14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. – Matt 5:14-16
As Christians, one of the greatest methods we have for teaching others is our example. When people see us, they should see something different, they should see something more substantial than just an average person. When friends think of people that embody honesty, integrity, uprightness, love, etc, they should think of us.
At the same time though, we don’t want to beat people over the head with our Christianity; that usually just turns people off anyway. But as people get to know us and see those differences in our lives, they should come to realize that our relationship with Christ is what makes us different. It should be a gradual thing, in most cases, and it will make a much greater impact than if we proclaim our faith with bumperstickers and T-shirts. Not that there’s anything wrong with those, but actions speak louder than words. My dad has said, “when somebody starts going on and on about how good they are at this or that, I usually put one hand on my wallet, both eyes on them, and back away.” In other words, if people are good, they shouldn’t have to tell you, you should be able to see it for yourself.
Now that’s not to say we should be perfect; we couldn’t be even if we tried (and by the way, we should be trying). Christ lived a perfect life so that we don’t have to. But I think that fact often becomes a copout for us.
How many times have you seen “Christians” use vulgar language? How many times do they skip out on worshipping with other Christians when they’re out of town or on vacation? How often do they laugh about the times they’ve gotten sloppy drunk at some party? Or even if they don’t involve themselves in out-and-out sinful behavior, how close do they try to get?
It can be easy for us to fall into this kind of attitude, but there are some people who don’t see living this way as a problem. Some view the idea of God’s grace as a get out of jail free card. They feel like they don’t have to worry about living right, because God’s grace will cover whatever they do. Why should they worry about their language? It’s not like they killed somebody! Why should they worry about skipping out on church services? What’s the big deal?
Some might even be inclined to use a passage like the one below to justify their actions:
20 Therefore,[e] if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. – Colossians 2:20-23
Here’s a passage that says adhering to a bunch of physical commands doesn’t profit you anything. Why follow them? But this passage doesn’t mean that we should do whatever we want and expect God to clean up the mess (for one thing, this passage is specifically talking about the Old Law that Moses handed down – Christians aren’t under that law). That’s not how grace works. Instead, this passage is telling us that we can transcend the physical things of this life and look to spiritual things.
Did you read verse 20? If you died with Christ (which is what you do when you’re saved; the act of baptism is where this occurs – Romans 6:3-14) then why act like you’re still living in the world? We are, or should be, above that. We should be focused on heavenly things.
Sin is not something that we should be practicing. Sure, we’re going to do it from time to time, but that’s much different than just living however you like and never trying to improve. Paul makes it clear in this passage:
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? – Romans 6:1-2
When we become Christians, we have an obligation to live life for Christ. We are his followers; we should be striving to become “Christ-like.”
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. – Galatians 2:20
That passage sums it up perfectly. When we’re saved, it’s not about us anymore, it’s about Jesus. It’s about living our lives for him, because he gave his life for us. And how do we do that? 1 John 5:2-3 tells us that loving God is doing his commandments. It’s not continuing in sin, expecting God’s grace to cover it all. Yes, God’s grace (and Jesus’s sacrifice) can cover any multitude of sin, but when we give no real thought to serving him, but continue to serve ourselves, then we aren’t loving God, we’re abusing him.
The grace he’s given us – this freedom from the physical commands of the Old Law – is meant to help us focus on serving him more completely. Notice this next verse:
13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. – Gal 5:13
That’s why we’ve been set free from that “handwriting of requirements that was against us” (Col 2:14). It’s to serve one another, and to serve him.
Christianity is not like joining the “smart shoppers” club at your local grocery store, where you simply fill out some generic form and receive a card that will save you a couple percentage points on your next purchase. That requires nothing of you but showing up at their store for your groceries – something you probably would have done anyway.
Becoming a Christian is a life-long commitment. And it requires the same kind of dedication and effort that goes into running a marathon or waging a war. Time and pain are required. You must give yourself over completely. You can’t be number one anymore. But trust me, the reward is worth it.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. – Matt 16:25
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. – 2 Cor 4:16-18
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I so agree, Nate, that who we are and how we live is the greatest witnessing and teaching tool; for if we talk the walk and walk the talk, we are more apt to reach the lost. Words are nothing more than a series of alphabetic letters put together to form a verbal sound, only action giving those words meaning, substance, and validity.
Christ, however, takes exception to several comments made in your article:
1. “Now that’s not to say we should be perfect; we couldn’t be even if we tried ” – Then Christ lied, for He said, “unless you become more righteous than the Pharisees, you will in no way enter heaven” and, “be perfect and holy as the Father is perfect and holy.” Granted, while in this flesh we always will be called sinners despite becoming perfectly obedient as was Christ; for we always will bear the scars of our past sins, those committed before becoming wholly obedient. Obviously, it is possible to become as righteous as Christ, else He would not have given us the above admonition: We are to “grow up” into Christ’s righteousness by repenting of our sins as we become aware of them, then “go and sin no more.”
Also and like so many of man’s teachings, they have confused ordinances with statutes; both being separate forms of law. The Bible is clear: God’s Ten Commandments, obeyed by love and faith, “stand forever, are perpetual even in the new earth and heavens;” whereas, ordinances of sacrifice and oblations were temporary by design. “On earth, as it is in heaven;” therefore, laws of the land are designed in the same manner as God’s laws reflecting both the permanent and the temporary. Daniel made it clear which laws Christ would do away with: “ordinances of sacrifice and oblation” were hung on the cross in the form of Jesus. The Father’s Doctrine in no way resembles sacrifice and oblation.
“The handwriting against us” directly refers to the above ordinances; for there was no way the blood of an animal would ever atone for a man’s sins; as God clearly stated. Additionally, it was ordinance practice to conduct an annual atonement sabbath, at which time a lamb was sacrificed: revealing that this “cleansing” only covered the past year of sins. Now, if a person were to die during the ensuing year, prior to the next atonement sabbath, then they died in sin and would not be saved in the end. Jesus provided the perfect sacrifice, the blood of a man for a man, along with providing daily atonement: this latter meaning that, as we learn how we are sinning, we can repent on any given day and never repeat that sin again. It is a choice we make daily.
For example, corporate Christendom teaches that “let no man judge you about days and new moons and sabbaths” means that any day is fine for meeting the Fourth Precept requirement; when, in reality, that statement is referring to ordinance festivals that included various sabbaths throughout the year and which did not fall on a specific day: as does the Fourth Statute cited in both Exodus c.20 and Deuteronomy c.5. They also teach, in this same vain, that the Apostles changed the Sabbath to Sunday and point to “have all the gatherings done on the first day before I arrive.” The fact is, collecting of tithes and church business was NEVER done on the Sabbath: it always was done on the first day of the week and, in the case of the Apostles, they would dine together after conducting the church business. These two points are just a drop in the bucket of God’s Truth being distorted.
If any day is fine with God for a sabbath, then Hebrews c.4 lies: for it says that anyone, who does not enter into God’s seventh day Sabbath rest, is setting an example of unbelief. Unbelief results in utter destruction. God’s Word is in perfect harmony, when studied in the manner He prescribed; it is man’s commandments and traditions that clearly are confused and defiled. God never changes and neither do His requirements of us.
As for the “liberty” to which we are called? There are several titles for God’s “Ten Commandments”: Statutes of Life, Law of Righteousness, Law of Liberty. The only thing to which the obedient are dead to is the condemnation of the Law: which both the Old and New Testaments state is death to those who disobey God’s Law. And, as the NT states, SIN is to violate God’s Law and sin results in being deemed “twice dead.”
It is contradictory to say on one hand that we “cannot become perfect,” yet on the other say that we must “work at it.” If we work at it, we will become perfect: which is to take on “the mind of Christ,” who was and is perfect, thus like Him we will behave as Him. We must be perfect in order to enter the gates of heaven, for we must be presented to Christ as a “chaste virgin.” We CANNOT be classified a virgin until we become perfect. Christ DID NOT die so that we could continue to live in sin!
Nevertheless, thank you for posting this article; yet, I caution you to steer away from man’s teachings and turn only to God’s, for then He will give you the Holy Spirit to guide and teach you only God’s Truth. Again, I caution you with the same direction the Holy Spirit gave to me when I began to seek only God’s Truths: “You must forget everything man has taught you about God and Christ and God’s Word.” This I did and, while at times God’s Truth was a bit overwhelming, I am so grateful and humbled that God deigned to smile upon this pitiful Eve who got Adam kicked out of Eden. My mission is to get him reinstated to Eden. 🙂
I hope you will stop by for a visit sometime. 🙂
Much love in Christ,
http://bonnieq.wordpress.com
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Bonnie,
Thanks so much for your comments and for stopping by! The best thing about this blog has been meeting other spiritually minded people. And thanks for the invitation to check your blog out sometime. I definitely will.
That being said, I disagree with a few of the points you made and would like to elaborate a little…
I don’t believe that we are supposed to live perfectly in this life. When Jesus told his disciples to be better than the Pharisees, that doesn’t necessarily mean they had to be perfect. After all, they were great law keepers (so great they bound more than just God’s commands), but Jesus accused them of leaving out the “weightier” matters of the law (Matt 23:23).
And you’re right, Matt 5:48 does say that we “shall be perfect” just as God is perfect. But (and I usually don’t do word studies) the Greek word here is “teleios” which can mean “perfect,” “complete,” or “mature.” I believe it makes more sense to view it as complete or mature. In the preceding verses, Jesus tells his disciples that to become “perfect” they needed to love their enemies. I really don’t think this means “living without sin.”
Furthermore, in Gal 3, Paul asks the question, “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (vs 3) Yet isn’t that what you’re advocating?
Paul also says, in Phil 3:12 that he hadn’t attained or been perfected, but pressed on. That falls in line with my understanding of the scriptures as well. That we continually strive to grow and better ourselves, but we never really become “perfected.” The Japanese refer to that as “kaizen,” continuous improvement.
As far as the 10 Commandments go, I think that Romans, Galatians, Collossians, and Hebrews talk about the completion of the entire Old Law, including the 10 Commandments. Now, most of them are restated in the New Testament (don’t murder, don’t commit fornication, etc), but keeping the Sabbath day is not repeated. Your reference to it in Hebrews 4 is a little misleading, since the Sabbath isn’t mentioned at all. Instead, it talks about “God’s rest.” It explains how “God’s rest” wasn’t the children of Israel entering the Promised Land, but was something else; something that would come later. I think this would be heaven, or salvation.
The first day of the week is talked about in Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor 16:2 as the day when Christians came together. Seeing as how that’s the only example in the New Testament, I think that’s when Christians should get toegether today. Even if this was something instituted by the apostles, that doesn’t bother me since I believe they were inspired.
I hope this has helped answer some of your points, but if anything has been unclear, please let me know. I had a little more I would have added, but this is now my third time to write this – every time I try to post a comment, it just disappears… 😦
Anyway, thanks again for posting your comment; feel free to chime in anytime!
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🙂 You must not be using an AKJV Bible; for Hebrews c.4 twice states plainly about the “seventh day” and goes on to say that if Jesus had given us another day, He would have spoken of it. But, He did not; therefore, we must obey the Fourth precept or fall after the example of unbelief. Even theologians agree that there is no scriptural authority for observing Sunday.
That’s the biggest problem I have found with nearly all versions that have come out since the AKJV: they have deleted critical words and changed critical names. For instance, the above Hebrews chapter 4: they deleted both citations of “seventh day” and changed Jesus to the name of one of the ancient prophets. No prophet has the authority that Jesus has. Thus, in this case information critical to salvation was deleted. And, not only does Revelation warn that nothing is to be taken from or added to that book, the Old Testament warns that nothing is to be taken from or added to the entire Bible.
And interesting fact, however, about the AKJ version is that it is the only translation (and into all other languages from it) that made possible the fulfillment of both the Sardis and Philadelphia church ages; this latter having ended in 1991, when also the beginning of the final church age of Laodecia began. Therefore and based on research of the various versions since 1611 AD, I found the AKJV the most reliable for God’s Truth. Additionally, having been led in research and study of the entire AKJV Bible together with all the prophecies, as well as related historical data, for over 30 years, I found that the AKJV also is in absolute perfect harmony: Jesus came saying nothing new and doing nothing new and He didn’t charge us to do something new. Anyway, you might want to consider using the AKJV in your studies. 🙂
And, no, the Apostles did not observe Sunday, the first day of the week, as a “Christian” sabbath. They collected tithes and did church business on Sundays and took that opportunity to dine with one another. Acts cites many, many instances of the Apostles teaching on the Sabbath, and even had Gentiles come to them asking that they teach them more on the next Sabbath: so, they taught the Gentiles for the next 3 Sabbaths.
There literally is no support for Sunday, which happens to be the “mark of the Beast,” not 666 as purported by corporate Christendom; and, Saturday is God’s Seal, as cited in the OT and mentioned in Revelation. Both of these signs are spiritual, whereas man’s teaching of the mark and seal are corporeal, therefore in error.
It was “men who crept in unawares to spy on the Apostles teachings” who then left to start their own churches while claiming Sunday as the Lord’s Day. There is not one scripture anywhere stating that the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day and that it was sanctified as such. The “Lord’s Day” is another Biblical term referring to the Fourth Precept, along with “a holy fast” and “memorial” and “God’s Sabbath: of which Jesus stated that He also is Lord of the Sabbath.
The Apostles further said of those deceitful men above that, if they had been of Christ’s true church, they would not have left them. Besides, the Sabbath wasn’t even changed officially in what only appeared to be the Christian world until 348 years after Christ ascended to heaven; and, at that time there were no Apostles left alive. These men also instituted many pagan festivals and icons into these seemingly Christian beliefs and synagogues. The synagogues of Satan are those that appear Christian (like white sepulchres, beautiful on the outside) but lack the power of God (but full of dead men’s bones).
Obeying God’s Statutes is not what will save us: by grace are we called, in love and faith we obey: which is to demonstrate faith and works. “We know we love God because we obey His Commandments.” This leads us to, “Works without faith is dead, and faith without works is dead; so, you see, it takes both faith and works.”
Oh, Nate, it is easy to take one or two scriptures to validate a lie taught by mankind in God’s name; but, it takes every relevant scripture to validate God’s Truth. I could give you 50 pages (size 8.5 x 11 inches) of scriptures from throughout the entire Bible just to support God’s Commandments being perpetual, even in the New Earth, that they are every bit as much required of us today as they always have been; and, I could give you 15 pages of scriptures proving the necessity of observing God’s Fourth Precept Sabbath. Yet, man can provide only 3-4 to support his teachings of Law and the same to support Sunday; all of which can be proven Biblically to be inapplicable to their teachings.
I feel that what needs to be remembered is the various epistles were written to the church each addressed; therefore, each epistle addresses whatever problem was prevalent in that church at the time the letter was writtten. Man’s error is in taking one letter to support lies in God’s name. For instance, in one letter the Apostle tells them them that faith is all it takes, while another says works without faith is dead, yet another says, faith without works is dead, and finally there is the summary I quoted above.
Ya know, Nate, it does not matter what any of us “think.” What matters is whether or not we know what God thinks, therefore really understanding what it takes to get us through the gates of heaven. From childhood up, we believe what we have been taught by man; but, we only come to God’s Truth when we reject man’s teachings and go to the source Himself for His Truth. “There is a way that seems right to man, but it leads to destruction.” Revelations tells us 3 times what it takes and the rest of the Bible confirms same: “those who obey God’s Commandments and have the faith of and in Jesus Christ.” Additionally, the same book says, “Blessed are they who obey God’s Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life.”
You might want to get a copy of “Truth Gathering,” the only exhaustive AKJV Topical Bible available anywhere. It can be ordered from any local or online bookstore: Amazon.com offers the lowest pricing. 🙂
Much love in Christ,
BonnieQ
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Oops! LOL! I forgot to mention that, in the next day or two, I will be posting a treatise entitled “Talk the Walk, Walk the Talk.” I provides some very pointed comparisons to things God said in the Old Testament to Christ’s teachings in the New. You might find it enlightening, for all AKJV scripture references are provided therein. 🙂
Again, LOL!
BonnieQ
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I went back and read Hebrews 4, and you’re right, it does mention the Sabbath day. I must have overlooked that earlier.
To figure out what the passage was saying, I went back and read chapter 3 as well. I know there are people who believe that we should still observe the Sabbath Day, but I’ve never looked into it very much, so your reference to this passage was very interesting to me. And let me also add that I also agree that Sunday hasn’t become the “new” Sabbath. I don’t believe the Bible teaches that at all; I believe that the Sabbath was done away with completely and that we now worship on Sunday. But I’ll cover that in a minute, let me get back to Hebrews 4.
In chapter 3, verses 7-11 quote Psalm 95, which references the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness. And it says that because of their disobedience, God swore in his heart “they shall not enter my rest.”
Ok, so that’s obviously talking about the Promised Land, would you agree? Because we know that they continued to observe the Sabbath Day at this time; God was apparenlty talking about some other “rest.”
And the 3rd chapter goes on to say that those who rebelled were the Israelites that had come out of Egypt. And why had they rebelled? Because of unbelief, according to verse 19. Then, in chapter 4 verse 1, the writer gives us the warning to watch out lest any of us fall short of entering into his rest. Well, what rest is he talking about? Is he talking about us being able to enter the land of Canaan, like the Israelites finally did?
Not at all. The next few verses explain that. Verse 4 is where the Sabbath Day is mentioned, because it was the day that God rested from the work of creation. I think he brings this up in an effort to explain what this “rest” is that we can enter into. Is it telling us that we should observe the Sabbath? I don’t really think so. I think the point we’re supposed to gather from this is that God rested from his labors… this is something that he will mention in his final point around verse 10.
In verse 6, he makes the point that God promised some would enter his rest, and we’re also told that those who first received the message didn’t enter into it because of disobedience. Verse 7 says that God did indeed designate a certain day… but it doesn’t tell us this is the Sabbath. Instead, he says, “again He designates a certain day, saying in David”…”‘ Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.'”
Ok, so in my understanding, this isn’t talking about keeping the Sabbath day; this is talking about repentance and obedience. And the day that is specified is today; in other words, we should wait no longer!
The final verses tie this up and mention again that just as God rested from his labor, those who obey him will one day rest from theirs as well:
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Again, I think this is talking about salvation. Basically, chapters 3 and 4 are making the point that if we’re not careful, we can lose out on “entering God’s rest” just as the Israelites did when they were forced to wander in the wilderness. Bottom line, I don’t think this passage tells us that we should be observing the Sabbath Day.
Furthermore, I don’t really understand your take on Col 2, when you say that the phrase “let no one judge you in”… “a festival or a new moon or sabbaths…” is talking about something other than the actual “Sabbath Day.” How can you know that? Besides, the Bible plainly teaches that circumcision, which was the very symbol of Judaism was no longer necessary, so why would the Sabbath continue to be?
You bring up a good point about the apostles continuing to teach on the Sabbath. But, if they wanted to teach to Jews, where else or when else would they teach them? On the Sabbath Day, they could reach a large number of Jews pretty easily. But when we read about the disciples coming together, as I mentioned in my earlier post, we see special emphasis put on the first day of the week.
Like you, I believe that the Bible must be taken as a whole. Yes, epistles were written with different things in mind, but when we study the whole, the big picture becomes clear. I think it’s pretty evident that the entire Old Law was meant to prepare the way for Christ… it offered prophecies that he could fulfill, it set up a priest hood that he could embody, it established a method of sacrifice that he could perfect, and it established a line of kings that he could perpetuate through eternity. It also showed us pieces of God’s nature: his abhorrence of sin, his firmness, his mercy, his honesty, and many other things.
But the Old Law fulfilled its purpose when Christ died on the cross (as evidenced, in part, by the tearing of the temple’s veil). We have a new law now, in him, and none of us can live the perfect life that he did. He did that for us, so that those who believe in him, and obey God’s commands (though they will sometimes fall short) can be saved.
Thanks again for your comments… and I usually use the NKJV; can you tell me what the AKJV is? I assume it’s the original King James Version.
Thanks,
Nate
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bonnieq wrote: Ya know, Nate, it does not matter what any of us “think.” What matters is whether or not we know what God thinks, therefore really understanding what it takes to get us through the gates of heaven.
Very true. And we find what God thinks in the Bible, which He has the power preserve and gives to us even today.
From childhood up, we believe what we have been taught by man; but, we only come to God’s Truth when we reject man’s teachings and go to the source Himself for His Truth. “There is a way that seems right to man, but it leads to destruction.” Revelations tells us 3 times what it takes and the rest of the Bible confirms same: “those who obey God’s Commandments and have the faith of and in Jesus Christ.” Additionally, the same book says, “Blessed are they who obey God’s Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life.”
Again, true. And I can’t speak for everyone, but my parents always put the emphasis on God and what His word says, never on man’s teachings. I believe that the men who wrote the Bible were inspired and instructed by God because the Bible says it was. And we must take the Bible in it’s entirety, looking at ALL of it and how it coincides together.
Galatians 1:6-9
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
So if anyone brings something different than what God intended and has already given to us he should “be accursed”.
Bonnie said: Oh, Nate, it is easy to take one or two scriptures to validate a lie taught by mankind in God’s name; but, it takes every relevant scripture to validate God’s Truth. I could give you 50 pages (size 8.5 x 11 inches) of scriptures from throughout the entire Bible just to support God’s Commandments being perpetual, even in the New Earth, that they are every bit as much required of us today as they always have been; and, I could give you 15 pages of scriptures proving the necessity of observing God’s Fourth Precept Sabbath. Yet, man can provide only 3-4 to support his teachings of Law and the same to support Sunday; all of which can be proven Biblically to be inapplicable to their teachings.
It is easy for ANYONE “to take one or two scriptures to validate a lie taught by mankind in God’s name”. God should only have to tell us something ONE time for it to matter. If he put it in HIS word, then it should be important to us and applies to us. It is not a contest of how many times something is in The Word versus something else. As a parent if I tell my child to do something, even if I only say it one time, then I expect them to do it. And I mean what I say the first time I said it. We use the same principle in our secular jobs. Our bosses shouldn’t have to tell us everyday, or even 50 times, to be at work on time and not to steal. Is should be understoon but even so, it’s in our employee handbook, orientation process, etc. Once should be enough!
God’s word is consistant throughout and never contradicts itself. The Bible only appears to contradict itself when men don’t look at the entire book or try to twist what it says.
bonnieq wrote: I feel that what needs to be remembered is the various epistles were written to the church each addressed; therefore, each epistle addresses whatever problem was prevalent in that church at the time the letter was writtten. Man’s error is in taking one letter to support lies in God’s name. For instance, in one letter the Apostle tells them them that faith is all it takes, while another says works without faith is dead, yet another says, faith without works is dead, and finally there is the summary I quoted above.
Granted there are specific names and locations mentioned in the Bible and specifically the New Testament but ALL of the principles under the New Law apply to us. Again we must look at everything the Bible says. If it talks of faith and works then we should have both. We should have an obedient faith which will involve works and how we live our lives.
2 Timothy 3:10-17 says
10 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Note versus 16 and 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. I don’t see how this wouldn’t apply to us today.
In reference to Nate’s original blog post there should be consistency between what we read in the Bible, profess, and how we live our lives.
Thanks for the opportunity.
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