What Is Highly Esteemed?

Just putting our will ahead of God's is high esteem enough to condemn ourselves

Minister Monardo said:

Self-justification results from someone believing they are more worthy based on
personal accomplishment, rather than Christ. Self-esteem nullifies Grace.

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In other words, "once saved, always saved". People who don't believe "once saved, always saved" esteem themselves better than others because they don't think they sin as much as the other guy so, therefore are more deserving of salvation because of their good deeds and righteous acts and their own righteous ability to do good and be good. But they're in for a rude awakening over on the other side when Jesus says to them, "I never knew you. Depart from me ye workers of iniquity."

Minister Monardo said:

Luke 16:15. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

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1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Proverbs 16:5
Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.

1 Peter 3:4
but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

Jeremiah 17:10
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

1 Peter 5:5
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

Acts 15:8
And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,

Proverbs 21:2o
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.

1 Chronicles 29:17
I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.

Revelation 2:23
and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

Luke 11:39
And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Luke 10:29
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Matthew 23:25-27
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.

Matthew 23:5o
They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,

Psalm 7:9o
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous— you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!

2 Chronicles 6:30
then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind,

Romans 3:20
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.


John 2:25
and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Luke 20:47
who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Has a self-improvement culture polluted a Christ-centered life?
I do not know. All I know is God can work through life experiences and bring people to His son Jesus Christ. Also God is able to even write on the hearts and minds of people, according to what hebrews says. How that is done is probably through the experiences they have in life and all I know is that God is able to do.

What about the role of "higher education"?
I do not know.

What are common choices that can corrupt virtue?
Lying to yourself and others, manipulation, false security, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, greed and choices like these.

Have we quenched the Holy Spirit with modern western culture?
The world is what it is. People live in it, have freedoms of choices, just like ones above. We are only accountable for our relationship to God alone and not others to hold our accountable in a joint-account. We in our relationship with God are alone in the faith we express towards him.

If we make choices like the ones mentioned above we can quench the spirit, and backpeddal ourselves back to square one. It seems like a very long ladder an individual has to climb, but it is not to become better than someone else, yet to become closer and closer to God as we live and build our spiritual body up, in faith and in love towards others.

Agallagher said:

as we live and build our spiritual body up, in faith and in love towards others.

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Which in turn backs us away from the self serving, self justifying ways of man that our world is built upon, ways held in higher esteem than the contrary ways of the Kingdom.