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Jesus had just spoken about relationships before He gave this parable of delivering ourselves from the judge. The warning is clear that we should do everything within our power to avoid strife (Rom. 12:18). However, the consequences of failing to settle the differences are more than just physical prison or punishment.
Strife can produce spiritual and emotional prisons. James 3:16 says, "where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." Depressions, fears, loneliness, bitterness, sicknesses, financial problems, and many other things can become prisons from which we will not be delivered...
This verse is one of the clearest references in scripture about varying degrees of God's judgment according to the knowledge of the person who committed the sin. The whole chapter of Leviticus 4 is written to deal with sins committed in ignorance. Jesus said in John 9:41, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth."
Also, Romans 5:13 says, "sin is not imputed when there is no law."
Paul said, in 1 Timothy 1:13, that he obtained mercy because he had sinned "ignorantly in unbelief." The sin he was speaking of was blasphemy, which Jesus taught was unforgivable if done...
A steward is a person who has been entrusted with administering someone else's wealth or affairs. The possessions a steward controls are not his own and he does not have the freedom to do with them as he wishes. He is supposed to carry out the desires of the one who made him steward.
A banker is a steward. He has been entrusted with other people's money. He is free to invest that money wisely in a way that will benefit his depositors and stockholders, but would be sent to jail if he took all that money and simply consumed it upon himself. A steward is accountable (Lk. 16:2) to someone else for the use of that person's money. The money does not belong to him even though it is in his possession.
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I WROTE ABOUT FORGIVENESS IN THE PAST BUT THIS IS TO A SPECIAL FRIEND BUT I BELIEVE WE ALL CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS MESSAGE. WHEN YOU DON'T FORGIVE, YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE ONLY HURTING YOURSELF. JESUS HAS A LOT TO SAY ABOUT FORGIVENESS. I GUESS THE BEST ONE IS MATTHEW 6:14-15 WHERE HE SAYS " For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." YOU MIGHT SAY THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN FORGIVEN. THIS IS TRUE BUT JESUS TEACHES US THAT WHEN WE SIN AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS, GOD WILL...
Second Timothy 1:7 says, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." First John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." These scriptures may look like they are contradictions to Jesus' statement here; however, they are not.
There are two kinds of fear. The American Heritage Dictionary defines fear as "a feeling of alarm or disquiet caused by the expectation of danger, pain, disaster, or the like; terror; dread; apprehension." It also defines fear as "extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power."
It is this reverence or awe that God's Word teaches...
This is the biblical definition of a hypocrite, "someone whose words and heart (actions) don't agree." A hypocrite may act the part of a Christian or talk like Christ, but he or she won't do both. Hypocrisy is defined by the dictionary as, "The feigning of beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; insincerity" (American Heritage Dictionary). In the Greek, the word is "hupokrisis" and means "the playing of a part on the stage."
Hypocrisy is often said to be doing something even though you don't want to or feel like doing it. It is true that God demands that our motive and reason for doing things...
This phrase "Therefore also said the wisdom of God," is a part of Luke's narrative and not the words of Jesus. Luke is saying that Jesus is the wisdom of God, a truth well-established in scripture.
There is no way to access the wisdom of God except through Jesus. Until a person receives Christ, he is missing the only source of true wisdom. Men and women are incapable of receiving the wisdom of God, but those who submit themselves to God have access to the wisdom of God on their own, through the Holy Spirit. We must be dependent upon the Holy Spirit to receive the wisdom of God in our lives.
A Christian who has not received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit can have some revelation knowledge, but it will be limited. One of...