The Mind and Heart of God

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For

“Whoever desires to love life

    and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil

    and his lips from speaking deceit;

let him turn away from evil and do good;

    let him seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

    and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:8-12 ESV)

The Righteous in God’s Sight

As those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, we are to have “unity of mind” with one another. But that unity must be with the mind of Christ first and foremost and not with human flesh. So, just because the majority appear to think the same way about some things, it does not mean that they are in the right. For it is the few who are on the right path to salvation from sin and to eternal life with God, according to the Scriptures. So don’t follow the majority. Follow the Lord Jesus and his teachings, taught IN CONTEXT.

And if all of us are to have sympathy, brotherly (and sisterly) love, tender hearts, and humble minds toward one another, these qualities must be in accord with the complete character of God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – and with the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles. These character traits are to be defined by God and by his Word and not by human beings, no matter who they are. For not all who profess Jesus Christ as Lord have the mind and heart of our Lord and Savior.

For, contrary to what many are teaching today as ‘the gospel,’ our Lord does set requirements for us who claim that we are in fellowship with him and that we know him intimately as our Lord and Savior. We must deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in the power of God, by the grace of God. For if we give lip service only to our Lord, we will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. We must be those who are DOING the will of God which he had prepared that we do.

We must keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking deceit (lies). We must turn away from evil (sin) and do good (the good works God prepared in advance that we should walk in them – Ephesians 2:10). But the peace that we are to pursue above all else is peace with God, which requires that we surrender our lives to him and that we submit to Christ as Lord (Owner-Master) and that we follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. And this may result in us not being at peace with all humans who reject us.

But no matter how we are treated by other humans, we are never to repay evil for evil, but we are to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, and to pray for those who spitefully use us. And we are to bless them in the sense of speaking to them the words that they need to hear and that will lead them to genuine salvation from sin (deliverance from bondage to sin) and that will lead them to walks of obedience to our Lord, which will then lead them to righteousness and sanctification and eternal life with God.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:27-28; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Ac 1:8; Ac 2:14-18; Ac 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Gal 6:1; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6; Jude 1:22-23]  

Those Who Do Evil

However, we have many professers of faith in Jesus Christ who are the double-minded, who make professions of faith in our Lord with their lips, but whose hearts are far from God, for they are still living in addiction to the sinful cravings of the flesh, and for selfish and sinful desires, and for the purpose to be entertained, and not to live in submission to the will of God for their lives. They are the self-indulgent who are looking to please the flesh, and not God, and who do not have the mind of God, but of the flesh.

Their god is their own flesh, and not God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And they worship the flesh of man, and not God, not in truth. So their intimacy is with their own selves, and not with God, even if they profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. For they live to please their flesh and not to please God in all that they are and do and say. And so they are also among the unfaithful, not only to God, but to their spouses, and to their children, and to all to whom they should be loving with the love of God, but they are not.

One of the most pronounced ways in which this is being displayed today is via the viewing of sexually explicit movies, still pictures, and videos (including cartoons) in order to stimulate the flesh toward sexual desire for someone other than for the person’s spouse. Sexual arousal is being promoted and stirred up via advertisements, YouTube videos, social media posts and memes, song lyrics, music, video games, and the like. And many professing Christians are living in entrapment to such sexual idolatry.

Even though most (if not all) of them know right from wrong, and they know, in general (at least) what the Scriptures teach about sin and rebellion and disobedience to our Lord, they choose to ignore our Lord’s commands, i.e. his boundaries he has laid down for our protection to keep us from doing evil. And they choose not to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives, to the glory of God, but to live self-willed, out-of-control, and willfully disobedient lives in direct opposition to our Lord and his commands.

And if you are a person who loves the Lord, and who is bringing these issues into the light, you may be accused today of being “negative” or “judgmental.” But, according to the Scriptures, we are to be those who are exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness and who are calling people out of the darkness (out of sin) into God’s marvelous light (Jesus Christ, truth, the gospel, righteousness). We should be those who are rescuing people from the fires of hell, not leaving them to drown in their own “vomit.”

So, this is not being “negative,” and it is not being “judgmental.” This is what true love is, and it is how Jesus loved. We must love other people enough to tell them the truth about the gospel and about sin and about what constitutes a genuine saving relationship with Jesus Christ. And we must be those who lovingly warn others of the consequences of remaining in deliberate and habitual sin, which is death, not life eternal, even for those who profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips. So this is love at its best!

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

In Harmony  

An Original Work / September 2, 2012

Based off Ro. 12:9-21; 1 Pet. 3:8-17

Love each other truly. 

Cling to what is good.

Hate all that is evil. 

Never lack in zeal.

Serve the Lord with fervor. 

Joyful in hope be;

Patient in affliction; 

Praying faithfully.

Honor one another. 

Live in harmony.

Share with all God’s people

Who are found in need.

Do not be conceited.

Sympathetic be.

Love, and show compassion

In humility.

Keep your tongue from evil.

Peaceful you must be.

Honor one another.

Live in harmony.

God sees who are righteous;

Listens to their prayers.

But He’s against evil – 

Is His to avenge.

Do not fear what they fear.

Suffer patiently.

In your hearts, make Christ Lord.

Serve Him faithfully.

Honor one another.

Live in harmony.

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