I've seen a fad in blogs, where they have certain days that they post certain things like 'What I Wore Wednesday' or something about recipes on Tuesday, etc. So I thought I'd have a day where I posted a few verses and such for thought. I may not post every Saturday, because I don't know how much time I'll have, working at the ranch and all, but I'll try to have something new every week.
So, that being said, I'll start...
I was in a conversation with some friends yesterday evening, and one of my friends brought up the point that 'really only God knows who is saved and going to heaven, and who isn't...that's not really for us to say'. This seems to be a popular belief among Christians. I've run into it a lot, and thought about it a lot. If this is true, then....what have we got to do with these verses:
Mat 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Ye shall know them by their fruits...Beware of false prophets...Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. So it sounds like Jesus is telling us to beware, and know a person by their fruits. Here's a few more verses to support:
2Th 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. ...In this verse, we are told to have discernment, and make a clear judgment about other people.
2Co 3:2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: ...An open book for all men to read and see whether their deeds be evil or good.
Pro 20:11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. ...Even a child is KNOWN for his doings, good or evil.
Mal 3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. ...God calls us to discern between the righteous and the wicked.
So, with those scriptures, you can clearly see that God DOES call us to be discerning and careful. Everyone is an open book for all the world to see, which is why we are responsible for setting a good example. 2 Th 3:14:...note that man, and have no company with him... How could we fulfill this command if it's not our place to examine someone to know whether their deeds are good or evil? How do we avoid evil flatterers and two tonged people? Well, actions speak much louder than words!We MUST have discernment! God does know the heart of every man, but the heart is also an open book for all men to read.
Just my thoughts...anyone else?
2 comments:
Good word Dani, I can see how I believed both at once, I believed that we should know them by their fruits, but I also thought that we would only know who was saved when we got to heaven. No, we can see who is saved, what fruit do they have?
I'm going to try to comment, using my Wordpress account...we'll see if this goes through.
On the matter of JUDGING:
Romans 2:1-6 starts out by saying in verse 1, "Therefore, thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things."
Most people stop there (and at other verses that are similar to it) and thereon base their belief of "only God knows who is saved, and for me to say who is saved or not is judging, and that's wrong...blah blah blah..."
If one continues in this scripture passage, however, it says in verse 2, "BUT [That word is incredibly significant.] we are SURE that the judgment of God is according to TRUTH against them which commit such things." In other words, verses 1-2 are saying, do not judge because you're condemning yourself (because we're all sinners, and our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God), BUT we do know that God will judge according to TRUTH (the Bible).
Although we cannot JUDGE, we can DISCERN whether a person is of the spirit of God or the spirit of mammon because we have the Word of God, the Truth, to compare their actions/words against.
(Of course, we know that God judges based on intention, not on action necessarily, but we as humans can only see the outward man, not the inward man, as God sees, so we tend to DISCERN based on action.)
On the matter of DISCERNING:
I'm glad you said "discern," Dani. The difference between judging and discerning, which many Christians seem to confuse, is judging results in condemning, whereas discerning does not. Discerning is merely the act of determining whether a spirit is of God or of man/Satan, but leaving it up to just between them and God of whether or not they will be "born again" in Christ. Unless a person has blasphemed God, they can still turn God, and while they still have that chance, we cannot say "They're not going to heaven."
HOWEVER, I fully believe that if that person has consistently shown signs of indifference toward God and dies without ever acknowledging Him or living according to the Word, we CAN discern.
Anyhow, that ended up MUCH longer than I intended it to be, and it pretty much just reiterated what you said...haha! But those are my non-brief thoughts! haha :D
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