Case Study: Your long-time friend Carl comes to you with a serious problem in his life. He is a believer, and he wants your advice. For years he and his family have lived above their means. They did this by continually refinancing their house and rolling their credit card and other debt onto their home mortgage. However, now that real estate prices are no longer rising but actually falling, Carl can't refinance anymore and can't pay his monthly bills as they come due. He is in a real credit crisis. His creditors are calling him threatening lawsuits, garnishments, and other unpleasant things. One of his friends at work said that he should file bankruptcy. He comes to you for advice from a Christian perspective. In particular, he wants to …show more content…
26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Matthew 5:33-37
New International Version (NIV)
Oaths
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.[a]
Matthew 5:38-42
New International Version (NIV)
Eye for Eye
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[a] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Psalm 37:21
New International Version (NIV)
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
New International Version (NIV)
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better
"REPENT YOUR SINS AND LOVE AND OBEY THY FATHER, OR YOU SHALL BE TORTURED FOR ETERNITY."
After exhibiting the interconnecting story of Jesus’ birth to the prophecy, Matthew continues to portray how Jesus’ theology and teachings are founded on the commandments. As Professor Smarr asserted, Jesus is seen more of a “moral-religious teacher” (Smarr 18 January 2012) rather than “a warrior king who will vanquish the Romans” (Smarr 18 January 2012) as demonstrated in Mark’s Gospel. After accumulating a small group of Jewish followers, he begins to preach what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. In one of the descriptions, he stated that other should not think “ . . . that [I] have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). He unquestionably declares that he grounds his teachings on the established Jewish laws. On top of that, he reinforces it by telling the crowd that “whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven . . .” (Matthew 5:19). These laws are in no way replacements for the law
Thou shall not kill. It tells that I did not give life so I am not to do anything that will
A fourth teaching of Jesus from chapter 5 verses 33-37 explains that you must not break oaths, and you must obey the vows that were made to the lord. But Jesus explains do not make vows and do not include the words heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and the phrase by my head. Just refer to an easy yes, I will, or no I will not, anything that is not one of those terms are evil.
“We have a moral responsibility to disobey any law that conflicts with the law of god.” (Paragraph 16)
“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all my
“1Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. 2 So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. 3 For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you.4 The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong.” NLT
Acts 20:35 says, “ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive.”
This quote is said by John Proctor and he makes quite a good point. The church officials should know that some of the people will swear to anything just so they will not die. I agree to what John is saying. There are so many people who would go against their will to stay alive. They would swear to anything if they knew that by doing that they would not get hung. I personally would want to keep on living. A great example was Tituba. She confessed to witchcraft like she was told, and she also went along to saying that she swears to be on God’s side when she most likely is not. People would generally do whatever possible to stay alive. Even if it means to go against what they believe in.
Founded in 1701 by nearly 100 French settlers, Pontchartrain du Detroit was not doomed to bankruptcy. Located near epicenters of trade including the Canadian Border and the -Detroit River and rich in resources Detroit, from a geographic sense, was a city established on lands destined to prosper. Turning into an industrial powerhouse in the 20th century, the city saw an enormous boom in both population and industrial prosperity with the growth of the iron stove, railroad car, and ship building industries. It wasn’t until auto manufacturing renaissance initiated with the founding of Henry Ford Co. in 1910 that Detroit began it’s nearly 100 year long descent
Matthew 7:21 is what comes to mind. God tells us to treat others as you want them to treat you. God has created me in his own image, and I need to always remember that I may be the one and only chance for someone to see God through my actions. Be quick to forgive. Show unconditional love.
Isaiah 45:23 -- Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear (Prophecy).
It was a voluntary decision to take the Nazarite vow. It was the person’s desire to yield to God completely. Nazarite is the Hebrew words which mean to be separated or consecrated. As for Samson, Samuel and John the Baptist, they did not take a vow, but they were presented to God by their parents. The Nazirite’s vow had specific and restricted guidelines to be followed. Samson had to abstain from wine or any strong drink. He was not to cut his hair and he was not to touch or go near any dead body. When a vow is made to God, the payment must not be late and was to be fulfilled; for He takes no pleasure in fools. All vows must be paid in full. Empty promises are spoken words made but are not fulfilled for example: telling someone that you will
Verse 33 in Matthew 5 the first type of oaths that are addressed are oaths made to the Lord. Something that was common to both the Jewish culture and the Gentile culture is that the mention of a deity in an oath spoke to the truth of the oath and also "to punish the one taking the oath if what was affirmed was not true" . People soon began manipulating this by thinking that they could manipulate God into doing things . They were trying to limit the freedom which God possesses. Jesus then goes on to say, "Do not swear at all" and continues on to list several things that are not to be sworn by. During this time, if someone had made an oath and it turned out to be false, as long as the offending party had not sworn "to the Lord" it was not looked at as a serious offense . Swearing by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or even one 's own head was an even less serious type of oath and if people were already doubting the assurance of the Lord, how much more would they have questioned the truthfulness of an oath made to something seen as a lesser binding object ? One commentator notes that although the Greek word choice is an "unconditional negative" it "does not preclude all oaths. " To take this as an unconditional statement poses significant problems for the audience. In the Old Testament God himself made oaths . Some commentators would even say that when Jesus makes the "truly, truly" statements he is swearing to be true . One commentary even goes on to say, in
Over the years, the process of declaring bankruptcy has become incredibly simple. Because of this change, the number of people declaring bankruptcy is at an all time high. Today, bankruptcy is a common thing among companies and individuals alike. The American bankruptcy law allows people to avoid paying their debts by offering the debtors a discharge without a harsh consequence. By not having repercussions for their actions, bankruptcy filers often plan future bankruptcies, allowing them to steal even more money from creditors with no punishment. There are 13 different chapters in the bankruptcy system with the principal chapters being 7,11, and 13. You can only file for bankruptcy under these three chapters, the others are there to