Tell me about your Christianity again.
Romans 13 (NIV)
Submission to Governing Authorities
1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Love Fulfills the Law
8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” a and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” b 10Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
The Day Is Near
11And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
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"11And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."
Understanding the present time...
Today, the law and writers of the law are decidedly anti-Christian. Currently, as a law abiding citizen, you can't maintain your Christian integrity publicly.
Jesus warned that persecution would come...
John 15-18 (NIV)
18“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ b If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE DOES GOD COMMAND MEN TO SURRENDER TO EVIL!
If the laws of men cause you to sin, then prophetic "lawlessness" is fulfilled.
If the Church is lawless, then it is useless...
Revelation 3-14 (NIV)
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
Faith...
Those who do not know the Spirit accuse the prophets who wrote the Bible of blindly but creatively theorizing about the existence of some higher imperceivable power... and dismiss it as antiquated superstition. Any reference to prophecy is easily explained away as coincidence, or a product of textual forgery and manipulation for centuries. Ultimately, the spiritless demand proof.
Those who do know the Spirit immediately recognize the true author of the Scriptures by their commonality of content, and ceaseless reference to symptoms of spiritual intervention that only the Spirit filled appreciate and understand. Holy Scripture is a joyful validation for the spiritually attuned and easily accepted as fact. The sheep recognize the call of their shepherd.
So, how does "one who knows" describe the indescribable? How do the spiritually enlightened explain the unseen? The one who knows is content and does not toil with mystery, but is a mystery for those who do not know. What word describes the difference between the two?
No, it is not faith.
The knowledgeable man knows that he knows and does not require faith. Faith then becomes an accusation of the ignorant; Faith is belief in the unreasonable and unfounded they say... The man of Spirit already knows his purpose and place in life. The man of logic and reason requires faith to sleep at night.
Hebrews 11
New King James Version
""1)Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2)For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3)By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.""
So, what is faith for the one who doubts?
It is proof of creation and God's gift.
It is an unyielding desire for spiritual confirmation of truth... despite better judgment