True Charity

True Charity

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

**Charity means ‘love’. True love comes from God. He is Love. Anybody can devote their time doing things for the Church for charity organizations, but If you don’t have love, it means nothing. True devoted love for God is obeying the word of God. Not loving the world, and the things in this world, because it is far from God. And with that devotion to walk in His righteous path, True love comes in to action; and it will show. **

1 Peter 4:7-8

“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”

**We must have God as a first priority. Being sober spiritually, and watching in prayer-being aware of things around us so we could succeed in our walk with Jesus. Having a fervent charity- means such a burning fire of love towards Him. In so much that it motivates us to live a godly life for Him, in obedience to His word, and that for what He has done for us, we show Him honor and praise in worship for Him. **

1 John 2:15-17

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

** We must not love the world, neither the things that are in the world. For all that is in the world pertains to the lust of the flesh-sin. God is love; pure love, and not of this world. For the love of this world is completely opposite of the love that God provides. Everything in this world is limited and fabricated. But God is holy and eternal, keeping to His promises He has for His children. **

Lips that praise, but hearts are far from God

The Filthy Rags

*Jesus was a master storyteller, often using parables to make a point. A parable is a story that contains one simple message. In this case, he directed the story to those who thought they were right with God because they trusted in themselves.

 

Luke 18:9-10

“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.”

 

--The people who lived near Jerusalem often went to the temple to pray. The temple was the center of their worship.—

**In the Jewish culture of that day, Pharisees were viewed as meticulous keepers of Moses’ law.  In contrast, the tax collectors were considered to be crooks. Now there were two people from opposite ends of the moral spectrum, praying in the same place. **

 

(The Pharisee)

Luke 18:11-12

“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week , I give tithes of all that I possess.”

**In patting himself on the back, the Pharisee mentioned only a couple of things that he did not do. His list could have been lengthy. But that didn’t matter. The way he prayed showed the attitude of his heart. He was relying on his own right living (or good works) to make himself righteous before God. **

 

(The tax collector)

Luke 18:13

“And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

 

**The tax collector was overwhelmed by the awareness that he was a sinner and that he desperately needed for God’s help. He begged God for mercy, asking him to provide a way to escape the rightful punishment for his sin. Jesus continued….

 

Luke18:14

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

 

** It is interesting that Jesus tied repentance to humility. The bible makes it very clear that pride is what caused Satan to fall. It is also pride which causes man to hold back from admitting that he is a sinner, needing to trust God. The Pharisee was convinced that, if he was diligent in observing all the law and performing good deeds, God would be pleased. He was proud to the point that he was blind to his own need. Jesus said…..

 

Mark 7:6-8

“He answered and said unto them, well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.”

 

(Blind)

**Outwardly, the Pharisees went through the motions of appearing righteous, but inwardly, they were sinful. They also undercut the intent of the Ten Commandments by adding their own man-made rules. Jesus said….

 

Mark 7:13

“making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”

 

**the Pharisees believed that their religious observances, their good works, and their Jewish birth would make them right with God. Jesus said that these things do nothing to make a person acceptable, because evil…

 

Mark 7:23

“all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

 

**The bible is clear on this point: good deeds do not earn a right standing with God. Indeed it says…

 

Isaiah 64:6

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

 

**Sometimes people view themselves as models of perfection, but the bible states quite the opposite. It says that all people…

 

John 8:34

“Jesus answered them, verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”

 

**We often get frustrated because the harder we try to do that which is right, the more we seem to fail. Just as we get one area of life under control, we find ourselves falling short in another way. In every way, the sin nature works against our efforts to live right.

In addition, the bible speaks of satan making man his slave. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a person has been dabbling in the occult; rather, the devil manipulates man by temptation and pride to accomplish his ends. Indeed, satan works very hard to convince man that he is good. This scripture says that people need to…

 

2 Timothy 2:26

“and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

 

** (I was born a Christian) **

The word “Christian” implies Christ-one or belonging to the household of Christ. The biblical meaning has been distorted and confused beyond belief. But even in the original sense of the word, to say that one has been born a Christian is not accurate. Being born in a Christian home no more makes you a Christian than being born in a hospital makes you a doctor. Physical birth has nothing to do with our relationship with God or our future destiny. Though the term is used of entire nations, rightly understood it can only apply to an individual. Some supposedly Christian nations have perpetrated terrible crimes in the name of Christ. Others are morally corrupt. **

 

Psalm 51:5

“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

John 3:3

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”