Monday, April 8, 2013

Are You REALLY Christ-Like?

                                                       

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

What sayings of His is He talking about?  The sayings of the Sermon on the Mount.  Matt. Chapters 5-7. 

We should look at some specifically; to air out the doctrines we have picked up from the “church” that is not His sayings.

Mat 5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

If we are not living this life as He has laid out for us, we are no good to the kingdom, and chance being cast out.

Mat 5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Christian believers need to be careful about trash talking other believers they disagree with.  Our doctrines separate us mostly because we are not following His doctrines.  If we agree with Christ, we will agree with each other.

Mat 5:38  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Mat 5:41  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44  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;
Mat 5:45  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.
Mat 5:46  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Mat 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.


We know that Jesus was tempted in all points like us, just prior to this sermon in Matt. Chapter 4.  He was tempted with 3 temptations .

                            The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

We have a pretty good handle on the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes…but fail to recognize the Pride of Life in our own experience, too often.  Jesus just displayed areas that we fail in it.


In a court of Law, you can be represented by your advocate, a lawyer, or you can represent yourself.  Hard to have Jesus as your advocate if you are always defending yourself.  Do you feel a need to "stand up for yourself", refuse to be put down or abused without striking out, fighting back?  What did Jesus do?

Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

We all know the Lord’s Prayer by heart, but do we understand it?

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
                                  To make sure we understand Jesus explains...
Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: …

Hey preppers, and survivalists,  are you Christian?  This is a point of personal struggle for me.  I am SOOOO tempted to stock up on survival food and ammo (but I don't own a gun) that I am actively portraying a LACK of the faith Jesus talks about next;

Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Mat 6:26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Biblical Christianity is radical.  It takes faith in God.  What is our faith in? 

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

To be Christian is to be Christ-like.  We have to take an honest look at our walk and judge ourselves.  Are we following His precepts?  Are we justifying ourselves?  If we are serious about heaven, and being disciples of His, we need to repent, die to the sin of the Pride of Life, become humble, meek, and of a poor spirit, or we are deceiving ourselves.  We are to work, if capable, but trust that our reward comes from our Father who art in heaven.

  Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,

God Bless.

1 comment:

  1. Just had this conversation with a fellow-believer at work. There is a real temptation to react out of fear, not act out our faith. This can contribute to a defensive mentality that cripples our effectiveness as Christians. It really is high time to awake out of sleep, not crawl into a hole and see what transpires. Those who know their God will be strong and be used mightily in these times, even moreso if they stand united in the faith. God help us to get past schisms and opinions and stand for TRUTH! In other words, I heartily concur with your post, thanks!

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