II Corinthians 4:5-7
"For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."
October 18th
"...This is the work of God, that ye believe on (into) Him Whom He hath sent." John 6:29
Once more let me warn many of you: do not allow communists and subversion, nor crime and juvenile delinquency, neither the failure of our leaders to DO what we think they ought to do, to get us sidetracked from Christ! THAT is a part of the Enemy's strategy.... IF Lucifer can, through the subterfuge of civil rights, communism or anything else, succeed in making such our chief concern – making Jesus Christ but a side issue, then has Lucifer scored a victory (in that person's life). That common error in modern Christendom is to identify all such efforts at "good" with "Christ."
Conscientiously believing in doing good comes natural to the true Christian; neither should we ever neglect to do so. But the point I am trying to make is: IF we get too much "worked up" over the evils rampant in our day, we lose sight of Christ and suffer loss....
The Lord replied that the "works of God" consisted in "believing into Him Whom God has sent." (And I am here to tell you THAT is a full time job!) We MUST give Christ credit for sufficient honesty as well as intelligence to have said "doing good" IF that was what He intended to convey....
Today the acceptance of an approved code of ethics, and being a "respectable citizen," has become society's version of being a "Christian." ALL of that comes natural to the heart of a true Christian; but it is the consequence of having accepted Christ as one's personal Savior, rather than such acquiescence to "codes and conduct" granting him the faintest place in Christ!!
("Many will say to Me in that day, have we not...in Thy Name DONE many wonderful works?" But then He will profess unto them: "I never KNEW you...!" – Matt. 7:22-23.)
The Christian's greatest objective and glorious goal should be that "believing into Him" to the extent that the inner being merges with Christ.... Then we need no longer be concerned over that person's conduct. JESUS the Christ conducted a ministry unto the INDIVIDUAL (in personal REgeneration) rather than striving for His nation's social reforms.
The Shepherdsfield Update #15