Chapter 19 - The Great Divide
Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Bonhoeffer- 'The separation of Church and world is now complete. But the word of Jesus forces its way into the Church herself, bringing judgment and decision. The separation is never permanently assured: it must constantly be renewed. The disciples of Jesus must not fondly imagine that they can simply run away from the world and huddle together in a little band. False prophets will rise up among them, and amid the ensuing confusion they will feel more isolated than ever. There is someone standing by my side who looks like a member of the Church. He is a prophet and a preacher. He looks like a Christian, he talks and acts like one. But dark powers are mysteriously at work; it was these who sent him into our midst. Inwardly he is a ravening wolf: his words are lies and his works are full of deceit. He knows only too well how to keep his secret dark and go ahead with his work. It is not faith in
Jesus Christ which made him one of us, but the devil. Maybe he hopes his intellectual ability or his success as a prophet will bring him power and influence, money and fame. His ambitions are set on the world, not on Jesus Christ. Knowing that Christians are credulous people, he conceals his dark purpose beneath the cloak of Christian piety, hoping that his innocuous disguise will avert detection. He knows that Christians are forbidden to judge, and he will remind them of it at the appropriate time. After all, other men's hearts are always a closed book. Thus he succeeds in seducing many from the right way. He may even be unconscious himself of what he is doing. The devil can give him every encouragement and at the same time keep him in the dark about his own motives.'
My thoughts-
These words are SCARY TRUTH. I say scary truth, because what can be more frightening than the idea that you are deceived by Satan so completely you truly believe yourself to be a disciple of Christ when in truth, you are not. Every thing inside of us screams out that we would never be led by Satan that way. But the truth is, the great deceiver has special tricks for every single human being and he knows how to ply those tricks so that they DECEIVE. That word says it all! DECEIVED! You don't know what's happening! You aren't aware of what's going on! You are FOOLED! You are tricked into believing you are Christ's when you are far from being so. We truly can't worry overly much about others being deceived except they are using their deception to influence us to join them. What I mean is, far be it from US to not look at ourselves, not judge ourselves first and foremost looking for that awful beam in our eyes.
Bonhoeffer- 'Such a pronouncement of Christ's could cause his disciples great anxiety. Who knows his neighbor? Who knows whether the outward appearance of a Christian conceals falsehood and deception underneath? No wonder if mistrust, suspicion and censoriousness crept into the Church. And no wonder if every brother who falls into sin incurred the uncharitable criticism of his brethren, now that Jesus has said this. All this distrust would ruin the Church but for the word of Jesus which assures us that the bad tree will bring forth bad fruit. It is bound to give itself away sooner or later. There is no need to go about prying into the hearts of others. All we need do is to wait long. This is not to say that we must draw a distinction between the words of the prophet and his deeds: the real distinction is that between appearance and reality. Jesus tells us that men cannot keep up appearances for long. The time of vintage is sure to come, and then we shall be able to sift the good from the bad. Sooner or later we shall find out where a man stands. It is no use the tree refusing to bear , for the fruit comes of its own accord. Any day the time may come to decide for the world or for the Church. We may have to decide, not in some spectacular matter, but in quite trivial, everyday affairs. And then we shall see and discern the good from the bad. In that day the reality will stand the test, not appearances. '
My thoughts-
'ANY DAY THE TIME MAY COME TO DECIDE FOR THE WORLD OR FOR THE CHURCH. WE MAY HAVE TO DECIDE, NOT IN SOME SPECTACULAR MATTER, BUT IN QUTIE TRIVIAL, EVERYDAY AFFAIRS.'
Did you read that very, very closely??? Did YOU??? Read it again...
'ANY DAY THE TIME MAY COME TO DECIDE FOR THE WORLD OR FOR THE CHURCH. WE MAY HAVE TO DECIDE, NOT IN SOME SPECTACULAR MATTER, BUT IN QUITE TRIVIAL, EVERYDAY AFFAIRS.'
Truth!
This is the SORT of truth we do not want to hear. We want to cover our ears and shut our eyes and simply hide from this sort of truth because it causes us to truly look at our OWN lives in a very, very honest way.
The decisions we are called to make everyday- for CHRIST or the WORLD, these can be the deciding factor in our eternal life!
We cry out with PAUL - WHO CAN SAVE US! WHO CAN SAVE US FROM OURSELVES! OUR FAILINGS! OUR WRONG CHOICES!
ONLY CHRIST!!!!!!!
And we need to REPENT for choosing the world, time and time again! PLEASE LORD HELP US! SAVE US FROM OURSELVES! PLEASE LORD!
We can't hide from the world, but we can live separate from it. Is it any wonder CHRIST'S disciples are so few and often time noticeable in the world. They are set apart even as they live in it. They don't immerse themselves in the world glorying in its evil. They are modest, they are circumspect, they are chaste, they are loving, they are kind, they are forgiving, they are meek, they are all that JESUS said they ARE! And when we choose to live a life far from these things, how can we hope to be His? Our only HOPE is that CHRIST can lead us to this life, as we repent of the world's awful grip on us!
There is a COST of…. DISCIPLESHIP! And there is CHEAP GRACE. One leads to life eternal in JESUS CHRIST, the other to eternal nothingness.
Please LORD!
PLEASE! We want to bear YOUR FRUIT, GOOD FRUIT!
Let us live in YOU, by YOUR grace! SAVE US by Your LOVE! Such amazing LOVE!
Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Bonhoeffer- 'The separation of Church and world is now complete. But the word of Jesus forces its way into the Church herself, bringing judgment and decision. The separation is never permanently assured: it must constantly be renewed. The disciples of Jesus must not fondly imagine that they can simply run away from the world and huddle together in a little band. False prophets will rise up among them, and amid the ensuing confusion they will feel more isolated than ever. There is someone standing by my side who looks like a member of the Church. He is a prophet and a preacher. He looks like a Christian, he talks and acts like one. But dark powers are mysteriously at work; it was these who sent him into our midst. Inwardly he is a ravening wolf: his words are lies and his works are full of deceit. He knows only too well how to keep his secret dark and go ahead with his work. It is not faith in
Jesus Christ which made him one of us, but the devil. Maybe he hopes his intellectual ability or his success as a prophet will bring him power and influence, money and fame. His ambitions are set on the world, not on Jesus Christ. Knowing that Christians are credulous people, he conceals his dark purpose beneath the cloak of Christian piety, hoping that his innocuous disguise will avert detection. He knows that Christians are forbidden to judge, and he will remind them of it at the appropriate time. After all, other men's hearts are always a closed book. Thus he succeeds in seducing many from the right way. He may even be unconscious himself of what he is doing. The devil can give him every encouragement and at the same time keep him in the dark about his own motives.'
My thoughts-
These words are SCARY TRUTH. I say scary truth, because what can be more frightening than the idea that you are deceived by Satan so completely you truly believe yourself to be a disciple of Christ when in truth, you are not. Every thing inside of us screams out that we would never be led by Satan that way. But the truth is, the great deceiver has special tricks for every single human being and he knows how to ply those tricks so that they DECEIVE. That word says it all! DECEIVED! You don't know what's happening! You aren't aware of what's going on! You are FOOLED! You are tricked into believing you are Christ's when you are far from being so. We truly can't worry overly much about others being deceived except they are using their deception to influence us to join them. What I mean is, far be it from US to not look at ourselves, not judge ourselves first and foremost looking for that awful beam in our eyes.
Bonhoeffer- 'Such a pronouncement of Christ's could cause his disciples great anxiety. Who knows his neighbor? Who knows whether the outward appearance of a Christian conceals falsehood and deception underneath? No wonder if mistrust, suspicion and censoriousness crept into the Church. And no wonder if every brother who falls into sin incurred the uncharitable criticism of his brethren, now that Jesus has said this. All this distrust would ruin the Church but for the word of Jesus which assures us that the bad tree will bring forth bad fruit. It is bound to give itself away sooner or later. There is no need to go about prying into the hearts of others. All we need do is to wait long. This is not to say that we must draw a distinction between the words of the prophet and his deeds: the real distinction is that between appearance and reality. Jesus tells us that men cannot keep up appearances for long. The time of vintage is sure to come, and then we shall be able to sift the good from the bad. Sooner or later we shall find out where a man stands. It is no use the tree refusing to bear , for the fruit comes of its own accord. Any day the time may come to decide for the world or for the Church. We may have to decide, not in some spectacular matter, but in quite trivial, everyday affairs. And then we shall see and discern the good from the bad. In that day the reality will stand the test, not appearances. '
My thoughts-
'ANY DAY THE TIME MAY COME TO DECIDE FOR THE WORLD OR FOR THE CHURCH. WE MAY HAVE TO DECIDE, NOT IN SOME SPECTACULAR MATTER, BUT IN QUTIE TRIVIAL, EVERYDAY AFFAIRS.'
Did you read that very, very closely??? Did YOU??? Read it again...
'ANY DAY THE TIME MAY COME TO DECIDE FOR THE WORLD OR FOR THE CHURCH. WE MAY HAVE TO DECIDE, NOT IN SOME SPECTACULAR MATTER, BUT IN QUITE TRIVIAL, EVERYDAY AFFAIRS.'
Truth!
This is the SORT of truth we do not want to hear. We want to cover our ears and shut our eyes and simply hide from this sort of truth because it causes us to truly look at our OWN lives in a very, very honest way.
The decisions we are called to make everyday- for CHRIST or the WORLD, these can be the deciding factor in our eternal life!
We cry out with PAUL - WHO CAN SAVE US! WHO CAN SAVE US FROM OURSELVES! OUR FAILINGS! OUR WRONG CHOICES!
ONLY CHRIST!!!!!!!
And we need to REPENT for choosing the world, time and time again! PLEASE LORD HELP US! SAVE US FROM OURSELVES! PLEASE LORD!
We can't hide from the world, but we can live separate from it. Is it any wonder CHRIST'S disciples are so few and often time noticeable in the world. They are set apart even as they live in it. They don't immerse themselves in the world glorying in its evil. They are modest, they are circumspect, they are chaste, they are loving, they are kind, they are forgiving, they are meek, they are all that JESUS said they ARE! And when we choose to live a life far from these things, how can we hope to be His? Our only HOPE is that CHRIST can lead us to this life, as we repent of the world's awful grip on us!
There is a COST of…. DISCIPLESHIP! And there is CHEAP GRACE. One leads to life eternal in JESUS CHRIST, the other to eternal nothingness.
Please LORD!
PLEASE! We want to bear YOUR FRUIT, GOOD FRUIT!
Let us live in YOU, by YOUR grace! SAVE US by Your LOVE! Such amazing LOVE!
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