• About
  • BULLETIN ARTICLES

etsop95

~ Perspectives on Bible, philosophy, and politics (sometimes)

etsop95

Tag Archives: hypocrisy

I’ve Had My Fill!

18 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

church, hypocrisy

Perhaps you heard someone say something like the following: “The last time I went to church, some lady named Mary seemed to be very unpleasant. I can move past that, I thought, but when I sat down, I received cold stares because,” I was told, “you are sitting in Brother and Sister Pleasant’s seats. That was it, I moved on. Thought to myself, if that is ‘church,’ I’ve had my fill of it!”

Has this or something similar happened to you? Perhaps not. Many, however, have had an experience like this, maybe even worse. If you’ve had a bad experience, let me encourage to think afresh about “church.”

In the New Testament, the word “church” is directly related to people called out of the world of sin into a world where people assemble to praise the Almighty for the salvation He freely gave and gives to each. With all the baggage they should have left behind, many present themselves to the Lord with it. Sue has been divorced three times and now married to her fourth husband. Mike has spent the last eighteen years fighting his drug addiction. Tim and Mary have children that are very undisciplined because Tim and Mary are also undisciplined. The list of all the baggage that people bring goes on and on. I, too, have my own baggage.

Yet, here they are inside a building where people gather together to be taught the Lord’s word, sing and praise His holy name in worship. Not a one has lived life without some blotch (or many) on their personal record of failings. Some hide it well; others live with it openly.

After a moment’s reflection, is it not best to be in the environment where people gather to praise the Lord and taught His holy way? It was Peter who said to the Lord, after the Lord asked His disciples if they were also going to turn away from Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” To whom will you go?

Why not consider, again, the Lord’s church and what He intended the church to be, spiritually sick people who recognize the Lord’s mercy and in real need of it.  RT

(Written for House to House and heart to Heart for our Fall mailing)

Romans (2)

15 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

circumcision, heart, hypocrisy, Jews, law of Moses, Romans

When Paul wrote his letter to the church at Rome he knew well the difficulties associated with living as the Lord’s light in the midst of a dark world. He also knew what it was to live in a world with competing ideas, even ideas that once came from God; this is what Paul addressed in chapter 2. The problem was not (and never has been) God, but those who identify themselves with God. This the Jews did. As Paul addressed the Jewish mindset, he addressed that which plagues man in general, and not just the Jews; that which plagued them (and us) is hypocrisy. With regard to their way of thinking, they insisted on having others obey the standard in Moses’ Law, but those insisting did not even live by the standard they affirmed. This hypocrisy brought discredit to them and to the Lord they so readily promoted. Moreover, the Jewish mindset was a mindset that did not even understand the purpose of Moses’ Law; they placed emphasis on physical obedience when there should have been emphasis placed upon the heart, that is, they were to obey from the heart the Lord’s will (2:28-29). With the heart properly motivated, godly obedience follows naturally.

 

 

The Facade (A Word to the Wise)

30 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

facade, hypocrisy, righteous

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who follows righteousness. (Proverbs 15:9, NKJV). As mentioned with the previous proverb, those who have a shell (façade) of religious piety offer to the Lord only wickedness. These are hypocrites. The openly wicked have more “honor” to them than the hypocrites, for at least all pretense is shunned. In both cases, however, neither one of them are in good standing with the Lord! For those who live in accordance with the righteous way of the Lord, the Lord is on their side, even when they get weak in their walk with Christ.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 731 other followers

Last Month

Log in

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blogs I Follow

  • Christian Publishing House Blog
  • Canon Fodder
  • PreachingHelp.org
  • Biblical Proof
  • Sunrush Church of Christ
  • The Church of God
  • Brotherhood News
  • Believing Prayer
  • Daniel B. Wallace
  • NT Resources
  • etsop95
  • Forthright Press
  • Ferrell's Travel Blog
  • Larry Hurtado's Blog
  • Carolina Messenger
  • ThinkingJesus
  • CRI
  • Big Ten Network
  • eScriptorium
  • Biblical Notes

Blog Stats

  • 15,313 hits

RSS Unknown Feed

  • An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
<ul id="<a-href="https://jar.tiddlyhost.com/-WebList">See-WebList
  • Blog at WordPress.com.

    Christian Publishing House Blog

    Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity

    Canon Fodder

    Exploring the origins of the New Testament canon and other biblical and theological issues

    PreachingHelp.org

    The sermons and writings of Steve Higginbotham

    Biblical Proof

    Speaking where the bible speaks, and silent where the bible is silent.

    Sunrush Church of Christ

    The Church of God

    Official Website of The Church of God (Restoration)

    Brotherhood News

    Believing Prayer

    Daniel B. Wallace

    Executive Director of CSNTM & Senior Research Professor of NT Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary

    NT Resources

    etsop95

    Perspectives on Bible, philosophy, and politics (sometimes)

    Forthright Press

    Straight to the Cross

    Ferrell's Travel Blog

    Commenting on biblical studies, archaeology, travel and photography

    Larry Hurtado's Blog

    Comments on the New Testament and Early Christianity (and related matters)

    Carolina Messenger

    "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)

    ThinkingJesus

    Letting Jesus Speak Today

    CRI

    Big Ten Network

    Big Ten Network's website

    eScriptorium

    Biblical Notes

    - Est. 1965 by Roy C. Deaver -

    • Follow Following
      • etsop95
      • Join 731 other followers
      • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
      • etsop95
      • Customize
      • Follow Following
      • Sign up
      • Log in
      • Report this content
      • View site in Reader
      • Manage subscriptions
      • Collapse this bar