Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Unity--how people in a church can truly believe the same thing--is important, because Jesus said that the only way the world can be brought to believe in Him is when His followers "all may be one; ... that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (John 17:21). Something He calls "Thy truth" is the only thing that will unite them (vs. 17). Paul calls it "the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:5, 14). The success or failure of Christ's mission for the world therefore depends on that "truth" bringing His people who profess to "keep His commandments and the faith of Jesus" into one (Rev. 14:12).
For example: how could a group of mathematicians come into unity unless they all believe that 2 + 2 = 4? Suppose some said it equals 5?
Is that "truth of the gospel" so simple and clear that it appeals to honest hearts with a similarly powerful logic?
Take the problem of Genesis 1: Christ and His apostles accepted that "the truth of the gospel" required sincere, honest hearts to believe that God created the earth in six literal days. People who insist they are equally sincere understand the idea of six literal days to be ancient mythology; science makes such belief naive, they say.
Take the problem of Jesus Himself: when He became incarnate, did He "take" the sinless nature of the unfallen Adam, thus breaking the genetic line of His descent from the real Adam? Or did He accept the working of the great law of heredity and enter the stream of humanity by taking our fallen, sinful nature yet living a sinless life? Here again is disunity; the assumption is that unity is an impossibility.
Or is it impossible?
The kind of faith that "believes in Jesus" is not anti-intellectual, but it is enriched with something called "wisdom that is from above." Such faith can see beyond the limits of science, for it "works." It is "alive" (Gal. 5:6; James 2:17, 18; 3:17).
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 10, 2004.Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at: http://1888message.org/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: dailybread@1888message.org
------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
Unity--how people in a church can truly believe the same thing--is important, because Jesus said that the only way the world can be brought to believe in Him is when His followers "all may be one; ... that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (John 17:21). Something He calls "Thy truth" is the only thing that will unite them (vs. 17). Paul calls it "the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:5, 14). The success or failure of Christ's mission for the world therefore depends on that "truth" bringing His people who profess to "keep His commandments and the faith of Jesus" into one (Rev. 14:12).
For example: how could a group of mathematicians come into unity unless they all believe that 2 + 2 = 4? Suppose some said it equals 5?
Is that "truth of the gospel" so simple and clear that it appeals to honest hearts with a similarly powerful logic?
Take the problem of Genesis 1: Christ and His apostles accepted that "the truth of the gospel" required sincere, honest hearts to believe that God created the earth in six literal days. People who insist they are equally sincere understand the idea of six literal days to be ancient mythology; science makes such belief naive, they say.
Take the problem of Jesus Himself: when He became incarnate, did He "take" the sinless nature of the unfallen Adam, thus breaking the genetic line of His descent from the real Adam? Or did He accept the working of the great law of heredity and enter the stream of humanity by taking our fallen, sinful nature yet living a sinless life? Here again is disunity; the assumption is that unity is an impossibility.
Or is it impossible?
The kind of faith that "believes in Jesus" is not anti-intellectual, but it is enriched with something called "wisdom that is from above." Such faith can see beyond the limits of science, for it "works." It is "alive" (Gal. 5:6; James 2:17, 18; 3:17).
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 10, 2004.Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at: http://1888message.org/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: dailybread@1888message.org
------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
