Is My Theology Biblical?
If my theology leads me to a critical spirit where I am not growing in love for all people, then it is not Biblically following Jesus.
Right now, there is a massive divide in the Church and the world regarding right and wrong, good and evil, righteous and unrighteous. Both sides of every divide are fully convinced they are good and the other side is evil...
Both sides dehumanize the other side...pointing out how evil the other side's position is.
The pro-lifer is learning to hate, ridicule, and dehumanize the right-to- lifer. The liberal dehumanizes the conservative, and vice versa... All lives ,black lives, homosexual, Christians, Muslims, globalists, isolationists...
This dehumanization is a ruse... A trick from Satan who hates humans.
Someone else's perceived "evil agenda" doesn't give followers of Jesus license to stop following Jesus.
Jesus loves all people. He says forgive enemies, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you!
Many are rushing out of Jesus' leadership wrongly thinking they are representing Him... like He is on the ropes and needs people to jump in and defend His positions on truth...He isn't and He doesn't. Jesus wants, and actually requires, us to learn to love, at cost, like He does.
Jesus doesn't hate or dehumanize anyone. If you have found yourself using terms for people that aren't their actual names, you are in the process of dehumanizing people. If you are wishing or advocating for those you think are evil to "get a taste of their own medicine" then you, in fact, are advocating for satan! That is what he does...that is why he's called the accuser.
You can change direction and simply repent. Followers of Jesus are people ..weak and broken people who have experienced mercy. The evidence of this is that they extend mercy where it doesn't seem to be just. Mercy isn't justified...it's un-merited. That's what makes it mercy. Those forgiven much love much. Is there any evidence that Jesus has forgiven us or that we are actually in His mercy?
Agreeing with Jesus about sexuality doesn't mean speaking badly about homosexuals.
...in fact agreeing with Jesus means I see people the way He does:
Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine.
37 They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
38 A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”
40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?
41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Followers of Jesus speak the truth, but in love. If you can't love the person you feel called in Jesus' name to speak correction about, then you are really not representing Jesus. You need to repent.
This is why Jesus says "take the log out of your own eye":
Matthew 7:1“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.
2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
3“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?
4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?
5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
Jesus loves people. If we love Him, then we love people, too!
1 John 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
Luke 10:25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 “Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 “Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
33 “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.
34 “So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 “On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
36 “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Right now, there is a massive divide in the Church and the world regarding right and wrong, good and evil, righteous and unrighteous. Both sides of every divide are fully convinced they are good and the other side is evil...
Both sides dehumanize the other side...pointing out how evil the other side's position is.
The pro-lifer is learning to hate, ridicule, and dehumanize the right-to- lifer. The liberal dehumanizes the conservative, and vice versa... All lives ,black lives, homosexual, Christians, Muslims, globalists, isolationists...
This dehumanization is a ruse... A trick from Satan who hates humans.
Someone else's perceived "evil agenda" doesn't give followers of Jesus license to stop following Jesus.
Jesus loves all people. He says forgive enemies, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you!
Many are rushing out of Jesus' leadership wrongly thinking they are representing Him... like He is on the ropes and needs people to jump in and defend His positions on truth...He isn't and He doesn't. Jesus wants, and actually requires, us to learn to love, at cost, like He does.
Jesus doesn't hate or dehumanize anyone. If you have found yourself using terms for people that aren't their actual names, you are in the process of dehumanizing people. If you are wishing or advocating for those you think are evil to "get a taste of their own medicine" then you, in fact, are advocating for satan! That is what he does...that is why he's called the accuser.
You can change direction and simply repent. Followers of Jesus are people ..weak and broken people who have experienced mercy. The evidence of this is that they extend mercy where it doesn't seem to be just. Mercy isn't justified...it's un-merited. That's what makes it mercy. Those forgiven much love much. Is there any evidence that Jesus has forgiven us or that we are actually in His mercy?
Agreeing with Jesus about sexuality doesn't mean speaking badly about homosexuals.
Agreeing with Jesus about life doesn't mean hating those who have had abortions or dehumanizing them. Agreeing with Jesus about race doesn't mean picking a side for, or against, those who have been hurt by racism. Agreeing with Jesus about His deity doesn't mean dehumanizing Muslims or being afraid of other religions...
...in fact agreeing with Jesus means I see people the way He does:
Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine.
37 They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
38 A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”
40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?
41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Followers of Jesus speak the truth, but in love. If you can't love the person you feel called in Jesus' name to speak correction about, then you are really not representing Jesus. You need to repent.
This is why Jesus says "take the log out of your own eye":
Matthew 7:1“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.
2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
3“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?
4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?
5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
Jesus loves people. If we love Him, then we love people, too!
1 John 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
Luke 10:25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 “Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 “Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
33 “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.
34 “So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 “On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
36 “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
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