"Let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good." (1 Peter 4:15-19)
This is talking about suffering in the flesh. Certainly Christ did not "barely save us" in the sense of rebirth. The judgement in focus here isn't God's judgement on His people but a judgment, condemnation, & persecution from the secular world upon Christians. God's people are barely saved in the flesh from such oppressive rule & perhaps aren't saved at all. This entire context is about Christians suffering for doing good rather than suffering for doing bad.
Peter is saying, "Please don't commit crimes, if you are going to suffer only let it be for doing God's good. God in His mercy can barely save you righteous people from punishment handed out by the government because He can't override people's freewill & wicked people aren't going to cooperate with Him. Think about those who actually do wrong & don't know God. God can't always get you off the hook so don't intentionally put yourself on the hook by committing crimes. When you know you are going to suffer for doing good entrust your soul (earthly life) to God so you won't fear regardless of the outcome."
Peter concludes his letter & writing about suffering by saying it is the devil who seeks to harm you, not God. God is love & He does not punish His children. He cares for us.
"Cast all your anxieties on God, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." (1 Peter 5:7-10)
Christian Cannibalism?
The reason why "judgement" (this particular word is sometimes translated as condemnation) starts at the household of God is because Satan hates the people of God so he is going to influence rulers & oppressors to oppress them. Oppressors want to oppress just about everyone but Satan makes Christians a focal point of theirs. Physical persecution is Satan's last resort to harm the house of God. In western Christianity Satan doesn't need to physically persecute Christians. Because of 100s to 1,000s of years of religious teachings Christians condemn themselves. The problem with western Christians isn't that they "should do more for God" it is that they believe the wrong things about themselves & God. So Satan doesn't need to devour them. They consume themselves with guilt, shame, & fear all based on a false idea of God & a false idea of themselves.
Showing posts with label persecution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label persecution. Show all posts
Monday, November 19, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
God Does Not Punish His Children
Jesus didn't go around punishing people for sin even if the law said to do so. The predominant view of God today is that Jesus would have cast the first stone & all of the stones. But the truth is He loves people and doesn't hold sins against us.
Religion wants you to believe that God is a good God when it pictures Him abusing His children with guilt, shame, & sickness. That somehow "holy" means quick to anger, easily offended, and vindictive. If God's love & goodness is unrecognizable as love or goodness to mankind then the gospel isn't good news, it is non-sense. God is love, the bible defines love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. God is patient, kind, unarrogant, He does not seek His own, He is not easily provoked, He does not take into account wrongs suffered, & He does not rejoice in unrighteousness (not even in punishing it), but rejoices with the truth.
Perfect love cast out fear because fear has to do with punishment (1 John 4:18). God is perfect love, if we think He punishes us then we aren't understanding His perfect love. If you think God punishes you then I implore you to explore His perfect love more.
Suffering does not equal punishment from God and neither does discipline or persecution. Punishment is "a penalty imposed for wrongdoing." Christian persecution usually comes from the consequences of right doing. Persecution and suffering can come from doing good things for God's sake & that doesn't mean God is abusing His children. It is just the world responding with hostility to God.
Paul says in Colossians 1:24, "I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ's sufferings on behalf of his body, the assembly." This is about living sacrificially for others out of love. God is loving His people through Paul and that love involves suffering for the sake of others, not getting beaten up by God for God's sick pleasure. Paul chose to put himself in danger for the love of Christ and for the love of others. Jesus did the same thing for the love of the Father and for the love of us.
It pleased the Lord to bruise Jesus (Isaiah 53:10) not because God gets sick pleasure from beating up His kids but because it served a purpose of greater love. God was pleased to bruise Jesus like a surgeon is pleased to cut someone open and remove a tumor. Christ took the beating that sin would give us to condemn sin so it would not be a barrier for mankind and God any more. God doesn't love abuse but He does love to free people from abuse. Christ offers freedom from the abuse of sin.
Some think God chastening is God punishing. The Greek word behind "chastening" does not mean punishing. It is the word usually translated as discipline and means help grow, teach, train, nurture, "the whole training and education of a child." God does not punish His children, He corrects them with truth for their benefit. [More on God's Discipline]
GOD CHOSE TO LOVE YOU AS A PERSON OVER PUNISHING YOU FOR YOUR ACTIONS. Thinking you've been good enough to deserve the goodness of God totally misses the point of the cross. On the other side of the coin, anyone thinking that bad things are happening in their lives because God is punishing them for something bad they've done is also missing the point of the cross. The point was not Him hating sin. The point was Him loving you. It's not, "For God so hated sin.." but "For God so loved the world.."
Most Christians think God's punishment is to make you feel really bad (shameful, guilty) about what you've done. God created mankind to be loved not to be punished. Jesus came to take away our sins. Shame, guilt, & condemnation should not be a part of a Christian's life in any way. When you are not judging yourselves in light of the finished work of the cross (free from sin, accepted, loved), you will still experience the punishing effects of sin (rejection, shame, condemnation). Even If you are deceived, ignorant, or ignoring you will live what you believe. If you believe God punishes you then you will label your own feelings of shame, guilt, depression, failure, dissatisfaction, etc as "God's discipline" or "God's punishment." Whether it is true or not you will live what you believe. Believe in His love! Trust in His love! He is love! He is The Truth! HIS LOVE IS TRUE FOR YOU!
Related Posts
The Discipline of the Lord, Our Loving Father Helping Us Grow
Suffering is Not God's Punishment
Christian Persecution & America
Religion wants you to believe that God is a good God when it pictures Him abusing His children with guilt, shame, & sickness. That somehow "holy" means quick to anger, easily offended, and vindictive. If God's love & goodness is unrecognizable as love or goodness to mankind then the gospel isn't good news, it is non-sense. God is love, the bible defines love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. God is patient, kind, unarrogant, He does not seek His own, He is not easily provoked, He does not take into account wrongs suffered, & He does not rejoice in unrighteousness (not even in punishing it), but rejoices with the truth.
Perfect love cast out fear because fear has to do with punishment (1 John 4:18). God is perfect love, if we think He punishes us then we aren't understanding His perfect love. If you think God punishes you then I implore you to explore His perfect love more.
Suffering does not equal punishment from God and neither does discipline or persecution. Punishment is "a penalty imposed for wrongdoing." Christian persecution usually comes from the consequences of right doing. Persecution and suffering can come from doing good things for God's sake & that doesn't mean God is abusing His children. It is just the world responding with hostility to God.
Paul says in Colossians 1:24, "I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ's sufferings on behalf of his body, the assembly." This is about living sacrificially for others out of love. God is loving His people through Paul and that love involves suffering for the sake of others, not getting beaten up by God for God's sick pleasure. Paul chose to put himself in danger for the love of Christ and for the love of others. Jesus did the same thing for the love of the Father and for the love of us.
It pleased the Lord to bruise Jesus (Isaiah 53:10) not because God gets sick pleasure from beating up His kids but because it served a purpose of greater love. God was pleased to bruise Jesus like a surgeon is pleased to cut someone open and remove a tumor. Christ took the beating that sin would give us to condemn sin so it would not be a barrier for mankind and God any more. God doesn't love abuse but He does love to free people from abuse. Christ offers freedom from the abuse of sin.
Some think God chastening is God punishing. The Greek word behind "chastening" does not mean punishing. It is the word usually translated as discipline and means help grow, teach, train, nurture, "the whole training and education of a child." God does not punish His children, He corrects them with truth for their benefit. [More on God's Discipline]
GOD CHOSE TO LOVE YOU AS A PERSON OVER PUNISHING YOU FOR YOUR ACTIONS. Thinking you've been good enough to deserve the goodness of God totally misses the point of the cross. On the other side of the coin, anyone thinking that bad things are happening in their lives because God is punishing them for something bad they've done is also missing the point of the cross. The point was not Him hating sin. The point was Him loving you. It's not, "For God so hated sin.." but "For God so loved the world.."
Most Christians think God's punishment is to make you feel really bad (shameful, guilty) about what you've done. God created mankind to be loved not to be punished. Jesus came to take away our sins. Shame, guilt, & condemnation should not be a part of a Christian's life in any way. When you are not judging yourselves in light of the finished work of the cross (free from sin, accepted, loved), you will still experience the punishing effects of sin (rejection, shame, condemnation). Even If you are deceived, ignorant, or ignoring you will live what you believe. If you believe God punishes you then you will label your own feelings of shame, guilt, depression, failure, dissatisfaction, etc as "God's discipline" or "God's punishment." Whether it is true or not you will live what you believe. Believe in His love! Trust in His love! He is love! He is The Truth! HIS LOVE IS TRUE FOR YOU!
Related Posts
The Discipline of the Lord, Our Loving Father Helping Us Grow
Suffering is Not God's Punishment
Christian Persecution & America
Friday, July 20, 2012
Christian Persecution & America
I've heard many American Christians sorta wish that American Christians were persecuted more & that we would suffer more. They look at the stronger faith of people in other countries where persecution & suffering is the norm. They think that if America was persecuted, Christians here would have a stronger faith. First, I wonder how many of those theorists have actually been persecuted? Secondly, I recall that this mindset is not confirmed in scripture.
"The seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away." (Mark 4:16-17)
It isn't persecution that draws you to God, It is God's love. If you don't already know His love Jesus says you will quickly fall away when persecution comes. Enduring persecution does not make you stronger, it only taps into the strength you already have. That strength to overcome is your trust in God (1 John 5:4). The more you know God loves you the more you will trust Him.
Persecution is Satan's way of stopping the gospel. When people don't know or believe the true gospel there is no need for persecution. Galatians 6:12 even suggests that those who try to live by law or by their own strength will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. In my opinion Christianity in America would virtually end if major persecution came because people are not "rooted and grounded in God's love" (Ephesians 3:17).
One of the easiest things, knowing that God loves you and letting Him love you, has become one of the hardest things because the traditions, false teachings, & false authorities of mainstream American Christianity. Its sin focused, mixed covenant, cross-ignoring teachings already have people barely hanging onto, not God, but a false picture of God. A picture that paints God as an utterly selfish, human hating, Christian hating, nagging, shame exploiting, greedy, & abusive monster who treats them worse than probably anyone they know & is 1,000 times more easily offended than any human being to ever walk the earth.
Because people believe God exists & believe the most basic gospel they honestly want to follow and serve God. But thanks to thousands of years of scripture twisting doctrines, man made traditions, and satanic deception people are told to follow this false picture of God whose abuse and constant fault finding are taught to be His "love." Or they are taught to serve & follow the preachings of an unbiblical religious system called "church" that pictures God as a distant CEO who you have to beg to show up in a "church service" to receive any recognition from him for all of your hard work for him.
Fear not, and engage the God who longs to unravel the lies you've been told so you can experience His love as He has always wanted. God loves you enough to accept you as you are. He is big enough & has shed enough blood to never be angry with you. He is who He says He is, God is love. Love that is easily identified by anyone who has ever wanted to be loved.
"The seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away." (Mark 4:16-17)
It isn't persecution that draws you to God, It is God's love. If you don't already know His love Jesus says you will quickly fall away when persecution comes. Enduring persecution does not make you stronger, it only taps into the strength you already have. That strength to overcome is your trust in God (1 John 5:4). The more you know God loves you the more you will trust Him.
Persecution is Satan's way of stopping the gospel. When people don't know or believe the true gospel there is no need for persecution. Galatians 6:12 even suggests that those who try to live by law or by their own strength will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. In my opinion Christianity in America would virtually end if major persecution came because people are not "rooted and grounded in God's love" (Ephesians 3:17).
One of the easiest things, knowing that God loves you and letting Him love you, has become one of the hardest things because the traditions, false teachings, & false authorities of mainstream American Christianity. Its sin focused, mixed covenant, cross-ignoring teachings already have people barely hanging onto, not God, but a false picture of God. A picture that paints God as an utterly selfish, human hating, Christian hating, nagging, shame exploiting, greedy, & abusive monster who treats them worse than probably anyone they know & is 1,000 times more easily offended than any human being to ever walk the earth.
Because people believe God exists & believe the most basic gospel they honestly want to follow and serve God. But thanks to thousands of years of scripture twisting doctrines, man made traditions, and satanic deception people are told to follow this false picture of God whose abuse and constant fault finding are taught to be His "love." Or they are taught to serve & follow the preachings of an unbiblical religious system called "church" that pictures God as a distant CEO who you have to beg to show up in a "church service" to receive any recognition from him for all of your hard work for him.
Fear not, and engage the God who longs to unravel the lies you've been told so you can experience His love as He has always wanted. God loves you enough to accept you as you are. He is big enough & has shed enough blood to never be angry with you. He is who He says He is, God is love. Love that is easily identified by anyone who has ever wanted to be loved.
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