1 Thessalonians 5:13-16 …And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore.
More Bruh Paul Friends. Can’t get away from him since he wrote so much of the New Testament. I don’t want to, but oftimes he’s a tad too dogmatic and cerebral, thus hard to digest in large doses. (smile) He’s writing to the church at Thessalonica he helped found, but since he was converting Gentiles, as well as Jews, he was soon forced to leave town through the machinations of the orthodox Jewish establishment. And from his new base in Corinth, he hears about their problems. As it was a young church, without his guiding iron fist, a lot of doubt and uncertainty prevailed, leading to dissension. That’s why he’s trying to reinforce the basic guidelines of the faith. He’d just told them to listen to the elders and leaders, like Timothy and Silvanus, whom he’d left behind, and to stop the infighting, ‘be at peace among yourselves.’ Very reminiscent of the Church’s current state, eh Friends? He implores them to warn the unruly, disobedient members. ‘For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy bodies…that if any would not work, neither should he eat.’ (2 Thess.3:11,10) Hn! I could have sworn Bruh Paul was writing to the old church, not today’s, cause the same things are still happening. ‘Comfort the feeble minded,’ he says. Look after the faint of heart. He said it to the Hebrews too. ‘Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.’ (Heb.12:12) ‘Support the weak.’ Twice, Bruh Paul says this in Romans. ‘Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.’ (14:1) ‘We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.’ (15:1) Yes Friends, all that stuff applies to any church, young or old. ‘Be patient toward all men.’ He outlines this in detail in Galatians 5:22-23. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.’ But Friends there’s a law for it; the law of Jesus, of our Christian faith, because that’s exactly what our Saviour is all about, and if we’re His followers, then we should also be about those things. And when Bruh Paul says, ‘See that none render evil for evil unto any man,’ it’s nothing new. The Lord decreed that to Moses centuries before. ‘Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear a grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ (Lev.19:18) ‘But ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.’ Ah Friends, that’s the very basis of our faith. Jesus made it the second great commandment. ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself.’ And Bruh Paul emphasized it so often, in several ways, which time and space don’t allow me to quote. I guess a believer needs to be constantly reminded of the essence of his faith, cause it’s not easy, but our Leader, Christ, expects it of us, that’s our raison d’être. But what endears me to Bruh Paul, is that having prescribed all those unnatural attributes, he has the gumption to add, ‘Rejoice evermore.’ But Friends, that’s exactly how it should be. In spite of our rough earthly journey, if we have all the good things Jesus promised; salvation, eternal life, etc. then we should be happy and rejoice. It’s the only way other’s will believe we’ve really got a good thing going. So let’s rejoice and be happy nuh! Much LOVE!…to a true Christian…rejoicing is an integral part of life…
More Bruh Paul Friends. Can’t get away from him since he wrote so much of the New Testament. I don’t want to, but oftimes he’s a tad too dogmatic and cerebral, thus hard to digest in large doses. (smile) He’s writing to the church at Thessalonica he helped found, but since he was converting Gentiles, as well as Jews, he was soon forced to leave town through the machinations of the orthodox Jewish establishment. And from his new base in Corinth, he hears about their problems. As it was a young church, without his guiding iron fist, a lot of doubt and uncertainty prevailed, leading to dissension. That’s why he’s trying to reinforce the basic guidelines of the faith. He’d just told them to listen to the elders and leaders, like Timothy and Silvanus, whom he’d left behind, and to stop the infighting, ‘be at peace among yourselves.’ Very reminiscent of the Church’s current state, eh Friends? He implores them to warn the unruly, disobedient members. ‘For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy bodies…that if any would not work, neither should he eat.’ (2 Thess.3:11,10) Hn! I could have sworn Bruh Paul was writing to the old church, not today’s, cause the same things are still happening. ‘Comfort the feeble minded,’ he says. Look after the faint of heart. He said it to the Hebrews too. ‘Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.’ (Heb.12:12) ‘Support the weak.’ Twice, Bruh Paul says this in Romans. ‘Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.’ (14:1) ‘We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.’ (15:1) Yes Friends, all that stuff applies to any church, young or old. ‘Be patient toward all men.’ He outlines this in detail in Galatians 5:22-23. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.’ But Friends there’s a law for it; the law of Jesus, of our Christian faith, because that’s exactly what our Saviour is all about, and if we’re His followers, then we should also be about those things. And when Bruh Paul says, ‘See that none render evil for evil unto any man,’ it’s nothing new. The Lord decreed that to Moses centuries before. ‘Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear a grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ (Lev.19:18) ‘But ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.’ Ah Friends, that’s the very basis of our faith. Jesus made it the second great commandment. ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself.’ And Bruh Paul emphasized it so often, in several ways, which time and space don’t allow me to quote. I guess a believer needs to be constantly reminded of the essence of his faith, cause it’s not easy, but our Leader, Christ, expects it of us, that’s our raison d’être. But what endears me to Bruh Paul, is that having prescribed all those unnatural attributes, he has the gumption to add, ‘Rejoice evermore.’ But Friends, that’s exactly how it should be. In spite of our rough earthly journey, if we have all the good things Jesus promised; salvation, eternal life, etc. then we should be happy and rejoice. It’s the only way other’s will believe we’ve really got a good thing going. So let’s rejoice and be happy nuh! Much LOVE!…to a true Christian…rejoicing is an integral part of life…
SCRIP-BITS 