Luke 20:20 -22 Watching for a chance to get him, they sent spies who posed as honest inquirers, hoping to trick him into saying something that would get him in trouble with the law. So they asked him, "Teacher, we know that you're honest and straightforward when you teach, that you don't pander to anyone but teach the way of God accurately. .
Jesus never indulged people with His teachings. He always taught straightforward, can you imagine how offended people got? If their heart wasn't totally surrendered to God, they would try their hardest to get Him in trouble with the law. I have seen and heard of people doing this very thing today! People will get offended by something someone says and run to tell their authority figures...
When you are someone that really loves the word of God and you see people twisting it and not interpreting it correctly, it can really make you angry! Then to be accused and slandered wrongly, after you try and explain it to them, can just put a bad taste in your mouth.
Luke 10:16
“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
John 12:48
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
Take heart, do what Jesus did. Don't pander to anyone but teach the way of God accurately. It is your calling, no matter what the consequence is....we must take a stand!
I have become very leery of people that every time there is a problem they run to tell their authority. Is this what God wants or are they just trying to brown nose? Get ahead, in the so called game. If someone offends you the bible does not say to run and tell your authority, it says to first go and talk to them. Discuss it with them! (Matt 18) I question peoples true motives when they do exactly what the religious leaders did in Jesus day. Are they truly seeking and doing the heart of God? The religious people where the people zealous for God, they appeared on fire for God and they abide by every rule! You would have never thought they had ulterior motives.
If they had a teachable spirit, they would have delighted to hear the teachings of Jesus. They would have questioned themselves and judged themselves to see if what Jesus was saying about them was true.
Now, there is a balance to this of course...
1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Acts 17:11
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
We must search ourselves to see if what people are saying is true.
Now there is a flip to this....Peter was very zealous and desired to please God very much. He was the one that Jesus commanded to come out of the boat and he walked on water, he also was the one Jesus rebuked because he always put his foot in his mouth. When people first get saved they are very radical, they abide by every law and think that if you aren't on outreach your backsliding.....this isn't what I am talking about. They have no ulterior motives, they just haven't matured or learned how to have tact.
Matthew 14:29
He said, "Come ahead." Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, "Master, save me!"
Matthew 16:23
But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Now , before you read the next verse, its important that you understand that the religious leaders had a lot of rules. They would impose those rules on everyone. Even with what they would eat, some foods where forbidden, like pork, shrimp, catfish ect....
The law of love....
Romans 14:14-23 (The Message)
Jesus never indulged people with His teachings. He always taught straightforward, can you imagine how offended people got? If their heart wasn't totally surrendered to God, they would try their hardest to get Him in trouble with the law. I have seen and heard of people doing this very thing today! People will get offended by something someone says and run to tell their authority figures...
When you are someone that really loves the word of God and you see people twisting it and not interpreting it correctly, it can really make you angry! Then to be accused and slandered wrongly, after you try and explain it to them, can just put a bad taste in your mouth.
Luke 10:16
“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
John 12:48
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
Take heart, do what Jesus did. Don't pander to anyone but teach the way of God accurately. It is your calling, no matter what the consequence is....we must take a stand!
I have become very leery of people that every time there is a problem they run to tell their authority. Is this what God wants or are they just trying to brown nose? Get ahead, in the so called game. If someone offends you the bible does not say to run and tell your authority, it says to first go and talk to them. Discuss it with them! (Matt 18) I question peoples true motives when they do exactly what the religious leaders did in Jesus day. Are they truly seeking and doing the heart of God? The religious people where the people zealous for God, they appeared on fire for God and they abide by every rule! You would have never thought they had ulterior motives.
If they had a teachable spirit, they would have delighted to hear the teachings of Jesus. They would have questioned themselves and judged themselves to see if what Jesus was saying about them was true.
Now, there is a balance to this of course...
1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Acts 17:11
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
We must search ourselves to see if what people are saying is true.
Now there is a flip to this....Peter was very zealous and desired to please God very much. He was the one that Jesus commanded to come out of the boat and he walked on water, he also was the one Jesus rebuked because he always put his foot in his mouth. When people first get saved they are very radical, they abide by every law and think that if you aren't on outreach your backsliding.....this isn't what I am talking about. They have no ulterior motives, they just haven't matured or learned how to have tact.
Matthew 14:29
He said, "Come ahead." Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, "Master, save me!"
Matthew 16:23
But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Now , before you read the next verse, its important that you understand that the religious leaders had a lot of rules. They would impose those rules on everyone. Even with what they would eat, some foods where forbidden, like pork, shrimp, catfish ect....
The law of love....
Romans 14:14-23 (The Message)
13-14Forget about deciding what's right for each other. Here's what you need to be concerned about: that you don't get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is. I'm convinced—Jesus convinced me!—that everything as it is in itself is holy. We, of course, by the way we treat it or talk about it, can contaminate it.
15-16If you confuse others by making a big issue over what they eat or don't eat, you're no longer a companion with them in love, are you? These, remember, are persons for whom Christ died. Would you risk sending them to hell over an item in their diet? Don't you dare let a piece of God-blessed food become an occasion of soul-poisoning!
17-18God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.
19-21So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by finding fault. You're certainly not going to permit an argument over what is served or not served at supper to wreck God's work among you, are you? I said it before and I'll say it again: All food is good, but it can turn bad if you use it badly, if you use it to trip others up and send them sprawling. When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. Don't eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love.
22-23Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you're out of line. If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong.
15-16If you confuse others by making a big issue over what they eat or don't eat, you're no longer a companion with them in love, are you? These, remember, are persons for whom Christ died. Would you risk sending them to hell over an item in their diet? Don't you dare let a piece of God-blessed food become an occasion of soul-poisoning!
17-18God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.
19-21So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by finding fault. You're certainly not going to permit an argument over what is served or not served at supper to wreck God's work among you, are you? I said it before and I'll say it again: All food is good, but it can turn bad if you use it badly, if you use it to trip others up and send them sprawling. When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. Don't eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love.
22-23Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you're out of line. If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong.
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