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Chapter #17
Christian Attitudes
What kind of a attitude do
you think a so-called Born-Again Christian should have? One of love? Or in your face,
that's the way it is, to bad, what are you going to do about it?
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO OR SAY?
We read in Chapter Five of Matthews Gospel the following.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in
heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth
rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?
do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?
do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect.
So if we are truly saved we should, love, bless, do good and pray for all people,
not just the ones who follow our own personal agenda or ideas.
What is the biggest enemy of Christianity in
the world today? Believe it or not, other so-called Christians. But how can that be you
ask? I ask the same question over and over again, how can that be? And is this a new
problem that has come up lately? Nope, it has been around since the very start.
So what is the problem, oh just a few thing
like, PRIDE, EGO, SELF-WILL, SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS, A REBELLIOUS NATURE, DIVISION, just to
name a few.
So does all these bad things come from the
devil? NOPE! Where then? From our hearts and our spirit.
Let's take a look at DIVISION first, in the
book of First Corinthians Chapter One, we read the following,
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all
speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly
joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house
of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos;
and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye
baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized
any other.
So what does I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
mean and what am I trying to say, and how does that relate to today's problems. Well
as you can see, people divided into separate groups and followed different leaders and
prided themselves in who they were following, instead of just following Jesus. In today's
world we would write something like this, I am a Baptist, I am a Catholic, I am a
Lutheran, Orthodox Christian, etc: Shouldn't we all be saying I am a Christian, PERIOD?
Many of today's denominational splits are
correct, at least when they are based on the Word of God. One of our major denominations
recently split in half over a decision by the main body to ordain women and homosexuals,
which goes against the Bible completely. So the people who separated themselves were
correct in doing so on this issue. But the question remains the same, IS CHRIST DIVIDED?
And the answer is still the same, NO! Now on the other hand, splits take place over stupid
things too, like for instance the first major one occurred over what Bishop was more
important than the others. (This division happened around the year 1000 and hurt the whole
body.) Kinda sounds like another pride issue doesn't it?
Self-Righteousness and pride go hand-in-hand to
say the least. Many Christians read the Bible everyday, pray, and try to do what is right
in God's eyes, and that is good. But some of them get real prideful in what they are doing
in their lives and look down their noses at others that don't come up to their standards.
(That is sin, PERIOD, and is hurtful to the whole body.) Unfortunetately, many people who
have not received Jesus yet as their Saviour, run into these kind of people, and decide in
their hearts not to become a Christian, because they don't want to be like them. This is
understandable to say the least, and it is not a new problem by a long shot. When Jesus
walked the earth there was a group of people called the Pharisees, a great part of them
had the attitude that they were more holy, (better) than others, sound familiar? Jesus had
many run-ins with these people and said a lot about them in the Bible, like for instance,
in Matthew Chapter 23 we read the following,
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that
observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them
on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad
their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the
synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi,
Rabbi.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even
Christ; and all ye are brethren.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your
servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he
that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither
suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive
the greater damnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass
sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the
child of hell than yourselves.
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe
of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment,
mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of
extortion and excess.
A Christian Hypocrite is the worst kind, they
are no less sinners than the rest of us. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God;
Like Jesus said above the Pharisees
spent all their time polishing the outside to make themselves look good but are rotten on
the inside. If you haven't met a real Born-Again Christian, your in for a treat, they
glow, (Smile) and don't look down at you.
Remenber, Jesus spent most of His time on earth
with people like us, NOT THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS, AND PRAISE GOD FOR THAT.
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