Should we live like Jersus lived?

Fallacy: straw man argument.

Could you really be thinking of Christ as teaching homelessness, lack of family support, etc. This is a Christian site with the supposition that readers are Christian. Those ideas are not Christian.

Perhaps no one is reading my post. I listed some things that I would like Christians to consider for truth.

Your answer to my suggestion was a smarty answer, not one Christian speaking of living the Christian life to another. It is your loss, for I have experienced wonderful things I am sharing with you. Toss it all out if you choose, but I think if you do without a serious thought it is your loss.

Christ teaching us to be homeless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many people say that they will not consider living a Christian life because God set the goal too high for humans. I don't think God wants us to tell Him no, won't do anything you say because you ask too much.

Don't you think Paul is writing scripture? If Paul says one thing and Christ something different, then we must get rid of Paul in our bibles. Many people have thought as you say, but each one has been proven wrong. It once seemed to me that Paul was not following God but saying something different. I spent three months searching for the answer. I'm retired and I mean I spend hours and hours. I found, like all the other people have found, that Paul speaks for the Lord and if we think he doesn't then we are misunderstanding Paul.

I have also been told God changed when Christ was crucified that God is not eternal. Christ told us that wasn't true. Everything Christ said and did relates to the OT, and it is just as the OT said but better. Christ is a high priest just like the old one, only better. Christ gave His blood for our sins, just like innocent animals did only many times better. God dwelt in the temple, now God, the Holy Spirit, dwells in us and oh, how much better.

Dino is exactly correct. You erected a GIANT strawman, and then proceeded to set it ablaze.

Following Jesus, and carrying our cross daily, means we put to death, and KEEP ON putting to death, the idea that following the Law or that the works of our hands, in ANY way justifies us. It not only does not justify us, but negates the Work Jesus did, and the Blood He shed on the Cross. It is a false Gospel to say following Jesus in the sense of doing works has anything to do with justification unto Salvation.

The ideas I posted came directly from biblical narrative, and you claim they "are not Christian". If they are biblical, about Jesus, and not Christian, what exactly are they then?

Once again, how about you answer my question. Your response is no more "one Christian speaking of living the Christian life to another" than mine. I too have experienced wonderful things, but I'm not promoting biblically unsound ideas with them.

So you are preaching to not work for Jesus! My, my.

What does work of you hands you are so against have to do with grace? My scripture tells me they are separate, you are putting them together.

I was, before I got so knocked down, speaking of the blessing and joy of following Jesus, not the law. You are coming from left field to speak of law and grace, interesting subjects but not in this post.

So now Christ is biblically unsound. So much for following Christ.

Aren't you out of hay yet?

Why don't you be VERY specific about what YOU mean by "following Jesus"?

YOU said this statement in your OP:
However, when scripture tells us that something is ordered “for all generations” that applies to both Jews and gentiles who accept the Lord.


Now tell us what YOU believe is EXACTLY ordered?

Saturday Sabbath for instance?

Those are your words, not mine. Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to misrepresent the ideas of others.

Christ celebrated the feasts.

Christ obeyed food laws. We are not to do that, but we are to watch not to put dirty things in our minds. In Phil. 4:8 we are told what to let in our minds.

Christ was circumcised. We are not to have the fleshly circumcision but we are to keep ourselves apart with the Lord leading us.

Christ was able to be friendly with all people accepting them as they were.

That's why I think this subject is of paramount importance. We must know that Jesus (while on earth) preached a perfected version of the law of Moses which was not intended for gentiles. Without this knowledge we will either give up the pursuit of salvation or will have trouble explaining away why we don't obey the commandments of Jesus.

If we don't acknowledge that Jesus -- in His earthly ministry -- basically expounded the law of Moses we will be prone to call Paul a false apostle because the gospel revealed to him by the risen Christ -- after the cross -- is undeniably different from the one preached by the Lord Himself before the cross.

I, too, am retired and my focus now is on this subject. For almost 30 years I was taught that, in case of conflict, the words of Jesus (while on earth) prevail over the teachings of Paul, but now I see that the truth is the contrary: For matters of salvation we must follow Paul, i.e., the risen Jesus.

You are studying and working for truth, hurray for you! Please consider some ways my study has led me to differ from you.

I found that all scripture is truth, the only difference being in our kinds of time. We live with time changing the people's ability to absorb truth. If you do a search on the word stranger or foreigner you will find that all through the OT God pointed out that in His mind all people were His creation and His word was to all who accepted Him. If we don't think God spoke differently to Hebrews than God speaks to us it makes quite a difference in our understanding of the word.

I also found that God's word, all of it, is the same. Moses, Paul, Jesus, David all wrote as God gave inspiration and Jesus was the same as the Father. When we see differences we need to dig deeper for better understanding.

I found the OT and the NT has the same God principles. Animal blood was a shadow of Christ's blood, they relate to each other. It is the same for all: water and baptism, the high priest and Christ, the temple then and now, everything. It is so much so that a study of the OT is necessary to understand our world today.

very true! it's just a matter of understanding the proper time and place for each thing.

Leviticus 3: 17 It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings, that you shall eat neither fat nor blood.

Ecclesiastes 3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

Yes, all Scripture is truth, and now I'm beginning to believe that the Law still exists and in theory it is possible to be saved by obeying it,

I'll give you an example of why it is important to bear in mind that Jesus preached the law of Moses:

In my church I've heard many sermons about the young rich man. One preacher says: "The young man had more love for his wealth than for God and that's why Jesus told him to give away all his property". Another preacher says: "The young rich man wanted to know too much". Yet another says that today's world is completely different and now it is impossible to live a homeless life, but back then it was possible.

All three preachers above were wrong. The real reason why Jesus told his disciples "Sell that ye have and give alms" is simply this: Jesus was expounding the law of Moses and those teachings were not intended for us.

My understanding of how the law relates to salvation is that Humans are incapable of such perfect law obedience that it can be a basis for salvation. God saves us only through His grace, not by anything we can do. God tells us He looks at our faith in Him to decide if we are to be saved or not.

However it is impossible to have faith in God and disregard His law.

I do not think that Christ teaches homelessness at all. Christ is God and the Father and the Son teach exactly the same. We are told the fruits of the spirit, of what being a Christian brings to us, and they most certainly do not include homelessness.
I am certain that Christ never taught homelessness.

Christ and the Father are one, they are in complete agreement. The results of faith are listed in Phil. 4:8 telling us of the fruits of the spirit and homelessness is not listed. We can go to the earthly blessing promised for law obedience when Moses was given the law and those blessings included prosperity. We know this is so because statistics today show the gains that obedient Jews make in our world today even though the Lord blinded them to knowledge of their Savior.

Instead of answering my question directly, you dance around it and make oblique references to it.

It's much easier to exercise integrity and simply answer it.

reading through this thread reminds me that yes, it IS possible to get spiritual whiplash

The risen Christ doesn't, but the earthly Jesus did. The Lord said: “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head”. To the young rich man, the Lord said: "Sell all you have, give the money to the poor, ... , and then follow me".

Giving alms was was one of the laws of Moses, and give-all-you-have is this same law brought to perfection. In Matthew 5:48 Jesus said: "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect".

Should Christians give away all they possess? The answer is "no". Can Christians be perfect? The answer is a resounding "noooooo".

Can we follow the earthly Jesus? No, of course not ................, but we can follow the risen Jesus.