It's sad to me that so many Christians in name only bite and devour one another, over doctrinal differences.
{Jas 3:5-11 HNV} So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehinnom. For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and thing in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. Out of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water?
{1Ti 6:1-5 HNV} Let as many as are bondservants under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and the doctrine not be blasphemed. Those who have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brothers, but rather let them serve them, because those who partake of the benefit are believing and beloved. Teach and exhort these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine, and doesn't consent to sound words, the words of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is conceited, knowing nothing, but obsessed with arguments, disputes, and word battles, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, constant friction of people of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. Withdraw yourself from such.
The early Church was DIVIDED, and PROBLEMATIC. The Corinthian church entrenched in Sexual Immorality and idolatry. The Ephesian Church, not sanctifying themselves in the Lord - there are THREE chapters in that epistle about sanctification. The Galatians, got caught up in physical circumcision.
Yet, today we have NO ONE taught directly by the Apostles, all claiming THEIR INTERPRETATION is absolute truth, and all of them have DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS.
This is why I started off the year, agreeing with FinalCall07 and Faulkner.
That the Bible is NOT God's word. You must be born again, and you MUST have the FRUIT and GIFTS of the Spirit dwelling in your life abundantly.
But that is a problematic statement, and itself a half truth. The Torah is God's word, the Prophets and Writings and New Testament explain how we live God's word.
God never expected man to do what we're doing today. NOT ONCE, it's warned against.
{Rom 12:14-18 HNV} Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don't curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Don't set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don't be wise in your own conceits. 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at shalom with all men.
{1Co 3:1-4 HNV} Brothers, I couldn't speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Messiah. I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren't yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready, for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren't you fleshly, and don't you walk in the ways of men? 4 For when one says, "I follow Sha'ul," and another, "I follow Apollos," aren't you fleshly?
Now, there is wisdom in separation, for the sake of keeping the body pure, but again - we've lost true discipleship, and true leadership in the body of Messiah. The people telling you to pull out of Babylon, (and this is from personal experience) aren't even understanding that John is speaking OF YOUR HEART.
It's not a physical place, (and it is, Jerusalem - not America, not Rome) it's not physical Church (but it also is, as the RCC is the _heart_ of Babylon)
John is speaking about the condition of OUR HEART.
{1Jo 3:10-16 HNV} In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn't do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn't love his brother. For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; unlike Kayin, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Don't be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn't love his brother remains in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
Your heart should be completely sold out in the love of Messiah, and therefore the love of other people. Yet, constantly I see so many just bite and devour one another - and USED to do this, against OSAS, and against Calvinism. They are in error, absolutely. As are those teaching a pre-tribulation rapture. Do you really have the conceit and ego to believe YOUR INTERPRETATION and words have the power to alter someone's heart? Have you not realized, you battle not against flesh and blood - but against the prince and principalities of the air? Have you fasted? Have you prayed?
Did Yeshu'ah tell you to SPEAK or to BE SILENT? Part of loving God, is obeying the Son. We have to be constantly vigilant as the enemy can come from ANY ANGLE to catch us off guard. That happened to me tonight, while I was praying for someone with my wife. In the middle of the prayer, a muslim man drove up and started belittling Jesus. I tried winning him over with knowledge, I let the enemy take me away from prayer and dropped my spiritual weapons and battled as a carnal man, with carnal knowledge. (This is why the Bible alone cannot save your soul)
I sinned, letting my flesh strive against Satan's warriors. I sinned, not listening to God - who was telling me to turn around and ignore him. The enemy never will stop trying to kill you and steal your soul from the hand of the Father. Until you get to Heaven, you can lose salvation - and allow yourself to be stolen from the Father's hand. If we remain in the Father's hand, Satan cannot touch us. The moment we let Satan catch us off guard in disobedience, we are no longer in the Father's hand and walking in our OWN UNDERSTANDING. Doing what is right IN OUR OWN EYES! Please consider the words from scripture, and my testimony. Do not let your flesh battle against demons.