BOOKLET TWO

(Rom. 16:17) Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine...

In John 14:16, the translators of the King James Version wanted to be sure that the reader understood that Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit so they capitalized the word Comforter — a title of the Spirit which has special significance to every believer who has been comforted by Him. In the same vein, Jesus promised His disciples:

(John 14:27)
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

How does the world (Satan's domain of darkness) give things? Well, it either promises and does not come through or else it gives and then takes away. (And really, this should not surprise us since the Bible says that every man is a liar and that Satan is the Father of lies.) But not so our heavenly Father, for all who believe in His Son receive from Him the gift of life that is eternal. In like fashion, our Savior gives to each believer the Holy Spirit — a gift that will abide forever. And herein is the peace that God gives, for it lies in the fact that God cannot lie.

"FOREVER" OR "FOREVER MAYBE"

One of the Scriptures that the Judaizers offer to substantiate their claim that Jesus didn't really mean it when He said the Spirit would abide with us "forever"—but that he meant "forever, maybe"—is found in the Old Testament book of the Psalms.

(Psalms 51:11)
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.

I could say that there is much wrong with their interpretation of this verse, but the truth is, there is nothing right about it; for nowhere in the Scriptures does God torment His children by threatening to take His Spirit from them. Consequently, their using this verse to teach that if we do not behave in a certain way, God will take His Holy Spirit from us and doom us to everlasting torment is simply an implement of doubt.

Let's take a moment and look at some of the problems with this teaching. For beginners, it's obvious that those who teach thusly do not understand the basic difference between superstition and Scriptural faith. Simplistically put, superstition is the faith of all beliefs other than the faith of Christianity. And this is true whether the beliefs belong to the largest of cults or to the smallest village of headhunters in deepest Africa. To say this is not the product of the egotism of one who lives in a "Christian nation." Rather, it is the affirmation of the Bible itself; and such an assertion is understandable when we consider that the believer's faith is a fruit and a gift of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, faith in any spiritual entity other than the Lord Jesus Christ is a work of the flesh and is referred to in the Bible as superstition, the product of witchcraft.

(The restrictive stance of the Bible that there is only one door to God's gift of eternal life, that door being faith in the death, burial and resurrection of God's only begotten Son, explains why so many in our modern, politically-correct society are at odds with true Christianity and the Bible. After all, their stance that "it's not important what you believe in but how you believe" cannot coexist with the eternal Word of God. Accordingly, for their beliefs to root and thrive in the hearts and minds of people, true Bible teachings and teachers must be squelched.)

Another glaring problem of those who teach that God might take His Spirit from the believer is their assumption that they can go to the Old Testament for the writ to support their dogma. They assume this because they fail to understand that the covenant of the New Testament supersedes the covenants / teachings of the earlier ages. It is true that we can learn from the examples and illustrations of past ages; and it is also true that many of the principles set forth in their dispensational covenants have been integrated into the New Testament teachings for the Church. Nevertheless, the law as a way of righteousness died on the cross with Christ. This was necessary because man is unable to produce the righteousness required by the law due to his fallen nature, while Christ Jesus actually fulfilled every demand of the law when He lived on the earth. Therefore, being without sin, He was able to pay the sin debt for everyone born of Adam by His sacrificial death on the cross."For he [God] hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin [Christ];" wrote Paul, "that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor. 5:21). (By His death at Calvary, Jesus did away with the offering of the blood of animals as a sacrifice, for Christ Himself fulfilled every sacrificial requirement of the law of Moses — being the sacrificial Lamb of God sent to take away the sin of the world [Jn. 1:29, 36; cf. Heb. 9:6-28].)

In addition, those who would take David's words to mean that we should be fearful lest God might take His Holy Spirit from us, do err in that they do not distinguish the different offices of the Holy Spirit associated with each age. As we've already said, in those ages before us, the Spirit would fall upon men only when the circumstances warranted; while in the present Age of Grace, He indwells the believer (I Cor. 6:19 cf. Eph. 2: 11-21). (By the way, if our experiences in being a temple of the Holy Ghost is the earnest of our inheritance in Christ Jesus [Eph. 13-14] — our foretaste of things to come, then David's experiences with the Spirit could very well be considered a foretaste of the joy and peace that the Spirit-filled, New Testament Church has been experiencing throughout our Age.)

Furthermore, David's invocation, when viewed in its context and from the perspective of the covenant under which David lived, is seen simply to be the cry of his heart and not a doctrinal statement. In its context we see this psalm to be a prayer of repentance, the prayer from a broken and contrite heart brought about by the visit of the prophet Nathan regarding his great sins concerning Bathsheba. (See II Samuel, chapters 11 and 12.)

The prayer, even though it came from the direst of anguish, exhibits a phenomenal faith. "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me" (Ps. 51:1-3). Although he had committed adultery and murder in his folly, both offenses punishable by death and both penalties strictly observed in Israel at the time, still his faith cried out to his God, "...wash me and I will be whiter than snow (Ps. 51:7b)." Nevertheless, because David had compounded his sins by trying to hide them, the Word of the Lord came through Nathan saying, "...the sword shall never depart from thy house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun" (II Sam. 12:10-12). Still, in spite of the anguish and sorrow his sin brought upon himself and his household, we can see from the 51st Psalm that David never lost his zeal for God or his faith in his heavenly Father. "Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit...thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise (Ps. 51:8-12, 16-17).

DAVID'S UNDERSTANDING

Of all who lived under the law, few tasted of the goodness of God's Spirit as did David. David had often known the leading and the power of God from his youth up. In addition, because of his meditations upon God and His Word, the unction of the Holy Spirit inspired David to write many of the psalms. It was David who wrote,"...my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee..." (Ps. 63:1). Because David cherished those times that the Holy Spirit would use him, it's understandable that during the times when the anointing of the Spirit was not present, he would sorely feel His absence; thus his plaintive cry: "...take not thy Holy Spirit from me." If we add to this the fact that in David's life and in his writings we can find no hint of his ever doubting the grace of God or his place with God, then we can understand why the Holy Spirit prompted Paul to quote David when he wrote the following concerning the believer's secure place in the Lord.

(Romans 4:4-8)
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

OUR STANDING VS. OUR WALK

Up to this point we have been talking about our standing in Christ which is the same for all believers, for the standing of every believer is the righteousness of Christ Jesus Himself. Regarding this standing, Paul says we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus (Ro. 8:37). This is because a conqueror has to keep what he has gained or all his victories will have done him no good. But our forgiveness and our standing with God were won for us by Christ Jesus who has committed Himself to the keeping of them. However, we should note that the forgiveness of our sins and our place in the family of God is only a part of what Christ earned for us at Calvary. He also provided for us all that we need to live a more-abundant, overcoming life in our day-to-day walk. Consequently, our doctrine should reflect both our standing and our walk so that our lives as sons and daughters of God might be balanced as we finish traveling the path we are assigned.

THE WAY OF FAITH

This path that we are to walk is known as the way of faith. This way of faith is described in the Bible as a warfare and it comes with enemies that are to be overcome (e.g., Satan and his horde of devils and those men and women at his beck and call, our own fallen flesh, many of the habits and traditions instilled in us, etc.). In this fray we have the promise of God that we shall not be tempted above what we are able to stand nor that we will have put upon us more than we can bear (I Cor. 10:13). Yet, not all will fare the same in this walk / warfare for our success will vary according to our commitment to Christ and our faith in Him.

That all of God's children will be judged for what they have done in their walk is indisputable; for Paul tells the Corinthians, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (II Cor. 5:10). For the particulars of that judgment, we need but to go to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.

(I Corinthians 3:9-17)
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

But the Judgment Seat of Christ is only one of the two possible judgments awaiting man. The Bible also tells us about the Great White Throne Judgment that will be the lot of all who die apart from Christ. It is important that the differences between the two judgments are fully taught to the Lord's babes; for in so doing, we not only mark them who would try to manipulate the Lord's babes by holding God's wrathful judgment over their heads, but we disarm them as well. (The Great White Throne Judgment will be at the end of time and the particulars are found in Revelation 20:11-15. The Judgment Seat of Christ where all believers will be judged for what they have done during their lives is found in II Cor 5:10 and Rev. 22:12. We should also notice that for both judgments, where men and women will spend eternity is not in question; for that was decided in this lifetime. Those at the Great White Throne Judgment will be those who have chosen for themselves the eternal lake of fire; and they will stand speechless for their sentencing, knowing that they are without excuse [Ro. 3:19]. Some read the Scriptures to say that there will be varying degrees of torment among the lost, depending upon their deeds in light of their understanding of what God had required of them [Rev. 20:11-15 cf. Lk. 12:48]; but I would imagine this to be of little comfort at the time.)

With all of this in mind, let's look now at the believer's walk of faith wherein he is to be laying up his treasures for the time of rewards; and as we do, let's consider one of the enemy's most effective fiery darts: i.e., the beggarly elements of the law.

(II Tim. 2:3-5)
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

If we will look in both of Paul's letters to Timothy, we can see that by his use of this word "lawfully" he is not suggesting that we must use the law of the Old Testament to be victorious in our warfare — as many would have us to believe. Let's read now from his first epistle to Timothy:

(I Tim. 1:8-10)
But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

In his letters to Timothy, when Paul uses the word "lawfully," he is speaking of doing things in an appropriate manner. Here in his first letter he tells Timothy that the "law" can be used "lawfully" when it is used to convict the lost of their sin (the schoolmaster that brings us to Christ — see Galatians 3). But in the light of all his other teachings concerning "law and grace," there is no way that such instructions should be viewed as an attempt to put Timothy (or the Church) back under the beggarly elements of the law (Gal. 4:9). In fact, in this passage he tells us that the "law" is not for the righteous (those in Christ Jesus) but for those who walk after the spirit of this world.

This is not to say, however, that there are no guidelines to govern the believer's walk of faith; for as we just read in Paul's second letter to Timothy, when we strive to please the Lord, we must do so "lawfully" — i.e., according to the guidelines laid down in the New Testament, the covenant for our Age of Grace. Does this mean that we in the New Testament Church must now live under two sets of law? both the old and a new? Not according to Paul. True, Paul calls the new way given to the Church "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus"; but this is just another way of saying that for the New Testament believer to please God, he has only to walk in the Spirit of Christ and not to become entangled in the "do not's" and "touch not's" of the law. In fact, in the 8th chapter of Romans, Paul explains that when the New Testament believer walks in the Spirit, he thereby fulfills the just demands of the old law. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1-4).

Will every son of God walk in obedience to the Spirit of God at all times? According to the Scriptures and our experiences / observations, this does not happen. The Apostle John wrote: "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" (I John 1:5-10). Just because we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior does not mean that we no longer have a will of our own. The degree to which we walk in the Spirit will vary according to our dedication to Christ and our willingness to surrender our will to His; and this will vary with each of us. It is possible for the child of God to become obstinate and walk in self-will, but Paul gives us a word of caution. "Be not deceived," Paul admonished the church in Galatia, "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Gal. 6:7-8). This is only one of several Scriptures dealing with the chastisement of the son of God — which chastisement, by the way, every believer will experience in one way or another (Hebrews 12:1-10). But this particular Scripture is also interesting in that it makes reference to a very important New Testament concept: i.e., that of "sowing and reaping."

"REAPING" VS. "EARNING"

In the light of Paul's many assertions that salvation is a gift from God — one that can only be acquired by those who accept it by faith — then there is no realistic way we can say that Paul is teaching in Galations 6:7-8 that we "earn" everlasting life by "sowing to the Spirit." In fact, in this passage he does not speak of earning anything; rather, he speaks to the process of sowing and reaping. Paul first stated that "he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption." We should also note that just as with the reaping of what is sown in nature, the corruption of the flesh is seldom instantaneous. Similarly, when we sow to the Spirit, the things that we sow must mature; and although some seeds of love and faith will blossom down here, because we are dealing with things eternal, we must enter into eternity before we can fully reap what we have sown. And let's note that Paul said he who sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap "life everlasting." This is because everything that the Spirit touches has life, and that life is everlasting. (Although the Holy Spirit has life eternal, when given to us, it becomes life everlasting; for us it has a beginning, but no end.) In this analogy, Paul sums up by saying to the Galatians: "And let us not grow weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal. 6:9).

THE DANGER OF TEACHING GOD'S GRACE AMISS

To the thoughtful person, it is obvious that we need to be careful as to what we sow. But there is also the need to be careful as to how we treat (and teach) God's grace lest we fall into a snare as did those of Paul's day who were not only inserting their doctrine of works into the dogma of the churches, but who were also taunting Paul's doctrine of God's grace. "If God gets glory from forgiving our sins," they jeered, "then the more we sin, the more glory we should bring to God." Paul refuted such heckling in the third chapter of Romans by saying that the damnation of such teaching (and teachers?) is just! Then in Romans 6, he finished his rebuke to the Judaizers with this word to the Church:

(Romans 6:1-4)
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ [the baptism of water is an outward symbol of the inner baptism of the Spirit into the body of Christ] were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

AS OUR DOCTRINE, SO GOES OUR WALK

"Lawfully but not as under the law" and "sowing and reaping," these are the premises of our walk of faith. "Legalism" and "works and conditions," these are the snares of the devil. For those who know and are known of their heavenly Father; for those who are spiritual virgins in Christ, for Christ; for those whose bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and who have thereby become one with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit — for all who meet these criteria, there is assigned a walk of faith. And for all who walk this walk, as the name implies, faith is key to our victory. It was in anticipation of the enemy's opposition to our walk of faith that the Apostle Paul commanded young Timothy to mark them in the church who would teach traditions and dogmas that are contrary to sound doctrine, teachings designed to hinder the Church in its walk and to taint the seed that it was sowing.

Since faith is critical to our walk/warfare, and since we are instructed in the Scriptures to contend earnestly for the faith, let's do so; but let's do so as under grace, and not as under the beggarly elements of the law. This is where sound doctrine comes in; for the Church is not under some lifeless list of rules, but under the auspices of the love of God. (After all, we are the sons and daughters of God, and Christ is not ashamed to call us His brethren.) Also, as we consider the importance that Paul placed on doctrine, we can see the need to distinguish the good from the bad. To be able to do this is simply a matter of obedience. If we study the Word to show ourselves approved unto God, the Holy Spirit will help us to recognize those teachings in our midst that do not line up with the whole body of Scriptures — for this is the distinguishing mark of bad doctrine. Church, let's face it, in the natural, it is crucial to our well being that we are loved by those we deem dear. Likewise, we cannot hear too often about the awesome way that God loves us; for the love of God is not only essential to our faith, but it is the also the bottom line of sound doctrine!

We should also note that the love of God is not just fundamental to sound doctrine, but love is such a part of God that John was led by the Spirit to present Him to the Church as love personified — declaring in his first epistle that, "God is love" (I Jn. 4:8,16). Nevertheless, as with so many things in God's creation, there is another side to God's emotional continuum.

GOD'S OTHER SIDE!

Jesus was not trying to be poetic when He told His Jewish disciples: "Except ye be converted [change your minds towards God and let God change your hearts] and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 18:3). To the converted, these are precious words; but to the self-righteous Jews of Jesus' day, this was a dire warning. Although the descendants of Abraham are an integral part of the kingdom of heaven, we see here that the generation of Jews who had rejected their Messiah and counted themselves unworthy of the Kingdom of God (Acts 13:46) had already come under judgment: the Judge Himself totally banishing them from the kingdom of heaven.  (Cf. Luke 10:1-14.)  Furthermore, this was not the only warning Jesus had given this generation of Jews concerning the kingdom of heaven.

(Matthew 8:11-12)
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
But the children of the kingdom [which to this time was comprised of only the Israelites and their converts] shall be cast out into outer darkness [speaking of their dispersion]: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

    As we'll see when we get on into our study of the "transitional Jews," this generation was unique in many more ways, not the least being their inability to recognize the Son of God though He walked in their very midst. When we consider that the noble part of mankind considers love to be the greatest gift to man — philosophically ranking it above air and water and food, etc., then we have to say that these Jews really missed it when they hated and rejected their Messiah, the Son of Love; for in so doing, they not only rejected God's gift of eternal life (Mt. 22:8; 23:13; Acts 13:46), but they also spurned His love and the "more abundant" life that He had planned for them in this life (Jn. 10:10).

"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth [by virtue of his own merits] take heed lest he fall" (1Cor:10:12).

Lest we Christians wag our heads at their plight, we need to consider ourselves. Although our spirits have been made one with the Spirit of God, this did not take place because of anything we have done, but because of God's undeserved love. Consequently, we must take care not to quench the Spirit or to grieve Him lest we frustrate His grace in our lives.

However, as we also learn from the Apostle Paul, just trying not to offend the Holy Spirit is less than satisfactory. We are to strive to stir Him up as well. "Wherefore, I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (II Tim. 1:6-7). Oh, that we might gain just a little insight into Who God really is and what He really wants of us; for God is Love (I Jn. 4:8) and He loves us with an everlasting love. In return He wants us to love our neighbor even as He has loved us! This seems so simple that even a child can understand it. In fact, this brings us back to the Lord's statement to the Israelites that except they repent and become as little children, they could not enter into the kingdom of heaven. For you see, the Lord has brought this principle forward to every generation since, commanding all men to repent and to put their faith (child-like trust) in what His Son has done and is doing for us (Acts 17:23-31).

Church, it is so important to God that we comprehend His love and walk therein. In fact, this is the reason there is a creation. And this is the reason the second Adam (Christ Jesus) fulfilled the Scriptures and died on the cross: i.e., so that all who receive the atonement of that sacrificial death are restored to the fellowship that God had with the first man Adam — plus!

Eph. 3: 14-21:
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
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.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Again, Church, it is critical to our well being that we get a grasp on God's love for us, for therein is the foundation for the faith that we must have if we are to receive anything of God (Heb. 11:6). Also, it is imperative that we build our doctrine (and our lives) upon "thus saith the Lord," for therein is where we learn of the love of God. Moreover, it can be devastating to our faith to be taught that God is a hard taskmaster by those who are charged with the welfare of our souls. This is especially true of the babes-in-Christ who are so reliant upon those behind the podium — hence, the reason for this book. This book has been written for the purpose of alerting believers to the contrary winds of doctrine that blow from our various pulpits and to counsel all with a living faith to feed that faith on "this saith the Lord" and not upon those teachings designed to make the child of God doubt the love of his heavenly Father. After all, when we stand before the Lord on our day of judgment, none of us will get to blame our failures on another's understanding of the Word, not when the Bible is still the best selling book in the English realm and when no Christian home is without at least one copy of the Sacred Writ.

To the babes-in-Christ let me suggest that you take advantage of your infancy and put the responsibility of your welfare on your heavenly Father, knowing that you can trust His love to get you to the place that you can correctly discern the spirits. Nevertheless, you also need to understand that in the meantime you are to be desirous of the sincere milk of the Word and to be studying the Bible to show yourselves approved unto God, "...a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15).

SOME FAMILIAR QUOTES

As we consider the fact that God is Love and that His love is directed towards us, there are some often quoted Scriptures that just naturally come to mind. Let's take the time now to look at a few.

(I John 4:7-12)
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

(I John 4:19-21)
We love him, because he first loved us.
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

(Galatians 5:6)
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

(I Corinthians 13:1-3)
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity [agape love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

These are just a few of the abundant Scriptures that are straightforward and easy to understand concerning the love of God — all so simple that, as we've said, a child can understand them. But there is something that we should note about this agape love which was translated "charity." It is not a gushy "look-at-me," self-indulgent kind of love; but it is actually the love of God functioning in the heart of faith. It is that love which seeks not its own but the welfare of others. All of which brings us again to one of the better rulers with which to mark them in our midst who would put the church under some form of the law. It is the trait of those with their own brand of self-serving doctrine to select some passage of Scripture that is rather obscure in meaning and use (misuse) it to contradict those things in the Scripture that are obvious and fundamental.

A CASE IN POINT

A case in point would be the misuse of the following Scripture. It is true that the Word of the Lord came to Malachi saying, "...Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons [devils] of the wilderness" (Mal. 1:2-3 ). However, this particular verse, as with all the Scriptures, has to be taken in its context, both overall and particular, to be understood. And when taken in its context, there is no way that it can be interpreted to say that God's love for a child of God just might turn to hate. We don't know if Esau later repented of his attitude and was forgiven — some feel that this might have been the case because of his change of heart towards Jacob in their later years; we just don't know. However, we do know that in this passage, when God says He loves Jacob and hates Esau, that He was referring to the nations that would come out of their loins; i.e., Israel and Edom — nations whose policies and attitudes would reflect the youthful attitudes of the two young men towards the God of Israel. But as we've already pointed out, those in Christ Jesus have been delivered (past tense) from the wrath of God.   Therefore, those who twist the Scriptures concerning God's hatred for Esau to say that the believer must live in a certain way lest they incur the hate of God are in great error, having wrested the Scriptures in the most flagrant way!