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Bible Study -
Bible Study
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Contributed by Phil Spadaro
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Monday, 29 August 2005 |
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Page 2 of 2
God expects his people to different and holy. There
is no room for watering this concept down. God values righteousness,
goodness and a selfless attitutude. The Kingdom of God has always had
open doors to any who would faithfully repent and submit to His
will (Leviticus 16, 17, 18; Matthew 28:19). Inclusion does not embrace those who know the truth yet
give up trying to be righteous (Luke 18:1, Galatians 6:9). Inclusion does reach out to
everyone who does not know the truth and is full of grace (Romans 15:1, Colossians 3:12-13, 1 Timothy 4:2) to those who
are already in the light. Yes, we are to be distinctive as Christians,
striving to be righteous, not giving up and full of light. Yet as we (and
others) sometimes fail, we show grace and mercy just as God does for
us.
Be wary of the exclusionary. Be wary of the one who
uses inclusion as an excuse for sin. Embrace
inclusion in way God intended. Embrace holiness, righteousness and distinction.
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distinction
Written by alan on 2005-12-20 07:24:49
You have focused on an important and difficult area. We are clearly to be distinct from the world (in the world but not of the world; not conformed to the world; not loving this world nor the things in the world). But we are just as strongly commanded NOT to make distinctions between ourselves and other Christians. Those who practice dissensions and factions will not inherit the kingdom of God. We are not to judge our brother on disputable matters. We are to accept him whose faith is weak. We are to accept one another.
The principles are clear but the application is quite challenging. Fundamentally, we are not very good at discerning the wheat from the weeds--Jesus said we are liable to pull up some of the wheat if we try to pull out all of the weeds. The Kingdom is like a net that gathers good and bad fish, and the angels will sort that out at the end of the age. It is not our job to try to sort out the bad fish from the net.
There are some clear cases where God has told us to exclude (1 Cor 5:9-10; 2 John verses 7-11). I think we are in dangerous territory if we try to expand those cases to include other kinds of error. Paul instructed Timothy to gently instruct those who opposed him (2 Tim 2).
Thanks for bringing up these thoughts. These are some of the central issues in bringing about unity among believers.
Alan |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 10 January 2006 )
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Bible Study 
