Hey All,
I found this, and wanted to show how taking a verse out of context distorts the meaning of the verse. This was used to promote a faith through works agenda that some cults hold to.
Jesus says: 'Do your first Works!' Rev 2:5
Today they say: 'It's not of Works'
They have taken a portion of a verse to make it look like Scripture agrees with their point of view. Here is the full verse:
Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
(I love King James version for the old style words, so melodic, so serene. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent." Today's language, imagined by me as a drill sargent, "Suck it up cupcake. Get back in the fight." Sorry for the tangent. I find humor in the strangest places.)
Back to what I was showing you:
The whole verse is quite different than what is being used above, wouldn't you say? This is Jesus' warning to the church at Ephesus. They were a good church. But they had left their first love. What does that mean? They were no longer Christ centered. They were meeting in Christ's name, but not doing the prayer, praise, worship, and teaching (the works or actions of salvation) like they had earlier.
Jesus is telling them in verse five remember who you are and where you came from. "Repent and 'do the first works'; or else."Jesus is talking to backslidden believers here. Repentance always comes before works. Do you know why?
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Your works can only be righteous if you are righteous. Jesus has to be in you before you can be righteous. (I know! Makes total sense. Mind blown!
)
That is why faith through works can't work.
They are not works because there is no righteousness in them.
Misrepresenting Jesus' words to mean the opposite of what He said, as was done in my opening example, is the exact opposite of a good idea. Revelation 22:18-19 I would not want to be these guys.
The "or else" statement in the second half of the verse should worry backslidden Christians. The Ephesians were what we would consider backslidden. They said the words of repentance, maybe were baptized, maybe even performed works, but have reverted to their old ways.
" . . . I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
A candlestick that doesn't produce light is useless. A believer that doesn't produce light, (a continued state of being backslidden) may be in jeopardy of being removed. Just what place Jesus is referring to? I don't want to find out.
Keep walking everybody.
May God bless,
Taz
I found this, and wanted to show how taking a verse out of context distorts the meaning of the verse. This was used to promote a faith through works agenda that some cults hold to.
Jesus says: 'Do your first Works!' Rev 2:5
Today they say: 'It's not of Works'
They have taken a portion of a verse to make it look like Scripture agrees with their point of view. Here is the full verse:
Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
(I love King James version for the old style words, so melodic, so serene. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent." Today's language, imagined by me as a drill sargent, "Suck it up cupcake. Get back in the fight." Sorry for the tangent. I find humor in the strangest places.)
Back to what I was showing you:
The whole verse is quite different than what is being used above, wouldn't you say? This is Jesus' warning to the church at Ephesus. They were a good church. But they had left their first love. What does that mean? They were no longer Christ centered. They were meeting in Christ's name, but not doing the prayer, praise, worship, and teaching (the works or actions of salvation) like they had earlier.
Jesus is telling them in verse five remember who you are and where you came from. "Repent and 'do the first works'; or else."Jesus is talking to backslidden believers here. Repentance always comes before works. Do you know why?
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Your works can only be righteous if you are righteous. Jesus has to be in you before you can be righteous. (I know! Makes total sense. Mind blown!
)That is why faith through works can't work.
They are not works because there is no righteousness in them.
Misrepresenting Jesus' words to mean the opposite of what He said, as was done in my opening example, is the exact opposite of a good idea. Revelation 22:18-19 I would not want to be these guys.
The "or else" statement in the second half of the verse should worry backslidden Christians. The Ephesians were what we would consider backslidden. They said the words of repentance, maybe were baptized, maybe even performed works, but have reverted to their old ways.
" . . . I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
A candlestick that doesn't produce light is useless. A believer that doesn't produce light, (a continued state of being backslidden) may be in jeopardy of being removed. Just what place Jesus is referring to? I don't want to find out.
Keep walking everybody.
May God bless,
Taz
