our taking
Luke 14:33 out of context. Read
Luke 14: 25 through 34 and get the full context.
In light of Acts 2:45 - They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
AND
Acts 4:34 - There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them.
AND
Luke 14:33 - In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
It is obviously
you who are interpreting Luke 14:33 wrong, and the disciples along with the first century church, who interpreted it in the way I am saying it reads.
Jesus is saying, "You want to be my disciple, then what are willing to give up?"
Jesus is not asking us what we are willing to give up, he is
telling us what we need to give up and that is EVERYTHING! No, Jesus is stating that in order to be a disciple you must give up everything (father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters,). We can learn a lot from Luke 14:25 onwards:
Luke 14:25-26 - Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them,
26“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
This means that you must speak the truth, even though your own family will turn against you and persecute, revile and isolate you. In spite of this, you must put the teachings of Jesus first in your life. Otherwise you cannot be his disciple.
Luke 14:27 - And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Here, Jesus is stating that you must do like him and be willing to lose your own life for his message. Jesus died for the message that he preached. He is stating that if we are not willing to suffer and even die for the teachings of Jesus and the preaching of it, then you cannot be his discu
Jesus goes on to say in Luke 14:28 - "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,
30saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.
33In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Jesus is saying to weigh up the cost of being a disciple; losing your own family and even possibly your life for the message he preached. Otherwise, you will compromise the teachings and become a blasphemer. Luke 14:33 - in the same way, Jesus is asking us to understand that we must give up our possessions and not deny Jesus and blaspheme by not believing his teachings.
Luke 14:34-35 - “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Then Jesus goes on to speak about the uselessness of those who compromise and blaspheme the word of God and the message of Jesus by comparing them to salt less salt.
Being a Christian automatically puts you discipleship. Therefore whatever presents a challenge to your relationship with Christ, must be given up.
Matthew 6:24 - "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Of course you despise the teachings of what Jesus is saying because you love your money and you cannot serve both.
There's nothing in the context about giving to the poor and needy in versus 25 through 34.
I have showed you more than enough scriptures in the Bible about how the disciples AND 1st Century church interpreted this scripture.
Acts 2:45 - They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.
Acts 4:34 - There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them
bring the proceeds from the sales, 35and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need.…
I reject the guilt premise having to sacrifice to those who are obligated and personally responsible to their own self preservation.
Self preservation is what the rest of the world does. We are meant to have faith that God will provide.
Luke 12:30-31 -
“For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.
31“But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
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.
34“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
I have no problem helping people have done so many times, but I surely will not be manipulated into doing so. Such a choice has nothing to do with a contest between Christ and the poor. Furthermore God has blessed me with the money I earn, the money I have and things I've purchased and I have obligation to be a good steward over the money God has blessed with me.
It was the devil who offered Jesus the riches and wealth of this world, not God. You are mistaken that your wealth comes from God.
Luke 16:19-31 -
19“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.
20“And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
21and longing to be fed with the
crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
22“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
23“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
24“And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’
25“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.
26‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and
that none may cross over from there to us.’
27“And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house—
28for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
30“But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’
31“But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Quoting Mark 12 doesn't support your premise.
This is a relative evaluation of value. For the sake of simplicity let's say a rich person is worth the value 10 and the widow is worth the value of 2. The rich person gives 5 of his 10 or 50% and the widow gives 100% all 2. Well its no brainer, the widow did give more in relative terms because she gave 100% and it came from her heart to do so. The rich person afforded to give 5, but kept the other 5. In my opinion rich person has done nothing wrong, at least he gave something. Its not a moral evaluation weather the rich gave 100% or not was right or wrong, but rather a relative evaluation where morality is not a variable.
The scripture clearly states she gave all she had. You are trying to twist the scripture due to your love of money.
Quoting Luke 12 doesn't support your premise.
Trusting in the Lord has nothing to do with the love of money. Nor does it refute that I thank God for the money I earn,
God didn't give it, the devil did.
1 John 2:6 - Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
Furthermore faith without works is dead.
Exactly! So claiming you love Jesus more than money without actually giving up your money shows that your faith is dead.
If I need a job, I'm going to sit idle in my living room wait for God to drop a job in my lap.
No, you must preach the word of God to the world and God will provide.
Mark 16:15 - And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.
Matthew 28:19 - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
This where Luke 12 is applied. I go out and get a job because in Luke 12 it tells not to worry. God's got my back. God has job lined up for me, provided I got off butt and go get one.
No, it does not say this. You are omitting Luke 12:33 - Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Quoting
Acts 2:45 doesn't support your premise.
The people described in Acts 2 42 through 47 is not a moral mandate. Its a description of state of being, in a place and a time. It would be no different if I were request of you to articulate in writing what you saw on Sunday morning at your church from the time you arrived and the time you went home. Sounds like all the people in Act 2 42 and 47 had a good time, a festive atmosphere with a holy look and feel.
You are twisting the scriptures. I don't agree with anything you say.
Quoting Acts 4 34 doesn't support your premise.
This is no different than Acts 2 42 through 47, a description of a state of being as opposed to being a moral mandate.
You are a lover of money and I don't agree with you at all.
James 5:1-3 - Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
Whist we are on these scriptures of Acts you bring to my attention lets pay attention to something. The people described giving and selling all they have, are doing so, on their own free will.
They are adhering to Luke 12:33 and Luke 14:33 and my other scriptures. It was not free will, but more about accepting and obeying Jesus' command and understanding the cost of being a disciple.
There's no tax policy confiscating of wealth There's no strong man intimidating them and coercing them to do so. There's no intellectual hipster quoting Marx and equality or egalitarianism. You, by presenting these scriptures to me as a means of refuting me is an act of manipulation.
You are a compromiser and manipulator of scripture who loves money.
I reject your arguments. I reject socialism. I reject anything that produces guilt that a human being
2 Corinthians 7:10 - For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
You are contrary to the scriptures.
I hate to break to break to you, but Jesus Christ isn't a socialist. If he were he'd been tyrant and terrorized people confiscating wealth and ensuring some ethereal sacrificial mandate of the greater good was enforced with a trail of bodies numbering the millions in his wake.
No one is forcing you to do anything. But if you want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, you must obey Jesus' commands.
John 14:15 - "If you love me, keep my commands."
John 14:21 - "Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.
John 14:23 - "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
John 15:10 - If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love.
1 John 2:3 - "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments." 
