TRANSPARENCY #19

Jesus said, "There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him in the last day."(Jn. 12:48)(N.I.V.) Jesus also said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall pass away."(Lk. 21:33)(K.J.V.) He said, "...He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life..."(Jn. 5:24)(K.J.V.) And He said, "...If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed."(Jn. 8:31)(K.J.V.)
Jesus' words did not disappear when He left the earth. He told His disciples He would send "...the Comforter..."(Jn. 16:7)(K.J.V.) And the Holy Spirit, He told them, "...will guide you into all truth..." "...whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak..."(Jn. 16:13)(K.J.V.)
Paul would later say, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..."(Col. 3:16)(K.J.V.) And James wrote, "...be ye doers of the word...'(Ja. 1:22)(K.J.V.) It is no wonder, after what Jesus had said about the Holy Spirit guiding them that Paul would later say, "...take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."(Eph. 6:17)(K.J.V.)
The Holy Spirit continued to convey the will of Jesus in words. And these words, if one truly knows Jesus, are more than just statements of doctrine or theology, or development of models for worship or church polity. These words go to the center of what kind of people Christians should be and how they should treat one another. Jesus' life depicted that and His words direct us to that way of life.
In these few writings I have done I have attempted to define the negative ways folks treat one another by pointing to the use of words by the Holy Spirit that teach such things. The confessional transparency of brothers, it seems, means very little to some. And the directives of the Holy Spirit prove that without a shadow of a doubt.
In this last writing on this subject I hope simply to summarize the negative ways the Holy Spirit says men treat one another.
Again, I give credit to Spiros Zodhiates for the definitions of the words. There are numerous other lexicographers who could have been referred to like Thayer, Arndt and Gingrich, etc. It would be hard to estimate how long it took to do this study. Zodhiates' Word Study is about 1500 pages long and I literally went through every letter of the Greek alphabet from alpha to omega selecting the negative ways one can treat another. I know it took weeks if not months to do this. If one person is converted from the error of negativism and looking down a self-righteous nose at others and mistreating transparent brothers the effort will have been worth it.
So in capsule form here are the ways some treat others' transparency.

"destroy" "consume" "wish evil against" "curse" "defraud" "hurt" "treat with indignity" "pretend" "extortion" "ungentle" "unmerciful" "not compassionate" "deceitful" "damage" "harm" "burdensome" "slander" "to hurt reputation or smite with reports or words" "verbal abuse against someone" "destroying one's good name" "contention" "false accuser" "perjurer" "to swear falsely" "throw out" "hostility" "enmity" "misuse" "accuse falsely" "love of strife" "rivalry" "avenger" "treat with scorn" "bursts of anger" "afflict" "trouble" "jealousy" "envy" "to judge" "fraud" "to go to law" "hinder" "wish anyone evil or ruin" "to speak against" "slander" "to speak evil of" "pronounce sentence against" "oppress harshly" "give judgment against" "injury" "malice" "prone to anger" "wrath as an outburst of a vengeful mind" "to hate" "active ill will" "reproach" "one depriving another of his property openly" "take advantage of someone" "defrauder for gain" "be a busybody" "shrewdness" "the employment of any means necessary to reach an end" "accuse falsely" "unjust" "proud" "highminded" "to make a secret agreement" "persecuter of others" "to act spitefully" "evil statements" "pain felt at the sight of excellence" "to overflow with talk" "and idle or triffling tattler" "to speak deceitfully" "lying or false witness" "a lie" "a secret slander" "whispering" "showing special favors...to the influential in order to gain personal advantage and profit" "a person who is eager to gain even if such gain degrades his character" "refuses to lay aside...enmity or to listen to terms of reconciliation"

In conclusion, the Greek word "ought" also speaks directly to the characters of above repute.
"...if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."(I Jn. 4:11)(K.J.V.)
"He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked."(I Jn. 2:6)(K.J.V.)
"...we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard..."(Heb. 2:1)(K.J.V.)
"...ye ought rather to forgive him..."(II Cor. 2:7)(K.J.V.)
"We...ought to bear the infirmities of the weak..."(Ro. 15:1)(K.J.V.)
"...to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think...'(Ro. 12:3)(K.J.V.)
"...we ought to obey God rather than men."(Acts 5:29)(K.J.V.)
"...justice, mercy and faithfulness...You ought to have practiced..."(Mt. 23:23)(N.I.V.)
"...tattlers...and busy bodies...speaking things which they ought not..."(I Tim. 5:13)(K.J.V.)
"Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren these things ought not so to be."(Ja. 3:10)(K.J.V.)

TRANSPARENCY #18

One morning this week I was talking with a person I love dearly. We were talking about our shortcomings in life and that person made the comment: "I hope I am forgiven." That individual is a church goer, and has been for years, a true believer in Jesus Christ, and one who I know has repented of and confessed sins numerous times, and probably in her daily prayers continues to do so.
Her statement made me wonder what in the world causes such a person to doubt forgiveness. There might be a number of things of the world. It is a guarantee that the Lord never provoked such an idea in the head of one of His children who was so transparent. So what in the world would cause her to feel that way? I believe it is the fruit of negativism that is working in her life. I believe it is the persistent pressure of the negativists of this world. And I further believe she has been constantly bombarded with carping, captious, and cruel criticism for years.
The Holy Spirit knew that God's humble children would meet such discouragement so He gave us a long list of negative behaviors to expect from those who refuse to honor the confessional transparency of their brothers.

psi negative responses

pseudadelphos--"...false brothers..." "...denotes those who had become outwardly members of the Christian church, sharers in its fellowship of life and love, but in reality were not so inwardly."
"...because of (some men who were Christians in name only), false brethren(pseudadelphous) who had been secretly smuggled in(to the Christian brotherhood); they had slipped in to spy out our liberty and the freedom which we have in Christ Jesus,..."(Gal. 2:4)(Amplified)
"Many times on journeys, (exposed to)...perils from those posing as believers(pseudadelphois)-but destitute of Christian knowledge and piety;"(II Cor. 11:26)(Amplified)

pseudomai--"...to speak falsely or deceitfully..." "...to defraud..." "...falsify..."
"Lie(pseudesthe) not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;"(Col. 3:9)(K.J.V.)
"A trustworthy witness will not lie,(pseudetai) But a false witness utters lies."(pseude)(Prov. 14:5)(N.A.S.B.)

pseudomartus--"...a lying or false witness..."
"...the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witnesses(pseudomarturian) against Jesus, to put Him to death;..."(Mt. 26:59)(K.J.V.)

pseudomartureo--"...to bear false witness..."
"For many bare false witness(epseudomarturoun) against Him, but their witness agreed not together."(Mark 14:56)(K.J.V.)

pseudos--"...a lie..." "Lying in general..."
"Therefore, rejecting all falsity(pseudos) and done now with it, let every one express the truth with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one body and members one of another."(Eph. 4:25)(Amplified)
"...the devil..." "...he is a liar,(pseustes) and the father of it."(Jn. 8:44)(K.J.V.)

psithurismos--"...whispering...particularly of slander...hurtful gossip..."
"For I am fearful lest somehow or other I may come and find you not what I desire to find you...lest perhaps there may be factions(quarreling), jealousy, temper(wrath, intrigues, rivalry, divided loyalties), selfishness, whispering,(psithurismoi) gossip, arrogance,(self-assertion) and disorder among you."(II Cor. 12:20)(Amplified)

psithuristeas--"...a secret slanderer..."
"...God gave them over to a base and condemned mind...(They were) secret backbiters and gossipers,"(psithuristas)(Ro. 1:28-29)(Amplified)

TRANSPARENCY #17

Just two more blogs after this one and I will be finished with the negative ways men treat the true confessional transparency of sinful brothers. I want to thank those who have read and responded to my writings. You are encouraging and benevolent in your comments. I have no way of knowing how many are reading these because my counter quit at 1400. I am sure, as some have suggested, that I have been writing for a reason, perhaps personal. I don't know. I do know that I enjoy studying scripture and this is an avenue through which I can share some of my studies and I appreciate your comments. Some comments have come from out of the country, some have suggested I write a book, some just express gratitude for scriptural study. I do not, in my opinion, deserve any handclaps about my writing, and that is not false humility as some of the negativists might suggest....
I hope to study a few more words in the next two writings and in the last I hope to summarize all the negatives from Alpha to Omega in just a few words.
I have wondered as I have done this study if it were possible that a person can negatively endanger himself or herself spiritually by persisting in negative attitudes toward the true confessional transparency of others.
For years I studied the tenth chapter of Acts. Recently, due to personal circumstances, something unique to me, resulting from a study of this passage, has occurred to me. I think I missed some of the "necessary inferences" that have been there all the time.
Peter was an apostle. There is no doubt he was Spirit filled.(Acts 2) And there is no doubt he was inspired and his writings were inspired. (Jn. 14)(Jn. 16)(I &II Peter) There is something about Acts 10 that "infers" that even men with such spiritual power might need a little nudging and instruction to completely grasp the height and depth of God's love and His unlimited grace and mercy. Jesus had already given the great expanse of God's love.(Jn. 3:16) And after Peter got the whole picture he was later to write that God is "...not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."(II Pet. 3:9)(N.I.V.) However the account in Acts 10 reveals that Peter at this point was not so convinced of that fact. So God presented him with a miraculous object lesson.(Acts 10:9-16) And Peter's theology was shaken and reformed. The lesson came through a divine messenger, a miraculous vision and a direct word from the Holy Spirit. The gospel and God's forgiveness is for all, so go preach to a Gentile. And when he did go he made a comment that should sober the negativist of any day. It was profound, striking and went to the heart of God's dealings with men. Peter said: "God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean."(Acts 10:28)(N.I.V.) And that is exactly what God had told him. "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."(Acts 10:11)(N.I.V.)
What a lesson! Peter listened to God. Hundreds of years earlier Jonah had gotten the same lesson. Go preach to the Ninevites he was told. He ran from the truth. Some believe he went as far as present day Spain trying to escape the fact that it was possible for those to repent that he thought were unworthy of repentance. God gave him an object lesson in the form of the belly of a big fish.
It is strange just how stubborn some can be about God's forgiveness and its total unlimited nature. And to what degree they will go to circumvent the fact of God's forgiveness to all sinners. After Jonah had preached and the Ninevites had repented, scripture says Jonah was "...displeased...exceedingly...and he was very angry..."(Jonah 4:1)(K.J.V.) He knew the truth about God. He said of God. "You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and (when sinners turn to You and meet Your conditions;) You revoke the sentence of evil against them."(Jonah 4:2)(Amplified)
Those who know this account realize that Jonah was so distraught over these people being able to repent that he literally asked God to take his life. God simply asked him the question: "Do you do well to be angry?"(Jonah 4:9)(Amplified)
Is it possible that the nay-sayers of our day need object lessons like Peter and Jonah got. What is the problem with other people being forgiven. What is the problem with confessional transparency in other folks' lives. God offered mercy, kindness, forgiveness, revoking of a death sentence, purity and cleanliness. He still does to all men, even to blatant sinners. But there are still those who are "...displeased..." that some could possibly receive the forgiveness of God.
The Holy Spirit knew there were and would be those who would limit God's forgiveness to their own prejudiced form of religion. So he listed numerous possible human responses to their fellowmen.

phi negative responses
phaulos--"...evil deeds..." "...statements..."
"For every wrongdoer(phaula) hates (loathes, detests) the light and will not come out into the light, but shrinks from it, lest his works-his deeds, his activities, his conduct-be exposed and reproved."(Jn. 3:20)(Amplified)
"For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil (phalon) work."(Ja. 3:16)(K.J.V.)

phtheiro--"...to spoil...in a moral or spiritual sense..."
"Make room for us; no one we wronged, no one we ruined,(ephtheiramen) no one we exploited."(II Cor. 7:2)(Interlinear) "...we have defrauded no man."(K.J.V.)

phthoneo--"...to envy..."
"Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying(phthonountes) one another."(Gal. 5:26)(K.J.V.)

phthonos--"...pain felt and malignity conceived at the sight of excellence or happiness..."
"...he knew that it was out of spite(phthonon) that they had brought Jesus before him."(Mt. 27:18)(N.E.B.)
"...they did not like to retain God in their knowledge..." "...being..." "...full of envy..."(phthonou)(Ro. 1:29-30)(K.J.V.)
"...the works of the flesh are..." "...envyings..."(phthonoi)(Gal. 5:19,21)(K.J.V.)
"...be done with every trace of wickedness(depravity, malignity) and all deceit and insincerity(pretense, hypocrisy) and grudges(envy, jealousy)(phthonous) and slander and evil speaking of every kind."(I Pet. 2:1)(Amplified)

phuluareo--"...to overflow with talk..." "...chatter..." "...talk in an idle, trifling manner against someone..." "...talking...falsely.."
"So when I arrive, I will call attention to what he is doing, his boiling over and casting malicious reflections upon us with insinuating language.(phluaron) And not satisfied with that, he refuses to receive and welcome the (missionary) brethren himself, and also interferes with and forbids those who would welcome them, and tries to expel (excommunicate) them from the church."(II Jn. 1:10)(Amplified)

phluaros--"...to boil..." "...an idle or trifling tattler..."
"...they learn to be...tattlers(phluaroi) also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not."(I Tim. 5:13)(K.J.V.)

phrenapates--"...deceiver..."
"...there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers..."(phrenapatai)(Titus 1:10)(K.J.V.)

TRANSPARENCY #16

The gospel is God's simple plan to save mens' souls.(Ro. 1:16) It is the story of the loving heart of God expressed to a world full of sinners. The expression came by way of the sacrifice of God's only begotten Son. And it was real, not imagined, and culminated by that Son hanging from spikes on a cruel and crude piece of wood.
Resurrection morning came and not too far from that piece of wood Jesus came out of that rock-hewn tomb a triumphant Savior.(Ro. 1:4) He later ascended to heaven and there awaits His return to gather up His flock and return with them to Paradise.(Acts 1:11)(I Thess. 4:14,17) But before He left here, after His resurrection, He gave His apostles a simple way of salvation.(Mt. 28:18-20) And that way is extended to all men.(Jn. 3:16) And by that way men can become the children of God.(I Jn. 3:2)
Certainly He expects our behavior to be representative of those who are Sons of God. "...ye are the salt of the earth..."(Mt. 5:13)(K.J.V.) "...forgive men their trespasses..."(Mt. 6:14)(K.J.V.) "...when ye pray..."(Mt. 6:7)(K.J.V.) "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth...'(Mt. 6:19)(K.J.V.) "Judge not..."(Mt. 7:1)(K.J.V.) "...cast out the beam out of thine own eye..."(Mt. 7:5)(K.J.V.) "Enter ye in at the strait gate..."(Mt. 7:13)(K.J.V.) "Beware of false prophets..."(Mt. 7:15)(K.J.V.) Numerous passages could be cited pertaining to the expected morality and behavior of God's children, their growth, maturity, dedication, conviction and commitment.
But aren't we thankful God understands each one of us? He knows our weaknesses, our inconsistencies, our failures, our immaturity, our faithlessness. He knows our natures. And He conveys to us how He planned to handle that after we became His sons. "...He is faithful and just(true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins(dismiss our lawlessness) and continuously cleanse us from all unrighteousness--everything not in conformity to His will..."(I Jn. 1:8)(Amplified)
The one important fact about being transparent before God is that when done honestly we come to terms with the fact that we are all truly sinful and in need of that kind of treatment from God.
I am so thankful that Jesus gave us practical and real life lessons about sin, transparency and God's forgiveness. He told the story of the "...two sons..."(Lk. 15:11-32) as an illustration. He told the truth about Peter's denials.(Mt. 26:68-75) He recounted the facts about Paul's early failure.(Acts 7:58)(Acts 9:1-2) John's transparency about sin was noted.(I Jn. 1:8) David's murderous and adulterous life and his forgiveness were written for our reading.(Ps. 32:1-5)(Ps. 51:1-3) Numbers of other accounts of mens' weaknesses and God's willing forgiveness are recorded.
When I fall down on my knees I know there is more than an outside chance that I am forgiven. My transparency does not go unnoticed. David said "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me and heard my cry." "He brought me up also out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."(Ps. 40:1-2)(K.J.V.)
We have used the example of a man drowning in a lake. A passer-by stops and throws the man a rope. We compared the throwing of the rope and the reaching out by the man for the rope as the way of forgiveness. As all examples are this probably was a weak one. Sad not, however, that there are those in this world who are so calloused that they would hear the screams of the penitent sinner, the lost, have the rope and simply pass by the miserable person and look the other way.
The Holy Spirit knew there would be negative characters like that who treated their fellow man is such negative ways. So He filled the N.T. with possible negative responses to the transparency of others.

epsilon negative responses

hubrizo--"...to act spitefully toward someone..." "...treat shamefully...""...injure..." "...abuse..."
"...there was an attempt both on the part of the Gentiles and Jews together with their rulers, to insult and abuse and molest(hubrisai)(Paul and Barnabas) and to stone them,"(Acts 14:5)(Amplified)
"For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be made sport of and scoffed and jeered at and insulted(hubristhesetai) and spit upon;"(Lk. 18:32)(Amplified)
"...the others seized his servants, treated them shamefully(hubrisan) and put them to death."(Mt. 22:6)(Amplified)

hubristes--"...insolent persecutor of others who mistreats them for the pleasure which the affliction of the wrong brings him..."
"(They were)...slanderers, hateful to and hating G0d, full of insolence(hubristas)..."(Ro. 1:29-30)(Amplified)
"Though I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and was shamefully and outrageously and aggresively insulting(hubristen)(to Him), nevertheless I obtained mercy because I had acted out of ignorance and unbelief."(I Tim. 1:13)(Amplified)
"...Christ Jesus, the Messiah, came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost."(I Tim. 1:15)(Amplified)

hupoballo--"...to introduce underhandedly..." "...to make a secret agreement..."
"So they(secretly) instigated(hupebalon)) and instructed men..."(Acts 6:11)(Amplified)

hupselophroneo--"...arrogant..." "...highminded..." "...proud..."
"Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty(snobbish, highminded,(hupsela phronountes) exclusive),..."(Ro. 12:16)(Amplified)
"As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be proud and arrogant and contemptuous of others..."(hupselophronouein)(I Tim. 6:17)(Amplified)
"...do not become proud and conceited(hupselaphronei) but rather stand in awe and be reverently afraid."(Ro. 11:20)(Amplified)