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Tag: witness

  • 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 Church Hypocrisy

    The Mirror of Church Hypocrisy

    The hypocrisy of Christians becomes most evident in the issues we pursue and the righteousness we do NOT pursue.

    I would like to help the unbeliever understand the motives of christians of the church and the issues we most frequently address in the public arena, while ignoring the log in the eyes of our christian private lives.
    • Look at a mirror;
    • look into a mirror;
    • look through a mirror…

    what do you see? 

    A different image from every perspective.

    1. FALSE IMAGE #1:
      • The Church is NOT the building, whether grand cathedral or quint country landmark with a cross on top.
    2. FALSE IMAGE #2
      • Christians are the ONLY hypocrites. NO, far from it. ALL of us frequently try to put on our best face for others.

    The Church is the people, that is: each witness of a particular church and all Christians.

    Therefore, wherever people gather (in a church building or anywhere) and what ever we call ourselves (catholic, Baptist, orthodox, born again, etc.); sin remains and hypocrisy dwells nearby.

    IF a Christian will admit to you that THEY are the sinner (saved by Christ) who is pleading to you (another sinner), they speak nearer the truth than those who set a standard for unbelievers and will not talk about the fruit of their own lives and family members.

    The two issues most frequently associated with the agendas of Christians may be:

    HOMOSEXUALITY & ABORTION .

    The two SINS most evident in the church are:

    SEX outside of marriage & DIVORCE.

    As brief review of the facts, there is virtually NO DIFFERENCE in the divorce rate of Christians and non-Christians, even though we call our vows “holy” and confirm them as “covenants” with God “… until death do us part.”

    And Christian teens (like their christian parents) seem to act just like the world once they hit puberty. Christian families OFTEN have children who are having SEX with others.

    HYPOCRISY, as I have confessed throughout the previous calls to christians for REPENTANCE and a return to the Christianity of our proclaimed faith.

    HYPOCRISY, THAT A WIFE MAY DIVORCE HER HUSBAND (and call herself a ‘single mom’) and at the same time call herself a ‘christian.’

    HYPOCRISY, divorce by christians AND witness against Christ Jesus.

    HYPOCRISY that two teens, regular members of the youth group ‘at church,’ are known to be “IN A RELATIONSHIP.”

    Where do we think that babies come from? INTERCOURSE; and our TEENS are doing it.

    Where do we think abortions come from?

    The HYPOCRISY of christians (and other parents) trying to HIDE the evidence of their child’s child!

    (OR perhaps they will send the baby quietly away to be adopted by some loving homosexual or other couple.)

    Was this God’s plan for families? Was this God’s intention for the generations? Certainly not!

    Let me be perfectly clear on my position: ABORTION is a sin. Abortion is the murder of a baby created by God in the womb of the mother from the seed of its father.

    A baby is a miracle of life; an abortion is a sentence of death.

    As to SEX outside of marriage, it is sin.

    DIVORCE is sin, just as intercourse before marriage is sin, just as adultery is sin.  (I have confessed my former sin; never-the-less it remains sin, as it is sin by our children IF we, as parents and the church condone it.)

    CHRISTIANS may NOT divorce (but FREQUENTLY do); therefore (as a church), we take on other sexual sin, like homosexuality.

    The sins of homosexuality often include many of the same sins of adultery. Never-the-less, these are sins for either the married or the unmarried.

     To be continued…

  • 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…