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NASB | Hebrews 11:40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Hebrews 11:40 because God had us in mind and had something better for us, so that they [these men and women of authentic faith] would not be made perfect [that is, completed in Him] apart from us. |
Subject: Superior Hope |
Bible Note: EdB, (Continued ...) To summarize the quoted passagese, according to love, I conclude the following results as according to plain scripture: If you love God and love your neighbor, you will live. There are no commandments greater than these, and all other laws are dependent upon the two for their very existence. Love is the commandment of Christ, and if you do that, everyone will know that we are his diciples. Love edifies, and all that we do should be done in love. In Christ, nothing means anything, except that it be by faith through love. Love is the fulfillment of the law; there is no commandment we have that is not summed up by it, and love does no harm to another. The things that define love are the fruits of the spirit, and there are no laws against such things. Through faith, and rooted and grounded in love, we can comprehend all things. Love is the perfect bond of unity, and it is the goal of the Apostles' instruction. If you are loving each other, you are fulfilling the royal law, and you do well. Love is the message we have heard from the beginning, and love covers a multitude of sins. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another, and it is by this sincere love that we will assure our hearts before God. If we love, we are born of God, know God ... we abide in God and God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. This same love that nailed his own Son to the cross. If love does all these things, as according to plain scripture, then love is all you need. The root point of the "go to church" issue, and the reason for some of my questions stems from this truth. We all agree that going to church is a good thing, but if you miss church two weeks in a row, you have not sinned. You have missed church. In no way have you failed to love another by missing the assembly at the church house. If, on the other hand, you make it a commandment, then you have sinned if you miss it once, and this without harming anyone or failing to love your brothers and sisters even by accident. It is for this reason that church is not a command. It is a good thing to do. If it is a command, you are a murderer if you miss it once. Observe the words of James: James 2:10-11 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, "Don not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. In other words, if you make it a command, and you miss it once, you are also a murder. Now observe the words of John: 1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. In short, if it is a command, then you are a murderer if you miss church once, and no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. If, on the other hand, it is exhortation, if you miss you are still loving those around you, but simply missed service. Love IS the law in all respects, and it never fails. 1 John 2:10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. Ancient |