No divorce . ( James 2 v 1 - 9 )

Raymond Brown writes the following  ,''doctrine must not be divorced from life,belief and behaviour  are the inseparable  components of authentic faith''. The history of the visible church often             manifested  a severity that was far removed from the teaching of Christ.The greatest example of this is seen in the inquisition thousand and thousands suffered,often being tortured and murdered.In Isaiah 58 God speaking through the prophet condemned the people who believed that religious practises covered a multitude of sins, such as oppressing their fellow Israelites. Cp  Nehemiah 5 ,where the same thing happened.As A .Motyer writes of' the assumption that it is possible to be truly religious and socially indifferent.As Smart says' one of unique features of the Biblical faith is that there is no     genuine relation with God that is not at the same time a relation with the brother'   May our lives match our Faith.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Distortion

When I complete my blog I just publish it,I do not look at the published article,but I did this week and discovered to my dismay  distortion,I do apologise for this ,I will try to rectify it ,every blessing.

The future is bright. ( 2 Timothy 4 v 6 - 8 )

Recently when holiday in Corfu ,we stayed at a hotel,one the things I enjoyed about the hotel was the view ,of the sea and the mountainous land of Albania.When Albania was ruled by communist it boasted of being an atheist state,of course like most dictatorial states, be it political or religious, those who differ from them,were soon eliminated.When the communist took over Vietnam over a million people perished. one can multiply that number a hundred fold in the like of China,Soviet Union, Nazi   Germany.That will never change never,recently when the Chinese authorities broke into  a church,they demanded that the believers cut from their Bible the first commandment.These wicked states will come and go,but the Church of Christ will survive,yes many Christians will suffer and even die,it goes with the territory .Although they will loose their lives they are promised a wonderful future, that will more than make up for all their suffering. 'The cross here,the crown there.'                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Godly influences ( 2 Timothy 1 v 5 )

Edgar Wallace was a prolific writer of thrillers for an earlier generation,was influenced  by the Christian living of a Methodist friend, J.B.Hellier. He said ,''I believe that much of the good which is within me came because I knew him . He is an everlasting barrier between me and atheism'.  I use to work with a dear man called Gordon,he was a simple soul,vulnerable. He told me how he was visited at one time by the JWs and it came to the place were they wanted him to be baptised into that faith,and what stopped him at that point was this,his old grandfather had held a position in the Anglican church he  attended,   and he thought that his old grandfather would not agreed with what he was being asked to do. Godly lives can have a lasting influence on those we know and come into contact with.

Evidence. ( Philippians 2 v 5 - 11 )

Continuing  on as regards what John said,for his reasons of writing his gospel,to stress that Christ was the Messiah,but he was also the Son of God, ( John 20 v 31 ) This does mean that Christ was inferior   to God the Father ,no ,that in fact He was equal  to Him.. In John 1 v 1,we read the following( Here Jesus is called the Word who became flesh), ''  In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with  God, and the Word was God''.    Thomas said to Jesus, ' My Lord and my God' ( John 20 v 28 )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          .

Evidence ( Matthew 7 v 15 - 23 )

Continuing on as we think on the subject are we truly Christians?,we have touched on the importance of  truth as it is revealed in scripture,as evidence of ones faith. Now let us consider another evidence of being a true  Christian,take the words of our dear Saviour in Matthew 7 v 20 , 'By their fruit you will recognise them''. Consider the wealth and health preachers,who lay such stress on finance , I believe they fit so easily into  those people who said that they had prophesied in His name,   likewise they had driven out demons and performed many miracles ( Matthew 7 v 22 ). Consider what  Jesus said , ''I never knew you'',and this is followed with these words,''Away from me, you evil doers''. For all their religiosity they were evil men,and in spite of their apparent religiosity they will be judged. A true Christian will not be an evil doer,for God has called all who are His in Christ, to be holy as He is holy.

Evidence. ( Romans 5 v 8 )

Following on my previous blogg  asking the question, are we truly saved?,  the word of God stresses  that  true faith must show itself ,by what we believe,and by what we manifest in our lives.What we believe is very important,the purpose of Johns gospel is clearly stated, in chapter 20 v 31.'That we may believe that Jesus is the Christ,the Son of God'. In these words  John who first of all stresses faith, a faith that is founded in what the Bible tells us,and only what the Bible tells us. Faith in what  ?Christ,the meaning of Christ is Messiah the anointed one, the one who would come to save us from our sins (Isaiah 53 )In Isaiah 61 v 1 ,we read 'The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,because the Lord has anointed me to  preach good news to the poor to the poor, He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted , to proclaim freedom for the captives,and release from darkness for the prisoners''  In Luke 4 v 21 Jesus spoke the following words as regards Himself ,to his fellow Jews ''Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing''.