True Christians Love One Another

Brothers and sisters, if you do not love the followers of Jesus the Messiah, you have not passed from death to life. You are not born again. If you see this in yourself, you must go to the Savior, confess your sins and turn from them. Seek the Lord with all your heart and he will change you.

We make excuses for not loving one another, but this is not the heart of God or his children.

1 John 3 ISV

11This is the message that you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain,i who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because what he was doing was evil and his brother’s actionsj were righteous. 13So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.

14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love one another. 

• The person who does not lovek remains spirituallyl dead. 
• 15Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life present in him. 
• 16This is how we have come to know love: the Messiahm gave his life for us. We, too, ought to give our lives for our brothers. 
• 17Whoever has earthly possessions and notices a brother in need and yet withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God be present in him? 
• 18Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words and manner of speech; we must loven also in actiono and in truth. 
• 19This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and how we will be able to keep ourselvesp strong in his presence.

20If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. 21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God. 22Whatever we request we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 

23And this is his commandment: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus the Messiah,q and to love one another as he commanded us. 

24The person who keeps his commandments abides in God,r and God abides in him.s 

This is how we can be sure that he remains in us: he has given us his Spirit.

Remember these words from Paul to Timothy. Paul was seeing our day, as we are in the last of the last days. People love themselves, not others. 

1You must realize, however, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unfeeling, uncooperative, slanderous, degenerate, brutal, hateful of what is good, 4traitors, reckless, conceited, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. 

5They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away from such people. 

6For some of these men go into homes and deceive foolish women who are burdened with sins and swayed by all kinds of desires.7These women are always studying but are never able to arrive at a full knowledge of the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and their faith is a counterfeit. 9But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those two men,a their stupidity will be plain to everyone. 2 Timothy 3 ISV

The Pope Proclaims He Does Not Know The Scriptures

The new Pope gets something write and something wrong. He states "Who Am I To Judge". This is a true statement as he is just a man with no authority given to him by God. Jesus said we are to come to him and learn from him, not a man. Jesus is God and gave the scriptures so we would not have to look to any man.

The Pope then goes on to say  “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” This shows his his utter ignorance of the scriptures or willful ignoring of what the Savior said. Jesus tells us in the Revelation, 8But people who are cowardly, unfaithful, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselvesb in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.” And the Pope says "Who Am I To Judge"?? Friends, follow Jesus. Please, follow Jesus. He is God and his words are true! 

On Gay Priests, Pope Francis Asks, ‘Who Am I to Judge?’

Pool photo by Luca Zennaro

Behind the Pope’s Surprising Shift: The Times’s Ian Fisher, a former Rome bureau chief, on the pope’s statement on gay priests and how it differentiates Francis from previous leaders of the Catholic Church.

By RACHEL DONADIO

Published: July 29, 2013 524 Comments

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ROME — For generations, homosexuality has largely been a taboo topic for the Vatican, ignored altogether or treated as “an intrinsic moral evil,” in the words of the previous pope.

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• The Lede: Video of the Pope’s ‘Gay Lobby’ Remarks (July 29, 2013)

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In that context, brief remarks by Pope Francis suggesting that he would not judge priests for their sexual orientation, made aboard the papal airplane on the way back from his first foreign trip, to Brazil, resonated through the church. Never veering from church doctrine opposing homosexuality, Francis did strike a more compassionate tone than that of his predecessors, some of whom had largely avoided even saying the more colloquial “gay.”

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Francis told reporters, speaking in Italian but using the English word “gay.”

God's Children Keep Themselves Pure

John continues to warn us. You will not hear this from the ear tickling preachers  Brothers and sisters, they are deceiving untold thousands. They sound so good, but they will not tell you that if you practice (continue) in sin, you belong to the evil one. It does not matter if you said a "sinner's prayer" or were baptized or were told that you are under grace. You must turn from your sin and follow Jesus, or you will die a child of the devil and go to where he will go, the lake of fire.

I plead with you to turn from your sin and follow Jesus. He paid the price for sin on the cross where he willingly took the wrath of his Father to pay for sin. Jesus is the only way to the Father. If you sin, confess it and turn away from your sin and follow Jesus. Continued sinning is a sign you do not know God, as God's children keep themselves pure. Do not stop following Jesus. This life is just a vapor and then eternity in heaven or hell. Do not reject God who loved the world and gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting life. Those who believe in him do not keep on sinning.  
1 John 3 ISV

1See what kind of love the Father has given us: We are called God’s children—and that is what we are!a For this reason the world does not recognize us, because it did not recognize him, either.

2Dear friends, we are now God’s children, but what we will be like has not been revealed yet. We know that when the Messiahb is revealed, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is. 

• 3And everyone who has this hope based on him keeps himself pure, just as the Messiahc is pure. 
• 4Everyone who keeps living in sin also practices disobedience. In fact, sin is disobedience. 
• 5You know that the Messiahd was revealed to take away sins,e and there is not any sin in him. 
• 6No one who remains in union with him keeps on sinning. 
• The one who keeps on sinning hasn’t seen him or known him.

7Little children, don’t let anyone deceive you. 

• The person who practices righteousness is righteous, just as the Messiahf is righteous. 
• 8The person who practices sin belongs to the evil one, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. 
• The reason that the Son of God was revealed was to destroy what the devil has been doing. 
• 9No one who has been born from God practices sin, because God’sg seed abides in him. 
• Indeed, he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born from God. 
• 10This is how God’s children and the devil’s children are distinguished.h 
• No person who fails to practice righteousness and to love his brother is from God.

Our Responsibility In Obedience To The Gospel

John continues to warn. Please note that John talks about the antichrist that is coming, but warns us many antichrists have already appeared. This has grown worse and the man of sin is surely close to appearing. 

In verses 20 & 21, John told those he was writing to "you have an anointing from the Holy One and know all things" and told them they know the truth. But, then in verse 24, he warns them that what they heard from the beginning must abide in them. This reminds me of 2 Peter 1:10:

• "So then, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election certain, for if you keep on doing this you will never fail."

1 John 2 ISV

18Little children, it is the last hour. Just as you heard that an antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They left us, but they were not part of us, for if they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. Their leaving made it clear that none of them was really part of us.

20You have an anointing from the Holy One and know all things.f 21I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because lies don’t come from truth.22Who is a liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Messiah?g The person who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father. The person who acknowledges the Son also has the Father.

24What you have heard from the beginning must abide in you. If what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father. 25The message that the Sonhhimself declared to us is eternal life. 26I have writteni to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27The anointing you received from Godj abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you this.k Instead, because God’sl anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not a lie, abide in him, as he taught you to do.m

28Even now, little children, abide in him. Then, when he appears, we will have confidence and will not turn away from him in shame when he comes. 29Since you know that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been fathered by God.n

Are not the warnings that John is giving a repeat of what Jesus told him before he was crucified?

 John 15 ISV

1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vintner. 2He cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit in me, and he cuts back every branch that does produce fruit, so that it might produce more fruit. 3You are already clean because of what I’ve spoken to you. (Note: In verse 3, Jesus is talking to his disciples, not us.) 

4“Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in hima produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a prunedb branch and dries up. People gather such branches,c throw them into a fire, and they are burned up.

7“If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you’ll receive it. 8This is how my Father is glorified, when you produce a lot of fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. So abide in my love. 

10If you keep my commandments, you’ll abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 

11I’ve told you this, so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Do You Love The World And The Things That Are In The World?

Brothers and sisters, John continues to warn us. He tells us that if we do not love our brother, we are in darkness. He then tells us that if we love the world and the things that are in the world, the Father's love is not in us. Do you understand how serious this is? Many believe they belong to God because they said a sinners prayer or did some other good deed, but they are actually headed for hell.

The teachers have lied to so many. Wolves in sheep's clothing had already entered into the church when John wrote this 2,000, years ago. We must examine ourselves in light of the scriptures. It is about our souls. We must repent and follow Jesus, doing what he said. Do not trust man. Do not trust a teacher. Trust God and the scriptures. They are not of private interpretation.

I know Joel Osteen tells you that you can have your best life now and God wants you to prosper financially, etc. Brothers and sisters, he is a deceiver. People choose to be deceived because they want the things of this world and they love Joel because he tells them God wants them to have those things, even though the scriptures tell us God's love is not in those who love the things of this world.

1 John 2 ISV

7Dear friends, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. This old commandment is the word you have heard. 8On the other hand, I am writing to you a new commandment that is truly in him and in you. For the darkness is fading away, and the true light is already shining.

9The person who says that he is in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 

10The person who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no reason for him to stumble. 

11But the person who hates his brother is in the darkness and lives in the darkness. 

He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

12I am writing to you, little children,

because your sins have been forgiven

on account of his name.

13I am writing to you, fathers,

because you have known the one who

has existed from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young people,

because you have overcome the evil one.

14I have written to you, little children,

because you have known the Father.

I have written to you, fathers,

because you have known the one who

has existed from the beginning.

I have written to you, young people,

because you are strong

and because God’s word remains in you

and you have overcome the evil one.

15Stop lovingc the world and the things that are in the world. 

• If anyone persists in loving the world, the Father’s love is not in him. 
• 16For everything that is in the world—the desire for fleshly gratification,d the desire for possessions,e and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world. 
• 17And the world and its desires are fading away, 
• but the person who does God’s will remains forever.

Are You In Union With God, Jesus The Messiah?

John continues telling us how followers of Jesus the Messiah are to live.

1 John 2 ISV

1My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you might not sin. 

• Yet if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus, the Messiah,a one who is righteous. 2It is he who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world’s.

3This is how we can be sure that we have come to know him: 

• if we continually keep his commandments. 
• 4The person who says, “I have come to know him,” but does not continually keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth has no place in that person. 
• 5But whoever continually keeps his commandments is the kind of person in whom God’s love has truly been perfected. 
• This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God:b 6The one who says that he abides in him must live the same way he himself lived.

I want to again quote what Jesus told John and the disciples. It apparently made a big impression on John, as Jesus' words are in union with what John writes above. I am sure John was thinking of Jesus' words as he wrote the above. 

John 15 ISV

1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vintner. 2He cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit in me, and he cuts back every branch that does produce fruit, so that it might produce more fruit. 3You are already clean because of what I’ve spoken to you. (Note: In verse 3, Jesus is talking to his disciples, not us.) 

4“Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in hima produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a prunedb branch and dries up. People gather such branches,c throw them into a fire, and they are burned up.

7“If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you’ll receive it. 8This is how my Father is glorified, when you produce a lot of fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. So abide in my love. 

10If you keep my commandments, you’ll abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 

11I’ve told you this, so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Are You Right With God? Do You Know What He Requires?

Brothers and sisters, I was raised and taught that once you are saved that you are secure and will go to heaven. The scriptures do not teach this. As we enter the book of 1 John, he tells us we are responsible to continue to follow and obey Jesus and what he said to do. Are you?

We will all stand before the Lord and give an account. Some will hear "depart from me you workers of iniquity". If you said a sinners prayer and are living in immorality, rebellion, or idolatry, you are in danger of hell and must repent and follow Jesus continually. If you sin, confess it and turn from it. What sin are you holding onto for just a few days or years of pleasure? Is it worth eternal judgment and losing your soul?

1 John 1 ISV

1What existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own hands—this is thea Word of life! 2This life was revealed to us, and we have seen it and testify about it. We declare to you this eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. 3What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you, too, can have fellowship with us. Now this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus, the Messiah.b 4We are writing these thingsc so that ourd joy may be full.

5This is the message that we have heard from him and declare to you: 

• God is light, and in him there is no darkness—none at all! 
• 6If we claim that we have fellowship with him but keep living in darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth. 
• 7But if we keep living in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 
• 8If we say that we do not have any sin, we are deceiving ourselves and we’re not being truthful to ourselves. 
• 9If we make it our habit to confess our sins, in his faithful righteousness he forgives us for those sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 
• 10If we say that we have never sinned, we make him a liar and his word has no place in us.

John 15 ISV

1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vintner. 2He cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit in me, and he cuts back every branch that does produce fruit, so that it might produce more fruit. 3You are already clean because of what I’ve spoken to you. (Note: In verse 3, Jesus is talking to his disciples, not us.) 

4“Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in hima produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a prunedb branch and dries up. People gather such branches,c throw them into a fire, and they are burned up.

7“If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you’ll receive it. 8This is how my Father is glorified, when you produce a lot of fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. So abide in my love. 

10If you keep my commandments, you’ll abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 

11I’ve told you this, so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.