As my regular readers will already know, for many years now, I have consistently taught that there is only one Standard, and one Rod of Measurement by which we must judge all things. That Standard is obviously the Word of God. If we judge this person's remarks by that Standard, we run into some problems. By applying God's Word to this person's comments, it suggests that his knowledge of the Scriptures may possibly be somewhat limited. Either that, or he is purposely choosing to ignore certain verses that are found in the Bible, because they do not agree with what he wants to believe.

By indirectly accusing me of not being loving, because I am not afraid to discuss the rebellious nature of the Jews, he seems to be implying that if we say anything that is in any way negative, then it must not be love, and therefore it is wrong. Furthermore, he implies that to say anything negative regarding the Orthodox Jews who resist Christianity is both to condemn and to accuse. The strange thing is, not only were our comments not that negative, but my friend and I were not condemning anyone. As I pointed out earlier, the unbelieving Jews condemn themselves by their own rejection of Christ. Our exchange consisted of matter-of-fact comments regarding his negative experiences with the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem. Furthermore, in our comments, we both mentioned that God has a plan for the Jews.

What this individual seems to fail to recognize is that love is not always expressed with soft, kind words. Sometimes real love is demonstrated by telling people what they really need to hear, and not necessarily by the feel-good words that they want to hear. In other words, in certain situations, a strong rebuke is also a demonstration of love when it is motivated by the desire to help someone to overcome a particular sin or weakness in their life.

When we are forced to scold our children because they have done something wrong, is it a sign that we do not love them? Of course not! It is simply because we want to show them the error of their ways so that they will improve and do better. When our children are young, they may not always understand this. However, quite often, later in life when they are much older and perhaps have some children of their own, they will look back at that incident in their early life and think to themselves, "Wow, mom and dad really were right! They said that or did that because they love me!"

To reiterate, speaking the truth even when it hurts or maybe even when it offends, is also a form of love. Furthermore, as I point out in articles such as "Beholding the Evil and the Good" and "The Fruits of Disobedience", strong rebuke, along with the chastisement which may accompany it, are both a part of God's Divine Love for His children. This idea is clearly supported in the Scriptures by verses such as the following:

"Open rebuke is better than secret love."
Proverbs 27:5, KJV

"My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."
Proverbs 3:11-12, KJV

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."
Revelation 3:19, KJV

"And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed."
Hebrews 12:5-13, KJV

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IS GOD A RACIST? PART 1

Jesus Christ or Yeshua Messiah? - More Christian Zionist Legalism

Endtime Prophecy Net - Article By The WordWeaver

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