Originally posted by Peacebestill
Settle down a bit please. Take a deep breath, now let it out. Better?
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I think you are mistaken. I apologize if I've come across poorly. Thank you for your rebuke which will allow me to repent of my own overeagerness.
Yet, I must tell you...I am not angry. I am sad.
Do you know what the first post in this thread was about to begin with? It was started to say that Samson is not "proof" that long hair is ok, then I stated my "beliefs."
In my defense I stated that I will decide what I BELIEVE, not what I THINK.
What I think is irrelevant. What I believe is based on my faith in Jesus. I believe what the bible says.
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Amen to that...but then, why don't you believe what it says about hair? Why the defense...especially in light of the fact that you don't have hair. Or, is it, "I believe what the Bible says where I agree with it."? That's my issue. And, my brother, it's not with you...it's with the modern church and its absolute disregard for many of the "moral" statements which were intended to set Christians apart as unique children of God. Perhaps you think hair is not a moral issue...and I once felt the same way, for my hair was a good foot+ in length. Yet, while in prayer over the Corinthian verses which were giving me trouble, the Spirit opened my eyes to the deeper issue at root, which is gender roles. And if I'm not mistake, that's a more taboo issue than hair, but one which the Bible is more than specific on in many books by different authors. Yet, the same argument..."it was cultural"...has been used to sabatoge and undermine the core unit of the body of Christ, namely the patriarcal family. So, the issue on hair is a moral issue. We live in a culture which is shading the lines between men and women, trying to make us think we're made of the same stuff, when even science tells us we're not. We are all equal in Christ and His Kingdom, but we are still aliens in a foriegn land, and God has rules for us, and for a good reason...because those rules are the only way it works here!
The bible is my foundation, my base, my filter, my guide.
Good. May I be so bold as to ask which parts?
I'm not going to shave my head because I am so worried that I may be interpreting scripture legalistically.
Amen, brother! That's the last thing you'd ever want to do. Legalism is death to Christianity. Likewise, so is ignorance of the Law: "Not everyone who says to me "Lord, Lord" will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven." (Matt 7:21) It's not about good works...it's about not grieving the Spirit. It's about faith (which without works is dead). If in our faith we have no obedience, our faith is not in Christ...and it is only faith in Christ Himself which saves...faith which moves you to change, to be purified, to be set free. The Truth cannot set us free so long as we claim that its false!
I know what the bible says and I act accordingly. My faith in Jesus allows me to feel confident that I am doing the right thing when I obey Him. (I don't have long hair, btw)
I'm glad, but you don't have to defend yourself to me. It is God who will judge, not I. Yet, I, like you, claim to be His servant (and the Spirit testifies to me that I am, as I pray He testifies to you that you are). And as His servant, I must share His Truth whereever the lies of this world are attempting to cover it up. I pray you feel the same way. I am not accusing you, and, again, I apologize if it seemed that I did. But I
am trying to shed the light of unadulterated Scripture on an entire system of thought which dominates Christian culture in America. Your statements about faith as wholly subjective are a
major component of that system.
I don't understand why you are jumping all over my faith.
I cannot judge faith. I can only observe fruit. Fruit which tells me that obvious statements in the Bible really mean the opposite of what they say is not wholly healthy. The Bible also says that rotten fruit-bearing stems will be thrown into the fire. I am not judging you, my brother, I am speaking the Truth to you out of concern for your personal walk with the Lord as displayed by the fruit of your most previous statements which question God's Word based on an argument about the meaning of words. Long is long, and short is short. If that's not enough...look at the context...in v. 7 Paul says that a man ought not to cover his head because he is the image of God. So how long is too long(Scripturally and contextually)?...anything which covers your eyes, your face, and which ceases to distinguish you without doubt as a man.
I am acting on faith. What in the world are you acting on?
Praise God! The same thing and nothing but. Amen and thank you Lord Jesus for it. I am sorry that it disturbs you so much to see. I am also sorry that your faith has led you to accuse me of not having faith.
Romans 1:17
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Praise God and Amen.
Without His gift of grace through faith, we are surely lost. Yet, may I ask, how is acting on one's faith and encouraging others to do so, (or rebuking them when they don't) in opposition to this verse? Would you tell a murderer who has accepted Christ to keep on murdering? No, in Christ, you would with a loving heart share with Him that murdering is wrong because God says so (and His heart knows it anyway), and then encourage Him to
in faith change, not for himself, but so that he may then change the world for God, all of us together, as Christ's Body.
Since hair length is not spelled out explicitly it comes down to faith. [/B]
It definitely does. No doubt about it. Faith is the issue. And modern Christian thought and culture is severely lukewarm in this area, judging by the fruit of the culture as it completely compromises with secular thought, science, and media. Do we have enough faith to believe that short means short and long means long, and in the middle means in the middle? If we don't, Christ will come and remove our lampstand. I pray that He does not. I pray that we repent and follow His Word, because when and if we do, only by His Spirit, the world will be overcome, as is prophecied. The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone! Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
Peace to all who seek it.
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