To the Reader
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, be sure that you
have named all your known sins in the privacy of your mind to God through the
use of the confession technique found in 1 John 1:9.
1John 1:9, “If we confess (known) our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our (known) sins, and to cleanse us from all (unknown/forgotten sins)
unrighteousness.”
As a result of the use of 1 John 1:9, you will be
in fellowship and under the control of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and ready to
learn the principles of God’s Word:
John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and
they that worship Him must worship Him in (the filling of) spirit and in (biblical) truth.”
If you are an unbeliever, the issue is not naming your
sins, but instead it is faith in Christ for your salvation:
John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not (command
to believe in) the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
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A Study on Cliques and Virtue Love
By
Mario R. Velez, Th.M.
Professor of New Testament Studies
Charis Theological
Seminary and Bible Institute – http://www.charisseminary.org/
Mario Velez’s Theological
Home Page - http://oocities.com/mariostudies
Edited by:
Carol Gash
Email: let.me.edit.u@sbcglobal.net
Copyright © 2007 Mario R.
Velez Jr.
Table of Contents
Distinction between a Clique and a Normal Social Life
Consequences of Rejecting Authority
The Destructive Effects of Promiscuity
(Eph 5:1-2)
KJV Eph. 5:1-2, “1) Be ye therefore
followers of God, as dear children. 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 sweet smelling savour”
Being a “follower of God” is the lofty endeavor set before us. The Lord also asked this of us in Matthew
5:48:
KJV
Matt. 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect.”
This mandate is given as the solution
to a life that has been fragmented by arrogance. Paul gives some of the negative aspects of
arrogance in Ephesians 4:17-32.
In Ephesians 4:17-18, we see
that we are not to walk in the “vanity of” our “mind”
with a “darkened understanding.”
In other words, we are not to walk in “ignorance” of God’s
ways. In this passage, he also presents
the “old
man” or sin nature. In Ephesians
4:19, Paul teaches that the
sin nature gives itself over to “lasciviousness” or “sensuality”
with “greediness.” The word “greediness” is a reference to
having a desire to always have more.
Next, in verses 20-24 we discover the nature of the “new man.” Then, in verses 25-32, we learn what the “new
man”
practices. Paul states in verse 25, that
we are to put away “lying.” Verse 26
teaches that we are not to let anger outlast the day. Further, verse 28 states that the Christian
is not to steal, but instead, should work and share with those in need. Paul then continues in verse 29 where he
admonishes not to have harmful words to say but only words that will help build
others up. Finally, he finishes this
section with verses 31-32. In verse 31,
he exhorts us to get rid of all “bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil
speaking” and “all malice.” Clamor is a reference to angry shouting and
malice has to do with having hateful feelings.
Instead, in verse 32 he tells us we are to show “kindness, compassion”
and “forgiveness”
one to another.
As we will discuss later, we are to
avoid subjecting ourselves to all these forms of arrogance by following Ephesians
5:1-2, to be “followers of God” and to “walk
in love.”
To begin our study, let us do a brief exegesis and afterwards work from
there. In Ephesians 5:1 the word “be”
is translated from the Greek verb [GINESTHE],
from [GINOMAI] meaning “come
to be.” The word means to become
something. The present active imperative
of [GINESTHE] means to become
something you were not before. The tendential present indicates a mandated action that is not
taking place at the moment. The active
voice implies that the believer in a state of Christian degeneracy produces the
action, the action of becoming something that he is not at the present
time. The imperative mood is a command,
in which God makes a direct positive demand on the will and the life of the
believer in some phase of degeneracy.
The imperative mood implies a command, not a suggestion.
Therefore, the command is to become
something that is seen in the next words of verse one, the words, “followers
of God.” In particular, the word
“followers”
needs some clarification.
The word “followers” is translated
from the Greek noun [MIMETAI] and
means, “an imitator, one who is like another.” We get our word “mimic” from this
word. So, this noun implies that there
is a true role model for all Christians to imitate. This role model is definitely not some false
hero image of ourselves or others that we may create in arrogance. Looking in the mirror of arrogance can give
individuals a deceitful image of themselves.
However, as a Christian we should always remember that we do not have to
compensate for what are our perceived inferior attributes by building up a
false image of ourselves. Our sanity
depends on seeing ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word, which helps keep us in
touch with true reality towards ourselves. Seeing ourselves in the light of God’s grace
always makes the difference and overrules everything else, whether it’s an
inferiority complex or a superiority complex.
Of course, we must permit God’s grace to determine our self-image as we
always have the option to choose. Yet,
in arrogance we always create a false image of ourselves which is related to
the popular trend of the day, but we need to remember that just because
something is popular does not mean that it is right.
Our role model is found in the
genitive of relationship from the definite article [TOU], which is used as the possessive pronoun “your” and the noun [THEOS], translated “God.” [THEOS] is in the genitive case and here
it is indicating possession. A proper
translation should be “your God.”
Therefore, Ephesians 5:1 should be
translated, “Be becoming therefore imitators of your God.” But is it possible to imitate God? Obviously there is no way we could ever be
omnipresent (present everywhere) or omniscient (knowing everything) because we
are beings with limitations. The point
is, our role model is not to be the deity of the Lord, since this would not
only be impossible, but utterly blasphemous.
However, we are commanded to imitate the Lord’s humanity as He resided
in God’s power sphere under the ministry of God, the Holy Spirit.
In light of the aforementioned
mandate, then it should be abundantly clear that we are not to imitate other
believers or other individuals whom we admire.
Thus, we do not, as mentioned before, create a false hero image of
ourselves, which our arrogance skills will cause us to do. Observe Romans 12:3, where Paul declares
that we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we should:
KJV
The word “soberly” in Romans 12:3, refers to a sane mind. Self-conceit is actually a form of
insanity. Therefore, it is imperative
that we as believers and members of the royal family of God have something that
is far greater than any image of ourselves that we can create in
arrogance. The result of having a false
image of ourselves is having a false image of others. This is exactly how we end up creating
heroes. Arrogance tends to make heroes
of someone who we aspire to be like.
According to Ephesians 5:1, the Christian is to have one hero and one hero
only. That hero is the humanity of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Why would we want to settle for anything less when we have
the best? The answer to that question
can be summed up in the word arrogance.
A few years back a survey was conducted
with young Americans, ages 18 to 24, about who they considered a hero. By far, most of their heroes were
entertainment or sports figures. Their
choices are certainly understandable since this has tremendous appeal because
of its money, fame and excitement. And
while there is nothing wrong with appreciating an individual’s abilities in
these areas, just remember that these fields are for entertainment value and
nothing more. Our lives do not change
after seeing a particular box office hit, or hearing a number one billboard
song or even watching some major sports event.
Think about this, afterwards we go right back to the real world and its
mundane, daily routines. While most
people have sufficient sense to distinguish between the human being and the
image, there is enough influence for them to make a hero out of the images they
create.
Now the question begs, how about
having a more acceptable role model such as a respected teacher, a model
community leader or maybe a successful business person? Once again, for the Christian, Ephesians
5:1 tells us to be imitators of “our” God and Him alone! In the following sections you will see the
pitfalls of following other people.
These pitfalls are most likely demonstrated by what we commonly call
cliques.
By definition, a clique is a narrow exclusive group of individuals that
are held together by an accepted set of interests, or by an abnormal loyalty to
a particular person or persons. A clique
can be broken down into three basic parts:
·
The first part of
a clique is those individuals that hold the leadership role.
·
The second part
is composed of those individuals that are close to the ones in the leadership
role.
·
The third part of
a clique is the individuals that are considered the pawns, which are simply
members who are used or manipulated by the leadership group.
A clique is generally composed of a
person in a dominant role and at least one who is placed in an adaptive role
where any conflict intensions between the two are removed when their focus is
turned to someone else. For example,
this would be a person who needs help in a certain situation and is vulnerable
to their influence. Usually, this is
someone who needs help in a disastrous situation or they may have some real or
imagined complaint. Regardless of which
of the two it may be, it is nevertheless a complaint in their mind. Thus, they become vulnerable to the influence
of a clique, which is nothing more than a web that entangles the individuals
who have these types of problems, simply because they find a sympathetic
ear. However, the solutions that a
clique offers are short term in nature.
Short term solutions only cause the Christian to sidestep the principles
that the Bible offers, which are correct and permanent solutions, solutions
that don’t eventually fail. God’s
biblical solutions allow a Christian to live a victorious life, which come only
by the Christian using God’s problem-solving methods of the confession technique
of First
John 1:9, by maintaining an adjustment with God’s grace and Word, to
having a consistent pre-occupation with the one we are mandated to love, the
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The short term solutions used by
cliques only offer results within their control, manipulative techniques or
dependency within the clique. Those who
lead the clique are in control of those who are following. As a result, the dominant leader ends up
counseling the followers, which allows for a steady increase of social
dependency within the clique. Incentives
such as flattery, attention and approbation (a pat on the back) are
provided. As a result, there is a fear
of rejection that becomes stronger than being oriented to the authority of
parents in the case of children. This
ends up causing the same children to undermine the authority of their parents
because the clique takes priority. This
type of orientation basically creates a family within a family in the case of
children. The family under the authority
of parents transfers to the authority of the clique leader. Thus the authority of the parents is
undermined.
This same problem occurs in marriage
when there is a clique dependency that is stronger than the orientation of
authority of the husband from the wife.
The result creates a marriage within a marriage. The husband’s authority is undermined when
the wife's friends take priority over her marriage.
In like manner, a church clique would cause the neglect of authority
orientation to the pastor. Therefore, a
church within a church would be created.
Take the case of First Corinthians 1:12. Some of the Corinthians believers had
developed cliques along personality lines.
Paul wrote in this letter that he had received a report concerning
divisions in the church. In this case,
there were some who said, “I am of Paul…I of Apollos…I
of Cephas…” (1Cor. 1:12).
In First Corinthians 1:10-13,
we see demonstrated that our dependency is to be related to the Lord and not to
people. However, it should be understood
that a congregation is to be dependent on the Pastor/Teacher to teach and
indoctrinate Biblical principles to them as individuals.
Of course, another exception in
regards to dependency on people is that of children recognizing the authority
and dependence on their parents for their orientation to life. This leadership role of parents is by God’s
design in the divine institution known as family. But when there is a failure in this authority
orientation, teenagers, young children, as well as single lonely individuals or
unhappy wives are often victims of cliques.
This neglect of authority orientation is the result of not having a
personal sense of destiny, tranquility of the soul or occupation with Jesus
Christ.
In a clique you will either have your eyes
on yourself, on other people or on things.
This is a wrong focus that results in having a human or worldly perspective instead of having the
mindset of Ephesians 5:1—that is, having your eyes on “your God,” not on
people!
We would do well to remember that a clique is simply an abnormal
emotional dependence on a group in contrast to having a normal social life
among Christians. There is never a true
friendship in a clique because true friendship always involves intimacy and
advice where there is encouragement, understanding and communication. True friendship never involves being
controlling, manipulative, possessive or being codependent. In contrast to true friendship, in a clique
the leaders have a lust to control the dependents, and in return, the
dependents have a lust for approval from the leaders. The two lusts actually feed off each other,
the lust of having the power to control working together with the lust of
needing approbation or approval.
The components of self-esteem and
spiritual autonomy (independence) inside the normal social life of a Christian,
allows us not to be manipulated and helps us execute God’s plan, having
invisible impact. This is when we get to
the point in our spiritual walk when the Lord becomes our best friend. This is the stage when He becomes our role
model. These are the stages of spiritual
growth where we remain righteous without becoming self-righteous. We are all products of God’s grace;
self-righteousness tends to forget this. This stage of the spiritual life is
also the maximization of your spiritual maturity where there is a maximum
contentment and capacity for life as well as a maximization of our problem
solving spiritual assets that God has provided for us. This is the stage where the Christian has
maximum control of their personal life and circumstances. The Bible calls it “…being filled with all the
fullness of God,” (Eph. 3:19).
God designed the maximization of the spiritual life to begin in
childhood with the mandates given in Ephesians 6:1-3.
KJV Eph. 6:1-3, “1) Children obey your
parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2) Honour thy father
and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise), 3) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest
live long on the earth.”
For children, these mandates come with
a promise. God uses our adjustment to
parental authority to prepare us for all other forms of authority that we will
encounter in life. Such authorities
would include those found in school, at the job, in law enforcement, as well as
authority in marriage.
Notice that the mandate in Ephesians
6:1-2 never commands children to love their father and mother, but
instead, to obey and to honor them. Of
course, true love for father and mother comes in time, but before that happens,
there first has to be respect for their authority. It will be that respect and honor for father
and mother that will prevent children from judging, criticizing or even being
ashamed of their parents. It is this
orientation to parental authority that is the basis for social and cultural
freedom as well as spiritual growth.
Notice children are mandated to honor parents and not some clique leader
that they have appointed as a surrogate father or mother.
Therefore, because of these mandates
from the Lord, children are to reject the authority from all sources of clique
leadership which undermines parental authority.
This is exactly why the Bible mandates a child not to have any role
models except Jesus Christ. From
childhood we are to learn to do things as unto the Lord, and not as unto some
clique leader, so as to prevent this pattern from continuing into our adult
life (Col.
3:23-24).
KJV Col 3:23-24, “23) And whatever ye do, do
it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24) Knowing
that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve
the Lord Christ.”
Obeying and honoring parents gives
children the highest motivation they can have before actually reaching
adulthood. Thus a child develops a sense
of honor, integrity and a sense of justice, simply because “this is right,” (Eph. 6:3). The sooner a child learns this concept,
the better off they will be because the only true love that exists in life must
have its base in integrity. A child can
develop this integrity during their formative years when they are under their
parents’ authority.
The developmental stages which are
most important in an individual’s life occur first from childhood, ages one
through twelve, and then, in adolescence, from approximately 13 to 19 years of
age. If there is an improper emotional
development during these stages, the results are detrimental, resulting in
individuals with excessive social needs.
These needs would include having a lust for approval, as is the case
with the pawns within a clique, and lusts for power and control, as is the case
of cliques’ leaders. There is a
resultant self-esteem when children revere their parents as opposed to some
clique leader who is full of flattery and negative attention. Consequently, this gives children their
highest motivation before entering adulthood.
Likewise, this same integrity from which children honor their parents
will motivate these children to say no to things like drugs, alcohol, and sex,
as well as prevent them from being controlled by such sins of arrogance that
include hatred, anger, gossip etc. From
a biblically-based integrity, a child can understand to do something because it
is the “right” thing to do, and also avoid doing things that are the
wrong things.
A child has failed the integrity test
when they begin to be critical, judgmental or even ashamed of their
parents. Likewise, a wife can also be
guilty of this same failure when she undermines her husband or a worker who
undermines their boss. As Christians we
are mandated to do everything “as to the Lord and not unto men.” (Col.
3:23). We do all things from an
integrity based on the Lord, which should begin in childhood. A lack of integrity only means that you will
not have any capacity to love. Emotions
are not love; anyone can emote, but we need integrity to truly have the
capacity to love. This is the very
reason that most adults do not have any capacity for love, simply because they
were destroyed as teenagers by having authority disorientation and getting
involved in the lust pattern of their sin nature. When a lust pattern is developed in the
formative years of a child, it carries over into their adult lives. Simply put, a fragmented child makes for a
fragmented adult.
Therefore, obedience in childhood is
the initial development of integrity, which is what gives us capacity for life
and love. There is no integrity if a
person places a clique or anyone before their parents. Young people who possess virtue and integrity
in the formative years may sin and fall occasionally, but they will not have
the problems of emotional instability that is so widespread today. They will enter adulthood stabilized with the
capacity for life, love and true happiness with a long life; thus, the mandates
of Ephesians
6:1-3:
Eph. 6:1-3, “1) Children obey your parents
in the Lord: for this is right. 2) Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first
commandment with promise), 3) That it may be well with
thee, and thou mayest
live long on the earth.”
Verse three lets us know that children
not obeying and honoring their parents will result in a short and miserable
life. It is imperative that every child
understands these mandates because their adulthood is depending on it. This is their first step to walking in love,
as the Lord did from following a virtuous position of integrity and honor (Eph.
5:2).
One of the worst decisions that a person can make in their life is to
reject the authority of their parents.
This is the first system of authority that we are all put under, and
maladjustment to parental authority is quite damaging because our attitude
toward our parents will determine whether we ever grow up or not. When there is a predominant rejection of
parental authority, society is destroyed, and this is fairly obvious today.
Rejection of parental authority
results in not being able to adjust to other forms of authority such as that of
teachers, coaches, law enforcement, management, government and husband. A person who rejects all forms of authority
actually has the potential to become a criminal. This also makes for a miserable individual
who tries to impose their misery on everyone around them.
It is also important to remember that
although parents have authority over their children, it is absolutely useless
apart from training and discipline. This
will eventuate in the child accepting their authority. As a result, the child will develop love and
respect for their parents later on when they develop the capacity for it. Otherwise, they will be misfits in society;
they will be maladjusted when they go into marriage, when they become parents
themselves, on the job or whatever other part of society where they may
eventually function. The responsibility
of Christian parents includes not only providing food, shelter and clothing,
but also training and discipline in the Lord (Proverbs 22:6).
KJV
Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child
in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
In order to be properly oriented to
life, we have to be properly oriented to all authority. We will be subjected to all forms of
authority throughout our life. No matter
how high we go in life, there will always be a higher authority. This is how God perpetuates humility within
us and it is humility that is the foundation of all virtue. Without virtue love as your motivator in life
you will be miserable, unstable, distracted and reacting will be the name of
the game in your life. You will be
distracted by having the demand syndrome and from being disillusioned. You will
be constantly frustrated over situations and circumstances in your life. That is, unless you imitate the humanity of
our Lord and walk in virtue love as we are mandated to do in Ephesians
5:1-2.
The first word in Ephesians 5:2 is “and,”
translated from the conjunction [KAI],
which is connecting Ephesians 5:1 with Ephesians 5:2. In verse one we’re mandated to imitate the
humanity of the Lord and in verse two we are told how to achieve this
goal. We imitate the Lord by walking in
love as He walked in love to the point of giving Himself as a sacrifice on our
behalf on the cross. Let us therefore,
try to understand the mechanics of the type of walking that the Lord set forth
for our example.
The word “walk” is translated from
the Greek verb [PERIPATEITE], which
is the present active imperative of [PERIPATEO]
meaning either to, “go or move about; to live,” or “to conduct oneself.” The imperative mood, once again,
expresses a command from God on the will and life of the believer. The present tense lets us know that it is an
ongoing action portrayed as occurring in the present time with no assessment of
its completion. In other words, we are
to continually keep doing this, as a habit.
The active voice implies that the believer produces the action of
walking. We have to make the conscience
choice from our freewill to continually perform the action of conducting
ourselves in love.
The reason for this continual action
is because, even after being saved, we continue to possess a sin nature and
this means we will continue to sin. Even
upon reaching maturity, we will still sin.
It will be sporadic or occasional sinning, but still sin none the
less. For someone to say that believers
are sinless after salvation is unrealistic and the Bible declares in First
John 1:8 and 1:10 that such a person deceives
only themselves because the truth is not in them, and they make God a
liar. Thus, we are to continually
conduct our lives in the sphere of love.
There are many misconceptions that come along with the subject of love,
mainly because people cannot really grasp the concept that the word truly
connotes. What exactly is this thing
called love? To ask someone to describe
the concept of love would probably result in various forms of interpreting this
subject. I have heard it described as it
being a feeling to never have to say you are sorry. Yet, Ephesians 5:2 calls for the child of
God to walk in a specific type of love and it is imperative that we understand
what constitutes this love.
In Ephesians 5:2 the word “love” is translated from the Greek
noun [AGAPE] meaning, “love
(primarily of Christian love), concern, interest;” or “the
sacred meal shared by the early Church (Jude 12).” This type of love is not based on human
standards, but on God’s standards. It is
a love based on God Himself, and is the first step to understanding true
love. Our next step is to realize that
our love for the Lord is never based on emotions, human affection, nor is it
based on any visual attraction. This is obviously
so, since God is not visible.
Therefore, having love for God is based
on knowing Him by capturing His thinking, and, of course, His thoughts are only
found in the pages of Scripture. This is
the reason First Peter 1:8 states:
KJV 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.”
The unspeakable joy described here, and the love for God
that’s directly proportional to it, are designed to go together. And for the Christian, this happiness is
based on the Lord. So it stands to
reason, if a Christian is unhappy, that state of unhappiness is linked to (or
connected with) their failure to develop love for the Lord, as can be seen in First
Corinthians 16:22:
KJV 1Cor. 16:22, “If any man
love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maran- atha.”
The word “anathema” in First Corinthians 16:22 means “cursed”
and “maran-atha” is an Aramaic phrase meaning, “the
Lord comes.” In other words, the
believer who does not love the Lord is under a curse until the Rapture of the
Church. The curse is a result of a
believer not being able to associate that love and happiness are based on the
Lord. Personal love as a virtue is
always directed toward God the Father and toward God the Son. As a result, millions of believers throughout
the Church Age have lived under this curse.
They are in a state of cursing simply because they live by their impulses,
which ultimately results in such characteristics as bitterness, unhappiness and
being miserable.
Relating happiness with the Lord is
also how you have a balanced life in relationship to people, values and
principles. This is the reason why
Christians have an unbalanced life in these areas; take romance for
instance. One of the reasons we are
deceived by people who may allege to love us in the area of romance is because
their words may be bound in hypocritical and false motivations. Simply put, they have no capacity to truly
love. Thus, this is the reason it is so
difficult to accurately capture the thinking of individuals. This is one of many reasons that the Bible
prohibits pre-marital sex. Avoiding
sexual intimacy in romance allows for an objective interpretation of the other
individuals’ motivations and capacities.
Sexual intimacy is not love, but an expression of love between one right
man and one right woman in marriage (Heb. 13:4).
KJV Heb. 13:4, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers
and adulterers God will judge.”
The
problem is that most of us fall in love based on compatibility, but in the back
of our mind we are actually assigning perfection to that someone we love. Of course, when our perceived perfection
sours, we have a problem with our “love object.” We end up wondering how in the world we could
fall for the person’s imperfect ways while at the same time forgetting that we
have our own imperfections, and have absolutely no room to talk. This is the arrogance that is pervasive in
our old sin nature, which corrupts human love and becomes the basis for the
monstrous number of problems in life. As
it turns out, arrogance manifested through lust and sensuality sets the pattern
for our relationship between love and happiness.
Therefore, deriving your love and
happiness from the Lord protects your personal love for people from such
corruption as jealousy, hatred, bitterness, being vengeful and even having
self-pity. Some of the most horrendous
acts in human history have been a result of such attitudes, and if you look to
the beginning of such a relationship, it all started with the words “I
love you.” The problem is rooted
in the fact that the person uttering those words had no virtue since their love
is corrupted by such attitudes as the ones Paul lists in Ephesians 4:31.
KJV Eph. 4:31, “Let all bitterness, and
wrath (rage), and anger,and
clamour (angry shouting), and evil speaking (slandering) be put
away from you, with all malice (desire to injure).”
All of these factors of the old sin nature make personal
love weak, and hinders its perpetuation, since without virtue, reciprocation
will be demanded. Of course, when the
attention is not returned, then there comes frustration, disillusionment and
reaction. Finally, one of the major
pitfalls of personal love without virtue leads to promiscuity. Its destructive effects are boundless.
Promiscuity destroys your discernment skills and causes an emotional
revolt to occur in our soul. As a
result, love is based on emotion, affection and visual attraction, which are
nothing more than values that are based on sensation. When your values are based on sensation not
only do you seek gratification in the area of sex, but also in drugs, and
excessive alcohol. These are all forms
of physical stimulation, not happiness!
As a result, there is also depression, self-pity and even suicide.
Today, people seem to forget that we
have a soul and not just a body. Virtue
always emphasizes the soul. There has to
be a unity of souls first and this is why God calls for virtue, not
sensation! Men and women of virtue will
always emphasize the soul and not the body.
Emphasis on the body prevents you from ever entering the compatibility
and rapport stages of romance. After the
attraction stage comes the compatibility stage, in the sense that you are both
a born-again believer and both live by virtue, not by sensation. This is what Second Corinthians 6:14
is referring to with the command to not be unequally yoked.
KJV 2 Cor. 6:14,
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hat light with darkness?”
Once the compatibility stage has been
determined, then you allow for the rapport or relationship stage. This is when a relationship is established,
when souls are harmonized. This is the
basis for building a marriage on virtue love, and the reason, as we have seen
in Hebrews
13:4, that sex outside of marriage is forbidden. This is why Ephesians 5:3 also states
fornication should not be part of a believer’s life.
KJV Eph. 5:3, “But fornication, and all
uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;”
Therefore, we will do well to remember
that a man of virtue will never take a lady past her own volition in the area
of intimacy. Likewise, a woman of virtue
should not respond to some man’s sexual advances; this is not the right man for
you. Remember that being motivated by
your libido does not have any virtue at all because it has no conscience, no
stability, nor is it rationale. Personal
love without virtue is unstable and creates a tremendous amount of problems.
Contrary to popular belief, abstinence
is a virtuous thing because it protects you from soul damage and from body
damage as well. For one thing, it closes
the door on ever entering the compatibility and rapport stages of a
relationship. Premarital sex abandons
the virtue that is necessary for true compatibility and a soul relationship,
and also causes the fornicators to base the relationship on either romance or
just plain lust, in a state of deceit. A
relationship should never be based on sex or on emotion. We can get emotional from watching a movie or
seeing an exciting sports event, or hearing a particular song, but it is
nothing more than emotion, which is not to be confused with love. Premarital sex handicaps you from ever being
the right person for marriage, simply because there is no understanding of
genuine love, which is not a sensation.
Premarital sex also causes difficulty
adjusting to one person in marriage, and it also contributes to a lack of
sexual energy in marriage. This helps to
explain the reason for so many dull marriages today as well as so many impotent
men and frigid women. Not to mention the
sexual diseases that can also result from promiscuity. Just because everybody is doing something in
the movies, on television, at school, or on the job does not make it
right. Small wonder our divorce rate has
soared to at least 50% and is steadily escalating. We have become a society living on sensation
rather than on virtue.
Today, sexual intimacy is portrayed as
a normal healthy function of life, and it is, but only within marriage. God has designed sexual intimacy for one
right man and one right woman in marriage as a beautiful reflection of Jesus
Christ and His Church. Sexual restraint
might seem impossible in our day and age, but it is entirely possible for the
child of God who walks in virtue love.
There are so many loser believers when it comes to the area of sexual
restraint and, because they lack virtue, they are under the curse of First
Corinthians 16:22. They are
born-again believers destined for heaven, but will spend their life here on
earth living by the curse of their impulses.
This is a sad thing when you consider all the wonderful spiritual assets
that the Lord has made available to every believer in the Church Age. Yet, many miss out on God’s grace provisions
because they have wrong priorities. Most
believers never learn and understand what they have available in Christ because
they simply allow the details of life to take precedence over their
relationship with the Lord.
We are called to base our motivation
on our personal love for God the Father and God the Son. This is what will insulate us against mental
attitude sins and give us a life of virtue.
We can get to the point in our life where we base our decisions simply
on whether it is the right and honorable thing to do. Not only do we know it is right, but we also
understand why it is right, as in the case of avoiding premarital sexual
activity (2Cor. 5:14).
KJV 2Cor. 5:14, “For the love of
Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that
if One died for all, then were all
dead:”
The word “constraineth”
in this verse is translated from the Greek verb [SYNECHEI], meaning, “to surround, to control, to hold prisoner,
to rule.” This is the love that
gives us the proper motivation to be overcomers. It is this love for the Lord that is supposed
to control or dominate our thinking.
This is where we are supposed to derive our motivation. This is what gives virtue to our
motivations. Otherwise, we will react to
injustice and unfair treatment. In
return, the reaction will cause a loss of wisdom, common sense and discernment.
Love for God the Son is supposed to
emphasize our correct priorities and love for God the Father emphasizes our
correct motivation, which is a vital part of the Christian life. True motivation is supposed to come from the
Lord and not from our impulses or from people.
Again, this is what gives virtue to our motivations.
Motivation is the part of our soul that provokes our actions, whether
good or bad. Proper motivation comes
from God’s Word in our soul along with being under the filling of the
Spirit. This is what produces personal
love for God and gives virtue to our motivations. Improper motivation, on the other hand, comes
from the lust pattern of our sin nature and living according to Satan’s world
system. The first promotes our growth
and the second hinders our growth; it is up to us to make the choice.
We are products of our own decisions,
and good decisions from a position of strength will accept authority. This is how you will develop true capacity
for life, love and happiness—having virtue.
However, when you make bad decision from weakness you will have a
problem with authority. Scripture is
clear on the law of taking responsibility for our decisions (Gal.
6:7; Col. 3:25; Proverbs 22:8; Hosea 8:7).
KJV Gal. 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not
mocked for whatsoever
a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Galatians 6:7 along with the other verses
teach that we always have to take personal responsibility for our decisions and
actions because our sins have natural consequences in our lives. Be firm in choosing to walk in virtue love as
mandated in the scriptures, and thus find true happiness.
By
no means is the mandate to imitate Jesus Christ by walking in virtue love an
easy accomplishment. Yet, as we have
seen in our study of Ephesians 5:1-2, not doing so
carries with it an extreme amount of negative consequences. It is up to each one of us to decide to
conduct our life in virtue love or to live under the curse of our
impulses. I hope this study has
emphasized the importance of deriving our motivation from the Lord and not from
our circumstances or from people. The
diverse alternatives that Satan offers through his world system cannot compare
to the system of virtue that the Lord has provided each one of us who are His
children. May the Lord bless your
efforts as you strive to consistently imitate Him in virtue love; you will not
be disappointed.
Professor
Mario Velez
THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, now
is your opportunity to do so. Scripture
states that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world (1John 2:2). These sins would include not only our past,
present, but all future sins that we will ever commit. God the Father placed all our sins on Jesus
Christ and judged them while He was on the cross. As a result of the Lord’s finished work (John
19:30), we do not have to endure the judgment of God for our own
personal sins, but can be “made the righteousness of God in Him.”
2Cor. 5:21, “For He [God] hath made Him [Christ] to be
sin for us [as a substitute for us],
Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him.”
To benefit from the Lord’s sacrificial death on the
cross, the Bible requires you to exercise faith. This means that you must use your freewill to
accept this message of salvation. The
Bible assures you that when you exercise faith in Jesus Christ and what He
accomplished on the cross on your behalf from the love He has for you
personally, you are guaranteed eternal life.
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 [eternal] life.”
Therefore, wherever you may find yourself right now,
whether on the job, in your car, in your home, you are free to exercise faith
in this message for eternal life. The
Bible is clear on what the basis for our salvation is, Jesus Christ and Him
alone. He has all the merit and we
simply benefit from His meritorious work.
John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son [Jesus Christ]
hath everlasting [eternal] life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on
him.”
According to John 3:36, our attitude toward
Jesus Christ determines where we will spend our eternal future. Simply put, belief on the Lord’s sacrificial
death results in you having eternal life with God forever, but rejecting Him
means eternal condemnation in the
You can exercise faith in Jesus Christ by telling God the
Father that you understand that Jesus Christ is the basis for eternal life and
that you accept this gift of salvation.
Eph. 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.”
Please, do not neglect making this most important
decision of your life since you might not ever get another opportunity to do so
again. The decision to exercise faith in
Jesus Christ is effective while you are yet breathing. Upon physical death, this opportunity will no
longer be valid. Please do not
wait. Decide today to receive the free
gift of eternal life.
2Cor. 6:2, “For he saith, ‘I
have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured
[helped] thee:’ behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the
day of salvation.”
