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"Now  I beseech  you, brethren,  mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them...Now to Him that is of power to establish you ACCORDING TO MY GOSPEL and the preaching of Jesus Christ, ACCORDING TO THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY, which was kept secret since the world began" (Romans 16:17,25).  "For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision whose mouths must be stopped,  who subvert  whole  houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake" (Titus 1:10, 11).

YUP

(http://www.beautifulclipart.com/clipart/angels/anangel.gif)

Yea!

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them" (Rom. 16:17).

Those that teach adherence to another doctrine, rather than that of Christ, have nothing to do with them.

And be careful, not to quickly call any man brother, who speaks words which are familiar, but have another meaning.

Test all things, and search the scriptures to see if they be so..

2 Jhn 1
9  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
11  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

It is not the will of God, any should be decieved;

Mat 24
4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25  Behold, I have told you before.

2 Cor 11
13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.


Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: Jas 1:19

Blessings,
Petro

The parable of the tares also describes that the adversary was going to sow unknowingly false Christians into - Yeshua's Church - long before the ripening of the harvest.

Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that every individual test the words of his preacher in the scriptures themselves, especially testing his preacher's words against the quoted words of Yeshua.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEN

I've got a question brothers and sisters;
How do we stop those "whose mouths must be stopped"?

Another question also - how do we keep from becoming one "whose mouths must be stopped,"?

Especially of late - sometimes I really feel like I suffer from "Foot-in-mouth" disease.  I know the only way to ward off this dreaded affliction is to keep one’s mouth shut.  How does one (me) know when I should open said mouth and when to keep said mouth shut?  I promise to read any scriptural references you have.

Thanks for your help.
JN

St James has quite a lot to say about keeping onre's trap shut.

By means of personal opinion here...we don't.  God does.  But that's just opinion mind you.   :)


I think the key in every situation is to listen first, speak second - so long as what is said is in accordance with scripture:


This is my biggest problem.  I like to give my opinion before I hear a matter.  I'm quick to speak...not to listen.  I find it interesting as well, how James points out that we must be doers of the word right after he says to be quick to hear.  We must first listen, before we can apply or act.  To do so before hand...we find ourselves in my boat, choking on our kneecaps!  :D  We forget what we are, and act accordingly.  In respect to this problem we face, we speak when we should not.

But there's also the understanding of when to speak, if we are to speak, and what to speak, and how we are to speak as well:


When?[/b]

When I have heard the matter.  When I have determined the testimony of the hearer.  Is he a fool?  When I have discerned the truth of my words and the manner in which I am to deliver them.  

If?[/b]

Is he a fool?  Is what I am about to say worthy of the One Who called me?  Is it in agreement with what He has already said?  Is it in love?  Is it to build up?  Is my heart right in saying this, and will it remain so if what I say is not well received?  If not...

What?[/b]

Edifying, Godly truth.

How?[/b]

In love, in edification, without corruption, without malice, and in kind, tenderhearted forgiveness.

Ya know?  When you think about it, we really should listen more, discern before we ever open our mouths or move our fingers over a keyboard.  Because every word we speak will be taken into account.   :)

Thanks guys.
Keeping all of this in mind - particularly what Mr. St. James has to say - this forum could become a very quiet place!  ;D

Yours in Him -
Jim

Oklahoma Howdy to JudgeNot,

Brother, you are a very kind, gentle, and loving person. The same is true for many sweet Christians here. I certainly agree with the Biblical exhortations for Christian love. However, I would also say there is an opposite side of the coin. There is a Biblical time to reprove, rebuke, and stop. Many examples on both sides of the coin immediately come to mind.

A satan worshiper stands up in your church service and starts to preach his garbage. Do you patiently hear him out and let him finish his message? I would say NO! He should be removed with whatever force is necessary. I'm certainly not saying the men of the church should kill him, but there should be someone willing to remove that evil from a worship service. If the police were called, disturbing a worship service is a fairly serious charge in most places, and it should be.

I think there are many situations like the above where Christians are not instructed by the Bible to remain quiet and tolerate evil. Many times, the circumstances dictate what should be or should not be done. I think we all have a problem with the borderline cases. I also think this should be a matter of regular prayer. There are many times that Christian love is tough love, specifically when you are contending with the devil or the devil's actions. The same would be true with your own family and, most importantly, your own children. It isn't Christian love to quietly give a person up to the devil (i.e. dope, a cult, etc.).

This is obviously a double or triple-edged sword and a very difficult topic for all Christians. I think a lot of it depends on how you define "Love" for a specific situation. I think that all Christians battle with this every day, and they should.

Just 2 cents worth.

Love In Christ,
Tom

That is a very valuable two cents, Mr. BEP.  Certainly worth more than two small images of Mr. Lincoln.

Thank you for your insight.

I have often wondered how I would react to a "Church invader".  In all honesty - if it ever happened I don't believe I would think at all - just react quickly as guided by the Lord's will, as I'm sure most other men in my church would.

Tom,

Just a thought to add to your two cents...the old adage fits well here.  "Truth hurts."  Sometimes that's how it is.  There.  Now there's a 4 cent thought!   :)

"How does one (me) know when I should open said mouth and when to keep said mouth shut?"  

1 Peter 4:11.  If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Oklahoma Howdy to JudgeNot,

Brother, you are most welcome. I think that you just spoke volumes. Our laws, as weak as many of them have become, still allow us control over many things. We may have to tolerate the existence of an evil sign and the banning of a religious sign in public places, but the same is not true for our homes, cars, churches, etc. Evil has driven out the good in many of our public places, and evil is now trying to invade our private places. By private, I'm talking about more than just one person control, places like churches.

We may not be able to drive the evil out from our midst in certain locations, but in others we still have the right and responsibility to do just that. This becomes a particularly serious issue for our own family and children. If we can't drive the evil away lawfully, we may have to remove ourselves from the evil. I give thanks that my children are grown, but I thought first of them with this issue. More and more Christians are removing their children from public schools for this reason. In some locations, it's not a question of being able to afford it, rather a situation where we must find a way to afford it.

We live in a time where all of our private places are being invaded by evil. Yes, I think we are seeing a preview of the end times and maybe even a beginning of the end times. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I think we will all live long enough to be caught up together in the air and meet our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. When we ask how much worse it can get, we usually get our answer pretty quickly. The shocking, in your face type of evil is growing rampant.

Love In Christ,
Tom

 

Oklahoma Howdy to Allinall,

Brother, let's make it an even nickel and let me add there is many times a Biblical problem of calling evil good. The truth is always a precious commodity, even when it hurts. I would ask if our silence on evil is really calling evil good.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Mr. BEP, sir - I would say that is definitely a question for an entire thread.  

I feel like I am condoning evil every day at work by not speaking out.  Yet, by speaking out, there is no doubt that I will alienate myself from the workplace.  So I try to be an example in other ways; by never speaking against anyone, refusing to gossip, by treating everyone with compassion, etc., etc.  And, while I've been told that I have no "enemies" at work because of my actions (or non-actions) and that everyone 'likes & respects' me, I often wish I could stand on top of a desk and be a voice for Jesus.  To stand up and throw scripture at them until they call security to have me removed (which wouldn't be long!).   :)

I guess John the Baptist is one of my heroes.  San Francisco in definitly a "spiritual wilderness" and I could be a voice in that wilderness... ??? ;D  

Oklahoma Howdy to JudgeNot,

Brother, I understand completely. I bet San Francisco knows you are there. The below is a satellite photo of JudgeNot.


Love In Christ,
Tom

Amen

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I think we will all live long enough to be caught up together in the air and meet our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. When we ask how much worse it can get, we usually get our answer pretty quickly. The shocking, in your face type of evil is growing rampant.

Love In Christ,
Tom


Amen

<:)))><

Right On Brother :)

You got that right...i was on a hardware forum last week where some were talking about the movie Passion of the Christ.. so i used it as an oppertunity to witness...well it wasnt long, i think i just refreshed the page and here on the main forum page was a guy named Micheal with ONE post.. and said... Jesus was his Savior, but the Bible was evil! saying it was full of killing...animal sacraficing and demons... Hmm ,no wonder Jesus said as soon as one hears the word along comes Satan and takes it out of their heart. Even on the internet!

We live in a time when the Word will be attacked from every side. So i say keep the whole armour of God on.... for the days are evil.

God bless

I have sat here reading what you all have to say about JudgeNot's question. Very insightful to a problem that I have going on now. The only thing is I don't know how to actually say or tell to someone about what is going on cause it involves a member at church which is the pastors daughter. It is one of those situations where it is a their word against mine. My husband doesn't understand why these people are being the way they are, of course I dont either. I told my Hubby that we can't mark the whole church over just a few. I want to say something so bad, but you know, I am just going to let God handle it. I know that one of these days the real truth of what happened is going to come out. But when is the Q? But it is all in God's hands.

The good thing out of all of this is that I have begun to dig a little deeper and more often into the word of God. So actually may I owe these people a very big THANK YOU!

I will continue digging in the Word and Truth. :)
Jesus Come QUICKLY!!

Hi all....some good answers along the way.

If I may, I would like to point something out, from scripture, that could possibly give us a little bit of a handle as the "when" aspect.  

Read with me:
Act 16:16   And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
Act 16:17   The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
Act 16:18   And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Please notice, from verse 18, that this damsel, possessed, followed them around for "many" days. How many is many? I dunno....but probably more than 2.  So what we have is a spirit filled, multiple gifted Apostle by the name of Paul being dogged for many days by a demonically influenced person.

I'm pretty sure that Paul knew what was going on, and knew it from the get-go. He wasn't exactly a dum-dum, especially in the spiritual arena.

So why? Why did he "allow" it to continue?

I'm convinced (and this is MHO) that it was simply because he did not have the release from the Holy Spirit to rebuke and dispossess that spirit. But when the Spirit gave Paul the nod, and said "do it", Paul did it.
I'm pretty sure that Paul was grieved because he had to chafe under the mocking for several days, but also knew that until he had release, whatever he did would have been in his own power, and therefore not in the will of God.

Jesus went to the Temple many times during His ministry, and I'm sure the money-changers and offering sellers were there....but He only did a number on them twice. Why?

Listen for (and to) that still, small voice, then be assured that whatever is done is in the Father's will.