Posted on 01/02/2014 10:13:07 AM PST by DouglasKC
The Ravenous Wolves of FreeRepublic
How do we deal with the insults and pain of those whom Christ called "ravenous wolves"?
Many aren't aware of it but the phrase "A wolf in sheep’s clothing" has biblical origins.
Mat 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
The word translated "false prophet" here is not referring to a Godly person who has a prophecy that fails. Instead it's referring to a person who pretends to be a Christian but in reality is not. They are compared to "ravenous wolves" among the flock.
These ravenous wolves exist in life. And they exist here in the religious forum of FreeRepublic. They can be a challenge to our faith and to our Christianity. In this article we're going to examine how to identify these wolves in sheep clothing and how to use our shepard, Jesus Christ, to combat them.
How can we know them? Jesus Christ gave us the answer in the very next verse:
Mat 7:16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
In other words, says Christ, real Christians have a certain, identifiable "fruit". The wolves among the sheep will NOT have these fruits. You can't get grapes from thorns.
Jesus then goes on to make another comparison:
Mat 7:17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
The word translated "bad" means harmful, or evil. Something that is intended to hurt or destroy. So the hallmark of bad fruit is something that is harmful or destructive to people. "Good" on the other hand is something that is beautiful, beneficial, or worthy.
Mat 7:20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
So the mark of a wolf in sheep’s clothing is whether they bear good fruit, or any. In John 15, Christ gives more detail on this fruit.
John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
This fruit is something that Christians have. If someone doesn't have Christ they then won't have this fruit.
The Fruit of the Spirit
But what is this fruit? How can we know whether the fruit is good or bad unless we know what it looks like? Luckily the apostle Paul gives us a good idea of what this fruit looks like in the book of Galatians.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
This fruit, these characteristics, are the natural result of living and abiding in Christ, in having his spirit.
Paul sums them up beautifully in 1 Corinthians:
1Co 13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
1Co 13:5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
1Co 13:6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
1Co 13:7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
These characteristics apply across all organizations. Organizations do not have a lock on the spirit of God. If someone exhibits these characteristics on a consistent basis they do have the spirit of God and they are a Christian.
There are many people in various organizations on FreeRepublic that exhibit these traits. Many Catholic, LDS, Protestant and Messianic and other members of FreeRepublic exhibit these traits and thus do have the spirit of God and are Christians.
However there are a very few that rarely if ever exhibit these traits. In fact they exhibit something else....the works of the flesh:
Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
Gal 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
These behaviors are not just physical but are also spiritual. They are destructive and harmful to themselves and those they come into contact with.
That should not be surprising because the emanate not jut from the flesh, but are demonic in origin. James highlights these works.
James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
Note that good behavior and meekness are hallmarks of of wisdom, having the spirit of the Lord. James contrasts that with other behavior.
James 3:14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
James 3:15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
James 3:16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
And back to the righteous:
James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
James 3:18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Animal Behavior
So these are the fruits. The ravenous wolves of FreeRepublic generally act like their namesakes....wolf like.
You've seen them. They'll post derogatory things about others and their faith. The purpose isn't to defend their own faith which often is hidden or not evident. . The purpose is to satisfy their hunger for division, acrimony and blood.
Like animals they seem not to know how to behave civility. They can't address others with whom they disagree without snarling, spitting and insulting. They bare their teeth and pretend that their animal nature is noble and Godly.
They justify their animal nature by pretending that they're just like us. They show us their sheepskin but they can't hide their true nature.
Like a wolf pack there is hierarchy and anyone outside of the pack is instantly set upon if one so much as questions the rules of the pack.
Like a wolf pack they howl, or ping others, when they think they've identified a victim. Peter describes their behavior perfectly:
1Pe_5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
That's how the ravenous wolves of FreeRepublic operate. They bait. They hunt down. They attack. They devour and all the while pretend that they're one of us.
Christ is the Shepherd
How do we deal with these wolves? These impostors? These fake Christians? After all they seem to have the advantage of aggressiveness, viciousness and have no qualms about personally attacking others.
The answer is that "we" can't do anything. We're sheep. We're weak. We're helpless. We don't have the teeth or claws they do.
But we have something else. Something they don't have. We have Christ as our shepherd protecting and guiding us. They can't harm us if we depend on Christ and stay in the flock.
Really all the wolves can do is sit just outside the flock, snarling, biting and snapping at us. And maybe that's why they're bitter and angry. They realize that they're not real sheep. They envy that the sheep have real faith in their shepherd. They wonder why Christ doesn't accept their disguise as being the real thing.
Now certainly we're not perfect sheep. I'm not. Sometimes we take their bait. It's not easy to see other sheep begin attacked or to be attacked. Sometimes we want to snarl back with our little sheep teeth. But it rarely works because to do that we have to leave the side of Christ.
The best strategy is to let Christ take care of them. They're not fooling very many and they're certainly not fooling Jesus. They're interested only in satisfying their hunger. They don't want to debate. When they pretend they are they're really only dangling bait to draw others out where they will be vulnerable and away from the shepherd.
About such Christ said:
Mat 7:6 "Don't give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls to pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them and then tear you to pieces.
These ravenous wolves of FreeRepublic have figured out how to manipulate and find the "loopholes" in the forum rules so their rude, crude and unChristian behavior is tolerated. But they're not fooling anyone. A leopard can't hide his spots.
Ultimately they are to be pitied. Clearly they've had experiences in their lives where they've been hurt deeply. They've been betrayed. They've been picked on. They've been abused. So not knowing Christ they do the same to others. They behave like animals as all Christians did before becoming Christians.
But they don't have to. One day God will open up their eyes. He will show them that they are only pretending to be sheep and they will realize their animal nature and be ashamed. And then Christ will show them HOW to become sheep.
Our prayers should be that they will change. That they will bear fruit worthy of repentance. And we should examine ourselves and our attitudes toward them and others. To pray that God gives us the wisdom, kindness and gentleness to deal with those who would use us and spitefully accuse us.
Mat 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.'
Mat 5:44 But I tell you this: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.
Mat 5:45 In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven.
This should be our goal. To let the light of our Father shine through and to glorify him. A tall order to be sure but the only way to stand up to the wolves.
The sad reflection on brand name denominations is that many of my friends who don’t go to church for very reason mentioned in the prior post are more Christ-like in their compassion for their fellow man than the average sample of those who attend once a week then head for the Sunday Buffet at Golden Corral at 12:01 pm.
According to the Mormons:
“When you have the Spirit:
3. Nobody can offend you.
When you don’t have the Spirit:
3. You are easily offended.”
(From the thread entitled: How can I know when I have the Spirit of the Lord with me?)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3107140/posts?q=1&;page=101
Well, you’re covering a few things there. As to the Native Americans or anyone who was or still is without any knowledge of Christ, their salvation depends on a view of God’s middle-knowledge and molinism.
Dr. Craig, a philosopher and Christian theologian, addresses this concern here.
http://www.reasonablefaith.org/molinism-the-unevangelized-and-cultural-chauvinism
Mother Theresa was a Christian and if she truly put her faith in Christ (which I think its safe to say she definitely did) she will be with the Lord. As a Christian I do not claim some denominations go the heaven and some don’t. We have doctrinal differences, but our core faith is the same.
Mormons are more murky territory, because you are dealing with cults there (and I don’t mean that derisively, but that is to say they hold to many of the Christian tenets and have their origin in Christianity, but reject very core principles, much like Jehovah’s Witnesses. )
And finally, murderers and such people, of course if they have true repentance (which does not absolutely follow from a declaration of the mouth), they can be redeemed. If they could not be, then where would we draw the line? Can rapists be redeemed? What about thieves? Remember that although we mostly find it extremely difficult to forgive various criminals, God is infinitely merciful.
Most of the condemnation of Perry is based in the same reasoning as condemning Miley Cyrus, that is more cultural than religious, in that they corrupt youth.
True, but he is also just and, as such, I will trust him to draw the line, not some "self-appointed expert," a class which reminds me so much of libtards for the reasons cited.
That will hold true in my other examples as well.
Intentional?
‘self-appointed expert’
Like theologians? I think there are Freepers who have theology degrees.
I understand that and accept it. I don’t accept calling her ugly names like slut and skank, etc.
I have a friend and her husband who have actively been looking for a church for a few years now.
“I thought Christianity was a pillar of conservative values but I have to admit I have read so many offensive comments I have questioned whether I should continue.”
Having a personal relationship with Jesus via the Holy Spirit is a completely different thing than the existence of those who claim they are “Christian” because that’s what they were “raised” with or claim because they were baptized as a baby.
As for distasteful comments, I am a chief offender, but God’s working on me.
Yes, I understand. I can have quite a sharp tongue myself. :-)
“We’re not really ravenous ... just dieting.”
I just had a piece of the awesome lemon cake that I have figured how to make. Fresh lemons are the key.
We've all seen how that has worked out, especially in the past decade or so.
Knowledge and learning is good if it is supplemented with wisdom. But it is no substitute for wisdom. A wise Rabbi once told me that wisdom without knowledge will gain knowledge and learning. But knowledge and learning without wisdom will not endure.
:: I can’t imagine a just God doing any of the following ::
On the other hand hand, I find it very comforting that God (YHWH) does not need to live up to our human imaginings.
It’s Jesus’ Church. He said, “...I will build my church.”
To follow Jesus is to love His Church.
Ephesians 5:25 ...Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
“*all bets are off for my criticisms of the Posting Police. They richly deserve any criticism they get from me and I am God’s instrument ;-).”
Be careful! Be very careful when you start hammering the Posting Police, ok?! ;-)
Sometimes people look for a Church for what they can get out of it [”I don’t go to Church. I don’t get anything out of it”] Try giving your time to God.
“We’re not really ravenous ... just dieting.”
LOL!
Not on that thread. The article was about her saying she believed in her version of God, and she didn’t believe in hell. It had nothing to do with anything other than people claiming to be Christian trashing her, using such reasoned arguments like “she’s a skank”
Yeah, this is going to end well.
Where is that sarc tag again, I left it here just a few minutes ago....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.