Loyal
Matt 19:21; Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Mark 10:21; Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Luke 18:22 ; When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Luke 12:33; "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
It seems that if we want to be "perfect" as KJV says in Matt 19:21 we have to sell all our possessions and give to the poor. Now there areplenty of discussions about being "perfect" so that isn't the point here. But rather, how many of us give to the poor? How many of us are willing to give up our "stuff" our material "things" and give to the poor?
Luke 22:36; And He said to them, "But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.
Now it's interesting to me, that the one thing we are encouraged to buy, is a sword. Even to the point of selling your coat that keeps you warm. Why do you think this is?
Matt 6:21; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12:21; "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Luke 12:34; "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Where is your treasure? If I am honest, I think I have more than I need in many areas. How many vehicles, televisions, cell phones, computers, boats, planes and pairs of shoes do we really need?
Are you a sheep or a goat?
Matt 25:32; "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
Matt 25:33; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
How do you know if you are a sheep or a goat?
Matt 25:35; 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
Matt 25:36; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
Matt 25:37; "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
Matt 25:38; 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
Matt 25:39; 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
Matt 25:40; "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
Acts 4:34; For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales
Some use the phrase "brothers of mine" in Matt 25:40 along with Acts 4:34; above to say we are supposed to give to the needy "in the church" before we give to the needy of the world. But even if this is true, would
you be willing to sell your land and/or house to give to the needy?
Now the question arises, how severe is the punishment if I don't do this?
Matt 25:41; "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Matt 25:42; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
Matt 25:43; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
Matt 25:46; "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
I would ask... how "perfect" do you want to be. But actually the question here is... "what are you willing to do to avoid the eternal fire and punishment"?
Now I realize this promotes works, and isn't really a "grace only" kind of thing and that offends people.
But nonetheless, this IS what the Bible says.
James 1:27; Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Mark 10:21; Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Luke 18:22 ; When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Luke 12:33; "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
It seems that if we want to be "perfect" as KJV says in Matt 19:21 we have to sell all our possessions and give to the poor. Now there areplenty of discussions about being "perfect" so that isn't the point here. But rather, how many of us give to the poor? How many of us are willing to give up our "stuff" our material "things" and give to the poor?
Luke 22:36; And He said to them, "But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.
Now it's interesting to me, that the one thing we are encouraged to buy, is a sword. Even to the point of selling your coat that keeps you warm. Why do you think this is?
Matt 6:21; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12:21; "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Luke 12:34; "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Where is your treasure? If I am honest, I think I have more than I need in many areas. How many vehicles, televisions, cell phones, computers, boats, planes and pairs of shoes do we really need?
Are you a sheep or a goat?
Matt 25:32; "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
Matt 25:33; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
How do you know if you are a sheep or a goat?
Matt 25:35; 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
Matt 25:36; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
Matt 25:37; "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
Matt 25:38; 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
Matt 25:39; 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
Matt 25:40; "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
Acts 4:34; For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales
Some use the phrase "brothers of mine" in Matt 25:40 along with Acts 4:34; above to say we are supposed to give to the needy "in the church" before we give to the needy of the world. But even if this is true, would
you be willing to sell your land and/or house to give to the needy?
Now the question arises, how severe is the punishment if I don't do this?
Matt 25:41; "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Matt 25:42; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
Matt 25:43; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
Matt 25:46; "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
I would ask... how "perfect" do you want to be. But actually the question here is... "what are you willing to do to avoid the eternal fire and punishment"?
Now I realize this promotes works, and isn't really a "grace only" kind of thing and that offends people.
But nonetheless, this IS what the Bible says.
James 1:27; Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
if we just listen to what he tells us to do !!
