(Untitled)

[made_alive]

“It is not kindness to tell patients that need strong medicine that nothing serious is wrong with them.”-Cornelius Van Til

Comments

[guided_by_grace]

Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
(Luke12:32-34)
From my searching scripture I believe this is addressing love of money not merely the possession of it. If you love your possessions so much that you are letting the people around you who are visibly in need go without when you have excess, then your treasure is obviously misplaced (noticed that it says "possessions" and not all possessions ). Luke later expounds upon the issue of the love of money in chapter 16. As long as money is not your master but is merely a tool that you use to further the kingdom of God, I honestly do not see scripture saying we should not have possessions

[made_alive]

I honestly do not see scripture saying we should not have possessions.

"So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions."-luke 14:33

seems so black and white sometimes you know? thanks for your response. maybe im confused for no reason, maybe scripture has been clear all along.

[made_alive]

also thanks for showing me the scripture before "sell your possessions" i didnt even see that my first command is "fear not"

:D i dont want to worry about this, dang God is good to put christians in my way. thanks.

[guided_by_grace]

Actually, I would suggest studying that passage (including the surrounding verses) more carefully. For one, the greek word apotassomai translated as "give up" in the version you are using has a primary meaning of "to set apart, separate" and a secondary meaning of "to renounce, forsake." Here is a link to some commentaries on the verse. Give them some serious consideration before you make any decisions. If love of possessions and money is a problem for you then maybe He is urging you to give them up. But if they aren't a distraction I really have to wonder where this is coming from. Our Lord wants us to give all to Him, yes. And to give up all sinfullness for Him. But scripture teaches that it is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil, not money in and of itself.

[echoes_of_eden]

Ciara

Medicine, Possessions

[robfrench]

(1) I've not read the original work from which Van Til quote comes. However, the context from which Ciara quotes it is not of speaking to the world, but of speaking to the Church. In that case, being "in your face" most certainly is appropriate: much of the New Testament serves exactly that purpose. We judge within the Church, we correct within the Church, we rebuke and instruct within the Church, etc. They can take it

Re: Medicine, Possessions

[made_alive]

:) i think i like to see myself type too, but that was good stuff.

but the rich young ruler and disciples alike were commanded to sell all and follow Christ.

why do you believe scripture is not commanding you to sell your possessions and give to charity? thats really what i dont get. im beginning to understand how it might mean different things for different people but how is anyone exempt from this command?

[echoes_of_eden]

also what does "sell your possessions and give to charity" mean to you guys?This is a tough one. I think many a Christian has struggled with this and exactly what it means. I think (and I'm sure I don't have to tell you this) that we first need to look at verses in their context and in light of the ENTIRE Bible before coming to conclusions on what we think they mean

[echoes_of_eden]

Also...A few verses before Jesus says this:

Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “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.

Do you hate your mother, father, brothers, sisters?

It just seems like there is an overall message here where Jesus is saying NOTHING can come before loyalty to Him (something I myself am struggling with as you know with my own family). But do we truly believe that Jesus is telling us to hate our families? It simply doesn't make sense. Jesus always seems to make very blunt statements in order to drive a point home. And His point is that nothing can come before Him.

Anyway, that is how I see it.

~D

[guided_by_grace]

It's called hebraic hyperbole, and Christ used it often because it was something that the Jews would identify with. Although we must be always careful not to excuse away the commands of Christ because of it's use, we still must be diligent to look at the surrounding text to fully understand His meaning. It is also important to remember that Christ was vehemently against the unnecessary yoke of legalism that the pharisees placed upon the people. In contrast, the yoke Christ places upon us is easy; His burden is light. That's not to say the Christian life is a cake-walk. We all have our own stories of suffering for our Lord.

[echoes_of_eden]

Excellent point!