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NASB | James 2:8 ¶ If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | James 2:8 ¶ If, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF [that is, if you have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]" you are doing well. [Lev 19:18] |
Subject: Church is kidnapped to Sodom! |
Bible Note: John, I too have wrestled with the difference between membership and leadership, and I think David is an excellent example. But what I have come down to is that the Bible doesn't seem to speak to leadership in this (I'm still looking), so I feel we have to be bound by what it does address. And a leader is a member. I just get real queasy about going outside the Bible; I think the technical term is allegorical (not going by what the Word says but by what we think the Word means). Once you start doing that, where do you draw the line? For me the issues are clear. Paul and Timothy tell us how to pick our leaders. That should be our model. But that begs the question about ministers who were drug addicts or adulterers or like Paul, murderers, who were saved then began a ministry. So how far back do you look to judge their moral character, etc? But that's another question. The Bible doesn't tell me what to do in the case of a leader who met the criteria, then stumbled or outright fell (as this prof certainly did), but it is very clear what to do when a member does. Matthew and Paul, too in 2Cor 2:6 when he readdresses the 1Cor member, say if they repent we have to forgive and comfort and restore. Actually in this case, we don't really know if this guy has even been rebuked, much less if he repented. Which if he hasn't, then in case the point is moot anyway. Melanie |