Smug... having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements
God the Father (Yahweh) did not "retire" when Yahshua (aka Jesus) came. The
Whole Bible is the Gift of God’s Wisdom for the Guidance and Blessing
of Mankind: What kind of self-sufficiency or egotism is it that would
cast aside thirty-nine of the precious God-given books and say, “The New Testament is
all we need, or that extra biblical books are necessary to understand God's plan of salvation?” ~ Revelation 22:18
The
Old Testament was the Bible Jesus used: It was the only Bible then in
existence. He not only quoted it and most marvelously applied it on all
occasions, but endorsed, corroborated and enforced it throughout His
Ministry. Jesus called the Old Testament “the Scriptures” (Matt. 21:42).
It
seems Christians are the easiest people for Satan to fool. He was able
to persuade a third of the angels to rebel against God, so we should not
be to hard on babes in Christ who cling to traditions of man. It is
very difficult for immature Christians to understand the difference
between Churchianity and Christianity. Satan is not stupid, he
counterfeits the word of God and always makes
disobedience seem like harmless fun.
Some Christians are so heavenly-minded they are no earthly good. I once was a smug Christian. I belonged to the "one and only church." I was saved, and everybody that did not worship like me was going to an ever-burning hell to be tortured for all eternity. What a warped view I was taught by preachers about my Heavenly Father's love, mercy, and forgiveness. Praise the LORD, He rescued me from Churchianity.
Churchianity says if you are not a member of our "one and only true church," you have no hope of salvation. Jesus says in Mark 9:38-41..."if they are not against us, they are on our side."
Christianity is not about being Catholic or Protestant, it has always been people who are trying as best they know how to seek God with their whole heart. Acts 7:38 tells us the ekklesia, assembly or church was
founded in the wilderness centuries before Pentecost in 30 A.D. The
Church has always been the people who follow Christ, not organizations.
Pentecost in the New Testament was the giving of the holy spirit, not
the founding of a new religion, or the Church of Christ, or the Catholic
Church, or any other organization.
The Levitical, Apostolic, and Christian ministries are not competing offices, but are ministries of revelation and maturation, each serving the unveiling of Christ’s completed work until His life is fully expressed in sons. As it is written: For it was fitting for Him (Jesus), for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Read Ephesians 4, it explains God's plan to bring unity out of religious confusion.
Christianity
is not a religion, it's the government of God. The Body of Christ (the
true church) is unified with judicial order and accountability to
Yahweh, and each other. Organized religion has set itself up outside the
judicial order of God creating man-made doctrines, creeds, and their
own religious holidays.
It is good to meet with other Believers but be careful not to mistake Churchianity for Christianity. The
Church Jesus built is not an earthly organization, it's a Body of
Believers who seek first the Kingdom of God. The Church that Jesus founded is also called "a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people" (1 Peter 2:9), composed of
people from every nation (Rev 7), regardless of denomination, or church
affiliation. The Catholic Church and all its Protestant Daughters do not have a franchise on God or a monopoly on truth.
"Body
of Christ" Believers who have the Holy Spirit are fully able to discern
what the scriptures teach, as the Spirit shows them. It plainly tells
us "the
anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do
not need anyone to teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you
concerning all things..." (1 John 2:27).
Christ
is our Mediator, we don't need to go to a priest, or anyone else, to be
able to understand the truth. When we seek God with our whole
heart, the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to us.
When people speak in "tongues" and we don't understand a word they are saying it's because they are not talking to us. ~ 1 Corinthians 14:2
Pentecostals are God's cheerleaders. Not everyone can be, or wants to be, a cheerleader. That's the reason the Body of Christ is made up of so many different parts. God is not concerned with the name of the church organization you attend. "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." ~ John 4:23
God is not confined to Temples or Church buildings. He chose the human
heart as His dwelling place. As it is written: "Do you not know that you
are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" ~ 1 Corinthians
3:16
Just as our physical body has many parts all working together, so our spiritual body consists of many parts. 1 Corinthians 12:12 states, "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the
members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ". This verse emphasizes that although the body has many different parts, they all work together to form one unified body. 1 Corinthians 12:21 in the Bible. It means that no
part of a body (or, by extension, a community or organization) is
superior to another, and each part is necessary and dependent on the
others. The
full verse reads, "The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of
you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” Churchianity competes for members, Christianity makes Disciples. It will be a great day when the children of God can meet together and not care what Church they attended.
As it is written:
We are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousness is like filthy rags (filthy menstrual cloth); We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities (disregard for the Law of God), like the wind, Have taken us away (from the truth). ~
Isaiah 64:6
Christians
have nothing to be smug about. We are not righteous (or saved) people
telling other people they need to "get saved" and join the right Church, rather we are one beggar
telling another beggar where to find bread.
As Paul wrote in Philippians 2:11-13... Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
It's a 24/7 job minding our own business. As it is written,
"Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or
falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him
stand".
~Romans 14:4. What others do with the gift of salvation is their business.
Many people are obsessed with "judging" and being "judged." However, the word "judge" also means condemn... as in “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” ~ John 8:10-12.
Some Christians don’t understand the difference between ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ and
๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, between carnal ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ and spiritual ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ . Carnal thinking will never stand
against spiritual ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ . Only God knows the intent of man's heart. The best man can do is try to evaluate his behavior according to the Biblical standard.
Evaluating people for their actions is completely Biblical. Jesus warns us about false prophets (which includes false friends) "you shall know them by their fruits (character and conduct)" ~ Matthew 7:20
Almost from the beginning of the Church, people wanted to follow a preacher instead of following Jesus. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:4-5. Criticizing
and condemning people for their beliefs does not make one holy. Our
relationship to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, is
personal. God is the righteous Judge. Since most Christians don't speak Hebrew, using the names Yahweh and Yahshua is a matter of personal choice, not something to debate or condemn.
Churchianity is always trying to convert people from one denomination to
another. Christian conversion is to God, not joining another Church. Churchianity has done
horrible things in the name of God.
We must love and forgive others in the same manner Christ
loves and forgives us... no easy task since we humans are not divine.
However, one of God's promises is to send His Holy Spirit to enable us
to overcome the world even as Christ overcame and an example for us to
follow.
Jesus did not speak from the cross and say, “Look, you guys, you still have a
chance here. If you will just confess you were wrong, and tell me you
are sorry, and get me off this cross, then I will forgive you.” Instead Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” ~ Luke 23:34
Jesus Testifies to the Churches (The Called Out Ones)
“And behold (listen up folks), I am coming quickly (very soon), and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work" (not according to the denomination you joined). ~ Revelation 22:12
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than
any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit,
and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart.
~ Hebrews 4:12
Churchianity is fragmented into thousands of denominations and cults. With all the conflicting religious doctrines and customs it is no wonder people are confused about who and what to believe. Organized religion stopped seeking
the Kingdom and only seeks members and money. Instead of the Church changing the world, the world changed the Church.
A Bible believing follower of Jesus Christ will change when the Holy Spirit reveals new truth. An indoctrinated follower of denominational Churchianity will not change when presented with Biblical facts, nor will they search the Scriptures to see if it is true. God always gives us a choice. We can choose to believe the Truth of the Bible, or we can choose the lies of the Adversary.
Based on the biblical definition of the word holy which means to
be pure, physically sound, clear, unadulterated, pious, uncontaminated,
morally righteous, or innocent, there is nothing holy about the country of
Israel, the Vatican, Salt Lake City, Mecca, denominations of
Churchianity, doctrines contrary to the Bible, or the creeds of religions. ~ Romans 3:23-24
The difference between a Church member and a Disciple of Christ is: a
Church member follows the doctrines of their denomination, a Disciple
follows Jesus Christ. ~ 1 John 2:3-6
The
purpose of Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group is to get people to
think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong.
Over the years, as Renew Your Strength has continued to
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have
recognized that some of the things we once held as true, in fact, are
not; and therefore we will not “cast in stone” a statement of our
beliefs. We reserve the right to be wrong and to repent of such error
when we discover it.
To
learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true
meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's
Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you.
