Love for all people is the Christian, blessed way

Update: It was a failure of this 2017 text not to consider the Lord's warning that Christians need to own swords because they will be counted among the lawless, which may mean that Christians will be deprived of the protection of the local law enforcement institutions. See Luke 22.

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“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 7:43-48, NKJV)

“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore
‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-21, NKJV)

Love for all people involves many things, examples of which are given in the speeches of Jesus and Paul (blessing others, doing good for others, praying for others, providing for others' needs). 

What about self-defense against the sinful, destructive actions of others? Here there are several important distinctions to be made. 

(1) The government is expected to defend effectively against evil actions.
“For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.” (Romans 13:3-6, NKJV)

(2) Revenge and retaliation as a strategy or deterrent are ruled out. 

A translation challenge is important to consider here: when Christ teaches about what to do about “the evil [person]” (Matt. 5:39). The first thing that Christ does is to rule out a particular type of action, which in the Greek is described with the verb anthístēmi. Analyses of this verb by leading dictionaries like LSJ and DGE indicate that this verb had a strong connotation of “to do battle”. 

This is clearly consistent with what we learn elsewhere. Battling with someone clearly risks pulling a person into hatred and therefore disobedience to Christ's commands to love, bless, do good for and pray for people who are hostile to one. 

But translating Christ's teaching here as “do not resist the evil [person]” is probably wrong and certainly problematic. Are Christians not to offer any physical resistance to evil persons? An example would be having locks on doors to one's places of residence and work. Is it a mark and a goal of a Christian society not to have locks?

(3) Protecting material possessions is discouraged.

“If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” (Matthew 5:40-41, NKJV)

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Notes

NKJV: Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Taking the wrong kinds of liberties

Should Bible translators take liberties with the ancient language of the Bible, to make it suit their modern languages? Isn't it more appropriate that our modern languages should learn from ancient and Biblical forms of expressions? 

Furthermore, how much goes lost in such liberty-taking translation? Vital information about God's will, wisdom and judgement, for starters. But also the training of the mind that is required when difficult language must be understood, discussed, meditated on. 

Some examples:

Romans 15 (CFB)
1  Yet we the capable are obliged to bear the weaknesses of the incapable, and not to please ourselves:
2  Each of us must please the neighbour, unto the good, toward building up.

...

7  Therefore welcome one another, just as even the Christ welcomed us, unto glory of the God.

Galatians 5 (CFB) 

13  Indeed, you were called for freedom, siblings, only not the freedom unto opportunity with the flesh! Instead, through the love,* serve one another! 

The Galatians translation provides an example of another kind of wrong-liberty-taking. Unfortunately, it appears that modern translation here gives an entirely different and incorrect understanding of the freedom that Christians are called into. 

13  For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (NKJV)

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Notes

* Galatians 5:13  That is, "the love" that Christians have been set free for, by being set free from sin slavery.

NKJV: Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

CFB: Scripture quoted from the Christ Family Bible. Copyright © 2017 by J.J. Thomas. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Logical and truthful praise

“Worthy are you, the Lord and the God of ours, to hold* the glory and the honour and the power...”

                                                      (Revelation 4:11a, CFB)

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to hold* the power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing.”

                                                      (Revelation 5:12, CFB)

“The salvation is by the God of ours, who is sitting on the throne, and by the Lamb.” 
                                                      (Revelation 7:10b, CFB)

“Amen, the blessing and the glory and the wisdom and the thanksgiving and the honour and the power and the strength are by the God of ours, unto the ages of the ages. Amen.” 

                                                      (Revelation 7:12, CFB)

“Hallelujah! The salvation and the glory and the power are of the God of ours...” 

                                                      (Revelation 19:1b, CFB)


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Notes

* The Ancient Greek verb used here, lambáno, has a range of senses (as one can see here). Our proposal in the Christ Family Bible translation is that the intended sense is "to hold", rather than "to receive". Why? Saying that Christ, who is the word of God (John 1), can "receive" wisdom, for example from the Heavenly Father, seems less sure than to say that Christ is worthy to "hold" wisdom (compare Col. 1-2).

CFB: Scripture quoted from the Christ Family Bible. Copyright © 2017 by J.J. Thomas. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Are you a member of a spiritually dead church?

Update: I no longer agree with the texts now highlighted in yellow. For an explanation, please see my Translator's Preface to The Christ Family Bible.

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Christ Jesus warns a disobedient church that it can lose the Holy Spirit (Revelation 2). Are there tests, to know whether a church has lost the Holy Spirit? 

One test would be whether its long-standing statement of beliefs is contradicted by the Holy Spirit (who wrote the Old Testament and New Testament). Teachers can stumble and be contradicted by the Holy Spirit. But a church standing in contradiction to the Holy Bible is very likely not to have the Holy Spirit.

Another test would be whether the church is characterized by the fruit of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience (Long-Suffering), Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control, (among others possibly).

How about a test of performing miracles, deeds of power? The problem with that test, used alone, is that it can be completely misleading. The New Testament warns that non-Christians, even the wicked, can perform miracles.

A different approach to solving the problem of identifying when churches have fallen into grievous disrepair is provided by Paul's description in 2 Corinthians of how people could tell that he (and his co-ministers) were really from God:

(1) These ministers were Christ-like: they suffered greatly for God but were shown victorious.

(2) Their converts manifested the Holy Spirit, becoming more and more like the glorious image of Christ.

(3) The ministers had been set free from sin slavery and did not lead lives characterized by things that one would hide out of shame.

What happens when you interpret the Bible without Jesus?

Update: I no longer agree with the text now highlighted in yellow. For why, please see my Translator's Preface to The Christ Family Bible.

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The New Testament gives a clear example: the Sadducees thought they correctly understood the Holy Scriptures to mean that there is no resurrection. But when they confront Jesus with their ideas, He rebukes them thoroughly: "You are misled, not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God" (Matthew 22:29, CFB).

How different are the Sadducees than the self-proclaimed "Christian" teachers who insist on their own interpretations of Bible texts, no matter how contradicted their interpretations are by the words of Christ and Christ's apostles (who wrote the New Testament)? 

Every Christian (and anyone interested to understand Christianity properly) ought to hear the entire New Testament. 



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Notes

CFB: Scripture quoted from the Christ Family Bible. Copyright © 2017 by J.J. Thomas. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Understanding the time of testing and sanctification

Why did God create a temporary universe? 

Why does God allow evil? 

The Lord Christ Jesus talks about a planter planting seed and waiting until it grows properly, before going in with the sickle. Jesus also talked about allowing the weeds to grow up alongside the good seed, because ripping the weeds up would rip up also the good seed.

One other way to describe this is as a "sting operation": God wants to see who will be faithful. The Universe is a "sting operation" where God can observe who is faithful to Him, and who is not faithful, drawn away by evil.*

This is consistent with the antetype example of God's drawing a people to Himself: the Exodus history. God promised a holy land. But a process of testing was required first: the years in the harsh and testing wilderness.

For a Christian, then, everything that happens to him or her ought to be understood as test, chastizement, or reward. The whole purpose of this time is to test and to sanctify. 

This is the clear message of the New Testament (when one reads the entire text of 27 books). 

Unfortunately, false preaching deceives people into thinking that God only blesses people who have confessed Christ as Lord. When these deceived people experience tests and chastizements, they do not understand the importance of passing the tests, and the importance of understanding why they are being chastized. These deceived people are prevented from working together with God on the project that is the entire purpose of this period of time. 

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* Christians are to be, like Christ, holy rescuers. No one should misunderstand the time of testing as an excuse to abandon other people to being kept in sin slavery or being led back into sin slavery.

More information about the wife of valour

Isn't there something puzzling about the King James translation of Proverbs 31:28?

28  Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
               her husband also, and he praiseth her. (KJV)

Children "arising up" is unclear in what it means, it has a negative sense (cp. "uprising", "rebellion") when it is intransitive, and it is also unclear in its connection to calling the mother blessed. And then the husband does the same? 

What about the Greek version? Checking here, one finds wonderful new information about the wife of valour. 

27  Watertight are her houses' occupations; 

               yet idle grains she does not eat;
28  Yet the mouth opens wisely and lawfully; 

               yet her charity raises up her children,
               and they become wealthy,
               and her husband approves of her. (CFB)

Consider, for example, the need to meditate on the three contradictions (or antithetical parallelisms) that follow one another, each marked by "yet".* Here is beauty, as defined by God's Word, also in the New Testament: 

8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 
9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 
10 but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 
                           (1 Timothy 2, KJV)

1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

2 while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 

3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

4 but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 

5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 

6 even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. 
                           (1 Peter 3, KJV)

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Notes

* A brief meditation and proposal on the three contradictions is this:

27 Watertight are her houses' occupations; 

         [The wife of valour operates the family's businesses in such a way 

         that they have watertight, entirely secure, incomes.]
                  yet idle grains she does not eat; 

                  [However, even though the income rolls in, 

                  she does not sit around inactively.]

28 Yet the mouth opens wisely and lawfully; 

         [Instead of being a lazy glutton, she has a mouth that opens with wisdom and lawfulness.]
                  yet her charity raises up her children, 

                  [The contradiction here is that although she is a business-like, active, wise and lawful

                  person, she is a charitable (rather than judgemental) person, also toward her children. 

                  That is to say: they are not judged by their mother for being kids who are not always

                  business-like, etc.; likewise she does not judge people who need charity.]

                  and they become wealthy,

                  and her husband approves of her. (CFB)

KJV: Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

CFB: Scripture quoted from the Christ Family Bible. Copyright © 2017 by J.J. Thomas. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Theological errors of "Predestination to Eternal Life" and "The Preservation of the Saints" cause mistranslation

A clear case of mistranslation due to a theological error is how modern English bibles translate 1 Thessalonians 5:9. 

Although there is very scant evidence to support them, translators allow theological errors like "Predestination to Eternal Life" and "The Preservation of the Saints" to cause them to read the Greek verb títhemi in the middle voice to mean "to appoint" (King James Version) or "to destine" (New Revised Standard Version). 

But look at the lengthy analysis by the best Ancient Greek dictionary available in English, Liddell Scott Jones: no such sense for this verb is mentioned. 

Here is how the Christ Family Bible translates the verse:

9  because the God did not set us unto wrath, but unto safe-keeping of salvation through the Lord of ours, Jesus Christ. (CFB)

Note that this translation is consistent with the Exodus example of God's salvation of His people: the Israelites were set in safe-keeping of salvation through God's providence, when God ransomed them from Egypt and led them through the wilderness to test them. This safe-keeping was not for the rebellious, who did not pass the test and did not enter the promised land.

The phrase "safe-keeping of salvation through the Lord of ours, Jesus Christ" also has clear support in existing knowledge of Ancient Greek, and avoids misleading formulations. 


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CFB: Scripture quoted from the Christ Family Bible. Copyright © 2017 by J.J. Thomas. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The tragic misreading of Paul (when he argues against Israelite works for Christians)

It is astounding that even people who claim to believe that the entire Bible is from God continue in this gigantic misreading of Paul's letters. His own letters, and many texts from the rest of the New Testament, clarify that Paul was not saying that people receive eternal life by grace (i.e. free gift) only, no matter what their deeds are (good deeds and bad deeds). Consider for example that Paul explicitly clarifies that certain kinds of deeds can disqualify from eternal life:

"Or do you not know that unrighteous people will not inherit God's kingdom? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor malakoì,* nor arsenokoîtai,* nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor the abusive, nor the rapacious will inherit God's kingdom." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, CFB)

What Paul was focused on, when he made a distinction between salvation by grace and salvation by works, was the Israelite model of salvation from the Old Testament, where works (circumcision, sabbath-keeping, food purity, etc.) were the condition for becoming part of God's chosen people. Why was Paul focused on this? Because there were preachers telling churches that they had to have these Israelite works to be Christians. 


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Notes

* The Greek term malakós (plural: malakoí) has a large number of senses (refer please to Liddell Scott Jones for a description of these). It is not clear what sense, or senses, that St. Paul means here in 1 Corinthians 6:9. The immediate context and the New Testament give the best support for the sense of "cowardly".

* The Greek term arsenokoítes (plural: arsenokoîtai) refers to men engaging in coitus (laying together sexually) with men.

CFB: Scripture quoted from the Christ Family Bible. Copyright © 2017 by J.J. Thomas. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Why are lack of understanding and lack of sympathy common?

Update: I would like to add some information around the text highlighted in yellow below. I believe that the first priority must go to the words of Jesus, the keeping of which is necessary for salvation, according to Jesus (Luke 6:46-49, John 14:15-24, 15:10-14, Revelation 2:5 etc.). Also, the canon of the Bible is up for scientific and faithful investigation. I do not accept any special authority of what are called the Eastern or Oriental Orthodox churches.

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It is an every day occurrence that someone feels with frustration that the people they are dealing with are without understanding, uncomprehending, lacking intelligence (and sympathy, wisdom, etc.). 

Unfortunately, because of incompetent preaching, people have not heard that the widespread problem of uncomprehending and unsympathetic behaviours by people is explicitly promised in the New Testament. 

Lack of intelligence (understanding, comprehension, etc.), and lack of sympathy are two of the punishments that falls upon people who "do not deem God worthy to have in knowledge". Romans 1:16-32 explains that God has the power to make a person righteous (when they accept Jesus as Lord), and the power to hand a rebellious person over to sin so that God's wrath becomes obvious.

How can one "deem God worthy to have in knowledge"? My answer is that a person needs to have a humble, listening attitude toward God. Such a person considers as a first priority,

(1) The texts that are said to have been inspired by God's Holy Spirit. (Here I believe with many Orthodox churches that there are 77 books of the Holy Bible.)

(2) The claim that God is omnipotent: nothing happens without God's permission.

(3) The claim that God is an impartial, entirely just judge, who rewards and punishes based on a person's deeds. 

The working system of God's salvation

Why do so many pastors and preachers say things like, "It doesn't make sense!", "It isn't fair!", and "I don't understand it all myself!" about the "Gospel" that they preach? It's not God's fault. It's the fault of theologians, among others.

Theologians have very often, and starting very early in Church history, misread, mistranslated and corruptingly taught the message of God in the Holy Bible. The illogicality of their idea systems ought to be a clear warning to anyone: these idea systems are not from God.

The working system of God's salvation is represented allegorically by the history of God's salvation of the Israelites. This is just like God: to provide an explanation in the form of a story that a child can understand. The New Testament says repeatedly: the histories of the Old Testament are there for our example and warning. 

A brief summary could be like this: "Precisely according to the Exodus antetype, Christ-believers are given teaching, commandments and leaders, ransomed, baptized, tested, and chastized—a seven-part sanctification process." ("New Light from Science on Methods for Bible Translation:A test case from 2 Corinthians", J.J. Thomas, February 2016)

Note well that in the Exodus history, not everyone passes the test. This is precisely what is warned and described historically in the New Testament as well, about Christians. 

Is there any idea more destructive than a "Law-Gospel" division?

Update: I wish to question the claims made in the text below that is now highlighted in yellow. For more on that, please see my Translator's Preface to The Christ Family Bible.

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Is there any more destructive idea than that Christianity creates a split between "laws" on the one hand, and "the gospel of righteousness by faith alone" on the other? 

How many lives have been destroyed, through eternally deadly sins, through destroyed families (when divorce and remarriage are liberally approved), through social breakdown (when dishonesty, corruption, incompetence, slackness and laziness are normalised)?

This is the error that draws the most focus from the New Testament books, namely the error that Christianity should be associated with licentiousness, moral libertarianism. Jesus provides many of the most stark and clear warnings.*

Its competitors for most destructive idea are surely:

(2) Christians remain slaves to sin. 

(3) The Church can forgive every evil, even evils that the Lord Jesus and the NT apostles condemned (e.g. blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, voluntary sin, persisting in sinful conditions such as adultery). The Church can contradict its founding apostles like St. Paul (who said that for example adulterers do not inherit the Kingdom of God). 

(4) God is not a just and impartial judge.

(5) Christ Jesus does not chastise (manifested as, for example, sicknesses, even lethal ones).

Atheistic and anti-Christian ideas are of course very destructive too; but are they as deceptive and blinding to the every day, every moment judging and chastising that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit carry out? It is not easy for even very intelligent people to see through the deception of theologians and spiritually deprived churches.

What all the destructive ideas (1)-(5) have in common is that they are covered by the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ about the wasteful and dishonest house-manager, who when dismissed solves his inability to support himself by dishonestly writing down his masters' debtors' debts!** How different is that from a fleecing pastor-wolf who tells people that their debts to God are cancelled, but only if they continue to support his church?

Nota bene that one key verse is most usually mistranslated, weakening the force of Christ's teaching: compare Luke 16:9 in the King James and New Revised Standard versions, with the Christ Family Bible. 


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Notes:
* See for example: Matt. 7:21-27; Mark. 8:34-38, 9:42-48; Luk. 6:43-49, 14:25-35, 21:34-36; John 15:9-14; Rom. 2:4-11, Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:1-11, Phil. 2:12; Heb. 12:14-17; Jam. 2:14-26; 1 John 3:7-12; Jud. 3-21; 1 Pet. 1:17; 2 Pet 2:1-22; Rev. 2:1-3:22, 21:5-8, 22:12-15.
** Luke 16:1-3.