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Do you really believe that? ONLY Scripture Sola Scriptura
ONLY Scripture – Sola Scriptura

The HOLY BIBLE IS: The written word of God from scripture.

  • The Mirror of Church Hypocrisy – 2

    The Mirror of Church Hypocrisy – 2

    Is Christ’s church not His betrothed, as Israel was chosen of the Lord?

    A word for the Church from Prophets of old:

    Israel Forsakes the Lord

    The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

    “I remember the devotion of your youth,
    your love as a bride,
    how you followed me in the wilderness,
    in a land not sown.
    3 Israel was holy to the Lord,
    the first fruits of his harvest…

    “Dearly beloved,” begins our covenant witness for marriage.

    “Dear Lord Jesus,” we praise Christ when first we bow to Him.

    9 “Therefore I still contend with you,
    declares the Lord,
    and with your children’s children I will contend…

    19 Your evil will chastise you,
    and your apostasy will reprove you.

    Know and see that it is evil and bitter
    for you to forsake the Lord your God;
    the fear of me is not in you,
    declares the Lord God of hosts.

    20 “For long ago I broke your yoke
    and burst your bonds;
    but you said, ‘I will not serve.’

    Yes, on every high hill
    and under every green tree
    you bowed down like a whore…

    DIVORCE, by ‘christian’ husbands?

    DIVORCE, by ‘christian’ wives?

    You have long ago forsaken your love for the Lord your God. Your whoredom is against Christ Jesus, your returning Bridegroom!

    Our “Lord,” Christ Jesus warns: “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce … but from the beginning it was not so. – Matthew 19:8

    Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord…

    25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church… that she might be holy and without blemish.

    31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 

    32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

    How dare we (christians) even speak of the sexual sin of the world, when we have not returned to the purity Christ Jesus expects of His betrothed so soiled in sexual sin!

    Jeremiah 2:

    22 Though you wash yourself with lye
    and use much soap,
    the stain of your guilt is still before me,
    declares the Lord God…

    29 “Why do you contend with me?
    You have all transgressed against me,
    declares the Lord.
    30 In vain have I struck your children;
    they took no correction…

    Do our christian children witness the love and forgiveness of  Christ even less than their divorced christian parents?

    Do our christian children sell their flesh and souls to the same sexual desires we would hide from the world?

    To be continued…

     

  • The Mirror of Hypocrisy

    The Mirror of Hypocrisy

    As I left the busy area of the mall wearing my brand new ‘Jesus’ tie I had just purchased as witness to family members far from Christ, I hurried onto the main freeway. Morning traffic was still dense, but I had time to merge; BUT the car in the lane next to the ramp was not making room for me.

    It breezes by as I braked rather than merging. The woman driver had a cell phone up to her right ear. She never saw me.

    So (of course) I followed my gut reaction as I squeezed into traffic behind her. As she blew by the ramp, phone to her ear; I tried my best to get her attention back on traffic with a long blast on my horn.

    And you guessed it. What was the first thing I noticed?

    Her bumper sticker:

    PRAY

    Yes, this brother in the Lord (with the log in his eye) noticed clearly this sister in the Lord with the speck in hers.

    I had to laugh. (And pray that nobody would notice that the car honking his horn had a bumper sticker on the back from his daughter’s Christian college.)

     Matthew 7:3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

    Want to witness to an unbeliever? (For they are hypocrites, too.)

    Tell them you are a sinner. I am!

    When I look in the mirror I do not see Christ; I see a sinner.

    Even unbelievers see the sins of OTHERS, including ours.

    Look in the mirror and remove the log of hypocrisy from your eye. THEN, confess your sin and witness Christ Jesus.

    Even the unbeliever will see clearly: the truth of your witness or the lie of our hypocrisy.

     

     

  • Hypocrite ‘christian’ & Hypocrite Unbeliever

    Hypocrite ‘christian’ & Hypocrite Unbeliever

    You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. – Luke 6:42b

    HARSH words from Jesus!

    Would you of the church (who call yourself “christian”) deserve the rebuke of the One we call Lord?

    It so happens that the same thing that unbelievers do not like in ‘christians’ is the same thing that I do not like: hypocrisy.

    True followers of Christ Jesus must be pure in our faith and truthful in our witness.

    (As a reminder to any who have not followed my Lenten series of posts, now (the 40 days prior to Resurrection Sunday) is a time for Christians to put down our mask of hypocrisy and put on the righteousness of repentance – a returning to Christ Jesus, who suffered the penalty for our sins and was crucified as Perfect Sacrifice for those who believe.  We will get to the message of hope and the redemption of the Cross closer to Easter, God willing.)

    hypocriteAn earlier part of this series on Covenant and Truth concluded with an introductory thought on christian hypocrisy.

    covenant definition

    We then proceeded to examine the witness of christian marriage and of christian families (including teens).

    Today we will take on a couple of issues as they relate to hypocrisy by BOTH christians & non-Christians.

    Let’s begin, however, with the entire scripture of Jesus on the ‘log in your own eye.’

    Luke 6:39  He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man?

    christian hypocrite: Can you lead a non-believer to Christ while you remain blind to your own sin?

    Will they not both fall into a pit?

    Are you BOTH not destined to the pit of Hell if you do not repent?

    40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

    Are you “fully trained,” dear brother (sister) in the Lord? Are you like Jesus, whom we call Lord? 

    God knows the truth and others witness the truth of your proclaimed purity.

    41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

    An unbeliever will be the first to ask this question of christian hypocrites. The unbeliever ALSO sees the darkness and sin in others, while failing to acknowledge the sin in their own life.

    No difference (except that their hypocrisy is not also witness against Christ).

    42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye?

    A reminder: our responsibility to a Christian brother, member of the family of Christ Jesus, is higher than to an unbeliever. No need to point out the sins to the unbeliever, while failing to bring to light your own.

    You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

    A Tree and Its Fruit

    43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

    What is the fruit of Christian marriage?

    A lasting covenant, witness to Christ’s love for us.

    What is the fruit of Christian parents?

    Godly children; godly teens; godly sons to marry and godly daughters to be given in marriage.

    HOW ARE WE DOING?

    • As a church?
    • As a husband or wife claiming Christ?
    • As a child or teen under the roof and authority of a Christian household?

    Truth is (as you can see from our previous articles and statistics) christians are failing miserably in our witness of Christ.

    The fruit is rotting.

    To be continued…