1 John 1:1�That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;�
2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)�
3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.�
4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 �If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:�
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8�If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Here is a much fuller explanation of what a Jezebel spirit looks like in a woman.
"A Jezebel spirit will never admit any fault or wrong-doing."
"The very first, and probably most outstanding quality of a person with a Jezebel Spirit, is their undeniable, ever-present need to always be right! They are not humble people who seek the input of others, but have an unquenchable desire to �win� over you in everything. "
" firm conviction that he or she is better, smarter, or more talented than other people; becomes irritated when other people don�t automatically do what he or she wants them to do;"
"The second thing, highest on our list, is the �chameleon� Spirit she possesses that allows her to appear a certain way, but not actually be that way. She will adapt to her surroundings to seem like a loving, charming, and even peaceful person, all the while trying to get a hold of your soul. She will appear to blend in, and suddenly, out of nowhere, stick her tongue out, and swallow you up, by verbally attacking you."
"She is the one who �wears the pants� in the marriage/family, the overbearing, bossy, in-control, in charge, dominating woman, who is outspoken, bold, and militaristic. "
"Jezebel will often mix religious terms and phrases to appear godly, but her life doesn�t produce godliness. Following her life and example will lead to rebellion, darkness, anger, and strife."
"You will many times find a Jezebel woman involved in various types of teaching activities; not only in religious settings, but also places such as schools and in various types of counseling. The reason for this is their need to be an influence to people. The spirit within them drives them to want to reproduce themselves and their teachings to other people.
"She is a master of the �blaming game,� and is extremely clever in gaining sympathy for herself by producing convincing arguments for her case, usually portraying herself as fair in her assessments. She will twist and turn information to better fit her,"
1 Corinthians 13:1�Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.�
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.�
Matt 21:12-13 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Matt. 7:4, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother�s eye."
Matt 8:26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
Matt 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Matt 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Matt. 15:7-9, "You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 8 �This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me." 9 �But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.��
Matt 16:8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
Matt 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Matt. 23:13, "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in."
Matt. 23:15, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites..."
Matt. 23:16-17, "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, �Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.
�You fools and blind men; which is more important, the gold, or the temple that sanctified the gold?'
Matt. 23:23-24, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
�You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!"
Matt. 23:25, "�Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"
Matt. 23:27-28, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men�s bones and all uncleanness.
"Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
Matt. 23:29, �Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"
Matt. 23:33, "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?"
Mark 8:33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
Mark 11:17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Mark 12:38-40, "Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, 39 and chief seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, 40 who devour widows� houses, and for appearance�s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation."
Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Luke 9:41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
Luke 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Luke 11:40, "You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?"
Luke 11:43-44, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the front seats in the synagogues, and the respectful greetings in the market places.
�Woe to you! For you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it."
Luke 11:52, "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."
Luke 12:1, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."
John 2:15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
John 8:44, "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father..."
John 8:49, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me."
John 8:55, "and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know Him, and keep His word."
Better is open rebuke than hidden love. (Proverbs 27:5)
The Word of God informs and satisfies the Christian intellect. It contains truth with substance, and not fireworks to tickle the speculative mind. God is unlike insecure human authors, who hope to feign greatness through ambiguity. The divine revelation is on the whole so clear and direct that man has no excuse to deny its inspiration, or to avoid the demand for true worship by hiding behind a doctrine of human finitude or divine incomprehensibility. The honest and humble Christian says, "Yes, I know him. Yes, I understand him. Yes, I will believe him and follow him."
Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15, ESV). This is a most profound and excellent theology. Love is not an emotion, but a disposition to keep the divine commandments in our relationships to God, to men and women, and to the creation. This means that you will worship God alone, and you will trust in Jesus Christ to save your soul. It means that you will not steal from someone, or slander someone; rather, you will possess a disposition that cares about the welfare of others, and express this concern in the corresponding words and actions. You will behave this way not because you feel like it, and not in proportion to the intensity of your emotions, but because God commands it, and you will do it in proportion to the measure of your increasing faith and obedience.
A person's welfare includes his physical and psychological comfort. Christians help their neighbors with these needs, but so do animals and sinners, although they are moved by inferior and even sinister impulses. When it comes to the more important matter of instruction about God and the way of salvation, animals and sinners are useless. Animals lick themselves or fall asleep, and non-Christians point all over the place, to every direction but the right one. Therefore, it is up to the Christians to admonish one another and to correct the non-Christians.
However, Christians often fail to speak up. There are a number of reasons for this. Perhaps they are afraid of rejection, or that they would lose the affection of friends and relatives. This is a possibility, but it is also a selfish reason. Perhaps they fear that they would injure other people's feelings. This is also a possibility, but it is irrelevant. The need to rebuke a person suggests that he is in the wrong, that he is believing or doing something that dishonors God and that damages himself and others. Thus the matter is more important than his feelings. And if the fundamental problem is corrected, it is likely that his feelings will conform to his new understanding and disposition. To love someone, then, is to rebuke him when he is at fault. It is to declare God's standard, and to straighten that which is crooked.
Since love entails open rebuke, to withhold rebuke betrays a lack of love. Some people do not love God or men, but they love the image of themselves as gentle and kind. They would rather allow God's honor to be tarnished, and their friends to perish, than to sacrifice their image. The reluctance to rebuke, therefore, is not love, but fear and selfishness. Indeed, if you rebuke wrongdoing, others will criticize you for your boldness, and call you harsh and judgmental, and the criticisms will mostly come from those who call themselves Christians, but this is because your behavior exposes their own love of self, and that their highest motivation is not love for God, but self-preservation. Thus those who refuse to rebuke, but who rebuke those who do, should themselves be rebuked. Nevertheless, if they count their friendly image more precious than Jesus Christ, then that is their reward. As for you, follow the example of the holy prophets, and proclaim the high standard of the Lord, so that by this perhaps some will be led to repentance and salvation, or greater obedience.
The Bible teaches us to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15), and this has been construed to mean "speak the truth in soft tones and with gentle words." This suggests a terrible misunderstanding of what love means. Love is much more profound than effeminate mannerisms. In fact, the text does not refer to the way in which we are to speak the truth, but the motivation behind it. When Romans 1:18 says that sinners suppress the truth about God "in unrighteousness" (KJV), it does not mean that they suppress it in an unrighteous manner (as if one could suppress it in a righteous manner!), but that because they are unrighteous, they suppress the truth. Likewise, when Paul says to speak the truth in love, he means that we speak the truth because we love one another. Recall that, in the Bible, love refers to a disposition that results in the corresponding words and actions. Thus because a person loves, he will speak the truth to instruct and to rebuke others. The words and tones will often be soft and gentle, but will sometimes be harsh and scathing, as the prophets and apostles both exemplified and commanded.
We reserve a most important rebuke for non-Christians. We cannot claim to care about them but not rebuke them for their unbelief and rejection of Jesus Christ. Let us not allow our relationships and other people's feelings to become idols in our hearts, so that we become like the non-Christians in suppressing the truth about God in unrighteousness, because of our idolatry, fear, and selfishness. And let us also rebuke those who claim to be Christians, but who oppose the love that the Word of God commands. They hinder the progress of the gospel, and of truth and holiness.
The Bible says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy" (Proverbs 27:6, ESV). When I bluntly tell the truth to a person, I am the best friend that he has ever had, because I show him the way of life, when even his closest comrades conceal it or distract him from it. Jesus Christ is our best friend not because he never hurts our feelings or because he never rebukes us, but because he always speaks the truth, the truth that leads to genuine worship and everlasting life.
1 Corinthians 13:1�Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.�
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.�
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,�
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;�
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;�
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.�
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.�
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.�
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
