4 Negs? Oh come on. Jvasos had the sweetest answer and was the only one willing to share from his own experience. Jvasos do you remember the following words?:
'Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.'
Why would Jesus Christ say this when his teaching was founded upon the law of love? Jesus said:
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
What type of person stands against this commandment?
The only reason for Jesus to say this would be if he knew that many would not accept his testimony. And before you pass judgement on this statement please finish reading my post. Thank you very much.
I challenge all of the athiests here to read the story of Paul. Paul comes into the Christian story shortly after Jesus comes back to life and returns to heaven. Paul was a Jewish zealot who travelled the region to see to it that Christians were imprisoned or executed. He passionately stood against Christianity and did everything in his power to wipe it out.
Then he was blinded by a fierce light that only he saw and he heard a voice saying, 'Why do you persecute me?'. It was Jesus Christ speaking. Paul visited a nearby town. And a believer in Jesus healed him, after debating with God for a few minutes saying something like, ' Why should I pray for him! isn't this the one trying to kill us all'.
Paul was healed and recieved his sight. He then became a leader of the followers of Jesus called by Paul 'the body of Christ' or simply 'the church'.
(The word church has absolutely nothing to do with the segregation of religious denomination and conflicting beliefs and doctrines. The word church denotes everyone who believes in Jesus Christ for these people are the body of Christ and Christ is the head before God).
Throughout his travells, to tell people about Jesus, Paul suffered greatly. There were many attempts made to end Pauls life and he was often attacked.
Paul writes:
'Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
Paul was loved, admired and a leader of the Jewish community prior to believing in Jesus. Paul tried to eliminate faith in Jesus from the Earth prior to believing in Jesus. If God himself hadn't taken Paul for his own there is no way that a man would willingly do everything he did. (Consider the previous paragraph)
So please consider Paul's story before you make your decision as to whether or not Jesus Christ is who he says he is. Have a look at Paul's wikipedia article 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle'.
Jvasos I'm really happy to hear that God helped you to get an amazing job! God bless you! you've acknowledged him and our Lord and Saviour Jesus!
What I think is truely interesting is the quote you put at the end of your (Jvasos) post. "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves for it is the gift of God: so that it may be impossible for anyone to boast."(Ephesians 2:8-9)"
Paul writes in his letters (books of the New Testamanet in the bible) that we cannot be saved through good deeds (or works) but instead we are saved by choosing to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that we he said and did is truth.
Paul is saying we cannot be saved, that is go to heaven, and be loved by God because we follow all of his rules. We are saved, that is go to heaven, and are loved by God simply because we choose to believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the son of God.
Wouldn't you like it if someone was nice to your son and believed what he said
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