th1b.taylor
Member
Who is God? In todays world the answer most often is some form of God is love. This statement, while true, is, also, a lie! It is true in the sense that God loves His creation but without the explanation that God will have no part with sin and that God is also a Just God, the statement becomes false by the omission of the remaining facts. God will judge the unrepentant and send them into eternal suffering.
In Luke 18:18 we find the story of the Rich Young Ruler and his quest for eternal life. Jesus did not handle this young man in the manor that we are generally are taught to do today. The Evangelical Christian today would have led him in a prayer for salvation and sent him on his way. Jesus, first pointed him to the Commandments to see his sin, which he did not see, and then instructed him to replace his love of his possessions with the Love of God.
This brings up a very important question, "Is Jesus, the Christ, our leader or have we become smarter than he is?†It seems that, today, people tend to believe that the prayer for salvation will save people. That's not true! That's also. I believe, a good part of why we see folks make professions of faith, get baptized and disappear, never to darken the door of the church again. Neither a prayer of no substance nor a baptism will save a person!
On the web, all of my signatures include the notice that I am a bondslave. I have been known to teach that as a Christian, men and women become the bondslaves of the Christ because the was a transaction of purchase fulfilled on the cross that day. Many, many men and women have rebuked me for this teaching with statements such as, "I'm a child of God and I'm nobodies slave.â€
It would appear that for the large part of America, the Hollywood and the fiction writers portrayal of Early American Slavery is the working definition for the world today of swlavery. In Deu. 15:15-17 we see that slavery included masters that were very good to their work-force just as some employers are today. We know that God is good, He gave His Only begotten Son to pay the price none of us could pay. And we would not pay homage to Him by Eternal Service, owning nothing and depending only on Him? That is exactly what the rich, young ruler was asked to do. When he refused, he walked away a lost man!
There is a message in this lesson that is taught in Mark and Matthew also. The very idea that God has had the lesson repeated in His Word to us lends emphases but that the lesson is told to us three times... This is a very important lesson! I tell you that God will not have divided devotion. Today, you must make up your mind, "Whose slave are you?†If you do not serve God, you are by default, the slave of Satan! To belong to the Good Master costs you your devotion. Just as Jesus said, it's a easy yoke to bare and the other leads to eternal suffering but being the Servant, the Slave of God leads to eternal bliss in Heaven.
In Luke 18:18 we find the story of the Rich Young Ruler and his quest for eternal life. Jesus did not handle this young man in the manor that we are generally are taught to do today. The Evangelical Christian today would have led him in a prayer for salvation and sent him on his way. Jesus, first pointed him to the Commandments to see his sin, which he did not see, and then instructed him to replace his love of his possessions with the Love of God.
This brings up a very important question, "Is Jesus, the Christ, our leader or have we become smarter than he is?†It seems that, today, people tend to believe that the prayer for salvation will save people. That's not true! That's also. I believe, a good part of why we see folks make professions of faith, get baptized and disappear, never to darken the door of the church again. Neither a prayer of no substance nor a baptism will save a person!
On the web, all of my signatures include the notice that I am a bondslave. I have been known to teach that as a Christian, men and women become the bondslaves of the Christ because the was a transaction of purchase fulfilled on the cross that day. Many, many men and women have rebuked me for this teaching with statements such as, "I'm a child of God and I'm nobodies slave.â€
It would appear that for the large part of America, the Hollywood and the fiction writers portrayal of Early American Slavery is the working definition for the world today of swlavery. In Deu. 15:15-17 we see that slavery included masters that were very good to their work-force just as some employers are today. We know that God is good, He gave His Only begotten Son to pay the price none of us could pay. And we would not pay homage to Him by Eternal Service, owning nothing and depending only on Him? That is exactly what the rich, young ruler was asked to do. When he refused, he walked away a lost man!
There is a message in this lesson that is taught in Mark and Matthew also. The very idea that God has had the lesson repeated in His Word to us lends emphases but that the lesson is told to us three times... This is a very important lesson! I tell you that God will not have divided devotion. Today, you must make up your mind, "Whose slave are you?†If you do not serve God, you are by default, the slave of Satan! To belong to the Good Master costs you your devotion. Just as Jesus said, it's a easy yoke to bare and the other leads to eternal suffering but being the Servant, the Slave of God leads to eternal bliss in Heaven.
