Matthew 18-19

[wolfpurplemoon]

Jesus says that people who make children who believe in him sin will suffer in hell.

Jesus sees sinners like lost sheep, a shepherd would leave his 99 sheep on the mountains to find the 100th that has gone astray, I'm not sure that's the best way to tend your sheep.

You should try to set your brother back on the straight and narrow by first talking to him alone, if he doesn't repent then take a couple of witnesses with you (intervention!) and then if that doesn't work he must be reported to the church. If he still doesn't listen then he should be treated like he's no longer part of the family.]

Jesus sets out the rules of marriage as being between one man and one woman, which seems to the first time polygamy is frowned upon. His followers don't appreciate his rules on divorce and decide that it'd be better not to marry so Jesus says they should become Eunuchs.

Jesus is brought little children to lay his hands on.

Jesus lists the commandments you should follow, it seems to be the ones that noone should have a problem with: do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honour your father and mother, and love your neighbour as yourself. Also, sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, because it is hard for rich people to get in to heaven. The people Jesus will honour the most are the ones who leave their families and homes to follow Jesus.

Comments

[zen-says.livejournal.com]

christians today like to defend like READ IN CONTEXT, thats applicable to certain people, the rule is only for certain era of people.

Look Jesus when talked to a rich guy, what did the rich guy ask?

"HOW to get to heaven?"

Jesus replied with absolute and no ambuigious terms:

OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS and SELL YOUR POSSESSIONS and GIVE TO THE POOR.

Want to get to heaven, follow the commandments, not selectively follow those that are convenient and for today's generation only,,,, Sell your possessions: meaning Bill Gates, Warren Buffet will not go to heaven.

ARE you a christian and you still have assets? Then you are noty going to heaven. Robert Paterson is not going to heaven. Your pastor with a beautiful house is not going to heaven. All millionaires are not going to heaven. Are you going to heaven?

[wolfpurplemoon]

I don't think Bill Gates is too worried about whether he is getting in to heaven, as he is an atheist! He does give a lot of money to charity.

You may have missed the mark a bit.

[david hostetler (from livejournal.com)]

Just wanted to let you know that you may have missed the mark a bit on this one. Speaking directly to your point on the rich man the story went a bit more like this:

Man: "Teacher, what good thing should I do that I may have eternal life?"

Jesus short answer: "Keep the commandments"

Man: "Which ones?"

Jesus: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’t”

Man: "I've done all these things , what else must I do"

Jesus: "If you want to be PERFECT go sell what you have and give to the poor, then you will have TREASURE in heaven and come follow me."

The man is discouraged because he has many riches. This goes to reference the many places where Jesus explained that the first shall be last and the last first in heaven. It is not that the rich man can't go to heaven. Abraham ( who was the father of all of Israel ) was very wealthy. The trick is to love your God more than you love your wealth. Read the story of Job and how God allowed all of Job's riches to be taken from him to show him humility but then granted more back than he had to begin with.

I'm not trying to convince you but "in context" is important, but equally if not more important is scripture in light of other scripture.

[david hostetler (from livejournal.com)]

I think also I should add that the man was attempting to figure out what the minimum requirements were to get into heaven.

[zteccc.livejournal.com]

The disciples wanted to know who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They were men and thus competitive, they wanted to know which of them was first in Jesus' eyes, this was an aspect of pride which is understandable and common, but Jesus adjusted their thinking just a bit. He said that if we weren't like children, we wouldn't get into heaven. He was referring to humility. A child, especially of that time, was humble because a child would have no rights in the society. The child would follow directions of their teachers (teachers today would love that). Jesus is saying that if we are humble and put God ahead of our own pride (as the disciples were doing), then we were doing what God wanted. Jesus went further, however and said that treating children well (and the humble people, those who were poor or not powerful) was as important as treating Jesus well.
Jesus says, however, that if anyone causes a believer to sin (even/especially a child) is doomed. Actively tempting people into sin is not cool.
Jesus refers to removing the cause of sin in one's life. While he refers to body parts as an extreme example, Jesus is not advocating auto-amputation, but telling us to remove that in our lives that causes us to sin. Written today, Jesus could say if the Internet causes you to sin (perhaps by looking at porn), then stop using the Internet. If having a car causes you to speed, then get rid of the car. Jesus is saying to do whatever it takes in one's life to avoid sin.
Jesus, still talking about children (both chronological and spiritual), says not to be cruel to them, but to treat them well.
The comparison to sheep has to do with common practice of shepherds at the time. Shepherds would pursue a missing sheep, leaving the remainder on the hill to care for themselves (sheep would congregate in a bunch most of the time, so there was little concern that another would wander off). The one who wanders off needs the most attention at that time. The same is true of people who wander away from what is good, they need more attention and care than those who are already following God.
If a Christian sins against another Christian, there is a progression of approaches to reconcile the relationship. This is referring to spiritual sin, but it can apply to any. Speak privately (so as not to embarrass them or air a conflict in public), then if need be bring a few believers (common friends) as witnesses. If the sin is not resolved, then bring the matter to church leadership. If the sinner still refuses to acknowledge the sin and repent, they are to be treated as nonbelievers. This progression applies to matters between Christians, not between Christians and nonbelievers and it is not an attack but a way to help guide the offender to acknowledge the sin and reconcile it. Note that a believer should always acknowledge their sin because they know that the sin is forgiven, because it cannot be hidden from God, and because it is scriptural.
Jesus says that in the case of the progression listed above, if the sinner denies his sin and is treated as a nonbeliever, that decision is binding as is our forgiveness of the sin.
Peter asks how many times we should forgive someone. Jesus answers with a large number (depending on translation either 77 or 490 times). The number, of course, isn't important, but rather the idea that we keep on forgiving a repentant person who is struggling with some issue.
The parable of the non-forgiving official shows the difference between forgiveness and non-forgiveness and that there is a penalty for non-forgiveness that is just as harsh as the penalty for the original sin. This is a parallel for Christians, we are forgiven of our sin even though it was an amount that could not be paid. We are therefore expected to forgive those who sin against us (see the Lord's prayer).

[zteccc.livejournal.com]

Pharisees try to test Jesus again and ask about divorce. Jesus says that God created marriage (see Genesis) and man and woman become one in God's view when married and nobody (including the couple) should separate them. The Pharisees asked then why the Law of Moses allows divorce. Jesus said that Moses allows divorce, but doesn't command it in cases of a sinful spouse and that they should stay together, if possible (we all sin, see the previous chapter on forgiveness), except in the case of a "terrible sexual sin". Even then we are not required to divorce our spouse, but if we cannot forgive this sin, then we can divorce. The Pharisees (not Jesus' followers) then say that it would be better then not to get married. Jesus says that some indeed should remain single, just as Eunuchs have to, in order to serve God better, but only in a celibate way.
The disciples try to prevent the children from bothering Jesus. He said let them come. and he blessed them. People like children (humble, faithful, etc.) belong in God's kingdom.
A rich man comes and asks how to get to heaven. Jesus says read the scriptures, follow the commandments and Jesus lists which commandments are important. Note that God personally wrote 10, but the Jews had hundreds of laws to follow. Jesus kept it simple. The man said he had done this and Jesus said then sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. The man left downcast. It should be noted that the scripture makes a point of this man being wealthy. The man, in fact, lived a good life, but was more concerned with wealth than with God. The man should not have had to ask how to get to heaven, because the commandments were taught to all Jewish people from a young age, yet this man didn't get it. The man needed to be told the truth, that he needed to be more concerned with God than with his wealth. Remember Jesus saying that we need to remove things that cause us to sin? Well for this man, his wealth was causing him to sin. As such, he needed to remove his wealth. That isn't to say that we shouldn't have money, but we shouldn't love money and put it before God.
Jesus goes on to say that a rich person (a lover of money) will have a nearly impossible time getting to Heaven, however with God, it can be made possible. This means that even a wealthy person can go to Heaven if that person puts God first.
Peter says that they (the apostles) left everything behind to follow Jesus. Jesus agrees that they have indeed put God first and as such will get to Heaven and be given honored positions. Jesus says that those who focus on God first (not necessarily those who have left their families and homes) will be honored in Heaven.

just a thought

[(Anonymous)]

This is just to make you pause and think.
I'm not expecting an answer. But have you ever thought while
Reading the Bible, and picking it apart" what if there
Is a God? What if I'm wrong and one day I will have to bow down
Before this God that I mocked, criticized, and
Questioned? What if I have to give an account for my words that
May have led others to disbelieve. What if I'm wrong and its to
Late? What if God doesn't accept it when I say
Oops guess I was wrong? What if I'm wrong and there is a God
That loves me so much that he would be willing to
Forgive me right now even with all the bad that I have done? What
If God really cares about me? What if I took that leap of
Faith got on my knees and begged God to forgive me, to love me.to
Come and live in me. What if?"

[zen-says.livejournal.com]

what if christian faith is false and muslim faith is true?

what if hindu gods are waiting for you?

what is there is a big wheel of karma?

what if there is a god and the god is a she?

crappy what ifs

Re: just a thought

[wolfpurplemoon]

Yes, I've heard of Pascal's Wager and I don't think it's a valid position, surely God would know if you were just believing 'in case'.

Re: just a thought

[liedownlovely.livejournal.com]

Why is this a
Poem? Surely it could
Have been a
Sentence?

Re: just a thought

[wolfpurplemoon]

I always wonder why people write LJ comments like that, makes them very hard to read! Maybe they have really tiny computer screens!

[david hostetler (from livejournal.com)]

I believe that is why they call it faith. ;)

[(Anonymous)]

The difference is the end results, all other religions are by works, live well, treat others well and be good, then you will make it in a promising place (or not come back as a rock). With Jesus none of your good behavior will save you, only trusting in you. If you are in a boat with another and the other person warns you that there are sharks in the water so don't fall in but you fall in anyways what do you expect him or her to do? Help you right? If he or she extends their hand to you and you smack it away your going to be eating by sharks. How can they save you if you don't except their help?