"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
This lesson exposes the error within the basic tenets of many religious isms. Jesus, when He applies the word faith, it is intended as an absolute, it needs no earthly props, or assistance to accomplish an end result. Pure faith in God accomplishes all.
Faith, as the means of eternal salvation, is not to be mixed in with a bunch of worldly tasks that man must accomplish on his/her own, such as "good works", trips to "church, water baptisms, or communal meals. If one truly believes he/she must do all, or some, of these things, his/her faith is no longer in God, it is split between their own actions, and God.
Faith in the power of God to feed, clothe, or redeem the lost must be absolute, and it stands alone as the only requirement for eternal redemption of the souls of mankind.
In the latter part of the quote, Jesus said, "O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?"
"Take no thought", means don't worry about it, there is nothing else to be done! God will handle it.
Jesus clearly indicated that if we have faith in God to provide, there is NO need to concern ourselves about ANYTHING, EVER, including our eternal salvation.
"Take no thought", means don't worry about it, there is nothing else to be done! God will handle it.
Jesus clearly indicated that if we have faith in God to provide, there is NO need to concern ourselves about ANYTHING, EVER, including our eternal salvation.
Does that security allow the born again believer to do and act any way we might choose? NO! Why not? Because when we become the children of God we are His from that day forward. We are to live within the boundaries of the commandments placed on us in Mark 12:30-31 when Jesus said, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."
Will Jesus punish us for disobeying one of these two commandments? Yes he will, but not by revoking our salvation! He will chasten His own while they live right here on earth! Hebrews 12:6-8, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons."
Will, or can, a Christian live a perfect life? NO! Jesus lived that perfection for us.
Will, or can, a Christian live a perfect life? NO! Jesus lived that perfection for us.
We know God loves us when we feel the sting of His chastening hand.
But, through faith our souls endure.~
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