It is no wonder that anti-Christian philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre stated that “Hell is other people.”
IF he were to go further with this he'd get people to talk about their thought life.
People don't realize just how often they're thought life condemns them.
I am a thoroughly wretched sinner. I’ve broken at least a dozen of the ten commandments.
Talk about Egyptian bondage. Nobody can ever get out of the doghouse, the place of exile, the land of Siriad to this day.
Wolves in sheep's clothing:
Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Their disciples have long been trained to react in lockstep fashion, to tear after the "heretics" who -- unlike the popular preachers who never let anyone forget their sins ever -- say what Jesus said, something good and positive for a change:
"Your sins are forgiven."
And therefore... you can go ahead and get up now. You know, come on let's do this. It's a new day and you've learned your lesson so... lets go up to the mountain of the Lord.
But when paralyzed, dead conformity idols have been king for a couple thousand years, beating people down, good luck with that message. Does anyone really wonder why the prophets were killed? They were the subversives making radical statements contrary to the established wisdom, disrupting the status quo. They had to go.
In the real world, who can bear working for (much have any respect for) insecure management who is always slithering around finding fault? A lot of people go into business for themselves to escape the hell of being ruled by people too big for their britches and always on the lookout for donut crumbs on someone's chin.
Yet somehow a remnant in the churches manages to do the will of their Father in heaven, while those watching the clock (eager to make a beeline for the exits) are confident in their union contracts, knowing that they don't have to do this, that, or the other thing. OSAS = once hired, always hired. There is a certain type of "worker" to whom this message appeals.
It's bad out there. Help is on the way, but few expect or want the Messiah whom God wants to give. He doesn't match the established expert expectations of what to expect when you're expecting.
Once in an October past, I saw a very expectant mother who had the right attitude. She was wearing a t-shirt with a big Jack O'Lantern on it. lol.
Isaac = "he will laugh", and in Isaac is Abraham's seed called.
Kind of like saying that if Jesus even cuts down his own Christmas tree, who is anyone to criticize the practice?
A Stihl small voice says, "Pop more popcorn".
One of the primary effects of the Sermon on the Mount should be to convict all of us that we are complete sinners and that nobody lives up to God’s standards. Jesus sets a level of behavior required by God that nobody has every complied with for even a week of their lives. He told the people there that to get into Heaven they need to surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees who were universally regarded as the most righteous people in society. Jesus’ point was that nobody can earn their way into heaven and show them why they need a Savior.