[ChristLife] The problem with being radical

[Jacob]

I remember a young brother telling me how he believed in total health
being God's will for everyone, quoting 3Jn.1:2. He challenged me by
saying that if I didn't believe that verse I should tear it off from
my Bible! The problem was not just in misquoting that verse, but a
certain revelling in being radical. Certainly there is need to be
radical in believing and acting on what we believe, but we tend to go
wrong when we blow up a certain part of a truth to make it out of
proportion to the rest of revealed truth. Or, if we focus on some
aspect of truth without taking into account what the whole Bible says
about that subject we become like some present day activists who are
willing to let people get killed in the process of ensuring that trees
are not destroyed!

'Radical Christians' usually take proof texts in the Bible to stand
valid universally, for all time and in their own right irrespective of
what other parts of the Bible and common experience indicate. This is
to essentially give the word a precision to mean exactly what it says
as if it is a scientific equation, and validity as if it is a legal
document. The word of God was not intended to be read in a scientific
or legal manner but as a revelation from God to man in human words.
The word of God is true, and its meaning is infallible. But its
meaning is more than what the words imply, and one needs to understand
the local context as well as the whole context of the Bible before one
can get the real spirit of each verse or passage.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will
not depart from it" (Pr.22:6). This is a proverb which expresses a
general truth, and its intention is to exhort parents to pay attention
to the training of their children, rather than to give a promise.
Which parent can take this as an infallible fact, because he has to
first make sure that he has trained his child perfectly before he can
claim the result! The sad thing is when some children of godly parents
go astray and some radical Christian assumes that they have failed in
their training. Their godliness in unquestionable, and they have also
done their best in bringing up their children. But some children still
go astray because of several other reasons. But the radical Christian
says, "Let God's word be true and every man a liar!"

It turns out that many such 'radical' Christians are targeting other
people who don't come up to their self-created standards, without
recognising how they themselves are actually falling short in their
own lives in many aspects (Ro.2:1;Jas.2:10,11).

To be a true Christian is to love God above everyone and everything
else and to love everyone else with the same love that God has shown
towards us. When we love God we will strive to keep every one of His
commandments (Jn.14;15), without being unrealistic or arrogant about
it.

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[Kenneth Regan]

I think you might be right about that brother misquoting 3 Jn1:2 however, I think you are wrong if you believe it is not Gods will for us to be in perfect health. If you take all the scriptures in the bible as a whole (like you suggested) it is obvious that it IS Gods will that we be in perfect health. The reason that we are not is not because of Gods will, but because of sin. Sin has its consequences, sickness and disease is one of them. Another reason is for Gods glory, as when Jesus healed the blind man after the apostles asked who's sin made him blind. Jesus proved it was not Gods will for this man to be blind by healing him. Jesus healed everyone who had the faith to be healed. The same is true for today. Without believing and standing on the word of God and all his promises, you will probably remain sick.

As for as the radical christian quote, in today's lukewarm church I would wear that title as a badge of honor. Remember Jesus was considered a radical and a revolutionary, so I would be in good company.

Pr22:6 you are right in you interpretation, however I also see that as a promise from God that I would hold on to. It does not mean that my children wold not stray. What it means is that they will (by the time they are old) come back home.

Without faith nothing is possible. Is it any wonder we don't see the healing of the sick, the raising of the dead and the casting out of demons like the Holy Spirit did through the believers of the first century church. God does not change. He is the same today as he was yesterday as he will be tomorrow. It is us, the church who has changed not God.

How can we profess our love for him if we don't take him at his word? Shame on us! We need to wake up and stop blaming God for our weaknesses. By not standing on the word of God and applying the faith it takes to let the Lord continue his work here on earth through us, we are robbing Him of his Glory. Again I say shame on us! It is time for us to wake up.

The great and terrible day of the Lord is at our doorstep. Pray. Pray. Pray. Zephaniah 2:1-3

In His Service,
Kenneth G Regan

--- On Fri, 4/30/10, Jacob <jni...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Jacob]

I agree with you that it is God's will that we should be healthy, and
that it is because of sin that there is sickness in this world. As
part of being in this world which has been corrupted because of sin,
we also suffer some of the effects of sin. We also may become sick at
times, perhaps with a headache, toothache, eye trouble, sleeplessness
or more serious things. We can then pray to God for healing, and
sometimes we get healed miraculously and at other times we have to go
to a doctor. What I am saying is, sickness is a reality in this life,
even though it is not something God wants. And I have never seen even
a single godly Christian who has not had any sickness at all.

When we talk about faith in this context we should address:

God is able to heal any sickness and even to raise people from the
dead. No problem.
If we become sick we can ask God for healing. No problem.
Will God always protect us from getting sick? I don't see that.
Will God always heal miraculously when we are sick? I don't see that.
Do Christians suffer from sickness? Many times.
Do Christians always recover from sickness? No.
Do Christians die of sickness? Many times.
Is sickness due to lack of faith? Not always.
Is sickness due to some unconfessed sin? Not always.

If God has granted us good health, praise God. If God has prospered
us, again praise God. God has been gracious to us, and there is
nothing we can boast about. But if we say that all sickness or poverty
is due to sin or lack of faith, we would condemn many innocent people.

Jacob

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[B A Berean]

On May 1, 1:26 am, Kenneth Regan <kregan...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> ...Another reason is for Gods glory, as when Jesus healed the blind man after the apostles asked who's sin made him blind. Jesus proved it was not Gods will for this man to be blind by healing him. Jesus healed everyone who had the faith to be healed.
_______________________

Hi Kenneth,

Would it be safe to say that it was God's will for this man to be
blind for as many years as he was? (He was blind from birth and he
was a man old enough to speak for himself according to the
Scriptures. John 9:21-22)

John 9:2-3  "And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin,
this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? (3)  Jesus
answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the
works of God should be made manifest in him."

It looks to me like Jesus says that it WAS God's will for this man to
be born blind, so that all those years later God could be glorified in
this man's healing?
__________________

An important truth to take away from this story is that personal sin
had NOTHING to do with this man's blindness. The disciples held to
the same flawed beliefs that many Christians hold to today. Sickness
and trouble is a result of sin. It can be... but is not always!

[Kenneth Regan]

I would say no it was not God's will for this man to have been blind. Unfortunately though, sin has come into this world with all its baggage and must run its course. We are all effected by the sin in this world whether it personal sin (as the disciples suggested), or sin as a whole as in the book of Job. Either way God will use it to His Glory. Yes Jesus made it perfectly clear it was not individual sin that made this man blind. However If sin had never come into this world do you really think this man would have been born blind? What loving Father would ever will his children misery?

--- On Mon, 5/3/10, B A Berean <rob...@spreadsheetpower.com> wrote:

> From: B A Berean <rob...@spreadsheetpower.com>
> Subject: [ChristLife] Re: The problem with being radical
> To: "ChristLife" <chris...@googlegroups.com>