Christ's Law

[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 10:23 . . Let us cling to the acknowledgment of our faith without wavering;
(for He is faithful that promised)

"He is faithful" could also be said "He is unwavering"

One can scarcely blame the author's Hebrew audience for wondering if perchance
they're making a really big mistake dumping the covenant that Moses' people made
with God as per Deut 29:9-15. A lot is at stake.

For one thing, the covenant is their sacred heritage and their cultural identity; and
for another, the covenant is a contract that obligates God to lower the boom on His
people with some pretty severe penalties for breaching it: they're all on file at Lev
26:3-38, Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:1-69. When Hebrews convert to Christianity,
they have to wonder if maybe they're stepping off into an abyss from whence there
is no return.

But the reality is: they have nothing to lose by taking that step because the original
covenant provides neither forgiveness nor atonement for willful sins; which can be
defined as deeds committed by someone knowing beforehand that what they were
about to do is wrong.

"The priest shall atone for the erring soul which sinned inadvertently before The
Lord, so as to atone on his behalf, and it shall be forgiven him. One law shall apply
to anyone who sins inadvertently from the native born of the children of Israel and
the proselyte who resides among them.

. . But if a person should act highhandedly, whether he is a native born or a
proselyte, he is blaspheming The Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from among its
people. For he has scorned the word of The Lord and violated His commandment;
that soul shall be utterly cut off; for its iniquity is upon it." (Num 12:28-31, cf. Heb
10:26)

I'm pretty sure it was Num 12:28-31 that Paul had in mind when he informed his
Jewish countrymen "through Jesus everyone who believes is freed from all things,
from which you could not be freed through the law of Moses" (Acts 13:39)

One of the more common willful sins is dishonesty. Everybody knows it's wrong but
go about it anyway. Well; dishonesty is forbidden by the original covenant.

"You shall not lie, one man to his fellow." (Lev 19:11)

So then, when a Torah-trained Jew tells a lie; they act highhandedly; viz: they
commit a willful sin for which the original covenant provides neither forgiveness nor
atonement. That Jew is a scofflaw and in desperate need of a safety net.

"Cursed be he who does not uphold the words of this Torah, to fulfill them." (Deut
27:26)
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 10:24 . . And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love
and good deeds.

Man is a species of life that is quite naturally, and comfortably, inclined to provoke
and annoy each other and bring out the worst in their fellow men. It is Christ's
expectations that his own make an effort to do just the opposite; viz: bring out the
best in each other.

Good deeds speaks of one's actions, i.e. their conduct. For example: courtesy,
scruples, honesty, charity, kindness, tolerance, non violence, tact, deference,
generosity, graciousness, law abiding, an honest day's work for an honest day's
pay, helpful, modesty, sincere promises, decency, loyalty, manners, benevolent,
compliant with superiors, self controlled, speech that's treads lightly on peoples
nerves, patient, and calm, etc.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 10:25 . . Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but let us encourage one another

There are secret believers who avoid being seen with Christians so they'll not be
identified with them, i.e. they're ashamed and embarrassed of their trust in Christ;
especially when Christians are portrayed in one's community as kooks and
extremists.

For example: one day at work one of the guys overheard women in the office
talking about me as a Jesus Freak; which was a common expression back in the
late 60s and early 70s. That would've never happened had I kept my religion a
secret; but of course we dare not.

"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the
holy angels." (Mark 8:38)

Do any of us relish the thought of Jesus looking at us the way he looked at Peter on
the night of his arrest?

"If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that
name." (1Pet 4:16)
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 10:35-36 . .Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great
reward. For you have need of perseverance, so that when you have done the will of
God, you may receive what was promised.

The kind of perseverance the author is talking about is not the dogged
determination of US Navy SEALS; which are a group of military guys who absolutely
refuse to be beaten at anything you might name. If SEALS were to play hop-scotch
it would turn violent.

I would liken the kind of perseverance in mind here as that of a farmer. The hard
rock band ACDC says it's a long ways to the top if you wanna rock and roll. Well,
farmers have a long ways to harvest if they wanna make it to market. First they
have to till the soil, then rake it, then plant seeds, then wait on mother nature to
irrigate them with rain, then they have to wait more yet for their crops to grow to
maturity before harvesting.

Farmers look forward to their harvests; they anticipate them otherwise who would
plow, rake, and plant if there were nothing to expect later on down the road?

That kind of perseverance anticipates a benefit. Webster's defines anticipate as: to
look forward to as certain; viz: to expect. As a rule, farmers don't begin the
planting season expecting their fields to produce nothing. No, they plan on going to
market because they expect to see crops in the fields at harvest time. It would be a
very strange farmer indeed who looked forward to the ravages of drought, disease,
and insect plagues every year. In other words; don't give up on God just yet; He'll
come thru on His promises.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:1 . .Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses all around us,
let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

The comparison is made to sporting events-- e.g. baseball, football, track and field,
hockey, basketball, etc --where the audience is basically seated in a circle or an
oval watching the games.

Well, for one; the passage suggests that folks on the other side are alive and
conscious. It also suggests they're all eavesdroppers and peeping Toms with
nothing better to do.

Another audience we might consider are the fallen angels, a.k.a. demons. No doubt
they stalk us every moment of our lives. I mean, if 1Pet 5:8 is true of the Devil,
then it's likely true of his minions too.

However; I don't think the audience in this instance pertains to either deceased
saints or the spirit hordes, rather, I kind of think it pertains to ordinary people all
around us and those we encounter in our daily lives.

The moment someone comes out as a Christian, then kibitzers, fault-finders,
skeptics, and critics, et al, start watching their every move for opportunities to boo,
make them look ridiculous, and/or destroy their credibility.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men
light a candle, and put it under a bowl, but on a lamp stand; and it gives light to all
who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may
see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matt 5:14-16)

I don't know exactly how the world glorifies God when it sees Christians putting
their religion into practice; but I'm pretty sure the world has nothing but disgust for
a hypocrite's religion. (cf. 2Sam 2:14) Never let it be said that your actions speak
so loud that people can't hear a word you're saying.

NOTE: The term "cloud" was apparently an ancient figure of speech simply referring
to large numbers of just about anything. Compare Gen 15:5 where "stars" are a
term for the same purpose.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:3-4 . . For consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against
himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted
to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin

I'm pretty sure the "sin' spoken of in that passage encompasses a whole lot more
than merely something of your own; it's the entire sphere of evil in this world.

"We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the
control of the evil one." (1John 5:19)

The Jews to whom the author wrote must have had it pretty good because it was
only a matter of time before Christians were targets for arrows, swords, lances,
pyres, and the teeth of beasts in the coliseum at Rome. Even today, it is very
dangerous to be a Christian in Muslim countries.

Saturday, August 03, 2009, a frenzied mob of 3,000 Muslims stormed the tiny
Pakistani Christian village of Gojra. Enflamed by (unconfirmed) charges that a
Christian had incinerated pages of the Koran, the mob burned down fifty homes,
cremated eight Christians alive, and wounded twenty others. Thousands of
Christians had to flee the area.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:5-6 . . My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose
heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he
punishes everyone he accepts as a son.

Christians have to expect that God is going to find fault with their lives from time to
time, and take appropriate steps to correct it. So be very cautious about cursing
your luck because it just might be the hand of God at work rather than one of the
Fates.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:7-11 . . If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for
what son is there whom a father does not discipline? But if you are without
discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not
sons.

. . Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them
respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits
and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but
He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

. . Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless,
afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been
trained by it.

Child training is quite a bit different than child abuse; training builds character,
while abuse breaks the spirit.

NOTE: Seeing as how most of us lack a red-phone connection to Heaven's front
desk; there's really no way to know for sure when God is chastening us or if life in
general is just being its usual unpleasant self. That being the case I suggest we
reckon all unpleasantness to be providential in one way or another; and follow job's
example.

"In all this Job did not sin, nor charge God with wrong." (Job 1:22)
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:12-13 . .Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak, and the knees
that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is
lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

That almost sounds like physical therapy; which of course it is. When I had one of
my knees replaced, the therapist had to teach me how to walk all over again-- how
to walk properly because with the bad knee, I couldn't; and that had gone on for
more than a decade. And not only that, but the leg with the bad knee had become
feeble because I favored the other and wasn't using the bad one to full advantage.
So a large percentage of my therapy involved getting that game leg strong again by
means of an exercise regimen.

The Greek word translated "straight" doesn't necessarily define the shortest
distance between two points. It can also mean smooth and level; in other words:
free of tripping hazards; which someone undergoing treatment for a joint problem
(e.g. hips, knees, and ankles) has to really watch out for. In other words: it's a
therapeutic path-- in this case in respect of one's spiritual conditioning rather than
their physical conditioning.

Compare Heb 5:12-14 where it says, in so many words: that children don't arrive
from the womb intuitively knowing what people eat. It's only by instruction and
experience that they learn which things are safe for human consumption and which
things are not, viz: which things are nourishing, and which things will make them
sick. By gradually introducing them to a variety of foods, parents train their
growing children to recognize good stuff when they see it so that in time they will
know on their own what's edible and what's not without having to be babied all the
time.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:14a . . Pursue peace with all men,

The Geek word translated "peace" means not only a lack of strife, but also the
presence of prosperity; which implies always seeking the good of others rather than
only your own.

People of peace are in an advantaged category.

"Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be called the children of God." (Matt 5:9)

That looks ahead to a day when peace will be highly valued, and much to be
preferred over aggression. In that day; truly peaceable folk will be widely, and
commonly, known as children of God-- for now, they aren't: no, for now they're
known by other labels; some neither civil nor courteous.

"For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently
consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and
shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plotteth against the
just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for He
seeth that His day is coming." (Ps 37:10-1 cf. Ps 2:1-12)
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:14b . . Pursue holiness, without which no one will see The Lord.

The Greek word translated "pursue" is sometimes translated persecute; which
implies persistence, doggedness, and/or stalking, i.e. determination.

The Greek word translated "holiness" basically refers to purity; defined by
Webster's as chastity, innocence, modesty; i.e. goodness, righteousness, virtue,
morality, decency, decorum, and propriety.

The same Greek word is sometimes translated "sanctification" which is supposed to
be a work in progress involving not only the hand of God, but also one's own hand.
(Rom 6:19, 1Thess 4:4, and 1Tim 2:15)

The word "see" is somewhat ambiguous. It can relate to physical eyesight and it
can also relate to mental perception. I'm inclined to believe it's related to mental
perception in this case.

As an allegory: at one time I had cataracts in both eyes. As a result, my vision was
really blurry because the cataracts scattered light, thus preventing the natural
lenses in my eyes from bringing things into sharp focus. After surgery to replace
the natural lenses with artificial lenses, I can now see sharply; i.e. my vision's
clarity was greatly improved and I'm able to notice details that were virtually
invisible before.

In other words; people with no interest in pursuing holiness lack clarity; i.e. their
perception of The Lord is fuzzy at best because there are details in view that they
are unable to make out due to their mind's mental cataracts, so to speak.

● John 14:21 . . .Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who
loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and
show myself to him.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:15a . . See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God

The Greek word translated "comes short" also means destitute; defined by
Webster's as lacking possessions and resources; especially suffering extreme
poverty, i.e. deprived.

I think it's pretty much a given that there are always going to be members in every
congregation that are spiritually destitute. The idea here is that their spiritual
destitution not be due to negligence.

In other words, the spiritual element in congregations should take it upon
themselves to make an effort to assist the non spiritual element to at least know
how to obtain the grace of God, i.e. congregations are responsible to police
themselves, so to speak, rather than leave this aspect of the Christian way of life
entirely up to church staffs.

The answer to Cain's question "Am I my brother's keeper?" was NO to his way of
thinking, but it's supposed to be YES to the spiritual Christian's way of thinking.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:15b . . See to it that no root of a bitter plant, sprouting up, causes
trouble, and by it many be defiled;

The Greek word for "defiled" basically means to taint, sully, and/or contaminate.

Seeing as how this epistle is addressed to Hebrews, then I think we're pretty safe
to assume that the "root of a bitter plant" likely refers to Deut 29:18-19 which
reads thus:

"Make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. When such
a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and
therefore thinks: I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way."

Why those kinds of people even bother coming to church is a bit of a mystery
seeing as how they have no intention whatsoever to either exemplify and/or
implement Christ's instructions. As far as they're concerned, Jesus should mind his
own business and stop trying to meddle in their affairs. Such folk aren't harmless,
no, they are quite pernicious.

Moses warned in the 29th chapter that toxic people can lead a country to ruin. Well,
the lesson here is obvious: bitter plants can lead a church to ruin; and if allowed to
become pervasive, will be difficult to eradicate.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:16-17 . . that there be no immoral or secular person like Esau, who
sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards,
when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for
repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

Webster's defines "secular" as not overtly or specifically religious, viz: irreverent,
which can be roughly defined as having little or no respect for sacred things.

Esau is a good example of the limits of God's patience. Another example is located
at 1Cor 11:27-30

I think it's nigh unto impossible to fix all the secular people attending churches, but
at least they can be warned of the consequences so they don't go around with the
false assumption that God is flexible with their behavior. Same goes for the
immoral people.

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong;
Gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
(Thomas Paine)

NOTE: In a nutshell: the past two items speak of culling unacceptable livestock
from the herd (so to speak) and ideally in a spirit of regret rather than militancy.

When God came to the point where it was necessary to destroy much of the human
life that He brought into existence; He expressed regret for even creating human
life in the first place. I would suggest following His example when complying with
Heb 12:15-17. In other words: do so with sympathy, with reluctance, and with
regret; rather than like a barracuda.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 12:25-26 . . See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not
escape who refused Him who spoke on Mt. Sinai, much more shall we not escape if
we turn away from Him who speaks from Heaven, whose voice then shook the
earth; but now He has promised, saying: Yet once more I shake not only the earth,
but also Heaven.

"Him who spoke on Mt. Sinai" was an angel of the Lord rather than the supreme
being Himself in person. (Acts 7:53) In point of fact, Jesus said that the Jews had
neither heard God's voice nor seen his shape. (John 5:37)

The voice of the angel of the Lord was audible; but the voice that shook the
mountain was inaudible-- it's quite possibly the self-same voice that did all that
work of creation beginning with Genesis 1:3.

In contrast Jesus wasn't an angel, nor did he speak for God as a run of the mill holy
man; rather, Jesus spoke as the embodied voice of God. (John 1:1-3, John 1:14 &
Heb 1:1-2) viz: a theophany; and though we today only have Jesus' words in print
form, they are just as serious as his voice in human form because Jesus' recorded
words were spoken as God's voice rather than speaking for God like the prophets
once did.

"Yet once more" indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of
things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have
grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For
our God is a consuming fire. (Heb 12:27-29)

The "kingdom that cannot be shaken" is very likely a reference to Dan 7:9-22.

It's not uncommon for people to ask: What is grace? Well; you're likely to hear any
number of definitions; but quite few of grace's aspects are touched upon in the
letter to Hebrews, e.g. concern for the welfare of others, generosity, morals,
marital fidelity, clean speech, maturity, gratitude, and a sensible attitude towards
wealth. Those aspects easily qualify as serving God acceptably with reverence and
godly fear.

What is reverence and godly fear? Well, a rough-hewn definition is: having a high
enough opinion of God's core values to adopt them for your own and put them into
practice. (Eph 5:1)
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 13:1 . . Let brotherly love continue.

The Greek word translated "brotherly love" in that passage refers to fraternal
affection which is quite a bit different than the neighborly love required by Matt
19:19 and Matt 22:37-40.

The Greek word for "love" in those other passages doesn't necessarily contain the
elements of fondness and/or affection; rather, it's a benevolent kind of love
exemplified in behaviors like courtesy, kindness, sympathy, civility, good will,
deference, and consideration. In other words: we don't have to be especially fond
of our fellow men in order to comply with Matt 19:19 and Matt 22:37-40. (cf. Matt
5:43-48)

Brotherly love is difficult because it requires the involvement of one's affections,
viz: one's feelings rather than only manners. A really good example is located at
John 16:27 where Jesus stated:

"The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I
came from God."

For those of us who grew up deprived of love; that passage is nigh unto impossible
to believe that God is actually, and truly, fond of us in any way at all.

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God." (1John 3:1)

The manner of love that a normal father feels for his own children is far more
sensitive, than the love he might feel for other children. A normal father's love for
his own children produces bonding and attachment.

There's no fondness expressed in passages like John 3:16; which speaks of
benevolence but not necessarily fondness and affection. God cares for the world,
yes, but that doesn't mean that He likes the world. In point of fact, God quite
despises the world; it disgusts Him and He'd really like for the world to give Him
cause to improve His opinion. (cf. Gen 6:5-6)
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 13:2 . . Do not neglect to be hospitable with strangers; for by this some have
entertained angels without knowing it.

Artists generally depict angels as heavenly creatures with wings and/or aglow with
some sort of ethereal light. But the Greek word doesn't always indicate celestial
beings, rather, it refers to all manner of messengers, e.g. prophets (Matt 11:10),
delegates (Luke 7:24), fire (Heb 1:7), ecclesiastic authorities (Rev 1:20-3:14),
visions (Rev 22:16), and even acts of God like fire, wind, smoke, voices, and
earthquakes. (Acts 7:53)

Webster's defines "hospitable" as: given to generous and cordial reception of
guests, promising or suggesting generous and friendly welcome, offering a pleasant
or sustaining environment.

Inviting strangers into one's own home could easily result in the murder of your
entire family, along with the theft of your belongings. So, I'm thinking Heb 13:2 is
not saying that; rather, it's talking about congregational homes; viz: churches.

I think it's very important to make non members-- visitors --feel at home in your
church: make them feel like it's okay to return. Not only is that the neighborly thing
to do, but you just never know if that next stranger through the door was guided
there by providence, and selected by God for a special purpose.

* Hospitable can also include being approachable, i.e. having or showing kind,
helpful, or supportive feelings or actions. The opposite of that would be unfriendly,
hostile, aloof, unsociable, critical, unsympathetic, and/or distant.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 13:3 . . Remember prisoners, as though in prison with them; and those who
are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.

The prisoners mentioned are not just any jailbird in lock-up; but rather, it's limited
to those who are "in the body" viz: in Christ.

"We are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a
profound mystery-- but I am talking about Christ and the church." (Eph 5:30-32)

"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one
body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body." (1Cor 12:12-13)

The tenor of the command is, I think, restricted to Christians mistreated and/or
confined for their religious beliefs and practices rather than actual crimes. There's a
lot of that sort of thing going on today in Muslim countries. America is well-known
for its religious tolerance; other countries, not so much.
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[Olde Tymer]

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● Heb 13:4 . . Let marriages be highly valued, and the bed kept unsoiled; for God
will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

There was once a popular song that went like this:

You don't own me,
I'm not just one of your many toys.
You don't own me,
Don't say I can't go with other boys.

The lyrics of that song-- originally recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963 --depict a
defiant girl standing up to a possessive boyfriend. Well; those lyrics may be true for
temporary lovers; but are very contrary to God's thinking when it comes to
marriage.

The principle of possession is a key element in marriage; ergo: adulterers have no
right to share their bodies with lovers outside marriage without their spouse's full
knowledge and consent.

"The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and
likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife."
(1Cor 7:4)
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● Heb 13:5a . . Let your conduct be without covetousness;

Not all covetousness is prohibited; for example 1Cor 12:31 where Christians are
urged to eagerly desire certain spiritual gifts.

The Greek word in this instance refers to avarice; defined by Webster's as
excessive, or insatiable, desire for wealth or gain; viz: greediness and cupidity.

Were an avaricious person asked how much and/or how many it would take to
satisfy them; their answer would no doubt be "more" because it's in their nature to
grasp.
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