John 7:24 NKJV Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
Do Scriptures teach us how to identify fake friends, partners, marriage possibilities, business partners, etc.?
A society and every person doing God’s will leads to
B1 Peace See Romans 2:10 and Colossians 3:15.
B2 Our lives being decent (the opposite of shame) and orderly (the opposite is confusion and chaos) See 1 Corinthians 14:40, Romans 13:13, 1 Thessalonians 4:12, etc.
Decisions need to be done God’s way, that is in wisdom, love, and holiness. We can be taught wisdom especially by the principles taught in the book of Proverbs. Love is taught by identifying who and what we are to love the greatest and is identified by the actions of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a. Holiness is conforming to God’s rules especially as taught by Jesus and His Apostles (the New Testament).
Two articles teach us better than I could ever do.
B2 Fake Friends
Some verses about judging/judgment
B1 Judge by truth. We need to seek out the truth. Proverbs 29:14 NKJV The king who judges the poor with truth, His throne will be established forever.
B2 Careful examination of the facts. Proverbs 18:17 WEB He who pleads his cause first seems right; until another comes and questions him.
B3 Partiality is evil and condemned by God. We can’t make good decisions if we have evil motives. James 2:3-4 NKJV and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
B4 The decision cannot be predetermined. Proverbs 18:13 NRSV If one gives answer before hearing, it is folly and shame.
B5 We must make decisions with the correct standard. Matthew 7:1-2 NLT Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
B6 What Jesus said directly or through His apostles is the standard. John 12:48 EMTV He that rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word which I spoke, that word will judge him in the last day.
A few verses about decisions
B1 The Bible has many principles for making decisions.
C1 We know the 10 Commandments covers all sins. Each commandment is a set and there are many subsets. For example, “You must not murder.” Hate in thoughts, desires, words, or deeds towards innocent people and animals are subsets and are condemned. A decision that would express hate would be wrong. Any “friend” that would hurt, abuse, control in any way would be wrong, so we are not to be friends with such. Some people call truth hate, but Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth? Galatians 4:16 NLT. Compare 1 Kings 18:17-18 and 1 Kings 21:20, etc.
D1 Any person that acts this way must be avoided. A wise choice would be to decline friendship with such. Proverbs 21:19 NLT It’s better to live alone in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife.
D2 Proverbs 22:24-25 NLT Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, 25 or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul.
C2 The same could be said for not bearing false witness, this would include slander, a person bragging about themselves and inflating their resume, etc.
D1 Proverbs 26:18-19 NLT Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon 19 is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking.”
D2 1 Samuel 2:3 GW Do not boast or let arrogance come out of your mouth because the LORD is a God of knowledge, and he weighs our actions.
B2 If our “friend” is not a person whose thoughts, desires, words, and deeds honor God, we must avoid them. This would include blasphemy, cursing, lying about His character, causing others to curse God, etc. 1 Corinthians 10:31 GW So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God.
B3 Those who are wise (in God’s opinion) should be our friend.
C1 Proverbs 13:20 GW Whoever walks with wise people will be wise, but whoever associates with fools will suffer.
C2 That wisdom should meet this criteria. James 3:17 GW However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure. Then it is peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good deeds, impartial, and sincere.
B4 Characteristics of someone wise
C1 Is a believer
C2 Knows the Scriptures (by reading and studying daily)
C3 Interprets the Bible in its plain, normal sense
C4 Prays
C5 Has the fruit of the Spirit. See Galatians 5:22-26.
C6 Also, the Holy Spirit gifts some believers with wisdom. See 1 Corinthians 12:7-8.
C7 Will listen to a person without interruption except to clarify. Ask questions to clearly understand what the person is saying, then applying Scripture to the problem. The Scriptures might teach a law, a principle, or an example. (Note, some people need counseling for an issue and will need the professional counsel of a social worker, etc. It is not evil to do so. Nevertheless, be aware and test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21)).
No comments:
Post a Comment