The Good Of The Father (The Secret To Forgiveness} # 2139

 

Bearing with one another and dealing graciously among yourselves, if anyone should be having a complaint against any, according as the Lord also deals graciously with you, thus also you 

Paul to the Colossians 3: 13, Concordant New Testament 

I learned something about forgiveness this week while in the midst of my own trial.  I had been dealing with a brother seemingly caught in his own wrong behaviors.  Initially, leaning on my old church teaching, I felt that it was my duty to remind him of his deviant ways in order to bring him back into the Christian fold.  Se, back in my church days that's what we did when we came across a sinning brother.  That was our duty, or so we were taught.  Is it any wonder, then, that so many people today view the mainstream church as being full of judgmental people?  In fact, one of the main reasons that people give for leaving or changing churches is just that, to escape that condemnation which comes from others pointing out their shortcomings.  Yes, I was once part of that crowd as well.  But this week I discovered something which I had forgotten in the middle of my encounters with my friend.  That being, what has God done with me while I was in the midst of my own iniquities?  Was it in His nature to condemn me for my own bad behaviors?  The apostle Paul reminds us in Colossians that we are to be "Dealing graciously among yourselves" {Paul to the Colossians 3:13}.  That is, that we, as believers, are to deal with others in the same way that God has done with us, in grace and forgiveness.  For the true meaning of hypocrisy is to accept the Lords forgiveness for our own shortcomings but then hold others to a different standard.  I believe that this is the very reason why Paul addressed this issue in his evangel.  The truth is, men have had differences and conflicts with others since time began.  The fact is, it is not God Who condemns, but mankind.  I've sat through many a Sunday sermon where the pastor called upon his congregation to confront a sinning brother,  This is the same teaching I resorted to recently in my dealings with my friend.  To be honest, it didn't turn out too well.  In the midst of one of our heated discussions, he asked me something which caused me to take a step back.  That question was, "Are you God?"  

As I contemplated my friends question to me, I recalled a time when I was engaged in some pretty bad behaviors.  From pornography to strip clubs, I was into some pretty shady stuff.  All while professing to others that I was a follower of Jesus.  I was afraid of bringing my troubles to my friends in the church because I was afraid of their reaction.  That they would confront me in the same way that I had confronted my friend.  This weighed on my heart as I recalled that, while in my own sin, that God had loved me enough to display His love and grace to me in my darkest of times.  That He has dispatched His Son that my sin debt would be paid {Paul to the Romans 6:6-11}.  It has never been God intention that I would stand convicted for the that which I once walked in.  Paul speaks that it is only by the grace of the Father that we have been redeemed, not by anything we've done on our own behalf {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  Can you imagine the righteous crowd of Christians who would gloat that they were the ones who saved someone?  This is why the words of Paul reminding us of the saving grace of the Father are so very important.  For left to our devices, the price of that forgiveness would be a steep one to pay.  So, no, I am not God.  Who I am is His loved child who lives my life within Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  Therefore, I'm called to display the same mercy and grace which has been given unto me {Paul to the Ephesians 4:31-32}.  Remembering His grace towards us is the key to our forgiveness we give to others.  

Let all bitterness and fury and anger and clamor and calumny be taken away from you with all malice, yet become kind to one another, tenderly compassionate, dealing graciously among yourselves, according as God also, in Christ, deals graciously with you

Paul to the Ephesians 4: 31-32, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (What Would Jesus Do?) # 2138

 

Jesus, then, answers and said to them, "Verily, verily, I am saying to you, The Son can not be doing anything of Himself if it is not what He should be observing the Father doing, for whatever He may be doing, this the Son also is doing likewise

Johns Account 5: 19, Concordant New Testament 

I have been in a struggle recently with a friend who seems to be behaving badly.  Now, my first reaction to this situation was just what I had been taught all those years ago in my days in the church.  I was to confront my sinning brother in my attempt to correct him and to draw him back into the Christian fold.  Well, many of those situations did not turn out to well in the past, so I don't know what made me think that this time would be any different.  Still, I tried.  What resulted was a tense situation where we both were left with hurt feelings and nothing accomplished.  Did I fail him?  No, I failed myself.  For in my desire to bring correction unto my brother, I had forgotten that I was not the one who ultimately would reveal Himself unto my friend.  That would be the Father.  I admit that in my heart I am aware of my own relationship with God.  That it is my life that is lived within Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  So, why would this be any different for my friend?  Is his life not lived within the Father as well?  Now, those stuck within the mainstream church theology might claim that one struggling in sin has somehow "Fallen away" from God.  This simply is not true.  It is the Father Himself Who has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us {To the Hebrews 13:5}.  We also know that it is God who has created us in His own likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  The very idea that we who have been created in the Father could somehow be separated from Him is nothing but false theology.  Yet this is exactly what those within the church speak today.  As I contemplated confronting my brother in his bad behavior, I separated myself from him.  I became the one who was right and he was wrong.  I had placed the judgement of the Lord upon him.  It was my job to reign him in, or so I thought.  I admit that I was wrong in that decision.  Not that my intentions weren't good, but I had forgotten who I was.

The apostle Paul has spoken that it is no longer he who lives, but that Christ lives in him {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  This passage is key to understanding our interactions with those around us.  We never interact with people as one separated from God, but it is He who works through us.  It is God Who speaks through us.  We live our life through Him.  My mistake was remembering this truth in my own life.  To realize that I do what I see the Father doing in me.  Jesus reminds us that He never does anything of His own volition, but that He does only what He sees the Father doing {Johns Account 5:19}.  Why would this be any different for we who live our lives in Him?  Should we do, as Jesus has, what we see the Father doing?  I think so.  So, how is it that the Father would have dealt with my friends wrong behavior?  We need only look to the passage where we find Jesus confronting the woman found in adultery.  The Pharisees of His day sought to confront this woman in the same way the church has taught us to deal with those who sin for ages, to condemn them.  But Jesus didn't play their game.  For Jesus has not come into this world to condemn, but to save {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  So it is that, when confronted with this woman caught is sin, He did what He saw the Father doing, He forgave her.  He send her away in grace, not condemnation {Johns Account 8:11}.  Can you see the difference in the way I handled my situation and the way I have seen the Father handle these situations?  I'm not ashamed to say that I was blinded by that which I was once taught.  That we're to shame and condemn those caught in bad behavior.  How is it that God has dealt with our own bad behaviors?  Did He condemn us?  No, for out of His love for us, He dispatched His Son Who through His own sacrifice has provided for our reconciliation.  This is what He has seen the Father doing. 

Now, unbending, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they?  Does no one condemn you?"  Now she said, "No one Lord!"  Now Jesus said, "Neither am I condemning you.  Go!  From now on by no means any longer be sinning" 

Johns Account 8: 10-11, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (What They Don't Want To Hear) # 2137

 

The Lord is not tardy as to the promise, as some are deeming tardiness, but is patient because of you, but all to make room for repentance 

Peter to the Dispersion 3: 9, Concordant New Testament 

Over the course of the week I am usually in a conversation about Jesus with one person or another,  Some welcome these discussions while others will not.  In my experience, one of the most difficult conversations that I have with those who believe is that of what we often refer to as universal salvation.  That truth which speaks to the desire of the Father that all will be saved and abide in His presence for eternity.  Now, there is certainly ample scriptural references that this is indeed true, but I am often accused of cherry picking verses when I attempt to show believers that there is salvation in the name of the Father.  The apostle Paul has written to young Timothy that it is not the Lords desire that He should refuse any of His children, but that He is patient towards us, desiring us to acknowledge Him {Peter to the Dispersion 3:9}.  We're also told that it was NEVER Gods desire to dispatch His Son into the world that He should be the judge of Gods children, but that all may be saved through Him {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  Despite this evidence of the truth we find in God, many believers hold fast to the theology spoken by those within the mainstream church that the guilty must be punished and the good rewarded with salvation.  My first question whenever I'm asked is this, who is it that ultimately decides who is saved and who is not?  If this is Gods domain, then we're on some very thin ice by assuming that we can preempt His decision on who shall be saved and who will not.  I'm not deluded in my thinking that this is the territory of the Lord and none other.  Yet there are far too many believers who have placed rules to follow in order that we achieve the Lords salvation.  We must believe in Jesus.  We must live a righteous life, and the list goes on and on.  It's no wonder that whenever I speak of Gods desire that all be saved, that far too many believers don't want to hear this truth. 

We cannot escape the fact that the punishment of the wicked and the rewarding of the good has been thinking almost since time began.  The Lord Himself has proclaimed this to us {Matthews Account 25:46}.  Yet we're the ones who seem to have decided not only who will be punished, but what that punishment will be.  Listen to any Sunday sermon on the realities of good and evil and you'll definitely hear the pastor proclaim his own view of how the wicked shall be punished.  Usually, the story ends with God banishing the wicked into the lake of fire known as hell.  But here's the question, if it was never the Fathers intention that any of His children be condemned, is there really a hell?  In the film Come Sunday, the reverend Carlton Pearson was removed from his leadership role in his congregation for daring to speak the blasphemy that there is fact no hell.  His fellow church leaders didn't want to hear that nonsense.  Where was the punishment of the wicked among us?  Would they somehow go unpunished?  What blasphemy was this?  In my opinion, this has never been blasphemy, but the truth we will only find within the Father.  I'm often asked, if there's no hell, can we simply just go on in sin?  Good question, if you believe the church theology that sin is still a major concern for believers.  However, as Paul so correctly instructs us, "We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it?" {Paul to the Romans 6:1-2}.  Make no mistake, when we talk about seeing the wicked punished, we're not only placing our own judgment upon others, but we're ignoring the truth of why Jesus came in the first place.  Jesus Himself has been accused of spending His time with sinners and tax collectors {Matthews Account 9:10-17}.  His response?  "No need have the strong for a physician, but those having an illness" {Matthews Account 9:12}.  It has never been the intent of Jesus that He should deny anyone salvation, but that through Him all will be saved.  But they don't want to hear that. 

What, then, shall we declare?  That we may be persisting in sin that grace may be increasing?  May it not be coming to that!  We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it? 

Paul to the Romans 6: 1-2, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Saving A Brother) # 2136

 

Brethren, if a man should be precipitated, also, in some offense, you, who are spiritual, be attuning such a one, in a spirit of meekness, noting yourself, that you, also, may not be tried.  Bear one another's burdens, and thus fill up the law of Christ

Paul to the Galatians 6: 1-2, Concordant New Testament 

Back in my church days, there were plenty of opportunities to accuse those who were deemed to have crossed the line and once again succumbed to the behaviors of sin.  I say accuse because that is exactly what we were taught to do by those within the mainstream church.  If one was deemed to be engaging in wrong behavior, it was common knowledge that we, as believers, were to approach said brother and remind him of his errors in judgement.  Yet more often than not, this approach ended up in fractured relationships and hurt feelings.  Admit it, wo wants to be reminded that we're behaving badly?  Especially from those who they have come to trust in as sharing in their belief of Jesus.  I mean, one does not see church as somewhere they will be confronted by the self-righteous, right?  Wrong!  For one of the main reasons which people give for leaving the traditional church is that those within its walls are far too righteous when it comes to how they perceive themselves.  We're believers, and we've been saved by the blood of Jesus.  Yet this assurance melts away when we're confronted by a brother who we see as engaged in sin.  When this happens, the battle lines are drawn.  The combatants are the righteous within the church against those behaving wrongly outside of its domain.  In the worst of cases, this comes down to an argument of who's right and who's wrong.  Who's saved and who's not.  I know of what I speak, because I've recently been exposed to the wrong behaviors of a brother who claims to be a believer, but his confessions are placed in doubt by his questionable behaviors.  Then the question arises, how should we as believers approach one who has, for lack of a better word, gone astray?  Well, as I've done so often before, I turn to the words of the apostle Paul, who speaks to this issue in the book of Galatians.  Paul speaks to approaching such a brother "In a spirit of meekness" {Paul to the Galatians 6:1}.  Unfortunately, this approach goes against all we've been taught by those within the church.  

I can recall many circumstances where more than a few people were sent to confront a so called sinning brother.  Those within the church will justify this approach with scripture {Matthews Account 18:15-17, Paul to Timothy(1) 5:20}.  We're told that if we approach a wayward brother and succeed in gathering him into the flock once again, that we have gained our brother once again {James to the twelve Tribes 5:19-20}.  While I agree with this approach, how is it that we're approaching our brother who we ourselves see as sinful?  More often than not, it is through a spirit of accusation and not the meekness spoken of through the evangel of Paul.  We see ourselves as justified in the word of the Lord in accusing our brother of his wrongdoing.  As I said, the battle lines have been drawn before this so called intervention even began.  Not only will this approach put the person whom we've come to save on the defensive, but will present ourselves as many in the outside world see Christians, as judgmental, holier than thou church goers.  This is NOT speaking to someone in meekness.  When we approach someone who is struggling from the perspective that we have wandered in our lives as well, we immediately turn a confrontation into a conversation.  THIS is what we want.  I want to talk with my brother about how he feels that he is behaving.  How would he see someone who was behaving in the same way.  All too often, someone who has wandered knows in their heart that they are doing the wrong thing, but they're afraid of the condemnation they'll get from those around them.  I know that in those times where I have struggled, that the last thing I felt I needed was to be convicted of my wrong behaviors.  What I needed was meekness from those around me.  We can definitely learn a lot from this approach.  It has never been the desire of the Father to condemn, but to reclaim what has been lost {Matthews Account 18:12-14}.  

"What are you supposing? If it should be occurring to any man, with a hundred sheep, that even one of them should be led astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine sheep on the mountains and go and seek the one that is straying?  And if he should come to find it, verily, I am saying to you that he is rejoicing over it, rather than over the ninety-nine that have not strayed.  Thus it is not the will in front of your Father Who is in the heavens that one of these little ones should be perishing" 

Matthews Account 18: 12-14, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Who's The Real Judge?) # 2135

 

"Do not judge, lest you may be judged.  For with what judgement you are judging, shall you be judged, and with what measure you are measuring, shall it be measured to you.  Now why are you observing the mote which is in your brothers eye, yet the bean in your own eye you are not considering?  Or how will you be declaring to your brother, 'Brother, let me extract the mote out of your eye,' and lo! The beam is in your eye?  Hypocrite!  Extract first the beam out of your eye, and then you will be keen-sighted to be extracting the mote out of your brothers eye."

Matthews Account 7: 1 -5, Concordant New Testament 

I have met many people in my time who have taken it upon themselves to deliver unto others the judgement of the Lord.  I myself have taken that responsibility upon myself from time to time.  As Christians, we understand that God is the ultimate judge of mankind.  But that has seldom stopped us from taking our place upon His throne to do that job which only He is qualified.  I know a friend who it seems is hell bent upon deciding who it is will be saved.  He will quote the scriptures like a well versed scholar as he justifies his point.  He will declare that anyone who has not accepted Christ Jesus will be guilty of the hell which God has prepared for the devil and his compadres {Matthews Account 25:41}.  But he doesn't stop there, he will also declare that those who do not live by the rules of the Lord will also be guilty of being thrown into hell for all eternity.  I asked him once, who is the real judge, you or God?  Predictably, he turned to cherry picking the scriptures to prove his seemingly righteous belief.  Sorry, but I'm not buying that nonsense.  I believe that the one true judge is our Father Who is in heaven.  Not only that, any attempt which we make to usurp His authority will inevitably make us guilty of that which Jesus Himself warned us to avoid.  For it is Jesus Himself who has declared that we're not to make ourselves the judge of others {Matthews Account 7:1-5}.  Jesus went so far as to describe such people as hypocrites.  Remember, He also proclaimed the scribes and Pharisees of His day as hypocrites for their practices {Matthews Account 23:13-17}.  In all honesty, I see little difference in the ways of my friend and the ways of the Pharisees of Jesus' day, and that's a problem. 

It's no secret among the Christian circles that there has been a mass exodus of believers leaving the church they once held so close to their hearts.  One of the reasons people give for leaving the church is that they have found those within the church to be too judgmental.  One look at my friend, who is a die- hard church attendee, and I can see that this is a true statement.  In fact, I have lived the issue of judgmental Christians in my own life.  I was once among that crowd.  I'm not proud of it, but that was what I was taught to do.  Pastors love to point out that we're to confront a sinning brother {Matthews Account 18:15-17}.  These are indeed the words spoken by Jesus in His sermon on the Mount.  But what was the intent of Jesus in this situation?  Was it to put our brother into judgment?  No!  As a good friend mentioned to me this week, Jesus did not focus on judging others over their sin, but on restoring their relationship with the Father.  In fact, the iconic verse which proclaims that God so loved the world that He dispatched His only Son to save it speaks to the truth that Jesus has not come into the world to condemn it, but to save it {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  Yet too many well-meaning judgmental believers disregard the accompanying verse of this passage, which speaks to the forgiveness of Jesus.  That it has never been Gods intent that Jesus come into this world as the judge of the world, but that ALL the world shall be saved through Him.  Tell me, what room is there for our judging of others in this passage?  If we choose to emulate Jesus, shouldn't we be emulating His forgiveness of others as well?  But perhaps I'm being too judgmental myself.  

For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only-begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him should not be perishing, but should be having life eonian.  For God does not dispatch His Son into the world that He should be judging the world, but that the world shall be saved through Him 

Johns Account 3: 16-17, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Accusers Voice) # 2134

 

We are of God.  He who knows God is hearing us.  He who is not of God is not hearing us.  By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deception 

First Epistle of Johns 4: 6, Concordant New Testament 

I had a conversation with a friend yesterday who asked me to pray for him.  It wasn't an unusual prayer request, one I'm sure we've all had at one time or another.  See, my friend was concerned over feelings of inadequacy which he was having lately.  Feelings that he wasn't worth much and that God had no use for him.  Now, obviously this is a false and misleading message, but one which many others have fallen victim to at one time or another.  There was a time when I myself gave into these feelings of not feeling worthy.  I think we've all experienced this at one time of another.  The first advice which I gave my friend was to beware of the spirit of error.  That is, the voice of Satan the accuser.  It is well known among Christian circles that the devil will take each and every opportunity not only to drive a wedge between ourselves and the Father, but to deliver unto us messages which erode our faith and confidence in who it is that we are in the Fathers eyes.  The scriptures tell us that the devil "Is walking about as a roaring lion, seeking someone to swallow up" {Peter to the Dispersion (1) 5:8}.  We know that the devil, our accuser, has never been passive in his ways.  He will take each and every opportunity to drive us deeper and farther away from the Lord.  He's also crafty {Genesis 3:1}.  He will take the opportunity to speak to our spirits and imitate the voice of the Father.  He knows all to well what he's doing.  I believe that this is the voice that my friend has been hearing, because it's that same voice I recognize from before.  That voice which speaks to our faults and our fears.  That voice which tells us that we're no good, that we're too sinful for the Father to even care about us.  These are the lies of the deceiver!  The litmus test for these falsehoods is to ask yourself, when has God ever declared that I am not good enough for Him?  To believe otherwise is to believe in the lies of the deceiver.  This is the voice of the spirit of error {First Epistle of John 4:6}.  

I know the spirit of error because I've heard it before in my own life.  I've come to recognize his tactics.  My friend, on the other hand, is new to this game.  Back when I felt totally inadequate in my life, I blindly followed that voice which spoke the lies to me.  That God could not love someone who screwed up in their life as much as I had.  That God had turned His back on me due to my behaviors.  These were all lies spoken to me in my time of despair.  It's not uncommon for the deceiver to speak to us in our weak moments.  This is what he's done to me.  This is what he's doing to my friend.  My friend took comfort in the fact that he's not alone, that I have heard the words of the deceiver as well.  That many others have fallen victim to his lies as well.  To his credit, my friend questioned what he felt that he was hearing within his spirit.  It was a voice which he hadn't heard before from the Lord.  Why would God try to make him feel inadequate in any way?  THAT is the key here, God would never speak in that way to His loved child.  What God would tell us is the truth which we find in the scriptures.  That we are His loved child {First Epistle of John 3:1}.  That Jesus has paid that debt for our sin {Paul to the Romans 6:6-11}.  That it is His desire that His children are saved {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  This is the truth which we have in the Father.  If we are hearing this in our spirit, it is His voice.  On the other hand, if we're hearing that voice which accuses and demeans us, we're hearing the voice of the deceiver.  

"My sheep are hearing My voice, and I know them, and they are following Me" 

Johns Account 10: 27, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (He Chose Love) # 2133

 

He who is not loving knew not God, for God is love 

First Epistle of John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

I glanced over an article a friend sent me this week which delved into the fact of fear based religion.  As Christians, we've all been there, right?  We know and understand that God loved us enough to create us in His own likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  We even understand that it is God Who has given us life {Genesis 2:7, Acts of the Apostles 17:25}.  However, despite knowing all of this, we often live in fear of what God has ultimately planned for us.  How, if we don't live our lives in the right way, that He might just banish us into that lake of hell fire He has reserved for the devil and his cohorts.  That in enough would make any believer tremble in their boots.  So it is that those within the mainstream church have chosen to use fear in an attempt to get their congregations to tow the church line.  This playbook has been working for thousands of years.  The church will proclaim that we're all sinners, that we're deserving of the Lords punishment.  But what does God tell us?  When we strip away the words and Sunday sermons of a church that would rather condemn us than save us, we begin to see that this was never God intention.  The apostle John says this clearly in his own words, that "He who is not loving knew not God, for God is love" {First Epistle of John 4:8}.  So, God does not see us as sinners awaiting His final judgement, but as His loved and cherished children {First Epistle of John 3:1}.  But, as the saying goes, if you tell a lie often enough eventually it is seen as truth.  This has been the tactic used by those within the mainstream church for generations.  To draw our attention away from the true nature of the Father.  To convince us that we are inherently bad and deserving of His punishment.  Who wouldn't be afraid of that?  How can we ever trust in a God Who claims to love us, yet plans to condemn us?  But this is the very message which is spoken by those within the church.  Fear keeps the believers in line. 

I remember back in my church days, how I lived in fear that I would never measure up to the standard which God had set before me.  How could He love a sinner like me?  What did I have to do in order to secure His love for me?  Granted, my fears were amplified with each and every Sunday sermon I heard.  Even in the day I decided that I was through with the institutional church, after speaking to the truth that Jesus died and was raised again for the forgiveness of my sin, the pastor welcomed any and all who felt they were sinners to come forward for prayer.  Why wouldn't I feel the guilt of sin?  This is what I had been taught from a young age.  This is what we've all been taught.  But it took my leaving the traditional church for my eyes to be opened to the truth.  That God has never intended to condemn me, but to love me.  He has never chosen condemnation, only love.  We can say that everything He does is out of His true love nature.  That through His love for us, we are His children.  That through His love for us, He dispatched His Son not to condemn, but to save {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  As the apostle has written, Jesus has not come to judge the world, but that "The world may be saved through Him."  Make no mistake, God could have sent His Son into the world to judge us, but that wasn't in His nature.  His desire all along has been to gather His children unto Himself.  Yet this truth flies in the face of the lie spoken by those within the church.  That it is our sin which has separated us from a loving God.  But it is God Who desires for us to know the truth, and that truth is that we are not destined for condemnation, but salvation.  Those within the church will describe this as universal salvation, and those who speak it are accused of blasphemy and lies.  But I ask, why would God love me enough to save me only to condemn me?  Those within the church have chosen to condemn, God chooses to love. 

Perceive what manner of love the Father has given us, that we may be called children of God!  And we are!  Therefore the world does not know us, for it did not know Him 

First Epistle of John 3: 1, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~