I can agree with you on that, but he certainly wasn't a warmonger nor did He promote violence.
See? The demon was removed from his life by God's grace.
Hmm... I respectfully disagree here and here's why. St. Paul mentions in his other epistles weaknesses in his body. In fact, he mentions some were even making fun of him because of it. He says he has an infirmity. Infirmity means an illness, disease.
My Grace is sufficient for theee. For power is made perfect in infirmity. Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
If power can be made perfect in infirmity, how come the demon would flee as you suggest? Why would St. Paul then glory in that infirmity?
As for poverty, see 2 Cor 8:9. Jesus destroyed it, just as effectively as He destroyed the power of sin and sickness over us. See also Romans ch.8.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor, for your sakes; that through his poverty you might be rich.
Are you really interpreting that as material wealth? See, I interpret that as a spiritual wealth.
I fail to see how Romans chapter 8 says that sin, sickness and poverty no longer will bother us again. It is a battle we will always deal with as Jesus instructed us to visit the sick, help the poor, and pray to keep ourselves from temptation.
"For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always."
How is poverty abolished forever when Jesus said that?
Another interesting note that Jesus praised the poor widow that cast in her measley mites compared to the rich that cast in in their abundance. The Lazarus parable too where the rich man is in torment and the poor man makes it to Heaven. Because the rich man was selfish and never helped his poor neighbor, Lazarus.
I fear it is making hollow promises to tell people that they can escape poverty by adopting a certain interpretation of Scripture. Jesus saw poverty as a certain condition of life, one that would always be among us and He left instructions on how to deal with it. Through kindness, human compassion and brotherly love.
No, infirmity means human frailty, our limitations in this present state. Check it out with a word study.
If power can be made perfect in infirmity, how come the demon would flee as you suggest? Why would St. Paul then glory in that infirmity?
David said that he would boast in the Lord. He would brag, he would be proud, not because of anything that he did, but humbly remembering the power of God that rested upon him. If he could manifest the authority of God under a lesser covenant, how much more should we? Demons are subject to us because we are in Christ- seated at the right hand of God in Him, holding a position of Lordship over Heaven and earth in Him, preeminent in Him. We are part of the Body of Christ, therefore all authority resident in Him applies to us.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor, for your sakes; that through his poverty you might be rich.
Are you really interpreting that as material wealth? See, I interpret that as a spiritual wealth.
Absolutely, it means MONEY. Look at the whole chapter. He was speaking in context of taking up an offering of MONEY to help the persecuted Christians in Jerusalem. There really is no other reasonable way to interpret it.
I fail to see how Romans chapter 8 says that sin, sickness and poverty no longer will bother us again. It is a battle we will always deal with as Jesus instructed us to visit the sick, help the poor, and pray to keep ourselves from temptation.
And how are we supposed to do that if we are compromising with personal sin, too sick to function, and too broke to help anybody?
As for Romans 8, it's the most succinct description of our position of dominion in Christ that I know of.
"For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always."
How is poverty abolished forever when Jesus said that?
It's not abolished in the earth as a reality, but we are just freed from having to be ruled by it. Same with sin and sickness. Not everybody gets saved or healed either. That doesn't diminish the provision that Jesus made for us on the cross.
Another interesting note that Jesus praised the poor widow that cast in her measley mites compared to the rich that cast in in their abundance.
Look closely at that again. Read it from Mark 12:42 to 13:2 without stopping for the chapter break. Jesus saw the religious leaders taking advantage of the poor by accepting her offering, when she should have been the recipient of the temple storehouse. Widows, orphans, the levites and the stranger (non-believers who were seeking God) were to get special care, since they had no provider, or head of household. Jesus pronounced judgment upon the temple because of their greed. (He called them 'lovers of silver' literally) He did not condemn the rich who gave with a right heart.
The Lazarus parable too where the rich man is in torment and the poor man makes it to Heaven. Because the rich man was selfish and never helped his poor neighbor, Lazarus.
No argument there. But again, the problem was the man's heart, his love of money- not the money itself. He could have had money and served God, just as Zacchaeus did after his conversion.
I fear it is making hollow promises to tell people that they can escape poverty by adopting a certain interpretation of Scripture. Jesus saw poverty as a certain condition of life, one that would always be among us and He left instructions on how to deal with it. Through kindness, human compassion and brotherly love.
I agree, but that doesn't mean we accept it, but that we destroy it. How about through hard work and education, through faithfulness and character and morality and ethics? Poverty is not solved by some some 'faith confession' as I've heard taught on Christian TV, nor is it solved by giving into anyone's offering. Christians need to seriously take a cue from the Jews- they actually believe their covenant, and we have a better one! It's just that most of the church is racked with bad teaching on the subject.
Like I said earlier, I think we agree more than we disagree.
Well said!