To be or not to be.......what says you?

it's good to ponder on the 'reconciliation', as this is key to all of our
future relationship with our Holy Saviour...

born enemies - reconciled through the saving knowledge of given Faith
through His Holy Love...

This may get me barred from the site but if so , so be it. I am inspired so here I go.

I think as those in the walk of holiness, which is what the Christ taught, we have to come to a realization first and foremost that there is a difference between those who practice the Christian religion. And those who follow the Christ and his teachings.
Christ did not come to create a new religion that some call Christianity. In fact, if we realize what he said as he chastised the elders of the temple we see that he actually came to destroy the religion. Because as he observed, the ego's of the men in charge of that religion had taken it way off course. And made God in their strict image and likeness.

Jesus came to teach holiness. When he was asked what are the commands one must follow in order to see the kingdom Jesus told us is within us, he simply said that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind. And we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Upon those two commands hang all the laws and the prophets.
The old testament teachings and laws were divided into three parts as we know. The history, the poetry, and the major and minor prophets.
The laws were divided into three's also, because numbers are highly important in Judaism. The ceremonial laws, the civil laws and the moral laws.

The ten commands, which apply to those who follow the Christ, are what the command to love God and our neighbor as ourselves, encompass.
Love is the law.

We should also realize there is a creed that applies to the religion that is Christianity. The Apostles creed pertains to the Roman's Catholic church. Started by Constantine.
The Nicene creed differs slightly but that too was invented by Constantine.

Christ created no such creed. Constantine did.

The difference between the two are rather simple. Find what Constantine did to create a faith that insured the authority of Rome would exist forever.
And then find what Christ taught simply as the son of God.

It is said that Constantine was Rome's first Christian emperor.
Not really. Constantine was a pagan. And if you delve into the history of the man you'll realize that after he made the faith of Christianity legal, which was after he and his convened bishops hashed out what it meant to hold faith as a "Christian", you'll find a devil of a man. Wicked.
The cross that many in the faith wear has his history carved behind it as well. A bloody brutal one. Like the cross itself. Invented by the Persians. Perfected in its savagery by the Romans.
Ask yourself how a leadership that once near 600 years prior crucified the son of God for sedition and blasphemy near 600 years later erected a faith and a church in his honor.

Constantine converted to the faith on his death bed. He was a pagan emperor until then. Constantine in effect did live all those centuries ago what today is known as "Pascal's wager."

Why are Christians so at odd's over the simple truth of God in Christ? Why are there so many divisions, denominations, even versions of God's eternal unchanging word. An oxymoron due to the versions that exist today. Unchanging? With over how many versions in print? And some omit "son of God" so as not to offend Muslims? Really ?

The path of Holiness is the faith of Christ.
The religion of Christianity is the manufacture of Constantine.

Yes, that will get some very fired up. Especially those I've read who have a predisposition, that they defend, to speak with a two edged tongue thinking they're defending God and his word the way Christ did. That's blasphemy first of all. And nonsense secondly. Some who are natural born aholes think it is cool to act like that using defense of God as their cause.
Please! God doesn't need a rude abusive abrasive insulting pejorative worshiping speaker to defend gospel truth.

So there it is.
In the peace of Christ I offer my thoughts. If I am barred for sharing, such is God's will.
Research the root of what is the religion we know today.
If you wonder why there is conflict, and remember the scripture that says Christ will return when the ecclesia are one, you may be concerned. And righteously so. Amen.

@DianaO this is extraordinary! Very well said~ and welcome to CC

Amen. Thank you for your ratings.
TO my rantings.
I did not speak for myself. I confess. I typed what was behind my ears that told me what to write. If that makes sense?

Psalm 145:18, "יהוה is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth."

John 4:24, “Yah is Spirit, and those who worship Him need to worship in spirit and truth.”

Psalm 119:130 The opening up of Your words gives light, Giving understanding to the simple."

Matthew 7:7-11, “Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. Or is there a man among you who, if his son asks for bread, shall give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, shall he give him a snake? If you then, being wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in the heavens give what is good to those who ask Him!”

Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you”

Very good observation, nice post. Truth is we all have that deep root of religion, some maybe more than others but it exsists in the believer. It has since the creation of man. Look at history; when Jesus was with Peter and James on the Mount of Transfigiration first thing they wanted to do was build a Tabernacle.
The dark ages and so forth, Christian men and women acting out a religious belief. What a person believes does not save them, in whom they believer saves them, of coarse the cross.
But we bet the farm on beliefs and battle untill the end defending something that God does not really care about.
Men have always felt their beliefs save them and to believe right will keep them saved, very strange dichotomy to say the least.
It is the nature of the beast so to speak or scripture says sheep. Created to be dependent on the shepard, the old nature told you that your independence brought you the misery. The human being has never been an independent individual, they have always been dependant on their nature.
That is why trying to serve God with the mind will always end in failure.
The new Christ in you nature needs freedom to be expressed as your creation. That takes a mutitude of mind renewal. The mind that had to suppress the old nature will try to do the same thing to the new Christ in you nature, and it creates a world of chaos.

This reminds me of that wonderful old hymn, and here is a portion of its lyrics:

"1 Not saved are we by trying,
From self can come no aid;
'Tis on the blood relying,
Once for our ransom paid;
'Tis looking unto Jesus,
The holy One and just;
'Tis His great work that saves us,
It is not Try, but Trust."

https://hymnary.org/text/not_saved_are_we_by_trying [rest of the lyrics at link]

[bold/underline mine]

this person obviously knows their history - oh my, let's get out of here,
we just might get enlightened or maybe even get some 'bubbles' burst!!!

I do hope you are not barred for that most excellent post.
If we don't read you around after that we may know that hope is lost. Or maybe you are just on a gloriously relaxing vacation.
Oh, wait, that was me. Ahhhh Fiji. The place, not the water. And yes, welcome to the forums DianaO.

Jesus is

Jesus is my savior not my religion....so true. He also put a line in the Sand. If we are a hearer and not a doer we are deceived James tells us.
Many believe in o.s.a.s. and that is as far as they go. This has caused a weakness in the church and also have caused many to go a stray with a false sense of security. As far as I see we have a habit of taking advantage of God's grace. Myself included. This shouldn't be.
Now d put up a thread" not by works" which is so true you cannot earn salvation. But to love God and your neighbor is a work that Jesus plainly showed us. It's not a emotional love but it's a action. Love is grace with work boots on. Love is what makes a invisible God visible.
Jesus said if you deny me I will deny you to the father. Saints that's being forsaken. For no one comes to the father except through the son.
Ever hear the term "he's worth his salt" Jesus said we are the salt of the Earth but if we lose our saltyness we are fit for a dung pile.
How do we lose our saltyness if we are o.s.a.s.? By not doing his commands.
This is a very big concern of mine for myself as well as the rest of the saints. Also the babes that God may of sent here to learn and fellowship. Something that I feel is important to know.
Works are important to God that's how we glorify his name.

I know that thread. "Not by works". It has over three thousand posts and is growing exponentially as the arguments continue on a topic that was solved as irrevocable inviolable truth over 2000 years ago. The thread in pages is longer than those years since Christ returned to Heaven.
If works saved Jesus wouldn't have worked his way teaching God's grace , eternal love and forgiveness, all the way till it put him on the cross that saved the world from its sins for the sacrifice bore there.

Works are proof of our indwelt state. Not a means to retain what is within.

Am I mistaken or did the Member status under DianaO's name in her post change? I thought "active" was there once. As it is under my name and others here. If not then "senior" Member appears.
Hey D? Are you still with us? Or did your prediction come true? Knock once if yes. Or not at all.
Kidding.
I hope.

As a member of a different site I just found out and wanted to inform those looking forward to Diana's update to this thread. Her maybe will happen thoughts in post #22 did come true.

That was not why Jesus came, if this were true we should only regard him as a prophet only.

Did she say that is only why Jesus came? No.
And who are you thinking to argue with? She's no longer here.

The "leave or forsake" that is important to me is in Hebrews, Chapter 13.......... (just saying)

5) Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6) So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

As was said earlier.......He WILL NEVER leave or forsake us, but we are able to leave and forsake Him because of the gift of Free Will. Now, some will argue this doesn't exist........so



Thanks Potter........gonna add more later

regarding the "thoughts" post, Christ came to fulfill God's Salvation Plan for mankind. Saying He came to teach holiness kinda trivializes the reason for His coming to me.

As for the "religion" part............. In my opinion......we are of the Christian Faith.......not religion. Christianity and religion have little, if anything in common in my opinion.

As for "creeds," my Church states "We have no creed but the Bible" and that is what we teach............

Matthew 7:7) Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Revelation 3:20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21) To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

In my opinion only possibly, vs. 21 is very close to what Jesus said in Matthew 24......

13) But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Problem arises/arguments too........because when we say that, the grace only crowd screams "your teaching works salvation."

For some reason I have yet to understand, they can not comprehend that "good works" are a fruit of salvation and NOT a pathway TO salvation. Every person saved by grace, God saved for a purpose, His Scriptures say this is true. He has a purpose for ALL of us. Things He wants us TO DO for Him. Oh no, there I go..........teaching works salvation........ hehe