Don't Defraud my Brother

My husband and I were reading Found: God's Will by John MacArthur and some words really stood out because of issues I see raised on blogs. I notice an ebb and flow in blogs pertaining to hot issues. Duh. One of the sub-headings in the book is titled: Treat Others Fairly. MacArthur states:

No man is to "go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter" (I Thes. 4:6.) In other words, don't take advantage of people.

Some people step on others' necks to get what they want. Some people use others in a sexual way to gratify their own desires. Others use people in a business way. There are many ways to use others. Don't do it for "the Lord is the avenger of all such."
"He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God who hath also given unto us His Holy Spirit." If you mistreat people, you really mistreat and despise God.

It is interesting how we might mistreat people...in the name of God!
Did you know for example that Jonathan Edwards came under fire for some of the oddest ideas that his "faithful flock" held? It was a commonly held belief I read, that a woman gave birth to her children on the same day of the week that she conceived. Apparantly more than one of Edward's children were born on the sabbath. It was considered a terrible thing to have sex on the sabbath, and yet that is the horrible deed that Edward's was accused of doing. Poor guy. He sure endured some persecution from his congregation.

MacArthur goes on to state in his book that the critics of Christ look for faults in Christians. MacArthur suggests we eliminate the faults in order to "put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. How do we silence our critics? By living an exemplary life within society." He goes further on to state that "we do not use our freedom as a cloak for being malicious and evil (IPeter 2:16).

So....we are not to defraud our brother in any matter, because if we mistreat others, we really mistreat and despise God and sometimes that looks like maliciousness. Sometimes in our staunch stand for truth, do we go beyond in defending the faith, and really mistreat someone that belongs to God? We sure do need to learn how to have some patience. All of us.

I believe there is a quiet revival going on. A revival and hunger for the Word of God, and for the Doctrines of Grace. I say a quiet revival because it sure is not real visible or sensational. It is just one person at a time and the revelation from God comes and they think...Oh! So this is what the scriptures teach! I think it is our responsibility to extend grace and encourage others in their search for truth. Stand against those who tear down the Doctrines of Grace, don't stand against those who are trying to understand, just because they don't measure up to our understanding, or because they don't grow at the rate we think they should.

All of these thoughts are crammed in because I am going on vacation tomorrow to the coast!