Christian's Handbook 5

Handbook 5 encapsulates the "summing up" of all things in Christ Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.

Spiritual Dangers for the New Creation!

Handbook 5: Article 22 - The Journey to Perfection

Spiritual dangers include:

Not Following Him
Not Abiding in Him
Not Obeying Him
Taking His Name in Vain
Clinging to Prior Relationships

Not Following Him

"If any one serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."

John 12:26

"And as they were going along the road, someone said to Him, 'I will follow you wherever You go.' And Jesus said to him, 'The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have roosting places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' And He said to another, 'Follow Me.' But he said, 'Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.' But He said to him, 'Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.' And another also said, 'I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home.' But Jesus said to him, 'No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'"

Luke 9:57-62

Not Abiding in Him

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing."

John 15:4, 5

"As you therefore have received the Lord, so walk (or lead your life) in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude."

Colossians 2:6, 7

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away... If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned."

John 15:1, 2, 6

Not Obeying Him

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

Matthew 7:21-23

Taking His Name in Vain

"You shall not take His name in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain."

Deuteronomy 5:11

"And I say to you that every careless (or useless) word that men shall speak, they shall render account for on the day of judgment. For by (or in accordance with) your words you shall be justified and by your words you shall be condemned."

Matthew 12:36, 37

"'Therefore wait for Me,' declares the Lord, 'for the day when I rise up to the prey... For then I will give to the people pure speech from pure lips, that they may call on My name and serve Me with one united shoulder and one unanimous consent.'"

Zephaniah 3:8, 9

Clinging to Prior Relationships

"...old things have passed away; behold new things have come..."

"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore, from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh (or by what he is in the flesh); even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature (or there is a new creation); the old things have passed away; behold new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ..."

2 Corinthians 5:14-18

Is Family, God's Number One Good?
Handbook 3: Article 20

"And Peter said, 'Behold, we have left our own homes, and followed You.' And He said to them, 'Truly I say to you, there is not one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.'"

Luke 18:28

A further instruction:

"Do not be bound together (Lit. unequally yoked) with unbelievers for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? ...or what part has a believer with an unbeliever..."

2 Corinthians. 6:14, 15

"Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out of their midst and be separate,' says the Lord. 'And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,' says the Lord God Almighty."

2 Corinthians 6:16-18

"These things I have spoken to you, that you may be kept from stumbling."

John 16:1

Possible words to live by:

We will not love the world nor the things in or of the world. We will set no worthless thing before our eyes. Whatever we set our hands to accomplish we will say, "If the Lord is willing," and if it is successful, we will not worship it nor fashion it into our pride and joy. We will allow no dream, success, person, or possession to entangle us.

The world has many songs to sing but we choose to sing this song; "Where He leads us we will follow... We'll go with Him all the way."


« LastNext »

  1. Partaking of the Divine Nature: The Mind of Christ
  2. A Portrait of a Man Complete in Christ
  3. Dangers for the New Creation: Shrinking Back to Destruction
  4. Spiritual Dangers for the New Creation!
  5. The Measure, the Proof, the Fruit of Discipleship
  6. Abiding in His Word: A Listening Attitude
  7. Christ Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the Sheep
  8. A Glimpse of the "Tracks" of Righteousness
  9. Love, Grace, Righteousness, Salvation

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