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1 Thessalonians 2:10-12
10 Ye [humeis] are witnesses, [martus] and [kai] God [theos] also, how [hos] holily [hosios] and [kai] justly [dikaios] and [kai] unblameably [amemptos] we behaved ourselves [ginomai] among you [humin] that believe: [pisteuo]
11 As [kathaper] ye know [eido] how [hos] we exhorted [parakaleo] and [kai] comforted [paramutheomai] and charged [martureo] every [hekastos] one [heis] of you [humas], [humon] as [hos] a father [pater] doth his [heautou] children, [teknon]
12 [kai] That [eis] ye [humas] would walk [peripateo] worthy [axios] of God, [theos] who hath called [kaleo] you [humas] unto [eis] his [heautou] kingdom [basileia] and [kai] glory. [doxa] KJV-Interlinear
10 You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; 11 just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, 12 so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. NASB
As Paul is speaking of himself and those who were with him, in that he approached life and the teaching of Bible doctrine, without any ulterior motives, without any attempt for taking advantage of anyone, without any deceit of luring folks into a following, for his own benefit.
And that is the way in which not only instructors of the Word should approach their teaching, but that is the way in which all people should approach life.
If you have been on the internet for any length of time, then you have noticed that that there are many folks out there who are scammers. They send emails begging for help in getting their fortunes out of some foreign country. They respond to your classified ads, and want to pay you ten times the amount, so you can have a bonus and refund them the difference. They send you enticing offers in order to get your bank card information. They forge coupons from legitimate companies in order to get you to respond and thus add your email address to a list of valid addresses, so they can sell the lists.
One wonders if the entire world is corrupt, and if they would only put in this much effort into legitimate efforts, just how much good could they accomplish in legitimate activities?
From scams to cults, to philosophies, to dishonest scientific studies, to power lust driven politicians, the deceit and fraudulent efforts of the world seem to have no end.
And in the one area where people should be able to look, in order to find truth, honesty, and sanity, Bible doctrine, there is no end to those who would use religion, faith, and even charity to take advantage of those who just want to know the truth and just want to do some good for others.
Therefore, you now have several tests to help you decipher the honest Bible study, from the dishonest one.
First, we have studied that God demands no payment in exchange for His Word.
Second, continued study will allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you, that which is legitimate and that which is not. Time and repetition reveals all. You just have to be patient.
Third, your study efforts must be open minded. If you want to learn the truth, then you have to approach Bible doctrine without preconceived ideas, and without bias. If you only want God to legitimize what you think or do, then your approach is a false one.
Fourth, beware of charities that have emotional appeals wanting payments for helping the children, single moms, disabled this or that. Do your homework. Most of these outfits have huge administrative costs that benefit the promoters and very little goes to the advertised purpose of the charity.
Fifth, beware of any appeal that is emotional only and lacks substance.
The spiritual life consists of a daily study of substantive doctrine, and the consistent application of that which you learn. God needs none of these organizations to help His purpose. But through doctrine, and your legitimate learning and maturing process, you will learn what you must do and discover the means of doing it.
Jesus Christ controls history. Man does not. Jesus Christ drives the events of history. Man does not.
Some time ago, we studied the winds of history. The winds of the sea have long been symbolic of mans efforts to drive history. The winds of heaven are Gods efforts.
The sea has boundaries and cannot leave them, even with raging storms. Gods efforts have no boundaries.
God calls on you, through doctrine, to live your life openly, honestly, and true to Him, such that your life will be defined as worthy, and productive, and vindicated through doctrine. Not a life of evil and corruption, of selfishness and deceit, of games and schemes.
During your life you are writing your very own story, drafting your very own song. As others may go in pursuit of their life’s quest, so you are involved in your life’s quest on a daily and even moment by moment basis. One day, Jesus is going to ask you what your story is.
The vast majority of humanity will not have a good one, and all of the human efforts of history will fade from existence and forgotten. Other than a few dates and events of history, do you know anything about any of the hundreds of billions of people who have lived in the many past centuries? No, and that is the sum total of the human contribution to life.
But if you pursue your spiritual life, legitimately, on a daily basis, then your story, your song, will a great one, a complete one, a divinely recognized one, and will be sung forever.
