Pathways For Sojourners

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137) 1Cor 16:22 . . If anyone love not The Lord, let him be accursed.

One's love of The Lord is exemplified by loyalty. (John 14:15, 14:21, 23-24)

Does a Muslim have to be a terrorist to be accursed? No; they only have to be a
loyal follower of Muhammad ibn `Abdullāh instead of Christ's loyal follower; same
goes for Atheists, Nonreligious, Baha'i, Buddhists, Chinese Universalists,
Confucianists, Jains, Kabbalah mystics, Shintoists, Spiritists, Taoists, Zoroastrians,
Jews, Sikhs, and Hindus-- they're all accursed and there is nothing to be gained in
arguing about it.

How many people am I talking about? Well, as of mid 2014, worldwide there were:

550,000 Scientologists
1,500,000 Mormons
8,200,000 Jehovah's Witnesses
18,479,257 Seventh Day Adventists
7,794,000 Baha'i
515,951,000 Buddhists
451,292,000 Chinese Folk Religionists
8,424,000 Confucianists
974,597,000 Hindus
5,567,000 Jains
14,142,000 Jews
1,673,590 Muslims
2,819,000 Shintoists
24,918,000 Sikhs
14,183,000 Spiritists
8,660,000 Taoists
196,000 Zoroastrians
828,594,000 Nonreligious
692,111,000 Agnostics
136,483,000 Atheists.

The grand total of just those categories alone is 5,3387,550,257

If those figures are in the ball park, and if conventional Christianity is the reality;
then a minimum of at least 75% of the world's 2014 global population of 7.2 billion
people wasn't unified with Christ.
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138) 2Cor 2:6-8 . . The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for
him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be
overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for
him.

The cause for which Paul wrote that piece was a guy in the Corinthian church
sleeping with his stepmother (1Cor 5:1). Paul had instructed the congregation to
not only hold the man's feet to the fire, but also to ostracize him.

Some time had passed since then, and the man was apparently regretting his
actions, and broken off the illicit relationship with his kin, so it was time to let him
back into the group. No doubt the humiliation of it all had a tremendous impact
upon his attitude-- probably upon the congregation's too because at first their
attitude wasn't all that good about it either. (cf. 1Cor 5:2)

Here in America scolding and ostracizing a church member would probably just
make them resentful rather than repentant. (cf. Ps 51:17)

FAQ: Does 2Cor 2:5-10 support the Watchtower Society's shunning and/or
Scientology's disconnection?

REPLY: Those organizations practice vindictive forms of ostracizing that oftentimes
destroy friendship bonds, destroy family ties, destroy marriage vows, and even
endanger careers.

Christian ostracizing is pretty much limited to fellowship, i.e. congregational
functions, e.g. worship services, communion, prayer meetings, banquets, etc.
Extreme shunning practices put Christians in jeopardy of failing to comply with
Christ's instructions per Matt 5:44-48. (cf. 2Thess 3:14-15)

* A rough-hewn example for us to think about is located in the 15th chapter of
1Samuel wherein king Saul disobeyed God's instructions to utterly destroy Agag.
Afterwards Saul entreated Samuel to accompany him to church but the prophet
refused until the king fully admitted he was in the wrong.
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139) 2Cor 2:10-11 . . If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have
forgiven-- if there was anything to forgive --I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for
your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his
schemes.

One of the opposition's tactics is to create disunity in a church. Sure enough when
that happens-- as when one portion of the congregation believes in judging and
ostracizing while the other doesn't --people start taking sides and the church will
end up divided into cliques and factions. According to the lord and master of New
Testament Christianity, a house divided against itself cannot stand.

Paul mentioned that his extension of forgiveness was "in the sight of Christ". There
exists some controversy as to the exact meaning but I think it's just saying that
Paul's forgiveness of that man was done in accordance with Christ's approval; to
the end that the Corinthians all go along with it, i.e. stand together as one in their
compliance with the apostle Paul's decisions.
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140) 2Cor 5:20-21 . . We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were
making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to
God.

There's two different aspects to reconciliation. One is a criminal justice kind of
reconciliation (e.g. Rom 5:6-11, Rom 6:3-11, 1John 2:2) and the other is a
fellowship kind of reconciliation. (e.g. Gen 4:1-7, Gen 5:22-24, Gen 6:9, Gen 17:1,
1John 1:3-7)

For example, a man and his wife may not be speaking to each other; and sleeping
in separate beds; but they're still married: they're just not getting along; in other
words, they're out of fellowship with one another. It's God's wishes that His own
walk with Him in fellowship while they're waiting for their departure; and the
Corinthians weren't doing very well at it.

In order to restore diplomatic relations between themselves and their Father above,
that congregation had to knuckle down and deal with sin in their midst in
accordance with their superior's wishes rather than their own. Compare Josh 7:2-26
where Moses' people couldn't win anymore battles until they first dealt with a sin in
their midst.

It's ironic that a fully functioning Christian church like the one at Corinth was in
need of reconciliation with God. How many Christian churches are just like that
today? They pride themselves in being Spirit-filled congregations, yet their
congregational attitude is completely out of touch with Christ. Yes, Christian
congregations are oftentimes out of touch and need to come to their senses and
reconnect or else they risk becoming like the church at Laodicea where the central
figure of Christianity is depicted outside the building banging on the door trying to
get someone's attention to let him in. (Rev 3:14-22)
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141) 2Cor 6:1-2 . . As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace
in vain; for He says: In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of
salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of
salvation.

Salvation is a project similar to tearing down a house and building it back better.
Well; the Corinthians had undergone the demolition phase in concert with Christ's
crucifixion and resurrection; but they were stuck in the rubble, so to speak.

Well; Paul said, in so many words; that they shouldn't wait till the afterlife to begin
building back better, rather, God wanted them to begin now, in this life.

"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do--
living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry."
(1Pet 4:3 cf. Rom 6:1-14)
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142) 2Cor 6:14-18 . . Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for
what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion
hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part
hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God
with idols?

. . For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said: I will dwell in them,
and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate-- saith The Lord --and touch not
the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye
shall be my sons and daughters --saith The Lord Almighty.

Those instructions clearly prohibit intermarriage between Christians and non
Christians; and nowadays we would probably be wise to distinguish between
incompatible denominations too.
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143) 2Cor 7:1 . . Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse
ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness
out of deference to God's will.

* The promises are those listed at 2Cor 6:14-18.

Webster's defines "deference" as affected and/or ingratiating regard for another's
wishes. Deference is the opposite of resistance, rebellion, defiance, indifference,
stubbornness and/or doing things your own way.

Contaminations of one's body would include things like drug addiction, alcoholism,
adultery, promiscuity, gluttony, eating blood, etc.

Contaminations of the spirit likely refers to things that influence one's thinking
and/or have an effect upon the personality; for example: Critical Race Theory, the
political philosophies of Carl Marx, Mao Zedong, and Vladimir Lenin, Planned
Parenthood, Liberalism, LGBTQ sex education, transgender propaganda, anti
Semitism, certain kinds of television and/or internet entertainment, etc.
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144) 2Cor 8:11-15 . . If the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to
what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others
might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.

. . At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their
plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: He
who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have
too little.

* The equality we're looking at here has nothing to do with banning private
property and/or mandatory distribution of wealth; viz: this is about generosity
rather than politics, so please don't attempt to defend and/or promote Socialism
with this passage.

It's inevitable that some churches would be disadvantaged compared to others. For
example: here in the USA's big cities, churches have no lack of resources to take
care of themselves; while small town churches are barely scraping by. The
charitable thing for the big-city church to do is take a small town church under its
wing, like any normal person would a needy relative. The idea here is to moderate
the small church's disadvantages and keep things closer to a level playing field, so
to speak, i.e. fair vs. unfair.

NOTE: "if the willingness is there" tells me that church officers should not pressure
and/or shame their people into sharing their abundance, viz: should not attempt to
break down their resistance; like talking people into buying cars and vacuum
cleaners, so to speak.

The directive is an excellent passage for debunking the so-called Faith Promise;
which is a popular scheme for seducing congregations into pledging money they
don't have while expecting God's providence will somehow provide it. That is not
the Lord's way. By means of Paul, the Lord says to help out with what you already
have, not what you hope to have later; I mean: it is not His wish to copy ENRON's
mark-to-market accounting practices and/or futures trading with pork bellies and
soy beans.
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145) 2Cor 9:7 . . Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver.

Towards what end is the giving spoken of in the new testament? To finance
ambitious building programs? Well; Christians back then met in homes. Did their
contributions go towards obtaining more homes to meet in? No.

Within the context of the new testament; donations in the early church were
charitable. It met needs rather than expenses; and those needs were typically
congregational rather than universal; viz: their charity went towards those amongst
themselves and/or other congregations that were hungry, sick, injured, homeless,
alone, helpless, missionaries, full-time-church officers, orphans, widows,
abandoned, and/or oppressed, etc.
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146) 2Cor 10:7 . . If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should
reconsider that we belong to Christ just as much as he.

It's amazing that any Christian's ego would be so inflated as to think themselves
holier than an apostle, However, there are some people out there infected with a
pretty bad case of conceit who are up to it.
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147) 2Cor 13:5 . . Examine yourselves, whether you're in the faith; test your own
selves. Don't you know of your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, unless
you're all reprobates?

* The Greek word translated "reprobates" basically means unapproved. Apparently
Paul was suggesting the Corinthians might actually be make-believers instead of
true blue.

Many years ago as a fledgling Christian-- back around 1973 or so --I was reading a
passage in the 8th chapter of the book of Romans that goes like this:

"You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in
you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His."

At the time, it seemed reasonable to me that were someone inside my body I
should be able to tell; but I could not; and that made me nervous. So I contacted
a pastor in my area that I trusted and shared my concerns with him.

Well; he said-- in so many words --that the Spirit of Christ is supernatural, and as
such cannot be detected by means of our five natural senses of taste, touch, sight,
hearing, and smell.

You see; I was expecting the Spirit of Christ to have substance but the Spirit has no
detectable substance.

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where
it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John
3:8)

The thing is: this is something that has to be taken by faith rather than by sight, to
wit: the Bible says believers are sealed with the Spirit (1Cor 12:13, 2Cor 1:21-22,
Eph 1:13-14, Eph 4:30) Apparently some of the Corinthians were either unaware of
this particular blessing or shrugged it off as a fantasy. At the time; my difficulty lay
in the first category, which didn't take me long to rectify after I was shown a few
things.
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148) Gal 1:8 . . Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

The Greek word for "accursed" in that passage basically has to do with banishment,
shunning and/or disassociation.

An application of this, within the epistle to Galatians, is 5:4 where it says:

"You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you
have fallen away from grace."

Whenever Paul spoke of "law" he was usually referring to the four books of Moses
per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. So, in a nutshell; the anathema
clearly applies to people who insist that it's necessary to comply with the Ten
Commandments to order to avoid retrobution, e.g. Acts 15:5.
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149) Gal 5:1 . . Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

The yoke of bondage about which Paul wrote pertains to the covenant that Moses'
people agreed upon with God per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy;
which is described by Acts 15:10 as "neither our fathers, nor are we, able to bear"

A very serious problem with that covenant is that it allows neither pardon nor
atonement for willful disobedience.

● Num 15:30-31 . . Anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien,
blasphemes The Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he
has despised The Lord's word and broken His commands, that person must surely
be cut off; his guilt remains on him.

FAQ: David knew that an affair with married Bathsheba would be adultery. How
then was God able to let him off with a mere rap on the knuckles, so to speak,
seeing as how that covenant was David's religion? (2Sam 2:13)

REPLY: David was a man of faith and also a prophet. He was spared a full cup of
the wrath of God by means of Jesus' crucifixion. (Rom 3:21-26 & 1Pet 1:10-11)

FAQ: Jesus was crucified ex post facto. How then was it legal to apply his cross to
David retroactively before it even took place?

REPLY: Jesus was designated, and scheduled, to give his life for the sins of the
world very early-on: prior to anything created. (1Pet 1:18-20 & Rev 13:8)
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150) Gal 5:2-3 . . Listen. I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised,
Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets
himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

The Greek word for "man" in the above passage is a common word in the new
testament for humans of either gender.

Modern females undergo conversion to Judaism by means of a ritual bathing called
Mikveh; which, for them, is equivalent to male circumcision. The exact process by
which females in the old testament underwent conversion-- e.g. Ruth --is unknown,
but for certain, covenanted circumcision is specifically a requirement for Jewish
males. (Gen 17:9-14)

I think it safe to assume that the circumcision Paul warned against was a
nondescript label that included not only the male kind but also by whatever means
that females in his day underwent conversion to Judaism.

Seeing as how the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon per Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy doesn't specify a God-given procedure for female
conversion to Judaism, then I'd guess that just about any method would be
sufficient so long as the ritual is conducted by someone authorized to do so.

"he is obligated to obey the whole law" would include not only the edicts, statutes,
rules, and judgments relative to one's personal conduct, but also compliance with
the ritual sacrifices; which are inconvenient to say the least.
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151) Gal 5:13a . . You, my brethren, were called to be free. But do not use your
liberty to indulge the base nature;

Christianity is sometimes criticized as a license to steal, so to speak.

Well; that's true to a certain extent because folks unified with Christ are on an
honor system rather than a legal system, viz: they have immunity from any, and
all, of the curses that Moses' covenant imposes on disobedience per Lev 26:3-38,
Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:1-69 because their association with God is via a
different covenant wherein are no curses for non compliance.

Also: when people unify with Christ, the list of wrongs that God has been
accumulating against them gets demolished and from thence He does not begin
compiling a new list.

● John 5:24 . . I assure you: those who listen to my message, and believe in God
who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but
they have already passed from death into life.

● 2Cor 5:19 . . God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting
their trespasses against them

The Greek word translated "counting" means to take an inventory; i.e. an
indictment.

Folks unified with Christ have quite an advantage because when there are no
indictments against offenders, then there is nothing on record with which to accuse
them, i.e. it's as though they've never been anything but 100% innocent. This may
seem like cooking the books, but God has a way to do it without obstructing justice.

So then; there's a bit of a moral hazard within Christianity. However, God prefers
that people unified with Christ not allow human nature be the dominant force in
their lives. (cf. Rom 6:1-13 and Col 3:1-17)
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152) Gal 5:16 . . I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of
the base nature.

Some years ago, in a boatyard where I was employed, a young Christian boasted of
his dedication to Christ. So I asked him: What about the command to walk in the
Spirit? How are you doing with that one?

Well, the brash, pleased-with-himself youngster admitted he didn't even know what
that meant, let alone how to do it. In regards to "dedication" Mr. Super Saint hadn't
even got to first base yet. (Judging by the fact that was on a third marriage the last
time we spoke, I'd have to say he never did get the hang of it.)

Anyway, there's nothing mystical about this. Walking in the Spirit is just simply
complying with Christ's instructions rather than letting your natural impulses and/or
your own thinking control your conduct all the time.

For example: "Abstain from food tainted by idols, from promiscuity, from the meat
of strangled animals, and from blood." When a Christian complies with those
instructions; they're walking in the Spirit, but when they're indiscriminately eating
whatever, drinking whatever, and sleeping around without regard for God's feelings
about it; then they're fulfilling the desires of the base nature. It's that simple.

NOTE: The Greek word translated "lusts" can refer to bad longings as well as good.
For example:

"And he said to them: I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I
suffer." (Luke 22:15)

Christ's eager desire is translated from the same Greek word as the lusts spoken of
in Gal 5:16
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153) Gal 5:25-26 . . Since we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us
not be conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

The eternal life we have via unity with Christ is sustained by God's Holy Spirit.
(John 4:14 and John 7:38-39)

Webster's defines "conceit" as excessive self-appreciation of one's own worth or
virtue.

To my knowledge, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with having strong core values
and/or believing in yourself, but if you should find yourself somewhat indignant
and/or resentful when others don't believe in you, or when they think very little of
your core values; then watch out because that's a symptom of conceit, and it will
hinder you from complying with The Lord's instructions in regard to getting along
with fellow believers.

The Greek word translated "provoke" basically means to challenge; viz: to get in
somebody's face in an obnoxious, assertive, militant manner.

The Greek word for "envy" basically means hostile toward a rival, or towards
someone believed to enjoy an advantage. In other words: we're talking about a
competitive spirit-- not the good-natured, friendly kind but a malicious kind of
competitive spirit that resents others doing better than itself, or more popular than
itself, or more recognized than itself, or more admired than itself; viz: it's all about
self.

Rivalry is a very destructive passion. It got Abel slain by his own brother, and it got
Christ slain by his own people. Rivalry makes otherwise sensible people behave
contrary to their own better judgment, and gets them embroiled in oftentimes
unnecessary vendettas; e.g. gender rivalry, political rivalry, financial rivalry, and
racial rivalry. Those kinds of rivalries are very destructive influences.
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154) Gal 6:1a . . Brethren, even if someone is caught in the very act of any
trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness;

NOTE: The instructions given in Gal 6:1 pertain only to spiritual Christians. The
garden variety-- the rank and file pew warmers --need not burden themselves
with it.

The Greek word for "trespass" is interesting. It can refer to willful misconduct
and/or unintentional misconduct.

For example the same Greek word at Rom 5:18 describes Adam's decision in the
forbidden fruit incident, which we know for sure wasn't due to either ignorance or
deception. (1Tim 2:14)

Seeing as how the willful variety is dealt with harshly and summarily per 1Cor 5:1
13, whereas in this situation gently, then I'd say Gal 6:1 is referring to
unintentional misconduct; which doesn't merit a public flogging; but rather a quiet
talk; and the more private the better in order to avoid embarrassing the
unintentional offender.

* Restoration does not apply to visitors; only to members on a church's roles; i.e.
the congregation. The visitors' business is none of our business so don't go sticking
your nose in it.

The Greek word for "restore" basically means to repair or adjust, viz: restoration
applies to maladjusted Christians, i.e. the ones whose misconduct is habitual, and
quite possibly detrimental to a church's overall health.

A spirit of gentleness precludes the use of bullying, intimidation, rage. yelling,
demeaning comments, lecturing, scolding, biting sarcasm, ugly remarks, carping
criticism, brow beating, and such. Those methods aren't gentle, no, they're
abusive. They're also unwarranted when the accused has committed an
unintentional trespass.

In churches where people are conceited, assertive, confrontational, embroiled in
petty rivalries, debating, quarreling, and maybe even jostling for notoriety; the
spiritual ones are obviously going to be as scarce as California Condors

● Gal 6:1b . . each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.

The Greek word for "tempted" is somewhat ambiguous. It primarily means to test;
but can also mean endeavor, scrutinize, entice, and/or discipline.

I think what the restorers are being cautioned against is going about a right thing in
a wrong way so that they themselves wind up taken to task for conduct
unbecoming. In some people's minds, the end justifies the means so long as it
benefits the so-called greater good. But that's Machiavellian thinking rather than
Christian thinking.

In other words: the restorers need to tread lightly because if they go after an
alleged offender like a lynch mob; then they themselves should expect to be seen
by others as a toxic menace and detrimental to congregational peace, trust, and
unity.
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155) Gal 6:2 . . Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.

Human nature tends to shun people with problems as if they were lepers, so they
don't drag us into a world of inconvenience and/or negativity. But that is not what I
call fulfilling the law of Christ; which reads like this:

● John 13:34-35 . . A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved
you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another.

The love that is defined by "As I have loved you" is a kind of love willing to suffer
inconvenience, shame, humiliation, embarrassment, disgrace, and even death for
the sake of another. Christ's love isn't a fault-finding attitude; it's a supportive
virtue: it doesn't only feel your pain, it gets involved in your pain.

Church can be the loneliest place on earth when nobody cares enough about you to
get involved in your pain; but instead would just as soon not know about it. Sadly,
there is about as much love for one another in modern churches as there is
amongst an audience of strangers at the movies. I sincerely believe that a lot of
that indifference has to do with modern churches just simply being too big, too
busy, and too complex.
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156) Gal 6:6 . . And let the one who is taught the word, share all good things with
him who teaches.

I suspect that this is a bit different than 1Cor 9:11-14 and 1Tim 5:17-18 where it's
required that full-time church officers be compensated for their work.

The Greek of the verse above is vague, but seems to focus upon ordinary laymen--
likely both men and women --who voluntarily teach Sunday school classes and/or
speak to Wednesday night prayer meetings. Those folks appreciate feed-back, i.e.
reports from their listeners how the information they've received improves their
lives; and quite possibly corrects their thinking.
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