God Loves His Enemies |
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July 2, 2016
When I think of Heaven, I think of courage that is not depressing, but rather, inspiring. Feelings of courage are not depressing. Courage is based in belieivng good news. To be truly good news, the good news must be true. Believing truth is never wrong to do. It's always right to do. It's never unkind to believe truth. In fact, it is merciful to believe truth. It is wise and good planning to prepare to learn truth and do so. July 2, 2016 Upon revisitation of some of my historical learning in life, I have come to the conclusion that the only way in which your cause is just and you have any hope is to fight for the cause of freedom. There is no greater cause. In fact, there is no other victorious cause! July 2, 2016 One of the best ways to study a concept is to see if you can prove that it is wrong. July 3, 2016We make what we do not see, because we do not see reality in the present, but rather we see in the present and that is reality. By the time the light travels to your eye and enters it, it's already gone from where it emanated from to show you where something "is" and what it "looks like". Seeing is a historical phenomenon because by the time light is to us from where it left, it is gone from where it left. We sense in such a way as to not really see what is going on in ...the present, but rather light that traveled in the past entered our eyes and now we are seeing that. We walk by faith and not by sight because ultimately it takes time for information from the rest of reality to travel to us. Planning and prophecy are stabilizing forces in this process to help us have peace and strength. The Holy Spirit helps aids us in all of our self-control. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Eternal truths that never change aid us greatly in living in the temporariness of the moment, because they are so reliably unchanging, that we can count on them being true in every next moment that we will have. Value is added where time meets eternity... which is called the temporal. Our perseverance and discipline in light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory which is well worth the effort! :-) All good training, for whatever purpose, ends up being training for godliness. This process is based in truthfulness. Loving truth is the only way to have any enjoyment and self-control in life. July 5, 2016 The only thing anyone ever sincerely believes is good news. Everything within us shrinks back from believing bad news. Love is the only motivation for self-control. Lack of self control is unloving. Their is no righteousness in what does not exist. A command that Peter gave was to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. July 5, 2016 I just had a profound revelation. Our senses are how we are detecting things. So, it follows that sensing things is detecting detective work. Through sensing we make obeservations and learn what is going on. Even using our built up skills and memory relies on our sensory history. So, indeed, there is no learning without detective work. Knowledge and wisdom come through experience. Making ourselves sense something takes effort. Thinking and making sense of things is a skill we all have and develop, but we are each unique in our own particular way of doing it, though we use common principles. July 5, 2016 I just figured out why we are tasked to pray for believers and all people at all times. When we pray for anyone, it affects everyone. So to pray adequately for anyone, we must pray with everyone in mind. Also, everyone is important. They are real people who have interests like you. Do unto them as you would have them do unto you. This is the only kind of prayer we are ever satisfied with. July 5, 2016 All truthfulness is merciful, and truth is the only thing people ever sincerely believe in all its infinitely spectacular and yet simple complexity. July 5, 2016 God's will is to lead justice to victory. God's will is the only thing ever actually accomplished in all of Creation. All that exists in our infinite Universe is God's Creation. God created all things. This is called God's Kingdom. In God all things have their substance and God holds all things together and sustains them by the word of His power. You shall reap what you sow. All of your sincere beliefs are merciful. You don't even sincerely believe lies. God's will truly is good, perfect, and acceptable. None of us make it any different. We don't even stop God from doing what He does, but we do help God do it. July 5, 2016 Lies are utterly indefensible. No wonder Jesus destroys the works of the devil. July 6, 2016 God doesn't remember missing the mark. He remembers aiming and hitting the mark. You only hit the mark that you aim for. So what you hit is what you have been aiming for. He and subsequently we only do what we desire to do. We always get the results that are due us in this ongoing process. July 6, 2016 You get what you ask for in this way... the exercise of your self-control. When you do what it takes to make something happen, you get exactly what you worked for. This is believing that you have received what you worked for. Working for something is the only way to get that something. It takes faith to work for something. If you don't get something, you didn't work for it... at least, not fully. What your hope is is evidence of what you are working for. Every person who believes truth is working to inherit the entire Kingdom of God in their own style. We are rewarded according to our work. God is not unfair in offering work to each and every one of us. July 7, 2016 I'll tell you what our hope is... all things! The only thing we have hope for is for God's will to be done. God's will is good, pleasing, perfect, and acceptable. Nothing else is even accomplished. Justice is always served. The good guys always win. Victory goes to those who love truth in their truth lovingness. July 7, 2016 Honor is the only thing anyone ever really receives. All actual payment is honor for work done. All praise is according to your worth. All praise is honor. We are enthroned upon the praises of all people. Every good thought you have towards people is praise. Wondering if lies are true does not mean that you believe that lies are true. Our hopefulness is showing what our good beliefs are. Our good beliefs are full of praise. Hopefulness is the joyful anticipation of the future. The only thing God has planned for the future are good works. Evil doing is more non-work type laziness based in being stuck in traps based on mis-judgment. No one has any hope that lies are actually true. July 7, 2016 Truth is so true that even the speech of devils is evidence of good news. July 9, 2016 Humbling yourself is doing what it takes to become praiseworthy. In due time, God exalts those who humble themselves. The word "exalt" means "highly praise". Those who are exalted are reigning with Christ in lovingkindness and patience and mercy and strength. The Bible says God is enthroned upon the praises of Israel. We also are enthroned upon praise. We are praised according to our insight. So we govern according to our strength of character, which is built through perseverance, resulting in hope. We have hope because of the love of God poured out in our hearts. July 10, 2016 People don't feel wrong uttering false prophecies, but they do feel powerless to make the false prophecy come true. Even the way they say it is evidence that the truth is true. They do not present any hope that the lie is actually true. They may be able to present true principles that are true and there is hope for that, but they will never be able to actually present good hope that the lie is actually true. I'm not saying they don't present hope. I'm saying their plan isn't very good in some ways, and they don't even believe that it is any better than it is. July 10, 2016 Hopelessness is the due penalty for operating according to mis-calculation. There is no available hope that the mis-calculation is actually true, though the true principles known would be true and there is hope for that. Also, when you operate according to a mis-calculation, you will get the results of that not so great assumption. This being said, it is good that we get results, and we can learn in the process and afterwards. July 10, 2016 Results in life are not illogical. Your results in life are tailor made for you and your life choices. All of us have a part in making it so. God Himself directs all of it. You get exactly what is due you. You do not get over-rewarded and you do not get under-rewarded. No sin is without its immediate consequences. No good choice is without its benefits. Sin is unbelief. The immediate consequences are the death of your beliefs in that part of your personality and it e...ffects all of your believing. Plans can change when people enter into unbelief. Unbelief is entered into upon mis-calculation and trying to use a mis-calculated answer and not knowing well that it is indeed a mis-calculation. This is called greed and attempted self-bribery. The good news is that no satisfaction ever comes out of greed and bribery does not work. You will get the results according to your work, however good and/or not good it is. Justice will indeed be served. July 11, 2016 True learning is receiving the Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit is throughout all Creation. True learning feels good and empowers you to live well. Everyone who controls themself does so through true learning. I think a lot of people are like the man who said to Jesus: "Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief." The word "holy" means "committed to God". As many people have said, "all truth is God's truth." All truth is holy. Believing truth is how people live and control themselves, even if they are considering lies. July 11, 2016 Authority is controlling yourself to author history through your actions. All true authority is based in active truthfulness and self-control. July 12, 2016 Nothing is done in the Kingdom of God except it be done by letting and making your self-control be your faith declaration. Everything you control yourself to think and do is how you agree to live life and affect yourself and other people. Controlling yourself is doing what you desire to do and believing that you are receiving what you are controlling yourself to obtain as your immediate reward for your actions. Your actual results are what you obtain. This is called the l...aw of sowing and reaping. In a way, this is how the reaper catches up with the sower. You immediately reap what you sow at all times. Sometimes it takes a good season before the full harvest is reaped after an inital field preparation and sowing takes place. I takes work to get your heart ready to plant the word you and God agree to plant in it and to plant it. It also takes work to reap the harvest. It takes work to grow in grace and knowledge. An initial investment in education can be used to help you develop skills and make them grow into good abilities. This will bring a good harvest. Investments follow the law of sowing and reaping. There are many practical aspects to field/crop management. July 14, 2016 All of our planning for the future and talk about the future, however tentative it may be, is our prophetic declaration of our intent toward the future. We have gotten ourselves into every situation we were ever in this way. God is constantly helping us sense what is going on in the rest of reality and offering wisdom to us. God's mercy is completely good. We get everything that is due us. Life and death are in the power of our tongue. When we love our "word", we will eat the fruit thereof. That means we will experience the results of our self-control as we live in self-control and are making further decisions in an ongoing way. July 15, 2016 I've come to understand that everything that exists proves that truth is true, even false statements. False statements feel to be what they are. July 18, 2016 How we control ourselves is our demand that we place on all Creation. Creation then functions for us according to the perfect law of Supply and Demand. In this, we are also having a demand placed on us by all of Creation, and again the perfect law of Supply and Demand is what this will function according to. The law of sowing and reaping is basically this law in some ways, if it is properly understood. July 18, 2016 All force was so forceful that it happened. Some call this the will of God. Star Wars fans may call it the Force. I call it History and existence. Love is the only thing that ever made anything happen. July 18, 2016 The status of existence proves the status of being an overcomer. Love is the only thing that overcomes. Faith is the substance of all things hoped for. Love is faithful, and in that hopeful. All self-control is loving. Unrighteousness is merely lack of self-control, and is deadness in a way. The dead don't praise God, but they are not really doing anything anyways in their deadness, but if they have any life left in them, that is good. July 19, 2016 Something that gives me great peace of mind is that no matter how much I've wondered if lies were true, I was never able to sincerely believe them. I may have lived in such a way as to assume that my course of action was to be according to calculations that I wasn't sure about in a way, and in that it almost looked like I believed a lie, but I never had confidence that the lie was true, but rather that I could do what I planned to do in my truthfulness. The results always comes back. Truth turns out to be true. Existence wins. No one can successfully believe lies. Still existing is being an overcomer. In a way, we love everybody. Everbody is an overcomer. Jesus taught to love everybody. In a way, I think we do. It's the only way to accomplish anything. July 19, 2016 The Bible seems to say that everyone thinks they are right. I think I know why. It's because people can't successfully believe lies. What they really are doing when they are "believing lies" is trying something that they're not sure will yield any other results than that existence will prove to be what it actually is no matter what they do. They're never really sure that the lie is true. They're just trying to accomplish something while remaining unskilled in some ways at ascertaining what reality actually is... thus they are guessing at what to do, but they remain thinking that their actual thinking is right in their sincerity while they're trying to accomplish things. That's why they can and do have self-control. Self-control is based in real trust, which has to be according to the truth. July 19, 2016 In mechanical engineering school I learned ways of analyzing designs in order to seek to predict in some ways what the behavior might be according to known principles. The hard part is that though some main principles seem to be known in some ways, nature is ultimately complex, and being precisely perfect in knowledge by certain calculations is next to impossible. Thus, in engineering we talk about component factors that affect such things as stress and strain and vibration...s and heat transfer and fluid mechanics and so on. Much success has been had in engineering, thus we are able to have the technology we have on Earth. There have been failures as well. The truth that I want to get to here is that no matter how much we analyze and know ways that things generally act for certain types of general principles, nature is one unit and the results will be according to existence. Nature is impartial. Your calculations may be pretty good or maybe not so good. Rough estimates can be based on partial or mostly complete knowledge in certain regards, but nature will be what it will be. Nature is impartial. So calculations can not take certain factors into account and so not accurately predict results. This is called partiality. While calculations can be partial, results in nature will be according to what has always happened throughout all History... the laws of nature will impartially have their way as we do things.... no matter how well we know the laws of nature by analysis methods or not. July 19, 2016 Evil is lack of good and ultimately wasn't resisted, but overcome by love. July 21, 2016 There is proof in the Lord's prayer that God's entire Kingdom is involved in calling and appointing all Kingdom action. Truly the Kingdom of God is government by the people and for the people. The government is by the consent of the governed. God is over all and in all and through all. Jesus taught his disciples to pray "Thy Kingdom come!" and come we do. June 12, 2016In an odd way, I think we all deserve what we get, because we act the way we do and because in that, nature is what it is. It's scientific. In our situations, we are doing exactly what it takes to get what we get. So is everyone else. I think this is fair.
God's blessings are bestowed on everyone, but God's favor is toward those who live according to God's wisdom. God's wisdom is evident in all things that exist. God's wisdom is counseled to every living creature at a...ll times. The only way to think well is to take into account that everyone else is making decisions as well. You can't ignore that completely and think well at all. The good news is that God's wisdom is always available. All you have to do is sincerely ask Him for it and receive it from Him in some or all of the many creative ways He is offering it to you. He's been telling it to you your entire life in many ways anyways. It should seem like you've heard the wisdom before in similar ways, though probably not exact in certain terms, however much you implemented it or not. June 12,2016 All truly legal decisions are blessings from God. God's mercy is evident in all legal action. To truly see this, you must know the circumstance with the courage of Heaven. June 15, 2016 It as now been over 9 years since I graduated from LeTourneau University with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. June 16, 2016 I'm toying around with this idea for more reasons than I will state, but here it is: in order to be diseased, you must be doing what it takes to maintain being diseased. Actually, in order to be or have anything, you must be doing what it takes to be or have in that condition. Now, Jesus was able to heal people, and I believe that God offers us that ability if we would humble ourselves. I also believe there are surefire ways to get ourselves diseased. June 18, 2016I've come to the conclusion that the very meaning of Jesus' name means that everything that exists is awesome. June 23, 2016 Joseph went from the periphery to the pinnacle. A lady once told me that she believed that I would be like Joseph in that aspect of things and that it would happen sometime in my 30s. I am 32 right now. I don't think it has happened yet. June 23, 2016 If your prayer request is not completely backed up by an action plan on your own part to cooperate with the Kingdom of God to make the requested action plan come to pass, then your prayer request is more of an idea than a reality and a meditation rather than implementation. Don't get me wrong, it's good to acknowledge that God has power, but to access it, we must place a demand on it "according to his power that is at work within us" (see Ephesians 3:20-21). I use that pow...er to do such things as walking, breathing, looking, feeling, writing, working, eating, and such. I use that power to have fellowship with God's Kingdom and present my requests to God with the will to make them come to pass. This only gets done in full collaboration with God's Kingdom citizens. This only gets done according to God's mercy, and not otherwise. Grace goes to those who humble themselves and in so doing receive the amen of Heaven to their praiseworthy demand that they place through the laying down of their life to see their request through to full completion and deliverance! The Heavenly Law of Supply and Demand is the law of life. If we, God's Kingdom, demand it through our actions and bring it into being through our actions, then it shall be supplied. No other action plan works. There is no other real action plan. We only get what we demand through our actions. This is called the Law of Sowing and Reaping. You shall reap what you sow! Give, and it will be given unto you... good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over! He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. "Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (see Galatians 6:7-10) June 24, 2016I just wanted to put up a little reminder... I haven't posted there in a while, but I have a blog on that God loves His enemies and explanations of some of my understanding on that topic. The blog is godloveshisenemies.weebly.com. June 24, 2016 Here's a string of verses that illuminate the battle against sin and how to win it. Doing well is winning the battle against sin. Knowing that God is praiseworthy and fixing your hope in His lovingkindness will help you win in the battle against sin. Loving your neighbor and yea, even your enemy, is winning the battle against sin. When you are winning the battle against sin, your countenance is lifted up because you have the joy of the Lord and the God of peace is crushing the devil under your feet because you are wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil (see Romans 16:19-20). "but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." - Genesis 4:5-7 "Many are saying, "Who will show us any good?" Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD! " - Psalm 4:6 "22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, 'Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: 24 The Lord bless you, and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.' 27 "So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them." - Numbers 6 "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. " - Psalm 42:11 "14 O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, 15 Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted, And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself. 16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. 17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. 18 Then we shall not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. 19 O Lord God of hosts, restore us; Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved." - Psalm 80 11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all it contains, You have founded them. 12 The north and the south, You have created them; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name. 13 You have a strong arm; Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You. 15 How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance. 16 In Your name they rejoice all the day, And by Your righteousness they are exalted. 17 For You are the glory of their strength, And by Your favor our horn is exalted. 18 For our shield belongs to the Lord, And our king to the Holy One of Israel." - Psalm 89 "that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell." - Acts 15:29 "If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well." - James 2:8 "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." - James 2:19 "So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts." - 2nd Peter 1:19 "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." - Galatians 6:9 "1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." - Hebrews 12 "The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness." - Psalm 147:11 June 24, 2016 To speak truth is to boast. To speak truth is to imply that you understand something well, which is a proper boast. To speak truth is to tell good news. To speak truth is to offer that, which, if believed, will be a source of joy and peace and hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. To speak truth is to offer encouragement. To speak truth is to be courageous. To speak truth is to have spiritual power. To speak truth is to invoke the miracle working power of the Kingdom of God. To speak truth is to love. There is nothing wrong with speaking the truth in sincerity. There is everything right with it. It is righteous to speak the truth in sincerity. It is righteous to believe truth. June 28, 2016 The only way God smites anyone is in His mercy. Have you ever smited someone in a non-merciful way? I mean, can you even smite people with a bad attitude toward them? I think smiting can only be done with a good attitude. The only way that it is merciless to them is if they are not receiving the mercy of your good judgment in the smiting and so the smiting continues while you continue to preach repentance and offer mercy, but continue to be stern against their evil doing. I think this may seem to be an obvious statement that I am making, but I am going to make it: to be sincerely good news, the good news must be actually true. Conversely, if “news” is not true, it is not truly good news. I am setting out in this article to prove something that I know to be true: all truth is good news and all lies are bad news. That being said, good news about bad decisions is true, but there is a deception in bad news that would not make a person joyfully hopeful if they believed it.
I like to read the Bible. I think there is much good description of good principles in it. One of my favorite verses is Romans 15:13. It says, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” This is one part of the evidence that I use to show that truth is always good news. Now, my understanding of who God is is that He is truthful and righteous and just and merciful and kind and patient and awesome and holy and many other terms describe Him. He is Love. He loves all creatures with all of His heart. He does not love the wicked in the way of them being His friends, because they are not, they are His enemies, but He invites them to become His friends. He still loves them with divine charity love even if they are His enemies. The completely wicked are not being friendly toward God because all they believe is lies. If a person believes truth, in that they are righteous and it is not wicked to believe truth. In this, the righteous are friends of God. Ephesians 1:11 says, “also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,” and God’s will is described in Romans 12:2 as “good and acceptable and perfect”. So God works all things after the counsel of His will which is good and acceptable and perfect. Psalm 145:8-9 describe God’s attitude towards all of His creatures: “The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.” In a number of places, the Bible also states that God made all things. So all things are His works. So God’s mercy is truly over all creatures. This is good news! 1st Corinthians 3:9 states that there are people who are God’s fellow workers. So if any righteous work is done by God’s people, they are co-laboring with God in that work, which is God’s work. This again helps prove that all things are God’s work even if His people are working with Him. The devil’s work is destructive and not creative. The devil’s work is destroyed by Jesus (1st John 3:8) and the righteous, who are like Jesus. The way the devil’s work is destroyed is by overcoming it with good (Romans 12:21). The devil’s actual work is to believe lies and deceive. The devil’s work is destroyed by good reasoning and true conviction. Truth is always something that people have peace believing if they actually believe it. This is true. Now a person can believe both truth and lies at the same time. This is called double-mindedness. True believers in Jesus Christ love truth. The result of this is described in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” The first verse I mentioned (Romans 15:13) also states this kind of thing. Now there are false doctrines taught in some “Christian” churches and circles. Believing these lies does not result in joy and peace and having good hope. It results in confusion and terror. To sin is to miss the mark. This can only be done by believing lies. Truthful people are successful people. Dishonest people are overcome by the righteous and defeated in all regards. To sum it all up, good news actually is good. Truth is good news. Lies are false. Good hope is obtained by believing the truth. God, who is Love, shapes reality according to His will, which is good, acceptable, and perfect. This means that all truth is good news. Anything less than good news is a lie that doesn’t describe reality. I say that God loves His enemies. How does He do it? I will give a listing of some points on how He does it.
John This website is dedicated to exploring the idea that God loves His enemies. The next idea I will present here is that every creature in all of God’s Creation, which is everything that exists… every creature is valuable in some way. God created them[i]. God possesses all things that exist. They are His. The entire Kingdom of Heaven is His. In fact He gives the entire Kingdom of Heaven to every citizen of His Kingdom[ii]. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. The wicked (unrighteous) do not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven[iii], but they are invited to. They must repent from out of wickedness into righteous living in order to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
Every person is a good creation of God. God does good work. What they choose determines what their work is, but God’s work is good and He created them. Everything He makes is valuable. Everyone that exists is valuable. Everyone that exists is loved by God. In fact, God is Love[iv], and Love made everything that exists. God is kind toward every creature. He is patient towards everyone. He never gives up loving every creature. He never has, He never does, and He never will. God is good. He thinks it is worthwhile to treat every person in the Universe kindly and gently and intelligently. He is always in the mode of inviting people to know Him, whether they already do or not. He is always adequately commanding all of Creation to obey His good commands, and whoever obeys Him enjoys the benefits of that lifestyle. There are false interpretations of what it means to obey God. People are deceived if they believe lies about what it means to obey God. To obey God is the work of righteousness. Isaiah 32:17 says, “And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness [2] and confidence [3] forever.” The fruit of the Spirit, which those who actually obey God’s commands have, is, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”[v] At any given time, every creature in all of God’s Creation, which is all things that exist,… every creature is commanded by God to do that which will result in the fruit of the Spirit. People’s value is such that God actually allows them to exist. He thinks it is a good investment to have them existing. He thinks it is a good investment to love them. The wicked may be worthless for good deeds at the time that they are wicked, but even while they are wicked they are valuable in many ways. They are people that are made by God. They could choose at any moment to repent and believe the truth and be loving according to God’s commands. They are commanded to. It is good to love people. Those who used to be your enemies yesterday may soon become your friends. People can change. There is plenty of opportunity for this. I challenge you to think, in what way is absolutely every person in the Universe valuable? The wisdom that is from above, where God is, is described in James 3:17. You can look this up to find out what the wisdom that is from above is. It is the way God communicates the answer to the question, “in what way is absolutely every person in the Universe valuable?” Thanks for reading. John [i] Revelation 4:11, Genesis 1:1, 1st Corinthians 8:6 [ii] Matthew 5:3 & 10 and 25:34, Luke 12:32 [iii] 1st Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:5, Matthew 25:31-46, [iv] 1st John 4:8 & 16 [v] Galatians 5:22-23 Throughout parts of this short article, I will give Bible scripture references in endnote form to show agreement with my teaching.
With praise to God above[1] for His never-ending love[2] and fairness[3] to all and His righteousness and justice[4], I am writing to explain some of my insight into what I believe are God’s ways[5] concerning the damned[6] as well as all creatures[7]. It is said that God is love[8]. It is said that God is good[9]. It is said that God is impartial[10], that He takes no part in unrighteousness[11], that He takes no part in the taking of a bribe[12]. It is said that God is fair in His judgment[13]. It is said that God doesn’t wrongly favor one person over another[14]. It is said that He favors those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love[15]. It is said that He hates those who do iniquity and that no evil dwells with Him[16]. It is said that He is powerful and “all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do”[17]. It is said that the gates of Hades will not prevail against the true church of Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ builds[18]. It is said that Jesus holds the keys of death and Hade[19]. It is said that God has the power to resurrect the dead and does resurrect both righteous and unrighteous people[20]. It is said that God gives power to His servants to obey His commands and be like Him[21]. It is said that God is undefeated[22], all-powerful[23], and never-failing[24]. It is said that God cannot lie[25]. It is said that God condemns sin in sinful man[26] and sinful creatures[27]. It is said that God justifies those who trust Him to the extent that they trust Him[28]. It is said that God honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him[29]. It is said that the earth is the LORD’s and all it contains[30]. Similarly, it is said that He created all things[31]. It is said that He is in the heavens and that He does as He pleases[32]. It has been said that His good news has been proclaimed in all creation under Heaven[33]. I believe that it still is. I believe that the above statements are true. I believe that the book of 1st Peter in the Bible contains evidence that Jesus himself preached the Gospel to people who were damned from the time of Noah’s flood[34]. I believe that everlasting life is promised to all who are believing in Jesus Christ[35]. I believe that people who are choosing to fully deny Jesus Christ are perishing, but that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is still preached to them. I believe that God shows His wisdom to all creatures in Creation continually[36]. I believe that God presents evidence of His eternal power and divine nature to all of His creatures[37]. I believe He does this for His name’s sake[38]. I believe He does this because He loves all creatures[39]. I believe He believes that this is a good investment. I believe there are people who have fallen away from Christ[40]. I believe that as long as they continue to be completely evil towards Christ, it is impossible to be renewing them to repentance[41]. I believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is still preached to them continually as I said above. I believe that they and all creatures in all Creation are adequately commanded to obey the law of Christ[42]. The reason sinners are called sinners is because they are disobeying the law of Christ[43]. I believe that if those who have fallen away from Christ to an extent in the past choose to again fear God and believe His truth instead of trusting in deceit (all actual sinners trust in deceit), they will have a restored relationship with God and His Kingdom[44]. I believe if any person who has been a sinner who is not inheriting the Kingdom of God[45] repents and starts to keep God’s commandments, they will, in that, be righteous in God’s sight. God’s commandments are truth[46]. Keeping God’s commandments is being truthful and obeying the truth[47]. I believe that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit[48]. I believe that God rewards and punishes in real time[49]. He is a rewarder of those who seek Him[50]. I believe that if someone turns from their evil course and instead seeks God, God relents concerning the calamity He was going to bring on them[51]. If someone repents from doing the good they had committed to do and does evil instead, God thinks better of the good with which He had promised to bless them[52]. I believe that God makes conditional promises (the word “if” and implied “ifs” in promises). I also believe there is unchanging truth. I believe that He loves all of His creatures righteously and justly and fairly. I believe He takes into account their present time choosing in what His present time response to them is. I believe that no devil in Hell can defeat God. I believe that God and His Kingdom preaches the Gospel to and commands all sinners, including fallen angels (devils) to turn to Him in repentance and be saved. I believe that His word to them is believable, whatever it is, and if any that have been devils or unbelievers believe His word, they too are saved into righteousness and are rewarded as such. If they remain in their sins, then they remain in punishment. I believe that people in Hades have no power to go to paradise in their unbelief in God. I believe that the Gospel is still preached to them in many ways and that if they who have been in Hades begin believing the word of God, to that extent, they are already then in paradise. I believe the Kingdom of God is throughout all Creation (Creation was created by God). I believe that all creatures in all of His creation are commanded by God to seek His Kingdom first and His righteousness. I believe that with God, it is possible to obey this command. I believe that God loves all of His creatures, and He does it well. I believe He blesses all creatures. He is good towards all[53]. He never fails[54]. I believe that God is the Savior of all Creation, especially of those who believe in Him (like He is the Savior of all men, especially of believers)[55]. He still lightly esteems those who despise Him[56]. He believes that He is good and commands people to not despise Him, but loves those who do despise Him. He honors those who honor Him, because He believes it is a good work to honor Him because He is good. I believe that God is always commanding all creatures in all of Creation to obey Him, and His commands are not unfair. If a creature sins, it is the creature’s own fault. God does not overly condemn them and as stated before, no sinner goes unpunished. He still loves sinners. God’s enemies are not His friends. He shows Himself to be friendly, but they are not friendly toward Him. He is a friend to those who love Him and they are friends to Him. Those who love Him obey His commands, which are good. People can become His friends if they were His enemies by beginning to believe His word and so obey His commands. They can remain His friends by continuing to obey His commands. There are people who are double-minded (two-spirited). Double-minded, in this meaning, means that they believe both truth and lies. They have both good and evil intentions in their heart. These people are, in part, friends of God and, in part, enemies of God. God fairly rewards obedience to Him and fairly punishes disobedience to Him. He chooses to do this. His Kingdom is in on the action of reward and punishment. People are Kingdom of God citizens to the extent that they are loving according to God’s commands. Thanks for reading! John [1] Dt. 4:39, II Ch. 2:5, Ps. 97:9 & 108:5 [2] 1 Co. 13:8 , Is. 9:6-7, I Jn. 4:8 & 16 [3] Psalm 9:8 [4] Ge. 18:19, Ps. 33:5 & 89:14 [5] Dt. 28:9, Jos. 22:5, II Sa. 22:31, Ps. 25:12 & 138:5 [6] Ma. 16:16, II Th. 2:12 [7] Jo. 1:3, Col. 1:15-17, Re. 4:11 [8] I Jn. 4:8 & 16 [9] Ps. 143:10 & 145:9 [10] Dt. 10:17, Ro. 2:11 [11] Dt. 32:4, II Ch. 19:7 [12] Dt. 10:17, II Ch. 19:7 [13] Ps. 9:8 [14] Ez. 8:22, Ps. 5:10, Pr. 12:2 [15] Ps. 147:11 [16] Ps. 5:4-5 [17] He. 4:13 [18] Mt. 16:18 [19] Re. 1:18 [20] Jn. 5:29, Ac. 24:15, He. 6:2 [21] Co. 1:29, Ep. 3:16-17 & 5:1 [22] Ps. 91, Is. 46:10 & 55:11, II Co. 2:14 [23] Job 37:23, Ps. 33:6 & 115:3 & 135:6 & 147:5, Je. 32:17, He. 1:3, Ju. 1:24-25 [24] Jos. 21:45, La. 3:22, Dt. 31:6-8, 1Jn. 4:8 & 16 and 1 Co. 13:8 [25] Ps. 18:30 & 33:4 & 119:160 [26] Ro 8:3 [27] Mt. 25:41 [28] Ro. 3:24-4:5 & 5:1-9 & 8:30-33 & 10:10 & Ti. 3:7 [29] I Sa. 2:30c [30] Ps. 24:1, I Co. 10:26 [31] Re. 4:11 [32] Ps. 115:3 [33] Co. 1:23, Ma. 16:15 [34] I Pe. 3:18-20 & 4:5-6 [35] Jn. 3:16 [36] Ro. 1:19-20, Ep. 3:10 [37] Ro. 1:19-20 [38] I Sa. 12:22, I Ki. 8:41, Ps. 23:3 & 25:11 & 143:11, Ez. 36:22, Mal. 1:11 [39] I Jn. 4:8 & 16, Mt. 5:43-48, Jn. 3:16, Ro. 5:8, Ps. 145:8-9 [40] Mt. 13:21, He. 6:6, II Pe. 3:17 [41] He. 6:1-8 [42] Ro. 1:18-20 [43] Ro. 2:12 & 11:30-32, Ep. 2:2 & 5:6, Co. 3:6 [44] Lk. 17:3-4, I Jn. 1:9 [45] Ga. 5:19-21 [46] Ps. 119:151 [47] Ga. 5:7, I Pe. 1:22 [48] Ro. 14:17 [49] Ex. 20:7, 34:7, Ps. 18:20 & 58:11, Pr. 11:21 & 16:5 & 19:5, Ro. 2:5-11, I Jn. 1:9 [50] He. 11:6 [51] Je. 18:1-10, Ez. 33:1-20 [52] Je. 18:1-10, Ez. 33:1-20 [53] Ps. 145:9 [54] I Jn. 4:8 & 16 & I Co. 13:8 [55] 1 Ti. 4:10 [56] 1 Sa. 2:30c CONDITIONS FOR “ETERNAL LIFE” AND “ETERNAL PUNISHMENT” AND THE REALITY OF GOOD AND BAD REPENTANCE7/3/2015 The word “eternal” is an interesting word. It has a definition range where it can be used for never beginning or ending or an age that has both beginning and end. It can mean perpetuity. It has to do with the lifespan of something. It can mean perpetual going into the future. In some cases, it is uncertain as to whether the thing it describes will come to an end or not.
“Eternal life” and “eternal punishment” in the Bible are described in several places and the ideas associated with them are throughout Scriptures. In many scriptures, it is apparent that those who have eternal life are faithful to God. If a person is faithful, loving truth, they have eternal life. If a person is an evildoer, God’s wrath and indignation is against them. These ideas can be seen in Romans 2:4-11. So the condition is: for a person to have eternal life in the present, they must be loving truth. For a person to be punished by God, they must be an evildoer at the time of their punishment. If a person repents out of evildoing into righteous living, they will no longer be punished for their former evildoing. That is good repentance. Bad repentance is if a person repents out of righteous living into sinning. They will no longer be rewarded for their former righteous living. They will be being punished for evildoing. If a person is doing both good work in part and evildoing in part, the response of God will be appropriate for both. These conditions for blessing and judgment as well as if a person changes course after they committed to doing either good or evil can be seen in Ezekiel 33:1-20 and Jeremiah 18:1-10 in the Bible. These principles are important for all people who exist, those living on Earth and in all of the heavens. It is important for people who are in Hell and such places. God always responds appropriately to how people choose to live. He does not wrongly reward or wrongly punish. He loves. He is love. He is careful. It is His supernatural course of action to judge rightly and do justly, loving mercy, being humble and “walking” with the humble on the path of life. God and His Kingdom are always inviting everyone in the Universe into righteous living. Even if the invitation is rejected, it is always extended to all people who exist. No one is excluded from the invitation. This is done by God and His Kingdom speaking the truth in love. If the truth is believed by someone, that person is being righteous and having eternal life. If a person is believing lies, they are deceived, but the truth is still preached to them. The message to all sinners who exist is always, in essence, “repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” God loves you. He loves everyone. His Kingdom is like Him. To the extent that people are active citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, they are joyful and merciful and kind and not rude. They rejoice with the truth and not in unrighteousness. They think well and love actual truth. All people are invited into loving the truth and so being part of God’s eternal Kingdom, which will never end. The increase of God’s government and of peace will know no end (Isaiah 9:7). God’s everlasting arms are wide open welcoming people back who had deserted Him in the past (Luke 15:11-32). He will never refuse the righteous (Psalm 84:11). If you have been away from God in your heart, He is always ready to welcome you back into His arms. He loves you very much. He loves you with all of His heart, soul, mind, and strength. He promises to never fail to do this. You are loved. Everyone who imitates Him (genuinely) is like Him in a way. He commands everyone who exists to imitate Him. These proofs are being written so that you can see logical proofs that show that good news is preached to those in Hell.
Proof number one: God and His Kingdom only speak truthfully (Isaiah 54:17, 1st John 3:4-10, John 1:12-13 and 3:3-6), they are not deceived, that is the definition of God and His Kingdom. If a person is only trusting in lies and not in truth, they are not a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is God’s Kingdom. They are spiritually dead, but still existing as an evildoer. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand preaching to those in spirit prison (1st Peter 3:19 and 4:6). Hell is a spirit prison. If a person rightly believes the truth, in that right belief they are not guilty of sin. In fact, if they believe truth rightly, that is a righteous deed, and they will be rewarded for it. Any love for the truth will do. Only guilty people are punished as sinners. The only way for a person to remain in Hell as a guilty person is to continue sinning. If a person who has been in Hell sinning in the past repents into being righteous, they are no longer in that spirit prison, they are freed. This kind of truth is seen in Isaiah 61: the good news is preached, liberty is proclaimed to captives and freedom to prisoners. So in summary, the message to sinners who are actually sinners is, “repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” John the Baptist and Jesus are both recorded as having preached this message (Matthew 3:1-3, Matthew 3:17 and 4:23). If a person is loving the truth, they are in agreement with this message towards sinners because they love the truth and they love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-48 and Luke 6:27-28). Proof number two: Sinners are separated from God in a way (Isaiah 59:2). The separation is the difference between their beliefs. God (as He actually is) believes truth. Sinners (actual sinners) believe lies. The reason that sinners are punished in Hell is that they are guilty of believing lies at the time they are being punished. They desire evil (Proverbs 21:10). God and His Kingdom speak truth to them. If the truth is believed by those who have been unrighteous, then they believe truth, and that is righteous to do. That is rewarded by God. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). If you have a general love for the truth, you are actually agreeing that all truth is true. If you do this, one truth that is in that body of truth is that Jesus is Lord. If you love that truth along with all truth, then you are righteous according to Romans 10:9-10. A person has to not believe any truth and trust in deceit to be totally unrighteous. Good news is always adequately preached to all creation. To show this truth is in the Scriptures, I will quote from several passages below: Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Psalm 145:8-9 “The LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.” Colossians 1:13-17 “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Quick comment: all creation is His work… therefore, His mercies are over all creation. Colossians 1:23b “…hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.” John 1:3 “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Luke 6:27-28 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” In conclusion: So to keep this to a manageable length, I have shown two proofs that good news is preached to those who are in Hell and that good news is, in fact, preached to all creation. I will present further in the future on the concept of the duration of eternal life and eternal punishment. I will emphasize the meaning of the Greek used in the New Testament to highlight what these terms mean as far as duration. I will use Biblical concepts to show that if a person changes from being evil to being good, then they change from being punished to having eternal life. I will also show that if a person falls away from having good faith into trusting in lies, they enter into being punished by God and His Kingdom. This punishment lasts only for as long as they are still evildoers. The punishment is always commensurate with their actual ongoing sin. They too are invited back to the straight and narrow path which leads to life. In fact, as I proved above, everyone that exists is invited to the straight and narrow path that leads to life, no matter what they have done in the past or what they are doing in the present or what they are committed to doing into the future. Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. I’m not sure what population statistic Jesus was referring to when he said “many” and “few”, but I do know that loving the truth is good and all people who exist are invited to and even commanded to “enter by the narrow gate”. Remember the love of God and His Kingdom. You are always loved. Everyone is always loved. In fact, God is love and all who are in His Kingdom are like Him, abiding in love (1st John 4:8 & 4:16). All good news is good news. People who exist in a state of being damned are still people. Truth is still spoken to them by God and His Kingdom. If they are totally damned, they don’t believe the truth, even if it is spoken to them. But if, at some point, people who have been totally damned as cowardly unbelievers start believing truth… at this point they would no longer be totally damned. They would no longer be totally cowardly. They would be courageous. It is courageous to love truth.
I believe with all my heart that good news is preached to people who are sinners. In fact, I believe that there is no good reason to be a sinner. To be a sinner, you must believe lies. All sinning is based in being deceived. People deceive themselves if they claim that lies are true. There is no excuse for sin in all creation. It is justly punished as a normal consequence that is in the actual ways of nature. God commands people to live in such a way that they love truth. A person who loves truth does good work in loving truth. If a person perseveres in loving truth, they are seeking for glory and honor and immortality… and God renders to them eternal life. I am going to copy Romans 2:4-16 below to illustrate what I am talking about: 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because [fn] of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for [fn] every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned without [fn] the Law will also perish without [fn] the Law, and all who have sinned under [fn] the Law will be judged by [fn] the Law; 13 for it is not the hearers of [fn] the Law who are just [fn] before God, but the doers of [fn] the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the [fn] Law do instinctively [fn] the things of the Law, these, not having the [fn] Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. So you can see that if a person is keeping the law and doing accordingly, they are justified. If a person is lawless, they are sinning. To make this point more thoroughly, I will quote 1st John 3:4-10 below: 4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows [fn] Him. 7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has [fn] sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is born [fn] of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born [fn] of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone [fn] who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. So, to help people understand that good news is preached to the condemned sinner even in places like Hell, I will reference 1st Peter 3:18-4:6 below. I have many other proofs that good news is preached to those in Hell. I will do a post on this in the future, Lord willing. 18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. 1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: 5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. So, in summary, good news is preached to the damned, and if they repent into loving truth, they are no longer damned, but are righteous. I also believe that there is a state called “double-mindedness” which is where people love both truth and lies and consequently are both good in part and evil in part. The good part of them is righteous. The evil part of them is sinning and condemned as such. Good news is still preached to them. For emphasis, I am going to add that any believing of any good news is righteous and is rewarded by God. Believing good news is always a righteous thing to do. The concept of everlasting life is important. Every person that does the will of God has everlasting life as long as they do the will of God. The will of God is this: persevere in doing good… and by this seek for glory and honor and immortality. When this is done by you, God renders everlasting life to you.
This concept is found in Romans 2:5c-11. Here is the passage: “…God, who will render to every man according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to every man who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.” John 3:36 also has this idea: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” There are many distinctions made in scripture concerning the righteous versus the wicked. The above passage summarizes it well. Everlasting life is for those who love truth (1st Thessalonians 2:10). As long as a person loves truth, they have everlasting life. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” Christians are commanded to be imitators of God as dearly beloved children (Ephesians 5:1), and Jesus is a perfect imitator of God (Hebrews 1:3). So like Jesus, all Kingdom of Heaven citizens are the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by them. They are in Jesus, and Jesus is in them (John 17:23 & 26, Colossians 1:27, Ephesians 3:14-17, 2nd Corinthians 5:17). 1st John teaches that no evil doer has everlasting life abiding in them. Those who hate their brother are in the darkness until now. They do not know God (Titus 1:16[i] and 1st John 4:7-8[ii]). Those who “walk in the light” have fellowship with one another (1st John 1:7). So you cannot know God unless you love with friendship love the entire Kingdom of Heaven… which is those who do the will of God, which is to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). 1st Timothy 4:7b-10 says, “On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” God is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. That is important. God loves all of His creatures. In His love, He commands all of His creatures to love all of His creatures, including themselves and even their enemies. God commands all of His enemies to repent into being righteous so that they too can have everlasting life. He loves them with everlasting love. He is kind and patient. He is forbearing. He does things for His name’s sake. He loves to be right. He loves to be just. He loves to be merciful. He is victorious. He commands everyone who exists to live like Him. There are also warnings in the scriptures about people falling away from the faith. If someone falls away from loving the truth into believing lies, they are no longer having everlasting life, but instead are in everlasting punishment. They are still commanded by God and His Kingdom to repent into loving the truth. God is merciful, and is good to all. So is His Kingdom. You cannot do anything to make them not love you with divine charity love as long as they are Kingdom of Heaven citizens. It is true though, that the Kingdom of Heaven has friendship love only for those who love truth. So the good news is, everlasting life is available to all, but only those who choose to love truth will actually obtain everlasting life. ------------------------ [i] Titus 1:16 “They [1] profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny [2] Him, being detestable [3] and disobedient [4] and worthless [5] for [6] any good deed.” [ii] 1st John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born [fn] of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” I believe in everlasting punishment. I believe that for someone to be truly evil, it must be that they have no good motives, but all bad ones. If a person has no commitment to being righteous, and they are wicked only, they are judged according to John 3:16-21. I will quote this passage below.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only [fn] begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only [fn] begotten Son of God. 19 "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." One more verse I will reference concerning the righteous and the wicked is found in John 3:36. Here it is: 36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey [fn] the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." Jesus commands people to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love their neighbors as themselves. He also commands everyone to love their enemies. If a person does not love others properly, but is malicious against all people by being evil, the wrath of God abides on them. I believe that people that love truth obey Jesus, even if they don’t commonly hear his name in spoken language… even if they live in a distant galaxy or a place far far from our planet. I believe people obey Jesus by loving truth. If they love truth, they are righteous. If they are deluded and malicious, they are evil. I believe everlasting punishment is the sentence doled out to evil people. The reason that it is everlasting is because they have no commitment to ever be righteous at the time of their sentencing. If they ever repent out of being evil into loving the truth and so being righteous, they will no longer be under the sentence of everlasting punishment. They will have eternal life according to the principles found in Romans 2:4-11 about what God renders to people according to their present time deeds. To have eternal life in the present, a person must be persistent in doing good and in so doing seek for glory and honor and immortality. If, though, they are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, God and His Kingdom will render to them wrath and indignation. I believe that God speaks truth. I believe that He loves truth. I believe that He speaks truth to His enemies. I believe that if those who have been His enemies start to believe the truth, they have, in believing the truth, become His friends. I believe that if you know the truth, you are “set free” like Jesus taught in John 8:31-32. I believe this applies to humans and to any creature in all of creation.
I believe that God loves His enemies. I believe that God loves all people that exist with charity love. He blesses… and He reaps what He sows. I believe that’s how He teaches people to live in His Kingdom. Love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. Be about the business of doing good works. Any good work is a good work. God teaches people how to do this. His Kingdom people do good works. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). I like to follow this up in my thinking with the thought that, in 2nd Corinthians 5:21, it says that God made him “who knew no sin to be sin[i] for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Those who have been reconciled to God (2nd Corinthians 5:20) have become the righteousness of God to the extent that they are reconciled to Him. I believe that eternal life that is promised to those who are presently believing in Jesus (John 3:16)… to those who persist in doing good (Romans 2:6-7). I believe that to continue in eternal life, they have to continue in good faith (Romans 1:17). I believe that all creatures have choices that they make. I believe that God has wrath against people who are practicing evil doing. I believe that He calls them to repentance. I believe that Jesus taught that eternal life was to be granted to the righteous and eternal punishment was to be rendered to the wicked. I also believe that even though God and His Kingdom render eternal punishment to the wicked, God still calls the wicked to repent. I believe that the idea of eternal is that of perpetualness, but in some cases a perpetualness that could conceivably come to an end. It can also mean perpetual in such a way that I’m not sure it always means that it will come to an end eventually. I have been searching the Bible and other avenues and praying for a number of years now concerning these subjects. I have reasons why I say these things. I mentioned some of them. If you read this and have questions, you can leave a question on my CONTACT / COMMENT SUBMISSION page on this website. You can also leave a comment below this blog. ------------------------------------- [i] I have an NIV translation that has footnotes that say “Or a sin offering” It is recorded that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven….” This is found in Matthew 5:43-45a NASB. The King James Version has an extended version of verse 44 which says, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” A similar passage is found in Luke 6:27-28.
Something I would like to point out is that God actually does hate His enemies. I cite Psalm 5:4-6 for this: “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.” Just because God hates His enemies doesn’t mean He doesn’t love them with charity love. He hates them in a loving way. He loves them, blesses them, does good to them, and is prayed to for them as He commands. Psalm 145:8-9 says, “The LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.” Some things that people who were God’s enemies were doing are described in James 4:1-4. They are sinners. They are called as a group “adulteresses”. They are called friends of the “world”. The “world” is described in 1 John 2:15-17: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” I do not believe that this passage is saying to not love sinners who are in the world and of it. I believe this passage is saying that we are to not donate (in charity love) our heart, soul, mind, and strength to doing “worldly” living. “Worldly” living is adultery against God and is what people who are God’s enemies do. John 3:16-18 is a famous passage which I want to follow up the previous passage with. It says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” God so loved the world that He sent a Savior. I believe that if a person still exists in whatever form, God loves them. I believe that in His love, He adequately commands them to obey His royal law. I believe that even people in Hades/Hell are commanded to obey the Law of Christ, which is the royal law. I believe that if they still exist, they can repent into obeying God’s commands if they choose to. I believe that support for this is found in John 3:16 (previously quoted), 1 Peter 3:18-4:6 in which proclamation is made to the dead, and many passages which speak of the goodness of God. God’s royal law is that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We are also to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. I believe that the gift of eternal/everlasting life goes to those who are engaged in doing good, as stated in Romans 2:6-7. I believe that “wrath and indignation” is rendered to “those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness” as stated in Romans 2:8. I believe that these are ongoing conditional renderings of God to people as they are choosing how to live. I believe that people can turn from doing good into doing evil and will reap the consequences of doing so. I believe that people can turn from doing evil into doing good and will reap the rewards. I have support for this notion in the above statements as well as in Ezekiel 33:10-20 and Jeremiah 18:1-10[i]. I also believe that people can be engaged in both doing good and doing evil at the same time. The good is not evil, and the evil is not good. This is called double-mindedness. God loves His friends. God loves His enemies. I believe that God commands us to love both as well as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that I cited at the beginning of this article. I believe there is always a good way to do this, and there are benefits for those who do. [i] Ezekiel 33:10-20 (NASB) is as follows: 10 "Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus you have spoken, saying, "Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive [fn]?"' 11 "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord [fn]God, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?' 12 "And you, son of man, say to your [fn] fellow citizens, 'The righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous man will not be able to live by [fn] his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.' 13 "When I say to the righteous he will surely live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but in that same iniquity of his which he has committed he will die. 14 "But when I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die,' and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness, 15 if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statutes which [fn] ensure life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 "None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live. 17 "Yet your [fn] fellow citizens say, 'The way of the Lord is not right,' when it is their own way that is not right. 18 "When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, then he shall die in it [fn]. 19 "But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them. 20 "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not right.' O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways." Jeremiah 18:1-10 (NASB) is as follows: 1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, 2 "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will announce My words to you." 3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something on the wheel [fn]. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 6 "Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7 "At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 8 if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent [fn] concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. 9 "Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; 10 if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think [fn] better of the good with which I had promised to bless [fn] it.” I like to think about God’s goodness.
Jesus said that our Heavenly Father is perfect and we are to be like Him. So what is that perfection? 1st John has on record “God is love”.[i] There are many witnesses that He is impartial, fair, just, and righteous. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne; lovingkindness and truth go before Him.”[ii] He loves even His enemies.[iii] “The LORD is good [1] to all, And His mercies [2] are over all His works.”[iv] There are many records showing His powerfulness and extensive knowledge. In these things, we can see His perfection. God allows His creatures to choose. He commands them to choose wisely according to His good commands. There are people who have chosen wisely according to God’s commands to a good extent, and they benefit in that. There is also rebellion to some extent in many people. Romans 1:21 says the following of people who chose to disobey God, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor [1] Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile [2] in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Is God worthy of us acknowledging and thanking Him? Is there any good reason to do these things? I will lay out some reasons why I believe there is good reason to… At every moment, as recorded above, He is good to all. At every moment He is at the ready to give to all who ask Him if they ask according to what’s in His name to give.[v] There is something called asking amiss[vi] which does not prevail with Him. At every moment He is blessing those who curse Him and doing good to those who hate Him and commanding His Kingdom people to do likewise as well as pray for those who mistreat them. He loves truth and hates evil. He is victorious. He is kind. He is awesome. He is excellent and praiseworthy. He truly is magnificent. He’s always ready to and does forgive those who confess their sins to Him and He cleanses them from that unrighteousness.[vii] On top of all of that, He makes those who obey Him like Himself to the extent that they obey Him. At every moment, His “eternal power and divine nature” are clearly seen[viii] so that people are without excuse. God sent His son Jesus Christ to call sinners to repentance. God despises trusting in lies. He calls sinners to stop trusting in lies and start loving the truth so they can be saved into righteous living. Loving the truth is beneficial. If we love the truth, we can know what reality is. We can have good holy fun in reality being loving toward people as God commands us to be. We can overcome evil with good if we love the truth. God really is good and really does love all of His creatures through all of their trials. He offers many benefits to those who are faithful to Him. He also commands His enemies to repent and become faithful to Him so they too can walk in blessing and continue partnering with Him to be good to all, loving their neighbor as themselves, loving their enemies, and loving the Lord their God. Full obedience to God is loving according to His commands with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. For people who do this, God’s promise to them is that “no weapon formed against you shall prevail”.[ix] People who love God even with part of their heart have in that part of their living this same promise to them. God’s wrath and indignation is rendered to evil doers[x] and the evil doing part of double-minded people. One thing I like to emphasize is that God has His good news preached even to the dead.[xi] I think this is a neglected truth in parts of what is called the church on earth today. I believe that God loves even the damned who are believing lies in Hell. I believe that He commands them to repent into obeying His commands so that they can be saved into His Kingdom. I believe this offer is always on the table for the damned. At no moment is their sin good. There is no moment in which they have a good excuse to sin. God loves them, and will continue to love all of His creatures. That is His eternal promise to us. Grace and peace to those who love the truth, and God’s blessings to all His creatures… John [i] 1st John 4:8 and 4:16 [ii] Psalm 89:14 and also partially in Psalm 97:2 [iii] Luke 6:27-28 [iv] Psalm 145:9 [v] John 15:16 [vi] James 4:3 [vii] 1st John 1:9 [viii] Romans 1:20 [ix] Isaiah 54:17 [x] Romans 2:8 [xi] 1st Peter 3:18-19 and 4:5-6 I am copying this from a Word document with endnotes embedded.
God’s Love And His Rendering To People According To Their Works, Even The Dead In this writing, I am setting out to prove, among other things, that God loves His enemies and that He loves them in such a way that if they choose rightly, those who have been His enemies by being wicked can become His friends. His friends are those who obey His commands, which are good. I am also setting out to show that God loves all of His creatures, even the damned who have died already and that He commands them to repent from out of their sins into righteous living empowered by Him. I will use scripture and reason for my proofs. I know that scriptures can be interpreted both correctly and incorrectly. Proper interpretation is only done well with God’s aid. We can ask God in faith for wisdom and He will give us wisdom.[i] God gives His wisdom in certain ways.[ii] God is opposed to the proud and gives His grace to the humble.[iii] It has taken me some time to study the concepts I will write about in this writing and reach the conclusions that I have. In this study, I ask you to consider the Savior Jesus Christ. I will present to you why I believe He and Bible writers, in their teachings, taught about what God renders to who for reward and punishment. I will also show that they did teach in such a way as to support that those who have been damned are commanded to repent and become righteous and enter God’s Kingdom. Jesus and John the Baptist both preached, “repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”[iv] That message in essence is still preached today. Jesus taught, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) The Gospel of John has on record that those who believe in Jesus will not perish, but have eternal life and those who do not obey Jesus will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on them.[v] John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16-17 say that all things in heaven and on earth were created by Jesus. Jesus Himself taught, “before Abraham was, I am.”[vi] I write these things to emphasize the importance of Jesus Christ in God’s plan of salvation. The Kingdom of God as a whole is also important in God’s plan of salvation. Each person in the Kingdom of God is like God and His son Jesus Christ to the extent that they live God’s way. I believe that Jesus Christ is, in a way, present throughout creation. He is “in” people who believe in Him.[vii] He examines minds and hearts.[viii] He and our Father in Heaven and the Holy Spirit are at work loving all of their creatures.[ix] God will render to each person according to his works.[x] God renders eternal life to those who by perseverance in doing good, seek for glory and honor and immortality.[xi] He renders “wrath and indignation” to people “who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness.”[xii] Ezekiel 33:13-16[xiii] is an interesting passage which I will quote below to further explore these themes: “When I say to the righteous he will surely live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but in that same iniquity of his which he has committed he will die. But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness, if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statutes which ensure life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live.” This principle that God treats a person according to their present commitment is important. If a person repents for evil or for good, that affects the outcomes. Warnings and pronouncements of judgments can be very conditional. Jeremiah 18:1-10 has the same principle shown in it. James 2:13 has a good saying, “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” God is merciful in good ways. People who are forgiven by Him are shown mercy by Him. God is quick to forgive those who confess their sins and to cleanse them from all unrighteousness.[xiv] He loves even sinners. He demonstrates this by the sacrificial death of His son Jesus Christ.[xv] Anyone who trusts Jesus Christ to be their Savior has eternal life. A person who trusts Jesus Christ is humble and engaged in doing the good work that God commands them to do. There are many expressions of doing good work as a follower of Jesus Christ. God’s word is preached throughout all creation.[xvi] His law is adequately commanded everywhere. No one in all creation has a good excuse to sin.[xvii] God’s law is good, just, and fair. The greatest command is, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” The second is like it, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus even showed that in this law, his command is “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”[xviii] These commands give a good overview of the theme of the good works God commands us to do. I will endeavor to show that God’s pronouncement of eternal life for the righteous and punishment for the wicked is conditional. The righteous are on course to live pleasing to God, and if they remain committed to living righteously, which is called enduring, they will be rewarded accordingly. The wicked are on course to live wickedly and if they remain wicked, they will be punished accordingly. As I showed above, God renders to people according to their works. If a person turns from doing good to doing evil, God will render to them according to their works. If a person turns from doing evil to doing good, God will render to them according to their works. God loves His enemies like Jesus commanded people to do. God had Jesus Christ make a proclamation to those who had died in Noah’s flood.[xix] Beyond the preaching to just those of Noah’s generation, it is written in 1st Peter 4:5-6 that the gospel (good news) has also “been preached even to those who are dead”. The gospel is preached even to the dead! This shows the character of God. He loves all creatures and commands all creatures in all of His creation to obey the law of Christ. The damned are not an exception. The damned are damned because of their present time bad commitments. God renders to them according to their works. The gospel is preached to them, and if they repent into being righteous, they will no longer be damned. They will be rewarded by God for their faithfulness. If they remain on their evil course, the general sentence of punishment will be upheld. Conversely, if those who have been conditionally promised eternal life turn from doing good into doing only evil, they will be treated accordingly and be damned. The idea that God is the Savior of all, especially of believers[xx], is important. God is loving toward all of His creation. He hates evil. He loves righteousness. He forgives when it is appropriate to. He is merciful and kind as well as stern and severe. God searches and tries peoples’ hearts and minds.[xxi] He loves to reward the faithful and punish the wicked. He does as He pleases.[xxii] An idea I now want to cover is that of double-mindedness. A person is double-minded if they have both good and evil intent in their hearts. “Double-minded” can mean “two-spirited”. In James 4:8, the double-minded are commanded to “purify their hearts”. This is an important concept, because not everyone is either only righteous or only wicked. Many people are both righteous in part and wicked in part. God commends righteous living and condemns sin in sinful people. This is a useful concept in considering what is what in reality for considerations about what has been talked about in this writing. The reality is that there are people that are not totally righteous or totally unrighteous, but are double-minded.[xxiii] The word “eternal” and the concepts of “eternal life” and “eternal punishment” as described in Matthew 25:46 as well as other places are important. The Greek word for “eternal” has a range of meanings. It can mean “age”, “perpetuity”, and “eternal”. It has the idea of a lifespan. In the case of “eternal life” and “eternal punishment”, it carries the idea of a perpetual state of existence in those ways. Eternal life is for those who persevere in doing good works. Good works can only be done in God’s grace. Eternal punishment is for those who are wicked unbelievers. The status of a person can change if they begin to choose differently. God does not command people to be wicked. He does command them to be righteous according to His commands. As stated before, He is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble. Eternal life and eternal punishment can each come to an end with new beginnings for a person if that person begins to live differently in such a way that God renders to them differently. One final concept I will refer to that people may have wonderings about is the story Jesus told in Luke 16:19-31 about men in the spirit world after death. In it, Abraham told the rich man, who was in fiery torment, “between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.” How then can those who have been damned be saved? I prayed about this for a while and kept on receiving the answer that I was right that there was a way. There is a good explanation. The answer I finally arrived at was this: the rich man had no way in his then time ways of living to go to Abraham’s side. Abraham would not be commanded by God to go to the rich man’s place of torment. Abraham was living righteously at the time. The rich man was living arrogantly at the time. The rich man would have to humble himself to obtain power from God to live in less agony and more in the way of the righteous. So, while there was no way for Abraham to come to the rich man or the rich man to come to Abraham in a certain paradigm, there was actually a way for the rich man to repent and be received into paradise. It is called the way of righteous repentance, which he was not taking part in at that time. Thank you for reading. These are some things I have prayed about and studied and arrived at these conclusions. I encourage you to pray and ask God for wisdom concerning what you have read and are thinking about. Please remember God’s greatest commandment for you is for you to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. His second greatest commandment for you is for you to love your neighbor as yourself. He also, in His law, specifies that we are to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us as well as bless those who curse us and pray for those who mistreat us. At the time of this writing, I plan to allow for comments and questions on the website as well as having a Frequently Asked Questions section. If you would like to find those resources and use them, you may. God’s grace and peace to all who believe in Him and His love toward all of His creation, John [i] James 1:5 [ii] James 3:17 [iii] James 4:6 and 1st Peter 5:5 [iv] Matthew 3:2 and 4:17 [v] John 3:16 & 36 [vi] John 8:58 [vii] Ephesians 3:16-17 and John 17:26 [viii] Revelation 2:23 [ix] Psalm 145:9, Matthew 5:43-48 [x] Romans 2:6 [xi] Romans 2:7 [xii] Romans 2:8 [xiii] New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA, 1995 [xiv] 1 John 1:9 [xv] Romans 5:8 [xvi] Romans 1:19-20 and Colossians 1:23 [xvii] Romans 1:18-20 [xviii] Luke 6:27-28 [xix] 1st Peter 3:18-20 [xx] 1st Timothy 4:10, John 4:42, 1st John 4:14, John 1:29, 1st John 2:2 [xxi] 1st Chronicles 28:9, Psalms 7:9 and 26:2, Jeremiah 17:10 and 20:12, Romans 8:27, Revelation 2:23 and Hebrews 1:3 [xxii] Psalm 115:3 [xxiii] As support for this notion, I reference the 7 letters in Revelation 2 and 3 in which Jesus commended people and also told of things that he had against them. |
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