Christ was no thief, but He allowed Himself to be crucified with and for thieves. Why did He allow this? Love compelled Him to bear the sins of many.
There are two categories of sin: sins against God and sins against man. By default, every sin is against God. Yet, not all sin is against man.
The apostle Paul knew the saints of God and desired to greet them by name. This serves as a tremendous demonstration of brotherly love!
The Bible often defines words through their associations. For instance, the words salute, saluteth, and salutation involve a greeting.
How would making your motive match the Lord's motive change how you approach the Christian life (from witnessing to praying to Bible reading and so on)?
It takes a person with strong conviction to be willing to die for a cause. However, the one martyred is not necessarily a mature and complete Christian.
A man’s conscience resides within, yet its expression can be witnessed by others. Because of the testimony of his conscience, Paul rejoiced. According to scripture, that testimony was manifest to the world but especially among the people of God. Those who knew Paul knew that he served the Lord “in simplicity and godly sincerity.” He did not do everything right, but he exhibited a passion of heart to do right in all that he did. No doubt, this was a wonderful example to other believers who looked to Paul for guidance. They saw a man who sincerely loved the Lord and others and also gave every effort possible not to offend either.
The Lord warned His followers about the wickedness of those who have an inordinate desire to be in authority over others. “The princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them” (Matthew 20:25). The people of God should not be controlled by such men (or women). Those who know and love the Lord should sincerely desire to serve others rather than to be in authority over them. The chief example is the Lord Jesus Christ who “came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). John gave a similar warning when he spoke of “Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence” (3 John 1:9).
The brethren have become notorious about speaking of one another, not always in the best light. Frequently, the individual’s reputation who is the subject of the conversation dictates the tone of the conversation. We have several examples of the brethren speaking of Timothy. Thankfully, each instance involved a report of praise. If someone chose to speak evil of Timothy, the conversation would have had to revolve around some sort of baseless accusation. According to the Bible’s testimony of Timothy, he had a wonderful reputation among believers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul likewise gave a good report of Timothy when he said, “I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. . . . But ye know the proof of him, that as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel” (Philippians 2:20-22). Every Christian should live in such a way that any evil report would be baseless and rejected by those who know you best.
Church discipline has commonly taken place under one of two extremes. It is either nonexistent or overused. Church discipline, however, is intended to be one of God’s methods of chastening. Before weak and unscriptural churches became so prevalent, those disciplined by one body of believers would not be readily accepted into another congregation while in a state of rebellion. Issues had to be settled and hearts made right. People had to repent and seek restoration. Discipline was implemented not only for the purity of the body, but also so that those who had gone astray might repent and find true restoration amongst the body. God used this chastening to purify saints and churches alike.
