A: It is important so you will be able to discern the difference between the truth and the lie. Truth is anything that corresponds to reality. Jesus is "the way and the truth and the life (Jn 14:6)." Once we accept Him as savior, the Holy Spirit indwells us. And it is the Spirit of God that helps discern the truth for us. "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:14)." And it is through the discernment the Holy Spirit gives us that we can be one "who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15)." Therefore, because we know the Truth, Jesus, and are indwelt by Him, the Holy Spirit, we are able to discern God's truth, the Word of God, and set us free from the bondage of error. That is why Jesus said, "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (Jn 8:32)."
There are countless Christian denominations and exponentially more branches off these denominations. And they all claim to be teaching the truth. Multiply that by all the Christians attending all these offshoots of denominations and add in the non-denominational churches and the truth suddenly becomes up for grabs. I can't tell you how many discussions and arguments I've engaged in over the past few years regarding subjects like Law and Grace, water baptism, tithing, forgiveness, church attendance, etc. Each person involved claims to have the "truth" on each subject. And we all have a verse or two of Scripture we claim ends all discussion on the matter. And if tons of people accept the teaching we do we seem to think that it solidifies our position. Well, "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints (1 Cor 14:33 KJV)." He does have an opinion of just about every subject. Satan is "is a liar and the father of lies (Jn 8:44)." He wants disunity, error and confusion to reign within the Body of Christ. God desires that "we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13)." We can't be unified if we don't have agreement on what the truth is. Be blessed.
Q: The bible says my food is to do the "will" of the Father. How do you know you are walking in Gods "will"?
A: The will of God, according to Hebrews 9:15, is the description of the "promised eternal inheritance" we have received as a result of the death of Jesus Christ. By definition a will is a "legally enforceable declaration of how a person wishes his or her property to be distributed after death." God's will is not so much what He wants us to do. It is not about who we marry, where we live, what job we take, what we will eat, what car we drive, what clothes we wear, etc. God's will is what we have been given by Him through faith in Jesus Christ. When does a will go into effect? It takes effect after death. "In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died (Heb 9:16-17)." What is it that we have been given as an inheritance of the death of Jesus Christ? We have been given "everything we need for life and godliness (2 Ptr 1:3)" and have been blessed "in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3)." Our lives as Christians is a life of discovering what it is we already have in Christ and then sharing with the world what we have been given. What we have been given by God is God Himself. Through His indwelling Spirit He meets the deepest desires of our heart for unconditional love (Rom 8:38-19), total acceptance (Rom 15:7), and meaning and purpose to life (Gal 2:20).
One of the key points to understand when it comes to God's will is that the New Covenant (will) began after the death of Jesus Christ not at His birth. In other words, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the Old Covenant. When you realize this truth, the entire Bible starts to fall into place. You will realize that all the things you have been taught to get from God you have already been given. Amongst those many things is the knowledge that you are sanctified (Heb 10:14), are justified (Rom 3:23-24), are forgiven (Eph 1:7), have eternal life (1 Jn 5:11-13) and at peace with God (Rom 5:1). This leads to you resting in what you have so you are able to be a living sacrifice to God (Rom 12:1). "Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Rom 12:2)." This leads you discovering all you have in Christ and that you no longer have to try and maintain or obtain, through self-effort, what you already have through faith. The result is you will "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thes 5:18)." I encourage all of you to take a closer look at what you already have from God as a result of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I guarantee you it will change your life. Be blessed.
Q: What is the "one" thing that the enemy(devil) wants Christians to do?
A: The one thing that the devil wants Christians to do is to continue to "eat" from the wrong tree. The devil deceived Adam and Eve into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He told them that "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Gen 3:5)." This same lie is repeated throughout Christianity to this day. Christians won't say directly that we need to be like God. Rather, we cloak it in similar sounding language. For example, we say we need to be more "Christlike." Well, Jesus was God. Or we say, we have to stop sinning. The only one who never sinned was Jesus and He was God. Perhaps, we say we need to be better Christians. That usually means we need to stop sinning and be more like Jesus. It is the same thing. And that usually means we need to define what is good and obey it and define what is evil and repent of it. In order to do that we then end up putting ourselves under law. That could be the Mosaic Law, the "Law" of Jesus (i.e. Sermon on the Mount), the Law of our particular church or denomination or our own individual Law which is a combination of all of the above. All we end up doing is dedicating ourselves to a life we can never live while trying to obtain blessings and favor from God He didn't come to give. And, in the process, missing out on all that He did come to give us.
The Christian life is not about submitting to laws, rules, tenants or doctrines designed to modify our behavior. Nor is it about trying to do these things out of "love" for God. We were not created to be obedient to laws. Adam and Eve only had one "law" to obey, not to eat from the wrong tree, and they failed. And they were sinless and lived in a perfect world. Yet, we believe the lie of the devil and are deceived into thinking that we can be "perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect (Mat 5:48)" in our sinful bodies and in a cursed world. It is the prescription for a miserable life of trying to get from God through our actions what we have already received from Him through faith in Jesus Christ. God created us to be indwelt by Him. Everything we need for life and godliness (2 Ptr 1:3) and every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3) we desire has been met in Him. We don't live a life of obedience and repentance trying to be pleasing to God. We live a life of trust and dependence on the indwelling Holy Spirit because, in Christ, we are already pleasing to Him. Satan is a deceiver and wants you to be focused on yourself and want you are doing and not on Jesus and what He has done. Remember, "The righteous will live by faith (Rom 1:17)." Stop doing what Satan wants you to do and rest in what you already have been given by God. Be blessed.
Q: Fear of the Lord and fear, what is the "difference" between the two?
The Christian life is not about submitting to laws, rules, tenants or doctrines designed to modify our behavior. Nor is it about trying to do these things out of "love" for God. We were not created to be obedient to laws. Adam and Eve only had one "law" to obey, not to eat from the wrong tree, and they failed. And they were sinless and lived in a perfect world. Yet, we believe the lie of the devil and are deceived into thinking that we can be "perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect (Mat 5:48)" in our sinful bodies and in a cursed world. It is the prescription for a miserable life of trying to get from God through our actions what we have already received from Him through faith in Jesus Christ. God created us to be indwelt by Him. Everything we need for life and godliness (2 Ptr 1:3) and every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3) we desire has been met in Him. We don't live a life of obedience and repentance trying to be pleasing to God. We live a life of trust and dependence on the indwelling Holy Spirit because, in Christ, we are already pleasing to Him. Satan is a deceiver and wants you to be focused on yourself and want you are doing and not on Jesus and what He has done. Remember, "The righteous will live by faith (Rom 1:17)." Stop doing what Satan wants you to do and rest in what you already have been given by God. Be blessed.
Q: Fear of the Lord and fear, what is the "difference" between the two?
A: If Kobe Bryant or LeBron James is your teammate how do you feel? I think it would be safe to say you are content, confident and at peace. This is because you know you have the best in the game on your side. You respect their game, their abilities and the way in which they elevate those around them. No one would blame you if you just stood and watched them play out of awe for their abilities. Now flip it. Your assignment is to guard Bryant or James. Now how do you feel? Dare I say fearful, worried and anxious, to say the least? Before the game starts you are defeated. You know you cannot contain these individuals much less stop them. And those around you know this and are aware that it is just a matter of time before you are defeated. Bryant and James are so revered they have been given the nicknames of "Black Mamba" and "King" to describe them. So it is with our God. Our God is described as the Most High (Isa 14:13,14), Everlasting God (Isa 40:28), the Strong One (Gen 16:13) and God Almighty (Gen 17:1-21) to name a few. I ask the question again, how does it make you feel that God is your "teammate"?
To know that God is on your side is to know that you are at peace with Him (Rom 5:1), rescued from His wrath (1 Thes 1:10), free from condemnation (Rom 8:1), seated in the heavenly realms (Eph 2:6), are sanctified (Heb 10:14), justified (1 Cor 6:11) and made holy and blameless (Col 1:22). Ultimately, you are in awe of how the God of the Universe, the Creator of all things, is on your side. Conversely, for those who are not in Christ their fate can be summed up in one verse. "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10:31)." It is one thing to have to guard a Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, yet another to face the wrath of God! To fear God from a Christian perspective, as has been previously mentioned, is to be in "reverential awe" of Him because of who He is. To fear God, from the perspective of the unbeliever, is to have a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger. Let us rejoice in the knowledge that the fear we have of our Lord is a humble attitude of thankfulness towards Him and the salvation we have in Christ Jesus. And use that to spur us on to rescue those who are facing His wrath should they not turn from their ways. Be blessed.
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