threeinone said:
You know Rock, that is my name. Love is my name. Actually my name is Love Love. I guess that would be 2 Loves or To Love. If it is only about the behavior, then you would probably hate me. It is about the people as well because it is the people who exhibit the behavior that you are talking about. If you ignore, take away the people, there is no behaviour to worry about.
I don't think there is such a thing as a godly man. I admire you, I love the way you call me Love, I think you are honorable and very Christlike
, but not godly. You spoke of being a warrior for God, fierce in your battle for Him. I really don't think God wants warriors. I think He wants lovers, fierce and loyal lovers.
But that is just me and my name is Love.
I appreciate and respect your views as I do all who express their views as you do…with love.
I can not hate anyone because of their behavior I can only, to varying degrees, dislike, and in other cases, hate, their behavior. This is why we are told to love our enemies, not love their behavior but love them as those that have been made in the image of God whom God will ultimately judge. How much more are we to love those who profess that they believe Christ?
There is such a thing as a godly man or men of God. They were here starting from Enoch. True godly men that you read about in the bible have always been few, very alone in the world but in great company within the invisible household of God.
Examples:
Enoch was all by himself when he saw the world he lived in plunging into moral decay. He saw angels of God corrupting themselves with man and beast creating giants and huge flesh eating monsters that roamed the earth. He alone was sent to these angels by God to deliver a message about their soon to come gloomy imprisonment and the eternal judgment that they were ultimately to face.
After Enoch was taken up by God there was another godly man called Noah who stood alone in that same world which had become even more corrupted. Only Noah truly obeyed God and was saved along with his immediate family who were also saved on account of his righteousness.
After God utterly destroyed that extremely corrupt world made up of warring giants and flesh eating giant monsters, (compliments of the fallen angels who where actually put there to instruct and teach man. They were not put there to commit sexually immoral acts and conduct profane breeding experiments with man and beasts) another godly man arouse, totally alone in the world who God eventually called Abraham.
Abraham, all alone with God, had to leave his home country and his family and live with God while roaming through the wilderness living in tents. All the peoples that he would encounter on his pilgrimage knew absolutely nothing about the one and only true God, nor did they know anything about His ways, Abraham was the only one. Later, but to a much lesser degree there was Lot, who was taught God’s ways from Abraham, which is why God saved him from the destruction that was to come to Sodom.
Afterwards there was Isaac. He was eventually alone after his father Abraham died but soon God raised up another godly man which He later renamed Israel. Jacob was very much alone when he had to leave his household to flee from Esau’s wrath.
When Jacob dwelt all those years with Laban, Nahor’s grandson, he was alone in the world except for Isaac, whom he didn’t see again for many years.
Jacob and his twelve sons were alone in the world and when Joseph was taken captive and brought to Egypt, he was a godly man all alone in the world of Egypt. Joseph was a godly man because he obeyed God; a clear demonstration of that obedience was the example when he fled from having sex with Potiphar’s wife.
After the godly man Joseph, came another godly man named Moses. He too was alone in the world and was given instructions from God to deliver His people out of Egypt. Moses was a godly man because he learned to obey God, as did his above-mentioned predecessors.
Then you had other godly men, the prophets, who came afterwards who were very much alone and obedient towards God. They were very much alone in this world because they were the few who truly obeyed God. Sure, some fell like David, but he was forgiven and he continued being obedient to God. Sure they all had their imperfections but they corrected them, and eventually, died as godly men.
After them came John the Babtist, who was very much alone, eating locust and wild honey living in the wilderness not dressed according to the traditions, he too was a godly man because he obeyed God and paved the way for the Lord’s first coming.
Then you have our Lord, who was very much alone and He too was not only a godly man but also God in the Flesh. He too was obedient to God the Father and His obedience separated himself from the world eventually dying all alone on the cross as a godly man and God in the Flesh
Afterwards our living Lord sent out the apostles to the farthest regions of the earth, they to were isolated and alone in their work but their work started to bear fruit because many believed.
But eventually, shortly before and after the passing of the apostles things eventually fell into disarray, as God expected, and false teachers began scattering the flock and they soon became engulfed in this world of darkness by their disobedience.
The one thing all these godly men had in common was that they all encountered God:
Enoch many times was taken up in visions to see the great mysteries of God, he saw with his own eyes The Head of Days (the Father) The Chosen One (Christ) the Lord of Spirits (the Holy Spirit). Eventually God took him away.
Noah met with God as God instructed him.
Abraham met God on many occasions, even had dinner with God near the great trees of Mamre.
Isaac encountered God, Jacob wrestled with God, Moses encountered God on many occasions, Joshua saw the Lord in full battle array, Elijah met God, the Lord was with David through countless miracles performed during battle and through visions and dreams.
John the Baptist met the Lord, all the apostles either met Him physically or through miraculous visions.
Because of these encounters, and because of their obedience, godly men know they are men of God.
So if I say to you that I am a godly man it is because I am no different than my brothers who preceded me, and neither is the world today any different.
