Quick Question- Friends

[trowe87]

Ok, so i've been doing some bible study with the book the reverend gave me on sunday. (New Believers Bible- New Testament By Greg Laurie)

I've gotten to the part about relationships with friends.
It says in here God says you should not associate with those who mock god giving the passage Timothy Chapter 3 Verse 1-5.

I'm just wondering does this mean i should cut all ties with people who mock god if it says you should love your neighbour?

For example since finding Christ and becoming a new believer my brother takes many opportunities to take the mickey. Hes only a teenager so i ignore it finding it's probably down to immaturity however annoying it may be! (Its not nasty just in jest).

So is God telling me i should stop associating with my own brother?

 

[theophilus40]

So is God telling me i should stop associating with my own brother?

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
(2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV)
​

It doesn't sound as if your brother falls into this category. You should love him and try to get him to believe the gospel and be saved. We have to associate with unsaved people all of the time and we need to learn to use our contacts to share the gospel with them. We have to avoid forming any close relationships with those who have deliberately rejected the truth and who may influence us to do the same thing.

 

[trowe87]

He does seem to think that i should not believe in God and Jesus, he keeps asking me why i'm going to church and reading the bible. Explaining things to him doesn't get far, hes more interested in computer games. Seem to encounter the same problems alot of people do, how to get through to the younger generation! Lol.

 

[Sketcher]

2 Timothy 3:1-5 is a warning to a young church leader to watch out for a certain toxic type of person that he would have to deal with. Someone who would be a troublemaker for the church. This does not mean that you should cut off all contact with your unsaved friends. If the first Christians had done that, the church would not have expanded! Remember what Matthew (a.k.a. Levi) the tax collector did when Jesus called him:

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” - Luke 5:27-32​

So rather, there is a time to disassociate from unbelievers, and a time to reach out to them. If unbelieving friends or relatives are a serious stumbling block to you - as in you've been using drugs with them and you're trying to get clean - then yes, reducing contact with them is an unfortunately necessary task. But believers are Christ's ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5), and the message we are to give them must take place within a context of love. A pre-existing friendship or family relationship is a great context for giving this message. Yes, there are people who will reject you because of your new beliefs, but since we are to love others, you are not to be the bad guy (or bad girl in your case) in this situation. If there's going to be rejecting, let them do the rejecting instead of you. Remember:

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. - 1 Peter 2:11-12​

This means that we are to avoid sin, so that the lost may see the integrity of our walks with God and thereby be drawn to him. This means a lot more than avoiding drugs, drunkenness, and sex outside of marriage. It also means avoiding self-righteousness, and being known for loving people and treating them with proper respect. You don't like being disrespected, so treat other people with respect. Love your neighbor as yourself. Cutting off a friend or relative because you just became a Christian isn't the way to go about that. I wouldn't advise just cutting someone off unless you were in a relationship that by its nature is sinful, such as an affair. In which case you do so as politely as you can get away with, but firmly.

 

[trowe87]

Thanks I think I understand now. Hopefully in time he will become more open to God and Jesus.

 

[Bible2]

trowe87 said in post 1:

It says in here God says you should not associate with those who mock god giving the passage Timothy Chapter 3 Verse 1-5.

The key phrase in 2 Timothy 3:5 is "Having a form of godliness", i.e. those who claim to be Christian, but who live in an evil manner (2 Timothy 3:2-5). Compare 1 Corinthians 5:11, where "brother" is meant figuratively, in the sense of anyone claiming to be a Christian.

2 Timothy 3:5b doesn't mean to turn away from non-Christians. For, based on the wonderful example of Saul the persecutor becoming Paul the apostle (1 Timothy 1:12-17), Christians should never give up on any non-Christians, no matter how hostile they are to Christians and the Christian faith. Instead, Christians should keep sharing the gospel with them (Luke 5:30-32; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4), and keep praying for them that God would miraculously save their souls (2 Timothy 2:25, Ephesians 2:8, Colossians 1:21-23).

 

[trowe87]

Thanks a lot of good information

 

[SAT]

Ok, so i've been doing some bible study with the book the reverend gave me on sunday. (New Believers Bible- New Testament By Greg Laurie)

I've gotten to the part about relationships with friends.
It says in here God says you should not associate with those who mock god giving the passage Timothy Chapter 3 Verse 1-5.

I'm just wondering does this mean i should cut all ties with people who mock god if it says you should love your neighbour?

For example since finding Christ and becoming a new believer my brother takes many opportunities to take the mickey. Hes only a teenager so i ignore it finding it's probably down to immaturity however annoying it may be! (Its not nasty just in jest).

So is God telling me i should stop associating with my own brother?

I think there are two sorts of people, those who mock you for Believing, and those who mock God.

Those who mock you, love them so you may win them for Christ. It’s hard to mock someone who just keeps smiling back at you.

You will have a very narrow road to walk upon now you are a Christian, so expect help from the Lord, but not from the world, (that does not mean your brothers and sisters in Christ) if you are not being mocked then you are probably not walking the Christian life around non-believers.


The other sort of mockers, best leave them to God to deal with, they have a torrid time coming up, they will spend an eternity separated from God, (as that is what they wanted) they will feel pain but never die, thirst but have no drink hunger, but need no food to survive, I don't think we need to add to that.

When you get to the bit about being equally yoked, best email me lol, I am only a little older than you and have been a Christian since I was a child, in my mother's womb possibly.

And your brother; mine drives me mad! And he is a Christian too, brothers are allowed to tease their sisters in whatever way they want, do separate banter from spite.

Everything in that bible is for your benefit; don't assume that benefit is for today.

do keep in touch, and it is nice to meet you,

Your sister in Christ, who will be praying for you. x

 

[trowe87]

Thanks Yes looking at it that way, he is definitely mocking me and not God. Obviously i am leading the Christian life around him haha.
Nice to see you are in the UK too!

 

[Emmy]

Dear trowe87. In Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus tells a Lawyer: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: Love thy neighbour as thyself."
Then Jesus points out: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." God wants our Love, freely given and No conditions made.
A good way to start is: treat all you know and all you meet, as you would love to be treated: kindly and always with friendly words, i.e. all you know and all you meet, friends and not-friends. Jesus told us to " ask and ye shall receive," then ask God for Love and Joy, and share all with your neighbour.
( Matthew 7: 7-8 Keep asking God and thanking God, and share all Love and Joy with your neighbour. Jesus will give you His Love and Joy, and the Holy Spirit will empower you with Love, also. You may stumble and forget at times, but then ask God to forgive you, and carry on loving and caring.
God is Love, and God wants Loving children/sons and daughters. Love is a Christian`s strong weapon, with love we can overcome all enmity and wrong behaviour. God will see your sincere efforts, and God will approve and bless you. Love is also very catching, and people around you will treat you the same as you treat people. Who knows, God might even choose you as a sign-post to God. To love may seem a bit strange at first, but soon we may find that we are changing into loving and caring men and women.
God wants our Love, trowe, and soon we will find that all we say or do, will be from Love and Compassion. Jesus will help and guide us, JESUS IS THE WAY. I say this with love. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Harry3142]

trowe87-

There's an old saying: "Actions speak louder than words." And Scripture itself supports this saying through its teaching us what the underlying motivations leading to our actions should be, as well as which motivations we are to avoid having. And this avoidance must include those motivations even if superficially they might seem to be appropriate, or even a sign of piety:

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:16-26,NIV)

It's not enough for us to do the right things; we must also do them for the right reasons. And 'the right reasons' are to permit the motivations listed as 'the fruit of the Spirit' to be the impetus for our actions. In fact, we can say with assurance of being correct that we cannot perform the actions which God wants of us without first having 'the fruit of the Spirit' as the underlying cause of those actions. Just as a house needs a firm foundation in order to remain standing, we need the proper motivations as the foundation for our actions in order for those actions to conform to what God wants of us.

There is also a bonus: When the motivations listed as 'the fruit of the Spirit' are the root cause for our actions, we find that others are drawn to us, even if they initially disagree with us. Rather than their being repelled by our attitude, they are attracted to it, because they feel safe and secure when they are in its presence. Eventually they realize that we have this attitude as a direct result of our having accepted God's gift of salvation, and decide that they also want to live their lives in the same manner as we are living ours.

 

[trowe87]

Thanks

 

[Emmy]

Dear trowe87. In Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus tells a Lawyer: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself."
Then Jesus points out: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the PROPHETS." God is Love, and God wants our Love freely given and No conditions made. ( My Bible is the King James Version) Jesus tells us straightforward and easy to understand and to remember. What does it mean?
We start by treating all we know and all we meet, friends or not friends, we treat them as we would love to be treated: with kindness and always friendly
words. God will see our sincere efforts, and God will bless us. Jesus told us to: " ask and ye shall receive," then we thank God and share all Love and Joy with our neighbour.( Matthew 7: 7-8 We keep asking God and thanking God, then we keep sharing all Love and Joy with our neighbour: all we know and all we meet. Jesus will give us His Love and Joy, and the Holy Spirit will empower us with His Love, also. We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on loving and caring.
God is Love, and God wants Loving children/sons and daughters. A Christian`s strong weapon is Love, with Love we will overcome all enmity and
wrong behaviour. Love is very catching. As we treat people kndly and with love, people will treat us the same, and God will know that we are sign-posts to God and His Love, perhaps we wear a cross, or simply say: May God bless you. The answer to your question: " be loving and caring to all we know and all we meet: friends and not friends. And we always remember: " we live in this imperfect world, but we do not belong to it. I say this with love, trowe.
Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.