The Snare Of A Believer's Commitment

[Jesus4Me]

Ever wonder how any one can make a commitment to do something when it involves tomorrow? We all have heard it at one time or another; "I am committed to doing this, and so ..." meaning, he is bound to finish it, all else is to be set aside as secondary.

James 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

The scripture above leaves no room for commitments or promises, because that would be citing your will to be done and not the Lord's will.

What's the big deal?

Luke 14:15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

"I am sorry, Lord.. I have made prior commitments and promises and so I cannot come to the Marriage Supper. Please have me excuse." Is that not saying the same thing?

Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

So take heed of His warnings:

Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 34And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

So ask Jesus for forgiveness and ask Him to set you free from all commitments that has evil boastings of tomorrows and rest in Him & His promises to you so that when the Bridegroom comes, you are not bound by any snares of the oath binding world that would have you excusing yourself from Him from attending the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Galatians 5:1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage....5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

In our personal walk with Him, we follow Him by faith; not by doing the best we can in keeping our commitments and promises, because that is not the power for living the christian life nor for following Him.

We really can only follow Him by faith in the Son of God in us & all His promises to us. That is how we can get to know Him & the power of His resurrection is when we take Him at His Word & see Him working in our lives wherein we see ourselves following Him what we could not do before by keeping a commitment or promise to do so.

May Jesus set those astray, free, from the world's bondages and from the religious bondages, to be ready to go.

[Freedom]

I think there is a lot of truth to your points on commitment. The LCM is a system built around commitment, and I do believe that because members are so committed to the movement itself, they have missed the boarding call to follow Jesus alone. In the local church, they have a so-called Bible School called the Full-Time Training. It is a two year commitment, and I would say that one of the main (undisclosed) reason for their training is member retention. Every person who attends this training has made a two year commitment of their lives to attend. Because it's not a seminary, but a proprietary ministry-run training, upon graduation they remain associated with affiliated churches. It's a 100% commitment is to the ministry of LSM and associated churches. Someone who has just spent the last two years of their life is not likely to leave the LCM anytime soon. Leaders know this better than anyone. It's exactly what they want.

Even among the rank and file members, they take great amount of pride with how long they have been in the LCM. It's not uncommon to hear members say things like "I thank the Lord that He has kept me in the church-life for 40 years". It is very clear that when they say such things that the focus is commitment to a system. Why couldn't they instead say how thankful they are that they have been following Jesus for 40 years? It's a wake up call that many people need to hear.

[OBW]

The real point is not to refrain from commitment. It is to refrain from allowing commitment to keep you from your part in the kingdom.

The story actually says nothing about commitment. Instead it speaks of what is more important to you. Is it your oxen or the Lord? As with everything, there is a time for the oxen.

And to simply excise commitment to anything but the Lord is not what is spoken of. You cannot be a reliable employee without commitment. And the Lord would have you be a reliable employee. But commitment to employment, while having an aspect of "tomorrow" in it, does not excuse you from your part with the Lord. And it wont do it unless you allow it to.

[Jesus4Me]

Originally Posted by OBW

The real point is not to refrain from commitment. It is to refrain from allowing commitment to keep you from your part in the kingdom.

The story actually says nothing about commitment. Instead it speaks of what is more important to you. Is it your oxen or the Lord? As with everything, there is a time for the oxen.

And to simply excise commitment to anything but the Lord is not what is spoken of. You cannot be a reliable employee without commitment. And the Lord would have you be a reliable employee. But commitment to employment, while having an aspect of "tomorrow" in it, does not excuse you from your part with the Lord. And it wont do it unless you allow it to.

Commitment is nothing less but saying "I will do it." And if you clock in, the employers expect you in your commitment to clock out when off the clock. The Bridegroom is not going to wait for you to clock out.

Same goes for public office, police, & military. And yes, promises have been introduce for elders & deacons when they take office, and that was not taught by the N.T. Bible for any believer to do, but there it is. A snare for the cares of this life which is of the world.

And yet it is not I who live but Jesus Christ in me, so can I really make a commitment in speaking in regards to my will & intentions to do something even that day?

Commitment is tesifying of yourself and therefore that testimony is false.

John 5:31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

If you keep that commitment, you get the credit and the glory,but if you only speak of your faith in Jesus Christ as He is the power in how you are following Him, then He gets the credit & the glory; you cannot do both.

John 7:18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

Commitment is a rudiment of the world that religious people can identify with; it is a calling that many wise men in the flesh, many mighty men, and many nobles can respond to as it puts them in the spotlight in teh eyes of men.

Narcotics Anonymous & Alcoholic Anonymous uses commitment and a reference to a higher power of anyone's choice; from Jesus Christ to a tree. The credit & glory for keeping that commitment to stay sober goes to the person that made that commitment as that person gets a token like a coin or whatever that depicts how long that person has been sober.

People in NA & AA are free to give credit to their "higher power", but you can imagine the eyes rolling from christians when they hear others credit their success to something else; just as those that refer to a different higher power will roll their eyes when christians give credit to Jesus Christ.

So there is no getting around it; a believer's commitment speaks of himself or herself and it is to his or her own glory for keeping it. This is why Jesus refer to commitments, promises, dedications, and any religious altar call that brings a believer into bondage as teaching for doctrines the commadments of men; and that is why they are worshipping Him in vain.

Matthew 15:7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: 11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.....18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man:

So you have to ask yourself how you are following Jesus; by the flesh by doing the best you can in keeping that commitment which goes to your credit & glory or by faith in the Son of God in getting to know Him & the power of His resurrection when you see Him helping you to follow Him?

It's a believer's commitment or a believer's faith; it cannot be both.

The believer living by faith is free to go when the Bridegroom comes because he or she is following Jesus by faith; not by keeping a commitment.

Since no flesh shall glory in His Presence and we are to stand fast in the liberty which Christ has set us free and be not entangle again in a yoke of bondage, how can a believer claim those verses of his or her walk with Him in the face of his or her commitment?

So how we follow Him is key; by faith in the Son of God or all His promises to us or...

....by our commitment that many religious people of the world can identify with & praise christians for doing?

Do not people add promises to God's covenant of marriage as if they are binding themselves together when it is God joining them together? Do they not boast of their love for each other & yet love is not boastful?

Shania Twain's "From This Moment.." music video can swoon even me, but the reality of that song being made up of hers & her husbands' vows to each other from her first marriage ends when they had gotten a divorce.

Best seeking the praise of God rather then the praise of men.

Do we not serve Him by faith? Then that includes our work & our relationships because we are living this reconciled relationship with God thru Jesus Christ. What need of our commitmets when we are relying on His commitment to us in helping us to follow Him, whethor it be in our job, or in our relationships since we are enabled by Him to do so as unto the Lord.

So we should not be concern about how people look at us by how we keep our commitments nor concern how the Lord looks at us in how we keep our commitments when we do not want to be judged by it. Truly hard to see one's faith in Jesus Christ & what He is doing for us when under that yoke.

We should be concern how the Lord looks upon us in applying our faith in Him in everything for us to do all things by Him for that is the power in living the christian life; by faith in the Son of God & all His promises to us.

May God lead believers to see the truth in His words as to why they should ask Jesus to set them free from all yokes of bondages to be ready to go.

[OBW]

Originally Posted by Jesus4Me

Commitment is nothing less but saying "I will do it." And if you clock in, the employers expect you in your commitment to clock out when off the clock. The Bridegroom is not going to wait for you to clock out.

Same goes for public office, police, & military. And yes, promises have been introduce for elders & deacons when they take office, and that was not taught by the N.T. Bible for any believer to do, but there it is. A snare for the cares of this life which is of the world.

Mixing your metaphors just a little. When the Bridegroom comes, you don't get the option to stay clocked in.

Your insistence that keeping a commitment is somehow "in the flesh" and you "get the credit and the glory" is really not what these passages are saying. I would conjecture that keeping your commitment to clock in and clock out according to what is expected by your employer because you have an inner code of righteousness is precisely the definition of not being "in the flesh." Your flesh wants to either cut it short or give it so much that you take away from other responsibilities, including to the Lord.

You speak of God's covenant of marriage. Last time I looked, God was not the one getting married when you stand before a few people and make commitment. So you think that the common tradition of vows at a wedding is against God? Talk about making more and more laws to hang around the necks of the followers of Christ. I have enough trouble keeping up with the ones Christ actually commanded. I don't need yours.

Originally Posted by Jesus4Me

Commitment is testifying of yourself and therefore that testimony is false.

What makes this so? You declare it to be some kind of clear fact. But why? Neither the verse you quote before or after says that.

Originally Posted by Jesus4Me

It's a believer's commitment or a believer's faith; it cannot be both.

Where did you get this? If you have no commitment to follow, I question your faith. None of the verses you have quoted suggest this in any way.

Originally Posted by Jesus4Me

May God lead believers to see the truth in His words as to why they should ask Jesus to set them free from all yokes of bondages to be ready to go.

What does this mean? Be free of the responsibility to anyone or anything?

One of the things that I find so problematic in the teachings and sayings of Lee, and of many who toss the LCM aside but still want it, is that it sounds to high and pious, but is just made-up. They say such spiritual-sounding things but can't establish that it is actually true. If someone in the church started teaching like the things you have put in this post, it would be time to leave. Talk about the law. God's actual law is enough. Yours is just too much.

[Jesus4Me]

Originally Posted by OBW

Mixing your metaphors just a little. When the Bridegroom comes, you don't get the option to stay clocked in.

Your insistence that keeping a commitment is somehow "in the flesh" and you "get the credit and the glory" is really not what these passages are saying.

My bad. Seems I cannot avoid making a long post any more. John 7:18 does.

John 7:18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

If you are talking about your commitment, then it is you are talking about yourself, and your keeping it is to your glory. If you speak of Him, them the same is true and no "unrighteousness" is in you. So there is unrighteousness to speak of yourself in seeking your own glory. This is why.

John 5:31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

I would conjecture that keeping your commitment to clock in and clock out according to what is expected by your employer because you have an inner code of righteousness is precisely the definition of not being "in the flesh." Your flesh wants to either cut it short or give it so much that you take away from other responsibilities, including to the Lord.

It is to your glory of keeping that commitment as the employer see "your" inner code of righteousness and not His righteousness in you.

The problem with doing it to the Lord is that He did not ask you to do that. He has no confidence in your flesh to keep such a commitment;

John 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

Plus, He wants you to stand fast in that liberty and not put on any yoke of bondage ever again.

Galatians 5:1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

So how can you claim that verse as part of walking with Him by faith in the Son of God & all His promises to us in Him helping you & enabling you to follow Him when you speak of your commitment which every religious man in the world can relate to and identify with?

You speak of God's covenant of marriage. Last time I looked, God was not the one getting married when you stand before a few people and make commitment.

You are overlooking "..what God has joined together, let no man separate." God is the one making that marriage covenant exists when two people, a man & a woman, agree to be united as one flesh by God.

So you think that the common tradition of vows at a wedding is against God?

Can you find the common traditional vows of a wedding in the Bible? I can't. What people add besides "I do" to each other is extraneous & therefore man-made.

Plus... love is not boastful, now is it?

1 Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Talk about making more and more laws to hang around the necks of the followers of Christ. I have enough trouble keeping up with the ones Christ actually commanded. I don't need yours.

Actually, you have been arguing to add more yokes of bondages as well as overlooking God as the One that created the first marriage.

What makes this so? You declare it to be some kind of clear fact. But why? Neither the verse you quote before or after says that.

Again, as stated earlier in this very post; John 7:18 is the reproof with John 5:31 on what a false witness it is for a believer to speak of himself by his commitment which contains boastings for the flesh to engage in. It would be really hard to avoid the foot of pride when a believer claims to have had or be keeping that commitment to the Lord.

Where did you get this? If you have no commitment to follow, I question your faith. None of the verses you have quoted suggest this in any way.

How about now in light of the previous verses in the OP?

What does this mean? Be free of the responsibility to anyone or anything?

Total reliance on the Lord for everything in living as His as opposed to commitments of the flesh for YOU to keep as if that is the power for living as His; religiously by doing the best you can.

One of the things that I find so problematic in the teachings and sayings of Lee, and of many who toss the LCM aside but still want it, is that it sounds to high and pious, but is just made-up. They say such spiritual-sounding things but can't establish that it is actually true. If someone in the church started teaching like the things you have put in this post, it would be time to leave. Talk about the law. God's actual law is enough. Yours is just too much.

A sinner did not want to come to the Lord because she felt she had to clean up her life first before she could. Why is that? Because she had no confidence in her flesh to make a commitment to follow Christ when sin has reign over her body & her life. She knows she is a sinner, and yet she knows her limit in the flesh. She is defeated by a religious guantlet that has nothing to do with how we are saved, let alone how we live the christian life.

So go ahead. Find a N.T. verse where the disciples looked to such rudimentary means to find some assurance from believers that they are serious by making a commitment or a promise to follow Christ.

And I'll show you what Jesus had shown me that Paul spoke against such rudimentary means so that he can claim he has fully preached the gospel.

Romans 15:15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, 16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. 17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

You wonder why Billy Graham gets allot of praises? Because he led so many to make a commitment to follow Christ. Believers swoon over his accomplishments; They wish they could do the same or close to it.

It doesn't matter how many times Billy Graham uses false modesty in giving the credit to the Lord; he was the one that led believers to make a commitment to follow Christ FOR the assurance of their salvation as if keeping it is how they are saved.

So how many believers out there, right now, have stopped following Jesus because it is too hard to keep that commitment as they find that no matter how much the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak as seen by trying to keep that commitment the best way they can? How many are doubting that they are saved because they cannot get that assurance by keeping that commitment to follow Christ?

Billy Graham said in an interview with Tony Snow that Jesus might say "Well done," to Billy Graham or He might say ,"You do not belong here." Billy Graham stated that he was not always a good christian.

So his doubleminded state is showing the end result of trying to keep his commitment to follow Christ as he doubts he would be received by Him.

In other words, his hope isn't solely resting on Him for eternal life; and neither for living as His by faith alone, but it is divided by trying to keep that commitment to follow Christ.

A divided hope ceases to be hope so do not divide your singular hope in Jesus Christ.

1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 4:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:....11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

That is why it is simply written that the just shall live by faith as that faith speaks of the Son of God & all His promises to us; not of man at all.

[aron]

Originally Posted by Jesus4Me

May God lead believers to see the truth in His words as to why they should ask Jesus to set them free from all yokes of bondages to be ready to go.

Originally Posted by OBW

What does this mean? Be free of the responsibility to anyone or anything?

One of the things that I find so problematic in the teachings and sayings of Lee, and of many who toss the LCM aside but still want it, is that it sounds to high and pious, but is just made-up. They say such spiritual-sounding things but can't establish that it is actually true. If someone in the church started teaching like the things you have put in this post, it would be time to leave. Talk about the law. God's actual law is enough. Yours is just too much.

J4M says "They should ask Jesus" which means a burden and a commitment on the believer. How is this not another religious edict from man's fallen imagination? I agree w/OBW that we may indeed perceive traps and snares, and prescribe our own.

On the other hand, J4M does say "May God lead believers to see... etc" which may indicate awareness of the source of the activity. Not our efforts but God's salvation. Our faith is not in ourselves but in God. And, specifically, God saving us through Jesus Christ's atoning death, and life-giving resurrection.

J4M says, "Your testimony is false", but so is J4M's testimony, here. As is mine, arguably, and OBW's. The true testimony is Jesus Christ. Not Witness Lee, not Darby or Pember or Luther. So I don't interest myself in my commitment, nor yours, nor even your (J4M's) reaction to commitment, which is also a kind of commitment. J4M is displaying subconscious committment to reacting against those who commit. Also vain. The only truth is in Jesus Christ. His commitment to God is unimpeachable. The rest of us, if we fail in the slightest thing, we fail. Jesus is the way.

[OBW]

Aron,

We can't all be right or OK. Neither can any of us be right in all ways. I know I am not.

Originally Posted by aron

The true testimony is Jesus Christ. Not Witness Lee, not Darby or Pember or Luther.

So neither yours nor mine is true?

Then how do we overcome by the blood of the Lamb any by the word of our testimony? Seems contradictory. Or ignoring context.

And that is what J4M is mainly doing — ignoring context and presuming that any example given is a general principle and useful to reinterpret any other passage. And every use of a particular word always has the same meaning no matter how much that fights with the context of usage.

[Jesus4Me]

Originally Posted by aron

J4M says "They should ask Jesus" which means a burden and a commitment on the believer. How is this not another religious edict from man's fallen imagination? I agree w/OBW that we may indeed perceive traps and snares, and prescribe our own.

Proverbs 14:12There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

On the other hand, J4M does say "May God lead believers to see... etc" which may indicate awareness of the source of the activity. Not our efforts but God's salvation. Our faith is not in ourselves but in God. And, specifically, God saving us through Jesus Christ's atoning death, and life-giving resurrection.

God the Father does draw men unto the Son for the Son to reveal Himself to them so that they can believe, but there is more. After having been reconciled by Jesus Christ, we can continue to live that reconciled relationship with God thru Jesus Christ. A relationship based on trust that is in progress by continually trusting Jesus as our Good Shepherd to guide us and enable us to follow Him.

He may use others to share His words to us, but in receiving His words & understanding His words, we are nothing since God causes the increase.

1 Corinthians 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

1 Corinthians 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

2 Corinthians 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

1 Corinthians 4:1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

These scripture should have been used to pull the rug out of Watchman Nee & Lee when they were exalting themselves in the eyes of the people as the first apostle & the last apostle to come to them for the proper interpretation of the scripture.

Those that truly serve Him would refer believers to go before that throne of grace for confirmation on what was shared by the scripture.

1 John 2:26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. 28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

J4M says, "Your testimony is false", but so is J4M's testimony, here. As is mine, arguably, and OBW's. The true testimony is Jesus Christ. Not Witness Lee, not Darby or Pember or Luther. So I don't interest myself in my commitment, nor yours, nor even your (J4M's) reaction to commitment, which is also a kind of commitment. J4M is displaying subconscious committment to reacting against those who commit. Also vain.

Scripture cites in John 7:18 that if you speak of yourself in seeking your own glory, it is unrighteousness. John 5:31 cites that to do so in speaking of yourself in seeking glory for yourself is a false witness. If you speak of Him that sent you, the same is true and no unrighteousness is in you.

So if you speak of yourself in what you cannot do by keeping that commitment in following Christ, but speak of your faith which is in Him in how He is helping you to follow Christ, then you are testifying of the Son in seeking His glory & not your own.

You can testify of yourself when it involves deferring all glory from yourself when it goes to another by testifying of the Son of what He is doing for you so that others may know what Jesus can do for them.

Alot of people will choose monikers in forums about themselves in how they are for Jesus, but the purpose of my nickname is to testify of Him in how He is for us... and my witnessing is done by faith in Jesus Christ in helping me to honour Him in my testimony of Him by seeking His glory and not my own at all.

The only truth is in Jesus Christ. His commitment to God is unimpeachable. The rest of us, if we fail in the slightest thing, we fail. Jesus is the way.

By deferring from yourself in seeking your own glory by testifying of the Son in seeking His glory, then your witness is true and gives hope to the hearers & readers to stop looking to themselves for living as His but to Jesus Christ for He is the power for living as His in following Him as His disciple.

This is why it is simply written that the just shall live by faith.