Rad said:
in a way yes i do feel the weight of condemnation of my sins,
Then Repent and be forgiven. Repent, and
allow yourself to be forgiven. Walk in forgiveness. Breathe in His Mercy. Walk in Christ -
Where is your faith? Where is your faith placed? Upon what do you place your faith? Is this verse not true for you?
There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
(
Romans 8:1 KJV)
Rad, I am not under
any condemnation. And I wish this were true for you.
@Rhema At the end of the "Sermon on the mount" Christ said these words,
Matthew 7:24-29 King James Version
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
And in Matthew 25 vs 31-46 Christs depiction of the Day of Judgement was described thus,
Matthew 25:31-46 King James Version
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
and in Mark 17 vs 17-27, the Rich Man,
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
These are all examples of Christ condemning people for their actions, or lack of them, i understand the need for forgiveness for none of us are perfect, we all need Gods Forgiveness and his Grace for we all fall far short of the standards he requires of us, but as in Luke 6 vs 46 when Christ says " And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? ", there comes a rime when Forgiveness turns into condemnation, the rich man kept all the commandments but couldnt give up his wealth which is a barrier to God, the "Goats" failed to show Love and Compassion to the poor and hungry, those who "built their house upon the sands" , heard Christs commandments but failed to put them into practice.
To be "in Christ Jesus", we must try with all our heart to follow his commandments, recognising we will never succeed, and therefore must ask forgiveness for our sins, but the important thing is we must try to follow those commandments. And we must leave ourselves open to others who may interpret Christs teachings differently and perhaps show shortcomings in our Christian lives that we never before realised. For we cannot ask forgiveness for Sins we dont even recognise as Sin and as Christ depicted in Luke 16 vs 19-31, there will be no second chances,
Luke 16:19-31
King James Version
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
As for the issue of Wealth and Riches, i would love the chance to discuss that further, but perhaps it would be off thread here, i think its important for us all to have as open a mind as we can when approaching issues of our faith, so if youd like to open a thread Rhema id be more than willing to say what i believe are Christs teachings on Wealth and the incompatibility of Riches with our Christian faith.
