ON LOVE; PART MCDXXII
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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 the Apostle Luke’s words which ARE seen as a part of the Sermon on the Mount. Luke gives us a Sermon that IS similar to Matthew’s version of the Sermon but he splits up the Master’s words rather that keeping them together as Matthew DOES. We should remember that we DO NOT KNOW in what order events actually happened in the gospels save for way that they ALL end with the crucifixion and the resurrection; we should also note that this DOES NOT Truly matter. Our selection from Luke covers the Master’s extensive description of the Truth of agape as this should be practiced and expressed by men in this world beginning with the idea that we should “Love your enemies“. It IS interesting to note that the lexicon’s list includes a final entry that says that the idea behind the Greek word ecththros, which IS rendered here as enemy, IS derived from echtho which IS defined as hate, and IS: the devil who is the most bitter enemy of the divine government2a. This idea IS echoed by Strong’s who includes as an example of echthros: an adversary (especially Satan)9a and by Thayer’s which appears to be the source of the lexicon’s words. Our point here IS that this inclusion should show us the depth of agape as the Master’s word telling us to Love our enemies includes then a Love for Satan based in these defining ideas for echthros. For us of course the idea of Satan IS NOT a proper name nor is Satan a person, a demon or a fallen angel. The name as well as the idea of the devil ARE both representative of our adversary here in this world and encompass ALL that keeps men from putting their focus on the Lord and following in His words and examples. Satan and the devil ARE but the manifestations of vanity in the lives of men. It IS vanity that IS our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4 as Vincent shows us which, in biblical terms, results in those thoughts, attitudes and actions that fuel men’s view of Life and of themselves. While a powerful force in the human kingdom Satan IS but that, a force that IS based in vanity and which keeps us ALL in that “bondage of corruption” into which we ARE born, nurtured and indoctrinated. Paul shows us this saying that “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 from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21). Satan IS a function of the carnal mind of man that sees the self as the center of his little world as he strives toward the fulfillment of his manifold desires; it IS this function that IS defeated by agape as this most powerful force becomes the dominant force in one’s Life. Satan can be understood as that which we must escape from according to the Apostle Peter’s words saying “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).
While we see Satan and the devil ONLY as existing within the forces of vanity in this world we ALSO understand their (its) potency as our adversary against which we must strive according to Jesus’ words saying “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). And while the personification of these ideas as entities IS a doctrinal creation of the church, it IS at the same time a Truly personalized adversary, his carnal self, with which everyman must struggle as he tries to reach that “strait gate“. It IS against this very same adversary that we struggle as we try to fulfill the Master’s words on agape which we repeat here from Luke’s Gospel; we read:
“I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful“
Luke 6:27-36)
We should note that Jesus prefaces His words according to Luke with “I say unto you which hear” and this IS the same preface that should be added to most ALL of His instructions. Clearly most ALL DO NOT hear and have NOT heard from the beginning else there would be a greater reality of agape in this world, thus avoiding so much that has befallen humanity over the centuries. Of course we DO hear His words as we read the gospel and we DO hear His words in sermons but, at the same time, we ARE guilty of what the Master tells us of His own parabolic approach saying to His disciples “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand” (Luke 8:10). In this IS the difference between hearing and hearing and while the Master’s words above from His Sermon ARE NOT necessarily parabolic per se, they ARE at the same time alien to the hearts and minds of men who have NOT refocused their lives upon the Truth. We should try to see that the idea of a parable or parabolic language IS NOT limited to the idea that such ARE: A fable or allegorical relation or representation of something real in life or nature, from which a moral is drawn for instruction1. There IS NO allegorical relation in Jesus’ words saying that men should “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you” yet these words ARE alien to the masses who CAN NOT see the reality of the idea against their own views of Life, views that ARE the product of our vanity compounded by our nurturing and our indoctrination into the ways of this world. Clearly the world DOES hear the words of True spiritual leaders but few there ARE that understand their importance. There ARE fewer still that teach the Lord’s precepts without adding a doctrinal bent that shows us how that such things as the Master and His apostles teach can so easily fade into the doctrinal presentations of the churches. Again, such precepts have become but trite adages which sound spiritual in sermons but which at the same time ARE merely words without True meaning in the hearts of most ALL men. There IS much that can be said regarding the way that humanity has eschewed the Truth from the beginning and perhaps we can see the reality of the church and its leaders in the following words from Peter, words that will surely anger any religious person as we insinuate that such ideas apply to them. Of the leaders of the people Peter tells us:
“Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage“.
(2 Peter 13-19)
We should try to see here that Peter’s accusation of adultery IS NOT necessarily regarding the carnal kind although there ARE likely some who would engage in such behavior. The accusation IS in regard to spiritual adultery, that IS the focusing of the accused upon the mundane and carnal aspects of Life and religion over the Truth. We should try also to see a link here between Peter’s harsh words and Paul’s ideas of “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 11:4). While our ideas here may be uncomfortable for the doctrinal Christian world, this IS who both Peter and Paul are addressing in their accusations and, that they ARE DOING so in response to what IS happening in their time, DOES NOT detract from the future value of their words. We must remember that both Peter and Paul ARE deeply spiritual; both they and the other apostles had ‘escaped‘ their heretofore carnal lives in which their ‘sin’ was NOT the carnal ideas bandied about by the church yet today but rather their failure to see the Truth before Jesus showed them ALL “a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31); a Way which we KNOW from a further reading of Paul’s words IS agape. We should try to see that there IS NO difference between those of whom Peter says “Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you” and those that Paul shows us as “some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ“, those that ARE the purveyors of “another gospel: Which is not another” (Galatians 1:6,7). While our point here IS an accusation against the doctrinal evolution of the church, it IS one that IS well warranted yet today. The church DOES NOT support nor promote the fullness of the Master’s words as they have substituted “another gospel” in place of Jesus’ words of Truth and Love. Peter tells us that such men DID and DO teach error “when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness” and in this we should see the doctrinal promises of ‘salvation‘ and most specifically the errant promises of what has come to be called the ‘prosperity gospel’. Few if any however see this evolutionary trend in Christianity which has put the interests of men ahead of the Truth of the teachings of the Master. And it IS unfortunate those that may sense this keep their ideas to themselves as they willingly follow whatsoever they were indoctrinated into. It IS also unfortunate that for too many the whole prospect of religion has become a business venture; most will deny this but at the same time it IS estimated that 29% of total giving in the US goes to religion which calculates to over $130 billion in 2019. We don’t have the time nor the desire to get into where this money goes but briefly we should see salaries and real estate, renting or owning, as major expenditures with some of both quite high in what have come to be KNOWN as mega-churches. Our point here IS that the sheer volume of dollars creates a business environment that easily overwhelms the True need for religion.
As we have discussed in previous essays these ideas from Peter regarding men that “speak great swelling words of vanity“, men that promise liberty while “they themselves are the servants of corruption” as well as those from Paul regarding those that “pervert the gospel of Christ” ARE NO different than what Jesus’ calls “false prophets“. Jesus tells us that we should “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-20) but His warning has NOT been heeded as NONE see themselves as such despite their “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6,7). While the churches, as an institution, DO much good, in terms of Truly leading men to Christ they have utterly failed. Most ALL have failed to embrace the selflessness required in the reality of agape which IS a spiritual goal that IS beyond the desires of the human family still bound by that vanity to which ALL are subjected. To keep the Great Commandments requires selflessness, it requires a giving up on what men hold dear as their primary motivation. It IS important to note that NOT ALL men are mentally or emotionally equipped to escape from their own vanity, their own perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. There ARE many however that ARE so equipped but who ARE caught in a ‘bubble’ where they Truly believe that their doctrinal path leads to the rewards embraced in our trifecta, rewards that reveal the Truth of “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5-22). But the doctrinal path DOES NOT directly lead us to these rewards save for those who use their doctrines as a stepping stone to the reality of Repentance and Transformation where the ONLY requirement IS that we keep His words. Repeating our trifecta we read:
- “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).
While there ARE many more places in the gospels where the Master clearly lays out such Truths as we have above, these three have become our primary example of what must be DONE to find and KNOW the Truth, to enter into His Kingdom and to have realization of the Presence of the Lord in our lives. The cost for these rewards IS simply to keep His words and, as the apostles DO tell us, this IS accomplished NOT by the rote following of rules and edicts as the Jews tried but by our expression of agape according to the reality established by Jesus; a reality that shows us what agape IS through examples of its expression. Paul shows us that the rote following of the commandments of the Lord IS accomplished without thought through agape; the apostle tells us: “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:8-10). This IS an important revelation by the apostle but one that IS NOT seen as such by the mainstream churches and perhaps NOT by any at ALL. While many speak of Love as a part of their doctrinal ideas, few if any Truly understand just what this idea of Love IS and how it operates in the minds and hearts of men. Paul repeats this idea of Love as the Way in our discussion from his Epistle to the Galatians that we just concluded; there he tells us “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). As we discussed, this idea of the law IS NOT restricted to the edicts given by Moses but rather ALL of the spiritual precepts offered by the Master as well. We should remember that Jesus DOES tell us that ALL such precepts, commandments if you will, come from a single source which He shows us saying “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me“. Using Paul’s emphasis on agape as the Way, we should be able to understand that his aversion to works IS NOT related to such ideas as the work of the informed aspirant to discipleship which IS ever the expression of agape here in this world.
While Paul tells us that agape IS the Way par excellence to True spiritual understanding, it IS James who helps us to define the Way of Love in more succinct terms. Paul tells us that it IS agape that IS the Way to circumvent men’s reliance upon the rote practices of religion but this lesson has NOT yet been understood as over the centuries men have created ever more rote practices to follow. From the affirmations and confessions of the Protestant to the rituals of the sacraments of the Catholic and the Orthodox, religion IS yet steeped in the rote practices of ‘worship’ with some denominations and sects combining these two approaches. James shows us a different direction but one that IS equally ignored by the doctrinal churches; the apostle tells us that “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 2:8-13). James acknowledges Paul’s words on the importance of agape as a Life principle but he expands upon this Truth as he shows us a deeper meaning to the timeless words saying that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” and the Golden Rule. James shows us that it IS in our fully non-partisan view of others as equal to each other and to ourselves that IS the operating principle of True agape.
Jesus shows us this same thing in saying such things as “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you“. He shows us the operation of this in such things as His parable that tells us of those that express agape to others that “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40) thereby relating our Love for others to our Love for Him. We should try to see that there ARE many clues that show us the breadth and depth of agape as it should be applied to everyman and these words from the Master DO reflect upon this idea of everyman, even “the least of these my brethren“. The burden IS ever upon men to reveal this idea of agape in their lives and to DO so with NO “respect to persons“; to have such “respect to persons” IS equivalent to any of what the church sees as sin. As James tells us, should we “offend in one point“, we ARE then “guilty of all” and while this precept IS NOT understood nor accepted by the doctrinal thinker, it IS nonetheless True. Here, we ARE measuring the scope of agape however and NOT the other things that men DO that contribute to his sin but, at the same time, we should try to see how that this particular offense of picking and choosing who to Love IS singularly mentioned by the apostle. Again, Jesus has somewhat to say on this same subject albeit in what appears to be a different context but which IS actually the same; the Master tells us “if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?” (Matthew 5:46). Luke frames Jesus’ words a bit differently saying “as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same” (Luke 6:31-33). We should note here that Luke gives us the Master’s words following immediately after Luke’s version of the Golden Rule and seems to imply that the words that follow ARE a part of the general construct of the idea that we should ‘do unto others as we would have others do unto us‘. ALL of these precepts ARE concerned with our interaction with everyman; none separate the good from the evil or those we may like from those we may NOT. The idea IS simply to Love everyman, to express agape toward ALL, and, as James tells us, without any regard for who that person IS. This IS the reality of agape but it IS NOT the ONLY reality as agape IS intended to govern every interaction with others and with the Lord who scripture tells us must be held in the highest esteem.
The concept of agape should NOT be the mystery that it has been for 2000 years as it IS adequately explained by the Master and His apostles. Much of the problem IS found in the way that the idea of agape IS attached to the common ideas of Love rather than the unique reality that IS shown to us in scripture. Agape was never intended to reflect the common understanding of Love; agape was never intended to be an emotional or mental response. Agape just IS; agape IS that dynamic spiritual force that IS God as John tells us saying that “God is love agape” (1 John 4:8, 16). Agape IS that dynamic spiritual force that IS the very nature of the human Soul and it IS agape that becomes the nature of the man in this world through his Repentance and Transformation. It is through our Repentance and Transformation that we reveal to the world that we DO “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” and that we DO “love thy neighbour as thyself“. It IS this expression of agape that Paul prays for in his Epistle to the Ephesians; the apostle asks:
“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God“.
Ephesians 3:16-19
Paul’s prayer IS specific to the idea of agape and there ARE a number of important ideas in his words that ARE NOT properly understood by the doctrinal thinker. First we must remember the accepted idea that “God is love agape” and of course to extend that to the Christ and to the Christ Within everyman….these ARE ever One. Second IS that we should see Jesus’ words in Paul’s as the apostle prays “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” which should be understood as that He should abide with a man through KNOWING God. Both of these Truths ARE the subject of our trifecta where the Master tells us that it IS the man that will “continue in my word” that will “know the truth” of God and that it IS “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them” to whom the Lord will “make our abode with him“. We should try to see here that while Paul’s prayer may be universal it IS at the same time directed at those that ARE True followers and NOT casual bystanders. We should try to see as well that it IS in the way that Christ DOES “dwell in your hearts” that we ARE then “rooted and grounded in love“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that it IS the man in whom the reality of Christ Within IS a functioning Truth that “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height“, the Truth of God if you will. This IS a comprehension that sees a measure of the eternal Truths that ARE the mysteries of which the Master tells His disciples that “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand” (Luke 8:10). Finally we should see Paul’s closing line as the pinnacle of our spiritual accomplishment as men in this Earth. Here we should recall the Apostle Peter’s words regarding becoming “partakers of the divine nature” and understand this in the same way as Paul’s saying “that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God“. While Peter tells us that the Way to being “partakers of the divine nature” IS to have “escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4), Paul shows us the Way as that we must “know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge“; we should see the same dynamic at play in each of these.
We should, at the same time, see in these words from the apostles another of Paul’s sayings regarding Jesus the Christ; Paul tells us that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Here we should see Paul’s prayer as that each follower, True follower according to the defining ideas of the word, “might be filled with all the fulness of God“; in this we should see the deepest reality of Christlikeness. And, in this we should also see the reality of His words regarding “greater works” which ARE restricted to True believers on or True believers in; the Master tells us that “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). Here we must understand the depth of the idea of believing in or on the Master just as we much understand the force of being a True follower of the Christ. We will explore both these word ideas which show us that the Way to this ‘glory’ IS found in keeping His words and here our emphasis IS upon the greatest of His words, agape. Again we must draw a contrast between the doctrinal ideas regarding being followers and “believing in” against the deeper ideas that each of these should engender in the hearts and minds of those who would Truly “believe in” and follow the Lord.
Following IS NOT the doctrinal idea where one merely proclaims himself a Christian; there IS a deep spiritual context to the reality of following the Master or, better, being His follower. The defining idea for this Greek word akoloutheo IS shown us by Jesus in such sayings as “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Here, in this idea of “let him deny himself“, we have the same dynamic as escaping “the corruption that is in the world through lust“; and here we should recall other ideas from the apostles such as “if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13) where mortification IS the activity of one that DOES “deny himself“. Similarly in Paul’s words saying “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24) DOES have the same effect. These ARE NOT idle words offered by the apostle; they ARE rather words that show us what must be done as True followers and what it Truly means to “deny himself“. And what DOES it mean when Jesus tells us to “follow me“? The lexicon alludes to the idea that this IS: to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him and to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple2a; here the first idea IS spiritually meaningless while the second offers some glimpse of the Truth through discipleship. Strong’s offers us a clearer view saying that akoloutheo IS: properly, to be in the same way with9a while Thayer’s IS still clearer as they define the word against its usage in Matthew’s version of this same saying as: to cleave steadfastly to one, conform wholly to his example, in living and if need be in dying also9. We should note that this defining idea from Thayer’s IS strikingly similar to Vincent’s commentary of the idea of “believing in” and “believing on” the Master were we read that to DO so IS: to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life4. More completely Vincent’s defining idea shows us how that pisteuo eis, believe on, should be understood; he tells us: To believe in, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically; to draw upon and avail one’s self of all that is offered to him in them. Hence to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4.
Paul IS offering us his prayer that we might be Christlike and we should understand that contrary to the doctrinal views of the apostle’s words, ALL that Paul teaches us has this same objective as the underlying reality of his writings. There can be NO Christlikeness however without following Him and believing on Him and the simplicity of this Way of living in this world IS found in the simplicity of keeping His words. The Apostle John tells us that “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3) but like so much of the New Testament these have become but words that ARE seen contrary to the doctrinal ideas taken from out of context snippets of Paul’s writings. The apostle DOES however clarify and amplify Jesus’ own words that show us what we must DO for True salvation; the Master tells us to “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). We should understand that the human view that keeping His words IS a burden IS contradicted by these words from Jesus and John; keeping His words IS ONLY grievous from the perspective of the man who IS unwilling to give up his worldly thoughts and attitudes, his indoctrinated points of view with which he has lived and has come to see as the right way of living. Keeping His words IS ONLY grievous while we yet live in our vanity….while we live in our “bondage of corruption“.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 2a New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.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
