I have decided to start this topic to share the good news of the true gopsel of Jesus christ with other beleivers[even though of different indoctrination] muslims and even atheist on this forum and i hope by so doing i would be able to bring more people into the light of truth in the gospel as contrasting with a lot of fallacies being bandied around some churches today. i would try as much as possible to back up all my statements with biblical facts especially from the new testment as what obtains in the old testamnet is certainly NOT christanity and not what the gospel of christ preaches. I would also certainly welcome contributions, constructive analysis/criticism and questions from any well meaning commentator on this thread.

Basically Jesus christ's mission on earth was to reconcile man kind to God and teach them the way God our creator wanted us to live our lives and his message was that of love. Love to God and Love to our fellow man. Basically if any one should have the patience to study the new testament especially the teachings of christ you would discover that, that is all he was trying to teach us and not all the ceremonies and idolatory that goes on in intituitinalized religion which have taken prominence over his true teachings. Another way of understanding christ's message to us is in reading how the apostles preached and practicalized this message in the Acts and other epistles. Below is the first teaching of christ from then on i would try and cover his other major teachings so we can view christianity in it's right perspective.

Matthew 4:17:

17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”


From then on Jesus preached about living a life pleasing to God. Most of the core of his teachings can be found in matthew chapter 5,6&7 [sermon on the mount] i would not post it here so as not the overload this page but those who genuinely seek the truth can go and study this chapters.

Going through the new testament i realized that the gospel of Jesus was more about us than about God. This can be explained as being a product of the selfless love God/Christ as for us. It was about us living a good life and being good to each other. it was about how we can make the world a better place whilst we prepare to make heaven. It was very selfless[unlike what christianity is today]. It was about pure love in deed and not just in words[our churches and christians pay lip service to this greatest commandment]. It is my sincere belief that any body that claims to be a christian and he genuienly loves christ such a person would keep his commandments especially the ones he made clear to us are his greatest commandments. It is a very sad thing today that his commandments are being largely ignored by the church and most christians who claim to love him. Self love instead of love for others is now the guiding principle in christianity being encouraged today by our so-called clergy.

Matthew 7:12:

The Golden Rule
12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matthew 22:37-39:
The great commandment
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

The central theme of christianity in the bible is Love and this love was demonstrated in several ways but most especially through activelly helping the poor, needy and less priviledged as recoreded in the bible. It is very unfortunate that those same verses that were used to teach giving to the poor in the NT are now being twisted to mean giving to the "church"[talk of robbing the poor] in my subsequent posts i would try and post as many scriputures as possible which emphasizes that chrisitanity is about love [even though it is glaringly missing in today's version of christianity]

And before i start receiving bashings from fellow "christians" this thread is not about criticizing christianity as it is practised today but more about exhorting ourselves to better christian living based on biblical truths.

Oh not again!

Kunle


Now pretend you were not the poster and read your lines again and check if this piece is for exhortation or bashing


Be true to yourself.

fyneguy:

Kunle


Now pretend you were not the poster and read your lines again and check if this piece is for exhortation or bashing


Be true to yourself.

It's not bashing, rather it is reprimanding.

Love for God/ Christ is meant to be demonstrated through showing love to others around us who are in need or less priviledged as shown in the scriptures below:

Matthew 25:35-40:
35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’



As christians we have a duty to give to the needy to demonstrate our love to God and others around us. Interestingly virtually every teaching on giving in the new testament is directed at giving to the needy contrary to what is being taught in churches today that you should give to churches. A lot of pastors especially in the pentecostal fold twist scriptures that teach giving to the poor to mean giving to the church. This to me is using scriptures to rob the poor

Luke 6:27-35:

Love for Enemies

27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

The commandment in the above passage "to love our enemies" is one of the most difficult commandments to keep. But then again it reveals the divine nature of christ because surely this statement is beyond human comprehension. As human beings it might be very difficult to keep this commandment but then again if we truely have the spirit of christ in us we should be able to strive to keep the commandment. It is unfortunate that even within the "christian" world today that is so much hate and rivallry that there is virtually nothing to set us apart as christians other than the religious show most of us put up.

KunleOshob:

Luke 6:27-35:

Love for Enemies

27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

The commandment in the above passage "to love our enemies" is one of the most difficult commandments to keep. But then again it reveals the divine nature of christ because surely this statement is beyond human comprehension. As human beings it might be very difficult to keep this commandment but then again if we truely have the spirit of christ in us we should be able to strive to keep the commandment. It is unfortunate that even within the "christian" world today that is so much hate and rivallry that there is virtually nothing to set us apart as christians other than the religious show most of us put up.

kunle, you poisonous snake is trying a new one. you are blowing cold today. did you forget the tablets or what?

JJYOU:

kunle, you poisonous snake is trying a new one. you are blowing cold today. did you forget the tablets or what?

Typical example of "christian love" being demonstrated as practised today.

JJYOU:

kunle, you poisonous snake is trying a new one. you are blowing cold today. did you forget the tablets or what?

JJYOU,

You are fast becoming Kunle's Nemesis

Just like in the case of Batman whose nemesis was the Joker;
And Super man, whose nemesis was Lex Luthor

ttalks:

JJYOU,

You are fast becoming Kunle's Nemesis

Just like in the case of Batman whose nemesis was the Joker;
And Super man, whose nemesis was Lex Luthor

imagine a hater and divisive person like him coming up with this thread. the man is a joke. he spents all his time showing how much he hates everything the modern christian is doing yet he comes up with something like this.

JJYOU:

kunle, you poisonous snake is trying a new one. you are blowing cold today.  did you forget the tablets or what?

lol JJY, abeg dont be harsh on him. I know how it feels though. Just see him as one of those people.



@Kunle

Yeah Love is very important but I guess churches are supposed to inform you how they extend this love abi?

Bros, please and please, you are beginning to sound like a broken record.

Luke 16:13-15:

 

13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

How does the above teaching of christ compare to the prosperity gospel[mamon worship] that as gained so much popularity today?

  14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. 15 Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

The above verse speaks volumes and is very reflective of what goes on in our churches today in contrast to his teachings. the pharisees who were the pastors of that time also loved money just like their mordern day counterparts. They pretend to be righteous and try to "honour" God with vain monuments built to glorify themselves instead of God and call it the house of God. Even when the bible makes it clear that God does not reside in man made dwellings. These so called monuments are detestable in the sight of God.

Kunle,

You dont know a jerk about prosperity. Just shut up pls!

fyneguy:


lol JJY, abeg dont be harsh on him. I know how it feels though. Just see him as one of those people.



@Kunle

Yeah Love is very important but I guess churches are supposed to inform you how they extend this love abi?

Bros, please and please, you are beginning to sound like a broken record.

fyneguy:

Kunle,

You dont know a jerk about prosperity. Just shut up pls!

thanks pls help me tell him. he loves his political freinds rich but the church of Christ poor. he is such a confused mind. with brothers like him who needs an enemy? he has no clue.
i respect you so i am out of here.

God bless

ttalks:

JJYOU,

You are fast becoming Kunle's Nemesis  

Just like in the case of Batman whose nemesis was the Joker;
And Super man, whose nemesis was Lex Luthor

He can never be my nemesis, he is just a lost soul seeking attention.

fyneguy:


@Kunle

Yeah Love is very important but I guess churches are supposed to inform you how they extend this love abi?

Why should i need any church to inform me how to extend love when i have the bible and the bible clearly states how? You for instance attends a church were your pastor is notorious for twisting the scriptures and at the end of the day you miss out on the true teachings of christ and get hooked up on the twisted version that is designed to line to pocket of Oyakhilome.

Hehehehhehehehhehe Kunle.

Have you shut down your cyber cafe? You've been aiding yahoo boys'business o and you profit therefrom.

Sebi you don start your own church now? - Kunle True Gospel Church

KunleOshob:

He can never be my nemesis, he is just a lost soul seeking attention.

I meant nemesis as described by the examples I gave of super heroes and their nemesis.
Nemesis in the sense that; you just can't shut them down no matter what you do(in this case say/reason).

Super man always stood for justice;Lex Luthor knew this stand would impede his plans and actions, so he always tried to find a way to undermine or get rid of Super man;thus, becoming his nemesis.
Same thing with Batman and the Joker.

Anywhere you go to stand for the truth of God's word, JJYOU is there to do what he does

Nemesis: an opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.(dictionary.com)

John 13:34-35:
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

This is the commandment being repeated here again. It is quite certain that this commandment is sin qua non to being a true christian.



John 15:18-19:
18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

John 16:2-4:
2 For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming [b]when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. 3 This is because they have never known the Father or me. [/b]4 Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.

The above two passages is my response to all those who hate me on Nairaland for always speaking out the truth.

John 21:15-17:

15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.



The above passage is Jesus christ's final mandate to Peter who was given the charge to establish the church. You can see here that peter [the church leadership] is instructed to take care of the flock if he loved Jesus and for emphasis Jesus repeated it three times. This shows that it is the responsibilty of the leadership of the church to take care of the flock especially the needy and less priviledge amongst them. But today the opposite is the case all members of the flock are required to contribute to take care of the leader of the flock contrary to the example given in Acts 4:32-35 were contributions were made by believers to take care of those in need amongst them.

@ttalks
I understand your point but personally to me he is just an inconsiquential ranter.

Lol Kunle

When will you start loving those who ''hate'' you?

Bros, stop calling people haterz.  You are the hater-general on nairaland  and Sir John is your 2nd in command.

fyneguy:

Lol Kunle

When will you start loving those who ''hate'' you?

Bros, stop calling people haterz.  You are the hater-general on nairaland  and Sir John is your 2nd in command.

I love you my brother and that is why i am sharing this true gospel with you so your eyes would open and you would saved from the demonic enslavement and yoke placed upon members of CEC plc. I don't hate any body but i stand for the truth and if you stand for the truth the world would hate you just as your predecessors hated Jesus christ.

lol Kunle,

wow satan has really blindfolded you o.

well we will continue to pray for you, so when you become a christian, you will not live according to sensory perception and self-delusion.

fyneguy:

Lol Kunle

When will you start loving those who ''hate'' you?

Bros, stop calling people haterz.  [size=28pt]You are the hater-general on nairaland[/size]  and Sir John is your 2nd in command.

fyneguy:

lol Kunle,

wow [size=28pt]satan has really blindfolded you o[/size].

well we will continue to pray for you, so when you become a christian, you will not live according to sensory perception and self-delusion.

well some people hear the devils voice and say they are sent of God to hate people like he does. he is on the way to form the haters church of nigeria. you want to love God and hate His people you must have another bible commander "hate" kunle.

KunleOshob:

I love you my brother and that is why i am sharing this true gospel with you so your eyes would open and you would saved from the demonic enslavement and yoke placed upon members of CEC plc. I don't hate any body but i stand for the truth and if you stand for the truth the world would hate you just as your predecessors hated Jesus christ.

go take your tablet na. get this straight nobody hates you. what we hate is the foolishness and arrogance you display. it is not of God. Gods way is humility. the word says humble yourself so God lift you up.

Look at the way these soldiers of christ are fighting one another. Its quite a shame. . .

Tudór:

Look at the way these soldiers of christ are fighting one another. Its quite a shame. . .

i would have assumed those others who claim to love and serve christ would be ethusiastic about sharing their understanding of the gospel of christ here but rather they are more interested in displaying their hatred for the truth being told here and christian brother who they love to hate. it is a shame really that it is taking an atheist to point out thst "soldiers of christ" are fighting each other on a thread that is designed to exhort each other i really weep for "christianity"

Having spoken of love as being the central focus of Christ's gospel and acknowledging that it takes the grace of christ and the holy spirit to be able to keep this commandment how then were the early christians able to keep this commandment? from what we learn in the scriptures the love as to be practicalized and not just lip service as is very common amongst our mordern day Xtians. The passage below is an example in sharing christian love as practised by the early christians:

Acts 2:44-46:
44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity

Please note the above is just an example of how love was demonstrated by the early christians. it is the principle and motive of love that really matters, today we can devise our own ways of practicalizing this love and not necessarily doing it the way it was stated above as that would be mechanical withouut true emotions involved.

Having spoken of[b] love as being the central focus of Christ's gospel[/b] and acknowledging that[b] it takes the grace of christ and the holy spirit[/b] to be able to keep this commandment how then were the early Christians able to keep this commandment? from what we learn in the scriptures the love is to be practicalized and not just lip service as is very common amongst our modern day Xtians. 

Totally on Point.

Jesus also warned us about the many false prophets that would abound and how we would know them. Basically any prophets whose preaching and actions is contrary to the fruits [love, humility, long suffering] which Jesus displayed.

Matthew 7:15-20:

The Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13:


Love Is the Greatest
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

   4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7[b] Love never gives up,[/b] never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

   8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.

   11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

   13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.



Wow what a beautiful passage: this passage essentially covers the real true gospel of Jesus and what it was all about. Basically it is telling us that no matter what we do as christians[meaning all the religious stuff we have been indoctrinated to do] if we do not have love in out hearts it is all in vain and we simply are NOT christians. I pray that God would open all our eyes to this simple message which he sent his son to earth to present to us. It is such a shame that 2,000 years later we are still chasing shadows instead of actively keeping this most important commandment which is repeated through out the new testament. Rather man made laws are being preached and promoted in churches as if they are God's directives[Matthew 15:9: Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God], men have become lovers of themselves instead of loving one and other and the church activelly promotes this.

Romans 1:17:
17 This Gospel tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Romans 10:4:
4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.

Acts 15:10-11:
10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke[law] that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”


The above captures the end result of the gospel of christ and that is: "being put right with God" and the assurance of eternal life. Prior to the gospel of christ keeping the laws of Moses was the way to being right in the sight of God even though till this day men still try and bring back parts of the law they like[i.e tithes & offerings] and use it to put believers back in to bondage the grace of christ as realeased all believers from. Some people may wonder why i am writing all this but the truth is that i belie a lot of genuine believers are being mis-led in the christian walk and in this little way i might be able to show at least one person the path christ himself prescribed for us through undiluted scriputre which is veru prevalent these days.

@ Kunleoshob

This thread is rich. please ignore the intruders . . . . , more please.