Life in the Spirit
If you live in the spirit, you are free from the law of sin and death. If you set your mind on the spirit you will be free, but if you set your mind on the flesh you will not be able to please God and you will die. If Christ is in you, your spirit will live on eternally even though your body is dead from sin.
This seems to basically be the message that most churches seem to have today. That we are doomed to hell except through Jesus Christ. We all deserve hell, but through Jesus we can be saved. This idea is something that I find pretty disgusting.
Heirs with Christ
We are not heirs of slavery, but heirs of Christ. You have been adopted by God through the spirit.
That sounds pretty good.
...heir of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Hello persecution complex.
Future Glory
The glory that we will see in the future will not compare to the suffering we have come across so far. Also, the spirit of God helps us when we have weaknesses.
This is pretty good. Glory is ahead of us and we will get help when we need it. It will give people hope.
God's Everlasting Love
God loves us so much that he sacrificed his son. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
The only thing I can think to say here is fairly snarky. That the 'sacrifice' doesn't seem that big as Jesus was resurrected and is now at the right hand of God.
So believers really shouldn't complain about persecution, it's kinda a requirement for heaven.
ReplyDeleteI suppose they should actually be thankful for it. :)
DeleteI think this is why WBC loves to have their controversial pickets. People who counter protest them and talk about how disgusting their message only encourages them. They view themselves as following god's word in an immoral persecuting world. I'm sure they feel like they are doing their part and getting "persecuted" because of it.
DeleteWhats meant by verse 28? "And we know God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." I think I might be reading that wrong, but the way I read it, it just sounds like a bold lie. It sounds like things will always go well for those that follow God.
ReplyDeleteIn verses 29 and 30 seem to point away from free will. It sounds like God predestined everything. Any thoughts to the contrary?
Verses 31-33 say that no one can oppose Christians because they have God on their side, nor can they be accused of doing anything wrong.
I'm going to disagree with your interpretation of v28. That verse is in the section called "future glory" and earlier verses talk of "birth pangs" and such. I would interpret it to say something more along the lines of "things might suck now, but eventually all of the shitty things in your life will lead to good things." So "all things work together for good" is more about not complaining about current hardships as God is using those to lead you to something great. Perhaps you are learning a lesson or something. Of course, the good later can even be in the afterlife "maybe if you didn't suffer like you did you wouldn't see the light and be saved from hellfire". And so it becomes unfalsifiable like so many other things from religion.
Deletev31-33, I think it is more saying that if someone accuses a Christian of doing wrong it doesn't matter, because the real judge is God and the real thing that matters is what happens after we die.