Be Perfect

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

Lev 19:18  Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Psa 139:21  Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?

Psa 139:22  I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

Love and hate.

Psa_97:10  Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

Pro_8:13  The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Loving the Lord means hating evil.

The distinction of who is evil isn't ours to make.

God made the distinction in times past. There were entire groups of people who were evil continually-

Gen_6:5  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Gen 6:7  And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Gen 6:8  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Gen_13:13  But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

Gen 18:32  And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

Gen_19:24  Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven

Only Noah and his family were spared destruction- all others were EVIL.  That included all the men, women and yes, children alive at the time. Evil children? God who knows the end from the  beginning has mercy on the little children, and even though we do not want to admit it, often death is mercy when life is surrounded only by evil. Will those innocents who died be Christ's at His return? Yes. All innocents caught up in such happenstances- spared the existence of life geared towards a life of evil- they are honestly  blessed by God in this.  We can't know the heart of men, but God alone can and if HE deems innocent lives are to be taken, He does it out of a mercy we can't comprehend. He knows the paths, and ONLY HE knows what is necessary for us to seek and find His amazing grace.

We are to hate evil.

We are to hate the evil we commit and the evil others commit.

We are NOT to hate those who commit evil, but rather hate the evil they commit.

There is a distinction between evil and the evil doer.

I can hate the evil lies someone tells, without hating the one telling the lies.

Jesus hates sin, but loves the sinner.

We have to hate sin and love the sinner just as He does.

Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you

LOVE your enemies.

BLESS them that curse you.

DO GOOD to them that hate you.

PRAY for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.

LOVE

BLESS
DO GOOD
PRAY

Why do this? Why love, bless, do good, and pray for those who are your enemies, cursing you, hating you, despitefully using you and persecuting you? WHY?!

Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

So we may be the CHILDREN OF GOD, OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.

He allows the evil to exist along with the good, allowing the good to reveal His mercy to the evil. Evil unrepentant and embraced wholly reveals the horror of the father of lies, the originator of sin.

Good and evil, the just and unjust.  GOD ALONE knows the heart and the choices every person makes. God alone has the power to destroy the evil, we cannot presume that even the most evil person alive will not repent, giving their life to JESUS accepting SALVATION in Him. If we choose to hate the person we are denying them the example we could provide for the LOVE that our SAVIOR has bestowed upon us wretched sinners. Jesus has EVERY RIGHT to hate us sinners, instead He chose to LOVE US and LEAD US to HIM and SALVATION THROUGH HIM.

Mat 5:46  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

How easy it is to LOVE those who love us, to interact only with those of our like mind. How incredibly difficult it is to LOVE those who hate us, and have nothing in common with us.

Yet true love, the LOVE of God demands by its very nature we love ALL in the way we desire to be loved.

A world of difference can exist between the way we are loved by others and the way we desire to be loved by them.

Mat 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Jesus is TEACHING US and saying BE PERFECT as our HEAVENLY FATHER IS PERFECT!

Be perfect.

Eph 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Read that verse and then tell me we are to do absolutely nothing but go on in our sinning ways while trying to lay claim to the grace of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Walk in love AS CHRIST also hath love us.

WALK IN LOVE.

And our Savior has spent a lot of time trying to teach us this LOVE and what it REALLY is and how in will truly manifest itself in our actions towards others- ALL others, not special others. Not just the boss you are trying to impress, not just the stranger you are trying impress, not the family member you most assuredly want to impress- but ALL OTHERS.  The strangers, we, in our brute nature, could careless about, the family member who puts up with all sorts of stuff from us because they are family, these too deserve our best attempts to love as our SAVIOR instructs to love. ALL other human beings we ever come in contact with in any way deserve this LOVE this LOVE we are to WALK in and CHRIST LOVES US.

Walk in love.

LIVE love.

Would Jesus teach us the impossible? No.

Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

PRESS towards the mark, for the PRIZE, the HIGH CALLING of GOD IN CHRIST JESUS!

By His amazing GRACE!

In His amazing LOVE!

Give

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

How often are we asked and we don't give?

How often do we say no?

How often do we begrudgingly say yes?

How often do we say no to those wanting to borrow from us?

Can you think of one instance for each of these?

Our Savior tells us…

GIVE.

GIVE.

Give until you have no more to give.

Give as He gave.

He gave all.

When we refuse to give of what we have we are denying others worldly things, things that in the long run do not matter in eternity. We cling to dead, lifeless things. All the money in the world is dead, is lifeless, and cannot contribute a single bit towards eternity. Nothing we have pads our future in eternity.  People have used this truth to swindle others out of their entire life savings. Because there is TRUTH to this and people recognize the truth only another truth is this-

Mat_7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

The truth that all we have means nothing is real.

Are we to give everything to others and be left destitute?

Where do we draw the lines?  Do we draw them at our needs being taken care of first and what's left others can have?  What's this mean then--

Mar 12:41  And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

Mar 12:42  And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

Mar 12:43  And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

Mar 12:44  For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

She of her WANT did cast in ALL THAT SHE HAD even all her living.

She cast in more than all the others who gave in ways that did NOT affect their own abundance, their own needs, their own desires.

Jesus said this--

Mat 19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Mat 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Why would selling all that he had make this young man perfect?

Because he would give to the poor- those in real need.

Jesus was promising Him a LIFE with HIM.

How could he refuse a LIFE supported in all things by our SAVIOR?

He didn't know, he didn't comprehend that it was His Savior telling him to trust HIM for ALL THINGS he'd need. He didn't know that following His SAVIOR was the REAL key to the eternal life he sought.  He put a HIGHER price on the things he owned than on ETERNITY with JESUS CHRIST.

Are we guilty of this very same thing?!

We Jesus says this--

Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

He isn't saying to us that same thing He told that man. He didn't tell us ALL to sell everything. He is telling us to GIVE to those who ASK, to those that want to borrow from us- LET THEM.

GIVE, ALLOW.

This is compassion, this is love, this is our SAVIOR'S example, this is our SAVIOR'S teaching… may we LEARN, by HIS GRACE!

Go out of your way for others.

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

Mat 5:41  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

Go out of your way for others.

Why?

If they hit you you're supposed to let them hit you again.

If they sue you and take from you you're supposed to give them more.

If want you to walk with them a mile you're supposed to go with them double that.

Why?

COMPASSION.

We've been talking about this the last few studies and we have to KEEP talking about this because it's so incredibly important. We cannot ignore compassion we have to strive towards compassion at all costs to ourselves.

People think they don't need to be compassionate because it makes them appear weak. 

Someone hitting you again and again, over and over and you not making any effort to defend yourself. We've seen this sort of thing in the movies- the bad guy turned good who formerly loved fighting and hurting maybe even killing others- reforms and when he's picked on he doesn't fight back.  The movie portrays that hero type as being good, but in our reality we seldom see this sort of thing. It's more likely the one being hit just keeps on being hit and is called- weak. They could be super strong, heavily muscled but there is a different sort of weakness they are called in that situation. They are called 'chickens', weak willed, scared, wimpy, losers, fools, the list goes on and on.

Compassion is the greatest gift. It is compassion our Savior has shown to us.

 

The world twists the truth to lies, good to evil, evil to good, lies to truth. Satan has taken the greatest attributes and labeled them the weakest.

Selflessness goes hand in hand with compassion.

People are going to ask you to do things for them.

People are going to interact with you unless you've hidden yourself from everyone- and unfortunately some people do get to that point where they shut themselves away.

The average person will have to interact with others and in our interactions we have the choice to be compassionate or not- this is with ALL our interactions, not a select few. 

ALL our interactions must have compassion at their core. If they do NOT have compassion at their core then there will be something else there- and that something else  is selfishness.

Love and compassion go hand in hand. You can say love and that will encompass compassion.

Jesus wants us to LEARN compassion.

Jesus wants us to learn to put OTHERS before ourselves.

This is truly something we need to LEARN.

Jesus wants this of us, He's TEACHING us and it's a LIFE LONG LESSON.

We learn many lessons that we carry throughout our lives.

We aren't born automatically knowing everything.

You take a human being baby and let the child grow up without anyone to learn from then that child will be stunted in many ways.  There have been movies on this. Documentaries of those raised in the wild so to speak. In some instances the children grow up into savages, in others they grow up timid and reserved.  They don't grow up with the interaction of others and the chance to learn from others.  We learn amazing amounts of things from others. Our parents and relatives, our neighbors influence our earliest years- as well as teachers and daycare workers in a lot of cases.  As we age we are put in actual learning institutions where we are supposed to be learning all that is necessary to make us mature into well rounded, functioning individuals able to support ourselves and live peacefully with others. Then as we leave our learning institutions generally in a lot of work fields we are expected to continuously learn to keep up with the knowledge that is growing in our line of work. We also learn many things as we age, simply because we are exposed to life.

With Jesus as our TEACHER, His lessons are important for our eternity.  He is teaching us ETERNITY.

If we can't learn His lessons now, if we do not think it's important to learn His lessons now, will we even recognize our Teacher of Eternity? Will HE know us, His students?!

A child learns at the feet of his or her parents, we need to learn at the feet of our HEAVENLY Father, at the feet of our SAVIOR!

We need compassion at our core being. We need compassion in all we are. We need the compassion that only comes from our SAVIOR Jesus Christ. Compassion towards others ALWAYS!

In our Savior, in HIS LOVE, by HIS GRACE!

Compassion beyond comprehension

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil...

Mat 5:40  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

Sued at law.

We live in a society here in America that has made us a laughingstock of joke, we are the nation that sues. Go to America and find someone to sue to become rich. It's a joke, but a very sad one because it's based on truth. We think of suing people all the time, it's become second nature to us. You slip and fall on someone's stairs- sue them. You get bit by their dog- sue them. You are slandered by someone- sue them. You get hurt while committing a crime- sue those you were robbing. Sue, sue, sue… it's forever before us as a way of getting money for bad things that happen to us. How sad are we? How incredibly sad. 

Jesus says- if we are SUED and the man is awarded our coat, give him our cloak also.

Not only are we to give them what they are after but MORE than what they are offered.

Why?

We like to know why we are being told things, especially when they go against everything we've been taught.  We've been taught that when we do sue someone and are successful at it that we are to take as much of their money as possible- even if it means they have to sell their house, car, all their possessions to pay us.   So already we are taking everything we can, aren't we? How often do people sue others for just a tiny bit?  It does happen, but it's more likely that people are out to get more than they deserve rather than exactly what they deserve. 

If we are being sued we are not only to GIVE them all that they want but more, which is shocking. I can't imagine it happening in reality. Maybe it has happened and does happen, and maybe it will happen but it just seems incredibly strange.

So, why?

Compassion.

The comprehension of this very true reality-

1Ti_6:7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

Act_20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

We are being taught that to give undeservedly to someone is something GOOD, not something to be shunned.

Luk 14:12  Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.

Luk 14:13  But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:

Luk 14:14  And thou shalt be blessed; for they CANNOT recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

They cannot recompense thee.

Can we ever recompense our SAVIOR?

NO!

We will NEVER deserve the salvation He offers to us! We can NEVER pay Him back for this gift to rival ALL gifts.

He is our example. We are to LIVE as He lives. He gives without ever being able to recoup what He has lost. He gives without ever being able to receive again what He sacrificed.

Our Savior can tell us to GIVE more than what someone asks of us if they are taking us to the law and suing us, because it reveals HIS compassion!

Sure, most people would more than likely call you a fool if you did that, and the person receiving the extra might consider you a fool as well, but it doesn't matter. Those in Jesus' day thought Him a fool too. They wanted Him to get Himself down off the cross. They wanted Him to create an army to defeat the Romans. They thought Him a fool and a liar to do neither of those things. He wasn't about SELF, He was about SELFLESSNESS. He wants us to understand this selflessness and as our example He wants us to strive towards selflessness. Is there any other reason for telling us these truths if we are not to live them?  He is TEACHING us.

COMPASSION.

Compassion that goes far beyond comprehension.

Compassion that has others labeling us fools.

Compassion that Satan despises with every evil thing that he is.

Compassion.

Loving selflessly.

Please LORD, teach us! Open our hearts and minds to LEARN Your lessons, to LEARN to LOVE as YOU want us to love, as YOU LOVE.

All in YOU!

Kill my Son and I will still love you

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

Mat 5:38  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

TRUTH.

We are being taught TRUTHS, real truths that we need to LIVE BY.  Our lives MUST be lived by JESUS' teachings.  If we choose to read but not learn what good is it? Are we being taught if we aren't truly learning. If we don't live what we learn is the knowledge any good to us? If you learn how to fly a plane but never get in a plane to fly was the knowledge of your learning to fly any good at all? No. 

We go to school and often learn a lot of stuff we'll never use in our lives and more often than not we forget the majority of that stuff we learned and never utilized. We cannot afford to learn but not use what our Savior is trying to teach us. Our life depends upon learning and utilizing our knowledge, not learning and letting what we learn simply slip away unused.

Do you think for one moment that our Savior taught us things we didn't need to learn? He never spoke just to hear Himself, never. Every word was precious, every word was and is worthy of intense study. 

Resist not evil- whosever shall HIT you on one cheek let them HIT the other cheek.

What?!

Let them hit the other cheek? Wow.

Don't fight back? Hmn.

Really, let them hit us again without returning a single blow? Seriously?

Get beat without defending yourself? Come on.

What is the lesson here? It goes beyond simply letting someone hit us, doesn't it? It has to.

Resist not evil.  This isn't saying we are to commit evil, this is saying if evil is bound and determined to attack us we are NOT TO RETURN EVIL.  We are not to let evil CAUSE us to be evil.  It's better to be attacked by EVIL and do NOTHING than to use evil to defend ourselves.

There is truly NO good excuse for us to be EVIL, not even in response to evil. So often we love to justify our bad behavior by others bad behavior.  We use the much heralded justification of - THEY STARTED IT.

We use this to justify a lot of our actions, don't we?

We would not have been bad if THEY hadn't been bad first.

Think about this and carefully ask yourself whether you've done this in the past.  Has anyone ever hurt you - not just physically but maybe emotionally and mentally as well - and you hurt them back- just to hurt them because they hurt you?

It's common, very, very common. We have gangs all over that run their entire gang on this principle. The eye for an eye is a concept that people love because it lets them believe their evil act is somehow less evil than the original evil act that caused their response.  If that first evil act hadn't occurred you wouldn't have been put in a position of committing your evil.

Jesus was teaching us that NO EVIL is what is right, what is love, what is what He wants from us. No evil.

NO EVIL!

Giving evil for evil is still evil. You cannot call killing someone good because they killed, it just makes you a killer too. You are a bully if you bully a bully.  Yet we JUSTIFY our actions because they were provoked. We call them good and right because they were a result of another's evil.

No more. Jesus say's no more. Stop the self-justification. Stop the evil- enough is enough. No more, no more using this concept for our own evil.  Even in justified eye for and eye behavior that taking of the eye by the righteous person leaves a mark on that person who commits the same evil- though justified. People are to extend compassion. When you take an eye for an eye you do not show compassion. We limit our compassion when we seek even justified retribution.  Jesus didn't want us to limit our compassion. Jesus did NOT want us to lose any of our compassion, not the smallest bit of it. He knew that living in the world we would be subject to evil over and over and over, and He knew that rendering evil for evil would take the compassion we need from us.

Jesus is the greatest example of our compassion.

 No longer an eye for an eye, but compassion for an eye.

Take my eye but I will still show love to you, God's love.

Because God said- Kill my Son, my ONLY Begotten Son, and I will still love you.

This compassion goes beyond our full comprehension, but we are allowed a glimpse into it and Jesus is TEACHING us to learn this compassion.

This compassion is what makes it possible for us to be loved undeservedly.

Please Lord, please help us to learn these lessons, to learn compassion, to learn to turn the other cheek rather than retaliate in kind.

ALL IN YOUR AMAZING LOVE!

We are weak but we are warned.

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

 

Mat 5:33  Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:

Mat 5:35  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

Mat 5:36  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

 

This reminds me a bit of Paul -

 

1Co 7:8  I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.

1Co 7:9  But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

 

It is better NOT to swear, not to make oaths to GOD or anything that is GOD'S, but the swearing, the making of vows to God was something done.  Jesus Himself did say- 'ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time…'

 

In old time , this was said--

 

Ecc 5:4  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

Ecc 5:5  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Ecc 5:6  Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

 

Suffer NOT thy mouth to cause they flesh to sin.

 

Maybe today we don't make vows like they did in old OLD times.  A man seldom uses his word for anything at all. We need contracts and signatures in triplicate in order for our vows and oaths to mean anything to us.  A man's word USED to be his bond, but no longer is that true not in reality. It becomes heresy instantly when the word is broken. Men think very little of perjuring themselves even in court. They make a big deal over it, but in truth you have to prove perjury and when all you have is someone's word there is little proof- it just becomes a he said, she said, or he said, he said, or she said, she said kind of thing and you need to decide who to believe without knowing factually what is true.

 

The thing is, with God, He knows and NEEDS no proof from any one, HE knows the truth- all of it. He knows how easy it is for us to break our word even when we don't mean to.  Yet even though you don't mean to break your vow and were sincere when you made it, the action of breaking it remains and has a cost. 

It is better NEVER to EVER swear by GOD or anything- because ALL things are GOD'S, that to RISK being in a situation of having to break that vow, that oath, that swearing.

 

Why do we make vows?

Why do we swear by God?

Why do we make oaths?

 

Some do these very flippantly without any real regard to the importance of what they are doing. God does not turn a blind eye to such things. Jesus is TEACHING us, remember?

 

 

Mat 5:33  Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:

Mat 5:35  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

Mat 5:36  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

 

Yes or no - without any EMPHASIS.  Without anything more to add to those words. You can say Yes, but mean no-- you are lying. But when you say yes, and swear by God or any thing that is HIS then but then you lie, YOU are daring to LIE directly to YOUR Creator, YOUR Redeemer!

 

Lies..

 

We know who the father of lies is --

 

Joh_8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

 

When you choose to lie you are choosing SATAN.

When you choose to swear by God and inevitably there comes an occasion to break the oath you've made- because SATAN wants us to join him in his hideous well deserved fate of eternal death- then you are choosing SATAN, choosing DEATH.

 

We are weak but we are WARNED!

 

Our strength is CHRIST.

 

CHRIST tells us JUST to say YES or NO, do NOT invoke God's name on anything we are vowing, upon anything we are making an oath towards we have not right to do that, we are WEAK and Satan will exploit us at every opportunity. Our SAVIOR does not want us lost! Our SAVIOR does not want us to put ourselves in the position of choosing Satan over God.

 

Our SAVIOR is trying to teach us, we must learn.

Our SAVIOR is showing us LOVE.

We must surrender to HIS LOVE.

We must believe all these things He is trying to teach us are for our GOOD!

 

BY the grace of GOD may we LEARN, may we LEARN LOVE.

 

Please Lord, please keep us from making oaths, for making vows, for swearing in Your HOLY NAME, please! Save us!

 

In YOUR LOVE!

 

AMAZING LOVE!

When is the last time you suffered?

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

 

 

 

Mat 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

 

Mat 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

 

 

Jesus knew. He knew that people who had not embraced the spirit of God's laws were twisting them to suit their evil ways. They took the law and did like so many people love to do, they debated its meaning rather than seek the truth.

 

Whosoever shall put away his wife.

 

 

Put her away.

 

 

Make it so she is no longer his wife.

 

 

Used and then tossed aside.

 

 

Unsuited upon facing the test of marriage, so just write her off.

 

 

I'm not saying the women were not to blame here either. We know how Proverbs speaks of some wives.

 

 

Pro_21:19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

 

 

 

Pro_27:15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

 

 

 

Pro_21:9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

 

 

Better to live in the wilderness, or in a corner of the housetop-the attic. The monotonous, unending rain dropping can grate on a person's nerves, and being with a contentious woman is just like that- grating on the nerves. These are TRUTHS.

 

 

How many men put away their wives for their brawling and contentiousness? Jesus came to say that divorce for anything other than adultery was WRONG. So what, the wife is no longer the beauty you married. So what, the wife is a nagging woman. So what, the wife is a jealous shrew. And the list is endless.

 

 

The importance of the married act- the symbolic attributes of marriage were being completely ignored.

 

 

The Bride and the Bridegroom.

 

The Church and Jesus Christ.

 

The People of God and their Savior.

 

 

When you divorce save for adultery you are in essence ripping apart God's people from their Savior- saying that any little thing can do this. Rather than remaining together and SUFFERING, they divorce. Did you catch that word I emphasized with all capitals? SUFFERING.

 

 

 

Remember yesterday's blog? SUFFERING.

 

Yes, it's better to HIDE than stay in the presence of a bitter woman, but it did NOT say it's better to divorce the bitter woman than stay with her.

 

 

 

SUFFERING.

 

Now I've had this discussion several times with others about a woman in an abusive marriage and her *right* to divorce him. I take the very UNPOPULAR position that it's NOT right to divorce him. Leave him, YES, but divorce Him, NO. The marriage was made, the covenant of marriage was utilized. The symbolic ceremony of TWO becoming ONE yet remaining TWO separate beings took place. To rip that apart for anything short of ONE of those TWO joining wrongly with another, thus breaking the bond of that ONENESS, it would be WRONG to divorce. Some might arguing that separating from your husband is just as bad but it's not- you are NOT ripping apart that covenant by putting protective distance between you and your abuser.

 

Suffering-

 

 

 

It's something we all HATE.

 

We've taught ourselves that to suffer is torturous and wrong.

 

An old woman who put up with a cranky, unaffectionate husband for fifty years is someone we've pitied and told ourselves is very sad. The truth is while the woman may have suffered terribly through the crankiness and lack of affection, she's built herself a very strong wall that is set upon the Foundation of Christ Himself. Yes, she's suffered, but she's endured.

 

 

 

When is the last time you suffered?

 

 

 

You might be able to say you suffered just a few moments ago and you suffer every day on a constant basis. In your suffering do you consider it unjust? Do you question 'why you'? Do you blame God? Do you believe truly that here and now on earth you shouldn't have to suffer?

 

We do all those things don't we?

 

 

 

We believe we should not have to suffer, not even in the slightest way. We truly believe we shouldn't suffer occasionally, let alone chronically.

 

Jas_5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

 

1Pe_2:19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

 

Endure, not necessarily be ecstatic in your suffering.

 

1Co_10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

 

 

 

Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

 

Jas 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

 

Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

 

Truth.

 

 

 

When we are tempted it is the very first step towards lust conception and what lust has been conceived it is sin.

 

We are tempted A LOT because Satan would have us to be HIS and has thrown in the face of God that most of these created beings of His called humans will choose to give into temptation rather than suffer, rather than take the escape route that calls for great suffering. Most will not want their faith tried, they simply want to exist in peace, in comfort, in a place of no suffering physically, mentally, or emotionally.

 

 

 

Our Savior understands our suffering and if you want to believe that He couldn't possibly understand then imagine for a moment you transport yourself into the body of a beast of burden and even then it can't compare to a GOD taking on the constraints of human flesh. He suffered more than we can possibly comprehend in ways we cannot comprehend. He endured far greater suffering than we will ever endure. He could have called TEN THOUSAND angels to set Him free of it all- He HAD that ability to give up, to not drink the cup poured for Him, but He endured. We suffer on another level and call it worse because we can't call ten thousand angels to stop our suffering, we HAVE to go through it. But honestly what is worse? Doing something you HAVE to do without the ability to change it, or having the ability and knowing that if you choose to use that ability everything is lost for all humanity? Suffering with that knowledge, we can't comprehend what that had to be like. So while we might want to say Jesus didn't suffer like we suffer and mean that we some how suffer more in a worse way, how silly is that, how incredibly naïve is that, truthfully, how stupid is that of us?

 

 

 

Jesus meant what He said when He expounded on marriage and divorce. If you are called to suffer except for the utter betrayal of a spouse with another, then you suffer. If you must leave that spouse you must not divorce them and no, you must not join with another once you've left. You must suffer the separation regardless of how great the suffering is. This isn't going to be popular with ANYONE reading it, not in the least. People will make great excuses to get around these truths. In the end it is Christ who said these words--

 

Mat 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

 

Mat 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

 

-- not me.

 

 

 

For those of us who have sinned in this manner, we truly need to seek a real repentance, and a very real forgiveness from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Lord please, please help us to live Your truths! Please LORD, help us to accept suffering over sinning.

 

 

 

ALL BY YOUR GRACE, through the HOLY SPIRIT!

 

IN YOUR LOVE!