seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
a. 1 John 3:2 Or when it is made knownOK... this is from the easy English site... it's the first commentary I saw this morning.
We are God’s children now. But he has not shown us what we shall be like in the future. We know that God will change us. We will not always live as we live now. The future will be much better.
We do not yet know all the future benefits for God’s children. But one fact is certain. We shall be like Christ, the Son of God.
One day the Lord Jesus will come back to take his people to heaven. Then we shall see Jesus Christ as he is. When we see him, we shall change. All his people will change to be like him. But nobody can ever be equal to him. We will not become God as he is. But we will be similar to him in character. We will live with God the Father and with the Lord Jesus. We will never die. We will be clean from sin and there will be no more sin. As Jesus is holy, so he will make us holy.
We should be able to tell who are Christians. The test is how they live. Those who are born of God will do the right things. They will also love the Christians. Those who are of the devil will continue to sin. They do not love the Christians.
A child of God will do what is right. So that person will love other Christians. The person who does not love Christians is not born of God. That is because God is love. Those who live with God will love his children. If we do not love Christians, we are not children of God.
The commentaries are using hundreds of words and none of them add up to what the easy English put in these few sentences. Still it's as clear as mud to some apparently.
I've been really angry with the church these days.... because some churches are preaching politics from the pulpit.... and some churches are more interested in the collection plate than the souls of humans. I was just wondering.... did they install a cube on the edge of the collection plate yet? Can you just tap your phone to the edge of the plate..... to make your donation to make things simpler.. complete with a return email with a receipt? It seems like that is what some churches are lined up to do.
When I was a kid.... they were preaching exclusion. It was important to the church that parishioners stay separated by culture. Baptists didn't marry Catholics. Christians didn't marry Jews. The issue then, back in the 50's.... how to raise a child.... do they grow up Protestant or Catholic, Christian or Jew? How do you teach your children in those environments.... that was the exclusion of the 50's.
When I was a little older... during early 60's.... the church changed the "should not marry" list to include skin color. I still remember the problem caused when I danced with a black boy at the rec hall on the base in San Patricio, PR. I was twelve.... we were dancing the twist and the mash...... they were dances back then.... "it was the monster mash".... you know the song.... but white girls don't dance with black boys. It's against the rules..... that's what they said. That was the exclusion of the 60's.
When I was a teen..... all the best boys in school were drafted. The dregs that were left were either rich college deferred kids, crippled kids, or gay. Well at least that crowd didn't have to be a subject of marriage. Gay men didn't want to marry a straight woman. She would nag them to death.... and the reason for marriage has always been procreation, not companionship or love. So the church took up the new issue.... being gay, the church leaders agreed, is a choice or a mental condition just like being a murderer. This is of Satan himself they decided.... anyone who was gay would never find Salvation.... God hates gays they said. That was the exclusion of the 70's.
As I recall.... a new type of Baptist Church began to pop up in the 80's. The Asian Americans were an issue.... back to the marry your own type.... your own culture.... your own race.... raised it's head again. In the 90's they argued over the sex of the preachers and teachers..... women were getting into the Word more. AND the gays started to go to church.... I wonder... how many "good men of the cloth" stepped down because a gay man was allowed to worship in their church?
Someone said Jesus was going to return because the human.... Roman.... calendar was changing to the new millennium. The preachers were either arguing for or against getting ready for Armageddon. Anyone who didn't believe exactly as the preacher taught was excluded.... for fear.
I left the church after the hateful millennium began. A preacher's kid told my daughter that unless she memorized so many scriptures a day... she would never be a Christian..... give me a break.
Now we have churches taking a political stance.... they ask are you Republican or Democrat.
Jesus didn't care about politics. It was only a minor part of the plan. He had to stay silent while Pilate went on and on about how Pilate controlled his fate... when Pilate was just a human and Jesus was [is] the Son of God. Like Pilate could have kept Jesus off that Cross.... yeah right..... Jesus didn't care about politics. Why would He want His preachers to be preaching Red or Blue?
Jesus only gave us two rules.... Love God and Love One Another.... that's simple right?
When did the church become so hateful? It's been hateful since forever.... that's Satan.... not Jesus....
Jesus loves the little children... Satan opens abortion clinics.
We are the adopted children of the One True Living God.... and Jesus loves us..... and Satan is jealous.
Where does the scripture say pick a color or pick a party? Aren't some people afraid that instead of raising good little Republicans or Democrats, they'll be raising "independents"?
Politics.... it's just the latest hate.
