Saturday, August 22, 2020

THE HEART OF TRUE CHRISTIANITY---- WHAT LIFE-STYLES NOT TO LIVE #2

 

HOW  A  CHRISTIAN  SHOULD NOT  BE  LIVING   THE  FOLLOWING  LIFE-STYLES #2




COLOSSIANS  3




  Put On the New Self



 THEREFORE IF you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [Ps 110:1]

2 Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value].

3 For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.

4 When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

5 So put to death and deprive of power the evil longings of your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered instincts] immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and greed, which is [a kind of] idolatry [because it replaces your devotion to God].

6 Because of these [sinful] things the [divine] wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience [those who fail to listen and who routinely and obstinately disregard God's precepts],

7 and in these [sinful things] you also once walked, when you were habitually living in them [without the knowledge of Christ].

8 But now rid yourselves [completely] of all these things: anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene (abusive, filthy, vulgar) language from your mouth.

9 Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its evil practices,

10 and have put on the new [spiritual] self who is being continually renewed in true knowledge in the image of Him who created the new self—[Gen 1:26]


JAMES 2


The Sin of Partiality


MY FELLOW believers, do not practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of partiality [toward people—show no favoritism, no prejudice, no snobbery]. 

2 For if a man comes into your meeting place wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in,

3 and you pay special attention to the one who wears the fine clothes, and say to him, "You sit here in this good seat," and you tell the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down [on the floor] by my footstool,"

4 have you not discriminated among yourselves, and become judges with wrong motives?

5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

6 But you [in contrast] have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress and exploit you, and personally drag you into the courts of law?

7 Do they not blaspheme the precious name [of Christ] by which you are called?

8 If, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, if you have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]" you are doing well. [Lev 19:18]

9 But if you show partiality [prejudice, favoritism], you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as offenders.

10 For whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of [breaking] all of it.

11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you have become guilty of transgressing the [entire] Law. [Ex 20:13,14;Deut5:17,18]

12 Speak and act [consistently] as people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty [that moral law that frees obedient Christians from the bondage of sin].

13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; but [to the one who has shown mercy] mercy triumphs [victoriously] over judgment.


JAMES 3


The Tongue Is a Fire


NOT MANY [of you] should become teachers [serving in an official teaching capacity], my brothers and sisters, for you know that we [who who are teachers] will be judged by a higher standard [because we have assumed greater accountability and more condemnation if we teach incorrectly].

2 For we all stumble and sin in many ways. If anyone does not stumble  in what he says [never saying the wrong thing], he is a perfect man [fully developed in character, without serious flaws], able to bridal his whole body and rein in his entire nature [taming his human faults and weaknesses].

3 Now if we put bits into the horses' mouths to make them obey us, we guide their whole body as well.

4 And look at the ships. Even though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman determines.

5 In the same sense, the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.

See [by comparison] how great a forest is set on fire by a small spark!

6 And the tongue is [in a sense] a fire, the very world of injustice and unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members as that which contaminates the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life [the cycle of man's existence], and is itself set on fire by hell (Gehenna). [fire of second death - sin - Rev. 20 - Keith Hunt]

7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and sea creatures, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.

8 But no one can tame the human tongue; it is a restless evil [undisciplined, unstable], full of deadly poison.

9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.

10 Out of the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. These things, my brothers, should not be this way [for we have a moral obligation to speak in a manner that reflects our fear of God and profound respect for His precepts].

11 Does a spring send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?

12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Nor can saltwater produce fresh.


JAMES 4



10 Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose].

11 Believers, do not speak against or slander one another. He who speaks [self-righteously] against a brother or judges his brother [hypocritically], speaks against the Law and judges the Law. If you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge of it.

12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy [the one God who has the absolute power of life and death]; but who are you to [hypocritically or self-righteously] pass judgment on your neighbor?

13 Come now [and pay attention to this], you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and carry on our business and make a profit."

14 Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air].

15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that."

16 But as it is, you boast [vainly] in your pretension and arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17 So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.


1 JOHN 2

Do Not Love the World


15 Do not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one's resources or in the stability of earthly things]— these do not come from the Father, but are from the world.

17 The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever.



1 JOHN 3


Children of God Love One Another


 

4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness [ignoring God's law by action or neglect or by tolerating wrongdoing—being unrestrained by His commands and His will].

5 You know that He appeared [in visible form as a man] in order to take away sins; and in Him there is [absolutely] no sin [for He has neither the sin nature nor has He committed sin or acts worthy of blame].

6 No one who abides in Him [who remains united in fellowship with Him—deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin. No one who habitually sins has seen Him or known Him.

7 LittIe children (believers, dear ones), do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who practices righteousness [the one who strives to live a consistently honorable life—in private as well as in public—and to conform to God's precepts] is righteous, just as He is righteous.

8 The one who practices sin [separating himself from God, and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion] is of the devil [and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God]; for the devil has sinned and violated God's law from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

9 No one who is born [begotten - Keith Hunt]  of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, because God's seed [His principle of life, the essence of His righteous character] remains [permanently] in him [who is born again [begotten again - Keith Hunt]—who is reborn [begotten - Keith Hunt] from above— spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose]; and he [who is born again] [begotten again - Keith Hunt] cannot habitually [live a life characterized by] sin, because he is born [begotten - Keith Hunt] of God and longs to please Him.

10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness [who does not seek God's will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] love his [believing] brother.

11 For this is the message which you [believers] have heard from the beginning [of your relationship with Christ], that we should [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another;

12 and not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? Because Cain's deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.

13 Do not be surprised, believers, if the world hates you.

14 We know that we have passed out of death into Life, because we love the brothers and sisters. He who does not love remains in [spiritual] death.

15 Everyone who hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer [by God's standards]; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. [Matt 5:21-23]

16 By this we know [and have come to understand the depth and essence of His precious] love: that He [willingly] laid down His life for us [because He loved us]. And we ought to lay down [be laying down - Keith Hunt] our lives for the believers.

17 But whoever has the world's goods (adequate resources), and sees his brother in need, but has no compassion for him, how does the love of God live in him?




REVELATION 21



5 And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true [they are accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy]." [Is 43:19]

6 And He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I will give [water] from the fountain of the water of life with out cost. [Is 55:1]

7 He who overcomes [the world by adhering faithfully to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior] will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. [2 Sam 7:14; 1 John 5:5]

8 But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."


…………………………


TRULY  WE  HAVE  READ  THE  MAIN  SECTIONS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT,  ON  NOT  LIVING  AS   A  LIFE-STYLE  THE  SINS  OF  THE  FLESH,  OF  THE  UN-CONVERTED  MIND;  FOR  IT  IS  WRITTEN  “THERE  IS  A  WAY  THAT  SEEMS  RIGHT  UNTO  MAN,  BUT  THOSE  WAYS  END  IT  DEATH.”


IN  A  NUT-SHELL,  IT  IS  AS  THE  RICH  YOUNG  MAN  ASKED  JESUS,  “WHAT  MUST  I  DO  TO  INHERIT  ETERNAL  LIFE?”  AND  JESUS  SAID  TO  HIM——  KEEP  THE  COMMANDMENTS! [MATT. 19].


OUR  MIND-SET,  OUR  CONVERTED  MIND-SET  MUST  BE  TO  LOVE  GOD  WITH  ALL  OUR  HEART, MIND, AND LIFE, AND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR  AS  YOURSEF.


YOU  NEED  TO  LOVE  THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS [AND  THAT  INCLUDES  THE  4TH  ONE]  JUST  AS  DAVID  DID  AS  SEEN  IN  PSALM  119.


THEN  IF  WE  DO,  GOD  WILL  SAY  TO  US,  AS  HE  DID  TO  DAVID,  “HE/SHE  IS  A  PERSON  AFTER  MY  OWN  HEART.”


Keith Hunt



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