"And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another."
In this lesson, Jesus teaches us that there are people outside our denominational circle, who are also capable of doing good. He said that so long as a good deed is done in His name it is a Christian act and should be accepted as such.
There is an example of how we should approach those who unintentionally abuse the gospel of Christ in Acts 18:24-26, "And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly."
There is an example of how we should approach those who unintentionally abuse the gospel of Christ in Acts 18:24-26, "And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly."
Apollos was apparently teaching Mosaic law as the new doctrine of grace through faith.
Just as Aquila and Priscilla did with Apollos, in in this quote, if we encounter someone who is attempting to teach the gospel of Christ but who are in some way doing it wrong or are uneducated about it, we are not to stop them from teaching, we are to simply correct them and allow them to continue.
The second part of today's quote, in some ways, seems to be saying that in order to achieve eternal life we are to live without sin, even to the point of ridding our bodies of the parts that might contribute to sin in our lives. Thank God that when Jesus died on the cross, he removed the penalty of sin from those of us whom have placed our faith in Him. The saved are no longer bound by the rules of Mosiac law and our sins have been "justified" by the divine sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being JUSTIFIED freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" (Romans 3:21-24)~
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