Posted on 04/17/2008 11:43:27 AM PDT by alpha-8-25-02
Mature Christians pursue a deeper and more profound relationship with God.
DEAR SAINTS,
AS A TEACHER OF REFORMED DOCTRINE AND REFORMATION HISTORY I OFTEN HEAR THE CRY,”DOCTRINE DIVIDES”.
SOME HAVE TOLD MY PASTOR TO KEEP HIS SOVERIEGN GRACE ATTACK DOG CHAINED.
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN EFFECTED BY THESE ATTITUDES AND MORE SO HOW DO YOU AND YOUR COMMUNITY DEAL WITH IT?
THANKYOU IN ADVANCE!
5 SOLAS!
Mature Christians pursue Christ.
PLEASE TELL US HOW THEY DO THAT.
Less mature Christians bludgeon their fellow Christians with false-witness reformulations of those fellow Christians’ faith.
PLEASE SEE 5.
He probably will if you stop shouting.
Mature Christians grow more compassionate and more acutely aware of doctrine simultaneously. SOME churches these days try to take only one (welcome homosexual behavior) while throwing out the other. Love exists with holiness and righteousness, and sinners deserve and need to be told the truth lovingly.
Or, (1) Love God; (2) Love your neighbor.
More prayer, less shouting.
Exhale.
Gidday Alpha!
> AS A TEACHER OF REFORMED DOCTRINE AND REFORMATION HISTORY I OFTEN HEAR THE CRY,”DOCTRINE DIVIDES”.
It does indeed divide.
> SOME HAVE TOLD MY PASTOR TO KEEP HIS SOVERIEGN GRACE ATTACK DOG CHAINED.
By this I interpret that some folk would prefer not to argue the finer points of doctrine at the expense of maintaining civility. True?
> HOW HAVE YOU BEEN EFFECTED BY THESE ATTITUDES AND MORE SO HOW DO YOU AND YOUR COMMUNITY DEAL WITH IT?
Speaking personally, I really dislike it when people get stuck into “taxing the mint and cumin” of the Gospel, while ignoring the weightier matters. Christ set this example when chastising the Pharisees and hypocrites.
We see it often here, on FRee Repbulic threads. A religious matter is posted to be discussed, and the subject gets hijacked by some doctrine-waving bigot whose only objective seems to be to attack people who believe differently, and thus prove himself more “worthy” than the poor sorry sods who set up the thread.. It’s sick, really.
It’s rather like being awoken by the Jehovah Witnesses early on a Saturday morning and being unable to get them off your property until well into Sunday afternoon, long after The Rugby has kicked off. (Naturally this can only ever happen when the Dog is at the kennels for breeding, but you know what I mean).
Doctrine does indeed divide: sadly it seldom unifies. Luckily, we are not judged by our understanding of doctrine, but by our practise thereof. Doctrine is only there to govern the way a true Christian behaves, because it is by our works that our Faith is demonstrated — so says St Paul.
God is not going to give us a multi-choice quiz on Judgment Day. He is, instead, going to see if our Hearts and Character reflect the example set by Our Lord, an whether we have practised the principles of what He preached. Our knowledge of Doctrine will matter for little if we have not applied it.
i am not shouting,i type with one finger because i am disabled.
Which Christ?
"compassion" and "charity" aren't the same thing. I'm not even sure that welcoming homosexual behavior qualifies as compassion. I'm quite certain that it's not authentic charity.
The one who will judge you on the last day.
Sorry to hear of your disability, God’s peace be with you.
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