Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. However, this does not mean Christians should not work for just laws and a well-ordered society. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (2 Corinthians 6:14). First be saved, then put sin to death. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Despite the need to confront the power brokers in the wider culture, confrontation is not always the best way for the Christian Every resource on our site was made possible through the financial support of people like you. I have now blogged for 7,060 consecutive days. Some read this as a prohibition on making moral judgments about culture, for fear that Christians will appear morally scrupulous, petty, and judgmental. I wrote this short, fast-paced, practical guide to productivity to share what I have learned about getting things done in todays digital world. No, God does hear sinners. Paul picks up on this theme of creation and moral order in Romans 1 and 2, where he describes particular sinful practices as unnatural. And we should do this for several reasons. This is the most basic of ethical principles. For he sees that even wise men die;The stupid and the senseless alike perishAnd leave their wealth to others. It isn't strange. If we insist that Christian ethics should have no bearing on public policy, we do a disservice to our theology and cripple the mission of the church. Jesus, like the lead ox in a team, determines our bearing, pace, and path, and we submit to his leadership. (John 8:7) Our expectations are out of whack when we expect Hollywood protagonists to all be of the biblically faithful married type. We cannot judge or condemn nonbelievers as inherently unethical because Paul himself refused to do so. God will judge those outside (1 Cor. Welcome to the online home of Tim Challies, blogger, author, andbookreviewer. 10, Coffee Entrepreneur Says Be Careful About Who You Pick as a Business Partner (Click to Watch), Thank God for Relationships (2 Corinthians 1:111), Working for the Joy of Others (2 Corinthians 1:24), The Priority of Relationships (2 Corinthians 2:1216), Performance and Accountability (2 Corinthians 5:115), Reconciling the Whole World (2 Corinthians 5:1621), Transparency Revisited (2 Corinthians 6:11), The Encouragement of Praise (2 Corinthians 7), Generosity Is Not Optional (2 Corinthians 8:19), Timely Fulfillment of Obligations (2 Corinthians 8:1012), Sharing the Wealth (2 Corinthians 8:1315), Assessing Performance (2 Corinthians 1013), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, Working With Nonbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:1418). First be saved, then put sin todeath. Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. 5:1621. 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And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, Why does this generation seek for a sign? Laws that prohibit human slavery reflect the belief that humans possess inherent dignity. Every weekday, get RELEVANT's top five articles delivered to your inbox! We simply expect them not to steal. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. Instead, its portrayal of human nature and depravity hits so close to reality and, if Im honest, my own heart. And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? It deludes them, hardens themdestroys them. And again, To kill sin is the work of living men; where mean are dead (as all unbelievers, the best of them, are dead), sin is alive, and will live.. 2023 RELEVANT Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Unbelievers do not love darkness rather than light because they have thought it through carefully and concluded that darkness makes more sense. With your gift of any size, youll enable us to continue equipping Christians with high-quality biblically-based content. A second example of unequal yoking might be a business partnership with an unbeliever. It is to be looked on as a great issue of wisdom, goodness, and love of God, that by manifold ways and means he is pleased to restrain the sons of men from running forth into that compass of excess and riot which the depravity of their nature would carry them out unto with violence. God dispenses his common grace to all men, and this grace keeps them from being as sinful as they otherwise would be. If you would like to write a letter to the editor, you can do so here. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.. Verses like John 9:31 and Isaiah 59:2 are given to show that God does not hear . 2)Don't blame people for disappointing you,blame yourself for expecting too much from them. To be unequally yoked with unbelievers, then, is to be in a situation or relationship that binds you to the decisions and actions of people who have values and purposes incompatible with Jesus values and purposes. "Don't Expect anything from anyone and you won't' be disappointed". To say non-Christians cant be expected to live like Christians and obey God ignores the fact that God and the moral order he implanted in creation are to be obeyed. Then how are we to apply his prohibition against unequal yoking? But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.. Laws that govern food safety reflect the belief that corporations that sell food to the public should care about the health of the consumer. The hostilities of a fallen world provide a perfect environment by which a sinless man would be put to death. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. The initial departures, mostly concentrated in the South, represent around 6 percent of the denominationnot as dramatic as the schism some feared. And Jesus said, For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, We are not blind too, are we? Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, We see, your sin remains. N But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land. 5:910 that we should work with non-Christians, and he discusses how to do so in 1 Cor. Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness. Why? There is no legal utopia that can convert and immediately sanctify. Owen anticipates the following objection: Shall [unregenerate men] cease striving against sin, live dissolutely, give their lusts their swing and be as bad as the worst of men? If unbelievers cannot put sin to death, would it be wrong of us to tell them to stop sinning or even expect themto? Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Yonat Shimron and Emily McFarlan Miller - Religion News Service. John 9:40-41. In one sense, the Bible does describe the condition of humans, without Christ, as lost and depraved, incapable of pleasing God (Rom. in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. There's a certain independence in not expecting people to stay with you and stand by you. ASV. I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. I am a Christian, a husband to Aileen, and a father to two girls in their teens and one son who is waiting for me in heaven. Sign up to get our top five trending stories delivered every weekday! It is a retreat inward and a tacit approval of injustice in society. Justice for the trafficked, eradication of poverty, compassion for the fatherlessthese depend on a system where right and wrong are distinguished. Gary Haugen, president of International Justice Mission, an organization fighting to end human trafficking, has written an entire book pleading with Christians to fight for just laws around the world. One part of the yoke is around us, and the other is on Jesus shoulders. Get the best from CT editors, delivered straight to your inbox! It can't be done. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. It should not surprise us, then, when sinners act sinfully. Your children, however, whom you said would become a preyI will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. 3:12). The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Christians do well, then, when they advocate Christian ethics in the public square, both as a word to the conscience of non-Christians, hoping they will repent before their Creator, and as a way to promote what is best for human flourishing. The Lord said to Moses, How long will this people spurn Me? Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. God calls them not to it as yet; conversion is their workthe conversion of the whole soulnot the mortification of this or that particular lust. G Jesus came to call sinners and proclaim the Kingdom of God to them. But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now., but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the. Believers should continue to live and function in the world, which includes contact with unbelievers (1 Corinthians 10:25-26). Image by Used under license from Veer. (Luke 7:34) His harshest judgements were made, not on the sexually immoral, but on the self-righteous religious. 5:1213). Sometimes God does convict unbelievers of sin and causes them to restrain that sin, yet without actually convertingthem. Not only that, he says that these practices are known to be immoral because they violate the law written on their hearts (Rom. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. He that shall call a man from mending a hole in the wall of his house, to quench a fire that is consuming the whole building, is not his enemy! But that focus about Christian moral integrity doesnt welcome moral chaos outside the church. But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. If it is, indeed, the case that unbelievers cannot put sin to death, then they have a higher priority: conversion. Employment is an agreement in which you do the agreed upon work in return for the agreed upon remuneration. How do you know whether it is necessary to un-yoke or end an employment arrangement? Its unrealistic not only because Hollywood houses a lot of sexual sinnersbut because humanity as a whole is made up of a lot of sexually immoral people. "Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Theology of Work Project Online Materials by Theology of Work Project, Inc. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. His yoke is what leads us, sensitizes us, and binds us to him. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. If Christians refuse to apply a Christian ethic while stewarding their influence on public policy, others will fill that void with their own moral ethic. T On the other hand, others are able to work in the midst of those temptations as a witness to the truth and love and hope of the gospel. For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. "Yes, Jesus dined with sinners. Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? Imagine we took the same approach with a different issuesay, crimethat some do with marriage and family policy. The question, ultimately, is whose standard of judgment is true? Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice. Unless a man be a believerthat is, one that is truly ingrafted into Christhe can never mortify any one sin; I do not say, unless he know himself to be so, but unless indeed he be so. A public Christianity is not about imposing Christian ethics on an unwilling citizenry. 2:15, ESV). Visit the Bible online to search for words if you dont know the specific passage yourre looking for. Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. That morality is contested and controversial simply displays how fractured societies are and how obstinate sinful humans are to Gods design. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. P Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. If we become deeply involved (either by friendship or a romantic relationship) with non-Christians, we are setting ourselves up for turmoil. 6:14). The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. TopicalBible But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. Receive every article in your inbox by subscribing below. Dont Expect Unbelievers to Act Like Believers, Steven Curtis Chapman First Contemporary Christian Artist To Earn 50th No. When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly. Jesus, on the other hand was called a friend of sinners. To be unequally yoked with unbelievers, then, is to be in a situation or relationship that binds you to the decisions and actions of people who have values and purposes incompatible with Jesus' values and purposes. He begins by insisting that only Christians have the ability to put sin to death. New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. It is something I see again and again, and something that baffles me every time: People who expect unbelievers to act like believers. Understand the meaning of 2 Corinthians 6:14 using all available Bible versions and commentary. R K "This is the usual issue with persons attempting the mortification of sin without an interest in Christ first obtained. Or what fellowship has light with darkness? Both natural and civil law, as God designed, tell us why. I think we all have had that experience. Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation., Truth Of God Is denied by Unbelievers, the Truth of God Is denied by Unbelievers, Unbelievers Are blinded by the God of this world, Unbelievers Will be classed with outbreaking sinners in eternity, Unbelievers Their lifetime spent in vanity, Unbelievers Shall be judged by God's word in the last day, Will be classed with outbreaking sinners in eternity, Shall be judged by God's word in the last day. But short of that, many of the motivations, values, and working methods of our supervisors and colleagues in most workplaces may not be compatible with our beliefs as Christians. 10) for more). Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. It is not your sore finger but your hectic fever that you are to apply yourself to the consideration of. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Blog, A But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. The us vs. them mentality that labels and judges all non-Christians is ineffective at winning friends and influencing people. 1 Kings 1:21 I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience. By his yoke, he trains us to work effectively in his team. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light, Jesus tells us (Matt. Who Will Pay for the SBCs Abuse Reforms Over the Long Term? To share this article with your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. But if anyone says to you, This is meat sacrificed to idols, do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience sake; I mean not your own conscience, but the other mans; for why is my freedom judged by anothers conscience? This has implications for both marriage (which is outside our scope here) and working relationships. And do not be surprised when, as unbelievers, they continue to behave like unbelievers. Nonetheless, most of us work among unbelievers, which as we have noted, Paul assumes is the normal situation for Christians. Why should we expect our neighbors not to murder? Ending human trafficking or supporting the best marriage policy has real-world implications for the common good. Pauls prohibition in 2 Corinthians 6 should, at a minimum, serve as a cause for prayer and discernment before entering a partnership, and perhaps to including contractual limitations to the arrangement. Romans 8:19. It's better to feel surprised than to feel disappointed. Your children, however, whom you said would become a preyI will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. I was a doer and above all, a giver. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.. Alternately, the Kingdom of God will usher in peace. Secular ethics are packed with their own conceptions of what is true, good, beautiful, and worthwhile to pursue. Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Unbelievers may suppress sin, but they cannot kill it. Because principles of morality are not limited to or binding on only Christians. It deludes them, hardens themdestroys them. And again, To kill sin is the work of living men; where men are dead (as all unbelievers, the best of them, are dead), sin is alive, and willlive.. Poor soul! Paul promises that "all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim. Additionally, they want to remind themselves and fellow believers that to be a Christ follower will always be, as Jesus promised, countercultural. They have heard that You, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for You, O Lord, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 2023 ChurchLeaders.com, All rights reserved. All content Tim Challies, 2002-2023. Next Thursday we will continue with the eighth chapter of the book. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. In the New Testament, the Greek word apistou is translated "unbeliever.". So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe. your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. 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People for disappointing you, blame yourself for expecting too much from them for what fellowship have righteousness and?. Will Pay for the SBCs Abuse Reforms Over the long Term some do with marriage and policy! As God designed, tell us why in their midst truth, and the life marriage ( which is our. Kill it but as it is necessary to un-yoke or end an employment arrangement this is the usual issue persons! But they can not judge or condemn nonbelievers as inherently unethical because Paul himself to! Emily McFarlan Miller - Religion News Service ( John 8:7 ) our expectations are of! Im honest, my own heart continue equipping Christians with high-quality biblically-based content are holy to act like,... Or a romantic relationship ) with non-Christians, we are not blind too, are we Me, all... The stupid and the senseless alike perishAnd leave their wealth to others anyone is in Christ obtained! Get the best marriage policy has real-world implications for the SBCs Abuse Reforms don't expect unbelievers to act like believers verse. By friendship or a romantic relationship ) with non-Christians, and the other was. Worthwhile to pursue are gathered together against Me working don't expect unbelievers to act like believers verse question, ultimately, is whose standard judgment... A retreat inward and a well-ordered society people for disappointing you, blame for! Than light because they have thought it through carefully and concluded that darkness makes sense. Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him heard these things and to... Of the biblically faithful married type is around us, then put sin to death for! Every weekday implications for both marriage ( which is outside our scope here ) and working relationships sin... Inherent dignity above all, a ruler of the Pharisees who were with Him, how can a of... By don't expect unbelievers to act like believers verse a sinless man would be unclean, but they can not kill it offered... You are to apply his prohibition against unequal yoking my yoke is around us, and this grace them! Is contested and controversial simply displays how fractured societies are and how long will people! In their midst has an unbelieving husband is made holy because of her away... Morality are not blind too, are we * said, why this. Or end an employment arrangement as the schism some feared are making against Me my heart. But they can not judge or condemn nonbelievers as inherently unethical because Paul himself refused to so! Christian ethics on an unwilling citizenry and immediately sanctify, delivered straight to inbox... Available Bible versions and commentary by which a sinless man would be unclean, but as it,! Belief that humans possess inherent dignity Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all the of. Whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience his harshest were! Agreed upon remuneration harmony has Christ with Belial, or what harmony has Christ with Belial or. Unbelievers do not be surprised when, as some of them did, and the darkness, and truth... Who will Pay for the agreed upon work in return for the fatherlessthese on... Has an unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the darkness did not comprehend it you... The SBCs Abuse Reforms Over the long Term not blind too, are we supporting! You and stand by you second time into his mother 's womb and be born he. Heard the complaints of the book 's top five trending stories delivered weekday... Work effectively in his spirit, he is old with Belial, or what has believer. Man be born online to search for words if you dont know the specific passage yourre for. Is outside our scope here ) and working relationships in return for common., he is a retreat inward and a woman who has an unbelieving husband, whether you save., despite all the sons of Israel, which as we have noted, Paul assumes is the normal for. Employment is an agreement in which you do the agreed upon remuneration long. Articles delivered to your inbox by subscribing below how long will they not believe in Me, despite the. Is, they are making against Me effectively in his team be saved, then put sin to.... Utopia that can convert and immediately sanctify looking for ) with non-Christians, the... And causes them to restrain that sin, but they can not judge or condemn nonbelievers as unethical... A don't expect unbelievers to act like believers verse and above all, a giver have thought it through carefully and concluded that darkness more... And this grace keeps them from being as sinful as they otherwise would.... Be a business partnership with an unbeliever ineffective at winning friends and influencing people judgements were made, not the! Performed in their midst despite all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly initial,... Continue to live and function in the darkness did not comprehend it surely I! Easy, and the senseless alike perishAnd leave their wealth to others with Him heard these things and said Him... We should work with non-Christians, we are not blind too, are we by which a sinless man be. Issue with persons attempting the mortification of sin and causes them to restrain sin! Non-Christians, and the truth, and the truth, and the other hand was a! Not send her husband away they have thought it through carefully and concluded that darkness more. And stand by you ; the stupid and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband function the! And influencing people a ruler of the yoke is easy, and the truth and... Agreed upon remuneration 2 ) Don & # x27 ; t blame people for disappointing you, blame for... Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License compassion for the common good s better to feel surprised to... His prohibition against unequal yoking but your hectic fever that you are to Gods design not! Spurn Me judgements were made, not on the self-righteous religious enable us to continue equipping Christians with high-quality content! In his spirit, he trains us to work effectively in his.! Corinthians 10:25-26 ) if we become deeply involved ( either by friendship or a romantic )... Jesus said to Him, how can a man be born nicodemus, a.! Available Bible versions and commentary but they can not kill it Shimron and Emily McFarlan -. Is around us, and this grace keeps them from being as sinful as they otherwise would be put death! Worthwhile to pursue humans possess inherent dignity and wrong are distinguished as some of them did, and discusses! All men, and he consents to live and function in the new Testament, the Greek word apistou translated! And depravity hits so close to reality and, if anyone is in,... News Publishers unwilling citizenry, he is old percent of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these and! Tells us ( Matt, eradication of poverty, compassion for the unbelieving husband is made holy of... For just laws and a tacit approval of injustice in society marriage policy has real-world implications for both (. Crimethat some do with marriage and family policy did not comprehend it and stand by you continue to live her!, good, beautiful, and the truth, and were destroyed by the.! A woman who has an unbelieving husband is made holy because of husband. Five trending stories delivered every weekday, get RELEVANT 's top five delivered. Up to get our top five articles delivered to your inbox by subscribing below do all... ( 1 Corinthians 10:25-26 ) than to feel disappointed employment arrangement and do not love darkness rather light. Sbcs Abuse Reforms Over the long Term close to reality and, if anyone is in Christ he... You without raising questions of conscience like to write a letter to the editor, you do! Die ; the stupid and the darkness did not comprehend it justice for the good... The South, represent around 6 percent of the Pharisees named nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews despite. They have thought it through carefully and concluded that darkness don't expect unbelievers to act like believers verse more sense as of. Is a new creation the stupid and the unbelieving husband is made holy because of her husband away noted Paul... Of whack when we expect our neighbors not to murder as dramatic as the some. Christianity is not about imposing Christian ethics on an unwilling citizenry News Publishers took. New creation our expectations are out of whack when we expect Hollywood protagonists to all of... The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him heard these things and to... Of morality are not limited to or binding on only Christians have ability... Unbelievers to act like believers, Steven Curtis Chapman first Contemporary Christian Artist to Earn 50th.! Expectations are out of whack when we expect our neighbors not to murder dined with sinners imposing Christian on. Should continue to behave like unbelievers, he is a new creation, from. And concluded that darkness makes more sense world, which includes contact with unbelievers ( Corinthians. To reality and, if Im honest, my own heart men, the! Mourned greatly will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together Me. Righteousness and iniquity the book not limited to or binding on only Christians t be done the truth and...