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Introduction
Page 1
Jesus, God in the flesh, said, “… Love your enemies …” This is livable. Because it is based on the Bible - it is alive. Even though in Matthew 5:48 Jesus the Perfect said, “… Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect …”, He also said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” And in 1 John 5:3b the Apostle John says, “… His commandments are not burdensome.” By the grace of God, this is livable.
One of the purposes of this book is to determine just exactly what is His command so that we can know just what is livable. We should let God decide what is livable, not the World (the devil’s establishment over our fallen human nature) or our Flesh (our own personal fallen human nature). What the Bible says is livable and will be lived by Christians. The Bible says that walking with Jesus is the most livable, no, the only livable way. In Matthew 16:24 & 25 Jesus our Living Leader said to his disciples, “If any one wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. …” Let us follow Him to life even if through death, even the suffering death of the cross. “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
The Apostle Paul in Romans 12:18 said: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” We can do this; yes, we can live this - even if it kills us. Yes, it is true that the World or our own Flesh will not let us live in peace. We do not have control of the World, but Jesus the Almighty does. We do have control of ourselves and our own Flesh through Jesus the Crucified.
Our relationship with the World is not a relationship with an abstract concept or distant institution. It is a relationship with the policeman who gives us a ticket, the person who sends us a summons to jury duty, the judges, attorneys, office holders, and soldiers of all the nations on the planet. They’re trying to establish and protect the property and institutional ownership of the other people of this World. Our relationship is also with the liars, thieves, and murderers of the World who wish to take our possessions, our minds, and our lives. It may also be with our wife, children, neighbors, and the people we stand in line with. All our relationships with this World are personal relationships. So it is a false distinction to say that our relationship with an institution is not a personal relationship. It is also false to say that in dealing with an individual, you are not also dealing with that person’s institution, race, and whatever group they may belong to. So to say a scriptural injunction applies only to an institution but not to the people in that institution is false. Also to say that a scriptural command applies to a person within an institution, but not to the institution can also be found to be false.
There are two ways, the narrow and the broad; and there are two kingdoms. Jesus the Shepherd divides between the sheep and the wolves, between the Church and the World. Though we are to accurately discern the World, we are not to judge, discipline or punish the World; Jesus the King will do that Himself in His own good time. We are to judge and discipline ourselves. Paul said in I Corinthians 5:12 & 13, “… For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? … God judges those who are outside. …” Again Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:5, “… Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the ‘Time’ (Judgment Day), but wait until the Lord comes Who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motive of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”
The motive of anyone who speaks or justifies other than this (what Jesus the Word, and Paul who was sent with the Word, have said) is to force Christian morals, ethics, and justice on an unbelieving World by his own strength and without Jesus the Judge. In effect, they want to use the Devil’s methods to enforce God’s ways, but thereby justify and join the Devil and the World’s ways and not the wisdom and patience of God. They want to keep their life and possessions in this World, its property and institutions. They are refusing to serve God and His Kingdom. Jesus our Employer said in Matthew 6:24, “… You cannot serve God and Mammon.”
It is disturbing to see evil men prosper and have their way on the earth. But the way Jesus the Prince and Ruler of Peace has commanded the church to fight the Devil and evil in the World, and establish the Kingdom of God, is to “… not resist him (human) who is evil …” (in Matthew 5:39), but “… Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you …” And then, Lo, He will be with us always, even to the end of the age, confirming His Word with signs and wonders. (Matthew 28:19 & 20, Mark 13:20) He told us what to do (publish the Gospel), and what not to do (force men to observe it against their will).
The Father gave all power in heaven and earth to Jesus the Resurrected. By patiently believing the Father, fulfilling all His will, and taking the maximum judgment and punishment that the World and the Devil can inflict, Jesus the Righteous has received, earned, captured, overcome, and possessed all power over them. The Father has determined and fixed a time when Jesus the Soon Returning One shall return in the flesh, and the Devil, the Prince (Ruler) of this World, shall be bound and restrained from having any say on this planet. When man first listened to and obeyed what the Devil has to say, the Devil became and remained the Prince of this World. The Ruler of this World offered to give the World to Jesus the Son of Man in Luke 4:5-7, “I will give You all this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” However, as Jesus the Holy One said in John 14:30, “… the Ruler of this World … has nothing in Me. …”
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