitious building programs? Well; Christians back then met in homes. Did
their contributions go towards obtaining more homes to meet in? No.

Within the context of the New Testament; giving in the early church was
charitable. It met needs rather than expenses; and those needs were
typically congregational rather than universal; viz: their charity went
towards those amongst themselves and/or other congregations that were
hungry, sick, injured, homeless, alone, helpless, missionaries, full-time
church officers, orphans, widows, abandoned, and/or oppressed, etc.
_

 

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136) 1Cor 16:13a . . Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of
courage; be strong.

The Greek word for "men of courage" basically means to act manly; defined
by Webster's as: (1) having qualities generally associated with a man; viz:
strength and virility, and (2) appropriate in character to a man.

Well; we sure don't want the Christian women in church to become so-called
strong women; i.e. she-males. Masculinity is appropriate for men; but
definitely not for women. We want them to stand firm in the faith in a
feminine way rather than a masculine way.
_

 

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137) 1Cor 16:14 . . Do everything in love.

The Greek word translated "love" in this instance doesn't necessarily indicate
fondness or affection but does indicate benevolence; defined by Webster's as
the disposition to do good, e.g. generosity, charity, altruism, compassion,
and sympathy, i.e. thoughtful, cordial, affable, genial, sociable, cheerful,
warm, sensitive, hospitable, considerate, tactful, diplomatic,
accommodating, cooperative, kind, courteous, lenient, tolerant, patient,
helpful, civil, approachable, and friendly, etc.

I would imagine that "everything" includes the business of managing a
Church.

If a church officer's management practices tend to be more Machiavellian
than Christian, then maybe he really ought to consider stepping down and
finding himself a seat in a pew rather than a chair on the board. I mean it;
this is not something to take lightly. 1Cor 16:14 isn't optional; it's
mandatory.
_

 

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~
138) 1Cor 16:15-18 . .You know that the household of Stephanas were the
first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of
the saints. I urge you, brothers, to submit to such as these and to everyone
who joins in the work, and labors at it. I was glad when Stephanas,
Fortunatus, and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was
lacking from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men
deserve recognition.

Paul and his associates depended pretty heavily upon the hospitality of local
believers for accommodations and daily necessities. Congregations do well to
follow the examples of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus either by
opening their homes to missionaries or by funding their stay in a motel,
providing them with some pocket money, and possibly a rental car too.
_

 

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~
139) 1Cor 16:20 . . Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Kissing was a common form of greeting in the old world; and still is in the
Middle East and certain parts of Europe; but here in America-- a super-sized
racial/cultural/ethnic amalgam of customs from all over the globe --it's wise
to dispense your kisses with discretion. Some of us don't even like to be
hugged, let alone bussed; and if you should perchance try to make physical
contact with an autistic Christian, you're liable to cause them a panic attack;
so go easy on the touchy-feely stuff.

* The people to whom Paul referred as "one another" are one's fellows
unified with Christ. We're not required to be religiously cozy with outsiders.
_

 

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~
140) 1Cor 16:22 . . If anyone love not The Lord, let him be accursed.

One's love of The Lord is exemplified by loyalty.

● John 14:15 . . If you love me, you will comply with what I command.

● John 14:21 . .Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.

● John 14:23-24 . . If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching . . He who
does not love me will not obey my teaching.

Does a Muslim have to be a terrorist to be accursed? No; they only have to
be a loyal follower of Muhammad ibn `Abdullāh instead of a loyal follower of
Jesus Christ; same goes for Atheists, Nonreligious, Baha'i, Buddhists,
Chinese Universalists, Confucianists, Jains, Kabbalah mystics, Shintoists,
Spiritists, Taoists, Zoroastrians, Jews, Sikhs, and Hindus-- they're all
accursed and there is nothing to be gained in arguing about it.

How many people am I talking about? Well, as of mid 2014, worldwide there
were:

550,000 Scientologists
1,500,000 Mormons
8,200,000 Jehovah's Witnesses
18,479,257 Seventh Day Adventists
7,794,000 Baha'i
515,951,000 Buddhists
451,292,000 Chinese Folk Religionists
8,424,000 Confucianists
974,597,000 Hindus
5,567,000 Jains
14,142,000 Jews
1,673,590 Muslims
2,819,000 Shintoists
24,918,000 Sikhs
14,183,000 Spiritists
8,660,000 Taoists
196,000 Zoroastrians
828,594,000 Nonreligious
692,111,000 Agnostics
136,483,000 Atheists.

The grand total of just those categories alone is 5,3387,550,257

If those figures are in the ball park, and if classical Christianity is the reality;
then a minimum of at least 75% of the world's 2014 global population of 7.2
billion people weren't unified with Christ.

NOTE: Scientology, though not actually a religion, has an IRS tax status as
such.

Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons are Christians in the popular sense, yes,
but not in the classical sense.

Joseph Smith's movement is a spin-off; in other words: there's some
classical Christianity in Mormonism, but comprises only a portion of
Mormonism. The rest of it is extreme, to say the least.

Neither do Jehovah's Witnesses qualify as Christians in the classical sense.
Charles Taze Russell's movement is a spin-off too. There's some classical
Christianity in the Watchtower Society's doctrines, but comprises only a
portion of Russell's doctrines; and his slant on it is very peculiar.
_

 

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~
141) 2Cor 2:6-8 . . The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is
sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so
that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore,
to reaffirm your love for him.

The cause for which Paul wrote that piece was a guy in the Corinthian church
sleeping with his stepmother (1Cor 5:1). Paul had instructed the
congregation to not only hold the man's feet to the fire, but also to ostracize
him.

Some time had passed since then, and the man was apparently regretting
his actions, and broken off the illicit relationship with his kin, so it was time
to let him back into the group. No doubt the humiliation of it all had a
tremendous impact upon his attitude-- probably upon the congregation's too
because at first their attitude wasn't all that good about it either. (cf. 1Cor
5:2)

Here in America scolding and ostracizing a church member would probably
just make them resentful rather than repentant. (cf. Ps 51:17)

FAQ: Does 2Cor 2:5-10 support the Watchtower Society's shunning and/or
Scientology's disconnection?

REPLY: Those organizations practice vindictive forms of ostracizing that
oftentimes destroy friendship bonds, destroy family ties, destroy marriage
vows, and even endanger careers.

Christian ostracizing is pretty much limited to fellowship, i.e. congregational
functions, e.g. worship services, communion, prayer meetings, banquets,
etc. Extreme shunning practices put Christians in jeopardy of failing to
comply with Christ's instructions per Matt 5:44-48. (cf. 2Thess 3:14-15)

* A rough-hewn example for us to think about is located in the 15th chapter
of 1Samuel wherein king Saul disobeyed God's instructions to utterly destroy
Agag. Afterwards Saul entreated Samuel to accompany him to church but
the prophet refused until the king fully admitted he was in the wrong.
_