ON LOVE; PART DLXXXIII
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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“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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“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).
In the last essay we began our discussion on Apostle James’ words on faith and works and in doing this we began looking at the Apostle Paul’s words on these same ideas. Paul’s words are found in most Christian doctrine as though the apostle said that works ARE NOT necessary for salvation, it IS ONLY faith that IS required and this reasoning has become a foundational point in many denominations. In our view this IS NOT what Paul meant for us to take from his words and it IS ONLY when his words are viewed outside of their context that these ideas can be formed. There IS a reality to the apostle’s presentation on these ideas of faith and works but it IS founded the reality that faith, when rightly applied as that Inner KNOWING of the Truth, is beyond the concept of works; that IS, that in this state of faith or KNOWING a man WILL DO ALL things according to the Master’s words. We have premised that it IS to counter the ideas of doctrine, the idea that faith ONLY IS needed for salvation, that James so adamantly proclaims that “faith without works is dead” but his argument has NOT been sufficient to accomplish this as these doctrines continue to flourish while James’ words seem to be removed from the mainstream of Christian doctrines and discussions. The whole idea of faith and believing as it IS applied in doctrine is a nebulous one and IS, from our perspective, the more worldly affirmation of these things; faith and believing have not become the spiritual conviction that these ARE intended to be. As a spiritual conviction these would be that KNOWING of which we ofttimes speak and the result would be that the man who has this faith or so believes would be among those who Truly understand and who keep His words.
James’ words on the matter are quite clear while the ideas from Paul are created in doctrine more so than they are the apostle’s intent and this can be seen in the same light as most other doctrinal ways of diluting and changing the impact of the Truth of the words of the Master and His apostles. There is an argument in some circles that since Paul has written nearly two thirds of the New Testament, that his words ARE of more importance but this fact is only indicative to his life style and the number of ‘churches’ that he had established in his journeys. Paul’s words are an important part of Christian heritage and they are Truly instructive to those who can read through the parabolic approach that ALL of the writers have; however they ARE NOT nor should they be considered to be of any more importance that the other writers’ works and surely they should NOT be seen above the very words of the Master who never speaks in such terms as to put faith above works as His message IS that we keep His words and that we “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). James words on this are again:
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:14-20).
There IS a clarity here in these words that is not found in the preceding ideas where the apostle used more obscure language and words with meanings that are only arrived at by association. Here the reality IS in his answer to the question that he poses: if a “man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” and the answer IS clearly NO. But we should notice that these things that he counts as works are those things that a disciple of the Lord would do without thought and perhaps the greater point IS that if one must think about DOING these things, that he DOES NOT have the faith that he may “say he hath“. The reality of True faith IS KNOWING and this is a theme that we have carried throughout our blog; carnally faith can be less, but spiritually there must be that totality of conviction according to the degree of faith that one may have. One may KNOW that he is an aspirant or a disciple and he KNOWS this by what it IS that he DOES, how he conducts his Life and, while this KNOWING faith may have brought him to this point, it IS his works that affirm his position. This same man CAN NOT likely move the mountain however nor can he cast the sycamine tree into the sea as the level of KNOWING for this IS KNOWING without doubt, not even an inkling of it; this requires the greater degree of KNOWING the Power of the Soul as it completely overwhelms the mind and the emotions. The mind and the emotions ARE the limiting factor in this KNOWING faith; these are carnal aspects of the personality and it IS these that must be overcome as the Love and the Power of the Soul becomes their ONLY influence, their only source of impetus.
There IS an esoteric saying that “the mind is the slayer of the real” and in this there IS much spiritual Truth; this saying of course must be seen in the reality of what we are speaking about. It is the mind that informs the consciousness for the man whose focus IS in the self and the self in the world and in this state the mind sees the realities of Life from a carnal perspective; it sees only the illusion and the glamour of the world and NOT the Truth of the Soul. When however the consciousness is informed by the Soul, when the spiritual Light is flowing through one’s Life, the mind then becomes a reflection of the Truth and, of course, this happens in one’s Life by degree and in proportion to one’s degree of focus upon the Truth and the things of God. This IS Life for the carnal man: his mind processes the things of the world, the carnal Life and informs the consciousness. This IS Life for the disciple: the Soul informs the consciousness and the Good, the Beautiful and the True, the things of God, are reflected in the mind and the Life of man is according to the Love and the Power of the Soul. There IS however a vast and innumerable degree of possible combinations of these two ideas which at some point in one’s Life may approach the Truth of that duality through with the aspirant suffers. The aspirant IS of course the seeker, the man who strives to keep his focus upon the things of God, and any man below this is awash in the ways of the world; awash in the illusion and the glamour. It IS the aspirant who realizes these things in the Light of his own Soul, it IS the aspirant who can see the battlefield; those below can at best sense the struggle and those above have accomplished this part of their Life objective. For those below, the illusion and the glamour overwhelm the Truth, they are ALL that the mind and the emotions can see and it IS in this way that this saying IS True as for them the mind never sees the real.
In the Life and the aspirant this saying has a different meaning and one that IS by way of a caution; here the idea is that the man who seeks God and who seeks the real should NOT rely upon the mind as the interpreter of reality as the carnal mind is of the flesh; it IS in this vein that we are told by Paul that as aspirants and disciples we must be ever “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). For this word rendered as imaginations, the alternate rendering is as thought although this IS reckoned as evil thoughts, likely based on it perceived usage, by some of the more modern translations. The point however for the True seeker IS that every thought should be examined and it IS in this examination that one can KNOW the source….the carnal thoughts of the world or the Wisdom from above. Paul also give us instruction in saying that we should “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2) where we should get the same idea; that we should renew the mind with the Light of the Soul, the Wisdom from above and not allow it to conform to the ways and the thoughts of the world. And no matter how one can cut these idea apart, these ARE a part of the works that a man must DO as an aspirant, a disciple and the True seeker after the Truth of God.
Faith, when it IS rightly understood as that KNOWING of the Truth or some greater portion of it, IS an exceedingly important tool as it IS by faith that we can cast down carnal thoughts and resist any sense of carnal conformance, and we can do these things because we see the Truth over the illusions of the world. It IS this faith, this KNOWING that brings a man to his sense of works and righteousness in thought, attitude and in action is the central point of these works as the man of True faith CAN NOT do aught else. In the last essay we discussed some of Paul’s words on the law and works under the law and we should try to understand his point in context; in his saying that “whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” there IS much Truth but this is for an example as he speaks of those who may work through the written laws in the idea that this and this alone will bring a man to salvation. Here we should see the point made to the rich young man by the Master where we read that this man had kept ALL the law and tells Jesus: “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:20-21). Yes the issue is riches but the deeper issue, the hidden meaning, IS that this man could not give up his worldly attachments and attractions for the Kingdom of God and this forsaking IS the product of faith, of KNOWING, as it flows into the consciousness from the Soul. And thus Paul’s point; one can keep ALL the law but be unwilling to live in the Light of the Soul from whence True faith comes and that this attitude IS of no avail.
In the understanding of the carnally focused man, religious or not, the sense of faith IS carnal and this faith is but some degree of mental and emotional affirmation of belief as in the idea that a man has faith in the saving grace of Jesus. In James words this sense of faith is useless if it DOES NOT produce fruit in the Life of the man and this fruit is the Godly thoughts, attitudes and actions of the man in the world; his works if you will. The faith however that IS from the Soul, the KNOWING that flows into one’s Life from the Christ Within, brings with it the fruit and brings with it the works of the aspirant, the disciple and the True seeker. And Paul DOES NOT disagree with this, in fact he builds upon this but telling us that if we stand as aspirants and disciples that we ARE beyond the law as our every motivation is in the production of the fruit of the Spirit in our Life in the world and, as the Master tells us: “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). The common misunderstanding regarding faith and works in Paul’s writings IS based upon the out of context view that his sayings ARE given and, as we say in the last essay, the greater reality is seen in the reading of his whole thought. While it IS not our intention to go through the many references that are used to support this doctrine, we will post a part of a Christian sermon on this issue from which we can perhaps glimpse their logic. It IS our intention to write a separate series of essays on these ideas of faith and works in the near future but for our current discussions our position on this has been stated along with what we KNOW as the right understanding of both of these words.
While the following is from a random internet search, this is typical of the logic of the doctrinal idea that “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). In this doctrinal approach to salvation the reality of the entire saying is lost and this is based in the approach itself where the thought that the audience is the aspirants and the disciples is totally missed; Their IS also Christian belief that the average reader of these words can be among the saved simply by this faith where many DO believe that by affirmation and ritual one can be among the saints. The larger ideas come to light in this segment from a sermon called ‘Faith and Works: Paul vs. James’; in this is the underlying reality of some doctrines regarding the state of the man in the world and this IS of course based in the doctrinal teachings of some Church Fathers and Reformers. We read:
Salvation must come from God and not ourselves for one very good reason: Our bank accounts are truly empty. Once, while I was discussing God’s qualifications for heaven with a waitress, she said, “God will approve of me.” “How do you know that?” I asked. The question was a pivotal one, but she’d never considered it. After a long, awkward silence she offered feebly, “Well, I don’t take drugs.” “That’s good, but I think God is concerned about more than that,” I countered. “Have you heard of the Ten Commandments?” I began to list them. We’d only gotten through two before she began to wilt. “Now you’re making me feel guilty,” she complained. That’s the point. We are guilty, each one of us. This is God’s Law. These are God’s requirements. Yet is there anyone who doesn’t consistently violate every one? Any attempt to whittle down God’s requirements to make them easier is doomed. The Pharisees tried this, asking Jesus which commandment was the foremost of all. Jesus answered, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” Which of us does not violate each command hundreds of times a day? *
Can we see the point that they make here? Using the words of the apostle they then craft the doctrine that allows that men will violate the commandments based in the doctrinal impossibility of accomplishing them. The missing point IS of course the idea of Repentance and Transformation where it IS by the Light of the Soul, the faith found in one’s focus upon the Truth of Life, that the outer Life IS changed and, while there are likely many who do understand and even teach this from a more worldly perspective, it IS assumed that a man is first saved by the grace of God. We read on a bit:
Saved by works? The Law gives us no hope because it has a built-in defeater to any attempt at justification by works: The Law demands perfection. “Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law” (Galatians 5:3). James agrees. He writes, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). In God’s view, there are only two kinds of people: innocent and guilty. One violation of the Law, one sin, makes you guilty. This is enough to silence the most noble mortal: “…that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to God” (Romans 3:19). “The Scripture,” Paul concludes, “has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (Galatians 3:22). There is only one hope: God’s mercy. The Scripture is replete with this teaching. “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5). “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Romans 10:6). “If righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly” (Galatians 2:21). *
This IS the reality of doctrine and we can easily see here how and why so many can believe in this rather easy way to approach God. Our view IS however based in the words of the Master and not in those of Paul; in Jesus words the reality of discipleship and the Kingdom ARE clear and ofttimes straightforward but, at the same time, they are extremely difficult of follow.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
Way |
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful (Colossians 3:12-15).
In this Quote of the Day we find the Apostle Paul speaking to the followers and believers at Colosse and instructing them in how it is that they should act and be. These are the virtues which establish the ways of disciples of the Master. We note here that Paul tells us the importance of Love which is translated here as Charity but which we know from previous posts is from the same Greek word as Love. We should see also that it is the same Love that we defined as a combination of our English definitions of both words, Love and Charity:
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. Plus the ever important High Ideal as taught by the Christ: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
Paul ends this with what comes naturally when we are in the Presence of the Master and this is to be in His Peace; as we seek and we strive toward Him we should notice the aura of Peace that overcomes us and in that Peace we find all of the virtues enumerated above.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- * http://www.str.org/articles/faith-and-works-paul-vs.-james#.UzsimvldX53
