ON LOVE; PART MCCXCIX
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
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We ended the last essay with some thoughts on what IS called The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. We noted that this IS NOT a parable regarding any ideas of sheep versus goats, nor IS it a parable regarding the ‘end times’; this IS rather a parable about agape and its expression as mercy to ALL regardless of their social or economic position. We likened this to the Apostle James’ words on agape which give us a view of the true meaning of Love and its use in this world as he tells us that “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors“. While the parable gives us the idea of the rewards that come to the man who will express Love and mercy universally which Jesus presents as “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world“, James shows us the opposite side by reminding us, nay telling us, that our failure to express agape as such IS sin. He goes further then in telling us that this failure, this sin, IS NO less important than any other, an idea that IS sorely missed by the doctrinal church which IS focused solely upon those carnal actions that they deem wrong. James tells us:
“If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:13).
While many see these words as aligned with the previous words on the rich versus the poor, as they see James’ point as having respect for one or the other, the greater Truth IS found in the idea of the example that the apostle presents. His example should be seen in regard to ALL persons which IS in the end the Master’s essential message….have NO “respect to persons” in any view of Life. While many may see the apostle’s message in his words, few take them to heart except perhaps in relation to the rich and the poor and even here the idea IS become more of an adage than a practice. James’ words however ARE a fundamental spiritual Truth that considers both the Great Commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself “, and the Golden Rule “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them“, it their construction. Having NO “respect to persons” IS to take on the very nature of the Lord of whom the Apostle Paul tells us “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11); having NO “respect to persons” sees ALL men as one sees himself which idea IS very difficult when one’s vision IS ONLY in regard to the appearance of a man in this world. We should understand that it IS NOT ONLY one’s physical appearance that matters but rather ALL aspects of one’s Life in this world; it IS the totality of a man that represents his appearance here on this Earth. Having NO “respect to persons” IS the most basic building block of True agape as one’s expression and we should understand here that it IS ONLY in one’s understanding of the very nature of the spiritual man, a nature that IS essentially concealed by the doctrines of men, that one can Truly make this his expression. Again, this nature IS that “mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations“, which Paul unveils for us but which requires some measure of striving to Truly KNOW in order to even glimpse the Truth which “is made manifest to his saints“. While doctrines see Paul’s ideas here in regard to their theology that such mysteries ARE now made manifest to the Christian gentile world, the reality IS that they ARE ONLY “made manifest to his saints” which idea the Christian world has greatly diluted so as to have themselves accepted. It IS to His True saints that “God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27). The deeper idea that “there is no respect of persons with God” can be more readily seen in the interpretation of the Greek word ethnos as the human race 9 rather than the doctrinal idea of the gentile, an idea that IS formed of the doctrines of men as they seek to justify their own religious bent. For there to be “no respect of persons with God” the whole of the human race must be seen equal in the eyes of the Lord.
Paul shows us this reality later in his Epistle to the Colossians framing the idea of the man Truly focused upon the Lord as having “put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:10-11). It IS the “new man” that Truly has NO “respect to persons” and it IS this that IS his most apparent feature. Here, in these words, we have Paul’s repeating the idea of “Christ in you” and while this may be understood in regard to the “new man“, the man who IS “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him“, the idea of the Christian IS NOT included. We should also try to see here that in the idea of renew, from the Greek word anakainoō which IS ONLY used by Paul, there IS our idea of realization; in renewal there IS the sense of DOING so again but in the context of Paul’s words becoming the “new man” IS a seemingly first time occurrence. We should see here that the “new man” IS the man who has come to KNOW some measure of the Truth that comes to the man who will “continue in my word” as the Master tells us in our trifecta which we repeat here saying:
- “If ye If ye continue in my word , then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
The Truth of these verses from the Master IS in the revelation and the realization of the Truth, of His Presence and of His Kingdom and in this idea of realization we should see Paul’s use of anakainoō which IS rendered as renewed. The Apostle John tells us that “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 John 2:20) and if we can understand that while he IS writing to men whose focus IS increasingly upon the things of God, that the nature of what he says IS universal, we can then see more clearly the very nature of that “mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations“. We must try to see the necessary duality in the both the words of the Master and of His apostles as they DO perforce speak to both the man in the world and to the Inner man regarding things that ARE ONLY comprehensible to the man in the world who has realized in some measure the Presence of the Inner man, the unction, in his Life. This IS NOT to say that the man whose focus IS yet carnal DOES NOT hear the words, it IS rather to say that without True realization, True renewal if you will, it IS ever the “old man” that hears. This “old man” IS NOT “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” and it IS unfortunate that so many doctrinal Christians have come to believe that they ARE so renewed. In this we should see the nature of the last of the words from the Apostle James’ list of what ARE the qualities of that “wisdom that is from above“, anypokritos, which IS rendered as “without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). In the last essay we discussed the idea that this Greek word IS better understood in terms of unfeigned and dissimulation as both offer a clearer picture of James’ intent. When the “old man” pretends to be the “new man” by believing that he has that KNOWLEDGE that ONLY comes to the man who will “continue in my word“, he IS NOT relying upon Wisdom but upon wisdom, thoughts and attitudes from the psyche of the carnal man yet caught in the vanity that IS Life in this world. This IS a most basic doctrinal Christian failure as men ARE indoctrinated into such beliefs, believing themselves to be saints while KNOWING in their hearts that they ARE NOT. Can we see the opposite of anypokritos which IS hypokrinomai here? Here again we should turn our attention to the Way that one comes to KNOW God; aside from the source of True KNOWING being the provision of the man who DOES “continue in my word” as Jesus tells us, there IS also the confirming idea from John who clearly shows us hypokrinomai as he says “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). It IS in the duality of Life itself that we find the reality of this idea of hypokrinomai in its understanding as hypocrisy, feinged, dissimulation or as John shows us, lying. ALL of these ideas ARE plays by the man in the world to seem as something that he IS NOT and we should note here that while sometimes these plays ARE purposeful, more often they ARE but a man’s attempt to fool himself.
We should try to see here that it IS the prompting of the Soul, the Inner man and the Christ Within that causes much of the hypokrinomai that men inflict upon themselves and, by DOING so, others. Paul shows us this saying: “I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?“. While these words ARE a part of the apostles fuller text which IS considered by the doctrinal thinker as a diatribe against works and the law, they DO show us the reality of the duality in which most ALL men live. Here, if we can understand James’ point regarding anypokritos, we can then better understand the constant struggle between the carnal and the spiritual. And when we can understand that when Paul tells us “that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin” (Romans 7:22-24, 14) that he IS NOT speaking of the ancillary parts of the law but of the Truly spiritual parts; that he IS speaking of the laws that govern the relationship between a man and God and between a man and his fellowmen and NOT those concerned with the rites and the rituals that have for centuries overwhelmed the Truth as what Jesus calls the “tradition of men” (Mark 7:8). We should try to see that in most ALL aspects of Life there IS an inherent duality that goes unseen because most ALL men fail to see the Truth of Life as the Spirit, manifest as Soul, and living for a time in “the body of this death“. There IS of course NO handbook on the relationship of the spiritual to the carnal and opinions abound regarding the True nature of this relationship. Here we should try to see clearly that this aspect of Life IS the subject of much of the ideas of mystery and again, these mysteries ARE NOT hidden in any way that prevents a man from discovering the Truth, they ARE rather hidden ONLY from the minds of men whose focus IS NOT upon the things of God, things beyond their individual doctrinal approach to the Lord. This IS muddied by the doctrinal insistence that the doctrinal thinker has access to the Truth by way of his being ‘saved‘ according to whatsoever rites and rituals ARE incumbent in his own denomination or sect. The Master gives us the Way to the Truth in His saying to us that “If ye If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” and in this we also have the nature of the True disciple and, of course, the saint. It IS the in the idea of True discipleship that the the fullness of the Truth IS revealed to the heretofore carnal mind and we should try to see here that this revelation and realization comes by measure, by the same measure by which one removes his focus from himself and places it upon the things of God. To the man whose focus is carnal, that IS upon himself and his own thoughts and attitudes, parables remain parables and the deeper messages imparted remain hidden; it IS this that Jesus tells His disciples saying “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them” (Mark 4:11-12). In the vanity of Life however the doctrinal thinker sees himself in the position of the disciple much as the scribes, priests and the Pharisees saw themselves as the True representatives of the Lord; this IS the self-indulgent reality of the opposite of anypokritos, hypokrinomai.
On the subject of parables there IS an even deeper reality at play in the minds of men; some of the parables ARE easily understood on their face but the deeper message revealed, a message that shows the basics of the Way, IS relegated to the story while other conclusions ARE reached. A prime example of this IS the Parable of the Good Samaritan where there IS NO hidden message; while the idea of the neighbor and who IS the neighbor IS mostly understood, the idea behind this relationship IS missed. Here it IS the reality of agape, a word never used in the parable but which at the same time IS the impetus for the story being told through the question asked in regard to that Great Commandment “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. While some venture to make the Samaritan the Christ and others seek to show the idea of the neighbor in carnal circumstances, this parable shows the Way of the man whose sense of agape IS awakened and this in accord with the defining Truth that agape has NO “respect to persons“. The Samaritan sees “neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free“; he rather see that Christ is all, and in all“. Other examples of rather straight forward parables which ARE misconstrued ARE the the Parable of New Wine into Old Wineskins which includes another parable that speaks of sewing a piece of new cloth as a patch on an old garment. In their clarity the whole of the point IS missed. These parabolic ideas ARE found in the three synoptic gospels and while ONLY the Apostle Luke calls these parables, their very nature shows us that this IS what they ARE. From Luke’s Gospel we read “And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better” (Luke 5:36-39). While we see Jesus’ words here as a caution that men NOT append His new teaching to the old and tired ways of the Jew’s religion, this IS NOT the message generally taken by the doctrinal thinker. John Gill tells us that: both are commonly interpreted of the unreasonableness and danger of putting young disciples upon severe exercises of religion, as fasting . While the general tone of Mr. Gill’s commentary seems to be in regard to the “tradition of the elders” (Mark 7:3), rather than the whole of Moses’ teachings combined with these traditions, the most notable Old Testament references made by the Master ARE essentially ignored. In ALL three gospels these parables from Jesus follow upon the questions asked regarding the activities of the followers of John the Baptist and the Pharisees versus the activities of Jesus’ disciples and while there IS some difference in the presentation, Luke’s version seems most complete as he tells us “Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?” (Luke 5:33). In this it IS easy to see Mr. Gills reasoning regarding fasting but it should be as easy to see the deeper point of NOT appending the new to the old but to rather let the Master’s words alone define the new religion of True Christianity.
This of course has NOT happened as much of the doctrinal approach to God IS based in the Old Testament teachings and ofttimes these ARE preferred and used over the contradictory ideas offered by the Master. Add to this the way that the doctrines of men so heavily rely upon the words of the apostles, here especially Paul, and we can perhaps see a doctrinal sense of
hypokrinomai pervading the entirety of the Christian religion. In the understanding that this word hypokrinomai means hypocrisy, to dissemble and to feign 9a, we can cut through much of the doctrinal ideas that ARE feigned to be in accord with the Master’s words and, in the doctrinal assertions regarding ‘salvation‘, we can see the depth of hypocrisy that has been created in the Master’s name. While this may seem again a harsh assessment of the practice of popular Christianity yet today, this IS at the same time a view of the self-indulgent attitudes of men who have convinced themselves that their view IS righteous just as the Pharisees DID. Here we should remember the Master’s harsh comments regarding the religious practices of the Jews, comments which the Christian progenitors of the early church DID NOT associate with their own formation of their religion. Most basic in this IS the Master’s words to the Jews regarding their sense of tradition as this became for them the “works of the law” (Romans 9:32) and if we could see Paul’s words in this light, we could perhaps then understand his words on works. Jesus tells the Jews:
“the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them,Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:3-9).
It IS the rote practice of rites and rituals that became the religion of the Jews and much the same has happened to Christianity. An example of the effect of this sense of hypokrinomai along with the Christian’s use of the old laws and the traditions that these spawned can be seen in the fastest growing segments of Christianity today, Pentecostalism, evangelicalism, and charismatic Christianity. Here we should see that it IS the prosperity portion of these religious movements that IS most at odds with the teachings of the Master and it IS against the Truth that the doctrinal sense of hypokrinomai IS at work. Again we should try to see that this sense of feigning, dissimulation and hypocrisy, while most assuredly IS NOT purposeful from the perspective of a plan, IS the product of that same vanity which obnubilates the Truth and which allows men their self-indulgent attitudes by which they have convinced themselves that their view IS righteous in much the same way as the Pharisees DID. It IS in the illusion and the glamour which IS that vanity that the doctrinal thinker has formed his theologies and his defense of them as men twist and turn Jesus’ own words to allow for their own traditions. We should understand here that this has ever been the spiritual plight of men; Jesus shows us this as He repeats the words of the prophet and then applies them to the Jew in His day saying “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:7-9). Can we see the point here?
It IS in the wisdom of the church fathers that the seeds of failure were sown as they DID NOT understand James’ words saying that the “wisdom that is from above“, must be anypokritos, that it must be without hypocrisy, unfeigned and without dissimulation; that the “wisdom that is from above” must be True to the Master’s words and to the words of Truth that were from the beginning. Perhaps there was NO choice here; perhaps the direction that the church fathers took was the ONLY way to bring people into the fold. It IS ONLY in hindsight that we can Truly see the carnal issues in the early church, issues that grew into the barbarous and superstitious actions of the middle ages and which spawned the Reformation; ALL on the promise of ‘salvation‘ apart from the most clear instruction by Jesus. From the early church to now the church itself has seen itself as the supreme authority over the spiritual lives of men as they pronounce that ONLY those who follow with them the dictates of their individual doctrines can be saved while ALL others are destined to some form of hell which IS as ill defined as IS the heaven promised to those that ARE saved. It IS this sense of supreme authority that creates the schism that separates and divides men in most ALL arenas of Life….religion, politics, social justice and on and on as the church greatly influences ALL areas of public Life for the follower and the non-follower alike. Few see this reality or, better, few will admit to it. We should try to see that it IS the nebulous ideas of faith and believing from the Greek words pistis and pisteuo that have taken hold of the minds and emotions of men who seek ‘salvation‘ within their own minds without ever understanding that such ONLY exists there. It IS the nebulous ideas of faith and believing that encumber the Truth and result in the self questioning regarding what many believe ARE the promises of God. Here, when one DOES NOT receive their idea of the promise, the results of their prayers or the hundred fold increase against their tithe they, and those that teach them, blame insufficient faith and believing as the catchall for failure while at the same time attributing any occasional success to the right amount of these nebulous ideas. Here men confuse happenstance with the ‘will’ of God and this most always in regard to carnal successes as spiritual success IS much harder to understand or realize in the absence of the Truth.
It IS in the arena of this nebulous idea of faith that the cornerstones of doctrinal Christianity have been laid. While both pistis and pisteuo should be seen the certainty that they must entail, this idea of KNOWING IS absent from the defining ideas of faith even though this KNOWING is inherent in the definition. The Greek word pistis IS defined according to doctrinal ideas by Strong’s as they tell us that pistis IS: persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:—assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity 9a. It IS easy to see the influence of doctrine in these ideas. Thayer’s gives us a less diluted idea at the outset as they tell us that pistis IS: conviction of the truth of anything 9; here we have that certainty which greatly exceeds the ideas from Strong’s which tend more to the idea of believing. While Thayer’s view of conviction IS a greater view of pistis, we should note that in their idea there IS the variable idea of Truth; here we come to our same crossroad which IS KNOWING. One CAN NOT be convicted of the truth of anything unless he KNOWS that such IS the Truth. Can we see the point here? Can we see that any carnal approach, any mental and emotional approach to pistis as faith, can ONLY be this same nebulous idea that has been taught by the church for centuries? The Truth of KNOWING, the deeper Truth of pistis as faith, must perforce come from the revelation and realization that comes to a man from God….from his own Soul as the unction….as the Christ Within. This however DOES NOT flow into the Life of everyman and it assuredly DOES NOT flow in the doctrines of men; this KNOWING flows into the Life of the man who strives to DO as the Master instructs; it flows in direct proportion to the ‘work‘ which that man puts into keeping His words. It IS ONLY here that one can accomplish such things as the Master tells us in moving the mountain and DOING those “greater works” as He shows us saying “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12). In these accomplishments there IS the Truth of pistis and pisteuo, a Truth which Peter and Paul both realized in their lives as we can easily see in their exploits in the Book of Acts. Of course we should KNOW and understand that moving the mountain IS NOT among those things that ARE recorded and that such a feat would likely DO more harm than good; it IS given us as a clear example of the Power of God that can be channeled into the Life of the man who Truly KNOWS. Their stories ARE however replete with examples of their ability to DO “the works that I do” and who can say that what they were able to DO was NOT “greater works“.
While the doctrines of men decry the idea of works, the progenitors of such ideas were NOT able to separate the spiritual from the carnal, or better their idea of spiritual through the flesh. While Paul saw works as the rites and rituals of the ancillary parts of the law and the “tradition of the elders“, the doctrinal thinker has come to see works as DOING good as a man and believing that by such action one can be ‘saved‘. Here again we should try to see the idea of anypokritos and hypokrinomai from the perspective of the man who may DO such good as a KNOWING replacement for True spiritual realization. The Jews kept the letter of the law as a replacement for the flow of Truth which IS enshrined for us in the Great Commandments and they believed that they were ‘saved‘ from the Jewish perspective by DOING so; it IS this that Paul rails against. This however IS NOT the same as DOING good from the heart which IS the motivation of men who glimpse some measure of the Truth and understand, if ONLY obliquely, the force of the Great Commandments. Such a glimpse IS beyond the scope of Christianity or any religion; it IS found in the relationship between the man in the world and his own Soul. The point here IS that while the words of Paul regarding faith and works were specific to the Jews’ practice of religion and the futility of their rites and rituals, his idea was misunderstood and misapplied as it was turned away from DOING and into the nebulous ideas of believing. Thus, the apostle’s words saying “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” IS intended to show us a deep Truth: that ALL that comes from God IS grace which IS the revelations and realizations of Truth that come through pistis which IS that KNOWING that IS the founded in the revelations and realizations of Truth. We should understand here that the idea of works is made part of Paul’s idea here as he completes his thought saying “Not of works, lest any man should boast” but the idea here of works IS again those things that the Jew did as though he was obeying the law. Jesus shows us this in His parable of the Pharisee and the publican where we read: “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:9-14). In this IS Paul’s True idea of works.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
