Compassion and instruction is the recipe for those who have not known the Truth - not seen the Light (
Romans 5:8).
Correction and reproof is the recipe for those who have known the Truth - seen the Light
and turned from it (1
Timothy 5:20 ).
The Samaritan woman did not know the Truth before she met Him (Jesus).
Bill Keller assumes Ann Romney knew the Truth and turned from Him (Jesus).
It is appropriate to show compassion where compassion
is due - in cases where there is ignorance or a person is repentent.
It is appropriate to rebuke a person who deliberately and knowingly commits error and refuses to change.
A rebuke pierces the shell of our comfort layer. One of the works of the Holy
Spirit is to rebuke (2 Timothy 4:2 ;
Revelation
3:19). The world needs a lot of rebuking since we have degraded to the same state that
existed in early Israel - and everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6).
Since the information I have been able to garner about Ann Romney's early life is scant - she grew up in a nominally Episcopalian environment with a father who was against all organized religion - I hesitate to include her in that class of individuals who once knew the Truth and turned from it.
People often affiliate with organizations that they know very little about. This happens with political parties and religions. No doubt there are many Mormons who do not know the truth about the LDS church and very likely many who do not believe all that the LDS church teaches.
There are quite a few Christian denominations - each with its own spin on Christianity. However, any denomination which does not consider Jesus as THE GOD should change its shingle to read something else. It makes no sense to believe in a philosopher or great teacher for your eternal destination. I would just as soon join a social club as a religion who's founder was just smart or good!
Many Christians, along with the rest of the world, are being led to believe there are alternative ways for approaching God. God Himself prescribed the way. In the old testament God referred to Himself generally as Lord and specifically as I AM (Exodus 3:14), though many names were given Him to express aspects of His character. His intent was to reveal Himself in Jesus. How does an omnicient, omnipotent, omnipresent being who exists in more dimensions than our frail human brains can comprehend reveal Himself most effectively? - by becoming one of us!. To paraphrase the basic tenet of Islam: there is no God but Jesus.
Adam was created in the image of God - body, mind, spirit. The one God exists in 3 aspects - body, mind and spirit. Jesus is the body of God filled with Holy Spirit and having the mind of the Father (John 1:1). It is pre- incarnate Jesus who spoke throughout the old testament - Jesus is the Word of God - the voice of God and the embodiment of God. Jesus is God ( Colossians 2:9).
The sad truth is that men and women come along from time to time who become dissatisfied with the revelation of God (He is Jesus) in the canonical Bible (66 books). In the pride of their intellect they construct hair-brained explanations about the nature of God's being, where God came from, about what heaven will be like, about spriritualism, etc. and end up founding cults. A few of those individuals are:
Just as Lucifer convinced Eve to reach beyond the bounds that God had set for knowledge of 'good and evil' ( Genesis 3:1-5), these men and women give way to the trickery and lies of satan to become deceived and deceivers.
The day of revelation resulting in new Holy Scriptures ended with the Book of Revelation. There is actually a curse placed upon any who take away or ADD to the book ( Revelation 22:18-19). The Holy Spirit is given to every believer (Romans 10:9-10) to REMIND us of Jesus's words and to TEACH us the meaning of what Jesus said (John 14:26). Any time a preacher or prophet comes along with ideas that deny the deity of Jesus (John 10:30 John 14:6-9), or that deny His total Lordship over the universe (Matthew 28:18), or that deny His (and only His) power to save ( Acts 4:12) that individual is a self-serving (Jude 1) liar (1 John 2:22) at best, and at worst, anti-Christ (1 John 4:3).
When Jesus returns He will separate the wheat from the tares ( Matthew 13:30).
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- Philippians 2:10-11
May the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, (annointed One), speak to you by His Holy Spirit to receive the Truth and be saved (Ephesians 2:8).
- Randy Lucas 2007-12-04