Today,
the reply speaks to introspection, and wrongly judging oneself and
others as aspects of spiritual growth among Christians. Because the
GOD who bestows forgiveness, mercy, and salvation also is the GOD who
advances law and sacred practice while condemning sin, becoming full
persons who continue in an ongoing relationship with divinity now
requires that a developing believer continually respond to aspects of
divine judgment. Along with demands within sacred covenant,
promises, prophecy and eternal purpose elements are required such as
completeness, godliness, impartiality, and righteousness. One of the
fighters in the “Yahoo! Answers” Religion and Spirituality forum
(no profile is shared) posted the following:
Why
does the joke of a christian ( my dad ) think he is morally superior
to me because i smoke a very rare joint?
I
am 21 and I live on my own. My dad is an alcoholic and he poaches
animals but yet somehow he feels morally superior to me because I'll
smoke a joint with my uncle at a cookout or something. It's like "
don't play the moral high card with me when i know the **** you do
when nobody is looking".
THE
GOLDEN ARROW: If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set
your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye
are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in
glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;
fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence,
and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the
wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye
also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put
off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication
out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put
off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man,
which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created
him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor
uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but
Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of
God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of
mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving
one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ
forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put
on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace
of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one
body; and be ye thankful. (Colossians 3: 1-15, King James Version,
KJV)
THE
DOUBLE DAGGER: Believers Must Become “Ripe” (09/02/2018);
Serving In Christian Relationships (08/31/2018); Repentance Among
Christian Believers (07/06/2018); Deposits Of Sacred Substance
(06/27/2018); When Speaking Of Christlikeness (06/25/2018);
Transformation Not Obedience Alone (07/02/2017); Become Like Jesus
Christ? (10/27/2016);
“Anonymous”,
here are some points mature Christians are willing to keep in mind:
Because
searching for GOD, and acknowledging the needs for spiritual
redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ often begin only after
careful thought, reflection, and self-examination, many mistakenly
operate as though the process of becoming Christlike relies on such
finite human tools as intellect, logic, philosophy, carnal reason,
science, and ones own willpower. Some become entangled within a
cycle where they repeatedly focus on themselves, their own sins and
their own shortcomings, rather than maintain focus on the character
and merits of Jesus Christ. Also, being inexperienced and unskilled
when displaying and sharing the gifts of spirit substance from GOD
(e.g., faith, holiness, longsuffering, lovingkindness, wisdom, wrath
against sin), many become destructively self-critical; indulge
self-pity; and acquire the habit of presuming to challenge, condemn,
and correct the attitudes and conduct of others.
Sinners
who become “born again” also must “grow up again” by meeting
life challenges and “growing pains” while living on the earth.
Developing believers only become full, mature (i.e., balanced,
complete, consistent, stable), and ripe for harvest by the Lord Jesus
(we say, Advent, his appearing, the Rapture, the Second Coming) as
the result of edification, gradual growth and operations of the Holy
Spirit that may appear as personal discovery, enduring hardships and
reversals, fellowship with other Christians, prayer, study of the
holy writings, unselfish service, and more. Consider again the
following that uses language from the Bible:
(1.)
Matthew 7: 1-5, King James Version (KJV): 1 Judge not, that ye be
not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged:
and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but
considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt
thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye;
and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite,
first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see
clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s
eye.
(2.)
Romans 14: 4, KJV: 4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s
servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be
holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
(3.)
2nd Corinthians 13: 5, KJV: 5 Examine yourselves,
whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your
own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
(4.)
Ephesians 4: 11-16, KJV: 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some,
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for
the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which
is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly
joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the measure of every part,
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
There
is far more that should be said, correctly examined, and spiritually
apprehended. (For example, (5.) Ephesians 4: 31-32, KJV:
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil
speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind
one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for
Christ’s sake hath forgiven
you.) Even so, I trust this fragment
will be useful. Be it unto you according to your faith.
THE
BLACK PHOENIX
Washington,
DC
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