Copy/pastes of Scripture are from the KJV via E-Sword.
Something came to mind today, so this will probably be a little bit of rambling. Here is the passage in question:
Rom 2:21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Rom 2:22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Rom 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
What this passage means is, don't be a hypocrite. I too need to heed this (perhaps this came to mind today). I sometimes have the desires every day to preach to the people, telling people to repent of their sins and turn to Christ, exposing false Christianity, a Christianity that often uses the slick guise of the Truth.
I was at the laundromat one day, and I was reading a piece of Scripture aloud. A man heard this and suggested that I go into the ministry. I explained to him that I was just reading the Scripture, and not teaching anyone, and that there is a difference between being a "preacher" and being a "pastor". I said that a preacher proclaims the Truth, and everyone should do that. A pastor is someone who leads a congregation in their daily lives (I Corinthians 5 gives an example of the authority of a pastor dealing with a sinning congregant). Now, side note here, anyone who sees this, feel free to correct me through Scripture if I'm wrong on any of this. (Proverbs 6:23)
I then talked about how this life is not our "Best Life Now", condemning Joel Osteen. The gentleman then explained to me that at the moment, this is our best life now, yet, that wasn't what I was talking about. At that point, I was a little tongue tied. I should have remembered the following verse:
Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Joel Osteen regularly teaches his hearers to set their hearts on earthly things, which is actually the kind of attitude found in the wicked:
Php_3:19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
Earthly things, worldliness, "having a life", are things that I struggle with, because they're so pleasing. Remember my earlier rant on game shows? They thrive off of giving away a piece of worldliness in the form of cash and prizes, further preaching the gospel of going after the brass ring. Now, it's not as blatant as it was in the 1950s in the turn of the century (with Who Wants To Be A Millionaire), but game shows still have a stake in the culture.
That's about it for now. Keep the faith.
