Isnt it amazing....

[notsolostsoul]

6 hours ago, creativemechanic said:

Not only with  unequally yoked but with all sorts of   issues- homosexuality, dress, who can and cant be pastors. ....

Strictly going off the content in this picture. It all comes down to people (MAN) trying to use the Word where they want to. They use it to shame others and justify what suits them. People trying to make the Word fit them rather than what the Word actually is. People living in their Truth not God's Truth. The Word is clear when the individual can remove themselves from it. Reading it, speaking it or teaching it, the individual must do this in an open, empty state, where God fills you and projects his Truth.

Totally submit yourself to God.

[Guest shiloh357]

3 hours ago, creativemechanic said:

 Actually  no.. It's not a  pointing out of sin, it's a reminder  to us all. We ,myself including need to remember that we need to see the bible as God's word and to be obeyed regardless of our feelings.  Often we can rationalise and try every loophole  in the word to ignore direct commands  because we want to do  certain things.

I found myself  in e.g. a situation.  I began to  hook up with a crush i had from a teen knowing full well she was divorced . I flat out remember reading the verse to see and purposely coming with some silly rationalisation to justify it.We even went on a date. It's after God made me unintentioally open my bible to the verse about divorce TWICE at during the readings at church  that I finally came r my senses. 

 

Speaking as someone who is actually trained in hermeneutics,  there are, in the New Testament, commandments that are doctrinal in nature and apply to all believers and there are commandments that speak to the unique issues that faced 1st century believers.

We tend to overlook the fact that Paul's epistles, for example, contain two types of material.  Firstly, Paul was addressing questions that had been sent to him from various congregations.   In 1 Corinthians, Paul is answering questions and you can tell that by the wording of the letter.   The congregation at Corinth was located in the middle of the most immoral cities of the ancient world in at that time.  And these new believers had real questions.

Paul's letters were written to real people in history who had to learn how to relate to their former pagan culture now that they had come to faith in Jesus and they needed to know what was permissible and what was not.   Corinth was a hard city to live in as a new believer in Jesus trying to cut away from the immorality of that culture.

Secondly, Paul letters contain a huge amount of doctrinal material.  Philippians, Romans, Ephesians are examples of epistles rich in doctrinal material.  Paul has a lot to say about sin, redemption, reconciliation, justification, resurrection, and so on.   And he has a lot of commands about how we are to live from a doctrinal standpoint. 

So we need to differentiate between direct commands given to the 1st century audience and direct commands given to the Church as a whole.    Too often, we don't make those distinctions and when we don't, true legalism ensues.

For instance, Paul's commandment in I Corinthians about men not having long hair.  That is not doctrinal.  Corinthian men who engaged in male prostitution wore their hair long and effeminate to attract male clients, especially sailors who docked at the ports of Corinth.   Those men were getting saved and Paul instructs them to essentially, to cut their hair and start looking like men.   They needed to separate fully from that former lifestyle.

The same goes for the women.  The priestesses of the Oracles at Delphi shaved their heads.   They were also getting saved and Paul wants them to wear a veil until their hair grows out.   Because long hair on a woman was her "glory."   But for men, long effeminate hair was shameful.   

Those things don't really speak to doctrinal matters.  They were relevant only to the original audience at Corinth. A man having long hair was a problem for those people living in that city at that time.   That doesn't mean that a man wearing long hair today is necessarily living in disobedience.  A woman who wears her hair short isn't living in sin either.   You can see how legalism could take over if we are not careful to know the difference between commandments that speak to the first century audience and commandments that are meant for the Christian community as a whole.

[notsolostsoul]

4 minutes ago, Yowm said:

Those that find fault in those who point out faults of the Church in general, are themselves at fault.

Those who want others to post lovey dovey threads should themselves should start those threads and quit criticizing those who don't. Sheesh.

Then this is just a pointless cycle that does not benefit God at all but benefits the Adversary very well.

So the ones that point out faults don't want others to point out theirs in a kind way?

This is a sad circle of separation where more light is shined on MAN'S bickering and less on what The Word is about. 

[Guest shiloh357]

7 minutes ago, Yowm said:

I followed you up to here. Not wanting to sound like the Gator, but if culture was the case, what would 'looking like men' look like?

What I mean is, not looking effeminate.  They would style their hair like female prostitutes and wear women's clothes and they would put jewels or whatever, in their hair to attract men.   Essentially, looking like a man means, not looking like you're a woman seeking a man.

[missmuffet]

6 hours ago, LadyKay said:

  I like your cartoons and I think it is good to talk about topics. But sometimes it feels like we are all sounded like "Christian snobs" looking down on others who are not doing things as we think they should.  Perhaps you have a cartoon about showing compassion to others. Just for a change of pace. As I know as Christians we can forget to show that to people because we are so consume with pointing out to others all the sin that is in their life. 

I think that the born again Christian needs to adhere to the true word of God and the true literal meaning. Some people give the words of God their own meaning for their own convenience. They do not want to give up the things of this world which we are supposed to do. We are all sinners.

[notsolostsoul]

Just now, Yowm said:

Then see to the ones who throw the first stone when a thread gets started. It has happened to me a number of times.

I know I have seen. The problem is we get nowhere in the trying to prove which method is right. Both are needed in their appropriate time. Not every situation calls for fighting fire with fire, and not every situation can be smoothed over. 

Yet we waste more time pointing out each other's faults that no one is being helped.

It's division and wars can be lost due to division. This is what the Adversary is hoping for.

So where some may feel we as warriors need to be on guard and ready to attack, others are like wait for the orders before running head first. Both are necessary, both have their roles, no one is more necessary than the other. They are needed the same. However the orders should come from God not from our own burning desires within.

Some times the threads are arguing the very same thing but the individuals are so angry in it heat of a battle. 

We should check each other but the way we approach each other needs work.

[missmuffet]

7 hours ago, creativemechanic said:

Not only with  unequally yoked but with all sorts of   issues- homosexuality, dress, who can and cant be pastors. ....

Too many people use the word Christian when they are not living the "Christian" life. They should do a study of the true meaning of God's word. Live the life God wants us to do. That means sacrificing many things for the love of God.

[daughterofGrace]

54 minutes ago, shiloh357 said:

Speaking as someone who is actually trained in hermeneutics,  there are, in the New Testament, commandments that are doctrinal in nature and apply to all believers and there are commandments that speak to the unique issues that faced 1st century believers.

We tend to overlook the fact that Paul's epistles, for example, contain two types of material.  Firstly, Paul was addressing questions that had been sent to him from various congregations.   In 1 Corinthians, Paul is answering questions and you can tell that by the wording of the letter.   The congregation at Corinth was located in the middle of the most immoral cities of the ancient world in at that time.  And these new believers had real questions.

Paul's letters were written to real people in history who had to learn how to relate to their former pagan culture now that they had come to faith in Jesus and they needed to know what was permissible and what was not.   Corinth was a hard city to live in as a new believer in Jesus trying to cut away from the immorality of that culture.

Secondly, Paul letters contain a huge amount of doctrinal material.  Philippians, Romans, Ephesians are examples of epistles rich in doctrinal material.  Paul has a lot to say about sin, redemption, reconciliation, justification, resurrection, and so on.   And he has a lot of commands about how we are to live from a doctrinal standpoint. 

So we need to differentiate between direct commands given to the 1st century audience and direct commands given to the Church as a whole.    Too often, we don't make those distinctions and when we don't, true legalism ensues.

For instance, Paul's commandment in I Corinthians about men not having long hair.  That is not doctrinal.  Corinthian men who engaged in male prostitution wore their hair long and effeminate to attract male clients, especially sailors who docked at the ports of Corinth.   Those men were getting saved and Paul instructs them to essentially, to cut their hair and start looking like men.   They needed to separate fully from that former lifestyle.

The same goes for the women.  The priestesses of the Oracles at Delphi shaved their heads.   They were also getting saved and Paul wants them to wear a veil until their hair grows out.   Because long hair on a woman was her "glory."   But for men, long effeminate hair was shameful.   

Those things don't really speak to doctrinal matters.  They were relevant only to the original audience at Corinth. A man having long hair was a problem for those people living in that city at that time.   That doesn't mean that a man wearing long hair today is necessarily living in disobedience.  A woman who wears her hair short isn't living in sin either.   You can see how legalism could take over if we are not careful to know the difference between commandments that speak to the first century audience and commandments that are meant for the Christian community as a whole.

Excellent explanation, Shiloh.  Thank you for it. 

I have Craig Keener's Bible Background Commentary of the New Testament.  He puts things in their cultural milieu.  His purpose is to help readers determine what is for today and what pertained to the select recipients of the letters. 

[daughterofGrace]

44 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

I think that the born again Christian needs to adhere to the true word of God and the true literal meaning. Some people give the words of God their own meaning for their own convenience. They do not want to give up the things of this world which we are supposed to do. We are all sinners.

Oh, yes!  We can all twist the Word of God to justify our own sins, eh?  Been there, done that. 

I have also noticed that some people like to say "God told me this" to people who are in disagreement with them.  I think they use it as a conversation-stopper.  They're saying, "You can't argue with me because God told me to do this and if you continue arguing with me then, really, you're arguing with God.  So you better just stop and leave me alone."

And yet, they can be doing and saying things completely opposite to God's Word so we know they aren't hearing from God.

Has anybody else noticed that?

 

Edited May 28, 2017 by daughterofGrace
addition

[Guest shiloh357]

1 minute ago, daughterofGrace said:

Oh, yes!  We can all twist the Word of God to justify our own sins, eh?  Been there, done that. 

I have also noticed that some people like to say "God told me this" to people who are in disagreement with them.  I think they use it as a conversation-stopper.  They're saying, "You can't argue with me because God told me to do this and if you continue arguing with me then, really, you're arguing with God.  So you better just stop and leave me alone."

Has anybody else noticed that?

 

Yes, a lot of false teaching gets blamed on the Holy Spirit.   It's a way to pull the rug out from under the feet of anyone who would have the courage to challenge a false teacher.