Colossians 3:14

[rivkah]

"But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfect harmony."

How can we apply this between those of us who live a observant messianic life and those in the Christian world ( genuine believers)? Far too often I see a pride in those who keep ( kind of ironic because G-d clearly states that he hates pride) and a looking down on their spiritual brothers and sisters .

[alon]

Dec 18, 2015 3:54:57 GMT -8 rivkah said:

"But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfect harmony."

How can we apply this between those of us who live a observant messianic life and those in the Christian world ( genuine believers)? Far too often I see a pride in those who keep ( kind of ironic because G-d clearly states that he hates pride) and a looking down on their spiritual brothers and sisters .

Well, it is difficult to give an answer to such a broad question. So like most things, I'd say we need to go back to Biblical principles and learn to use them rather than just to say love everyone. First let's address the idea of God's unconditional love, so prevalent in churches and even synagogues today:

Genesis 2:16-17 (NASB) The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Right from the start God put restrictions on mankind. His love and mercy had limits- they had conditions. And this remains so all through the Bible. Does that mean He does not love us? No, just that His love is not unconditional. So following this example I'd say we should love our Christian brethren, but be aware of those things they say, do and believe which are false.

Revelation 2:15 (NKJV) Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

We hate the things they believe and do (Rev 2:6), not them. What do they do? Divide the word into its components and you'll get an idea. "Nico", from the Gk word "nicos" meaning conquest, victory, triumph. "Lai" from "laos"- the people. So far we have "victory over the people." The last part, "tan" makes it applicable to ALL people. It is in fact the basis for the church hierarchy which attempts to hold authority over all people- the Bishops, priests and Popes of the universal, or Catholic church. What (not who) we should hate is the fact that mainstream Christianity has not thrown off all (or even most) of the doctrines of the Catholic Church. We hate the fact that they have turned away from the things of God and followed the dictates of men. They, and to the extent we haven't ourselves also thrown off these false teaching, we too, are conquered peoples.

There is a passage in Luke which holds a lot of instruction for us concerning the question:

Luke 12:51-59  (ESV) 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? 57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

So the first thing here is we should make right judgments. Don't assume it is pride when other Meshiachim point out the discrepancies in Christian doctrine. If you think someone is being proud, go to them in love and speak in private. Find out if it is pride, or perhaps just a zealous nature which drives them. As for the Christians, love them as much as you can and there will still be divisions. Yeshua says this plainly here. And finally, the last part has a lot of meaning for me; make what peace you can. Living in a divided house I can tell you this is very important. I also attend an AoG church with my wife, and they all know I am Messianic. So I definitely have to make peace there. I do so by respecting them in their house. I'll answer their questions, but I do not attack their beliefs there. Outside their church, or if they challenge me even there, all bets are off. I will stand my ground. But we do have a mutual respect and so this is rare. I am the only true Messianic in my town, so almost all my friends are Christian. Not in my best interest to let pride separate us any more than our beliefs already do.

Remember, Meshiachim live in a world where we are a minority of minorities. True Messianism often gets lost in all the craziness that has attached itself to our faith. Cults, Ebionites, HR, -light ... we are the minority in our own movement. And the entire movement is a minority amongst all faiths claiming the name of God. Almost any sect of Judaism or denomination of Christianity is bigger than we are; and they have had the lifetime of most individuals there to indoctrinate them in the beliefs and practices of their own faith. That is a lot to fight against. The answer, I believe is to study amongst ourselves so we know where we stand, but be cautious with them. Make peace where you can, and tell those who want to know what you believe and why. Speak with them in friendship and genuine concern, not pride or contempt. Remember too that in the court of public opinion, we have already lost. But when someone is open to the truth, we "win" every time.

About winning- the only one who will win or lose is the person you are speaking to. We are not about winning an argument- that IS pride right there. No, we are presenting the truth of God's Word to them, and it is their decision to accept it or turn away. Don't get angry at them, just be available if the Ruach leads them to talk to you again. Martin Luther got angry at the Jews because they didn't accept his new doctrines, and his subsequent writings were in large part the basis of the Shoa (Holocaust). We don't need that, because as Yeshua said, we'll likely be the ones to get burned.

Dan C