We have been addressing the elements or characteristics that make up the greatest Christian life. Of course, this is from my perspective, and others may have different ones. That is the beauty of the body of Christ—we all “know in part,” so to get the whole picture, we must put what we have together with what others have. I would count that as another characteristic of a great Christian life—the humility to be open and teachable so we can learn from others.   

         It does not mean you do not a have sound biblical foundation,...

        The greatest Christian life will be lived closest to Christ, loving Him most, and thereby loving others most. To understand Christ and His love, we must first comprehend what He says in Isaiah 55:9:

         As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

         How does this apply to getting close to the Lord and loving Him? First, the love of God is not like human love; it is much higher. Our definitions for all of the characteristics of God...

         If we are going to be in agreement with God, which is the foundation of abiding in Him, then this must begin by knowing the definitions He has given to us in His Word, the Scriptures, for such things as sin and wickedness, as well as righteousness and truth. If we do not agree with His definitions as He gave them to us, then according to what the Lord said through His prophet Isaiah, if we do not speak according to His Word, then we do not have the light. 

         I am not trying to...

       Much confusion and wrong teachings exist among believers and non-believers in relationship to judging and God’s judgments. This must be sorted out if we are to go on to maturity, because God’s judgments are a basic reflection of His nature and character. So also are our judgments. Therefore, we want them to be in harmony with God.

        As we have covered, Jesus never said we should not judge others. It is apparent in the context of the parable in which Jesus said this that He never said not to judge. Rather, Jesus said...

        Over the last few weeks, we have covered some of the basic issues of judging and judgment. Understanding these is basic to living a great Christian life because they affect our basic relationship to others.

         A prevailing teaching throughout Scripture is that we cannot understand God without understanding His judgments. “Eternal judgment” is listed as one of the basic doctrines of the faith upon which a solid foundation for the Christian life is laid. Our King is also the Judge, and we must know Him as such, or we will not truly...