Accepting But Not Agreeing
In the letter to the Galatians, Paul specifically called this out when he said, Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods .
Paul was referring to people who did not know God because of the bondage of sin. This is a very powerful statement because it tells us the demarcation of being a Christian in believing in other religions. Now, look at what Paul says in Romans 1:18-25, as it is written,
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world Gods invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
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This article is part of our larger Spiritual Life resource meant to answer your questions about the Bible, God and the Christian faith. Visit our most popular questions on What does the Bible say about questions answered by well known Christians and theologians to find more inspiration. Remember that as you read these articles, the Holy Spirit will give you understanding and discernment to make the right decision for your walk with Jesus Christ! If you know others struggling with these faith questions, please share and help others discover the truth on these controversial topics.
The Parable Of The Pharisee And The Publican
From Luke 18:9-14, we see Jesus tell the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. In the parable we come across two characters who go up to the temple to pray to God. We are first introduced to the Pharisee. This Pharisee thought very highly of himself he was overly righteous due to how he practiced his religious ways. The Publican was seen, by the people, as a very evil person due to his job people didnt think very highly of this man and thought of him essentially as trash because he was a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank You that I am not like other menextortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
key verse Luke 18:11 NKJV
When they entered into the temple to pray, notice the action of both men. Both men went into the temple to pray at the same time . I want you to also notice that both of these men separate from one another and pray apart from each other . Notice that Jesus says , the tax collector, standing afar off we will come back and touch on this in a little bit.
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Clean Up Your Speech: The Bible Makes It Clear
Paul also gave us positive advice on how to use our wordsnot to cursebut to bless others. He wrote in Ephesians 4:29-30: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to the needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
The meaning of unwholesome talk is rather obvious. One of the purposes of our talk is to build others upaccording to their needs. This implies that we know what their needs are. They may need comfort, guidance, encouragement, acceptance, approval or even loving rebukes. Can you imagine what our homes would be like if nothing but wholesome talk came out of our mouths?
When all is said and done the Bible makes it very clear that we should clean up our speech. Why? Because Jesus teaches that unclean words come from a dirty heart. Our light to the world is extinguished and no one sees Jesus in us .
Jesus also says that our unclean words lead us into depravity and sin. Our Christian purity is flushed down the toilet.
So what should we do when it comes to cursing and swearing? We read the Bible often. Gods Words are like Ivory soap. They purify your heart and uplift your thoughts.
We filter our mouths and think and say wholesome and positive things.
We follow Pauls advice, and experience peace and blessing.
Well, David, thanks for asking such a timely and relevant question.
Love, Roger
Whats Wrong With Gossip
Everyone likes a good story, right? Well, not necessarily. What about the person the story is about? Does that person like you telling their story? Probably not. Spreading rumors only hurts others and destroys our credibility. Who is going to trust us with anything when they think well tell everyone else?
Gossip is also a way we judge others, which really isnt our job. God is in charge of judging people, not us. Gossip really only ends up creating greed, hate, envy, murder.
Gossip is also a sign that we are not really active in our faith and in our lives. If you think about it, the busier we are, the less time we have to gossip. We no longer have the time to get wrapped up in someone elses life. Gossip is bred out of boredom. It may start as a simple conversation about people, and then escalates quickly. The Bible clearly tells us to do more than discussing other peoples lives.
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Bible Verses About Belittling
Romans 15:1-33 – We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Isaiah 55:8-9 – For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, John 1:1-51 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Ephesians 4:26 – Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: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.Ezekiel 34:4 – The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.1 John 3:12 – Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
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Bible Verses About Speaking Ill Of Others
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What Does The Bible Say About Advocacy
The Bible clearly calls Christians to advocate for those in need.
If secular advocacy is calling on government officials to pay attention to whats important to you, biblical advocacy is reminding them to do what God has called them to do since 88% of Congress publicly claims faith in Christ.
The Bible is filled with many verses in which God specifically asks us to speak on behalf of those in need.
Disagreeing Does Not Mean Hatred
Despite our knowing that our religious tolerance towards other beliefs and doctrines will sometimes not be reciprocated by other people, this does not mean that we brew in hatred for others who do not believe in Jesus Christ.
According to Scripture, religious tolerance is also about being respectful to others even if they are not respectful to us. We can read this in Matthew 5:43-48,
You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
The verse puts so much emphasis on loving our enemies and while other people who do not believe in Christ may or may not be our enemies, it boils down to the fact that it is specifically stated in the Bible that we should never let hatred brew in our hearts because of others even if they hate us for what we believe in.
This is one of the principles of religious tolerance that the Bible continually presents. In fact, it is further presented in other verses,
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Bible Verses About Hurting Others
Throughout Scripture Christians are told to love others. Love does no harm to its neighbor. We are not to hurt others physically or emotionally. Words do hurt people. Think before you say something to hurt someones feelings. Not only words said directly to the person, but words said when that person is not around.
Slander, gossip, lying, etc. is all evil and Christians should have nothing to do with these.
Even if someone hurts us we are to be imitators of Christ and pay no one back for what they have done. Always be willing to apologize to others.
Forgive just like God forgave you. Put others before yourself and be careful what comes out your mouth. Do what leads to peace and do all things for the glory of God.
As believers we must be considerate of others. We should never mistreat others nor cause believers to stumble.
We should always check to see how will our actions help someone in need. We should always check to see if our decisions in life will hurt others.
Quotes
- Be careful with your words. Once theyre said, they can only be forgiven not forgotten.
- Words scar more than you think.
- The tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to break a heart.
Live peaceably
1. Romans 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
2. Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Swearing In The Bible
Cursing is so commonplace that it shouldn’t surprise us that it seems to be built right into the emotional part of our brains. Sometimes, we don’t have time to think about saying a “bad word ” it just pops out. In fact, over 90% of the last word spoken by an airplane pilot just before the crash is, “s**t”.
As a pastor I obviously had to monitor my mouth carefully. It wasn’t too hard because my father taught me what he called the “preachers'” curse words.” “Boulder” is a good substitute word. Why? Because Boulder is the biggest DAM around. “Sugar” and “Goodness Gracious” work pretty well too.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul used the strongest swear word in the Greek language to denounce those who were tempting his readers to alter and/or desert the true Gospel of Christ. Paul wrote: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! .
The term, “eternally condemned” is a nice, sweet translation compared to a translation of the real word Paul used.
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What Is Gods View Of Smoking
Naoko, mentioned in the opening article, said of her victory over smoking, I was able to change my life because of learning the truth about Gods qualities and purpose. What she learned is found in the Bible. Even though the Bible never mentions tobacco, it helps us to understand how God views smoking. * For many, that knowledge provided the incentive they needed to resist or quit the habit. Let us consider three well-known harmful effects of smoking and see what the Bible says about them.
What Does The Bible Say About Dealing With Mean People
Dealing with mean people is an inevitabilitysad but true. Sin has hooked its tendrils into every human heart, and those sinful tendencies often end up hurting others. Romans 1:28-30 gives us a long list of unrighteous behavior, including malice, gossip, slander, insolence, heartlessness and ruthlessness. Whether it’s a school bully, a friend with a negative attitude, or a stranger taking out their anger on you, those people are going to show up, and you’ll have to decide how to respond.
People can be mean for so many different reasons, and that’s important to remember when we’re on the receiving end of meanness or bullying. Even the best of us are going to have moments of weakness, lose our self-control, and take on the role of the mean person occasionally. Sometimes we don’t even know why we do it! Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
Does that mean we’re evil, terrible people who hate everybody? Of course not! People are often mean for reasons that have nothing to do with the object of their abuse. Sometimes mean behavior is a direct result of inner turmoil unrelated to the present situation. That does not, by any means, make meanness or bullying OK, but hopefully, when the tables are turned, we remember the perspective of being irrationally mean at times.
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Biblical Swearing Is Often Connected To Oaths
Now, let’s go a little deeper.
Much of the swearing in the Bible is connected to the idea of swearing an oath. To swear means to make a solemn declaration, invoking a deity, or a sacred person or thing, to confirm the honesty, truth, and/or the intentionality of the one swearing the oaths to fulfill the declaration.
An example today of swearing an oath occurs in the courtroom when we swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”
Having Humility With Mean People
Remember, sometimes YOU’RE the meanie. We’ve all been there toonone of us is perfect . We can’t claim to be any better than anyone else. One of Jesus’ parables talks about a king who was going to sell his servant, the servant’s family, and all the man’s possessions to repay a huge debt the servant owed the king. The servant begged for mercy, and the king took pity on him, forgiving the entire debt.
Then the servant went to find a coworker who owed him money. He started strangling him, demanding repayment. When the coworker begged for mercy, the man refused and threw him in debtor’s prison. The king heard about this and was outraged. The servant had been shown mercy but then denied mercy for his coworker. See Matthew 18:21-35 to find out how that ended!
The point of this story is that, like the servant to the king, we owed God a great debt, yet He forgave us completely. When someone says mean things to you, remember that you were extended mercy and forgiveness by God, so it is right for you to extend mercy and forgiveness to othersno matter how mean they may be.
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Bible Verses About Mistreating Others
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Pleasing Your Spouse: Stewards Of Each Other’s Bodies
“But a married man is concerned with… how he can please his wife… A married woman is concerned about… how she can please her husband” .
“The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband… Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control” .
“The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife” .
These scriptures in 1 Corinthians 7 are some of the most specific, helpful, and misunderstood scriptures of the bible on sex. So let’s go over a few important points.
In a similar way, Paul points out that the wife and husband have the authority over each other’s bodies. What does that mean? This has often been taught in the churches to mean that a wife should never deny her husband sex. Though that question is an important one to answer, it misses the fact that 1 Cor 7:4 is not even addressing that. The wording in the Greek here is quite helpful. The term that is important is exousiazo, which means: to exercise authority over. This is a term describing a delegated or conferred power or authority.
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