What Must I Do To Be Saved – Part 1 – The True Gospel Of Jesus Christ
May 22, 2009 by A Watchman
In the ‘Old Testament’ God sent His prophets to tell the people to Stop Sinning… To REPENT.
According to the church we no longer live under the ‘Old Covenant’ with its rules and regulations.
We now live under a new covenant. According to the church… This is the ‘Dispensation Of Grace”.
This whole ‘New’ “Dispensation Of Grace” is supposedly based on the Life and Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. But is it really based on the Life and Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth? If it is then Jesus (YAHU’SHUA is His Hebrew name) ushered in this New “Dispensation Of Grace” in a rather unusual manner.
Matthew 3:2
” Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 3:8
” Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;
Matthew 4:17
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ” Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 11:20
Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.
Matthew 11:21
” Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Matthew 12:41
” The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Mark 1:15
and saying, ” The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 6:12
They went out and preached that men should repent.
Luke 3:3
And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;
Luke 3:8
“Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘ We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.
Luke 13:3
“I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luke 13:5
“I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Luke 17:3
“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
Luke 24:47
and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Revelation 2:5
‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent.
Revelation 2:16
‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.
Revelation 2:21
‘ I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.
Revelation 2:22
‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.
Revelation 3:3
‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
Revelation 3:19
‘ Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
Revelation 9:21
and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.
Revelation 16:9
Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
Revelation 16:11
and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.
Do you see the overall theme here…???
It seems that the Good news of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven revolves around one little word…
Repent!
The Church today doesn’t like that word… REPENT.
It makes people feel uncomfortable… REPENT.
People that are uncomfortable with your preaching are less likely to give you money… REPENT.
Who will supply the preachers needs then…?
The word ‘REPENT’ basically means – To change your mind. In essence – To turn away from your sin and never return to it again.
God wants you to turn away from your sin and never return to it again!
John 5:14
14Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
John 8:11
She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, ” I do not condemn you, either Go From now on sin no more.”
Pauline Christianity will tell you that it is impossible to not sin.
Pauline Christianity is WRONG.
Can a smoker give up smoking…?
Can an alcoholic give up alcohol…?
Can a drug addict stop taking drugs…?
Can a thief stop stealing…?
Can a liar refrain from lying…?
Can an adulterer stop commiting adultery…?
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
But it’s hard.
People don’t like to put in the hard yards.
Pauline Christianity is the ideal religion for those that don’t have the inclination to exercise self control.
That’s why there is so much sin in the church.
The church is full of closet Paedophiles, homosexuals and adulterers.
A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event.
In another survey 47% of Christians said pornography is a major problem in the home.
Paedophiles, homosexuals, adulterers, drunks, gluttons, and pastors all love Romans Chapter 7:
14For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
15For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
16But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
17So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
19For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
20But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
23but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
24Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
Paul had no self control. He was controlled by his sinful nature. In Romans 7:17 he tells us that his sinful nature is so far out of control that it is no longer him doing it, but sin has taken control of him. In Romans 7:9 Paul even blames the Law for his sinful nature:
9I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;
No wonder the church is so sick and full of sin.
In a 2000 Christianity Today survey, 33% of clergy admitted to having visited a sexually explicit Web site. Of those who had visited a porn site, 53% had visited such sites “a few times” in the past year, and 18% visit sexually explicit sites between a couple of times a month and more than once a week.
Over half of evangelical pastors admited to viewing pornography last year (how many didn’t admit to it?).
James 4
7Submit therefore to God Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
It is a shame. There are so many false teachings and misconceptions within the church that need to be brought into the light and dealt with that I sometimes feel like I am spending too much time trying to help Christians to see the True Gospel of YAHU’SHUA and not enough time sharing the True Grace Of God with those who are lost.
I have often been accused in the past of teaching that God is mean and merciless. It may appear that way at first glance, because I am often refuting the false doctrines of a sick and greedy church, yet the very opposite, in fact, is true. While YHVH is merciless to the unrepentant evil-doer, His mercy is exceedingly and amazingly abundant toward those who repent and turn from their wicked ways.
In Fact… I believe our Heavenly Father has more Loving Grace and Mercy toward us than most Christians give Him credit for.
But it involves REPENTANCE.
Christians, Jews & Muslims all agree on one point; YHVH (God) is Gracious and Merciful toward those He loves. One of the main points of difference between these 3 major religions is who God Loves and why.
Christianity, as a whole, tells us that if we believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour, we will be saved.
That sounds pretty easy doesn’t it. Pretty simple…
Just say this prayer;
Lord Jesus,
Please forgive me for my sins,
Come into my heart,
Come into my life,
And be my Savior,
AMEN
You now have ‘Eternal Life’ and Jesus is preparing a room (a mansion actually) for you in His Kingdom…
The Angels are now rejoicing and there is a huge party going on because you ‘Just Got Saved’…!!!
Oh… Just one more thing… Now you need to come to church to listen to God speak to you through the preacher each week.
And that’s it… You’re saved…!
oops… I almost forgot… you also need to pay your tithes (10% of your income) to the church (Gross not Nett) or God will curse your finances…!
Right…?
That is pretty much the modern Christian Gospel message and their answer to the genuine cry for help… “What must I do to be saved?” Just say this prayer and then commit yourself to a local church.
It could almost be a joke…
Except it’s not funny.
Christians are led to believe that God would say to man for more than 4,000 years “do not sin”, “do not sin”, “do not sin”, and then all of a sudden He would say “Hmmm… Don’t worry about that old “do not sin” message that I have been trying to teach you for the last 4,000 years. You know, the message “do not sin” that I sent to you through my prophets… The Prophets that you killed one after the other… This time I am going to send my Son… As a matter of fact… I am going to kill my Son… I will Kill my Son because You are Evil… I will let you murder Him and then, every time I look at you, I will not see your sin… I will see his blood… And His blood will cover your sins… And I will be appeased. And I will let you into my Kingdom where you can live with me forever!
Do you mean I don’t have to stop sinning…?
NOOOOooo…
Just Believe…!
I know I said “Repent”, “Repent”, in the old testament. And I know Jesus said things like “Repent” and “Keep the Commandments” but that was all ‘Old Testament’ stuff. The ‘New Testament’, the ‘New Covenant’, only started after the murder and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus didn’t really feel like teaching you the ‘New Covenant’ after His resurrection, so I sent Paul. I know that you can’t refrain from sinning! I know that you can’t be righteous! I was only Joking in the ‘Old Testament when I said “do not sin”… Don’t worry about it… You don’t have to stop sinning…
Sorry…
I can’t go on.
It’s ridiculous…
What they want us to believe is ridiculous!!!
And Yet… We believe it.
We fall for it Hook line and sinker…
I mean… After all… Millions of people can’t be wrong… Can they…?
Has somebody put flouride in the water or something…???
I mean seriously…
Think about it…
For 4,000 years God tells man to repent and stop sinning, then He sends ‘His Son’ who also tells us to repent and to keep the commandments… and we kill Him.
And God says “Good… Now I can Forgive them for their sins”…???
Believe their lies and on the day of Judgment you will be very sorry.
On the Day of Judgment we will all stand before the one who was murdered because He dared to share with us the ‘good news’ of the kingdom of Heaven… And we will be Judged by Him… The one who was lied about, tortured and murdered.
Matthew 7
21″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 will enter.
22″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?’
23″And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
HE IS TALKING ABOUT CHRISTIANS!
CHRISTIANS WHO ARE LAWLESS!
Don’t believe the Pauline Christian Lie…
TURN AWAY FROM YOUR SIN!
Genesis 4:7
” If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Don’t believe the Lie…
God told Cain way back in the beginning that we must take dominion over sin.
God gave man dominion over every living creature.
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Genesis 1:28
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Yet Pauline Christianity tells us that we do not have the ability to take dominion over ourselves.
That is not what God says…
Genesis 4:7
” If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
1 John 3:4-6
4Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
5You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.
6No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
Millions and millions of people have been steered away from the True Grace of God by those who profess to be His and to know Him.
Listen to the concluding words of one of the wisest men to ever walk the earth, King Solomon;
Ecclesiastes 12
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?
Matthew 19
16And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”
17And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS;
19HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
Don’t listen to the Pauline Christian Lie!
Listen to YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH!
John 14
21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
23Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
The Church will tell you that the Law (The 10 Commandments) has been done away with. That we are no longer under the Law but under Grace.
But That is NOT what YAHU’SHUA says…!
Read it again;
Matthew 19
16And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”
17And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS;
19HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
The Pauline Christian Church will tell you that Jesus abolished (did away with) the Law;
Ephesians 2:15 (paraphrased)
by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.
But YAHU’SHUA said He didn’t come to abolish the Law;
Matthew 5
17″Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
18″For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19″Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20″For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
Here is something that most Christians don’t get…
HIS COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT BURDONSOME!
1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments…
Let’s read that again…
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments”.
A loving parent will always set boundaries for their children!
I set boundaries for my children…
Because I LOVE Them!
Thou shalt not runneth out onto the road.
Thou shalt not sticketh a fork into the power outlet.
Thou shalt not talk to strangers.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not lie.
The ONLY reason I give my children these commandments is because I love them.
Our Heavenly Father wants us to abide by His rules because He Loves Us.
When I was a young boy I had a friend called Greg.
Greg was allowed to do anything that he wanted to when we were growing up.
If he wanted to ride his bike outside until eleven oclock at night, he could.
If he wanted to eat dinner at my house, he could.
If he wanted to sleep over, he could.
I used to envy Greg.
As far as I was concerned, Greg had the best parents in the world.
My mum was mean… I used to get into trouble if I got home late…
I got told off if I swore… and man… Did I cop it when I stole that pushbike!
But not Greg…
Yep…
He had the best parents in the world…
They didn’t make him take the bikes back…
They didn’t make him go to school…
He was free to do whatever he pleased.
Years later I went back to visit Greg and I realized… Gregs parents didn’t set rules for him because they wished he would just go away… They wished that he would just disappear.
Gregs parents didn’t care what he did …
Because Gregs parents didn’t care about Greg.
I didn’t realize it… But Greg used to envy me…
A few years ago I spent some time reading through the Laws and Commandments in the Old Testament. And I saw an Old Testament God that they don’t talk about in church. I saw a God of Love throughout the entire Old Testament. A God who Cares about every little area of our lives. I can not find one rule, Law or Commandment given to Man by God that was not given in Love.
1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
He Gave Us The Commandments Because He Loves Us.
They Are For Our Benefit.
Matthew 19
16And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”
17And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS;
19HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
The ‘Commandments’ that YAHU’SHUA (Jesus) is talking about is the ‘10 Commandments’; Or as it is described in The Book Of Exodus The “Testimony”.
Exodus 31:18
When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
The 10 Commandments are “The Testimony Of God”.
YHVH has already prepared His Testimony for the Day of Judgment.
To be continued…
What you have to do is depart yourself from the world. Be set-apart from the world.
This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, denied self and pickup the cross.
Yahshua is your guide, the first raise from the dead. His only concern was your soul not your body.
Yes, you can pray a simple prayer and then move on but He demands obedience above all.
The bridegroom is coming, whom will he find left on earth that is just and holy.
God loves perfectly.
God teaches us how to love properly.
The commandments actually define love
Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang ***ALL*** the law and the prophets.
1JN 4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
1JN 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1JN 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
JN 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
JN 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
The commandments are do-able
LK 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
2JN 1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
yep, the commandments are grounded in love for God and fellow man and are do-able. Anyone who claims the commandments are not do-able is actually claiming it’s not possible to love God and fellow man.
Paul and his followers disagree
John 13:34 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
There is a whole sermon to be preached about what YAHU’SHUA meant by “A new commandment” and why He called it new.
Christianity will tell you that the new commandment that He gave was to love one another. But it is not…
YHVH has been commanding us to love our neighbor since the beginning.
Leviticus 19:18
‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:34
‘The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.
Read 1 John 2:6-9
6the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
7Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.
8On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.
9The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.
10The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
John explains very well that the so called “new” commandment written in John 13:34 is ‘not a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.’
Then John explains ‘On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you’.
John tells us that “love one another” is not a new commandment, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning (1 John 2:7) but on the other hand… there is something new about this commandment, which is true in Him and in you, and the true Light is already shining (1 John 2:8).
The thing that is new here is that YAHU’SHUA said: “even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” What is “new” is that the life of YAHU’SHUA gave us a living example of the love that we should be walking in. John explains this when he says “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked (1 John 2:6).” And again when he says “a new commandment to you, which is true in Him (1 John 2:8)”
“the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” “a new commandment to you, “, “which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.” “The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now”.
The “new” commandment is not “Love one another”.
The “new” commandment was YAHU’SHUA saying “Love as I Love; I am your example”.
Jesus loved God and fellow man to the death. It was the ultimate self-sacrificing love (rather than common self-serving ‘affection’). Jesus lived the ultimate love we are commanded to copy
JN 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
JN 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
MT 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
MK 8:34 And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
LK 9:23 And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
LK 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Loving to that extent is way beyond what I understood previous scriptural commands to mean. It’s a very scary demonstration of ultimate love. I understand why the apostles fled because the torture involved in Jesus demonstrating that love is horific. What enormous love!
Techngo said “…His only concern was your soul not your body.”
The primary concern of Jesus was the welfare of actual real physical people. Jesus prioritized welfare of the body before even considering addressing welfare of the soul, which is housed inside the body.
Jesus healed physical ills before healing spiritual ones
Jesus fed people physical bread because he was concerned for welfare of body
Jesus said the literal hairs on our head are numbered
Jesus resurrected as a physical person and physically ate and drank with his close eye-witness disciples
Jesus assured us that those who will be condemned are those who don’t tend to physical welfare of others eg give a drink of cold water
Jesus told a story of a rich man who ignored the physical welfare of a needy man named Lazarus.
Jesus was flesh, both before and after death and resurrection.
The errant teachings that arrived later, promoted an ‘all-in-the-mind’ Jesus and religion, which disdains flesh and physical welfare. Jesus said what we do physically to others, we do to him, whether that be nurture or ignore.
God could have made us spirit beings only, yet chose to make us physical. Jesus is no exception. Jesus ensured his disciples recognised he was still physical when he resurrected. Jesus cooked them some brekky by the lake … how is that disinterest in their bodies?
Jesus said that humans can only harm our bodies, but God can harm both body and soul and should be feared. That does not undermine the body, but highlights God’s power over our total welfare beyond the current life.
Modern religion promotes an imaginary (all-in-the-mind) feel-good-friend type issue and disdains the physical and that’s evil. The rich man who died could verify that. It’s important that Jesus was and is flesh and was concerned with physical bodies as we should be … let us treat others physically as we would wish to treat Jesus.
Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
Jas 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?