CHRISTIAN EXAMPLE

“…And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch”  Acts 11:26
The word “Christian” may have intended to mean, those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, or it may mean those who ARE like Jesus the Christ. With the former, one would not necessarily be demonstrating what it is to live as a Christian. With the latter, there would be no doubt.  If Jesus were physically among us (as then), I presume He would still be as controversial as He was.  But, as with those who then heard His Word and understood His Gospel message, and were enlightened to Him being the Son of God, and saw His convicting example, so the world, too, today would recognize the example of a Christ-like life. The reality is that the responsibility of example falls on true believers. I do not say “the Christian community” because as a whole, ecumenism has messed things up. The world of Christianity today is just that…The World IN Christianity! It is a mortal compromise.

1 THESSALONIANS 1

[Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians is considered to be one of Paul's earliest letters, and yet rich in the great doctrines of the faith, namely: Election, the Holy Spirit, Assurance, the Trinity, Conversion, the second advent of Christ, the believer's walk, Sanctification, the Day of the Lord (Jehovah), the Resurrection, the tripartite nature of man.] ~Scofield Notes

1 Thessalonians 1
1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

GO AND SIN NO MORE

John 8:3-11

3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,

4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.

5 Now Moses, in our law, commands us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”

6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her....

FREE INDEED

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” John 8:36.
What a beautiful dialogue Jesus has with scribes and Pharisees here in John chapter 8. They are often referred to as "the Jews", almost derogatorily.

You are free…sin no more!
The chapter begins with “the Jews” (scribes and Pharisees) bringing a woman to Jesus who had been caught in the very act of adultery. It was a set-up. The scribes and Pharisees probably already knew this woman and what she “did”. It is not good for me to speculate but, do we think this is the first time an occasion with this woman came up? They conveniently “caught” this woman in an act of adultery and confronted Jesus to trap him. The Law of Moses, of course, commanded that she should be stoned. They said to Jesus… “What do You say?”.

IS ANYONE POINTING A FINGER AT YOU?

We should not finger-point, unless we are using that finger to point out scripture. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works"  2 Tim. 3:16-17.

Or, to point the way to salvation, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me" John 14:6.

UNITY OF THE CLIQUE?

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” Ephesians 4:1-6.

A WORD TO PREACHERS

(excerpt)
Eccles. 12:9-11- Our Record

The Word of God teaches that fitness is required in those that minister. One cannot read the letters of Paul without being impressed with the need of spiritual gifts to minister the Word of God. The ability of putting before others what is on our hearts grows with the using of the gift as the plowshare becomes brighter not by sitting idle but by making repeated furrows in the ground. But there can be no greater mistake than to suppose that the more one stands and talks on the platform the better he will get at a gift he doesn't have. It is very sad to see one that has a ready way of speaking occupying the time of a meeting for thirty to forty minutes with what could have been easily said in twenty minutes or less. Such a person confounds talking with ministering and natural talent with spiritual gift.

Meditation - He gave good heed - He pondered as the Revised Version has it in verse nine. Paul's word to Timothy comes to mind here when he told Timothy to meditate on these things. When the portion over which we are exercised as to ministering is pondered, its hidden beauties open up to our souls and prevents our preaching from being just a wilderness of words that tends to spiritual penury. Meditation is the great need of the present but in the rush and bustle of life it is being neglected; nor does it appear that conditions are likely to improve with those that entangle themselves with the world. Those who are in the greatest danger of neglecting meditation and prayer in regards to ministering to the Lords people are those who have a ready way of speaking - trusting to that fact and the fact that they have done so many times before with the result being that the spiritual minded realize that there is a lack of weight in what has been said. W.J. McClure, 1917-2007 
http://www.plymouthbrethren.org/article/4395