This is something I found on line . .It's a long read, but we could all get something from it. I liked a lot of it , but not nessessarily all of it
In the days of the first Christians life was wonderful. The church grew by thousands every day. Many wealthy and influential people were members, and the church was blessed. In that blessing, they all shared their wealth, and so there was no need or lack whatsoever. There were miracles everywhere, and the fruit of the Spirit exploded within the lives of these followers of Jesus. They walked in goodness, kindness, love and unity, and they were blessed with a power in that unity that would shake the entire world.
Of course, this power and unity scared the political and religious leaders of the day, and so the early Christians faced persecution. Such things could not shake them, though, because together they stood strong, united in the love and power of Christ.
Then Peter had a vision that changed everything: God told him to take the Gospel to the Gentiles.
To understand the magnitude of this vision, we must first understand that it was legally and religiously forbidden for a devout Jew to eat with Gentiles, much less fellowship with them in their own houses, yet here was Peter, one of the leaders of the entire Christian movement, being told to go do the very thing they, as Jews, had always been taught not to do. All of the Christians up to this point had been Jews, or at least proselytes, and so the thought of taking the Gospel out to the Gentiles was unheard of. Even so, Peter had to take the news back to his church, made up of Jewish Christians, and tell them that Gentiles had become Christians and had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit " just like them! They did not have to become Jews first. They did not have to swear off pork or start worshipping on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. All they had to do was believe.
Acts 11 records the reaction of the first Christians when they heard the news. "So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party found fault with him, separating themselves from him in a hostile spirit, opposing him, saying, Why did you go to uncircumcised men and even eat with them?" Fortunately, Peter was able to quiet the offense by explaining the whole situation, but the offense would stir itself up over and over again, eventually splitting the entire Christian movement into two groups, giving way to the first seeds of denominational strife.
Up to this point the church had faced persecution with dignity, joy, and solidarity, but now persecution would rise up from within the church. No longer was persecution something that brought the believers together, but instead became a tool of division. Christians were persecuting other Christians.
This denominational strife is still with us today. There are thousands of Christian denominations throughout the world. As a strict Southern Baptist, I was raised to believe that we were the only ones who truly lived sanctified lives, that all Catholics, Charismatics, and Pentecostals were going to hell, and that anyone who manifested tongues, prophecy, or other gifts of the Spirit were actually demon-possessed. I learned that women were not allowed to minister, and that men were not allowed to have long hair. I also learned a lot of rules, and was taught that the King James Bible was the only translation approved of by God, and that the rest were heresy.
I no longer believe much of what I was taught before, but coming out of that kind of religious attitude heightened my awareness of denominational strife. There are Catholics who believe that other Christians are not really part of the Christian church. There are Pentecostals who believe that one is not saved unless he or she speaks in tongues. There are Christians who believe we are cursed and doomed to hell if we do not honor the Sabbath on Saturday. The list of different doctrines is so immense we could probably never all figure out just how many different ideas, theologies, and doctrines there are.
That presents an interesting problem for Christians. How do we walk in love and harmony with those who do not hold our views? Just here in Tucson there are literally dozens of Christian churches, both Catholic and Protestant, that welcome gays and lesbians and will even hold marriage ceremonies for same-sex partners. At the same time there are many who would not even allow a homosexual to enter their sanctuary. There are churches who protested the war with Iraq, going so far as to call for impeachment and stage anti-war demonstrations, and then there are those who openly participated in vandalizing a local landmark, painting it red, white, and blue in support of the war. Some have female pastors, while others will not even let women speak in the church. Just in my community there are churches whose beliefs completely oppose another church right down the street. Even so, God has called us to unity as believers. How is it possible?
I am in a strange position personally. I was tested by a professional to find that my IQ was above genius level, and because of that I am what some might call a "research junkie." I love to study things with an open mind, and my friends call me a walking encyclopedia. That also brings a challenge of pride. I rarely have opinions that are not educated, and I sometimes have a very hard time with people who have opinions about things they have not investigated for themselves. There are people in my own family whose talents are not in the realm of research or intelligence, and they are some of the most vocal people I know, wanting to force their opinions on everyone else. These people really annoy me sometimes, and I know that this is not a good attitude. I used to feel like I had to correct everyone, shedding light on every situation, but now I know that it is usually better to just keep my mouth shut. I had to realize that God will let you believe whatever you want to believe. I also had to admit that sometimes I am wrong, or that differing opinions can both be right, just seeing different, yet equally valid sides of an issue.
That was a hard lesson for me to learn, and it takes a lot of self-control to walk in it. As an educated Christian, I hate lies and deceptions, especially public myths and false perceptions that are widely accepted. I believe much of this is part of my calling, shedding light on false doctrines so that we can pursue Christ in freedom, but I have to keep myself in check. In fact, I have a team of people who have all been asked to hold me accountable in every part of my life.
You see, I Corinthians 13:2 makes it very clear: "If I have prophetic powers, and understand all of the mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have faith so that I can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." Being right is not enough.
That means I have to get along with a liberal Methodist just as well as a conservative Southern Baptist, but that is not all. I have to treat them with integrity and deference. Philippians 2:2-5 says, "Fill up my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind. Do nothing from factional motives or prompted by conceit and arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility, let each regard the others as superior to himself. Let each of you be concerned not merely for your own interests, but also each for the interests of others. Let this same attitude and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus."
That is a challenge in our culture of opinions. We are not supposed to just lie down and let people walk all over us, and we are not just supposed to swallow everything anyone says without testing it, but we are not supposed to go around shoving our opinions down everyone"s throat either. I may believe something different than you, and that"s okay! Even if I know that someone is wrong about something, the fact that I am right and my desire to expose their error is not as important as walking in love.
Paul experienced this firsthand. In the beginning of his letter to the Philippian church, he told them about people who were preaching for no reason but to annoy him. He said, "Some, it is true, actually preach Christ for no better reason than out of envy and a party spirit (denominationalism), but others are doing so out of goodwill. The latter proclaim Christ out of love, because they know that I am put here (in prison) for the defense of the Gospel. But the former preach Christ out of a party spirit, insincerely, thinking to annoy me, supposing they are making my bondage more bitter and my chains more galling."
Paul was in prison for preaching the Gospel, and here were people actually preaching for the sole reason of advancing their own denominational doctrine or annoying Paul. That is sad. They were treating the Gospel like a point of argument, preaching like a sport, seeing how many people they could sway just to come against Paul"s message and make him miserable. If ever there was a reason not to preach, this was it. But look at Paul"s response. "But what does it matter, so long as either way, whether in pretense or in all honesty, Christ is being proclaimed? And in that I now rejoice, yes, and I shall rejoice hereafter!" Paul did not care about their motives, or even their doctrine, as long as they were spreading the name of Christ!
That is quite different from my own attitude, and I have to remind myself of this verse again and again. When I see someone preaching religious bondage I get so riled up I want to scream, but that is not reason enough for me to get offended. Remember " even if I understand all of the mysteries and possess all knowledge, if I have not love I am nothing. It takes a great deal of love and humility to ignore something with which we disagree and simply rejoice that the Gospel is being preached, but that is why the fruit of the Spirit is so important. Without love, nothing we do means anything, and humility is a product of that love.
Just after explaining that love is the only real thing of value, I Corinthians 13 explains what that love is. It says, "Love is patient, love is kind, it is never envious, nor boastful, and does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited, arrogant, or inflated with pride; it is not rude and does not act unbecomingly. Love does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking. It is not touchy, fretful, or resentful and it pays no attention to a suffered wrong. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything, is ever-ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything without weakening. Love never fails."
It is important for us to know this. Out of all the things we know to do, love is our one great commandment. Over and over again the New Testament says that it is the greatest commandment of all, or even that it is our only commandment " period. Galatians 5 tells us a lot about this. Verse 6 says that laws and regulations mean nothing " only faith that works by love is important. Then verses 13 and 14 say, "For you, brethren, were indeed called to freedom; only do not let your freedom be an excuse for selfishness, but through love you should serve one another. For the whole Law is complied within the one precept: You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself."
Verses 19-21 take it a step further, saying that enmity, strife, divisions, and religious sects are works of the flesh, comparable to idolatry, witchcraft, drunkenness, carousing, and murder. The actual Greek words used here are things like eris, zelos, thumos, eritheia, dichostasia, and hairesis, which show us that this passage is talking about hatred, bigotry, and strife, but just as important, words like zelos, hairesis, and eritheia unequivocally relate to denominational differences. In fact, zelos is the word for zeal, and is where we get the term "righteous indignation!" That means the Bible equates religious strife between Christians as bad as witchcraft and drunkenness! Eritheia speaks of partisanship, legal or religious. God does not want you to identify yourself as a Democrat or Republican any more than He wants you to identify with being a Methodist or Presbyterian. God did not create such factions and parties, and here the identification with them and strife ensuing from that identification is considered wholly carnal, a work of the flesh on equal ground with sorcery, hatred, idolatry, and even murder.
Now God does not care if you go to a denominational church, or if you take part in politics. I am a card-carrying Democrat who staffs the polling places for federal, state, and local voters, but I do not take my identity from that. Above all I am a follower of Christ, and everything else is far below. I do not vote down party lines; I vote for candidates after doing extensive research and prayer. And although I believe in the charisma, or gifts of the Spirit, I do not consider myself to be a "Charismatic." I am simply a Christian " a follower of Christ " and I do not subscribe to any one denomination, and I certainly do not think I am better than anyone else because of my faith. Even though I was born in Georgia and raised exclusively in the south, I do not consider myself a "southerner," and although I have been a strict vegetarian for eleven years at this point, I do not make that my identity either. I do not even take my identity from being a man, because Galatians 3:28 says that there is "neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, there is not male and female, for all are one in Christ Jesus" My identity comes from Christ alone. Just as the Bible says, I resolve to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. (I Corinthians 2:2)
In Romans 14 and 15 Paul wrote a tremendous amount on doctrinal strife. The Jewish Christians had been raised their whole lives to believe myriad laws pertaining to foods, and here were these Gentile converts who had never heard of any such thing. It was entirely normal for them to eat whatever they wanted, and to offer it up to idols for blessing before they ate it. In the pagan cities where these new converts lived it was easily assumed that most of the food they bought would have been somehow placed before a false god. Some Jewish converts living in these areas had a problem with that. They were still stuck in their old religious traditions that told them food offered to idols was evil or unclean. Then there were those who had been taught all their lives that idols were real, and so they had religious qualms because of it. Even Peter and James, the leaders of the Christians in Jerusalem, refused to eat food offered to idols.
Paul knew that this was just dead religion, a tradition that had no bearing on new Covenant believers, but even so he did not make it a personal crusade to open everyone"s eyes to the truth. He did not even assert his own rights. In fact, he urged his followers in several letters to lay down their own rights so that they would not offend those whose morals might be more sensitive. Of course, there came a time when Paul had to stand up to these Judaizers because they were causing misery among the Gentile converts, forcing them to undergo circumcision and follow the Jewish Law, but he did not normally say anything about it. Instead, he said, "Let us no more criticize each other, but rather decide to never put a stumbling block in the way of a brother. I know as one in the Lord Jesus that nothing is forbidden as unclean, but nonetheless, it is unclean to anyone who thinks it is unclean." In other words, if someone thinks something is a sin, then it is a sin for that person, so be sensitive to that. He continued, "If your brother is being hurt by what you eat, then you are no longer walking in love."
He stated this again in I Corinthians 8. "Now about food offered to idols: of course all of us know about this, but knowledge puffs up, while love edifies." Enlightenment in and of itself just leads to pride. My intelligence is a wonderful gift, but by itself all I did was think everyone else was stupid or ignorant, and so that influenced my actions toward others, and besides, when it all comes down to it, it is just trash compared to the things of God. The most brilliant person on earth is a fool compared to one who has the mind of Christ. Love is more important than anything else, including knowledge, whether it be knowledge of doctrine or knowledge of our freedom from religious bondage.
The chapter continues, "If anyone imagines that he has come to know much, without love he does not yet truly understand, nor does he even know what he ought to know. But if one loves God truly, he is known by God. In this matter then, of food offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing and that there is no God but one"Nevertheless, not all believers possess this knowledge. Some, through being all their lives accustomed to thinking of idols as real and living, still consider the food offered to them as that sacrificed to an actual god; and their weak consciences become injured if they eat it. Now food itself will not cause us to be approved or condemned by God if we eat it. Only be careful that this power of choice and liberty from the Law that is yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak or overscrupulous."
Our freedom and liberty is no excuse to act prideful or arrogant, insisting on our own rights. If someone does not want us to eat meat in front of them, we should not do it. If someone thinks it is wrong for Christians to drink alcohol, it is not your job to go to them in pride, showing them how Paul told Timothy to drink some wine for his stomach, exercising your freedom from religious rules at their expense. The bottom line of everything " everything " is love. It is in these situations where our love is tested. Will we love like I Corinthians 13 tells us to love, not insisting on our own rights and our own way? Will we not act rude or unmannerly? Will we not be self-seeking or touchy?
It really is none of our business if the other person is in religious bondage. It is painful to see people in my own family who constantly feel guilty because they break this or that rule, living without the revelation of their liberty in Christ or the righteousness for which He paid with His own blood. There are some in my family who are Christians, yet are terrified of sin, and others who judge and condemn everyone else who does not walk according to their own list of rules. Even so, it is not my place to try to change them. Back in Romans 14 Paul addresses this. He says, "Let not him who eats look down on him who abstains, and let not him who abstains criticize him who eats; for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on another"s servant? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he shall stand and be upheld, for the Master is mighty to support him. One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days sacred. Let everyone be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the Sabbath observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God."
What Paul is saying here is that we have no right to meddle in someone else"s life. Would we criticize someone else"s household servant? Of course not. Well, we are all servants of God, so who do we think we are to correct His other servants? Instead we should have faith that God will uphold them, for He is mighty to do so. We can simply rejoice in the fact that whatever someone does, if in their minds they are doing it for God, then they do it in His honor. Whether they are in religious bondage or something we think Christians should not be doing, as long as they think they are honoring God we should just mind our own business.
That is hard for a lot of Christians. They want to point out everybody else"s sins, but Paul tells us to just mind our own business as long as it is not affecting us directly. And even if it does affect us, our rights are not as important as our need to walk in love. Jesus said that we would deny ourselves to take up His cross and follow Him. (Matthew 16:24) Part of that walk is denying our rights in order to walk in love.
Romans 15 starts out with a command for those who are strong in their faith to simply bear with the failings of those who think everything is a sin rather than pleasing ourselves. Verses 2 and 3 say, "Let each one of us make it a practice to please his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him. For Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, the abuses of those who abused you fell on Me." This becomes even more amazing when we realize that Paul wrote this as he was planning to take a generous offering to help with the poor in Jerusalem " taking money to the very ones who were trying to put him and his people under religious bondage. His attitude was that although they may be religious, and although they might be zealously preaching against him, he owed his spiritual heritage to them, and they were no less a part of the body of Christ. (see Romans 15:25-27) Truly, Paul was moved by love and not pride.
That ought to be our attitude. I have been outraged by things I have heard religious fundamentalists say on television, disgraced that they are the face of Christianity for much of the world. At the same time I have been saddened by liberal preachers who say that they do not really believe that Mary was a virgin, or that the Bible is reliable, but neither response is the proper attitude. Instead, just as Paul wrote from his prison cell, I should be thankful, rejoicing that at least people are hearing the name of Jesus. That is the humble love that simply trusts God that all things will work out for good. (Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:11) When it all boils down, my opinion really is not worth a lot. My love is infinitely more important.
The Christians in Thessalonica walked in this kind of love and humility. I Thessalonians 4:10 says that their love was known by all the brethren throughout the whole region of Macedonia. Paul was proud of the love that flowed among them, exclaiming that they had been taught to love each other by God Himself. Even so, he wrote, "But we beseech you, brethren, that you excel in it even more and more. Make it your ambition to live quietly and peacefully, to mind your own affairs"so that you may bear yourselves becomingly and command the respect of the outside world." How were these Christians supposed to influence the world? By their love, living quietly and peacefully, minding their own affairs. This is certainly a far cry from the political action committees, "family values" focus groups, and right-wing preaching we hear a lot. Even so, our reaction is not to rise up and make a stink about it. We simply need to understand that there will always be Pharisees, and just thank God that at least word of Jesus is getting out.
Also, we should learn from the Thessalonians. There are times when people will have questions, and it is good for us to answer them. Colossians 4:6 says that our speech should at all times be gracious, seasoned with salt so we can answer the questions anyone may have, and II Timothy 2:15 tells us that we should study to show ourselves approved, rightly dividing the Word of truth. It continues, though, "But avoid all empty talk, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their teaching will eat its way like cancer." Just before that verse Paul admonishes us to "avoid petty controversies over words, which does no good, but instead undermines the faith of the hearers." We ought to know what we believe and why we believe it, and we ought to be able to answer anyone"s questions in love, but when we feel like we are on the verge of a religious argument we need to remember that walking in love is far more important than being right. If they want to believe what they believe, then just let them believe it. You are not the Holy Spirit, and so it is not your job to convict them.
We already saw how righteous indignation, denominational and partisan strife, and religious pride are works of the flesh, on par with idolatry, witchcraft, and murder. James 3:16 shows us the consequences of walking in those things. Using the same words (zelos and eritheia), James says that wherever this religious strife is, there will also be confusion, rebellion, and every evil work and wickedness. When we allow ourselves to get caught up in religious condemnation or partisan pride, we literally open the door to every form of wickedness and evil.
I urge you to make Paul"s commitment: that freedom is worthless if it becomes a snare for someone else. Lay down your rights and follow Christ in humble love. He not only washed the feet of His followers " the ones who would deny Him soon thereafter " but came down from heaven, emptying Himself so that He could die as a man burdened with all the sins of humanity. (Philippians 2:6-8) God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6, I Peter 5:5) Also, when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He exalts us in due time. (I Peter 5:6) It is not defeat to hold your tongue in the face of ignorance, nor is it wrong to exercise compassion in the face of failure.
There will always be people who want to argue. Think about how often the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees tested Jesus with religious and political questions. Jesus said that it is impossible for offenses not to come (Luke 17:1) and said that those who persecute Him will persecute us (John 15:20). A lot of people think that it was the Jews who persecuted Jesus, but that is not an accurate way to explain it. Jesus was a Jew. So were all the Disciples, as were all those who followed Him in the beginning. In fact, until the time of Constantine, most Christians and Jews lived side-by-side in friendship, and Christianity was largely considered a new type of Judaism. It was the religious people who persecuted Jesus. The sinners loved Him, but the people in religious bondage despised Him, thinking that He was leading people astray and disobeying the laws of God.
Jesus said that those who persecuted Him would persecute us, and that is certainly true. Not all Jewish Christians had a problem with the Gentile converts. John, Paul, Mark, Barnabas, and many of the other Messianic Jews completely embraced their Gentile brothers while also embracing their own Jewish heritage. Again, it was the overly religious and prideful Jews that caused problems with the Gentile converts " in just the same way the prideful Gentile Christians caused problems with the Judaizers (and just as overly religious and prideful Christians would later birth anti-Semitism during the reign of Constantine). When we get touchy, resentful, critical, or offended at another Christian"s beliefs or ideas, it is a good sign that we might be siding with the Judaizers rather than the loving believers who welcomed the Gentiles with open arms despite major doctrinal and social differences.
Religious people do not like it when they see someone walking in liberty. Jesus said that a sign of the end times would be hatred even among believers, and that many will become offended, falling away from the faith and betraying one another. (Matthew 24:10-12) No matter where that strife or persecution may come from, though, whether from the world or from our brother in Christ, we need not give place to it. God has given us the power to overcome evil with good! (Romans 12:21)
God has given us the fruit of the Spirit to help us walk in this love toward everyone, no matter what they believe. He has also poured out His love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 5:5) We do not have to follow their rules and customs, and we certainly do not need to put ourselves under religious bondage, oppression, or condemnation, but in everything we have an opportunity to sow seeds of Christ"s love. When we truly love we will live like I Corinthians 10:24, seeking no profit or personal gain at the expense of others, but rather seeking our neighbor"s welfare. That is when, as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, we will command the respect of the world. When we strike that perfect balance of love, righteousness, purity, and compassion, people will see that there is something more to us than just another religion. They will see the attitude of Christ"s humble love. That is where we are exalted in due time because we have humbled ourselves under the mighty hand of God. And that, my friend, is where we become the sweet fragrance of Christ both to the saved and the perishing. (II Corinthians 2:15) That is where we are no longer religious, but instead simply become brothers and sisters in Christ, sons and daughters of God, ambassadors of heaven, royal priests in the kingdom of God. All worldly identities and attachments fade away as we remember that nothing means anything without the love of God. Hallelujah!
I love you!
Eric
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Something To Chew On
