I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks,
be made for all men; for kings, and for all
that are in authority; that we may lead
a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness
and honesty. For this is good and acceptable
in the sight of God our Savior; who will have
all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth.
!Timothy 2:1-4
All men and women are products of their past, both by ancestors, also by the circumstances and events surrounding our ancestors, those philosophers and theologians so that we have history that has led us to where we are in life today. Yes, we have the present decisions, our decisions both good and bad that have added to our history but more than that, this new development in our history becomes history for our progeny, and the events in secular circumstances caused by our decisions have an lasting effect on history.
We study history for more than just knowledge of history. We study history so that we can make changes in our present history that make for a future better world.
The Christian Church has had to face many new thoughts, new ideas on theology, heresies, and as much as it is history those ideas have continued into our present day in one form or the other. One such contention that caused much concern in the Church was Judaism. What is this Judiasim? It as a theological position of the Jews that demanded that the Jewish law was to be kept as a requirement for salvation. We can see a form of this thought in such groups as the Seventh Day Adventist. There was a group of men and women called the Ebionites that persisted in Palestine for over 200 years. These people emphasized the unity of God, His creatorship of the universe. The Ebionites believed that the Jewish law was the highest expression of God's will and that the law, not just the Ten Commandments, but the rituals, and laws governing the life of the Jews were still binding upon man. More than that, they believed that Jesus was a man who became the Messiah by virtue of His complete fulfillment of the law. It was their insistence as to the Law of God and how it applied to Christians that Paul and others had to write about so as to keep Christianity pure as taught by Jesus. What was and is the overriding principle that should be governing people? it is faith in Jesus Christ alone that justifies and individual and not works. This has been shown in previous blogs that Clement wrote about this fact: we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Jesus Christ alone to be our Savior and the foundation for our faith then it is most important to know the truth as to who Jesus is: a man who became Messiah, an angel sent to earth, a creator other than Jehovah, a phantom, or any other form as to Jesus. We are to lead people to the truth about Jesus and to be able to do that we must first come to the truth about Him ourselves. This is what this blog is all about: Considering our faith and making any needed changes starting from the inside out and being manifested in our daily lives. We owe it to God to be our best for Him, and for His sheep so out of our love for God we give aid to others and in this giving as we focus a person present need we also look to give them the truth as to salvation, repentance, and the fact that Jesus Christ will save them from this sin of the world that is condemning them.
"Christ is our leader, and we His soldiers.
Let us then, men and
brethren, with all energy act the part of soldiers, in accordance with His holy
commandments. Let us consider those who serve under our generals, with what
order, obedience, and submissiveness they perform the things which are
commanded them. All are not prefects, nor commanders of a thousand, nor of a
hundred, nor of fifty, nor the like, but each one in his own rank performs the
things commanded by the king and the generals. The great cannot subsist without
the small, nor the small without the great. There is a kind of mixture in all
things, and thence arises mutual advantage. (Literally,
“in these there is use.”) Let us take our body for an example. (1 Cor. xii. 12, etc.) The
head is nothing without the feet, and the feet are nothing without the head;
yea, the very smallest members of our body are necessary and useful to the
whole body. But all work (Literally, “all breathe
together.”) harmoniously together, and are under one common rule (Literally, “use one subjection.”) for
the preservation of the whole body."
I will, next week, begin a series on our Christian heritage and about those philosophical heresies that not only plagued the early Church, but has plagued the Church throughout history and is plaguing the Church today. We then, after having learned about this can examine our faith, our how we have and we we have come to believe.
Behold, I am against them that prophesy
false dreams, saith the LORD, and do
tell them, and cause My people to err by
their lies, and by their lightness yet I
sent them not, nor commanded them:
therefore they shall not profit this people
at all, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:32
Immerse yourself in the Bible
Richard L. Crumb
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