Re: Matthew 9:13 (nt)
Submitted by Heather on May 07 1999 at 17:37:09
In reply to Re: Matthew 9:13 (nt) Submitted by jm on May 07 1999 at 16:07:43
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I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience with the Lutheran minister; certainly it's distressing when Christians water down the message of the Gospel or concentrate on one portion of the Gospel to the exclusion of the other. May I suggest, though, that by speaking of "an angry God" you are falling into the same trap? The Son of Man damned the goats who failed to offer comfort to the sick and the imprisoned, but he opened the door to heaven to the sheep who comforted the outcasts of society, even though they did not realize they were following God in doing so. The lessons I learned from that parable: (1) What is most important to God is comforting the sick and the imprisoned. I don't see any evidence from Jesus' life that he meant we should only comfort the repentant sick and the repentant imprisoned. Certainly you are right in saying that Jesus told the woman "Go and sin no more," but first he saved her from the men who were determined to give her just punishment for her sins. I'm afraid that the messages you have posted sound to me more like the words of the adulteress' punishers than the words of Jesus. (2) Many follow God who do not realize that they do, and many who believe they follow God do not in fact do so. As a Christian, I find this to be a sobering message and one requiring humility on my part whenever I accuse others of sinning. (That in fact is the point of the parable of the adulteress.) I'm sorry that you've missed the many posts on this board in which people have spoken of the need to turn away from sinful behavior and thoughts. I'm certainly puzzled how you could have missed those sentiments in Ben's post. Perhaps it would help if you realized that the word boylove is not used on this board to describe behavior but to describe feelings that have come unbidden. All of the people on this board are concerned that their feelings be manifested in unsinful behavior. Jesus was tempted to sin in the desert and in Gethsemane, but that fact in itself did not make him a sinner. I'm afraid that I'll be offline for a while, but I hope that you'll have the opportunity to read more about the troubles that are faced by the members of this board and to appreciate the true Christian spirit in which they turn to God for help in overcoming their troubles. "And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." —II Corinthians 12:7-9 Heather |