LOVE NOT THE WORLD (part 3)

Posted on by BETH

UntitledDo you know any scripture that contradicts this command which says we can love the material things of the world but are not to love “worldliness” or the “evil” things which are in the world?  At first glance Colossians 2:20-22 appears to give permission to love the material things in the world, but let’s see if it does.

  • Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men (Col. 2:20-22)?

In Colossians 2:20-22, what are we dead to?  We obviously are dead to the old man (Rom. 6:6) and the things of the old man which would include the rudiments of the world that the Gentiles seek after (Matt. 6:32).  Yes, we are to leave the rudiments and principles of this world.  So what are the rules the world has?  What do we touch?  We touch material things.  What do we taste?  We taste the material things.  What do we handle?  Again it is material things.  What will happen to all material in Colossians 2:22?  Is this not the same command as in 1 John 2:15, because all these things will perish (1 John 2:17).  Who gives commandments regarding these material things?  God commands Christians not to love these things, but men make new laws which say do not eat it or touch it.  God does not command us not to eat or touch it; he says not to love it.  What should we do?  How can we not love these material things?  We must focus on and love eternal things.  If we love the world and then die, our chief love is gone.  What if we love purity, holiness and goodness?  We can carry that with us and not suffer any loss at all.  What does he want us to love?  Will it be the physical man or the spiritual man, which is renewed day by day?

  • While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18).

What is Paul not looking toward?  Did he go around with his eyes covered?  What does he mean?  Those earthly things were not valuable to him.  He was not concerned with the outward things.  Did he love them?  They are neither eternal nor important to him.  Is there any command that tells us to love the material of the world?  Jesus did nothing without specific authority from his Father (John 5:19, 30) and we should follow his example.  How much did Jesus have when he died?  We know that Jesus was satisfied with food and clothing (1 Tim. 6:7-8).

Whiner’s Word of the Day (I couldn’t resist this one.)

Posted on by BETH

Whiner’s Word of the Day

carping

Though it’s tempting do draw a connection between today’s word carping and the widely distributed bottom-feeding fish, it should be remembered that carp (the fish), not being gifted with speech or the mouthparts required to produce it, are not capable of carping (petty faultfinding). The two words are separately derived. Carp the verb is from an Old Norse root that means “brag.”

Click here to look up the word of the day in the Visual Thesaurus!

LOVE NOT THE WORLD (part 2)

Posted on by BETH

UntitledWhy is 1 John 2:15-17 unacceptable to most people?  Almost everyone I know changes the words in this passage to say: do not love the evil in the world.  Is that what it says?  Is this talking about the people?  Who is in the world?  We have neighbors, friends, enemies and brethren.  We are commanded to love our neighbor.  We also are commanded to love our brethren, enemies and friends.  Who else is there in the world?  Is this a contradiction in the Bible?  Is He talking about souls or things?

Loving the “people” of the world is loving ones’ neighbor, which is commanded and good.

  • “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Though the world hates us, we must love them (even our enemies).

  • “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19).
  • “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; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust (Matt. 5:44-45).

We were born into this material world, not into worldliness. 

  • “But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Tim. 6:6-7).

The word “world” is used in the sense of the physical world much the same as Romans 1:25 uses the word creation.

  • “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature (creation) more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Rom. 1:25).
  • NT:3844=para, which is a primary preposition; properly, near; i.e. (with genitive case) from beside (literally or figuratively), (with dative case) at (or in) the vicinity of (objectively or subjectively), (with accusative case) to the proximity with (local [especially beyond or opposed to] or causal [on account of]:

The verse (if translated exactly according to the Greek words God inspired) would literally read, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creation (what God created) along side of (or as well as) God.”

The cares of this physical world are what choke the word.

  • “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful” (Matt. 13:22).

The word world in the Greek language is kosmos—literally orderly arrangement—the same word we use in English for the universe.  What is he saying?  What does he mean when he says, “Do not love the kosmos?”  What about the things around us in the world?  Do not love “the things that are in the world.”  He has to be talking about the world itself and the material things in it.

Do you know any scripture that contradicts this command which says we can love the material things of the world but are not to love “worldliness” or the “evil” things which are in the world?  At first glance Colossians 2:20-22 appears to give permission to love the material things in the world, but let’s see if it does.

LOVE NOT THE WORLD (part 1)

Posted on by BETH

Love Not The World When I was a girl, I had an old, stone-faced English teacher who made me fall in love with words.  In her mouth they marched, danced and sang as they became Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton or Frost.  I saw multitudes of Technicolor scenes unfold before me while she addressed the class in a barely audible voice.  There were others like the home economics teacher who encouraged me to love homemaking and to create beautiful apparel from fabric and thread and the science teacher who helped me to see the wonders of the nature all around me.  College music teachers bragged up my ability as a singer while lofty Epicurean types inspired me to become more and more aware of my five senses.  In the first three years of college, I took 21 hours each semester.  My appetite for learning was insatiable.  As I sought to embrace life and live it to the full, all these and more appealed to my intellect and to my foolish pride.

Years later I met someone who helped me to love God and His word, and my mind and heart began a metamorphosis.  The transition has not been easy, since the lure of life in the world still calls from every direction.  Yet the true “life” (John 17:3) had so much greater call that it has made all the difference.  Because of God’s word, choices are already made.  Like the Philippians, we are bought and redeemed, but we are still working out our own salvation from day to day (Phil. 2:12).

Having known brethren who grew up in the church, who would not humble themselves to serve the one who created them, I have wondered if they too found the things of the world more appealing than the things of eternity.  Their reasoning could be quite simple.  Maybe not with words, but with their lives they were saying, “To me, the world is in Technicolor, while religion is in black and white.”

Having actually heard such a statement from one I love still sends chills down my spine and breaks my heart.  So why is the world in Technicolor?  Obviously comparing Technicolor to black and white provides the contrast some need to express their feelings about how flat and valueless religion is to them.  They mean that the world and the things of the world appeal to them like glittering jewels calling on every hand.  Do they understand they cannot serve two masters?  Apparently they do, and we also should understand that principle (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13) but make the better choice.  Either we live to satisfy our fleshly desires that bring pleasure on earth, or we live to sow to and bear the fruit of the spirit while building treasure in heaven.  Some know enough not to try to serve two masters, but they often choose the wrong one.

  • Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 John 2:15-17).

Why is this commandment unacceptable to most people?  Almost everyone I know changes the words in this passage to say: do not love the evil in the world.  Is that what it says?  Is this talking about the people?  Who is in the world?  We have neighbors, friends, enemies and brethren.  We are commanded to love our neighbor.  We also are commanded to love our brethren, enemies and friends.  Who else is there in the world?  Is this a contradiction in the Bible?  Is He talking about souls or things?

(to be continued)

THE FOUNDATION AND COST OF BEING CHRIST’S DISCIPLE

Posted on by BETH

The Definition of a Disciple:

And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch (Acts 11:26).

There Is A Cost To Being A True Christian (Luke 14:25‑35).

And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

We Must Love the Souls of All Men (John 13:34).

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

But We Must Hate All Others as a Master (Luke 16:13‑15).

No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

We Must “Bear Our Cross.” This Means We Must Die to Ourselves (Mark 8:34‑37).

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

The Cross Is an Instrument of Death. When We “Take Up Our Cross,” We Are “Losing Our Life.”  We Must Live This Way Every Day (Luke 9:23‑24)!

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

The Old Paul Was No Longer Alive. It Was Christ Living in Paul. We Must Be Like That (Gal. 2:20).

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

 

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:1‑3).

We Must “Forsake All That We Have.” Before Becoming a Christian, We Live to Do Our Own Will, Pleasures, Or Desires (Eph. 2:2‑3).

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

But We Must Become Like Christ, by Forsaking Our Own Will (John 6:38).

For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

We Must Not Do Anything of Ourselves to the Point Of Dying, if We Must (John 8:28‑29).

Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. 29. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do ALWAYS those things that please him.

We Can See That It Is Not Good Enough to Give God a “Share” or “Portion” or Just a Part Of Our Lives. We Must Not Live For Ourselves Any More At All, But, Rather, For Christ and Him Only (2 Cor. 5:14‑15).

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him ONLY shalt thou serve (Matt. 4:10).

This Includes Every Thought We Think . . . (2 Cor. 10:5).

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity EVERY THOUGHT to the obedience of Christ;

This Also Includes Every Word That We Say And Every Deed That We Do (Col. 3:17).

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do ALL in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

We Must “Continue In Christ’s Word” To Be a True Disciple (John 8:31).

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

We Will See That Continuing In Christ Will Cause Us To Bear Fruit (John 15:1‑2, 8).

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

We Must Bear Much Fruit to Be Christ’s Disciple.  If We Don’t, We Will Be Taken Away From The Vine.

How Do We Bear Fruit (Col. 1:10)?

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Though “bearing fruit” is often associated with converting someone to Christ, we see that doing any good work causes us to bear fruit. Evangelizing is one kind of good work. Obeying any command of God is a good work. Therefore, we can bear fruit any time we obey a command of god. Continuing in Christ’s word will cause us to bear much fruit, which will make us a true disciple (Luke 6:40).

The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

The End Goal of the Disciple Is to Be Perfect (Complete) Like Christ (1 John 2:4‑6).

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

The only way to fulfill our purpose as a disciple is to continue in (keep) all of Christ’s word!