Chapter 18 - The Disciple and Unbelievers
Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Mat 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Mat 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Mat 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Mat 7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
Mat 7:10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
Mat 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Mat 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Bonhoeffer- 'The disciples are not to judge. If they do so, they will themselves be judged by God. The sword wherewith they judge their brethren will fall upon their own heads. Instead of cutting themselves off from their brother as the just from the unjust, they find themselves cut off from Jesus.
Why should this be so? The source of the disciple's life lies exclusively in his fellowship with Jesus Christ. He possesses his righteousness only within that association, never outside it. That is why his righteousness can never become an objective criterion to be applied at will. He is a disciple not because he possesses such a new standard, but only because of Jesus Christ, the Mediator and very Son of God. That is to say, his righteousness is hidden from himself in fellowship with Jesus. He cannot, as he could once, be a detached observer of himself and judge himself, for he can only see Jesus, and be seen by him, judged by him, and reprieved by him. It is not an approved standard of righteous living that separates a follower of Christ from the unbeliever, but it is Christ who stands between them. Christian always see other men as brethren to whom Christ comes; they meet them only by going to them with Jesus. Disciple and non-disciple can never encounter each other as free men, directly exchanging their views and judging one another by objective criteria. No, the disciple can meet the nondisciple only as a man to whom Jesus comes. Here alone Christ's fight for the soul of the unbeliever, his call, his love, his grace and his judgment comes into its own. Discipleship does not afford us a point of vantage from which to attack others; we come to them with an unconditional offer of fellowship, with the single-mindedness of the love of Jesus.'
My thoughts-
This is beautifully put. PLEASE READ IT AGAIN!
Bonhoeffer-
The disciples are not to judge.
If they do so, they will themselves be judged by God.
The sword wherewith they judge their brethren will fall upon their own heads.
Instead of cutting themselves off from their brother as the just from the unjust, they find themselves cut off from Jesus.
Why should this be so?
The source of the disciple's life lies exclusively in his fellowship with Jesus Christ.
He possesses his righteousness only within that association, never outside it.
That is why his righteousness can never become an objective criterion to be applied at will.
He is a disciple not because he possesses such a new standard, but only because of Jesus Christ, the Mediator and very Son of God.
That is to say, his righteousness is hidden from himself in fellowship with Jesus.
He cannot, as he could once, be a detached observer of himself and judge himself, for he can only see Jesus, and be seen by him, judged by him, and reprieved by him.
It is not an approved standard of righteous living that separates a follower of Christ from the unbeliever, but it is Christ who stands between them.
Christian always see other men as brethren to whom Christ comes; they meet them only by going to them with Jesus.
Disciple and non-disciple can never encounter each other as free men, directly exchanging their views and judging one another by objective criteria.
No, the disciple can meet the non-disciple only as a man to whom Jesus comes.
Here alone Christ's fight for the soul of the unbeliever, his call, his love, his grace and his judgment comes into its own.
Discipleship does not afford us a point of vantage from which to attack others; we come to them with an unconditional offer of fellowship, with the single-mindedness of the love of Jesus.'
My thoughts-
I particularly want to touch on this one point-
'It is not an approved standard of righteous living that separates a follower of Christ from the unbeliever, but it is Christ who stands between them.'
We get so caught up in how we appear to others. We have in our minds what a Christian's life should look like- basically anyway- if not in detail. But the truth of the matter is- we haven't a CLUE what someone's relationship with Christ is. Their struggles that we interpret as being sinful, even grossly and blatantly sinful, might be their personal fight in a relationship that is deeper, and stronger than any we have. We CAN'T know! To judge others based on OUR perceptions of right and wrong, is so incredibly wrong! Only Christ can know them in the eternal way that matters most.
Also, personally, we strive to follow Christ as He has asked us to follow Him and yet we too have to realize that it is our RELATIONSHIP with CHRIST that matters most.
Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Mat 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Mat 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Mat 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Mat 7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
Mat 7:10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
Mat 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Mat 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Bonhoeffer- 'The disciples are not to judge. If they do so, they will themselves be judged by God. The sword wherewith they judge their brethren will fall upon their own heads. Instead of cutting themselves off from their brother as the just from the unjust, they find themselves cut off from Jesus.
Why should this be so? The source of the disciple's life lies exclusively in his fellowship with Jesus Christ. He possesses his righteousness only within that association, never outside it. That is why his righteousness can never become an objective criterion to be applied at will. He is a disciple not because he possesses such a new standard, but only because of Jesus Christ, the Mediator and very Son of God. That is to say, his righteousness is hidden from himself in fellowship with Jesus. He cannot, as he could once, be a detached observer of himself and judge himself, for he can only see Jesus, and be seen by him, judged by him, and reprieved by him. It is not an approved standard of righteous living that separates a follower of Christ from the unbeliever, but it is Christ who stands between them. Christian always see other men as brethren to whom Christ comes; they meet them only by going to them with Jesus. Disciple and non-disciple can never encounter each other as free men, directly exchanging their views and judging one another by objective criteria. No, the disciple can meet the nondisciple only as a man to whom Jesus comes. Here alone Christ's fight for the soul of the unbeliever, his call, his love, his grace and his judgment comes into its own. Discipleship does not afford us a point of vantage from which to attack others; we come to them with an unconditional offer of fellowship, with the single-mindedness of the love of Jesus.'
My thoughts-
This is beautifully put. PLEASE READ IT AGAIN!
Bonhoeffer-
The disciples are not to judge.
If they do so, they will themselves be judged by God.
The sword wherewith they judge their brethren will fall upon their own heads.
Instead of cutting themselves off from their brother as the just from the unjust, they find themselves cut off from Jesus.
Why should this be so?
The source of the disciple's life lies exclusively in his fellowship with Jesus Christ.
He possesses his righteousness only within that association, never outside it.
That is why his righteousness can never become an objective criterion to be applied at will.
He is a disciple not because he possesses such a new standard, but only because of Jesus Christ, the Mediator and very Son of God.
That is to say, his righteousness is hidden from himself in fellowship with Jesus.
He cannot, as he could once, be a detached observer of himself and judge himself, for he can only see Jesus, and be seen by him, judged by him, and reprieved by him.
It is not an approved standard of righteous living that separates a follower of Christ from the unbeliever, but it is Christ who stands between them.
Christian always see other men as brethren to whom Christ comes; they meet them only by going to them with Jesus.
Disciple and non-disciple can never encounter each other as free men, directly exchanging their views and judging one another by objective criteria.
No, the disciple can meet the non-disciple only as a man to whom Jesus comes.
Here alone Christ's fight for the soul of the unbeliever, his call, his love, his grace and his judgment comes into its own.
Discipleship does not afford us a point of vantage from which to attack others; we come to them with an unconditional offer of fellowship, with the single-mindedness of the love of Jesus.'
My thoughts-
I particularly want to touch on this one point-
'It is not an approved standard of righteous living that separates a follower of Christ from the unbeliever, but it is Christ who stands between them.'
We get so caught up in how we appear to others. We have in our minds what a Christian's life should look like- basically anyway- if not in detail. But the truth of the matter is- we haven't a CLUE what someone's relationship with Christ is. Their struggles that we interpret as being sinful, even grossly and blatantly sinful, might be their personal fight in a relationship that is deeper, and stronger than any we have. We CAN'T know! To judge others based on OUR perceptions of right and wrong, is so incredibly wrong! Only Christ can know them in the eternal way that matters most.
Also, personally, we strive to follow Christ as He has asked us to follow Him and yet we too have to realize that it is our RELATIONSHIP with CHRIST that matters most.
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