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~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Gathering) # 2132

 

And He is the head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first

Paul to the Colossians 1: 18, Concordant New Testament 

It's no secret that the traditional church has been hemorrhaging members for many years.  I've spoken to this many times on this page.  People who once were gung ho in coming together in the name of the Lord are now lukewarm to that possibility.  What changed?  Well, as I've mentioned before, I believe that it is those within the church that changed it.  This is not something which has suddenly happened, but has been ongoing for the thousands of years since the inception of the first organized group of believers.  From the beginning, the focus has not been on Jesus, but on the desires of man.  But there is another church which is led by Christ Jesus which He continues to grow.  This gathering, the ecclesia, are those followers of Christ which He Himself draws unto the Father.  The ecclesia is different from the traditional institutional church in that it is void of the traditions carried forward by those within the church,  There are no tithes.  There are no boring Sunday sermons.  Jesus does not simply gather those who are most prominent among us, but all are indeed welcome in the church He is gathering.  In my time in the organized church, I came across those who felt guilty over missing a single Sunday or not being dressed well enough for the Lords day.  Jesus has done away with those requirements.  In fact, He has done away with many of the requirements which those within the church have imposed upon those who simply desired to worship Jesus {Paul to the Colossians 2:14}.  This is all about Jesus gathering all unto Him.  But what about those whose intent is not to worship Him, but to live the way they desire?  Won't Jesus judge them instead of gather them unto Himself?  Well, if you're into the broken theology of the mainstream church, you just might believe in that nonsense.  But we're told in the scriptures that Jesus has NOT come to judge the world, but that all the world will be saved THROUGH Him {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  

One of the best examples which I can give of the ecclesia which Jesus is drawing unto Himself is that of a group of gym goers which I have been associated with for some time.  Many of these have since become close friends of mine.  Not all of these are die hard Christians.  In fact, there are many who are either on the fence or have never considered knowing Jesus at all.  But I believe in my heart that they are being drawn into His ecclesia as I have been.  I'm no pastor, but I know that there are those in our group who take notice when I speak of the truth of our life within the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  The apostle Paul spoke to this truth in his evangel, proclaiming that he was no longer alive, but that Christ Jesus lives in him {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  This is the truth of our identity in Christ.  Again, this is something you probably will not hear spoken of in the traditional church.  But it is the underlying truth of our life in Christ.  There are many who will bristle at the mention of the concept of universal salvation, that belief that God intends to gather ALL mankind unto Him to be saved in His name.  But what about the wicked?  What of those who openly blaspheme God?  Seriously, if God should choose to save all of His children, who are we to dispute this?  When we argue that the guilty deserve eternal punishment in hell, then we take upon ourselves those titles of judge and jury.  What is it that Jesus spoke of those who judge others {Matthews Account 7:1-5}.  Therefore, if God so chooses that He would save all of His children, that is His desire.  I see the gathering of His ecclesia by Jesus as the fulfilling of this desire of the Lord.  To gather all of His children unto Himself.  The difference being, His church is not losing members.

In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you 

Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (House Of Cards) # 2131

 

And I hear another verse out of heaven, saying, "Come out of her, My people, lest you should be joint participants in her sins, and lest you should be getting of her calamities 

The unveiling of Jesus Christ 18: 4, Concordant New Testament 

A good friend of mine sent me an article this week detailing the seven reasons that people are leaving the modern church.  Having left the mainstream church years ago, this piece caught my interest.  I wanted to know if any of the reasons they came up with actually agreed with why it is that I left the church of my youth.  There were a few reasons which factored into my decision, but the real reason that I left the church was for theological differences.  I came to question the message which I has been receiving from those within the church.  I questioned how it is that the pastor of the church I had been attending for a good number of years could speak of the truth of our forgiveness of sins in the death of Christ Jesus one minute, and in the next proclaim that there was still unresolved sin within us.  To me it seemed like a zero sum game, what good was it to believe in the forgiveness we find in Jesus if sin still remains in us?  In my opinion, someone was not telling me the truth.  Either it was those within the church, or God had misled me all of those years.  Since I knew in my heart that God had never in my life lied or misled me, I decided that those in the church had lied to me.  Therefore, it was an easy decision for me to leave the organized church to seek the truth of the Lord on my own.  I have been fortunate, as the same friend who forwarded me this article is also the same friend who has spent years in the role of pastoral leadership within the church.  Dare I say that I have become closer to God in the years I've been absent from the church than I ever had while sitting in those pews every Sunday.  To me, that's a problem.  For I see the purpose of the church to not only lead people spiritually, but to guide them into the truth of our life within the Father.  This is a truth I've never heard spoken from any pastor in any church I've ever been in.  So, is it really truth if the church never speaks of it?  Or, do those in the church disagree with this truth and willfully choose not to speak it?  The truth of our life in the Father is not some radical new concept.  There are scriptural references to support it.  Yet when I attempt to speak of this truth to well meaning believers, I'm accused of cherry picking the scriptures to support my beliefs.  

The author J Preston Eby stirred something within me not too long ago when, in his Kingdom Bible series, he proclaimed that the scripture which we find in Revelation 18:4 was a direct command from the Lord to abandon the organized church.  One look at this passage and one could understand what Mr. Eby is referring to.  The article which my friend sent me is loaded with a number of reasons for which so many people are leaving the church.  From moral disagreements and issues with teachings to the conflicts and internal politics involved with the modern church.  Having spent a good deal of time in discussions with my friend, I'm well aware of the inner workings of the church he spent so many years leading.  Not only that, but I have witnessed the inner workings of this house of cards too many times myself.  The personal conflicts and the board room like atmosphere that personifies so many churches today.  It doesn't take long before those only interested in a closer walk with the Father say ENOUGH!  We're all aware of the disdain which Jesus had for the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees of His day {Matthews Account 23-33}.  I've always wondered, if Jesus were to confront those pastors of todays church, would we hear Him declare "Woe to you pastors?"  I believe that He would do just that.  The issues I have with the modern church involve their false teachings of the Lords children continuing to carry sin which Jesus has already forgiven with them.  This is the lie spoken by those within the church.  Now, do I believe that well meaning believers could continue in the church for the purpose of fellowship?  Absolutely.  But I also believe that the value of church attendance stops there.  I chose to abandon the house of cards years ago, and I've seen that I'm not alone in that decision. 

The God Who makes the world and all that is in it, He, the Lord inherent of heaven and earth, is not dwelling in temples made by hands, neither is He attended by human hands, as if requiring anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all.  Besides, He makes out of one every nation of mankind, to be dwelling on all the surface of the earth, specifying the setting of the seasons and the bounds of their dwelling, for them to be seeking God, if, consequently, they may surely grope for Him and be finding Him, though to be sure, not far from each one of us is He inherent, for in Him we are living and moving and are, as some poets of yours have also declared, 'For of that race we are.' 

Acts of the Apostles 17: 24-28, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Pornography Lie) # 2130

 

For even as the woman is out of the man, thus the manis also through the woman, yet all is of God 

Paul to the Corinthians (1) 11: 12, Concordant New Testament 

Anyone who has suffered through an addiction to pornography knows the lens through which we view those of the opposing sex.  We see them not as valued children of the Lord, but as objects for our own gratification.  I was reminded of this once again this week as someone I know made the mistake of thinking within the desires of his flesh and not in the truth of his own identity.  I get it, I've been there more times than I can count.  The very reason that the porn industry is so profitable is that it plays to our own desires.  I've never seen a pornography video that spoke to the reality of who we are in the Father.  What I have seen is the presentation of both women and men into objects of our desires.  When I speak of this, I know what the hell I'm talking about because I've been there.  When my friend approached me this past week telling me that he was intending to ask a certain young lady on a date, my first advice to him was DON'T.  Not because I didn't want him to have companionship, that wasn't the issue.  The fact that he is already married negates the issue of companionship.  No, I advised him not to go down that road because I already knew where it would lead him.  I've seen countless others, including my own father, make the mistake of seeking intimacy from another person.  It never ends well.  So it is with my friend, who has become the latest victim of the lie which is pornography.  The lie which tells us that we deserve to be satisfied.  the lie which tells us that we deserve to be rewarded with the companionship of another for the purposes of sexual intentions.  As a believer, I know in my heart that this is not what God has intended for His children.  

In the darkness of my own addiction, my only thought was of what I wanted.  How I needed to be satisfied.  Never were my thoughts about what the Father desired for me.  That's a problem.  For I see this behavior in my friend, and it makes me sad.  In my heart, I know that the path which he is on is not beneficial for him.  But he has chosen to believe in the lie I once found to be so attractive.  Yet the truth we have in the Father is so much better.  To live within His desires for us is a life lived the way it has been created to be from the beginning.  God did not create us in his own likeness that we would see others only as objects of our own desires {Genesis 1:27}.  When I look at someone who has been happily married to their spouse for a good number of years, I all too often see a happy union.  Yes, there are trying times with any marriage, but this is part of the growing process.  While I was in my addiction, I rarely saw a female as anything but someone to satisfy my own desires.  But I was a hypocrite, for whenever I saw someone engaging in that same behavior that I was, I immediately accused them of violating somebody's wife, child or daughter.  It took a good number of years until I finally realized the truth of the man that I was, and that I was seeing others in the wrong light.  For Gods creation are not simply the objects of my desire, but His loved children.  We cannot proclaim ourselves as His child and yet see others as simply put on this earth for our enjoyment, it doesn't work that way.  The truth of our life in the Father is that He has created us in his likeness, male and female {Genesis 5:2}.  It is the accuser who has spoken the lie that we can be our own individual self {Genesis 3:1-6}.  It is also the accuser who spoke to me that I deserved to be satisfied by another. 

Yet if they are not controlling themselves, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to be on fire

Paul to the Corinthians (1) 7: 9, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of the Father (Finding God) # 2129

 

And Lo!  The curtain of the temple is rent in two from above to the bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks are rent 

Matthews Account 27: 51, Concordant New Testament  

Up until the time of the death of Jesus, those who believed seemed to believe with certainty where God was.  The Jews of Jesus' day believed that God dwelled in the temple.  Not only that, but that He was to be approached only by the priests, the spiritual leaders of the people.  For inside the temple, in a place referred to as the "Holy of holies," there was a large curtain which separated the rest of the temple from the ark of the covenant of the Lord.  To venture beyond this curtain was prohibited, save for the chief priests on certain times of the year.  God separated from His children.  But the death of Jesus on the cross changed all of that.  For at the moment He took His final breath, that curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom.  Not by human hands, but by the Lord Himself.  I believe that this is Gods way of introducing Himself as Who He truly is to His creation.  This was not God tucked away in a box.  This is His creation living in His presence, no longer inhibited by the barriers created by man.  Yet listen to the words of far too many pastors today and you'd think that God is still living behind that veil in the temple.  They speak of mankind being separated from God as a result of their sin nature.  But what of the sacrifice of Jesus?  Upon His death, that veil in the temple was torn.  God was no longer hidden from His children.  Yet far too many people today seek the Lord in the wrong places. 

The words of Jesus tell us that God does not live behind a curtain, but that His children reside IN Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  This is the truth of our life in the Father.  The apostle Paul understood this relationship when he described himself as having died in Christ.  He was gone, only Jesus remains {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  But what of that sin issue?  What indeed.  Many who look for God are hit by the roadblock thrown up by those in the church that their sin separates us from God.  Noting could be further from the truth.  For if we are truly seeking God, we need only to look within.  Our understanding of who and where God is can often be tainted by the teachings of those within the mainstream church.  I have often referred to the separation theology spoken by the church as one of the great lies spoken by them.  For it has never been the Lords desire that we would be separated from His presence.  Indeed, how is it even possible that we who have been created in his likeness can ever be separated from him {Genesis 1:27}?  Are we to ignore the words of Jesus Who speaks to our union with the Father?  I think not.  Yet, whenever I speak of this truth of our life within the Father, many believers accuse me of cherry picking the scriptures to suit my narrative.  This coming from those who have built an entire religion upon the narrative that we remain sinners separated from God.  Who do you think is ignoring the truth of God?  For those who are earnestly seeking the Lord, my advice is always the same, look within.  For it is not in temples or monuments built up by man that God will make His home, but within those whom He has created. 

The God Who makes the world and all that is in it, He, the Lord of heaven and earth, is not dwelling in temples made by hands, neither is He attended by human hands, as if requiring anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all.

Acts of the Apostles 17: 24-25, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~