Obedience, some thoughts.....

This is soooo funny. I was just going to start a thread on pretty much the same subject. Here are some things I have seen pronounced sin in the past few days right here on the BB: </font>

• Dating</font>
• Not supporting specific methods in the fight against pornography</font>
• Being at one's computer late on Saturday night</font>
• Being a woman cop</font>
• Telling any jokes</font>
• Laughing at any jokes</font>

And of course, there are the old stand-bys: Reading from the wrong version of the Bible, being saved using the wrong version of the Bible.

There are probably more, but I grow weary....and bored.

Last time I checked, sin-sniffing (in others, anyway) was not listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit. Maybe I should check again....Let's see...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...Nope, still not there.

 

Hey Donna, glad you brought this up. The last time I brought up such thread I was some what chastised.

God works on people differently. Some people can be shown clear scripture concerning a topic, and deny its' meaning while others accept some and not others and then there are always those who say that is for the culture in that day and doesn't apply.

If someone is disobedient to God and they have been blood bought they will know it.

 

You are right about that. But even done in love people reject it.

Think about all the people that rejected Christ, wasn't He doing it with a lovingly attitude. He wanted people to know that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life, but they just couldn't bring themselves to believe it. That is a pretty clear message. You either except it or not.

You can always lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink it!

 

I was thinking recently myself about Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, and I was reading the old laws and it came to my mind that if we can disregard some of those laws, do we completely disregard those books. I should probably know the answer to this already, but I've never studied the books of law before and where they fit in the new testament church. What do you all think? Were all of those laws condensed into "love thy neighbor as thyself" or are we still supposed to take some of them to heart?

 

So should we be able to eat unclean meats or not? And if it's not wrong to eat unclean meats anymore, then what other laws are no longer needed because of God's grace. Should we not eat unclean meats, because it would be a logical fallacy to say that it is still wrong to eat them but because Jesus has already suffered for those sins, God's grace is upon us and we no longer have to worry about committing them. Just a thought provoking question. I would like a reference to the chapter and verse where God told Peter that it was ok to eat unclean meat. I've been looking today but I haven't found it yet.

 

Ah, Finally found it with a little help from my brother. Acts 10 starting with verse 9. Peter has three visions of wild beasts with the Lord telling him to kill and eat one. Yet as I read it in it's full context, it says more about being Christ-like to me than it does about obeying or disobeying any laws. Peter was told this so that he would know that it was ok for him to mingle with people of other faiths and nationalities as Jesus did when he met the woman at the well. Jesus routinely broke or bent Jewish laws and customs, in order to be able to witness to more people and bring more people to know God. So I believe it is more of why we do what we do, and with what frame of mind and with what ultimate goal, than it is actually what we do. So the point is to try to love your neighbors and be Christ-like, not in the religious cliche sense of the word, but in the true sense of the word. To actually think about how Jesus acted in similar situations and act accordingly. That is all God wants from us. Well, it is getting quite late here, so I must be going.

 

drp you are right.

Christ went into all the world and spoke to many people. We are supposed to dwell in this world yet not partake of its ways. Christ was a perfect example of this. He never sinned even when he was among the sinners.

Grace is what saved us and is what keeps us, but it is never an excuse to live in disobedience to God. Does that mean we can live without sinning, absolutely not. But it doesn't give us license to be disobedient.

If God said love your neighbor, then love your neighbor. If He said love your enemies, then love your enemies. If He said women are to be chaste, then women be chaste. If He said the Man is to be head of the woman, then men be the head.

Do these things apply to culture? If these aren't cultural things then why are others cultural? Why would God put things in His word that He wouldn't want us to take note of and apply to our lives? I don't believe God does anything in vain.

The Bible says that all scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction and in righteousness. Was this a lie? Should it have read all scripture is for historical and cultural purposes, therefore you can pick and choose which scripture you choose to live by?

Yes Christ fulfilled the law, but I sure aint going to worship idols, or steal people blind because I have grace. And in this day and age that we live in now, I am going to look as much like a women as I can. God created male and female. He put a distinction between the two and I sure aint going to be mistaken for some lesbian male counterpart!

 

You are having trouble because you are trying to fit them into man made categories. You will not find the law divided in scripture. It is always referred to as the "law", which we were freed from.

~Lorelei

 

Amen to that, otherwise grace would no longer be grace!

~Lorelei

 

I am just curious, if the lands that we live in were to declare that all laws were to be removed and the only thing we had to keep in my mind was "Do to others as you would have them do to you", how would the people behave?

Wouldn't they do whatever they deemed right in their own eyes?