If that is the case, then what is verse 9 telling you? See my reply #9299 just above.
An Article on free will
- Thread starter TomL
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And just how does he do that?
As do you. I wonder if you really understand what it means to be saved.
I asked the question. It wasn't a test. I would like to know the answer.
I am not sure I believe that. I can understand that though reading the Bible or though the conscience one can find out what is right or wrong but that isn't chastisement.
How is my wondering about whether you really understand something any more accusatory than your statement that I need to understand?
Johann
Active Member
Hebrews 12:5–7 (KJV)
"And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?"
God’s chastening is an expression of His love and fatherly care. Just as a human father disciplines his children for their well-being, God corrects His children to guide them back to righteousness.
2. Proverbs 3:11–12 (KJV)
"My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:
For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."
This Old Testament passage parallels the teaching in Hebrews, emphasizing that God’s correction is rooted in His love and desire for our growth.
3. Revelation 3:19 (KJV)
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."
Jesus, speaking to the church, explains that His rebuke and chastisement are intended to lead to repentance, reaffirming that correction is an act of love.
4. Psalm 94:12 (KJV)
"Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law."
Chastening is not merely punishment but instruction, teaching the believer to walk according to God’s Word.
5. 1 Corinthians 11:32 (KJV)
"But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."
Paul explains that divine chastisement serves as correction to keep believers on the path of righteousness, distinct from the judgment faced by the world.
God’s chastening is a sign of His fatherly love and care, aimed at guiding His children to repentance, spiritual growth, and moral correction. It serves to prevent us from being condemned with the world and demonstrates that we are genuinely His children.
That's how @Jim.
J.
GodsGrace
Active Member
What's the difference between SIN and SINS?
GodsGrace
Active Member
Who said a calvinist is not a Christian?
Is this why you dislike being called a Calvinist??
Calvinism is your belief system.
It does not state whether or not you're Christian.
The first word of John 3:16 is a conjunction that inextricably ties John 3:14-15 to John 3:16, and here are the Lord Jesus' words as recorded by the Apostle John:
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that every believing will in Him have eternal life, for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that every believing in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life
(John 3:14-16).
Then YHWH said to Moses, "Make a fiery [serpent], and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9).
Furthermore, there is a different population of persons which includes persons that DID NOT LOOK AT "the serpent in the wilderness".
Therefore, there are separate populations of persons identified in Jesus' words as recorded by the Apostle John (John 3:14-16) with the first "population of bitten look to live" and there was the second "population of everyone else".
In the next four paragraphs, we see the Word of God speaking to Moses (Numbers 21:8) in relation to the Word of God speaking to Nicodemus (John 3:16).
- Notice how "everyone who is bitten" (Numbers 21:8) relates to "world" (John 3:16).
- Notice how "when he" (Numbers 21:8) relates to "that every one" (John 3:16, note that the singular (not plural) Greek word pas [Strong's 3956] translates accurately as "every one" not so much as the unfettered promiscuous connotation of "whosoever" [KJV] or "whoever" [NASB]).
- Notice how "look" (Numbers 21:8) relates to "believing" (John 3:16).
- Notice how "live" (Numbers 21:8) relates to "eternal life" (John 3:16).
The Word of God conclusively proves that the context establishes the word "world" as used by Jesus in John 3:16 includes ONLY the population of persons that currently believe in Jesus or will in the future believe in Jesus.
God loves the world which specifically is God's chosen persons as per Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16), and Christ's sayings specifically exclude those who say they free-will chose Jesus because Jesus says “you did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16) and “I chose you out of the world” (John 15:19, includes salvation).
Post #9,283 precedes this current post, and it's integrated into this post.
In Truth (John 14:6), the Almighty God is Sovereign (Genesis 1:1) in man's salvation and affairs of man (Daniel 4:34-35)! PRAISE MASTER JESUS!!!
GodsGrace
Active Member
What is your source for the above?
You should state your source.
GodsGrace
Active Member
THE WORLD means THE WORLD.
It means everyone in the world.
Calvinism makes it necessary to change the meaning of words.
YOU DID NOT CHOOSE ME BUT I CHOSE YOU....
and
I CHOSE YOU OUT OF THE WORLD
is SPECIFICALLY speaking to the Apostles.
Jesus chose the Apostles.
WE, OTOH, are free to choose to follow God or not follow God.
Romans 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Philemon 1:14
14 but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will.
Exodus 25:39
All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.
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Johann
Active Member
@Kermos
Some may not think I’m a Calvinist when it comes to John 3:16. Actually, I’m a John Calvinist when I interpret this verse (double entendre intended). I don’t think the verse (and its larger context) is simply designed to teach people biblical doctrines or facts. It has a larger aim. Namely, God through the apostle John wants to solicit a response on the part of the reader. Let me explain my reasoning.
Daddy Bought Some Ice-cream
We all know that indicatives or interrogatives can be used as “directives.” “Honey, I don’t have any blue socks” is a spousal plea for help. “Boys, your room is a mess” isn’t simply the conveyance of information (which they probably already know); it’s an implied command, viz., “Clean up your room!”
Allow me to use an example more apropos of our text.
When I inform my five children at the dinner table, “Children, Daddy bought a gallon of “Moose Tracks” ice-cream so that all those who finish their supper might enjoy a tasty dessert,” I’m not simply stating a fact or describing a (potential) state of affairs. Actually, my remark is rhetorical. There’s an illocutionary[1] intent behind it designed to solicit their compliance and to promote their happiness. My announcement at the dinner table would be semantically equivalent to the following: “Children, I want you to finish your dinner and in order to motivate you to do so I’ve purchased a gallon of your favorite ice-cream as a reward for those who comply with my wish.”
Look and Live!
John 3:16 probably begins an explanatory remark the apostle John appended to Jesus’ discourse with Nicodemus (3:1-15). The conjunction “for” (Greek: γαρ) makes the connection obvious.
Jesus had told the Jewish religious teacher, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (3:14-15). The Lord is alluding to an incident in Israel’s wilderness wanderings. The Israelites grumbled against Yahweh and Moses (Num 21:5). So God afflicted the murmurers with poisonous snakes resulting in the death of many (21:6). When the people acknowledged their sin and asked Moses to intercede (21:7), Yahweh responded to Moses with the following instructions:
And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live” (Num 21:8).
It’s unlikely that God’s words were intended for Moses’ ears alone. He wasn’t merely preparing Moses for what would happen as dying Israelites happened (by chance) to gaze on the bronze serpent. It’s more likely that what God communicated to Moses, Moses, in turn, communicated to the Israelites. And that bare statement of fact, i.e., “anyone bitten shall live when he looks at it,” was designed to solicit a response from the dying Israelites. Rhetorically, it functioned as a directive: “Look and live.”
“So so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life,” says Jesus (3:15), and the gospel hymnwriter doesn’t miss the link:
“Look and live,” my brother, live,
Look to Jesus now, and live;
“Tis recorded in His word, Hallelujah!
It is only that you “look and live.”
Believe and Live!
Expanding on Jesus’ words, the apostle renders the redemptive-historical portrait in full-technicolor. Just as Yahweh showed unexpected grace to that ungodly lot of unworthy Israelites, so God surprisingly loves the fallen human race (κοσμος)[2] to such an extent (ουτως)[3] that he sends His Only Son. It’s the “badness” of the human race that renders God’s love so surprising and extravagant. The effect is, Wow! how could God love a race of such evil people! As Donald Carson remarks, “God’s love is to be admired not because the world is so big and includes so many people, but because the world is so bad.”[4]
But why does the apostle underscore the greatness of God’s love? Is it simply to assure the elect that God loves them and that they’re going to heaven? I think not.
Just as Moses lifted the serpent to solicit a remedial look, so the apostle John with illocutionary intent shows God the Father raising up the Son as a standard in order to solicit a saving look from “whosoever” desires not to perish but to live forever. In other words, God has provided the all-sufficient remedy. Therefore, anyone and everyone who would not perish but live should believe. So John 3:16 isn’t primarily a commentary on God’s special love for the elect as it is an invitation based on God’s gracious love toward Adam’s fallen race to the end that they might “believe and live!”
Such a reading agrees with John’s primary purpose for writing the Gospel:
These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (emphasis added; John 20:31).
Good Ol’ John Calvin
Unlike some Calvinists who restrict John 3:16 to a simple affirmation of God’s effectual redeeming love for the “elect-world,”[5] John Calvin, I think, appreciated the rhetorical nature of John 3:16. “It is true that Saint John says generally, that he loved the world,” Calvin observes. “And why?” Calvin queries. His answer: “For Jesus Christ offers himself generally to all men without exception to be their redeemer” (emphasis added).[6] In other words, the divine love of John 3:16 “extends to all men” in Calvin’s view. More importantly, Calvin ascertained the illocutionary force of the words:
For men are not easily convinced that God loves them; and so, to remove all doubt, He has expressly stated that we are so dear to God that for our sakes He did not spare even His only begotten son…. and He has used a general term, both to invite indiscriminately all to share in life and to cut off every excuse from unbelievers. Such is also the significance of the term “world’ which He had used before. For although there is nothing in the world deserving of God’s favour, He nevertheless shows He is favourable [Latin, propitium: propitious, merciful, favourable] to the whole world when He calls all without exception to the faith of Christ, which is indeed an entry into life.[7]
When a Little Greek Is Not Enough
Some Calvinists with a little Greek under their belt are quick to tell us that the reading of the AV, “whosoever believeth in him,” is mistaken. The Greek features a participle in the nominative case (ο πιστευων) modified by the adjective “all” (πας). Hence, they argue, John is simply stating a fact: “all believers go to heaven.”
Unfortunately, this is a case where knowing a little Greek vocabulary, grammar, and syntax is not enough. One must grasp the larger picture of how language works, that is, the science of linguistics. Language is much more flexible than many realize, and it doesn’t take an imperative or cohorative to express a command, directive, or entreaty. Consequently, it’s not enough to parse verbs correctly and arrive at a “literal” rendering of the text. The interpreter must look for the rhetorical strategy behind the text. This is certainly the case with so famous a verse as John 3:16.
Preach It! Brother
Just because you’re a Calvinist doesn’t mean you’ve got to reserve John 3:16 for the saints. It’s designed for sinners too. It has an evangelistic aim. Therefore, don’t just preach the facts of God’s benevolent love and Jesus’ incarnation. Don’t just tell your congregation that believers go to heaven. Use the text as a gospel invitation. Entreat all and every sinner to “look and live.” And if someone questions whether you’re truly a Calvinist, you can reply, “I’m a “John (3:16) Calvinist.”
Dr. Robert R. Gonzales Jr., Ph.D, has served as a pastor of four Reformed Baptist congregations and has been the Academic Dean and a professor of RBS since 2005. He is the author of Where Sin Abounds: the Spread of Sin and the Curse in Genesis with Special Focus on the Patriarchal Narratives (Wipf & Stock, 2010) and has contributed to the Reformed Baptist Theological Review, The Founders Journal, and Westminster Theological Journal. Dr Gonzales is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. He and his wife, Becky, reside in Sacramento, California. (from rbseminary.org)
More Resources
[1] Illocutionary: “pertaining to a linguistic act performed by a speaker in producing an utterance, as suggesting, warning, promising, or requesting.” From the Random House Dictionary 2010, s.v.
[2] Here, the term κοσμος carries ethical overtones and refers to “mankind as alienated from God, unredeemed and hostile to him” (Friberg, s.v.). This usage is pervasive in Johannine literature: John 1:10; 3:17, 19; 7:7; 8:12, 23, 26; 9:5; 12:31, 46-47; 14:17, 19, 30-31; 15:18-19; 16:8, 11, 20; 17:6, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25; 1 John 2:2; 3:1, 13; 4:5, 14; 5:19; Rev 12:9.
[3] The Greek ουτως (houtôs) can refer either to the intensity or extent of a verbal idea, i.e., “so much,” or to the manner of a verbal idea, i.e., “in this way.” It should be noted that the construction here features the adverb ουτως followed by the conjunction ωστε (hôste). Where this construction occurs elsewhere in the NT, the emphasis seems to be on the quality of the verbal idea: “they spoke so effectively (ουτως) that (ωστε) a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed” (Act 14:1 NIV). Accordingly, I’m inclined toward the idea of the quality or extent of God’s love, i.e., God loved the world so much that ….” In a similar vein, D. A. Carson notes, “The Greek construction behind so loved that he gave his one and only Son (houtôs plus hôste plus the indicative instead of the infinitive) emphasizes the intensity of love” (emphasis added). The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 204. Cf. Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971), 229; William Hendrickson, Exposition of the Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1953), 139.
[4] The Gospel According to John, 205.
[5] For instance, in his treatise The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, John Owen paraphrases John 3:16 as follows: ““God’ the Father “so loved,’ had such a peculiar, transcendent love, being an unchangeable purpose and act of his will concerning their salvation, towards “the world,’ miserable, sinful, lost men of all sorts, not only Jews but Gentiles also, which he peculiarly loved, “that,’ intending their salvation, as in the last words, for the praise of his glorious grace, “he gave,’ he prepared a way to prevent their everlasting destruction, by appointing and sending “his only-begotten Son’ to be an all-sufficient Saviour to all that look up unto him, “that whosoever believeth in Him,’ all believers whatsoever, and only they, “should not perish, but have everlasting life,’ and so effectually be brought to the obtaining of those glorious things through him which the Lord in his free love had designed for them” (emphasis his). The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1967), 10:320.
Look and Live! Why I Interpret John 3:16 as an Invitation - Grace Bible Theological Seminary
John 3:16 isn’t primarily a commentary on God’s special love for the elect as it is an invitation based on God’s gracious love toward Adam’s fallen race.
gbtseminary.org
Just to put it into the RIGHT context for you.
J.
@Selah
His shed blood of itself would have not been worthy, if indeed he was not without sin and pleased God perfectly in thought, word and deed from conception to his death~so far, we are in agreement with the scriptures. But, that's not answering the question concerning his suretiship of his people. Please consider:
We have surety bonds, performance bonds, bail, and bond to guarantee legal, financial, and professional obligations, such as with construction and insurance companies.
When we need to borrow more than our credit allows, we appreciate a surety; if we were arrested for something, we would appreciate the surety bond that lets us go free.
Judah became a surety for Benjamin to his father Jacob (Gen 43:8-10; 44:30-34; 42:37). Aaron became a surety for Israel in their sins and stood between them (Num 16:41-48).
Jesus did the will of God perfectly as our Surety for our salvation (Heb 10:5-14). Being a surety means paying debts and performing, where the needy cannot pay or do. The wages of sin is death, which God’s justice pays; but Jesus died (Rom 6:23). Only the undefiled enter heaven, so He lived faultlessly for us (Jude 1:24-25). Jesus was necessary as a surety, for the justice of God must surely be paid (Rom 3:26). He is the Testator, for it was by His death that He put the covenant in force (Heb 9:15). We see Him under the strain of the Surety engagement in Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44). No man in heaven or earth could approach the throne, but only our Surety (Rev 5:1-14).
If this is not a Surety, successfully finishing His work, what is it (Isaiah 53:4-12)? The doctrine of representation by the Second Adam reveals our Surety (Rom 5:15-19). The Lord Jesus tasted death for every one of His children to deliver them (Heb 2:9-17).
How else can we look at the Book of Life, but as the list of His Surety engagements!
Well, I' am thinking about your answer, and pondering it very hard, and this is my short answer to you: There's no question that Jesus was the Lamb of God without spot or blemish, all would agree ~yet that is not even close of answering the question.
His shed blood of itself would have not been worthy, if indeed he was not without sin and pleased God perfectly in thought, word and deed from conception to his death~so far, we are in agreement with the scriptures. But, that's not answering the question concerning his suretiship of his people. Please consider:
The DEFINITION
Surety. A person who undertakes some specific responsibility on behalf of another who remains primarily liable; one who makes himself liable for the default or miscarriage of another, or for the performance of some act on his part (e.g. payment of a debt, appearance in court for trial, etc.).We have surety bonds, performance bonds, bail, and bond to guarantee legal, financial, and professional obligations, such as with construction and insurance companies.
When we need to borrow more than our credit allows, we appreciate a surety; if we were arrested for something, we would appreciate the surety bond that lets us go free.
Judah became a surety for Benjamin to his father Jacob (Gen 43:8-10; 44:30-34; 42:37). Aaron became a surety for Israel in their sins and stood between them (Num 16:41-48).
The SURETISHIP
Jesus, a High Priest after the order of Melchisedec, was made the Surety of His people. God chose Jesus from among the people to be the mighty Surety (Psalm 89:19). He was made Surety by God’s oath at His ordination as our Priest (Heb 7:21).Jesus did the will of God perfectly as our Surety for our salvation (Heb 10:5-14). Being a surety means paying debts and performing, where the needy cannot pay or do. The wages of sin is death, which God’s justice pays; but Jesus died (Rom 6:23). Only the undefiled enter heaven, so He lived faultlessly for us (Jude 1:24-25). Jesus was necessary as a surety, for the justice of God must surely be paid (Rom 3:26). He is the Testator, for it was by His death that He put the covenant in force (Heb 9:15). We see Him under the strain of the Surety engagement in Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44). No man in heaven or earth could approach the throne, but only our Surety (Rev 5:1-14).
If this is not a Surety, successfully finishing His work, what is it (Isaiah 53:4-12)? The doctrine of representation by the Second Adam reveals our Surety (Rom 5:15-19). The Lord Jesus tasted death for every one of His children to deliver them (Heb 2:9-17).
How else can we look at the Book of Life, but as the list of His Surety engagements!
The BENEFITS
The Lord Jesus fulfilled the righteousness of the law on our behalf (Rom 8:3-4), so that we are righteous in God’s sight with His perfect obedience (Eph 5:25-27; Col 1:21-22). The Lord Jesus paid the penalty for sins by His death for us (I Pet 2:24), so that there are no more sins against our charge when we stand before Him (John 1:29; Heb 9:28). Not now, not ever! He lives to make sure we are absolutely, completely, and eternally saved (Heb 7:25). There is an abundant entrance into heaven waiting for the children of God (2nd Pet 1:11). Since Jesus is our Surety, it is impossible for God to withhold blessings (Romans 8:32). His death reconciled us to God, but He still lives to be an eternal Surety (Romans 5:10).Yes! Jesus calls all believers His friends.
John 15:9-17 (NKJV) 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and [that] your joy may be full. 12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17 “These things I command you, that you love one another.
@Selah, I appreciate you answering the question.
In your prior post, you wrote "In the verse below, Jesus is specifically talking to John. John 15:16" which connoted that you do not believe that the "you" recorded in John 15:14-16 applies to anyone except the Apostles; in contrast, in your current post, you wrote "Yes! Jesus calls all believers His friends.
John 15:9-17" which connoted that you do believe that the "you" recorded in John 15:14-16 applies to every believer, even exceeding the Apostles.Your belief leads to a self-contradictory conclusion, in that, you believe Jesus chooses His friends and you believe Jesus does not choose His friends.
As the King of Glory declares, all believers in all time are entirely dependent upon God for "apart from Me you can do nothing" is the powerful Word of God:
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you
All glory to God! All praise to the Bread of Life! God alone does all to save the children of God from the wrath of God, and man, who does absolutely nothing to contribute, is the blessed recipient of God’s mercy and God's grace for man's salvation and keeping God's commands.Behold, your faith's work of "yawn" again at the beautifully loving "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
You commanded "Stop boasting in self", which I reject because your command extended into telling me that I'm lost unless I repent from believing in the Son whom the Father has sent (John 6:29), after God caused me to write to you:
I answer (unlike you who hides from the inquiry of post #8,808) with my brother Paul "far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14).
Therefore, your command "Stop boasting in self" is an amplification of your confusion as demonstrated in the following.You believe without your choosing toward God that you would be under punishment from God instead of pleasure, so you believe buy your way into heaven with your fleshly free-will faith payment in your "apart from Christ, I chose to believe in Christ so Christ must profit me with salvation", yet the Christ of us Christians declares "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5) and "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3) and “you did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16) and “I chose you out of the world” (John 15:19, includes salvation) and “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29) and “It is the Spirit who gives Life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are Life” (John 6:63), so you believe falsehood (2 Peter 2:1, 2 Peter 2:9-10).
I have read your posts to coalesce your statement of belief.
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