Local Church Discussions - View Single Post - LSM's Sacrament - the "Ground of the Local Church" NIGEL TOMES

ZNPaaneah · 05-01-2013, 03:40 PM

In Acts 9:5 Saul of Tarsus says “Who art thou Lord?” I think we all agree that this is the same Lord that Peter was referring to when he said that false teachers “deny the Lord that bought them”.

My understanding of Acts 9 is that when Paul persecuted Christians Jesus equated this to say that Paul was “persecuting Him”. I also understand this to be the basis of his revelation on “the Body of Christ”. I also do not see any reason to say that this principle only applies to unbelievers. Believers can also “Persecute Jesus”. Later Paul said he obtained mercy because he did it in unbelief.

This may seem harsh. You might take this to the extreme and say “if I call my brother a fool that is ‘persecution’, does that mean I am in danger of the judgment?” Suppose I call my sister “worthless” and excommunicate her on trumped up charges, does that mean that Jesus is also being persecuted with her, a kind of “footsteps in the sand” and that I am in danger of the gehenna of fire? I would say that is how I understand the Lord's word in the gospels.

So then, suppose I deny my brother’s stand in the Lord? Does that mean that I am also denying the Lord who bought him? Suppose I deny that my brother has the full blessings of God? Suppose I deny that my brother has the full experience of the Triune God? Does this mean that Jesus is also being denied? Again, that is the way I read the NT. Jesus died that I might be saved and stand before God. If you deny that, then you deny the Lord who bought me and placed me in Him.

05-01-2013, 03:40 PM	#10
ZNPaaneah Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 7,105	Re: LSM's Sacrament - the "Ground of the Local Church" NIGEL TOMES In Acts 9:5 Saul of Tarsus says “Who art thou Lord?” I think we all agree that this is the same Lord that Peter was referring to when he said that false teachers “deny the Lord that bought them”. My understanding of Acts 9 is that when Paul persecuted Christians Jesus equated this to say that Paul was “persecuting Him”. I also understand this to be the basis of his revelation on “the Body of Christ”. I also do not see any reason to say that this principle only applies to unbelievers. Believers can also “Persecute Jesus”. Later Paul said he obtained mercy because he did it in unbelief. This may seem harsh. You might take this to the extreme and say “if I call my brother a fool that is ‘persecution’, does that mean I am in danger of the judgment?” Suppose I call my sister “worthless” and excommunicate her on trumped up charges, does that mean that Jesus is also being persecuted with her, a kind of “footsteps in the sand” and that I am in danger of the gehenna of fire? I would say that is how I understand the Lord's word in the gospels. So then, suppose I deny my brother’s stand in the Lord? Does that mean that I am also denying the Lord who bought him? Suppose I deny that my brother has the full blessings of God? Suppose I deny that my brother has the full experience of the Triune God? Does this mean that Jesus is also being denied? Again, that is the way I read the NT. Jesus died that I might be saved and stand before God. If you deny that, then you deny the Lord who bought me and placed me in Him.