So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:33).
When Jesus told the rich young ruler to give up all He had, He was not only specifically saying that only the rich young ruler needs to give up everything. He was saying anyone who wants to follow Him must give up all that he has.
Jesus said "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" to explain what it costs to follow Him:
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples (Luke 14:25-33).
Giving up all of what one has means to give up all of what one has, striving for Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and that alone. It means to count all things one has as belonging to God as God is the Sovereign Creator, the Provider, the Saviour, the Rock, Way, the Truth and the Life. It means to acknowledge in both your heart and your mind, not just in your mind, but your heart also, that God is the Maker of all Things. It means to truly see God for who He is as Sovereign Creator, the One who orders the way things in earth are to work, such as in family, government, financial stewardship, money, marriage, gender roles, sex, education, dominion over the earth, and absolutely anything else. To pervert, redefine, change, or deny the order He ordains is rebellious blasphemy, whether it be seeking to twist gender roles (Deuteronomy 22:5), redefine marriage (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:7), or seeking to justify private property (Psalm 24:1-2).
If you call yourself a follower of Christ, can you really say this wholeheartedly:
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ (Philippians 3:8).
Can you? Or is there anything you are holding back? Is there any order of God that you find it hard to accept, whether it be that God is the owner of all things, not humans, God-given gender roles, marriage by God's definition or anything else.
The battle for each person is to give up oneself, and count all earthly things as literally rubbish, and strive for God alone. To strive for God alone is to live in the way that is in Truth, and loves Truth, have life and be following the Way, for Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
Totally surrendering to God means to deny yourself completely and accept His order for all things completely and wholeheartedly.
Twisting or perverting God-given orders are not wars against temporal things that God has given such as marriage, sexuality, family, money or government. They are wars against God wages by His enemies.
The modern Church has completely forgotten that God is the Owner of all things, and that we humans are only stewards. We do not own anything, whatever the world might say, your family might say, or even a what a true pastor might say. No! All material things belong to God. God gives us material things to use for His glory, not for ourselves. This is what the modern Church has forgotten, and not even known by it. It is so influenced and taken captive by the evil philosophies of the world regarding stewardship.
The modern Church thinks that while it may not be Sovereign, God still gives us possession, and therefore because of this, we as humans own things. What vile blasphemy! This is to pervert what the Bible says about God being the owner of all things. Wicked humans seek to pervert this, by treating what they have as their own. This has indeed, provided the justification for usury. Usury is justified on the basis that what one has is one's own, and accordingly, that one can use lend money as a means of making profit from it.
Usury is truly a vile sin. The key to understanding it is to understand the God-given order of stewardship and money.
When Jesus told the rich young ruler to give up all He had, He was not only specifically saying that only the rich young ruler needs to give up everything. He was saying anyone who wants to follow Him must give up all that he has.
Jesus said "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" to explain what it costs to follow Him:
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples (Luke 14:25-33).
Giving up all of what one has means to give up all of what one has, striving for Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and that alone. It means to count all things one has as belonging to God as God is the Sovereign Creator, the Provider, the Saviour, the Rock, Way, the Truth and the Life. It means to acknowledge in both your heart and your mind, not just in your mind, but your heart also, that God is the Maker of all Things. It means to truly see God for who He is as Sovereign Creator, the One who orders the way things in earth are to work, such as in family, government, financial stewardship, money, marriage, gender roles, sex, education, dominion over the earth, and absolutely anything else. To pervert, redefine, change, or deny the order He ordains is rebellious blasphemy, whether it be seeking to twist gender roles (Deuteronomy 22:5), redefine marriage (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:7), or seeking to justify private property (Psalm 24:1-2).
If you call yourself a follower of Christ, can you really say this wholeheartedly:
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ (Philippians 3:8).
Can you? Or is there anything you are holding back? Is there any order of God that you find it hard to accept, whether it be that God is the owner of all things, not humans, God-given gender roles, marriage by God's definition or anything else.
The battle for each person is to give up oneself, and count all earthly things as literally rubbish, and strive for God alone. To strive for God alone is to live in the way that is in Truth, and loves Truth, have life and be following the Way, for Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
Totally surrendering to God means to deny yourself completely and accept His order for all things completely and wholeheartedly.
Twisting or perverting God-given orders are not wars against temporal things that God has given such as marriage, sexuality, family, money or government. They are wars against God wages by His enemies.
The modern Church has completely forgotten that God is the Owner of all things, and that we humans are only stewards. We do not own anything, whatever the world might say, your family might say, or even a what a true pastor might say. No! All material things belong to God. God gives us material things to use for His glory, not for ourselves. This is what the modern Church has forgotten, and not even known by it. It is so influenced and taken captive by the evil philosophies of the world regarding stewardship.
The modern Church thinks that while it may not be Sovereign, God still gives us possession, and therefore because of this, we as humans own things. What vile blasphemy! This is to pervert what the Bible says about God being the owner of all things. Wicked humans seek to pervert this, by treating what they have as their own. This has indeed, provided the justification for usury. Usury is justified on the basis that what one has is one's own, and accordingly, that one can use lend money as a means of making profit from it.
Usury is truly a vile sin. The key to understanding it is to understand the God-given order of stewardship and money.
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