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Apostalistic Christianity Pt 2
Posted : 13 Mar, 2010 09:49 AM
TRUE BIBICAL CHRISTIANITY.
The Old Testament brings gifts to the Christian tradition. One of those gifts is the Torah (the Law).... Jesus embraced the Torah of Moses; He came not to end it but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17)�to carry its teachings forward. Further, to those who came to Him seeking eternal life, He held it up as the essential teaching to be observed (Luke 10:25�28). Despite Jesus� conflict with some interpreters of His day, both Jewish and Christian scholars see Him as one who honored and followed the Law. When Jesus proclaims the coming rule of God,He speaks nowhere in detail about the inner character of this rule. He does not need to because that has already been described in the Old Testament.... The Old Testament is not an antiquated Scripture; its life-giving teachings are needed by the church (Frederick C. Holmgren, "Preaching the Gospel Without Anti-Judaism," Removing Anti-Judaism from the Pulpit, ed. Howard Clark Kee and Irvin J. Borowski, 1996, pp. 72�73).
Indeed, Jesus Christ taught from the Old Testament, and He lived by it, as did His followers. JESUS MAGNIFIED GOD'S LAW
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus certainly did NOT"do away" with God�s spiritual law (Matthew 5:17). Rather, He "magnified" the Ten Commandments. He explained that we must not only refrain from killing other human beings, we must not even look on them with contempt or hatred (vv. 20�23), as that is the "spirit" of MURDER. We are NOT to "hate" even our enemies. As Jesus said clearly, "But I say to you, LOVE your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you"(v. 44).
We are NEVER to commit adultery. But, as Jesus clearly said, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, �You shall not commit adultery.� But I say to you that whoever LOOKS at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (vv. 27�28).
The early Christians were taught that they should GIVE in a very private manner�NOT showing off, or having a big "foundation" in their own name to perpetuate their honor in the giving (Matthew 6:1�4). True Christians were to DIVEST themselves of desires of worldly ambitions,of riches,and BUSINESS interests and possessions and help the poor. (Mark 10:21) also see (Matthew 6:19-24). True Christians were to PRAY regularly and privately�NOT showing off their oratorical skills before men or using certain words or phrases over and over in "vain repetition" (Matthew 6:5�13). And true Christians certainly would FAST regularly (Matthew 6:16�18), following biblical examples of doing without food and water in order to humble the self and get closer to the invisible God as Jesus did (Matthew 4), Moses did (Deuteronomy 9:9, 18) and the Apostle Paul did (Acts 9:9).
In our materialistic age, we need to understand that the original Christians did not allow themselves to be overcome by the desires for money, or material things as some professing Christians do today (Matthew 6:19�20). As Jesus later warned His followers, "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful" (Matthew 13:22). Rather, as the book of Acts explains: "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common" (Acts 4:32).
First century Christianity was squarely based on the teachings of the "law and prophets"�except for those animal sacrifices and washings which pre-figured the sacrifice of Christ and the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. These sacrifices and washings were made obsolete (Hebrews 9:9�12). But the spiritual LAWS of God were NEVER done away. Rather, as Jesus� beloved disciple John was inspired to write: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the COMMANDMENTS of God and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12).
A VIEW OF APOSTOLIC CHRISTIANITY
If you could somehow "look in on" true Christianity during the first century and even beyond, what would you see? You would see a group of dedicated believers in Jesus as the promised Messiah. You would see a community of believers to whom the God of Israel, the God of Creation, was REAL. For these people would not just talk about the person of Jesus Christ. They would DO what He commanded.
With Christ living in them through the promised True Holy Spirit,With The Power Of God, they would keep ALL TEN of the Ten Commandments from their heart and mind as a WAY of life. As they learned to "GROW in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"(2 Peter 3:18),
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