The Savior denounced hypocrisy as one of the worse sins. The Pharisees paid a full tithing, they gave alms to the poor, they regularly attended their worship services at the synagugoe, and they were devoutly faithful in going to the temple, yet Jesus denounced them as hypocrites. Why? In our day as well as then, a hypocrite is, among other things, a person who pretends to be a good member of the Church but who, in reality, has no desire to be Christlike and draw closer to Him, and makes a show of the good he does. The Pharisees were outwardly religious but their hearts were hard, they were selfish, dishonest, murderous in their desire to preserve their status, and their reason for doing good was to be seen of men.
The N.T. study guide says, "Now consider for a moment your own personal desires. Do you pay tithing? give fast offerings to the poor? attend your Church meetings? If you have said yes to each of these, you should be commended. But what is your purpose in doing these things? Is it for personal glory or because of social pressure, or is your motive to draw closer to Jesus Christ? What happens to hypocrisy when you put Christ in the center of what you do?"
Jesus taught that we should do acts of service in secret. I love it when I find out from others about the quiet, kind things people do, but it is quite irritating when someone tells me about all their own good deeds. I agree with the Lord that we should keep quiet about them.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Requirement vs. Expectation
I have gotten way behind this month in my New Testament studies. I've continued to read but haven't been very steady in following along with the study guide. One section was titled, "Where Much is Given, Much is Required," quoting from Luke 12:48. I very seldom hear that quoted correctly. Instead, people most always say "Where much is given, much is expected." The same message is given in D&C 82:3, "For of him unto whom much is given much is required. . ." We members of the Church have been given much. Through the restored Gospel, the Lord has revealed the principles, ordinances, and covenants necessary to obtain Eternal Life, and because we have these truths available to us, much is required of us. The Lord doesn't just "expect" us to learn and live the Gospel, He REQUIRES it. If we don't, we will be held accountable, and our loss will be great. If we choose the "world" over following Christ, we will forfeit Eternal Life. We can't have it both ways - but the choice is ours. (Eternal Life means living in the presence of God for eternity. Everyone will be resurrected and live forever.)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
JESUS - THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
During the Feast of the Tabernacles the great golden candlesticks within the temple complex would be lighted. They made a brilliant display of light, and Jesus apparently took advantage of the situation to declare, "I am the light of the world."
"His hearers well knew that their Messiah should stand as a light to all men; that is, they knew that he as the very source of light and truth, would stand forth as a light, an example, a dispenser of truth; they knew that his would be the mission to mark the course and light the way which all men should travel. (3 Ne. 15:9; 18:16, 24.) Messianic prophecies given to their fathers promised that he would be 'a light to the Gentiles' (Isa. 49:6), a light piercing the darkness of error and unbelief. (Isa. 60:1-3.) Jesus' application of these prophecies to his own person was a clear proclamation of his own Messiahship and was so understood by his hearers." McConkie, DNTC, 1:452-53.)
Further scriptural information about how Jesus is the light of the world is found in the Doctrine & Covenants Section 88:6-13. His light gives life and light to all of His creations.
"Christ is the light to humanity. In that light man sees his way clearly. When it is rejected, the soul of man stumbles in darkness. No person, no group, no nation can achieve true success without following Him who said: 'I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' (John 8;12)" (David O. McKay in CR, Apr. 1940, p 15.)
I think that the political and environmental issues of today are good examples of what happens when people lose sight of Jesus as the light of the world. We've been hearing about "global warming" for a number of years, how carbon emissions are raising the temperature of the earth, and in order to save it, we must reduce our "carbon footprint" by limiting or changing our technologies and way of life. I don't deny that we should take care of the earth by keeping it clean and using its resources wisely, but to think that puny man has control of the temperature of the earth is ludicrous. All the hype is just a way for Godless, greedy, power-hungry men and organizations to gain control of the lives of us common people and to slap us with more taxes. Just recently someone hacked into the networking system of one of the large "global warming promotion" centers in Europe and discovered many, many e-mails exposing that they have been lying and altering the facts about global warming. Scientists have not proven that the temperature is rising, as is being promoted.
But much of the public has fallen for the lies. They are blinded - walking in darkness - because they don't know or accept Jesus as the light of the world. They don't trust that He is in control of the earth's temperature and ability to support life. They don't realize that in spite of whatever controls are placed upon us by politicians, no methods of man are going to have any lasting effects on the life of this planet. The only way mankind can influence something that big is by the degree of righteousness or wickedness in which they are living. God blesses and protects a righteous nation, but as historically and scripturally proven, when a certain degree of wickedness is reached, destruction follows. According to prophecy, the temperature of the earth is going to rise higher than anyone can imagine before too long - when Jesus comes again and the wicked will be "burned as stubble." The only way to avoid that kind of "global warming" is for the nations to repent, recognize, honor, and obey Jesus as the light of the world - each and every one of us.
"His hearers well knew that their Messiah should stand as a light to all men; that is, they knew that he as the very source of light and truth, would stand forth as a light, an example, a dispenser of truth; they knew that his would be the mission to mark the course and light the way which all men should travel. (3 Ne. 15:9; 18:16, 24.) Messianic prophecies given to their fathers promised that he would be 'a light to the Gentiles' (Isa. 49:6), a light piercing the darkness of error and unbelief. (Isa. 60:1-3.) Jesus' application of these prophecies to his own person was a clear proclamation of his own Messiahship and was so understood by his hearers." McConkie, DNTC, 1:452-53.)
Further scriptural information about how Jesus is the light of the world is found in the Doctrine & Covenants Section 88:6-13. His light gives life and light to all of His creations.
"Christ is the light to humanity. In that light man sees his way clearly. When it is rejected, the soul of man stumbles in darkness. No person, no group, no nation can achieve true success without following Him who said: 'I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' (John 8;12)" (David O. McKay in CR, Apr. 1940, p 15.)
I think that the political and environmental issues of today are good examples of what happens when people lose sight of Jesus as the light of the world. We've been hearing about "global warming" for a number of years, how carbon emissions are raising the temperature of the earth, and in order to save it, we must reduce our "carbon footprint" by limiting or changing our technologies and way of life. I don't deny that we should take care of the earth by keeping it clean and using its resources wisely, but to think that puny man has control of the temperature of the earth is ludicrous. All the hype is just a way for Godless, greedy, power-hungry men and organizations to gain control of the lives of us common people and to slap us with more taxes. Just recently someone hacked into the networking system of one of the large "global warming promotion" centers in Europe and discovered many, many e-mails exposing that they have been lying and altering the facts about global warming. Scientists have not proven that the temperature is rising, as is being promoted.
But much of the public has fallen for the lies. They are blinded - walking in darkness - because they don't know or accept Jesus as the light of the world. They don't trust that He is in control of the earth's temperature and ability to support life. They don't realize that in spite of whatever controls are placed upon us by politicians, no methods of man are going to have any lasting effects on the life of this planet. The only way mankind can influence something that big is by the degree of righteousness or wickedness in which they are living. God blesses and protects a righteous nation, but as historically and scripturally proven, when a certain degree of wickedness is reached, destruction follows. According to prophecy, the temperature of the earth is going to rise higher than anyone can imagine before too long - when Jesus comes again and the wicked will be "burned as stubble." The only way to avoid that kind of "global warming" is for the nations to repent, recognize, honor, and obey Jesus as the light of the world - each and every one of us.
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