Not taught of men

[Gail]

Galatians 1:11,12, NIV:

Quote:

I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ

Out of all the knowledge that Paul acquired during his upbringing, learning at the feet of Gamaliel, even, he did not pick up what he knew about salvation from there.

I find that astounding!

[Gail]

Thinking about that in a modern sense, do we sometimes expect that others should follow the letter of what we have learned or should we encourage them to read in face of what God has been telling them in their hearts?

After all, the connection that counts is not an intellectual one so much as a heart issue.

[Samie]

Galatians 1:11,12, NIV:

Quote:

I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ

Out of all the knowledge that Paul acquired during his upbringing, learning at the feet of Gamaliel, even, he did not pick up what he knew about salvation from there.

I find that astounding!

Astounding indeed!

That explains why when we preach the gospel that Paul preached, we are preaching the gospel of Christ!

The big question is, are we really preaching the gospel that Paul preached?

[Samie]

Speaking of the gospel he preached, Paul, writing to the Corintians, said:

Quote:

NIV 1 Corinthians 15:

1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.

2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Strong words! And how did Paul describe the gospel he preached?

Quote:

NIV 1 Corinthians 15:

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures

Of first importance in the gospel he preached is what Christ did FOR us all by His Death and Resurrection!!!

This tells me personally that UNLESS I accord first importance to Christ's death and resurrection in the gospel I preach, I am not preaching the gospel of Christ!

[Samie]

The BIG question comes: How do I make Christ's death & resurrection of first importance in the gospel I preach?

Am I making His death and resurrection of first importance in the gospel I preach when:

1. I tell people that on the cross Christ made us part of His Body, and when He died we died with Him, and when He resurrected, we were resurrected together with Him and made spiritually alive?

OR

2. I tell people that UNLESS they first believe they cannot be part of the body of Christ, and UNLESS baptized they cannot be born again and made spiritually alive?

[M. T. Cross]

Thinking about that in a modern sense, do we sometimes expect that others should follow the letter of what we have learned or should we encourage them to read in face of what God has been telling them in their hearts?

After all, the connection that counts is not an intellectual one so much as a heart issue.

My religion is really big on "go to the source". Learn at the feet of your God(s). If you are supposed to know, if you can handle the knowledge it will be given.

One of my biggest pet peeves in any religious context is the emphasis put on reading literature. The people that write the literature have the same resource material you have. So all you are doing is reading someone else's take on the same thing you have read. Sometimes they make wonderful points, sometimes you can learn great things. But they are still human and in the end really likely don't KNOW MORE than you, they just may have seen it in a different light. Even that, most times people only enjoy authors that confirm the things they have already arrived at themselves.

A little prayer can go a very very long way.

[LifeHiscost]

Quote:

1. I tell people that on the cross Christ made us part of His Body, and when He died we died with Him, and when He resurrected, we were resurrected together with Him and made spiritually alive?

"....the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies."Psalms 112:6-8 KJV

God is Love! Jesus saves!

[Gail]

@MT- Yes, but how many of us credit God with inspiring us or others with deep thoughts? If more people sought Him for wisdom (the Bible says Let him ask of God) and praised Him for such, wouldn't that be a support in our spiritual journey?

[Gail]

What I am trying to say is that I don't believe the Holy Spirit was limited to Paul's day.

[Gail]

Samie, I like your comments about the gospel of Christ

[Samie]

Samie, I like your comments about the gospel of Christ

Let God be praised for that, my dear Sister.

[Samie]

Quote:

1. I tell people that on the cross Christ made us part of His Body,

NIV Ephesians 2:

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,

16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

Quote:

and when He died we died with Him,

NKJ 2 Corinthians 5:

14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;

15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again

KJV Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Quote:

and when He resurrected, we were resurrected together with Him and made spiritually alive

...

NKJ Ephesians 2:

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)

NAS 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

[JoeMo]

I agree with M.T. that we should learn at the feet of our God(s); and that a little prayer goes a long ways.

I went to a day-long seminar today on "Unravelling the Mystery of Babylon". It was based on research the presenter has done for several months. He said something that struck me right between the eyes. As most of you know, the root word for Babylon (Babel) means confusion. It made me wonder about both the religious and political movements out there that are influencing our society and civilization in general. With all of the information man has made available, ..."humanity is faced with a vast buffet of religious doctrine and political ideologies from which we are free to 'eat' what we are comfortable with and reject that which we are not comfortable with. This all-pervasive attitude of everyone picking and choosing what they want to believe is reducing both religion and geopolitics to the lowest common denominator. This centralization of information and propaganda may eventually manipulate us into trading freedom and principle for what we think is happiness; and evolve into One World Order and One World Religion. The central government watches us while we go around being 'happy'. Welcome to Orwell's 1984."

Looking at my own recent history, I feel that I may be guilty of picking and choosing from the buffet only those thinks that make me happy, without too much concern over the principle behind what I am choosing. My spiritual and political world view has changed so much over the past 8 years. I have gone from being a "taliban" Adventist to being completely non-denominational. I have rejected certain portions of Adventism and incorporated some non-Adventist philosophies. Yet, I have been training myself to accept (maybe not condone) what anyone else believes, even if I don't agree - as long as everyone is "happy".

This has led to the acceptance of many things that have been taboo (for Christians at least) for ages - things like abortion, homosexuality, living together before marriage, flagrant drug and alcohol use, among others. NOTE: I am not saying whether this is right or wrong, I'm just stating a fact.

I believe the Lord has led me on to the path I'm on; but am I deceiving myself? Am I slowly sinking into Babylon (confusion) by considering so many "options"? Am I adding to the confusion on the buffet table of religious and political ideology; or am I providing useful information? I'm not just talking about just myself; I'm talking about many of us.

I apologize for rambling here.

[Gail]

Interesting thoughts, JoeMo. What anchor do you use to keep yourself from drifting?

[Aliensanctuary]

Quote:

Out of all the knowledge that Paul acquired during his upbringing, learning at the feet of Gamaliel, even, he did not pick up what he knew about salvation from there.

That's true for the rest of us, also. Out of all of the cacophony of competing religions that we have encountered and experienced, we can be assured of one truth: that the Kingdom of YHVH is not a religion, but is based on a contract of loyalty and obedience between us and our Creator. In this life we are weak, selfish, and easily led off-task, but in the future we will never disobey our Master. That is what the Good News is all about, a life of perfect obedience to YHVH and perfect harmony with all of creation.

[JoeMo]

I'd like to think I use God's word as an anchor; but so do most other believers here. But I have begun to wonder whether I emphasize those parts that appear to support my "pet" theories; and ignore the ones that make me uncomfortable. I've been to churches where the sermons concentrate on the legal aspects of the Word; and others where they focus on grace. Both opinions have multitudes of "proof texts to back them up. I must admit that, except at special studies usually held away from the church, I rarely if ever hear anything about "Jesus is coming soon". The seminar I went to yesterday was a "Jesus is coming VERY soon" seminar that presented some pretty powerful evidence that the 7 years (or 3.5 years) of trouble prior to Jesus' Coming may start as early as Rosh Hashanah this year. Rosh Hashanah this year also begins a Sabbatical year on the Jewish calendar (according to many Christian and Jewish scholars). It has motivated me to examine my own salvation with fear and trembling. Am I properly preparing myself? Am I disciplined and principled enough to stand? Will I be one who holds on to the Truth no matter what adversity may fall on me; or will I hide and compromise my principles? Do I even have the right principles? Until yesterday, I was sure I did; today it's more like"I hope I do".

It's been a long time since I operated from fear and unworthiness. I don't want to fall back into that rut. I try to rely on "perfect love casteth out all fear".

[thx4mercy]

It has motivated me to examine my own salvation with fear and trembling.

Think about what it is that motivated you. Realizing that our time may be really, really short. But do you ever think about the idea that there is always a possibility that you could have an aneurysm to the brain TODAY! Or get hit head-on by a drunk driver TODAY! Thoughts are for myself also.

[scott.t]

I'd like to think I use God's word as an anchor; but so do most other believers here. But I have begun to wonder whether I emphasize those parts that appear to support my "pet" theories; and ignore the ones that make me uncomfortable.

Wow,you said what I have been thinking for quite some time.I have been reading and watching some documentarys on how the Bible was put together.It seems there was quite a bit of material to choose from.When reading the Bible, do I pick out what I want to be important? When the material chosen to be included in the Bible was decided upon, was it material important to those people,or was it really divinely inspired what was chosen.

I am starting to think that the Bible is a very long book, that we need, unfortunately, to tell a very simple story.We fell, we needed help, help came. Is religion and the complexity of the Bible a necessity to keep me focused on being better?

I once read somewhere, that to change your life, you should read the book of John 3 times in a row.Not only did I read the book three times, I watched a movie that was word for word of the book of john,probably every night as I was falling asleep for several months.How I ate and drank,how I dressed,how I worshipped,changed very little.How I treated and looked at other people change dramatically.

Now I'm rambling...I sympathize with you JoMo.

Scott

[Gail]

It's okay- I don't mind the ramble

I appreciate the honesty here

[JoeMo]

Thanks, Scott.

Even though this is causing me some angst, I think it's a good thing to be rustled out of complacency and do a gut check. The line between right and wrong, and good and evil in society, spirituality, and politics has become so blurred that I sometimes wonder if most (including myself) can see it at all.

Between what media, society and some "christian" sects tell us is acceptable; and the government monitoring us to make sure we don't make waves, society's standards are being reduced to the lowest common denominator. Some things that used to be totally unacceptable may soon be so protected that it will be a hate crime to speak out against them. "Let's do what makes everyone comfortable and happy - even if it is at the long-term expense of our children's (maybe even the planet's) future. Let's have the security and happiness of Hindu cattle instead of the principled freedom given to us by the Creator".

I'm not on a tea party rant here. I'm all for people having the freedom to do and say as they see fit. If someone wants to howl at the full moon naked while sacrificing chickens, they have a right to do so (except maybe the sacrificing chickens part); just as long as I can choose not to participate and have the freedom of speech to question the practice without being perceived as a "hater".

I'm just sharing some deep personal self-reflection here; hopefully just to get us to think about where we, as a society and group of believers, may be heading.

[LifeHiscost]

Quote:

The line between right and wrong, and good and evil in society, spirituality, and politics has become so blurred that I sometimes wonder if most (including myself) can see it at all.

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."Heb 13:8 KJV

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."Heb 13:8 KJV

Keep looking up, brother! Surely our Lord cometh!

God is Love! Jesus saves!

[Gail]

Sometimes when the world seems so complicated it is nice to make faith simple again :)

[Aliensanctuary]

In the next life I suspect those chosen will live a simple agrarian life punctuated by the Sabbath rest and occasional feast. Animals will be sacrificed, not for sins committed by humans, but "sacrificed" as food for the priests and temple technicians.

Sometimes I think it might be beneficial to get rid of all unnecessary stuff and live under a bridge in order to get back to the basics. Likewise with our religious baggage, get rid of it all to get to the basics. Christ, of course, taught us what the basics of life are, so we really don't need a houseful of stuff or more money than we need to supply our basic needs.

I think we will all grow closer to our Creator if and when we are forced, by persecution, to leave all of our possessions behind save the clothes on our backs, as some Christians are now doing in the Arab world. Our religion will likely be greatly simplified if we can no longer attend churches, save for the church in the woods or in the meadow or deserted barn.

An interesting side note: years ago a pastor in Texas left his Sunday-keeping denomination to start preaching on the Sabbath. With no church building or money to rent one, he conducted his service in a barn where we, the congregation, sat on bales of straw. That's my kind of church. Once we strip away the materialism so pervasive in our lives, then we can understand the Kingdom of YHVH better. In fact, as Jesus indicated, those who are chosen for his Kingdom as share-croppers will own nothing once admitted. They will be poor in possessions but rich in Spirit.

[Samie]

In the next life I suspect those chosen will live a simple agrarian life punctuated by the Sabbath rest and occasional feast.

... They will be poor in possessions but rich in Spirit.

With gates of pearl and street of gold, I won't mind being poor!

NKJ Revelation 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

[Samie]

Actually the issue of the OP is about the gospel Paul preached, which was astounding because despite Paul having been taught of Gamaliel yet Paul said the gospel he preached was a result of revelation from Christ, NOT from what he learned from men.

It looks like we have been so accustomed to what we were taught that we seem to have lost sight of the gospel Paul preached, the gospel he received by revelation from our Lord.