Tag Archives: Christians

Relationship, Spiritual

Do Unto the Lord

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Introduction

The statement, do unto the Lord, often encourages believers who cannot see the purpose in certain activities found in their life circumstances. This verse is taken from Col3:23-24.

“And whatsoever ye do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

These verses define the scope (whatsoever) and the quality (heartily) of the actions. When these conditions are observed, the Lord Yahusha (Jesus) offers the incentive of reward, which is the inheritance. Note that the inheritance, usually associated with the firstborn’s inheritance, is a reward based and NOT a gift.

If one reads Col3:25, it speaks of punishment for those who do wrong shall receive wrong, which is the “stick” approach vs. the “carrot” approach of the previous two verses.

Despite knowing all the above, there is still a gap between practice and how these truths of future-eternal reward-inheritance matter to me here on earth. This gap is a missing link that deprives the needed focus and ability to gauge one’s performance in this goal to do unto the Lord.

 

This post seeks to fill this gap by drawing from the tabernacle of Moses, Jhn4:16’s description of the Lord Yahusha as the way, truth, and life, and the three-fold salvation of man in their spirit, soul, and body. The post will focus on the soul as the key ingredient to fill this gap.

 

 

Tabernacle of Moses and Jhn4:16

The Lord Yahusha said He is the way, the truth, and the life in Jhn4:16. This author has an excellent article to support the connection between this verse to the Tabernacle of Moses. See this link for the article – https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/02/08/the-way-the-truth-and-the-life-tabernacle-series-part-4/.

 

This article explains that the Yahusha is the way that leads to the outer court, that Yahusha is the truth that leads to the Holy Place, and Yahusha is the life that leads to the holy of holies. The threefold salvation of man, which corresponds to spirit, soul, and body, also connects to the tabernacle of Moses/Jhn4:16.  Where the spirit corresponds to the holy of holies, the soul corresponds to the holy place. The body corresponds to the outer court.

 

 Do Unto the Lord 

The Soul Surrounded by Enemies All Round

Typically, the saved spirit is often too remote (the soul is not sensitive) from the soul’s sensing and awareness to make a reliable difference. This challenge is no fault of the Holy Spirit or the born-again spirit. The carnal flesh and spiritual forces are at work.

Conversely, the carnal flesh has a strong hold on the soul, constantly bombarding the soul with temptations of the world. These soul attacks come from the outer court thru the pathway of attacking the truths of obedience and the atoning work of the Lord Yahusha. The body also is attacked thru the path of detracting from following Lord Yahusha, for He is the way. Instead, the body is lured to follow after the carnal flesh.

There are also spiritual attacks from the dark realm that works in concert with the carnal flesh. They may operate thru rejection, abandonment, lust, and the like.

The above frames the challenges of the soul and body that are doing unto the Lord.

Also, read the section, Man’s salvation, for more context on soul salvation.

Based on the above, one can imagine the soul as the holy place as partly holy and partly unholy. For this reason, the soul needs saving. Remember, the soul is under siege from the outer court or body thru the doorway of the Way. The ungodly part of the soul erects and preserves barriers along the doorway of Life that leads to the holy of holies where the Holy Spirit and born-again spirit dwell. These barriers impede direct communication between the born-again spirit with the circumcised soul.

The soul is besieged by external enemies of the flesh-world, internal enemies of the unsaved soul, and spiritual forces that cohabit with the saved soul. The soul is in a desperate and precarious situation. How can the soul do unto the Lord and win the spiritual war of Eph6?

 

Home Ground Advantage – Where does the saved soul come from?

The saved soul is the part of the heart that is circumcised mentioned in Rom2:29. The soul, according to Blue Letter Bible (BLB), comprises the will, the mind, the seat of emotions (the heart), and the conscience. See the link for the BLB description for the human soul – https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5590/kjv/tr/0-1/.

The heart or soul circumcision occurs in the same event as the born-again experience. While the Word does not clarify, soul circumcision likely takes place after the dead spirit is born again by the Holy Spirit.

Circumcision is God marking a tiny sliver of the soul as belonging to Yah. I can imagine that the seal of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Eph1:13 is placed on the born-again spirit and the circumcised soul. The Holy Spirit sealed and circumcised soul is the home ground advantage of the believer in Yahusha.

 

 Do Unto the Lord – Closing the Gap

The circumcised heart of the soul communicates to the unsaved mind, will, the rest of the heart, and conscience via the language of the pure heart and pure conscience. Because it is the circumcised heart communicating, the language comes across as sensing light emotions (tugging), leading impressions, or flashing images.

Mat 5:8 says that the pure in heart shall see God. 2 Tim 2:22 says a pure heart will pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. By these pursuit measures, one can gauge the purity of one’s soul and ability to listen to the circumcised heart accurately. Knowing and applying this helps one gauge their performance, stay on course, and correct the course when necessary.

But this realization alone does answer the question, how does doing unto the Lord help offer a focus to obey Him and continue to obey Him?

The possible answer has two parts. Firstly, there is a focus on doing the action itself. This action has the implied meaning of employing the members of the body for Yah’s service.

Rom12:1 says this –

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

When the body is used for God’s service, as led by the Holy Spirit that speaks to the unsaved soul thru the circumcised heart of the soul, the body becomes an instrument of righteousness (Rom6:13). And the body and its members are consecrated, made holy to God.

 

The second focus has a builder metaphor. The 1st focus of the external doing initiates an internal building of the soul. The sons of Yah are made in His image. They emulate their Abba Yahuah. According to 1Co3:10, the triune God is a wise master builder. Therefore His sons’ building their unsaved souls is emulating Him.

The saving of the soul is the partnership between the believer and the Holy Spirit to rebuild the ruined or unsaved soul. Man’s part in this rebuilding effort is obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Thus when one is doing unto the Lord, e.g., cooking for an unappreciative spouse or loving the unlovable, the unsaved soul is being reconstructed. The Lord Yahusha offered the imagery of the soul as a house ready for occupation in Luke 11. It is not unreasonable to imagine that this house of the soul has many rooms or areas with different functions. Even the 4 components of the soul allude to the existence of these rooms-areas.

The saving-reconstruction of the soul is a slow and gradual process rebuilding these rooms-areas. For this reason, soul-saving is a slow and gradual process; patience for things outside control and perseverance for things within control is essential. These themes of patience and perseverance are repeated in the New Testament.

 

The above realizations support one to shift their focus from their external issues, knowing that every time one does according to the leading of the Holy Spirit as unto the Lord outwardly, their soul is being saved by this reconstruction process.

Given that this process is also described as warfare in Eph6, it is reasonable to describe this reconstruction process as evicting the squatters (evil spirit, carnal elements) out of that part of the unsaved soul, removing some of the siege barriers between the soul-body and the soul-spirit, reclaiming that part of that once unsaved soul as belonging to the Holy Spirit and then purify it by the truths of 1Jhn1:9 and Heb10:22-23. It should become more apparent at this juncture, why patience and perseverance is essential. 

For how these truths of 1Jhn1:9 and Heb10:22-23 work, see the posts about spiritual warfare.

 

 

Conclusion

One can find the motivation to endure life challenges by adopting the attitude that they are suffering by doing unto the Lord. The practice of this approach needs the focus on knowing that the unsaved soul is being rebuilt by simply doing what the Holy Spirit has led one to do. Also, one can gauge their spiritual performance by the measures of righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

 

 

Man’s Salvation

This section is for readers unfamiliar with the salvation of the three parts of man’s spirit, soul, and body.

The threefold salvation of man is a deep and broad topic. This section offers a brief narrative.

 

  1. Born again spirit saves the spirit. Jhn3 offers the basis for this statement. Man’s dead spirit is born again when the person repents to the salvation terms of Rom10:9-10. Thus every believer, child of Yah, has (past tense) a born-again spirit.

 

The born-again spirit birthed by the Holy Spirit (Jhn3:6) resides in the Holy of Holies, accessed by the doorway of the life of the Spirit. This doorway is the life of Yahusha (Jesus) mentioned in Jhn4:16.

 

 

  1. The saving of the soul via the sanctification process that is described as chastisement in Heb 12. Unlike the salvation of the born-again spirit, which is completed, the soul’s sanctification is ongoing (present tense) for the entire earthly life.

 

1Pet1:2, 1Pet1:9, 1Pet2:11, 1Jam1:21-22, Heb10:2, Mat16:26-27  and 2The2:13 have this to say about sanctification.

 

1Pet1:2 – “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

 

1Pet1:9 – “Receiving the end (goal) of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

 

1Pet 2:11 – “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”

 

Jam1:21-22 – “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

 

Heb10:29-“But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”

 

Mat16:26-27 – “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

 

2The2:13 – “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”

 

One can draw from the above verses to synthesize the following to support soul sanctification. Soul salvation is by the work of the Spirit and belief in the truth. The soul salvation process, which is ongoing for the entire earthy life of the believer, is the goal of the Christian faith.

The soul is saved in a warfare process with the carnal flesh and from the love of the world. Instead of submitting to these, the saved soul submits to the Spirit of Yah. The evidence of a soul that is being saved is submission to the will of God the Father (Yahuah), to His word and works of faith.

The notion that the soul needs saving also means one can risk losing their soul by submitting to their carnal flesh and love for the world and rejecting the Holy Spirit’s leading.

The saved soul resides in the holy place and is accessed by the doorway of truth. This doorway of truth is the truth of Yahusha mentioned in Jhn4:16. The focus of truth resonates with the belief of the truth that sanctifies the soul mentioned in 2The2:13.

One may also connect this belief of the truth to 1Pet1:2 to ascertain what this truth is, for the Christian’s soul is sanctified when they believe. 1Pet 1:2 reveals them as obedience to Yahuah’s will and forgiveness of the atoning blood of Yahusha.

The will of Yah represents God’s justice and righteousness. Abba-Yah desires His children to be holy, even as He is holy (1Pet1:17).

The atoning blood of His Son, Yahusha, represents Yahuah’s love for man (Jhn3:16). Justice-righteousness and love are the primary twin nature and priorities of the whole counsel of God.

 

  1. The salvation of the immortal and glorified body is a future event on the Day of the Lord (Christ’s return to earth). Rev20 describes it as the 1st resurrection, which apostle Paul in Phil3:10-11 pursued this resurrection as a reward by sharing Christ’s suffering and conforming to His death. There is also the 2nd resurrection, presumably (not clearly stated in Rev20) at the great white throne. This 2nd resurrection is not a reward.

 

For a more precise explanation of the difference between the two resurrections, one can go to Youtube for Brenda Weltner’s resources. This link from Brenda talks about the ungodly believer – https://youtu.be/wlxuyLuzTjo.

Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Relationship, Spiritual

Present Day Davids and Goliaths

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Introduction

The Goliath that David faced was a SINGULAR event. Goliath was an overwhelming force of evil that stood against David. By God’s mercies, most of us do NOT have to contend with such insurmountable problems.

David’s response was to confront Goliath in mortal combat. The stakes were high. David staked his life. David slew Goliath with a sling and stone, and about a decade later, overcoming similarly mortal challenges of being pursued by Saul, he became Israel’s second king.

David’s victory over Goliath creates a strong impression on Christians. They may develop expectations of David’s earthly outcomes when they face life challenges. 

This expectation reinforces the belief that equates favorable earthly outcomes as God’s blessings and UNFAVOURABLE earthly outcomes as a displeased God teaching the person a lesson or a punishment.

The latter is true; when that person is in disobedience. This person sows into their carnal flesh, reaping death in their lives to fulfill Rom8:6, to be carnally minded is death, and where God is not mocked of Gal6:7-8.

 

The New Testament Davids and their Weapons

This post offers the perspective that earthly outcomes will likely be unfavorable when one is led by the Spirit of Rom8:15 and fulfilling the Law of Christ of Gal6:2.

In the New Testament, Christians throughout the ages have also confronted their Goliaths; Martyrs are the present-day Davids. 

This view stems from the observation that martyrs emulate the GREATER David, who is Jesus Christ. God the Father defeated Satan, the GREATER Goliath, by the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection. The Lord Jesus is the ROCK of all ages (Isa26:4), and the CROSS was the weapon delivery system (God’s sling) to secure man’s salvation.

The Lord Jesus’ suffering on the cross, Him crucified, and death was His weapons that secured His victory for God the Father,  even as David’s weapons were sling and stone that defeated Goliath.

Martyrs are most Christ-like in emulating the Lord Jesus, partaking in His suffering and death (1Pet4:12, Phil3:10). In this way, martyrs also wield the same weapons of suffering and death for their eternal victory. 

God does not call for all Christians to be Martyrs, for the burden of martyrdom usually exceeds more than one can bear. However, the 5th seal of Rev6:9-11 paints the picture of many Christians facing martyrdom in the end times.

How does one prepare for martyrdom? This question is for another post, and deep down in my soul, I do not feel qualified to explore this subject. So, I will reflect on this question as exploratory as possible and guard against being conceited.

For 1Co10:13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 

 

Conclusion 

Christians must value their weapons, the same weapons wielded by martyrs, of suffering and death-like, by denying the body to fulfill its carnal lusts—the eternal rewards of ruling with Christ as kings-priest awaits as spoils of war.

Purpose and Meaning, Wealth

Christians and Money Series- Spiritual Application: Part 6

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Introduction

Post 5 of the Christians and Money Series concluded RELATIONSHIPS issues are at the heart of Man’s helplessness to serve two Masters, God and Mammon.

This Post 6 frames the spiritual application of the Christians and Money Series. Due to each post’s word limit, there will be a Post 7 to articulate the natural application to support Man’s goal to serve God and not Mammon.

Post 6 is content-heavy. Further aggravating readability, the subject matter is complicated and abstract, which challenges clarity to see how the parts are gathering together as a whole. It is challenging to feel comfortable in a big forest with diverse flora and fauna.

 

The first section, Awareness and Creation out of Destruction, clarifies that the goals set out in Post 1 were met by seeding awareness to create the required focus and shift in values to support God’s Alternative that restores the RELATIONSHIPS. See Post 3 and 4 for details of these RELATIONSHIPS.

The second section, Individual Hope vs. Collective Hope, reveals money’s spiritual application, which is the individual’s goal of soul salvation. God uses money and RELATIONSHIPS as the context to test Man’s soul to save the soul. This section explains the nature of spirit, soul, and body salvation to avoid confusion among them. This section also describes how the new covenant’s soul salvation is different and more valuable than the old covenant in-terms of approach and outcomes.

The third section, Soul Salvation and Money, offers why soul salvation is essential to fulfilling God’s and Man’s core interest.

I found Post 6 very challenging to narrate compared to the other posts. It is foreseeable that Post 6 will evolve as a live document to reflect these challenges.

 

Awareness and Creation out of Destruction

Post 1 mentioned that this series has 2 goals. It will be helpful to see how the previous 5 posts have supported these 2 goals.

Awareness is the Seed of Realization and Intention
  1. The 1st goal mentioned in Post 1; These series create awareness of the deceptive relationship with money. Man can avoid the eternal consequences that the current norms bring.

In-summary Posts 1 to 5 have shown that, instead of focusing on the RELATIONSHIPS, Man has created surrogates, such as money, to substitute the RELATIONSHIPS God offered. Men find comfort through these surrogates to free themselves from the worry of the future and provide a sense of purpose and meaning on earth, albeit temporal, hedonic, and suffer marginal utility. Man’s choices carry the weight of eternal consequences.

Realizations Sift the Chaff of Man’s Realities from God’s Realities (Photo by TUAN ANH TRAN on Unsplash)

This new awareness seeds new realizations. This seeding is possible because awareness sifts the chaff of Man’s realities from God’s. For the chaff has deceived Man’s senses with an apparent value that’s temporal and pleasure-seeking, diminishing the eternal value of RELATIONSHIPS.

The clarity of this awareness helps Man to look away from future worries and focus on God’s promise to provide for their future needs.

This approach draws from the same truth of the parable of the sower in Mat13. These series are sowing seeds in the heart of readers.

Breaking to Create
  1. The 2nd goal mentioned in Post 1; This series supports the Christians’ walk to break out from the world economic system’s mold. It is making stronger connections between scripture, societal stance, and personal practical application.

In-summary Posts 1 to 5 have shown that surrogates dominate Man’s relationships through institutionalization, affecting the secular, religious, and personal domains. These institutionalized relationships being bureaucratic and social, are transactional and profit-seeking.

Breaking the existing mold supports the shift from what the heart used to value, which is the temporal pleasures of this world, but instead to appreciate the eternal rewards and divine glory. Often money is the means to attain these temporal values. Likewise, God uses money as the context for achieving His alternative to restore Man’s broken RELATIONSHIPS.

This idea of creation emerging from Destruction is original with God (John12:24).

 

Individual Hope vs. Collective Hope

However, Post 5 ended on a despairing note of the unavoidable Age of acute mortality of Mat24:7 and Luke21:10-11, naturally posing the question – Why may one ask, what is the purpose of this Christian and Money Series since the bitter end appears inevitable?

Individual Hope vs. Collective Hope

Notwithstanding the grim events of Mat24:7, this new focus and shift in values are the foundations to support SOUL salvation, which is the spiritual application of money. It is needful to recognize that soul salvation is an individual experience and not for collective humanity.

Humanity lacks the collective will to change its current trajectory of self-harm and destination of self-destruction. Therefore, humanity foreseeably continues to meander in its self created domain of darkness.

 

Born Again Spirit-Saved Soul-Resurrected Body

 

What is soul salvation? Post 3 briefly introduced the concept of Soul salvation. Firstly, God has offered Man three types of salvation that correspond to Man’s spirit, soul, and body. Collectively, they represent God’s plan for Man to attain divinity.

John3 explains spiritual salvation occurs when the spirit is born again begat by the Holy Spirit (John3:6). Spiritual salvation is a gift of God (Eph2:8-9), obtained by confessing that Jesus is the savior (forgiveness of sins) and believing in His resurrection, according to Rom10:9 and Heb10:12. Spiritual salvation guarantees a place in heaven. See the post “Once Saved Always Saved: Proof” for a deeper understanding of the scriptural basis to substantiate this claim of a heavenly membership guarantee.

Paul introduced salvation of the body in 1Co15. He calls this saved body a spiritual body. This body’s nature is eternal (undying), incorruptible, imbued in power, and glorious. This body is preserved in heaven by the power of God (1Pet1:5).

Peter calls this spiritual body the living hope of believers (1Pet1:3). The spiritual body’s promise is the source of hope for believers on earth, so they do not despair in their earthly suffering. Because God “owes” Man the body, He (God the Father) offered the Holy Spirit to each believer as a promissory note (IOU) (2Co1:22) as an assurance of the promised spiritual body. God gives the spiritual body in the 1st resurrection mentioned in Rev20:5, which marks Jesus’ conquest over death (Rev20:10) on behalf of Man.

In-summary, both spiritual salvation and body salvation are gifts from God. Man’s part is to believe God at His word. However, the matter is very different for soul salvation.

The Complete Salvation of Man- Pathway to Divinity

 

Peter, in 1Pet1:9, describes soul salvation. Soul salvation is highly variable, where each believer has a different degree of soul salvation. Jesus has perfect soul salvation (Heb2:10,5:8-9) among all the sons of God.

Faith is the raw ingredient to support Man’s soul salvation. God the Father, the impartial Judge (1Pet1:17), tests this faith to validate Genuity thru fiery trials of wrongful suffering doing good expressed in sincere brotherly love (2nd Commandment) mentioned in 1Pet1:7, 9 and 22, 1Pet2:19 and 1Pet3:17. Soul salvation is commonly known as the Holy Spirit’s sanctification (1Pet1:2) by faith works cited in James2 to respect Man’s free will by offering Man choices in life.

Confusion, debate, and controversy commonly emerge when one fails or refuses to distinguish between spiritual justification-salvation, a gift of the born again spirit, and soul justification-salvation, which requires Man’s effort as the primary component.

 

Why is human effort key to soul salvation? God values and honors free choice, even above the salvation of Man. The power to wield free will resides in Man’s soul. God the Father presented Jesus the option in the Garden of Gethsamane to die at the cross or abandon ship (Mat26:38-39), and this choice grieved His soul. Jesus’ SOUL was perfected in the weakness of submission when He obeyed His Father’s will to die at the cross (Heb2:10,5:8-9). Man who calls Jesus, Master (John15:20), are not exempted from the soul salvation test of suffering to perfect their soul.

Peter reminded Man of this truth when he presented Jesus as the model example for Man to emulate in this regard (1Pet4:1, 2:21). Because soul salvation requires suffering, Peter in 1Pet4:18 recognized the difficulty of soul salvation by saying, “If the righteous one is sacredly (with difficulty) saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”.

Apart from preserving Man’s free will and perfecting the soul, Soul salvation has the goal to produce eternal glory (2Co4:16-18, 1Pet4:14) and satisfy the charge of the hypocrisy against Man’s professed sincere faith and love for God that was laid by Satan against Job (and Man) in Job1:9-11.

This eternal glory is the final unit of measure of each person’s degree of soul salvation. To support this view, Paul, in 1Co15:41, recognized that glory is unique between individuals. Glory being the unit of measure, stems from the relationship between soul salvation and glory. Soul salvation produces glory, according to 2Co4:16-18. Therefore evidence of the degree of soul salvation can be inferred by the quantity of eternal glory the soul possesses.

 

The correlation of soul salvation and glory holds great significance for Man than this simple correlation. The new covenant soul’s salvation glory is different and more valuable than the glory that Adam and Eve received from God in Eden. Man forfeited their glory (Rom3:23) when Adam and Eve sinned by partaking the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen3). In the New Covenant, God cannot confiscate Man’s glory, like what happened in Eden due to sin. There are two reasons for this.

  1. This glory is different because God does not give this glory as Man’s soul produces it as part of Man’s soul salvation process. Therefore original ownership resides with Man.
  1. In the old testament, the power of sin is the reason for soul death (Eze18:20), and this does not apply in the new testament. This claim is an observation. As for why this is the case, probably, Jesus, God’s only Son as the sin sacrifice (John3:16), and the nature of His death (suffering on the cross willingly) were overpayment for Man’s sins. They over satisfied God’s Justice and justified Him to make this shift in this matter of Man’s soul. This glory of the soul salvation is more valuable than the Edenic glory because it required payment of Jesus’ blood and suffering.

This lengthy introduction is necessary to explain soul salvation as the basis for spiritual application with wealth-money as the context.

 

Soul Salvation and Money

Man’s Heart Follows His Treasure

God recognized the power of treasures to captivate Man’s heart. Mat6:21, Jesus framed this by saying, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be (reside).” God wants Man to realize and value RELATIONSHIPS as true treasures so that Man’s heart chooses to reside in a relationship with God. The 2 commandments of Love (Mat22:36-40) embody God’s Word, All the Law (His purpose), and the Prophets (His will).

RELATIONSHIPS have an actual value similar to money or wealth on earth. The two posts dedicated to exploring this value are as follows.

  1. The Currency of Heaven is Glory- https://sincerelawrence.com/2020/10/31/currency-of-heaven-10min-read/
  2. Wealth Ranking in Heaven- https://sincerelawrence.com/2020/11/04/wealth-ranking-in-heaven-10min-read/

Notwithstanding what these two posts have covered, It is needful to reiterate two aspects to support this post 6’s narrative.

God’s Justice (1st Commandment) and God’s Love (2nd Commandment) Hanging in Perfect Balance

 

  1. The first aspect is about satisfying God’s two most basic needs. The first need is God’s intrinsic nature of love, revealed in 1John4:16. So if God was posed a question and asked, “Who are you?” God will respond; I am love. The 2 Commandments of Love in Mat22:36-40 describes the scope of this love.

 

1st Commandment and 2nd Commandment-

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

And He said to him,” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

“This is the great and foremost Commandment.

“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

“On these two commandments depend (hang) the whole Law and the Prophets.”

 

God gave these two Commandments to Man, but He has also imposed these same 2 Commandments onto Himself as evidenced in the giving of His Son for Man’s salvation. God’s sense of Justice demands that both Man and God fulfill these two Commandments alike.

The second need of God is to perform His role as the impartial Judge mentioned in 1Pet1:17, which James says is also the only One that can save or destroy in Jam4:12.

With the above understanding, Mat22:36-40 needs rephrasing to account for God imposing these Commandments onto Himself.

 

1st Commandment rephrased, the “I,” “My” and “Myself” is God referring to Himself

– “I SHALL LOVE MYSELF WITH ALL MY HEART, AND WITH ALL MY SOUL, AND WITH ALL MY MIND.’

The 1st Commandment is a demanding love. In the original form, God is demanding Man’s, undivided love. In the rephrased form, God requires that He honors His Self-Love. Thus God as Judge is upholding both the 1st and 2nd Love Commandments’ sanctity.

In the old covenant, God imposed this demanding loving on Man’s soul that carried the death penalty due to sin (Eze18:20). Although the new covenant has absolved Man from eternal death due to sin, God’s Justice to uphold the 1st Commandment demands that Man’s soul does not receive the same “scott free” treatment as the born again spirit or resurrected body. But instead, the soul (including Jesus’ soul) needs to suffer wrongfully (1Pet2:19) and be tested by fiery trials (1Pet1:7). Money and wealth play a central role in providing the context for these wrongful suffering and fiery trials.

 

2nd Commandment rephrased ‘I SHALL LOVE MAN AS MYSELF.’

The 2nd Commandment is a giving, sacrificial love. In its original form, God is demanding Man love his fellow man as himself. In the rephrased form, it is God demanding Himself to love Man as Himself. This sacrificial love was given as a gift with no contribution needed or desired of man (Eph2:8-9). The blood and body of Christ paid for this love gift for God to fulfill His 2nd Commandment towards Man.

God accepted Christ’s blood as the payment for the forgiveness of sins (Eph1:7). The blood also provided the medium similar to the shedding of blood during natural childbirth for the Holy Spirit, like a mother, to give birth to Man’s born again spirit (John3:6). I am aware that this view is unorthodox, but the elements come together naturally validated by childbirth’s natural experience.

God accepted Christ’s earthly body as the medium to construct the resurrected divine body of God (Col2:9). God retained Jesus’ earthly body as a medium for the resurrected body of the risen Jesus still bears the piercing scars (John20:27).

The Saved Spirit-Soul-Body of Man Ruling with Christ
  1. The second aspect is about satisfying Man’s legitimate need to stand out for their uniqueness and showcase aspects valued by their kind (self-worth). The soul has the innate desire to be respected and appreciated. Humanly speaking, this desire to receive social accolades is the reason for social comparison that breeds jealousy and envy. Money is often the means to fulfill these desires. Man’s desire to realize this need is legitimate. The issue lies with the means.

This need for social recognition emerged in the prodigal Son’s parable when the elder vented his frustration over this matter in Luke15:29-30. God, Himself demonstrates this trait. This observation is not surprising, given that God made Man in His image (Gen1:27).

God used human terms to describe His desire to engage with Man relationally. He uses the relational words such as Father (Mat5:45), brother (Mat28:10), bridegroom, a friend (John15:15), and lover to express (the Book of Song of Solomon, Eze16:8) His uniqueness and desire to be valued in those roles. Therefore, for this reason, Man’s desire for uniqueness and worth is legitimate in the eyes of God.

Tragically, instead of receiving reciprocated respect and appreciation, Man spurns and despises God’s sincere, repeated pleas. The Book of Ezekiel Chapter 16 is one comprehensive example of Man’s unsightly response invoking God’s wrath.

 

Through soul salvation, God has created the means for Man to differentiate themselves uniquely from one another in terms that both God and Man values. Notably, the soul salvation that produces heavenly wealth on earth and the eternal rewards of 1Co3 are often earned in-tandem due to the soul salvation experiences.

The eternal glory indicates how much the transformed soul of that individual is similar to Christ, Christ-likeness. Christ is the supreme ruler of the 1000 years earth rule mentioned in Rev20:6. In this verse, believers raised in the 1st resurrection will co-reign with Christ during this period. It is my view that God confers greater authority to those who have significant eternal glory as this glory commensurates with their degree of Christ-likeness.

The parable of the Minas in Luke 19 provides the basis for this claim. This parable is known for describing the 2nd coming of Christ in Rev20. In this parable, God rewards faithfulness in MONEY matters by giving cities to the said person to rule. For the person with higher monetary returns, God will correspondingly give more cities. Post 7 will discuss the natural application drawing from this parable.

The spiritual application shows faithfulness in money produces eternal glory. This glory is rewarded by God with more significant amounts of authority to co-rule with Christ. Therefore God’s plans for Man are practical, for it satisfies Man’s desire for uniqueness and enhancing their worth in the eyes of their kind, and more importantly, with God.

 

Conclusion

Money is the context, the battleground, and the means for God to test Man’s soul for its professed sincere love for Him and others. God has offered Man eternal incentives of eternal glory and rewards to incentivize Man to focus on Him by not worrying about the future and not to succumb to the temporal pleasures of this world.

God has gone thru great trouble with high stakes in-order that both God and Man fulfill and experience the fullness of the balanced RELATIONSHIPS of the 1st and 2nd Commandment.

Post 7 natural application, although more concrete and practical, is similarly content-heavy.

Purpose and Meaning, Wealth

Christians and Money Series-Serving Two Masters: Part 2

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Introduction

 

 

Christianity – What Went Wrong?

 

 

  1. Once Saved Always Saved- This post offers evidence of secure salvation that does not take the conventional route to examine the book of Hebrews. Instead, it will adopt three independent approaches. Check it out!

https://sincerelawrence.com/2020/10/27/once-saved-always-saved-10min-read/

  1. Faith and Work in Harmony –Read this post to support the Once Saved Always Saved post as it is complimentary. Check it out!

https://sincerelawrence.com/2020/10/27/faith-and-work-in-harmony-4min-read/

Before I accepted Jesus as savior, I held prejudices against Christians. Without hard evidence, the sensing informed that Christians were sanctimonious and hypocrites. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are atheists. The Christian English speaking peers discriminated against them in the work environment for their speaking mandarin background and inferior command of the English language. The government policy perpetuated this discriminatory work environment in the 1970s and 1980s that promoted English and suppressed mandarin use.

Till today, these experiences stumble them from seeing the love offered by Jesus. Unsurprisingly they share the same prejudice once held. I still have this prejudice. The reasons for them will naturally reveal themselves in this series of posts.

When it occurred to me that I am as guilty of this same indictment, this is one reason that motivated me to start blogging and adopt changes to reflect the truths that God has revealed that illuminate my soul.

I was heavily exposed to the “hyper-grace and prosperity gospel” of Joseph Prince Ministries from 1996 to 2012. Therefore I am no stranger to the influences of wealth and material blessings legitimized through such preaching. I am opposed to such teachings as they test God’s will with a carnal mind. Please refer t the link below, which is a related post about testing God.

https://sincerelawrence.com/2020/11/07/test-mock-god/

The above raises the query, Is there truth to the indictment of sanctimoniousness and hypocrisy by non-believers concerning Christians? This reflection aims to examine Christians and money as the context to support to answer this query.

In total, 12 parables (see Appendix A) regarded money with key roles illustrating money as a source of value and motivation. The value of money becomes glaring when it is insufficient to meet the basic needs and endangers life.

Money is a proxy of power and influence. It is of such paramount importance that Jesus recognized that man struggles to denounce their worship of money, which is necessary before one can genuinely serve God (Mat6:24).

The Hedonic Treadmill

Money fuels hedonic adaptation. This adaptation compels man to pursue after things or relationships to bring about happiness. Tragically this state of happiness is fleeting, not sustainable, and requires more significant pursuits to create the same pleasure.

One main engine of this hedonic adaptation is social comparison. Social comparison breeds envy and covetousness. These toxic emotions drive the pursuit of money that one imagines can give them what others have, bringing happiness. Hedonic adaptation and social comparison are both parts of the human condition of the flesh.

For more about the hedonic adaptation, watch the following video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXCol9vaPkY

 

Christians and Money

The link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_and_religion and https://www.cnbc.com/2015/01/14/the-religion-of-millionaires-.html show that based on the report by New World revealed the wealth distribution among different religious groups. Based on the data from this link, the ranking of the winners emerge as follow. Christianity is clearly in the lead in both categories, highest in global wealth as a percentage and the highest number of millionaires.

Winners of the Hedonic Race
Table: Global Wealth Ranking of Various Religious Groups

Table: Global Wealth Ranking of Various Religious Groups

 

Money and the World

The Wealth Pyramid Extracted from “Global Wealth Report 2013” by Credit-Suisse.com

The above diagram from the link https://web.archive.org/web/20150214155424/https://publications.credit-suisse.com/tasks/render/file/?fileID=BCDB1364-A105-0560-1332EC9100FF5C83 illustrates the severity of the rich-poor chasm.

The wealth pyramid shows that 8.4% of the world’s wealthiest segment of the population possesses 83.3% of the world’s wealth.

In contrast, 68.7% of the world’s poorest segment of the population possesses 3% of the world’s wealth.

The “middle class” that makes up 22.9% of the world’s population possesses 13.7% of its wealth.

Visual Disparity of Wealth Relative Ranking (To Scale)

For comparison, it is useful to adopt the relative ranking approach with the world’s poorest population as the smallest denominator. The denominator is defined as “% wealth/%population,” which gives the unit of wealth across the population’s particular segment. The following emerges.

No World’s Population

Categorized by Wealth

 % wealth/%population.” Relative Ranking
1 Poorest (68.7%) 0.0437 1
2 Middle (22.9%) 0.598 13.7
3 Richest (8.4%) 9.917 226.9

The above shows that the world’s most prosperous group is 226.9 times wealthier than the world’s poorest as a group.

The total wealth reported by Credit-Suisse is 240.8trillion exceeds the New World Report amount of 195trillion. This reporting difference is attributable to the ways wealth data were categorized, gathered, and accounted for.

The reasons for this reality are complex, and the webs of factors are involved. While no one individual, even the richest, can unravel this Gordian knot, the evidence shows that Christians as a whole have the largest stake that sustains the status quo of glaring wealth disparity.

The graph below shows about 20% of the world’s population lives in abject poverty; less than USD 1.90 a day. These are more than just figures. People’s lives revolve around these realities.

(By Max Roser – https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83581991)

 

Who is the Master?

The data does not reveal how much wealth in the top 8.4% belongs to Christians.

If one adopts the same proportion (55%) given by New World and applies this to the top 8.4% wealth in Credit-Suisse’s report, the millionaire Christians hold about 110 trillion. Using the 2013 global population of 7.162 billion (https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-countries.php), the average net worth for each Christian in that 8.4% segment is approximately $330,000.00.

Christian Wealth among the Top 8.4% of the World’s Wealthiest

Conclusion

This evidence embellishes the indictment that Christians appear to be serving two masters. In Ezekiel’s language, the prophet, this is akin to playing the harlot with the world’s economic system. Jesus says that this man will end up with a love-hate relationship with the two masters (Mat6:24).

The Human Condition Torn Between Two Masters

In reality, the love-hate relationship is not loyal to either Master. The soul swings like a pendulum. The soul is in this constant tension and conflict-torn between two spiritual Masters and conflicting inner desires.

This reflection ends on this sobering note. The following post will explore what the bible reveals about the harlotry of such nature.

Purpose and Meaning, Wealth

Christians and Money Series – Reality Check: Part 1

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Introduction

 

This post is part 1 of the series “Christians and Money”.

This post is an introductory post to the wealth series that will span five parts, including this post. These wealth series share the common theme, “Christians and Money.”

The introductory post is Part 1 provides a flavor of what is to come.

Part 1 to Part 5 of the series has the following themes. As each post is limited to 10min read, there may arise the need to increase this series by one or two more posts. Look out for these posts issued weekly.

  1. Christian and Money Part 2 – This post examines evidence that shows Christians may have two masters., God and Mammon.
  2. Christian and Money Part 3 – This post examines the old and new testament scriptures to understand the consequences of serving two Masters and the evidence that Christians are serving 2 Masters.
  3. Christian and Money Part 4 – This post examines new testament scriptures to identify the root cause of money’s enslaving power over Christians and non-Christians alike.
  4. Christian and Money Part 5 or more – This post supports the personal application. It draws from the previous post’s clarity to offer a paradigm shift that breaks away from serving two masters’ status quo.

 

This wealth series is not about taking Christians on a guilt trip. It has the following goals.

  1. This series create awareness of the deceptive relationship with money. Man can avoid the eternal consequences that the current norms bring.
  2. This series support the Christians’ walk to break out from the mold of the world economic system. It is making stronger connections between scripture, societal stance, and personal practical application.
  •  

God does not condemn the rich for their wealth. But for their boastfulness (Jam4:13, 16), oppressing the disadvantaged (Jam5:4, 2:9), and trusting in hoarded riches instead of God (1Tim6:17, Luke12:21).

 

Neither it is a sin or God’s punishment to be poor, for both the rich and poor operate within the purpose and will of God by the life opportunities and life challenges presented (Jam2:5, 1Tim6:18-19).

 

Self Check

 

All are encouraged to perform the following three exercises that frame the unique wealth position of each individual.

  1. This link is an Income Percentile Comparison Calculator by Age. It gives the standing among the population based on declared annual income and age group.
https://personalfinancedata.com/income-percentile-calculator/?min_age=30&max_age=100&income=330000#results
  1. This Wealth Rank Calculator. It gives the standing among the USA population-based on total net worth.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/2019/10/06/are-you-in-the-one-percent-heres-a-wealth-rank-calculator/?sh=692b3b16331f

 

Net Worth Calculator

 

  1. Determine, X = Monthly Disposal Income/(National Means Test for Social Aid x 2.0 x no of persons in the household)

The national means test for social aid is the disposable income an individual has a month below, which qualifies for social assistance. This amount varies and depends on the cost of living of one’s location.

The factor of 2.0 adopted is an arbitrary figure that can vary between 2-3 to account for a lifestyle that eats at home or spends about SGD20 per day on food and transport. This X value reflects how lavish one’s lifestyle above one that is in financial lack.

These three parameters in the back of one’s mind make reading the posts in this series more meaningful.

 

 

Income and Expense – LifeStyle Standard

 

 

Enjoy the journey!