Charis

Good post Teknomom 🙂

Cheryl wrote:
the hatred that spews forth from his followers shows from their fruit that 1 John 2 applies.

1 John 2:4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

Jesus has commanded us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is not an option but a command and John goes on:

1 John 2:9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.

As far as Matt’s followers goes, they are blind sheep IMHO.
Coming into agreement with lies will sow pain into their lives 🙁
There was a time when I would beat myself up with the verses you quoted above.
I didn’t feel any love for my husband; I hated him. And he is a christian, so he is a “brother”, right? SO where does that leave me according to 1John 2:4 and 2:9?

This helped me:

1 John 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

I can see, in my own life, that when I practice 1 John 1:8-9, that GOD teaches me and brings about growth as I seek to overcome sin in my life through confession, prayer, meditation upon the Word… SO in a paradoxical kind of way, when I lay my sin down at the foot of the cross, it brings me deeper in my spiritual LIFE with the Lord. I see sin in his life!!! And I am indignant, especially when it hurts my children, but I can PRAY that “that God will give him life” because I don’t know if it is a “sin unto death” or not, (and so far its not because he’s still alive)