ON LOVE; PART MCDIX
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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 our thoughts on the combination of the first two words from Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh” and the way that their understanding IS linked to the idea of “another gospel“, the idea with which Paul begins his Epistle to the Galatians. The idea of “another gospel; which is not another” has NOT stopped with the Galatians and we should note that Paul writes on the same idea in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians. We should try to see as well that this trend toward the presentation of alternate ideas to the masses under the veil of authority, wielded by those who have taken to themselves the right to make such presentations, has continued unabated for the last 2000 years. That the masses need leaders in religion IS a factor that must be considered; Paul tells the Galatians that they have been “so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel” and in this we should be able to glimpse the way that the masses ARE easily led in such matters. These masses DO NOT see that they ARE hearing and believing ideas that “would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6, 7) and we should try to see that it IS these perversions that have become the doctrines of men; the same sort of doctrines against which the Master rails in His saying to the Jews’ religious leaders that “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” (Mark 7:6-7). It IS through “another gospel” that the spiritual import of Jesus’ words has given way to carnal interpretations of the Truth. It IS in this reality that many Greek words have lost their True meanings; among the most important in this doctrinal failure ARE such words as agape, pistis, pisteuo, and charis and we should not forget about the words included in our current selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. Repeating our selection we read:
“for, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit“.
Galatians 5:13-25
We should try to see that the method of changing the spiritual ideas to carnal ones IS NOT generally done purposely to change the Truth; it IS rather motivated by men’s desire nature, specifically their desire to be able to live as men in this world. Most often such changes which change the very context of scripture ARE doctrinal allowances which are made for carnal ‘sins’; for adultery, for acceptable modes of fornication, for covetousness, and for men’s failures in regard to the Great Commandments. In today’s world, there ARE additional allowances made in the doctrinal approaches of men as IS evidenced by some of the ‘Christian’ movements that have come into power. Among these ARE some of the denominations and sects that range farther from the center that was Christianity and into what the mainstream sees as oddities, many of which they call cults. Among these ARE the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Unity Church and we while we pass NO judgement on these for their differences from the mainstream, we understand that there ARE distinct differences which each can defend based in their interpretations of scripture. We should note here that while the mainstream has their own versions of “another gospel” that IS quite hidden from view as it IS based in their various interpretations, some of the newer movements have also created their own versions of the gospel. From this perspective ALL ARE together under what Paul shows us saying “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6, 7). The perversion of “the gospel of Christ” invoked by the stated denominations and sects of Christianity IS NOT however as egregious as the prevalent ideas of some of those denominations and sects that ARE yet considered as mainstream. Here we should see the full scope of those that teach the so-called ‘Prosperity Gospel’ and the seemingly affiliated ideas found in such movements as the ‘Word of Faith’ movement. It IS these that ARE among the fastest growing denominations and sects as they offer the masses ever greater allowances through their doctrines which appeal to the selfish nature of men as they focus upon the mundane and the carnal aspects of Life. In much of this we question the motivations of the founders and those church ‘authorities’ many of whom ARE among the richest leaders and pastors as they live unabashedly in their version of the Christian Life.
Our main point here IS that encapsulated into the doctrines of men IS the scriptural reality of both adultery and fornication. This doctrinal failure can be seen from both the carnal and the spiritual perspective; carnally, adultery, while ‘frowned upon’ IS tolerated by the church and therefore by the masses. Similarly, the church position on divorce which IS ofttimes the result of adulterous carnal relationships, IS allowed for even up to the highest of church officials. Fornication IS viewed in much the same way except as it effects the LGBTQ community which the church has come to despise as they teach their followers to equally hate. While this animosity IS portrayed in ways that DO NOT reflect the feelings of many Christian followers, the reality can be seen in daily news stories, in sermons and in the public attitude of many church leaders. Being anti-LGBTQ IS become a cause célèbre and a tool in the churches view of the secular world. The LGBTQ community IS often blamed as the source of God’s ‘wrath’ which IS applied to a wide variety of natural and man made disasters as God’s punishment for their existence. In our view this church stance IS at best a deflection against their own failures focusing the masses attention on the carnal doings of others rather than the allowances that they take for themselves. Fornication as a general human activity IS a part of the strange allowances afforded by the church and IS never equated with the activities of LGBTQ persons whose sexual deviation IS ever derided while fornication in the ‘straight’ community IS relatively ignored. Both homosexuality in ALL its permutations and abortion have become focal points of the church based ONLY in their own puritanical views and the doctrinal attitude in these matters IS without scriptural ‘authority’ save for some negative comments from the apostles, many of which ARE misinterpreted and misrepresented. It IS this misinterpretation and misrepresentation that IS our subject as we continue on with Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh“.
Paul’s next word is rendered as uncleanness from the Greek word akatharsia. The idea IS rendered by others as “unclean things“, “moral corruption“, various ideas of impurity, filthy (actions), and perversion with most ALL of these rendered in regard to sex and sexual deviation. This focus upon matters of sex IS made most clear in the rendering by the New Century Version which says: “The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins“. Strong’s defines akatharsia as: impurity (the quality), physically or morally9a and it IS this same idea of impurity that Thayer’s shows us saying that akatharsia IS: the impurity of lustful, luxurious, profligate living9. Neither of these defining ideas relates specifically to sex but sex IS become the predominant idea used in doctrinal teaching. Like with the first two ideas that ARE rendered as adultery and fornication the idea of uncleanness, better understood as impurity, IS NOT understood in any spiritual way which IS ONLY evident if we look at the relationship of the Soul, the God Within, and his human expression. The Soul IS pure and can ONLY be so as it IS part and parcel of the Godhead; every individual Soul comprises what we should try to see as both the Christ Principal and the Principle of Christ. It IS the Soul’s mode of expression that IS impure and we should understand that this impurity IS founded in men’s vanity. The idea here then can be that the expression of a man yet bound in vanity IS impure compared to the purity that IS the Soul and this can have many modes of expression as Thayer’s shows us in the ideas of lustful, luxurious, profligate living9, none of which ARE specifically related to sex. Vincent tells us that Paul uses akatharsia in 1 Thessalonians 2:3 to show that: Paul speaks of working uncleanness [ακαθαρσιαν] in a spirit of selfish desire [πλεονεξια] which is the spirit of covetousness4. We should try to see how that this idea of impurity IS closely linked to the previous words of adultery and fornication. Adultery IS our forsaking of the Truth, our Soul’s commitment to the Truth of God and His words; most ALL betray the Truth through focus upon the self and the things of the self; this IS a “work of the flesh” that incorporates ALL facets of our Life in vanity. Fornication IS much the same; while fornication IS NOT specifically against our commitment, it IS founded in the ways of men that put the self and the things of the self before the Lord as idols whose importance IS seen as greater than the Lord. Impurity or uncleanness IS the practical expression of both adultery and fornication. While these latter DO, from a spiritual perspective, present the way that men’s thoughts, attitudes and resultant actions ARE contrary to the Truth as they defy our commitment to the Lord and openly chase after whatsoever idols we have created, our impurity IS our actual undertaking of a Life of lustful, luxurious, profligate living9 with the idea of lustful being our strong desire for the pleasures of Life as a man in this world.
These three “works of the flesh“, individually and together, run contrary to the Great Commandment but because the Master’s words ARE downplayed by the doctrinal approach of men, rendered moot if you will, this reality IS NOT understood as sin. It IS because of such doctrinal assertions which minimize the Master’s Truths that the ideas ARE ONLY understood in terms of sex, sexual deviation and perhaps other gross carnal ‘offenses’. We should remember that a primary driver of both the rendering moot of the Master’s words and the misinterpretation and misrepresentation applied to the words of the New Testament IS to afford allowances to men against the reality of sin, allowances that permit men to live as men in this world in religious comfort. From a Truly spiritual perspective this sense of comfort afforded men through their doctrines IS their great chimera, their horrible or unreal creature of the imagination; a vain or idle fancy* as this IS defined for us. Of course men DO NOT recognize that they have this creature of the imagination at play in their lives as they hold to their doctrinal convictions. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary IS a bit more revealing in defining chimera saying that this IS: a vain or idle fancy; a creature of the imagination, composed of contradictions or absurdities, that can have no existence except in thought1. Can we see the point here?
The next word in Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh” IS lasciviousness which IS rendered from the Greek word aselgeia. While this word IS also attributed to sexual matters, it IS a bit more complex to rightly understand. Others render aselgeia as “wrong use of the senses“, “doing whatever feels good“, indecency, promiscuity, licentiousness, sensuality, “indecent actions“, lustfulness, “wild living“, debauchery and lewdness as the word IS rendered in the New King James Bible. This IS quite an array of ideas most of which ARE clearly intended to show as sexual ideas, ideas that would duplicate those presumed in the first three words of the apostle’s list. Vincent tells us that aselgeia IS of unknown derivation4 and this same idea IS shown us by Thayer’s and Strong’s which also show us its uncertainty. Thayer’s tells us that the consensus of opinion IS to define aselgeia as: unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence9 and NONE of these ideas IS exclusively sexually oriented as ARE the ideas rendered from the various bible versions above. Vincent tells us, on the use of this word in Mark’s Gospel, that: In classical Greek it is defined as violence, with spiteful treatment and audacity; he goes on to say that: it would seem better to take it in as wide a sense as possible – that of lawless insolence and wanton caprice, and to render, with Trench, wantonness4. Again there IS little here that points directly to matters of sex. We should try to understand that the idea of wantonness DOES remove most of the sexual context from the idea of aselgeia but leaves the idea that the carnal mind and emotions ARE in the full control of the carnal man in this world. Of course there ARE degrees of wantonness, an idea that IS NOT pertinent to the three previous words, and perhaps this degree IS most dependent upon one’s nurturing and indoctrination. If we can see aselgeia as a motivator we can perhaps understand first its relationship to the vanity to which ALL ARE subjected and second the carnal urgings toward the self and the things of the self in this world. The Apostle James deals with these ideas in his words on temptation and perhaps we can see the plight of men in his words saying: “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren” (James 1:14-16). This IS a Truth of Life in form and it IS based in vanity through which “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed“; this IS an effect of being human, of being born into this world.
We should remember here Paul’s explanation of our plight which, while NOT so specific, lays out the reality of Life in form and our escape from it; Paul tells us “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21). Paul shows us that this vanity IS based in the Plan of God; that we ARE so subjected by the reality of Life and that our objective, individually and en masse, IS to be freed from our bondage which IS the reality of heeding the prompting of one’s own Soul which IS ever to keep His words. It IS in this Repentance and Transformation that we can ‘fight off’ our “own lust” and we should understand that this ‘fight’ IS the idea that Peter presents to us as he tells us we must escape. Peter tells us that the goal IS to become “partakers of the divine nature” in which idea we should see the same as entering into “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. Peter tells us that “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). The common thread here IS lust which we ARE dealing with under the expansive idea of aselgeia, the reality of wantonness, and we should note that James also shows us the way out saying “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4). We should try to see that this idea of patience IS NOT that human quality of suppressing our annoyance while ‘waiting’ for others or for circumstances; the ideas behind the Greek word hupomone ARE more than the common understanding applied to patience as we will further discuss as we progress onto Paul’s list of “the fruit of the Spirit“. For now, this word hupomone should show us our ability to deflect temptations, an ability that IS founded in True Repentance and Transformation as the Light of the Soul shines ever more steadily into the heart of a man. That this word aselgeia IS also tied to sex and sexual deviation in the doctrinal ideas of men IS unfortunate as the reality of this expansive idea IS centered in a more general idea of lust and NOT the pigeonholed ideas aligned with sex. In our older dictionaries this alignment of wantonness with sex IS NOT the primary idea and this we should see in that Vincent’s and Trench’s approach barely mention this factor; this however DID NOT prevent the migration of the idea to wander toward sex as the ‘great’ sin of the world that Paul IS addressing. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary begins with such ideas as: Sportiveness; gaiety; frolicsomeness; waggery; ALL ideas that DO NOT seem pertinent to Paul’s message. They continue then to licentiousness and negligence of restraint1, with NO sexual context in the idea of licentiousness as it has today. Webster’s defines licentiousness as: Excessive indulgence of liberty; contempt of the just restraints of law, morality and decorum1, ideas that fit well with the view of the idea as negligence of restraint.
Again we should remember that Paul IS NOT writing to men who have NOT understood the teachings of the Master and who would be prone to succumb to the sexual context that the church has applied to his words; he IS writing to those Galatians that were “called….into the grace of Christ“. This context has been lost so that we NO longer see that the fault of the Galatians IS NOT that they reverted to gross carnal ways but that they ARE being led into “another gospel” and, based upon the deeper meanings of Paul’s words, a gospel that promotes the role of the self and the ability of men to live as men in this world. It IS this view of the self that IS the ‘sin’ that Paul tries to correct and we need ONLY look at Jesus’ words, especially His words on the Great Commandment, to understand that the True “gospel of Christ” looks away from the mundane and the carnal and focuses us on to the things of God “with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength“. While this IS a hard realization for most ALL men, the difficulty IS exasperated by the doctrinal teachings of “another gospel; which is not another“; a gospel that promotes the vanity of Life over the freedom that IS promised. This promotion of vanity however IS NOT a purposeful pursuit per se as men DO NOT recognize the idea that their lives ARE bound to this natural human dilemma which Vincent describes for us as: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. Most ALL have come to believe or to ‘hope’ that their doctrines bring them closer to the Lord as they have replaced the idea of the glorious liberty of the children of God” with the ‘hope’ of attaining heaven after death; a ‘hope’ that IS found ONLY in their doctrinal interpretations of the Master’s parabolic words and their manipulation of the words of His apostles. Most ALL DO NOT understand or choose to ignore the Master’s words that DO lead us to His Kingdom and this IS in many ways caused by the doctrinal teachings that they have endured. Few see the greater Truth which the Master shows us; a Truth that IS in part conveyed through our trifecta which we repeat saying:
- “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 message here IS clear and IS devoid of the ideas that Paul IS showing us as the first part of his list of “the works of the flesh“. There IS NO adultery, NO failure in our True commitment to the things of God which ARE ever the Soul’s reality, ever the reality that the Soul, the Christ Within, IS prompting the man in to world to adopt through Repentance and Transformation. There IS NO fornication, NO chasing after idols which ARE part and parcel of a man’s experience in vanity. We should remember that ALL that takes our attention away from the Truth IS an idol including such things as ARE included in Paul’s saying that we must be “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). There IS NO uncleanness, NO impurity, in Jesus’ message that IS our trifecta. We should understand that to”hath my commandments, and keepeth them” IS the result of Repentance and it IS in our Transformation that ONLY the pure and ‘holy‘ thoughts ARE entertained as we ARE “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ“. And, we must understand that this impurity reaches across ALL facets of a man’s Life as the Greek word IS defined for us by Thayer’s saying that akatharsia IS inclusive of ALL lustful, luxurious, profligate living9. Finally there IS the idea of wantonness which in many ways stretches across the meanings of the previous three “works of the flesh“. There IS NO wantonness in Jesus’ message that IS our trifecta nor in any of His teachings; Jesus message IS clearly that the “works of the flesh“, regardless of a carnal or spiritual understanding of the words, ARE contrary to the Truth and the Love that IS the expression of the True follower of the Christ. Our greater point here however IS that there IS both a carnal and a spiritual understanding of Paul’s words but there IS a stark difference between these depending on the context that the apostle IS offering us. Here in Galatians, and in so much of scripture, the idea IS spiritual and IS according to the clear words of instruction given to us regarding man’s relationship to the Lord. Moses centered the law on man’s commitment to the Lord based on the idea that it IS the law and we must understand that in those times, some 3500 years ago, it was superstition and barbarism that reigned.
Perhaps, in the more emotional mindset of those days, the law was the ONLY way to move the people and this through the use of published punishments for their failure. The center of the law was ever men’s relationship to the Lord who IS painted for us as a ‘jealous’ and vindictive benefactor. Despite this however it was men who first established “another gospel” which was the evolving doctrines that deemphasized the first objective, men’s commitment to the Lord, as well as the second which was the relationships of man with man as spelled out in the law through the reality of “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18). We should understand that this commitment to Love IS the summary of the law and that the deviations from this Truth begin in Moses’ crusade to take the ‘promised land’. We should understand as well that the historical perspective given to us in the Pentateuch IS NOT necessarily an accurate picture of the True ‘words’ of the Lord who at times ‘orders’ the killing of persons, including blameless women and children, in order to accomplish Moses’ crusade. This IS perhaps the beginning of what IS later referred to by Jesus as “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men“. While the picture here IS of “another gospel” the church DOES NOT see it at ALL as they put the saying exclusively onto the Jews both in Isaiah’s words and the Master’s. The doctrinal view of both of these ideas IS fixed on those outside of Christianity while there ARE some that refer to certain denominations and sects as embracing “another gospel” and teaching “the commandments of men“. This IS of course based in the failure of the Christian movement over the last 2000 years to see the picture introspectively, their failure to see themselves at the center of Jesus’ words. Most ALL fail to understand that the very idea of the Great Commandments was intended to put pressure upon the failed notions of the Jews’ mitzvah and then to carry the embedded Truths on into the new ‘dispensation’. Jesus’ words saying “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) ARE NOT spoken to the Jews ONLY despite the way that they ARE addressed. They ARE instead spoken as a general statement on the necessary perspective that men should have if they ARE to live in conformity with the Truth. This Truth however was and IS beyond the accepted ability of most ALL men and it IS against this failure to accept the Truths of scripture that “another gospel” IS created; to be sure there ARE many, many versions “another gospel“. It IS in the doctrines of men from the beginning that allowances ARE made to defray the ‘cost’ of keeping God’s word by establishing the easier paths that men have been able to discover through their ‘clever’ reading of scripture, through their machinations if you will. It IS through their doctrines that the Jews’ establish their mitzvah and this with the help of Moses who, in addition to hearing and having the ‘voice of God’, had also the mind of man through which the sacred ideas were filtered. It IS this filter however that DID allow for the sacred ideas to be understood by the masses through sabbaths, sacrifices, and dietary laws to name a few. It IS this filter that took away the hardness of the Truths of Life that would virtually eliminate men’s view of themselves as the center of their individual worlds as the commandments would dictate. Again it IS “with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” that one must Love the Lord and it IS the Love that one has for oneself that he must express to others; NOT as the common idea of Love but as the view of others being the same as one’s view of oneself.
In expressing the Great Commandments the Master DID NOT surprise the Jews religious leaders as they understood these ideas as the heart of the law. Understanding these precepts in theory however never translated into action for the Jews whose failure IS clearly noted by Jesus in His condemnations of their seemingly religious actions. Again, the ideas encapsulated in these commandments ARE NOT stagnant nor intended ONLY for the Jews; they ARE commandments of Life for ALL who Truly seek the Lord; commandments that ARE still ONLY understood in theory. Christianity had failed in much the same ways as DID the Jews’ religion; the Christian also sees the precepts of the Great Commandments as beyond the accepted ability of most ALL men. It IS against this failure that we have “another gospel” from the very beginning of the Christian movement where allowances were made to deflect what was and IS seen as the hardness of keeping His words. It IS these allowances that allow the Christian to render moot the Master’s words in favor of their doctrinal approach to the Lord and it IS in their doctrinal approach, a lengthy string of versions of “another gospel“, that allow for men to NOT Love the Lord as directed while proclaiming that Love. It IS these allowances as well that allow for the failure of that Love for others in the light of their doctrines that tell them that they ARE ‘saved‘ regardless of that failure. And, finally, it IS these allowances that have taken the spiritual intent of Paul’s words into the arena of sex and sexual deviation rather that as a picture of the failure of men to relate to the Lord without any sense of adultery and fornication, without the impurity that propels these ideas through focus upon the carnal and mundane, and without that sense of wantonness that IS the desires and lusts of men for whatsoever they may see as the pleasures of Life.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible 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
