Isaiah 52 : 11 Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord. 12 But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
We liked to use the quotation of this verse in the New Testament to invite to come out from the world and avoid unclean, to avoid sinners. But here the next verse sais, "But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you". So we needn't be too much afraid of contacts with unbelievers. The Lord is with his own to guard.
We liked to use the quotation of this verse in the New Testament to invite to come out from the world and avoid unclean, to avoid sinners. But here the next verse sais, "But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you". So we needn't be too much afraid of contacts with unbelievers. The Lord is with his own to guard.
12 comments:
Hello,
Who are You? Are You back among the brothers, is that why You stopped posting updates?
Hello,
I'm not back among them. In this case I would delete the blog probably. I'm just too buzy with other activities. The life is going on, one cannot live in the past only.
Why do You make this statement?
I never experienced it that formalistic. It was always just as You Your self interpreted it. It was just your freedom (we were called for!) and your own decision.
I think there WAS too much fear of outward influence. For exapmle, I've heard that someone was excluded just for talking with an excluded brother.
fear (?), means a lack of base in God!
1.Joh 4, 18
"I've heard ..."
Do You really belief it?
It would have been good to examine such statement! I experienced so much love for the truth and for each other that I can not imagine it!
Probably it was'nt the talk it self but the content of the talk, then we are assessed by the content of our words.
I mean:
..., 'cause we are assessed by our words, the content of our heart.
Yes, it was the content, not the fact of talking. Excuse me for superficiality. The one inside didn't believe that the excluded one was a false teacher as the community said. As much as I know the 'false' teaching was about marriage or life-style: in agreement with the Bible but not with the community.
So, as there is not enough base in the Bible for hindering marriage between Christians, the community was afraid of questioning their practice. Because if brothers-sisters marry and have children, of cause they wouldn't be able to maintain the community's travelling life-style.
The excluded one could not be in agreement with the bible, otherwise he wouldn't have been excluded. I think it is a bit haughty to think, as single one, to be lead more or better than the church. Jesus identifies him self with his church, those who in obedience follow him. So there are many and not only a single one. Many who endeavour, fight and pray to see and find the Will of God, the truth.
When a brother is excluded, he is one agaist many, but if you count all the brothers-sisters who have been excluded or have left the community in connection with the question of marriage, there are more of them. And if you count all the people who follow Jesus and think that marriage is allowed, then the 100 persons in our community are a little minority.
I think it is also haughty to think that 100 persons know the truth and all the other thousands or billions who think they also follow the Christ are wrong.
... it is not the matter of against someone, but of leading!
... and do you think that "all the other thousands or billions who think they also follow the Christ are" in unity and love each other as Jesus have commanded?
Do you also remember what Jesus sad in Mt 7, 14-23?
I think there are enough those who lead a loving life and who are in unity at least in the essential questions.
Concerming Mt 7, yes, seeing oneself as a Christian is not enough for salvation, but I don't believe that only this 100 persons are those who really know and do the will of the Father and that all the others are evildoers.
I am a bit scared, where is community led into, because it is decreasing due to its high-speed lifestyle like a burning comet in the space.
I suppose that community doesn't know right now, by whom they are led. If they're not going to take a break, I suppose they will end up in nowhere and there will be nobody in the community.
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