Bible Discussion Thread

From Matthew 7:1-3 judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge ye shall be judged: & with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why behold thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye? .. These have always confused me because in verse 5 it adds that we are Hypocrites if we don't remove the beam in our own eye (our sin/wrong doing) before trying to remove the mote in our brothers eyes. Yet, isn't that the purpose of Jesus DBR Him shedding His blood for All & All sin? If we've already been forgiven of all our sins do we not have the right to say such things to them in love & compassion? Of course only if we live a believers life not just say we are though God knows our heart. In todays trying times if we tell others that they need Jesus for thinking their born gay, trans or otherwise What would be best way to say something to them when they say "judge not that ye be not judged" or "you don't know what I've been through"? I mean I know believers are merely trying to lead them to Christ by speaking His truth but they say that & I'm stumped as to how to respond biblically other than Gen 1:27 or "Gods word is Gods word & needs no adding to it if you believe & want eternal life in heaven instead of eternity in the lake of fire".! "Earnestly seeking Him in prayer, He will find & comfort you in His time, it doesn't happen over night yet you will feel His peace if you truly believe". I also explain, 'we must go through trials to grow wise & be strong because anyone can say 'I'm Christian or I believe' for even satan believes & God doesn't deal with ppl that sit on the fence'. ANYONE with a KJV biblical teaching? thanks.! God bless

1 Corinthians 6:1-3 indicates that we should judge things within the Body of Christ rather than taking each other to court (secular). That is something that I wish I had investigated sooner when it came to my own divorce; namely Biblical separation and counseling which I only availed myself of after the divorce itself. Not too many talk of this aspect; but we make a vow to God with witnesses and a Pastor; shouldn't the church be at least involved in these decisions? That is a whole other matter; as I personally don't believe in divorce and remarriage when a spouse is still alive which my church at the time wasn't holding to as an essential doctrine.

Anyway that example shows me how disjointed we are in general with the lives and actions of those who have committed themselves to Christ (with the New Covenant scripturally); as well as with a public statement of faith for church membership.

Our actions affect ourselvs; our children but also others who we fellowship with. It seems that a lack of judgment is a bigger problem today; with very few admonishing others; or building one another up as iron sharpens iron today.

Another issue is that we see a symptom with a person's behavior but not necessarily the root causes. It reminds me of a lady today in a personal care facility who was very testy and had a few unseemly words to say in anger; but admitted that she was going through spiritual attack and responded well in prayer; and was willing to seek forgiveness. As with anything else we cannot change anyone; merely explaining the problem isn't enough; the Spirit must work in the person; or through us to convict the soul of the individual. We also run the risk of focusing on someone's eccentricities (such as an annoying personality) and can judge something as sinful when it really isn't. As others stated we need to show the love of Christ; those who are His children will sense when we are genuine in concern. Hope some of this helps outta room!!!

Texsis, 2/2

So the problem is not seeing my brothers fault, we must be blind not to see it. But with what intention do I see it? To condemn or to correct? Without love there can be no help to them.

And one final thing. It is better not to see my brother's fault at all if that can cause a problem/judgement in my heart for him. Let it go, don't think about it at all. Mainly we must protect our hearts from wrong doing, like judgement. If I can not carry a load, let's not carry it at all.

GBU

Hello Texsis, 1/2

Some thoughts of mine about judging our brothers and sisters..

1. Jesus calls a hypocrite one who judges his brother. Why? Because obviously he does the same. So it is clear that we should not judge the others for things we do as well. And we usually do that all of us, dont we? Like eg the people who brought that woman who was doing adultery and asked Jesus if they should stone her. What did Jesus say to them? "The one who is without sin let him stone her". Nobody was left behind at the end, because they were all doing the same thing, maybe not with their body but definitely with their spirit. This is hypocrisis. By the way the word judgement here has the meaning of judging someone in order to condemn him.

2. Often I have found out that when I am very strict about my brother's behavior, then God passes me through the same path, under the same conditions. And what do I see? I see that my behavior is often worse than what I saw my brother doing. So to be able to judge rightly one must understand the conditions his brother is under, to be in his shoes. And when he realizes how hard those conditions are then he acts with mercy. We all wish others to show mercy to us about our faults, don't we?

3. Probably the best explanation I have heard so far about this commandement is the following.

What is the beam in our eyes that hinders our spiritual sight? The most common answer is our faults, weaknesses, etc which are bigger than my brothers, right? But what I have heard is that that beam is the judgment/condemnation itself. If I see my brother with eyes ready to condemn him for what he has done, then I cannot help him at all. But when I remove that beam/judgment/condemnation from my eyes and instead look at him with love then I can help him to see his fault and correct himself. I can see my brothers fault in both cases but I can not help him to remove his fault when I condemn him, instead I can help him being a better person when with love I help him.

GBU

Wow thank you.! Yes, I have dreams, that come true. What a blessing it has been as Im sure yur wife is as thankful. It helps to be persistant in spreading His word Tho at times I speak more from exsperience then from His word, I definitly mean well. Yet, for my own visions, Im not always sure who & never prepared for when it is put into motion. It took me years to understand judging & still learning so thank so much for yur help along w/the others. As humans we all do in some form or nother & thats why it is SO important for us to know & understand the true meaning of Christ DBR so we eventually, prayerfully, learn to let go & let God.! Nothing we can do about any happenings (even w/visions) for what is His will can not be changed by a human fretting for even a second. Lately, its a quick thought then my repenting starts. If she has tips on how to channel visions I'd be very interested to hear. As Im sure many ppl would. It could be her calling. Thanks to you both, blessings.!

Hello Texsis, You can read what I wrote to Giannis about visions I have had. Glad to know that God has blessed you with dreams that are prophetic. How wonderful.

Didn't realize it was called prophetic. My sister thinks dreams are of satan. So thought something was wrong w/me, till they started coming true. Pray all's well w/you & yurs.! God is sooo good yet it took me yrs to understand His wisdom. I finally learned that things I want to happen, will, in His time, IF its meant to be.!

If not, no matter how bad It was wanted, I just take a deep breath, shake it off & move on.! Feels so relaxing & comforting to walk in "His peace that passes all understanding" doesn't it? Thnx again GiGi

Hello Texsis, If your dream is about something that is to happen, and then this dream proves to be true by the very thing happening, then it is a prophetic dream. I have not ever had such a dream. But the Holy Spirit can work anyway He chooses to work. We can't put a limit on what He may do in and for us.

We are doing well. Hubby has been retired for a month and enjoying it. Last week he was riding his motorcycle in Oregon (we live in Washington State) and took a back road to Mt. Hood HWY. A deer came out in front of him and he collided with it. He was able to stay upright and not lose control but his motorcycle is most likely totaled. Told him he was being watched over! If he had hit the deer mid body, he most likely would have been catapulted over the handle bars. So very thankful he is o.k. I told him that this was God telling him that he should not ride on remote roads without me tailing him in my Prius. That area had no cell service, houses, etc. So, wake up call for sure. We do tandem riding for long trips, but now we will need to do so for day trips, too. I don't mind driving behind since I will not ride on the motorcycle with him. So, we need to add this safety measure to this hobby!

He's looking for another motorcycle to replace this one. But he'll not be able to get one until end of summer or so. Bummer for him, but just a slight "bump in the road", so to speak.

Texsis, 2/2

It is true that we often have to suffer so that we understand how others feel. People who have had easy lives usually are not able to feel sympathy for others, so they tend to be very strict in their judgement for them. This is why God often passes us through tribulations and hardships, to understand our brothers and sisters. We usually tend to be soft to ourselves and strict to others, we all do that, don't we?

When Nathan the prophet went to David and talked to him about Bathsheba, David shouted "death to that man'. When he realized it was him he put his head down and quitely said "forgive me Lord". 2 different types of measurement, one for him and one for the other man.

God bless you.

Hello Texsis. 1/2

My wife has seen visions and has many experiences with God (some are unbelievable even for us, christians) in her christian life since 1996 when she came into the faith. The first one was when she was just a couple of weeks old, I mean as a christian. But I also know other people who have seen visions, one of them has seen Jesus on His way to Golgotha. About tips I don't think she has any. Usually the visions God shows her is about confirming His Word, or explaining it or supporting her when in trouble or something similar. Some have seen things in the future but not my wife. It is a personal gift I guess, it has nothing to do with others. That gift is not included in the list of gifts that are written in the epistle to Corinthians, so as I said it is not for the profit of the church but for her own use and support, for mine as well. If one seeks to see visions and keeps asking the Lord for them, God will eventually answer their request. I think it has much to do with her personality. She is very serious about her faith. She is in love with the Lord and she is very steady and stable and consistent with her faith, always in prayers, in studying the Word, in seeking to help others, in seeking fellowship with christians, consistently attending the church servises, etc. She is like a rock, unmovable. To be honest, I admire her, I am not quite like that. Why in that aspect women are always better than men? It has always puzzled me, maybe it has to do with women's heart.

About judging others now, the thing is not seeing people's mistakes, but seeing them with love ready to help them. God always, since the very begining, knew that people were suffering. But He actually realized what pain was, when he became a man and felt pain Himself. Jesus suffered as a man and now He can intevene to Father for our sake. Jesus felt betrayed, lonely, abandoned, humiliated, tired...

Hello Giannis,

It is good to know that God makes Himself known to believers at times in dreams and visions. I have had a few visions, all of them in 2000 at a time when I needed help from the Lord in some serious spiritual matters concerning our church at that time.

These visions were really awesome in the true sense of the word. I was changed remarkable since these (for the better). I have not revealed this matter to many people and the content of the visions only to a few. One I have never revealed the content yet. it was the most amazing one and I was incredibly aware of the holiness of our Lord.

But, like your wife, these visions were private, for me, and not for the church at large or even my dearest friends. They were very personal, having to do with me alone and no one else. I do not share because of this, but also, I do not wish to magnify myself by revealing them. If the Spirit would lead me to do so, I would, as I have shared a bit on here. But, these visions are overwhelmingly humbling in light of the magnificence of the Lord. But, I am not ashamed of them, but wise concerning them.

Thanks for letting me know of your wife's experiences. This uplifts me today.

GiGi

A vision a brother had.

In a field there was a cross, and on it Jesus. His Blood was pouring down the earth. A large eagle was approaching from far far away. That eagle was the mankind. The eagle looked exhausted, with no strength, ready to fall down, it could hardly fly. The eagle approached the cross. It went down at Jesus' feet. Jesus' Blood made a little pool on the ground. The eagle took Jesus ' Blood with its peak and started washing its body with it, poured it all over its body.. Doing that he was filled with power. He looked strong and healthy now. It jumped to the air and flew away from the cross and continue its trip to its destination.

Hello GiGi

It is true that God reveals Himself to His people since the very beginning, He never stopped doing that, one way or another. The same way He revealed Himself to Abraham, the same way he does today. Is there any possibility that a father does not want to communicate with His children? No, there isn't, isn't it so? We haven't believed in myths and fairy tales but in a true and existing God who always has made clear to His people that He is there to support and help them, with real proofs. He goes very personal sometimes when He knows there is a need. The idea that God wrote some scripture to us some thousands years ago and then this is it, no communication any more, is not right. Just think of yourself. You, say,, have a kid, then when he is a child you leave a note to him with instructions on how he should live his life and then you go secret for the rest of his life, just observing him from a distance. Sounds sensible? To me, no it doesn't.

About visions now. If a vision is about something very personal, then yes it should remain private. But if it is not something that has to be a secret and it helps others as well, why not tell them? I got very lifted up with my wife's visions. Of course they are about her, but they made me feel that God is real, we often forget that in our everyday life, lost in our struggles and obligations to cope with this life. It is good to always have a proof that God is watching us all the time, then peace comes to our minds, we are not alone out there, there is somebody who is capable of everything and that person is our heavenly Father.

WE ARE NOT ALONE, thanks God.

GBU

Giannis, cont.

We also need to look at the fruit of these occurrences and recognize what the Spirit is accomplishing in the lives of those affected. Does the occurrence cause the person to magnify God above self? Does it turn others to seek God more? Does it result in renewed commitment to godliness? Does it promote the purposes of God over the will of man? Did God initiate or did the recipients try to make it happen by certain actions or rituals (which really are a sort of conjuring)? There could be many other ways to test what is happening, as my list is not exhaustive of what the Holy Spirit may wrought in our lives.

We should praise God for all He does for us, though we are undeserving. We should rejoice that God is with us. We ought to approach all things with faith and wisdom. It is beneficial to learn disciplines that come from the Spirit and we should be content with everyday life and not be seeking or looking for phenomenal things to happen all the time. We can let God surprise us with his awesomeness and comfort us with His indwelling presence. We can be determined to pursue the ordinary life He gives us daily to live out responsibly and graciously without complaining or begrudging the everydayness of this earthly life. We can pray with faith, believing that God hears our prayers and will answer in the best ways, sometimes in miraculous ways, sometimes with circumstances that bring together answers that we cannot manufacture, and sometimes with dreams or visions that help us to see the bigger picture of His will or for our sanctification.

I am glad to know that others here have openly received from God things too wonderful for our imaginations to conceive. I am glad that we can share that these things do happen today. And I am glad that God is the same today, yesterday, tomorrow, and always!

Dear Giannis,

I can't find any Scripture that says that God has stopped involving Himself in the lives of believers in the ways that He has done since creation. Hebrews 1:1-2 does say that in these last days, God has spoken through His Son, Jesus, our Lord. And it also goes on to say that after Jesus had made the sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty (the Father) on High.

These verses in Hebrews don't say Joel's prophecy being fulfilled in the last days Acts 2:16-18 has ceased. Peter's statement says that the prophecy of Joel was being fulfilled after Jesus was already seated at the Father's right hand at that time. So, I think that until the coming of Christ again to consummate all things concerning this age, we will be in the last days. The Scripture doesn't say anywhere that the last days have ceased.

So, thank you for your encouragement. We should not be surprised when God does amazing things in and through us that are like ways He has acted since time began. We can be astonished, of course, and humbled, and thankful.

I know that there are many things being done or proclaimed to be the works of God in churches and in individuals that are counterfeits: "gold dust" and feathers falling on people; vapor/mist filling a meeting place (much of these are created to happen by the church leaders); being slain in the spirit (falling down when someone touches/blows on another-i.e., Benny Hinn style), and much babbling that is spoken of as speaking in tongues.

But I also know that God does do some things that are truly miraculous, and in keeping with the manifestations of the Spirit's giftings, that are genuine. We do need to be discerning and yet open, not being too quick to refute such things simply because we may hold to a view like David's; but, also, not being too quick to affirm that what was experienced is genuinely from God. We take every matter to Scripture to see if it aligns with ways God has acted in Biblical history....cont.

Hello GiGi & Friends

Its interesting to note that only two books in the NT, Acts & James have no farewell salutation at the ending, confirming the important continuation of the revelation of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor 4:6 Titus 2:11 John 1:9 Rom 8:14 Acts 2:17 diffusing the fragrances of His knowledge in every heart, & that by His Spirit 1 Cor 2:12-14, for they are freely given to us & only spiritually discerned.

ps: glad to hear your husband was not hurt

In love & truth

Awesome, thanks I really appreciate it. Jesse was a huge help too. God bless & be with y'all

Hello Texsis

More about Judging others.

Have you ever seen a vision Texsis? Me personally, no never. But my wife has seen a few. One of them was the following:

She was standing in front of God's Throne during the Judgement. In front of her there was another woman who God was judging first and my wife's turn was immediately after. Both, that woman and my wife, had papers in their hand where there was a list of the sins/accusations they had done. The other woman was a person that my wife knew. While the other woman was judged my wife who knew her was thinking of the errors that that other woman had done. Every time my wife thought "she did that...", the same thing/accusation appeared on her paper as well. So at the end she realized that it was better not to judge that other woman so that nothing similar appears on her paper too.

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

If we are strict to people, God is going to be strict to us. If we are mercyful to people then God will be mercyful to us well. Let's not forget that our God is Love.

John 3:17, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

GBU

Texsis,

(Part 2)

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:3-5 about the splinter and the beam.



This was carpenters terms from out of His father Joseph's carpenter shop. Now if you can imagine this, that if you take a toothpick and you held it up to your eye, it looks like a beam. But if you hold it up to someone else's eye, it looks like a splinter. But you see, they are both the same.



So Jesus said to them (Jewish Leaders) in Verses 3 to 5, why do you behold the splinter in your brother's eye when you have a beam in your own?



How are you going to say to your brother let me pull out the splinter in your eye, and you have a beam that is in your own? You hypocrite, first cast out the beam from your own, and then shall you see clearly to cast out the splinter out of your brother's eye.



Many of us have heard that before, but please take notice in Verse 5 that it's only (after) the beam is removed from your eye that you are able to go to your brother about the removal of the splinter in his own.



Jesus is saying this, and it is all a reference to the law and salvation. So, here is a Jew under the law, going out and judging other people according to the law, and he is not even saved!



In 1 Corinthians Chapter 2, Paul says that the spiritual man judges all things. Why? Because he has the Spirit of Christ.



In 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, Paul talked about Christians taking other Christians to court. He says don't you have any wise men amongst you that can judge these things?



We are supposed to be judging. Judgment is supposed to begin at the house of God, and we have a responsibility.

I hope this helps some? Blessings to you in Christ Jesus!

It most definitely did, thank you so much.! How you explained the splinter/beam analogy was awesome. I had never heard it put that way, Amazing.! I knew about 1 Cor 2 yet obviously took it the wrong way and I will use this or yours, if I may, about being a 'fruit inspector'..lol. Yes, I've read we are to take any concern of wrong doing in an order by talking to said person (which rarely works) 1st then to the church. I learned Proverbs 25:8-9 first hand that "If you take your neighbor to court, do not betray another's confidence, 10 or the one who hears it may shame you & the charge against you will stand". Because my daughters dad twisted everything. So now I can say first hand why Acts 5:29 says "We must obey God not man". The pain is far worse doing it mans way. I think it was 1 Cor 4:4 that gave me the idea we had the right to judge spiritually so obviously learned it wrong as well. Your a blessing, thank you Jesse. Was fixen to get back on here yet getting a job 3rd shift so may not. God bless & be w/you and yours.!

Hello, Texsis,

I have actually had someone use Matthew 7:1 on me before. They said "don't judge me. The Bible says judge not lest ye be judged."

If there's one verse most nonbelievers know, it's this one. How do we respond to that? I can share with you what my response was. I responded by saying, "yes, the Bible does say judge not lest ye be judged," but it also says ye shall know them by their fruit. So, I'm not judging you brother, but I am a fruit inspector.

Here is my understanding of Matthew 7:1-5 which gives us the correct understanding of judgment. And Verse 1 is also the principle for the whole chapter. Judge not, that ye be not judged.



Well, how many times has someone told you that, or you have told other people, "don't judge me, I'm not under the law, I am under grace?"

For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged: and with what measure you mete out, it will be measured back to you again.



This is the same thing that Paul said in Romans Chapter 2 Verse 1. Paul says, you are inexcusable oh man, whoever is judging another because you condemn yourself; for you that judges another person, you do the same things.

That is an insight to judging. You see, I judge other people for committing my sins. And I am very merciful to people who commit sins that are not mine.



That is what it is saying. I see you committing my sins, and I am harsh on you. But somebody can come along who is a serial bank robber and I might say "Oh lets have mercy on him." Let's witness to him. But if they commit my sins, they are in big trouble!



If you stop and think about that for a moment, the next time you see someone committing an act of sin and what your reaction is to what this person is doing, it all make sense as to what this is saying.



I am running out of space but would like to share my understanding of Verses 3-5 with you.

I will send a (Part 2).

Hi Texsis,

I remember you from months ago I believe. Welcome back.

I just read Matthew 7 recently and what stood out to me was verse 16 and 20 "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." So, it doesn't don't judge in verse 1, but in the same chapter says to watch out for false prophets (v15) and you look at their fruits, so use discernment. It also says v6 don't give what is holy to dogs- more discernment.

So I think judge in this case doesn't mean to throw away all discernment. I looked at the commentary for this verse and still don't have a clear picture, but my current thought is that it might have to do with assuming someone's salvation. Anyone is invited to contribute their thoughts on this, because I don't have a clear understanding, but just know that the Bible supports discernment- that can even be a spiritual gift. And there's verses supporting holding others accountable and exposing evil in a loving way. This verse 1 is often thrown around by the world to justify all kinds of evil- "who are you to judge me?" to get Christians to shut up about it. But I don't think it means for Christians to shut up and condone evil.

About the logs in the eye I believe we need to get our own life in order before helping others see the sin in their own life. But I don't think this verse means to simply say nothing ever to anyone about sin.

Have a thought on this comment too: "If we've already been forgiven of all our sins do we not have the right"

I believe sin is an ongoing problem we need to daily be in prayer for and asking for forgiveness for, not a one time event. Also, proactively avoiding sin and forgiveness are different things. I believe the log example is proactively trying to remove logs from our own eyes first. If we're currently in a stronghold of sin we're in no position to be giving others advice.

I don't believe anyone is gay or trans, but make choices. People choose all kinds of things and change their minds often too. Choice is not identity.

Ya, months ago I was so into the word I was going about it the wrong way and being on here was taking away from my study time. So in order to be able to help others, I got off of this, studied & prayed a lot, not wanting to say the wrong things. Yet still do at times but after much reading & learning I feel now what I say, I truly know and believe. Always room for sceptics however cuz Lord knows I've been wrong before. Thank you, All of what you said makes sense, thank you so much.!