Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. James 3:13
The Fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom and understanding, if you don’t have fear of God, what understanding can you have about life? If life has no meaning or purpose then what consequences does anything have? Do we understand a life serving ourselves instead of others is an empty and wasted existence?
Jesus showed the greatest humility by allowing himself to be crucified to save us from our sins. He told us there is no greater love than to lay your life down for your friends. Does anyone have the wisdom to understand what God has already done for us?
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. James 3:14-16
But we live in a world today of self-worship, which is Earthy and demonic. Meaning your vanity is driven by Satan himself. Nobody wants to hear about Jesus, because it interferes with yourself agendas. People are move in love with there sin than righteousness.
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:17-18
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live inside of us to give us wisdom, peace, and strength. But the Holy Spirit can not dwell in a pit, unless your going to repent your sins and clean up your life, you are rejecting Gods power and wisdom. Don’t be deceived by the world, trust in God in Jesus Name Amen
Unashamed of Jesus 
AMEN! Great post 🙂
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Thanks Have a blessed day!
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Thank you — you too ☺️
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Poem – What is love?
Two men came to Jesus
With different motivations.
They asked Him the same question
Relevant to all the nations:
Which is the Most Important?
The answer was the same.
Jesus did not manipulate
He was not there to play a game.
“Love the Lord your God” said Jesus
as He quoted from The Law –
to fulfill and not abolish
was His purpose, full of awe.
Jesus did not make all Scripture
Into one new great commandment.
He summarized The Law and Prophets
“First and Greatest” and “The Second.”
The Love of God is higher
Than the love of any man.
Receive from God, give back to God-
Then to others, that’s His plan.
The Love of God involves much more
Than simply “love your fellow man.”
Worship, trust, and pray to God,
and obey Him – that’s His plan
To worship and pray to neighbors,
Whoever they may be,
Or trust and obey our enemies
Would be idolatry.
The love of God is first and greatest,
And the love of man is second.
“All we need is love” are words
of dead Beetles on the pavement.
“The entire law is summed up in a single command”
are not the words of Jesus our Salvation.
It’s false teaching of Paul the Pharisee
an “accuser of our brethren.”
“Love” without God is Satan’s word through Paul
in his chapter to the Corinthians.
“I will show you the most excellent way”
is the road to eternal perdition.
Where is God in Paul’s chapter on love?
Nowhere in view of the eye.
Paul sings about himself like a Mexican Mariachi
“I, I, I, I.”
Jesus is The Most Excellent Way
Not the words of a Pharisee.
The words of Jesus are very clear.
Jesus said, “You must follow ME.”
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So are you saying you reject all of Paul’s teachings?
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Are you rejecting Jesus’ teaching about what is Most Important, and instead accepting Paul’s teachings?
If you give Paul unique authority to speak on his own without other witnesses and redefine the word “Apostle” giving himself that title, that is functionally equal to Muslims claiming that Muhammad is God’s Prophet. You are elevating your “one special man and his special writings” above Jesus of the Gospels, who came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, not abolish them.
There is a song, I think by Casting Crowns, that goes
“The world is on their way to you,
but they’re tripping over me.”
Many are on their way to Jesus
But they’re tripping over Paul the Pharisee.
They come to churches, or listen to listen to teachers or other Christians, and all they hear is “Paul said this and Paul did that and we should be like Paul.” No.
Jesus is the Greatest Story, Greatest Teacher, Greatest Example and Model. We should seek to become more like Jesus was.
Many self-professed “Bible-believing Evangelicals” won’t listen to the words of Jesus, because they are brainwashed through reciting their “mantra” – “all scripture is God-breathed.”
This “Evangelical Mantra” has been accepted by the collective subconscious mind of “The Evangelical Church” without thought, question, reflection, or even 2 witnesses from the Scripture itself. It’s based on a misinterpretation, out of context, of one verse in one letter written by one man, Paul the Pharisee, who was unfamiliar with the personal ministry and teaching of Jesus.
But, “Once an idea has been accepted by your subconscious, it remains there and it governs your behavior until it is replaced or changed.” [ as a pastor named Bishop Dale C. Bronner observed in one of his sermons]
(Definition from the American Heritage Dictionary.) Mantra (noun) (Hinduism.) A sacred formula believed to embody the divinity invoked and to possess magical power, used in prayer and incantation.
When cult members repeat their mantra, it makes them deaf to the voice of God, unable to hear God. Instead, it puts their focus on their one “special man” above all others – his personality, words and teachings, character, life example, feelings, experience, intentions, mind, will, emotions, etc. Their cult leader is their hero – he is always right, could never be wrong about anything specific, and he must be obeyed in all things and never questioned. He will give himself a special title, write at least one special book, and claim special authority, with no need for a second witness to back him up.
Here are 3 examples.
.1) Fuhrer. The title of Adolf Hitler as the leader of the German Nazis, author of “Mein Kamph”. Mantra: “Heil Hitler.”
.2) The self-appointed Prophet Muhammad, author of The Koran. Mantra: …..”and Muhammad is his prophet.”
.3) Paul the Pharisee, the self-appointed Apostle to the Gentiles, whose 13 letters comprise one third of what, today, we call the “New Testament.” (The first, original “New Testament” was composed by the second century heretic Marcion, and he coined the term “New Testament.” His new “book” contained nothing except 10 of Paul’s letters and an abbreviated Gospel of Luke. There were no other “New Testament” books, and the Hebrew Scriptures were the “Old Testament” which was irrelevant, according to the heretic Marcion.) Mantra: “All Scripture is God-breathed….”
I got my Masters Degree at Dallas Theological Seminary. I was attracted to the school because they put Paul’s mantra of “All Scripture is God-breathed” above everything else, and I wanted to heed Paul’s command and “Preach the Word” like Paul….
This mantra is a misinterpretation out of context of 2 Timothy 3:16. It ignores the previous verse, 2 Timothy 3:15, which clearly indicates that Paul was NOT referring to his own letters when he wrote the words “All Scripture.”
Paul was probably making reference to some of the Hebrew Scriptures, quite likely including the Law and the Prophets. We cannot be completely certain exactly which “Scriptures” Paul meant in “All Scripture”, and what Paul meant by “God-breathed.” Why can’t we be certain?
Because we must establish a matter by the testimony of two or three witnesses, especially something as important as “What is the Word of God.” No one else in the pages of the Bible besides Paul ever said anything like “All Scripture is God-breathed”. And Paul only said it here, one time, in the middle of a personal letter.
The Apostle Peter made reference to “Prophecy of Scripture,” not “All Scripture,” and no it’s not the same thing at all. Jesus never said anything like that. And no one, not even Paul, ever said that all Scripture was equal.
I remember the general approach to the Bible at Dallas being that “every word in the 66 Books is the Word of God”….. and we should interpret it based on “the intended meaning of the author in the historical grammatical context.”
That is the basic idea of the heavy-duty seminary language we were being trained in. It sounds so right, so intelligent, so professional, so “godly”….. but it is fundamentally flawed.
When we look at Paul’s teachings and testimony about himself, (in his letters that make up 1/3 of the New Testament,) we should NOT immediately ask ourselves; “what did Paul say, what did Paul mean, and how does this apply to my life?” The fundamental question is NOT “what was in the mind of Paul?”
Before any of that, the FIRST question to ask is; “does Paul agree with Jesus, who came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets?”
Paul contradicted himself, and his teachings and testimony about himself don’t harmonize with the teachings of Jesus (or with Luke’s record of his life.) Let’s not waste our time with endless debates about “what Paul really meant” with his wacky teachings about “baptizing the dead” or “there is neither male nor female.” Paul was wrong. Jesus reminds us from The Law “at the beginning, the Creator made them male and female.” [Matthew 19:4, Genesis 1:27]
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Jesus anointed Paul on the road to Damascus to spread the gospel to all Gentiles
Second all scripture is Holy Spirit inspired, nobody is rejecting Gospels of Jesus as he is The Truth Life and Way
But to reject all other books would be rejecting 62 other books
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Hi – perhaps you are looking up Scripture. These references below may save you some time.
According to the voice of Jesus,
Which commandment is the most important?
Jesus was asked twice, by two different men, the same basic question about which is the most important or greatest commandment in the Law. Here is how Jesus answered that question:
#1
“One of the teachers of the law… asked him [Jesus],
‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “ is this: ‘Hear, of Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than THESE.” [Mark 12:28-31, Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Leviticus 19:18]
#2
…an expert in the law, tested him [Jesus] with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’”
Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these TWO commandments.” [Matthew 22:36-40, Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18]
But in contrast with Jesus, Paul the Pharisee didn’t know the greatest, most important, first commandment according to Jesus. Paul made up his own rule. Paul wrote:
“The entire law is summed up in a SINGLE command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” [Galatians 5:14, Leviticus 19:18]
And again, Paul wrote:
“He who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not covet, and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this ONE RULE: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” [Romans 13:8-10, Leviticus 19:18]
Jesus said it’s TWO commandments, with the greatest, most important, first command to
.1) first, love God with everything you’ve got, and
.2) second, love people.
Paul said no, it ONE commandment- to love people.
This is very similar to The Beatles- “All you need is love. Love is all you need. Love, Love, Love.” (In other words, the second commandment, the love of man, without the love of God. Love as me, myself and I define love to be, and continuously redefined by sinful men.)
In essence, it is also the same principle as what Eve did in the Garden of Eden, forgetting about the Tree of Life, which is the first tree in the middle of the Garden, and instead referring to the second tree as “the tree that is in the middle of the garden.” [Genesis 3:3 & 2:9 2:17, 3:24]
Kind of like the Pharisees with Jesus, who were pushing the false idea that we can consider ONE commandment in the Law, alone in isolation, to be “the greatest commandment in the Law.”
Or like today, false teachers in the Chrislam – Purpose Driven – Seeker Sensitive – Emergent – Liberal – Ecumenical – New Age – world church movement pushing the false idea that the ONE RULE is “Loving God and Neighbor together.”
The Lord God Jesus the Jewish Messiah, Son of Yahweh the Most High God of Israel, said:
“All the Law and the Prophets hang on these TWO commandments.”
Not one. TWO.
Sometimes, Paul was wrong. Jesus is always right. I’m following Jesus.
Here are answers to 2 common objections:
.a) What about the so-called “Golden Rule”?
Jesus spoke the 3 chapters of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7, including 7:12. Jesus didn’t make PART of this one verse out of context into “The Golden Rule” or “one rule.” Jesus did not use the term “Golden Rule,” it’s simply a tradition of men. The sentence begins with “So” in the NIV and Amplified Bibles, and “Therefore’ in the NASB and King James Bibles, which ties 7:12 to the previous sentences. So 7:12 cannot stand alone as One Commandment.
.b) What about the so-called “Great Commission”?
Jesus spoke the words recorded in Matthew 28:18-20, including “make disciples of all nations.” Jesus never used the term “Great Commission,” it’s simply a tradition of men. Yes I agree it’s a commandment given by Jesus, it’s not optional, and it applies to us today. We need to carry this out, with our own God-given abilities and talents, using the skills, and circumstances we have. But we don’t need to put words in the mouth of Jesus, we can let Jesus speak for himself, and we can listen to Him – and obey Him.
Evangelism is part of the Second Commandment given by Jesus, to Love people. Evangelism is not the most important commandment, and it isn’t the entire Second Commandment. So if our priorities are “The Great Commission and the Great Commandment,” we have our priorities upside down and confused, and we are not listening to the voice of Jesus. Never mind what Paul said. Let’s listen to the voice of Jesus first, and get our priorities straight.
Additional appendix:
According to Jesus, which Commandment is the Most Important?
This is a question of fact about the content of the text in the 66 Books of our Bible. It is comparing the words of Jesus with the words of Paul (and other men) regarding which one is the Most Important Commandment and which one is the Second commandment, which together fulfill the Law and the Prophets. (Not The Law the Prophets & the Writings, not “All Scripture,” not “The whole Bible”)
It isn’t a question of men’s opinions about “what Paul really meant” or “what Paul must have known” or “what Paul was actually referring to here” or “what Paul was clearly implying” or “what we must conclude that Paul was assuming”, etc. etc.
These lines of reasoning all go back to the false idea that “Paul must have been right and Paul couldn’t possibly be wrong, so whatever Paul was thinking at the time must have been correct, and we just have to figure out what Paul’s intended meaning was and what Paul was really thinking when he wrote these words.” That would mean that your opinion about the unknowable unwritten “mind of Paul” becomes the “Word of God.” No. Wrong.
Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. The words spoken by Jesus, recorded in our Bible by Matthew Mark Luke & John, should be above all other words. This has literally been the Orthodox position for almost 2000 years. Paul is inferior, Jesus is superior. The words of Jesus are superior to the words of everyone else in the Bible and to everyone else in the world. Jesus is in agreement with the Law and the Prophets and came “to fulfill them.” [Matthew 5:17-20]
What Jesus clearly and specifically said is also superior and more important than your opinions about what you think Jesus meant or implied, but didn’t say elsewhere. For example, when Jesus was speaking about “a new command I give you,” Jesus didn’t say THE new commandment, or the FIRST commandment, or the MOST IMPORTANT commandment, or the ONE commandment, or the GREATEST commandment, or ONE RULE.
The false teaching about “one rule” is the false teaching of the Pharisees of Paul’s day, and Paul the Pharisee was pushing this false teaching. This contradicts the clear specific teaching of Jesus about the first and greatest commandment and the second. Jesus warned us about the Pharisees in Matthew chapters 15 & 16, and quoted the Prophet Isaiah regarding them:
“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”
[Isaiah 29:13]
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Your idea about what Jesus did with Paul on the Road to Damascus is based on Paul’s exaggerated, conflicting testimony about his own experience, recorded by Luke in Acts 22 and Acts 26. Paul made things up, to promote himself and enhance his image and his false claim to be a apostle. Paul’s boastful claims in his two speeches about himself don’t even match each other- and they don’t match the facts Luke recorded about the actual event in Acts 9. Paul made things up about what happened, what Jesus said to him, and what Ananias said. I’m not going to type it all out- Please read Acts 9, 22 & 26 for yourself, compare and contrast.
The Early Church in Acts 8 was functioning very well without Paul and his letters. They were growing, expanding, and reaching Gentiles, under the leadership of the 12 Apostles (there are only 12, and Matthias is #12. Paul was not an apostle.)
You are reciting the mantra I described in the post above: “all scripture is Holy Spirit inspired.”
This mantra is a misinterpretation out of context of 2 Timothy 3:16. It ignores the previous verse, 2 Timothy 3:15, which clearly indicates that Paul was NOT referring to his own letters when he wrote the words “All Scripture.” Please read my post above, and if you have any other verse of Scripture as backup for this idea, please let me know.
I’m not rejecting 62 other books. I’m putting priority on the 4 Gospels, which is literally the (Eastern) Orthodox position, and giving priority to the Law and the Prophets (over the Writings) in the Old Testament, which Jesus Himself did.
Looking forward to your response.
Blessings in Jesus
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The book of Acts was written by Luke as you know, who was very respected and credible. If your going to dismiss the book of Acts then you would have to dismiss the book of Luke which is obviously Gospel of Jesus.
Your basically a agnostic saying the entire Bible is flawed
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I don’t “dismiss” the Book of Acts at all. It is a narrative about people, and numerous times Luke accurately exposes Paul’s mistakes, carnal behavior, disobedience, creative boastful exaggerations about himself.
Acts 9 is what happened according to Luke’s accurate record.
Acts 22 & 26 are Luke’s accurate record of Paul’s boastful false testimony about his own experience. It’s obvious to me that Luke took great effort to specifically record Paul’s words on those 2 occasions, to show us clearly that Paul made false claims about himself and his own supposed authority.
The 4 Gospels are narratives where the main character is Jesus, who is without sin. Since we follow Jesus, it makes sense that these should be more important. About half of the Book of Acts is basically Luke’s biography of Paul – but why would you assume that everything Paul said and did recorded in Acts is right and true and sinless?
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Because if Luke believed Paul was an Anti Christ he would not have spent years with him on the road ministering. He also would have dismissed Paul and wrote anything about him. Paul was a servant of Christ, gained nothing but beatings, imprisonment, and eventually death in the name of Jesus while converting millions of Gentiles. What have you done for Christ besides Blasphemy Gods Word?
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So you DO believe that “everything Paul said and did recorded in Acts is right and true and sinless?” You believe that if Paul said something about himself, it must be true, and if Paul did something it must have been right? Not only in writing his own autobiographical letters, but also in his biography, written by Luke? Are you saying that the record of Paul’s life in Acts is sinless, and Paul didn’t say or do anything wrong at all? I want to be sure I understand what you mean.
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I believe the entire Bible is The Word of God
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You are repeating Paul’s mantra again.
Ignoring 2 Timothy 3:15, misinterpreting the next verse out of context, and setting these few words of Paul above Jesus and all others in the world, to define what is “The Word of God.” You are listening to the voice of Paul first, and ignoring Jesus.
Besides Paul’s words here, out of context, one time, what is your Biblical basis for believing that ” the entire Bible is The Word of God” and what do you mean by “Word of God” specifically?
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Since you went to Seminary school I’m sure I don’t have to explain this to you but anyway without the Holy Spirit The Bible wouldn’t be possible
How would Moses be able to write Genesis? How would David prophecy about Jesus in Psalms? The Holy Spirit that Jesus taught us about in John 14
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“…from infancy you have know the holy Scriptures…..” Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:15
Was Timothy reading Paul’s letter in his infancy? Were Paul’s letters “the holy Scriptures” that Paul wrote about his letter? 2 Timothy 3:16 wasn’t even written yet – had Timothy been magically reading it in his infancy? It’s a ridiculous argument.
So what else do you have? Please quote me chapter and verse.
Blessings.
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Listen I get it you hate Paul and are bitter and angry. I have no interest in feeding your ego and doing this dance.
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