Friday, March 12, 2021

Content of Sermon commentary

This e-book contains about 53,000 words in the main portion of the text. The appendices contain about 35,000 words. Altogether, the book contains about 88,000 words. (The King James reference chapters are not included in the counts.)
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Appendix D. Let love make your world go around

Here are New Testament verses on charity and love.
Going over them may be worth your while.

Charity (compassionate love).

Love is best of all
1Cor.8

[1] Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
1Cor.13
[1] Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
[2] And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
[3] And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
[4] Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
[8] Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
[13] And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Chase love
1Cor.14

[1] Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
1Cor.16
[14] Let all your things be done with charity.
Love is spiritual glue
Col.3

[14] And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Your faith and love are pleasing
1Thes.3

[6] But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:
You can tell they are Christian by their love
 2Thes.1

[3] We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
Pure love is where it's at
 1Tim.1

[5] Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
A mother's love is good for the mother
 1Tim.2

[15] Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
God's love makes a young person wise
1Tim.4

[12] Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Serve others, not your selfish wants
2Tim.2

[22] Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Four attributes of Christian love
2Tim.3

[10] But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
5 signs of godly love in an older person
 Tit.2

[2] That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Love covers a pile of screw-ups
1Pet.4

[8] And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
Triple play: love, peace and happiness
1Pet.5

[14] Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Be a kindly sort
 2Pet.1

[7] And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
People notice your helpfulness
 3John.1

[6] Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:
Careful who you invite to your love fests

Jude.1

[12] These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
God sees your acts of love
 Rev.2

[19] I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
Love
Anybody can do THAT...
Matt.5

[43] Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
[44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
[46] For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

Who or what do you love?
 Matt.6

[5] And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. [24] No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Do you really love Jesus?
Matt.10

[37] He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

True self love
Matt.19

[19] Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

God loves your neighbor
Matt.22

[37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Me, myself and I
 Matt.23

[6] And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
Everybody's out for Number One
 Matt.24

[12] And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
All you need is me
Mark.10

[21] Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Hey, look at me! Aren't I cool?
Mark.12

[30] And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
[31] And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
[33] And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
[38] And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,

Freely you have received. Now freely give
 Luke.6

[27] But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
[32] For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
[35] But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
ADMIT it! You're a total screw-up!
 Luke.7

[5] For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
[42] And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
[47] Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Get off your duff! Give it all you got!

Luke.10

[27] And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
You give Me garbage!
 Luke.11

[42] But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
[43] Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
Who's it gonna be? Make up your mind
 Luke.16

[13] No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Here comes Mr. Know It All!
 Luke.20

[46] Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;
He died for YOU! PERSONALLY!
John.3

[16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
[19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
[35] The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

The Branch doesn't fall far from the Tree
John.5

[20] For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
[42] But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
If you don't love Jesus, God is NOT your Father
John.8

[42] Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
I'll do ANYTHING for my Dad
John.10

[17] Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
He really cares for his friends
John.11

[3] Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
[5] Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
[36] Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
Let go and let God
 John.12

[25] He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
[43] For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Oh, for the love of Christ!
 John.13

[1] Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
[23] Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
[34] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
[35] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
If you love me, you'll do things my way
 John.14

[15] If ye love me, keep my commandments.
[21] He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
[23] Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. [24] He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
[28] Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
[31] But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Let's keep this love boat going
 John.15

[9] As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
[10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
[12] This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
[13] Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
[17] These things I command you, that ye love one another.
[19] If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Any friend of Jesus is a friend of God
John.16

[27] For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
Happy days are on the way!
 John.17

[23] I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
[24] Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
[26] And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
The ties that bind
John.19

[26] When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
Jesus' buddy hopes for the best
 John.20

[2] Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
Feed my sheep
 John.21

[7] Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
[15] So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
[16] He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
[17] He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
[20] Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
That's the Spirit -- of love!
 Rom.5

[5] And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
[8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
I've got your back, don't worry
 Rom.8

[28] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
[37] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
[39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Father knows best
 Rom.9

[13] As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Clean up your act
 Rom.12

[9] Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Put the other person first
 Rom.12

[10] Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Obey the law of love
 Rom.13

[8] Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
[9] For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
[10] Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Hey, I really need your help!
 Rom.15

[30] Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
You won't BELIEVE what's coming!
 1Cor.2

[9] But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
I'm a nice guy, BUT...
 1Cor.4

[21] What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?

If you love God, he got the message
God knows who's who
1Cor.8

[3] But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
Flashing red warning!
1Cor.16

[22] If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
[24] My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
The tracks of my tears
 2Cor.2

[4] For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
[8] Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
The wonders of his love
 2Cor.5

[14] For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

2Cor.6

[6] By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
Fill 'er up!
 2Cor.8

[7] Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
[8] I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
[24] Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.
Happy helper
 2Cor.9

[7] Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
How could you think that!?
 2Cor.11

[11] Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.
The more I give, the less you appreciate it!
 2Cor.12

[15] And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
Holy orders
 2Cor.13

[11] Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
[14] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
Jesus really has got a hold of me
 Gal.2

[20] I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Help each other
 Gal.5

[6] For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
[13] For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
[14] For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

God knows what he's doing
 Eph.1

[4] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
[15] Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
He really and truly loves us
 Eph.2

[4] But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
You don't even KNOW...
 Eph.3

[17] That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
[19] And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Give the other guy a break
 Eph.4

[2] With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
[15] But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
[16] From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Be good to your wife
 Eph.5

[2] And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
[25] Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
[28] So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
[33] Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Tell the boys God loves 'em
 Eph.6

[23] Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[24] Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
It's my job to defend the gospel truth
 Phil.1

[9] And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
[17] But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
Look for some joy in Jesus
 Phil.2
[1] If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
[2] Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Get your mind out of the gutter
 Phil.4

[8] Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Faith and love make a good team
 Col.1

[4] Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
[8] Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
The love tapestry
 Col.2

[2] That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
Get OVER it, man!
 Col.3

[19] Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Thinking about sweet you
 1Thes.1

[3] Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
Let that love flow!
 1Thes.3

[12] And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
You already know what to do
 1Thes.4

[9] But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
Suit up for kindly action
 1Thes.5

[8] But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
[13] And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
Truth-haters die
 2Thes.2

[10] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
[16] Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
Worth the wait
 2Thes.3

[5] And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
A ton of grace
 1Tim.1

[14] And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Ouch! What did I do?!
1Tim.6

[10] For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
[11] But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Why be a scaredy cat?
 2Tim.1

[7] For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
[13] Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
I'm all I think about
 2Tim.3
[2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
[4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Will you get a crown?
 2Tim.4

[8] Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
[10] For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
Good guy
 Tit.1

[8] But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
Girls need to chill a little
 Tit.2

[4] That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
Your friends say 'Hi'
 Tit.3

[4] But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
[15] All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart
Phlm.1

[5] Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
[7] For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.
[9] Yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
God takes care of his boys
 Heb.1

[9] Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
You make God smile
 Heb.6

[10] For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Egg each other on -- in a positive way
 Heb.10

[24] And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Tough love is sometimes necessary
 Heb.12

[6] For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Keep it up
 Heb.13

[1] Let brotherly love continue.
Stick with Jesus
 Jas.1

[12] Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
The royal road
 Jas.2

[5] Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
[8] If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
That Jesus love is great stuff
 1Pet.1

[8] Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
[22] Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
The basics
 1Pet.2

[17] Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
Zip your lip when you're uptight
 1Pet.3

[8] Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
[10] For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
Oh no! Don't go there!
 2Pet.2

[15] Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
A world of hurt
 1John.2

[5] But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
[10] He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
[15] Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
The world is supposed to hate you
 1John.3

[1] Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
[10] In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
[11] For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. [14] We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
[16] Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. [17] But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
[18] My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. [23] And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
Love is everything
 1John.4

[7] Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. [8] He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
[9] In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
[10] Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
[12] No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
[16] And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
[17] Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
[18] There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
[19] We love him, because he first loved us.
[20] If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
[21] And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Is Jesus your Savior?
 1John.5

[1] Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
[2] By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
[3] For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Walk the walk
 2John.1

[1] The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
[3] Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
[5] And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
[6] And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Who does he think he is?
 3John.1

[1] The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
[9] I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
Keep plugged in to Jesus
 Jude.1

[2] Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. [21] Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Washed in the blood
 Rev.1

[5] And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
What happened?
Rev.2

[4] Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Don't worry, they'll get theirs
 Rev.3

[9] Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
[19] As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Win with Jesus
 Rev.12

[11] And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Go for the gold
 Rev.22

[15] For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
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Thursday, March 11, 2021

Appendix G.
On the writing of the Sermon (and the gospels)

Apologies. A hacker has introduced imperfections into this page as a little joke. Odd intrusions may be noticed on other pages as well, though such intrusions may or may not show up when you view a page. The best we can do is seek God's kindness for the hacker -- a suggestion which happens to fit the theme of the Sermon.
ARE MISTAKES PERMITTED?
This commentator takes a spiritual yet rational – but not rationalist – view of Scripture. We are allowed to use our brains when examining Scripture, but we do not toss out Christ with disputed points.

Though sound doctrine is certainly an admirable and important objective of any evangelist, the primary goal of evangelism is to draw people to Jesus. I recall the testimony of a woman who said she came to Jesus while watching a performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. No matter that the musical play denies the divinity of Jesus. What mattered was that her heart was stirred by contemplation of the Son of God, bringing her to the realization of her sin and her need for pardon. The Holy Spirit reached her even though the performance was denying that Jesus could save her (see Philippians 1:18).

Once a person has given her life over to the care of Jesus, or to God in the name of Jesus, the Holy Spirit will provide the inner light that will help the believer sift through points of doctrine while guiding the soul on the journey home.

So then, we always have the possibility that some evangelist or one of his helpers may lift up Jesus while holding an incorrect understanding of some possibly important points of doctrine. Even so, the evangelist has pointed the way so that the soul that hits rock bottom knows where to seek help. That's what counts here!

Likewise we have the possibility – even the likelihood – that early compilers and editors of the four gospel accounts made some "mistakes," just as a modern-day evangelist might make some factual errors in the midst of a powerful appeal to turn to Christ. But in many cases such details are unimportant insofar as the basic message goes. The evangelist strives -- then as now -- to get the hearer or reader to see what he is driving at. We don't worry that the evangelist mixes up, say, he protons and electrons. He is not writing a paper on physics. He wants you to get a spiritual truth.

I put mistakes within quotation marks because God is so very competent to correct human error, especially when the person is doing her best to serve him. They either are inconsequential or, if substantial, there turns out to be "more to it" than was first realized, meaning the supposed error might not be one at all. The most important point in this regard is this:

Isaiah 55:11
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
God's word can't fail, regardless of how human beings have here and there mangled it in transit.

And even though some preachers are among the false prophets whom Jesus will turn away on Judgment Day, Christ is still proclaimed! Even persons with wrong motives are helping, somehow, to advance the kingdom.

Even so, Paul, before setting off for Macedonia, urged Timothy at Ephesus to reprove some people that they cease from teaching any doctrine other than the saving grace of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and rose from the dead for our sakes. Tell those men to pay no heed to "fables and endless genealogies," which provoke doubt rather than godly education through faith (1 Timothy 1:4).

LAW IS FOR THE UNGODLY
Paul warns against those who have turned from his teaching only to engage in haggling over points of the Jewish Law, which in any case they don't understand. Moreover, he argues, the Law was made for ungodly persons, for abusers of parents, for killers. In contrast, Christ's teaching may be summarized as "love out of a pure heart, a good conscience and unfeigned faith" (1 Timothy 1:5).

One may even go so far as to wonder whether Paul's criticism was directed at the group that contributed to Matthew. The genealogy that attempts to "prove" that Jesus is a direct descendant of King David has nothing much to recommend it (and neither does Luke's genealogy) – though the scholar Raymond E. Brown [WS.1a*] has shown that Matthew's principal writer seems to have been at pains to avoid deliberate falsification. Similarly, one wonders about Matthew's infancy narratives, which seem to be another attempt to "prove" to Jews that Jesus is a son of David.

Such concerns are far from implying that Matthew doesn't have a great deal of material that reflects the truth of Jesus. And certainly God is able to have caused to happen everything in the nativity stories. Yet, are these among the "fables" to which Paul was referring? So we have the possibility  that some Matthean materials are open to question, even among devoted Christians.

Even so, the most important feature of the four gospels is that they vigorously uphold Jesus, the crucified Savior who rose from the dead, and his teaching of meekness and love. That is, in their main messages, they are consistent with Paul's teaching. Yes, we may on occasion wonder what "really" or "exactly" occurred in some of the scenes described in the four gospel accounts. In a number of cases we get the impression that authors knew of specific miracles, but felt that a certain amount of "poetic license" was permissible in describing them. Remember, the writers did not know they were writing Holy Writ! This observation applies even to Mark, which was apparently the first of the four canonical gospels to be written down. Many scholars believe that Matthew incorporates Mark, which supposedly is a collection of materials drawn from Peter's sermons in Rome.

Matthew's writer apparently polished Mark's account, taking care to hold the disciples in due reverence, as opposed to the Mark writer, who saw their human frailties. The Matthean group also wove in a collection of sayings of Jesus, which some scholars class under the heading Q, a collection that evidently was in possession of early congregations. A number of those sayings are preserved in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. The principal writer of Matthew was probably taken with the mountain imagery, contrasting it with Moses on Mount Sinai. But, in any case, scholars say the Greek could mean "in the hills." Some try to reconcile Luke's parallel "Sermon on the Plateau" by speculating that the plateau was up in the hills.

We declare that the important thing here is not exactness of geographic detail, but the sayings themselves! When people first heard these sayings, they were astonished. Why? Because their power jumps out at the attentive listener. Early Christians had collected sayings that they remembered personally or that were relayed to them. They were kept because Christians, illuminated by the Spirit, could "hear the Master's voice" in them.

NO NEWSPAPER REPORTERS ON HAND
Conservative analysts say that all of Jesus' sayings are authentic but that Matthew brought them together in their present form. The introduction and concluding notes framing each of Matthew 's discourses are seen as artistic, compositional devices.

Yet one conservative writer regards the Sermon as "condensed notes" of an actual discourse (I suppose akin to how a news reporter jots down key quotations), arguing that there was no literary genre in that period that would justify the fictive framework idea. My response is that the main Matthew writer wanted to get across the teachings collected from Q, and putting them right up front was a way to ensure that congregants heard the essentials right off the bat. I do not deny that disciple witnesses may have told of an early initial discourse, but the idea seems implausible that a news-reporter-type of scribe was on hand to write down the sayings.

It has been shown that the Old Testament quotations and allusions that Matthew and Mark have in common come principally from the Septuagint, a Greek translation of Hebrew (and some Aramaic) Scriptures, whereas those found only in Matthew are drawn from a variety of sources and textual traditions.

Though the identity of the main Matthew writer is unknown, a number of experts believe that the author must have been a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian with some rabbinic knowledge. This author depended on a form of the Jesus tradition which, potentially, accommodated the sayings of Jesus to a first century Jewish viewpoint.[WS.1a*]

On the other hand, several redaction-critical studies have denied that the author was a Jew, arguing that the antipathy expressed toward (some) Jews in Matthew and the ignorance of Judean Jewish life are so deep that the writer must have been a Gentile Christian. Yet, a strong case has been made that the Matthean community was a beleaguered Jewish group which was in an ideological fight with other Jewish groups. If, at some points, an ignorance of Judaism shows through, we would have to guess that this was a result of redactions and glosses that occurred between the first and third centuries, when Christians were altering manuscripts in order to incorporate important doctrinal ideas that may be at variance with the principal composer's assumptions or in order to deny schismatics ("heretics") proof texts.

As the Bible scholar Donald Guthrie [WS.2*] explains, the Jewish perspective of the Matthew writer is seen in his many Old Testament citations as well as his awareness of everyday matters of concern to Jews. On the writer of Matthew, Guthrie insists:
¶ His Gospel often reflects the more restricted outlook of Jewish Christianity. Not one jot or tittle of the law will become invalid (5:18 f.); the scribes and Pharisees occupy the seat of Moses and their instructions are to be observed (23:2 f.); Jesus enjoins the fulfillment of the commandments (19:17 ff.; 23:23); the Jewish temple tax is paid (17:24 ff.); the disciples are expected to fast, keep the sabbath; and bring offerings as in the Jewish tradition (6:16 ff., 24:20, 5:23 f.); Jesus himself declares that he is sent only to the 'lost sheep of the house of Israel' (15:24); the genealogy of Jesus is traced from Abraham and is arranged in three groups of 14 in rabbinic style (1:1 ff.); and Jewish customs and phrases are included without elucidation (15:2, where the phrase 'tradition of the elders' occurs in the phrase about handwashing scruples; 23:5, where phylacteries are mentioned; and 23:27, where allusion is made to whited sepulchres). In addition, the recurrent theme of Jesus as the Son of David and the triumphant entry into Jerusalem focus attention on the Jewish Christian regard for Jesus as the Fulfiller of their national hopes.

¶ But the significant thing about [the main Matthew writer's] gospel is that universalism appears alongside this particularism. If Christianity is seen as the ideal Israel it is also seen as the New Israel, unbounded by the restricted environment out of which it emerged... At the conclusion of the gospel [Matthew's writer] records the great commission which extends to all nations (28:18 ff.)... In the parable of the vineyard (21:33 ff.), Jesus suggests that another nation will supplant the original husbandmen, who clearly represent the Jewish people.
In any case, our modern "docudrama" and "true fiction" gives an idea of what the gospel writers were about. They desired to convey the truth as best they could. And for reaching ordinary people, a story was a good way to set about this task. Let us remember that the gospel accounts were mainly composed so as to be read aloud to largely illiterate congregations. The compilers wanted to make sure the listeners got the most important points. This is one reason some bits of text were added in later decades. Yet, for any who are worried about the truth of the good news – that Christ came to save us from our lost, sinful state – look to the letters of Paul. He had never seen the four gospel accounts when he wrote his letters, and yet his belief is powerful, focused and consistent. He was saved without ever having seen those New Testament books! If anyone wants to know what is true in the New Testament, he should read the epistles of Paul. They are Spirit-breathed all the way through!

We ought take note of the discipleship system of Jesus' day. The students were expected to listen to every word of the rabbi and watch his every action. They were expected to pay very close attention. Hence, we may feel quite confident that many of the sayings of Jesus found in the gospels are authentic recollections of his words and intent. Similarly, a rabbi's students were to soak up the meaning of his actions and to take note of specific actions. They were not to fabricate recollections. These were honorable Jewish men. Those observations should not be taken to mean that, as recollections were passed on, variants did not occur; they obviously did. But the important point is that, in the main, Jesus as he was comes through the patchy gospel accounts – loud and clear.

Please see

He opened his mouth
https://zioncallingyou.blogspot.com/2020/01/mt-51-2-draft-2.html

and use Control f Cohen to see Shaye D. Cohen's remarks on this matter.

DISPELLING MYSTERIES
Mark, which is widely believed to have been the earliest of the four now-canonical gospels, makes the point that, despite the miracles he effected during his earthly work, people generally did not realize who Jesus really was.  The books of the other three evangelists, written later, do not pick up on this point, or, if they do, are not quite so blunt.

Mark's Jesus was, during his earthly sojourn, the hidden Messiah, whose true nature would not begin to shine forth until after he prevailed on the cross over death, the world and Satan. The Mark writer seems to have thought the truth was veiled in order to prevent the many from repenting and being saved. Only a few were chosen. Though the call goes out to many, few really hear it. One can understand this in light of the fact that, if someone had not repented at the urging of the baptizer John, then how could Jesus' message be heard?

Still, Mark makes very clear that not even Jesus' closest disciples had much comprehension of what was really going on. And this makes sense. How could they receive much illumination before each had received the Holy Spirit, which could only be given to sinful humans once Jesus had washed away their sin by his sacrifice? They were bound to be pretty much in the dark prior to the Resurrection.

All that is to say that many of the teachings recalled by his followers make more sense after his Resurrection than they would have prior to it. This is especially so for a person who has received Christ's Spirit. Before the Resurrection, Jesus was putting out ideas that could only be seeds – seeds that would mature only later, once people began receiving the Spirit.

So the Sermon, in this respect, makes a lot more sense to someone who has been born again, and even to one who is on the verge of rebirth, than to another who has not received that Gift or is not near to receiving it. Unless one knows Jesus, one will see only poorly, if at all, what Jesus is driving at. Yet even so the word is so powerful that it can be of great value even to the unregenerate (see salt of the earth  [Matthew 5:13]).

WE OFTEN READ PAST 'NOISE'
Some will object: if we can't trust every word of the Bible as absolutely accurate and true, why should we accept any of it?

We are all aware of the problem of noise in communications. Static, if it is not too awful, will not hinder us from getting most of the content of a broadcast talk. Similarly, note that Google's predictor algorithm can sniff out the probable meaning of "bttotherlu llve." Perhaps you read the intended meaning immediately.

Google reads:
Showing results for  brotherly love
Search instead for bttotherlu llve
On a larger scale, when a major event suddenly occurs, news reporters hasten to cover it. They do the best they can, but often initial reports are only rough approximations of the truth of the matter. As professionals keep after the story, however, the holes and inaccuracies tend to be filled in and corrected. On really important stories quite some time may elapse before news media get a good fix on the salient points. And in an era when news media have ideological axes to grind, various misrepresentations may linger for quite a while. Similarly, when church scribal interpreters were concerned with theological (ideological) matters, sometimes the bare-bones truth might become cloaked.

Yet, historians and those journalists with the time and resources often can put together a realistic picture of a disputed major event.

As for born-again Christians, they have the Spirit to help them see past the "noise" and get to the heart of the matter.

In my opinion, an excellent way to understand the Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke, so called because they share much parallel material) is via the Spirit-filled Book of John. Much that is disjoint in the Synoptics becomes clear in the light of John. For all we know, the author of John could indeed have been the Apostle John, who may have had the help of an amanuensis (scribal secretary). In any case, though John  is plainly not a court-reporter-type transcription, it seems evident that the author permitted Jesus to speak through him via the the Holy Spirit. A discerning reader will see that John's main writer had a much more holistic understanding of the spiritual aspect of the Good News than did the Synoptic writers, which is not to imply that their work was not highly valuable.

John gives us the lowdown. To see Matthew and the other synoptic accounts more clearly, we may benefit from putting them in the context of John's notions of being born again and of worshiping God as new spirit beings.

Please see The key to understanding the Sermon, which contains John 3 and 4.

NOT ALL 'BORN AGAIN' ARE BORN AGAIN
The early Christian communities in and around Judea had people of various levels of insight and understanding of the good news of salvation. As he does today, God spoke to these Christians in different ways, each according to her needs. So we may accept that these communities may well have had some doctrinal differences, as we see from Paul's disagreement with Peter over whether Gentile Christians needed to follow Jewish practices (Galatians 2:11-14).

Though this dispute was amicably settled later on, some find reasonable the idea that the Matthean community, which was very cognizant of its Jewish congregants, wished to remain true to the Jewish customs of the day, insofar as it was able.

In any case, I find reasonable the notion that not everything was revealed all at once. Time was required for some insights to reach many of the early Christians, as we see from John, which was written decades after the other three gospels. While the three earlier gospels draw together a collection of sayings and actions that people had remembered as a means of recounting the highlights of Jesus' ministry, John is more focused on the inner meaning of the believer's relationship to Christ.

Though John tells a story of what happened before Jesus' crucifixion, I suggest that the book nevertheless is relaying insights from a writer who has spent many years as a Spirit-filled person. This writer permits Jesus to speak through him in those wonderful Johannine discourses.

With regard to doctrinal variation, I find interesting that fairly early on the custom of the Eucharist (Greek for "thanksgiving" and also called "Holy Communion") became a replacement – rather than a reminder – of the communion with Christ that a Spirit-endued person has.[WS.9*]

Yet the church, I suppose, would not object too much, because of the prospect that these congregants might one day get a real experience with Jesus. Even so we ought to see that the true church, those who have been born from above into God's kingdom, is cloaked in a mantle made up of nominal Christians who are by no means born again, no matter what they have been told.[WS.3*] Hence, a major task of Christ is the continual renewal of his church, so that the sea of unbelief does not overcome it.

Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Paul gives us a very simple formula to obtain salvation. If you tell people you have accepted Jesus as Lord – meaning lord of your life – then you are placing yourself in God's camp by letting others know where you stand. If you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, then the implication is that you know that you ought to do what he says. That is, you really trust him.

Now, not to quibble with Paul, but we have the possibility of a person with a sort of passive belief that Jesus was raised from death and who tells others of being a Christian and yet who doesn't have a saving knowledge of Christ. That is, such a person has a rather tepid form of "background" belief that has been absorbed via parents or socially – without knowing Jesus personally.

James 2:19
You believe that there is one God; you do well. The devils also believe, and tremble.
This sort of "believer" has not been born of the Spirit even though technically he may be said to fulfill the criteria of Romans 10:9. This, by the way, tells us that to rightly divide Scripture, we may need to look at more than one verse.

Acts 16:30-31
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Here the author of Acts (who also wrote Luke) quotes Paul and Silas as telling the frightened jailer that belief in Jesus as Lord was imperative for salvation. Belief in this sense doesn't mean merely belief in the existence of the risen Jesus, but the act of trusting him with your soul, of putting "all your marbles" in his hands. This act of belief was followed by water baptism, which is meant as a sign of spirit baptism – that is, of having the Spirit pour into you.

When you sincerely put your trust in Jesus to forgive you all your misdeeds and to save you, then you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit. Some people think "baptism in the Spirit" only comes to a few people who are members of the right congregation. This is only true in the sense that not all who claim to be Christians have in fact been born again.

The writer of the Sermon is introducing his readers to these marvels by degrees, since those who have not yet been born again are still somewhat in the dark as to the meaning of the idea of obtaining the pearl of great price: salvation.

In any case, every born-again person is sent the Spirit, and that Spirit is like an internal fire, burning up the old nature that is so resistant to God and God's work. Though, according to Acts, people saw literal tongues of fire light onto the apostles as the Lord kick-started his church, there is no necessity for such a miraculous apparition. What everyone wants is assurance of salvation and fellowship with God and Jesus, which is what the Spirit brings.

Of course, we always have the possibility that a believer is having trouble being sufficiently yielded to the Lord and thus his old nature is, up to a point, quenching the Spirit within him. To do better, he can pray (and fast), seeking to be more yielded. Possibly he is having a hard time letting go of some relationship, circumstance, thing or habit that he finds important. Yet, if he casts that issue onto God's shoulders, he will get the help he needs, though the help may not be something he initially welcomes.

Now there was a problem in early Christian gatherings in which some people had received "the baptism of John" and needed to receive the baptism of the Spirit, which manifested in remarkable gifts given to those who had been so baptized (Acts 18:24-28;19:1-6). We can see that issue reflected in modern Christianity, in which people are discouraged from thinking that the Spirit gives people power in the here and now. Yet, they are believers – of a sort. But many have not put their full self into the hands of Jesus and sincerely asked him to take full responsibility for them. They have not connected with Jesus personally. They go through a form of religion, but have not yet got the real message!

Still, we must be wary of judging. Some people don't come across as evangelicals, and may even look somewhat worldly, but deep within their hearts, they are banking on Jesus to care for them. They may or may not be weak brothers and sisters, but we have no right to count them out. Jesus saves all kinds of people – including ones who seem to have only a little flicker of the Spirit.

Interestingly, some Samaritans, who had been baptized in water in the name of Jesus, were indeed saved! Once they trusted in his name, God made sure to send people to them to add to them the blessing of the Spirit. One can speculate that the Samaritans at first did not receive this blessing because the Spirit first had to be poured out on all sorts of Jews in the "land of Israel." To the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16). Once that task had been accomplished, the Samaritans could receive the Spirit.

Observe, by the way, that as Jesus received his human baptism publicly, he also received a baptism of the Spirit. Now some have said that Jesus only became God's son at this time. Previously, he had only been a son of man, in their view. Yet, was it not necessary for Jesus to receive a special blessing of the Spirit as a sign from God that Jesus was being anointed as the Messiah, the king of the Jews? And, to my mind, what Jesus was doing was leading the way. God's son was humble enough to accept a baptism for sins that he never committed. Surely you can be humble enough to repent – and show your repentance with a public act – for sins that you have committed. When you do turn around (repent), you turn toward Jesus, and he has power to send you the Spirit, thus transforming you into a son of God, with whom the Father is well pleased – even though you may have a hard time seeing that. When you become born anew you become like Jesus, God's precious son, to whom he is devoted.

That is, once you have turned your will and your life over to Jesus, the formerly Unknown God says, "Any friend of Jesus is a friend of mine." But you cannot enter the Father's house without having been properly introduced.

The phrase "son of God" means "angel" or "projection" of God, a being that has been directly created by God, without intervention of nature. If you are born again, then you have been directly created as a new person, being transformed by the renewing of your mind. Look out! God makes everything new!

You can tell a real Christian by her or his Spirit and deeds. Talk by itself is insufficient. You don't necessarily have to make a big fuss about being a Christian. Your compassion, friendliness and actions will say it all. At least some people will thank God for you. Even so, don't try to hide your faith in Jesus. Christ's light is supposed to reach people through you, once you are born anew.

I would say that for much of history neither the Roman Catholic nor Eastern rite churches (such as the Greek and Russian orthodox traditions, which originated in Byzantium) paid more than lip service to the Pauline view of salvation:

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
In fact, that was a major criticism of Luther's. Still, we should remember that the Catholic Church was a big tent, meaning that different orders and subgroups could hold somewhat different theological positions (this became less true with the rise of the counter-Reformation Jesuits). As for the Byzantine and Eastern churches, I have insufficient background to comment on varieties of viewpoint within it.

In any case, these churches tended to emphasize the doctrine of salvation by works, along with "penance" (repetition of formulaic prayers) after confession to a priest. At one time, most Catholics feared that they might die before having had an opportunity to gain priestly absolution for their latest batch of sins, thus consigning them to hellfire.

Admittedly, a superficial reading of the Sermon on the Mount, bolstered by verses elsewhere, could give this impression. For example, Matthew 25:14-46 teaches that those who show compassion in their actions will be welcomed to paradise while those who don't will meet a bad end.

In fact, I find quite significant that neither Mark nor Matthew even use the word "grace" in any sense, and specifically not in the Pauline sense. Luke's writer, who does use the word frequently, doubtless had some sort of association with Paul. At the least, the gospel writer was someone who had been involved in one of the Pauline churches.

Up until fairly recently, the Catholic Church rigidly promoted the Ten Commandments given to the Jews. And this emphasis is still noticeable among a number of Protestant denominations. Yet Paul is clear that the Law is really a schoolteacher in helping us to identify our wrongdoings – which, I strongly urge – is just how Jesus intended some of those "impossible" sayings of his recorded in the Sermon. Granted, one may conceive that the Sermon's compiler was not fully aware of that intention at the time of writing. After all, everyone, including the authors of the gospels, has a right to grow in Christian understanding over time. But whatever Matthew's main writer understood at that point in his life, we must stress that NO legal code has power to save.

I think that there have been right from the beginning blocks of Christianity that have had a hard time getting past the legalistic idea about Jesus' teaching. The "Baptism of John" is all they really know, for they are not born again and have not been endued with the Spirit in power and in truth. This critique applies to large blocks of Catholicism, Orthodoxism and Protestantism. When we consider that even components of the New Testament may be construed as pointing to a new legal code, we can understand how this "false religion" gains wide currency. Yet, whom the Son sets free, is free indeed (John 8:36).

Over the years, theologians and scholars have argued about whether some books should be removed from the canon (books accepted by the church as authoritative for Christians) and others added. I tend to agree with ideas expressed by Herbert Braun and Willi Marxsen.[WS.7*] As Braun argues, the "canon within the canon" is located within the preaching of Jesus, in Paul and in John.[WS.7*] For Marxsen, the "canon within the canon" is what lies behind the New Testament writings. "But the real canon is prior to the New Testament, and we are nearer to it in the sources the Synoptists [Matthew, Mark and Luke] used than in the Synoptic Gospels themselves." [WS.8*]

Even so, I certainly would never recommend disregarding any part of today's New Testament canon. In particular, all four canonical gospels contain sayings of Jesus which – whether a bit out of context or not – remain very powerful. They also contain a set of recollections of his deeds in which Jesus' character shines through clearly. Anyone can tell that before that time no one like him had ever set foot on Earth. So I am saying that I favor using one's head when examining these writings, but let us be ready to "hear the Master's voice" through them (John 10:27).

'TRINITY' SLOW TO EMERGE
I agree that the doctrine of the Trinity was doubtless a concept that was foreign to very early Christians. They would have at first found it hard to grasp. After all, the shock of the Resurrection and post-Resurrection appearances was plenty for the nascent church to chew over.

I also agree that the Matthew writer, in particular, was trying to avoid offending Jews with any such implication. In addition, we may observe that today there are Christian groups that deny the Trinity on the ground that this concept violates the principle of monotheism. Still, I doubt whether the Father or the Son would be offended by any human blind spot on this point.

In my view, Jesus is the projection of God into the human arena, thus being not only a son of God, but, also, God the Son. The Father is then the source of this projection.

In any case, I daresay that such ideas were initially too much for people to deal with, especially Jews rooted in the traditions of monotheism. Yet, must we have an either/or binary choice here? Consider the modern physics concept of "superposed states" in which both, seemingly distinct and contradictory states, exist simultaneously until someone takes a look, at which point only one state is detected and the other one vanishes, so to speak.

Admittedly, this is an arcane point. Yet it provides a nice analogy to the idea that when one has seen the son, he has seen the father. Only one can be directly detected (granting that visions of Jesus, such as Paul had, count as observations).

The understanding of who Jesus really is evolved as people reflected on him and as some received knowledge via the Holy Spirit.

That there was an early composer of John (the posited writer of the so-called "signs gospel") who expressed no notion of the Trinity is quite plausible. The version in use today may have been an amplification by the later Johannine community. But even so, many born-again people – that is, people who have been imbued with the Spirit – attest the truth of the later material. In fact Jesus' teaching that one must be born again (or from "above") is reputedly a later addition. Yet anyone who has had the experience of Jesus and the Spirit coming to her knows for sure that John's "later" ideas are on target.

Why must God reveal everything of importance all at once? Cannot his people see in new ways over time. "Behold, I make all things new" (Revelation 21:5).
Rather interesting is the fact that a document known as the Didache has been tracked back to a period contemporaneous with the four gospels, with part of it possibly written earlier. What we have is basic advice from, we think, early Jewish Christians to Gentile converts on personal conduct as well as on a few basics of church affairs. Though some theology is implicit, a great deal is missing. Jesus is referred to as Christ (God's anointed servant), but not as the son of God nor as an equivalent or stand-in for God.

Yet, there is quite a bit of support for the idea that the Didache was composed by churchmen not far removed from the original apostles. In fact, the church was still loosely organized, and had some difficulty with freeloaders posing as apostles.

Does this mean that what modern Christians believe or know about Jesus is not established by the earliest Christians? I maintain that some understandings took a while to come to fruition. But that doesn't make them false. The Didache strongly implies that these Christians had enough knowledge for their own salvation. Trust in Jesus was paramount – whatever the finer points of theology.

No doubt this document did not make it into the New Testament canon because the early churchmen saw its message as problematic, and they were right, because the document was intended to deal with temporary practical matters. Further, the moral code that it lays out may have been seen by later church fathers as lacking in the balance that would come from Christ's teachings on non-judgmentalism and Paul's doctrine of grace. [WS.kP29*]
In this respect, consider that closely intertwined are the mystery of the Trinity and the mystery of the born again as sons of God.

When Jesus was anointed with Spirit at the time of his baptism in water, he was leading the way, as he always does. We, the born again, who have been baptized in the living water of the Spirit, are now sons of God.

One more observation: Just as the prism can be used as an analogy for the union of the born again with God, it can convey the idea of the union of the three persons of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. A white beam of light is divided by a prism into various colors. And, to be technical, one can add a polarizer in order to limit the light to a spectrum of three colors. When the three wavelengths (colors) pass through a reverse prism and polarizer, the light recombines into a beam of white light.

Yes, I am giving a metaphorical idea. One cannot possibly plumb the depths of this mystery with any number of words. Still, at least some people may get the point that monotheism is not necessarily mutually exclusive with the concepts of Trinity and the sons of God who are, in fact, God – though they throw down their crowns at the feet of God.

In my version of John 1:18, I use the term special son for what is generally rendered in English versions as only begotten son.

In Greek manuscripts, the words are monogenēs theos, which can be read as only begotten God. Some experts regard this as a probable mistranslation of the Aramaic phrase yehidh ‘elaha, which is taken to mean the only begotten of God.

In other words, the (presumed) Greek translator interpreted John 1:18 as saying that Jesus is the only God ever born as a natural man. Others then (rightly) interpreted this to mean that Jesus, as the Father's son, is God the Son. The original Aramaic phrase strongly implies that Jesus was the only human being that God had directly fathered -- also making Jesus God the Son.

Hence we see that either way a strong case can be made for the Trinity in John 1:18 [WS.4*].

Further, I add that the technical difficulties faced by Jerome and other translators reflects the mystery of the Trinity. We, the born again, become one with God by becoming one with his son. We become sons of God, being born directly from above, and are thence very special to him. We have been enfolded into the One God – "buried in baptism" with Christ, as Paul puts it (Colossians 2:12).

Granted, the idea that God gave his "only son" to serve as a ransom for many so that he could become one with all of us fallen humans strikes some as bizarre. But my mind asks, isn't that something God would do? Give his most precious son, the very extension of himself, in the most humiliating of circumstances in order to express his love for his disgraced children by turning the world on its head?

We can see in this question part of the Matthew writer's problem. He wished to avoid any such implication, as his community was already taking a great deal of heat from the Pharisees over charges of blasphemy, which was taken as implied if one accepts the idea that God's Messiah is more than a son in the sense of devoted servant, but an actual son. I daresay that Matthew's writer had some inkling of John's Christology, but prudence led him to play down those implications.

QUITE A 'SIGN'
In any case, though the Sermon doesn't deal directly with miracles, some people are skeptical of the biblical accounts because they cannot accept the notion of miraculous events. My take is that many who call themselves rationalists are in fact naive realists who still cling to the dreamworld of the so-called Enlightenment. A prime example is the atheist writer Ayn Rand. Her "objectivist" philosophy is nothing but naive realism with no admittance of the difficulties and contradictions inherent in that position. (I am not passing judgment on her literary efforts, as I have not the patience to read  her books or, for that matter, many other books of literary merit. Nor do I object to the fact that many enjoy Rand's fiction and identify with the protagonists.)

Bolt from the blue
When I was fairly young and poor, I was driving along Route 22 one sunny day in New Jersey on my way to work. In that time before the global positioning system and smart phones, I was trying to pick out a sign for a particular auto dealer among a large jungle of signs on a stretch of road just outside Newark. I had strained to find the dealer on several previous commutes but my brain could not sort the data fast enough, even though I slowed some, though too much of a slowdown would have been dangerous.

I needed a gas cap for my fuel tank and reasoned that a dealer would be most likely to have one that fit.

Having been frustrated previously, I asked God to please help me find this place.

As my car neared the area:

Boom! A lightning bolt suddenly struck a sign amid the jumble. Yes, it was a sign for the dealer.

I do not know that anyone else saw the bolt or thought much of it.

Wheeling around, I located the establishment, which was hidden from the road behind a screen of buildings and signs for other businesses.

When I went to buy the cap – it wasn't in stock!

And so I wound up getting one the next day from an auto parts store, which is where I should have gone in the first place.

On reflection, I could only think that this was a bit of humor on God's part. After all, he did answer my prayer!
So I include this little story to underscore that I know firsthand from this – and many other striking happenings – that the God of Jesus does perform marvelous signs, even in modern times. Now you may say this was a trivial matter, not to be compared with the instantaneous healing of the sick or the raising of the dead. But I say that if God can do something like that for one of his boys, is not he able to heal the sick and raise the dead?

So in that case I have no argument with the claim in the gospel accounts that Jesus worked wonders. That understanding does not mean that I take the miracle stories in the Bible as verbatim transcripts. Neither do I reject the probability that at some points copyists and editors added or altered some material in order to deny certain passages to Gnostics, proto-Gnostics and others who were causing the early church much difficulty.

Many have a rather naive view of history as something well-known and more or less hard and fast. But as the British philosopher F.H. Bradley pointed out, these assumptions are open to challenge. [WS.gr1*] Works of history are written by individuals who must, perforce, select what they think relevant and true. Are these writers as reliable as they seem, even if they are trying to be honorable? Bradley cites the case of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus who remarked that he was inclined to disbelieve a story about an Egyptian king who sent some Phoenicians on an exploration voyage down the Red Sea and who eventually returned with Libya on their right. But that very detail supports the tale's authenticity, as the Phoenicians must have circumnavigated the continent of Africa.

All things considered, history, however defined, cannot be nearly as scientific as some would suggest. Everything past "now" is subject to error and varieties of interpretation. So, any search for a "historical Jesus" is a somewhat shaky endeavor [WS.g2*] in that it is hard to say what really happened in the past. We all agree that Julius Caesar was assassinated, but we are all taking the word of others who, for all we know, were given a false impression. Maybe he was fed up with being Caesar and retired to a Mediterranean island. Not likely, we think. But, then again, who really knows?

With history far more murky than most people suppose, does it make sense to assume that Nature rules out miracles in the past on ground that they are rarely noticed now? But miracles are, by definition, rare events, at least insofar as human observation goes.

POWER OF THE SAYINGS
Recapitulating, the Sermon on the Mount is likely a reconstruction of what Matthew's main writer (and perhaps a previous Sermon writer) considered to be some of the more important sayings of Jesus. We find parallel passages in Luke, though not all in one place.

The Sermon, as the writer saw it, was meant for new students of Jesus who had flocked to learn from this remarkable teacher, though it was also overheard by a large crowd of others straining to listen in.

In any case, we need not doubt that these sayings came from Christ. Their spiritual impact is far too strong to have emanated from an ordinary human teacher.

Few scholars regard Matthew 5 - 7 as thoroughly authentic in the transcriptional sense. I share the view of some experts that the Sermon compiler framed a collection of treasured sayings into a literary form as a means of imparting important teachings to congregants. That is, the Sermon had a liturgical purpose.

One has the impression that Matthew weaves the sayings together such that one often tends to flow from the other. This tapestry of association of ideas can be helpful. But it also means that we sometimes need to think over these teachings "out of context," as Matthew's context is only one possibility.

So the proposal that early Christians put words in Jesus' mouth seems unnecessary. The words, often surprising, carry great power. They are not the sort of ideas committees of theologians come up with. On the other hand, if one examines writings rejected by the early church elders, one sees that much of this material seems to have been tweaked in such a way as to diminish the message of salvation.

Of course, I do not claim that some sayings were not close paraphrases and that others have not got a bit fuzzy in translation – though my view is that in general a remarkable job of staying true to the surviving texts is evident.

Also, the notion that much of the Matthean material (as with the other three canonical evangelists) came from oral tradition should be seen in light of these points:
¶ Various congregations very likely wrote down important deeds and sayings of Jesus, as garnered from first-hand witnesses, early on. At some point, these writings were then collected and compiled by a few elders.

¶ The ability of the Holy Spirit to bring to mind important sayings and events should not be discounted. As God likes to let his people do things freely, come what may, we should not expect that he would have required a computer-like transcription service when the canon was being compiled and honed.
Also, not all those who aided in this work were equally gifted. Some may not have been overflowing with Spirit, but have had only just enough grace to contribute as humble workmen.

A number of scholars are confident that the writer of Matthew tailored Mark – 90 percent of which is subsumed by Matthew – for doctrinal reasons. So we have the likelihood that Matthew also tweaked some of the Q material, much of which is found in the Sermon. Likewise, we have the probability that Luke took some "poetic license" with some of the common material. For example, consider the teaching about pairs of people being split upon Jesus' return (two in bed: one taken away, the other remains). The writer very likely thought that the point of the teaching was the pairs, not their particular order, or even who was where (Matthew 24:40-41; Luke 17:33-36). That is, the writer was getting across the essence of what Jesus said without worrying about a verbatim transcript, just as news reporters often do today because for one reason or another verbatim accounts would hinder the reader.

In any case, when the books of the New Testament were written, the convention of quotation marks to set off a presumably verbatim statement had not been invented. In fact, the uncial script style eschewed spaces between words! Hence we very often have much uncertainty as to what is an exact quote and what is a close paraphrase, or perhaps a loose paraphrase.

No doubt the main writers of both Luke and Matthew (as with the other two gospel writers) knew that witnesses had contributed their recollections of Jesus' pithy sayings without necessarily recalling them verbatim, just as you may recall verbatim part of what someone says and, as for the rest, you recall, hopefully, the meaning. We can conjecture that a number of the sayings in Q had been reported by more than one witness and so matched and were fairly well verified. Also, the pithier the saying, the more likely it is to have been handed down word perfect.

Still, the Spirit ensured, through the eyes of a number of editors, that proper meaning was conserved. If a Spirit-filled person examines the Gospel of Thomas, for example, he should be able to discern very quickly that the aim is to undermine the saving grace of Jesus.

The Bible scholar Bruce M. Metzger [WS.6*] writes,
In this case the evaluation of modern readers will no doubt corroborate that of the early church, namely, that in the Gospel of Thomas the voice of the Good Shepherd is heard only in a muffled way, and that it is, in fact, often distorted beyond recognition by the presence of supplementary and even antagonistic voices.
The sayings of Jesus, as Matthew says, are amazing, imbued with authority and power. They are their own witnesses. They speak for themselves. So even though we may puzzle over certain stories, whether they are fictional or not, the teachings themselves attest to the reality and the power of Jesus as more than prophet of God. Whether these sayings are found in large blocks or interspersed through the narratives is not very important. What counts is their content. And that is surely what the writers were thinking. A blow-by-blow transcription was not what was needed. What was needed was a story that conveyed the teachings. The teachings, whether by word or by deed, were what mattered.

WHAT IS MEANT BY 'INERRANCY'?
Interestingly, the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy that came out of the Reformation was not fully accepted by Martin Luther. For example, he was skeptical of the authenticity of the Book of Revelation (though I am not). On the other hand, the Roman Catholic notion of the primacy of tradition can also be challenged. As said above, the word of God appears when the Holy Spirit enlightens the mind. And though God can use anything as a match to illuminate the mind, he very often uses Scripture. So for a person to have proper understanding, she must have the Holy Spirit indwelling. That only happens when one, humbly, puts faith/trust in the son of God, Jesus.

Notable churchmen have over the centuries observed that Scripture is oriented toward serving limited human capacity. Origen (ca. 185-251) wrote in On First Principles that "we teach about God both what is true and what the multitude can understand" and so "the written revelation in inspired Scripture is a veil that must be penetrated" and "an accommodation to our present capacities" that "will one day be superseded." [WS.NK1*]

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) wrote, "The things of God should be revealed to mankind only in proportion to their capacity; otherwise they might despise what is beyond their grasp." He added, "It was therefore better for the divine mysteries to be conveyed to an uncultured people, as it were, veiled." [WS.NK1*]

Similarly, reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) argued that "God reveals himself to us according to our rudeness and infirmity."  Calvin said that Moses taught the Hebrew tribesmen according to their capacity to understand. So those who question Moses' science are not comprehending the issue of communications with the common man, was Calvin's point. [WS.NK1*]

The Bible comes to life when the Spirit opens your eyes. Errors, infelicities and other matters of concern to scholars will pass away, as if they do not exist, as the Lord directs your mind to see in the Scripture what is good for you to receive. If a born-again Christian tests his motives and actions against Scripture, he will find a reliable guide, no matter the bits of static that occur here and there.

Of course, one may find solace in the belief that there is a true, inerrant meaning behind every Scriptural passage. That meaning is revealed by the Holy Spirit to those who are followers of Jesus. Yet we should, I think, be ready to admit that some Bible vignettes were intended as allegories for the conveyance of important theological ideas – just as Jesus used parables for that purpose. Most Christians today, for example, know that some Bible books are theological fiction. In particular, the Book of Job is not taken literally but as a theological/philosophical drama about the origin of suffering in the world. And several apocryphal books (Protestant: Aprocrypha; Roman Catholic: Deuterocanon) are seen as works of literature, not history.

Should we worry about the fact that two very different times are given in Mark and John for the crucifixion? According to Mark 15:25, Jesus was placed on the cross at the third hour (9 a.m.). But John 19:14 says the trial before Pilate was not quite over by the sixth hour (noon). There has been speculation that the John writer reckoned the hours of a day as stretching from midnight to noon, so that his "sixth hour" would become 6 a.m., thus eliminating the discrepancy. Yet this seems a contrived solution. No better are suggestions that, as no one had watches, at least one of the times given was just poor estimation.

A far more logical solution was suggested by Jerome in the fourth century. In the words of Metzger, we may join Jerome in presuming that an "error has crept into the transmission of the manuscripts of either John or Mark. Since the Greek letter which stands for 3 is the gamma ( Γ ) and the character which stands for 6 is the digamma ( Ϝ ), a sleepy copyist, early in the transmission of the New Testament, may have mistaken one for the other." [WS.5a*] To me, such a minor difference in the record makes no difference whatsoever in the fundamental message carried by the New Testament: Jesus saves! Throw in your lot with him and you will do all right. You can't go wrong with Jesus!

Metzger [WS.5*] also relates that, though primarily a theologian, Augustine (354-430) showed on occasion a keen critical judgment on textual problems. Thus when considering the difficulty that Matthew 27:9 incorrectly cites Jeremiah instead of Zechariah, Augustine suggests that one should first take notice of the fact that this citation does not appear in all manuscript versions, with some simply citing "the prophet."

Hence one could follow those manuscripts that do not contain the name "Jeremiah." Yet, notes Augustine, the majority of manuscripts seen by him have "Jeremiah," while a few have "Zechariah." As scribes would have been more likely to have corrected an error than to have introduced one, Augustine concludes that the template Matthew probably contained the error.

Matthew 27:9
9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;
While believers know that the Holy Spirit greatly improves the mind's cognitive powers, we should still grant the evangelists the right to ordinary human frailty. Somewhere in the New Testament, Paul says, "Somewhere in Scripture, it says..." So what if Paul's memory is imperfect!? That did not slow him down at all. No doubt the Matthew writer or some early editor misremembered his citation. Yet, the truth of the salvation message remains.

Metzger, in his study of the development of the New Testament, found that
when one compares [some] rather widely-used apocryphal gospels (along with the more widely divergent specimens that were found at Nag Hammadi...), one can appreciate the difference between the character of the canonical Gospels and the near banality of most of the gospels dating from the second and third centuries. Although some of these claimed apostolic authorship, whereas of the canonical four two were in fact not apostolically titled, yet it was these four, and these alone, which ultimately established themselves. The reason, apparently, was that these four came to be recognized as authentic – both authentic in the sense that the story told was, in essentials, adjudged sound by a remarkably unanimous consent, and also in the sense that their interpretation of its meaning was equally widely recognized as true to the apostles' faith and teaching. [WS.6*]
Scholars have observed a great fall-off in quality from the canonical gospels, which are held to contain a great deal of accurate historical data, to the Christian and pseudo-Christian romances arising in the second and third centuries. One reason scholars can date these books as later than the gospels is that they show a vast lack of knowledge of the Roman province of Judea in the era of Jesus and the apostles. Jerusalem was wiped out in the year 70 and the Jews were removed from Judea – which was renamed Palestine – after the Bar Kochba revolt ca. 130.

In addition, Metzger relates, some of the apocryphal works served the same purpose as the Christian novels of today. They were interesting yarns for the entertainment of Christians written rather like the Roman novels of the period, but with moralistic admonitions replacing the salacious material of the secular books. Even so, both then and in later years, many people were hoodwinked by these productions, taking them as "the gospel truth."

Metzger points out that early writers faced far more difficulty in concocting forged epistles than in producing interesting yarns of the Acts of the So-and-So type. While the New Testament is overwhelmingly composed of epistles (78%), the same cannot be said of the extant apocryphal writings, in which the epistles are "proportionately few in number." [WS.6*]

The Epistle to the Apostles, recovered in 1895 and dated to the second century, was purportedly sent out to churches everywhere by the 11 apostles after the Resurrection. The author shows a great deal of familiarity with a "surprising range of Biblical books," Metzger says. The "epistle" is an "aggressive attack by a catholic Christian upon Gnosticism, while making use of the literary genre of 'revelations' so beloved by Gnostics." [WS.6*]

Metzger also observes,
What is really remarkable ... is that, though the fringes of the New Testament canon remained unsettled for centuries, a high degree of unanimity concerning the greater part of the New Testament was attained within the first two centuries among the very diverse and scattered congregations not only throughout the Mediterranean world but also over an area extending from Britain to Mesopotamia. [WS.6].
When a newly born-again Christian I read quite a bit of post-Resurrection apocryphal material. Quickly I saw that a great deal of it was subversive of the good news of salvation. I could see it was poison. Yet, it took me a while to realize that there was a strong correlation between time spent on that material and my mucking about in the Slough of Despond. I did not at first relate my sense of depression and lethargy with the false gospel I was absorbing.

Yes, I suppose there was something to be gained from awareness of the sort of poison the early church was fighting. Yet, I breathed a sigh of relief when I ceased that line of study. Of course, I am not being critical of scholars whose job it is to analyze such materials. But again, the canonical gospels are very clearly much better reading, bringing spiritual refreshment, light and hope, unlike many of their early competitors.
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