unworthyservant

I believe that you are correct in honoring both the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments. I believe that since Jesus said it we should honor all the Mosaic and Levitical law. So, I applaud you for your adherence. The only question I would ask is as Jesus told the rich man, have you also followed Christs teaching and given all to the poor? I find that this is always the hardest teaching for people in this modern capitalistic world to accept. That we should spend our money helping those in need and not to buy for ourselves the luxuries of this world like nice expensive new cars or boats or homes. I pray that the answer is yes but if not it's never too late to start. I will pray for you and I wish you well in serving Christ. You're a step ahead of many whom I encounter who arbitrarily have forsaken the Sabbath and the law.

As I read through this topic I see songs with witch I am unfamiliar. I love many of the old hymns but would caution anyone to be wary of "Christian or Worship" music that is being sold for profit. Many "Praise and Worship" sell a lot of songs and make a lot of money and this is against what Christ taught. The only thing that angered Christ while on this earth was the sellers and moneychangers who were profiting from worshiping God. So, please be wary and don't spend your money on such things and don't support those who do. Remember, the money you spend for 1 song could also buy 1 meal for someone who is in need.

Many of the old hymns are beautiful and many of the stories are inspiring. What bothers me is the large companies who make millions of dollars compiling and selling them all for corporate profit. Should we as Christians support such endeavors? It would be different if the companies would use all proceeds to do God's work but we all know that's not necessarily the case. Most use the money to pay exorbitant salaries to their execs. The only thing that drove Christ to anger was the money changers and sellers who were profiting from worshiping God. So, I would urge Christians to continue singing God's praise but now that they are free on the internet there is no more reason to support these sinful profiteers. I would implore everyone who trusts in Christ to instead spend that money on helping the poor as He commanded.

The problem here as I see it is if you have to ask the question then you should check your own heart and reevaluate your devotion to the teachings of the Lord. I believe that anyone who is truly a child of God would know instantly that the "job" to which you refer is in direct conflict with God's teaching. The teachings of Jesus are pretty clear that we must abstain from sin. Cheating is sin and helping folks to cheat is the same. I am curious, you seem to be doing pretty well for yourself, so how much of the ill gotten gain was used as Jesus commanded, to help those in need and how much was used for your own personal gain? That will give you your answer and I ask because since you seem to be in a quandary about the ethics of cheating then possibly you also aren't familiar with what Jesus taught us to do with the money which God has entrusted you.

This subject always puzzles me. Here I see a discussion that is about the difference about nobleseed's idea of 2000 years of tribulation and the notion of a "Great Tribulation. First I agree that the true believer has experienced tribulation since the onset. The thing that puzzles me is why as Christians we still debate this issue. As Jesus said, only God knows the day and time of his coming and shouldn't the words of Jesus have sufficed to put the matter to rest. I can't recall one instance where Jesus commanded us to think on or form opinions on a "tribulation period", something He Himself never mentioned. So, in my humble opinion, as Christians shouldn't we spend our time on the more productive things that Christ taught us to do? For instance Jesus taught us to show God's love by giving and doing all you can to alleviate the suffering of those less fortunate than ourselves. He taught that many times and didn't mention a tribulation period even once. I truly believe that if Christians could refocus their efforts on the things that Jesus taught instead of discussing things to which there is no definitive answer (since Jesus didn't give one) then the world would be a better place for it. So, why not go out in your own neighborhood and spend your time and money helping the needy and then if you find that you still have free time (if you still have free money, you're not trying very hard), you can always find ways to share the gospel with someone. This is what Jesus taught and I think that all the other things that people study these days only takes away from the actual message of Christ.

I am new to this chat thing but I am here to discuss the teachings of Christ and how they apply to the present day and age. Personally I believe that the teachings of Christ should be taken literally and I find that every where I turn everyone is teaching everything but the teachings of Christ. Christ's teachings are actually pretty simple when you get right down to it. He taught three basic things. First, he taught that we must have faith in him and his authority. Second he taught that we must put that faith into action by repenting of our sins and then live our lives according to God's law and Christ's teachings. Thirdly, he taught us exactly what was sin (the things we must turn away from) and then he taught the things we should do to worship God and the main focus was on using whatever God gives you to help those in need. That's pretty well it in a nutshell. So my question is why everyone seems to focus on all the side issues that have nothing to do with the teachings of Christ. For instance, I hear evangelical preachers preach hard and heavy about the evils of homosexuality and yet they say nothing about the members of their congregation who are divorced and remarried and thus living in sin. I think everyone would agree that if a murderer accepts Christ as his Savior he must repent of his sin and stop killing people but what about those living in a sinful marriage situation? I don't hear much about that. It's like the old story about a preacher from Indiana who went to Kentucky where a church was in search of a pastor. the deacons of the church told him that he could have a one month trial where he would preach one sermon per week for four weeks and then they would decide if he got the job. Well, being an old fashioned teetotaler he preached his first sermon on the evils of strong drink and how alcohol abuse would lead to destruction. After the sermon the deacons approached the preacher and told him "You seem like a good preacher but you can't preach on drinking because many of this congregation work at the local distillery". So the next week he changes gears and preached on being good stewards of your money and mentioned the evils of gambling your money. After the service the deacons again approached the preacher and told him "Preacher, you can't preach on gambling. Many of the congregation either work at the local race track or have horses that race there." SO the preacher came back the third time and this time he preached about how our body is the temple of the Lord and we shouldn't poison it with things like tobacco. Again the deacons reprimanded him telling him that many of the congregation were tobacco farmers, so he should lay off the smoking thing. The preacher was frustrated and he asked the deacons "What do you think I should preach on?" After some thought they said "Why don't you preach on heathen witch doctors? We don't have any of them for miles around." Now before it becomes a part of the discussion I will note that I don't believe that any of the things mentioned in the sermons in the story are necessarily explicitly forbidden by Christ. The point of the story isn't what you might think about the sermons but that the people wanted someone who would preach what they wanted to hear. Everyone can agree that heathen witch doctors are not of Christ. The idea is that everyone wants the church to adhere to societal norms and they have found ways to teach around the teachings of Christ and instead teach the things that will fill the seats or inspire donations or offerings. That brings up another dilemma. That is what Christ taught about money. Christ spoke frequently about money, the accumulation of wealth, earthly treasures and how we should deal with our finances. In every instance he taught that we should not engage in the pursuit of worldly treasures or pleasures but rather if God blesses you with money, you should give it ALL to the poor in order to show God's love through your actions. Everywhere you look you see preachers getting rich through donations and the selling of books. They build themselves mansions and then brag about all the good work they are doing. Did Jesus teach his disciples to go and preach in order to accumulate earthly wealth? NO! Just the opposite! He taught them to not accept monetary compensation for their work. During Christ's ministry the only thing that ever drove Him to anger was the time he confronted the money changers and sellers in the temple. What was it that they were doing that drove Christ to such measures? They were profiting from selling things for worship. So, what would Christ think of all the people, companies and corporations that are making massive amounts of money selling everything from Bibles to books, literature, crosses and "pictures of Jesus" (Its ironic that the image we have of Jesus is thought to be the image of an illegitimate son of a Renaissance pope.) The point is that Jesus never taught us to spend money on anything to worship but rather taught only to honor God by using our money to help those less fortunate. I used to believe the tenets taught by Fundamental Independent Missionary Baptist Churchs and still feel that they have some very good beliefs. Over the years I have learned that they, along with every other church I have attended or looked into, are tailoring the teachings of Christ to fit their beliefs. many of which are not of Christ but are beliefs that were begun in the aftermath of the Reformation. The Catholic beliefs really blow my mind with all the rituals and beliefs that have evolved over the centuries and many are in direct conflict with the teachings of God. Just one example is the confession to a priest who then absolves you of the sin. I understand that sometimes a few hail Marys are involved. The problem is that Jesus taught that ONLY GOD could absolve any sin and confession was to be made to God and to the person against whom you have sinned. As you may have noticed, I could go on for hours but the question at the heart of the matter is are there others who see that the Churches have obscured the teachings of Christ to the point that the modern churches have strayed so far from His teachings that they hardly resemble anything that Christ taught about His church? Please let me know what you think and I'm happy to discuss anything pertaining to the teachings of Christ.