Gospel Light
I agree with the Westminister Shorter Catechism, which begins by asking the question. What is the chief end of man? And the answer given is simply this: Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
No one will glorify God unless they first believe in Him. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, "Without faith, it is
The Best Perspective is through God's Eyes
impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him." Authentic Christian faith produces a constant seeking of God, and where seeking wanes, so do all the fruits that faith produces. (2 Peter 1)
The umbrella under which all godly fruit exists is love. For this reason, after the resurrection, Jesus asked Peter twice, "Do you (self-sacrificially) love me?" Peter walking at that time to a degree of self-doubt he had known previously, answered, "Yes, Lord, You know that I have (fond affection) love for you." A third time Jesus asked Peter, "Do you have (fond affection) love for Me?" With full awareness of his failure in the garden and the courtyard, Peter replied, "Lord, you know all things. You know that I have a fond affection for you." To Peter's responses, Jesus said, "Shepherd and tend My sheep three times."
Our ability to obey Jesus' commands will always be tethered to the degree of love for Him that He produces in us.
Agreeing with brothers in Christ always begins with self-denial, which produces an authentic love for God and others. Jesus, in John 12:24-26, knew the people wanted Him as king to satisfy their selfish desires and said, "Truly, truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."
Love for God produced from self-denial will place Him and others first, as the spokes of a wheel draw closer to the axel; even so, they draw closer to one another. Agreement in the faith is not an option in the Christian faith; it is a necessary act of love. "make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in Spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." (Philippians 2:2-4)
A simple but difficult proposition is necessary to love others and please God. God's Word must overrule every self-serving, worldly-minded preconception or demonically driven deception if a person is to be free to believe the truth. Because the truth is narrow and does not permit more than one person to be correct, unity requires that all others admit they're wrong.
Spiritual life is the only way to overcome sin and temptation. The Christian to his success or failure is indwelt with eternal life: success if he takes seriously he is owned by God. Failure if he lives for himself.
God reconciled the irreconcilable when the fire-consuming, infinitely righteous, and holy God died for sinful people whose righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight. Just before Paul wrote Philippians 2, he told the church to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ, which demanded unity.
Why believe it is too difficult for the church to unite?
God has the ear of every son that belongs to Him
Prayer unites the imperfect saint with the perfect God
The higher the view of God's Word, the less we value our thoughts
The best perspective in life belongs to God
As we draw near to God, He will draw near us His perspective
We need to view denominations for what they are, divisive, love-killing machines of the church universal.
You must ask yourself this: Do I love my denomination or my church more than I love the will of God? Paul said it this way. "Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am with Paul," or "I am with Apollos," or "I am with Cephas," or "I am with Christ." 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he?" (1 Corinthians 1:12, 13)
We are to lay down our lives for the truth so we can unite with other believers.
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