2 Timothy

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NASB	2 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
AMPLIFIED 2015	2 Timothy 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed) by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

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Bible Question: Dear Cheri, Hank, Brad, WOS, and others,

This is a question for you since you were some of the ones who strongly advised me to read the New Testament first before trying to understand the Old Testament. Well, after stopping at the end of Deuteronomy, I went to Matthew which you recommended as a great start. Okay, now that I am finished reading Matthew I want to ask you some questions before continuing.

My very first concern is with Matthew 5:17-18, where Jesus basically says he did not come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill, for until heaven and earth pass away not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law until all is fulfilled. An obvious and logical assumption to make is that since heaven and earth have not passed and all has not been fulfilled yet, every jot and tittle of the law are still valid. Not any part of the law has been deleted. It's as clear as a bright sunny day. Yet many of God's commands are no longer viewed as relevent. God's commands of death to a homosexual, death to a man who commits adultery, death to a man who breaks the sabbath and death to man who rapes should all be still be valid, shouldn't they? We still uphold the ban on homosexuality, the sin of adultery and the evil of rape, but we disregard God's command of death to those sinners. Confusing? To me it is very confusing.

One of the recent posts on this forum mentioned Psalm 119, so I read that chapter, all 176 verses. In no uncertain terms God declares all of His words, commandments, precepts, statutes, judgments, testimonies and laws are perfect, righteous, faithful, truthful, good and pure and they endure forever to all generations. How much clearer must it get that no part of God's law could ever be abolished? They should be as God declares, perfect, and as Jesus declares, as eternal as heaven and earth. Why with such overwhelming evidence of God's eternal nature, have we gone against Him?

Here's another concern of mine found in Matthew 5:31-32, Jesus proclaims a divorcee who remarries commits adultery. The question here is how in the world will the countless number of divorced couples, including myself, who have been remarried make it to heaven while continuing to live in the sin of adultery?

My third passage in question is concerning Matthew 5:38-48. Jesus said ignore the eye for eye, tooth for tooth code, instead, resist no evil, turn the other cheek, if a man sues you, give him more, go the extra mile, love your enemies, bless them, do good to them and pray for them that curse, hate, persecute and despitefully use you and you will be perfect as your Father in heaven. I wonder what Christian in the world today practices what Jesus is saying here or even believes it. Even people on this forum, as Written has warned me, will probably view me as the evil one, the enemy who promotes consumption of the "devil's drink." I wonder if they will obey Jesus' council to turn the other cheek and love the enemy? Or will they cast me out banning me forever from this forum? Believe me, I am not the enemy. I love God with all my heart and I just want to do what He commands me to do.

The truth is guys, God has given me a mind to seek the answers. Many of these passages were never told to me by my pastor and I never pursued reading the entire bible until now. I don't believe for a second that I am misreading, misquoting, misinterpreting or inventing ideas. You may say that I am taking things out of context, but I ask you what are the contexts of "love your enemies," "adultery is sin," and "everything that God does is perfect and does not change?" Why should the contexts be anything other than what they say? Unless of course it is uncomfortable to face the truth, then a spin is put on the passage and away we all go.

As I read word for word, I can't help think that if God meant for it to mean something else He would have said it differently, a far easier way, after all, He is God. Please, members of this forum, as Jesus has said, if you we have faith as little as a mustard seed we can move mountains, nothing will be impossible(Matt 17:20). Certainly, our faith should be strong enough to help us to find the answers.

God bless you all,
Pete

Bible Answer: Dear Pete, one thing that I have learned is that the more I study the bible the more I don't know. However, in saying that let me say the questions you ask are very good questions therefore get in an in-depth bible study such as those offered at Precept.org. I have used these for over 20 years and have grown and am still growing in the faith. The funny thing about bible study is that it is not the means to an end. We will never know everything here on this earth but as we learn and grow we will still have questions on different topics. As you can see many people here who have been studying the bible still have questions. When you do a quick read through which is good don't get me wrong, you don't grasp the deep golden nuggets of truth that you will get when you slow down and do an in-depth dig it out for yourself study. Precept shows you how to study the bible. It has you look up the meaning of words in the Greek or Hebrew. It has you go to cross references which tie it all together. So be patient and enjoy the journey. It is a wonderful journey and I commend you for even wanting to study God's word. So many do not have time or the desire to study so congratulations on your endeavors. Browse the Precept Upon Precept Book studies they have to offer and you will see different books and topics that cover your concerns. That would be a good book to start in. Enjoy. Hope this helps, Val