THEMOST EXCELLENT WAY #15C

PETER'S HOUSE IN CAPERNAUM

Paul said that love "...always protects...""...covers...". Zodhiates' comment on this is that love "...hides the faults of others..." and that the word for "protect" means "...to cover over in silence..."

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Isn't it wonderful that God loves us enough to cover our sins?(Ro. 4:7) The scripture says loads to those who advertise and put on exhibition the faults of others rather than to cover, protect, hide their shortcomings. And for such folks it must be a distasteful fact that in the context of love Jesus encourages us: "You...must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect..."(Mt. 5:48)(Amplified)

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That type of behavior just simply does not fit the agendas of some religionists. Love is primary according to Jesus. And if Jesus' admonition is taken seriously unity will prevail among Christians.

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Thousands of pages of manuscript have been written and published to promote disunity among brothers that would never have been written had Jesus' advise been taken. Recently I was handed an article by some well meaning person who I believe has a sincere interest in my spiritual condition. However, as I read the article it became obvious that the writer was intent on establishing himself right and others wrong on three distinct points. The conclusions seemed to be pointed and right. However, love that is primary, was never mentioned. The writer's intention, it seemed to me, was to scold what he called "liberal brethren." I wondered, as I read, if the author realized that the Christian faith and knowledge according to I Cor. 13:2 and I Cor. 13:13 will take a back seat to love. It is the greatest according to the apostle.

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Jesus said "...love...your neighbor as (you do) yourself."(Mt. 22:39)(Amplified) All men have deficiencies and faults both doctrinal and personal. If those faults are accentuated then unity cannot prevail. What if love came first?
Nobody is perfect in understanding. Comfort might be had in being more perfect than someone else but ultimately, of course, we all are in the same spiritual boat. Our righteousness comes from God. Anything else is as filthy rags.(Isa. 64:6) How does Jesus see us and how we should see one another is the key element of unity.

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One of the most beautiful examples of "to cover in silence" is seen in Jesus' dealings with Peter. Peter was handpicked by Jesus to be an apostle, left all to follow Jesus, was outstanding as a participant in the earthly ministry of Jesus, witnessed firsthand Jesus raising the dead, healing, feeding over 9000 people with a few fish and a little bread, watched Jesus calm a turbulent sea, saw Him cast out demons, was present and a spokesman at the transfiguration. Jesus, according to some, stayed at Peter's house in Capernaum. How many conversations did they have? How many prayers did they pray together? John said of Jesus: "...there are also many other things which Jesus did. If they should be all recorded one by one(in detail), I suppose that even the world itself could not contain(have room for) the books that would be written."(Jn. 21:25)(Amplified) No doubt Peter was privileged to see and experience many of the things John spoke of that were never written about.

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Yet during Jesus' darkest hour on earth Peter committed the unexpected. He cowardly denied Jesus and openly and emphatically stated his denials. Matthew recorded that he even "...began to curse and to swear..." while twice saying of Jesus "I do not know the man."(Mt. 26:74)(Interlinear) Then he "...wept bitterly..."(Mt. 26:75)

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What would Jesus do with such a man? What in the world would the other disciples do with such a man? But of course Jesus had already told them "...you will all fall away on account of me."(Mt. 26:31)(NIV) Even so, according to some present day religionists there had to be a distinction. Maybe we could accuse him of verbally denying Christ while we did not. There must be some reason for uncovering his sins. What about the inner circle? What would they think of him? How about the developing church? The presumption of Peter! All those things he bragged about! Didn't he say he would die before he would deny Christ? At Caeserea Philippi did he not try to tell Jesus outright that Jesus would not have to die? He even cut off Malchus' ear at the arrest! He had been so trustworthy, so dedicated, so dependable, so hardworking. Now look at him! What a blessing Peter's fate did not rest in the hands of such critics and faultfinders. Rather it rested in the hands of a loving God and a caring Savior.

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I recently heard a young preacher speak of the numbers of "fallen" preachers as if they no longer had any value in the Kingdom of God, nor would they ever have any value to it. What would Jesus do with such a fallen man especially one who went out and "wept bitterly."(Mt. 26:75) Tongue in cheek comments and ego building on the weaknesses of others is not the way agape love operates.

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The scriptural take on the weaknesses of others is: "Brothers, if a man is trapped in some sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself; you also may be tempted." "Carry each other's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."(Gal. 6:1-2)(NIV)

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Quite to the contrary of the take of the young preacher on the "fallen" was a comment I read recently. The writer stated his sorrow at the number of men who were preachers, teachers, servants in ministries of all sorts who had been expelled from their duties and forgotten because of the malicious and calloused judgments of others.

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Wonder how Peter would have fared among some religious societies. Or for that matter how about Moses, David, Abraham, Jacob, Paul, etc.etc.etc....
Would Peter have preached the first gospel sermon for them.(Acts 2) Would I and II Peter have been accepted into the canon of scripture. Would the former cripple of Acts 3:1-9 have gone "walking" "jumping" "praising God". Under the guidance of some religionists none of this would have happened if Peter's ministry had been taken from him because of his weaknesses. Peter's success as a Christian worker and preacher was so useful that "...more and more men and women believed in the Lord..."(Acts 5:14) (NIV) And his effectiveness as a healer became so well known that people were bringing the sick into the streets "and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by."(Acts 5:15)(NIV)

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So what would Jesus do with such a man as Peter who was among those who "...will fall away..."(Mt. 26:31)(NIV)

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The decision was reached on resurrection morning. Women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body. He was gone from the tomb. The angel of the Lord who was there made a very significant statement for Peter's benefit I believe. The message to the women was: "...go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him,..."(Mk. 16:7)(KJV) Briefly spoken Peter, Jesus has not given up on you.

Wonder what Peter thought when he got the message. Luke tell us "Peter...got up and ran to the tomb..."(Luke 24:12)(NIV)

Jesus appeared to his disciples on various occasions over a 40 day period before he ascended to heaven. The heading over John 21:15-25 in the NIV reads : "Jesus Reinstates Peter." Here is one man who let Jesus down that experienced how the love of Christ covers and protects. Jesus told Peter "Feed My lambs..."(Jn. 21:15) "...take care of my sheep..."(Jn. 21:16) "Follow me."(Jn. 21:19)(KJV)
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And He tells us "A new commandment I give you: Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another."(Jn. 13:34)(NIV)
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It occurs to me at least that our take on scripture is fuzzy and deluded if we believe that a fallen person, a sinful person, a weak person who has a desire to serve Jesus, who is sorry for his sins and repentant of those sins, who is qualified to serve Christ, who has left all to follow Him, no longer has any place to serve in His kingdom. It also occurs to me that those who think so need to pick up their Bibles and learn what scripture really does say about love and forgiveness and reconciliation and renewal. The love of God and the love of the church is called agape...We will ourselves to cover and protect others. Jesus did. His true children will do the same...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Patchy
Chloe and Laura

Jennifer and Blake

Chloe, Laura, Andie, Wayne, Jennifer, Blake

Tanner, Rylea, Tyler, Reagan, Carley

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

What a great birthday party it was! We ate cake, ice cream, pizza..After the party we all went to a movie..Thank you Lajuana for organizing and getting everything ready. It was such a special day for me. All the grandkids were there except Gabe who was in a ball tournament and Scott who was out of town, and Chelsea, who was at work. The pictures depict the great time we had. I will remember this great party...Thanks for making me so very happy....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM MY GIRLS

THANK YOU GIRLS

What a wonderful birthday I am having this

year! Laura, Amy and Jennifer treated

LaJuanah and I to dinner to celebrate my

birthday. Girls you will never know how

very special this was and how happy you

made us. We love you all so very much

and love every time we are able to spend

with you. Thank you so much

DAD

THE EXCELLENT WAY #15B

THE JORDAN RIVER

Is it possible that one can go to church somewhere every Sunday, give liberally of his or her means, preach, teach Bible lessons, have vibrant faith and still be deficient of God's expectations of him or her? Paul says so, for if love and its qualities do not motivate us in our relationships with others, Paul says we may do all the above yet "...gain nothing..." and be "...nothing..."(I Cor. 13:2,3)

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The most excellent way according to Paul is the way of love. The Interlinear translates "...the most excellent way..."(I Cor. 12:31) as "beyond comparison." And this way "...always protects..." (NIV) "...covers..."(Interlinear)
One popular commentator wrote of this particular quality of love that it does not divulge the faults of others publicly. How different that is to the way some treat their "sinning" brothers. The way the unloving violate I Cor. 13:7 is to rationalize the truth about love that Paul teaches here. Rationalization is an evasive tactic, a ploy, to excuse one's actions and allow opinionated people laterality in dealing with the weaknesses of others.

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Some rationalizations are based on pure prejudice or ignorance of the word. Some tout Bible knowledge but have mistakenly formulated a life-style based on rationalizations of the truth which negatively affect others, at least a few others, for convenience sake.
There are numbers of them but the most destructive of unity and proper relations I have heard in my 50+ years of being born again goes something like this. "The Bible tells us not to have fellowship with certain ones, including some brothers." On the surface that does not sound like a rationalization. But in practice it sometimes is. Actually there is Bible support for disfellowship. But so often this rationalization improperly uses scripture to ruin the lives and souls of others. And of course that is not the purpose of scripture.
Yet some who rationalize I Cor. 13:7 feel justified and even satisfied in doing so. It is very true that the Apostle Paul wrote that love "...always protects..."(I Cor. 13:7) It is also equally true that he wrote: "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."(Eph. 5:11)(NIV) Paul also wrote:"... I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat."(I Cor. 5:11)(NIV)

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I have seen misguided religionists do great harm in their religious societies because they have overextended, misconstrued, misapplied and even selectively applied this passage. Often there is a dark, hidden motive in doing so. For if the passage were universally applied without some comprehension of what Paul is talking about here, then of course, there would be no possiblity at all of unity in the church.

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How do we explain this? Perhaps we can use 9-11 as an illustration. The ones who flew those planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and attempted to fly another into Washington were calloused, brutal and uncaring destroyers of men's lives. The great tragedy of Christianity is that sometimes caring and uncalloused sinners are categorized with such uncaring and calloused because of the whims of those who rationalize the truth. Some have placed the broken and sinful brother who realizes his condition and is attempting to reach the healing of the Savior, to be forgiven and reconciled, in a hopeless predicament because of their rationalizations.

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Lately I have been privileged to experience an opposite viewpoint. I have worshipped where numbers of sinful people have been accepted into fellowship. Their testimonies are heart rending. Their stories are tragic. They fall on their faces literally. The crumple to their knees. Tears stream from their eyes. How refreshing it is to see the acceptance of those around them. No sin is too great. Truly love "...cover..." "...protects..." the faults of others.

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Others who are prone to rationalize I Cor. 13:7 by using I Cor. 5:11 as an excuse simply do not see the whole picture. Certainly action was taken by the church at Corinth because of the immoral behavior of the man of I Cor. 5. Paul told them "...expel the wicked man..."(I Cor. 5:13) And they did. But that was not done as a spiritual life sentence. The instruction was meant to bring about repentance in the man's life. When he repented, they were told just a few weeks later: "...forgive and comfort him..." "...reaffirm your love for him..."(II Cor. 2:7-8). Those who rationalize seldom do that...
Those who major in rationalizations may need also to look very closely at what Paul says about the "...wicked..." and "...unrighteous..." in I Cor. 5:13 and I Cor. 6:9. This immoral man of I Cor. 5 was living with his father's wife. What a terrible sin. How wicked a life-style. But note some of the other sins Paul lists as being "...wicked...": "fornication"("male prostitute") "greedy man"("a defrauder for gain") "idolater"("worshipper of idols") "reviler"("railer") "drunkard"("drunkard") "swindler"("extortioner")(I Cor. 5:11(Interlinear)(Definitions: Zodhiates) In I Cor. 6 Paul adds to the list he already mentioned in I Cor. 5 and calls those who practice such sins "unrighteous." He adds: "adulterers"("involves at least one person who is married") "effeminate"("the effeminate who allows himself to be sexually abused") "homosexuals"("a man who lies in bed with another man") "thieves"("to take by stealth")(I Cor. 6:9-10)

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Interesting to me that Paul would mention among these heinous sins such things as those who defraud others, those who use stealth and take from others, and those who would slander a brother and apply them all to the wicked or unrighteous. And also interesting that after having listed all these sins Paul said to the Corinthians: "...that is what some of you were..."(I Cor. 6:11) Note he uses past tense. What had happened? He tells them "...you were washed..." "...you were sanctified..." "...you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."(I Cor. 6:11)(NIV)
Paul also told them "...you are the body of Christ."(I Cor. 12:27)(NIV) Isn't it amazing that people who had lives so steeped in sin could make up the Church of Christ in Corinth...What caused this? John tells us "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God."(I Jn. 3:1)(NIV)

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What would happen to the wicked man who had been expelled from them who had committed a sin like those they had commited before they were forgiven? There would be no rationalization about it. He would simply be loved and forgiven and he was reinstated.
The paradox about all this is that those who rationalize the possibility of forgiveness and fellowship of their repentant brothers and disallow it are in danger themselves. So the perfect become imperfect. Those who accuse others of "fleshly" behavior become "fleshly" themselves.

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If one follows Paul's teachings in other places he speaks of "...works of the flesh..."(Gal. 5:19)(KJV) and "...former way of life..."(Eph. 4:22)(NIV) And the list should be revealing for those who rationalize their brothers' spiritual condition. Note they are: "hate" "malice" "falsehood" "anger" "unwholesome talk" "slander" "bitterness" "discord" "factions" "dissensions".

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John said very simply "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."(I Jn. 1:8-9)(NIV) Jesus said "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."(Lk. 17:3)(NIV) "A new commandment) I give you: Love one another, As I have loved you, so you must love one another."(Jn. 13:34)(NIV

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In view of all the scripture tells us about the "wicked" the "unrighteous" the "works of the flesh" and "the former way of life." And in view of what John said about all Christians being deceived if they claim to be "without sin" and God being willing to love and forgive us all, one would think those who try to rationalize their actions toward repentant folks in the church would give it all up. My experience has been that many of them won't do that.

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That being the case those of us who would practice rationalizations and kick repentant brothers out of the church perhaps need to listen to another exhortation of Jesus. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."(Mt. 7:1-2)(NIV) Paul would say: "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things."(Ro. 2:1)

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If ones rationalizations would cause him to doubt the repentance of another brother, or if one would use his spiritual perfection to justify his judgement of another brother may I simply direct that one to I Cor. 5, I Cor. 6, Gal. 5, Eph. 4, etc.,etc.,etc....
The brother of our Lord, James said: "If...you are observing the sovereign law laid down in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself', that is excellent. But if you show snobbery, you are committing a sin and you stand convicted by the law as transgressors. For if a man keeps the whole law apart from one single point, he is guilty of breaking all of it. For the One who said, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery,' said also, 'Thou shalt not commit murder.' You may not be an adulterer, but if you commit murder you are a law-breaker all the same. Always speak and act as men who are to be judged under a law of freedom. In that judgement there will be no mercy for the man who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgement."(James 2:8-13)(NEB)

THE EXCELLENT WAY 15A

EN-GEDI LOOKING TOWARD THE DEAD SEA(click on the picture for a larger view of En-gedi)

Paul said of love: "...it always protects..."(I Cor. 13:7)(NIV) The Interlinear translates this portion of Paul's writing about love that it "...all things covers."

The word for "protect" or "cover" is stegei. Adam Clarke said that it is the grand and distinguishing property of love to cover and conceal the faults of another. He makes a pertinent remark that the captious and censorious ought to heed. "A person under the influence of this love never makes the sins, follies, faults or imperfections of any man the subject either of censure or conversation."

I have wondered as I have studied the definition of love Paul gave why he just kept hammering again and again its effects on relationships. Of course the reason is that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Every characteristic Paul gives of love points directly to how those who have agape love in their lives will properly treat one another.

The Corinthians seemed to have been a divided people on several fronts. The cure for that was love. Certainly the carping, criticizing, judging, accusing, damning would stop if love were present. For "...it always protects..." "...covers...".

Recently I watched a National Geographic documentary about the events of 9-11. I must admit that the meanness it took to blatantly kill thousands of innocent victims and in the process adversely affect thousands more would be difficult to "...cover..." I am not real sure I could. Ultimately though, forgiving, even our enemies, does not mean we have to like what they do.

The covering of sin must be related to the attitude, in some respect, of those whose sins are being covered. Otherwise we would have to "...cover..." the sins of those folks who flew those planes into The World Trade Center and the Pentagon and destroyed the lives of those who foiled their plans to crash another plane in Washington, and folks like them. The unity of the church can only be had when brothers are realistic about sin and are confessing and repenting of their sins concurrently. When any one person, in his own mind, conceives his perfection and his superiority over others unity suffers. When folks are making distinct, willfull efforts to cover the wrongs of each other then it is that unity is made possible.

One of the greatest enemies of covering one another's sins is what I call selective covering. The question arises as to which sins and how many sins should we cover. The language of Paul is unmistakable. The Greek word he uses is panta. The word means "all." Zodhiates says stegeo simply means "love hides the faults of others." How many? Paul says, "...all...". That leaves no room for selective covering.

Peter used a synonym of stegeo in I Pet. 4:8. The word is kalupto. It means "to envelop" according to Zodhiates. Zodhiates tells us that Peter is saying "to cause a multitude of sins to be overlooked and not punished." The Amplified translates Peter's words "...love covers a multitude of sins--forgives and disregards the offenses of others." The N.E.B. reads "...love cancels innumerable sins."


David had to be thankful for that reality. I am told that he wrote many of the Psalms from En-gedi. I have been privileged to be there. It is a lonesome place near the Dead Sea. Where he wrote Psalms 32...I am unaware. David was a thoughtful and God-seeking man. He was a man approved as very few. God considered him from his youth to be after His heart. How thankful David must have been of the grace of God. He wrote: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sins are covered" while he was confessing his sins to God. Paul quoted David in Ro. 4:7 and applied those words to us. Praise His glorious Name! Paul used the very same word for "cover" as the Septuagint has in Ps. 32:1. (epekaluphthesan) "Blessed are those whose offences have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered."(NIV)


God covers the sins of believers. That is Paul's premise in Romans 4. And Paul says love will cause us to do the same for other believers.

THE MOST EXCELLENT WAY #14

The Garden of Gethsemane

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth..."(I Cor. 13:6)(NIV) "It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.'(Amplified) "it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right."(RSV) "does not gloat over other men's sins, but delights in the truth."(NEB) "does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with truth."(Interlinear)


Matthew Henry says of this aspect of love: "It takes no pleasure in doing injury or hurt to anyone..." "...it wishes ill to none..." "Nor will it rejoice at the faults of others..." "It is the very height of malice to take pleasure in the misery of a fellow creature." "It gives much satisfaction to see truth and justice prevail among men."


The word for rejoice is chairei. It means, according to Zodhiates, "to be glad." Adikia is the Greek word for "evil" "wrong." Zodhiates says one of its meanings is "to injure someone."


The usage of the Greek preposition in this description of love is interesting. The NEB describes it exactly when it says that love "...does not gloat over other men's sins..." Scholors tell us that the usage of the preposition epi here expresses the cause of joy and rejoicing. So it is then that if agape love exists in anyone's life, evil or wrong or injury in another person's life cannot cause joy.


The sinister and dark behavior that produces pleasure because of other's shortcomings, failures, and injury might and often does occur, but if so love is gone and something else has crept into life to produce that corrupt atmosphere.


In Matthew 18 Jesus taught the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Here we find rejoicing over the finding of one lost sheep. The passage indicates that our Father in heaven "...is happier about(epi) that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off."(Mt. 18:13) (NIV) What an intense interest the Father had in that one sheep. But how different would have been His reaction if He had not loved that lost sheep. It would have been easy to say "let him go" "he wandered off" "it is his fault" "he was so negligent" "he deserves his plight." Love just simply would not let him go.


Scripture records two instances of Jesus weeping. One occasion was at the events surrounding the death of his good friend Lazarus. John 11:35 says simply "Jesus wept." Another time Jesus wept is recorded in Luke 19. The unselfish and magnanimous spirit of the Savior prevailed here for it was only a short time before he would die the cruelist and most painful death imaginable. And His death would be at the hands of the people he sorrowed for. Luke 19:41 reads: As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace..." (NIV) Jesus knew their coming plight. And He told them of it. "The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side." "They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave on stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." (Lk. 19:43-44)(NIV) Jesus did not revel in all this. He did not rejoice in their plight. He wept over their self-imposed predicament.


In 70 A.D. Jerusalem suffered the very thing Jesus predicted. The Romans sorrounded the city. All supplies were cut off. The people held out for five months but ultimately resorted to cannibalism. Then total destruction came to Jerusalem and even the temple was desecrated and destroyed.


Jesus knew they were headed toward disaster. He was the omniscient One. He was the true King. He was the Lord of Lords. He was perfection sent down here to die for them and He remained perfection. He was tempted in every respect yet He did not sin. And ultimately He became sin for all people. Yet he wept instead of retaliating and rejoicing over their ultimate demise.


After His resurrection and before His ascension he commissioned some men to go forth a declare a message called the gospel. And they began reaching out with this gospel to the very people who crucified Him. (Mt. 28:18-20) And many of them were saved(Acts 2:47) because "God so loved the world..."(Jn. 3:16) He continues to reach out instead of condemn and rejoice over the evil in our lives. He says to all men: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and over burdened, and I will cause you to rest-I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls."(Mt. 11:28)(Amplified)


As we become increasingly aware of our wretched and sinful lives aren't we all thankful that "Love keeps no score of wrongs; does not gloat over other men's sins..."(I Cor. 13:6)(NEB)


One point I don't want to miss here and one that gives me personal comfort is that not only did Jesus refuse to "gloat over men's" circumstances, he reached out and assisted them.


The very sad thing is that so many "Christian" societies have just the opposite viewpoint Jesus had and still maintain they are a loving society of Christians. That does not pass the "truth" test, if you will.


"The Most Excellent Way" would demand that we act differently for "...does not gloat over other men's sins..."