'Holiness' Christians

[robert derrick]

I'm quoting from LITV on this one to bring out something,

1 Peter 5:2-4 LITV
2) Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not by compulsion, but willingly; nor eagerly for base gain, but readily;
3) nor as exercising lordship over the ones allotted to you, but becoming examples of the flock.
4) And at the appearing of the Chief Shepherd, you will receive the never fading crown of glory.

The ones allotted to you . . . the idea here that God has apportioned us each to our shepherds. Do you have that experience in your life of knowing who your shepherd - we normally say pastor of course - who this is in your life?

I'm actually waiting for my next pastor, my pastor died last year, and my wife and I remain wary of covid, so we have not been to church. We have our home church, but it's not all the same.

But I just wanted to bring out here the idea that God allots us to His various shepherds, and they are responsible for us, and must give account for their shepherding of us.

My pastor must be receiving great reward! He literally led us into greater love by his love for us. He was the most loving man I've ever known, and showed me what that was.

Much love!

God doesn't have many shepherds. Jesus is the only true Shepherd of the sheep (Heb 13:20)

And we don't have 'pastors'. They are not 'ours' to claim for our own. The pastors of God, that are pastors of His indeed, are His pastors, His gifts given to his church to preach and guide and lead in honesty and sincerity and simplicity of Christ.

"And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." (Jerem 3)

My advice is to avoid the 'my pastor' mentality, and rather see them for what they are Scripturally: God's gifts to us for our soul's sake.

It's not just semantics, but an important truth in Christ. The 'my pastor' mentality can lead to the 'my Lord' mentality. But simply thanking God for His gifts to us for our benefit, keeps us focused on God and His Word, not on the 'gift' as a dominant factor in our lives of faith.

 

[marks]

My advice is to avoid the 'my pastor' mentality, and rather see them for what they are Scripturally: God's gifts to us for our soul's sake.

It's not just semantics, but an important truth in Christ. The 'my pastor' mentality can lead to the 'my Lord' mentality. But simply thanking God for His gifts to us for our benefit, keeps us focused on God and His Word, not on the 'gift' as a dominant factor in our lives of faith.

OK, just the same, I fell in love with my pastor, who also loved me, both of us in the love of Christ, and I hope you are able to enjoy that in your life.

Naturally we thank God for all good things, and naturally we go first to Him for all things. And of course the dominant factor in our faith, as you say, to me, is the power of Christ to save through His death and resurrection.

I don't recommend blindly following anyone. Loving others and being loved all in the love of Christ is a beautiful life not to be passed by, I think.

Much love!

 

[robert derrick]

I suppose what I am trying to explain in not 'overdoing' our place as ministers of the faith is to not be smiting the Rock (Numbers 20), but only speaking to the people. Not even trying to 'message' water and growth out of it.

We overdo our part when we begin to force or compel compliance on the part of them that hear. Which is not the same as enforcing decent, proper, and orderly behavior in our assemblies. (1 Cor 14)

When we overreach in our efforts to 'help' someone be saved or to grow or to repent, then we are trying to produce sons born of God by the will of man. (John 1)

In minister especially, as with in other things of life, too much help is not good, so that no help is better than bad help.

We are not church 'builders', but church builder-uppers.

 

[robert derrick]

"I'm holiness from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet!!" Standard Holiness preaching

And quite proud of it, I'm sure.

Some people are so 'holiness', that they are no longer holy at all. At least not holy as God is holy. (1 Peter 1)

Like Lucifer, they try to be better and holier than thou and God...

 

[theQuestioneer]

"Spiritual" means to be connected to God's Spirit, power.
Those that worship the Triune Polytheism, and who teach that Jesus never died are forever barred from it.

 

[robert derrick]

"Preachers are supposed to tell the people what sin is!!" Holiness standard of preaching.

God's preachers will tell the people what God says sin is...

"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Matthew 15)

The uber-holiness types call on Jesus' name to get everyone's attentions and hearts ready to hear, and then they push Him aside to preach their own rules, doctrines, and commandments.

Why? Because they love the power over others, to be able to have their own personal word believed and obeyed as God's:

"Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your for by faith ye stand." (2 Cor 1)

When you can preach something of your own mind that is not written and be believed as it were written, then you have become the power and the head and the god of those believing you.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me." (John 5)

It's the reason why the Jews of the day had to have Jesus crucified, because they were losing power over their nation to One who did not obey their personal rules of religious conduct as that of Law of Moses...

"If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: Now consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death." (John 11)

The nation of the Jews wasn't going to perish, but only their own power over that nation was being undermined by Jesus' continual call to obey the Scriptures only. And in the end, their power kept over them caused the nation to in fact perish.

And so it is with cult-like 'holiness' preachers: it becomes less and less about the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His power of salvation, and more and more about the headship of the preacher and his control over salvation...