Romans Series Interlude: Predestination, a Potter’s House Journey; Part 8, “What’s in the Word, ‘Perseverance’”? Part 2 on “Perseverance”
“It boils down to a distinction between gift and reward. Is the reward salvation?”
“This is the Reformed gospel to a “T.” Already—not yet. Salvation/justification as a process that includes our present lives is unavoidable.”
“Hence, because past and present Reformers see salvation as a present/future process, the future redemption of the body is applied to an incomplete salvation of the soul. This is VERY problematic…Though this position shocks the spiritual sensibilities of the average Christian, it is in fact the Reformed position on salvation.”
An institutional church to replace Rome was Luther’s idea; Calvin articulated it in his Institutes of the Christian Religion. The Reformation gospel is primarily responsible for sucking the life out of many professing Christians, but that is rounded out by the caste system inherent in most institutions. The Reformation gospel killed our soul while the institution puts us in a straightjacket for good measure.
The Reformation gospel accomplished this by making justification, or salvation, a PROCESS instead of a finished work. The gift of salvation, and the gifts we receive at salvation, are just that, gifts that we cannot earn. However, the Bible has much to say about Christians being rewarded for putting those gifts into practice. When you begin to see the Bible’s emphasis on blessings and rewards for putting our gifts into practice—a very energetic call to action arises.
John Calvin and his wicked wannabe theologians made the various rewards/blessings in the Bible one thing and one thing only: salvation. The reward for running the race of faith is salvation. When justification, or salvation, is a PROCESS, that must necessarily include our Christian lives; so, REWARD cannot be a part of that—the reward must be salvation. And, since no part of justification can have reward, the reward must be living our Christian lives the same way we originally received the gift: by faith alone, or living by the gospel, or preaching the gospel to ourselves, etc.
In contrast, when we see the biblical Grand Canyon that we should see between the finished work of salvation and the call to hard work in our Christian lives, a whole new world of possibilities is seen. Blessings and promises aside, we see that we are very unique individually as Christians. No, we are not merely, “ALL just sinners saved by grace.” We ALL have unique gifts that distinguish us from other believers by kind and degree of faith. Those who excel at certain gifts will receive a crown that makes that distinction.
Institutional caste is designed to take focus off of the individual. Instead, the institution and its leaders become the focus. In addition, because living by faith alone in order to keep the salvation process moving along correctly is really tricky business, Christians will be understandably introspective about what they do in their Christian lives; i.e., constant fear of “moralism” etc.
It boils down to a distinction between gift and reward. Is the reward salvation? As we discussed in last week’s lesson, the book, The Race Set Before Us posits the traditional Reformed line on this question:
In this chapter we shall attempt to show that our salvation is both present and future (p. 47).
Both the present and future dimensions of salvation should be viewed as two aspects of an invisible whole. Almost inevitably the impression that separable parts are intended will tend to creep into readers’ minds, but we must fix in our minds from the beginning that the wholes instead of parts are in view. The present possession of all the gifts we will ascribe is ours because the eschaton (end time) has invaded history…Salvation is not merely a past reality; it is also our future destiny (p.47).
When we study the New Testament writers, however, we discover something quite surprising. Though they occasionally describe salvation as a present possession of believers, they usually envision salvation as something that will occur in the future. For example, Jesus says, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Mt 10:22 NIV; cf. also Mt 24:13). Matthew does not say that the one who endures to the end has been saved or that this person shows evidence that he or she is saved. Matthew says that the one who stands fast and perseveres will be saved, that is, will be saved on the future day of the Lord (p. 49).
This is the Reformed gospel to a “T.” Already—not yet. Salvation/justification as a process that includes our present lives is unavoidable. Notice, as a proof text, that the authors use Matthew 10:22 and 24:13. We addressed this last week: the context of those verses is the tribulation period, and Christ is speaking of the salvation of the body/life, not eternal salvation. Christ instructs those who are living during that time to flee from town to town, and before they run out of towns to flee to, Christ will have returned. This fact should get our attention in regard to this sloppy proof texting.
This necessarily requires a discussion in regard to one of many flaws in the Reformation gospel: the confounding/fusion of salvation and redemption. Salvation is the saving and regeneration of the soul, but redemption is the saving of the mortal body when Christ comes for us. Redemption is guaranteed, and spoken of as a possession in regard to its guarantee (Romans 8:30), but it is a separate consideration from eternal salvation in regard to the saving of the body. Paul clearly spoke of this as a separate and future salvation:
Romans 7:24 – Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
As we have discussed before, the word for “wretched” used in many English translations means “afflicted.” The law of sin and death (the law that we used to be under and enslave to) continually provokes us and wages war against the law of our regenerated minds. The Amplified Bible renders the passage this way:
24 O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death?
25 O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart, serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Hence, because past and present Reformers see salvation as a present/future process, the future redemption of the body is applied to an incomplete salvation of the soul. This is VERY problematic. “Salvation” to them, ALWAYS means eternal salvation. This also necessarily confounds/fuses gift and reward. Gift and reward both are applied to eternal salvation. The race of faith now becomes, The Prize To Be Won: Our Present & Future Salvation (Ibid: title of chapter 2, p. 46). Though this position shocks the spiritual sensibilities of the average Christian, it is in fact the Reformed position on salvation.
We strongly contend that rewards pertain to present and future blessings for the Christian. This is irrefutable by process of elimination. If the gift of salvation is not past tense and complete, it is not a gift, but exactly what the Reformers say it is, a reward, and that in blatant contradiction to the very words of the apostle Paul:
Romans 4:4 – Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
Romans 11:6 – But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers: The proposition is put in a general form. Those who base their claim on works have a right to their reward. It is not conceded to them by any sort of imputation, but is their desert.
The reward.—Literally, his wages. The relation between what he receives and what he does is that of wages for work done. He can claim it, if need be, in a court of law. There is in it no element of grace, or favour, or concession.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary: From this example it is observed, that if any man could work the full measure required by the law, the reward must be reckoned as a debt, which evidently was not the case even of Abraham, seeing faith was reckoned to him for righteousness.
The idea of reward is synonymous with earned wages. “reward” is an official synonym of something earned.
Revelation 22:10 – And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
The word for “recompense” follows:
g3408. μισθός misthos; apparently a primary word; pay for service (literally or figuratively), good or bad:— hire, reward, wages. AV (29)- reward 24, hire 3, wages 2; dues paid for work wages, hire reward: used of the fruit naturally resulting from toils and endeavours in both senses, rewards and punishments of the rewards which God bestows, or will bestow, upon good deeds and endeavours of punishments
For the saved, there are all kinds of various and sundry blessings and rewards for work in the Christian life. In fact, God would be unjust to not remember them:
Hebrews 6:10 – For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
Why would God be unjust to forget our works in the Christian life? Well, this is radical, but plain in Scripture, and something that Christians must come to grips with: we are owed a reward for our work in the Christian life—God would be unjust to overlook our works. This completely upsets the Reformed applecart. If justification is in-process, it goes without saying that the reward must be made synonymous with a gift. Again, one can add this to the long list of common words that must be redefined as metaphysical anomalies. A reward is redefined as a gift.
But the gift of salvation is ALWAYS spoken of in the past tense within the pages of Scripture, and God’s calling and gifts are without repentance:
Romans 11:28 – But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Clearly, the Reformers DO teach that God revoked Israel’s election and replaced her with the “church. “ Who would deny this? For Christians, the gift of the Holy Spirit is a done and settled issue, Period!
Galatians 3:1 – O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
The “’gift’ of the Spirit” is a phrase found in the New Testament often, and also the idea that we are “sealed” by the Spirit until the day of redemption and therefore, at times, “grieve” Him when not walking in His ways. Justification is a settled issue. Certainly, part of our reward is the blessings we will receive at redemption, but redemption is not salvation. Salvation is a settled issue, complete, and irrevocable. Redemption, though guaranteed, is future. Rewards include present blessings, future blessings, and recognition by God…in the form of CROWNS.
This is where perseverance is a reward and not the attaining of salvation. One of the rewards of perseverance is a “rich” entry into the kingdom. Perseverance doesn’t reward us with salvation—that’s a gift, the reward is the “rich entry” as opposed to those who have forgotten that they were cleansed and see salvation from afar:
2Peter 1:5 – For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
For the most part, the word for “crown” in the New Testament is stephanos:
g4735. στέφανος stephanos; from an apparently primary στέφω stephō (to twine or wreathe); a chaplet (as a badge of royalty, a prize in the public games or a symbol of honor generally;
The exception is diadēma which is only used three times in the Bible—all in the book of Revelation. Several titles are attached to these crowns regarding rewards, honor, or recognition. Curiously, the Reformed crowd insists that these crowns represent salvation. And seemingly, this makes since. Take for instance the “crown of righteousness” (2Timothy 4:8). Righteousness is a word closely linked to salvation, but it is also attached to the idea of a reward for doing righteousness:
Matthew 10:40 – “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
Each crown title is probably a category with its own list of good works. We know that the crown of righteousness is a reward for those who love the appearing of Christ. I firmly believe that Christians with an intense interest in eschatology will receive this crown. But according to what we have just noted from Matthew 10, this could also be a crown for those who help other Christians as a lifestyle. We should all do that, but I believe crowns represent those who excel in that particular spiritual gift given to them.
This brings us to the subject of perseverance and the crown of life:
James 1:12 – Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Revelation 2:10 – Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. ‘
Perseverance is one of the building blocks of the Christian life, and those who excel in overcoming, even unto death, will receive a crown. I believe these crowns represent blessings that we cannot presently comprehend (1Corinthians 2:9). However, failure to persevere does not mean that you are not saved. Remember, the apostles abandoned Christ before He was crucified.
But, doesn’t the “second death” in Rev. 2:11 refer to the great white throne judgment? It would seem that conquering is a prerequisite to not being hurt by that judgment. I don’t think conquering is a prerequisite or requirement to escaping the second death, I think what we have here is a statement of fact as a way to encourage. Again, if it’s a prerequisite, salvation is a reward owed to the believer by God and not a gift. I don’t think Christ is stating this as a requirement, but rather a reminder of future blessings in order to encourage.
I realize that the Reformed would be quick to cite this passage as proof that Christians will all be standing in that judgment, but if they persevere they will not be hurt by it. But note Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Those who partake in the first resurrection will not stand in the white thrown judgment at all, so that is an argument they cannot use to begin with. Remember, they believe that the law is still the standard for justification, so there is only one judgment and one resurrection. We discussed this at length last week.
The book of 1John was written so that we can “KNOW” that we have eternal life (1John 5:13). The key to that book is a life of love. Christians who are slothful in the practice of love will doubt their salvation. I also believe that there will be believers that will be ashamed at His coming:
1John 2:28 – And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
2Timothy 2:15 – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
These passages address “children” and workers. These are Christians who need not be ashamed at His coming; instead of shrinking back in shame, they love and long for His appearing.
A required perseverance or fruit to finish a salvation process must be rejected—perseverance is a gift among Christians that some will excel at and receive a reward accordingly, but it is a reward for the application of a gift—not a wage owed.
Home Fellowships Offer Alternatives to Seminarians and Pastors Looking for True Revival: 1Corinthians 9
Home fellowships, the church as it is meant to be, is not a bureaucratic political institution, but it is an organization. There is organization in regard to roles and spiritual gifts though fairly simplistic. Home fellowships combine informality and freedom to pursue gifts along with good organization. This is a powerful concept, but not very Western. Some prefer to call this “organic.” In other words, the endeavor of God’s people takes on a life of its own within truthful confines.
The home fellowship movement must resist authoritarianism as well as a loosey-goosey form of fellowship—things must be done, “decently and in order.” Good organization maximizes the use of money and gifts that usually are expended for institutional infrastructure. Instead of Joe volunteering to paint the church building, he volunteers to help the home fellowship paint the house of an elderly widow living on a fixed income.
If Joe wants to start another fellowship network in a different city, he merely moves there and starts an extension of the fellowship in his new home or the home of someone already living in that city. If a group of Christians in a city want to start their own home fellowship network, but lack gifted teachers, they can appeal to another network that may have elders willing to relocate. Or, they can merely obtain the teaching manuscripts from another network, and have a reading followed by open discussion. Or, they can approach an institutional pastor who is looking to go in a different direction.
In a few home fellowships that I know of, strong organization through elders, deacons, and deaconesses works very well, but those fellowships were started by pastors with a significant following who left the institutional church. Just being free of the institution itself shifts the focus from the institution to individual gifts, but organization is still needed.
Fellowship replaces authority, gifts replace programs, and leadership leads without dictating. If what is happening violates your conscience, vote with your feet, but by all means be sure to join another fellowship or start your own. However, fulfilling Christ’s mandate to make disciples is not a part-time venture, it is worship. Worship is walking in the Spirit in the whole of our lives. For most, that means working with our hands in order to supply the need of God’s people, but for others, it means the “ministry of the word.” If you look around, the attitude that this ministry is a part-time endeavor is evident. Who will deny that Christians by and large are illiterate in regard to sanctification accordingly?
What I am saying is this; in regard to the laity, leadership is seen as a part-time venture because they are not formally accredited by the institutional church. They aren’t worth much investment because they are a mere help to the expert pastors, or the best a small church can afford. Even the “expert” pastors spend little time in the “ministry of the word” because they are also the CEO of the institution. This has always led to weak sanctification and overall ignorance in regard to Christian living. My wife Susan and I makeup 80 years of Christian experience and both agree that we have learned more about God in the past two years since leaving the institutional church than all of the former years combined—this is no accident. Moreover, the institutional church creates all kinds of drama that distracts Christian’s from the great commission mandated by Christ and their own gifts. You would think that commenting on the latest blogosphere controversy was indeed a gift of the Spirit. If it is, we are in the biggest revival since Pentecost.
The “ministry of the word” is not a part-time job. Nor is it administrative. Home fellowship movements must combine freedom with sound organization. Home fellowship movements must rediscover sanctification on their own. They must undo 500 years of Protestant darkness. They must redevelop the true called out assembly model from the ground up. This is not a part-time venture. The days are evil; we must make the best of our time.
In the early church, lay elders were supported full time. 1Corintians 9 makes this clear. There were obviously no seminaries or institutional accreditation, yet this was the case nevertheless. This was according to need, and seeing the ministry of the word as vital. Of course, situations vary along with the freedom for an elder to work, but home fellowships need to be open to fully supporting the needs of a gifted teacher.
The apostles were accused of being in the ministry for money, and this is why the apostle Paul worked though he was a huge advocate for elders being supplied for in full time ministry of the word:
“1Corinthians 9:11 – If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.”
Frankly, a great way to start a home fellowship is to find a pastor who has been totally beaten down by the institutional church and is looking for hope and answers. Home fellowships need to realize that they have something they have always had: the power of the purse. The institutional church has preconditioned Christians to believe that money is only validated within the institution. This is astounding to me because church hierarchy has effectively vanquished the reality among the laity that the institutional church is nothing without laity greenback. I liken it to what happened on some plantations during the Colonial era:
“Hey guys, it just occurred to me; there is one slave master and five enforcers, but seventy of us. And it takes fifteen seconds to reload a musket.”
Orthodoxy has convinced the Christian masses that their money belongs first to the institutional church. Let me repeat that:
“Orthodoxy has convinced the Christian masses that their money belongs first to the institutional church.”
This isn’t true at all, and is part and parcel with the idea that the institutional church owns the truth, and agreement with an institution is all that is required for the laity. In other words, “humbleness,” “submission,” etc., replaces a personal responsibility to be discerning in all matters of life. Discernment has no relevance apart from the institution, and neither does your money. Many Christians would vehemently deny the truth of this, but the institutional church has always mastered the art of getting people to function in certain ways while denying it verbally. Case in point: “The church isn’t the building, it’s the people.” Right. A comparison of investment regarding infrastructure versus people in the institutional church is a stunning discrepancy. Few Christians know the basics of theology, are proud of that, and have total gift unawareness. And “family” is like the Olive Garden; you are only family when you are there—at the building. Ever left a church? When was the last time you heard from anybody there? That’s what I thought.
Christians no longer have to beg the institution to do certain things or not to do certain things while paying good money for the privilege. We are responsible for our own stewardship. There are gifted lay people in the church who should be getting our support—not cronies of institutional orthodoxy.
Christians must start thinking outside of the box in this regard and start putting their money to work for God’s business rather than the business of the institutional church. Home fellowships are where the people really are the assembly. But that does not exclude good organization and expenditure of resources that show the value of the ministry of the word.
paul
When We Use Words, Should We Know What They Mean? Truth, Mythology, Orthodoxy, and Creed
In order to control people, you have to control their minds. And in order to control their minds, you have to control the definitions of words. The meanings of words form what we believe about truth and reality. And, when it gets right down to it, a proper assessment of reality is the foundation of truth (and by the way, you can only control people by force for so long. The key is to control their minds).
Truth is not “fact.” Truth has a moral value to it. Facts are building blocks that can build any theory of truth.
I have written about all of this before, but this short essay was inspired by one of my Facebook friends. She announced that she was using The Westminster Shorter Catechism for kids to instruct her young child. Why would she do that? Because the WSC is “orthodoxy,” and that word has come to mean…TRUTH. Hence, the opposite of “orthodoxy” is “heterodoxy,” a practice that I am often accused of: meaning; untruth.
Now, the WSC is often spoken of as being “subordinate truth.” And in fact, that is a fact, but let’s think about this; why is a subordinate truth needed? Isn’t truth powerful enough by itself?
“Well Paul, a creed, or confession, or catechism, is just a form of truth that is taught on the common person’s level, it makes truth easier to understand for the average person.”
Exactly.
The assumption is that there is a truth caste system. There are those who understand Truth, big T, and then those who are only capable of understanding a revisal form of truth on a more elementary level.
Orthodoxy is NOT truth, orthodoxy is an elitist interpretation of truth by those preordained by God (or mother nature) to have a special gift for interpreting truth. People merely pick the orthodoxy of preference which ranges from A-Z of world religions. Protestantism, like Catholicism, or for that matter Hinduism, was founded on orthodoxy which has become a word fictitiously associated with the meaning of the word…truth. The title of those who penned the Westminster Confession should be telling: the “Westminster Divines.” What would be our first clue?
Orthodoxy is not truth, orthodoxy is some man’s interpretation of truth. This is what separates Protestantism from the true called out assembly of Christ: the priesthood of believers. Clearly, this states that every human being is capable of understanding truth on their own, and is culpable before God ALONE for the adjudication of that truth. This also assumes that man is created with freedom of conscience. And by the way, the horizontal political expression of this, is an idea that we call the United States of America. And by the way, there is a reason why the Pope and New Calvinists alike are brazen Socialists, confused Protestants notwithstanding. Will we be judged individually for following God, or men appointed by God? This should be evident. We only follow men who follow Christ according to our own assessment of truth.
“But Paul! That will lead to Chaos!”
Exactly.
Herein is the rub: reality, and presuppositions regarding man; ability to understand reality, or epistemological caste? That’s it in a nutshell folks. It’s the exact lie first perpetrated in the garden: Hey Eve, you really can’t understand God without a mediator. You need somebody who has special insight into the spiritual, “nay, has God really said…?”And the priesthood of believers versus spiritual caste was a major battlefront in the first century church and a major theme of the apostle John’s writings.
Right out of the gates of the garden came the declaration of the kingdom of darkness: spiritual caste enforced by government, and the ownership of truth by Plato’s philosopher kings. Philosopher, and king, and the divine right of kings. All of human history was saturated with wars over orthodoxy until 1776. The vast number of wars fought throughout human history have been religious civil wars, or more accurately, wars over orthodoxy.
The divine right of kings is responsible for chaos, not kings who protect a reasonable freedom of conscience. This was the crying out of small voices in the wilderness of a European culture drenched in blood.
In ancient times, spiritual caste was expressed in mythology. To see mythology as ancient superstition shrouded in ignorance would be an incorrect assessment. Mythology is merely stories (parables) created by philosopher kings so that the unenlightened masses can understand principles of society for purposes of social justice. For Plato, that was UNITY period. Whatever “truth” unified was the proof in the pudding; unity equals truth.
Mythology is no different than orthodoxy, and the various teachings thereof: creeds; confessions, and catechisms. Of course it is “subordinate truth.” Of course there is a “higher truth,” but the rub is that the common folks can’t really understand THE Truth…capital T. Hence, you follow the orthodoxy of your choice…presumably to heaven. Pick well, the choices are vast, and the various enlightened choices are better than yours because of the reality that you have accepted: orthodoxy.
The prime example of this in our evangelical day is the Redemptive Historical hermeneutic that dominates the institutional church. It is, Bible as story. Bible as “gospel narrative.” This is absolutely NOTHING more or less than mythology itself dressed in uppity European intellectualism.
Christ promised YOU that you would find truth if you seek it. This isn’t a seeking to find the right man to follow, this is between you and God Himself. And this issue goes way, way back in time. It was a major issue with Moses, and the apostle John, and it is a major issue in our day. Therefore, I close with these words from Moses:
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law… For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
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