Religious thought has ever striven to constrain human activity. Whether by the establishing ideals or rules, certain behaviors are pressed out of acceptable practice & other behaviors are drawn in. The relative merit or demerit are set by those promoting the particular system which they have embraced. Similarities in relative merit or demerit have caused many to equalize all religious thought regardless of contrary truth claims.
I am going to use a term, PC - Paulinist Christianity - by which I mean that form of Christianity which is defined by the letters of Paul recorded in the New Testament. PC does does not deny any of the rest of canonical Scripture, but it does recognize a distinction between what God said to Israel & what God said to Gentiles - "the rest". When Paul tells the Galatians in chapter 1 that there is only one gospel, it is the gospel he has proclaimed & anyone who brings another gospel (which is not a gospel) is fit for burning (no, he is not saying the Church is to burn such; he is saying such should be so regarded & therefore not tolerated within the Church), he is proclaiming a unity within the Church enumerated in Ephesians 4 - "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift."
According to Paul, there is a singularity in Christianity which is not "unity for the sake of unity" or "peace by compromise" but according to the calling by which we, as Christians, are called. This calling is to "one body", "one Spirit", "one hope", "one Lord", "one faith", "one baptism", "one God & Father" ... it is a calling which is changes our walk because it changes our nature but it does not do away with the old nature but calls us to peace with God & into war with the old.
PC strives to constrain human activity ... among its adherents! To those who are called, Paul says "walk worthy of your calling" because of the cost which was paid to extend God's grace to you ... the blood of the Only, the Innocent, the Anointed & Appointed of God ... our Lord, Jesus the Christ. To the rest, PC proclaims the law that the lawless would know their desperate state; PC declares the commands "believe" & "repent" - not because the rest are capable, but because the called are among "the rest" until they are called.
Indicative/Imperative: Paul gives several commands in his letters from the Lord to the Church, but the commands are never "do this to become that". His commands are always "because you are this, do this". No one has to tell you to eat because, as a human being, when you become hungry you will seek out something to eat. However, someone might tell you not to eat cookies because dinner is about to be served. Are cookies food? Yes. Are you hungry? Yes. So, why not eat cookies? They are not what is best for you ... if you are a Christian, as defined by Paul, there are certain behaviors which are not best ... certain things which will enslave your will & diminish your testimony of Jesus Christ to those who are inside & outside the Church ... certain things which will cause you or your brethern to stumble. Avoid those things. Do things which help you grow in faith, knowledge, understanding ... not to become, but because you are.
One Body =
One Spirit =
One Hope =
One Lord =
One Faith =
One Baptism =
One God & Father =
There is that which is called Christian today which should be "so-called" & as such should be rejected out of hand & castigated by the Church as being "other than Christian & fit only for burning". Those who claim to be within should be required to demonstrate congruence with Paul ... & if they are not, they should be shut out. Why? So the world will know what a Christian is & what one is not. We have so failed in expressing sound doctrine that our children are just as likely to abandon the teachings of their youth as they are to embrace them ....
I am not surprised when the world professes & embraces false doctrines ... those who are in darkness will stumble. What I am constantly amazed by is when those who profess Christ promote false teachers & false teachings ...
I am going to use a term, PC - Paulinist Christianity - by which I mean that form of Christianity which is defined by the letters of Paul recorded in the New Testament. PC does does not deny any of the rest of canonical Scripture, but it does recognize a distinction between what God said to Israel & what God said to Gentiles - "the rest". When Paul tells the Galatians in chapter 1 that there is only one gospel, it is the gospel he has proclaimed & anyone who brings another gospel (which is not a gospel) is fit for burning (no, he is not saying the Church is to burn such; he is saying such should be so regarded & therefore not tolerated within the Church), he is proclaiming a unity within the Church enumerated in Ephesians 4 - "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift."
According to Paul, there is a singularity in Christianity which is not "unity for the sake of unity" or "peace by compromise" but according to the calling by which we, as Christians, are called. This calling is to "one body", "one Spirit", "one hope", "one Lord", "one faith", "one baptism", "one God & Father" ... it is a calling which is changes our walk because it changes our nature but it does not do away with the old nature but calls us to peace with God & into war with the old.
PC strives to constrain human activity ... among its adherents! To those who are called, Paul says "walk worthy of your calling" because of the cost which was paid to extend God's grace to you ... the blood of the Only, the Innocent, the Anointed & Appointed of God ... our Lord, Jesus the Christ. To the rest, PC proclaims the law that the lawless would know their desperate state; PC declares the commands "believe" & "repent" - not because the rest are capable, but because the called are among "the rest" until they are called.
Indicative/Imperative: Paul gives several commands in his letters from the Lord to the Church, but the commands are never "do this to become that". His commands are always "because you are this, do this". No one has to tell you to eat because, as a human being, when you become hungry you will seek out something to eat. However, someone might tell you not to eat cookies because dinner is about to be served. Are cookies food? Yes. Are you hungry? Yes. So, why not eat cookies? They are not what is best for you ... if you are a Christian, as defined by Paul, there are certain behaviors which are not best ... certain things which will enslave your will & diminish your testimony of Jesus Christ to those who are inside & outside the Church ... certain things which will cause you or your brethern to stumble. Avoid those things. Do things which help you grow in faith, knowledge, understanding ... not to become, but because you are.
One Body =
the Church
One Spirit =
the Holy Spirit sent from the Father by the Son to His Church
One Hope =
Resurrection unto glory to be vessels of His mercy & trophies to His grace & kindness
One Lord =
Jesus the Christ sent by the Father to be a sacrifice for sin & established by Him to be over all things
One Faith =
Belief in the faithfulness of Jesus to the Father & the Father to Him
One Baptism =
"not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ"
One God & Father =
He is God who has made all according to His purpose for the revelation of His glory
There is that which is called Christian today which should be "so-called" & as such should be rejected out of hand & castigated by the Church as being "other than Christian & fit only for burning". Those who claim to be within should be required to demonstrate congruence with Paul ... & if they are not, they should be shut out. Why? So the world will know what a Christian is & what one is not. We have so failed in expressing sound doctrine that our children are just as likely to abandon the teachings of their youth as they are to embrace them ....
I am not surprised when the world professes & embraces false doctrines ... those who are in darkness will stumble. What I am constantly amazed by is when those who profess Christ promote false teachers & false teachings ...
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible... And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
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