Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART V
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
In yesterday’s post we discussed the idea of death from a personal and from a common worldly perspective and tried to outline some of the reality of the scriptures that have led man to believe the way that he does while realizing for ourselves that the scriptures DO NOT read the way that they are taught in the doctrines and the common understanding. We highlighted the fact that so much of what is believed is based on unproven assumptions, religious teachings and even superstitions and we should be able to see this even clearer based upon what we did see in the Master’s word yesterday, none of which confirms any of these long tenured opinions that have become loosely knit facts for many.
This situation of believing what is presented based upon the authority of the presenter is what has led many to the promulgation of the various doctrines that deflect man away from the Truth that is taught to us by the Master and His Apostles. While we have consistently said that this is not altogether a bad thing as it does bring some people who would not ordinarily seek or find some semblance of God to do so but, at the same time, it is not a Good thing if the various doctrines do not maintain that sense of Love and GoodWill which is the center point of the Master’s teachings. We should note here that the problems of unproven assumptions, religious teachings and even superstitions is one that is spread across the gamut of beliefs and is not limited to Christianity and we should note also that within each of these that there are also many specific areas of each that are prone to believing that which has been presented by the ‘authorities’ even when it contradicts the message of the Master or of the ‘Avatar’ of a particular teaching.
There is but one overall Truth and that would be that God IS and there are subsets to this Truth which we could say include God IS Love or God IS Truth and these would be right as these are universal in their approach. To say that God is Christian or favors Christians is akin to saying that God is Muslim or God is Hindu and favors these above others; ALL of these ideas and pronouncements that tend to limit God and put Him into a box of any man’s choosing is wrong and the various traditions that teach these are traditions steeped in glamour and in illusion or, as the Apostle Paul tells us, this is vanity. We should remember here our definition of vanity as it is translated from the Greek word mataiotes and given to us by Vincent: Here, therefore, the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. Can we see in Vincent’s words the understanding of illusion and of glamour which is only helped by the lexicons defining words that tell us that this word refers to: what is devoid of truth and appropriateness2. We could go so far as to say here that it is the vanity, the illusion and the glamour that brings man to the creation of doctrines which help to justify the illusory beliefs and it is also doctrine that helps to perpetuate and to spread the illusion and the glamour throughout the world.
We should be able to recognize in this the thought that we present above regarding most all things religious and within most all religions. Doctrines are created and disseminated to explain or to change things that are not readily understood or, they are promulgated to justify what it is that we as men may be doing in any given period of time. Most every church group has its own set of beliefs and fundamental doctrines. Without any prejudice, let us look at a few of these Confessions of Faith in an effort to understand them in the way that we are painting them here today.
- The Methodist Church Confessions of Faith
Article I – God
We believe in the one true, holy and living God, Eternal Spirit, who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible. He is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of men, to the glory of his name. We believe the one God reveals himself as the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power.
Article II – Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. As ministering Servant he lived, suffered and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return. He is eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him all men will be judged.
Article III – The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from and is one in being with the Father and the Son. He convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He leads men through faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the Church. He comforts, sustains and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth.
Article IV – The Holy Bible
We believe the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation. It is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice. Whatever is not revealed in or established by the Holy Scriptures is not to be made an article of faith nor is it to be taught as essential to salvation.
Article V – The Church
We believe the Christian Church is the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ. We believe it is one, holy, apostolic and catholic. It is the redemptive fellowship in which the Word of God is preached by men divinely called, and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit the Church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers and the redemption of the world.
Article VI – The Sacraments
We believe the Sacraments, ordained by Christ, are symbols and pledges of the Christian’s profession and of God’s love toward us. They are means of grace by which God works invisibly in us, quickening, strengthening and confirming our faith in him. Two Sacraments are ordained by Christ our Lord, namely Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
We believe Baptism signifies entrance into the household of faith, and is a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Christ Jesus and a mark of Christian discipleship.
We believe children are under the atonement of Christ and as heirs of the Kingdom of God are acceptable subjects for Christian Baptism. Children of believing parents through Baptism become the special responsibility of the Church. They should be nurtured and led to personal acceptance of Christ, and by profession of faith confirm their Baptism.
We believe the Lord’s Supper is a representation of our redemption, a memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ, and a token of love and union which Christians have with Christ and with one another. Those who rightly, worthily and in faith eat the broken bread and drink the blessed cup partake of the body and blood of Christ in a spiritual manner until he comes.
Article VII – Sin and Free Will
We believe man is fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness and inclined to evil. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. In his own strength, without divine grace, man cannot do good works pleasing and acceptable to God. We believe, however, man influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit is responsible in freedom to exercise his will for good.
Article VIII – Reconciliation Through Christ
We believe God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The offering Christ freely made on the cross is the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, redeeming man from all sin, so that no other satisfaction is required.
Article IX – Justification and Regeneration
We believe we are never accounted righteous before God through our works or merit, but that penitent sinners are justified or accounted righteous before God only by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe regeneration is the renewal of man in righteousness through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, whereby we are made partakers of the divine nature and experience newness of life. By this new birth the believer becomes reconciled to God and is enabled to serve him with the will and the affections. We believe, although we have experienced regeneration, it is possible to depart from grace and fall into sin; and we may even then, by the grace of God, be renewed in righteousness.
Article X – Good Works
We believe good works are the necessary fruits of faith and follow regeneration but they do not have the virtue to remove our sins or to avert divine judgment. We believe good works, pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, spring from a true and living faith, for through and by them faith is made evident.
Article XI – Sanctification and Christian Perfection
We believe sanctification is the work of God’s grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which those who have been born again are cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words and acts, and are enabled to live in accordance with God’s will, and to strive for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Entire sanctification is a state of perfect love, righteousness and true holiness which every regenerate believer may obtain by being delivered from the power of sin, by loving God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by loving one’s neighbor as one’s self. Through faith in Jesus Christ this gracious gift may be received in this life both gradually and instantaneously, and should be sought earnestly by every child of God.
We believe this experience does not deliver us from the infirmities, ignorance, and mistakes common to man, nor from the possibilities of further sin. The Christian must continue on guard against spiritual pride and seek to gain victory over every temptation to sin. He must respond wholly to the will of God so that sin will lose its power over him; and the world, the flesh, and the devil are put under his feet. Thus he rules over these enemies with watchfulness through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Article XII – The Judgment and the Future State
We believe all men stand under the righteous judgment of Jesus Christ, both now and in the last day. We believe in the resurrection of the dead; the righteous to life eternal and the wicked to endless condemnation.
Article XIII – Public Worship
We believe divine worship is the duty and privilege of man who, in the presence of God, bows in adoration, humility and dedication. We believe divine worship is essential to the life of the Church, and that the assembling of the people of God for such worship is necessary to Christian fellowship and spiritual growth.
We believe the order of public worship need not be the same in all places but may be modified by the church according to circumstances and the needs of men. It should be in a language and form understood by the people, consistent with the Holy Scriptures to the edification of all, and in accordance with the order and Discipline of the Church.
Article XIV – The Lord’s Day
We believe the Lord’s Day is divinely ordained for private and public worship, for rest from unnecessary work, and should be devoted to spiritual improvement, Christian fellowship and service. It is commemorative of our Lord’s resurrection and is an emblem of our eternal rest. It is essential to the permanence and growth of the Christian Church, and important to the welfare of the civil community.
Article XV – The Christian and Property
We believe God is the owner of all things and that the individual holding of property is lawful and is a sacred trust under God. Private property is to be used for the manifestation of Christian love and liberality, and to support the Church’s mission in the world. All forms of property, whether private, corporate or public, are to be held in solemn trust and used responsibly for human good under the sovereignty of God.
Article XVI – Civil Government
We believe civil government derives its just powers from the sovereign God. As Christians we recognize the governments under whose protection we reside and believe such governments should be based on, and be responsible for, the recognition of human rights under God. We believe war and bloodshed are contrary to the gospel and spirit of Christ. We believe it is the duty of Christian citizens to give moral strength and purpose to their respective governments through sober, righteous and godly living.
- Mormon Church (Latter Day Saints) Articles of Faith
The full text (with some later alterations by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is reproduced here:
- We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
- We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
- We believe that through the [A]tonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
- We believe that these ordinances1 [the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel]1 are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
- We believe that a man must be called of God[,] by “prophecy, and by the laying on of hands“ by those who are in authority[,] to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
- We believe in the same organization that existed in the [P]rimitive [C]hurch, viz: [namely,] apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists[,] &c [and so forth].
- We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues[,] &c [and so forth].
- We believe the [B]ible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
- We believe all that God has revealed, all that [H]e does now reveal, and we believe that [H]e will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the [K]ingdom of God.
- We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes[;] [t]hat Zion [(the New Jerusalem)] will be built upon this1 [the]1 [American]2 continent[;] [t]hat Christ will reign personally upon the earth[;] and[,] that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiac[al] glory.
- We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our [own]1 conscience, and allow all men the same privilege[,] let them worship how, where, or what they may.
- We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
- We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men [all men]; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul [—] “we believe all things[,] we hope all things,“ we have endured many things[,] and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praise worthy [praiseworthy,] we seek after these things.
Note 1: additions and replacements made in 1902.
Note 2: added in 1851.
We will discuss some of these church beliefs in the next post and we should here try to see if we can recognize the ideas here stated as being universal in the world.
Note on the Quote of the Day
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
