A WORD TO THE WISE

                                                   
                                          A WORD TO THE WISE       

     A Christian learns the precepts of faith through hearing or reading the gospel. I limit this travel in faith to understanding the gospel, which is the set of directions Christ gave us to follow. There is much "religion" being preached today in churches and the media that has little or absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. We are warned repeatedly in scripture about false teaching, but when it is presented in an emotional way, we become susceptible to the sham. False teaching is always with us, because Satan knows carnal mankind is weak and predisposed to sin. Okay--I'm finished with the lecture, and now on to the word (s) to the wise.

    Many English words have multiple meanings. How they are used  influences our reasoning (or lack thereof). I've discussed simple words
such as charity previously. Translators of scripture frequently had a  choice of several meanings, and selected the word they were most
accustomed to understand. Sometimes that is not the primary
understanding we may have. The word I discussed before was "charity." We generally associate the meaning of alms to mean the same thing. Alms means to give to the poor and needy. The original Greek meaning of charity was love, which is a form of "giving." It is very easy to mix charity and alms together, but there is a large difference.

    When we don't know the original intended translation, it follows we may be misunderstanding whole parts of scripture. We'll look at one of the most well known directives in scripture, The BEATITUDES. This is found in Matt. 5, 6 and 7. This is a lot of reading, but it is the manual for being a genuine Christian. These verses also contain a number of words most of us don't realize are misinterpreted. By that, I mean we are using one of the many meanings, but not the correct one. If we think and reason while we read, we will see the light bulb go on to warn us we should check it out further. For example, go to the  word "meek" in Matt. 5:5.

    "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." My first 
thought was how could the meek inherit anything, because they do not have dynamics and are easily conquered by the mighty. That was my reasoning, which led me to explore the word meek. It is quite enlightening that the dictionary lists one negative meaning for the word--"spiritless." That is to say, easily pushed around, which is the interpretation I originally understood. However, compared to one negative meaning, there are many positive meanings listed. They include long suffering, patient, mild of temper, gentle, kind and humble. Satan is pretty sharp. There is only one negative meaning, but he leads us to ignore all the positive meanings. So Christ is telling us that if we are patient and run the good Christian race (as Paul tells us), if we are mild of temper, gentle, kind and humble, we shall inherit the earth.

    While judgement against those who are not meek may come at any time, these "not meek" leaders, may they be church or political, will eventually give way to Christians who know Christ's teaching. Now, if you read the Beatitudes, you will see Christ gives clear instructions for living a Christian life. He is teaching a multitude of people. These people included Jews and others with no Jewish background. The Christian church had not yet been founded, and the early believers called the church "The Way." This clearly points out that Christ did not believe in separation. Scripture tells us God sent His Son to offer eternal life to all people. 

    We will continue to use a dictionary to assist in the intended
designation of key words used by Christ. In Matt. 5:43-48 we come upon the words love and hate. I have written that Christ never taught hate, and here is a statement where Christ did use the word. If you researched this passage, you would find that the word hate was not Christ's personal word, but a word not written by Moses in the Old Testament, but the word added in Lev. 19:18 by scribes and Pharisees. I repeat, Christ never taught hate in any form. If a pastor or speaker declares he/she hates someone for any reason, he/she is disobeying scripture by passing judgement. You may not like someone or you may be disgusted or hate actions, but you cannot hate without violating Christ's teaching. Hard to swallow this, but we are carnal.

    Next is a definitive look at the word love, which IS exactly what Christ taught. I fear we tend to mix love and lust into the same  meaning. There are many different meanings for love in the dictionary, and mankind's carnal mind isn't doing well on separating these meanings. The prime meaning of the word is a feeling of strong personal attachment induced by sympathetic understanding, or by ties of kinship; ardent affection. I admit I have usually associated love with sex because I never bothered to find out what the word really meant. Love can also represent fondness, such as love of history or literature. Love can also mean tender and passionate
affection for one of the opposite sex. When we are discussing love,  especially in a religious setting, we should be careful to understand the correct meaning of our conversation. If we err, we are committing a sin of judgement. For example, same sex marriage may reflect only non sex love. Loving your neighbor should have nothing to do with sex. 

    Dealing with "love your enemies" is an entirely different ball game.
If you are honest, you have to admit it is very difficult to love someone
who is antagonistic, foul mouthed, or who totally opposes everything
you stand for. This is where common sense plays a major part. God has
given us the ability to reason, and when someone comes directly at us,
we have to consider that we have the option to defend ourselves, as
He instructed us in defining murder and killing. God has an army, and
if He needs one, so do we. Killing should be the last effort. We won't be
excused if we make it the sole effort.

    I realize it is tough to try and treat an opponent (enemy) in a nice
manner, especially when he/she continues to use you badly. Sometimes
being a Christian is not easy. If you only pass the Christian test with
slam dunks such as not stealing, you need to move to tougher test
questions such as loving your enemy. Some enemies can be transformed
by your Christian example. We need to at least try. As Christ told the 
young ruler in Matt. 19:16-22, you cannot do JUST certain things to
have eternal life. The young ruler could not give up his wealth and money.
I hear politicians talk about cost and money incessitently, while they
don't  part with their millions. 

    If you carefully read (and study) the Beatitudes, you will have a
complete guide for a Christian. There are other considerations, because
all of scripture is important, even those we may not fully understand.
To address some of the hate that is being taught, both in the pulpit and
in politics, note the directions Christ taught AND those He didn't teach.
He didn't teach to separate homosexuals and lesbians from Christians
or the Gentiles. Can you tell me why? Don't say there weren't any. There
have always been these. This is the beginning of separation that began
immediately after The Way became Christianity. 

    How can this be? Read the Epistles, and you may understand how
carnal mankind believes God has made mistakes or omitted certain
important issues such as lesbianism and homosexuality. Friends, God
and Christ didn't and don't make mistakes or forget. They know more
than we ever could. People in the new churches dropped The Way as
a Christian designation, and began a transition to denominations. This
was Satan's little trick to begin the separation of believers. He knew
carnal mankind would fall victim to ego, and each group or newly
founded church would try to be better than the others. Mankind always
seems to think God can be bettered. This belief resembles the primitive
thought that mankind could have an idol, and thus impose mankind's 
desires of control. Much of the difference in Christian denominations
is in man's rules added to Christ's instructions. Many of these rules
are totally stupid and ignorant as well as directly opposite Christ's
direction. A pastor who wants to keep anyone out of his congregation
is a tool of Satan. Christ kept no one out of his teaching multitudes,
and ministered to all types of people who weren't Christians. He asked
only that they believed with their heart that He had the power of the
one God. This  power is now the Holy Spirit under Christ's direction.

    When it comes to worship, be careful you aren't led astray by the
emotional pitch of religious or political leaders. The Word of God is
God (John 1:1). Anyone who preaches separation is doing it because
they aren't a Christian, are an ignorant Christian, have a personal axe
to grind, or are attempting to rally a vigilante mob to accomplish a
Satanic goal. You may disagree with anyone's opinion and lifestyle,
but you are not to judge. Christ gave us a mission, as you can see in
all four gospels. That mission was not to force by man-made laws or
customs any directives of Christianity. God gives everyone a choice.
The mission Christ gave us was simply to preach the gospel. It was
not to compel any man-made desires. Gospel is the unfettered truth
as Christ gave it to us. If we committed our heart to Him, we must
obey His last command. I love that command, FOLLOW ME, partly
because it was my military patch (with a sword) when I served in
the Infantry Center. It was and still is a daily reminder of my duty.

Rev. Walbear