As a young believer in Chirst I listened to many seasoned fellow Christians thinking they had my best interest to heart. I had got myself in all sorts of trouble listening to these so called believers in the things of God instead of reading the Word for myself.
Now as one who has been following Christ instead of every "narry-do-weller," I have a better understanding and my life is consistent with what the Word says will happen as long as I adhere to it. This is true for all who continue to walk by faith and not by sight. The faith is through Christ.
The operative phrase is "through Christ." This operation is also true with the scripture, "I can do
all things..." For what reason does one believe
all means anything? That would be insane! Just because all is defined in the message given by the speaker, doesn't make it so that you can do whatsoever comes across your mind and still be called a true believer in Christ. You can't, you can't, you just can't - so stop believing the lie!
To make this more credible to you, I will show how that verse has been manipulated to do mischief and, as my mother use to call it, devilment. A major peeve I have is in the five-fold ministry. How can you teach, preach, and counsel believers to do one thing according to the scriptures and then that very speaker, teacher, preacher, counselor does otherwise? How is that possible and still maintain credibility in what you do, say, and how you appear to others? If that is following Christ, then sinners can make it to heaven without believing too, right? But if that's true, heaven would be a mess with all kinds of chaos and confusion. Yet seeing that God's throne is in heaven and He is not the author of confusion, having what He created decent and in order, that would then put a gliche in all sinners will be in heaven without believing. The proof of hypocracy is in the life of the minister, preacher, teacher, prophet, and/or evangelist. The anointing coming from Christ tends to all matters of a believer's life. When a hypocrit looks good by appearance there is some other aspect that isn't all good. Why? Because hypocracy is giving place to the devil who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. When your favorite teacher, preacher, evangelist, pastor, and/or prophet becomes ill, loses his ministry, the church gets robbed, finances are gone, the family has issues, or so forth and so on, the answer is he gave place to the enemy who is doing his job. This is one example as to what you cannot do (say one thing and do another - hypocrit) thinking that it is through Christ.
Another would be the ways of the world being incorporated in the church. I could go on and on with the ways of the world and you should know as a believer that those ways can lead to destruction. The ways of the world cannot be through Christ. For it is written, broad is the way to destruction and the ways of the world are broad. The world has changed many principles that came from the scriptures. Is it archaic for women to wait to be proposed to? When a woman proposes, isn't she essentially saying, "I need your help" rather than the other way around? Is she proposing through Christ too? How happy is that Christian marriage? Will the husband rise to the occasion of being the head of the household or does he cower in the face of adversity and looks to her to take control? Is that what's suppose to happen? I guess it would for those men who prefer that and the women raised to be in control yet, where does the reverencing of her husband fit when it is required of her through Christ? How does she honor her husband being the head of him? When that man grows up because he no longer needs a surrogate Mommy, the aggravation in the marriage may be defined as irreconciable differences or falling out of love but actually it will be him realizing that he doesn't need that woman who proposed to him. He no longer needs that kind of help - Mommy help.
At the same time, the controlling man that realizes his help is with his wife takes those controlling matters too far. He isn't secure with who he is in Christ so he believes his wife is property with which he can do as he pleases including terrorizing her into submission. This terrorizing can be through emotional, physical, or sexual abuse and he keeps her by quoting scripture believing it is through Christ.
Doesn't through Christ mean just what Christ has done? Doesn't it mean following in His footsteps? How is he loving his wife as Christ loves the church and abusing her into submission at the same time? How is abuse and love synonymous? Should Jesus treat this man in the same manner as his beliefs with his wife? That would be seed sown and God cannot be mocked.
What I am trying to show you is the Word cannot be twisted. It is written to keep you out of trouble. Jesus came to set the captives free. The captives are those lost in sin. He came. We have been set free and as He told the woman at the well, go and sin no more.
