I don't doubt I am arrogant. I concede. But isn't it a tad arrogant to believe that God sits around waiting for us to make the first move? The One who speaks and whole worlds come into existence must first wait for those He created to start the ball rolling? Romans 9:21 "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"

All quite interesting. However, I wonder if the canonizing of King James Version over NIV, et al is just another subtle contrivance of man forcing his way into the machinations of God's Master Plan. We are exceedingly egotistical creatures. This shows in every church I've ever had the displeasure of attending. All teach that in some way God cannot complete His Salvation Plan without the "assistance" of those He saves. We contend that it is our faith in Him that saves. The implication of this contention, when carried to its illogical conclusion, is that each and every one of us of "sufficient faith" could call Lazarus out of that tomb with the same efficacy as Jesus Christ Himself. Lazarus was physically dead. We are each of us "dead in trespasses and sins." We can no more raise ourselves from our sinful nature than Lazarus could get up and walk on his own. It was the faith of Christ that caused Lazarus to walk out of that tomb, and it is that same faith of Christ that causes each and every elect and predestined to rise above our sinful natures. Notice, first, that you must be one of those elected, predestined for salvation. This was decided at the foundation of the world. We were not even alive at that time and so how can we claim any responsibility if we are indeed "born again?"

This was a rather lengthy way to point to the fact that it is God's power that looks out for the integrity of His Word, no matter who the man or men are that provide the "interpretation." According to His Word found in 2 Peter 1:20 "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation."

As with all in this life, it is God's Master Plan, His Will, that reigns supreme on this planet and that not of ourselves. We are totally at His mercy and that does not bode well with our natures as humans. We must be the "masters of our own destiny," etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum...

If God's intention was to be as simplistic and to-the-point as you declare, then why did He create such a Book that has caused derision and confusion and exasperation and contention for roughly 2,000 years? Part of the answer lies, I believe, in this passage: 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

I believe you are correct when speaking of loving one another. That is clearly a command, not a suggestion, of God. Granted, the world would be so much better a place to live if most followed this edict. But God's Word is far greater than that of loving one another. He also commands that we carry this to its ultimate: loving one's enemies. Whew! What a command!

And then we have this: John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments." The entire Bible is His commandments! Consider the enormity of that... And here is the piece de resistance: Rom 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

It is clear to me that following His teachings is not simple, rather it is the most complicated endeavor ever to be attempted by any mere mortal, and certainly is not possible without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

I believe one of His reasons for the enormity of obeying His Word has to do with keeping our noses to the grindstone, so to speak. If we keep our eyes and ears and minds focused on His Word, then there is less chance of us straying and being torn away from Him.

What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?

Let me begin by saying that I am not, nor have I ever, consciously claimed to be a Christian! When I consider what I know God commands of His chosen ones, His Elect, His Predestined, with what I know of myself, my life, my thoughts, my behavior, the things I say and do, I just cannot see any evidence of Personal Salvation. I cannot look at my soul through rose-colored glasses. I can easily fool and mislead myself, and I indeed would be a fool to believe I could deceive the LORD. God states emphatically, “If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 This isn’t just the Ten Commandments, but the whole counsel of God, the entire Bible.

Additionally, consider Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Know of anyone like this in your social circles? If so, then you are indeed blessed. I have never had the privilege.

You see, there are no large numbers of saved people. The Bible refers to the chosen children of God as a few, a “remnant.” When buying a remnant at a carpet store, you hardly get the entire carpet. Get the picture?

I cite the following passages of Scripture: Romans 9:27 "Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:” Jeremiah 31:7 ”For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.” Jeremiah 23:3 ”And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.” Isaiah 10:21 “The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.” Isaiah 10:22 ”For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.” Isaiah 1:9 “Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.” Do your own “comparing of spiritual things with spiritual.” 1 Corinthians 2:13 These citations are not exhaustive.

When I first met my wife, Joy, in 1981, I was a die-hard, out-and-out atheist. No one could talk to me about God. I did not want to hear it! I hated authority and God is the quintessence of Authority. It logically follows, considering He was the One to not only create everything we see about us, but all authority. Christ has been gracious to allow me to “change my mind” about Him, and to understand much about His Salvation Plan, but that hardly assures my own salvation, and it certainly does not make me special. Remember Lot’s wife?

I have been studying the Bible for about fifteen years now. My zeal for study was most intense. For a time within the past my interest waned. Now, thank God, my interest in the LORD and His Living Word is returning.

There are many who have studied their whole lives, even sixty to seventy years. My point being that it is nothing we do, it is what the LORD reveals to each and every one of us. Intelligence and longevity of study play no role in what one learns and knows of the Bible. Everything we know and understand, everything we have or ever will have in this life, is because it is part of His Plan, for reasons we do not, nor probably ever will fully comprehend.

Even the concept of “free will” has nothing, no thing!, to do with a faith that will save us. It isn’t our faith in Christ that leads to Salvation, but that of the faith of Christ. Gal 2:16 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Gal 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

It is His Works, not ours, that saves us, even to His very choice of choosing us, not the other way around. To even intimate or think that He waits for our decision to accept Him is not only lunacy, but sheer, unadulterated human arrogance. His acceptance is the only thing that matters!

Please refer to the citations below, taken from God’s Word, The Holy Bible, for the final and absolute authority on what has been declared above. And incidentally, there is another passage in the Bible of particular reference, not only in this discussion, but in all Biblical discussions: 2 Peter 1:20 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”

Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

Ephesians 2:9 ”Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Galatians 5:19 ”Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.” Is there anything here that even remotely intimates our participation in any part of the Plan of God?

Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

Romans 11:6 “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Romans 9:11 “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth).”

The following are additional citations, for your additional edification. Pay close attention to the number of personal pronouns referencing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:

Ezekiel 36:22-38: “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD." Notice, here, who is doing all the doing? Is there the remotest inference of our having anything at all to do with our salvation?

If you are thinking I'm implying that I am someone special that God has chosen, may I remind you that God has often used others, the non-Elect and unsaved and, yes, even Satan himself, for His own good pleasure? I am no one special.

Having touched on the concept of arrogance, I am always amazed by the arrogance and self-righteousness of so many who readily profess they are Christian. Like my Mom used to say, “talk is cheap.”

Let’s consider a for-instance: When someone comes along and postulates ideas taken from the Bible that, at first blush, appear to contradict what is in the Bible, rather than demonstrate a Biblical willingness and Christian love to discuss these “new” premises to see if they do indeed correspond to the teachings of God’s Word (1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world”), these “Christians” not only turn their backs on the ideas proposed, but shun the person proposing them.

Isn’t there mention made somewhere in the Bible about loving your neighbor, not to mention your enemies? These are rhetorical questions, incidentally. Near as I can figure, loving one's neighbor is a command, not a suggestion, though I suspect there are many who view the Bible as just a bunch of "nice stories" with moral implications, nothing more.

Now, curiously, this is not their fault, which is one very good reason I suspect the LORD has commanded that we not judge others. Consider the following: 2 Thessalonians 2:10-13 “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:” Romans 9:15 ”For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Romans 9:18 ”Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will he hardeneth.”

In a nut shell, what we think, what we believe, what we hope will be, what we imagine will be, all of our combined collective wills and desires and wishes in no way influences the thoughts and plans of the Lord Jesus Christ. What arrogance to believe we actually do! Isaiah 55:8 ”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”

I pray this writing will cause all of us to take a closer look at how we are in relation to His teachings.

Love Is Not All

by
Edna St. Vincent Millay

Love is not all; it is not meat nor drink
Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain
Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink
And rise and sink and rise and sink again;
Love cannot fill the thickened lung with breath,
Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone;
Yet many a man is making friends with death
Even as I speak, for lack of love alone.
It well may be that in a difficult hour,
Pinned down by pain and moaning for release,
Or nagged by want past resolution's power,
I might be driven to sell your love for peace,
To trade the memory of this night for food.
It well may be. I do not think I would.

This is a poignant and succinctly eloquent, personal statement of love. Miss Millay tells us that love is not all. Indeed, but what then is love? To find our answer, if we further examine what love is not, then perhaps by contradistinction we will discover just what love is.

Love, romantic love, is not all. How often have you heard it said, "...but we love each other and that's all that matters. We'll find a way." It sometimes is said without conviction, for they somehow sense that it is not enough. It is often said in desperation, just as the drowning man pulls at his rescuer and, in so doing, takes them both to their demise. The psychology of this being that "if I'm sinking, it is somehow more consoling to have someone with me." The corollary is the avoidance of the responsibility for one's own life and decisions.

Romantic love indeed will not give you answers. It certainly will not help you avoid the responsibility and necessity of doing one's own thinking. Contrary to popular belief, each of us is an island unto our own minds. Cognition is not a communal activity, but an individual one. Evaluation of data and the decision-making processes cannot be done collectively. Even an agreement made with another is a process that only each, individually, can make.

Many desperately grasp at love as a means of freeing themselves from the quagmire of self-doubt and self-emasculation. The thought of being alone strikes sheer terror in their hearts. But, as we've already discovered, love in and of itself, will not alleviate this terror. Yet our being alone, when understood and accepted, and with the proper mate, can be one of the most delightful experiences two humans can share. How exhilarating the challenge of sharing the intimacy of one's own inner experiences with another!

Men are particularly guilty of the fear of being alone. They center their whole lives around their mate and, in so doing, sever most ties with family, past buddies and friends.

Women, on the other hand, generally continue their friendships beyond matrimony, often sharing intimacy most men find unthinkable to share with each other. Consequently, a man's nurturing is vastly limited, while women find their nurturing from their many friends.

Thus, when a marriage ends, the woman can go on with her life, for she has someone with which to share her feelings. Men, because of their self-imposed, self-limiting beliefs and inconsequential "experiences" outside their home, are devastated. They have no one to turn to, and so they turn to alcohol, the first harlot that comes along, or suicide...

We've explored what love is not, and so now let's turn to discover what exactly is love.

Conceptually, romantic love is the recognition and admiration for the values and beliefs you possess reflected in the person of another. It is as if you were looking in a mirror. When the values of each person complement the other, the consummate of romantic love exists.

Love for another can be so totally consuming that it becomes difficult to imagine life without the other. This is why some partners have endured the unendurable, confronting death head on, rather than allow harm to come to the object of their love. Many have died, giving the appearance of martyrdom, for the safety of the other.

To forsake one's life partner, one's soul mate, to place the other in a precarious, tenuous position, a position of danger, not only becomes unthinkable, but a contradiction in terms. This person is you, the image of you; to allow harm to the other is to allow harm to you. Your mate grows to such importance as to become an extension of you.

This love, however, is only possible to those who recognize that it will never be feasible to those who seek replacements for their own personal deficiencies through the life and strengths of the other. Romantic love is a vehicle toward fulfillment, but never its driver.

This then is romantic love. With your indulgence, we will explore the teachings of the Bible and see what God has to say on the subject. He should certainly know, considering He is the One who created us and wrote The Book!

One thing discernible within the pages of the Bible is that romantic love is never mentioned, nor even intimated. I suspect that's because God, having created man, is acutely aware that man's concepts of love prerequisite the inherent imperfections and sinful nature of us all.

In other words, when the person's viewpoints, expectations and perceptions begin changing, as they invariably do, it is then that the downhill slide begins, culminating in the dramatic and often painful crumbling of the relationship. The romance dwindles, fades and breaks up, and divorce is usually the culmination of such relationships. The causation and root of this dilemma is in the very fabric of us all. It is called sin.

I've attached scripture that speaks of a love that is impossible to live without the enabling of the Holy Spirit. 1Corinthians 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Matthew 5:43 "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy."

Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

Matthew 5:46 "For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?"

Matthew 22:39 "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

Mark 12:31 "And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."

Luke 6:27 "But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,"

Luke 6:32 "For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them."
Luke 6:35 "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."

John 5:42 "But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you."

John 13:34 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

John 13:35 "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:17 "These things I command you, that ye love one another."

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 or the "Love Chapter" as it is often called. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, 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. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." This word, Charity, is from the old Greek word, Agape, or Godly love.

The love of which the Bible speaks is that of self-denial and self-sacrifice. Romantic love, sexual love, even the love amongst friends is not a part of the Bible. The love of which the Bible speaks is that of Agape, unconditional, love. The Bible passages cited above are but an inkling of this love, but should lend an understanding of just what God commands. These are not suggestions and are only possible to those who possess the enabling Spirit of the Holy Ghost.