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Introduction to the Cotton Patch Version????? Both a Biblical scholar and a prophetic man of action, Clarence Jordan lived out the New Testament in the soil of rural Georgia. A visionary during the struggle for the civil rights of all God's children, he founded an inter-racial community called?Koinonia. On this farm, folks worked side-by-side to make a living, following Jesus - a radical concept fifty years ago. They experienced a great deal of opposition, even from those who followed the same Lord. This community still exists,Koinonia Partners, even though the visionary who started it died unexpectedly on October 29, 1969, at the age of fifty-seven.??????????? Clarence was a powerful preacher - "direct, Bible-centered, and sternly contemporary,"?as Edward A. Mcdowell, Jr. put it.? "He spoke with the earthiness of Amos of Tekoa, the boldness of Jeremiah, but often with the tenderness of Hosea. There was something in Clarence of the asceticism and gentleness of Saint Francis of Assisi but he never deserted the contemporary scene and spoke and wrote with the dogged determination of Martin Luther." When he preached, Clarence would write his own translation of a scripture he wanted to use. "Only gradually did he realize he had hit upon a style of translation that brought the Word to the reader with a new contemporary power,"?McDowell wrote. "As time went by, he completed individual books of the New Testament which were widely circulated in pamphlet form. But eventually he had done enough to be able to publish?The Cotton Patch Version of Paul' s Epistles."??????????? Clarence didn't call it a translation, but a "version," for he sought to take the text out of the 'long ago and far away' and place it in the 'here and now' of those with whom he lived and worked - the task of any preacher. This?Cotton Patch Version?is firmly planted in the cotton fields of the southern United States, not Palestine. Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, for instance, became the Letter to the Christians in Birmingham, Alabama. And the early Christian church, which struggled to integrate both Jews and Greeks, became the movement which joined "white man and Negro" within the same Gospel mission. "We ask our brethren of long ago,"?Clarence wrote, "to cross the time-space barrier and talk to us not only in modern English but about modern problems, feelings, frustrations, hopes and assurances; to work beside us in our cotton patch or on our assembly line, so that the word becomes modern?flesh.?Then perhaps, we too will be able to joyfully tell of? 'that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes and have felt with our hands, about the word of life'??(I John 1:1)."??????????? Of course, this "version" has its limitations.?Clarence himself wrote, "obviously the 'cotton patch' version must not be used as a historical text. The Revised Standard Version and the New English Bible are excellent for this purpose." Today's reader also becomes aware that this version itself is dated. Many things have changed in the South since Clarence's death. Furthermore, this paraphrase came before the modern concern for inclusive language. So be it. The one who penned this version would probably challenge us to put the words into the soil of our own "Cotton Patch." Even so, much of this work is remarkably current. The words still speak with great clarity, revealing the meaning within the text. [p.s. when exploring the Cotton Patch, a good place to begin might be with the introductions to each volume by Clarence, or the brief biography found in the last one -?see below.]??????????? We (myself and the "scribes" who scanned or typed the text into digital format as an act of love and appreciation) originally placed the?Cotton Patch Version?online with the permission of?Koinonia Partners.?Smyth & Helwys Publishing, as holders of the copyright and full publication rights to the CPG, several years ago gave permission to keep this online version available provided that we kept links to the printed copies on their website. We thank them for doing so. Unfortunately, they have now asked for these pages to be removed, writing: "As the nature of publishing evolves from print to digital, so do the requirement placed on holders of copyrights for digital products. As?Smyth & Helwys?now has ebooks of each Cotton Patch Gospel for purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple, we will no longer be able to allow your site's open access to this copyrighted material." Therefore, we have removed the texts with appreciation for their courtesy to us for many years.??????????? The hardcopy books are still?available for purchase online. Buying them from?this website?helps support the ongoing mission of??Koinonia Partners. The new edition of these four books (with new forewords by Tom Key, Tony Campolo, Will Campbell, and Henlee Barnett) is also available from?Smyth & Hylwys. To purchase ebook versions, see?Amazon (Kindle),Barnes & Noble (Nook), and?Apple (ibooks apps for Ipad and Ipod).???????? By the way, Clarence has had a great influence upon many persons, including?Habitat for Humanity?founder,?Millard Fuller. Furthermore,?President Jimmy Carter?grew up just down the road from the original Cotton Patch. The foreword to a recently published collection of Jordan's sermons -?The Substance of Faith and Other Cotton Patch Sermons?- was written by our former President.Theology in Overalls: The Imprint of Clarence Jordan? Sojourners, December 1979, Vol 8, no 12by G. McLeod BryanClarence Jordan was a strange phenomenon in the history of North American Christianity. Hewn from the massive Baptist denomination, known primarily for its conformity to culture, Clarence stressed the anti-cultural, the Christ-transcending and the Christ-transforming, aspects of the gospel. He was an authentic product of the Bible Belt, of the rural, agrarian heartland, of the people's church (he got his college degree in agriculture, graduating in the same class as Senator Herman Talmadge at the University of Georgia). Clarence pursued this tradition to its very end, ending at the top with a Ph.D. in the Greek New Testament from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.Clarence, like Martin Luther King Jr., another young Georgian with a Ph.D. to emerge a couple of decades later, rejected both his contemporaries' theological liberalism with its easy hope in human progress and others' Niebuhrian new-orthodox realism. That North American Christianity of the time could produce a Clarence Jordan and a Martin Luther King Jr. is remarkable; that they both originated in Georgia, among Baptists, is something of a miracle. Clarence was jailed with King at Albany, where he reminded a young black freedom-fighter in the next cell, who had just received his draft call, "Well, you're going to stay in jail for that too, aren't you?"Taking the evangelical, Bible-centered tradition, Clarence, forever reading from the Greek version so thoroughly worn in his outstretched hand, uncovered for his hearers the radical ethic. Clarence forced them to take the grassroots autonomy of the free church seriously. Within the local church all were equal: young and old, black and white, male and female, rich and poor, learned and unlearned. The division between clergy and laity, between work and worship, he reminded them, did not appear in their tradition nor in the Scriptures which they honored as the sole guide of faith and practice.Clarence took theology and ecclesiology and scholarly Bible study from the classroom and carried it to the people. He worked through his ideas in his books, the "cotton Patch" versions of the New Testament scriptures, and The Sermon on the Mount. He writes in the introduction to a Cotton Patch version: "Another reason for a "cotton patch" version is that the Scriptures should be taken out of the classroom and stained-glass sanctuary and put out under God's skies where people are toiling and crying and wondering; where the mighty events of the good news first happened and where they alone feel at home...With my companions along the dusty rows of cotton, corn and peanuts, the Word of Life has often come alive with encouragement, rebuke, correction and insight. I have witnessed the reenactment of one New Testament event after another until I can scarcely distinguish the original from its modern counterpart."His was a theology of the working class, of the farm worker, the most neglected laborer in the United States -- like Jesus, from the peasant class. Clarence was himself such a farm worker, all his life, a man of the soil who, in the years before blue jeans became a symbol, wore his dirty overalls with pride. The humility which characterized this side of Clarence's personality was part and parcel of his whole life, a fact which certainly enables his writings to match the best in the classical devotional genre. Nor did he allow his far-out Christian social witness (in peace, race, economics) to become boastfully cause-conscious. Every aspect of Clarence was a fruit of the Spirit.The thrust of Christianity for Clarence was Christ incarnate in koinonia (the redeemed imitating Christ in the redeemed community). In his version, Hebrews 11:1 translates: "Now faith is the turning of dreams into deeds." For Clarence, as for Tolstoy, the imitatio Christi works: go the second mile, give the extra coat, settle matters outside the law, live peacefully with all. The Sermon on the Mount ethic is meant for this world, not for some interim, not for judgment upon us.The communitarian model, Clarence often said, is a pioneer model, preparatory for the future of all peoples on earth. For the moment it may seem no more than a far-fetched island in the midst of oceans of dominating countercultures, but one day the whole world will adopt this model of Christian community. Koinonia, the agrarian Christian community he founded near Americus, Georgia, was practicing "small is beautiful" long before any economists were recommending the return to decentralized, home-craft industries, simplified living, and subsistent economy. But far deeper than the physical rearrangements of these externals, Clarence saw that the community must have its birth in the rebirth of the spirit. Humankind cannon live in true community without true conversion.Clarence's message was bifocal: directed to the world, as a practical plan to reorganize its social structure, directed toward evangelical Christians to remind them of the extent of the mission of Christ. Had not his own Baptist forbears, been drowned, banned, and jailed for their faith? Hubmaier thrown into the lake at Zurich, Bunyan 18 years in the Bedford prison, and Williams and Holmes whipped and banned -- all these suffered from their fellow Protestant Christians. Clarence reminded his culture-conforming evangelical brethren that the Christian who intends to live like Christ must not only contend with the world but with the compromised church itself. In his own experiences he endured John 16:2-3: "They will no longer consider you members of the congregation and the time will come when the ones that kill you will think they do God a favor."For years following 1956, Koinonia farm was so harassed by shootings, burnings, bombings, beatings, that little could be produced and marketed. A boycott against the farm was so effective that few seeds and little fertilizer or fuel could be purchased. No sales could be made, so that thousands of the chickens had to be slaughtered wastefully. The farm's roadside store, after being fired upon and dynamited, was burned to the ground, and more than 300 of the pecan trees chopped down.All this property damage was aside from the attempts on the lives of those at Koinonia. On May 26, 1957, members of the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce called upon the community, begging them to leave the county. It is understandable that Clarence could preach in his memorable sermon "The Substance of Faith," "God is not in his heaven with all well on the earth. He is on this earth, and all hell's broken loose."The following letter, which I received from Clarence on March 13, 1959, best reflects the profundity of his faith:"I remember the night Harry Atkinson and I were on our way over to the roadside market after we had received word that it had been bombed and was burning. When we came over a hill we could see the fiery glow on the horizon, and this ignited a burning in my heart. I was scorched with anger, and I'm sure if I had known who had committed the act, there would have been considerable hatred in my heart. At that time I doubt that I could have distinguished between anger and hate.But as I had occasion to think, I realized that the hate was rooted in a consuming possessiveness. True, I had given up personal possessions, only to find that I had transplanted it from an individual to a group basis. The market was our property; together we sweated to build it; and now it was burning, and I was too. The damned culprits have destroyed our property, I thought. And I hated their guts. Later I had the same reaction when various ones, including myself and my children, were shot at. The so-and-so's were trying to take our lives from us!The solution to this soul-destroying condition came only upon the recognition that neither property no lives were ours but God's. They never had really been ours in any sense of the word. We hadn't even "given them back to Him" -- they were His all along. And if this was the way He wanted to spend His property and His people in order to accomplish His purposes, why should we pitch a tantrum?"Throughout the whole of this experiment, marked by growth and tensions, Clarence and his family lived by deliberate choice in the same over-the-kitchen apartment; they never opted to move to new or more commodious living quarters. They never asked for special favors. Here again Clarence's witness speaks to two areas of continuing Christian concern: the role of the nuclear family and the place of women. Unlike the saints of old, who so often took religious vows, including celibacy, or who like the Pilgrim left his family crying at the gate in their abandonment, Clarence, Florence, and his children went through this witness together. Florence was an equal and contributing founder of Koinonia; her presence was uniquely determinative of its direction.The cream of Clarence's theological insights has taken a long time to reach the top of North American religious thought. As proof, his books sell better now than when he lived; Koinonia thrives now, whereas at the time of his death it had almost faded away. Today Southern Baptist institutions which had banned him from speaking on their campuses during the turbulent '40s and '50s vie with each other to establish institutes and lectureships in his honor.Koinonia was a forerunner of the simple, shared lifestyle. Clarence's peace emphasis reemerged in the anti-nuclear movements, and his racial reconciliation in the civil rights movement. His theological imprint is stamped heavily upon our times.Yet Clarence, unlike the big guns of 20th century theology -- the Barths, the Mertons, the Elluls -- did not cultivate the theological stance and discourse. In fact, if he was not exactly anti-theological, he certainly did not interpret his calling to engage the theological minds of his generation. His humor often turned on spoofing formal theology. Therefore he is seldom found in the learned journals.Unlike many of the professional theologians, Clarence did not disdain the local church. Yet, paradoxically, he is perhaps the only one of his rank to be expelled from his local church (expelled incidentally, nor for being less moral than the congregation, but for being more moral). Never seeing Christ as the founder of ecclesiasticism, he remained forever after, in his own words, "an ex-Baptist," a member of the confessional and universal church.A Scandalous Life of Faith? Sojourners, December 1979, Vol 8, no 12by Joyce HollydayThis month we celebrate Christmas. The birth that transformed the world came quietly upon us in the barren chill of a stable, and its meaning was not fully realized until the violent death-event on a cross 33 years later.Life and death are inextricably interwoven. In this issue, we commemorate the tenth anniversary of Clarence Jordan's death by celebration his life and the enduring evidence of his vision.It is a Sojourners tradition to focus our December issue on the lives of Christians who have taught us the meaning of the incarnation. Clarence was such a ChristianBorn in the deep South near the beginning of this century, Clarence gained a reputation first as a preacher. In 1942, he began an experiment in racial reconciliation on a farm near Americus, Georgia, which became the target of local white hostility. Called Koinonia, the community thrives today, steeped in the legacy of Clarence's commitment to the partnership of black and white, poor and rich.Clarence's most widely known contribution is his unique "Cotton Patch" version of the New Testament Scriptures. In his translation, he brought the biblical characters home and set them in the towns, on the roads, and between the cotton and peanut rows of southern Georgia.In the introduction to his Cotton Patch Version of Luke and Acts, Clarence states: "Jesus has been so zealously worshipped, his deity so vehemently affirmed, his halo so brightly illumined, and his cross so beautifully polished that in the minds of many he no longer exists as a man. He has become an exquisite celestial being who momentarily and mistakenly lapsed into a painful involvement in the human scene, and then quite properly returned to his heavenly habitat. By thus glorifying him we more effectively rid ourselves of him than did those who tried to do so by crudely crucifying him."Clarence lived in contradiction to the tendency of those around him to make Christ less than a man by making him more than one. Bringing home the incarnation was the motivation for Clarence's writing, his preaching, and his living.He believed that the incarnation was the only method of evangelization, that "We haven't gotten anywhere until we see the word become flesh." This was true in his own life. His words about justice were applauded by the local whites around him, until they discovered that he meant to live out what he preached from the pulpit.Clarence learned that reconciliation at the lunch table, where black and white shared together, was as scandalous to his neighbors as reconciliation on a cross.Yet he was a man who conquered the fear that paralyzed other of his time. He spoke about fear as "the polio of the soul which prevents our walking by faith." Its purpose in self-preservation. Only by living with the assurance of the victory over death can faithful witness shine forth.Clarence had given up his life to God, and thus lived with the knowledge that no one could take his life from him. He understood deeply the connection between life and death, the impossibility of sharing resurrection without participating in crucifixion. And so he endured excommunication from his church and gunfire from nightriders, living as a man who knew that local hatred and the Ku Klux Klan had no more power over his life than Pilate did over Christ's.He lived the incarnation in his fervent love for the poor. He saw that it was a suffering and disinherited Christ who shows us the way to love the same among us now.And believing that it is a spirit-filled fellowship rather than the empty tomb that is proof of Christ's presence with us, Clarence pointed Koinonia as evidence of the continuation of the incarnation.Clarence spent many hours in his writing shack , located about 300 yards from the main buildings at Koinonia. It was here that he wrote his Cotton Patch versions, and here that he died.In the last hour of my visit at Koinonia, I walked through the fields and past the pecan groves to the shack. It was a holy experience for me, this pilgrimage. I wished, like many who have come to the community since Clarence's death, that I had met and known this man.As I approached the small building, I made my way through the patch of small trees that has grown up around it. I stepped inside.The shack has been used little since Clarence's death. Marked original manuscripts of speeches and Cotton Patch writings are on the shelves. A copy of a 1959 Encyclopedia of Candy and Ice Cream Making sits next to Clarence's Greek New Testament. As rain fell softly on the roof, I was struck with the gentleness and strength that were a part of the life of Clarence Jordan.A blade of wheat, dried with age, lay on Clarence's desk. I picked it up, wondering how it came to be there and how long it had lain in its place. It seemed appropriate to find it there. I can think of no better symbol for Clarence's life. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."Later I went in search of a Cotton Patch version of John to find this verse from the twelfth chapter, hoping to draw some kernel of wisdom from Clarence's unique translation of it. I discovered that it was the manuscript of John that was on his desk when he died; he had completed only the first eight chapters of the bookI felt cheated by the discovery. And I began to understand even more deeply what a loss it is to us all that Clarence died at the age of 57. But on the heels of that feeling of loss came a sense of gratitude that for those 57 years he lived in such a way that his spirit is with us still.Clarence understood that he needed to die before he could live. The fruit of his faith continues now in the spirit of the people who loved him and in the life of Koinonia.We are lucky to have the legacy of such a man. For those of us who are hesitant to embrace Christ's suffering, we have an example. Fore those of us who struggle as part of a young community of Christ to see our place in history, we have encouragement. His vision has endured.As Clarence's body was lowered into the earth and the red Georgia clay was shoveled over it, Millard Fuller's 2 year-old daughter stepped up to the grave, looked down at the coffin of her friend Clarence, and sang a complete verse of "Happy Birthday, Dear Clarence" to him.I am tempted to wonder what prompted her. I want to say that perhaps she had an understanding of the situation which escaped the adults around her. Maybe God himself placed the song in her heart. We cannot know. But it is significant that her name was Faith.Where There's So Much Smoke: Thirty-Caliber Violence at Koinonia? Sojourners, December 1979, Vol 8, no 12by Will D. CampbellSome of us had gone down to Koinonia because we had got word that their smokehouses had been dynamited and their gasoline pumps punctured with high powered rifles. The buildings had been riddled during the night with machine guns using tracer bullets, and some of the children playing volleyball at dusk had been fired on from passing automobiles, the pellets raining about them like summer hailstones.We stopped in Americus and tried to talk to some of the local preachers, but the most we got was, "Where there's so much smoke there must be fire." We concluded that they were telling us that these Koinonia folks really weren't like everyone else, and the town had no responsibility to protect them.We drove to the farm and visited, talked with Clarence, and picked up a few of the 30-caliber slugs. Then we went on to Albany where, in our naivete, we had made and appointment to see two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We were convinced that just their poking around in the country a bit might prevent further violence. They questioned us carefully about our names, addresses, denominational declension, and institutional affiliations. Inquiring just what our interest and concern in this local situation might be, they proceeded to explain to us that the FBI did not have to do with enforcing the law, but only with investigating possible violations, and that they could not honor our request to go to Sumter County. When we suggested that it would be difficult for them to conduct such and investigation without at least driving through the county seat, they said they had been shown no evidence which would lead them to think there had been any violation of federal law.One of our party sat rattling and squeezing two of the steel tracers in his hand in Captain Quig fashion and offered the opinion that not every ordinary citizen owned a 30-caliber machine gun, the penalty for such possession being 10 to 20 years. And if someone did own one, perhaps he had shipped or smuggled it piece by piece for Guadalcanal or Korea. It was not your run-of-the-mill hardware which would sell you tracer bullets to fire in such a weapon, that also being frowned upon by national statute.When we pointed out that it might not be mere coincidence that the firings always came late on Thursday nights, the night of the weekly drill of the National Guard and Army Reserve units, that it was remotely possible that the weapons were borrowed from the arsenals, used, and returned before morning, the FBI agents registered some annoyance that we were unaware of Mr. Hoover's adamant intent never to let the Bureau become a federal police force, that not being in keeping with the American way.Driving back to Koinonia to report our shocking failure, we speculated on how Clarence would express his displeasure and disappointment. We teased one another about how the cock had crowed when three of our party had not wanted to involve the colleges where they taught. One said simply, "I'm a chemist," instead of "I'm a professor of chemistry," and another, "I'm a historian," while a third one, an Old Testament professor but not wanting to say "I'm an Old Testamentist," said, "I'm a theologian."Clarence listened playfully to that and then we related every detail of the interview. After an hour or so of our excited chatter, Clarence pushed his chair back and yawned. "Uh-huh," he said. And that was all he said.At the common supper he read to us from his Greek New Testament: "The theologians and the preachers plant their feet in the Bible...listen to them, but don't act like them, because they are forever talking and never doing...They strut in their robes and display their degrees. They love their seats at the speaker's table at banquets, and the pulpit chairs in the churches, and the backslapping at civic clubs. They like to be called 'Reverend"...It will be hell for you, theologians and preachers -- phonies, because you tithe your pennies, nickels, and dimes, and pass up the more important things in the Bible, such as justice, sharing and integrity. You ought to practice these without neglecting those. You addle-brained leaders, you fence in a flea and let your horse escape. You save you trading stamps and throw your groceries in the garbage."Some of us had been told earlier by a New Testament teacher at one of the leading seminaries that Clarence Jordan was "a poor exegete." But somehow his translation seemed appropriate.A rotund and saintly man named A.C. Miller, who directed the Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and had spent most of his life as a pastor in Texas, joined us. He said that he thought he had heard everything evil rationalized in defense of the faith, until he came to Sumter County. He disputed with me about which one of us would sleep next to the window and which one against the far wall in the room to which Florence had taken us. The window had been drilled with rifle fire some nights earlier, and Dr. Miller insisted that he was an old man already and I was young, and thus he should sleep by the window so that I might be protected.Clarence, perhaps noting that my protest was less than enthusiastic, came into settle the disturbance. Running his hand over the outline of Dr. Miller's barrel-like belly, then motioning to mine (flat at the time), he said, "Now look. If a bullet comes through that window and A.C. is sleeping closest to it, it'll puncture his gut and Will won't be hurt. But if Will is closest to the window it'll go right over him and get A.C. anyhow. Now, as near as I can figure it, that's the situation. So you boys go to sleep."Remembrances of ClarenceReconciliation? Sojourners, December 1979, Vol 8, no 12Clarence had a lot of courage. He could look you right inthe eye and tell you what he thought. He once walked into a large house and said, "Nice piece of plunder you got here." But he always had reconciliation in mind. When a lot of us young whippersnappers moved down here, division was on our minds. The more we could distinguish ourselves from the racists here, the better we felt about ourselves. But Clarence's example showed us the importance of reuniting.Ted Swisher, former director of Koinonia, now Director of US Affiliates at Habitat for Humanity InternationalNever Again ComplacentI was a freshman at a small women's college in Georgia in 1941. One day Clarence Jordan spoke. During that hour I experienced the greatest learning experience of my life. It was a true conversion experience. All the contradictions of being southern, Christian, white, educated, and a woman confronted me. I was spellbound and fascinated, but my mind was on fire. For the first time it all made sense, and the message and mission for a Christian in the South was clear. I could never again be so complacent, or sit still, or be quiet in the face of oppression or injustice.Helen Lewis, Highlander Center, New Market TennesseeOl' CootOne of Clarence's special attributes came out when he was telling stories to children. He had a lulu about his Ol' Dog Coot. Ol' Coot was a mongrel with three legs. When he was small, he lost one foot and had the remaining stump fitted with a wheel. Whenever he got tired of running, he would put down the wheel, pull up the three legs, and just coast.Ol'Coot had been taught arithmetic so well that when the minister mentioned the Trinity at his funeral, Ol' Coot knocked thrice on the box in which he was laid away. Humor was a release for this man of God, as I imagine it must be for God himself in order to put up with the trials, tribulations, and irregularities of life.C. Conrad Browne, Atlanta, GA Shaped By ScriptureDiscipleship, in Clarence's mind, was not another command upon an always reluctant believer. I was the inevitable consequence of inner conviction that Jesus is Lord. Clarence's life was shaped by the Scriptures. It's always refreshing, in a day when small groups and pop psychology parade as koinonia and gospel, to hear a scholar at work in biblical exegesis. Clarence wrapped the Word in the overall of a southern preacher and taught us about another kind of Bible translator -- the kind that can get a man shot at and lynched in a hundred ways. I shall be forever grateful that God led me to Clarence Jordan. From him I learned something about Christian integrity--living your insides out.William Pannell, Fuller Theological Seminary Leaving Your Net GainsIt was January, 1969, before I left my job as a business executive. As I thought about being with Clarence for a few hours, I felt a lot of joy and more than a little apprehension. With La Guardia airport's snarl of traffic behind us, I plunged into conversation. "You know, Clarence, I've been thinking a lot about the kind of discipleship you taught us last August, and I'm really troubled. My life is so complicated today. Sure wish things were as simple as leaving your nets." "Awe, I dunno, Ladon," Clarence drawled, "I'd guess old Rock and Andy found it as hard to leave their jobs as you would to leave IBM." Rationalizations unmasked, I glanced over. We exchanged grins, and I changed the subject.Ladon Sheats, Baltimore,MarylandCreative WitnessClarence's biblical interpretations were non-traditional, and he felt that the Christian witness had to be similarly creative. The interpretation of biblical truth was not as sacred to him as the application of it. This latter area of discipleship was where Clarence proved the merit of his studious and disciplined approach to the Scriptures.Bill Lane Doulos, Pasadena, CA, co-author of The Cotton Patch Parables of LiberationOff the MountClarence used to play the trumpet and ride with the cavalry as part of his ROTC training in college. He started memorizing the Sermon on the Mount while sitting on his horse. At the end of a maneuver on day he got off the horse, never to get back up on her again, saying, "I've done too much reading in the Bible to ride again." Clarence was sometimes accused of being a Communist because of the way the folks lived at Koinonia, and because of the people with whom he chose to associate. "Why, being around those people doesn't make me any more a Communist than being with you makes me a jackass."Neil Shorthouse, Atlanta, GAA Place of EqualityKoinonia was one of the few places in the South where social equality could be experienced. It took understanding of how people are transformed as well as personal courage to provide a place where equality could be practiced, especially at a time when most professed believers felt that it was more practical to theorize, research, and discuss the matter.Myles Horton, Highlander Center, New Market, TennesseeThe SwapClarence was speaking with a pastor once, and the pastor was bemoaning the fact that he couldn't get his deacons to give any more money for the janitor's salary. So Clarence asked, "How many children does your janitor have?The minister replied, "Eight.""And how many do you have?"The minister responded, "Four."Clarence continued, "Do you make more money than the janitor?""Yes""I can solve your problem. You swap salaries with the janitor."The Dream That Has Endured: Clarence Jordan and Koinonia? Sojourners, December 1979, Vol 8, no 12by Joyce HollydayKoinonia members and workers take a mid-morning break each day, gathering for hymn singing and prayer. As they approach the last verse of "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah," a tide of grins sweeps the room at the phrase, "When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside." Once of the members, drawing out the pronunciation of their community's founder's last name, announces, "I heard somebody say, 'When I tread the verge of Jurden." Everyone laughs.Being at Koinonia brings one's sense of smell alive. The sweetness of spiced pecans from the candy kitchen and fruitcakes baking in the huge, partially solar-heated oven pervades the damp air. The door to the smokehouse, when opened, sends a pungent aroma into the air around it. The smell of fresh ink fills up the corners of the room where newsletters and mail order lists are printed. Outside, sweet grapes are ripe in the fields.The singsong rhythms of the machines which print the newsletters rapid-fire and those that shell the pecans make their own hymn, but "treading the verge of Jordan" still echoes in the air.This man Jordan seems to linger in the hearts of many, like the smell of sweet grapes lingers in the Georgia air. A rich history of the man and the community that was his dream can be drawn from those who knew him.Perhaps the best picture of the history of the community comes from Jordan's wife, Florence. A warm and dynamic woman, she talks jokingly of all the people who come to the community and ask, "Can Mrs. Jordan still get around?" When asked to talk about the early days of Koinonia, she responds with a laugh, "I can talk thirty-seven years' worth...I never have lost my enthusiasm for Koinonia."Florence and Clarence Jordan met at Southern Baptist Seminary in 1933, where he was a student and she the assistant librarian. When they began to consider marriage, Clarence said to her, "If you want to be the wife of a pastor of a First Baptist Church, you don't want to marry me." And he shared with her his plans to go back to the deep South, which was his home, to use his undergraduate agricultural training and "do something for the poor."Clarence and Martin England, a former American Baptist missionary, found 440 acres of land in Sumter County, near Americus Georgia. Beginning to formulate a vision for a Christian farming community that could be a resource for the rural poor, Clarence and the England family moved there in the fall of 1942. The Jordans' first son was born in September, so Florence stayed with her parents in Louisville and then with Clarence's parents until April, 1943, when the house that Clarence and Martin were building was, in Florence's words, "at least campable."Florence remembers that the switch from big-city living to "days of cooking on a wood stove, washing in the old iron pot, and carrying water were not easy. The land was a rather desolate-looking place, with some sagging barns, outbuildings, and sheds, one large, unpainted house , and two rundown tenant houses. But we were young and it was an adventure wit the Lord."They called this adventure Koinonia, from the Greek word which was used to identify the early church in Acts, which pooled its resources and shared the life of Jesus Christ in an atmosphere of reconciliation. This was the model for the fledgling farm. The particular reconciliation that was so desperately needed at this time and place was between black and white. The Koinonians hired a black man, a former sharecropper, to help with the farm. They all ate their meals together, and this breach of Southern tradition brought on the first hostility toward the community.In a story that has been told many times, Clarence showed the courage and quick wit that became his trademark. A group of men came to the farm. Their spokesman said to Clarence, "We're from the Ku Klux Klan and we don't allow the sun to set on people who eat with niggers."Clarence glanced over at the western sky and noticed that the sun was creeping low. He thought a bit, swallowed a few times, and suddenly reached out, grabbed the man's hand, and started pumping away, saying , "Why, I just graduated from Southern Baptist Seminary, and they told us there about folks who had power over the sun, but I never hoped to meet one here in Sumter County." They all laughed, and nobody noticed that the sun had slipped down below the horizon.Despite the hostility of white neighbors, the farm soon became a success. Clarence invented a mobile peanut harvester and established a "cow library," through which poor neighbors could check out a cow for a period of time so that they could have milk. He built a deluxe chicken house that was the envy of the Koinonia wives, whose own houses were austere by comparison. The luxurious chicken quarters were the target of many jokes from the neighbors, but when Clarence began getting more eggs than anybody else, those same neighbors were soon asking him for advice.Meanwhile, Clarence's reputation as a powerful, uncompromising preacher was growing. As he traveled the country preaching pacifism, social justice, and community, he drew young people to the experiment at Koinonia.Florence remembers that people who came to visit the farm were always surprised to meet Clarence. They always expected to see an "older, intellectual-type person," rather than this large man who had earned his doctorate when he was 26 years old.A distinguished professor once came to the farm while Clarence was working on a tractor. The man said, "I wish to speak to Dr. Jordan." Clarence wiped off a greasy hand, extended it, and said, "I am he." The man responded, "No, I wish to speak to Dr. Clarence Jordan." Clarence insisted that he was the one the man was looking for. After repeating his request, the professor finally got in his car and left. A few days later Clarence received a letter from the man, expressing that he was infuriated with the impudent help that Dr. Jordan managed to keep around.Florence believes that Clarence "was one of those rare persons in whom dreams and practicality came together. He could do everything. He was not only a good farmer, he was a mechanic and an intellectual; he could lay bricks and do electrical work, whatever needed to be done. And he was as good in the kitchen and with the children as I was."Some of the people who came to visit on the farm stayed. By 1950 the community included 14 adults. They embarked on year of struggle, marked by tension, mixed expectations, and disillusionment. Things moved slowly, every decision was labored, and community living was difficult. The infant community was beginning its arduous growth into tumultuous youth.In August, the small Rehoboth Baptist Church, where Florence had taught Sunday school and Clarence had led the singing and preached occasionally in the previous eight years, made a move to withdraw fellowship from the Koinonian's because of their racial view.Florence faced the congregation alone while the others were out of town. She sat quietly in the pew as the recommendation to reject them was read. There was a tense pause. Then Florence got to her feet and moved that the recommendation be accepted as read. The congregation responded with stunned silence, supporting the motion, but unwilling to side with Florence. The Koinonians were eventually excommunicated, but Florence had shown the rare courage that was part of Koinonia from the beginning.The group at the farm turned to its internal struggles. Clarence stated at a community meeting that he felt he had been committed to the principles of the community, but what was needed was a personal commitment from the members to one another, a sharing of their lives that went beyond possessions and included sharing in the Spirit. He defined community not as a structure, but as a family. Ten adults signed a written pledge of commitment to each other, with a promise to deal more openly and honestly with their feelings.In 1953, the community had 19 adults and 22 children. But 1954 struck with a severe drought and heavy economic losses for the farm. At the same time, many at Koinonia were feeling a dissatisfaction, an emptiness, a sense that the unity that they so strongly desired was not among them. Although they were working on more confession and admonishment, the sense of family continued to elude them. Some members left to find this unity elsewhere, leaving Clarence disappointed that the community still had not made its way through troubled youth to stable adulthood.External threats again forced the community to focus away from its internal wounds. In 1956, the malice was dramatic and consuming. Florence relates, "In '54 came the Supreme Court decision on desegregation. And then the White Citizens' Council started up. They told us later that the one in Sumter County was formed with the express purpose of getting Koinonia out. In '56 the violence really erupted. We had four children then."Clarence's aid to two black students in their application to a formerly segregated college in Atlanta was the spark that ignited the hostility. It began with threatening phone calls, grew to vandalism, and finally escalated into life-threatening violence.Fences were cut, crops stolen from the fields, and garbage dumped on the property. A truck's engine was ruined by sugar placed in its gas tank, and nearly 300 fruit trees were chopped to the ground.The children faced hostility and abuse in school, and the Jordan family was finally forced to send 14-year old Jim Jordan away to private school.The farm's roadside market was bombed several times and eventually destroyed. Nightriders sprayed machine-gun bullets at the houses. Fires were set on the property, and crosses were burned on the lawns of black friends.Several members of the community were called before a grand jury in the spring of 1957, the outcome of which was a report accusing Koinonia of maintaining Communist ties and of self-inflicting the violence for attention and profit. The community was asked to leave the county.The violence forced the community members to ask difficult questions. Should they leave for the sake of the children? Friends counseled them that their fellowship was of primary importance and needed to be protected at all costs -- they should relocate. But if their call was to be a witness to racial equality, shouldn't they stay in spite of the consequences?Florence reflects on those difficult days: "When violence first started, we said this place is ours, and we're going to stay! And then we thought, now wait a minute, we've never said that this is our place: we've always said that Koinonia belongs to the Lord. Well, maybe this was the Lord's way of getting us out. But we couldn't say that either. So we got together and prayed and talked about it from the time the school buses left in the morning until dinner. And as soon as we got the children to bed at night, we started in again. For a week to ten days we did this and felt no leading to leave.""Sometimes there was shooting two and three times a week, and we knew there was a chance that somebody might be killed...But we said, 'Well, that's okay too. We're not the first Christians who will have died for what we believe, and we won't be the last.'""The strange thing was that once we had made that decision, that it really didn't matter whether we lived or died because as Christians we're bought with a price, we're not our own, there was a peace. I think that is what Jesus meant when he said, 'I give you the peace that passes understanding.' It's the kind of thing that all Christians ought to face. But I'm glad they don't have to. But it did do something for us, and so we survived. And no one was seriously injured."Sumter County residents bolstered their attack with the weapon of economics, hoping to choke the farm's livelihood, since they seemed unable to scare the Koinonians away."They formed a real solid boycott. One businessman told us that he was forced to sign at the point of a gun not to sell to us. We couldn't buy gas, fertilizer, or feed. We couldn't sell an egg. For about a year there we didn't make a living. If it had not been for our friends, who voluntarily gave to us, we couldn't have done it."It was necessity that forced the community into the mail-order pecan business during the boycott. The mail and the open pecan market were two things the local people could not control.The adolescent community was saved from a premature death by the pecan business, but its membership and spirit were low. Clarence was gaining an ever-widening audience in the nation, yet back home the community seemed to lack spiritual leadership and unity. Finally only the Jordans and one other family remained, and they agreed that the experiment was over.It was at this point, when the diagnosis seemed terminal, that new life grew out of the old scars. It came bursting forth in Clarence, in a unique and lasting gift to the Christian world, the "Cotton Patch" version of the New Testament Scriptures.Clarence stated in the introduction to his first Cotton Patch book, "We want to be participants in the faith, not merely spectators." And so he wrote a version of the New Testament that would bring its messages home to the people of his time.Called "a colloquial translation with a Southern accent," the Cotton Patch version states that Jesus was wrapped in a blanket and laid in an apple box at his birth; he was killed by lynching; and when he came out of the vault on Easter morning, he came to his disciples and said, "Howdy."The humanity of Christ is central in this version. It is Christ who brings reconciliation between white and black, just as he brought reconciliation between Jew and Gentile in the traditional versions.In Florence's words, "Clarence read his Greek New Testament always. He could read it like we read English. It was the Greek of the everyday people, the koine Greek, not the classical. And so he translated just as he read it, using modern equivalents."The incarnational theme so important in the Cotton Patch versions was also a powerful concept in Clarence's preaching. He saw the resurrection not as an invitation to heaven when we die, but as a declaration from God that he has established permanent residence on the earth and comes home with us, bringing all his suffering sisters and brothers with him: "And we say, 'Jesus, we'd be glad to have you, but all these motley brothers of yours, you had better send them home. You come in and we'll have some fried chicken. But you get your sick, naked, cold brothers out of here. We don't want them getting our rug all messed up.'"As Clarence clarified his thoughts on the incarnation, his desire to work out his beliefs was renewed. In 1968, a man who brought boundless energy and a practical business sense arrived to help Clarence establish a new direction for Koinonia. Millard Fuller was a millionaire. But in 1966, he and his family turned their backs on their fortune and decided to listen to the Lord's leading. Without a solid direction, hoping to find some old friends in Georgia, they stumbled across Koinonia.As Millard describes it, "We intended to stay two hours. Then I met Clarence. When we started talking, I knew that guy was somebody special. So we stayed a month. Clarence and I milked cows together, and we packed pecans together, and day and night we talked about how to be a Christian. I was like a year, or two years, of seminary crammed into one month..."Clarence said that if we are to be reborn, we must completely change our ways, our style of life as well as our thinking. When I left Koinonia I felt a real strength surging throughout my body. I was positive that I had been in the company of one of God's truly great servants."Two years later, Millard and Clarence came together again to talk. "We arrived at a feeling that modern man's problems stem almost entirely from his loss of any sense of partnership with God in his purposes for mankind. We had also lost our sense of partnership with each other."The Fullers moved back to Koinonia in July of 1968. Calling those around him to return to the Old Testament idea that the earth is the Lord's and to live out Jesus' proclamation that a new order had arrived -- to live out in a permanent way the spirit of the Jubilee year when slaves were freed, debts forgiven, and land returned to its original owners -- Clarence announced his plan, called the Fund for Humanity. His vision was to have one million acres of land for the poor. The land was to be farmed and occupied by those who had no resources to but land.Millard reflects that "Clarence was first and foremost a dreamer. And it was a thrill for me to be with him, because he always dreamed in a biblical way. "Clarence's plan was a way for the rich to share their resources and for the poor to find new hope and security in their lives. His idea was that the farmers would work together as partners, providing for one another and returning any excess back to the fund so that more land could be purchased for others.The idea of partnership was carried out in the farming, the pecan industry, and in housing. With Clarence and Millard working together on the fund raising, money poured in from friends and churches. By this time the farm covered 1,400 acres. Plots of land were sold to area residents at whatever price they could pay. By 1969, the first house had been built. Koinonia Partners was in business.Clarence lived to see the first house almost completed. On October 29, 1969, at the age of 57, he died.Millard was unable to convince the coroner or county medical examiner to come to the farm to pronounce Clarence dead: "Even in death, Clarence Jordan was rejected by the high and mighty, by those in authority, in the area in which he lived. But this was not surprising to me, as it never had been to him, because the Bible promises that a prophet is never with honor in his home area."The medical examiner insisted that Millard rent an ambulance and bring Clarence's body to the hospital. But Millard felt that Clarence would have objected strongly to having money spent on a dead body. "So we loaded the body in the car...I smiled as I went through town with Clarence sitting down. I knew he would have gotten a terrific charge out of that."Clarence's spirit lives on in the work. Millard Fuller directs Habitat for Humanity, a project founded on the same principles as the Fund for Humanity. Based in Americus, the project sponsors housing efforts in Africa, Central America, and seven U.S. locations.Ted Swisher, the coordinator of the community at Koinonia, says that "we have a solid legacy. When we get embroiled in problems and controversies, as well as trying to think of what Jesus would have thought or said, we try to think of how Clarence would have handled it. We have the theological rootedness that he has provided."The 86th Koinonia house will be completed this month. The houses have been built in three locations on the farm and most recently in the town of Americus. Each year a hundred applications come in for the dozen new houses available. A drive down Beale Street, past the drafty, run-down shacks that Clarence despised so much, contrasted with a drive past the new Koinonia homes being built on Price Street, shows dramatically the impact that the Fund for Humanity continues to have on the area.Ethel Dunning is the kind of woman who reaches out to give you a handshake and pulls you into a hug. She and her husband, Tom, have lived in Sumter County all their lives, working 26 difficult years as sharecroppers: "We were struggling and never owned anything. Each year we'd talk about land, about building a house, but it never happened."When a friend suggested that they move to Koinonia, Ethel was fearful. But the more she prayed, the more "Try Koinonia" kept coming back."I told the white woman at the plantation that I was moving to Koinonia. When I got back to our shack, the water had been cut off. For four months I hauled water four miles and hitchhiked to Americus every Friday evening to do laundry, until our house was done. Here I have met some of the best folks God has chosen. There is no dividing line in heaven, and God doesn't want us to be divided here. We are one big family, black and white."The spirit of Clarence lives on in those who knew him. Will Wittkamper, his wife, Margaret, and their three children were the one family who stayed with the Jordans after the violence of the 1950s. Before Will arrived at Koinonia in 1953, he had served many churches as a minister, but was asked to leave them because of his pacifist stance."Clarence was a voice crying in the wilderness. Even before I met him, I wrote to him. He answered my letter, 'Perhaps you'd like to join us.' Well, that made me bring tears because I had been looking for a people who were living like they did in the early church. Clarence touched me deeply because he was a man who felt that the kingdom was here now. Clarence filled out the dream I had about the New Testament."Today Will is 87 years old, a short, wiry man with exceptional strength. He rises at 4:30 or 5 each morning, spends his day reading Scripture, meandering around the farm with his wheelbarrow keeping things in order, and sharing his love of Jesus Christ, the world, and the people around him.Will Mae Champion was born in Americus and has been at Koinonia since 1961. She works as the supervisor of the candy kitchen. She reflects lovingly on the days she and Clarence worked side by side in the kitchen: "Day after day just the two of us worked together. He was so humorous, he always kept you wondering. He used to have me sit down and listen to a story, and I'd say, 'If you'll pay me for sitting, I'll do it.' Some blacks have never had that kind of friendship from whites.""I used to ask Clarence what he gained, being shot at and boycotted. He said, 'They haven't hung me up on a tree yet. I haven't done near as much as that barefoot Nazarene.'"I still miss him. He had a recipe he called 'Pecandy' that we were going to try. He died before we did, and I've always wanted to do it for him. Whenever we tried something that didn't work, he'd say, 'Clean out the pot and let's try again.' That sticks with me now."When asked if Clarence's spirit is still with Koinonia now, Willa Mae says as she wipes a tear from her eye, "Seems like I can even hear the echo of it when I go out to Picnic Hill, where he's buried."Some of the local people that Koinonia has influenced most strongly have left Sumter County. Otis Reynolds works with the Peace Corps office in Washington D.C.: "As a child, I used to visit Koinonia farm, much to my folks' displeasure because of local white disapproval. Being too young to understand their fears, I used to sneak over and had no problems because I was always made welcome by the people at the farm...""I began working at the farm in high school...A good friend of mine from Koinonia arranged it so that I could get away for a summer to greet the world outside of my local milieu...Prior to this I had no idea what I wanted to do, but one thing I was sure of was I was not going to be anyone's field hand for the rest of my life. I had seen too many of my childhood friends march off to the field to make substantial profits for the local white landowners..."I am grateful to Koinonia for the opportunity it afforded me during those years of uncertainty. It provided me with some continuity, some sense of hope and direction, and presented the world at large to me. When I think back, I shudder, because had not Koinonia been in my local surrounding, I probably would today be on someone's tractor in Sumter County."The community has also left its impact on the local white community, especially the young people whose parents were participants in the boycott. Florence reports that on three different occasions, she has had a visit from former students who were among those who harassed her children in school. They have come to apologize and to express their admiration for the courage of the people of Koinonia.The work goes on at Koinonia for those who have stayed. The first house built by Koinonia Partners was for Bo Johnson and his wife Emma. Today Bo continues to do farming at the community, sharing responsibility for the 550 acres of peanuts, corn, soybeans, pecans and grapes.While the pecan business, the farming, and housing construction are the major industries, handcrafts, pottery, solar-energy work, and a food co-op also consume the time of some of the local people and the community's 25 adults. A strong volunteer program keeps a stream of about 50 new people flowing through the community each year.The community's 10 children are a major concern. The youngest ones attend the Koinonia Child Development Center, which also serves local children. A group called the Sumter County Organization for Public Education, organized by two Koinonians, is working to improve the largely black public education system and organized a successful school boycott this past munity members and workers come together over lunch and share their joys and concerns while they pass around the homemade peanut butter, honey, and blueberry pie that come from their land and labor. They share lunch together in the dining hall, in the same way that was such a scandal to their early neighbors. The hall stands next to houses that still bear bullet holes.Clarence's body was lowered into the red Georgia clay in a simple pine box, a create that was used to carry a fancier coffin. His grave remains unmarked. It is a fitting memorial for a man who, though thunderous in his preaching and exhortation, was gentle and humble in his living. He was a man who never made himself the center of the community that was his dream, and thus the dream has endured his death.Just a few weeks before Clarence died, a reporter asked him, "When you get up to heaven and the Lord meets you and says, 'Clarence, I wonder if you could tell me in the next five minutes what you did down on earth?' What would you tell the Lord?"Clarence's reply was, "I'd tell the Lord to come back when he had more time." This was the answer of a man who dreamed much, loved much, endured much.Koinonia still "treads the verge of Jordan." The last phrase of the same verse from "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" says, "songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to thee." That praise belongs rightfully to God.But it is also true that praises for Clarence Jordan will continue to be sung. They will pour forth from the hearts of those at Koinonia and from all those who have ever been affected by this gently preacher's powerful voice, his compassionate touch, or a well-read copy of a Cotton Patch Gospel.Matthew[[@Bible:Matthew 1:1]]Chapter 1??????????? [The first seventeen verses of Matthew consists of Jesus' family tree. Since this purely historical material has already been well translated, and because nothing would be gained by merely modernizing the names, we are omitting it.]?? - cj[[@Bible:Matt 1:18]]18. The beginning of Jesus the Leader was like this: While his mama, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, but before they had relations, she was made pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Since Joseph, her fiance?, was a considerate man and didn't want to make a public scandal, he decided to quietly break up with her. As he was wondering about the whole situation, a messenger from the Lord came to him in a dream and said, "Joe Davidson, don't be ashamed to marry Mary, because the Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. Now she'll give birth to a boy, who you'll name Jesus,? because he will deliver his nation from their errors."[[@Bible:Matt 1:22]]22. This whole event was the completion of what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Listen, a young lady will get pregnant and give birth to a boy, and they'll name him 'God-is-with-us.' "[[@Bible:Matt 1:24]]24. Then Joseph woke up and did as the Lord's messenger had directed–he married the girl. But he didn't sleep with her until she had her baby. And he did name it Jesus.?[[@Bible:Matt 2]]Chapter 2[[@Bible:Matt 2:1]]1. When Jesus was born in Gainesville, Georgia during the time that Herod was governor, some scholars from the Orient came to Atlanta and inquired, "Where is the one who was born to be governor of Georgia? We saw his star in the Orient, and we came to honor him." This news put Governor Herod and all his cronies in a tizzy. So he called a meeting of the big time preachers and politicians, and asked if they had any idea where the Leader was to be born. In Gainesville, Georgia," the replied, "because there's a bible prophecy which says:??????????????????????? 'And you Gainesville, in the state of Georgia,??????????????????????? Are by no means the least in the Georgia delegation;??????????????????????? From you will come a governor,??????????????????????? Who will wisely guide my chosen people.' "[[@Bible:Matt 2:7]]7. Then Herod called in the scholars privately and questioned them in detail about the exact time of the star's appearance. And he sent them off to Gainesville with this instruction: "Go and find out the facts about the child. Then tell me what you've learned, so that I too may come and honor him." They listened to the governor and left. And you know, the star which they saw in the Orient went ahead of them until it came and stood above the place where the child was. (Just looking at the star flooded them with great happiness.) So they went inside the house and saw the baby with his mother, Mary. They bowed down and honored him, and opened the presents they had brought him–gifts of jewelry, incense and perfume. And having gotten the word in a dream not to revisit Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.[[@Bible:Matt 2:13]]13. After they had checked out, the Lord's messenger made connection with Joseph in a dream and said, "Get moving and take your wife and baby and highball it to Mexico. Then stay put until I get word to you because Herod is going to do his best to kill the baby." So he got right up, took the baby and its mother and checked out by night for Mexico. He stayed there until the death of Herod. (This gave meaning to what the Lord said through the prophet: "I summoned my son from Mexico.")[[@Bible:Matt 2:16]]16. Then it dawned on Herod that he had been duped by the learned men, an he really blew his top. He gave orders to kill all the babies in Gainesville and thereabouts who were under two, on the basis of the schedule which he had obtained from the scholars. (Then the saying of Jeremiah the prophet was given meaning:??????????????????????? "A noise is heard in Ramah,??????????????????????? Great weeping and anguish;??????????????????????? Rachel is grieving for her children??????????????????????? And there's no consoling her,??????????????????????? Because she has lost them.")[[@Bible:Matt 2:19]]19. Now when Herod passed away, the Lord's messenger contacted Joseph in Mexico by a dream. "Get moving," he said, "and take the child and his mother and return to the South, for the people who were trying to take the boy's life have died."[[@Bible:Matt 2:21]]21. So he packed up and took the child and his mother, and returned to the South. He heard that Herod's boy Archelaus was governor of Alabama and so he was scared to settle down there. He was given instructions in a dream to go on over into south Georgia to the city of Valdosta. (This gave meaning to the prophet's word: "He shall be called a Valdostan.")[[@Bible:Matt 3:1]]Chapter 3 [[@Bible:Matt 3:1]]1. One day John the Baptizer showed up and started preaching in the rural areas of Georgia. "Reshape your lives," he said "because God's new order of the Spirit is confronting you. This is what the prophet Isaiah meant when he said,??????????????????????? 'A voice is shouting in the rurals:??????????????????????? Lay out the Lord's highway??????????????????????? Straighten his roads.' "[[@Bible:Matt 3:4]]4. This guy John was dressed in blue jeans and a leather jacket, and he was living on corn bread and collard greens. Folks were coming to him from Atlanta and all over north Georgia and the backwater of the Chattahoochee. And as they owned up to their crooked ways he dipped them in the Chattahoochee.[[@Bible:Matt 3:7]]7. When John noticed a lot of Protestants and Catholics showing up for his dipping, he said to them, "You sons of snakes, who put the heat on you to run from the fury about to break over your heads? You must give some proof that you've had a change of heart. And don't think that you can feed yourselves that 'we-good-white-people' stuff, because I'm tell you that if God wants to he can make white folks out of this pile of rocks. Already the chain saw is set at the trunk of the trees, and every tree that doesn't perform some worthwhile function is sawed down and burned up. I am indeed dipping you in water into a changed life; the one who follows me is so much stronger than I that I'm unworthy to shine his shoes. He will dip you in Holy Spirit and fire. His combine is already running and he'll give the field a thorough going-over. He'll store the grain in his bin and burn off the stubble."[[@Bible:Matt 3:13]]13. Then Jesus arrived at the Chattahoochee from south Georgia, to be dipped by John. But John tried to put him off. "Look," he said, "I ought to be dipped by you, yet you are coming to me." Jesus replied, "Please let me be baptized right now, for it is proper for us to give meaning in this way to all that's right." Then John consented. Now when Jesus was immersed and just as he came up from the water, the sky was split and he saw God's Spirit settling on him like a dove alightning. And you know, a voice spoke from the sky, "This is my dear Son; I'm proud of him."[[@Bible:Matt 4]]?Chapter 4[[@Bible:Matt 4:1]]1. Then Jesus was taken by the Spirit into the country, to be given a test by the Confuser. And after a forty-day fast he was plenty hungry. Well, the Confuser came around and said to him, "So you're God's Head Man, huh? Then order these stones to become pones." But Jesus told him, "The scriptures says,??????????????????????? 'A man shall not live on pone alone,??????????????????????? But on every word falling from the lips of God.' "[[@Bible:Matt 4:5]]5. Next the Confuser takes him into Atlanta and stands him on the steeple of First Church and says to him, "Okay, let's suppose you're God's Head Man; now, jump down from here, for the scripture says,??????????? ??????????? 'He will make his angels responsible for you,??????????? ??????????? And they'll carry you along on their hands,??????????? ??????????? To keep you from stumping your toe on a stone.' "Jesus replied, "Yes, but it is also written, 'You shall not try God's patience!' "[[@Bible:Matt 4:8]]8. Again, the Confuser gets him way up on a mountain and points out all the nations in the world and their splendor, and he says to Jesus, "Now if you just let me be boss, I'll turn all this over to you." Then Jesus tells him, "Scram Satan! The scripture says, 'You shall let the Lord God be your boss, and you shall give your loyalty to him alone.' " At that the Confuser leaves him, and you know, angels came and began waiting on him.[[@Bible:Matt 4:12]]12. Now when Jesus learned that John had been arrested, he set out for south Georgia. Then he moved from Valdosta and located in Savannah, which is on the coast in Chatham County and next to Effingham. (This gave meaning to the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah:??????????? ??????????? "County of Chatham and County of Effingham??????????? ??????????? Across the Chattahoochee, beside the sea,??????????? ??????????? State of Georgia, land of blacks;??????????? ??????????? The people who operated under cover of night??????????? ??????????? Had their eyes opened and saw a great light;??????????? ??????????? The sun arose on the dwellers in the land of darkness and death.")[[@Bible:Matt 4:17]]17. From then on, Jesus began spreading his ideas. "Reshape your lives, for God's new order of the Spirit is confronting you."[[@Bible:Matt 4:18]]18. As he was walking beside Lake Lanier, he saw two brothers, Simon (who was nicknamed Rock) and Andrew, putting out a net in the lake, since they were fisherman. He says to them, "Y'all come with me, and I'll train you to net people." And right away they left their fishing gear and walked with him. Alittle further on he saw two more brothers, Jim and Jack Zebedee, in the boat of their father, getting their nets in shape. He invited them, and right away they left the boat and their father, and walked with him.[[@Bible:Matt 4:23]]23. And he traveled throughout Georgia, teaching in their churches and spreading the good news of the new order, and healing every sickness and disease that people had. News of him spread through the whole south. Folks brought to him all who were ill with various diseases and afflictions–the demonized, the lunatics, and the paralyzed–and he made them well. Large crowds from all over Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee followed him.[[@Bible:Matt 5]]Chapter 5[[@Bible:Matt 5:1]]1. When Jesus saw the large crowd, he went up the hill and sat down. His students gathered around him, and he began teaching them. This is what be said:??????????? "The spiritually humble are God's people,??????????????????????? for they are citizens of his new order.??????????? "They who are deeply concerned are God’s people,??????????????????????? for they will see their ideas become reality.??????????? "They who are gentle are his people,??????????????????????? for they will he his partners across the laud.??????????? "They who have an unsatisfied appetite for the right are God’s people,??????????????????????? for they will be given plenty to chew on.??????????? "The generous are God’s people,??????????????????????? for they will be treated generously.??????????? "Those whose motives are pure are God’s people,??????????????????????? for they will have spiritual insight.??????????? "Men of peace and good will are God’s people,??????????????????????? for they will be known throughout the land as his children.??????????? "Those who have endured much for what’s right are God’s people;??????????????????????? they are citizens of his new order.??????????? "You all are God’s people when others call you names, and harass you and tell all kinds of false tales on you just because you follow me. Be cheerful and good-humored, because your spiritual advantage is great. For that’s the way they treated men of conscience in the past.[[@Bible:Matt 5:13]]13. "You all are the earth’s salt. But now if you just sit there and don’t salt, how will the world ever get salted? You’ll be so worthless that you’ll he thrown out and trampled on by the rest of society. You all are the world’s light; you are a city on a hill that cannot be hid. Have you ever heard of anybody turning on a light and then covering it up? Don’t you fix it so that it will light up the whole room? Well then, since you are Gods light which be has turned on, go ahead and shine so clearly that when your conduct is observed it will plainly be the work of your spiritual Father.[[@Bible:Matt 5:17]]17. "Don’t ever think that I’m trying to destroy the moral and religious principles of our way of life. My purpose is not to destroy them but to establish them. For I truthfully tell you that as long as heaven and earth remain, not one dotting of an ’i’ or crossing of a ’t’ will be eliminated from our highest and noblest ideals until every one of them becomes a reality. So them if anyone disregards one of the least of these God-given principles, and encourages others to do so, he shall be considered unimportant in God’s new order of the Spirit. But whoever lives by them and upholds them shall he considered vital to God’s new order of the Spirit.20.???????????? "And let me tell you something else: Unless your conduct is better than that of usual, ordinary religious people, you will never make the grade into God’s new order of the Spirit. For example, you have always been told, ‘Don’t murder,’ and ‘If anybody does murder, he shall he brought to judgment.’ But I’m telling you that everyone who nurses a grudge against his fellow man shall he brought into judgment. And anyone who spits in the face of his brother man stands condemned, and whoever yells, ‘You low-down so-and-so!’ shall be roasted in hell’s fires. So then, if you are in worship services and keep remembering all the things your brother has against you, leave the sanctuary and go look up the one you have wronged and straighten things out with him. Only then may you return to church.[[@Bible:Matt 5:25]]25. "Be courteous at all times towards an opponent. Otherwise, you might he dragged into court, turned over to the sheriff and thrown into the clink. I'm telling you a fact, you won’t get out of there until you have paid the last cent of your flue.[[@Bible:Matt 5:27]]27. "You’ve heard it said, ‘Don’t sleep with someone you’re not married to.’ But I want to tell you, whoever sets his eye on a woman with the hope of intercourse with her has already slept with her in his mind. So if your right eye becomes hopelessly infected, have it cut out and thrown away, because it is better to lose one of your organs than to lose your body. Or if your right hand becomes hopelessly infected, cut it off and throw it away, because it is better to lose one of your limbs than to lose your body. [[@Bible:Matt 5:31]]31. "It has also been said, ‘If a man divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate that she is free.’ But I’m telling you all, anybody who divorces his wife, except for sleeping with another man, causes her to have had unlawful intercourse, and whoever marries one so divorced also has unlawful intercourse.[[@Bible:Matt 5:33]]33. "Again you have heard it said by the old folks, ‘Don’t break your oath, and always keep a solemn oath to the Lord.’ But I’m telling you not to make any oaths at all—not by the heaven, as God’s throne; or by the earth, as his foot-rest; or by Atlanta, as ‘the city of the governor.’ Don’t make an oath even by your head, because you can’t make one hair white or black. Instead, let your word be a straightforward ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ If it takes more than that, it’s bad.[[@Bible:Matt 5:38]]38. "You’ve also heard the saying, ‘Take an eye for an eye; take a tooth for a tooth.’ But I’m telling you, never respond with evil. Instead, if somebody slaps you on your right cheek, offer him the other one too. And if anybody wants to drag you into court and take away your shirt, let him have your undershirt. If somebody makes you go a mile for him, go two miles. Give to him who asks of you, and don’t turn your back on anyone who wants a loan.[[@Bible:Matt 5:43]]43. "Another thing you’ve always heard is, ‘Love your own group and hate the hostile outsider,’ But I’m telling you, love the outsiders and pray for those who try to do you in, so that you might be sons of your spiritual Father. For he lets his sun rise on both sinners and saints, and he sends rain on both good people and bad. Listen here, if you love only those who love you, what’s your advantage? Don’t even scalawags do that much? And if you speak to no one but your friends, how are you any different? Don’t the non-Christians do as much? Now you, you all must be mature, as your spiritual Father is mature.[[@Bible:Matt 6]]Chapter 6[[@Bible:Matt 6:1]]1. "See to it that your effort to do right is not based on a desire to be popular. If it is, you’ll get no help from your spiritual Father. For instance, when you make a gift to charity, don’t make a lot of noise about it, like the phonies do at church and at civic clubs, so as to be praised by their cronies. The truth is, such praise is all they’ll get out of it. But you, when you give to charity, don’t pat yourself on the back, so that your gift might be truly secret. And your Father, who sees secrets, will respond to you.[[@Bible:Matt 6:5]]5. "And when you pray, don’t be like the phonies. For they love to stand up and pray in church and at public occasions; so they might build a reputation as prayers. The truth is, that’s all they’ll get out of it. But you, when you pray, go to your bedroom, shut the door, and pray to your Father in private. And your Father, who sees the inner life, will respond to you. And while you are praying, don’t jabber like pagans, who think that their long-windedness will get them an answer. Don’t you be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ever ask him. So here’s the way you all should pray:??????????? ??????????? ‘Father of us, O Spiritual One,??????????? ??????????? Your Name be truly honored.??????????? ??????????? Your Movement spread, your will prevail??????????? ??????????? Through earth, as through the heavens.??????????? ??????????? Grant us sustaining bread each day.??????????? ??????????? Forgive our debts as we forgive??????????? ??????????? The debts of all who cannot pay.??????????? ??????????? And from confusion keep us clear;??????????? ??????????? Deliver us from evil’s sway.’??????????? "For if you forgive men when they wrong you, your spiritual Father will forgive you, too. But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your wrongs.[[@Bible:Matt 6:16]]16. "Now when you go to church, don’t be like the religious phonies who put on a solemn face to impress men with their piety. Rather, when you go to church, act perfectly normal so as not to give the impression you’re going there to be seen, but to worship God. And your Father, who sees the inner life, will respond to you.[[@Bible:Matt 6:19]]19. "Put no value on earthly things, which worms and rust consume, and which thieves break into and steal. Rather, y’all set your hearts on spiritual values, which neither worms nor rust consume, and which thieves do not break into and steal. For your values and your character are wrapped up together.[[@Bible:Matt 6:22]]22. "The body depends on the eyes for light. Now if your eyes are in focus, then the body will have clear light. But if your eyes are not in focus,?? then your whole body will be in confused darkness. Now if your life is so divided, you’re really in the dark! That’s why it is impossible for a man to serve two masters. For he will hate one of them and love the other; he will have respect for one and contempt for the other! It is impossible to be in bondage to both God and money.[[@Bible:Matt 6:25]]25. "Therefore, let me tell you all something: Don’t worry about making a living—what you’ll eat, what you’ll drink, what you’ll wear. Isn’t the life of a man more important than what he eats? Think for a moment about the birds of the sky. They don’t plant. They don’t harvest. They don’t store up in barns. Even so, your spiritual Father cares for them. Really now, aren’t you all more precious than birds? Besides, who of you, by fretting and fuming, can make himself one inch taller?[[@Bible:Matt 6:1]]28. "And what’s all this big to-do over clothing? Look yonder at that field of flowers, how they’re growing. They do no housework and no sewing. But I’m telling you, not even Solomon in all his finery was ever dressed up like one of them. Well then, if God so clothes the flowers of the field, which are blooming today and are used for kindling tomorrow, won’t he do even more for you, you spiritual runts? So cut out your anxious talk about ‘what are we gonna eat, and what are we gonna drink, and what are we gonna wear.’ For the people of the world go tearing around after all these things. Listen, your spiritual Father is quite aware that you’ve got to have all such stuff. Then set your heart on the God Movement and its kind of life, and all these things will come as a matter of course. Don’t worry over the future; let the future worry over itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.[[@Bible:Matt 7]]Chapter 7[[@Bible:Matt 7:1]]1. "Don’t preach just to keep from being preached to. For the same sermon you preach will be applied to you, and the stuff you dish out to others will be dished up to you. Why examine the splinter in your brother’s eye, and take no notice of the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Bud, hold still while I pick that splinter out of your eye,’ when there is a plank in yours? Listen, you phony, first pull the plank from your eye and then you’ll be able to see better to get the splinter out of your brother’s eye.??????????????????????? "‘Don’t throw your valuables to the dogs,??????????????????????? And don’t spread your pearls before the hogs;??????????????????????? Or they will trample them under their feet??????????????????????? And even turn and bite you.’[[@Bible:Matt 7:1]]7. "Start asking and it will be given to you; start looking and you will find; start knocking, and the door will he opened to you. For every asker receives, and every seeker finds, and to everyone who knocks the door shall be opened. Is there any man among you whose son shall ask him for bread and he’ll give him a rock? So if you, weak mortals that you are, are capable of making good gifts to your children, don’t you think your spiritual Father will give even better gifts to those who ask him?[[@Bible:Matt 7:12]]12. "Therefore, in all your dealings with people, treat them as you want to be treated. This, in a nutshell, is the essence of all our moral and religious principles.[[@Bible:Matt 7:13]]13. "Approach life through the gate of discipline. For the way that leads to emptiness is wide and easy, and a lot of folks are taking that approach. But the gate into the full life is hard, and the road is bumpy, and only a few take this route.[[@Bible:Matt 7:15]]15. ‘Keep your eye peeled for fake preachers, who come to you with sheepskins from wolf-schools. You’ll be able to distinguish them by the way they live. You know, you don’t gather pecans from a persimmon tree nor peaches from a chinaberry, do you? So it is, a cultivated tree makes cultivated fruit, and a wild tree makes wild fruit. It is impossible for a cultivated tree to bear wild fruit, or for a wild tree to bear cultivated fruit. Any tree that does not produce cultivated fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. That’s why I told you that you could know them by the way they live. [[@Bible:Matt 7:21]]21. "Not everyone who glibly calls me ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the God Movement, hut he who does the will of my spiritual Father. The time will come when many people will gather around and say, ‘L-o-ord, oh L-o-o-rd, we sure did preach in your name, didn’t we? And in your name we gave the devil a run for his money, didn’t we? We did all kinds of stunts in your name, didn’t we?’ Then I’ll admit right in front of everybody, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you wicked religious racketeers.[[@Bible:Matt 7:24]]24. "That’s why the man who hears these words of mine and acts on them shall be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Down came the rain, up rose the floods, out lashed the winds. They all cut at that house, but it didn’t fall. It was on rock foundation.[[@Bible:Matt 7:26]]26. And the man who hears these words of mine and fails to act on them shall be like an idiot who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the floods rose up, the winds lashed out. They all cut at that house, and it fell! And my, what a collapse!"[[@Bible:Matt 7:28]]28. When Jesus finished speaking, the people were simply amazed at his ideas, for he was teaching them like he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t sound like their preachers.[[@Bible:Matt 8]]Chapter 8[[@Bible:Matt 8:1]]1. As he came down from the hill, crowds of people flocked around him. And then here comes this guy in bad shape, begging and pleading, ‘Sir, if you really wanted to, you could heal me." Jesus put out his hand, hugged him, and said, "I do want to. BE HEALED." And that quick his disease was gone! Then Jesus says to him, "Now look here, don’t tell anybody about this, but go let the doctor examine you and then you too start sharing like the Bible says, so as to be an example to others.’?[[@Bible:Matt 8:5]]5. Well, when lie got to Savannah a Jewish army captain came to him with an urgent message: "Sir, my boy is at home with a stroke and is in awful pain." Jesus says to him, "Then I’ll come and cure him." But the army captain replies, "Sir, I’m not the kind of a man you’d want to associate with, so you just give the order, and my boy will be cured. You know, I myself am also a man with authority, having soldiers under my command. And I say to one, ‘Go there,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come here,’ and be comes, and to my lieutenant, ‘Do such-and-such,’ and he does it." Upon hearing that, Jesus was simply amazed, and he said to those crowding around him, "I’m telling you the honest truth, never have I found such faith, not even among the good ‘saved’ church people. I want to tell you, many people will come from both North and South and sit down at the table with Peter, John, and Paul in the God Movement, but the ‘saved’ people will be dumped out into the black night, where there’ll be a moaning and a groaning and a wringing of hands." So Jesus said to the captain, "You may go now. It’ll turn out for you just as you believed it would." And within the hour his boy was cured.[[@Bible:Matt 8:14]]14. Jesus went home with Rock, whose mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, He took her hand and the fever went away. So she got up and started waiting on him.[[@Bible:Matt 8:16]]16. At sunset, they brought a lot of people who had devils, and by giving the order he purged them of their mean spirits and healed all who were in real bad shape. (This gave meaning to what Isaiah the prophet had said: "He himself took on our troubles and shared our sickness.")[[@Bible:Matt 8:18]]18. Noticing the big crowd around him, Jesus planned to withdraw to the other side. And along the way this theologian said to him, "Doctor, I’11 share your life, regardless of where it takes me!" Then Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens, and the birds have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to hang his hat." Someone else—one of the students—said, "Sir, let me first take care of my family obligations."?? But Jesus told him, "You live my life, and let the uncommitted care for the uncommitted."[[@Bible:Matt 8:23]]23. He got in a boat and his students went with him. And wouldn’t you know, such a terrific thunderstorm busted loose on the sea that you couldn’t see the boat for the waves. Yet he was sleeping through it! They rushed to him and roused him. "Save us, sir! We’re going down!" He said, "Why are you so scared, you baby-faiths?" Then he got up and told the wind and waves to cut it out, and everything got real still. The men were bug-eyed, saying, "What kind of guy is this, that even the wind and the waves listen to him?"[[@Bible:Matt 8:28]]28. When he got to the other side, in Gadara County, he was met by two devil-possessed men coming out of the cemetery. They were such dangerous cats that nobody was able to travel that road. And you know, they screamed out, "What you got against us, you God’s holy boy? Did you come here ahead of schedule to pick on us?" Now some distance from them a large herd of hogs was being fed. So the devils started begging him, "If you’re going to dump us, send us among the herd of hogs." He told them, "Get moving." So they left and went among the hogs. And, would you believe it, the whole herd stampeded down the bank and into the sea, and died in the water. The herdsmen took off. They headed for the city and told everything, even what had happened to the devil-possessed fellows. And, man, the whole town turned out to gawk at Jesus. Then after they had seen him they begged him to please go away from their part of the country.[[@Bible:Matt 9]]Chapter 9[[@Bible:Matt 9:1]]1. Well, he got in a boat and sailed back across, and went to his hometown. And you know, they brought to him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. Jesus took note of their faith, and said to the paralyzed man, "Perk up, my boy. Your sins are being forgiven." Then some of the churchmen said, "This bird is talking heresy!" Jesus knew what was going on in their minds and said, "Why do you hold mean things in your hearts? Which is simpler, to say, ‘Your sins are being forgiven’ or ‘Get up and walk’? But that you may have no doubt that the son of man has the right on the earth to forgive sins"—he then turned to the paralytic—"Get up now, pick up your stretcher, and run along home." And he got up and went home. A sense of awe came over the crowd when they saw it, and they applauded God for giving such authority to human beings.[[@Bible:Matt 9:9]]9. Jesus left there and saw a man named Matthew sitting behind his desk at the Internal Revenue office. And he says to him, "Live my life." So Matthew quit his job and started living his life.[[@Bible:Matt 9:10]]10. Well, one day when he was having dinner at home, a bunch of outsiders and unchurched people joined Jesus and his gang for the meal. Some good church people noticed this and said to his students, "How come your leader is eating with outsiders and unsaved people?" Jesus overheard it and replied, "It’s not the healthy people who need the doctor, but the sick. Now you all run along and study over this verse: ‘I want mercy and not worship.’ For I didn’t come to invite the ‘good folks’ but the ‘unsaved.’"[[@Bible:Matt 9:14]]14. Then John’s followers came to him and asked, "How come we and the church members go to worship services all the time, but your students never attend?" Jesus asked them, "Does the wedding party hold a prayer meeting while the wedding is going on? Rather, when the ceremony is over and the bride and groom are gone, then they may have a worship service.[[@Bible:Matt 9:16]]16. "Nobody ever uses new, unshrunk material to patch a dress that’s been washed. For in shrinking, it will pull the old material and make a tear. Nor do people put new tubes in old, bald tires. If they do, the tires will blow out, and the tubes will be ruined and the tires will be torn up. But they put new tubes in new tires and both give good mileage."[[@Bible:Matt 9:18]]18. As he was talking to them, a very important fellow came and humbly said, "My daughter just now passed away. So please come and put your hand on her, and she’ll live." Then Jesus and his students got up and went with him. And you know, a lady who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched his pants leg. She was thinking, "If only I touch his pants leg, I’ll be healed." Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, "Cheer up, my daughter. Your faith has made you well." And from that hour on, the lady was normal.[[@Bible:Matt 9:23]]23. Well, when Jesus got to the VIP’s house and saw the people making the funeral arrangements and carrying on like mad, he said, "Y’all get out of here. The little girl isn’t dead; she’s just gone to sleep." They took it as a crude joke. But when the crowd was put outside, he took the girl’s hand and raised her up. And news of this spread through the whole region.[[@Bible:Matt 9:27]]27. As Jesus went along that way, two blind men followed him, shouting, "King Jesus, please do something to help us!" So when he went in the house and the blind men approached him, he asked them, "Do you really believe that I have the power to do this?" They answered, "Yes, sir!" Then he touched their eyes as he said, "Okay, let the thing you’ve believed happen to you." And their eyes were opened! Jesus looked real stern and said, "Don’t you dare let a soul find out about this!" But they quick ran out and started spreading the news about him all over everywhere.[[@Bible:Matt 9:32]]32. While they were going away, some folks brought to him a man who had a "dumb demon." So Jesus expelled the demon and the dumb man started talking. The crowds were astounded and said, "Nothing like this ever before happened in Georgia." But the religious people said, "He’s expelling devils because he is in cahoots with the head devil."[[@Bible:Matt 9:35]]35. Now Jesus went on a circuit of all the cities and villages, teaching in their churches, telling the good news of the Movement, and healing every disease and affliction, The sight of the crowds moved him to compassion for them, because they were as discouraged and disorganized as sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his students, "There’s a big crop, but not many workers. So beg the Harvest Master to recruit workers for his harvest."[[@Bible:Matt 10]]Chapter 10[[@Bible:Matt 10:1]]1. Jesus called together his twelve students and gave them control over mean spirits so as to expel them and to heal every kind of sickness and affliction. Now here are the names of the twelve "agents": first is Simon, who is called Rock, and Andy, his brother; Jim, Mr. Zebedee’s boy, and his brother Jack; then Phil and Bart; Tom and Matt the revenuer; Jim Alphaeus and Tad; Simon the Rebel and Judas Iscariot, who turned him in.[[@Bible:Matt 10:5]]5. Jesus held a briefing session and sent out the twelve. "Don’t go after the people of the world," he said, "and don’t enter the black ghetto. Instead go to the deluded racists of the nation. As you travel, preach on the theme, ‘THE GOD MOVEMENT IS HERE.’ Heal the sick, arouse the insensitive, make the outcasts acceptable, expel devils. You received this power as a gift, so share it as a gift. Don’t bother to take any money or travelers’ checks or pocket change, no suitcase, no extra suit, no dress shoes, no toilet kit; for the worker is worth his upkeep. When you go to a city or town, discover who in it is receptive, and stay there till you’re ready to leave. Upon entering a house, introduce yourselves. If the home is receptive, let your goodwill and concern rest upon it. If it is not, then hold on to your goodwill and concern. When somebody won’t be friendly with you or pay attention to your message, leave that home or city and wash your hands of the whole shebang. I’m telling you a fact, Paris and Berlin will have it easier on the Judgment Day than that city.[[@Bible:Matt 10:16]]16. "Listen, I’m sending you out like sheep surrounded by a pack of wolves. So be as alert as snakes and as pure as doves. Really keep your eyes peeled for people, for they’ll trump up charges against you and even attack you in church. You’ll be brought before legislative committees and high courts so as to make your witness before them and before the world in general. But when they take you to court, don’t get the heebie-jeebies over your defense, because what you shall say will be given to you on the spot. For it won’t be you that’s talking, but the Spirit of your Father talking through you.[[@Bible:Matt 10:21]]21. "Yes, a brother will betray his own brother to death and a father his own child, and children will rebel against parents and murder them. Furthermore, you’ll be despised by everybody just because you are a true Christian. But the man who sticks it out to the end will be set free. So when they put the screws on you in one city, hightail it to the next, because I’m telling you the truth, you won’t cover the Southern cities before the son of man overtakes you.[[@Bible:Matt 10:24]]24. "A student is not above his teacher, or an employee above his boss. It would be pretty good if a student could just be equal with his teacher, or an employee with his boss. Well, if they slander the lord of the manor by calling him ‘Dung-King,’ what do you think they’ll call his servants?[[@Bible:Matt 10:26]]26. "But really, don’t let them scare you. There is nothing under cover that won’t be uncovered, or secret that won’t be made public. What I’m making known to you at night, you proclaim at high noon, and what is whispered to you, you shout from the housetops. And don’t be frightened by those who murder the body but can’t kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can make a hellish hash of both body and soul. Aren’t two chicks sold for a quarter? Yet not one of them conks out apart from your Father. So y’all quit being scared; you people are worth more than a whole brooderful of chicks.[[@Bible:Matt 10:32]]32. "Them whoever stands up with me before the world, I will stand up with him before my spiritual Father. But whoever lets me down before the world, I’ll let him down before my spiritual Father.[[@Bible:Matt 10:34]]34. "Don’t get the idea that I came to set up peace all over the world. I didn’t come to establish peace but strife. For I came to split a man from his father, a daughter from her mother, a bride from her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes will be his own family. Anybody who puts his parents above me is not my man, and anybody who puts his children above me is not my man. And whoever does not accept his own lynching and share my life, is not my man. The person who hoards his life throws it away, and the one who abandons his life for my cause discovers it.[[@Bible:Matt 10:40]]40. "The one who accepts you all accepts me, and the one who accepts me accepts him who sent me. He who entertains a man of God, aware that he is such, will get a man of God’s pay; and he who entertains a man of justice, aware that he is such, will get a man of justice’s pay. Anyone who gives only a glass of plain water to one of these little people, aware that he is my student, will by no means, I tell you, go unrewarded."[[@Bible:Matt 11]]Chapter 11[[@Bible:Matt 11:1]]1. And so, when Jesus got through briefing his band of twelve, he checked out of there to teach and preach in their cities.[[@Bible:Matt 11:2]]2. When John, who was in the clink, heard the things the Leader was doing, he sent a message to him by his students. "Are you the Expected One," they asked, "or are we to wait for someone else?" Jesus replied, "Please go back and tell John what you are hearing and seeing—tell him the blind are seeing and the lame are walking, the lepers are getting well and the deaf are hearing, corpses are coming alive and the poor people are being told about the big doings. Tell him, too, that a man is wise not to be turned off by my thing."[[@Bible:Matt 11:7]]7. As they left, Jesus began talking to the crowds about John: "What did you expect to see when you went out to the backwoods? A bamboo blown this way and that by the wind? Really, what did you expect to see when you went out? A man dressed up in his Sunday best? Listen, well-dressed people live in suburbs. Honestly now, why did you go out there? To see a man of God? Of course! And brother, I’m telling you, what a man of God! He’s the one to whom this Scripture refers:??????????????????????? ‘I’m sending my agent to precede you;??????????????????????? He’ll get everything ready for your coming.’??????????? I tell you right now, John the Baptizer is the greatest man that’s ever been born. But, the tiniest baby in the God Movement is greater than he! For ever since John the Baptizer started preaching until right now the God Movement has been infected with violence, and men of violence are taking it over. For until John’s time all the prophets and the law spoke to this point. And if you are willing to admit it, John himself is the ‘Elijah-to-come.’ Now think that over![[@Bible:Matt 11:16]]16. "How shall I describe this generation? They are like kids playing in the streets and shouting at each other, ‘We put on some rock-and-roll, but you wouldn’t dance; so we put on some funeral music, but you wouldn’t go into mourning.’ For John offered a harsh, rugged life, and people say, ‘The guy is nuts.’ I, the son of man, offered laughter and joy, and people say, ‘Look at that guy. He is a no-good bum who runs around with Communists and peaceniks!’ So, if intelligence can be judged by its fruits, well—!"[[@Bible:Matt 11:20]]20. Then he started lambasting the cities in which he had done most of his works, because they refused to re-order their lives, "It will be hell for you, Columbus; it will be hell for you, Albany; because if Dalton and Calhoun had seen as many mighty works as you have, they would have reshaped their lives right off the bat. But I’m giving it to you straight, Dalton and Calhoun will have it a lot easier on Judgment Day than you will. And you, Savannah, do you think you’ll be praised to the skies? You’ll be sent to hell! Because if the mighty works which have been done in you had happened in Sodom, it would be standing till this very day. But I’m giving it to you straight, it will be easier on Sodom on Judgment Day than on you.[[@Bible:Matt 11:25]]25. About that time Jesus said, "I fully agree with you, Father, Ruler of things both spiritual and material, that you didn’t let the bright boys and the experts in on these matters, but made them clear to the ‘babies.’ Indeed, O Father, this is the way it seemed best to you.[[@Bible:Matt 11:27]]27. "My Father has left everything up to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and whoever else the Son wishes to introduce to him.[[@Bible:Matt 11:28]]28. "Come to me, all of you who are frustrated and have had a bellyful, and I will give you zest, Get in the harness with me and let me Leach you, for I am trained and have a cooperative spirit, and you will find zest for your lives. For my harness is practical, and my assignment is joyful."[[@Bible:Matt 12]]Chapter 12[[@Bible:Matt 12:1]]1. Along about then Jesus went through a wheat field on a Sunday. His students were hungry, so they started picking some heads, rubbing out the grains with their bands, and eating them. Some Church members saw it and said, "Look, your students are doing something they shouldn’t on Sunday." He answered, "Haven’t you ever read what David and his companions did when they were hungry? How he went into the church house and ate the communion bread, which neither he nor his companions were entitled to—only the ministers were? Or haven’t you read in the Bible how ministers work hard at church on Sunday but are not blamed for it? But let me set you straight: what’s here is more important than a church building! If you had but understood what this means—it’s compassion I want, and not worship’—you wouldn’t have jumped down the throat of innocent people. For the son of man has authority over ‘Sunday‘".[[@Bible:Matt 12:9]]9. He went on from there and entered their church building, and a man with a paralyzed hand was there. Trying to hang something on Jesus, they asked, "Is it legal to heal on a Sunday?" He said to them, "Is there a single man among you who, if he should own a sheep and it should fall in a hole on a Sunday, would not get hold of it and pull it out? Well, isn’t a man worth more than a sheep? So it’s perfectly all right to act beautifully on a Sunday." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out and, sure enough, it was normal, just like the other one. But the church members went out and held a conference on how they might do him in. Jesus was aware of it and checked out of there. Even so, a lot of people stayed on his trail, and he made them all well. He pled with them to please not make his whereabouts known. (All of this gave meaning to what Isaiah the prophet said:??????????????????????? "See, my man whom I selected,??????????????????????? My loved one of whom I’m so proud.??????????????????????? I will put my breath in him,??????????????????????? And he will shout for justice for the black people.??????????????????????? He won’t wrangle and hassle,??????????????????????? Nor make soapbox speeches.??????????????????????? He won’t even wring a chicken’s neck,??????????????????????? Or cut off a puppy’s tail,??????????????????????? Until he has won out in the fight for justice.??????????????????????? His name will inspire hope in the black people.")[[@Bible:Matt 12:22]]22. Then a possessed man who was blind and dumb was brought to him. He healed the man so he could talk and see. The whole crowd thought it was simply beautiful, and they said, "Isn’t this our Man?" But the church members overheard it and replied, "Why, this guy couldn’t run off mean spirits unless Dung-King, the head Confuser, gave him a hand." Jesus read their minds and said, "Any nation that fights itself will go to pot, and any city or business that beats itself over the head won’t survive. So if Dung-King runs off Dung-King, he’s fighting himself. How, then, will his business survive? Okay, so I’m driving out mean spirits with Dung-King’s help. Now with whose help are your disciples driving them out? They, then, convict you. But, if I, by God’s Spirit, am driving out mean spirits, then the God Movement is squarely confronting you. Look, how can someone break into an armed man’s house and rob him without first overpowering the armed man? Then he can make off with the loot. The man who is not with me is against me, and if he doesn’t help me he hurts me."[[@Bible:Matt 12:31]]31. "So let me level with you: Any sin and disgrace will be forgiven men except the disgracing of the Spirit. If anybody gives the son of man a black eye, it will be forgiven, but whoever gives the Holy Spirit a black eye will not be forgiven, either nor or in the future. So, either make the tree true and its fruit true, or make the tree wild and its fruit wild. For the fruit from a tree identifies it.[[@Bible:Matt 12:34]]34. "You sons of snakes, how can you say good things when you are wicked, since the tongue is powered by the overflow from the heart? The good man produces good deeds from the good things stored in his heart, while the mean person produces mean deeds from the mean things stored in his heart. It’s a fact that at the time of testing men will account for every unguarded word they utter. For you will be cleared or convicted by what you affirm or deny."[[@Bible:Matt 12:38]]38. Then some preachers and church members got together and said, "Professor, we want you to give us a demonstration." He answered, "A mean and wicked society demands a ‘demonstration,’ but none will be given to it except Preacher Jonah’s ‘demonstration.’ For just as Jonah spent three days and nights in the monster’s belly, so will the son of man spend three days and nights in the heart of the earth. In the Judgment the Ninevites will testify against this society and will convict it, because they re-shaped their lives around Jonah’s message, and now a greater one than Jonah is here. In the Judgment, the Queen of the South will testify against this society and convict it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon s wisdom and now a greater one than Solomon is here.[[@Bible:Matt 12:43]]43. "When a filthy spirit comes out of a man, he wanders through unwatered areas looking for a home. Finding none, he says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I left.’ He does so, and finds it vacant, cleaned up, and painted. Then be goes and rounds up seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they all move in and live there. So the man is worse off at the end than he was at the beginning. The same will also be true of this wicked society."[[@Bible:Matt 12:46]]46. While he was still talking to the people, somebody told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside trying to have a word with you." He said to the man who told him this, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" And he stretched out his band toward his students and said, "There are my mother and my brothers. The man who does the will of my spiritual Father is my brother and sister and mother."[[@Bible:Matt 13]]Chapter13[[@Bible:Matt 13:1]]1. One day Jesus left the house and sat down on the seashore. Such a big crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down while the people stood on the beach. He told them many Comparisons: "One time a farmer went out to plant. As he did so, some of the seeds fell on the path, and the birds came along and gobbled them up. Others fell on rocky places where the soil was shallow. Because they weren’t planted deep they came up right away, but not having a deep root they withered when the hot sun hit them. Still others fell among the weeds, which grew up and choked them out. But others fell on good dirt and matured, some multiplying a hundred times, some sixty, and some thirty. Now please let that soak in."[[@Bible:Matt 10:1]]10. Then the students came and asked him, "Why are you giving it to them in Comparisons?"???????????? "Because," he said, "they have not been let in on the secrets of the God Movement like you have. When a man has them, he’ll be given more and will have plenty; when a person doesn’t have them, he’ll lose even what he has. The reason, then, that I give it to them in Comparisons is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or catching on. This passage from Isaiah applies to them:??????????????????????? ‘They strain their ears and never catch on;??????????????????????? For the hearts of these people are hard,??????????????????????? And their ears are dull,??????????????????????? And their eyes are dim.??????????????????????? Otherwise, their eyes might see,??????????????????????? And their ears might hear,??????????????????????? And their hearts might understand,??????????????????????? And they might turn around,??????????????????????? And I’ll make them well.’??????????? But you, you should he truly thankful that your eyes see and your ears hear. For indeed many sincere and just men of God would have given their eyeteeth to see and hear what you are experiencing, but they never had the chance. So you all pay attention now to the planting-farmer Comparison: When some one hears the Movement idea and doesn’t latch on to it, the evil one comes along and makes off with what was planted in his mind. This is the ‘path’ seed. The ‘rocky places’ seed is the one who listens to the idea and gets gung-ho about it, but having no inner depth he hangs on for a while until hardship and persecution for the cause come along, and then he washes out. The ‘seed in the weeds’ is the one who hears the idea, but is overcome by the distractions of life and the love of money before it can bear fruit. The ‘good dirt’ seed is the one who hears the idea and latches on to it, and it yields possibly a hundredfold, or sixty, or thirty."[[@Bible:Matt 13:24]]24. Then he laid before them another Comparison: "The God Movement is like a man who planted certified seed in his field. Then after everybody had gone to bed, his enemy came and overplanted the wheat with zizania. When it all came up and started to grow, the zizania was clearly present. The farmer’s fieldhands came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you plant certified seed in your field? Then how come it’s got zizania in it?’ He replied, ‘An enemy did that!’ The fieldhands asked, ‘Do you want us to go and chop it out?’ The farmer said, ‘No, because you might dig up the wheat with the zizania. Let them both grow until harvesttime. Then I’ll say to the harvest workers, "Gather all the zizania first and pile it up for burning, and then harvest the wheat and put it in my barn."’"[[@Bible:Matt 13:31]]31. He set still another Comparison before them: "The God Movement is like a mustard seed which a man planted in his garden. While it’s the smallest seed there is, yet when it is full grown it is one of the largest plants; in fact, it becomes a bush big enough for birds to build their nests in."[[@Bible:Matt 13:33]]33. He told them another Comparison: "The God Movement is like yeast which a woman puts in a triple recipe until the whole batch rises.[[@Bible:Matt 13:34]]34. Jesus taught the crowds all these things with Comparisons, Actually he wasn’t teaching them at all except by Comparisons. (The word of the prophet might be applied to him:??????????????????????? "I will break forth with Comparisons;??????????????????????? I’ll spotlight things that have been taboo since creation.")[[@Bible:Matt 13:36]]36. Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His students gathered around him and said, "Please unravel for us the Comparison of the field of zizania." He answered, "The farmer who planted the certified seed is the son of man; the field is the world; the certified seed are the people who do God’s will; the zizania are the people who do the will of the evil one; the enemy is the Confuser; the harvest is the fruition of the era; and the harvesters are God’s messengers. So, just as the zizania was piled and burned, that’s the way it will be at the fruition of the era. The son of man will send out his messengers and they’ll collect everything in his Movement that’s offensive and all the criminals, and they’ll burn them in a roaring furnace. In there, they’ll be howling and snapping their teeth. Then the just will shine like the sun in their Father’s Movement. Now let that percolate through.[[@Bible:Matt 13:44]]44. "The God Movement is like a man finding a treasure buried in a field. He covers it over again, and then with great excitement he sells all he owns and buys that field.[[@Bible:Matt 13:45]]45. "Also, the God Movement is like a jeweler looking for special pearls. When he finds a super-duper one, he goes and unloads his whole stock and buys that pearl.[[@Bible:Matt 13:47]]47. "Still again, the God Movement is like a fishing net that’s thrown into a lake and catches all kinds of creatures; when it’s full, then they pull it up on the bank and separate the catch, putting the good stuff in tubs and throwing away the bad. That’s the way it will be at the fruition of the era. The messenger will go out and cull the unjust from the just and throw them into a roaring furnace. In there, they’ll be howling and snapping their teeth. Now is all this clear to you?"??????????? They said, "Absolutely!" He told them, "Then every minister who has completed the God Movement course is like a quartermaster who comes up with both new and old things from his warehouse."[[@Bible:Matt 13:53]]53. Well, when Jesus got through with all these Comparisons, he pulled out of there and went to his hometown. He started teaching in the church there, and really bowled them over. They said, "Where did that guy get all this learning and big-league stuff? Ain’t this the carpenter’s boy? Ain’t his mama named Mary and his brothers Jim and Joe and Simon and Jody? And his sisters, don’t they all live around here? Then how did he come by all this?" So they got plenty miffed at him, and he said, "A true prophet is never appreciated by his own hometown and by his kinfolks." Because of their disrespect, then, he did nothing really significant there.[[@Bible:Matt 14]]Chapter 14[[@Bible:Matt 14:1]]1. About that time Governor Herod heard the news of Jesus, and he said to his cronies, "I’ll bet it’s John the Baptizer. He has been raised from the dead, and that’s why he can do such amazing things." For Herod had arrested John, chained him, and kept him in jail after John had told him, "It isn’t right for you to take Herodias, your brother’s wife."[[@Bible:Matt 14:5]]5. Herod was anxious to kill him, but he was scared to because the people regarded John as a man of God. Well, at Herod’s birthday party, Herodias’ daughter danced for him and delighted him so much that he swore he would give her anything in the world she asked for. Having been put up to it by her mother, she said, "Give me, here on a platter, the head of John the Baptizer." Hearing this, the Governor wanted to kick himself for having made such a rash promise in public, but he went ahead and gave orders to have John beheaded in the jail. Then John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the young lady, and she took it to her mama. John’s friends went and got his body and buried it; then they got in touch with Jesus and told him about it.[[@Bible:Matt 14:13]]13. When Jesus heard it, he left there in a boat to go to a quiet place where he could be alone. But the crowds from the cities heard about it and flocked after him on foot. When he went ashore and saw what a crowd it was, he was deeply moved by them, and he healed their sick ones. Toward the close of the day, his students came and said, "This is a deserted place, and it’s already getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to town and buy something to eat." Jesus told them, "They don’t need to leave; you all feed them." They said, "But we have nothing on hand—except five boxes of crackers and two cans of sardines." He said, "Okay, bring them here." So he told the people to sit down on the grass, and then he took the five boxes of crackers and two cans of sardines. Lifting his eyes toward the skies, he said a blessing and gave the food to his students, who distributed it among the people. Everybody ate and had plenty, and there were twelve basketsful of leftovers. The number fed was about five thousand men, not counting the women and children.[[@Bible:Matt 14:22]]22. Shortly afterwards he urged his students to get into the boat and go on over ahead of him while he dismissed the crowds. When he had dismissed them, he went into the mountain to pray privately. As the sun set, he was there by himself.???????????? By this time the boat was some distance from shore. The wind was against them and the waves were giving them fits. Late at night Jesus came to them walking on the lake. His students saw him walking on the lake and it scared the daylights out of them. "It’s a ha’nt!" they screamed. But Jesus quickly called to them, "Y’all take it easy. It’s just me don’t be so scared!" Rock called out, "Sir, if it is you, tell me to come walking on the water to you!" Jesus said, "Come on!" Rock clambered out of the boat and started walking on the water, heading for Jesus. But when the wind hit him he got scared stiff and, beginning to sink, he yelled, "Save me, sir!" At once Jesus put out his hand and grabbed him. "Why did you lose your nerve, baby-faith?" Jesus asked. They climbed back in the boat, and the wind died down. Those in the boat humbled themselves before him and said, "You are surely God’s Man!"[[@Bible:Matt 14:34]]34. They sailed over and came to the Geneva area. As soon as the people around there recognized him, they sent word to the outlying neighborhoods and everyone brought all their ailing ones to him. They asked him to let them touch his shirt. tail, and all who touched it were completely healed.[[@Bible:Matt 15]]Chapter 15[[@Bible:Matt 15:1]]1. Then some laymen and ministers from Atlanta approached him and asked, "How come your followers go against the customs of religious people by not saying grace before meals?" He answered, "Well, how come you yourselves break God’s law with your customs? For God says ‘Cherish your father and mother,’ and ‘He who renounces his father or mother shall be put to death.’ But you teach that ‘if a man tells his father or his mother, "I’ve donated to the church all that I had set aside for you," he has not deserted his father or his mother.’ You completely set aside God’s Word with a custom like that. You phonies, Isaiah was surely talking about you when be said,??????????????????????? ‘These people cherish me with their mouths,??????????????????????? But their hearts are miles from me.??????????????????????? Their worship of me isn’t worth a tinker’s dam;??????????????????????? Their teachings are man made rules.’"[[@Bible:Matt 15:10]]10. He called out to the crowd and said, "Y’all listen now and get this straight: It isn’t what goes into a man’s mouth but what comes out of it that debases him." Then the students went up to him and said, "Did you realize that when the church members heard what you said they were pretty riled up?" He answered, "Every plant that was not set out by my spiritual Father will be pulled up by the roots. Let them be. They are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man leads a blind man, they’ll both fall in a ditch." Rock spoke up, "Bust open the Comparison for us." Jesus said, "Are y’all that dumb too? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then becomes dung? But what comes out of the mouth springs from the heart and that debases a man. But to eat food that hasn’t been blessed doesn’t debase anybody."[[@Bible:Matt 15:21]]21. Jesus left there and arrived in the region of Dalton and Calhoun. Then a black woman from those parts came up and started pleading with him, "Please, sir, help me! My daughter is badly demon possessed." But he didn’t answer her a word. Then his students came along and advised him, "Tell her to scram, because she’s making too much noise!" He replied, "I was sent only to needy white people." But she came and humbled herself before him and said, "Sir, please help me!" He answered, "It isn’t right to take the bread from the children and throw it to the puppies." She said, "Yes, but even so, sir, the puppies do get the scraps from their masters’ table." Then Jesus said to her, "Ma’am, you’ve got a lot of faith. You may have whatever you want." And her daughter was healed from that instant.[[@Bible:Matt 15:29]]29. Well, Jesus left there and went over around Lake Lanier, and he climbed up a hill and stayed there. Then large crowds gathered around him. They had with them the crippled and deformed, the blind, the dumb and many others, and they rushed to put them at Jesus’ feet. When he healed them, the crowd just couldn’t get over the fact that they were seeing dumb people talking, deformed ones made normal, crippled ones walking, and blind ones seeing. And they praised the God of Jesus’ people.[[@Bible:Matt 15:32]]32. Now Jesus summoned his students and told them, "I am deeply concerned for the crowd, because they’ve already been with me for three days and they’ve run out of food. I hate to let them leave hungry; they might pass out along the way."????????????? The students asked, "But where will we find food enough out here in the country for all this crowd?"????????????? Jesus said, "Well, how much have you got?"????????????? "Seven loaves of bread," they said, "and a few fish." So after he told the people to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them into pieces, and distributed them among the students, who then served the people. Everybody ate and had plenty, and they had seven basketsful of leftovers. Four thousand men, not counting women and children, were fed. He dismissed the crowds, got in a boat and went into the Magadan area.[[@Bible:Matt 16]]Chapter?16[[@Bible:Matt 16:1]]1. Some Protestants and Catholics got together to test him, and they asked him to show them his spiritual credentials. He replied, "At dusk you say, ‘The sky is red; it’ll be fair,’ and at dawn you say, ‘The sky is red and darkening; it’ll rain today.’ You are able to read the clouds but not the signs of the times. A mean and faithless generation asks a sign from me, and the only sign it will get is that of Jonah." So he turned his back on them and left.[[@Bible:Matt 16:5]]5. When the students went across with him, they forgot to take bread. Jesus said to them, "Now let me warn you to stay away from the yeast of the Protestants and Catholics." They tried to figure that one out themselves, and decided he had said it because they had no bread. When Jesus found out about it, he said, "Why was it, baby-faiths, that you were hashing over the fact that you have no bread? Haven’t you caught on yet? Don’t you remember the five boxes of crackers of the five thousand and how many basketsful of leftovers you had? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many basketsful you had left over? Well, why can’t you get it through your heads that I wasn’t speaking to you about bread? Rather, I told you to stay away from the yeast of the Protestants and Catholics." Then it soaked in that he had not warned of the bread yeast, but of the teachings of the Protestants and Catholics.[[@Bible:Matt 16:13]]13. When Jesus came into the region of Augusta, he asked his students, "Who do people think the son of man is?"??????????? They said, "Some say John the Baptizer, others say Elijah, and still others, Jeremiah or one of the famous preachers."??????????? "But you, who do you think I am?" he asked.??????????? Simon the Rock spoke right up and said, "You are the Leader, the Living God’s Man."??????????? "You are beautiful, Simon Johnson!" exclaimed Jesus. "This isn’t human reasoning, but divine revelation. And I want to tell you, you are Rock, and on this rock?? I will build my fellowship, and the doors of death will not hold out against it. I will give to you the keys of the God Movement, and whatever you bind in the physical realm shall have been bound in the spiritual realm, and whatever you loose in the physical realm shall have been loosed in the spiritual realm." Then he strongly warned them to tell no one that he was the Leader.[[@Bible:Matt 16:21]]21. From then on Leader Jesus began to make clear to his students that he had to go to Atlanta and to go through terrible things at the hands of the leading church people-to be killed, and three days later to be raised! But Rock collared him and began to take him to task. "Not on your life, sir," be said, "Be dadblamed if this will ever happen to you." Jesus whirled on Rock and said, "Get away from here, you devil; you are gumming up the works for me, because you’re not following God’s ideas but human reasoning I" Jesus then said to his students, "If a man wants to walk my way, be must abandon self, accept his lynching, and share my life. For the person who aims to save his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life for my cause will find it. What’s a man’s advantage if in getting the whole world he loses his life? Indeed, what shall a man trade in his life for?[[@Bible:Matt 16:27]]27. "The Leader and his spiritual band will shortly come, with the full backing of his Father, and then he will assign every man on the basis of his activity. I give you my word, some of those standing right here won’t die before they see the Leader heading his Movement."[[@Bible:Matt 17]]Chapter 17[[@Bible:Matt 17:1]]1. Six days later Jesus withdrew into a very high mountain, and he took with him only Rock and Jim and Jim’s brother, Jack. And before their very eyes his form changed-his face lit up like the sun and his clothing became as bright as light. Then they saw Moses and Elijah talking with him. So Rock spoke up and said to Jesus, "Sir, it sure is wonderful that we are here. If you say so, I’ll build three chapels on this spot-one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He had hardly gotten it out of his mouth when a brilliant cloud enveloped them, and from the cloud came a voice, "This is my dear Son, who greatly pleases me; do what he tells you." When the students heard that they fell to the ground, scared out of their wits. Jesus came over to them, picked them up, and said, "Y’all get up and don’t be so scared," They looked up at him, and saw he was by himself.[[@Bible:Matt 17:9]]9. As they made their way down the mountain, Jesus warned them, "Don’t tell a soul about the vision until the son of man is raised from the dead." Then the students asked, "Well, how come the professors say that Elijah has to come first?" He replied, "Elijah indeed does come and get everything in order; in fact, Elijah has already come, and nobody recognized him, so they treated him like anybody else. They’ll do that and worse to the son of man." The students then realized that he was referring to John the Baptizer.[[@Bible:Matt 17:14]]14. As they approached the crowd, a man came running up and said, "Sir, please do something about my son, because he is crazy and is in bad shape. Many times he falls into the fire and frequently into the water. I brought him to your students, but they couldn’t heal him."??????????? Jesus answered, "You bankrupt, misguided people! How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I go to bat for you? Bring him here to me." Then Jesus chewed out the demon and it left, and the boy was completely well from that time on.??????????? When Jesus was alone, the students approached him and asked, "How come we couldn’t get that demon out?"??????????? "Because of your baby faith," he said. "It’s an absolute fact that if you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this hill, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will be moved. Nothing will be too big for you.[[@Bible:Matt 17:22]]22. While they were touring Georgia, Jesus said to them, "The son of man will soon be turned in to the authorities, and they’ll kill him-and on the third day he’ll be raised." This nearly tore their hearts out.[[@Bible:Matt 17:24]]24. During their stay in Savannah, some church fundraisers came to Rock and asked, "Does your leader make donations to the church?" Rock replied, "Yeah." When Rock went inside, Jesus took it up with him. "What do you think, Simon? Where does the government get its funds? From taxes on itself or from non-government sources?" Rock said, "Why, from non-government sources." Jesus answered, "So the government, then, is tax-exempt!? But, to keep from upsetting them, go down to the lake and throw your line in, open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you’ll find a ten-dollar bill. Take that and make a donation for both you and me."[[@Bible:Matt 18]]Chapter?18[[@Bible:Matt 18:1]]1. Along about then, his students raised this question with Jesus: "Who, now, is the top man in the God Movement?" He called a little child to him and said, "It’s a straight fact that unless you turn around and become like little children, you won’t have a ghost of a chance in the God Movement. So the person who brings himself as low as this kid will be the top man in the God Movement. And whoever recognizes one such youngster in my name recognizes me. Anybody who trips up one of these little ones who trust me would be better off if a grinding rock were draped around his neck and he were drowned in the bottom of the sea. The world is in an awful mess because of its traps. They do have to be, but it will be hell for the man who sets them.[[@Bible:Matt 18:8]]8. "If your hand or foot gets caught in a trap, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better to be alive, maimed or crippled, than to have both hands or both feet and be thrown into the bag of destruction. And if your eye makes you fall into a trap, cut it out and throw it away. For it is better to be alive, one-eyed, than to have both eyes and be roasted over the pit. Be careful that you don’t look down your nose at a single one of these little people, for it’s a sober fact that their spiritual envoys are in constant contact with my spiritual Father.[[@Bible:Matt 18:12]]12. "How do you see it? If a man owns a hundred sheep and one of them strays off, won’t he leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go look for the stray? And when he finds it, I’m sure that he’s more proud of it than of the ninety-nine that didn’t stray. That’s exactly the way it is with your spiritual Father. He doesn’t want a single one of these little people to be abandoned.[[@Bible:Matt 18:15]]15. "If your brother does you wrong, go talk it out privately between the two of you. If he sees your point, you’ve won your brother. But if he won’t see your side of it, take one or two others, since every fact, in order to stand, must have two or three witnesses. If be will pay them no mind, bring it up before the church. If he won’t pay attention to them, chalk him up as a hopeless case.[[@Bible:Matt 18:18]]18. "I give you my word that whatever you bind in the physical realm shall have been bound in the spiritual realm, and whatever you loose in the physical realm shall have been loosed in the spiritual realm. Again I want to tell you that if two of you in the physical realm covenant together about any matter of concern, it will be acted on for them by my spiritual Father. For where two or three are banded together as Christians, I am present with them."[[@Bible:Matt 18:21]]21. Then Rock sidled up and asked, "Sir, how often should I forgive my brother when he keeps doing me wrong? Seven times?"??????????? "I wouldn’t say seven times," Jesus replied, "but seventy times seven! That’s why the God Movement is like a big businessman who wanted to settle the accounts of his customers. As he started to do so, one customer came in who owed a bill of more than ten thousand dollars. He had nothing to pay on the account, so the businessman told the sheriff to put up for sale everything the guy had and apply it to the debt. Hut the fellow did a song and dance. ‘Please give me some more time and I’ll pay every cent!’ he begged. The businessman was touched by the guy’s pitiful pleas, so he let him go and marked off the debt. Then that same guy went out and found a man who owed him a hundred dollars. Grabbing him around the neck, he choked him and said, ‘Pay me that money you owe.??????????? ‘Please give me a little more time,’ the man begged, ‘and I’ll pay every cent.’ But he refused and, instead, he swore out a warrant for him, When the little man’s friends found out about it, they were really upset, so they went and told the big businessman all that had happened. Then the big businessman sent for the guy who had owed him the huge debt and said to him, ‘You low-down bum! I marked off all that debt for you because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you, then, have been kind to that little man just as I was kind to you?’ Still hot under the collar, he turned the fellow over to the law to be thrown into the clink until every last dime of the debt bad been paid. And my spiritual Father will treat you along the same lines unless every single one of you forgives your brother from your heart."[[@Bible:Matt 19]]Chapter 19[[@Bible:Matt 19:1]]1. So, when Jesus got through with these lessons, he left north Georgia and went into that section of south Georgia around the Chattahoochee. Great crowds flocked after him, and he healed them there.[[@Bible:Matt 19:3]]3. Then some church members, trying to get something on him, came and asked, "Under what circumstances is it all right for a man to divorce his wife?"??????????? He replied, "Haven’t you ever read how at the beginning the Creator made them man and woman, and said, ‘To preserve this, a man shall not give first place to his father and mother but shall be fully committed to his woman, and the two of them shall become one bundle of humanity’? So they cease to be two people-they are one. Therefore, let no man split up what God has teamed together."??????????? "Then why," they asked, "did Moses rule that a man could divorce a woman by giving her a signed statement that she was free?"??????????? "Moses let you divorce your wives," he replied, "because of your own bullheadedness. But it was not that way to start with. So I’m telling you that anybody who divorces his wife, except for sleeping with another man, and then marries someone else, is committing adultery."[[@Bible:Matt 19:10]]10. The students remarked, "If that’s the situation between a man and his wife, maybe they shouldn’t marry at all."??????????? "What I’ve just said," he answered, "does not apply to every? body, but to certain people. For example, some are born without sexual capacity, others have been robbed of it by their fellow men, and still others have sacrificed it for the cause of the God Movement. Let whoever the shoe fits wear it."[[@Bible:Matt 19:13]]13. Then they brought some children to him, that he might put his arms around them and pray for them. The students bawled out the people who had brought them. But Jesus told them, "You let those kids come to me, and don’t you dare get in their way, for they are the material of the God Movement!" And he put his arms around them and then left there.[[@Bible:Matt 19:16]]16. One day a fellow came to him and said, "Doctor, what is the good that I should follow in order to get spiritual life?"??????????? "Why are you inquiring about ‘the good’?" Jesus asked. "‘The good’ is one. But if you want to come into the life, abide by the rules."??????????? The fellow said, "Which ones??????????? Jesus answered, "Why, the ones that say, ‘Don’t murder, don’t sleep with someone you’re not married to, don’t steal, don’t lie, take care of your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’??????????? "I’ve kept them all," cried the young man. "Why am I still flunking?"??????????? "If you want to be a mature man," Jesus said, "go, sell your stuff, give it to the poor-you will be spiritually rich-and then come share my life." When the young fellow heard that bit, he walked away crying, because he had quite a pile. Jesus said to his students, "I’m telling you a fact; a rich man finds it extremely difficult to come into the God Movement. I say it again, a pig can go through a knothole easier than a rich man can get into the God Movement."??????????? Upon hearing this, the students were completely flabbergasted. "Who can make the grade?" they asked.??????????? Jesus looked straight at them and said, "Humanly speaking, this is impossible, but with God anything can happen."[[@Bible:Matt 19:27]]27. Then Rock popped off, "Look at us! We have thrown everything overboard and shared your life, so how will we come out?"??????????? Jesus answered, "Let me tell you something: When the new order is ushered in and the son of man takes office, then you all who have shared my life will be appointed to the twelve posts of the cabinet and will be responsible for the functioning of the new government. And anybody who has thrown overboard houses or brothers or sisters or fathers or mothers or children or farms for the sake of my cause will get them back a hundred times over, and will also receive spiritual life. But many on top will he on the bottom and many on the bottom will be on top.[[@Bible:Matt 20]]Chapter 20[[@Bible:Matt 20:1]]1. "The God Movement is like a farmer who went out early in the morning to hire some field workers. Having settled on a wage of ten dollars a day, he sent them into the cotton field. Then about nine he went to town and saw others standing around idle. So he said to them, ‘Y’all go on out to the fields, and P11 pay you what’s right.’ And they went. He did the same thing about noon, and again around three. Then about an hour before quitting time, he saw some others just hanging around. ‘Why have y’all been knocking around here all day doing nothing?’ he asked. ‘Because nobody has hired us,’ they answered. ‘Okay, then y’all can go out to the cotton fields too,’ he said. At the end of the day the farmer said to his field boss, ‘Call the workers and pay them off, starting with those who came last and continuing to the first ones.’ Well, those who came an hour before quitting time were called up and were each paid ten dollars. Now those who got there first thing in the morning supposed that they would get much more, but when they were paid off, they too got ten dollars. At that, they raised a squawk against the farmer. ‘These latecomers didn’t put in but one hour, and you’ve done the same by them as you did by us who stood in the hot sun and the scorching wind.’ But the farmer said to one of them, ‘Listen, buddy, I haven’t mistreated you. Didn’t you and I settle on ten dollars a day? Now pick up your pay and run along. I’m determined to give this last fellow exactly the same as you. Isn’t it okay for me to do as I please with what’s mine? Or are you bellyaching simply because I’ve been generous?’ That’s the way it is: Those on the bottom will be on top, and those on top will be on the bottom."[[@Bible:Matt 20:17]]17. As Jesus was planning to go to Atlanta, he called the twelve aside and said to them along the way, "Look, we’re headed for Atlanta, and the son of man will be banded over to the officials and they will pass the death sentence on him. They’ll turn him over to the mob to have fun poked at him, to be flogged, and to be lynched. And on the third day be will be made alive!"[[@Bible:Matt 20:20]]20. Then the mother of the Zebedee boys came to him with her two, greeted him, and said she would like to ask a favor of him. "What do you want?" he asked.??????????? "Please arrange it," she said, "so that one of these two sons of mine might be your first vice-president in the Movement and the other your second vice-president."??????????? Jesus answered, "Y’al1 don’t realize what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I’m about to drink?"??????????? They said, "We sure are!"??????????? "All right," he said, "you’ll drink my cup, but to make one of you my first vice-president and the other my second vice-president is not up to me. These positions are for those who have been prepared for them by my Father." When the other ten got wind of this, they were plenty sore at the two brothers. So Jesus called them all together and said, "You are aware that the world’s big shots lord it over people and the high brass throws their weight around. But it’s not that way with you. If one of you wants to be a head man, let him be your general flunky. Your example is the son of man himself, who didn’t come to be served, but to serve and to give his life for the life of the masses.[[@Bible:Matt 20:29]]29. As they left Griffin a big crowd went with him. Two blind men were sitting beside the road, and when they beard that Jesus was passing by, they yelled, "Please, Mr. David’s son, have mercy on us!" But the crowd chewed them out and told them to shut up. Instead, they yelled even louder, "Please, Mr. David’s son, have mercy on us!"??????????? So Jesus stopped and called out to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"??????????? "Our eyes, sir," they said, "make them see!" Jesus’ heart melted, and he touched their eyes. Right away they saw, and they went along with him.[[@Bible:Matt 21]]Chapter 21[[@Bible:Matt 21:1]]1. As he neared Atlanta he came to Peach Orchard Hill, outside Hampton. There he sent two students ahead, with these instructions: "Go into the next town, and as soon as you enter it you will find a donkey tied up and a mule with her. Untie them and bring them to me. And if anybody questions you, just say, ‘Their owner needs them,’ and he’ll let you have them right away." (This happened to give meaning to the words of the prophet:??????????????????????? "Spread the word in the capital:??????????????????????? Look, your king is entering you,??????????????????????? An humble man riding a donkey,??????????????????????? Riding a mule, a lowly work animal.")[[@Bible:Matt 21:6]]6. So the students left, and did exactly as Jesus bad told them. They brought the donkey and the mule, put their own coats on them, and Jesus jumped on. Many in the crowd made a carpet of their coats while other plaited twigs cut from trees and lined the road with them. Huge crowds of people, some going in front of him and some following him, were cheering loudly:??????????????????????? "Hurrah for our Leader!??????????????????????? Long Live the Lord’s Man!??????????????????????? Hurrah for God Almighty!"??????????? When he entered Atlanta, the whole city was all shook up. "Who is this guy?" they asked. And the crowd replied, "He is a man of God-Jesus, from Valdosta, Georgia."[[@Bible:Matt 21:12]]12. Then Jesus went into First Church, pitched out the whole finance committee, tore up the investment and endowment records, and scrapped the long-range expansion plans. "My house shall be known for its commitment to God," he shouted, "but you have turned it into a religious racket!" And the blind people and the broken people gathered around him in the church, and he made them well. But when the district superintendents and the ministers saw the fantastic things he was doing, and the young people loudly cheering in the church, "Hurrah for our Leader," they blew their stacks. "Don’t you bear what these kids are screaming?" they growled. "Yes, indeed," Jesus exclaimed, "and haven’t you ever read that ‘I’ll weave a hymn of praise from the babblings of babies and the cries of kids’?" He walked away, left the city and spent the night in Jonesboro.[[@Bible:Matt 21:18]]18. Upon returning to the city early next morning, he was hungry, so when he saw a lone peach tree beside the road, he went over to it. But he found that it had nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, "You’ll never in this world bear fruit." And quick as a wink it wilted. This astounding sight stood the students on their ear. "How about that The peach tree wilted in a wink!" But Jesus told them, "Listen here, if you hold on to your faith and don’t chicken out, you’ll do not only the peach tree thing, but even if you tell this hill, ‘Get up and jump in the lake,’ it will happen; in fact, when you put your faith into action, you get anything you pray for."[[@Bible:Matt 21:23]]23. Returning to the church, he was approached during a teaching session by some ministers and elders who asked, "What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this permission?"??????????? Jesus replied, "All right, I’ll ask you just one question, and if you answer it, then I’ll tell you where I got permission to do these things. John’s baptism, was it divine or human?"??????????? They conferred with one another, saying, "If we tell him ‘divine,’ then he’ll ask us, ‘So why didn’t you accept it?’ If we say ‘human,’ we’re scared of John’s crowd, because they all regard him as a man of God." So they told Jesus, "We really don’t know.??????????? "Okay," he said, "then I won’t tell you where I got the authority for my actions. But give me a reading on this: A man had two boys. He went to the older one and said, ‘My boy, go work in the orchard today.’ He said, ‘Will do, Pop,’ but he never did. Then he went to the younger one and told him the same thing. But the boy said, ‘I won’t go.’ Afterwards he felt like a heel, and did go. Which of the two obeyed his father?"??????????? "Why, the last one," they said.??????????? "And I’m telling you the honest truth," Jesus said, "that the hippies and the whores are taking the lead over you into the God Movement. For John confronted you with the way of justice, and you didn’t buy it. But the hippies and the whores bought it, and you knew it. Even this, though, didn’t make you feel like a heel afterwards and go buy it yourselves.[[@Bible:Matt 21:33]]33. "Listen to another Comparison, Once there was a farmer who set out a peach orchard, built a fence around it, bought some equipment, and put up a packing shed. Then he rented it to some sharecroppers and left. When peach-picking time came, he sent his workers to the croppers to get his share of the fruit. But the croppers took his workers and beat one of them, killed another, and stoned the other. So he tried again, this time sending more important workers than before, but the croppers treated them the same way. Finally he sent his son, thinking that surely they would respect him. But when the croppers saw the son they got together and said, ‘Hey, there’s the old man’s boy. Let’s kill this cat and take over his estate!’ So they grabbed him and dragged him out of the orchard and murdered him. Now, when the owner of the orchard comes, what will he do to those croppers?"??????????? They answered, "Why, he’ll tear those bastards to bits, and let out the orchard to croppers who’ll give him his share of the fruit at harvesttime."??????????? Jesus asked them, "Haven’t you ever read in the Bible: ‘The stone which the craftsmen rejected was selected as the cornerstone. This was done by the owner, and is an amazing sight for us’? Now that’s why I’m telling you that the God Movement will be taken out of your hands and turned over to people who will be productive. (And the person who falls on this stone will be splattered, but whoever it falls on will be pulverized.)" The ministers and church people listened to his Comparisons, and were aware that they were aimed at them. They were dying to arrest him, but feared the crowd, who regarded him as a man of God.[[@Bible:Matt 22]]Chapter 22[[@Bible:Matt 22:1]]1. Jesus continued the conversation by speaking to them with Comparisons. "The God Movement is like a governor who gave a big dinner for his party chairman. He told his secretaries to invite the prominent dignitaries, but they refused to accept. So he told his secretaries to try again. ‘Tell them,’ he said: ‘"The banquet is all arranged for-the steer has been butchered and the hogs barbecued. Y’all come on to the dinner." ‘But they couldn’t have cared less. One left to go out to his farm; another went to his store, The rest of them taunted and insulted the secretaries. At that, the governor had a duck fit, and ordered the names of the scoundrels to be struck from the list of his friends. Then he said to his secretaries, ‘Plans for the banquet are all made, but the people I invited aren’t fit to come. So go to the various precincts, and whoever you find there, invite them to the banquet.’ Well, they went to the precincts and brought in everybody they could find, good and bad. The banquet hall was filled with guests, and the governor went in to greet them, There he saw a guy sitting at the table who looked and smelled like he had just come in from his farm. The governor said to him, ‘Hey, buddy, how did you get in here, looking and smelling like that?’ He just clammed up. Then the governor said to the waiters. ‘Tie the bum up and throw him in the back alley.’ Outside there’ll be yelling and screaming, for [be big ones were invited but the little ones got in,"[[@Bible:Matt 21:15]]15. Then the good church members got together and hatched a plot to trap him in something he said. So they sent him a committee with some FBI men. "Doctor," they said, "we know that you are a straight shooter, and that you tell God’s way like it is. And it doesn’t matter to you who you’re talking to, because you pay no attention to a man’s standing. Now please give us your opinion am this matter: Should one pay Federal taxes or not?"??????????? Catching on to their trick, Jesus asked, "Why are you putting me in a bind, you phonies? Show me a dollar," They brought him a dollar, and he said, "Whose engraving is on it?"??????????? They said, "The government’s."??????????? "All right, then," he replied, "give the government’s things to the government and God’s things to God."??????????? When they heard that, it bowled them over and they laid off him and left.[[@Bible:Matt 21:23]]23. The same day some liberals, who say there’s no life after death, gathered around him and put this question to him: "Doctor, the Old Testament says that if a man dies without having any children, his brother shall many the widow and have children by her for his brother. Now, there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened with the second and the third, on through the seventh. Finally the woman died. Now then, in the hereafter, which of the seven will she belong to, since all of them were married to her?"[[@Bible:Matt 21:29]]29. Jesus retorted, "You’re off the beam, understanding neither the Scriptures nor God’s power. In the hereafter people are not married, but are in the Spirit, like angels. But regarding the afterlife, haven’t you ever read how God told you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not, then, the God of the dead but of the living." And as the crowds listened, they were spellbound by his teaching.[[@Bible:Matt 21:34]]34. When the church members found out that he had cooked the liberals’ goose, they ganged up on him, and one of their bright boys, trying to get Jesus over a barrel, asked, "Doctor, what is the most important commandment in the Bible?" Jesus said, "‘You shall love your Lord Cod with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind,’ This is the greatest and most important commandment. Next to it is this’ one: ‘You shall love your fellow man as yourself.’ The whole Bible hinges on these two."[[@Bible:Matt 21:41]]41. The next time the church members met, Jesus asked them a question: "What do you think about the Leader? Whose son is he?"??????????? They answered, "David’s."??????????? "Then why did David refer to him as his spiritual master when he said, ‘The Master said to my master, "Sit at my right hand while I bring all who oppose you under your rule"’? If then David calls him ‘master,’ how can he be his son?" Not a soul could answer him one word, and from that day on nobody had the guts to put another question to him.[[@Bible:Matt 23]]Chapter 23[[@Bible:Matt 23:1]]1. Then Jesus opened up on the crowds and to his students~ "The theologians and the preachers plant their feet in the Bible; therefore, listen to all they tell you and live by it. But don’t you act like them, because they are forever talking and never doing. They sack up heavy loads and strap them on men’s backs, but they themselves won’t lift a little finger to carry them. Their every action is for show. They strut in their robes and display their degrees. They love the seats at the speaker’s table at banquets, and the pulpit chairs in the churches, and the back-slapping at civic clubs. They like to be called ‘Reverend.’ But don’t let yourselves be called ‘Reverend,’ for you have but one pastor and you all are brothers. And don’t call a human being ‘father,’ for you have but one spiritual Father; neither be called ‘doctor,’ for you have but one Doctor—the Leader. Your top man shall be your houseboy. The fellow who promotes himself will get bumped, and whoever bumps himself will get promoted.[[@Bible:Matt 23:13]]13. "It will be hell for you, theologians and preachers— phonies, because you lock men out of the God Movement. You not only won’t enter yourselves, but you slam the door on those who do.?? It will be hell for you, theologians and preachers— phonies, because you send missionaries around the world to make one convert, and when you win him you make him double the devil’s son that you are. It will be hell for you, you blind leaders who say, ‘If somebody pledges by the sanctuary,? he may renege, but if he pledges by the gold in the sanctuary, he has to pay. You blind nitwits, which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that houses the gold? You also say, ‘If somebody pledges by the altar table he may renege, but if be pledges by the offering on the altar table, he must pay.’ Moles, which is more important, the offering or the altar table on which it is laid? So anybody who pledges by the altar table pledges by it and everything on it. And anybody who pledges by the sanctuary pledges by it and by its Occupant. And the one who pledges by heaven, pledges by God’s throne and by him who sits on it.[[@Bible:Matt 23:23]]23. "It will be hell for you, theologians and preachers— phonies, because you tithe your pennies, nickels, and dimes, and pass up the more important things in the Bible, such as justice, sharing, and integrity. You ought to practice these without neglecting those. You addlebrained leaders, you fence in a flea and let your horse escape. You save your trading stamps and throw your groceries in the garbage.[[@Bible:Matt 23:25]]25. "It will be hell for you, theologians and preachers— phonies, because you trim the lawn and paint the house, but inside there is nothing but greed and selfishness. Blind ecclesiastic, first clean up the inside of the house, that the outside too might be neat.[[@Bible:Matt 23:27]]27. "It will be hell for you, theologians and preachers— phonies, because you resemble landscaped slaughterhouses, which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of blood and entrails. That’s exactly the way you are. Outwardly you impress people as men of justice, but inside you are full of phoniness and fraud,[[@Bible:Matt 23:29]]29. "It will be hell for you, theologians and preachers— phonies, because you build churches and name them after the saints, and you set up orders to honor the faithful. You say, ‘If we had been alive in those days we wouldn’t have joined our forefathers in murdering the men of God.’ By this you do admit that you are descendants of prophet-killers. You yourselves live up to your forefathers’ reputation! Copperheads, sons of snakes, how can you escape hell’s damnation? Now look, I’m sending to you men of God and competent teachers and ministers. Some of them you’ll hound to death and lynch, and some of them you’ll castigate in your churches and pester from city to city. Over you, then, hangs the guilt for the murder of every innocent man since time began, from the murder of innocent Abel to the murder of Zack Bronson, who was shot between the church and the parsonage. I’m telling it like it is, all of this will hang over this generation.[[@Bible:Matt 23:37]]37. "O Atlanta, Atlanta! Killer of prophets and assassinator of statesmen, many times I wanted to draw your people together as a hen snuggles her biddies under her wings, and you would have none of it. All right, your affairs are in your own hands, but I’ll tell you this, you won’t see me around again until you’re crying out, ‘Please God, send us some spiritual leadership.’[[@Bible:Matt 24]]Chapter 24[[@Bible:Matt 24:1]]1. As Jesus was leaving First Church, his students gathered around and made comments to him about the church’s beautiful architecture. He responded, "You see all this layout, don’t you? I’ve got news for you: not one piece of marble will be left upon another without being torn down."[[@Bible:Matt 24:3]]3. Later, as he was sitting on Peach Orchard Hill, his students came to him privately and said, "Please tell us when this will happen, and what will be the signal for your coup and the finishing off of the regime."[[@Bible:Matt 24:4]]4. "Don’t let anybody kid you," he told them, "for there will be many people buzzing around calling themselves Christians and saying, ‘I’m the Leader,’ and they’ll dupe a lot of folks. But you’ll soon bear of strife and sounds of strife. Don’t get upset, for that’s the way it has to be, but that’s not really the end. Race will rise against race, and nation against nation. There will be disasters and shakeups in various places. All these things are but the first labor pains of the new order. Then they will tar and feather you and kill you, and you’ll be hated by just about everybody—simply because you are my people. At that time many will be washed out and they’ll squeal on one another and hate one other. Many ministerial quacks will come along and hoodwink the crowds. And because of the increased rioting, many people’s goodwill will be cooled off. But the one who sticks with it to the finish will be saved. And this good news of the Movement will be spread throughout the world as an established fact for mankind; then the finish will come.[[@Bible:Matt 24:15]]15. "So, when you see the tyrannical foreign power, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, occupying the government (you know who I mean), then the people of the country should take to the hills; the guy at the office must not go home to pack up, and the farmer in the field must not go back for his Sunday clothes. It will be hell for the pregnant and for those who are nursing babies in those days. Just pray that this won’t happen during winter or on a holiday, for there will be great suffering, the like of which has never been known since the beginning of time until now, nor ever will be. And had not its duration been shortened on account of the remnant, not a soul would come through it alive. If anyone at that time tells you, ‘Here are the Christians over here,’ or ‘Here we are right here,’ pay them no attention. For fake messiahs and phony preachers will get up all over the place and put on big shows and crusades so as to bamboozle, if they can, even the true believers. Now listen, I’m forewarning you. Therefore, if they tell you, ‘Ah, he is at the retreat center,’ don’t go out there; or if they say, ‘Oh, be is in our meetings,’ don’t be sucked in. The coup of the son of man will be just like a bolt of lightning springing from the east and flashing across the sky to the west. Wherever there’s something dead, buzzards will be circling.[[@Bible:Matt 24:29]]29. "Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be turned into darkness, the moon will lose its lustre, the stars will fall from heaven, and the cycle of the spheres will be broken. Then the signal of the son of man will appear in the sky. After that, all the nations of the earth will cry out, and they’ll see the son of man riding the clouds of the sky with great pomp and majesty. And he will send his messengers with a terrific trumpet to assemble his true believers from North and South and East and West.[[@Bible:Matt 24:32]]32. "Now consider this Comparison with a peach tree: When its buds swell and it puts out leaves, you know that summer is on its way. All right, by the same token, when you see all this taking place, you know that here it is on your doorsteps. I assure you that before this generation is gone, things will be popping. Land and sky will cease to be, but my words will stand to eternity.[[@Bible:Matt 24:36]]36. "Nobody—not even the angels in heaven or the Son, only the Father—knows about the final day and hour. The coup of the son of man will be similar to Noah’s situation. During the days just before the flood, it was ‘business as usual’ for everybody right up till the day Noah went into the ark. They were unconvinced until the flood came and swept everything away. The son of man’s coup will be like that. When it happens, two brothers will be in the field; one will be caught up and one will be left plowing. Two sisters will be fixing dinner; one will be caught up and one will be left cooking. So stay on your toes, because you can never tell what day your master will come. And keep this in mind: if the homeowner knew what time the thief was coming, he would wait up for him and not allow his house to be robbed. By the same token, you too be on the alert, be. cause the son of man might arrive at a time when you’re not expecting it.[[@Bible:Matt 24:45]]45. "Well then, who is the loyal and efficient worker whose boss will put him in charge of his payroll to see that everyone is promptly and accurately paid? Happy is that worker who, when his boss shows up, is hard at it. I assure you he’ll give him one promotion after another. But if that guy is a stinker and tells himself, ‘My boss will be late this morning,’ and starts throwing his weight around and abusing his coworkers, and then goes out for a snack and a few beers, sure as anything his boss will show up just when he is least expected and will tear him apart and fire him. That will give him something to moan and groan about.[[@Bible:Matt 25]]Chapter 25[[@Bible:Matt 25:1]]1. "The God Movement, then, may be compared to ten young ladies who got their lanterns and went out to join a wedding party. Five of them were giddy-witted and five were cool. The giddy-wits took their lanterns but no oil, while the cool ones took extra oil for their lanterns. The wedding procession was late in coming, so they all started nodding and napping. Along about midnight someone yelled, ‘Hey, the procession is coming! Jump up and join it!’ So all the girls woke up and got their lanterns in order. The giddy-wits said to the cool gals, ‘Our lanterns are going out; please let us have some of your oil.’ But the smart ones said, ‘We can’t; there isn’t enough for both of us. You’d better go to the store and buy some for yourselves.’ While they were gone to the store, the procession came and those who were all set went along into the ballroom, and the doors were closed. Later on, the other girls came running and said, ‘Mister, Mister, let us in!’ But he replied, ‘I don’t recognize you.’ So keep your eyes open, because you never know the day or hour.[[@Bible:Matt 25:14]]14. "It’s like a businessman who was leaving town for a long time and called in his assistants and turned over his investments to them. He made one responsible for about five hundred thousand dollars, another two hundred thousand, and another a hundred thousand—according to each one’s ability—and then he left town. Right away the man with the five hundred grand got to work and made five hundred more. The man with the two hundred grand did the same and made another two hundred. But the guy with the hundred C’s went and rented a safe-deposit box and put his boss’ money in it. After a long time the boss returned and called his assistants together for an accounting. The one with the five hundred thousand brought his other five hundred thousand and said, ‘Sir, you let me have five hundred grand; look, I’ve made another five hundred,’ The boss said, ‘Splendid, you good and responsible worker! You were diligent with the smaller sum; I’ll entrust you with a larger one. You’ll be a partner in my business.’ Then the one with the two hundred G’s came and said, ‘Sir, you let me have two hundred thousand; look, I’ve made another two hundred.’ The boss said, ‘Splendid, you good and responsible worker! You were diligent with the smaller sum, I’ll entrust you with a larger one. You’ll be a partner in my business.’ Well, the hundred grand man came up and said, ‘Sir, I know you are a hard-nosed man, squeezing pennies you haven’t yet made and expecting a profit before the ink has dried. I was plain scared to take any chances, so I rented a safe-deposit box and put your money in it. Look, you’ve got every cent.’ But his boss replied, ‘You sorry, ornery bum! You knew that I squeeze pennies I haven’t yet made, and expect profits before the ink dries. Then you should have turned my money over to the bank so that upon my return I would get back at least my principal with interest. So then, y’all take the money away from him and give it to the one with the million. For it will be given to everyone who has the stuff, and he’ll have plenty, but the man who doesn’t have the stuff will have even what he has taken away from him. Now as for this useless critter, throw him in the back alley. That’ll give him something to moan and groan about.’[[@Bible:Matt 25:31]]31. "When the son of man starts his revolution with all his band around him, then he will assume authority. And all the nations will be assembled before him, and he will sort them out, like a farmer separating his cows from his bogs, penning the cows on the right and the hogs on the left. Then the Leader of the Movement will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you pride of my Father, share in the Movement that was set up for you since creation; for I was hungry and you shared your food with me; I was thirsty and you shared your water with me; I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ragged and you clothed me, sick and you nursed me; I was in jail, and you stood by me.’ Then the people of justice will answer, ‘Sir, when did we see you hungry and share our food, or thirsty and share our water? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or ragged and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in jail, and stand by you?’ And the Leader of the Movement will reply, ‘When you did it to one of these humblest brothers of mine, you did it to me.’[[@Bible:Matt 25:41]]41. "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you fallen skunks, and into the flaming hell reserved for the Confuser and his crowd. For I was hungry and you shared nothing with me; I was thirsty and you gave me no water; I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me, ragged and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in jail, and you didn’t stand by me.’ Then these too will ask, ‘Sir, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or ragged or sick or in jail, and do nothing about your needs?’ Then he’ll answer, ‘When you failed one of these humblest people you failed me.’ These will take an awful beating, while the just ones will have the joy of living."[[@Bible:Matt 26]]Chapter 26[[@Bible:Matt 26:1]]1. When Jesus concluded these lessons, he said to his students, "You all realize that the annual convention is only two days away, and the son of man will be taken out and lynched."[[@Bible:Matt 26:3]]3. Then the executives and board members got together at the office of the chairman, whose name was Caiaphas. The purpose of the meeting was to find a way to take Jesus on the sly and do him in. They said, "Not at the convention, because it might start a riot among the people."[[@Bible:Matt 26:6]]6. When Jesus was at the home of Simon the wino in Jonesboro, a woman with a bottle of very high-priced perfume came and dabbed it on him while he was eating. When the students noticed it, they boiled over: "What’s going on? Why waste this when it could be sold for a neat sum and used for the poor?" Jesus got wind of it and said, "Why are you bitching at the lady? She has done something beautiful for me. You have poor people with you all the time, but you don’t have me all the time. By putting this perfume on my body she has prepared me for burial. I assure you that wherever the gospel is preached she will be remembered for what she has done."[[@Bible:Matt 26:14]]14. At this time, one of the twelve, Judas Iscariot, went to the executives and said, "How much will you give me to deliver him to you?" They set the price on him at thirty silvers.?? From then on, Judas was looking for an opportunity to deliver him.[[@Bible:Matt 26:17]]17. On the first day of the convention, the students came to Jesus and said, "Where shall we arrange to have the annual banquet?" He said, "Go into the city and tell Mr. So-an’-So, ‘The Professor says, ‘I’m just about ready. I plan to have the banquet with my students at your place."’" The students did as Jesus directed, and made preparations for the banquet.[[@Bible:Matt 26:20]]20. That night Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve, and as they were eating he said, "I’m convinced that one of you will turn me in." They were simply horrified at this, and each one began asking, "You’re not talking about me, are you, sir?" He replied. "The person who will turn me in is one who served himself from the same plate I did. Indeed the son of man is going the same way the Scriptures said he would, but it will be hell for that fellow who turns him in. It would have been better for him if he had never been horn." Then Judas, who actually did turn him in, asked, "You’re not talking about me, are you, Doctor?" Jesus said to him, "You’re right."[[@Bible:Matt 26:26]]26. During the banquet Jesus took a loaf, and having blessed it he broke it and gave it to the students. "Take it and eat," he said; "this is my body." He also took the cup, and after the thanksgiving prayer he gave it to them and said, "Y’all drink out of it; this is my blood. It is being shed for many so as to write the Constitution of the Clean State. I’m telling you that I am drinking no more of this ‘fruit of the vine’ until that day when I drink new wine with you in my Father’s Movement."[[@Bible:Matt 26:30]]30. Well, they sang something and went out to Peach Orchard Hill. Then Jesus said to them, "On this very night every last one of you will chicken out on me, for it is written, ‘I’ll slug the shepherd, and the flock of sheep will be scattered all over.’ But after I’m raised, I’ll go on ahead of you into Alabama." Rock spoke right up, "Even if the whole bunch chickens out on you, I myself will never in this world chicken out on you." Jesus said to him, "Let me tell you something: Tonight—before the rooster crows at dawn—you’ll disown me three times." Rock told him, "I don’t care if I have to die for you, I positively will not disown you." And that’s what they all said.[[@Bible:Matt 26:36]]36. Then Jesus went with them to a spot called McMath’s Mill, and he said to his students, "Y’all please stay here while I go over yonder to pray." Taking with him Rock and the two Zebedee boys, he began to show his heartbreak and weariness of soul. "I’m so heavy-hearted that it’s about to crush the life out of me," he told them; "please stay here and sweat it through with me." And he went a little farther, and fell on his face praying, "O my Father, if it’s possible, please relieve me of this agony! But I want you to decide it, not me.[[@Bible:Matt 26:40]]40. He went back to the students and found them dozing. So he said to Rock, "How about that! Weren’t you fellows able to stick with me for even an hour? Get with it and start praying so that you don’t get into a bind! Even though the heart is right, the will is weak." He left again and prayed a second time, "O my Father, if it’s impossible to relieve me of this agony without my going through with it, then let your will be done." Then he returned, and found them dozing again, for their eyes were as heavy as lead. He let them be, and went back again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing over. He then came to his students and told them, "Y’all sleep on a while and relax; the time for the son of man to be turned over to wicked people is close. . . . Hey, get up, let’s go! The man turning me in is here now!"[[@Bible:Matt 26:47]]47. Even as he was saying it, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, and with him was a mob sent out by the power establishment and armed with guns and clubs. Now Jesus’ informer had arranged to give the mob a signal: "He’ll be the one I kiss; nab him." So he walked right up to Jesus and said, "Hello Doctor!" And he kissed him.?? Jesus said to him, "O buddy, what have you arrived at?" Then they came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. Right then one of those with Jesus reached in his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. He slashed at the archbishop’s lackey, and sliced off his ear. Then Jesus shouted at him, "Put that switchblade back in your pocket! People who use violence are destroyed by it. Or are you thinking that I can’t call on my Father and get him to instantly send me more than a dozen battalions of angels? But then, how would the writings that it must turn out this way have any meaning?"[[@Bible:Matt 26:55]]55. At the same time Jesus said to the mob, "So you have come out here armed with guns and clubs to take me as though I were a seditionist? Day after day I taught openly at the church and you didn’t lay hands on me. But this whole thing has happened so that the writings of the men of God might have meaning," Then all the students left him in the lurch and got out of there fast.[[@Bible:Matt 26:57]]57. The gang that got Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the archbishop, where the ministers and elders were gathered. Keeping his distance, Rock trailed him as far as the archbishop’s back. yard, and went inside and sat with the servants to see how it would turn out. Now the executives and the whole council were trying to bring a false charge against Jesus that would justify putting him to death, but from all the liars who testified, they couldn’t make a case. Finally two of them testified, "This fellow said, ‘I can tear down God’s house and build it up during three days.’" The archbishop faced him and asked, "Can you make any answer to these men’s accusations?" Jesus was silent. The archbishop said to him, "I put you under oath to the living God to tell us if you are God’s appointed Leader—God’s Man." Jesus replied, "You are right. But I have news for you all: From now on you’ll be seeing the son of man exercising his power and riding on the clouds of the sky."[[@Bible:Matt 26:65]]65. Then the archbishop unzipped his robe and exploded, "He’s mocking God! Why do we need any more witnesses? Just look! Y’all heard the impudent mockery. What do you think?" They responded. "Guilty! Let him die!" Then they spit in his face and whacked him over the head. Those beating him said, "Tell us, Mister Leader, which one socked you?"[[@Bible:Matt 26:69]]69. Rock was still sitting outside in the yard. A young girl came up to him and said, "Say, you too were with Jesus the Georgian." He flatly denied it right in front of everybody, "I don’t know what you’re talking about." When he went over to the gate, another girl saw him and said to the others standing there, "This fellow was with Jesus." This time he flatly denied it in stronger terms, "I’ll be damned if I even know the guy." A little later, some who were standing around turned to Rock and said, "It’s for sure that you are one of them, because your accent gives you away." Well, at that Rock began to cut the blue and use some nautical language. ". . . I don’t know the man!" he said. Right then the rooster crowed. Rock remembered how Jesus had told him, "Before the rooster crows you’ll disown me three times," And he went out and cried like a baby.[[@Bible:Matt 27]]Chapter 27[[@Bible:Matt 27:1]]1. At daybreak all the executive board deliberated on how to put Jesus to death. They beat him up real good, and took him over and turned him in to Governor Pilate.[[@Bible:Matt 27:3]]3. When Judas, who had squealed on him, realized that Jesus had been condemned, he broke down and took the thirty silvers back to the archbishop and elders, and said, "I’ve done wrong; I’ve ratted on an innocent man." They replied, "What’s that to us? You tend to it." And he slammed the money down in the church and left, and hanged himself. The church officers picked up the money, but felt it wouldn’t be proper to put it in the church treasury, since it was tainted with blood. So they passed a motion to buy the Potter place with it, as a cemetery for outsiders. That’s why to this day that field is called "The Blood Plot." And this gave meaning to something Jeremiah the prophet said, "And they took the thirty silvers, the price they felt was a fair price for a man from Georgia, and used them for the Potter place, as the Lord instructed me."[[@Bible:Matt 27:11]]11. Jesus now appeared before the governor. "Are you the Head of the Church?" the governor inquired. "You are right," replied Jesus. But when the church officers tried to hang something on him, he made no defense. Pilate then said to him "Are you admitting their charges against you?" But Jesus did not defend himself on a single count, which greatly surprised the governor.[[@Bible:Matt 27:15]]15. Now each year at the annual convention the governor had a practice of pardoning some prisoner the people demanded. Right then there was a very famous prisoner in jail named Jesus Daddy-boy.? So when they assembled, Pi1ate asked them, "Who shall I pardon for you—Jesus Daddy-boy or Jesus the Father’s Anointed?" (Pilate detected that they had arrested Jesus out of pure meanness.)[[@Bible:Matt 27:19]]19. While the trial was going on, Pilate’s wife sent word to him: "Don’t get tangled up with that honest man, because I had a horrible nightmare about him last night."[[@Bible:Matt 27:20]]20. Well, the leaders of the council pressured the mob to ask for Daddy-boy to be released and Jesus to be condemned. So when the governor asked them, "Which of the two do you want me to pardon for you?" they shouted, "Daddy-boy!"??????????? Pilate asked them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus, God’s Anointed?" They all yelled, "Kill him!"??????????? "But what’s his crime?"??????????? They screamed even louder, "Kill him!"[[@Bible:Matt 27:24]]24. When Pilate saw that be wasn’t getting anywhere, but that a big stir was brewing, he got some water and washed off his hands publicly. "I am clearing myself of this man’s blood," be said; "you yourselves are responsible." The whole crowd answered back, "His blood will be on us and on our children!" Then Pilate pardoned Daddy-boy, and he had Jesus beaten and turned over to them to string up.[[@Bible:Matt 27:27]]27. The governor’s troopers then took Jesus into the barracks and passed the word around among all the boys. They stripped him naked, dressed him up in a black clerical robe, and made a dog collar out of burlap. They put a Bible in his hand, came by and shook hands with him and wisecracked, "Good morning, Reverend, Leader of the Faithful." And they spit on him, and took the Bible and clobbered him over the head with it. When they got through deviling him, they took off the clerical garb and put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to string him up. On the way they found an outsider named Simon, and they made him tote Jesus’ cross.[[@Bible:Matt 27:33]]33. Well, they got to a place called "Skull." They offered him a drink of wine mixed with a drug, but when he tasted it, he wouldn’t drink it.??????????? They nailed him to the cross.??????????? They rolled dice to see who would get his clothes.??????????? They sat around watching him there.??????????? Over his head they put a copy of the charge against him. It read: "This is Jesus, the Leader of the Faithful."??????????? Two revolutionaries were nailed up with him, one on his right and one on his left.??????????? People passed by him and razzed him. They wagged their heads and said, "Hey, you who can tear down God’s house and build it up in three days, get yourself out of this pickle. If you’re God’s Man, bust loose from the cross!" The bishops and preachers and elders acted the same way. They said, "He got others out of their bind but he can’t get out of his own. He is the Leader of the Faithful; let him break loose from the cross now and we will be his faithful ones. He set his heart on God; now if God wants him, let him rescue him. After all, he did say, ‘I am God’s Man.’"??????????? The revolutionaries who were crucified with him taunted him with the same kind of stuff.[[@Bible:Matt 27:45]]45. From noon till three a darkness settled over the whole place. About three o’clock Jesus groaned loudly: "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which means, "O my God, O my God, why have you left me here?"??????????? When some of those standing around him heard that, they said, "Listen, the man is calling on Elijah!" One of them ran real quick and got a sponge, soaked it in wine, and put it on a stick and held it to his mouth. The rest said, "Don’t do that! Let’s see if Elijah will come and rescue him."[[@Bible:Matt 27:50]]50. Jesus again gave a loud cry. Then he died.??????????? And you know, the big curtain in the sanctuary of First Church was torn in two, from top to bottom.??????????? And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.??????????? Graves were laid open, and many bodies of dedicated dead people were made alive. They came out of the graves, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into Atlanta, and made themselves known to many people.[[@Bible:Matt 27:54]]54. Now when the captain and his buddies who were keeping an eye on Jesus saw the earthquake and the happenings, they were scared out of their wits. "No doubt about it," they said, "this guy really was God’s Man."[[@Bible:Matt 27:55]]55. Some distance away a number of ladies, who had followed Jesus from Alabama to wait on him, were watching it all. Among them were Mary, "that girl from Magdala," and Mary, the mother of Jim and Joe, and the mother of the Zebedee boys.[[@Bible:Matt 27:57]]57. Late that afternoon a well-to-do man arrived, a Jesus convert named Joseph, from the white suburb of Sylvan Hills. He went to Pilate and requested Jesus’ body; then Pilate ordered it to be granted. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean sheet, put it in his new burial vault, which he had cut out of a rock, rolled a huge stone over the entrance, and left. Mary, "that girl from Magdala," and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the vault.[[@Bible:Matt 27:62]]62. On the next day, Saturday, the church leaders met with Pilate and said, "Sir, we just happened to remember that while that crook was alive he said, ‘In three days I’ll be raised.’ Give the order, then, for the vault to be guarded through the third day, to keep his followers from coming and stealing him and then telling the people, ‘lie was raised from the dead.’ That trick would be worse than any previous ones." Pilate told them, "Okay, you may have a guard. Go and make it as secure as you know how." They left and put an official seal on the stone, and secured the grave with a guard.[[@Bible:Matt 28]]Chapter 28[[@Bible:Matt 28:1]]1. As the Sabbath ended, at the crack of dawn on Sunday, Mary, "that girl from Magdala," and the other Mary came to visit the vault. And you know, a big Commotion happened. An angel of the Lord came down out of the sky and went and rolled away the stone, and sat down on top of it. His face was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so shook up that they looked like corpses. But the angel said to the ladies, "Don’t y’all be scared one bit, because I know that you’re looking for Jesus who was lynched. He isn’t here. He was raised just as he told you. Come here; look at the place where he was lying, then go right away and tell his students that he has been raised from the dead. And one thing more: he is going on ahead of you into Alabama; you’ll see him there. Now, I’ve made it clear to you."[[@Bible:Matt 28:8]]8. So they left the vault and, filled with both fear and great excitement, they ran like mad to tell his students. And what do you know, Jesus met them. He said, "Howdy." They went to him and hugged his feet and him. Then Jesus told them, "Y’all quit being so scared. Run along now and tell my brothers that they should go over into Alabama; and they’ll see me there."[[@Bible:Matt 28:11]]11. After the women left, some of the guards, you know, went into town and related to the bishops everything that had happened. They met with the elders and passed a motion that the soldiers be given a large bribe, with these instructions: "Tell people that his students came at night while we were sleeping, and stole him. If the governor gets wind of this, we’ll fix it with him and arrange it so you won’t have a worry in the world." The soldiers took the bribe and did exactly as they were instructed. And to this very day that’s the rumor circulated by the good white folks.[[@Bible:Matt 28:16]]16. Well, the eleven students traveled to Alabama, to the mountain, which Jesus had selected for them. When they saw him they accepted him as their Lord, but some couldn’t make up their minds. Jesus came over to them and said, "Every right to rule in both the spiritual and physical realms has been given to me. As you travel, then, make students of all races and initiate them into the family of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to live by all that I outlined for you. And you know, I am right in there with you—all the time— until the last inning." [[@Bible:Luke]]LUKE[[@Bible:Luke 1]]Chapter 1My dear Friend of God:??????????? A number of people have already undertaken to write a book about the events which have occurred among us, each claiming to be "just as the original eyewitnesses and participants in the cause related them to us." So it seemed wise to me to trace carefully everything from the very beginning and write it down in an orderly fashion, so that you might be absolutely sure of your information.Yours,Luke[[@Bible:Luke 1:5]]5. In the days when Ole Gene was governor of Georgia, there was a preacher by the name of Zack Harris. His wife was a very aristocratic woman named Elizabeth. They were both strict church members and were careful to observe all the rules and regulations of the Lord. They had no children, since Elizabeth was barren and by now they were both quite old.[[@Bible:Luke 1:8]]8. One day when it was his turn to conduct services (the ministers had worked out a schedule among themselves), Zack went into the study to meditate, while all the people waited prayerfully in the sanctuary for the hour of worship. He looked up and saw a messenger from God standing just to the right of the desk. When Zack Harris saw him, he was quite alarmed and frightened.[[@Bible:Luke 1:3]]13. But the messenger said, "There's no need to be afraid, Zack Harris, since your prayers have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, whom you'll call John. He will be your pride and joy, and his birth will bring gladness to many people. He'll be a great man of God. No wine or whiskey will touch his lips, but he'll be full of holy "spirit" while his mother is still carrying him. He'll turn a lot of church people toward the Lord their God. God himself will go in front of him with the spirit and power of Elijah. His job will be to turn the hearts of fathers toward their children, and to bring the stubborn around to the thinking of the devoted; in short, to get a dedicated band ready for the Lord."[[@Bible:Luke 1:18]]18. Zack Harris said to the messenger, "How am I to believe all this? You see, I'm an old man, and my wife is well along in years."[[@Bible:Luke 1:19]]19. The messenger replied, "I am Gabriel, God’s attendant. I was sent to speak to you and to break the good news of these things to you. Now listen, you'll be silent and unable to talk until the day all this happens, because you didn't believe what I told you, which will surely come to pass in due season."[[@Bible:Luke 1:21]]21. Now all this time the people were waiting for Reverend Harris, and they were amazed that he was staying so long in the study. When he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. They recognized that he had had a vision in the study, for he was gesturing to them and remained speechless.[[@Bible:Luke 1:24]]24. When he had wound up his church duties, he went home. Shortly afterwards his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for the first five months she didn't go out in public. She was thinking, "The Lord did this for me, to take away the stigma of my sterility."[[@Bible:Luke 1:26]]26. During the sixth month of her pregnancy the messenger Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Georgia by the name of Valdosta, to a young lady named Mary. She was engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, from one of the old-line families. The messenger went in to her and said, "Hello, you blessed one. the lord is with you!" She was nearly bowled over by this, and wondered what to make of such a greeting.[[@Bible:Luke 1:30]]30. The messenger said to her, "Don't be so alarmed, Mary, for you have been chosen for a special favor from God. Listen, you'll become pregnant and have a baby boy, whom you'll name Jesus. He'll be a great man, and will he called ‘The Almighty's Son.’ The Lord God will set him on the throne of his father David, and he'll always be head of the faithful. His movement will never end."[[@Bible:Luke 1:34]]34. Mary said to the messenger, "How can this happen when I'm not even married yet?"[[@Bible:Luke 1:35]]35. The messenger replied, "Holy Spirit will lie upon you, and Power from the Almighty will impregnate you. For this reason the child, sired from on High, will be called ‘God's Son.’ Now listen, your cousin Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son, despite her age. And this is now the sixth month for her who was thought to be barren. God will see to it that every word of this will actually happen."[[@Bible:Luke 1:38]]38. So Mary said, "All right then, I am at the Lord's service. I want it to be just as you have said." At that the messenger left her.[[@Bible:Luke 1:39]]39. Soon after this, Mary quickly packed up and went to a town in the hills of north Georgia. She arrived at the home of Zack Harris and greeted Elizabeth. And do you know what happened? When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb gave a kick. And Elizabeth bubbled over with Holy Spirit and shouted as loud as she could, "Praise the Lord for a woman like you! And praise the Lord for your baby! How did a thing like this ever happen to me—the mother of my Lord coming to me? Because listen here, when the sound of your greeting entered my ears, the baby in my womb kicked for joy. It’s a wonderful woman who has believed that the words spoken to her from the Lord will become a reality."And Mary said,??????????? "My soul exalts the Lord??????????? And my heart exults before God my Savior.??????????? For he has disregarded my humble origin,??????????? And from now on the ages will honor me.??????????? Great things the Almighty did for me,??????????? And Holy be his name.??????????? From generation to generation??????????? His mercy showers those who fear him.??????????? With his strong arm??????????? He scatters the big boys??????????? Who think they’re somebody.??????????? He pulls thrones from under the royalty??????????? And gives dignity to the lowly.??????????? He loads the hungry with good things??????????? But the rich he lets go with nothing at all.??????????? Mindful of mercy, he gives a lift to his people??????????? Just as he promised our fathers -??????????? Abraham our father and his many descendants."Mary stayed with her about three months and then returned to her home.[[@Bible:Luke 1:57]]57. Now when Elizabeth's term was up, she gave birth to a boy. The neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had been mighty good to her, and they shared her joy. The day came for the child to he christened, and they were calling him by the name of his father, Zack Harris. But his mother said, "No, he'll be called John."[[@Bible:Luke 1:61]]61. They said to her, "But none of your kinfolk is named that." So they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him to be called.[[@Bible:Luke 1:63]]63. He asked for pencil and paper and wrote, "His name is John."????????????? They were all quite surprised. Then right away Reverend Harris’s tongue and mouth started working again, and he was praising God.[[@Bible:Luke 1:65]]65. All the neighbors were simply dumbfounded, and the story of these events was repeated time and again through the hills of north Georgia. People tucked it away in their memories, saying, "What will this child grow up to be? For the hand of God is surely on him."[[@Bible:Luke 1:67]]67. His father bubbled over with Holy Spirit and started preaching,??????????? "Praise the Lord, the God of our nation,??????????? Because he took notice of us, and arranged a way out for his people.??????????? In the house of David his child??????????? He raised up a bugler to sound deliverance for us,??????????? Just as he spoke through the mouth of the holy prophets of old -??????????? ‘Deliverance from our enemies??????????? And from the hand of all who hate us.’??????????? He did well by our fathers??????????? And honored his solemn agreement -??????????? The one he swore with Abraham our father -??????????? To give us tranquility, release from our enemies’ hands,??????????? And freedom to worship him??????????? With devotion and righteousness??????????? All the days of our life.??????????? "And you, little one, will be called the Almighty's prophet. you'll go in front of the Lord to prepare his paths, to give news of deliverance to his people, and of pardon for their crimes. Because of the tender concern of our God, Heaven’s sunrise will dawn upon us, to illuminate those groping in death’s shadows and darkness, and to train our feet for the path to peace."[[@Bible:Luke 1:80]]80.???????? The little fellow grew up and matured in spirit. And he stayed on the farm until he began his public ministry in the South.?[[@Bible:Luke 2]]Chapter 2[[@Bible:Luke 2:1]]1.???????? It happened in those days that a proclamation went out from President Augustus that every citizen must register. This was the first registration while Quirinius was Secretary of War. So everybody went to register, each going to his own home town. Joseph too went up from south Georgia from the city of Valdosta, to his home in north Georgia, a place named Gainesville, to register with his bride Mary, who by now was heavily pregnant.[[@Bible:Luke 2:6]]6.???????? While they were there, her time came, and she gave birth to her first boy. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in an apple box. (There was no room for them at the hospital.)[[@Bible:Luke 2:8]]8.???????? Now there were some farmers in that section who were up late at night tending their baby chicks. And a messenger from the Lord appeared to them, and evidence of the Lord was shining all about them. It nearly scared the life out of them. And the messenger said to them, "Don't be afraid; for listen, I'm bringing you good news of a great joy in which all people will share. Today your deliverer was born in the city of David's family. He is the Leader. He is the Lord. And here’s a clue for you: you will find the baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in an apple box."??????????? And all of a sudden there was with the messenger a crowd of angels singing God's praises and saying,"Glory in the highest to God,And on Earth, peace to mankind,The object of his favor."[[@Bible:Luke 2:15]]15.???????? When the messengers went away from them into the sky, the farmers said to one another, "Let's go to Gainesville and see how all this the Lord has showed us has turned out."[[@Bible:Luke 2:16]]16.???????? So they went just as fast as they could, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in an apple box. Seeing this, they related the story of what had been told them about this little fellow. The people were simply amazed as they listened to what the farmers told them. And Mary clung to all these words, turning them over and over in her memories. The farmers went back home, giving God the credit and singing his praises for all they had seen and heard, exactly as it had been described to them.[[@Bible:Luke 2:21]]21.???????? And when the day came for him to be christened, they named him Jesus, as he was called by the angel before he was conceived.[[@Bible:Luke 2:22]]22.???????? After they had finished carrying out the rules and regulations of the church in regard to the child, they brought him to the bishop in Atlanta to dedicate him to the Lord, just as the scripture said: "Every first baby, if it's a boy, shall be dedicated to the Lord." Also, they wanted to make a thank-offering—as the scripture said—of the equivalent of "a couple of ducks or two fryers."[[@Bible:Luke 2:25]]25.???????? Now then, there was a man in Atlanta whose name was Simon. He was a sincere and devout man, and deeply concerned for the welfare of the world. Being a spirit-led man, he had been assured by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Lord’s Leader. Guided by the spirit, he came to the First Church. And when the parents brought in the child. Jesus for the ceremonies, Simon picked him up in his arms and praised God. He said,??????????? "Now let your servant, Almighty Master,??????????? Slip quietly away in peace, as you’ve said.??????????? For these eyes of mine have seen your deliverance??????????? Which you have made possible for all of the people,??????????? It’s a light to illuminate the problem of races,??????????? A light to bring honor to your faithful disciples."[[@Bible:Luke 2:33]]33.???????? And his father and mother were really amazed at these things that were said about him. Simon congratulated them and said to Mary his mother, "Listen, this little one is put here for the downfall and uplift of many in the nation, and for a symbol of controversy–your heart, too, will be stabbed with a sword–so that the inner feelings of many hearts may be laid bare."[[@Bible:Luke 2:36]]36.???????? Now Hannah, a lady minister, was there. She was from one of the best families in the South. She was quite old, having lived with her husband for seven years after getting married, and as a widow from then until her present age of eighty-four. She never left the church, worshipping there night and day with prayers and vigils. She came up to them at the same time and gave God’s approval, and started talking about the child to all those who were hoping for the nation’s deliverance.[[@Bible:Luke 2:39]]39.???????? And when they got through with all the church requirements, they went back to south Georgia, to their own city of Valdosta. And the little fellow grew and became strong. He was plenty smart, and God liked him.[[@Bible:Luke 2:41]]41.???????? Now each year his parents went to Atlanta for the State Conference. So when he was twelve, they went up for the Conference just as they were accustomed to. When it was over, they left for home, but the lad Jesus stayed on in Atlanta without his parents realizing it. Supposing him to be in another car, they went several hours before inquiring about him among friends and relatives. Unable to find him, they returned to Atlanta and continued their search. After a very long time they finally found him at the First Church sitting in the middle of a group of preachers, listening to them and asking them questions. All his hearers were absolutely astounded at his insight and answers. When Joseph and Mary saw this, they were flabbergasted, and his mother said to him, "Listen here, son, why did you treat us like this? Your dad and I have been worried to death looking for you."[[@Bible:Luke 2:49]]49.???????? He said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you realize that I needed to be with my Father's people?"[[@Bible:Luke 2:50]]50.???????? But they didn’t catch on to what he had said to them.[[@Bible:Luke 2:51]]51.???????? He left with them and went back to Valdosta and accepted their guidance. His mother stored up every word in her memory. And Jesus forged ahead both mentally and physically. God liked him, and people did too.[[@Bible:Luke 3]]?Chapter 3[[@Bible:Luke 3:1]]1.???????? Now during the fifteenth year of Tiberius as President, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Georgia, and Herod was governor of Alabama, his brother Philip being governor of Mississippi, and Lysanias still holding out over Arkansas; while Annas and Caiaphas were co-presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention, the word of God came to Zack’s boy, John, down on the farm. And he went all around in the rural areas preaching a dipping in water–a symbol of a changed way of life as the basis for getting things straightened out. This was based on a passage from the book of Isaiah the prophet:??????????? "A voice shouts: Make a road for the Lord in the depressed areas, and make it straight.??????????? Every low place shall be filled in,??????????? And every hill and high place shall be pushed down.??????????? And the curves shall be straightened out??????????? And the washboard road scraped smooth.??????????? Then every human being will share in the good things of God."[[@Bible:Luke 3:7]]7.???????? Here's what he was saying to the crowds who were coming out to get dipped by him: "You sons of snakes, who put the heat on you to run from the fury about to break over your heads? You must give some proof that you've had a change of heart. And don't start patting one another on the back with that ‘we-good-white-people’ stuff, because I'm telling you that if God wants to, he can make white-folks out of this pile of rocks. Already the axe is lying at the taproot of the trees, and every tree that doesn't perform some worthwhile function is chopped down and burned up."[[@Bible:Luke 3:10]]10.???????? And the crowds were asking him, "Then what shall we do about these problems?"???????????? He answered, "Let him who has two suits share with him who has none; and let him who has food do the same thing."???????????? Then the politicians came out to join up, and they asked, "Honorable Teacher, what shall we do?"???????????? He said to them, "Cut out your grafts and bribes."???????????? The service men too were asking, "Now how about us? What shall we do?"???????????? He told them, ""Don't ever use violence on anyone, and don't take advantage of native people–be satisfied with only your government check."[[@Bible:Luke 3:15]]15.???????? Now the people were very excited, and were really searching their hearts about all that John was saying. Some were wondering if perhaps he were the long-awaited Leader. John put a stop to this, saying, "It's true I'm dipping you in water; but somebody is coming who is much stronger than I, whose shoes I'm not worthy to shine. He shall dip you in Holy Spirit and fire! He's getting ready to thresh the wheat, and he'll store the grain in the barn and burn up the chaff." With a lot of other sermons like this he was pushing his evangelistic crusade.[[@Bible:Luke 3:19]]19.???????? But when John jumped on Governor Herod for marrying his brother's wife Herodias, and for all the other wicked things he was doing, the governor added even one more item to his list–he locked John up in the jail-house.[[@Bible:Luke 3:21]]21.???????? So it happened that while the people were getting baptized, Jesus too was baptized. And as he prayed, the sky was split and the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove came down on him. And from the sky came a voice, saying, "You are my dear Son; I'm proud of you."???????????? Now when Jesus started his ministry, he was about thirty years old. [[@Bible:Luke 4]]?Chapter 4[[@Bible:Luke 4:1]]1.???????? So, on fire for God, Jesus returned from his baptism. Then in this spirit he was moved to go into the back woods for forty days, where the Confuser took some cracks at him. During that time he didn't eat anything, so he was hungry when the time was up. Then the Confuser said to him, "So you're God's man, huh? Well, then, tell this rock to become a pone of bread."??????????? Jesus answered back, "A man can't live on bread alone."[[@Bible:Luke 4:5]]5.???????? Then the Confuser took him up and showed him, in the twinkling of an eye, all the countries of the civilized world. And he said, "Look here, all this power and glory has been turned over to me, and to anybody I want to share it with. Now if you'll just let me be boss, I'll put you in charge and turn everything over to you."??????????? Jesus shot back, "The scripture says, 'You shall let the Lord your God be your boss, and you shall give your loyalty to him alone.’"[[@Bible:Luke 4:9]]9.???????? The Confuser then brought him into Atlanta, and put him on the steeple of the First Church, and said, "Okay, you're God's man. Now jump down from here, because you know the scripture says, 'He will give orders to his angels to keep close watch on you,' and also, 'They'll carry you along on their hands to keep you from stumping your toe on a rock.’"??????????? Jesus told him straight, "It also says, 'Don't make a fool out of the Lord your God.’"[[@Bible:Luke 4:13]]13.?????? So when the Confuser got through giving him the works, he left him for a while. Then Jesus, spiritually invigorated, returned to south Georgia, and the news of him spread through the whole area. He was speaking in their churches, and the people respected him. But he went to Valdosta, where he had grown up, and as he was in the habit of doing, he went to church on Sunday. They invited him to preach, so he got up to read the scripture and found the place in the book of Isaiah where it says:??????????? "The Lord's spirit is on me;??????????? He has ordained me to break the good news to the poor people.??????????? He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the oppressed,??????????? And sight for the blind,??????????? To help those who have been grievously insulted to find dignity;??????????? To proclaim the Lord's new era."[[@Bible:Luke 4:20]]20.???????? Then he closed the Bible, and handed it to the assistant minister. The eyes of everybody in the congregation were glued on him. He began by saying,??????????? "This very day this Scripture has become a reality in your presence."??????????? They all said, "Amen," and were amazed at the eloquent words flowing from his mouth. They whispered to one another, "Can this really be old Joe's boy?"[[@Bible:Luke 4:23]]23.???????? Then he continued, "Surely some of you will cite to me the old proverb, 'Doctor, take your own medicine. Let us see you do right here in your home town all the things we heard you did in Columbus.' Well, to tell the truth, no prophet is welcome in his own home town. And I'm telling you straight, there were a lot of white widows in Georgia during the time of Elijah, when the skies were locked up for three years and six months, and there was a great drought everywhere, but Elijah didn't stay with any of them. Instead, he stayed with a Negro woman over in Terrell County. And there were a lot of sick white people during the time of the great preacher Elisha, but he didn't heal any of them–only Naaman the African."[[@Bible:Luke 4:28]]28.???????? When they heard that, the whole congregation blew a gasket. They jumped up, ran him out of town, and dragged him to the top of the hill on which their city was built, with the intention of pushing him off. But he got up and walked right through the middle of the whole mob and went on his way.[[@Bible:Luke 4:31]]31.???????? And he came to Macon, the county seat of Bibb County. And he was speaking there every Sunday. They were quite amazed at his teachings, because there was a note of authority in his words. One day at church there was a man who had the spirit of a filthy devil, and he bellowed out as loud as he could, "Hey, Jesus, you Valdostan squirt, what you got agin us? Have you come up here to stir up trouble for us? I know who you are, you Holy Joe."[[@Bible:Luke 4:35]]35.???????? Then Jesus rebuked him and said, "Shut up and come out of that man." And the filthy spirit convulsed him right in front of everybody, but came out of him without leaving a scratch.????????????? A wonderment came over all, and they whispered back and forth, "Well, what do you know about that? He orders the filthy devils around as though he has a right to, and they come out!" And news dispatches about him went out to all parts of the country.[[@Bible:Luke 4:38]]38.???????? So he left the church and went home with Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, so they spoke to him about her. He leaned over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up right away and started waiting on them.[[@Bible:Luke 4:40]]40.???????? As the sun set, all those who had loved ones who were sick with various diseases brought them to him. He put his hands on each one of them and made them well. Even devils were coming out of a lot of them, calling and crying out, "So you're God's man, huh?" He got after them and wouldn't even let them say a word, because they really knew that he was God's man.[[@Bible:Luke 4:42]]42.???????? When day came, he left and went to a remote place. But the crowds were looking for him and came to where he was. They held on to him to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I've got to spread the good news of the God Movement to a lot of other cities. This is what I've been sent to do." And he was preaching in the churches of Georgia.[[@Bible:Luke 5]]?Chapter 5[[@Bible:Luke 5:1]]1.???????? While he was standing beside Lake Lanier, a crowd gathered around him to hear the word of God. He saw two little boats beside the lake, whose owners had left them while they washed their nets. He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to shove off a little way from the bank. Then he sat down in the boat and taught the crowds. When he had finished, he said to Simon, "Go out where it's deep, and let down your nets for a haul."??????????? Simon answered, "Mister, we've worked our heads off all night long and haven't caught a thing; but, if you say so, I'll put out the nets."??????????? They did, and caught such a slew of fish that their nets started busting. So they yelled to their buddies in the other boat to come quick and lend them a hand. They came, and they filled both little boats so full they almost sank.??????????? When Simon (Rock) saw it all, he got down on his knees before Jesus and said, "Don't waste your time on a bum like me, sir!" For he and his buddies were bug-eyed because of the big wad of fish they had caught. Simon's business partners, Jim and Jack Zebedee, were also amazed.??????????? Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't worry about it. From now on you'll fish for men." And when they got their boats back to shore, they gave up everything and started living like him.[[@Bible:Luke 5:12]]12.??????? Now it happened that while he was in one of the cities, a man with bad sores saw Jesus and begged him, saying, "Sir, if you want to, you are able to heal me." Jesus reached out and touched him and said, "I do want to be healed." And right away the sores left him. Then he told the man not to go spreading the word around, but to tell only the preacher, and to make a thank-offering for his healing, as the Bible said. This would be convincing evidence for the ministers. But instead, word of him was spread all over everywhere, and big crowds came together to hear, and to be healed of their illnesses. But he would leave and go to the country to pray.[[@Bible:Luke 5:17]]17.???????? It so happened on one of the days when he was teaching that there was a convention of church members and Sunday School teachers from the little towns all over Alabama and Georgia and from around Atlanta. And he felt the power of God moving in him to heal. Soon some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher, and they tried to get in to where Jesus was so they could put the man in front of him. When they couldn't get in because of the big crowd, they went up on the roof, took up some tiles and let the stretcher down just in front of Jesus. Seeing the way they had put their faith into action, he said, "Fellow, your sins are forgiven."[[@Bible:Luke 5:21]]21.??????? Then the church officials and convention delegates began raising cain about it, saying, "Who is this guy that's saying such unorthodox things? Who but God alone has the right to forgive sins?"???????????? Jesus overheard their arguments and asked them, "Why do you allow such arguments to enter your mind? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say 'Get up and walk'? But to make it clear to you that the son of man has the right on earth to forgive sins"–he said to the paralyzed man–"Get up, pick up your stretcher and run along home."???????????? Right away he got up in front of everybody, picked up the stretcher he had been lying on, and went home shouting God's praises. The crowd went into ecstasy and started shouting God's praises too. They were filled with awe, and said, "We've seen something today so wonderful we can't understand it."[[@Bible:Luke 5:27]]27.???????? He left after that, and he saw a Yankee by the name of Levi, working for the Internal Revenue Service. And Jesus said to him, "Walk in this way with me." He got up, quit his job with the government, and started walking in the way with him.[[@Bible:Luke 5:29]]29.???????? And Levi gave a big reception for him at his house. Now there were quite a few Yankees and others sitting around with them. And the church members and officials said to Jesus' students, "How come you all eating and socializing with Yankees and niggers?"????????????? Jesus picked it up and told them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor–only the sick do. I haven't come to challenge the 'saved' people to a new way of walking–only the 'sinners.’"[[@Bible:Luke 5:33]]33.???????? Then they said to him, "John's followers go to church every Sunday and say their prayers, just like all good church members do. But your crowd, they're acting like they enjoy their religion!"????????????? Jesus said to them, "Do the best men at a wedding look gloomy while they're standing beside the groom at the ceremony? But, the time will come when the groom will be parted from them. Then they will be sad on that occasion." [[@Bible:Luke 5:36]]36.???????? He also gave them this comparison: "No housewife ever uses new, unshrunk material to patch an old dress. If she does, the new will shrink and pull, and won't match the old material. And nobody ever puts new, fermenting wine in old, brittle, plastic bottles. If he does, the new wine will pop the old bottles, and the wine will be wasted and the bottles ruined. But new wine is put into new, strong bottles. And nobody who is accustomed to drinking old wine wants to try out the new, because he says, 'The old is good enough for me.’"[[@Bible:Luke 6]]?Chapter 6[[@Bible:Luke 6:1]]1.???????? One Sunday as he was going through a grain field, his students were picking some heads, rubbing out the grain with their hands and eating it. Some church members said, "How come you all doing what's wrong to do on a Sunday?"??????????? Jesus replied, "Haven't you ever read in the Bible what David did when he and those with him were hungry? How he went into the church house and got the communion bread, which legally belongs to the preachers, and ate it and shared it with those with him?"??????????? So he said to them, "The son of man has authority over 'Sunday.'"??????????? On another Sunday he went into a church to preach. And a man was there whose right hand was dried up. The deacons and members were keeping an eye on Jesus to see if he would heal on a Sunday, so they might have a charge to bring against him. Since he himself already knew their plottings, he said to the man with the dried-up hand, "Come and stand up here in front of everybody." So he came and stood. Then Jesus said to them, "Let me ask you all, is it all right to do good or to do bad on Sunday? To save a life or to destroy it?"??????????? He cut his eyes around on all of them, and said to the man, "stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was perfectly normal. But they pitched a fit and started conferring with each other as to what in the world they would do to Jesus.[[@Bible:Luke 6:12]]12.???????? During those days he went out into a mountain to pray, and all night long he continued in prayer to God. At dawn he called up his students, and from them he selected twelve, whom he designated "ambassadors." They were: Simon (whom he also called Rock) and his brother Andy; Jim and Jack, and Phil and Barth, and Matt and Tom, and Jim Alphaeus, and Simon the Rebel, and Judas Jameson, and Judas Iscariot–who turned him in.[[@Bible:Luke 6:17]]17.???????? And he came down with them and stood at the foot of the hill, along with quite a number of his students and a big crowd of people from all over Georgia and around Atlanta, and even as far away as Virginia. They came to listen to him and to be healed from their illnesses. And those who were literally swarming with filthy spirits were cured. The whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power flowed out of him and he healed them one and all.[[@Bible:Luke 6:20]]20.???????? Then he fastened his eyes on his students and said to them:??????? "The poor are God's people, because the God Movement is yours.??????? "You who are now hungering are God's people, because you will be filled.??????? "You who are now weeping are God's people, because you will laugh.??????? "You are God's people when others hate you and shun you and pick on you and blacklist you just because you bear the name of the son of man. Be happy at that time and jump for joy, for your spiritual pay is high. Why, their fathers did the very same things to the men of God of their day.BUT -??????? "it will he hell?for you rich people, because you've had your fling.??????? "It will be hell? for you whose bellies are full now, because you'll go hungry.??????? "it will be hell? for you who are so gay now, because you will sob and weep.??????? "It will be hell? for you when everybody speaks highly of you, for their fathers said the very same things about the phony preachers.[[@Bible:Luke 6:27]]27.???????? "But let me tell you people something: Love your enemies, deal kindly with those who hate you, give your blessings to those who give you their cursing, pray for those insulting you. When somebody slaps you on one side of the face, offer the other side too. And if a guy takes your shirt, don't stop him from taking your undershirt. Give to every beggar, and don't ask someone who takes your stuff to bring it back. Just as you want people to act towards you, you act the same way towards them. If you love those who love you, what's your advantage? Even non-Christians love those who love them. If you are kind to those who are kind to you, what's your advantage? Even non-Christians do that. And if you lend with the hope of getting it all back, what's your advantage? Even non-Christians lend to those who'll pay it all back. But you all, love your enemies, and be kind, and lend, expecting nothing. And you'll get plenty of ‘pay’; you'll be the spittin’ image of the Almighty, who himself is friendly towards the unlovely and the mean. Be tender, just as your Father is tender. Don't blame, and you won't he blamed. Don't run others down, and they won't run you down. Free others, and you shall be freed; give, and it shall be given to you in full measure, tromped down, shaken down, running over into your heart. For it will be measured out to you in your own measuring basket."[[@Bible:Luke 6:39]]39.???????? So he gave them this Comparison: "A blind man can't guide a blind man, can he? Won't they both fall in a hole? Nor is a student over the teacher. He alone who has completed school qualifies as a teacher.[[@Bible:Luke 6:41]]41.???????? "Now why do you keep looking at the splinter in your brother's eye, and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How do you have the nerve to say to your brother, 'Brother, please let me pick the splinter out of your eye,' without even noticing the plank in your eye? You phony, first get the plank from your eye, and then you'll see better to pick the splinter from your brother's eye.[[@Bible:Luke 6:43]]43.???????? "For a cultivated tree doesn't bear wild fruit, nor does a wild tree bear cultivated fruit. So, each tree may be known by the kind of fruit it produces. Also, people don't pick peaches from briars or grapes from a haw bush. A good man, from the good things stored in his heart, produces the good deed, while the mean person, from the mean things stored in his heart, produces the mean act. For the tongue is powered by the overflow from the heart.[[@Bible:Luke 6:46]]46.???????? "Now why are you calling me 'Your honor, this,' and 'Your honor, that,' and don't carry out my orders? Anyone who comes before me and hears my orders and carries them out, I'll tell you who he is like. He is like a man building a house, who dug down and went deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. At flood-time the river went ripping at that house, and it couldn't even budge it, because it was solidly built. But he who has heard my orders and hasn't done anything about them, is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river ripped at it, and right away it caved in, and there was great damage to that house."[[@Bible:Luke 7]]Chapter 7[[@Bible:Luke 7:1]]1.???????? When he finished pounding his points into the ears of the crowd, he went to Columbus. Now the servant of a Jewish army captain was so sick he was about to die. The captain loved him very much, so when he heard about Jesus he sent some of the leading citizens of the city to ask Jesus to come and save his servant's life. Upon their arrival they strongly urged Jesus to come, saying, "The man asking you to do this is a mighty fine fellow. He loves our denomination, and made a very substantial gift to our church-building program." So Jesus went with them.[[@Bible:Luke 7:6]]6.???????? While he was still quite a distance from the house, the army captain sent some other friends to say to Jesus, "Sir, don't put yourself out, because I'm not worthy that you should come to my house. I didn't think I was good enough even to come to you personally. So just give the order, and my dear one will be healed. For I, too, am a man with authority, having soldiers under my command, and I say to one, 'Go there' and he goes, and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."[[@Bible:Luke 7:9]]9.???????? When Jesus heard this he was simply amazed, and turning to the crowd following him he said, "Never have I found such faith, even among the good 'saved' church people." And when the ones who had been sent got back to the house they found the servant fully recovered.[[@Bible:Luke 7:11]]11.???????? Soon after that he went to the city of Thomaston, and he was accompanied by his students and a large group of others. As he neared the outskirts of the city, he saw the funeral procession for a man who was his mother's only son-and she was a widow. Quite a number of people from the city were in the procession. When the Master saw her, he was deeply moved, and he said to her, "Please don't cry any more." Then he went over and touched the casket. The pallbearers stopped, and he said, "Young fellow, I’m telling you to get up." And the corpse sat up and started talking! Then Jesus returned him to his mother.[[@Bible:Luke 7:16]]16.???????? And wonder came over everybody, and they praised God, saying, "A truly great man of God has been raised up among us," and "God has paid a visit to his people." And this news of him went out through Georgia and the surrounding states.[[@Bible:Luke 7:18]]18.???????? Now John's students reported to him all that was happening, and so he called two of them and sent them to the Master with this message: "Are you the Expected One, or are we to wait for someone else?" When the men approached Jesus they said, "John the Baptizer sent us to you to inquire if you are the Expected One, or if we should wait for another?"????????????? At that time he was healing many people of their illnesses and plagues and mean spirits, and he was joyfully giving sight to lots of blind people.????????????? So he said to them, "Please go back and tell John what you've just seen and heard–tell him the blind are seeing, the crippled are walking, the lepers are getting well, the deaf are hearing, the dead are rising, and the poor are getting the good word. Tell him, too, that he is a great and good man who is not offended by my approach to things."[[@Bible:Luke 7:24]]24.???????? After John's messengers left, he began talking to the group about John. "What did you expect to see when you went out to the backwoods? A bamboo blown this way and that by the wind? Really, what did you expect to see when you went out? A man dressed up in his Sunday best? Listen, people who wear expensive clothes and eat fine food are among the well-to-do. Really, now, what did you expect when you went out? A man of God? Of course! And brother, I'm telling you, what a man of God! He's the one to whom this scripture refers:‘I’m sending my agent to precede you;He'll get everything ready for your coming.'????????????? I tell you right now, there has never been a mother's son greater than John. But, the tiniest baby in the God Movement is greater than he!"[[@Bible:Luke 7:29]]29.???????? Now when the whole group, including some Yankees who had been initiated into John's movement, heard what Jesus said, they agreed that this was right, before God. But the church members and the theologians, who had not joined his Movement, refused to accept this approach as God's will for themselves.[[@Bible:Luke 7:31]]31.???????? "So then, with what shall I compare the people of this day, and what are they like? I know, they are like children playing in the streets, and shouting at each other, 'We put on some jazz, but you wouldn't dance; so we put on funeral music, but you wouldn't go into mourning.' For John the Baptizer offered you a harsh, rugged life, and you say, ‘The guy is nuts.’ I, the son of man, offer you laughter and joy, and you say, 'Look at that man, a gadfly and a jitter-bug, a friend of Yankees and a nigger-lover.' So, if intelligence can be judged by all that it produces, well–!"[[@Bible:Luke 7:36]]36.???????? A certain church member invited him home for dinner. He accepted and went into the church member's house and sat down. Then a shady lady of the town, who had heard that Jesus was being entertained at the church member's home, bought a bottle of high-priced perfume. She sat at his feet sobbing, and her tears began to wet his feet. She dried them with her long hair and kissed his feet and dabbed on some of the perfume.??????????? When the church member who had invited him saw what was going on, he thought to himself, "If this fellow were a real man of God, he would recognize the kind of woman that's fondling him and know that she's a shady character."??????????? Then Jesus said to him, "Simon, I want to talk with you about something."??????????? He said, "Why sure, Doctor, go right ahead."??????????? "Two men were in debt to a certain banker. One owed five hundred dollars, the other fifty. When neither of them could pay up, the banker wrote off the debt of both. Which of the two would you think was the more grateful?"??????????? Simon scratched his head and said, "Why, I suppose it was the one who was relieved of the larger debt."??????????? Jesus said to him, "Right you are!" Then he turned to the lady and said to Simon, "Do you see this lady? When I came into your home, you didn't even give me water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You didn't even shake hands with me, but she, ever since she got here, has lovingly kissed my feet. So let me point out to you, Simon, that she has been relieved of a heavy load of sin, as evidenced by her great gratitude."??????????? Then he said to her, "Your sins are gone."??????????? And the guests at the table whispered among themselves, "Who does he think he is – forgiving sins!"??????????? He said to the lady, "What you've just done has been the making of you; keep it up – with my blessing."[[@Bible:Luke 8]]Chapter ?8[[@Bible:Luke 8:1]]1.???????? Following this, he made a trip from city to city, speaking and explaining the ideas of the God Movement. The Twelve went with him, and so did some women who had been cured of their spirits of weakness and meanness–Mary, whom everyone called "that Magdala girl," and who had been given up for lost, and Jo Ann, the wife of Kuza, Governor Herod's assistant, and Susan and quite a few others–all of whom were sharing what they had, in order to provide for the whole group.[[@Bible:Luke 8:4]]4.???????? Now when a crowd of people from all over had gathered around him, he gave them a Comparison: "A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he planted, some seed fell on the path where they were walked on, and the birds came and ate them. Some seed fell on the rock, and though they sprouted, they dried up from lack of moisture. Still others landed in the middle of a briar Patch, and the briars that came up with them choked them out. And others fell on the rich dirt and grew and yielded a hundred times over." He finished by saying, "Give this careful consideration."[[@Bible:Luke 8:9]]9.???????? Then his students asked him what was the meaning of the Comparison. He said, "You all have been let in on the secrets of the God Movement, but it is necessary to explain it to others with Comparisons, so that while they're looking they won't catch on, and while they're listening, they won't suspect anything.??????????? "But here's the meaning of the Comparison. The seed are God's ideas. The 'path' seed represent ideas that are heard by people who let the Confuser come and snatch the ideas from their hearts, without their ever acting on them and being helped. The 'rock' seed are the ideas which, when heard, are gladly received–but by people who have no deep roots. They live by them for a while, and when the time of real testing comes, they chicken out. The 'briar patch' seed are the ideas which are heard by busy people and are choked out by the distractions and money-making and pleasure-seeking of life, so the ideas just never mature. The 'rich dirt' seed are the ones which lie in the hearts of brave and good people who, when they hear the ideas, hold on to them and patiently spread them.[[@Bible:Luke 8:16]]16.???????? "Nobody ever turns on a light and covers it with a pot, or slides it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a table so that people entering the room will be able to see. So, there's no one in the background now who will not be brought to the front, and no one who is insignificant who won't be recognized and brought up front. Be careful, then, how you respond. For whoever gets on the ball will be encouraged all the more, and whoever sits on his hands will have even what little he seems to have, taken away from him."[[@Bible:Luke 8:19]]19.???????? Now his mother and brothers came to him but were unable to reach him because of the crowd. So somebody told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside trying to get in touch with you." His reply was, "My mother and my brothers are they who hear God's ideas and act on them."[[@Bible:Luke 8:22]]22.???????? It so happened on one of those days that he and his students got in a boat, and he said to them, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." They set out, and while they were sailing, he went to sleep. A great windstorm arose on the lake, and they began shipping water and sinking. They rushed to him and roused him and said, "Captain, Captain, we're going down!" He got up quickly and told the wind and towering waves to hush. They quieted down, and it became calm. He then said to his students, "What happened to your faith?" They were seared to death and in amazement said to each other, "What a man! He orders the wind and water around, and they obey him!"[[@Bible:Luke 8:26]]26.???????? They sailed on over to Gerasa County, Alabama, which is across the lake from Georgia. When he got out on land, he was met by a city man who had a "demon." For a long time he had worn no clothing and wouldn't stay in a house but in a cemetery. 'When he saw Jesus, he stood in front of him and yelled and shouted at the top of his lungs, "What you got against me, Jesus, you God's holy boy? I warn you, don't you put the screws on me." (For Jesus was telling the mean spirit to come out of the man, because it frequently convulsed him, and he had to be placed under guard, shackled and handcuffed. But he broke loose and was driven by the "demon" into the back woods.)??????????? So Jesus asked him, "What's your name?"??????????? He said, "Multitude," since a whole slew of demons had entered him.??????????? Then they started begging him not to order them into exile. Now, there on the hillside a large herd of hogs was being fed, so the demons begged him to let them go into them. He permitted them, and the demons rushed out of the man and into the hogs. 'When they did, the whole herd went tearing down the slope and into the lake and were drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran like mad and told it to both farmers and city people. Everybody flocked out to gawk, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at Jesus' feet, fully clothed and completely sane. It just seared the daylights out of them, especially when the herdsmen kept telling them how the demon-man had been cured. So all the people in that part of Alabama asked him to go away and let them alone, because they were so seared they were shaking all over.[[@Bible:Luke 8:38]]38.???????? When he got into the boat to leave, the man from whom the demons had departed asked to go with him. But he turned him down and said, "Go back home and tell them about all that God has done for you." So he went through the whole city, speaking on what Jesus did for him.[[@Bible:Luke 8:40]]40.???????? After Jesus got back, a crowd was waiting for him, for they had been anxiously looking for him. And there came a man by the name of Jarrell, who was pastor of the local church. He greeted Jesus, and then urged him to come home with him, because his twelve-year-old daughter–his only child–was at the point of death. As Jesus went, the crowd packed tight around him. And a lady, who had been bleeding for twelve years and hadn't been able to find anyone who could heal her, came up behind him and touched his pants leg. And right away her bleeding stopped.??????????? Jesus said, "Who touched me?"??????????? When they all denied it, Rock said, "Chief, the whole crowd is pushing and shoving you."??????????? But Jesus said, "Somebody touched me, because I felt power flowing out of me."??????????? When the lady saw that the cat was out of the bag, she came quivering and bowing low before him. She told him in front of the whole crowd why she had touched him, and how she had been cured on the spot. He said to her, "My dear daughter, your trustful action has been the saving of you. Keep it up – with my blessing."[[@Bible:Luke 8:49]]49.???????? Even as he was talking, somebody came from the minister's house and said, "Your daughter has died. There's no need to trouble the teacher any further."???????????? When Jesus heard that, he said to Jarrell, "Don't worry; just have faith and she will be all right."[[@Bible:Luke 8:51]]51.???????? Arriving at the house, he allowed no one to go in except Rock and Jack and Jim, and the father and mother of the child. Everybody was crying and carrying on, so he said, "You all quit crying; she isn't dead, she's just asleep."????????????? They took it as a crude joke, because they knew she was dead. He then took her by the hand and called out to her, "Young lady, get up!" And she began breathing and immediately she stood up. He then told them to give her something to cat. Her parents were astounded, but he urged them not to tell anyone what had happened.[[@Bible:Luke 9]]Chapter ?9[[@Bible:Luke 9:1]]1.???????? Summoning the Twelve, he gave them power and authority over all demon cases and to cure diseases. And he sent them out to speak on the God Movement and to heal. He said to them, "Take nothing on your trip–no sleeping bag, no suitcase, no bread, no money, not even two suits. When you are invited to a home, you may use it as a base of operations. If no one will invite you, leave that city without so much as a particle of dust from it clinging to your feet, as evidence to them that you've taken nothing of theirs."[[@Bible:Luke 9:6]]6.???????? So they left, and went through all the towns, spreading the good news and healing everywhere. Word reached Governor Herod about all that was happening, and he was flabbergasted. For it was reported by some that John was raised from the dead, by others that Elijah had reappeared, and by still others that one of the old-time men of God had come back. Herod said, "John's head I chopped off, but who is this fellow I'm hearing so much about?" And he was anxious to get a good look at him.[[@Bible:Luke 9:10]]10.???????? Soon the disciples returned and described to him all that they had done. He took them and left privately for a city named Griffin. The crowds found out about it, and followed him along the way. So he lot them come to him and he was explaining to them the God Movement, and curing those who were sick. As the end of the day drew near, the Twelve said to him, "Dismiss the crowd, so they can go to the neighboring cafes and motels to find food and lodging, because there's nothing around out here."??????????? He said to them, "You all go ahead and feed them."??????????? But they said, "Between all of us there's no more than five boxes of crackers and two cans of sardines. Or do you mean that we should go and buy supplies for all this crowd?" (For there were about five thousand people.)??????????? "Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty," he said to his students.??????????? They did this, and everybody sat down. He then asked for the five boxes of crackers and the two cans of sardines, and when he had given thanks, he opened them and gave them to the students to distribute to the crowd. All ate and had plenty, and there were twelve trays full, left uneaten.[[@Bible:Luke 9:18]]18.???????? It so happened that while he was praying alone, his students gathered around him. He put this question to them: "Who do the people think I am?"???????????? They replied, "Some think you're John the Baptizer, others think you're Elijah, while still others believe that one of the old-time men of God has arisen."???????????? He then asked, "How about you all – who do you say I am?"???????????? Rock spoke up. "God's appointed Leader," he said.???????????? At this he told them that they absolutely must not spread this word around, "because," he said, "it is now a certainty that the son of man will suffer greatly and be scorned by the church officials and ministers and scholars, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."[[@Bible:Luke 9:23]]23.???????? Then he said, so everybody could hear, "If anybody really wants to share my way of life, let him have no regard for his own welfare, and let him risk his life every day and walk the way with me. Whoever puts his own life first shall lose it. But whoever lays his life on the line for me shall come out on top. For what has a man gained if he gets the whole world, and his own life is broken or destroyed in the process? If anyone is embarrassed around me and my ideas, the son of man will be embarrassed to have him around at his 'coronation' by the Father, and the dedicated attendants. For I'm telling you a fact: there are some standing right here who won't die before they see the God Movement."[[@Bible:Luke 9:28]]28.???????? About eight days after speaking these words, he took Rock and lack and Jim and went into the mountains to pray. It so happened that while he was praying, the whole appearance of his face became different, and his clothes were so white they hurt your eyes. And Io and behold, two men were carrying on a conversation with him! They were Moses and Elijah in their heavenly form and they were talking with him about his exodus–which he was soon to get into full swing in Atlanta.[[@Bible:Luke 9:32]]32.???????? Now Rock and those with him were awfully sleepy, but this got them so wide awake that they saw his wondrous appearance, as well as that of the men standing beside him. And as the two were leaving Jesus, Rock said to him, "Skipper, it's wonderful for us to he here, perfectly wonderful. So let's build three chapels, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"-without even realizing what he was saying.[[@Bible:Luke 9:34]]34.???????? He had hardly finished talking when a cloud came up and enveloped them. They were dreadfully frightened as they entered the cloud, and then out of the cloud came a voice, saying, "This is my dear Son; do what he tells you." After the voice, no one was there but Jesus. They all kept quiet, and during those days they didn't tell a soul what they had seen.[[@Bible:Luke 9:37]]37.???????? The next day they came down from the mountain and a large crowd met him. One of the men in the crowd called out for help, saying, "Doctor, please take a look at my son, my only child. He has a seizure, and all of a sudden he screams, and he writhes and foams at the mouth. He gets over it with great difficulty, and it just crushes him. I asked your students to do something, but they couldn't."????????????? Jesus cried out, "You distrustful and misguided people, how much longer shall I put up with you? Bring your boy here."????????????? Even as he was coming, the boy had another seizure and went into convulsions. Jesus quieted the abnormal spirit, and healed the lad and gave him back to his father. And all were astonished at the magnificence of God.[[@Bible:Luke 9:43]]43.???????? Now while they were marvelling at all the things he was doing, he said to his students, "You all let these words sink into your ears: the son of man is about to be turned over to the authorities." But they didn't grasp this saying at all. Its meaning was so hidden from them that they didn't catch on, and they were afraid to ask him to explain what he had said.[[@Bible:Luke 9:46]]46.???????? Then they got into a heated discussion as to which one of them was the most important. So Jesus–realizing what the motives behind the argument were–took a child and stood him in front of them and said, "Anyone in my fellowship who accepts this youngster accepts me, and anyone who accepts me, accepts him who commissioned me. Among you, the littlest one is important."[[@Bible:Luke 9:49]]49.???????? Jack spoke up and said, "Skipper, we saw somebody using your name to cast out demons, and we put a stop to it, because he didn't belong to our group."????????????? But Jesus told him, "Don't stop him, for if someone isn't opposed to you, he is for you."[[@Bible:Luke 9:51]]51.???????? Now when the days for his arrest approached, he set his heart on going to Atlanta. He sent the arrangements committee on ahead, and on the way they stopped in a black community to find accommodations. But they refused to accept Jesus' party, because there were white people in it. ????????????? When Jim and Jack saw this, they said, "Sir, do you want us to give them the 'fire-from-heaven' treatment and bump 'em off ? " But Jesus turned and scolded them, and they went on to another town.[[@Bible:Luke 9:57]]57.???????? While they were going along the way, somebody said to him, "I'll live your life, regardless of where it takes me."????????????? Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to hang his hat."????????????? Then he said to another, "Share my life."????????????? "Okay," he said, "but let me first discharge my family obligations." ????????????? Jesus told him, "Let the people of the world care for themselves, but you, you spend your time promoting the God Movement."????????????? Still another said, "I will share your life, sir, but let me first work things out with my relatives." ????????????? To him Jesus replied, "No man who commits himself to a course of action, and then keeps looking for a way out of it, is fit material for the God Movement."[[@Bible:Luke 10]]Chapter 10[[@Bible:Luke 10:1]]1.???????? After this, the Lord picked out seventy others and sent them in pairs to precede him into every city and place where he himself was about to go. Briefing them, he said, "There is a big harvest but few workers. Make your request to the harvest-master that he provide workers for his harvest. Now let's get on the move. Listen, I'm sending you out like sheep surrounded by a pack of wolves. Don't carry a suitcase or a wallet or shoes. And don't stop and gab with everybody you meet. When you go into a home, first greet them by wishing them peace. If a truly peaceful man is there, your peace will take root in him; if there isn't, it will bounce back on you. Stay in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide for you, for a worker is entitled to his pay. Don't change around from one home to another. And to whatever city you go–and they accept you–eat what's set before you and heal the sick in the town. And keep telling them, 'The God Movement is confronting you.' But if you go to a city and they won't accept you, go out on the main streets and say, 'We are shaking off every particle of dust from your city that's sticking to our feet. But let this be clear to you: the God Movement is here.’ I'm telling you, when that happens it will be easier on Las Vegas than on that city.[[@Bible:Luke 10:13]]13.???????? "It will be hell for you, Columbus. It will be hell for you, Albany. If Berlin and London had seen as many evidences of God's activity as you have, they would have humbly changed their ways a long time ago. But Berlin and London will have it easier in the Judgment than you. And you, Savannah, do you think you'll be praised to the skies? You'll be sent to hell!"????????????? He who listens to you, listens to me, and who rejects you, rejects me. And who rejects me, rejects Him who sent me."[[@Bible:Luke 10:17]]17.???????? So the seventy went out and later returned with joy, saying, "Sir, even the most devilish ones gave in to us when we approached them in your name."????????????? He said to them, "Yes, and I saw the whole satanic structure smashed like a bolt of lightning from the sky. Look here, I've given you the ability to trample on 'snakes and scorpions,' and on the power-structure of the opposition, and nothing will be able to stop you. But don't get all hepped up just because the devilish guys gave in to you; instead, you should be happy that you're enrolled in a spiritual cause."[[@Bible:Luke 10:21]]21.???????? At that same time the Holy Spirit flooded him with deep joy, and he said, "I fully admit to you, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've kept these things from the egg-heads and the worldly-wise, and have let trustful 'babies' in on them. Indeed, O Father, this is the way it seemed best to you."????????????? Then turning to his students, he said, "My Father has left everything up to me. No one but the Father truly knows the Son, and no one but the Son and whoever else he wishes to let in on it, truly knows the Father." He privately said to his students, "You are indeed fortunate to be seeing what you see. For I'm telling you, many sincere ministers and statesmen would have given almost anything to see what you're looking at but they never saw it, and to hear what you're hearing but they never heard it."[[@Bible:Luke 10:25]]25.???????? One day a teacher of an adult Bible class got up and tested him with this question: "Doctor, what does one do to be saved?"????????????? Jesus replied, "What does the Bible say? How do you interpret it?"????????????? The teacher answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your physical strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself."????????????? "That is correct," answered Jesus. "Make a habit of this and you'll be saved."????????????? But the Sunday school teacher, trying to save face, asked, "But ... er ... but ... just who is my neighbor?"????????????? Then Jesus laid into him and said, "A man was going from Atlanta to Albany and some gangsters held him up. When they had robbed him of his wallet and brand-new suit, they beat him up and drove off in his car, leaving him unconscious on the shoulder of the highway.????????????? "Now it just so happened that a white preacher was going down that same highway. 'When he saw the fellow, he stepped on the gas and went scooting by. ????????????? "Shortly afterwards a white Gospel song leader came down the road, and when he saw what had happened, he too stepped on the gas. ????????????? "Then a black man traveling that way came upon the fellow, and what he saw moved him to tears. He stopped and bound up his wounds as best he could, drew some water from his water-jug to wipe away the blood and then laid him on the back seat.?? He drove on into Albany and took him to the hospital and said to the nurse, 'You all take good care of this white man I found on the highway. Here's the only two dollars I got, but you all keep account of what he owes, and if he can't pay it, I'll settle up with you when I make a pay-day.'????????????? "Now if you had been the man held up by the gangsters, which of these three-the white preacher, the white song leader, or the black man - would you consider to have been your neighbor?"????????????? The teacher of the adult Bible class said, "Why, of course, the nig - I mean, er ... well, er ... the one who treated me kindly."????????????? Jesus said, "Well, then, you get going and start living like that!"[[@Bible:Luke 10:38]]38.???????? Journeying along, they came to a certain town, and a lady by the name of Martha invited him to her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down beside Jesus and listened eagerly to his ideas. All the while, Martha was rushing around trying to get everything ready. Unable to stand it any longer, she went in and said, "Sir, doesn't it make any difference to you that my sister has left all the serving up to me? Tell her to come lend me a hand!"????????????? Jesus answered, "Martha! Martha! You're worrying and fretting about a lot of things, when a few or even one is plenty. Now Mary has made a wise choice, which shall not be denied her."?[[@Bible:Luke 11]]Chapter 11[[@Bible:Luke 11:1]]1.???????? It so happened that he was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished, one of his students said to him, "Sir, teach us to pray, just as John taught his students."??????????? He said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father, may your name be taken seriously. May your Movement spread. Sustaining bread grant us each day. And free us from our sins, even as we release everyone indebted to us. And don't let us get all tangled up.’"[[@Bible:Luke 11:5]]5.???????? He went on to say, "Suppose you have a friend who comes to you in the middle of the night and says, 'Hey neighbor, how about lending me three loaves of bread. A friend of mine has just arrived at my house, and I don't have anything to serve him.' Then you'll call out from inside the house, 'Please don't disturb me! I've already locked the door and have got all the kids to sleep. I can't get up and let you have anything.' I really believe that even though you won't get up and let him have something out of friendship for him, you will crawl out and let him have whatever he needs if he keeps yelling and pounding on the door."??????????? "So that's why I'm telling you, start asking and it will be given to you; start looking, and you will find; start knocking, and it will be opened to you. For every asker receives, every seeker finds, and to every one who knocks the door is opened. Is there any father among you who, when his son shall ask him for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he should ask for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? Well, then, if you–sinful as you are–are capable of making good gifts to your children, how much more will the spiritual Father give the Holy Spirit to all who ask him?"[[@Bible:Luke 11:14]]14.???????? And he was throwing out a mean spirit from a man who couldn't talk. When the mean spirit came out, the man was able to speak. People were simply amazed at this, yet some of them said, "He's prying loose the mean spirits in the name of Dung-King, the leader of all mean spirits." Still others taunted him and tried to get him to work a miracle. But he knew what they were up to, and said to them, "Any kingdom that's split up into opposing sides will go on the rocks, and a household so divided will bust up. All right, you say I'm throwing out mean spirits with the help of Dung-King. Then if Satan is opposing himself, how can his kingdom hold together? And further, if I am throwing out mean spirits with Dung-King's help, with whose help are your sons throwing them out? Your sons, therefore, will be the evidence that will convict you. ????????????? "But now, if I am throwing out devils with the help of God’s finger, then God's Movement is squarely confronting you." [[@Bible:Luke 11:21]]21.???????? "When a man who relies on force maintains a heavy guard around his place, his property is undisturbed. But if somebody comes against him with a superior force, and conquers him, then he'll carry off all the equipment the man thought would defend him, and parcel out the loot.????????????? "If you're not with me, you're against me; if you don't gather with me, you scatter.[[@Bible:Luke 11:24]]24.???????? "When a filthy spirit comes out of a man, it goes through dry places looking for a place to settle down. If it finds none, it says, 'I'll go back to my former home.' So he comes back and finds it all swept and orderly. Then he goes and invites in seven spirits meaner than himself, and they go in and take possession of the place. So the man is much worse off at the end than he was at the beginning."[[@Bible:Luke 11:27]]27.???????? As he was saying these things, a woman in the crowd shouted out, "Praise God for the woman who bore you and at whose breasts you sucked!"????????????? He said, "Instead, praise God for those who listen to God's ideas and put them into practice."[[@Bible:Luke 11:29]]29.???????? When attendance kept increasing, he began by saying, "This is a mean generation. It wants to see 'proof,' and no proof will be given it except Jonah's proof. For just as Jonah became a ‘proof’ to the Ninevites, even so will the son of man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will be raised up on Judgment Day as convicting evidence against the men of this generation, because she came from the ends of the earth to learn from Solomon's wisdom, and now a greater one than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will be raised up on Judgment Day as convicting evidence against this generation, because they reshaped their lives when Jonah preached to them, and now a greater one than Jonah is here.[[@Bible:Luke 11:33]]33.???????? "A person never lights a lamp and puts it in a closet or under a box. Instead he puts it on a table, so as to provide light for all who come in.????????????? 'The body's lamp is your eye. When your eyes are in focus [i.e., on a single object], your whole body is distinctly guided; but when they are crossed [i.e., with one eye on one thing, the other on another, or trying to keep an equal eye on two masters], your body is 'in the dark.' See to it, then, that your 'light' isn't ‘night.' For if your whole being is illuminated, without any part reserved for darkness, you'll be as completely lit up as when a flash of lightning shines on you."[[@Bible:Luke 11:37]]37.???????? During the talk, a church member asked him to have lunch with him. When he got there, he sat right down at the table and began eating. When the church member saw that, he was stunned, because Jesus didn't observe the church rules about washing hands before eating. So the Master said to him, "Now you church members are careful to keep up the outward show, but your insides are full of greediness and meanness. You dimwits, didn't the same one who made the outside also make the inside? But dedicate your inner life as an unreserved gift, and then you are clean in every respect.[[@Bible:Luke 11:42]]42.???????? "But there's hell for you church members, because you Scrupulously tithe, while by-passing God's judgment and love. You should have done the former without neglecting the latter. There's hell for you church members, because you love the platform chairs in the sanctuary, and the slap on the back at the club luncheons. Hell for you, because you are like old graves of which there is no longer any evidence, and over which people walk without being aware that anybody's buried there."[[@Bible:Luke 11:45]]45.???????? One of the seminary teachers spoke up and said, "Professor, when you say things like that you insult us too."????????????? He said, "And for you professors, hell. Because you load people up with burdensome doctrines, but you yourselves don't lift a finger to put them into practice. There's hell for you, because you memorialize the men of God whom your predecessors killed for heresy. The fact that they murdered them and you build them monuments is evidence that you are parties to your predecessors' deeds. This is why the 'Wisdom of God' says, 'I will send them men of God and ambassadors, and they will persecute them and kill some of them.'????????????? "This generation will have to account for the blood of all the men of God which has been shed from the beginning of time, from Abel's blood to the blood of Zachariah, who was shot between the church and the parsonage. I repeat, this generation will have to give an account.????????????? "Hell for you, seminary professors, because you carry the key to spiritual wisdom, but you yourselves don't dare enter, and you even restrain others who would."[[@Bible:Luke 11:53]]53.???????? When he left there, the seminary alumni and church members began to really lay into him and pick his mind, setting traps to catch him in something he said.[[@Bible:Luke 12]]Chapter ?12[[@Bible:Luke 12:1]]1.???????? Now when a crowd gathered, so large that people actually trampled on one another, he began to say to his students:??????????? "First of all, be on your guard against the leaven of the church members, which is hypocrisy. For nothing is concealed that won't be revealed, and nothing secret that won't be found out. What you say in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you whisper in somebody's ear behind closed doors, will 'be broadcast from the rooftops. I want to tell you, my friends, don't fear those who kill the body and then have nothing further they can do. But I will show you whom you may well fear: fear the one who has the power not only to kill your body but to damn your soul. Yes, indeed, fear such a one.[[@Bible:Luke 12:6]]6.???????? "Aren't five baby chicks sold for fifty cents? And yet God never forgets even one of them! Why, he even keeps account of all the hairs on your head! So stop fretting. You are worth more than a whole brooderful of baby chicks.[[@Bible:Luke 12:8]]8.???????? "I tell you, too, if anybody will stand up for me before his fellowman, I will stand up for him before God's angels. But he who lets me down before his fellowman, shall be let down before God's angels. And anyone who speaks out openly against the son of man will be forgiven, but he who plays false with the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.??????????? "And when they try you before church councils and courts and investigating committees, don't get all worked up inside about how you'll defend yourself and what you'll say. The Holy Spirit will give you the right word at the right time."[[@Bible:Luke 12:13]]13.???????? Somebody in the crowd said to him, "Preacher, speak to my brother about dividing the inheritance with me."????????????? Jesus said to him, "Say, fellow, who appointed me as a judge or arbitrator between you two?"????????????? Then he said to them, "You all be careful and stay on your guard against all kinds of greediness. For a person's life is not for the piling up of possessions." [[@Bible:Luke 12:16]]16.???????? He then gave them a Comparison: "A certain rich fellow's farm produced well. And he held a meeting with himself and he said, 'What shall I do? I don't have room enough to store my crops.' Then he said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my old barns and build some bigger ones in which I'll store all my wheat and produce. And I will say to myself, 'Self, you've got enough stuff stashed away to do you a long time. Recline, dine, wine, and shine!' But God said to him, 'You nitwit, at this very moment your goods are putting the screws on your soul. All these things you've grubbed for, to whom shall they really belong?' That's the way it is with a man who piles up stuff for himself without giving God a thought."[[@Bible:Luke 12:22]]22.???????? He said to his students, "That's why I'm telling you not to worry about your physical life–what you'll eat–or for your body–what you'll wear. For life is much more than eating, and the body is more than clothing. Take a look at the crows. They don't plant, they don't harvest, they don't store things away in cribs or barns. Yet God cares for them. You are considerably more valuable than birds. Besides, which one of you, by fretting and fuming, can make himself one inch taller? Well, if your worrying can't change a little thing like that, why wear yourself out over anything else?[[@Bible:Luke 12:27]]27.???????? "Now take a look at the lilies, how they do no knitting or sewing; yet I'm telling you that not even Solomon, in all his finery, was ever dressed up like one of them. 'Well then, if God so outfits a plant that one day is growing in the field and the next is used for fuel, he'll do even more for you, you spiritual runts. The people of the world go tearing around after all these things. But your Father knows you need them. So set your heart on his Movement, and such things will be fully supplied.[[@Bible:Luke 12:32]]32.???????? "Stop being so scared, my little flock. Your Father has decided to make you responsible for the Movement. Sell what you own and give it with no strings attached. Make yourselves wallets that don't wear out, an unsurpassed spiritual treasure which thieves don't plunder, nor worms consume. For your treasure and your heart are wrapped up together.[[@Bible:Luke 12:35]]35.???????? "Roll out now and put on your pants, and turn on the lights. Be on your toes, like workers expecting the boss back from lunch, and when he comes and looks around, they'll be hard at it. Lucky are those workers who, when the boss slips up on them, are on their jobs. I'm telling you, he'll praise them, lend them a hand, and even invite them to lunch with him. And suppose he comes back after hours and finds them working away, they're really top-notch workers. For you may be sure of this: if a homeowner knew what time the thief was coming, he wouldn't allow his house to be broken into. So you all, be constantly on your toes, because the son of man might come when you're not expecting it."[[@Bible:Luke 12:41]]41.???????? Rock said, "Sir, are you telling this Comparison just to us, or to everybody else, too?"????????????? The Master said, "Well, who is the loyal and efficient employee whom his employer will put in charge of the payroll to see that everyone is promptly and accurately paid? Happy is that worker who, when the boss shows up, is doing a good job. I'm telling you a fact, he'll give him one promotion after another. But if that worker begins to say to himself, 'My boss will be late this morning,' and starts throwing his weight around and abusing those under him, then he goes out to get something to eat and a few beers, sure as everything his boss will show up just when he is least expected, and will chew him out and fire him.????????????? "Now that worker who understands fully what his boss wants done and doesn't get busy and do the job, will have the book thrown at him. But the worker who didn't understand, even though he did what he shouldn't have, will get off light. The more one is given, the more is expected of him; the more somebody is entrusted with, the more he must account for.[[@Bible:Luke 12:49]]49.???????? "I came to kindle a fire on the earth, and what wouldn't I give if it were already roaring! I have an ordeal to go through, and how pressed I am until it comes to a head! Do you all think that I came to give the world peace? No, I tell you, not peace but conflict. From now on, if a house has five people in it, they shall be fighting–three against two and two against three. A father will be against his son, and the son against his father; a mother against her daughter, and the daughter against her mother; a mother-in-law against the bride, and the bride against her mother-in-law."[[@Bible:Luke 12:54]]54.???????? He said to the crowd, "When you see a cloud blowing in from the west, right away you say, 'Here comes a rain,' and sure enough, it does rain. And when the south wind is blowing you say, 'It's gonna he hot,' and hot it is. You phonies, you are skilled at weighing scientific facts, but how is it that you can't interpret the signs of the times? And why can't you tell what's right for you? For example, when you're going to court with a man, wouldn't it be better to make an effort to settle out of court rather than having him drag you before the judge, and the judge rule against you, and deliver you into the custody of the warden, and the warden slap you into the pen? I'm telling you, you won't get out of there till you've paid through the nose."[[@Bible:Luke 13]]Chapter 13[[@Bible:Luke 13:1]]1.???????? Some of the people present at that time told him about the demonstrators who were killed on their way to church. ???????????? He replied to them, "Do you suppose that these particular demonstrators were any worse than all the rest just because they suffered this fate? No, I tell you, but unless you all re-shape your lives, every last one of you will suffer a similar fate. Or those eighteen on whom the building in College Park fell and killed them, do you think this happened to them because they were worse sinners than all the other citizens of Atlanta? No, I tell you, but unless you all re-shape your lives, every last one of you will suffer a similar fate."[[@Bible:Luke 13:6]]6.???????? He gave them this Comparison: "A fellow had a peach tree planted in his orchard, and one day he came looking for some fruit on it but didn't find anything. He said to the hired hand, 'Listen here, for three years I've come looking for some fruit on that peach tree and I haven't found a peach. Chop it down. Why let it take up space? But the hired hand said, 'Sir, let it stay just one more year, and I'll hoe around it and put some manure on it. If it should bear fruit then, okay; if it doesn't, chop it down.’"[[@Bible:Luke 13:10]]10.???????? One Sunday he was teaching in one of the churches. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had had a weak spirit and was so bent down she couldn't look up. When Jesus saw her, he called out and said to her, "Lady, you have been freed from your weakness." He put his hands on her, and right away she was straightened up, and started praising God.????????????? But the pastor of the church, indignant that Jesus had healed her on a Sunday, said to the people, "There are six days in which it is all right to work. Come on one of them and get yourselves healed, but not on a Sunday."????????????? The Master replied, "You bunch of hypocrites! Doesn't every one of you on Sunday turn his cow or horse out of the stall so it can go drink? All right, now take this fine white lady, who had been spiritually locked up for eighteen years; don't you think she should have been released from her bondage on Sunday?"????????????? This kind of argument surely did shake up his enemies, but most of the people were overjoyed at the wonderful things he was doing.[[@Bible:Luke 13:18]]18.???????? Then he said, "What is the God Movement like, and with what shall I compare it? It's like a mustard seed which a man plants in his garden, and it keeps growing until it becomes a big bush, and the birds in the sky make its branches their home."[[@Bible:Luke 13:20]]20.???????? And again he said, "With what shall I compare the God Movement? It's like yeast which a housewife mixes in three cups of flour until it all rises."[[@Bible:Luke 13:22]]22.???????? And he went through cities and villages, teaching and making his way towards Atlanta. Somebody asked him, "Sir, will only a few make the grade?"????????????? He said to them, "Do your best to enter the door of all-out commitment. Many, I tell you, will try to enter but just won't have the strength. It's like the owner of an eating joint who goes and locks up for the night, and all who have been standing around outside will then begin to bang on the door and say, 'Open up and let us in.' And he'll say to you, 'I don't know you guys.' Then you'll start saying, 'We're your pals. We've eaten and drunk here before, and you've met us on the streets.' And he'll answer you, 'No, I don't know you. Now go on away from here, you trouble makers.' Out there, there'll be a lot of cussing and hell-raising when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as all the faithful preachers, in the God Movement, while you are left on the outside. People will come from the east and west, from the north and south, and all will sit down together at the same table in the God Movement. And imagine it, those at the foot shall be at the head, and those at the head shall be at the foot."[[@Bible:Luke 13:31]]31.???????? Just then some church members came to him and said, "You better clear out of here in a hurry, because Governor Herod wants to kill you."????????????? He said to them, "Go tell that sly old fox that today and tomorrow I'm casting out demons and carrying on my healing work. The day after that I'll be finished [in Galilee, Herod's province]. You know, I've got to keep going today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, because it just isn't proper for a prophet to get killed outside the state capital.[[@Bible:Luke 13:34]]34.???????? "O Atlanta, Atlanta, you who crush the life out of your men of God, and ostracize those who try to show you a better way, many a time I've wanted to bring your citizens together as a hen gathers her biddies under her wings, and you would have none of it. All right, your city's future is left up to you. But I'll tell you this: you won't see me around again until you're crying out, 'Please, God, send us some dedicated leadership.’"[[@Bible:Luke 14]]Chapter 14[[@Bible:Luke 14:1]]1.???????? Now it so happened one Sunday that he went home to dinner with one of the denominational leaders, who were keeping a close eye on him. And a man with dropsy was there, so Jesus asked the leaders and church officials, "Is it all right to heal on Sunday or not?" When they buttoned up their lips, he took hold of the man, healed him and sent him on his way.[[@Bible:Luke 14:5]]5.???????? Again he asked them, "Suppose one of you had a child or a cow to fall in a well on a Sunday, wouldn't you try to get it out right away?" They just couldn't answer questions like that.[[@Bible:Luke 14:7]]7.???????? Noting the scramble for the places of honor at the table, he gave some advice to the church leaders who had invited him. "When you are invited by someone to a banquet, don't go immediately to the head table. It might be that some big shot with a higher title than yours has been invited, too, and the person in charge of seating arrangements will have to say to you, 'Please let this gentleman have your seat.' Then with embarrassment you'll begin to step down to the lower seat. But when you're invited, take the most inconspicuous seat, and if the emcee comes in and says to you, 'Hello, my friend. Come on up here,' then you'll feel honored before all the guests. For anyone who promotes himself will be humiliated, and he who humbles himself will be promoted."[[@Bible:Luke 14:12]]12.???????? He had a word, too, for his host. "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, don't invite your close friends or your family or your relatives or your rich neighbors, because they might give you a pay-back party and you'll just break even. But when you give any kind of a party, invite the poor, the disabled, the crippled and the blind. It will make you very happy, because they don't have anything with which to pay you back. Yet you'll be amply 'repaid' when the truly good are made to live."[[@Bible:Luke 14:15]]15.???????? When one of those eating at the table with him heard these things, he said, "It's a great privilege to sit down and eat together in the God Movement."????????????? Jesus said to him, "One time a man gave a big dinner, and he sent invitations to many people. When everything was on the table, he sent his servant around to all the guests saying, 'Y'all come, it's all ready.' But one after another began to beg off. The first one said, 'I have bought a tract of land, and I've just got to go look it over. If you will, please excuse me.' And another said, 'I have bought five teams of mules, and I simply must go and try them out. If you will, please excuse me.' Another said, 'I just got married, and therefore I cannot come!' So the servant returned and told his boss what had happened. Then the boss had a fit, and said to his servant, 'Run out real quick into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor and the disabled and the blind and the crippled.' After a while his servant announced, 'Sir, I've done what you told me, but the table still isn't full.' The boss then said to the servant, "Well, go out on the highway and sidewalks and collar them to come on in here, so I'll have a full table. Because I'm telling you a fact, not one of those guys who got an invitation will get a taste of my food.'"[[@Bible:Luke 14:25]]25.???????? Quite a crowd was trailing him, and he turned and said to them, "If anyone is considering joining me, and does not break his attachment for father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, indeed–for his own life–he simply cannot belong to my fellowship. Anyone who does not accept his own lynching and fall in behind me cannot belong to my fellowship.[[@Bible:Luke 14:28]]28.???????? "If any of you were intending to put up a building, wouldn't you first sit down and figure out the cost, so you could see if you had enough to finish it? Otherwise, you might lay out the foundation; and because you didn't have funds to go any further, people would begin making cracks about you, saying, 'This fellow is a great hand at starting things, but he can't carry through on them.'[[@Bible:Luke 14:31]]31.???????? "Or suppose a king were going out to battle against another king, wouldn't he first sit down and determine whether or not, with his ten thousand men, he could face an enemy of twenty thousand? If he figures he can't, then while there is still distance between them, he should send a delegation to seek for terms of peace.????????????? "So that's the way it is with you. Everyone of you who doesn't throw in his entire fortune cannot belong to my fellowship.[[@Bible:Luke 14:34]]34.???????? "Salt is a good thing, but if it becomes so diluted that it is no longer salt, how can anything be seasoned with it? It's no good even for the soil or the compost heap. People just throw it away. Now remember that, will you?"[[@Bible:Luke 15]]Chapter 15[[@Bible:Luke 15:1]]1.???????? Now all the "nigger-lovers" and black people were gathering around him to listen. And the white church people and Sunday school teachers were raising cain, saying, "This fellow associates with black people and eats with them." So Jesus gave them this Comparison:[[@Bible:Luke 15:3]]3.???????? "Is there a man among you who, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go hunt for the lost one? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home with it. He calls over to his friends and neighbors, 'Hey, y'all, I found my lost sheep. Isn't that wonderful?' I'm telling you, in the same way there'll be more joy among the spiritually sensitive ones over a single 'outsider’ who reshapes his life than over the ninety-nine 'righteous' people who don't need to change their ways.[[@Bible:Luke 15:8]]8.???????? "Or suppose a woman has ten dimes and loses one of them; won't she get the flashlight and a broom and sweep and look carefully till she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls over to her friends and neighbors and says, 'Hey, y'all, you know that dime I lost? Well, I found it. Isn't that nice?' In the same way, I tell you, there's a rejoicing on the part of God's faithful ones over a single 'outsider' who re-shapes his life."[[@Bible:Luke 15:11]]11.???????? He went on to say, "A man had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Dad, give me my share of the business.' So he split up the business between them. Not so long after that the younger one packed up all his stuff and took off for a foreign land, where he threw his money away living like a fool. Soon he ran out of cash, and on top of that, the country was in a deep depression. So he was really hard up. He finally landed a job with one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into the fields to feed hogs! And he was hungry enough to tank up on the slop the hogs were eating. Nobody was giving him even a hand-out.??????????? "One day an idea bowled him over. 'A lot of my father's hired hands have more than enough bread to eat, and out here I'm starving in this depression. I'm gonna get up and go to my father and say, 'Dad, I've sinned against God and you, and am no longer fit to be called your son–just make me one of your hired hands.'??????????? "So he got up and came to his father. While he was some distance down the road, his father saw him and was moved to tears. He ran to him and hugged him and kissed him and kissed him.??????????? "The boy said, 'Dad, I've sinned against God and you, and I'm not fit to he your son any more–’ But the father said to his servants, 'You all run quick and get the best suit you can find and put it on him. Get his family ring for his hand and some dress shoes for his feet. Then I want you to bring that stall-fed steer and butcher it, and let's all eat and whoop it up, because this son of mine was given up for dead, and he's still alive; he was lost and is now found.' And they began to whoop it up.??????????? "But his older son was out in the field. When he came in and got almost home, he heard the music and the dancing, and he called one of the little boys and asked him what in the world was going on. The little boy said, 'Why, your brother has come home, and your daddy has butchered the stall-fed steer, because he got him back safe and sound. At this he blew his top, and wouldn't go in. His father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look here, all these years I've slaved for you, and never once went contrary to your orders. And yet, at no time have you ever given me so much as a baby goat with which to pitch a party for my friends. But when this son of yours–who has squandered the business on whores–comes home, you butcher for him the stall-fed steer.' But he said to him, 'My boy, my dear boy, you are with me all the time, and what's mine is yours. But I just can’t help getting happy and whooping it up, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive; he was lost and has been found.’"[[@Bible:Luke 16]]Chapter 16[[@Bible:Luke 16:1]]1.???????? He said to his students, "Once there was a rich man who hired a manager for his business. Later he got wind that his manager was making a mess of things. So he called him in the office and said, "What's this I'm hearing about you? Let me have your accounts, so I can see if you can be manager around here any longer.'??????????? "The manager went out and thought it over. ‘What shall I do, seeing as how my boss is taking my job away from me? I'm not able to do physical labor, and I'm ashamed to go on welfare . . . I've got it! I'll fix it so that when I'm fired as manager they'll still welcome me into their places of business.' So he called up each one of his boss's customers and said to the first one, 'How much do you owe my boss?' He replied, 'I owe him for 900 gallons of oil.' 'All right,' said the manager, 'we'll settle the account if you'll sit right down and write us a check for 450 gallons. Okay?' Then he said to another, 'And you, how much do you owe?' He replied, 'For 1000 bushels of wheat.' The manager said, 'Just write us a check for 800 in full settlement.'??????????? "And the boss gave the crooked manager credit for pulling such a slick trick. "You know, pagan business men are smarter than Christians in conducting their affairs. So I'm telling you, get yourselves some friends among the money boys so that when you fall flat on your face they might invite you into their plush offices (to give you some advice)![[@Bible:Luke 16:10]]10.???????? "Anybody who is honest in small matters will be honest in important affairs, and he who is crooked in small details will be crooked in larger matters. So if you don't know how to handle money matters, who'll entrust to you real wealth? And if you don't take care of what belongs to somebody else, how do you expect to have anything of your own?????????????? "No worker can hire out to two bosses at the same time. For either he will have contempt for one and respect for the other, or he will look up to one and down on the other. You absolutely cannot be loyal to both God and Money."[[@Bible:Luke 16:14]]14.???????? Now the money-loving church members heard all this, and started booing him. He said to them, "You people make yourselves look pretty in public, but God knows your hearts. And what men praise, God abhors.[[@Bible:Luke 16:16]]16.???????? "Until John, men were faced with the law and the prophets. Since then, the news of the God Movement is being circulated, and everyone is being forced to face it.????????????? "It's easier for land and sky to pass away than for one crossing of a 't' to fall away from the law.[[@Bible:Luke 16:18]]18.???????? "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another is having illicit sex relations, and the divorced wife who remarries has illicit sex relations.[[@Bible:Luke 16:19]]19.???????? "Once there was a rich man, and he put on his tux and stiff shirt, and staged a big affair every day. And there was laid at his gate a poor guy by the name of Lazarus, full of sores, and so hungry he wanted to fill up on the rich man's table scraps. On top of this, the dogs came and licked his sores.????????????? "It so happened that the poor fellow died, and the angels seated him at the table with Abraham. The rich man died, too, and was buried. And in the hereafter, the rich man, in great agony, looked up and saw from afar Abraham, and Lazarus sitting beside him at the table. So he shouted to him, 'Mr. Abraham, please take pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in some water and rub it over my tongue, because I'm scorching in this heat.'????????????? "Abraham replied, 'Boy, you remember that while you were alive you got the good things (the good jobs, schools, streets, houses, etc.), while at the same time Lazarus got the leftovers. But now, here he's got it made, and you're scorching. And on top of all this, somebody has dug a yawning chasm between us and you, so that people trying to get through from here to you can't make it, neither can they get through from there to us.'????????????? "The rich man said, "Well, then, Mr. Abraham, will you please send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers; let him thoroughly warn them so they won't come to this hellish condition.'????????????? "Then Abraham said, 'They've got the Bible and the preachers; let them listen to them.'????????????? "But he said, 'No, they won't do that, Mr. Abraham. But if somebody will go to them from the dead, they'll change their ways!'????????????? "He replied, "Well, if they won't listen to the Bible and the preachers, they won't be persuaded even if someone does get up from the dead.’"[[@Bible:Luke 17]]Chapter 17[[@Bible:Luke 17:1]]1.???????? Then he said to his students, "It is unlikely that there won't be any traps, but hell to him who sets them. He would be better off pitched into the sea with a grinding rock draped around his neck, than to set a trap for one of these little ones. Keep an eye on yourselves.??????????? "If your brother does you wrong, face him up to it. And if he apologizes and acts differently, let him off. Even if he does you wrong seven times a day, and seven times a day turns to you and says, 'I'm sorry. I'll do better,' you must let him off."[[@Bible:Luke 17:5]]5.???????? The students said to the Master, "Step up our faith."??????????? And the Master said, "Why, if you have the faith of a mustard seed, you could say to this pecan tree, 'Uproot yourself and plant yourself in the lake,' and it would do as you say.[[@Bible:Luke 17:7]]7.???????? "Suppose one of you has a servant chopping cotton or feeding chickens. When she comes to the house that night, would you say to her, 'Come on and let's eat'? No indeed! You would say to her, 'Wash up and get supper for me, and wait on me while I'm eating and drinking, and when I get through then you can have your supper.' Does one thank a servant for merely doing what he is told? All right, that's the way it is with you. When you've done what you've been told, you should say, 'We're but undeserving servants doing our duty.’"[[@Bible:Luke 17:11]]11.???????? While he was on his way to Atlanta, he went through the ghetto of Griffin, where he was met by ten winos who stood at a distance and yelled, "Mister Jesus, have mercy on us!" When he saw them he said, "Okay, go show yourselves to the doctor." And as they were going, they were cured. Now one of them, realizing that he was cured, turned around and shouted at the top of his voice, "Praise God! Praise God!" Then he got down before Jesus and thanked him. This particular one was a black man. So Jesus said, "Weren't there ten of you that got healed? Where are the other nine? Well, well. So didn't any of them come back here to praise and thank God except this black man, huh?"????????????? He said to the man, "Get up and go. Your trustful action has been the making of you."[[@Bible:Luke 17:20]]20.???????? Some of the church members asked him when the God Movement would get up steam. He answered them, "The God Movement doesn't get up steam by appointing a committee to study it. Nor can you say, 'It's here' or 'It's there,' for evidences of the God Movement are all about you."[[@Bible:Luke 17:22]]22.???????? Then he said to his students, "The time will come when you'd give anything to re-live one of these days with me, but you won't be able. And they'll tell you, 'Look, there he is,' or 'Look, here he is.' Don't get excited and go running out. For at that time my presence among you will be like a bolt of lightning flashing from one end of the sky to the other. But first, I've got to suffer a lot, and to be run off by the general public. My presence here will be just like it was in the days when Noah confronted the people. They went their merry way of eating, drinking, marrying, courting, until the very day Noah went into the ark and the flood came and drowned them all. Or like it was at the time of Lot. They went merrily on their way, eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building, until the very day Lot left Sodom, and it rained fire and brimstone from the sky and destroyed them all. That's exactly the way it'll turn out on the day the son of man confronts people. When that happens, don't let the man sitting on the porch try to save his furniture, or the man in the field hold on to his hoe. Remember what happened to Lot's wife! If anyone tries to take precautions for his life, he'll lose it, and if anyone turns it loose, he'll burst into blossom. I'm telling you, on that night of confrontation, two brothers will be sleeping in the same bed; the one will be caught up by it and the other will be left snoring. Two sisters will be getting dinner together; the one will be caught up by it and the other will be left cooking."????????????? Their response was, "Where, sir?"????????????? He replied, "Where there's a dead body, there, too, will the buzzards be gathered."[[@Bible:Luke 18]]Chapter 18[[@Bible:Luke 18:1]]1.???????? He told them a Comparison to show that they should keep on praying and not give up. "One time in a certain city there was a judge who didn't believe in God, and didn't give a hoot about people. In the same city was a widow, and she came to him repeatedly and said, 'Please, hear my case against so-and-so.' He put her off for a long time, but finally he said to himself: 'Even though I don't believe in God and don't give a hoot for people, yet because this woman has got it in for me, I'll hear her case before she finally nags me to death.’"[[@Bible:Luke 18:6]]6.???????? The Master said, "Listen to what this wicked judge is saying. How much more readily will God have compassion on and hear the case of his special workers who are in contact with him night and day! I tell you, he'll hear their case at once. But, will the son of man find faith on the earth when he confronts it?"[[@Bible:Luke 18:9]]9.???????? Also, he gave this Comparison to certain ones who had a high regard for their own goodness, but looked down their noses at others: "Two men went into the chapel to pray. The one was a church member, the other was an unsaved man. The church member stood up and prayed to himself like this: 'O God, I thank you that I'm not like other people–greedy, mean, promiscuous–or even like this unsaved man. I go to church twice on Sunday, and I am a faithful tither of all my income.' But the unsaved man, standing way off, wouldn't even lift up his eyes, but knelt down and cried, 'O God, have mercy on a sinner like me.' I'm telling you, this man went home cleaned up rather than that one. For everyone who puts himself on a pedestal will be laid low, and everyone who lays himself low will be put on a pedestal."[[@Bible:Luke 18:15]]15.???????? Some folks started bringing their babies to him to bless, and his students jumped on them for it. Jesus then gathered the little ones around him and said, "Let the kids come to me and don't get in their way, for of such is the God Movement. I truly tell you that unless one accepts the God Movement like a child, he just won't get into it."[[@Bible:Luke 18:18]]18.???????? One of the leading citizens asked him, "Good Doctor, what do I do to come into possession of spiritual life?"????????????? Jesus replied, "Why do you call me 'good'? You know the commandments – don't sleep with someone you're not married to, don't murder, don't steal, don't lie, take care of your father and mother."????????????? But he said, "I know, and I've observed these ever since I was a youngster."????????????? When Jesus heard that, he said, "You're falling short in one thing: Sell all you've got, give it to the poor – you'll be spiritually rich – and come share my life."????????????? When he heard all this, the man was heart-broken, because he was powerfully rich.????????????? Jesus looked at him and said, "How terribly difficult it is for those who own things to come into the God Movement. Actually it's easier to thread a needle with a rope than for a rich man to get into the God Movement."????????????? Those listening said, "Well, who then can be saved?"????????????? "Things humanly impossible," he said, "are possible with God."????????????? Rock spoke up, "Gee, look at us! We have given up all we owned and have shared your life."????????????? Jesus said to them, "I surely tell you all, there is no one who has given up a house or a wife or brothers or parents or children, for the God Movement, who will not receive all of these many times over right here and now, and – in the approaching era – spiritual life."[[@Bible:Luke 18:31]]31.???????? He called the twelve aside and said to them. "Look, we're going up to Atlanta, and everything the old-time men of God wrote about the son of man is going to happen. He will be handed over to the people of the world and shall be made fun of and insulted and spit on. They'll beat him up and kill him, but on the third day he'll be raised up."????????????? But they didn't understand a thing he said. It was all too deep for them, so they didn't catch on to what he was talking about.[[@Bible:Luke 18:35]]35.???????? When he got near Hampton, a blind man was sitting on the street begging. He heard the noise of the crowd and asked somebody what in the world was going on. They told him that Jesus of Valdosta was passing through. He yelled as loud as he could, "Jesus, King Jesus, have mercy on me." The people up front told him to cut it out and keep quiet. But he shouted all the louder, "King Jesus, have mercy on me." Jesus stopped and ordered him to be brought to him. When he got there, Jesus inquired, "What can I do for you?"????????????? He said, "Mister, I want to see." ????????????? Jesus said to him, "Okay, see! Your faith has been the making of you."????????????? And right away he could see, and he was running around praising God. The whole crowd saw it and started praising God, too.[[@Bible:Luke 19]]Chapter 19[[@Bible:Luke 19:1]]1.???????? He entered and passed on through Hampton. Now a man was there by the name of Zeke Geers. He was district director of the Revenue Service, and was quite well off. He was trying to get a glimpse of Jesus to see what he looked like, but he couldn't do it because of the crowd, and because he was a short man.??????????? So he ran on ahead and climbed up a pecan tree so he could spot him, because Jesus was about to pass that way. When Jesus got to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zeke Geers, hurry up and come down, because I need to stay at your house today." Mr. Geers slid down right away and gladly took him home with him.??????????? When the good white people saw this, they grumbled, "He's going home to dinner with a man who doesn't even belong to the church."??????????? During the meal, Mr. Geers got up and said to the Master, "Look, half of what I own, sir, I'm giving to the poor, and if I have . . . er . . . cheated anyone . . . er . . . anyone, that is. I'll pay back four times the amount."??????????? Jesus said to him, "Today new life has arrived at this house! Because after all, he, too, is a white man, and the son of man came to search out and rescue anybody who gets off the track."[[@Bible:Luke 19:11]]11.???????? While they were pondering on these things, he added a Comparison. He told this one because he was near Atlanta, and because they were thinking that the God Movement was about to burst forth immediately. Therefore he said: "A man from one of the best families went to a distant city to receive his appointment as Governor General and then return to his province. Before he left, he called ten of his workers and turned over to them ten thousand dollars with this instruction: 'You all do business till I get back.'??????????? "Some politicians couldn't stand him, so they sent a committee to follow him and say, 'We don't want this fellow for our Governor General.'??????????? "Now when he returned with his appointment as Governor, he called up the workers to whom he had given the money so as to find out who had gained what. The first one came up and said, 'Sir, your money has increased ten times.'??????????? "And he said to him, 'That's fine. You are a good worker. Because you have done a good job with this small amount, you may have charge of ten cities.'??????????? "The second one came and said, 'The money you gave me, sir, has increased five times.'??????????? "And he said to this one, 'All right, you can be over five cities.'??????????? "Another one came and said, 'Look, sir, here's your money, which I've tied up in a bandanna. For I was scared of you, since you're a very hard-hearted man. You demand what you never deposited, and you harvest what you never planted.'??????????? "He said to him, 'I'll use your own words to judge you, you good-for-nothing bum! You say that I'm a hard-hearted man, demanding what I don't deposit and harvesting what I don't plant. All right, then, why didn't you let the banker have my money so that when I got back I might at least have had the interest?' Then he said to the attendants, 'Take the money from him and give it to the first man.' They said to him, 'But sir, he has ten thousand already.’??????????? "‘And as for those enemies of mine who didn't want me to be their Governor, bring them here and destroy them before me.'??????????? "I tell you, responsibility will be given to everyone who will exercise it, and from him who won't, even what responsibility he has will be taken away."[[@Bible:Luke 19:28]]28.???????? After saying this, he moved on toward Atlanta. When he got near Jonesboro, near a hill called "The Peach Orchard," he sent two of his students, telling them, "Go into the town ahead, and there you'll find a young mule tied up, which has never been broke for riding. Untie him and bring him here. And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying him?', you say, 'His owner needs him.'???????????? "So they went and found everything just as he had told them. And while they were untying the young mule, his owners said to them, "Why are you untying the mule?" And they said, "Because his owner needs him."[[@Bible:Luke 19:35]]35.???????? They brought him to Jesus, took off their shirts and laid them on the mule, and then mounted Jesus on him. While he was moving along, people were spreading their clothes in the road. When he arrived at "Peach Orchard" hill, a big crowd of his followers got happy and started shouting, "Praise God for the miracles we've seen!" Then they sang,??????????? "Hail to the Chief, who comes with the name of 'Lord'!??????????? Heavenly Peace and highest Praise!"??????????? Some of the church members in the crowd said to him, "Doctor, tell your followers to restrain themselves."??????????? "I tell you," he said, "if they fall silent, the rocks will break into song."[[@Bible:Luke 19:41]]41.???????? And as he drew near and saw the skyline of the city, he burst into tears over it, saying, "Oh, if you had just known at this time the things which lead to peace! Even now they don't make sense to you. The days will come when your enemies will throw up fortifications around you, and besiege you, and take you prisoner, and sack you and your inhabitants, and not leave one building standing, simply because you didn't recognize your day of opportunity."????????????? And he went into the First Church, and began turning out the money-raisers, telling them, "The Scripture says, 'My house is a house for prayer,' but you all have made it a bankers' club."????????????? He was teaching every day in the church. But the bishops and theologians and key leaders were trying to destroy him. Yet they found no way to get at him, because the people were hanging around listening to him.[[@Bible:Luke 20]]Chapter ?20[[@Bible:Luke 20:1]]1.???????? It so happened on one of the days while he was teaching and explaining the God Movement to the people in the church, that the bishops and professors, along with the church officials, laid into him and said, "Tell us where you got the authority to do such things. Who gave you this permission?"[[@Bible:Luke 20:3]]3.???????? He replied, "Let me ask you a question and I want you to answer me. Was John's baptism divine or human?"??????????? They conferred with one another, saying, "If we say it is divine, he will ask why we didn't accept it. If we say it is human, the crowd will mob us, because they're convinced that John is a man of God."??????????? So they answered that they didn't know which it was.??????????? Jesus said to them, "Well, then, I won't tell you where I got the authority for my actions."[[@Bible:Luke 20:9]]9.???????? Then he began telling the people this Comparison: "A man set out a peach orchard, turned it over to some sharecroppers and went on a long trip. When the peaches got ripe, he sent his assistant to look after his share of the crop. But the croppers beat him up and ran him off empty-handed. He sent still another assistant, and they beat him up, too, and cussed him out and ran him off empty-handed. So he sent a third one, and him, too, they clubbed and dragged out.??????????? "The owner of the orchard said, 'What shall I do? Perhaps if I send my son, who is so dear to me, they'll surely have respect for him.'??????????? "But when the croppers saw him, they said to one another, 'Look, this is the old man's heir. Let's kill him, and the orchard might fall to us by squatters' rights.' So they dragged him outside the orchard and killed him.??????????? "Now what will the owner of the peach orchard do to them? He'll come himself and destroy those croppers and rent his orchard to someone else."??????????? They who heard this said, "Good God, no!"??????????? He looked them over and said, "What then does this Scripture mean: 'The stone which the builders turned down, has turned up as the keystone in the structure'? Anyone who falls on that stone will be shattered, but whomever it falls on will be utterly smashed."[[@Bible:Luke 20:19]]19.???????? Now the seminary professors and denominational executives tried to lay hands on him right then and there, but were afraid of their constituency. For they knew full well that he had aimed this Comparison at them. So they played it cool by hiring some detectives to pose as Christians and collect evidence from his preaching, so he could be arrested and turned over to the House Subversive Activities Committee. These detectives asked him, "Doctor, we know when you speak and teach you shoot straight, regardless of who's listening. We know, too, that beyond any doubt you are teaching God's Way. Now, is it right to pay Federal taxes or not?"????????????? Catching on to their trick, he said, "Show me a dollar. Whose picture and insignia is on it?"????????????? They said, "The President's."????????????? He replied, "All right, then, give government things to the government, and God's things to God."????????????? So they were not successful in trapping him in anything he said in public, and his answer so astounded them that they shut up.[[@Bible:Luke 20:27]]27.???????? Then some Humanists, who deny that there is a life hereafter, put this question to him. "Doctor, the Old Testament says that if a married man dies without having any children, his brother should try to have children by the widow so as to provide heirs for his brother. So, there were seven brothers. The first one married and died childless. The second one then took her and then the third, etc., until all seven had lived with her without having children. They all died, and finally the woman died too. Now then, that woman in the life hereafter–whose wife does she become, since all seven were married to her?"[[@Bible:Luke 20:34]]34.???????? Jesus answered them, "People in this life marry and get married, but those who are considered candidates for the next life, and for the raising of the dead, neither marry nor get married. Being immortal, they are like the angels, and being resurrected souls they are God's people.???????????? "But now about the dead being raised, even Moses proved it when–at the burning bush–he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.' He is not, then, a God of the dead but of the living. For all draw their life from him."????????????? Some of the seminary professors responded, "Doctor, that was a mag-ni-fi-cent answer!"????????????? After that, nobody felt like asking him anything.[[@Bible:Luke 20:41]]41.???????? So he asked them a question. "Why is it said that the Leader of the revolution is to be a descendant of David, whein David himself says in the book of Psalms:????????????? 'God said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I bring all your opponents under your rule.’"????????????? "If David refers to him as 'Lord,' how can he be his descendant?"[[@Bible:Luke 20:45]]45.???????? While the whole crowd was listening, he said to his students, "Keep away from those religious leaders who insist on wearing academic robes and who love the back-slapping at the civic clubs and the center chairs in the pulpits and the speakers' tables at banquets; who eat widows out of house and home, and make long prayers at the drop of a hat. These will get the Judgment book thrown at them."[[@Bible:Luke 21]]Chapter 21[[@Bible:Luke 21:1]]1.???????? He looked around and saw the rich folks putting their money into the collection plates. He noticed that a penniless widow put in two cents, and he said, "It is surely true that this poverty-stricken widow put in more than the others, because all of them gave from their overflow, while she, from her scarcity, has put in all she has."[[@Bible:Luke 21:5]]5.???????? Some people were commenting about the First Church, its architecture and the beautiful marble and the stained glass memorial windows.??????????? He said, "All that you're admiring, the time will come when not one piece of marble will be left upon another without being torn down."??????????? "Doctor," they asked, "when will this happen? And how are we to know when all this is ready to take place?"??????????? "Don't let anybody kid you," he replied, "for there will he many people buzzing around calling themselves Christians and preaching, 'I've got the answer,' and 'the time is up.' Don't go trekking after them. Even when you hear reports of fights and factions, don't get alarmed. For these things will of necessity come first, but the end does not immediately follow."[[@Bible:Luke 21:10]]10.???????? Then he continued, "Race will rise against race, and nation against nation. There will be great shake-ups in various places, and there'll be starvation and epidemics. Great, frightful omens will appear in the sky. But before all this happens they'll lay hands on you and arrest you, turning you over to church councils and putting you in jail, and dragging you before courts and committees because you bear my name. It'll turn out to be your opportunity to make a witness. So don't get it in your heads that you've got to prepare your defense in advance. For I'll give to you a mouth and a mind which all your opponents won't be able to match or reply to.???????????? "You'll be turned in even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they'll kill some of you. You'll be hated by everybody because you bear my name. But you won't be really harmed in the slightest. By your uncompromising stand you'll find a new dimension to life.[[@Bible:Luke 21:20]]20.???????? "Now when you see the capital taken over by the military, you'll know that her time is running out. Then let the people in the country run to the hills, and let those in the city itself get out, and those on the farms not enter it. For these are the days of reckoning that so much has been written about. It'll be terrible for the pregnant and the nursing mothers at that time. Throughout the land there'll be nothing but hard times and fury for the people. For they'll be butchered and enslaved by other races, and the nation will be buried under racial problems until all races have full opportunities. And there'll be signals on the sun and moon and stars, and throughout the land there'll be a tension of races in confusion like the roaring of the boiling sea, with men passing out from fear and anticipation of what's happening to civilization. For the powers of the higher-ups will be shaken. And then they'll see the son of man leading a Movement with great strength and authority. When these preliminary things happen, hold up your heads and throw back your shoulders, because your freedom is arriving."[[@Bible:Luke 21:29]]29.???????? And he told them a Comparison: "Take a look at the pear tree and all the other trees. When they are far advanced, you can look and see for yourself that warm weather is here. Likewise, when you all see things like these happening, you can know that the God Movement is here. I truly tell you that the present generation will not be gone before all these things happen. Land and sky will pass away, but what I'm telling you won't. Check up on yourselves to see that your sensitivity isn't dulled by fast living and drunkenness and worry over making a living. Otherwise, the times might catch you suddenly like a trap, for they'll confront everybody in the world. So stay on your toes all the time, praying that you'll have the strength to break loose from that situation and to stand up and be counted for the son of man."[[@Bible:Luke 21:37]]37.???????? During the day he was teaching at First Church, but he would go out and spend the nights at "Peach Orchard Hill." And all the people got up early to hear him speak at the church.[[@Bible:Luke 22]]Chapter 22[[@Bible:Luke 22:1]]1.???????? Now the annual meeting, which is called the Convention, was drawing near. And the denominational executives and secretaries were trying to find a way to get rid of him, for they didn't trust the people. Then the devil got into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the inner circle of twelve, and he went and discussed with the executives and detectives as to how he might turn Jesus over to them. They were real happy, and offered to pay him money. He agreed, and started looking for an opportunity to turn him over to them apart from the crowd.[[@Bible:Luke 22:7]]7.????????? Then the time came for what the program called "Alumni Banquets and Communion." So he sent Rock and Jack with these instructions: "Go and make arrangements for us to have a banquet." They asked, "Where do you suggest we have it?" He replied, "Well, as you enter the city you'll meet a man carrying a pitcher of ice water. Follow him into the hotel that he enters, and tell the hotel manager, 'The Professor says to ask you, "Where is the dining room where I'm to hold a banquet with my students?"’ He'll show you a large room on the mezzanine. Get it in shape."????????????? They went and found it exactly as he had said, and they got everything ready for the banquet.[[@Bible:Luke 22:14]]14.???????? When the hour arrived, he and the twelve sat down, and he said to them, "With a deep longing I've wanted to eat this annual fellowship meal with you before I suffer. For I'm telling you that I'll not eat it again until it has become a symbol of the God Movement."????????????? And he took a cup, and having given thanks, he said, "Take this and share it among you. I tell you, from now on I'm not drinking 'fruit of the vine' until the God Movement has come."????????????? And he took a loaf, and having given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body.????????????? "But even so, the man who'll turn me in is eating my food. Indeed, the son of man is going his predetermined way, but it will be hell for that fellow who turns him in."????????????? And they began questioning among themselves as to which one of them might do such a thing.[[@Bible:Luke 22:24]]24.???????? Later they got into an argument over who was the most important. He said to them, "Big business men hold the reins over their subordinates, and those invested with authority are called 'executives.' But don't you all act that way. Instead, let the oldest among you be the same as the youngest, and the boss the same as the janitor. Now look, who's the greater, the one eating at the table or the one serving the table? The one eating, of course. But I'm taking the position of your servant. And you, you're the ones who have shared so deeply with me in my struggles. Now I'm outlining the Movement for you just as my Father outlined it for me, so that you can be my intimate associates in my Movement. And you'll be the twelve pillars of a new 'Reformation.'[[@Bible:Luke 22:31]]31.???????? "Simon! Simon! Look here! Satan begged to run all of you through the combine like heads of wheat. But I prayed over you particularly, that your faith might not cave in. And you, when you have got on your feet, help your brothers to stand up."????????????? "Master," he replied, "I am ready to go with you to jail or death."????????????? Jesus said to him, "Rock, I tell you that before the rooster crows at dawn, you'll have denied three times that you ever knew me."[[@Bible:Luke 22:35]]35.???????? He turned to them all. "When I sent you out without a wallet or a suitcase or walking shoes, did you lack for anything?" They said, "Not a thing."????????????? He said, "Okay, but now if you've got a wallet, go get it; and do the same if you have a suitcase. If you don't have either, sell your shirt and buy a switchblade. The fact is that it's going to happen to me just as this Scripture says. 'And he was lumped with the lawless.' And it's just about here."????????????? "Master, look here," they said. "We got two switchblades."????????????? He said, "Forget it."[[@Bible:Luke 22:39]]39.???????? So he left, and as he had been in the habit of doing, he went out to "Peach Orchard Hill." His students, too, went along. When they got there, he said, "Pray hard that you don't get in a bind."????????????? He withdrew from them about a stone's throw and got down on his knees and prayed, "O Father, if you please, relieve me of this agony. But let your wish, rather than mine, be carried out."????????????? (It seemed that an angel from heaven was strengthening him. And being in agony, he prayed the more fervently, and the sweat was pouring from him and on to the ground like blood from a fresh cut.)????????????? And he got up from praying and came to his students, only to find them sleeping from their grief. He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and start praying so that you might not get in a bind." [[@Bible:Luke 22:47]]47.???????? Even as he was speaking, here comes a crowd, and the fellow named Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. And he came up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you kissing the son of man goodbye?"????????????? When those around him caught on to what would follow, they asked, "Master, shall we slash 'em with the switchblade?" And one of them slashed the bishop's lackey and chopped off his right ear. "Stop it!" shouted Jesus, and he touched the ear and healed it.????????????? He then said to the executives and church workers and officers who had come out to get him, "So you've come out with guns and clubs as though you were after a traitor? Every day I was at the church with you, and you didn't lay hands on me. But this hour when darkness rules, suits you."[[@Bible:Luke 22:54]]54.???????? They grabbed him, took him away, and brought him into the archbishop's house.????????????? Now Rock was trailing a good way behind. When they got a fire going in the backyard and had gathered around it, Rock sidled up, too. A teen-age girl, catching a glimpse of his face in the light, started at him and said, "Hey, this fellow was with him." But he denied it and said, "No, I don't know him, miss."????????????? A little while later someone else saw him and said, "You over there, you were one of them."????????????? Rock said, "Not me, mister."????????????? About another hour passed and a man really jumped him and said, "I know positively this guy was with him, because he sounds like a Yankee."????????????? Rock said to him, "Listen here, man, I don't know what you're talking about."????????????? Right away, while he was saying it, the rooster crowed.????????????? The Master turned and looked at Rock, and Rock recalled the Master's word when he told him, "Before the rooster crows at dawn, you will have denied me three times." And he walked away and cried like a baby.[[@Bible:Luke 22:63]]63.???????? And the men were shoving Jesus around and poking fun at him and slapping him. They blindfolded him and jeeringly asked, "Guess who socked you?" And many other insults they heaped upon him.[[@Bible:Luke 22:66]]66.???????? When day came, a "peoples' presbytery," composed of executives and professors, met and had him brought into the meeting room. They said, "If you are the Leader, tell us."???????????? "When I tell you something," he answered, "you don't accept it, and when I ask you a question, you don't answer. From here on out, the son of man will be backed up by God's power."????????????? They all said, "Well, then, does that mean you are God's Son?"????????????? He replied, "It does indeed."????????????? They said, "Do we need any further evidence? We ourselves have heard it straight from his own mouth."[[@Bible:Luke 23]]Chapter 23[[@Bible:Luke 23:1]]1.???????? Then the whole crowd of them got up and took him to Governor Pilate. They began by leveling these charges against him??????????????????????? "1. We have caught this fellow agitating our people.???????????????????????? 2. He advocates the refusal to pay Federal taxes.???????????????????????? 3. He claims to be the Leader of a Movement."????????????? Pilate then asked him, "You, are the Head of the Church?"????????????? He answered him, "Yes, I am."????????????? Pilate said to both the church executives and the people, "I don't find this man guilty of anything."????????????? But they kept shouting and yelling, "He's agitating the people, spreading his ideas through the whole state of Georgia, all the way from Alabama to here."[[@Bible:Luke 23:6]]6.?????????? When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man had ever lived in Alabama. On learning that he had been in Governor Herod's state, he sent him to Herod, who happened to be in Atlanta on that very day. When Governor Herod saw Jesus he was quite happy, because he had been hearing about him for a long time and had been wanting to see him. He thought he could get him to perform some miracle. He asked Jesus a lot of questions, but he never would answer him. The executives and leading ministers tore into him with all kinds of accusations. Governor Herod and his henchmen made wisecracks and poked fun at him, and finally dressed him up like a big politician and sent him back to Pilate. (From that day on, Herod and Pilate became friends with one another, although previously they had been at each other’s throats.)[[@Bible:Luke 23:13]]13.???????? Then Pilate called together the executives and the leaders and the people, and said to them, "You brought this man before me as a rabble-rouser. Now look, I've heard the case publicly, and haven't found this man guilty of a thing that you're accusing him of. Nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Clearly he has done nothing to deserve death. So I'm going to whip him and let him go."[[@Bible:Luke 23:18]]18.???????? Howling like a mob, they said, "Do away with this guy! We want 'Daddy-boy'!" (This was a fellow who had been put in jail for inciting to riot in the city and for murder.)????????????? Again Pilate addressed them, wanting to release Jesus. But they yelled back, "Kill him. Kill him."????????????? The third time he said to them, "Why? What's his crime? I've found no reason to give him the death penalty. So I'm going to whip him and let him go."????????????? But they screamed at the top of their voices, demanding that he be killed.????????????? And their voices won.????????????? Pilate decided to grant their request.????????????? He released the one who had been put in jail for riot and murder, just as they asked, and he let them have Jesus to do to him as they pleased.????????????? And so they led him away.[[@Bible:Luke 23:26]]26.???????? Along the road they grabbed Simon "the New Yorker" as he was coming in from the field. They made him walk behind Jesus and tote his cross.[[@Bible:Luke 23:27]]27.???????? There was a big crowd of people following him. There were some women who were sobbing and crying their hearts out over him. Jesus turned and said to them, "Dear sisters of the South, you need not cry over me. Rather, you should cry for yourselves and for your children. Because the time is surely coming when women will say, 'We wish we had been barren and never had a baby or ever nursed a child.' People will then begin to cry out to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.' Because if they do things like this with green wood, what will they do with dry?"[[@Bible:Luke 23:32]]32.???????? The two other criminals were taken out with him to be killed. And when they came to a place called "Skull," there they killed him and the criminals, the one on his right and the other on his left.????????????? Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they don't know what they're up to."????????????? They rolled dice to see who would get his clothes.????????????? The crowd stood around staring.????????????? The leaders thumbed their noses at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is really God's special Leader."????????????? The policemen, too, made fun of him. They offered him a drink of whiskey. They said, "Since you are the Head of the Church, save yourself."[[@Bible:Luke 23:39]]39.???????? One of the criminals hanging beside him railed at him, "Hey, you, ain't you the Leader? Save yourself and us."????????????? But the other one rebuked him. He said, "Ain't you got no fear of God, seeing as how you're accused of the same thing he is? And we had it comin' to us, and got just what we deserved for what we done. But him, he ain't broke no law."????????????? And he said, "Please, Jesus, remember me when you git your Movement goin'."????????????? He said to him, "I tell you straight, today you'll be with me in highest Heaven."[[@Bible:Luke 23:44]]44.???????? It was already about noon. The sun's light went out and darkness settled over the land until three o'clock.????????????? The big curtain in the sanctuary was split in two.????????????? And calling out with a loud cry, Jesus said, "O Father, I'm placing my spirit in your hands." He said this and he died.????????????? Now the police captain, when he saw how it had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a good man!"????????????? The whole crowd, who had come along for the sight, when they saw how it all turned out, went home heaving great sobs.????????????? And the people who had known him, with the women who had followed him all the way from Alabama, stood off in the distance to see what was going on.[[@Bible:Luke 23:50]]50.???????? And now, there was a man by the name of Joseph from the white suburb of Sylvan Hills. He was a member of the denominational board, and a good and honest man. (He himself had not voted for their plan of action. In fact, he was a God Movement sympathizer.) This man went to Governor Pilate and requested the body of Jesus. It was granted, and he took down the body and wrapped it in a sheet. Then he put it in a burial vault carved from the rock and in which no one had ever been buried.????????????? It was late Friday afternoon. In just a little while it would be the Sabbath.????????????? The women who had come along with Jesus from Alabama went with Joseph and saw the vault and how the body was placed in it. Then they went home and fixed some wreaths and potted plants.????????????? They kept quiet on the Sabbath, like the Bible said they should.[[@Bible:Luke 24]]Chapter 24[[@Bible:Luke 24:1]]1.???????? But real early on the first day of the week, they came to the vault, bringing the flowers which they had fixed. They found the entrance stone rolled away from the vault, and when they entered they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, two men in sparkling clothes stood before them. The women were very much frightened and turned their faces toward the ground. The men said to them, "Why are you looking for a live person among dead ones? Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Alabama that it would be necessary for the son of man to be abandoned into hands of unsympathetic people, and to be lynched, and on the third day to rise?"??????????? They did remember his words. They returned from the vault and told the whole story to the eleven and the rest. The women who were telling the apostles these things were Maria, "the Magdala girl," and Jo Ann and Maria James, and others with them. But it all seemed to the men like so much female chatter, and they wouldn't believe it.[[@Bible:Luke 24:13]]13.???????? But then on that same day, two of them were walking along the road toward a town named Austell, which is seventeen miles from Atlanta. They were talking with one another about all these recent events. While they were talking and raising questions, Jesus himself drew near and joined them. They didn't notice him closely and didn't recognize him. He said to them, "What's all this you're discussing as you walk?"????????????? They just stood there with tears in their eyes. One of them named Clifford said to him, "Are you the only fellow from Atlanta who doesn't know about the things that have been happening there the last few days?"????????????? He said, "What things?"????????????? They said, "Why, about Jesus the Valdostan, a powerful preacher both in his messages from God and in his public actions; how our leading ministers and officials got him a death sentence and killed him. And we were hoping all along he'd be the one who would get the church out of its mess. It has now been three days since he was killed.????????????? "But you know, some of our women amazed us. Early this morning they went to the burial vault and didn't find his body. They came back and said they'd had a vision–had seen some angels who told them he was alive! Some of the rest of us went with them to the vault and found it just as the women had said, but we didn't see him." ????????????? He said to them, "O how dense you are, and how sluggish your minds are in catching on to all that the prophets spoke! Can't you see how necessary it was for the Leader to suffer like this in order to be inaugurated Head?" [[@Bible:Luke 24:28]]28.???????? Then beginning with Genesis and continuing on through the prophets, he explained to them various scriptures referring to himself.????????????? They arrived at the town where they were going, and he kept walking as though he would continue on through. They warmly invited him in, saying, "Please stay with us, because it's late and the day is already over." So he went in to stay with them.????????????? At supper time he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and passed it to them. At that it dawned on them, and they recognized him!????????????? And he became invisible.????????????? They said to one another, "Weren't our hearts on fire inside of us while he was talking to us along the way and explaining the Scriptures to us?"????????????? So they got right up, late as it was, and went back to Atlanta. There they found the eleven and some others gathered with them who were saying, "The Master has really and truly risen! Simon saw him!"????????????? Then they began rehearsing all that had occurred along the road, and how they had recognized him when he broke the bread.[[@Bible:Luke 24:36]]36.???????? Even as they were discussing these things, Jesus himself stood in their midst. They were seared out of their wits and almost took off, because they thought they were seeing a ghost.????????????? He said, "Why are you shaking so? And why are your minds so filled with doubts? Take a look at my hands. And my feet. See, it's me. Feel me. And keep looking. A ghost doesn't have flesh and bones, as you can clearly see that I have."????????????? And while they were busting out all over with joy, and wondering if they could believe their own eyes, he asked, "Have you got anything around here to eat?"????????????? Somebody brought him a piece of fried fish. He took it and ate it right there in front of them.????????????? He said to them, "All this is what I was talking about while I was still with you–how everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the Prophets and Psalms, had to take place."????????????? Then he gave them the insight to understand the Scriptures.[[@Bible:Luke 24:44]]44.???????? And he said to them, "The Scriptures said that the Leader would suffer and be raised from the dead on the third day, and that there would be proclaimed in his name a change of attitude based on the giving up of sins against all races. Beginning in Atlanta, you all are the ones who'll make these things real. And listen, I myself am calling forth my Father's blessing on you. You all just stay right here in the city until you are charged with power from above."[[@Bible:Luke 24:50]]50.???????? He led them out toward College Park, and put his arms around them and blessed them. As he blessed them, he withdrew from them.????????????? They went back into Atlanta with bounding joy. And they were continually in the church, praising God.[[@Bible:John]]JOHN[[@Bible:John 1]]Chapter 1[[@Bible:John 1:1]]1.???????? When time began, the Idea already was. The Idea was at home with God, and the Idea and God were one. This same Idea was at home with God when time began. Through him the universe was made, and apart from him not one thing came to be. In him was life, and the life was humanity’s light. And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness never quenched it.[[@Bible:John 1:6]]6.???????? A man arose—sent from God—whose name was John. This man came forward as a witness, to testify for the light, so that people might be convinced by him. He wasn’t the light himself, but a witness for the light The true light, which enlightens every man, was entering the world. In the world he was, and the world was made by him, and the world ignored him. He came into the things he had made, and the people whom he loved turned their backs on him. However, to those who did let him in—who lived up to his name—he gave the right to be God’s children. Such children were not fathered by bloody sacrifices, nor by a moment of lust, nor within wedlock, but by God himself.[[@Bible:John 1:14]]14.?????? Well, the Idea became a man and moved in with us. We looked him in the face—the face of an only son whose father is full of kindness and integrity.[[@Bible:John 1:15]]15.?????? As John preached, he had this to say about him: "This is who I meant when I said, ‘The one coming behind me has gotten ahead of me, because he was here before I was.’"[[@Bible:John 1:16]]16.?????? All of us got one favor after another from his overflowing abundance. Moses gave us rules; Jesus the Leader gave us kindness and integrity.[[@Bible:John 1:18]]18.?????? While no one has ever actually seen God, the only One—the Father’s dearest One—has revealed him.[[@Bible:John 1:19]]19.?????? Here is John’s testimony when the good white folks of Atlanta sent a committee of preachers and deacons to ask him what he considered himself. He admitted right off the bat and stood his ground, publicly asserting, "I am not the Leader."??????????? So they asked him, "Well, what are you, then? Are you an Elijah?"??????????? "No, I’m not," he replied.??????????? "Are you ‘The Prophet’ ?"??????????? ‘Nope."??????????? "Look, we’ve got to make a report to those who appointed us," they said. "What are you? What claims are you making for yourself?"??????????? "I am what Isaiah the prophet said—a voice crying in the wild, ‘Straighten out the Lord’s road.’[[@Bible:John 1:24]]24.?????? Since they had been appointed by the denomination, they inquired, "Well, if you aren’t the Leader, nor an Elijah, nor ‘The Prophet,’ then why are you initiating members?" John told them, "Indeed I am initiating—in water. But right in your midst is standing one who you fellows don’t recognize. He follows me, but I myself am not fit to shine his shoes." All this happened in Jonesboro, across the Chattaboochee, where John was immersing.[[@Bible:John 1:29]]29.?????? Next day, John saw Jesus coming to him. "Y’all look! There’s God’s Lamb, the world’s sin-bearer! That’s the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming behind me who has gotten ahead of me, because he was there before I was.’ Even I was not sure of him, but that he might be introduced to the nation, I began a pre-enrollment in water."[[@Bible:John 1:32]]32.?????? John testified further: "I saw the Spirit, descending like a dove from the sky, and lighting on him. And even I was not sure about him, but he who sent me to dip in water also told me, ‘The one upon whom you see the Spirit descending and lighting will be the one who immerses you in Holy Spirit.’ Well, I saw it, and I have emphatically stated that this is God’s Man."[[@Bible:John 1:35]]35.?????? The following day John was standing with two of his converts, and when he saw Jesus walking around, he again cried out, "Y’all look! There’s God’s Lamb!" The two converts, upon hearing John say that, started following Jesus. Jesus noticed that they were following him, and he turned around and asked, "What’s on your mind?" They asked, "Reverend, where are you staying?" He told them, "Come and see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they visited with him that whole day until about four o’clock.[[@Bible:John 1:40]]40.?????? Andy, the brother of Simon (Rock), was one of the two who got the word from John and followed Jesus. The first thing he did was to find his own brother and tell him, "We have discovered the Christ-os" (or, to put it in English, "God’s Leader"). He took him to Jesus. Jesus sized him up and said, "You are Simon Johnson;?? you’ll be nicknamed Petros" (or, in English, "Rock").[[@Bible:John 1:43]]43.?????? A day later, Jesus wanted to leave for north Georgia. He ran across Phil, who was from Albany, the hometown of the Johnson brothers, and said to him, "Join me."??????????? Phil looked up Nat and told him, "We have discovered the One the Bible talks about! His name is Jesus (Joseph’s boy), and he’s from Valdosta!"??????????? Nat said, "From Valdosta! Could anybody worth his salt come from there?"??????????? Phil said, "Come and take a look."??????????? Jesus saw Nat approaching him and commented, "Look! There’s a real white man! There’s nothing phony about him."??????????? Nat asked, "Where did you hear about me?"??????????? "I saw you," Jesus replied, "before Phi] talked with you under the muscadine vine.??????????? "Reverend," answered Nat, "you are God’s Man; you are the nation’s Leader!"??????????? "Are you convinced merely because I told you that I saw you under the muscadine vine?" Jesus asked. "You’ll see a whole lot more than that. In fact, I want to tell y’all that you’ll see the sky busted open and God’s angels climbing up and climbing down on the son of man!"[[@Bible:John 2]]Chapter 2[[@Bible:John 2:1]]1.???????? On Tuesday there was a wedding celebration at Canton in north Georgia, and Jesus’ mother went. He and his students were also invited to the celebration. Well, the wine started running low, and Jesus’ mother told him, "That’s all the wine they’ve got." Jesus said, "What are you and I to do about it, ma’am? .. . I’m not quite ready.. ." His mother turned to the servants, ‘Help him in any way he needs you.[[@Bible:John 2:6]]6.???????? Now there were six stone water jars put there for carrying out the Old Testament rules for keeping things clean. Each held two or three buckets of water. He told the servants, "Fill the crocks with water," and they filled them up to the brim. Then Jesus said, "Now let your bucket? down and draw up some for the emcee." They fetched it. When the emcee tasted the water-become-wine, he didn’t know where it came from, though the servants who had bucketed it up knew. The emcee called the groom and said, "People always put on the good wine first, and when everybody is pretty well tanked up, they bring out the cheap wine. But you have saved the best wine till last." Jesus did this first sign in Canton, Georgia, and showed his credentials. And his students put their faith in him.[[@Bible:John 2:12]]12.?????? Later, he and his mother, his brothers and his students went down to Savannah and stayed there a short while. Well, it was about time for the annual convention, so Jesus went to Atlanta. At the convention headquarters at First Church he found preachers politicking, and businessmen wheeling and dealing, and exhibits all over the place. So he got a long-bandied fly swatter and a broom and began clearing out the crowd and wrecking the merchandise booths. "Get out of here with all this stuff!" he shouted. "Quit making a racket of my Father’s business!" His students recalled the verse of Scripture: "I am eaten up with concern for my Father’s fellowship."[[@Bible:John 2:18]]18.?????? So the church people challenged him, "Can you prove that you have the right to act in this way?" Jesus replied, "Pull down this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it." The church members answered, "It took forty-six years to build this sanctuary, and you are going to raise it in three days?" The sanctuary he was talking about, however, was his body. And when be was raised from the dead, his students recalled that he had said this, and they put their faith in Jesus’ message, both written and spoken.[[@Bible:John 2:23]]23.?????? While he was in Atlanta for the annual convention, many people, upon seeing the convincing things he did, surrendered themselves to him. On the other hand, Jesus never did surrender himself to them, simply because he knew everybody and because be didn’t need information from anyone about a person, since he already knew the inside of a man.?[[@Bible:John 3]]Chapter 3?[[@Bible:John 3:1]]1.???????? Now there was a very prominent churchman by the name of Nicodemus. This man came to Jesus one night and said, "Professor, we are aware that you are an inspired teacher, because nobody could present the marvelous things you’re presenting without God’s help."??????????? "I want to make it clear," Jesus answered, "that no one can be a member of God’s family unless he is fathered from above."??????????? Nicodemus asked, "But how can a man be fathered once he is born? He can’t return to his mother’s womb and be re-fathered, can he?"??????????? Jesus replied, "Except a person be fathered by both semen and Spirit, he can’t be a member of God’s family. Flesh fathers flesh, and Spirit fathers spirit. Don’t be so surprised, then, that I told you that people have to be fathered from above. The wind blows as it will, and you listen to its sound, but you have no idea where it’s coming from or where it’s going. It’s like that when a person is fathered by the Spirit." ?[[@Bible:John 3:9]]9.???????? "How can this possibly be true?" Nicodemus asked.??????????? "Well, well," Jesus answered. "Here you are, ‘the nation’s foremost theologian,’ and yet you don’t grasp these things? I assure you that we speak and testify from firsthand knowledge and experience, but you folks won’t accept our evidence. If I have used simple illustrations and you’re not convinced, how would I ever persuade you with theological arguments??[[@Bible:John 3:13]]13.?????? "No one has penetrated the spiritual realm except the son of man, who came out of it. And just as Moses put a brass snake on a pole in the wilderness,? even so must the son of man be put on a pole, in order that all who trust him might have spiritual life. In the same way, God loved the world so much that be gave his only Son, that whoever trusts him might not die, but might have spiritual life. For God did not send his Son into the world to damn it, but that through him the world might be rescued. He who lives by him is not damned, but be who does not live by him is already damned, because he does not live up to the name of God’s only Son. This is the damnation: The Light came into the world, and the people preferred the darkness to the Light, because their ways were wicked. For the person whose life is false shuns the Light and won’t go near it, for fear that his ways will be rebuked. But the person whose life is true comes out into the Light, so that it might be clear that his ways are rooted in God."?[[@Bible:John 3:22]]22.?????? Following this, Jesus and his students went to south Georgia, and he spent a while there with them and was doing some baptizing. John was baptizing at Eufaula near Georgetown, because there was plenty of water there, and people were coming to him and getting immersed. (This was before John had been thrown in jail.) Well, John’s students and a Methodist got into a fuss over dipping and sprinkling. So they came to John and told him, "Reverend, you remember that fellow who was with you on the other side of the Chattahoochee, who you yourself praised? Guess what! Now he’s dipping and everybody is joining up with him!" John answered, "A man can’t take an office that hasn’t been given him from above. You yourselves can bear me out that I told you, ‘I am not the Leader, but I was sent ahead of him.’ The man with the bride is the bridegroom. The best man stands with the groom and shares his joy. That’s why I’m so happy. That man must grow, while I must fade out."?[[@Bible:John 3:31]]31.?????? The one who springs from above is over everything. The earthling, being from the earth, speaks in terms of the earth. The spiritual person, however, is above all this. While he does talk about what he has seen and heard, nobody takes him seriously. When one does take him seriously, one becomes evidence that God is true. The God-sent man bears God’s message, for God fully equips him with the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has put him in charge of everything. When one lives by the Son, one has spiritual life. When one disobeys the Son, one won’t catch a glimpse of life; rather, God’s displeasure hangs over him.?[[@Bible:John 4]]Chapter 4?[[@Bible:John 4:1]]1.???????? The word spread among the church people that Jesus was making and baptizing more converts than John. (Jesus himself, however, wasn’t doing any baptizing, but his students were.) So when Jesus found out about this, he pulled out of south Georgia and headed again for north Georgia. On the way he had to go through a black ghetto. Well, he came to a black village named Sidecar, which is near the farm that Mr. Jake gave to his boy Joe. There’s a well there called "Jake’s well." So Jesus was pretty tired from traveling, and he sat like this on the curbing of the well. It was about noon. Now here comes a black woman to draw some water. Jesus says to her, "Please give me a drink." (His students had all gone to town to buy some food.)??????????? Then she says to him, "How come a white man like you is asking for a drink from a black woman like me?" (Blacks and whites, you know, don’t have much to do with one another.)??????????? Jesus answers, "If you just knew God’s goodness, and who it is asking you for a drink, you would ask him and he would give you running water."??????????? She says, "Mister, that well is deep, and you don’t even have a bucket. So where you gonna get running water? Do you have it over Grandpa Jake, who dug the well and used it for his family and livestock?"??????????? Jesus replies, "When somebody drinks this water he gets thirsty again. When he drinks the water I give him, he’ll never again get thirsty; in fact, the water I give someone becomes an inner-flowing spring, bubbling over with spiritual life."??????????? The lady says to him, "Mister, gimme that water, so I won’t get thirsty, and so I won’t have to come back here to draw water!"??????????? He says to her, "Okay, go call your husband, and come here."??????????? The lady answers, "I ain’t got a husband."??????????? Jesus says, "You’re telling the truth when you say, ‘I ain’t got a husband,’ because you’ve had five men, and the one you’re living with now isn’t your husband. You are absolutely correct."??????????? The lady says, "Mister, I can tell that you’re a preacher, right? Well, you know, my people have always said that the best time to worship God is Sunday afternoon, but you folks insist on Sunday morning at eleven."??????????? "Listen here, ma’am," Jesus interrupts, "the time is coming when you’ll worship the Father neither in the morning nor in the afternoon. You folks aren’t sure about your worship; we white folks are, because we invented worship! Just the same, the time is coming—it’s here already—when the sincere worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and with honesty. Indeed, the Father is looking for people like that to worship him. God is spirit, and when people worship him they must do it in spirit and with honesty."??????????? The lady answers, "I realize that Christ (the word for Leader) is coming. When he does, he’ll straighten us out on everything!"??????????? Jesus says to her, "I myself, the person talking with you, am he!"?[[@Bible:John 4:27]]27.?????? Along about this time, his students returned, and they were quite surprised that be was talking with a black woman, yet nobody asked, "What are you up to?" or "Why are you talking with her?" So the lady left her water bucket, checked out for town, and said to the men there, "Come and meet a fellow who told me everything I ever did. Do you suppose he might be the Leader?" They went tearing out of the city and came to him.?[[@Bible:John 4:31]]31.?????? In the meanwhile, the students said to him, "Come on, Professor, let’s eat."??????????? He replied, "I have some food to eat that you don’t know about."??????????? Then the students started asking one another, "You reckon somebody brought him something to eat?"??????????? Jesus told them, "My food is doing the Father’s will and getting on with his work. You all say that the harvest is four months away, don’t you? Well, listen to what I’m telling you:??????????? Open your eyes and look at those fields. Right now they are at the peak of harvesting. Already the Harvester is hired and he is gathering spiritual life fruit, so that the Planter and the Harvester may rejoice together. The statement about this is correct, because the Planter is one and the Harvester is another. And I sent you to harvest a crop that you haven’t sweated over. Others put in the sweat, and you’ve reaped the benefit of it."?[[@Bible:John 4:39]]39.?????? Many people of the black village trusted him simply on the grounds of the woman’s statement that "he told me everything I ever did." So when the blacks gathered about him, they started asking him to spend a while with them. He did so, staying there two days. An even larger group put their faith in him on the basis of his own words. They told the woman, "Our faith is no longer based on your story alone, for we ourselves have heard him and are convinced that he is truly the world’s deliverer."?[[@Bible:John 4:43]]43.?????? At the end of the two days, he left there for north Georgia. (Jesus himself fully agreed that a true man of God has little or no influence among the folks back home.) So when he arrived in north Georgia, the people welcomed him. They had been at the Convention in Atlanta and had seen for themselves all that he had done. Well, he returned to Canton, where he had made the water into wine. There was this government bigwig who had a sick son in Savannah. Having heard that Jesus had arrived in north Georgia, he went to him and urged him to come over and heal his boy, who was in mighty bad shape. Jesus said to him, "Unless you all see signs and miracles, you just won’t be trustful." The big man said, "Please, mister, come on before my boy dies!" Jesus told him, "Okay, you may go now; your boy is well." The fellow acted on Jesus’ instructions, and went. As he was returning, some friends met him and said, "Your boy is well!’ He then asked them what time his boy started to get better. "About one o’clock yesterday afternoon," they said, "the fever went away." The father recognized this as the exact time that Jesus had told him, "Your boy is well." So he surely put his faith in Jesus, and his whole family did, too. (This was the second sign that Jesus did after he moved from south Georgia to north Georgia.)?[[@Bible:John 5]]Chapter?5?[[@Bible:John 5:1]]1.???????? After this, there was a church convention in Atlanta, and Jesus attended. Now, in Atlanta at Shepherd’s Park there is a pool called Bethesda, which is surrounded by five pavilions. In these pavilions were many afflicted people—blind, crippled, paralyzed. One of them was a man who had been afflicted for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knowing that he had been in this condition for a long time, he said to him, "Would you like to get well?" The afflicted man answered, "Mister, I don’t have a soul to help me get in the pool while the water is all stirred up. When I try to put myself in, somebody heats me there." Jesus said to him. "Get up, pick up your pallet, and start walking!" And right then the man was well, and he picked up his pallet and started walking!?[[@Bible:John 5:10]]10.?????? But, it so happened that it was Sunday. So some good church people told the healed man, "Today is Sunday, and it isn’t right for you to be moving furniture around." He replied, "Well, the same guy who made me well told me to pick up my pallet and start walking." They asked, "Who is the fellow who said for you to pick it up and start walking?" The healed guy really didn’t know who it was because there was a big crowd and Jesus had gotten lost in it. But later on, Jesus found him in the church and said to him, "Look, you’re well; don’t let your life get messed up or something worse might happen to you. The man left, and told the church people that it was Jesus who had healed him. So they gave Jesus a fit for doing such things on a Sunday. Jesus’ answer was, "My Father is working right on, so I’m working." For this they were trying all the more to kill him, not only because he broke the Sabbath, but because he called God his own father, thus making himself equal with God.?[[@Bible:John 5:19]]19.?????? So Jesus really explained it to them. "Let me set you straight: The Son can’t do anything on his own—only what he sees the Father doing. When he does something, the Son does the same thing. The Father likes the Son and shares with him his concerns, and, though it might surprise you, he will share his activity on an even larger scale. For example, even as the Father lifts up the dead and gives them newness of life, so will the Son, too, give newness of life to people of his choice. The Father isn’t deciding on people; rather, he has referred every decision to the Son, so that all will respect the Son in the same way they respect the Father. When one disrespects the Son, one disrespects the Father who appointed him. Let me make it clear to you that the person who listens to my message and puts his faith in him who appointed me has spiritual life; this person is not called up for examination, but has transferred from the death region to the life region. I’m telling you, the time is coming—it’s here already—when the lifeless ones will tune in to the voice of God’s Son and, having heard him, will come alive. For as the Father is a life-bearer, so he has made the Son a life-bearer. He has also given him, as the son of man, the right to set up a standard. Don’t let this surprise you, because the day is coming when the graveyard set will hear his voice and will move on out—those who have committed themselves to the right, into the celebration of life; those who have committed themselves to the wrong, into the celebration of damnation. I am unable to act on my own; I decide on the basis of what I hear, and my decisions are fair. I’m not out to have my own way, but to do what God wants.?[[@Bible:John 5:31]]31.?????? "If I am my own witness, my testimony won’t hold water. But someone else is my witness, and I’m convinced that his testimony about me will stand up. You all questioned John, and he gave you the honest truth. But even so, I’m not resting my case on human testimony; I’m just talking this way so that you might be straightened out. That guy, John, was turned on—a shining light—and you were willing to dance in his light for a little while. But I have even greater evidence than John’s: the course of action that my Father gave me to carry out. This program that I’m engaged in is evidence that the Father sent me. So the same Father who sent me has himself testified in my behalf. The reason you’ve never heard his voice, or seen his face, or had his word to take root in you is that you’re putting no trust in his appointed one. You do study the Bible, expecting to find spiritual life in it, and all the while it is loaded with evidence about me. Yet, you refuse to go my route to find life. I don’t go in for human prestige, but I know full well that you’ve got no love of God in you. Here I come flying my Father’s flag and you reject me. If somebody else came flying his own flag, you would accept him. How can you ever be people of faith when you accept credentials from one another, but don’t even look at the credentials from the One God. Don’t think that I’ll be your accuser before God. Your accuser is that on which you pin your hopes—the Bible itself. For if you had truly believed the Bible, you would have had faith in me too, because it is written about me. But if you aren’t living by what it tells you, how will you live by what I say?"[[@Bible:John 6]]Chapter?6?[[@Bible:John 6:1]]1.???????? Later on, Jesus crossed the big lake and was followed by a large crowd, because they saw the tremendous things he was doing for the sick. So Jesus climbed up the hill and sat down with his students around him. Now the annual Convention, the big meeting of the church people, was drawing near. Well, Jesus looked up and saw that a lot of people were coming to him, so he said to Phil, "How will we buy enough food to feed all these people?" (Since he already knew what he was about to do, he was sort of pulling Phil’s leg.) Phil answered, "Even if everybody got only a taste, it would take about two hundred dollars’ worth!" Then one of the students—Andy, Rock’s brother—piped up, "There’s a kid here who has five buns and two hot dogs, but that won’t go a long way toward feeding this crowd!"?[[@Bible:John 6:10]]10.?????? Jesus said, "Please tell the people to be seated." (There was a Jot of grass at this spot.) So the crowd, numbering about five thousand, sat down, and Jesus took the buns, said grace, and served the seated people. He did the same with the hot dogs, and everybody took as many as they wanted. When they finished eating, Jesus told the students, "Y’all gather up the leftovers so we don’t waste anything." They collected them, and even after the people had eaten all they could hold, there still were left twelve big basketsful of leftovers of the five buns.??????????? Seeing him do such a tremendous thing, the people said, "There’s no doubt about it, this is God’s Man for the world!" And when Jesus realized that they were planning to draft him for governor, he checked out of there and again went into the mountain alone.?[[@Bible:John 6:16]]16.?????? About sundown the students went down to the sea, got in a boat, and headed back toward Savannah. It had already gotten dark, and still Jesus hadn’t joined them. A strong wind was blowing, causing the sea to swell. When they were three or four miles out, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat, and it just about scared their pants off. "Hey, it’s me!" he shouted. "Y’all stop being so scared." Well, they did agree to take him on board, and that quick the boat was at the land they were heading toward.?[[@Bible:John 6:22]]22.?????? Next morning the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea noticed that only one little boat was left there. They knew that Jesus had not left in the boat with his students, but that they had gone away by themselves. However, some small boats from Tybee Island were near the spot where they had eaten the buns that Jesus had blessed. So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his students were there, they clambered aboard the boats and went to Savannah looking for Jesus. Upon finding him over there they said, "Reverend, how did you get here?"??????????? Jesus replied, "It’s as clear as day that you are looking me up not because you’re reading my signs hut because you got your bellies full of buns. Don’t busy yourselves with groceries but with the food that nourishes spiritual life, which the son of man will give you." (The Father-God authorized him to do this.)??????????? So they asked him, "What shall we do to busy ourselves with God’s business?"??????????? Jesus answered, "God’s business is this: that you live by him whom he sent."??????????? Then they said, "Well, what evidence are you presenting that we can examine and that will cause us to trust you? What are you offering? Our ancestors, you know, were supplied with free food while they were in the desert, just as the Scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from on high.’"??????????? Jesus told them, "No, I’m telling you, Moses didn’t give you the bread from on high: however, my Father does give you the real bread from on high; God’s ‘loaf’ is the one who comes down from on high and gives the world life."??????????? "Mister," they responded, "evermore load us up with this bread."??????????? And Jesus said, "I, I am the ‘loaf’ of life. The man who takes my route will never go hungry, and the one who bases his life on mine will never stay thirsty.?[[@Bible:John 6:36]]36.?????? "But as I told you, you have looked and still you aren’t leaping. I’ll take all that the Father gives me, and will by no means cast aside anyone who takes my route. I haven’t come down from on high just to carry out my own desire but that of him who sent me. And what is his desire? That I should not let a single one of those he gave me slip through my fingers, but that I should give them newness of life in the final hour. It is also my Father’s desire that everyone who really looks at the Son and takes the leap with him should have spiritual life, and I myself will make him new in the final hour."?[[@Bible:John 6:41]]41.?????? Then the church people raised a stink because he said, "I myself am the ‘loaf’ that came down from on high." They said, "Why, isn’t this old Joe’s boy? Don’t we ourselves know his mama and daddy? How come he now claims that ‘I have come down from on high’?"??????????? Jesus replied, "Y’all quit your bellyaching. Nobody can go with me unless the Father, who sent me, attracts him. And I’ll make him new in the final hour. The Bible says, ‘And all will be God-taught.’ Anyone who listens and learns from the Father comes my way. It’s not that a person has actually seen God. Only the One who is from the Father has done that. I truly tell you that he who lives his faith has spiritual life. I repeat, I myself am the ‘loaf of the life. Your ancestors did eat the free food in the desert—and they died! But this loaf has come down from on high so that a person might eat from it and not die. I am indeed the live loaf that came down from on high. If one eats from this loaf, he’ll be alive in the new age. Now the loaf that I’ll give for the life of the world is my own flesh."?[[@Bible:John 6:52]]52.?????? Then the church people got into a big hassle with one another over this. "How can this cat give us his flesh to eat?" they asked.??????????? So Jesus told them, "I want to make it clear to you that unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the son of man, you’ll have no inner life. He who feasts on my flesh and drinks my blood has spiritual life, and I’ll make him new in the final hour. My flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. He who feasts on my flesh and drinks my blood lives on in me and I in him. Even as the living Father sent me, so does he sustain me. And the one who feasts on me will also he sustained by me. This, I say, is the ‘loaf’ that descended from on high. It is not like that which your ancestors ate and then passed on. He who feasts on this loaf will be alive in the new age." These words were spoken while he was teaching in the church at Savannah.?[[@Bible:John 6:60]]60.?????? Well, upon hearing all this a good number of his students said, "This lesson is mighty hard to swallow. Who can take it?"??????????? When Jesus realized that his students were griping about this, he said to them, "Does this gag you? What if you should see the son of man ascending to his former position? Listen, it is the spirit that makes a man alive; the body does nothing for him. It is spirit and life that I’ve been talking to you about, but some of you still don’t go for it!" (Jesus knew all along who the ones were that would not go for it, and even who the person was that would turn him in.) He continued, "That’s why I told you that nobody could come my way unless he were motivated by the Father."?[[@Bible:John 6:66]]66.?????? At this point a lot of his students called it quits and dropped out. So Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you too want to leave ?" "Sir," said Rock, "to whom shall we turn? You have the words of spiritual life. Besides, we have confidence and knowledge that you are God’s special One." Jesus said to them, "Didn’t I pick you twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?" (He was referring to Simon Iscariot’s son, Judas, since he—one of the twelve—was on the verge of turning him in.)??[[@Bible:John 7]]Chapter 7??[[@Bible:John 7:1]]1.???????? Following this, Jesus went on a tour of Alabama. He had no desire to tour Georgia, because the good white folks there were trying to kill him. There was a big revival going on in Atlanta, so Jesus’ brothers said to him, "Say, why don’t you pull out of here and go to Georgia so that all your cronies might keep up with your program. You know, nobody hides his light under a bushel if he wants to be well known. If you’re so great, the whole world ought to know about it." (Even his own brothers had no faith in him.) So Jesus said to them, "My day isn’t here yet, but your day is always handy. The world doesn’t have the heart to hate you, but it does hate me because I show it up for what it is—and it stinks. So y’all run along to the revival. I’m not going to that revival, because my day just hasn’t arrived." Having said this, he stayed on in Alabama.??[[@Bible:John 7:10]]10.?????? But when his brothers actually did go to the revival, then Jesus went too, but secretly and not openly. The good white folks were trying to find him at the revival and were asking, "Where is that guy?" Quite an argument broke out among the crowd. Some said, "He’s great." Others said, "Naw, he’s an outside agitator." But nobody would express himself freely about him, because they were afraid of one another.??[[@Bible:John 7:14]]14.?????? When the revival was about half over, Jesus went up to First Church and began teaching. The people were really amazed by him. "How can this guy be so educated without going to college?" they wondered.??????????? Jesus replied, "I am not a self-educated man; my instruction came from him who sent me. If anybody truly wants to do God’s will, he will be convinced as to whether this instruction is from God or whether I trumped it up myself. When a man spouts his own ideas, he is trying to get credit for himself. But when one seeks the credit of his sender, then he is honest and above board. Look, you’ve been given the Bible, haven’t you? But not a one of you lives by it! So why are you trying to kill me?"??????????? The crowd answered, "You’re crazy in the bead; who’s trying to kill you?"??????????? "Just because I did some work on a Sunday you’re all in a tizzy. All right, now listen. The Bible tells you to baptize—well, not exactly, but it is a Christian tradition—and you have no qualms about baptizing on a Sunday. If you break the Sabbath just to baptize a man, why are you bitching about my making a man well on the Sabbath? Don’t hold to opinions because they’re popular but because they’re right."??[[@Bible:John 7:23]]23.?????? Then some of the Atlantans said, "Isn’t this the fellow they’re trying to lynch? Well, what do you know, there he is preaching in public! Do you reckon the Establishment honestly believes that this cat is the Leader? Of course, where the Leader comes from nobody knows, but we do know where this man s from."??[[@Bible:John 7:28]]28.?????? So while Jesus was teaching in the church he lowered the boom on them: "Okay, you know me and where I’m from. Yet you don’t know the True One who sent me, or that I’m not on a mission of my own. I do know him, because I am from him and he sent me.??[[@Bible:John 7:30]]30.?????? They set in to trap him, but nobody laid a finger on him because it wasn’t yet his day. But on the other hand, a considerable number did come over to his side. "Suppose our great Leader should arise," they reasoned; "would he be able to do anything this man isn’t doing?"??[[@Bible:John 7:32]]32.?????? When the church people heard that his poll rating was rising, they got together with their officials and sent some hoods to rough him up. Then Jesus said, "I’ll be with you a little while longer, and then I’m going to him who sent me. You’ll look for me but won’t find me, because I’ll be where you can’t come. The good white folks said to one another, "Where do you reckon he’ll be going that we can’t find him? Does he plan to go to the black ghettos and teach the blacks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You’ll look for me and won’t find me, and I’ll be where you can’t come’?"??[[@Bible:John 7:37]]37.?????? On the big day at the close of the revival, Jesus got up and shouted, "If anyone is thirsting, let him come to me and drink. From the heart of the man who lives, my life will flow, as the Bible says, floods of life-giving water." (He was referring to the Spirit, which those who live his life were to receive. There was not yet a Spirit because Jesus still hadn’t brought things to a climax.)??[[@Bible:John 7:40]]40.?????? The crowd’s reaction to his message varied. Some said, "There’s no doubt about it; this is the Man of God." Others agreed, "He is the heaven-sent Leader." But some weren’t so sure, "The heaven-sent Leader isn’t a hillbilly, is he? Doesn’t the Bible predict that he’ll come from an old-line family in south Georgia?" So the crowd was split over him. Some of them even wanted to lynch him, but nobody put their cotton-pickin’ hands on him.??[[@Bible:John 7:45]]45.?????? Well, the hoods went back to the religious people who had sent them, and were asked, "Why didn’t you tend to him?" The hoods replied, "There ain’t never been a cat that talks like that cat." The church people answered, "Have you too been duped? Have any important people or church members come over to him? But this ragtag and bobtail, who don’t understand the Bible, are going to hell." Nicodemus, who was one of them and who had previously come to Jesus, asked them, "Does our Bible condemn a man without letting him state his case or inquiring into what he is doing?" They hushed him up, saying, "So you’re a hillbilly too, huh? Look it up for yourself and you’ll see that no hillbilly was ever a man of God." They stalked out and went home.??[[@Bible:John 8]]Chapter?8??[[@Bible:John 8:1]]1.???????? Then Jesus went out to Peach Orchard Hill.?? Early next morning he returned to First Church, where a crowd gathered and he began teaching them. Then some preachers and members of the official board led in a lady caught having sex with someone she wasn’t married to. They stood her up front and said to Jesus, "Professor, this woman was caught in the act of extramarital sex. Now our Bible specifically condemns such an act. What do you say about it?" (They were trying to frame him so they would have something to charge him with.) Jesus looked down and wrote in the sand with his finger. And when they kept on pestering him, he glanced up and said, "Okay, let the man whose heart is pure lead off." He looked down again and kept writing in the sand. They got the point and, beginning with the elders, they sneaked out one by one, until only Jesus was left with the lady standing in front of him. He looked up and said to her, "Where did they all go, ma’am? Didn’t anybody condemn you?" She said, "Not a soul, sir." Jesus said, "Well, I surely don’t condemn you. Run along now, and don’t do it again."??[[@Bible:John 8:12]]12.?????? Once more Jesus was telling people, "I am the light of the world. He who lets me lead him will never stumble in the dark, but will have life’s light."??????????? The church people said to him, "Now you’re blowing your own horn. What you’re saying just isn’t so."??????????? "All right," Jesus answered, "even if I am blowing my own horn, I’m telling the truth, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you all know neither of these things about me. You measure by human standards; I don’t measure anybody. But even if I should measure a man, I would do so honestly, because I wouldn’t do it alone but with him who sent me. Even in your Bible it says that the evidence of two witnesses is reliable. Now, I’m testifying in my own behalf, and the Father who sent me is also testifying for me."??????????? "‘Where is your father?" they asked.??????????? "You don’t understand me," he answered, "and you don’t understand my Father. If you had understood me, you would have understood my Father." This discussion took place while Jesus was teaching in the church basement. And nobody arrested him because it just wasn’t his day yet.??[[@Bible:John 8:21]]21.?????? Again Jesus told them, "I’m leaving and you’ll look for me, and you’ll rot in your mess. You can’t come where I’m going."??????????? The good white folks said, "Do you reckon he’s considering suicide—talking about ‘you can’t come where I’m going’?"??????????? He replied, "Y’all take the human point of view; I, the divine. You belong to the old order; I don’t. That’s why I told you that you would rot in your mess. And rot in your mess you will unless you wake up to who I am."??????????? "Who are you?" they asked.??????????? "I am what I’ve been telling you all along. I have many things about you to tell and discuss, He who sent me is for real, and I am repeating in the world what I’ve heard from him." (They still didn’t understand that be was talking to them about the Father.) "When you respect the son of man, then you will know who I am and that I do nothing on my own. I speak only the things my Father taught me. And he who sent me backs me up and doesn’t leave me alone, because I am always engaged in the things he wants."??[[@Bible:John 8:30]]30.?????? These words convinced many to come over to him. So Jesus said to the good white folks who had come over to him, "If y’all stick by what I’ve said, you are honest followers of mine. You’ll understand the truth, and the truth will liberate you.??????????? They responded, "But we are blue-blooded white folks, and have never been anybody’s slave. Why, then, are you telling us, ‘You’ll be liberated’?"??????????? Jesus answered, "Everyone who is addicted to sin is sin’s slave. Now the slave never lives in ‘the big house’: the free-born son lives there. So then, if the Son liberates you, you are genuinely liberated. I know that you are blue-blooded white folks, but just the same you’re trying to do me in because my ideas don’t appeal to you. I’m preaching what I’ve actually seen from the Father; but you, you’re practicing what you’ve heard from your father."??????????? "Our father was the original white man," they retorted.??????????? "If indeed you are sons of the original white man, you would act like it. But here you are trying to lynch me. a man who has told you the truth that I got from the Father. A really good white man would never stoop to that. Yes, you’re behaving like your father’s children all right."??????????? "We aren’t bastards," they said. "The One God is our Father."??????????? "If God were truly your Father," Jesus said, "you would love me, for God sent me and that’s why I’m here. I haven’t come simply of my own accord; God sent me. What’s the matter? Aren’t you catching on to what I’m saying? Perhaps it’s because you can’t take my ideas. You fellows are the sons of your daddy, the Confuser, and you are determined to carry out your daddy's desires. Well, your daddy has always been a man-killer, and has never sided with the truth, because there’s no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is simply repeating himself, because he’s a liar and the daddy of liars. But when I tell you the truth you don’t believe me. Can any of you prove me guilty of any wrongdoing? Okay, if I’m shooting straight, why don’t you believe me? When a man is rooted in God, he pays attention to what God says. Since you don’t pay attention, it is clear that you’re not rooted in God."??[[@Bible:John 8:48]]48.?????? The good white folks said, "We sure hit the nail on the head when we said that you are a nigger and are full of the Confuser." Jesus replied, "I am not full of the Confuser, but I do respect my Father, even though you all disrespect me. I’m not concerned about making a name for myself; however, there is One who is concerned about his name and has the final say-so. I tell you for a fact that if a person latches onto my idea, be will surely be immortal."??[[@Bible:John 8:52]]52.?????? The good white folks shouted at him, "Now we’re positively sure that you’re full of the Confuser, Look, both the founder of our church and the old-time men of God passed away, yet you are saying, ‘If a person latches onto my idea, he will surely be immortal.’ Do you think you’re greater than the noble founder of our church? Well, he died, as did the other church fathers. So what do you make of yourself?"??[[@Bible:John 8:54]]54.?????? Jesus answered, "If I okay myself, my okay is no good. The one who okays me is my Father, who you claim is your God. But you have no knowledge of him. I do, though, and even if I said I didn’t, I’d only be a liar like you. I truly do know him and I carry out his idea. Abraham, the founder of your church, was tickled pink that he should catch a glimpse of my rule—and he did see it and was delighted."??????????? The good white folks said to him, "So you’ve seen Abraham even though you’re not yet fifty?"??????????? To this Jesus replied, "I existed before Abraham was born."??????????? They picked up rocks to throw at Jesus, but he hid and then ducked out of the church.HAPPENINGS (ACTS)??[[@Bible:Acts 1]]Chapter 1??[[@Bible:Acts 1:1]]1.???????? I wrote the first volume, Friend of God, about the many deeds and lessons which Jesus got under way, up to the day when he ascended. Prior to this he had given, through the Holy Spirit, specific orders to his special agents, and had shown himself to them with many positive proofs that he was still alive even after he had been killed. Through forty days he appeared to them and discussed matters concerning the God Movement. And while staying with them, he urged them not to leave Atlanta but to wait for the Father's promised gift about which he had told them. "Yes, John dipped people in water," he said, "but in just a few days you all will be dipped in Holy Spirit."??[[@Bible:Acts 1:6]]6.???????? So those about him began asking, "Will that be the occasion on which you will take over the government?" He said to them, "You are not to get all worked up about timetables and events which the Father has under his own control. But as the Holy Spirit comes over you, you will get power and will be my agents in Atlanta and throughout Georgia, in the ghetto and across the land." As he said this, and while they were watching, he was carried away and a cloud kept them from seeing him.??[[@Bible:Acts 1:10]]10.???????? As he went away, and while they were still staring into the sky, two men in blue jeans joined them and asked, "Citizens of America, why stand there looking at the sky? This Jesus who was carried away from you into the sky will come just as you saw him going into the sky."??[[@Bible:Acts 1:12]]12.???????? Then they returned to Atlanta from "Peach Hill Orchard," which is in the suburbs of Atlanta. When they got back, they went upstairs where they were living. This included Rock and Jack and Jim and Andy, Phil and Tom, Bart and Matt, Jim Alston and Simon the Rebel, and Joe Jameson. All of them, including the women and Mary, Jesus' mother, and his brothers, were continually praying together.??[[@Bible:Acts 1:15]]15.???????? While this was going on, Rock arose and said to the brotherhood (the number in the assembly was about one hundred twenty) "Brothers, it was inevitable that David's inspired prediction about Judas being in cahoots with those who framed Jesus, should come true. He belonged to our group, and thereby obtained a rightful share in this undertaking."????????????? (It was he, you know, who with his bribe money bought a plot, where he fell and busted open, and his guts spilled out. That's why the people around Atlanta refer to it as "The Blood Plot.")??[[@Bible:Acts 1:20]]20.???????? Rock continued, "In the book of Psalms it says,'May his barn be emptyand his house be vacant;'????????????? also,'Let someone else take over his office.'????????????? "So, we've got to choose someone to join with us as evidence of Jesus' aliveness–someone who has been with us throughout the whole time Jesus was among us–from the beginning at John's baptism until the day of his ascension."??[[@Bible:Acts 1:23]]23.???????? They then nominated two, George Jones, who was nicknamed Barsey, and Matt. They prayed and said, "You, Lord, heart-knower of all, please make clear which one of these two you have selected to receive the rightful share of this undertaking and commission from which Judas deserted to go his own way." They had them draw lots, and the share fell to Matt, who was then counted in with the eleven officers.??[[@Bible:Acts 2]]Chapter 2??[[@Bible:Acts 2:1]]1.???????? When Thanksgiving Day arrived, they were all gathered in one place. Then all of a sudden there came from the sky a rumbling like a tornado, and it filled the whole house where they were gathered. And they saw forked flames as from a fire, and it stayed in contact with each one of them. Everybody was bursting with Holy Spirit and started talking in whatever different languages the spirit directed.??[[@Bible:Acts 2:5]]5.???????? Now at that time there were a lot of delegates gathered in Atlanta, religious people from countries all over the world. So when they heard this great noise, they all came running together. And then they heard these folks talking to each one of them in their own native tongue, and were they excited! Amazed and astounded no end, they said, "Look, aren't all these speakers Americans? Then how is it that each of us is hearing it in his own native tongue–French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Burmese, Hebrew, Swedish, Afrikaans, Hindi–in our own languages we are hearing them tell of God's mighty doings." Everybody was dumfounded and puzzled, saying one to another, "What's the meaning of this?" But others sneered, "They're tanked up on white lightning."??[[@Bible:Acts 2:14]]14.???????? So Rock, along with the eleven, got right up and started explaining matters to them: "Fellow Georgians and all you delegates in Atlanta, let me set you straight on this right now. These folks are not tanked up like you think, because it's just nine o'clock in the morning. Instead, this is the happening described in the book of Joel:??????????? 'When the time is ripe,' says God,??????????? 'I will share my spirit with all mankind,??????????? And your sons and your daughters will speak the truth.??????????? Your young people will catch visions??????????? And your old people will dream new dreams.??????????? Yes indeed, when the time is ripe I'll share my spirit??????????? With my boys and my girls and they will speak the truth.??????????? And I will put terrors in the sky above??????????? And nightmares on the earth below –??????????? Blood and fire and a mushroom cloud.??????????? The sun will be turned into blackness??????????? And the moon into blood,??????????? When the glory and the majesty of the Lord's Era??????????? Will be ushered in.??????????? And then, the man who shares in the Lord's nature will come through.'??????????? "Brother men, give me your attention. Surely you yourselves know about Jesus, the Valdostan, a man whom God backed up with the mighty deeds, marvelous happenings and solid evidence which he presented right before your eyes. Within the framework of his purpose and knowledge, God let you murder him by stringing him up at the hands of a mob. But then God removed the effects of death and restored him to life. It just wasn't possible for him to be contained by death. David puts these words on his lips:??????????? 'I was assured in advance of my Lord's abiding presence;??????????? He is right beside me to keep me from being knocked out.??????????? That's why my heart sings out and my tongue shouts for joy.??????????? And even more, my whole body will be vibrant with hope;??????????? Because you will not abandon my life to the grave,??????????? Nor give your "divine spark" to the despair of death.??????????? You have let me in on life's secrets;??????????? With your presence you will make me unspeakably happy.'??????????? "Brothers of mine, let me tell you bluntly that our forefather David died, was buried and his tomb is still with us. But since he was a prophet, and knowing that God had guaranteed that one of his own descendants would succeed him, he foresaw the resurrection of the Leader when he referred to him as not being abandoned to the grave, nor his body to the despair of death. And it's this man Jesus that God has made alive, and all of us are the evidence of his aliveness. Since he has been elevated as 'God's right hand man,' and having received from the Father the assurance of the Holy Spirit, he has shared with us this which you are seeing and hearing. For while David himself never entered the spiritual realm, he did say,??????????? "The Boss said to my boss, 'Be my right hand man while I put even your opponents under your control.’ " Therefore let all America know beyond any doubt that God has made this same Jesus, whom you lynched, both President and Leader."??[[@Bible:Acts 2:37]]37.?????? Upon hearing this they were cut to the quick, and they said to Rock and the other officers, "Will you please tell us, brothers, what we can do about it?"??????????? Rock said to them, "Reshape your lives, and let each of you be initiated into the family of Jesus Christ so your sins can he dealt with; and you will receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit. For the guarantee is to you and your relatives, as well as to all the outsiders whom the Lord our God shall invite." Rock was going down the line on other matters, too, and kept urging them on. "Save yourselves," he was telling them, "from this goofed-up society."??[[@Bible:Acts 2:41]]41.?????? So those who accepted his explanation were initiated, swelling the membership to about three thousand. They were all bound together by the officers' instruction and by the sense of community, by the common meal and the prayers. A great reverence came over everybody, while many amazing and instructive things were done by the officers. The whole company of believers stuck together and held all things common. They were selling their goods and belongings, and dividing them among the group on the basis of one's need. Knit together with singleness of purpose they gathered at the church every day, and as they ate the common meal from house to house they had a joyful and humble spirit, praising God and showing over-flowing kindness toward everybody. And day by day, as people were being rescued, the Lord would add them to the fellowship.??[[@Bible:Acts 3]]Chapter 3[[@Bible:Acts 3:1]]1.???????? Now one afternoon about three o'clock, Rock and Jack were going into the church to pray. So there was this guy who was born a cripple and who was put every day at the main entrance of the sanctuary, to panhandle from those going to church. When he saw Rock and Jack about to go in, he started putting the bite on them. So Rock, with Jack backing him up, looked the fellow in the eye and said, "Look straight at us!" He smiled big at them, thinking they were a soft touch. Then Rock said, "I don't have one thin dime, but I'm going to give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Valdosta, walk!" And grabbing him by the right hand, Rock pulled him to his feet. Instantly he got strength in his feet and ankles and started jumping around and walking all over. He went with them into the church, walking and jumping and shouting God's praises. Everybody recognized him as the panhandler at the main entrance to the church and they were utterly amazed and astounded at what had happened to him.[[@Bible:Acts 3:11]]11.???????? While he was still hanging on to Rock and Jack, the whole congregation gathered around them in the vestibule. When Rock saw what was happening, he said to them all, "My fellow church members, why are you so surprised at this, or why are you staring at us as though this man has been made to walk by our own power or saintliness? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has exalted this man Jesus, whom you all framed and disowned before the governor, and decided that he should be killed. But you disowned the Special One, the Just One, and asked that a convicted murderer be made your leader. While indeed you assassinated life's noblest one, God raised him from the dead, of which fact we all are the evidence. And his name–by faith in his name–this man whom you see and recognize has received strength. The faith that came through Jesus made him normal before your eyes.[[@Bible:Acts 3:17]]17.???????? "And now, brothers, I am aware that you did it without realizing what you were up to, and the same is true of your leaders. In fact, in this way God has made a reality of what he previously announced through the sermons of all the prophets, about his Leader choosing to suffer. Re-shape your lives, then, and turn around, so that the slate can be wiped clean of your past misdeeds, that opportunities for renewal might come to you from the Lord, and that he might send to you Jesus, his previously chosen Leader. It's necessary for this leader to remain in the spiritual realm only until the occasions leading up to the establishment of everything God said long ago, through his genuine prophets. Indeed, Moses himself said, 'The Lord your God will provide for you from among your own kinsmen a prophet like me. You shall follow the instructions he gives you to the very last detail. If there's a soul who won't listen to that prophet, he shall be utterly rooted out of the congregation.' Furthermore, from Samuel on down, all the prophets discussed and described what's happening right now. You folks are in this stream of prophecy and are heirs of the contract which God drew up with your forefathers when he said to Abraham, 'And through your descendant all the nations on earth shall be given a new lease on life.' Now that God has just raised up his man, you are first in line to receive the new lease when each of you turns from his mean ways."[[@Bible:Acts 4]]Chapter 4[[@Bible:Acts 4:1]]1.???????? They were still talking to the people when some preachers and the police chief and the Old Guard laid into them. They were plenty mad at them because they were teaching the people and declaring that Jesus was raised from the dead. So they had them arrested and put in jail until the next day, since it was already late in the evening. Many of those who heard the word were convinced, and the number of men rose to about five thousand.[[@Bible:Acts 4:5]]5.???????? Well, the next day the leading men and the city officials and the legal staff met in Atlanta. (These included Anderson, the mayor, and Cates and John and Alec, and others on the City Council.) They had Rock and Jack stand up front, and they began the hearing by asking, "By what authority or in whose name have you fellows done this?" Then Rock, busting with Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders of the people and city officials, if we today are being examined because of a good work done on a sick man, that is–who has healed him–let it be made clear to you and to everybody in America, that in the name of Jesus of Valdosta, whom you lynched, whom God made to live again, by him this man stands before you completely healed. Indeed, this Jesus is 'the stone which you builders considered worthless, but which became the corner stone.' And the answer lies in him alone, for there isn't another person in the whole world who can rescue us."[[@Bible:Acts 4:13]]13.???????? The officials were really surprised at the boldness of Rock and Jack, especially since they seemed to be uneducated and simple people, and it dawned on them that these were Jesus' pupils. On top of this, they saw the healed man standing there with them, and couldn't argue that point. So they told them to step outside the courtroom, and then they started discussing the matter. "What'll we do with these fellows? For it's as clear as day to everybody in Atlanta that they've done something terrific, and we simply can't deny it. But, to keep this from blowing all over the country, let's read the riot act to them, that they are never again to mention this man's name to a living soul."[[@Bible:Acts 4:18]]18.???????? So they called them back in and started throwing the book at them, warning them never to open their mouths on the subject of Jesus. But Rock and Jack spoke right up and said, "You can make up your own minds as to whether it's right to obey God or man. But as for us, it's impossible to keep quiet about what we've seen and heard."[[@Bible:Acts 4:21]]21.???????? When the officials had finished putting the heat on them, they ran them off. They could find no way to punish them, because of their standing with the crowd. Everybody was praising God for what had happened, since the man who had been so wonderfully healed was over forty years old.[[@Bible:Acts 4:23]]23.???????? After they were turned loose, they went straight to the fellowship and rehearsed all that the officials had said to them. Upon hearing it, all of them lifted up a united voice to God and said, "Mighty Owner, Maker of land and sky and sea and all that's in them, through the Holy Spirit you moved your servant and our father David to say,??????????? 'Why have the pagans pranced around,??????????? And the crowds put on such airs???????????? The power structure of the nation lined up together,??????????? And the important people took their stand??????????? Against the Lord and His appointed Leader.'??????????? Surely in this very city both the Governor of Alabama and the Governor of Georgia have gotten together with church members and non-church members against your devoted servant Jesus, whom you authorized to carry out the things you wanted done. And now, Sir, listen to their threats and give us, your slaves, the guts to tell your word like it is, while you reach out to heal and to do great and wonderful things by the name of your devoted servant Jesus." When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and were telling God's word like it is.[[@Bible:Acts 4:32]]32.???????? Now a single heart and soul was in the body of believers. Not one of them considered his property to be private, but all things were shared by them. With mighty power the apostles were giving the evidence of Jesus' aliveness, and upon them all was a spirit of abounding goodwill. You know, there wasn't a person in the group in need. For owners of land or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds and placing them at the disposal of the apostles. Distribution was then made to everyone on the basis of his need.[[@Bible:Acts 4:36]]36.???????? So, a fellow named Joe (his nickname, "Barney," given to him by the apostles, means "a helpful guy"), from an old-line Virginia family, owned a farm. He sold it, brought the proceeds and placed them at the disposal of the church officers.[5.]??But, there was a man by the name of Harry who sold a piece of property and held back some of the money. His wife, Sapphire, was also in on the deal. He then brought a certain part??and put it at the disposal of the officers. But Rock said to him, "Harry, why are you so full of the devil that you've lied to the Holy Spirit and kept some of the money from the sale of the land? Wasn't the property yours all along, and didn't you make the decision to sell it? Then what came over you to do a thing like this? You are not playing false with men but with God!"[[@Bible:Acts 5]]Chapter 5Chapter 5 heading, verses 1-55 have been omitted.[[@Bible:Acts 5:5]]5.???????? While Harry was listening to what was being said, he collapsed and died. And it seared the daylights out of all those who were watching. The ushers then got up, put a sheet over him, carried him outside and buried him.[[@Bible:Acts 5:7]]7.???????? Well, about three hours later, in walked his wife, without knowing what had gone on. Rock asked her, "Tell me, did you get such and such for the land?" She said, "Yes, that's correct." Then Rock said to her, "Why did you two conspire to confuse the Lord's spirit? Listen here, the men who buried your husband are coming in the door and they'll take you out!" Right then and there she collapsed at his feet and died. The ushers came on in, and finding her dead, too, took her out and buried her beside her husband. The whole church and all who heard about it were evermore shook up![[@Bible:Acts 5:12]]12.???????? The officers did a lot of other remarkable and wonderful things among the people. They were meeting together at Grant Park, and while nobody was brave enough to join them, folks did speak mighty highly of them. But increasingly quite a group of both men and women put their faith in the Lord and were enrolled. Besides, the sick were carried into the streets and put on cots and stretchers so that even Rock’s shadow might fall on them as he passed by. Also, crowds from the towns all around Atlanta flocked in, bringing those sick in body and mind, and they were all healed.[[@Bible:Acts 5:17]]17.???????? But the Mayor and City Council, who were members of the Conservative Party, blew their top. They arrested the apostles and put them in the city jail. But that night, an angel of the Lord opened the jailhouse doors, led them outside and said, "Go, stand on the courthouse steps and explain to the people all the matters concerning this kind of life." They listened carefully, and at the crack of day they went to the courthouse steps and started teaching. Now the mayor and his assistants called a meeting of the Council and all the prominent white citizens, and sent to fetch the apostles. But when the fuzzes got to the clink, they didn't find the apostles in it. They went back and reported: "We found the jailhouse locked according to regulations and the guards were on duty, but when we opened up and went inside we didn't find a soul." When the police chief and the Council heard this, they tried to figure out what the hell had happened. About that time somebody came busting in and shouted, "Hey, those joes you put in the jug are standing on the courthouse steps preaching to the people." Then the chief and his fuzzes went out and got them without using brutality, because they were scared the crowd might throw bottles at them. They led them in and stood them up before the Council. The mayor tore into them and said, "We warned you in no uncertain terms not to spread the ideas of that fellow. And now look, you've agitated all of Atlanta with your ideas, and are trying to pin that guy's lynching on us!"[[@Bible:Acts 5:29]]29.???????? Rock and the other officers replied, "It's our duty to obey God rather than men. Our fathers' God raised Jesus, whom you mobbed and strung up on a tree. God promoted him to be his number one Leader and Deliverer, to bring to white folks a change of heart and a way out of their sins. And all of us are evidence of this statement, as indeed is the Holy Spirit which God gives to those who are controlled by him."[[@Bible:Acts 5:33]]33.???????? At this the city fathers blew a gasket and wanted to kill them on the spot. But a Baptist by the name of Gamaliel, a Sunday School teacher with a good reputation in the community, got up in the Council and ordered the apostles to be put outside for a little while. Then he said, "My fellow citizens, be extremely careful in your actions against these men. A while back, you remember, Turner set himself up as a big-time movement man and got about four hundred people to join up. But he was rubbed out, his followers routed, and they got nowhere. Later on, when the draft law was passed, Jody the Tennessean made a stir and got quite a following, but he too was wiped out and his movement broken up. So, in this situation I'd advise you to keep your hands off these men and let them be. If this plan or this program of theirs is a purely human scheme, it will blow itself out. But if it is God's thing, you can't put a stop to it without declaring yourselves at war with God." That made sense to them, so they called in the apostles, beat them up, warned them not to talk about Jesus anymore, and turned them loose. The apostles then left the Council meeting, happy that they were counted worthy to he disgraced for the Name. Every day, both on the courthouse steps and from door to door, they never quit teaching and preaching that Jesus is Lord.[[@Bible:Acts 6]]Chapter 6[[@Bible:Acts 6:1]]1.???????? Along about the time that a lot of members were coming into the church, the liberals got into a hassle with the conservatives because some of their dependents were being discriminated against in the distribution of relief funds. So the twelve called a meeting of the whole church and said, "It's not a good idea for us to take time away from the teaching of God's word to tend to material matters. So brothers, why don't you choose seven reliable men who are spiritual-minded and wise, and we'll commission them to take this responsibility? Then we can give full time to prayer and to the cultivation of the word." This suggestion pleased the congregation, so they nominated Steve, a deeply spiritual fellow who was on fire for the faith, and Phil and Proctor and Nick and Timmie and Farmer and Nichol, a former church member from up North. These were recommended to the officers, who then prayed for them and commissioned them.[[@Bible:Acts 6:7]]7.???????? The word of God made much headway. The number of converts in Atlanta increased tremendously, with a goodly portion even of the ministerial association becoming Christians.[[@Bible:Acts 6:8]]8.???????? Now Steve, loaded with good will and energy, was doing all sorts of terrific things among the people. Then some cats from the so-called conservative church–from Kentucky and Tennessee and some from the True-God Seminary and Bible College–ganged up on Steve and started arguing with him, but they couldn't hold a candle to his wise and inspired answers. They got their cronies to say, "We heard him saying some awful things against God and the Bible." They stirred up the good citizens and the official power structure, and grabbed Steve and arrested him and brought him before the Council. They brought in some professional liars who said, "This joker never stops blabbing against the church and against the system. For we ourselves heard him say that this Jesus of Valdosta will destroy the church and will change the American way of life." All those sitting in the Council glued their eyes on him. They noticed he had a look on him like an angel.[[@Bible:Acts 7]]Chapter 7[[@Bible:Acts 7:1]]1.???????? Then the Mayor asked, "Are these things true?" And Steve said, "My fellow Americans and gentlemen, please listen to me.? The Good Lord appeared to our forefather Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, and before he moved to Haran, and said to him, 'Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into a land that I will show you.' Then he left Chaldea and went to Haran. After his father died, he migrated to this country in which you now live. But God gave him no homestead in it–not even an acre. Yet he did guarantee that it would belong to him and to his line, though at that time he was childless. Here's how God put it:??????????? 'His line will be pilgrims in a strange land, and they will be exploited and mistreated for four hundred years. And I will judge the nation which exploits them.' God said, 'and afterwards they will move out and worship me in this country.' And he gave to him circumcision as the symbol of the new life. Being thus initiated, he became the father of Isaac, whom he initiated on the eighth day. And Isaac did the same to his son Jacob, and Jacob to his sons, the twelve founding fathers.[[@Bible:Acts 7:9]]9.???????? "Now the founding fathers were jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. But God was with him and pulled him through all his trials, and supplied him with tact and common sense when he stood before Pharaoh, King of Egypt. So the King appointed him to be governor over Egypt and all his affairs. Now a famine which caused great hardship came over the whole of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could find no rations. But Jacob caught wind of some wheat in Egypt and sent his boys down there for the first time. On the second trip, Joseph let his brothers know who he was, and he also informed Pharaoh about his family. Then Joseph sent and fetched the whole shebang–his father Jacob and about seventy-five relatives. So Jacob moved to Egypt, and he and our founding fathers lived there till they died. They were later moved and put in a burial place in Sechem which Abraham had bought for cash from a Sechem family named Herman.[[@Bible:Acts 7:17]]17.???????? "As the time approached for God to make good on the guarantee he had made to Abraham, our population in Egypt had greatly increased and there was a king over Egypt who had forgotten all about Joseph. He didn't shoot straight with our people and was so mean he made the fathers abandon their babies to die. During this period, Moses, a very special child, was born. He was cared for at home for three months, and when he was "abandoned," Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son. Moses was given a top-notch Egyptian education, and was a powerful man in both what he said and did.[[@Bible:Acts 7:23]]23.???????? "When he was about forty, it was laid on his heart to investigate the conditions of his own Jewish people. While doing so, he saw one of them getting beat up, and he jumped in and squared things away for the Israelite by knocking hell out of the Egyptian. He took for granted that his brothers would get the point that God would use him to be their Freedom Leader. But they didn't catch on. In fact, the very next day he chanced on two of them slugging one another, and he tried to get them to break it up. 'Hey you guys,' he said, 'you're brothers. How come you beating up on each other?' But the fellow who started the fight shoved Moses aside and said, 'Who put you in the big seat to lord it over us? Do you think you can bump me off just like you bumped off that Egyptian yesterday?' When Moses heard that, he high-tailed it out of there and became a resident of Midian. His two boys were born there.[[@Bible:Acts 7:30]]30.???????? "Forty years later he was in the open country around Mt. Sinai when an angel appeared to him in the flames of a bush that was on fire. When Moses saw it he couldn't believe his eyes. So he went over to investigate, and then the Lord started speaking. 'I am the God of your forefathers–Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.' That got Moses shook up and he was scared to do any more investigating. But the Lord continued, 'Take off your shoes, because you're standing on holy ground. I have seen the awful oppression of my people in Egypt; I have listened to their moanings; I stand ready now to free them. So come on, I'm sending you to Egypt.'[[@Bible:Acts 7:35]]35.???????? "This very same Moses, whom they rejected by saying, 'Who put you in the big seat to lord it over us,' was sent by God through the angel at the Bush, to be both Leader and Liberator. This Moses worked amazing but clear proofs in Egypt and at the Red Sea, and led the people out into open country and guided them for forty years. This is the Moses who stood between the angel, speaking from Mt. Sinai, and our fathers gathered in the open country; who received the Living Words and relayed them to us. Yes, he is the one whom our fathers were unwilling to obey and shoved aside. They lapsed into the Egypt mentality, and said to Aaron, 'Make us some gods who will stick by us, because "this Moses," who led us out of Egypt, we just don't know what he's up to.'[[@Bible:Acts 7:41]]41.???????? "So they made a calf during those days, and celebrated with a big feast to the idol, and they whooped it up around their own invention. But God walked out and left them to worship the whole galaxy of gods, just as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Was it to me, O nation of Israel, that you made your celebrations and feasts those forty years in the open country? No indeed, but you made War your god, and Violence your guiding star. They became patterns of your worship. All right, I'll banish you to outer Babylon.'[[@Bible:Acts 7:44]]44.???????? "While in the open country our fathers had a Chapel of the Presence, built according to the plan which God described to Moses. In the next generation, under Joshua, it was moved into the Promised Land which God cleared of pagans to make room for our people, and there it stayed until the time of David. Now David got the idea of putting up a more plush sanctuary for the God of Jacob, but Solomon actually built it. But –??????????? THE ALMIGHTY DOES NOT LIVE IN MAN-MADE BUILDINGS.The prophet bears this out when he says,??????????? 'The sky is my office,??????????? The earth is my den, says the Lord,??????????? 'What kind of a house could you build me,??????????? Or what kind of a resting place,??????????? Seeing as how I've made everything already?'[[@Bible:Acts 7:51]]51.???????? "You pig-headed pagans, you are forever turning a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit. You are just like your fathers before you. Can you name just one man of God that they didn't ride out on a rail? And besides, they assassinated the forerunners of the Just One. And now you are his betrayers and killers–you who got the Bible straight from angels, and refused to live by it!"[[@Bible:Acts 7:54]]54.???????? When they heard this they were cut to the quick, and hit the ceiling. Steve, however, vibrant with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on the sky and saw God's glory, and Jesus standing as God's right-hand man. He cried out, "Look, I'm seeing the skies opening up and the Son of Man is standing beside God as his right-hand man." But they yelled bloody murder and put their fingers in their ears. Then all together they gave him the bum's rush, dragged him out of town and started throwing rocks at him. Those taking part in it piled their coats in front of a young fellow named Saul. They kept on throwing rocks at Steve while he was calling on Jesus, saying, "Lord Jesus, please accept my soul." Then he knelt down and cried out with all he had, "O Lord, don't charge them with this crime." Having said this, he fell asleep. Now Saul was justifying the murder.[[@Bible:Acts 8]]?Chapter 8[[@Bible:Acts 8:1]]1.???????? At that time a great persecution broke out against the Atlanta fellowship, and all except the officers were scattered through the white and black sections of Georgia. Some deeply concerned men gathered Steve up and gave him a decent funeral. But Saul was putting the heat on the church, searching through house after house and dragging out both men and women and throwing them in jail.[[@Bible:Acts 8:4]]4.???????? As they were scattered, though, they spread the good news of the faith all over. Phil, for example, went over to a city of black people and was telling them all about the Leader. As the crowds listened to Phil and watched the terrific things he was doing, they hung on to every word he was saying. Quite a few of them who had mean spirits gave them up with loud sobs. Others who were disabled and crippled were healed. A spirit of joyful hope swept over the whole community.[[@Bible:Acts 8:9]]9.???????? Now for some time a rabble-rouser named Simpson had lived in that town and, by posing as a big-time leader, he had bamboozled the black people. Old and young alike trekked after him. "He's got the guts of God, man," they said. "He's talking Power." He had fed them with his poppycock so long that they actually believed it. But when they accepted Phil's explanation of the God Movement and what it meant to be a Christian, both men and women were being baptized. Even Simpson himself became a convert, and after his baptism he hung around Phil so he could keep a close eye on how he worked miracles and did fabulous things.[[@Bible:Acts 8:14]]14.???????? Well, the apostles in Atlanta heard that "Harlem" had come over to the Word of God, so they sent Rock and Jack there. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive Holy Spirit. For as yet they had only been baptized into the church and Holy Spirit had not possessed any of them. Then the apostles laid their hands on them and they received Holy Spirit.[[@Bible:Acts 8:18]]18.???????? Simpson noticed that the Spirit came with the laying on of the officers' hands, so he propositioned them with a wad of money. "Let me in on the deal," he said, "so that whenever I put my hands on somebody he'll get Holy Spirit."????????????? Rock said to him, "You and your money can go to hell! Do you think you can buy with money what God freely gives? You have no part or parcel in this faith, because your soul isn't straight in God's sight. Quit this mean thing of yours, and beg the Lord to forgive the perversion of your soul, for I can tell that you are enslaved to bitterness and imprisoned by crookedness."????????????? "You all beg the Lord for me," Simpson cried, "that what you said about me might not come true."[[@Bible:Acts 8:25]]25.???????? After Rock and Jack had told the Word of God like it is, and had preached it all around, they went back to Atlanta, explaining the Good News to blacks they met along the way.[[@Bible:Acts 8:26]]26.???????? Now a messenger of the Lord said to Phil, "Get ready and go south along the road that goes from Atlanta to LaGrange." (It's open country through there.) So he got ready and went. At the same time there was a high-up official of Tuskegee–the treasurer, in fact–who had gone to a convention in Atlanta. He was going home and sitting on the bus reading from Isaiah. So the spirit said to Phil, "Flag that bus!" So he flagged it and got on and saw the man reading from Isaiah. Phil asked him, "Does what you're reading make sense?" The man replied "How can I make heads or tails of it when there's no one to explain it to me?" Then he asked Phil to sit beside him. The passage he was reading was this:???????????? "He was led off to slaughter like a sheep;????????????? As a lamb which makes no sound when it is clipped,????????????? So he uttered no word of protest.????????????? In his humiliation, justice was denied him.????????????? As for his children, who will remember them?????????????? His earthly lineage will be no more."[[@Bible:Acts 8:34]]34.???????? The treasurer said to Phil, "Let me ask you a question. To whom is the prophet referring here, to himself or to someone else?" Then Phil began with this passage and explained Jesus to him. Along the way they came to a stream, and the treasurer said, "Look, there's a stream! Why can't I be baptized now?" So he told the bus driver to stop, and both Phil and the treasurer got off and went down to the stream, where Phil baptized him. When they came up out of the stream, the spirit of the Lord grabbed Phil, and the treasurer never saw him again, but he headed off toward Tuskegee singing happily. However, Phil was located in Anniston, and as he traveled he was spreading the good word through all the towns as far as Huntsville.[[@Bible:Acts 9]]Chapter 9?[[@Bible:Acts 9:1]]1.???????? All the while, Saul was harassing and threatening to kill the followers of the Lord. He even went to the governor and got some papers to the Chattanooga Council asking them for permission to arrest and return to Atlanta any men or women he might find who were taking Christianity seriously. When he stopped for gas just outside of Chattanooga, all of a sudden a flash from the sky surrounded him. He fell to the pavement, and heard a voice asking, "Saul! Saul! Why are you so mean to me?"??????????? He said, "Who are you, sir?"??????????? "I," he said, "I am Jesus whom you're harassing . . . But get up now and go on into the city and it will be made clear to you what you've got to do."??????????? The fellows traveling with him just stood there speechless. They heard the sound but saw nobody. Saul got up from the pavement, but when he opened his eyes he couldn't see a thing. They led him to the car and took him on into Chattanooga. For three days he was blind, and he ate nothing and drank nothing.[[@Bible:Acts 9:10]]10.???????? In Chattanooga there was a Christian named Harry. He had a vision and heard the Lord calling his name. "Harry!" And Harry said, "I'm right here, sir." Then the Lord said to him, "Get ready and go over to Joe's house on Straight Street and ask for a fellow by the name of Saul, who comes from Tallahassee. He is praying right now, and has had a vision of a person named Harry coming in and putting his hands on him so he may see again."????????????? Harry replied, "Sir, I have learned from many people all the terrible things which this fellow has done to your followers in Atlanta. He has even come here with warrants from the officials to arrest all who bear your name."????????????? But the Lord said to him, "Get moving, for this man is a very special instrument which I have chosen to represent me before the people of the world and their leaders, as well as the 'good white people'. For I myself will make clear to him all he must go through to bear my name."[[@Bible:Acts 9:17]]17.???????? So Harry left and went to the house. He put his hands on Saul and said, "Saul . . . brother . . . the Lord . . . er . . . Jesus whom you saw on the way here . . . has sent me . . . that you may be able to see and that you may be filled with Holy Spirit." And right away something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see. He got ready and was baptized. Then he ate something, felt stronger, and decided to stay on with the converts in Chattanooga for some time.[[@Bible:Acts 9:20]]20.???????? Soon he began preaching in their churches that Jesus truly is God's man.?? All that heard him were simply bowled over, and said, "Why, ain't this the guy that gave hell to those in Atlanta who bear the Name? And hasn't he come up here for the sole purpose of arresting them and taking them back to the officials?" But Saul took an even stronger stand and out-argued the white American Protestants (WAPS) in Chattanooga, proving beyond doubt that Jesus is indeed Lord. [[@Bible:Acts 9:23]]23.???????? After some days had passed, the WAPs hatched a plot to kill him. Saul, however, got wind of their plot. Day and night they spied on his hotel, hoping for a chance to assassinate him. But the brothers lowered him one night from a back window into an alley. He took off for Atlanta, and tried to join up with the converts there. But they were all scared of him, because they couldn't believe that he was a genuine convert. However, Barney took up for him and introduced him to the officers. He explained to them how Saul, on his trip, had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how that in Chattanooga he made no bones about being a disciple of Jesus. So he stayed with them, operating in and out of Atlanta, fearlessly bearing the name of the Lord, and getting into discussions and debates with the Klan. They figured they would liquidate him, so when the apostles found out about it, they took him to Griffin and put him on the bus to Tallahassee.[[@Bible:Acts 9:31]]31.???????? Then the brotherhood throughout Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee had peace. It was built up, and with reverence for the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it stayed on course and grew.[[@Bible:Acts 9:32]]32.???????? It so happened that on one of Rock's many trips he stopped off with the converts living at Waycross. He found a man there named Ames who was paralyzed and had been bedfast for eight years. And Rock said to him, "Mr. Ames, Jesus Christ is healing you. Get up and put on your clothes." And did he get up! A lot of people in Waycross and around Blackshear saw the man and came over to the Lord's side.[[@Bible:Acts 9:36]]36.???????? In Brunswick there was a lady believer named Dorcas (her name means "a deer"). She was noted for her many kind and charitable acts. One day she got sick and died. After they had bathed her they put her in the upstairs parlor. Since Waycross is fairly close to Brunswick, and the disciples had heard that Rock was over there, they sent two men with this urgent message: "Please don't waste a second getting over here." So he quick got ready and went with them. When he arrived he went into the upstairs parlor where a lot of widows had gathered, and they were sobbing as they showed him the coats and dresses Dorcas had made for them while she was alive. Rock asked them all to please leave the room, and he knelt down and prayed. He then turned his attention to the body. "Dorcas," he said, "get up!" She opened her eyes, looked at Rock, and sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called in the believers and the widows and presented her to them–alive! This spread throughout Brunswick, and many put their faith in the Lord. Rock stayed quite a while in Brunswick at the home of a barber named Smith.[[@Bible:Acts 10]]Chapter 10[[@Bible:Acts 10:1]]1.???????? Now there was a man in Augusta by the name of Cornwall, a Negro captain stationed at Ft. Gordon. He was a spiritually sensitive person, and with his whole family he sought God's will. He did a lot of volunteer work for the poor and he lived prayerfully. One day about three in the afternoon he had an extremely clear vision of a messenger from God entering and saying to him, "Cornwall!" Scared to death, he looked the messenger in the face and asked, "What is it, sir?" The messenger replied, "God has been noticing your prayerfulness and your unselfish deeds. Now you must send some men to Brunswick to pick up a fellow named Simon, or Rock, as he is nicknamed. He is staying with Smith, the barber, whose house faces the sea."[[@Bible:Acts 10:7]]7.???????? After the messenger finished and left, Cornwall called two trusted friends and an understanding soldier who was in his prayer group, and related his experience to them. He then asked that they go to Brunswick.[[@Bible:Acts 10:9]]9.???????? The next day, while they were traveling toward the city, Rock went upstairs about noon to pray. He got so hungry he could hardly wait to eat. While the folks were fixing lunch, Rock fell into a trance, and he saw a hole in the sky and an outfit like a big four-cornered tablecloth being let down to the ground. In it were all kinds of meat, seafood and fowl. About that time he heard somebody call, "Come on, Rock, sit down and let's eat!" But Rock said, "Oh no, sir, I've never eaten anything that was inferior or not kosher." The voice said once, and then repeated, "If God makes something kosher, don't you treat it as dirty." This was said a third time, and then the whole outfit was pulled back up into the sky.[[@Bible:Acts 10:17]]17.???????? While Rock was trying to figure out what his vision was all about, the fellows who had been sent by Cornwall had gotten directions to Smith's house and were ringing the doorbell. When someone answered, the men inquired if Simon, who was called Rock, was staying there. As Rock still pondered on his vision, the Spirit said to him, "Listen, two men are looking for you! Get up, go downstairs and go with them without the slightest hesitation, for I have sent them." So Rock went downstairs and said to the man, "Look, I'm the fellow you want. Why have you come here?"????????????? "Captain Cornwall, a good and devout man, as all white people will tell you," they said, "was instructed by God's messenger to invite you to his home and listen to what you have to tell him." So Rock asked them in and gave them hospitality.[[@Bible:Acts 10:23]]23.???????? The next day he packed up and went with them, taking several brothers from Brunswick with him. When they got to Augusta, Cornwall was waiting for them and had invited in a number of his kinfolks and close friends. As Rock came in, Cornwall greeted him, warmly shook his hand, and called him "mister." Rock corrected him, "Don't 'mister' me, for I am a human being the same as you." Well, they struck up a conversation and went on in, where the friends had gathered. Rock started talking to them. "Y'all understand how uncustomary it is for a white man to socialize or stay with people of a different race, don't you? All right, but as for me, God has made it plain as day to me that I'm never to think of any man as inferior or no good. That's why I came without batting an eye when I was sent for. Now may I ask what was in your mind when you sent for me?"[[@Bible:Acts 10:30]]30.???????? Cornwall spoke up, "Exactly four days ago to the hour, I was at home praying, around three p.m., when suddenly a man in clean new blue jeans appeared and said, 'Cornwall, God has been noticing your prayerfulness and your unselfish deeds. Now you must send to Brunswick and pick up Simon, whose nickname is Rock. He is staying at the home of Smith, the barber, on the sea coast.' So right away I sent for you, and you have honored us by coming. Now we are all gathered here before God to listen to whatever he has laid on your heart."????????????? "I am convinced beyond any doubt," Rock began, "that God pays no attention to a man's skin. Regardless of his race, the man who respects God and practices justice is welcomed by him. This point was made clear to the white people when the good news of peace through Jesus Christ was preached. He indeed is Lord of all people. You all are getting to know the message which spread all over Georgia from its beginning in Alabama with John's baptism–the message about Jesus from Valdosta, how God equipped him with Holy Spirit and power, who passed through our midst acting nobly and helping all those who were lorded over by the devil, because God stood by him. We ourselves can testify to all that he did in the land of the whites right here in Atlanta, and how they lynched him, stringing him up on a tree. Three days later God raised him and let him be seen, not by the general public, but by witnesses which God had previously hand-picked–by us–who ate and drank with him after he was raised from the dead. And he commissioned us to carry the word and be the evidence that this Jesus has been established by God as the criterion for both the living and the dead. The whole Bible points to him–that everyone who bets his life on him receives forgiveness for his sins, for Jesus' sake."[[@Bible:Acts 10:44]]44.???????? Even as Rock was saying these words, Holy Spirit came over all the listeners. Even the white believers, who had accompanied Rock, were taken by surprise that the Holy Spirit was so freely given to other races. For they themselves were hearing them talking the language and shouting the praises of God. Then Rock asked, "Is anyone opposed to baptizing these people who have received Holy Spirit the same as we have?" So he ruled that they should be baptized into the Christian fellowship. Then they asked him to stay on with them as long as he could.[[@Bible:Acts 11]]Chapter 11[[@Bible:Acts 11:1]]1.???????? Now the news spread to both preachers and laymen throughout Georgia that other races were responding to the word of God. So when Rock returned to Atlanta, some who believe in segregation, tore into him. "You went home with folks who aren't white," they shouted, "and you were eating with them!" Rock then got going and laid the matter out for them just like it happened:??????????? "I was down there in Brunswick engaged in a bit of meditation, and in my ecstasy I had a vision. I saw this outfit coming down that looked like a big tablecloth being lowered by its four comers, and it came to where I was. When I looked inside of it I really got puzzled. For what did I see but meats of all kinds imaginable, and sea foods, and a complete assortment of fowl. Then I heard somebody calling me, 'Come on, Rock, sit down and eat.' But I said, 'Oh, no sir, I have never taken the first bite of anything that was inferior or wasn't strictly kosher.' Again the voice from the sky spoke: 'If God makes something kosher, don't you treat it as dirty.' This was repeated, and the whole business was pulled back up into the sky. And would you believe it, at that moment three men knocked on the door where I was staying. They had been sent there from Augusta. The Spirit told me to go with them without the slightest hesitation. I went, and took with me these six brothers. After we arrived at the guy's house he told us how he had seen the messenger standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Brunswick and fetch a Simon who goes by the nickname of Rock; he will give you some information on how you and your whole family may be rescued.'??????????? "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came over them just as it had over us at the beginning. It reminded me of something the Lord had told us: 'John did dip people in water, but you all will he dipped in Holy Spirit.' Well, then, if God's gift to them was exactly the same as ours when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, what right did I have to argue with God?" Upon hearing this explanation, they came down off their high horse and started praising God. "Then it's a fact," they said, "that God has given to the Negroes the transformed life."[[@Bible:Acts 11:19]]19.???????? The people who had to leave because of the trouble which centered around Steve went as far as Florida, South Carolina and Mobile, spreading the word only among white folks. Some of them, though, from South Carolina and Kentucky, went to Mobile and were meeting with blacks, telling them the great news of the Lord Jesus. The Lord worked with them and a good number believed and went the Lord's Way.[[@Bible:Acts 11:22]]22.???????? Word reached the Atlanta church about them, and they sent Barney to Mobile. When he arrived and saw how God had favored them he was real pleased. He encouraged them all to put their whole heart in their commitment to the Lord, because he himself was a good guy, bursting with Holy Spirit and faithfulness. A big crowd was joining the Lord's Movement, so Barney checked out for Tallahassee to get Saul, and when he found him he brought him back to Mobile. They stayed there a whole year, meeting with the fellowship and teaching a sizeable crowd. And it was here in Mobile that the disciples were first labeled "Christians."[[@Bible:Acts 11:27]]27.???????? During the time that Barney and Saul were there, some preachers from Atlanta arrived in Mobile. One of them, by the name of Albert, made an inspired prediction that a terrible depression was going to hit the whole country, which actually happened when the Republicrats were in office. So it was decided by the disciples that each would give according to his means to the brothers who stayed on in Georgia. When they had collected the money, they sent it to the church officers by Barney and Saul.[[@Bible:Acts 12]]Chapter 12[[@Bible:Acts 12:1]]1.???????? Along about then Governor Herod got a notion to do in some of those in the fellowship. He finished off Jim, Jack's brother, with a sword. Seeing that the "good white folks" were pleased at this, he decided to put the squeeze on Rock. (This happened during the week of Easter.) So he arrested him and put him in jail, and had him guarded by four shifts of officers with four in each shift. It was his intention to turn him over to the mob after Easter. And all the while that Rock was being kept in the clink, the fellowship was praying agonizingly for him.[[@Bible:Acts 12:6]]6.???????? Just before Herod was going to turn him over to the mob, Rock was sleeping that night between two guards. He was handcuffed to them, and the officers were on duty at the door. All of a sudden, a light shined in the cell and the Lord's messenger appeared. He hit Rock on his side, pulled him up, and said, "Get moving fast." His handcuffs fell off. The messenger said to him, "Get dressed and put on your shoes." He did that. "Now put on your coat and let's go." He followed him outside, still not knowing that what the messenger was doing was for real, but thinking he was having a dream. They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the big iron gate that opens on to the street. It opened automatically for them, and they walked out. They had gone about a block when all of a sudden the messenger left him.[[@Bible:Acts 12:11]]11.???????? When it finally dawned on Rock what had happened, he said, "Sure as I'm living the Lord sent his messenger and rescued me from Herod, and from all that that white mob expected to do."[[@Bible:Acts 12:12]]12.???????? He sized up the situation and went around to the house of Mary, Jack Mark's mother, where quite a crowd had gathered for prayer. He started banging on the door and a teen-ager named Rosie went to the door to answer it. When she recognized Rock's voice, instead of opening the door, she was so happy she ran back in and yelled that Rock was at the door. They said, "You're off your rocker." But she kept insisting that it was really and truly so. "Well, it must be his ghost," they said.[[@Bible:Acts 12:16]]16.???????? But Rock was still banging away at the door. They opened up and there he stood. And were they evermore surprised! He waved to them and told them to keep quiet while he described to them how the Lord had got him out of the clink. "Now," he said, "y'all get word of all this to Jim and the brothers." Then he left and went somewhere else.[[@Bible:Acts 12:18]]18.???????? When day came there was one helluva hubbub among the guards over what had become of Rock. Herod looked high and low for him but couldn't find him. He got all the information he could from the guards, and ordered them to be shot. He then left Atlanta to visit a while in Augusta.[[@Bible:Acts 12:20]]20.???????? Now Governor Herod was having a knock-down, drag-out fight with the Education Commission and the Welfare Department. So they decided to get together and meet with him. They won over Blastus, the governor's chief aide, to see if he could settle the dispute, since all their funds came from the state's treasury. An appointment was made, and the governor showed up with great fanfare at the Capitol. He made a speech that was pure jazz, and all the big-wigs obediently praised him. "Inspired! God, not a mortal, made that speech!" Right then and there an angel of the Lord struck him down because he took God's credit. He had a heart attack and died.[[@Bible:Acts 12:24]]24.???????? But God's message continued to spread and win adherents. And Barney and Saul, when they had wound up things in Atlanta, returned and took with them John Mark.[[@Bible:Acts 13]]Chapter 13[[@Bible:Acts 13:1]]1.???????? The preachers and teachers in the fellowship at Mobile consisted of Barney, Sumner Black, Lucius Cummings, Mansfield, a classmate of Governor Herod, and Saul. During a deeply meaningful worship service, the Holy Spirit directed, "Set apart Barney and Saul for some special work I have for them." Then they all fasted and prayed, after which they ordained them and sent them on their journey.[[@Bible:Acts 13:4]]4.???????? So then having been commissioned by the Holy Spirit, they went to Pensacola, and then caught a bus for Montgomery. They went on up to Birmingham and spread the word of God in the white churches there, taking John Mark along as general flunky. Next they went to Tuscaloosa, where they ran into a joker named "Reverend Jesus." He was a phony white preacher who was a friend of the mayor, Sergent Powell, a shrewd guy himself. The mayor sent for Barney and Saul and wanted to hear what the word of God was all about. However, Reverend Ellis (that was his real name) strenuously objected and did his best to sidetrack the mayor from the faith. Then Saul (or Paul as he was also called), running over with Holy Spirit, looked him in the eye and said, "You crooked creep! You low-down louse! You son of the devil! You full-time phony! You habitually twist God's clear message out of shape.? All right, now listen, the Lord has put the finger on you and you'll be as blind as a bat for some time." Right then and there he was completely socked in and started wandering around looking for somebody to lead him by the hand. Then the mayor, seeing the way things had turned out–and shook up by the teaching of the Lord–began to live by the Unseen.[[@Bible:Acts 13:13]]13.???????? Then Paul and his party pulled out of Tuscaloosa and went to Meridian, Mississippi. There John Mark resigned and checked out for Atlanta. The others kept on going through Meridian till they came to Vicksburg. On a Sunday they went to a church and sat down. After the reading of the Scripture the minister said to them, "Brothers, if you have any helpful message for the congregation, we would be pleased to hear it."[[@Bible:Acts 13:16]]16.???????? Paul got up and went to the pulpit. "My fellow Baptists and all who are serious about God," he began, "please give me your attention. The God of us Southerners favored our forefathers and blessed them while they were still in Europe. He gave them great strength when they fled from there, and for quite a few years he cared for them in the new land. He helped them overcome many Indian tribes and find a measure of security as the years passed. They had governors until the time of the Revolution, when they wanted their own rulers. God gave them Saul, and later David became President. Of David, God had these fine words to say: 'I have found David to he a man after my own heart, who will take seriously all my purposes.' Now just as God promised, he has raised up a descendant of David, a man named Jesus, to give freedom to this nation. John prepared the way for him by preaching that the entire nation should change its ways. In fact, while John was doing his thing, he said, "What do you think? That I am the one? No, indeed, but there is one coming after me whose shoes I am unworthy to shine."[[@Bible:Acts 13:26]]26.???????? "My brothers and fellow Americans who are serious about God, we have been let in on this idea of deliverance, even though the citizens of Atlanta, as well as their leaders, paid no attention to it nor the warnings of the Scriptures that are read in the church every Sunday. By condemning Jesus, they acted like the Bible said they would, and even though they could find no reason for killing him, they asked Pilate to give him the works. When they got through treating him as was to be expected, they took him down from the tree and buried him. But God made him alive again, and he was seen for a number of days by those who traveled with him from south Georgia to Atlanta, just as they are now telling the people about him. So it is, that we, too, are reminding you of the guarantee God made to our forefathers, and which he has made good on to us–their descendants–by raising up Jesus. It's like it says in Psalms 2: 'You are my boy; I myself fathered you for this day.' And when he said, 'I will restore to you David's dedication and David's faithfulness,' he was referring to raising Jesus from the dead, never again to be subjected to decay. In still another place it says, 'You won't let your special One die and rot.' Now as for David, he did a good job for God in his own generation, but then he died, joined his departed relatives, and rotted. But this One whom God raised did not rot. So let us make it clear to you, my brothers, that through Jesus forgiveness of sins is being offered to you, and anyone who accepts is cleared of all the things he couldn't get free of under the old system of legalism. So make sure that the warning spoken by the prophet doesn't apply to you:???????????? 'Look about you, you snobs, and get alarmed and get lost;????????????? Because I am doing my thing in your own day,????????????? A thing you wouldn't believe even if someone drew you a picture of it.’ "[[@Bible:Acts 13:42]]42.???????? Afterwards, as they were leaving, people urged them to come back next Sunday and tell them more about these things. In fact, after the meeting had broken up, many prominent people and active church workers followed Paul and Barney, who kept on discussing with them and persuading them to hold tight to the grace of God.[[@Bible:Acts 13:44]]44.???????? On the next Sunday, practically the whole town was there to hear about God's "idea." But when the good white folks saw such a crowd, they were eaten up with jealousy, and started arguing with Paul and smearing him. Paul and Barney, though, really laid it on the line and said, "We felt obligated to explain God's idea to you first, but since you cast it aside and don't consider yourselves candidates for spiritual life, we're going over to the outsiders, just as our Lord ordered us:????????????? 'I have put you as a light for the outsiders,????????????? As a way of life for all mankind.’ "[[@Bible:Acts 13:48]]48.???????? Upon hearing this, the outsiders were delighted and started cheering for the Lord's idea. All who were prepared put their faith in it, and the Lord's idea spread through the whole region.[[@Bible:Acts 13:50]]50.???????? The good white folks, however, got the Ladies Missionary Society and the town's leading men worked up, and they raised a big stink about Paul and Barney and ran them out of the city limits. Both of them told the crowd to go lump it, and then went on to Natchez. And the Lord's learners were just bubbling over with joy and Holy Spirit.[[@Bible:Acts 14]]Chapter 14[[@Bible:Acts 14:1]]1.???????? At Natchez the very same thing happened when they went to a white church and spoke so convincingly that a whole lot of both whites and blacks got together in the Lord. But there were some stubborn whites who collared the blacks and filled their minds with vicious things about the brothers. So Paul and Barney stuck with it for a long time and spoke their minds about the Lord, who upheld the message of his undeserved favor by allowing them to do miraculous and wonderful things. But the town was split in two, some siding with the whites and some with the apostles. So when they found out that some whites and blacks had ganged up with the big shots to beat them up and lynch them, they hightailed it to Louisiana and started telling the good news in the area around Baton Rouge and New Orleans.[[@Bible:Acts 14:8]]8.???????? Now in Baton Rouge there was this crippled guy who had been born that way and never had walked. He was listening to Paul talking, and when Paul saw that he had the kind of faith to get well on, he looked him in the eye and shouted, "Get up on your feet like you're supposed to!" And the man jumped up and started walking around.[[@Bible:Acts 14:11]]11.???????? Well, when the people saw what Paul had done they buzzed with excitement. "They're Supermen!" they yelled. So they were calling Barney "Father Divine" and Paul "Elijah Mohammed," since he was the chief talker. The leading Black Muslim of the city brought money and other stuff, and wanted to hold a mass meeting. When the apostles, Barney and Paul, got wind of it they blew a gasket. They grabbed a bullhorn and said to the crowds, "Brothers, what in the world are you doing? We are just ordinary people like you, offering you the opportunity of turning away from all this junk to the living God who made land and sky and sea and all that's in them. Previously he let uncommitted people pretty much go their own way–although he never did withdraw himself entirely–but continued to do you good by sending from heaven rains and bountiful harvests, and by filling your hearts with nourishment and happiness." Even with such straight talk they could hardly keep the crowds from almost worshipping them.[[@Bible:Acts 14:19]]19.???????? But some good white folks came down from Vicksburg and Natchez, and got the people on their side. They beat the tar out of Paul and then dragged him out of town, leaving him for dead. While the Christians were hovering over him, he got up and reentered the city. Next day he went with Barney to New Orleans. When they had spread the good news in that city and had made a lot of converts, they returned to Baton Rouge, Natchez and Vicksburg, putting some starch into the Lord's learners and encouraging them to stand firm in the faith. "We've got to put up with a lot of suffering," they said, "to get into the God Movement." They hand-picked some responsible leaders for each church, and after the ordination prayers they commended them to the Lord to whom they had committed their lives. They went all the way through Mississippi and came to Meridian, where they preached the Word. Then they went down to Hattiesburg and caught the bus back to Mobile, from which they had been set forward by God's grace for the task which they had accomplished.[[@Bible:Acts 14:27]]27.???????? Upon arriving, they called together the fellowship and reported on all the ways God had used them, and how he had opened the door of faith wide open to people of all races. They stayed on there with the Lord's learners for quite a spell.[[@Bible:Acts 15]]Chapter 15[[@Bible:Acts 15:1]]1.???????? So, some folks from Georgia came down and started telling the brothers that unless they held on to the traditions they couldn't be Christians. Paul and Barney got into a terrific argument and hassle with them. So it was decided that Paul and Barney and several others from there should go up to Atlanta and talk with the original apostles and responsible leaders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and they went through north Florida and various Negro sections, making clear the membership of all races and bringing a lot of happiness to all the brothers. Upon their arrival in Atlanta they were given a warm welcome by the church and the original apostles and the responsible leaders. Then they recounted the various ways God had used them. But some church members who believed in segregation got up and said, "They've got to be told to accept segregation and all the traditional rules."[[@Bible:Acts 15:6]]6.???????? The apostles and leaders put their heads together to look into this idea. After a heated discussion, Rock got up and said to them, "Brothers, you yourselves are aware that way back at the beginning God selected me as the one among you to preach the Word to other races so they could hear and become faithful. And God, the heart-knower, openly supported them by giving them the Holy Spirit the same as he did to us. And when, through their faith, he straightened out their lives, he didn't make the slightest distinction between us and them. Now then, why are you trying God's soul by putting a load on the backs of the Lord's learners which neither we nor our daddies were able to tote? Instead, we believe that they, exactly the same as we, are saved by the undeserved favor of the Lord Jesus."[[@Bible:Acts 15:12]]12.???????? Nobody in the group said a word, and they paid close attention while Paul and Barney were recounting the marvelous and wonderful things God did among the Negroes through them. After they got through talking, Jim said: "My brothers, listen to me, Simon has made clear just how God first looked around to find a group among the blacks to bear his Name. The words of the prophets fully support this when they say:?????????? " 'Later on I'll return, and I will rebuild the dilapidated home of David;????????????? I'll repair the things that have been vandalized, and completely remodel it,????????????? That the dregs of society may search out the Lord,????????????? And all races may claim my name for themselves,????????????? Says the Lord who makes this clear from the beginning.'????????????? "Therefore, I feel that we should not pester people from other races who are turning to God, but should advise them to steer clear of loose sex relations and to be extremely sensitive to and considerate of immature whites who have not outgrown their traditions,? since for generations these customs have been advocated on every Sabbath in every church throughout the South."[[@Bible:Acts 15:22]]22.???????? Then it occurred to the apostles and leaders, together with the whole fellowship, to appoint a committee to send to Mobile with Paul and Barney. They elected Joe, whom they called Barry, and Silas, men in whom the church had confidence, and wrote a letter which they sent by them. The letter said:????????????? "Greetings from the apostles and church officers to our black brothers at Mobile and the rest of Alabama and Tennessee. Since we heard that some of us have stirred you up and pushed you around with ideas we never approved of, we agreed unanimously to appoint a committee and send them to you with our dear Barney and Paul, men whose lives are dedicated to our Lord Jesus Christ. We have, therefore, sent Joe and Silas, who will personally tell you the same thing. For it occurred to the Holy Spirit and to us that we should not saddle you with any unnecessary burden other than that you be extremely sensitive to and considerate of immature whites who have not outgrown their traditions? and that you steer clear of loose sex relations. You'll be doing okay if you watch your step on these matters. Sincerely."[[@Bible:Acts 15:30]]30.???????? So they were sent on their way and went down to Mobile. There they called together the whole fellowship and delivered the letter. When the letter was read, the people were overjoyed by its encouragement. Then too, Joe and Silas, who were preachers themselves, encouraged and put starch into the brothers with a number of sermons. After they had spent some time there, they were given a warm send-off by the brothers and returned to their home church. Paul and Barney, however, stayed on in Mobile and joined with others in teaching and spreading the Lord's idea.[[@Bible:Acts 15:36]]36.???????? After a while Paul said to Barney, "Let's make another swing and drop in on the brothers in the various cities where we spread the Lord's idea and see how they're making out." Barney wanted to take John Mark with them again but Paul put his foot down. He wouldn't hear of taking along with them the guy who had deserted them in Mississippi and left them holding the bag. So they got into a knock-down, drag-out fight which ended in their separating from one another. Barney took Mark and caught the bus for South Carolina. Paul chose Silas and left after he was turned over to the Lord's grace by the brothers. He went through Alabama and Tennessee, pepping up the churches.[[@Bible:Acts 16]]Chapter 16[[@Bible:Acts 16:1]]1.???????? Later, he headed for Baton Rouge and New Orleans. There he ran into a learner named Timothy, the son of a very devout white woman, and whose father was a Negro. He was highly commended by the brothers in both Natchez and Baton Rouge. Paul was anxious to have him travel with him even though it was common knowledge that his father was a Negro, so he got him baptized into a white church because there was so much tension in that area. As they went from city to city they laid it on the members to stick by the decisions agreed upon by the original apostles and the responsible leaders in Atlanta. As a result the churches became more seasoned in the faith and their numbers were increasing daily.[[@Bible:Acts 16:6]]6.???????? So they traveled through Louisiana and Mississippi, but the Holy Spirit wouldn't let them tell the idea in Texas. Then they went on up into Missouri and thought about continuing to Kansas but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn't let them go there either. So they kept traveling through Missouri till they came to St. Louis. There Paul had a vision one night; he saw a man from the North standing and beckoning to him. "Come up North," the man said, "and give us a hand." So right after this vision they were trying to go into the North, confident that God had called them to spread the good news among them.[[@Bible:Acts 16:11]]11.???????? Well, they left St. Louis and crossed the Mississippi, and arrived the next day in Springfield, Ill. From there they went to Chicago, which is one of the largest cities in the North and a very important place. They decided to stop over there for a number of days. One Sunday they went down by the side of the lake where they got the impression a prayer meeting was held. They sat around and got to talking with some of the ladies who had come together. One lady named Lillian was a department store manager from Evanston, and a very devout person. She listened carefully to what Paul was saying and the Lord opened her heart to understand it. When she and her family were baptized, she extended an invitation, saying: "If you have considered me to be loyal to the Lord," she said, "please come and stay at my house."[[@Bible:Acts 16:16]]16.???????? One time on the way to prayer meeting they met this gal with the spirit of a whore who made a lot of money for her owners by practicing prostitution. She tagged along behind Paul and yelled, "These men are the servants of the Lord God Almighty. They're telling us how to be saved." This kept up over a long period. Finally Paul got a bellyful and turned to the spirit and said, "In the name of Jesus Christ I order you to come out of her." And it came out that instant! Now when her owners realized that she was ruined as a money-maker, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the police station and turned them over to the cops. "These hoods are outside agitators who are causing a riot in our city! They're spreading communistic and un-American ideas!" The crowd got worked up against them, and the cops ripped their clothes and beat them with their billies. After the cops had pretty well loused them up, they threw them in the clink and told the jailer to make sure they didn't escape. When he got that order he put them in maximum security and chained their feet to the bars.[[@Bible:Acts 16:25]]25.???????? Along about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing some hymns, and the prisoners were listening intently to them. All of a sudden there was a big earthquake that shook the jailhouse foundations. Immediately all the cell doors were opened, and everybody's shackles fell off. When the jailer woke up and saw the jail doors wide open, he pulled his pistol and was about to shoot himself, assuming that all the prisoners had escaped. Then Paul shouted at the top of his voice, "Don't hurt yourself! We're all on deck!" Asking for a flashlight, the jailer went in, and trembling like a leaf, he got Paul and Silas and led them outside. "Sirs," he said, "what must I do to be liberated?" They told him, "Put your faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be liberated." And he explained the Lord's idea to him and his whole family. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer brought them and washed their wounds, while he himself and his family were baptized at once. He invited them over to his house and set the table for them. He and the whole gang were as happy as a lark that he had put his faith in God.[[@Bible:Acts 16:35]]35.???????? When day came the judge sent word by the fuzzes to turn the men loose. The jailer greeted Paul with these words: "The judge has ordered you to be turned loose! Now you are free to go without any more trouble." But Paul replied, "They beat us publicly without a trial, denied our rights as American citizens, and threw us in the clink. And now they're kicking us out the back door? Not on your life! Let them come themselves and escort us out!" The cops went back and told the judge what had been said. They were all scared to death over the mention of rights as American citizens, so they came and pleaded with them, and escorted them out and begged them to please leave town. Paul and Silas then left the jail and went over to Lillian's house. When they had visited with the brothers and encouraged them, they took off.[[@Bible:Acts 17]]Chapter 17[[@Bible:Acts 17:1]]1.???????? They made their way to South Bend and Toledo, and came to Cleveland, where there was a WAP??church. As was customary for Paul, he went there and for three straight Sundays he argued with them from the scriptures, bringing out and setting forth that the Christ? had to die and be raised from the dead. "This Head, whom I'm telling you about," he said, "is Jesus." Some of them were convinced and joined up with Paul and Silas. The same was true of a large group of devout blacks and of a good number of prominent women.[[@Bible:Acts 17:5]]5.???????? But the good white folks became incensed and picked up some lowdown bums off the street, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They ransacked Jackson's house looking for Paul and Silas so they could turn them over to the mob. Not finding them, they dragged Jackson and some brothers before the city authorities and howled, "These outside agitators have come here, and Jackson has housed them. All of them are going against the laws of the Federal Government, claiming that there's a higher authority named Jesus." Listening to this stuff terribly upset the crow and the city authorities. They put Jackson and the others under bond and let them go.[[@Bible:Acts 17:10]]10.???????? At once the brothers sent Paul and Silas by night to Akron. Soon after arriving they attended a WAP church. Now the people in Akron were more open-minded than those in Cleveland, and they received the idea with great enthusiasm. They were studying the Bible every day to see if Paul was telling it like it is. The result was that many of them caught the idea, no small number of whom were prominent Negro men and women.[[@Bible:Acts 17:13]]13.???????? But when the good white folks from Cleveland found out that God's idea was now being set forth by Paul also in Akron, they came there and raised a big stink and got the crowds all worked up. The brothers then immediately sent Paul on a vacation while Silas and Tim were to stay there. Paul's escorts took him as far as Cincinnati, and returned with instructions to Silas and Tim to join him just at the earliest possible moment.[[@Bible:Acts 17:16]]16.???????? While Paul was waiting for them at Cincy he got sick at his stomach when he saw the city so full of church buildings of all denominations. So he got into dialogue with the good folks at the First WAP Church, and every day he handed out leaflets on the streets to passersby. Now some ministers of both liberal and conservative persuasion jumped him and said, "What's this gospel huckster trying to say? He seems to be a preacher of some very strange religion." (Paul was telling the good news that Jesus really was alive.) So they invited Paul to the Ministerial Association meeting and said, "We would like to know more about this new teaching of yours, for it surely sounds strange to us. We wish to know what it's all about." (Cincinnatians and their visitors, you know, do little else but discuss the latest fads and ideas.)[[@Bible:Acts 17:22]]22.???????? Paul then stood up before the Association and said, "Men of Cincinnati, I notice that in many ways you are extremely religious. For in going around and observing your sanctuaries, I even found one dedicated to 'The Unnamed God.' He whom you worship without naming, that's the one I'm telling you about. The God who made the universe and all that's in it, and who himself is Lord of land and sky, does not take up residence in a man-made sanctuary. Nor is he nourished by some handout from human beings, since he himself is the one who gives life and breath and everything else to all of us. It was he who made man, and from the one man, all the branches of humanity. He made it possible for them to live all over the world and he figured out and decided on when and where they were to flourish and live. He gave them a hunger for God, so they might grope for him and possibly find him, even though he is never very far from any one of us. For in him we come to life; in him we are motivated; in him we find meaning. As one of your own poets has put it:'For we are indeed his stock.'????????????? Since we are God's stock, we ought never to think of the Deity in terms of budgets or statistics or buildings–the product of man's craft and cunning. God used to excuse people when they didn't know better, but now he's making it clear to all people everywhere that they've got to change their ways. Because the appointed day is just about here when he'll judge the whole world on the justice they've done as measured by the Man whom he selected and validated, by raising him from the dead."[[@Bible:Acts 17:32]]32.???????? When they heard the bit about the "resurrection from the dead," some of them just hee-hawed, but others said, "We would like to hear more about this some time." That's the way it was when Paul left them. Some people did join up, though, and catch the idea, among whom were Dickerson, the secretary, and a lady named Doris, and several others.[[@Bible:Acts 18]]Chapter 18[[@Bible:Acts 18:1]]1.???????? After this Paul left Cincy and went to Louisville. There he met a Jew named Abrams, a native of Bavaria, with his wife, Priscilla, who had come to this country from Germany when Hitler ran all the Jews out of Berlin. Paul went over to their house and stayed with them, and since they had the same trade they worked together. (They were electricians by trade.) Every Sunday he held a discussion at the church to which he invited both whites and blacks.[[@Bible:Acts 18:5]]5.???????? Now when Silas and Tim arrived from up North, Paul was eaten up with the idea and laid it out plain to the white folks that Jesus is the Head. But when they objected and smeared him, he washed his hands of them and said, "Okay, let your guilt be nobody's but your own! I'm no longer responsible. From here on out I'm walking with the blacks." And he left there and went to the house of a dedicated Negro man named Tyler Justice, who lived next to the church. Reverend Crisp, the pastor of the church, and his whole family, had faith in the Lord, as did a number of Louisville people, and they were baptized.[[@Bible:Acts 18:9]]9.???????? One night Paul had a vision in which the Lord said, "Don't be scared, but say your piece and don't pull in your horns, because I'm in this with you. Nobody is going to lift a finger to hurt you, for there's a big group for me in this city." So he stayed on there a year and a half, teaching them God's idea.[[@Bible:Acts 18:12]]12.???????? During the time that Gelston was a district judge in Kentucky, the white folks organized against Paul, took him to court and prosecuted him on the grounds that "this man is getting people to break the law in the name of religion." Paul was about to speak in his defense when the judge said to the plaintiffs: "If this were a matter involving some illegal act or punishable crime, gentlemen, I would patiently hear your case. But if it is a question of theology and name-calling and religious bickering, you must settle it among yourselves. I refuse to rule on such matters." And he dismissed the case. They then jumped on the Reverend Sam Thomas, pastor of the church, and beat him up right there in the courtroom. And Judge Gelston would get involved no further with the affair.[[@Bible:Acts 18:18]]18.???????? After Paul had stayed on some days longer, he told the brothers good-bye and took a bus for Alabama. Abrams and Priscilla went with him. (He got a haircut in Bowling Green, for he had made a promise.) They arrived in Nashville and he left them there. He himself went to a church and got into a discussion with the whites. And even though they asked him to stay longer with them, he wouldn't hear of it. Telling them good-bye, he said, "Another day, God willing, I'll return to you." So he left Nashville and came to Birmingham. He went over to the church, and after greeting them he set out for Mobile. He spent a good bit of time there and then left again, making a swing through Mississippi and Louisiana, putting muscle on all the Lord's learners.[[@Bible:Acts 18:25]]25.???????? Now a white fellow named Oliver, a native of Jacksonville, arrived in Nashville. He was a fine speaker and a powerful Bible student. Well-taught himself in the Lord's Way, and spiritually aglow, he was speaking and teaching very accurately all that he knew about Jesus. His knowledge, however, went only up to the baptism by John. He began to be quite outspoken in the church, and when Abrams and Priscilla heard him they took him aside and explained for him God's Way in greater detail. He was anxious to go to Kentucky, so the brothers gave him a hand and wrote a letter of recommendation to the Lord's learners there. When he arrived, he was a big boost to those who, by God's undeserved favor, had become pilgrims of the Way. For he vigorously confronted the WAPs in public with proof from the Bible that Jesus is Head of the Movement.[[@Bible:Acts 19]]Chapter 19 [[@Bible:Acts 19:1]]1.???????? While Oliver was in Louisville, Paul headed northward till he came again to Birmingham. He found some learners there, and he asked them "when you came over to the faith, did you get Holy Spirit?" They said, "We heard no mention of Holy Spirit." "Then into what were you initiated?" "Into John's initiation." Paul replied, "John's initiation was a symbol of the changed life and he told the people that they may confidently trust in the one who would succeed him, that is, in Jesus." On getting this information, they were initiated into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul put his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came over them and they began tongue-talking and preaching. There were about a dozen men in all.[[@Bible:Acts 19:8]]8.???????? For a period of three months he attended a WAP church and in both discussions and debates he came on strong for the God Movement. But some of them turned up their noses, acted mean, and hurled abuse at the Way, in front of the crowds, so Paul parted company with them, withdrew his students, and went over to Birmingham-Southern College where he held discussions every day. This continued for about two years until the people of Alabama, both whites and blacks, heard the Lord's idea.[[@Bible:Acts 19:11]]11.???????? God was powerfully using Paul to do tremendous things. For example, bandannas and blue jeans which he had used were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the mean spirits left them.[[@Bible:Acts 19:13]]13.???????? Well, there was this team of traveling faith healers who made a try at using the Lord Jesus' name on people who had mean spirits. "I order you out in the name of the Jesus that Paul talks about," was their formula. (The men doing this were the seven sons of a white bishop by the name of Stevens.) But the mean-spirited man answered, "I know Jesus, and I'm acquainted with Paul, but who in hell are you?" With that, the mean-spirited man jumped all over them, pinned them down and beat the tar out of them. They escaped from the building with their clothes torn to shreds and bloody all over. News of this spread throughout Birmingham to whites and blacks alike. Everybody was pretty well shook up, and they had great respect for the name of the Lord Jesus. Many who believed came forward, publicly admitting and making a clean breast of their actions. A large number of hate-mongers brought their literature and burned it in front of everybody. They tallied up the value of it and it came to ten thousand dollars. With this kind of authority the Lord's idea spread and held sway.[[@Bible:Acts 19:21]]21.???????? It was after this that Paul decided to swing through the North again, back down to Kentucky and from there to Atlanta. "And then," he said, "I've got to visit Washington." So he sent two of his assistants, Tim and Ernest, up North, but he himself stayed on a while in Alabama. About that time a big hullabaloo regarding the Way broke out in Birmingham. A guy named De Mille, a contractor, who specialized in building churches and shrines, had some highly paid craftsmen whom, with other members of the union, he got worked up about what was going on. "Men, you realize that we make our living from this business," he said. "Now you can see and hear for yourselves, not only in Birmingham but throughout almost all of Alabama, that this Paul is persuading a lot of people to turn away. He is teaching that man-made buildings are not houses of God. By doing this, he not only casts a reflection on the union, but there is a real danger that he will completely discredit the Cathedral of the Blessed Holy Mother and destroy her preeminence–she who is respected in Alabama and the whole world."[[@Bible:Acts 19:28]]28.???????? 'Well, when they heard that, they blew a fuse and started shouting, "Blessed be the Holy Mother!" The whole city got embroiled in the controversy and they paraded to the park, dragging along two Yankees, Barry and Stocky, who were Paul's buddies. Paul wanted to address the mob, but his brothers wouldn't let him. Besides, some of the commissioners who were his friends sent word to him urging him to stay away from the park. All the while the mob was shouting first one thing and then another. There was such confusion that hardly any of them knew why they had come together. Someone in the crowd called for Alexander, who was a spokesman for the Protestants, to make a speech. Alexander motioned to the mob and tried to speak to them. But when they learned that he was a WAP, they shouted him down in union, and for a space of about two hours they chanted, "Blessed be the Holy Mother."[[@Bible:Acts 19:35]]35.???????? The city attorney finally quieted them down and said, "Citizens of Birmingham, is there anyone who is not aware of the reverence of this city for the Holy Mother and for the cathedral erected in her honor? Since nobody contradicts this, you ought to settle down now and do nothing foolish. For you have jumped on these men who are neither burners of churches nor smearers of our religion. So then, if De Mille and the union have a charge against anybody, the courts are available and there are judges; let them take their complaints there. Right now we are dangerously close to a riot. There's no excuse for this and we simply can't defend this senseless uproar!" With that he dispersed the crowd.[[@Bible:Acts 20]]Chapter 20[[@Bible:Acts 20:1]]1.???????? After the excitement died down, Paul called together the fellowship, and when he had reassured them he told them goodbye and left to go West. He traveled all through those parts and spoke the good word to them. Then he went to Texas and spent three months there. Just as he was about to leave for Alabama, the WAPs cooked up a plot against him, and when he got wind of it he headed towards the North. In the party by now were Searcy Powell, a native of Akron; Stocky and Seymour from Cleveland; Garry and Tim from New Orleans; and Tic and Troy from Alabama. They all went on ahead and waited for the rest of us in St. Louis. After Thanksgiving we caught a bus in Houston and joined them in St. Louis where we stayed a week. On Sunday night we all gathered for a church supper, and Paul spoke. He kept going until midnight since he was planning to leave next day. It was hot and stuffy in the upstairs room where we were meeting. A young fellow named Eubanks was sitting in the window, and while Paul preached on and on, he dozed off and fell sound asleep. He was really sawing wood when all of a sudden he fell out the window to the ground three stories below. He was dead when we got to him. But Paul rushed down, knelt beside him and put his arms around him. "Don't y'all get upset," he said, "he's still breathing." Then Paul went back upstairs, fixed a sandwich and ate it, began a lengthy discussion that lasted till daybreak, and then left. Those in the party took the boy, Eubanks, home alive, and were thrilled no end about that.[[@Bible:Acts 20:13]]13.???????? Now Paul told us to go ahead of him and catch the bus for Litchfield, since he would be coming there but planned to walk. When he joined us at Litchfield, we went on up to Springfield and from there to Peoria. The next day we went to LaSalle and then to Joliet. Paul thought it best to bypass Chicago so he wouldn't waste a lot of time in traffic. He was anxious to get to Atlanta if at all possible by the Christmas holidays. So he phoned from Joliet for the church leaders in Chicago to meet him down there. When they arrived, he said to them, "You all are fully aware of my conduct all the while I was with you from the very first day I was in Illinois. With a humble mind I enslaved myself to the Lord in the midst of the sorrows and trials that came my way from the plots of the WAPS. I didn't hesitate to tell you anything that might benefit you, as I taught you both publicly and privately. Before whites and blacks alike I stood for the changed life under God and complete trust in our Lord Jesus. And now listen, I feel spiritually compelled to go to Atlanta. Just what will happen to me there I do not know, except that wherever I turn the Holy Spirit makes it clear to me that jail and trouble are waiting for me. But I put no value at all on my life, so as to make good at my job and appointment which I got from the Lord Jesus, that is, being an example of the good news of God's undeserved favor. And now listen, I realize that you all among whom I've gone around telling about the Movement will never see me again. So I want to go on record that I am no longer responsible for you all, for I have never hesitated to lay before you God's total purpose. Keep an eye on yourselves, as well as on the whole group over which the Holy Spirit made you guardians. Take good care of God's fellowship, which He has brought together around the death of his Son. I'm convinced that after my departure greedy wolves will come among you who won't have the slightest concern for the fellowship. Even from your own ranks there will arise men who will distort the truth just to get the Christians to come over to their camp. So really stay on your toes, remembering that night and day I never stopped nourishing you with tender concern. And now I'm turning you over to the Lord and to the idea of his undeserved favor–the idea that's capable of expanding you and giving you the inheritance which falls to the committed. I haven't wanted anybody's money or car or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my needs and for those of the others with me. In every way I made it plain to you that the strong should work like that and give a hand to the weak, keeping in mind the words of the Lord Jesus when he said, "It is more noble to share than to get."[[@Bible:Acts 20:36]]36.???????? When he had finished, he knelt down with the whole group and prayed. Everybody started crying their eyeballs out as they put their arms around Paul and kissed him and kissed him. What made them especially sad were his words that they would never see him again. Then they took him to the bus station.[[@Bible:Acts 21]]Chapter 21[[@Bible:Acts 21:1]]1.???????? The bus pulled out and we left them, making the first stop at Gary, the next one at Plymouth and from there we went to Ft. Wayne, where we changed buses and got on one going to Columbus. We barely missed Kentucky on the way to Charleston, West Virginia, where the bus unloaded a lot of baggage. We looked up some of the brothers there and decided to stop over with them for a week. They too, under the leadership of the Spirit, warned Paul not to continue to Atlanta. But when our visit was over, we packed up to leave and all of them, even the women and children, went with us to the bus station. After a period of prayer together, we got on the bus and they returned to their homes.[[@Bible:Acts 21:7]]7.???????? When our bus left Charleston, we made it to Columbia, S.C., and stopped over a day to greet the brothers there. Next day we left for Augusta, and on arriving we were taken to the home of Philip the missionary (one of the original seven deacons), where we stayed. Philip had four unmarried daughters who were ministers. While we were spending some time there a preacher by the name of Albert arrived from Georgia. He came by to see us, and taking Paul's belt he tied himself hand and foot and said, "Here's what the Holy Spirit is saying: 'The white folks in Atlanta are going to tie up the owner of this belt and hand him over to a mob.’ " Well, when we heard that, we and the local people practically got down on our knees to keep Paul from going on to Atlanta. But his reply was, "What do you mean crying and tearing my heart out? For I am prepared not only to go to jail in Atlanta but also to die for the name of our Lord Jesus." Unable to persuade him, we resigned ourselves and said, "Let the Lord's will run its course."[[@Bible:Acts 21:15]]15.???????? After a few days we packed up and left for Atlanta, accompanied by some of the Augusta members. They took us to the home of a very early Christian, a man from Kentucky named Manson, who was to be our host. The brothers in Atlanta received us joyfully when we got there.[[@Bible:Acts 21:18]]18.???????? Next day Paul and we had an appointment with Jim, who was joined by all the church leaders. After Paul had greeted them, he explained point by point how God had used him to reach the blacks. They praised God for what they heard, but they said, "You can see for yourself, brother, how many thousands of white Southerners have joined the church, and they are all on fire for the old time religion. Now they have been warned about you, that you are teaching people in other parts of the country to disregard the Bible, not to keep their children segregated, and to go contrary to our customs. Surely they're going to hear that you've come, and then what? Well, here's what we advise you to do. There are four men here who are candidates for baptism. Take them to church with you during the revival, give them some money for the offering, and do all you can to prepare them for baptism. Then everybody will know that there's nothing to the warnings they got about you, but that you really do stand for all the old time religion. We might say, however, regarding the Negro converts, we did send them a letter urging them to be extremely sensitive to and considerate of immature whites who have not outgrown their traditions, and to avoid loose sex relations."? Then Paul took the men to the revival next day, told how he was giving them candidates' instruction, and when they expected to be baptized.[[@Bible:Acts 21:29]]29.???????? Just as the week of revival was about to end, some WAPs from Alabama spied him in the church and whipped up the people against him. They grabbed hold of him and shouted, "Fellow Southerners, help us. This is the man who turns people everywhere against good white folks and the Bible and the church. And worse, he has even brought a nigger into the church and broke up our fine spirit of Christian unity and fellowship." (For they had previously seen Troy, a Negro from Chicago, in town with him and had assumed that Paul had taken him to the revival too.) The whole crowd got excited and a mob started forming. They jumped Paul, dragged him out of the sanctuary, and then the doors were locked. They were giving Paul the works when somebody phoned the police that there was about to be a riot in Atlanta. Right away the chief got some cops and rushed to the scene. When they saw the chief and the cops they quit beating on Paul. Then the chief came over, arrested him, and ordered him to be handcuffed. He began inquiring who he was and what he had done, but some of the mob yelled one thing and others another. Because of the ruckus, the chief couldn't find out anything definite, so he ordered Paul to be taken to city hall. They started up the steps with him but the crowd was so violent that the cops had to protect him. The whole bunch was hot after him, screaming, "Kill him."[[@Bible:Acts 21:37]]37.???????? They were about to go into city hall when Paul said to the chief, "Please let me have a word with you." "So, you have a Southern accent," the chief said. "Then you're not the Yankee agitator who started that riot in Memphis?" Paul said, "I'm a native Southerner, from Tallahassee, Florida, a very reputable city. Now I beg you, let me speak to the crowd." The chief agreed, so Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence. When they quieted down, he began talking to them in his Southern accent:[[@Bible:Acts 22]]Chapter 22[[@Bible:Acts 22:1]]1.???????? "My brothers and fathers, gentlemen: please listen carefully to me now as I explain my position." 'When they heard that he had a Southern accent they listened all the more quietly. He continued, "I am a Southerner, born in Tallahassee, Florida, but reared in this city. I was graduated from Georgia Tech and was about as straitlaced, dyed-in-the-wool WAP as any of you here today. In fact, I was one of the ring leaders of those trying to stamp out this Way, trumping up charges against both men and women, as the White Citizens Council will affirm. Indeed, the officers supplied me with warrants and I was going to Chattanooga to arrest the brothers there and bring them bound to Atlanta for sentencing. Well, it so happened that when I stopped about noon on the outskirts of Chattanooga, all of a sudden a brilliant light from the sky engulfed me. I fell to the pavement, and heard a voice saying to me 'Saul! Saul! Why are you so mean to me?' And I answered, 'Who are you, sir?' Then he said to me, 'I am Jesus from Valdosta, whom you're harassing.' (Now the fellows who were with me saw the light, but they didn't understand what was said to me.) 'What shall I do, sir?' I asked. And the Lord said to me, 'Get up now and go on in to Chattanooga, and there you'll be informed of all that's been mapped out for you.' Because I was blinded by the brightness of the light, the fellows with me had to lead me till I got to Chattanooga. Well, there was this guy named Harry, a Southerner from an old-line family, as any of the white people around there can tell you, and he came and stood up to me and said, 'Saul, brother, look up.' And at that very moment I looked up at him. 'The God of our founding fathers,' he said, 'has selected you to understand his purpose, to meet his Just One, and to hear his message straight from his mouth; because you are to be a faithful witness to all mankind of the things which you experience. So, what's the next step now? Come on, be initiated, scrub off your sins, and identify yourself as a Christian.'[[@Bible:Acts 22:17]]17.???????? "When I went back to Atlanta I had a vision while I was praying at the church. I saw Him as he spoke to me, 'Don't waste a minute getting out of Atlanta right now, because they're not going to tolerate your faithfulness to me.' And I said, 'But Lord, they themselves fully understand that I was going from church to church arresting and beating those who walked in your way. And when your faithful Stephen was lynched, I myself was standing there, giving my approval and holding their coats while they did him in.' But he said to me, 'Get moving, because I will make you a friend of blacks.’ "[[@Bible:Acts 22:22]]22.???????? They were listening to him until he said that word, and then they began screaming, "Send him back to Russia! He's got no right to live here!" While they were yelling bloody murder, working themselves into a lather and throwing pop bottles, the chief ordered Paul to be taken into city hall and told some of the cops to work him over to see if they could find out just why the mob was after his hide. As they were getting ready to do this, Paul asked an officer who was standing there, "Is it lawful to deny an American citizen his constitutional rights before you've even tried him?" At that the officer went to the chief and said, "You'd better be careful what you do, because this cat's talking about his 'constitutional rights.’ " So the chief went to him and said, "Tell me, are you thinking about taking this into the Federal courts?" He said, "I certainly am." And the chief said, "It costs an awful lot of money to fight for 'constitutional rights.' " To which Paul replied, "But they are mine by birth!" So right away those who were about to work him over left off. And the chief was scared because he had arrested Paul and he might get involved in the Federal court.[[@Bible:Acts 22:30]]30.???????? The chief wanted to know just what to charge Paul with, so the next day he called together some of the leading citizens, including the bishop, and brought Paul from his cell and stood him before them.[[@Bible:Acts 23]]Chapter 23[[@Bible:Acts 23:1]]1.???????? Paul looked them in the eye and said, "Gentlemen and brothers, to this very day I have lived my life before God with a clear conscience." Bishop Harry told those standing near Paul to slap him. Then Paul said to him, "God will slap you, you damned hypocrite! You're sitting there passing judgment on my orthodoxy and in an unorthodox manner you order me to be slapped?" Somebody next to Paul asked him, "Are you insulting God's bishop?" Paul replied, "I was unaware, brothers, that he was a bishop. For the Bible says, 'You must not cuss an official of your church.’ "[[@Bible:Acts 23:6]]6.???????? Paul noticed that some in the group were Unitarians and some were Baptists, so he called out: "Gentlemen and brothers, I myself am a Baptist, the son of a Baptist. I am being tried on the issue of whether there is hope and newness of life for the dead." When he said this, the Baptists and the Unitarians started feuding, and the group was split. (For the Unitarians don't believe in the resurrection or angels or the spirit, while the Baptists believe in all of them.) There was a monstrous hubbub. Some of the Baptist preachers jumped up and loudly asserted: "'We see nothing bad in this fellow. Maybe an angel spoke to him, or a spirit." It looked like the argument was reaching the knock-down, drag-out stage, and the chief was afraid they would pull Paul apart. So he told the cops to go in and rescue him and take him back to city hall.[[@Bible:Acts 23:11]]11.???????? On the next night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, "Keep your chin up, because you've got to stand up for me in Washington just as you have here in Atlanta."[[@Bible:Acts 23:12]]12.???????? A day later the Klan hatched a plot, swearing to themselves that they wouldn't eat or drink till they had lynched Paul. There were more than forty of them in on this deal. They went to some of the local bigwigs and said, "Look, we've sworn not to eat anything till we've gotten rid of that Paul. Now you all try to arrange another hearing for him as though you wanted to get more information, and have the chief bring him over to the court house. We'll be ready to gun him down on the way over."[[@Bible:Acts 23:16]]16.???????? But the son of Paul's sister overheard the plot, went to the city jail and told Paul about it. Paul called one of the guards and said, "Take this young fellow to the chief; he has something to tell him." The guard then took him to the chief. "That prisoner, Paul," he said, "called and asked me to bring this young follow to you. Says he has something to tell you." The chief took him by the hand, went aside privately with him and asked, "What is it you want to tell me?" The youth said, "The Klan has plotted to ask you to bring Paul to the courthouse tomorrow as though there would be another hearing on his case. But don't you let them trick you into it, because there are more than forty men in on the deal and they've sworn they won't eat or drink anything till they've wiped him out. They're ready right now, just waiting for you to give your permission." The chief then let the boy go. "But don't you dare tell a soul," he warned, "that you have tipped me off."[[@Bible:Acts 23:23]]23.???????? He then rang for two of his lieutenants. "Get your squads ready to go to Augusta at nine o'clock tonight. Be prepared for anything, and have a special car to take Paul in and to see that he gets to Federal Judge Felton." He wrote a letter along this line:???????????? "From Claud Lyman, to His Honor, Judge Felton, greetings: This man fell into the hands of a white mob that was about to lynch him. Being aware that he has certain constitutional rights, I sent my men to rescue him. Wanting to find out what charge they had against him, I took him before a meeting of them. But I found they were mad at him because of some religious matters of their own, and that there were no valid legal charges to bring against him. Then when I got wind of a plot against the man, I immediately sent him to you and told his accusers to lay their case before you."[[@Bible:Acts 23:31]]31.???????? The policemen carried out their orders. That night they took Paul as far as Athens. The next day the squad car went on with him, and the others returned to Atlanta. Upon arriving in Augusta they delivered the letter to the judge and turned Paul over to him. The judge read the letter, and asked what state the prisoner was from. Being informed that Paul was from Florida, he said, "I'll hear your case when your accusers arrive." He ordered him to be held in the Federal jail.[[@Bible:Acts 24]]Chapter 24[[@Bible:Acts 24:1]]1.???????? Five days later Bishop Harry and some church officials,? along with a lawyer named Turner, showed up to press the charges against Paul before the judge. When court convened, Turner was called upon to present the charges. He said "Your honor, because of you we are enjoying law and order, and through your wise counsel many worthwhile changes have come about. For this we are abundantly and unceasingly grateful. But lest I weary you further, I'll get down to brass tacks, asking that you hear me with your usual patience. For our investigation shows that this man– this public pest–incites riots among the good white folks wherever he goes, and that he is a spark plug in the Valdostan gang. He was disturbing divine worship, so we arrested him. When you examine him, you'll be able to tell for yourself that all these charges we have against him are true." The white folks backed him up, claiming that he had accurately presented the facts.[[@Bible:Acts 24:10]]10.???????? The judge now nodded to Paul to speak, and he began: "Knowing that you have had long experience as a judge in this district, I gladly lay the facts of my case before you. As you can easily find out, it has been no more than twelve days since I went to Atlanta to worship. But they never found me arguing in the church sanctuary or causing a public disturbance, either in the churches or in the streets. Nor are they able to prove to you the charges they now have against me. I do admit this to you, however, that I serve our Father-God as a member of what they call a ‘gang.’ I believe in the Bible from cover to cover. I have a confidence in God which they themselves support–that he will raise both the just and the unjust. I constantly give myself workouts in this so as to have a clear conscience toward God and my fellowman.[[@Bible:Acts 24:17]]17.???????? "Having been away for some years, I had the desire to return, and to make an offering and go to worship with my own people. While doing this, I was sitting quietly in the sanctuary. I had no crowd; I created no commotion. But I was set upon by some hoods from Alabama, who should be present now, and present their charges to you if they have anything against me. Or for that matter, let these gentlemen right here state what they found me guilty of when I appeared before the Council–unless perhaps it was for this one statement I made as I stood before them: 'I am being tried before you today on the issue of newness of life for the dead.’ "[[@Bible:Acts 24:22]]22.???????? Then Judge Felton, who had some inside dope on the Way, recessed court. "When Chief Lyman comes," he said, "I'll hear you further on this case." He ordered the marshal to keep him in custody, but to grant him every privilege and to let his friends visit and wait on him.[[@Bible:Acts 24:24]]24.???????? Some time later, Judge Felton and his wife, Drusilla, a member of the DAR, sent for Paul to hear him talk about the Christian faith. But when Paul got on the subject of justice, integrity and eternal judgment, Judge Felton got scared and said, "I've had enough for now; you may go. When I have another opportunity, I'll call you again." All the while, though, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. This was the real reason he fetched him so often and chatted with him.[[@Bible:Acts 24:27]]27.???????? Two years passed, and "Porky" Foster succeeded Judge Felton. Wishing to please the good white folks, Felton left Paul in jail.[[@Bible:Acts 25]]Chapter 25[[@Bible:Acts 25:1]]1.???????? Three days after Foster took office, he went to Atlanta from Augusta. There some influential WAPs brought up the subject of Paul and tried to get Judge Foster to do them a favor by summoning Paul to Atlanta for trial. (They had a scheme to kill him on the way there.) But Judge Foster's answer was: "Paul is being kept in Augusta, and I myself plan to return there soon. Let your lawyers go over there with me, and if he has done something illegal, let them press the charges against him."[[@Bible:Acts 25:6]]6.???????? He spent no more than eight or ten days with them and returned to Augusta. The next day he convened court and ordered Paul's case to be called. During the proceedings, the whites who had come from Atlanta leveled many serious accusations against him, but they couldn't make them hold any water. In making his defense, Paul denied that he had committed any crime against the laws and customs of local whites, against the church, or against the Federal government. But Judge Foster, with an eye to making himself popular with the good white folks, asked Paul, "Would you be willing to go to Atlanta and let me hear your case there?" Paul replied, "I am standing in a Federal court right now, where I should be tried. I have done no harm to the white people, as you yourself know beyond all doubt. If indeed I have broken a law, or committed some crime punishable even by death, I ask for no mercy. But if there's no basis for the things these people are charging me with, nobody can let them put their cotton picking hands on me! I'm appealing to the Supreme Court!"[[@Bible:Acts 25:12]]12.???????? Judge Foster then conferred with his associates, and gave Paul an answer. "You have appealed to the Supreme Court. To the Supreme Court you shall go."[[@Bible:Acts 25:13]]13.???????? Well, the days passed and Governor Griffin and his wife Bernice went to Augusta to pay their respects to Judge Foster. After they had visited a while, Judge Foster mentioned Paul's case to the Governor. "You know, there's a fellow here who was left in jail by Felton, and when I went to Atlanta, some influential whites approached me about him and asked that I sentence him. But I told them that it is not constitutional to sentence any accused person before he has had his day in court, and has been confronted with his accusers. So when they got together here, I made no postponement. The very next day I convened court and ordered the fellow to be brought in. The plaintiffs stated their case, but they presented no evidence of the crime which I had presumed. Instead, they had only disputes with him about their own religious doctrines and about some Jesus guy who had died and whom Paul swore was still alive. Being in doubt as to how to proceed on such matters, I asked Paul if he would be willing to go to Atlanta and stand trial there concerning them. But he chose to appeal to the Supreme Court for a decision, so I ordered him to be held until I could send him there." Governor Griffin said to Judge Foster, "I'd like a chance to hear the man myself." "Okay," he said, "you shall hear him tomorrow."[[@Bible:Acts 25:23]]23.???????? So Governor Griffin and Bernice arrived next day with a great show and entered the court room. With them were some high brass and government dignitaries of the city. Judge Foster ordered Paul to be brought in, and said, "Governor Griffin and all you gentlemen present with us, this man you see here is the one about whom a lot of good white folks have approached me both in Atlanta and here. They yell to high heaven, claiming he shouldn't be allowed to live any longer. But my investigation showed that he had committed no capital crime and so when he appealed to the Supreme Court, I granted it. Yet I have nothing specific about him to present to them. The reason then that I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, Governor Griffin, is that on the basis of this inquiry I might have something to present. For it seems ridiculous to me to send a prisoner without stating the charges against him."[[@Bible:Acts 26]]Chapter 26[[@Bible:Acts 26:1]]1.???????? So Governor Griffin said to Paul, "You may now state your own position." Then Paul raised his hand and began his defense:??????????? "In regard to everything of which I am accused by white people, Governor Griffin, I consider it a privilege to make my defense today before you, especially since you are well acquainted with the various customs and beliefs of white American Protestants. Please, then, listen patiently to me.??????????? "All the whites are acquainted with my past–that I was brought up as a kid in Atlanta among my own people. They have known all along, if they would but speak up, that I was reared a Baptist, one of the most orthodox Protestant sects. And now I'm being condemned for having confidence in the guarantee which God made with our forefathers, a guarantee which our whole denomination pins its hopes on during its round of activities. For such confidence, Governor, I am damned–by white Christians! Why do you all consider it heresy to believe that God raises the dead???????????? "Indeed, I myself thought I should do all I could to stop the Jesus movement. And so I got right to work in Atlanta. I was appointed as a deputy by the authorities, and personally jailed a number of the members. Not only that, but when they were killed, I voted in favor of it. Many a time I even went into the churches and put the heat on them trying to make them chuck it all. I was so terribly brain-washed that I hunted them down in the outlying cities. On one such mission I was going to Chattanooga at the request of the authorities, and about noon, Your Excellency, I saw a light more brilliant than the sun coming from the sky and shining on me and those traveling with me. We all fell on the pavement and I heard a voice saying to me with a Southern accent, 'Saul! Saul! Why are you so mean to me? It's rough on you when you take the bit in your own teeth.' And I said, 'Who are you, sir?' Then the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you're harassing. But get up and stand on your own two legs. Now here's why I've appeared to you: I have selected you to be a trustee and a faithful witness of what you're seeing now and of what I'll show you in the future. I'm singling you out from your own people and from other races, to whom I'm sending you. You are to open their eyes, to face them from the darkness toward the light, and from Satan's authority to God's; to take them freedom from wrongs and an inheritance among those who have been set apart by a faith rooted in me.'[[@Bible:Acts 26:19]]19.???????? "So then, Governor Griffin, I was not callous to the spiritual encounter. Instead, I began telling the people first in Chattanooga and Atlanta, and later through all the country–both whites and blacks–to reshape their lives and face toward God, backing it up with actions which follow a changed life. It was for this, sir, that the whites grabbed me in the sanctuary and tried to tear me to pieces. But I took hold of God's hand, and to this very day I stand, telling it straight to both high and low. I'm saying nothing but what the Bible has said all along–that the Leader? would be killed, that he as the first of a raising of the dead, would herald the dawn to people of all races."[[@Bible:Acts 26:24]]24.???????? At this point in Paul's argument, Judge Foster loudly interrupted, "You're nuts, Paul. Too much education has driven you nutty." Paul replied, "Most honorable Judge Foster, I am not nuts. I am but speaking the sober truth. The Governor understands these things. I can discuss them freely with him, for I am convinced that not one of these things has escaped his memory. After all, it's no deep, dark secret! Governor Griffin, you believe the Bible, don't you? Of course you believe it." But Griffin said to Paul, "You are trying to get me to be a Christian with a minority!" Paul said, "I wish to God, whether in a minority or in a majority, not only you but all the people who are listening to me today were in my situation–except for being in jail."[[@Bible:Acts 26:30]]30.???????? The Governor, the judge, Bernice and those sitting with them got up and as they went out they were discussing it among themselves. "This fellow isn't doing a thing that deserves either death or a jail term," they said. And Governor Griffin told Foster, "This man could be turned loose if he hadn't appealed to the Supreme Court."[[@Bible:Acts 27]]Chapter 27???????? [At this point, and continuing through 28:15, we return with Paul to the original setting in the first century. This passage is simply a travelogue of Paul's journey to Rome (Washington). To put it in a modern setting and remain within even remote range of the text would not only be well nigh impossible, but would add little or nothing to an understanding of it. By making the trip with Paul aboard the ancient sailing vessel, we'll probably get more "feel" for it than if we were flying with him on a twentieth century jet. At least we'll breathe a wee bit easier through the "wreck" episode!][[@Bible:Acts 27:1]]1.???????? Now when the decision was made to ship us out for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were put in the custody of a Captain Julius of the Emperor's Corps. With Aristarchus, from Thessalonica, Macedonia, we boarded a ship from Adramyttium which was heading for various places in Asia, and set sail. The next day we put into Sidon. Now Julius treated Paul like a human being and let him contact his friends to get what items he needed. We pulled out of there and, due to the head winds, we sailed behind Cyprus, then across the sea opposite Cilicia and Pamphylia until we came to Myra, Lycia. The captain located an Alexandrian boat there which was sailing for Italy, so he loaded us on it. For several days we inched along and just barely made it to Cnidus. Unable to continue against the wind, we sailed around Salmone and down behind Crete. We stayed close to shore and had a real rough time making it to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea on the island of Crete.[[@Bible:Acts 27:9]]9.???????? A lot of time had gotten away from us and it was already dangerous to sail, since it was past Thanksgiving. Paul cautioned them, "Men, it's clear to me that if you continue the voyage it will result in much damage and loss not only to the cargo and ship but to us as well." But Captain Julius was influenced more by the skipper and the ship owner than by Paul's advice. And since it wasn't a suitable harbor for wintering in, the majority favored getting out and trying to make it to Phoenix, to winter there. It's a harbor on Crete that faces southwest and northwest.[[@Bible:Acts 27:13]]13.???????? When the wind started blowing from the south, they thought they had it made, so they weighed anchor and sailed along just off the shore of Crete. It wasn't long, though, till Hurricane Euraquilla hit her. It lashed the boat so hard that we couldn't head her into the wind, so we gave up and were swept along. When we ran behind a little island called Clauda we managed, with great difficulty, to make the lifeboat secure. We pulled it on board and used some ropes to lash it to the ship. They were afraid they might run aground on the Syrtis sand banks, so they hauled down the mainsail and let her drift. On the next day we were taking an awful beating from the storm, and they dumped the cargo overboard. The day following they tore loose with their bare hands the ship's furnishings. Neither sun nor stars shone for days on end, and with no small hurricane pounding us, we finally gave up all hope of surviving.[[@Bible:Acts 27:21]]21.???????? After they had gone several days without food, Paul then said to them as they huddled together, "Fellows, you should have followed my advice and never left Crete, and we wouldn't have had all this damage and loss. But now forget it and keep your chins up. Not a man of you will lose his life, but we will lose the ship. For last night there stood beside me an angel of the God to whom I belong and to whom I give my allegiance, and he said to me, 'Don't let this scare you, Paul, because you've got to appear before Caesar. Now listen, God has made it possible for the whole company to come through with you.' So brighten up, fellows; I trust God to do exactly as he told me. However, we've got to be wrecked on some island."[[@Bible:Acts 27:27]]27.???????? About midnight of the fourteenth day, as we were being driven along in the Adriatic, the sailors had a hunch that we were approaching land. So they sank a line and found that the depth was twenty fathoms (120 feet). They waited a little while and sank the line again. This time it was fifteen fathoms (90 feet). Fearing that we might be cast up on a jagged shore, they threw out four anchors from the stern and kept their fingers crossed, hoping for daylight.[[@Bible:Acts 27:30]]30.???????? Now the sailors tried to escape from the ship by lowering the lifeboat into the sea and pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the ship. But Paul said to the captain and the guards, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you all can't be saved." Then the guards cut the lifeboat's ropes and let her drift.[[@Bible:Acts 27:33]]33.???????? Just before dawn Paul urged everybody to eat something. "You have been on duty fourteen days today," he said, "and you've gone without food all that time. So come on now, y'all eat something. You'll need the strength to get through this alive, for not a one of you is going to lose a hair on his head." After saying this, he took a loaf of bread, gave thanks in front of everybody, broke off a chunk and began eating it. They all grinned and began digging in themselves. (There were two hundred and seventy-six of us on the ship). Having eaten all they could hold, they threw the flour into the sea to make the ship lighter.[[@Bible:Acts 27:39]]39.???????? Dawn came, but they didn't recognize the land. They spotted a cove with a beach, on which they planned to save the ship if at all possible. So they cut loose the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time, they loosened the rudder yokes, hoisted the front sail to the wind and headed for the beach. But they struck an underwater reef and grounded the ship. The bow stuck so tight it wouldn't budge, while the stern was cracking up from the violence of the waves.[[@Bible:Acts 27:42]]42.???????? It was the guards' intention to kill the prisoners so as to keep any of them from swimming ashore and escaping. The captain, however, intent on saving Paul, turned thumbs down to their plan. He ordered all who could swim to jump off first and check out for land, and the rest to make it on planks or whatever they could get hold of from the ship. In this way everybody made it safely to shore.[[@Bible:Acts 28]]Chapter 28[[@Bible:Acts 28:1]]1.???????? Later, when all were safe, we discovered that we were on the island of Malta. The local people were unusually friendly to us. Because it was cold and still raining they built a fire and invited us all in. Paul gathered quite a pile of wood, and as he was putting some on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. When the local people saw the critter still hanging on his hand, they said to each other, "Surely this guy is a murderer. Even though he survived the wreck, justice has finally caught up with him." Paul just shook the critter off into the fire and wasn't harmed a bit. They expected him to start swelling and to keel over dead any minute. After waiting a long while and noticing nothing unusual happening to him, they changed their tune. "He's a god!" they said.[[@Bible:Acts 28:7]]7.???????? The head man of the island, a fellow named Publius, owned some land in that area, and he put us up for three days and treated us royally. Publius' father was sick in bed with dysentery, and had a fever. Paul went to see him and prayed for him, then touched him with his hand and healed him. When this happened, all the rest of the people on the island who had sick ones brought them and had them healed. They even honored us with the very finest things they had, and when we left, they loaded us with everything we needed.[[@Bible:Acts 28:11]]11.???????? After spending three months there we set sail in an Alexandrian ship, the Gemini, which had wintered in the island. We arrived at Syracuse, spent three days there, and after a rather circuitous route, we made it to Rhegium. Next day the wind began blowing from the south, and two days later we reached Puteoli. We contacted some brothers there who invited us to spend the week with them.[[@Bible:Acts 28:15]]15.???????? And at last we made it to Rome! News about us had already reached the brothers there, and they came out and met us at Apius' store and Three Taverns. When Paul saw them he thanked God and perked up. In Rome itself Paul was permitted to live privately, but with a guard assigned to him.???????? (The scene changes, and Paul is once again our contemporary. He is in Washington to present his "case" to the Supreme Court.)[[@Bible:Acts 28:17]]17.???????? Three days after arriving, Paul called a meeting of some of the prominent whites, and when they had assembled he said to them, "Gentlemen and brothers, I am indeed a person who has in no way turned against my own people or their revered traditions. Yet I was jailed in Atlanta by the police, who examined me and wanted to release me, since I was guilty of violating no laws. But some hotheaded whites were gunning for me and I was forced to appeal to the Supreme Court, though I had no complaint against white people as such. So that's the reason I called you together–to see and talk with you personally. For the sake of the white man’s only hope I have this chain draped around my neck." They said to him, "Why, we have received no letters from the white people about you, nor have any of the brothers come here and reported or spoken any bad thing about you. But we are anxious to hear what you're thinking, because we do know that this offshoot belief is being attacked everywhere." They arranged another day with him, and a larger group came over to his house. He put his cards on the table, sharing his experiences in the God Movement and proving from the Scriptures the things about Jesus. The discussion lasted all day. Some were convinced by his arguments, but others couldn't take it. They got into an awful squabble and left. As they did, Paul took one final shot. "The Holy Spirit spoke so aptly through the prophet Isaiah when he said to your fathers:????????????? 'Go to these people and tell them,????????????? "You strain your ears and never catch on,?????????????? You strain your eyes and never see the point."?????????????? For the hearts of these people are hard,?????????????? And their ears are dull,?????????????? And their eyes are dim.?????????????? Otherwise, their eyes might see,?????????????? And their ears might hear,?????????????? And their hearts might melt,?????????????? And they might turn my way,?????????????? And I'll make them well.'????????????? "So let this be absolutely clear to you. God has shared this victorious life with all whom you consider 'outsiders'. They will take it seriously."[[@Bible:Acts 28:30]]30.???????? Paul spent two whole years in his own rented house, and welcomed any who cared to visit him. All the while, with the utmost frankness and freedom, he was promoting the God Movement and teaching the lessons about the Lord Jesus Christ.[[@Bible:Romans]]ROMANS[[@Bible:Romans 1]]Chapter 1[[@Bible:Romans 1:1]]1.???????? From Paul, a "captive" of Christ Jesus, an appointed agent assigned to God’s great story. It’s the story about his Son which God began many years ago in the sacred writings of his spokesmen. This Son, on the human side, was a descendant of David. On the spiritual side he was designated as God’s Son by the explosion growing out of the resurrection of the dead. His name is Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through him I got the favor of an appointment to approach, on his behalf, other races, including you all, about faithful obedience on all matters. So you, too, are Jesus Christ’s guests.??????????? To everybody in Washington, God’s loved ones, his invited guests. Best wishes to you and peace from our Father-God and our Lord Jesus Christ.[[@Bible:Romans 1:8]]8.???????????? Let me say first that through Jesus Christ I thank my God for every one of you, because your faithfulness is being reported all over everywhere. God will bear me out on this—the God whom I worship spiritually in the great story of his Son—that I‘m continually praying for you all. Every time I pray I ask if somehow it might be God’s will for me to have the pleasure of a visit with you folks. For I really am anxious to see you. Maybe I can share some spiritual gift with you that will perk you up. By this I mean that both you and I will be helped by one another’s experiences. Now it’s no secret, brothers, that many, many times I intended to visit you and still haven’t made it. I wanted to pick some of the ripe fruit in your midst as well as in other races. For I have a debt to pay to both Americans and foreigners, to both educated and uneducated. And that’s why I have a burning desire to tell the great story to you in Washington. For I am not bashful about the great story, since it is the power of God bringing new life to anyone who takes part in it, whether he be first a white man or a Negro. For in it the curtain is lifted on God’s way of goodness, which is lived out by one act of faith after another, just as the script says: "The good man shall live out his faith."[[@Bible:Romans 1:18]]18.???????????? It also draws back heaven’s curtain on God’s displeasure with every form of arrogance and cussedness on the part of men who choke the truth with evil. Knowledge of God is plainly in thorn, because God himself put it there. For the unseen things about God, such as his everlasting might and his godliness, are clear to anyone who considers all that he did in putting the world together from scratch. So they don’t have a leg to stand on. Having this knowledge of God, they neither gave him credit for being God nor thanked him. Rather, they became duds in their sermonizing, and the light of their silly minds went out. Parading themselves as educated, they became little morons and twisted the wonder of the undying God into something resembling a mortal man and flying things, and four-wheeled things and crawlers.[[@Bible:Romans 1:24]]24.???????????? That’s why God turned them loose in the stink of their planned lusts and let them degrade their own bodies with them. These wise guys swapped God’s truth for an outright lie, and then bowed themselves down and worshiped creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed throughout all ages. May it ever be so. That’s why, I repeat, God turned them loose in their perverted sex. For their females swapped normal intercourse for abnormal expressions. The males, too, quit the normal intercourse with females and burned in their fever for one another—male with male—practicing the disgrace and having the inevitable results of their perversion show up in their personalities. And since they were not open to having God in their thinking, God turned them loose with a closed mind to act like asses. They are loaded to the gills with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and meanness. They are stuffed with jealousy, murder, fighting, double-crossing and spite. They are rumor-makers and rumor-circulators, enemies of religion, puffed-up braggarts, blowhards, slick operators, utterly contemptuous of their parents. They are harebrained and unreliable, cold and cruel. And worse, even though they clearly understand God’s rule that people who do such things will get the death penalty, they not only keep on doing these things themselves but they buddy up with others who are getting the habit.[[@Bible:Romans 2]]Chapter 2?[[@Bible:Romans 2:1]]1.???????????? Now listen here, man—and that includes every preacher—you have nothing to hide behind. For whenever you preach to somebody else, you’re laying it on yourself, because you, the preacher, are guilty of the very same things. Yet we are fully aware that God’s truth-packed sermon is aimed at those who do such things. Now let the man who preaches against others doing certain things when he himself is also doing them consider this: Do you really think that you’ll be excused from God’s sermon? And are you turning up your nose at his overflowing kindness and restraint and good humor, forgetting that God’s kindness is leading you toward a changed life? By your calloused and unchanged attitude you are piling up on yourself WRATH, which God will mete out to each on the basis of his deeds on the Day of Wrath, when God’s just laws will be clearly displayed. On the one hand he will give spiritual life to those who, by commitment to the good deed, seek nobility and honor and immortality. On the other hand he will let loose his furious wrath on those who out of self-interest disregard the truth and highly regard the wrong. Hellfire and brimstone upon every son of a gun who works for the wrong, whether he’s a "superior" white or a Negro. Nobility and honor and peace to every one who works for the right, whether he’s a "superior" white or a Negro. For a man’s face cuts no ice with God.[[@Bible:Romans 2:12]]12.???????????? So then, those who sinned without the Bible Shall also perish without the Bible; and those who sinned with the Bible shall be judged by the Bible.? For it is not those who listen to Scripture but those who act on Scripture that will be considered right with God. So when the people of the world who don’t have the Bible act instinctively on things in the Bible, this is the Bible for them, even though they don’t have one. They show the effect of the Bible written on their hearts. And all along, their conscience is helping them out, explaining and defending issues which arise among them and pointing toward the day when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge the inner lives of people — exactly as I tell the great story.[[@Bible:Romans 2:17]]17.???????????? If then you are a white man and you lean back on the Bible and you go all out for God and you know his will and are able to make clear-cut decisions; if you are a good student of the Bible and have reason to believe that you yourself are a qualified leader of the blind, a light to those who are in the dark, an instructor of the unlearned, a teacher of the young; if you have the body of knowledge and truth contained in the Bible—all right, teacher of another, you are teaching yourself, aren’t you? You who place such emphasis on the Bible, are you disgracing God by your violations of the Scripture? For it is written, you know, that "it is because of you that Christianity is sneered at by non-Christians."[[@Bible:Romans 2:25]]25.???????????? Church membership? is indeed fine if you live by the Bible; but if you go contrary to the Bible your church membership has turned into paganism. On the other hand, suppose a non-member lives by the ethical precepts of the Bible, will not his non-membership be considered just as good as membership? Then the non-member who instinctively lives up to the Bible will show up you who, with all your Scripture and membership, are a Bible-breaker. For a Christian? is not one who makes a show of it, nor is his church membership for status purposes. He is a Christian who is one on the inside, whose membership is of the heart—something spiritual and not mechanical — and who seeks not the approval of society but of God.[[@Bible:Romans 3]]Chapter 3[[@Bible:Romans 3:1]]1.???????????? What’s the advantage, then, of being a Christian? Or what’s the benefit of church membership? Well, there are all sorts of things. In the first place Christians are trustees of the word of God All right, so some of them are hypocrites; does their hypocrisy nullify God’s sincerity? Hell no.? Let God remain true, even if it makes a liar out of every man. To quote the Scriptures:??????????????????????? ... that you may prove right in all your sayings,??????????????????????? And have the final word on your day in court.[[@Bible:Romans 3:5]]5.???????????? Now suppose that our badness surrenders to God’s goodness, then what? Would it then be wrong, humanly speaking, for God to punish us? Why, of course not! Otherwise, how could he judge the world?[[@Bible:Romans 3:7]]7.???????????? And if, when I lie, God’s truth stands out all the more beautifully, why should I be condemned for lying? Isn’t this what others smear us with when they report that we advocate "Let’s practice the bad so it will call forth the good." That accusation is utterly ridiculous.[[@Bible:Romans 3:9]]9.???????????? So what’s the score? Are we church members ahead? Nope, not at all. For I previously pointed out that both church members and non-members alike are all classified under sin, just as the Scripture says,??????????????????????? There isn’t a pure man anywhere,??????????????????????? Nor one who is fully sensitive.??????????????????????? Nor one who really sets his heart on God.??????????????????????? All kicked over the traces and became worthless.??????????????????????? There isn’t a one worth his salt,??????????????????????? Not a single solitary one.??????????????????????? Their throat is a waiting grave,??????????????????????? Their tongues arc lie factories.??????????????????????? Behind their lips is the poison of a rattlesnake.??????????????????????? With their mouths they cuss a blue streak.??????????????????????? Their feet are spiked to draw blood;??????????????????????? They leave a trail of broken bones and busted heads,??????????????????????? And they don’t know what peace is.??????????????????????? Reverence for God is foreign to them.[[@Bible:Romans 3:19]]19.???????????? Now we are aware that all the Bible says is directed to those who are committed to it, so as to put a stop to arguing and provide people all over with a standard for obedience to God. And yet no one is put right with God by his relation to the Bible, since the Bible brings only an awareness of sin.[[@Bible:Romans 3:21]]21.???????????? At the present, then, a right relation with God quite apart from the Bible has become clear. It is spoken of by the Bible itself and by the men of God. I refer to a rightness with God that comes, through Christ’s faith, to all who put it into practice. It makes no difference who it is, since all sinned and flunked out on God’s glory. All, then, are gladly accepted by his kindness expressed through the emancipation granted in Christ Jesus. God accepted him as the full settlement of people’s sins when they have faith in his sacrifice. It is a demonstration of God’s goodness in showing restraint and overlooking sins done in the past; and it is also a demonstration of his goodness in handling the present situation, showing that he himself is good and that he also makes the person who bases his life on Jesus good.[[@Bible:Romans 3:27]]27.???????????? Where, then, is "status" with God? It is locked out. On what grounds? Scriptural ones? No, but on the ground of faithfulness. For we consider a person to be made right by his faithfulness, quite apart from his Bible-quoting. Or is God the God of Christians only? Is he not also God of non-Christians? Yes, of non-Christians too, since there is only one God. And he will accept a church member who is faithful as well as a non-church-member who is faithful. Are we then going against the Bible by emphasizing faithfulness? Hell, no, we are establishing the Bible![[@Bible:Romans 4]]Chapter 4[[@Bible:Romans 4:1]]1.???????????? Well, then, what am I going to say about the position held by Abraham, the head of our race? For if Abraham was made right by attending services,? then he has status, but not with God. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham put his trust in God, and for him this was considered goodness." Now a working man does not consider his paycheck a gift from his employer but the discharge of a debt. But for the man who doesn’t put in time and yet is loyal to his employer who makes it right with the idle, his loyalty is considered "time." It just like David said when he called a man lucky when God considered him as "making time"? without attending services. He said:??????????? People are lucky whose charges are dropped and whose violations are scrubbed; Lucky indeed is the man whose boss keeps no account of his errors.??????????? Does this "luckiness" apply to the church member or to the non-church-member? Now we just said that for Abraham loyalty was considered as "time." When, then, was it credited to him? After he was baptized or before he was baptized?? It was not as a baptized man but as an unbaptized one. And he accepted the symbol of baptism as an OK on the "time"; he got for loyalty before his baptism. Thus he became the daddy of all those whose loyalty before they were baptized was credited to them as "time"; and, the daddy of baptism to those who not only are baptized but who also copy the loyalty of our father Abraham while he was still unchurched.[[@Bible:Romans 4:13]]13.???????????? Now the contract with Abraham or his heir that he would be a world figure was not based on church activity but on service which arises from faithfulness. For if only those engaged in church programs are in on the deal, then faithfulness amounts to nothing and the contract is only a scrap of paper. For the church "program"? gets God pretty upset. Now where there is no program there is of course no failure to carry it out.[[@Bible:Romans 4:16]]16.???????????? The reason that this springs from faithfulness is to establish God’s undeserved favor back of the contract with every descendant, not only the one in the church program but also the one who shares in Abraham’s faithfulness. He is the daddy of us all, just as it is written, "I have made you the daddy of many different groups?" In the light of this, he really did give his loyalty to the God who makes the dead to live and who tells nothing to be something. And he kept the faith even when the cards were stacked against him. That’s how he became "daddy of many other groups," exactly as was said, "Your heir will be such a daddy." Without batting an eye, he faced his own impotence — he was one hundred years old at the time — and the fact that Sarah, his wife, was well beyond her menopause. Still he never concluded that the contract with God had been canceled, but stoutly maintained his faithfulness, giving God credit for being able to carry out his end of the bargain. And that’s why Abraham "was counted in as being in the swim with God." Now this verse — "he was counted in" — didn’t apply just to Abraham, but also to us who were yet to be counted in through our faithfulness to him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.? To bear our sins he was killed; to put us in the swim he was made alive.[[@Bible:Romans 5]]Chapter 5[[@Bible:Romans 5:1]]1.???????????? Since we have been put in the swim with God because of our faithfulness, we have a close relationship with him through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we also got an open door into this favored position we hold, and we get "status" from the confidence we receive from God’s greatness. Not only so, but we also get "status" for getting banged up, being fully aware that getting banged up makes us tough. Now toughness makes for reliability and reliability for confidence, and confidence doesn’t let you down. For God has given us a love transfusion by the Holy Spirit he provided for us. While we were real sick, in the nick of time Christ died for people who couldn’t care less for a loving God. Hardly anybody will die for an ordinary person, and it’s possible that someone might screw up enough courage to give his life for a truly good person. But God convinces us of his love, because while we were still sinful trash Christ gave his life for us. So now that we have been taken on board by his sacrifice, shall we not all the more be saved by him from "the life away from God." For if, while we were rebels, we were won over to God through his Son’s death, how much more, having been won over, shall we be saved in his life. And on top of all this, we get "status" with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now been won over.[[@Bible:Romans 5:12]]12.???????????? All right, now, it’s like this: Through one man (Adam) sin got a toehold in the world. Then through sin death got in. And that’s how death infected the whole human race and why "everybody sinned." So sin was in the world even before the Bible, but it wasn’t chalked up as sin since there was no Bible. Even so, death was king from Adam until the Bible was written, even over those who committed no such sin as did Adam, who is a symbol of what I’m about to explain. Adam’s sin, for example, was no match at all for God’s generosity. For if many died as the result of the one man’s sin, countless thousands more were the beneficiaries of God’s kindness and thoughtful generosity bestowed through the one Man Jesus Christ. Nor is the result the same as that of the one who sinned. On the one hand, the result of a single sin was a sentence into exile, while the result of many sins was an unmerited acceptance into favor. If because of one man’s disobedient act death became king through that one man, how much more, then, will life, through the one Man Jesus Christ, be king over those who accept his bounty of grace and his gift of goodness.[[@Bible:Romans 5:18]]18.???????????? Well, then, just as the result of one disobedient act was banishment for the whole human race, even so the result of one God-pleasing act was the restoration to life for the whole human race. For just as the multitudes were lined up as sinners by one man’s disobedience, even so will the multitudes be lined up as saints by one Man’s obedience. Now Scripture came on the scene to heighten the Fall; but wherever sin flowed, grace overflowed, in order that, as sin was king in the death realm, so might grace, through restoration to favor, be king in the spiritual life realm provided by Jesus Christ our Lord.[[@Bible:Romans 6]]Chapter 6[[@Bible:Romans 61:]]1.???????????? So what are we advocating? "Let’s wallow in sin, so more grace may pour forth"? Hell, no! How can we who died in sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that we who were initiated into Christ Jesus’ fellowship were initiated into his death realm? Therefore, through our initiation into the death realm, we are entombed with him, in order that, as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been fellow plants in the garden of his death, we shall also be fellow plants in the garden of his risen life. We are convinced that the person we used to be has been strung up with him, so that the sinful nature may be wiped out, and we no longer need be addicted to sin. For in dying, one is released from sin’s claim on him. Yet, if we died with Christ, we believe that we also shall live with him. It is clear that Christ, who was raised from the dead, doesn’t die any more. Death no longer has a grip on him. As far as sin is concerned he died once and got it over with; but as far as God is concerned, he lives and lives. In the same way we think of ourselves as being dead in relation to sin but very much alive in relation to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, don’t let sin be king of your fragile group, so that it becomes obedient to sin’s desires. And don t hand over your members to sin as tools of wickedness, but hand over yourselves to God as people who were dead but are very much alive. Commit your members to God as instruments of justice. Sin shall not lord it over you all, for you are not under compulsion? but under kindness.[[@Bible:Romans 6:15]]15.???????????? So what about that? Shall we sin just because we’re not under compulsion but under kindness? Positively not! Don’t you realize that when you hire yourselves out as workers on a job you are duty-bound to carry out the orders of your boss? And this holds true whether you’re working for sin on a death job or for obedience on a harmony job. But thank God that while you used to be sin’s workers you later gave voluntary obedience to a type of teaching in which you got carried away. So, having been released from sin’s job, you have been employed by goodness. (I’m using a human figure of speech because it’s just naturally hard for you to catch on.) All right now, in the same way that you hired out your members as workers in filth and delinquency on the gangster job, so now hire out your members as workers in goodness on the clean-guy job. For when you were sin’s workers you owed nothing to goodness. But did you get anything worthwhile out of your job? Just stuff you re now ashamed of - stuff that ends in destruction. But now that you’ve been released from sin and hired by God, you get your pay for being dedicated, the result of which is spiritual life. For sin’s payoff is destruction, but God’s reward is spiritual life in Christ Jesus our Lord.[[@Bible:Romans 7]]Chapter 7[[@Bible:Romans 7:1]]1.???????????? You certainly agree, brothers, — and here I m speaking to those who know their Bibles — that the commandments? are binding on a man only during his lifetime. For example, a married woman is legally bound to her husband as long as he lives, hut when he dies she is released from her marital vows. If then she sleeps with another man while her husband is still alive, she will be guilty of adultery. But if her husband is dead, she is released from her marital vow and it is not adultery for her to sleep with another man. That’s the way it is with you, too, my brothers. Through your membership in Christ’s body you were, legally speaking, put to death. Then this freed you to "marry" another - the Risen One - in order that we might raise some chillun for God. For before we "died," sin’s passions, stimulated by the commandments, made our members pregnant so as to bear children for the death realm. But now that we have "died," we have been released from our marital vow to our former "husband" and are free to remarry in the newness of spiritual life rather than in the old way of legalism.[[@Bible:Romans 7:7]]7.???????????? So what are we saying? That the commandments are wrong? Not for a moment. And yet, I would not be conscious of wrong if the commandments had not prohibited it. For example, I would not have been conscious of lusting for things if the commandments had not said, "You shall not lust for things." Then sin, taking advantage of the commandment, worked up in me every conceivable lust for things. So without a prohibition, sin is inoperative.? Now let’s suppose that I were living without any legal code. Then some prohibition came along and sin seized on it and killed me. Then, in a sense, the prohibition, which was supposed to help me live, became the occasion of my death. For sin took advantage of the prohibition, made an ass of me and then slew me with it. This was in spite of the fact that there’s nothing wrong with the law itself nor the specific commandment, which is just and fair.[[@Bible:Romans 7:13]]13.???????????? Did something good, then, bring about my destruction? I should say not! Rather, it was sin - naked sin - working through a good thing, that destroyed me. So then sin, working through the commandment, became the biggest sinner of all. Now we all recognize that the commandments are spiritual, but I’m not. I’m human, bought off by sin. Half the time I don’t know which end is up. The things I really don’t want I make a habit of, and the things I just despise I go right on doing. But when I say that I go right on doing what I don’t want, then I’m agreeing with the Bible that it has a good point (in prohibiting it). Actually, then, it isn’t even I who commit the act but the sinful habit to which I’m addicted. I know full well that from a human standpoint the element of good is not at work in me. The desire to do right is there, yes, but the deed, no. I simply don’t carry through on my good intentions; worse, I fall into the habit of doing the bad things I don’t intend. If then I keep on doing things against my will, it really isn’t I, is it, who’s committing the act but the sinful habit that’s in my driver’s seat. I am discovering the principle that when I really want to do right, wrong embraces me. Way down deep inside of me I appreciate God s law, but I’m seeing a different "law" at work in my personality — a law which violently wars against my better judgment and takes me prisoner to the sinful addictions of my personality. What a scoundrel I am! Who can get me out of this rut of destruction? Thank God, it is done through Jesus Christ our Lord.[[@Bible:Romans 7:25]]25.???????????? So now you see that intellectually I bind myself to the law of God, but down where I actually live, to the law of sin.[[@Bible:Romans 8]]Chapter 8[[@Bible:Romans 8:1]]1.???????????? There is, then, no charge outstanding against those who are in (wedlock to) Jesus Christ. For the Spirit’s law of new life in Christ Jesus released you from the claims of the law of sin and destruction. For when it became clear that legalism was a failure, due to its weakness in dealing with humanity, God sent his own Son, in an exact replica of a man of sin and for sin, and dealt effectively with human sin. He did this in order that the just aims of the commandments might be realized in us who live not on the level of man but on the level of the Spirit. For they who are man-centered think along human lines, and they who are Spirit-centered think in terms of the Spirit. For man-centered reasoning deadends in destruction, but Spirit-centered reasoning leads to life and space. Man-centered reasoning is hostile to God, because it does not subordinate itself to God’s plan nor indeed can it do so. People who are man-centered just can’t get along with God. But you all, you are not man-centered but Spirit-centered - provided, of course, that God’s Spirit permeates you. If one doesn’t have Christ’s spirit, he isn’t Christ’s man. But if Christ is in you, the self, because of its sin, is stone dead; but the Spirit, because it is good, is throbbing with life. And if the Spirit of the God who made Jesus to live again permeates you, then this same God will also give life to your hellbent egos by means of his Spirit that permeates you.[[@Bible:Romans 8:12]]12.???????????? It's a fact, then, brothers, that we are under no obligation whatsoever to live a man-centered life. If you do live that way, you re gonna blow yourselves to smithereens. Yet if by the Spirit you utterly smash your selfishness, you will live. For God’s sons are they who are led by God’s Spirit.[[@Bible:Romans 8:15]]15.???????????? Listen, you all didn’t get an old master-slave relationship based on fear; instead, you got a father-son relationship in which we are entitled to call God "Father." The Spirit himself sings out with our spirit that "WE ARE GOD’S CHILDREN." And if we are his children, we are also his heirs. If, indeed, we are his heirs, then we are Christ’s fellow-heirs -? provided, of course, that we identify with his suffering in order to join in his reward. For I figure that the sufferings we are enduring can’t hold a candle to the splendor that’s going to become evident in us. In fact, the fondest dream of the universe is to catch a glimpse of real live sons of God. For the universe is in the grip of futility - not voluntarily, but because someone got control of it - and it is hoping against hope that it will be emancipated from the slavery of corruptness into the marvelous freedom of being the children of God. For we know that the whole world is agonizing and hurting up to the very present. And not just it, but we ourselves as we anticipate sonship, which means the liberation of our group. In fact, it was our hope that got us by. Now hope isn’t expecting something you already see, because when one sees something, how can he hope for it? But if we hope for what we don’t see, then it takes patience to wait for it.[[@Bible:Romans 8:26]]26.???????????? Similarly, the spirit also helps us out in our weakness. For example, we don’t know beans about praying, but the Spirit himself speaks up for our unexpressed concerns. And he who X-rays our hearts understands the Spirit’s approach, since the Spirit represents Christians before God.[[@Bible:Romans 8:28]]28.???????????? We are convinced that God fully cooperates in a good cause with those who love him and who are chosen for his purpose. He has known such people before, and he set them forth, shaping them into the exact image of his Son, who thus became the first boy in a whole line of brothers. It’s these whom he set forth that he also invited, and the ones he invited he accepted into fellowship. And it’s these whom he accepted into fellowship that he equipped with credentials.[[@Bible:Romans 8:31]]31.???????????? How, then, shall we respond to all this? If God is rootin’ for us, who can win over us? If he didn’t hold back his own Son, but put him in the game for us all, won’t he even more gladly, in addition to his Son, equip us with all we need to win the game?[[@Bible:Romans 8:33]]33.???????????? Who shall reject us when God has elected us? God accepts us into fellowship; who banishes us? Does Christ Jesus, the Killed One, or rather, the Risen One, who is God’s "right-hand man" and speaks out for us? What shall drive a wedge between us and the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or drought or poverty or danger or war? It’s as the Scripture says:??????????????????????? For your sake we face death throughout the day;??????????????????????? We are thought of as slaughterhouse sheep.??????????? And yet - and yet - we come out on top everytime through him who set his heart on us. For I am absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers nor the present nor the future nor force nor mountain nor valley nor anything else in the universe shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.[[@Bible:Romans 9]]Chapter 9?[[@Bible:Romans 9:1]]1.???????????? As a Christian who doesn’t lie and whose conscience is examined by the Holy Spirit, I’m telling you the honest truth: In my heart there is great grief and steady pain. For I would be willing to sacrifice even my own life in Christ for the sake of my native white American Protestant brethren.? They are "good white folks"; they are "saved"; they have prestige; they have the Bible; they have a denominational program; they have worship services and Sunday schools; they have theological doctrines and are staunch supporters of Christ himself. And God, who is over them all, is unceasingly magnified. So be it. But it was not for the likes of this that the word of God has come raining down. For not all Protestants are Protestants, and not all "good white folks" are good white folks. Rather, "your line shall be perpetuated through Isaac." ? This means that God’s people are not the ones who give that appearance but whose lives are rooted in God’s promises. Now this is how the promise was stated: "I’ll come at the proper time and give Sarah a son." Not only this, but when Rebecca was pregnant by our father Isaac, she was told, "The first shall serve the last." This was said even before the twins had been born or had done anything either good or bad, which shows that God’s program of choice rests not on man’s deeds but on God himself. It’s just as the Scripture says, "I loved Isaac and I rejected Esau."[[@Bible:Romans 9:14]]14.???????????? Well then, what do we say about this? Does this make God unfair? Not at all. For he says in the Old Testament,??????????????????????? I’ll show mercy when I show mercy,??????????????????????? And I’ll show compassion when I show compassion.??????????? So then, the mercy doesn’t come from the one who wants it, nor from the one who runs after it, but from God himself. Also, in the Scripture God says to Pharaoh, "The reason I brought you on the scene was to display my power through you and to use you to spread news of me throughout the whole world." So then, he decides who gets mercy and who gets the works.[[@Bible:Romans 9:19]]19.???????????? All right, you will say to me, "If he calls the signals, why does he still hold us responsible? Who ever really goes contrary to his plan when he does all the driving?" My dear fellow, you wouldn’t be giving God any sass, would you? Does the design say to the designer, "Why did you make me like this?" Or doesn’t the potter have the right to make his lump of clay into either an expensive vase or an everyday pot? Then what’s wrong if God wants to exercise his displeasure or assert his authority? Suppose he has a vase that’s already marked for the junkpile and he works it over very carefully just to show his marvelous skill to a favorite vase he made earlier for display. Isn’t that OK? Indeed, we are that junkpile vase, and he has assembled us not only from among church members but also from among the people in the street. It’s as it says in Hosea,??????????????????? I will assemble a people who aren’t my people,??????????????????? And the unloved into a Beloved Community;??????????????????? And it shall be that on the spot where it was said to them,??????????????????? "You folks, you’re not God’s people,"??????????????????? Right there they shall be called sons of the Living God.And Isaiah cries out regarding white American Protestants, ??????????? Even though the WA P’s ? outnumber the sand of the seas, it’s those that are left that shall be saved. For the Lord, pushing things to a conclusion and cutting off debate, will make a settlement on the earth.Again, it’s as Isaiah foretold it:If the Lord of peace had not left us a germ of life,We would have wound up like Hiroshima, and would have been treated like Nagasaki.[[@Bible:Romans 9:30]]30. So what are we saying? Simply this: that the unchurched people, who didn’t even try to get religion, did get religion - religion based on action.? And yet the WAP’s, trying so hard at Bible religion, never quite caught on to the Bible. Why not? Because they were not people of faithful action but of religious activities. They ground themselves down on the grindstone, just as the Scripture says,??????????????????? Look, I’m setting up in Protestantism a grindstone, a rock of danger,??????????????????? And he who follows the instructions for it won t be ground down.[[@Bible:Romans 10]]Chapter 10[[@Bible:Romans 10:1]]1.???????????? Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God is for their deliverance. For I can vouch for them that they do have enthusiasm for God, but it isn’t enlightened. Not understanding God’s program, and trying to set up one of their own, they didn’t yield to God’s program. For Christ puts the Bible in focus on a program for every one who lives his faith. Now the Old Testament says that the man who commits himself to the Bible program shall live by it. But the faith program puts it this way: "Don t say to yourself, ‘Who’ll climb the sky [that is, to bring down God’s Anointed One]?’ or, ‘Who’ll descend into the afterlife [that is, to bring back God’s anointed one from the realm of the departed]?’" But what does it say? "The word is already present with you" - in what you say and believe. By "the word" is meant the doctrine of faithfulness which we are spreading. Because if you come out in the open and say, "Jesus is Lord,"? and if you believe deep down in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For by one’s heart one is activated into God’s program, and by one’s mouth one makes the public declaration into salvation. For the Scripture says: "Everyone who follows the instructions for it won’t be ground down." There just isn’t any distinction made between the WAP and the man in the street. God himself is Lord over all and leans over backward toward all who join his movement. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who takes upon himself the Lord’s name? shall be saved."[[@Bible:Romans 10:14]]14.???????????? How, then, shall they join one’s movement without having confidence in him? And how shall they have confidence in someone they’ve never heard of? And how shall they hear about him without someone to spread the news? And how shall they spread the news unless they have the facts? As the Scripture says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news that’s sound."[[@Bible:Romans 10:16]]16.???????????? But, not all responded obediently to the great story. Isaiah says, "Lord, who put any stock in our report?" Now confidence arises from the report, and the report is based on Christ’s word. But I raise the question, "Was it that they just didn’t hear?" No, indeed.??????????? The drumbeat of these things went out over the whole earth, and the newscasts of them into every corner of civilization.So I ask, "Didn’t white American Protestants know?"[[@Bible:Romans 10:19]]19.???????????? To begin with, the Old Testament says,??????????? I’ll stir you to action with a nation that isn’t Christian; I’ll get you riled up with a nation that’s gone cuckoo.And even Isaiah dared to say:??????????? I was discovered by people who weren’t even looking for me; I became clear to those who didn’t argue about me.Then he refers to the WAP’s:??????????? Throughout the livelong day I tried to shake hands with a disobedient and impudent people.[[@Bible:Romans 11]]Chapter 11[[@Bible:Romans 11:1]]1. ??????????? I ask, therefore, "Has God walked out on his people?" Absolutely not. For I myself am also a WAP — a pure Anglo-Saxon and a Baptist. God has not walked out on his people whom he knew from way back. Don’t you remember the story of Elijah, how he made a case against the WAP’s before God? He said, "Lord, they’ve killed your preachers; they’ve desecrated your pulpits, and I’m the only one left - and they’re gunning for me!" But what does the divine correction say to him? "I still have left for my own use seven thousand men who haven’t compromised with the sex-and- money cult." Similarly, then, there is at the present time a small minority which has been selected by God’s grace. Now if it is by God’s grace, then it isn’t the result of man’s activity; if so, grace wouldn’t be "grace" at all.[[@Bible:Romans 11:7]]7.???????????? So now what? Precisely this: White American Protestantism hasn’t achieved its goal. However, the "selected fraction" got through, while all the rest were calloused. This Scripture describes them:??????????????????????? God gave them a sleepy spirit,??????????????????????? Eyes that don’t look, and ears that don’t listen,??????????????????????? Right up to the present day.And David puts it this way:??????????????????????? May their communion table become for them a slick trick and a hoax,??????????????????????? An invitation to delusion and a frame-up.??????????????????????? May their eyes be blinded so they don’t see;??????????????????????? Arid forever break their backs![[@Bible:Romans 11:11]]11.???????????? So I ask, "Does the fact that they stumped their toe mean that they fell flat on their face?" Not at all. Rather, because of their failure the Christian faith went to the unchurched, so as to get the WAP’s on the ball. Now if their failure benefited the outside world, and their negligence benefited the unchurched, how much more would their success![[@Bible:Romans 11:13]]13.???????????? Now I have a few words for you "outsiders." Since I myself am an agent of Christ to the outsiders, I take this responsibility very seriously, with the hope that I may stir my brothers to action and save some of them. For if their exclusion meant the inclusion of the outside world, what will their acceptance mean, if not life from death itself? Now if the sample is OK, so is the whole batch. And if the root is true, so are the branches. But if the tree is top-worked, and you, a bud from another tree, are grafted in with the other shoots and share the root and sap of the stock, don’t you turn up your nose at the other shoots. If you do turn up your nose, just remember that you don t nourish the stock; it nourishes you.[[@Bible:Romans 11:19]]19.???????????? But you will say, "Yeah, but the branches were pruned off, so I could be grafted in." All right, why were they pruned? Because they weren’t true. And why were you grafted in? Only because you stood the test. Don’t throw your head so high in the air; instead, tremble in your boots. For if God didn’t spare the shears on the natural branches, will he spare them on you? Consider, then, both the gentleness of God’s graft and the sharpness of his shears - sharpness on those who let God down, and gentleness on you, provided of course, you live within the framework of his gentleness. Otherwise, he’ll prune you off too. By the same token, if they stop living in their unfaithful position, they will be grafted into the stock, for God himself is able to do the regrafting. For if you, a bud growing naturally on another tree, were cut out and grafted, against nature, into this stock, how much more will the natural buds be grafted into their own parent stock?[[@Bible:Romans 11:25]]25.???????????? I don’t want you, brothers, to be unaware of the deeper meaning lying hidden in all this, lest you jump to your own conclusions. It’s simply this: the callousness that has come over most of white American Protestantism will last only until the idea of the full equality of other groups is established. In this case, of course, the whole of white American Protestantism will be saved. As the Scripture says,??????????????????????? From the church will arise the Leader;??????????????????????? He’ll wean Christendom of its godlessness.??????????????????????? And this will be the contract I’ll make with them??????????????????????? When I scrub out their sins.??????????? True, the gospel shows them up as "enemies" for your sakes, but God’s selective service act classifies them as "beloved sons" on account of their heritage. For God’s considerations and classifications are not subject to review. For just as you used to disobey God, and now, while they are still disobedient, you have been pardoned, even so they, though disobedient now during your time of mercy, may be pardoned later on. God just lumped the whole works together as disobedient, so that he might start with everybody on the basis of mercy.[[@Bible:Romans 11:33]]33.???????????? Man, oh man, what a mine of wealth, wisdom and knowledge God has! And his decisions — beyond comprehension; his actions — unexplorable!??????????????????????? Who ever probed the Lord’s mind???????????????????????? Or who became his psychiatrist???????????????????????? Or who made him a loan??????????????????????? And it shall be fully repaid.Everything comes from him, passes through him and goes to him. To him, then, be the credit into the ages. Please may it be so.[[@Bible:Romans 12]]Chapter 12[[@Bible:Romans 12:1]]1.???????????? And so, my brothers, with God’s tenderness I am pleading with you to dedicate your whole selves to God as a proper, holy, living sacrifice, for this is your logical act of worship. And don’t let the present age keep you in its cocoon. Instead, metamorphose into the new mind, so as to be capable of discerning God’s design, which is good and right and mature.[[@Bible:Romans 12:3]]3.???????????? As one who has himself been given undeserved favor, I advise every last one of you not to overestimate his importance. Rather, let each estimate wisely according to the portion of faith which God distributed to him. For although one body has many parts, not all the parts have the same function. And so it is with us Christians. Though many, we are one body, with each one a part of the others. We have talents which vary according to the undeserved favor bestowed upon us. If your talent is preaching, use it for the explanation of the faith; if it’s hopping tables, use it for hopping tables; if it’s teaching, use it for teaching; or if it’s counseling, use it for counseling. Let the treasurer perform with honesty, the superintendent with diligence, and the benevolence chairman with cheerfulness. Love has no false face. Shun evil, hang on to good. I mean:??????????? - in brotherliness, showing genuine concern for one another;??????????? - in courtesy, putting others above yourselves;??????????? - in enthusiasm, never letting up;??????????? - in morale, glowing;??????????? - in the Lord’s work, slaving;??????????? - in hope, bubbling over;??????????? - in trouble, taking it;??????????? - in prayer, keeping it up;??????????? - in meeting needs of church members, sharing;??????????? - in hospitality, going out of your way.[[@Bible:Romans 12:14]]14.???????????? Bless those who do you in. Bless them, I say, and don’t cuss them. Join in the fun with those having fun; join in the tears with those shedding tears. Treat each other equally; pay no special attention to the upper crust, but mingle freely with the lower class people. And don’t scratch each other’s back. Never return evil for evil. Have respect for things which everybody else considers worthwhile. If it’s possible - that is, from your side - WAGE PEACE WITH ALL MANKIND. Don’t take vengeance into your own hands, my dear ones, but rather make room for another’s wrath. For the Bible says,??????????????????????? "Revenge is my job," says the Lord,??????????????????????? "I will tend to it."??????????? But if your enemy hungers, bread him; if he thirsts, water him. In this way you’ll fill his noggin with lighted charcoal. Don’t be overwhelmed by evil, but overwhelm evil with good.[[@Bible:Romans 13]]Chapter 13[[@Bible:Romans 13:1]]1.???????????? Let every human being submit himself to the Supreme Powers. For there is no power except from God, and the existing ones have been set up by God. The person who resists the power, then, is opposing God’s arrangement. And they who have resisted will get a sentence on themselves.[[@Bible:Romans 13:3]]3.???????????? Rulers are no fear when the deed is good but when it is bad. You don’t want to be afraid of the law? Do good and you’ll have its praise, for it is, for you, God’s instrument to accomplish good. But if you do wrong, watch out, because he doesn’t pack that pistol for nothing. He is God’s agent, a warden responsible to society for the one engaging in crime. Therefore it is obligatory that you submit, not only for the sake of society? but conscience. For the same reason you are to pay your taxes. For even tax collectors are God’s servants, too, to carry on the same purposes. Pay up all your creditors; pay tax to the tax collector, toll to the toll collector, fear to the fear collector, honor to the honor collector! In fact, don’t owe anybody anything but love! For the man who loves his neighbor has more than kept the law. "Don’t sleep with someone you’re not married to, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t lust for things," and every other commandment are all summed up in this simple one: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love never does a neighbor harm. It gives flesh and blood to the law.[[@Bible:Romans 13:11]]11.???????????? And remember that this is "The Day." It’s time already for you to get out of bed, because the salvation we have is much nearer to acceptance than when we put our trust in it. The night is fading; the day is dawning. So let’s take off our pajamas and put on our work clothes. Let’s live as becomes the day — not in wild parties and drunkenness, not in jumping into beds and in sex orgies, not in bickering and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plan for using the body for lust.[[@Bible:Romans 14]]Chapter 14[[@Bible:Romans 14:1]]1.???????????? Accept a brother whose faith is immature, but don’t get into a hassle with him over petty points. While one person believes it’s all right to eat anything, an immature person might eat only vegetables. Well, don t let the man who eats something look down his nose at someone who won’t, and don’t let the guy who doesn’t eat a thing damn the person who does. For God has accepted the man you reject. You, there, who are you to pass on another man’s worker? Whether he’s a success or failure is up to his own boss. (But he’ll be a success, because the Boss is able to make a success of him.)[[@Bible:Romans 14:5]]5.???????????? Now here’s a fellow who decides that a certain day is more important than another, and there’s a man who decides they’re all alike. All right, let each one make up his own mind about it. For he who observes a certain day, observes it in the Lord’s presence and he who eats does so in the Lord’s presence, since he thanks God for it. Also, he who doesn’t eat refrains in the Lord’s presence and he too thanks God for this. For not a one of us lives all to himself. For if we live, we live in the Lord’s presence, and if we die, we die in the Lord’s presence. This is why Christ died and lived, that he might be Lord of both dead people and live ones. So you, now, why do you pass on your brother? And you over there, why are you so snooty towards your brother? For we all shall stand up before God’s bar, just as the Scripture says:??????????? "As sure as I live," says the Lord, "every soul will get down on his knees before me, and every man’s tongue will admit that I’m God?So then, each of us will account for himself before God.[[@Bible:Romans 14:13]]13.???????????? Then let’s quit rating each other. Rather, you test yourselves on this: "I do not put an obstacle or a trap in front of my brother."[[@Bible:Romans 14:14]]14.???????????? I know and am convinced beyond all doubt that from the Christian viewpoint no external thing is of itself wrong, except something which is considered wrong by another. From his standpoint it is wrong. So, if your brother is grieved by your food habits, you are no longer walking the way of love. Don’t destroy, with your food habits, a person for whom Christ died. Therefore, don’t let the good name of you all be ridiculed, for the God movement is not doughnuts and coffee, but justice and peace and joyfulness in the Holy Spirit. He who puts his Christian service on this basis is pleasing to God and trustworthy to men.[[@Bible:Romans 14:19]]19.???????????? In the light of this, let’s go all out for the things of peace and the things that strengthen our life together. Do not tear up God’s work for the sake of a food habit. Everything external is quite all right; but the evil is through the obstacle set up by a person with this view. It is fine indeed not to eat ham or drink wine or do anything else for your brother to stump his toe on. You just hang onto the faith which you have between yourself and God. A man who doesn’t have to grade himself on the test is lucky. But he who straddles the fence on the issue of eating is in a bad way, since his position is not one of conviction. And it’s a sin when you have no conviction on anything.[[@Bible:Romans 15]]Chapter 15[[@Bible:Romans 15:1]]1.???????????? We mature Christians ought to help the immature ones over their rough spots and not try to make an easy go of it just for ourselves. Let each of us make it easy for our neighbor to get along well in the church community. For Christ didn’t put his interests first, but he did as the Scripture says: "The spit of those spitting at you hit me." (By the way, all these things that were written down a long time ago were actually written for our instruction too, that we might get inspiration through the endurance and encouragement pictured there.)[[@Bible:Romans 15:5]]5.???????????? May the God of endurance and encouragement grant that you treat each other equally according to the Christian faith, so that as one body with one mouth you might praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.[[@Bible:Romans 15:7]]7.???????????? Therefore, you all accept one another just as Christ also accepted us, to God’s glory. For I claim that Christ became a servant of the white religious establishment for the sake of God’s truth, so as to make good on his assurances to the church reformers. But for those outside the white establishment, he did it out of sheer joy, as the Scripture puts it:That’s why I’ll testify with the outsiders and join them in hymns to your name.And again it says:Share the joy, you outsiders, with his people.And again,??????????????????? Praise the Lord, all you outsiders;??????????????????? Let all people praise him together.And again Isaiah says,??????????? It shall be that a white Protestant will be raised up to lead the outsiders, and they’ll pin their hopes on him.May the God of hope load you up with every kind of joy and peace in your life of faith, so that with the help of the Holy Spirit you may be running over with confidence.[[@Bible:Romans 15:14]]14.???????????? As far as I myself am concerned, my brothers, I am fully convinced that you all are full of goodness, well rounded out with much knowledge, and that you are able to straighten out one another. On some matters, though, I’ve written quite strongly to you. So you must keep in mind the undeserved favor granted to me from God, that is, that I am Christ Jesus’ priest to those who are not WAP’s. I am organizing them along the lines of God’s great story, so that what they are setting up may be acceptable and that it may be approved by the Holy Spirit. So then, I do have status in the Christian faith for performing God’s work. I won’t dare mention anything except what Christ has done through me to convert the non-WAP’s. By word and deed, by power shown in signs and miracles, and by spiritual power I have put flesh on Christ’s great story from Charleston to Little Rock. Likewise, I consider it a special privilege to tell the story where people never saw a live Christian before, lest I get credit for someone’s else’s spadework. Instead, it’s as the verse which says:??????????????????????? They who didn’t get the word about him shall see,??????????????????????? And they who never really heard will get the point.[[@Bible:Romans 15:22]]22.???????????? It is for this reason that I have often been prevented from visiting you. But now, since I can’t find any more virgin territory in these parts, and since I’ve had for several years a deep longing to visit you, I’ll try to make it when I go to Maine. I do hope to see you on my way through, and when I’ve been filled in on various details by you all, I’d appreciate some help from you on my travel expenses.[[@Bible:Romans 15:25]]25.???????????? Right now, however, I’m heading for Charleston with some funds for the church members there. For the Mississippi and Louisiana churches voted to raise a certain sum for the hard-up members in Charleston. I said they voted; actually they owed it, because if the white Christians shared their spiritual things with the Negro Christians, the latter are morally obligated to share their material things with their white brothers. So when I’ve wound up this job and have a signed receipt from them for the full amount, I’ll set out for Maine via Washington. And I’m sure that as I travel to you I’ll come with Christ’s full blessing.[[@Bible:Romans 15:30]]30.???????????? And now, my brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, I beg you please to agonize with me and for me in your prayers to God. Pray that I may not fall into the hands of un-Christian people in South Carolina and that my service in Charleston might meet with the approval of the Christians there. Then my journey to you will be a happy one, and with God’s permission I’ll relax a while with you. May the God of peace please be with you all.[[@Bible:Romans 16]]Chapter 16[[@Bible:Romans 16:1]]1.???????????? I highly recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a minister of material things in the Memphis church. I ask that you receive her as a full member of the fellowship and that you lend her a hand in whatever way she may need you, for she herself has a reputation for helping others — including myself.[[@Bible:Romans 16:3]]3.???????????? Say hello to Prissy and Adrian, my co-workers for Christ Jesus. They stuck their necks out to save my life, and for this not only am I thankful but all the Negro churches as well. Greetings also to the church that meets in their home. Hello to my dear Ellwood, who was the first real Christian in Alabama. And hello to Mary, who worked so hard for you. Warm regards to Andy and Junior, my kinfolks and fellow captives, who are highly respected in ministerial circles. Best wishes to Ansley, so dear to me in the Lord. Greetings to Howard, our Christian co-worker, and my dear Stocky. Regards to Everett, a true Christian. Say hello to the Harris Baker family. Hello, Cousin Helena. Hello to the faithful Nicholson family. Greetings to Truman and Trudy, the Lord’s workers. Say hello to dear Pearl, a hard worker for the Lord if ever there was one. Remember me to Rufus, a prince of a Christian, and to his mother — and mine. Give my love to Austin, Phil, Herb, Perry, Herman and the brothers with them. Much love to Frank and Julia, and to Maro and his sister, and to Ollie and all the other Christians with them. Give everybody a big hug. All of Christ’s churches greet you.[[@Bible:Romans 16:17]]17.???????????? I warn you, brothers, keep your eye peeled for those who make sects and scandals by going against the training you received. Shun them like the plague, for such gentlemen are not committed to our Lord Christ but to their own welfare. With their smooth sermons and pious prayers they captivate the minds of the immature. For news of your unswerving obedience has spread all over, and so I’m quite happy over you all. Yet I want you to be geniuses at goodness but duds at deviltry. The God of peace will shortly squash the Devil under your feet. May the undeserved favor of our Lord Jesus be with you all.[[@Bible:Romans 16:21]]21.???????????? My co-worker Timothy sends his regards, as do my cousins Lou, Jake and Daddy-boy. (I, Terry, the stenographer for this letter, greet you all in the Lord.) Garry, host to me and the whole fellowship, wants to be remembered to you. Hank, the city treasurer, and Brother Charles send their greetings.[[@Bible:Romans 16:25]]25.???????????? And now, praise forevermore to him who has the power to shape you up according to my Great Story and the message of Jesus Christ, according to the unveiling of the secret which was locked up for ages but which now, by Eternal God’s order, has been opened up through prophetic writings and made known to all the races for their obedience to the faith! Praise forevermore, I say, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ. Amen.PaulLETTER TO THE CHRISTIANS IN ATLANTA---1 CORINTHIANS[[@Bible:1 Cor 1]]Chapter 11.???????????? Paul, summoned into the ministry of Jesus Christ by God’s will, and Brother Sam, to God’s people in Atlanta — those whom Jesus Christ has set apart by calling them together — who under all circumstances identify themselves with Jesus Christ as their Lord — yes, theirs and ours too — grace and peace to you from our Father-God and from the Lord Jesus Christ.4.???????????? I am continually thanking God for the wonderful thing he did for you in giving you Christ Jesus, who has enriched you in so many ways. This is evident in both your conversation and your understanding. As a matter of fact, the Christian testimony has been thoroughly implanted in you so that you might not lack any spiritual gift and may be really eager for a clearer view of our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, he will stand by you, come what may. Furthermore, you won’t have a guilty feeling in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. You can truly rely upon God, who has called you together into the community (koinonia) of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.10.???????????? Now brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I call upon every one of you to be in unity with the rest of your brothers. Let there be no splits in your ranks, but rather be knit together in singleness of mind and purpose. I’m saying this, my brothers, because some friends of Clara’s reported to me that there were factions springing up among you. To be specific, various ones of you are saying, "I’m on Paul’s side," "I’m on Oliver’s side," "I’m on Rock’s side," "I’m on Jesus’ side." Tell me this, since when did Christ get so split up? And was Paul lynched for you? Or were you given Paul’s name when you were initiated? I’m really thankful that I didn’t initiate a single one of you — except Cris and Garry — so no one has a right to claim that he was given my name at his initiation. (Oh, yes, I forgot, I did initiate Stephen’s family, but other than that I don’t recall initiating anyone else.) The fact is, Christ didn’t appoint me merely to initiate converts, but to tell the great story, simply and without display of learning, lest the noose of Christ become something to be toyed with.18.???????????? To the so-called "practical" people, the idea of the noose is a lot of silly talk, but to those of us who have been let in on its meaning, it is the source of divine power. It’s just like the Scripture says:??????????? I will tear to bits the dissertations of the Ph.D’s;??????????? I will pull the rug from under those who have all the answers.Then what becomes of the "bright" boy? What does this do to the "egghead"? Where does the worldly-wise professor wind up? Hasn’t God made human reasoning appear utterly ridiculous? Therefore, since the world with all of its learning was unable to understand God, God in his own wisdom decided to save, through the "folly" of the Christian message, all those who put their trust in it. So, while the church people are always demanding some miraculous display and the scientists are looking for intellectual answers, we go right on proclaiming a lynched Christ.?1?? To be sure, this is an insult to some churchmen, and so much bunk to the non-Christians, but to those in the fellowship, whether they are churchmen or scientists, white or black, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. And bear in mind that God’s "foolishness" is far superior to human wisdom, and that God’s "weakness" is stronger than man’s might.26.???????????? Now take a look at your fellowship, brothers. Very few of your members are highly educated, not many are influential or from the upper crust. It appears as though God deliberately selected the world’s "morons" to show up the wise guys, and the world’s weaklings to show up the high and mighty, and the world’s lowly and rejected - the nobodies - to put the heat on the somebodies. So then no human being should puff himself up in the presence of God. Actually, it is for him that you yourselves are in Christ Jesus, who for us is wisdom and righteousness and dedication and redemption — all of it straight from God. That’s why the Scripture says, "If you simply must brag, give the credit to the Lord."?2. 1.???????????? Now brothers, while I was with you, I did not go around preaching God’s word with a lot of fancy sermons or learned discourses. For I had decided to concentrate all my attention on Jesus Christ (and a lynched man at that!). You know how weak I was, how fearful (often I actually trembled), and that my talks and sermons did not consist of witty, captivating phrases, but of an actual demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not be grounded in human reasoning but in God’s strength.6.???????????? On the other hand, the more mature ones among us do discuss education, or "wisdom," but it is not the kind which is being presently emphasized or which is so valued in the higher circles of superficial learning. Rather, we refer to God’s wisdom as a kind of mystery, or secret, which God has kept since the beginning of time for our enlightenment. It is something which the present-day officials never seemed to grasp, for if they had, they obviously would not have permitted such a wonderful fellow to be lynched. Here is what the Scriptures say:??????????????????????? No eye has seen, no ear has heard,??????????????????????? No human heart has grasped??????????????????????? The wondrous things which God himself??????????????????????? Has shown to those who love him.10.???????????? Now it was through the Spirit that God made these things known to us. For the Spirit penetrates everything, even to the very depths of God. Let’s look at it this way: Can anybody else really know your own heart like your own spirit? All right, then, can anybody else know God’s own heart like his own Spirit? Certainly not, and that’s why we were not given the spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God to help us understand the things which he has so freely turned over to us.13. ??????????? What I’m trying to say is that this instruction is not the result of education on the human level, but rather it comes from the Spirit’s teaching; that is, we use spiritual insights to ascertain spiritual truths. For example, a man with a secular background finds it difficult to understand things from a spiritual point of view, for it is all foolishness to him. He just can’t grasp it, because it is in spiritual language. On the other hand, the man with a spiritual experience grasps it readily without help from anyone. But even so, who ever fully knows the Lord’s mind? Who can really carry on a conversation with him? Yet, we have Christ’s mind!?3.1.???????????? Now my brothers, I was unable to speak to you as spiritually mature persons, but rather I had to think of you as quite ordinary people - babies in Christ. I gave you a bottle, not solid food. That’s all you could take. And you still don’t seem to be doing much better, because you are just as material-minded as ever. For when there is jealousy and bickering among you, aren’t you behaving like any ordinary human beings? And when you start crowing, "I’m a Paul man," and somebody else yells, "I’m for Oliver!" aren’t you pathetically human. Wait a minute. Who is Oliver anyway? And who is Paul? Both are simply the servants who brought the gospel to you, who performed each his duty in his own way as the Lord wished it. I planted, Oliver cultivated, but God made the crop grow. So it makes little difference who plants or who cultivates, but who makes it grow. Both the planter and the cultivator are the same, and each shall be paid on the basis of his work. Oliver and I are God’s hired hands and you all are his farm, his "mansion," so to speak. Like a skilled craftsman, and using all my God-given insights, I laid out the foundation, and then left it to others to put up the building. Now let everybody be careful how he builds, for he cannot redo the existing foundation, which is Jesus Christ. So if anyone puts up a building on this foundation, whether it be of gold, silver, expensive stone, lumber, straw or twigs, it shall obviously be his own work, standing out as clear as day, as though it were spotlighted. And the test of every man’s work will be whether or not it can stand the spotlight. If it can, then of course he ll be "paid off." But if it can’t then he ll lose everything he has in it, even though he himself might manage to scrape by. Aren’t you all aware that you are God’s "mansion" in which God’s spirit lives? And if anybody messes up God’s house, God will mess him up. For God’s house (and that includes every one of you) is indeed a sacred thing.18.???????????? Let nobody kid himself; if anyone gets the idea that he is worldly-wise let him become an idiot so that he might be truly wise. For worldly wisdom is idiocy before God, just as it is written, "He caught the intellectuals in their own trap." And again, "The Lord knows that intellectual discussions are vain." So, let nobody brag about human accomplishments. In reality, you own everything — Paul, Oliver, Rock, the world, life, death, the present, the future — everything. And you belong to Christ, and Christ to God.?4.1. ??????????? Please consider us as Christ’s assistants and as trustees of God’s secrets. (In our work, as in any business, one of the chief requirements of a trustee is honesty.) It doesn’t make any difference to me whether I’m sized up by you or some other personnel committee; in fact, I can’t even size up myself! I know next to nothing about myself, but that doesn’t excuse me. The one who finally passes on me is the Lord himself. So don t jump to conclusions ahead of time. For the Lord himself comes and illuminates the dark secrets and makes clear the intent of our hearts. At that time God will give each man his proper credit.6.???????????? Now brothers, I’ve applied all this to myself and Oliver so as to help you see in us that one should not go beyond what has been spelled out, and that one should not vie with another in puffing himself up. After all, who put you on a pedestal? What have you got that was not given to you? Well then, if it’s a gift, why do you brag as though you earned it? Yeah, you’re rich all right. You’ve piled it sky-high. You can even rule the roost without any help from us. Indeed! How I wish that you did rule, so we could share your throne!9.???????????? You know, I think God has made us preachers the bottom men on the totem pole, like men on death row, because we’ve become a morbid curiosity to the men and women of the world. For Christ’s sake we are fools, but you, you are doctors of divinity. We are the nobodies, while you belong to the establishment. You are the elite, while we’re scum. Even at this very moment we’re hungry and thirsty and ragged. We get our heads cracked, we’re shoved and pushed around, and work like dogs to make a living with our own hands. Though cussed out, we bless. Though persecuted, we restrain ourselves. Though lied about, we reply gently. We have become like a garbage dump for the world, being right now a place for everybody’s dirty dishwater.14. ??????????? I’m not writing like this to make you ashamed of yourselves; I m doing it to correct you as though you were my own dear children. For even though you may have countless teachers in Christ, you don’t have many fathers. For it was I who sired you in Christ by the gospel. Now I beg you to act like me. This is exactly why I sent to you Timothy, my dear and loyal son in the Lord, that he might refresh your memory concerning the ways I follow Christ, exactly as I teach in every church everywhere. When I did not personally come to you some of you acted smart. All right, the Lord willing, I shall come to you very shortly, and I’ll look, not for the talk of the smart fellows, but for their commitment. For the God movement is not a way of talking glibly but of living powerfully. So how do you want it? Shall I come to you. with my belt, or with a spirit of loving persuasion??5.1. ??????????? It is heard all over that there is sex sin among you, and of a kind that not even non-church-members practice, such as a man sleeping with his stepmother. And instead of going around with your head up in the air, shouldn’t you have been concerned enough to remove from your midst one who does such a thing? Though I m not there physically, I am present in the spirit. Being thus in your midst, I’ve already decided what should be done about the man doing this thing. All of us (I’ll be there in the spirit) should get together in the name of the Lord Jesus, and acting under the authority of our Lord Jesus, we should surrender this person to Satan to finish wrecking his appetite so that his soul might be saved on the day of the Lord.6.???????????? There’s nothing good about your bragging. Don’t you know that even a few germs will contaminate the whole dish? Clean up the source of infection, so that you might be a wholesome dish, uncontaminated, just as you are supposed to be. Since the "meat" of our meal — Christ — has already been prepared, let us feast, not on the old contaminated food nor on the germ-laden dish of evil and wickedness, but on the pure food of honesty and truth.9.???????????? I wrote in my other letter to you that you should not mix with tom-catters. I did not mean the tom-tatters, the profiteers, the exploiters and the money-mad who are a part of this world, since you would then have to withdraw entirely from the world. Now what I meant was that if he is a member of the church and is a tom-catter or a profiteer or a money addict or a character-assassin or a drunk or an exploiteer, then you should not have fellowship with him. In fact, you shouldn’t even eat with him. For what right do I have to judge those outside the church? It’s the church members you are to discipline, isn’t it? God will tend to the outsiders; you clean up the mess in your own ranks.?6.1. ??????????? How dare you take your complaints against one another to pagan law courts and not before your fellow believers! Or are you unaware that the believers will eventually try the world? Now if the world is to be tried by you, aren’t you qualified to hear trivial misdemeanors? And you know, don’t you, that we shall sit on cases involving not only affairs of the world but of angels. Then why in the world do you take cases between you, involving mere temporal affairs, before people who have not even been accepted into the church? I say, "Shame on you!" Surely it can’t be that you don’t have among you a single person wise enough to decide cases among brothers, can it? Yet brother goes to court against brother, and — of all things — before outsiders! Already you’ve lost stature by having lawsuits at all against one another. Why not rather accept injustice? Why not rather be cheated? But instead, you yourselves practice injustice and fraud, and even worse, on your own brothers! Or maybe you didn’t know, huh, that the unjust will have no part in the God movement? Well, don’t kid yourselves. No tom-catters, nor money addicts, nor wife-swappers, nor the idle rich, nor homosexuals, nor crooks, nor profiteers, nor drunks, nor character-assassins, nor exploiters will have any part in the God movement. Some of you used to do these things, but you were cleaned up and given a fresh start; you were made morally sensitive by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.12. ??????????? All things might be legal for me but not beneficial. All things might be legal, but I don’t have to let anything make me addicted to it. One man "lives to eat" and another "eats to live," but God controls the destiny of both. The body is not for tom-catting around, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. It was God’s power that raised the Lord and will raise us too. Aren’t you aware that your bodies are Christ’s limbs? Then shall I take the arms and legs of Christ and make them the arms and legs of a whore? Of course not! Don’t you also know that whoever joins up with a whore has one and the same body with her, because it says that "the two shall be the same flesh." It’s also true that whoever joins up with the Lord has one and the same spirit with him. So stay away from whoring. Any other sin that a man commits is against someone else, but whoring is a sin against himself. Don’t you know too that your body is a shrine for the indwelling Holy Spirit which you received from God? You don’t own yourselves; someone paid dearly for you. Let your body be a credit to him.?7.1.???????????? Now concerning the items in your letter, it is best for a man to stay away from a woman entirely. But because of the prevalence of extramarital intercourse, let each man keep to his own wife, and each woman to her own husband. The husband should completely satisfy his wife, and the wife should do the same for her husband. For the wife is powerless over her own body and must depend on the man to satisfy her. Likewise, the man is powerless over his own body and must depend on the woman to satisfy him. Don’t hold yourselves back from one another, unless possibly when both of you have agreed to abstain for a while in order to have more time for prayer. Then come together again, so Satan won’t use your abstinence as a means of tempting you. (I’m saying this by the way of permission - not command. For I’d like all men to be single like me; yet each has his own assignment from God, one this, another that.)8.???????????? Let me say this to the unmarried and the widowed: It’s best for them to stay single, as I am. But if they can’t control their passions, they should get married. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with desire.10.???????????? And for the married I have this command, not from me but from the Lord, that a woman should not separate from her husband (if she does separate, she should either remain unmarried or make up with her husband) and that a man should not leave his wife. Speaking personally, and not for the Lord, I say to the rest of you that if a brother has a wife who is not a Christian, and she is willing to stay with him, he should not divorce her. And if a sister has a husband who is not a Christian, and he is content to live with her, she should not divorce the man.14.???????????? For the non-Christian husband is identified with us through his wife, and the non-Christian woman through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be mixed up, but as it is they too are identified with the movement.15.???????????? However, if the non-Christian wants to separate, let him separate. In such instances the brother or sister is not obligated to stay with the partner, since God has called us to a life of peace. Besides, how do you know, dear lady, but that this will win over your husband? And how can you be sure, sir, but that this might win over your wife?17.???????????? However, each person should accept the situation to which the Lord has assigned him and the responsibility God has laid on him. This is what I instruct all the churches. Were you a white man when you responded to God’s call? Don’t black your face. Were you a Negro when you were converted? Don’t try to be a white man. For the thing that really matters is not that you’re white or black, but your obedience to God’s commands. Let every man press on as he was when God converted him. Were you a slave when you were converted? Don’t be ashamed of it. But just the same, if you can get your freedom, do so. For in the Lord’s fellowship a converted slave is the Lord’s freedman. By the same token, a converted freedman is Christ’s slave. You have been bought and paid for. Don’t, then, hire out to men. I repeat, brothers, let each man press on as he was when God converted him.25.???????????? I do not have any specific instructions from the Lord for those who have never married. However, as one who, by the Lord’s mercy, is reliable, I venture my personal opinion. I sincerely believe that, due to the present unsettled conditions, it is best for a person to stay as he is. Are you married? Don’t seek a divorce. Are you single? Don’t try to get a partner. But even if you should marry, you haven’t sinned, nor has the girl you marry sinned. It’s just that I would spare you all the physical difficulties that those who do get married will have. I’m telling you this, my brothers, we don’t have much time left. During what little there is, people who have wives are in the same boat as those who don’t, and those who cry are the same as those who smile, those who laugh as those who frown, those who buy are the same as the ones who didn’t bid, and they who make room for the world are in the same boat as those who never had any use for it. For the whole structure of the world is collapsing. How I wish you might be free from such worries!32.???????????? The single man’s primary concern is for spiritual matters - how he might please the Lord. But the married man’s chief worry is how to make a living for his family, and so he is inwardly torn. It’s the same with women - the elderly maid and the eligible maiden can devote themselves to spiritual affairs, so as to be dedicated in both body and soul. But the married woman is constantly worrying about her husband and house. I’m saying this not to bridle you but for your own good, so that you can give yourselves without reservation to a well-arranged and determined Christian life.36.???????????? Now if anyone feels that he hasn’t done quite right by his marriageable daughter, and if she is already of age (and this she most certainly should be), let her do as she wishes: she isn’t sinning; let them marry. However, he who has firmly made up his own mind, being under no pressure but having the right to keep his marriageable daughter, he is doing nothing wrong. So, whoever marries off his daughter does all right, but he who does not marry her off will do better.39.???????????? A wife is bound to her husband as long as he is alive. If he dies, she is free to remarry, but only to a Christian. In my judgment, though - and I think I speak as one who has God’s Spirit - she would be far happier if she remained a widow.?8.1.???????????? Now about working on Sunday, 2?? we know that we all have been "enlightened." But "enlightenment" is inflating, while love makes a man truly great. If someone thinks he knows it all, he hasn’t begun to learn the first lesson. Yet if one really loves God, God then opens himself up to him. So back to this working on Sunday, we know that a day means nothing whatsoever, and that God alone really matters. Even though there are also many special days on both Catholic and Protestant calendars, such as those to saints and special events, still for us God alone is supreme, our Father, the source of all things. We are his, and so is the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, including ourselves. But not everybody has this insight. Some people, because of their traditional background, still think of working on Sunday as sinful, and their sense of right, limited as it is, is offended by it. Well, work of itself doesn’t make us spiritually presentable. So if we don’t work we are no worse off, and if we do work, we are no better off. Just be careful that in the exercise of this freedom you do not trip up your weaker brothers. For suppose one of them sees you, an enlightened man, working on Sunday, won’t it be too much for his limited understanding and cause him, against his better judgment, to work too? In this way the weaker brother is torn apart by your enlightenment. And since he too is a brother for whom Christ died, when you sin against such brothers and offend their limited understanding, you also sin against Christ. That’s why, if working on Sunday spiritually wounds my brother, I’ll never work on Sunday as long as I live — but only to keep from spiritually wounding my brother.?9.1.???????????? Who says I’m not "emancipated," that I’m not a qualified preacher? Haven’t I seen our Lord Jesus? Aren’t you yourselves evidence of my work for Christ? Even though some others don’t regard me as an ordained minister, you should, for you all make my Christian ordination authentic. My answer to those who question my integrity in this: Now isn’t it true that all of us ministers have the right to bed and board from our congregations? Don’t we have the right to have our wife or a sister accompany us, as do the other ministers and the brothers of the Lord and Rock? All right, is it just Barnabas and I who don’t have the right to give up making our own living? What soldier ever goes to war at his own expense? What farmer sets out an orchard and doesn’t eat of the fruit? In saying this am I guided by human reasoning, or does the Bible itself say the same thing? It says in the Old Testament, "You shall not muzzle a mule while he is plowing corn." Was this said because a mule matters that much to God, or was it entirely for our benefit? It was written for our benefit, of course, because a farmer should be assured of his share of his products, and the hired hand that he has a right to the food he helps produce. If we, then, planted spiritual seeds among you, why the big fuss if we harvest mere material things from you? If others have this right over you, don’t we even more? Yet we never did use this right, and we supported ourselves all the way through so as to give no one a chance to bellyache about the gospel of Christ.13.???????????? You know, don’t you, that religious workers get their living from donations, and any others connected with the organization share in the contributions. Likewise, the Lord also instructed that they who preach the gospel should get their living from it. But as for myself, I have never made use of any of these privileges. Nor have I written in this vein that it might be so with me now. For I’d much rather die than - no one is going to rob me of that of which I’m so proud.3?? If I merely preach the gospel, that’s nothing to brag about, because I’m under compulsion to do that! I’d catch it if I didn’t preach the gospel! Now if I do something voluntarily, I get paid for it. But if I’m conscripted, I am bound by superior orders. What then is my "pay"? Being able to preach and establish the gospel free of charge, so as not to exercise in the least my right to sustenance from the gospel.19.???????????? Being thus independent of everyone, I became a slave to everybody in order to reach more people. I related to white people as a white man in order to reach white people; to members of the established church as a church member (though I myself don’t belong to one) that I might reach church members; to the uncommitted people I related as an uncommitted man — I was never uncommitted to God but fully committed to Christ — so as to reach uncommitted people. To the powerless people I became a powerless man, to reach people who have no power. In every way I have related to those in all walks of life, if somehow, some way, I might get through to them. Everything I do is for the gospel, that I may be a full partner in it.24.???????????? You don’t need to be reminded that while many may compete in a racing event, only one wins first prize, so go all out for top place. Every serious contestant puts himself through rigorous discipline — they to win a tarnishable trophy, but we an enduring life. So I don’t want to run like a guy who is unsure of himself or like a boxer flailing the air. Instead, I put my body through terrific workouts and thoroughly master it, because I don’t want to preach to others and wind up a dismal failure myself.?10.1.???????????? I don’t want you to forget, brothers, that all our ancestors were guided by the cloud, and all of them made it through the sea. (This cloud and sea experience was, in a sense, an initiation into the Moses movement.) They all ate the same miraculous food and they all drank the same miraculous water, for they were drinking from a miraculous, ever-present rock, which was a symbol of Christ. But even so, God wasn’t particularly fond of them, for they were discarded in the wilderness. These people became our "lighthouses," to warn us against following their example of hankering for wickedness. Never make a god of your possessions as some of them did. For we are told that "The people sat down to eat and drink the sacrificial meal, and then got right up and started carousing around." Don’t go back on God, as some of them did one time when twenty-three thousand came down with disease and died. Let’s never try to argue with the Lord, as some of them did and died from snakebite. Never bellyache, like some of them did and were visited by the Death Angel. These things happened to them as sort of a symbol, and were written down for the guidance of us for whom the end of an age has arrived.12.???????????? Let the man who thinks he has his feet on the ground be careful lest he slip and fall. Yet only temptation of a human sort ever overtakes you, and God can be trusted not to let you be tempted beyond your capacities, always providing along with the temptation a way out, so you can be victorious.14.???????????? So then, my loved ones, shun the worship of things with all you’ve got. I’m talking to intelligent people, so decide for yourselves on what I’m saying. Isn’t the blessed cup we reverence a "community" (a koinonia) of Christ’s blood? Isn’t the loaf we break a "community" (a koinonia) of Christ’s body? Just as the loaf is a whole, so we, though many, are a whole body, for we all took a part of the whole loaf. Take an example from the Jewish ritual: It’s true, isn’t it, that they who eat the sacrifices are knit together around the altar? So what am I saying? That merely taking part in a ceremony means anything? Or that there’s something holy about a ritual? Not at all. I mean simply that worldly people are drawn together in their allegiance to wickedness, not to God. And I don’t want you to be their partners in their evil. You cannot drink from the Lord’s cup and the world’s mug at the same time. You can’t feel equally welcome at the communion table and at a nightclub. Do we want to get the Lord all riled up? Do you think we can outdo him?23.???????????? Sure, sure, "everything is legal," but that does not mean that everything is beneficial. Sure, "everything is legal," but that doesn’t make it right. The best guide is to seek, not your own welfare, but the good of your neighbor. So eat whatever comes from the supermarket — kosher or not — without raising questions of conscience. For after all, everything — the earth and all that’s in it — belongs to the Lord. If a non-church-member invites you for a meal, and you wish to accept, go ahead and eat whatever he puts in front of you without raising conscience questions. But if he tells you outright, "This isn’t, kosher," don’t eat it for the sake of your host and his scruples - his scruples, I remind you, not your own. And why should I let my freedom be pushed around by another’s scruples? Or if I’ve said grace, why should I let myself be embarrassed over food for which I’ve already given thanks? Simply this: Whether you’re eating or drinking or whatever, make sure it is to God’s credit. Set a good example for both whites and Negroes — for God’s whole church — just as I myself favor others in every way possible. I’m not out to have my own way, but to do what’s best for others, so they can be saved. Imitate me in this, even as I imitate Christ.?11.1.???????????? Let me commend you for remembering all my lectures and for carrying out the instructions I gave you. Now I don’t want you to forget that the head of every man is Christ; that the head of the woman is the man; and that the head of Christ is God. Any man who prays or preaches with his head (Christ) obscured is a shame and a disgrace to his head. On the other hand, a woman who prays or preaches without obscuring her head (or husband) is a shame and disgrace to him. It is the same as though she herself were a man. Now if a woman isn’t going to act like a lady, then let her get a man’s haircut. But if she is ashamed to get clipped and shaved like a man, then she should act like a lady. Indeed, since a man bears the image and honor of God, he should not, like a woman whose "honor" comes through her husband, veil his face. For the man, you know, was not formed from a woman, but the woman from a man. Also, it was the woman who was created to be man’s helper, not vice versa. That’s why a woman needs someone to exercise authority over her the same as other "angels." But really, in the Christian fellowship a woman is no different from a man, and a man no different from woman. For even though the woman was formed from the man, it’s the woman who gives birth to a man, and God is the creator of both.13.???????????? You all consider this very carefully: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God while vainly exposing her face? Doesn’t nature herself teach you that it’s a disgrace for a man to let his hair grow; while for a woman long hair is attractive. And besides, it makes a very convenient veil! Now if anybody wants to argue this point, let me simply say that this is standard policy throughout the churches.17. ??????????? Now let me lay this on your heart, for I surely don’t praise you when your meetings turn out to be not a help but a hindrance. In the first place, I hear that when you assemble as a church you are split this way and that, and I am inclined to believe it. And it’s necessary, huh, to have conflicting points of view so that the real truth might come to light? So when you come together it isn’t to eat the supper the Lord’s way. For each one takes his own private basket to eat from, and some wind up hungry and some stuffed. Couldn’t you have stayed at home and eaten like that? Or do you actually have contempt for God’s church and embarrass the have-nots among you? What can I possibly say to you? Shall I praise you? I’d never praise you for something like this.23. ??????????? Now I myself got it straight from the Lord, and transmitted it to you, that on the night he was turned in, the Lord Jesus took a loaf of bread and after giving thanks he broke it and said, "This is my body, which represents you all; make this into my memorial." For every time you eat this loaf and share this cup, you clearly declare the Lord’s death - until he returns.27.???????????? So then whoever disrespectfully eats the loaf and drinks the cup is actually showing disrespect for the body and blood of the Lord. Let every man carefully examine his own heart, and in the light of this let him eat from the loaf and drink from the cup. For he who eats and drinks without being fully aware of the body idea, eats and drinks a sentence on himself. This is why quite a few of you are weak and sickly and some are just plain dead. If we carefully examined our own hearts, we wouldn’t come under judgment. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are punished to keep us from being damned along with the world. So then, my brothers when you get together to eat, be considerate of one another. If somebody is so hungry he can’t wait, let him eat at home, lest your meeting become a time for judgment. I’ll tend to the other matters when I get there.?12.1.???????????? Now brothers, I don’t want you to be in the dark on spiritual matters. You are aware that before you were converted your lives were completely dominated by false gods. So I’m making it plain to you that nobody speaking under the influence of God’s Spirit ever says, "Jesus be damned." And nobody has the power to say "Jesus is Lord," except through the Holy Spirit.4.???????????? Though there is a difference in what we receive from the Spirit, it is one and the same spirit. Though there are different forms of service, the Master is the same. And though God uses different means of empowering us, it is one and the same God who energizes everybody in every way.7. ??????????? To each has been given that aspect of the Spirit which is beneficial to all. To one the Spirit has given a keen mind. To another has been given the capacity for faith, to another a talent for healing, to another the ability to work miracles, to another to preach, to another a sensitive spiritual insight, to another a catalog of tongues and to still another the ability to interpret the tongues — all these prompted by one and the same Spirit, who distributes them to each person as he thinks best.12.???????????? It’s just like the body, which is entire within itself, even though it has many parts. With all its parts, it is still only one body. That’s the way it is with Christ. For through one Spirit we all — whether whites or Negroes, laborers or white-collar workers — were initiated into one Body, and all of us had one Spirit breathed into us. For the body does not consist of just one part but many. If the foot should say, "Since I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body," would this make it so? Or if the ear should say, "Since I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body," would this make it so? If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? Or if it were an ear, how could it smell? But as it is, God has arranged every single part of the body according to his own design. If everything consisted of just one part, how could it be a body? Now indeed the parts are many but the body is a unit. So then, the eye can’t say to the hand, "I don’t need you," nor again, can the head say to the foot, "I don’t need you." But rather, those parts of the body which seem to be most insignificant are extremely important And those parts of the body which are seemingly the least prized turn out to be quite valuable, and our inconspicuous parts are all the more conspicuous when the conspicuous parts can’t meet the same needs. God has delicately balanced the body by giving greater preference to the weaker part so as to avoid discord in the body. In this way the members must exercise the same concern for each other. So if one part suffers, all parts suffer together; if one part gets glory, all the parts share the joy together. Now you all are Christ’s body; each one is a part of a larger whole.28.???????????? And God has arranged it in the church that some should be (1) apostles, (2) preachers, (3) teachers, then specialists, then talents for healing, interns, administrators, and a whole slew of talkers. They can’t all be apostles, can they? Or preachers? Or teachers, or specialists, or doctors, or talkers in tongues, or interpreters for the tongue-talkers? Yearn for the superior talents. And I want to show you the greatest way of all:?13.1.???????????? Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have no love, I am a hollow-sounding horn or a nerve-wracking rattle. And though I have the ability to preach, and know all the secrets and all the slogans, and though I have sufficient faith to move a mountain, but have no love, I am nothing. Even though I renounce all my possessions, and give my body as a flaming sacrifice, but have no love, I accomplish exactly nothing. Love is long-suffering and kind. Love is not envious, nor does it strut and brag. It does not act up, nor try to get things for itself. It pitches no tantrums, keeps no books on insults or injuries, sees no fun in wickedness, but rejoices when truth prevails. Love is all-embracing, all-trusting, all-hoping, all-enduring. Love never quits. As for sermons, they shall be silenced; as for oratory, it shall cease; as for knowledge, it will vanish. For our knowledge is immature, and our preaching is immature; but when that which is mature arrives, it supersedes the immature. For example, when 1 was a child, I was talking like a child, thinking like a child, acting like a child, but when I became an adult, I outgrew my childish ways. So, on the childish level [i.e., without love] we look at one another in a trick mirror, but on the adult level [i.e., with love] we see face to face; as a child [i.e., without love] I understand immaturely, but as an adult [i.e., with love] I’ll understand just as I’ll be understood. Now these three things endure: faith, hope and love; but the greatest of all is love. Seek diligently for love.?14.1.???????????? Yearn for the spiritual gifts, too, especially in your preaching. For when one speaks while in a trance, he is not addressing men but God, and nobody catches on to what he is saying, for by means of a Spirit he is talking about hidden things. But when one preaches, he is speaking to men for their encouragement and inspiration and enlightenment. He who speaks in a trance benefits only himself, but he who preaches benefits the whole congregation. I’d like for all of you to be able to speak in a trance, but I’d much rather you’d simply preach. For preaching is much better than speaking in a trance, except perhaps when someone can interpret so the whole congregation might be benefited. Now brothers, suppose I come to you speaking in a trance. Would it do you any good unless what I had to say were in the form of an insight or instruction or a sermon or a lesson? Why, even lifeless things, such as a trombone or a violin, make a sound, but unless it produces clearly discernible notes nobody recognizes the tune. Or if a bugle blows an unrecognizable call, who will know to prepare for battle? Well, that’s the way it is with you too. If in a trance you say something unintelligible, how can anyone catch on to what you’re saying? You’ll Just be batting the breeze.10.???????????? There are all kinds of words in the world, and not one of them is without meaning. But if I don’t know the content of a word, I’ll be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me.12. ??????????? In the same way, you too, since you are eager for spiritual gifts, should try to build up the church so it will prosper. Therefore, let him who talks in a trance pray that he may be able to explain it. For if I pray in a trance, my spirit no doubt prays, but my mind is a blank. What good is that? So when I pray with my spirit, I’ll pray also with my mind; when I sing with my spirit, I’ll sing also with my mind. Now suppose you give a prayer with only your spirit, how will an untutored deacon know when to come in with the "Amen" during your thanksgiving if he doesn’t know what in the world you’re saying? Your prayer of thanks might be quite all right, but nobody else is benefited by it.18.???????????? I thank God that I can outdo any of you in speaking in a trance. But I’d rather speak five intelligent words in church for the instruction of others than a whole dictionary full of words in a trance.20.???????????? Brothers, don’t be intellectual runts. Be a harmless baby as far as evil is concerned, but intellectually you should be mature adults. It is written in the Bible, "I will speak to this nation through foreigners speaking a different language, but even so it won’t pay any attention, says the Lord." So then the "different language" (trance-talking) has no significance for loyal church members, but for the disobedient. On the other hand, a clear-cut sermon is not so much for the outsiders as for the members.23.???????????? Suppose that when the whole church comes together everybody is talking gibberish, and then some outsiders or others unacquainted with Christianity come in, won’t they think you’re off your rocker? But if everyone is speaking God’s word clearly and to the point when such an outsider or unacquainted person drops in, then he will be deeply moved and convicted by all that’s going on; he will speak openly about his inner feelings, and will burst forth in praise to God, shouting, "God is surely among you people!"26.???????????? So what’s this all about, brothers? Just this: When you all get together and one has a song, another has a Scripture verse, another an experience or some trance-talk and another has the explanation, then organize it so everybody can be benefited. If anybody starts trance-talking, say two or at the most three, let them take turns while one explains what each says. If there’s nobody around to explain it, let him be quiet in church and pray silently between himself and God.29.???????????? Let two or three preachers talk, and the others evaluate it. If a thought strikes a seated minister, let the first one yield the floor. In this way everybody can do a little preaching one at a time, and all will be instructed and encouraged. But do let the preachers try to control themselves, for God is not a God of confusion but of peace.34.???????????? As in all loyal churches, women should stop talking when they get to church. They just plain aren’t allowed to do their talking there, but should give their husbands a chance, as the law says. If they want to learn the latest, let them ask their husbands at home. For it’s a disgrace to have a woman talking in church.36.???????????? Say, did the word of God originate with you all? Or are you the only ones in whom it has been established? Listen here, if any guy considers himself a preacher or other religious worker, let him get it straight that what I’m writing to you is a commandment of the Lord himself. If he ignores this, you ignore him.39.???????????? And so, my brothers, when you preach, put all you’ve got into it. And don’t discourage those who talk in a trance. Let everything be done properly and orderly.?15.1.???????????? Now brothers, let me make clear to you the good news which I originally brought to you and which you received, and in which you’ve taken your stand, and by which you’re finding your way out - that is, if you’re still holding on to the word as I gave it to you. If you’re not, then your "faith" isn’t worth a hill of beans.3.???????????? For among the most important things I turned over to you was that which I myself received - that Christ died for our sins, just like the Bible said, and that he was buried, and that on the third day he was raised, again just as the Bible said. As I got it, he was seen by Rock, then by the twelve. Later he was seen by more than five hundred brothers at the same time. (Most of these brothers are still alive, although some of them have since died.) After this he was seen by James, and then by all the apostles. Last of all, like a baby who was born almost too late, I saw him — I, I who am the least of the apostles — I who am not even worthy to be called an apostle because I tormented God’s dedicated people. Only by God’s grace I am what I now am! And the favor he showed me was not wasted, for I worked harder than all the rest - not I really, but God’s goodness that had hold of me.11.???????????? So what difference does it make whether you get it from me or others — this is what we preach and this is what you believed. And if it is clearly taught that Christ was raised from the dead, how is it that now some of you are saying, "There’s no such thing as life after death"? Well, if there’s no life after death, then Christ himself is still dead! And if Christ is dead, then our message has no meaning, and your faith also has no meaning. On top of this, we turn out to be untruthful witnesses about God, because we solemnly testified that God did make Christ alive, which would be impossible if there’s no life after death. For if the dead are not made alive, neither has Christ been made alive. And if Christ hasn’t been made to live, your faith is a hollow shell and you’re still a bunch of sinners. Moreover, all those who died for Christ died for nothing. If our hope in Christ covers only this life, we of all people are the most to be pitied.20.???????????? But now the fact is that Christ was made alive. He is the forerunner of those who have passed on. For since death came through a human being, life after death also came through a human being. Just as everybody inherits physical death through Adam, so do all find newness of life in Christ.23.???????????? Each one has his own turn: First is Christ the forerunner, then those who are bound to him in his movement, and then the climax, when he hands over the New Order to the Father-God, at which time all other rule and authority and power will be superseded. For it is necessary for him to continue in power until he has subdued all his enemies, the last of which is death. For the Bible says, "He put everything under Christ s rule." (But when it says that everything has been put under Christ, it is obvious that this does not include God himself.) So, when everything has been brought under his rule, then the Son himself shall be under the sway of him who put everything in the hands of the Son, in order that God alone might be supreme.29.???????????? Now another thing: If there’s no life after death, what about those people who are being consecrated in behalf of their departed loved ones? What’s the point of doing such a thing? Indeed, if there’s no life after death, why should we also stand in hourly peril of our lives? Brothers, to keep alive our confidence which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I live every day on death row. If from a purely human standpoint I fought the police dogs at Birmingham, what good did it do me? If there’s no life after death, then let’s rev it up, because when it’s over we’re just dead ducks.33. ??????????? Don’t make an ass of yourself. Such shoddy thinking destroys decent conduct. Sober up and quit your sinning. I'm ashamed to say it to your face, but some of you have an abysmal ignorance of God!35.???????????? Now someone will ask: "How do the dead live again? What kind of body do they have?" Listen, silly, when you plant something, it won’t come up unless it dies. And what you plant is not the new stalk but just a plain seed of, say, wheat or some other plant. Then God gives to it the form that he thinks best, and to each kind of seed its own particular form. Or take flesh — it isn’t all the same. Some of it is in human form, some in the form of animals, some of birds and some of fish. Likewise, there are forms, or bodies, for the afterlife as well as forms or bodies for life on the earth, and each form has its own appearance as does the moon and even the stars, for one star differs from another in appearance. And that’s the way it is with the afterlife. Something perishable is planted, and it comes up imperishable. Something weak is planted, and it comes up powerful. A vessel of the mind is planted, and a vessel of the spirit comes up. There’s a Scripture which says, "The first man Adam became a rational being." The last Adam (Christ) became a life-creating spirit. Note that the spiritual does not precede the rational, but vice versa. The first man sprang from earth, a lump of clay. The second man sprang from the spiritual realm. Just as the descendants of the lump of clay are themselves lumps of clay, so the descendants of the Immortal One are themselves immortal. And as the lump of clay gave form to us, even so shall the Immortal One give form to us.50.???????????? I’m saying simply this, brothers: Skin and bones just aren’t able to get into God’s realm of spirit, nor can that which is subject to decay take part in that which is immortal. Listen, I’ll let you in on a secret: Not all of us will die, but all of us will be changed. It’ll happen in a flash, like the batting of an eye, at the last bugle call. For indeed the bugle will blow, and the dead will live again — eternally — and we shall be changed. For this decaying body has to be outfitted with immortality. When this outfitting takes place, then the Bible verse will come true when it says: "Death sure took a licking. Say, Death, what have you won? And Death, what happened to your stinger?" Sin is death’s stinger, and sin’s power is the law. Thank you, God, for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.58. ??????????? And so, my much-loved brothers, stand your ground and don’t let anybody shove you around. Always keep up the good work for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for him is ever wasted.?16.1.???????????? Now a few words about that fund for sharing with church members. I’d like for you all to follow the same plan I recommended to the Alabama churches, namely, that each of you, at the first of the week, set aside in a special fund an amount in keeping with your income. Then when I come, there’ll be no need for a fund-raising campaign. Upon my arrival, I’ll give the proper letters to the committee you’ve selected to carry your gift to Charleston and send them on their way. If it seems wise that I should go too, we’ll go together.5.???????????? I’ll get by your way when I pass through Georgia. For I’ll be going through Georgia, and will possibly stay a while with you, or even spend the winter with you. Then you might help me on to my next destination. I don’t want to just pay you a pop call, because I’m hoping to spend quite a while with you, the Lord willing. More than likely I’ll stay in Birmingham until Thanksgiving, for a great and vital door of opportunity has opened up for me — and a lot of folks are after my hide, too.10.???????????? Should Timothy get by there, see to it that he is relieved of all worries while with you, because he is carrying on the work of the Lord the same as I. Let no one snub him, and when he leaves to come to me, you all give him a warm send-off, for I’m expecting him here with the other brothers.12.???????????? Now about Brother Oliver, I frequently urged him to visit you all with the brothers but he just plain didn’t want to right now. But he will come when he feels the time is ripe.13.???????????? Keep your eyes open, hold on to the faith with all you’ve got, stand up like a man, develop your muscles. Let your every act be an expression of love.15.???????????? You remember, don’t you, that the Stephen family were the first converts in Georgia and that they so arranged their lives as to be at the disposal of the church members. Now I want to lay it on your hearts, brothers, to give yourselves over completely to such leaders and to anyone else who takes hold with us and puts in an honest day’s work.17.???????????? It sure is good to see Steve, Lucky, and "Big Barn." They sorta make up for your not being here. They’re a big boost to both me and you all. Let’s give them a big hand.19.???????????? All the congregations in this area send you their warm greetings. Adrian and Prissy, with the fellowship which meets in their home, send special greetings in the Lord. In fact, all the brothers here send you their best wishes. Give everybody a big hug for me.With kindest regards,PaulP.S. If a man is not sincere in his discipleship, let him be damned. Come on, Lord! May the Lord Jesus’ unmerited favor be with you. My love is with you all in Christ Jesus.footnotes1 ?It may be that "lynched" is not a good translation of the Greek word which means "crucified." Christ was legally tried, if we may call it that, and officially condemned to death. So, technically speaking, it was not a lynching. But anyone who has watched the operation of Southern justice at times knows that more men have been lynched by "legal" action than by night-riding mobs. Pilate publicly admitted that his prisoner was being lynched when he called for a basin and washed his hands of official responsibility. If modern judges were as honest, then "lynching" would be an appropriate translation of "crucifixion."2 ?The phrase here is literally "eating meat which had been part of a pagan sacrifice," and which was offered for sale in the marketplace. Some had religious scruples against eating it, some didn’t. The issue was about parallel to our "working on Sunday."3??Paul does not complete this sentence.SECOND LETTER TO THE CHRISTIANS IN ATLANTA---2 CORINTHIANS1.1.???????????? From Paul, by God’s will an agent of Jesus Christ, and brother Timothy,??????????? To God’s fellowship in Atlanta, as well as other Christians throughout the state of Georgia.??????????? Peace and goodwill to you from our Father-God and from our Lord Jesus Christ. And hail to the Father-God of our Lord Jesus Christ — Father of kindness and God of all helpfulness!4.???????????? He surely does stand by us every time we get into trouble, and in the same way that he stands by us he makes it possible for us to stand by others in their trouble. For just as we often get hurt as a result of following Christ, we just as often get help from following Christ. So regardless of whether we get hurt when we lend you a hand and try to pull you through, or whether we are encouraged by your devotion which enables you to endure the same injuries we suffer, our confidence in you is as solid as a rock. We are convinced that even as you are partners in getting hurt, so also in standing by one another.8.???????????? For we don’t want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the trouble that happened to us in the South. We were pressed almost beyond our endurance, until we gave up hope of getting through it alive. Indeed, we were singled out to be killed, and our only hope was not in our own efforts, but in God who makes the dead to live. And he did deliver us from such a terrible death, and he’ll do it again! We’re counting on him even yet to get us out of here. But you too must help us with your prayers, so that your faces, along with many others, might light up with gratitude when we’re given our freedom.12.???????????? The thing we’re proudest of (our conscience bears this out) is that we behaved ourselves before the world, and especially in front of you, with God-like dedication and sincerity, guided not by strategic reasoning but by God’s grace. Now I’m not writing to you a lot of stuff you can’t even read, much less understand. I do hope you’ll fully catch on, just as you have partly understood us. For we are your talking point just as you are ours in the dawning era of our Lord Jesus.15.???????????? With this assurance, I planned earlier to come to you so you might have the pleasure of a second visit. Then I plan to go on from there into Mississippi and to come by your way again on my way back from Mississippi. You might then want to lend me a hand in getting to Washington.17.???????????? Now once I’ve made up my mind on something, do I then treat it lightly? Or when I decide on something, do I arrive at it through human reasoning, so as to qualify it with a "maybe so" or a "possibly not"? God knows that when we give you our word it is not both yes and no. God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us — by me and Silas and Timothy — was never both yes and no, but a resounding yes! For God’s many promises, made through his Son, are a strong yes. Even the amen is an affirmation by us of God’s glory. It is God who organized both you and us into a Christian fellowship and gave us the power to endure. He put big stamp of approval on us and poured into our hearts the first installment of the Holy Spirit.23.???????????? May God have mercy on my soul if the real reason I didn’t come to Atlanta was that I wanted to be easy on you. It’s not that we are trying to be bossy on matters of faith; instead, we work side by side with you to make you happy, because you’re making a pretty good go of the Christian life.?2. 1.???????????? Now I am determined that I’ll never again approach you with unpleasant matters. For when I chew you out, who is left to cheer me up— except you, whom I’ve chewed out! That’s exactly the reason I wrote that letter to you, so 1 wouldn’t have to come and be grieved by the very folks who should be making me happy. I lean so heavily on you that I can’t be happy at all unless you are. When I wrote to you, I did so out of a greatly troubled and sad heart, and I shed a lot of tears over it. I did it, not just to be raking you over the coals, but that you might understand how much 1 love you people in particular.5.???????????? Now when a person inflicts injury, be injures not only me but to a certain extent — and 1 don’t want to keep mentioning this — you all too. It looks now as if the punishment decided on by the majority for so-and-so has been adequate, so that from now on you should have a forgiving and encouraging attitude towards him in order to keep him from drowning in his excessive remorse. So I’m urging you to go out of your way to show your love for him. (I’ve written in this vein partly to see just how obedient you are on all points.) When you forgive somebody for something, I do too. And if indeed I forgave anything — that is, If I had anything to forgive — I did it, for your sake, before the eyes of the Christian body to keep Satan from running over us. For we certainly are on to his schemes.12.???????????? Well, when I got to Tennessee with Christ’s good news the Lord opened the door wide open for me, but I was worried half sick because I didn’t find my brother Titus there. So I told the folks good-bye and hightailed it for Mississippi. (Thank you, God, through whom "we shall overcome" — always — in our commitment to Christ, and who, through us, wafts the fragrance of knowledge of him from place to place.) To both those who are being rescued and those who are perishing we Christians are God’s perfume. We smell like something dead to one, like the breath of life to the other. Who is capable of such a responsibility? For we are not, like many others, hucksters of God’s word. Rather, when we speak, it is out of sincerity, as though we are from God and standing before him in Christ.?3.1.???????????? Are we beginning to blow our own horn again? Or do we need, as some do, to exchange credentials with one another? You folks are our credentials, inscribed on our hearts, easily understood and plainly read by all men. It is clear that you are Christ’s letter being delivered by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not carved in marble but carved in warm human hearts.4.???????????? Such dead certainty towards God we get through Christ. We simply can’t make the grade on our own. By ourselves we can’t even get to first base. Our pep comes from God, who also fired us up to be champions of a new way of life which consists, not of a lot of talk, but of a new spirit. For words deaden, but the Spirit gives life.7.???????????? All right, then, if the dead system made up of words typed on stones was something wonderful to behold (Moses’ face was lit up temporarily so brightly that our forefathers couldn’t look at him), won’t the spiritual system be all the more wonderful? For if the system based on law and punishment was wonderful, won’t the system based on goodness be all the more wonderful? In fact, that which at one time seemed so wonderfully good now looks pretty shabby beside something that’s so much finer. For if the temporary was great stuff, the eternal is even more so.12.???????????? Being thus sure of our ground, we come right out into the open. We are not like Moses, who put a mask over his face to keep the Israelites from seeing the end of his fading brightness. Besides, their thinking was in a rut. Why, even to this very day that same mask encrusts the reading of the Bible, and it is torn off only by Christ. That’s right, up until the present, whenever the Bible is read, a mask lies over peoples’ hearts. But whenever a person turns completely to the Lord, the mask is broken off. Now the Lord is spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit rules, so does freedom. And all of us, with our unmasked faces clearly reflecting the Lord’s loveliness, are at the same time being changed into his exact image by one glorious thing after another. Thus we take on the Lord’s Spirit.?4.1.???????????? So then, since God has shared this responsibility with us, we are not going to chicken out. And what’s more, we’re making a clean break with shameful secrets and with playing the imposter. Nor are we going to twist the Scriptures. On the contrary, by coming out plainly for the truth we lay ourselves, in God’s presence, squarely on the conscience of every man. So even though our good news is unclear, it is unclear only to those whose lives are falling apart at the seams. They have let the god of things blind their faithless minds so that the illumination of the glorious good news of Christ, who is the very image of God, could not penetrate them. It is not ourselves, I tell you, that we’re preaching; it is Jesus Christ as Lord, for whose sake we are your humble servants. For the God who said, "Let the light shine in darkness," has shined in our hearts so as to floodlight the wonderful knowledge of God beaming in Christ’s face.7.???????????? Imagine it! A priceless thing like that in clay pots like us! It just proves all the more that the real power is from God and not from ourselves. Just look! We catch it from every direction but we don’t let them squeeze the life out of us. We don’t know which end is up, but they don’t upend us. We are persecuted, but never wiped out. We are banged all over, but they don’t get rid of us. On every hand we bear the slaying of Jesus in the body so that the life of Jesus in our group might be clearly evident. We who live for Jesus always flirt with death, in order that Jesus’ life may be all the more evident in our fragile flesh. So while death is operating in us, life too is in you. Having the same spirit of faithfulness described by the Scripture, which says, "I acted, then I talked," we too act, then we talk. We are sure that He who made the Lord Jesus to live again will also make us alive with Him and stand us all up together. Really, this all happened for you, in order that the kindness which overflows onto so many might swell up as a mighty prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God.16.???????????? And that’s why we don’t poop out. Even if we do look worn out on the outside, we are constantly refreshed on the inside. After all, it will turn out that our little old troubles will be more than outweighed by our eternal glory. We just don’t put any stock in outward things but in inner things. For outward things are perishable, while inner things are eternal.?5.1.???????????? For example, we are sure that if our external framework of God’s dwelling is pulled down, we still have a house built by God, a house that’s not man-made but spiritual and eternal.1?? We are so hungry to be surrounded by our spiritual environment we can hardly stand it in this present setup. We want to appear clothed and not naked. For we who are in the church can hardly bear our heavy responsibilities. We want, oh so much, not to be undressed but dressed, so that our dying may be covered over by his living. This is why God has brought us together and has given us the Spirit as down payment.8.???????????? So then, things are always looking up for us. We realize that when we shut ourselves up in the church we shut ourselves out from the Lord.2?? For our way of life is based on faithfulness, not on external appearance. We are absolutely certain that we had rather shut ourselves out of the church and shut ourselves in with the Lord. But anyway, whether shut in or shut out, our sole purpose is to please him. For it is necessary for us all to be laid bare before the bar of Christ, so that each may be rewarded for what he did as a church member, whether good or bad.11.???????????? Being aware, then, of a profound respect for the Lord, we urge men on. We have laid ourselves bare before God and, I hope, before your innermost selves as well. No, we aren’t showing off in front of you, but we are trying to give you some valid reason for having confidence in us, so that you can stand up to those who put status above spirituality. For whether we’re off our rocker, it is for God; or whether we’re sober as a judge, it is for you. For we are hemmed in by Christ’s love. We are convinced of this: that One died for us all. In a sense, then, we all died when He died for all, so that we may no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died for us and was made alive. That’s why, from here on out, we pay absolutely no attention to a person’s outward appearance. It is true that we once knew Christ physically, but now we do so no longer. Therefore, if a man is a Christian he is a brand new creation. The old guy is gone: look, a new man has appeared. This is God’s doing all the way through. It is he who, through Christ, bridged the gap between himself and us and who has given us the job of also bridging the gap. God was in Christ, hugging the world to himself. He no longer keeps track of men’s sins, and has planted in us his concern for getting together. So now we represent Christ and it is as though God were pleading through us. In Christ’s behalf we urge you to open up to God. For our sakes God put a man who was a stranger to sin into a sinful situation so that in him we might know what God’s goodness really is.?6.1.???????????? As your partners we urge you not to take God’s goodness toward you for granted. For he says:??????????????????????? I listened out for you at the right time;??????????????????????? And on Freedom Day I gave you a helping hand.Look, "the right time" is now; "Freedom Day" is today.3.???????????? To keep people from making accusations against our cause, we are mighty careful to give them no openings. Under all circumstances we conduct ourselves as God’s helpers, whether it be under much pressure or in hardships or great need or difficulties or beatings or jailings or lynchings or prison sentences or sleepless nights or hungry days. Through it all we stand with sincerity, understanding, forbearance, kindness, a pure spirit, open-faced love, the truthful word and the power of God. We are armed with rightness on both left hand and right, whether we are praised or spit on, whether blessed out or blessed. We are crooks who speak the truth, "babes" who know the score, corpses with a lot of wiggle left, flogged men who just won’t die, mourners who are forever gleeful, paupers who enrich everybody, have-nots who have it all.11.???????????? We have no secrets, my Atlanta brothers, and our hearts are wide open. You’re not being pressured by us; you’re catching it from your own inner feelings. Come on now, give us a break. (You’d think I was talking to children.) You all open up too.14.???????????? Don’t get hitched up with non-Christians. For what do order and disorder have in common? Or what partnership is there between light and darkness? Or what agreement can Christ and the Devil have? Or what point of contact is there between an obedient man and a disobedient one? Or how can there be an alliance between God’s house and a money house? For we are the house of the Living God, just as God himself says:??????????????????????? "I will live with them and walk with them;??????????????????????? And I will be their God, and they will be my nation.??????????????????????? So you all come on out from the midst of them,??????????????????????? And live differently," says the Lord.??????????????????????? "Don’t dirty yourselves, and I’ll let you come in,??????????????????????? And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters,"??????????????????????????????????? says the Almighty God.?7.1.???????????? Backed up by these promises, my dear ones, let us wash off all physical and spiritual filth. Let’s consecrate ourselves reverently to God.2.???????????? Say, make room for us, will you? Not a soul have we hurt, not a soul have we corrupted, not a soul have we beat out of anything. I am not saying this to accuse you, for I’ve said before that deep down we’re in this thing together, to live or die as one. I am quite outspoken toward you, because I have a lot of pride in you. I am filled to the brim with encouragement. Even in all our trouble I’m bubbling over with joy.5.???????????? For even when we came into Mississippi our weary bones got no rest, for there was trouble all around. Outside there were fights, inside there were fears. But God, who boosts the lowly, gave us a boost with the coming of Titus. We were lifted not only by his presence but also by the encouraging news he brought from you. He told us about your deep concern, your hurting, your earnest care for me, till I nearly burst with joy.8.???????????? Even though I upset you with my letter, I’m not sorry I wrote it. To be sure, I was sorry, but now that I see that the letter upset you only for a while, I’m quite happy. For the point is not that you were upset, but that you were upset enough to do something about it. Your disturbed condition made you face up to God, so we didn’t do too bad by you alter all. For a God-facing disturbance which produces a change of heart is a life-giving experience one never regrets. It is quite different from the strain of the world, which ultimately kills a man.11.???????????? Just look at what all this "divine irritation" did for you. It made you get on the ball and defend yourselves. It made you indignant and scared. It revived your concern, perked you up tremendously and made you straighten things out. You cleared yourselves on every single point!12.???????????? So then, even though I wrote to you as I did, it was not because of the one who did the wrong or because of the one who was wronged, but because I wanted you to be fully aware of the godly concern you all have for us. Now I feel much better about things. And not only are we feeling better, but we are especially happy over Titus’ joy. You all surely have put his mind at ease. I guess I did build you up pretty high to him, but I wasn’t disappointed in you. Rather, just as everything we said to you was the truth, so our bragging to Titus was the truth. And his heart especially goes out to you when he recalls your obedience, how you accepted him with awe and respect. How glad I am that I can fully count on you!?8.1.???????????? We would like to let you know, brothers, about the God-given kindness which the Mississippi churches have. In the midst of trouble that would try any man’s soul, their abounding joy and their desperate poverty overflowed in an outburst of generosity. I know for a fact that they voluntarily gave to the limit of their ability and even beyond. In fact, they were earnestly begging us for the privilege of having a part in the relief funds for the church members. It is not at all like we expected, because first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us as there by God’s will. So we have encouraged Titus to go ahead and finish the fund which he previously began among you. And just as you have more than your share of everything — faith, doctrine, knowledge, eagerness and mutual love — may you also have more than your share in this fund. Really now, I’m not trying to boss you around. I’m just comparing the genuineness of your love with their eagerness. For surely you are aware of the favor of our Lord Jesus Christ, how rich he was and how poor he became for your sakes, so that you, through his poverty, might be rich.10.???????????? Now I venture this suggestion: that you would be better off to go ahead now and finish the thing you set out to do a year ago. Support it as wholeheartedly as when the motion was first passed. For if the support is solid, then whatever one brings is acceptable, because one can’t bring what one doesn’t have. It would not be fair to make it easy on some and hard on you; rather, there should be an equality. At the present time your abundance will supply their need, just as some day their abundance may supply your need. In this way things will even out. It’s just as the Scripture says:??????????? The one who took in much got no more than he needed, and the one who took in little got no less than he needed.16.???????????? I thank God for laying on Titus’ heart the same deep concern for you, because he not only accepted the challenge but he voluntarily and with much eagerness checked out for your place. We sent with him the brother whose work in the gospel is highly regarded by all the churches. Not only that, but he was elected by the churches (with our support) to be our companion in the fund we are raising for the glory of the Lord himself. We are taking this precaution to keep someone from leveling a charge against us in regard to this splendid sum we are raising. For we intend to do right not only before the Lord but before men as well.22.???????????? Along with them we sent our brother who, in test after test, we found to be exceptionally diligent. Right now he is chomping at the bit to show you how much confidence he has in you. So then, as far as Titus is concerned, he is my partner and helper in working with you. As for our brothers, they are the churches’ missionaries, a credit to the Christian cause. So make no bones about your love for them, and come right out before the churches and show that our bragging to them about you was not vain.?9.1.???????????? There is no need for me to write further about the aid fund for the church members. I am quite aware of your willingness. In fact, I’ve been bragging on you to the Mississippi Christians, saying, "Those Georgia folks were all ready a year ago." Your getting on with this surely did get a lot of them cranked up! So the reason I’m sending the brothers is to make sure that all our big talk about you in this regard is not a lot of whoopla. You know, I told them that you folks were all prepared. Now just suppose that some from Mississippi should come with me and find you are still messing around, how embarrassing all this talk about you "wonderful people" would be to us, to say nothing of you. Therefore, I considered it urgent to ask the brothers to come on over there and wrap up this promised contribution of yours right away. Then it will all be over with when I get there, and will clearly be a contribution on your part and not an extortion on mine.6.???????????? But remember this: "A stingy sower gathers a stingy harvest and a generous sower gathers a generous harvest." Let each person follow the dictates of his conscience, giving neither with complaint nor under compulsion, for God likes to see a man smile when he gives. Now God is able to shower on you every kind of favor, so that when you have plenty of everything for any occasion you yourselves may shower every sort of kind deed on others. It’s like the Scripture says:??????????????????????? He spread it around and gave to the poor peoples;??????????????????????? His justice is always a sure thing.10.???????????? Well then he who supplies the farmer with seed will also provide you with bread to eat. What’s more, he will multiply what you plant and increase your harvest of justice. When you are so blessed in every way, and generously share with everybody, it just sends a prayer of thanksgiving through our whole being. Because, you know, this worshipful act of sharing is not only overflowing to meet the needs of the needy Christians, but is also resulting in an outburst of thankful praise to God. By the convincing evidence of this offering you are glorifying God in matching belief in Christ’s gospel with obedience and with generous sharing with them and others. And they will pray for you, being drawn to you by God’s overwhelming favor in you. Thank God for his gift that’s simply out of this world.?10.1.???????????? Now I’d like to appeal to your sense of Christian dedication and kindness. (Yes, I’m that Paul guy who is such a lamb when with you and such a lion when away!) Please don’t make it necessary, when I get there, to chew you out as I suppose I’ll have to do to those who think that we are still following worldly patterns. For even though we live in the world, we do not fight on its level. Our implements of war are not manufactured by the world but loaded by God for smashing fortresses. With them we explode learned discourses and every highfalutin wisecrack against the true knowledge of God. With them we capture every idea and make it obey Christ. With them we stand ready to give disobedience a fit — that is, when you know what obedience is all about.7.???????????? Face the facts squarely. If a fellow thinks he’s a Christian, let him take another look at himself, for we are Christians the same as he. All right, suppose I am a little too haughty with the authority the Lord gave us for building you up and not for tearing you to pieces. I’ll not let that embarrass me. And I’m not saying that just to give the effect of scaring you with my letters. Somebody might say, "Yeah, yeah, he sure does write powerfully strong letters, but he doesn’t have the guts to say it to your face!" So, let such .a fellow think this over: We’ll do in your presence exactly what we are saying in our absence through our letters! Of course, we are not going to get down in the dirt with those self-appointed guys. For they don’t have any better sense than to measure themselves by each other and to compare themselves with one another.13.???????????? Now we will not take over beyond our territory, but will stick to the recognized limits God assigned us - and that includes you in Atlanta. No, we are not overstepping ourselves when we include you, for it was we, you remember, who chanced upon you with the Christian gospel. We definitely do not take over the territory in which others are working. We do hope, however, that as your faith expands it will be possible to extend our circuit even more and to preach the gospel in those regions beyond you without barging in on territory already claimed by others. "Let the man who takes over get his authority from the Lord." For it is not the self-appointed man who gets the job, but the Lord-appointed one.?11.1.???????????? Please go along with me in a little silliness. (Well, you’ll have to put up with me anyway!) Listen, I have a God-like concern for you, for it was I who married you to Christ like an innocent young lady to her one and only. But just as the snake tricked Eve with his glib talk, even so I fear that your minds will be sidetracked from single-hearted devotion to Christ. For indeed, when somebody comes around preaching some other Jesus than the one we preached, or when you take on a different spirit which you did not get from us, or a gospel different from the one you received from us, you put up with it without batting an eye! All right, I don’t think that I’m one inch behind those big-shot preachers. I might be a boring speaker, but there’s nothing wrong with my facts. In every way we’ve made this clear to you time and again.7.???????????? Tell me, did I do wrong by living humbly so that you all could be better off while I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? Why, I even accepted money from other churches, taking pay from them for helping you. And if I got broke while I was staying with you, I didn’t go around bumming on anybody — the brothers who came from Mississippi paid my bills. In no way did I allow myself to be a stone around your neck and I’m going to keep it that way. Here’s the gospel truth as straight as I can give it to you: this apostolic commission of mine will not be limited to the state of Georgia. How come? Because I don’t love you? God knows.12.???????????? Now I shall continue my present course of action, so as to cut off the incentive of those seeking an opportunity to get a commission just like ours. For those fellows are phony preachers, slick operators, who have worked themselves over into Christian ministers. And no wonder, for the Devil too works himself over into a lit-up angel. It’s no big surprise, then, when his servants transform themselves into servants of righteousness. One of these days they’ll get what is coming to them.16.???????????? Again I say, don’t let anybody get it into his head that I’m a crackpot. If so, then just let me go on being a crackpot so I can bring out a few of my own qualifications. (What I’m now saying on this subject of qualification is not to be understood as from the Lord but as something of a joke.) Since many are presenting their external qualifications, I will present mine too. Since you are such wits, you gladly put up with nitwits. You take it even when somebody enslaves you, or when one eats you out of house and home, or when one takes you for a ride, or when one double-crosses you, or when one socks you on the jaw! It’s a crying shame, isn’t it, that we have been too weak to treat you like that! But, in whatever way another acts big, I’ll act big too. (Remember, I’m just kidding.) They are Americans — like me. They are Anglo-Saxons — like me. They are white men — like me. They are Christians — I’m talking like I’m nuts — I have it all over them. Here’s my score:??????????????????????? Days on the work gang — lost count??????????????????????? Number times in jail — lost count??????????????????????? Number times beaten up — too many??????????????????????? Faced with death — quite often??????????????????????? The usual mauling by the State Patrol — five times??????????????????????? Beat with blackjack — three times??????????????????????? Shot — once??????????????????????? Car wrecks — three??????????????????????? Day and night in the swamp — once??????????? The above does not include the number of times I’ve been on the road or received threats of fire hoses, threats from hoodlums, threats from my own race and from Negroes as well, threats in the city, threats in the country, threats while traveling, threats from phony church members. Many times so dog-tired and worn out I couldn’t sleep, hungry and thirsty, frequently postponing my meals, cold and ragged. And on top of this, the anxious concern for all the churches weighed down upon me every day. Who gets sick and I don’t get sick? Who gets into trouble and I’m not scorched by it?30.???????????? If it is necessary to be qualified, I’ll let my weaknesses qualify me. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus, who is forever blessed, knows that I am not lying.32.???????????? (Add to above list: In Savannah some Klansmen hatched a plot to lynch me, but I was let down in a basket from a fourth-floor window and got away from them.)?12.1.???????????? It’s necessary to be qualified, but that alone is not enough. Now I shall come to the subject of visions and the Lord’s revealings. Fourteen years ago I knew a Christian man (whether he is still alive or not I do not know — God knows) who was carried away to the third spiritual realm. And I knew a certain fellow — whether he’s alive or not I don t know — God himself knows — who was carried away into paradise and heard code words which mortals aren’t allowed to repeat. Now I shall present the qualifications of a man like that but not my own, unless, of course, it’s my weaknesses. For if I want to exhibit qualifications, I will assure you that I’ll be nobody’s fool. But I’m foregoing it, so that no one will give me credit for exceptional insight even beyond what one sees and hears of me. Besides, to keep me humble, I was given "a thorn in the flesh" — a real satanic reminder — to harass me and keep me on my knees. When I had spoken to the Lord three times about this and begged him to remove it, he said, "My kindness will see you through it; for strength is achieved in a handicap." Most gladly, then, will I qualify myself all the more with my handicaps, in order that Christ’s strength might hover over me. Therefore, for Christ’s sake, I gladly accept handicaps, insults, arrests, houndings and tough times. For my strength is rooted in my weakness.11.???????????? I’m talking like a fool, but you shoved me into it. Look, I ought to be recommended by you. Even though I’m a nobody, I am every whit as good as those big-shot preachers. The marks of the minister were wrought out before you with complete dedication — by miracles, wonders and powerful deeds. Tell me, what is it that makes you feel more neglected than the rest of the churches? Is it that I didn’t let you pay me a salary? Please forgive me for hurting you like that!14.???????????? Now look, for the third time I’m getting ready to come to you, and I positively will not accept a salary. For I have my eye, not on your wallet, but on you. Children shouldn’t have to earn a living for their parents; rather, parents should provide a living for their children. Indeed, for your welfare I’d gladly spend my last dime and have the gold picked from my teeth. Should I be loved any less just because I love you so much? All right, so I didn’t impose on you, but being a smart cookie I took you for a ride by some clever trick! Well how about that! Did I milk you by any one of those I sent to you? I urged Titus to come to you, and I sent with him our brother. Did Titus milk you? Do not he and I have the same attitude? Don’t we wear the same shoes?19.???????????? You’re thinking all along that I’m pleading my case before you. Well, I’m not. I’m addressing God through Christ. However, my dear ones, it is all for your spiritual benefit. For I very much fear that when we get together we aren’t going to be too pleased with one another. I wonder if there’ll be evidence of quarreling, jealousy, hard feelings, taking sides, catty remarks, talking behind another’s back, running off at the mouth and general hell-raising. The next time I come, God might bring me low in front of you all, and I’ll shed a lot of tears over many of those who have sinned and have never turned away from the filth, the whoring, and the disgusting things they’ve done.?13.1. ??????????? As I said, this will make my third visit with you. "All evidence must be supported by the word of at least two or three witnesses." I said it before when I was with you the second time, and I say it again now that I’m absent from you, that when I get there this time I’ll not hold back the works from those who have lived so wickedly, and from all the others too. Since you asked for some proof of the Christ who speaks through me, you’ll find that he’s no sissy around you, but is dynamite within you. True, he didn’t put up a fight when they lynched him, but now he is loaded with God’s power. So it is, we too share in his "weakness," but with him we too are loaded with God’s power in our relations with you.5.???????????? Check up on yourselves to see if you are still Christians. Take an inventory on yourselves. Are you yourselves convinced that Christ is in you, that maybe you are bankrupt? Now I hope that it’s clear to you that we are not bankrupt. We fervently pray not to harm you in any way, not just that we might establish our own solvency but that you might do what’s right. Who cares if we are called bankrupts! After all, you can’t hold the truth down; you can only uphold it.9.???????????? We rejoice when we are scum; but you, when you are the power structure. We sincerely wish for your correction on this point. That’s why, though absent, I’m writing these things. Let’s hope that when I get there I may not find it necessary to use too sharply the authority which the Lord gave me for building up the church rather than tearing it to pieces.11.???????????? In closing, brothers, I send you my greetings. Correct yourselves, encourage one another, think together, wage peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Extend to one another the hand of Christian fellowship. All the Christians here send their regards.13.???????????? The unmerited favor of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the Holy Spirit’s community be with you all.Sincerely,Paulfootnotes1 ?The "dwelling" or "house" here seems to refer to the Christian fellowships and not to the individual body.2 ?The word translated "church" throughout this passage is the Greek word for "body." There is no way of knowing if the writer is referring to his own body or to the body of Christ. If the latter, "church" may he the correct translation.THE LETTER TO THE CHURCHES OF THE GEORGIA CONVENTION (GALATIANS)1.1.???????? From Paul, a delegate, not from any human organization nor appointed by any human being, but by Jesus himself and by the Father-God who raised him from the dead, and from all the brothers here with me;??????????? To the churches of the Georgia Convention.3.???????? Warm greetings to you and peace from our Father-God and from the Lord Jesus Christ, who willingly got into our sinful mess with us so as to pull us out of this present-day wickedness. Such was the eternal intent of our Father-God, to whom the credit is due through all ages.6.???????? I am shocked that you are switching over so soon from the gospel of the one who converted you to Christ’s grace to some other "gospel," which really isn’t a gospel at all. It is the invention of some fellows who are getting you all confused by trying to rearrange the Christian message. Now get this straight: Even if we or an angel fresh out of heaven preaches to you any other message than the one we preached to you -- to hell with him! 1 ? It’s just as I told you before and am telling you again now, if anybody brings you a gospel different from the one you received, to hell with him. 1 10.???????? All right now, is it God or man that I’m responsible to? Do you think I’m trying to be popular? Well, if I am, then I’m not a committed Christian. 1 want to make it perfectly clear, brothers, that the gospel message which I preached to you is not of human origin. Neither did I get it from a human being, nor was I taught it. It was opened up to me by Jesus Christ himself. For you are aware of my previous life as a white Southerner, how fanatically I harassed the movement and violently attacked it, and how I went far beyond most white Southerners of my age in zealously defending and promoting the traditions of our noble ancestors. But when He, who changed my course before I was ever born, and by His grace called me—when He spread his good news among Negroes, 1 did not at first breathe a word of this to any living soul, nor did I go up to Atlanta to talk with the denominational leaders. Instead I went up North, and later returned to Savannah. Then after about three years I did go to Atlanta to visit Rock, 2 ? and I stayed with him for fifteen days. But I didn’t see any of the other leaders except Jim, the Lord’s brother. (Honest to God, I m not lying about what I m writing you.) From there I went into the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. But I was not known personally to any of the Christian groups in Georgia, except that they were hearing that "he who once harassed us is now advocating the way of life he previously attacked." And they were praising God for what he had done in me.?2. 1.???????? Fourteen years later, because of an insight I had, I went again to Atlanta with Barney, taking Titus along with us. There I laid before them the message which I preach among Negroes. (I did this privately before the executive committee, so that what I was doing - or had done - might not be wasted.) But not even Titus, the Negro professor who was with me, was compelled to abide by Southern traditions. However, there were some sneaky phony Christians who slipped in to spy on the freedom which we enjoy in Christ Jesus, so as to make us slaves of their system. But we did not give in to them for one minute, so that the truth of the gospel might be firmly established for you today. But from those on the executive committee (actually I don t care who they are; God doesn’t recognize human distinctions) -- but as I say, those on the executive committee had no changes to suggest to me. Rather, they clearly grasped that I had been made responsible for getting the word to Negroes, just as Rock had been to whites. For obviously the same one who had empowered Rock to work among whites had also empowered me among Negroes. So when they understood the privilege with which God had favored me, Jim and Rock and Jack, the key leaders, warmly shook hands with Barney and me, so that we might work alongside the Negroes, and they with the whites. Their only suggestion was that we always bear in mind the poor, and this I have been most diligent to do.11.???????? But in spite of all this, when Rock came to Albany I had to rebuke him to his face, because he was clearly in error. For, before the committee appointed by Jim arrived, he was eating with Negroes. But when they came, he shrank back and segregated himself because he was afraid of the whites. He even got the rest of the white liberals to play the hypocrite with him, so that even Barney was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not planting their feet firmly in the truth of the gospel, I said to Rock right in front of everybody:If you, a white man, have freely accepted integration and not segregation, how do you now compel Negroes to accept white customs? Here we are, white people by birth and not "inferior niggers." And yet we know that a man can’t get right with God just by walking in our Southern way of life. It is only as we live the way of Christ Jesus. Now all of us have put our faith in Christ Jesus, so as to be made right by our Christian faith and not by our Southern traditions, because custom never made a saint out of anyone. Now if, in our struggle to be true to Christ, we ourselves wind up segregated, does this make Christ a party to segregation? Heavens no! But if I try to rebuild a wicked system which I’ve already knocked down, then I may consider myself a violator. For so far as the Southern way is concerned I died, so I could be alive toward God. I was strung up with Christ. I’m no longer alive. It is Christ who lives in me. This physical life which I now have, it is simply an expression of my faith in God’s Son who loved me and gave himself for me. I dare not reject God’s unmerited favor. For if getting right with God is a matter of observing traditions, then Christ had no business dying.?3.1.???????? You slow-thinking Georgians, who hoodwinked you -- you before whose eyes Jesus was graphically portrayed as strung up? I want to learn this from you: Were you converted by keeping the customs or by obeying the faith? Are you all that dumb? Having started out on a spiritual level, are you now winding up on a physical one? Did you suffer so much for nothing -- as it may turn out? Does God nourish you on the Spirit and do great things among you when you are keeping the traditions or when you are obedient to the faith?6.???????? Just as Abraham 3 ??? lived by the Unseen, which was the thing that put him right with God, so you should realize that only those who likewise put their complete trust in God are true "white" men. The Scripture foresaw that God would accept all races on the basis of their faithfulness to him and long ago told the good news to Abraham that "through you all races will be given dignity." So then, all of those who share Abraham s faithfulness are accorded his dignity.10.???????? People who try to observe the taboos and customs are really in a bad way, for society says, "Woe to that man who doesn’t abide by everything prescribed by our Southern heritage and way of life." Yet it is as clear as day that nobody ever got right with God by the traditions, because "God’s man shall stand on his faithfulness." But customs are not based on faithfulness to God but on a strict adherence to the customs themselves. Christ liberated us from the damning effects of the customs by letting them fall on him instead of on us, just as they say, "Whoever gets strung up on a tree is a damned fool." The inner purpose of his doing this was that Negroes might be accorded the dignity of white men in the Christian fellowship, and that we all, by our faithfulness, might receive the assured support of the Spirit.15.???????? Brothers, let me give you a human example. Nobody is free to disregard or change a man’s contract once it has been signed and recorded. Now God’s contract stated that it was with "Abraham and his child." It does not say, "and with his children," plural, but "child," singular. Now this "child" is Christ. So this is what I’m saying: Our customs, which arose several hundred years later, do not supersede the contract previously entered into by God nor nullify its agreements. For if our heritage springs from our social customs, then it is no longer bestowed by God. Yet in the case of Abraham (our illustrious forefather), the privileges were freely bestowed by God, not tradition.19.???????? Well then, what about our Southern way of life? It was intended to keep down friction until "the child" mentioned in the contract should come and, like a mediator, set things right with the help of his assistants. However, a mediator never represents just one party, even though God himself is one of the parties. Is the Southern way, then, contrary to God’s principles? Not necessarily. For if the South’s traditions can lift a man to a more noble life, then surely something good and right has come from it. But, the trouble is that the Scripture has labeled it all under the heading of sin, so that the assurance of the Christian faith might be given to those who live by it. Before the coming of the faith, we were walled in by tradition, hemmed in, awaiting the approaching faith that was to be unveiled. So in a way, the Southern customs disciplined us for the Christian life, that we might be put right by faithfulness. But now that the faith has come, we no longer need the disciplinarian. For all of you are Sons of God by virtue of the Christian faith. You who were initiated into the Christian fellowship are Christian allies. No more is one a white man and another a Negro; no more is one a slave and the other a free man; no longer is one a male and the other a female. For you all are as one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s men, then you are true "white men," noble heirs of a spiritual heritage.?4.1.???????? Now let me say this: All the while an heir is a minor, even though he is the legal owner of the whole estate, he is really no different from an employee because he is under guardians and administrators until the appointed time set by his father. So it is with us Christians. When we were minors we were ruled by the deeply entrenched patterns of the culture. But when the time for our manhood came, God sent forth his Son -- through a woman and into the Southern system -- in order that he might rescue those caught by the system and that we might receive our full sonship. Because you are now sons, God has implanted the spirit of his Son in our hearts, and we murmur, "Father, Father." So, you aren’t a slave anymore. You are a son. And if you are a son, you are, through God, a noble heir of the heritage.8.???????? Earlier, when you had no understanding of God, your lives were dominated by the things which, by their very nature, were not "gods" at all. Now, however, since you know God, or rather, since he knows you, how is it that you are turning again to the sick and impoverished patterns which you are bent on kowtowing to? You’re going right along with the same old "for whites only" stuff. I’m really concerned about you. I might have wasted my time on you.12.???????? Be like me, because I’m the same as you. Brothers, I’m pleading with you. You’ve never been mean to me. You remember that it was because of an illness that I first shared the good news with you and even though physically I was a trial to you, you didn’t let me down or run me off. Instead, you treated me like an angel from God, like Christ Jesus. So where’s that graciousness of yours? For I’m telling you a fact, if need be you’d have picked out your eyes and given them to me. Surely you don’t think I’ve become your enemy now just because I’m speaking frankly to you, do you?17.???????? Now listen, those fellows who are giving you the rush are not on the level. They are trying to capture you so you can rush around for them. Now it’s all right to make over somebody once in a while, provided it is done sincerely. I do it occasionally when I am not in the presence of you, my children, over whom I agonize again and again until Christ takes shape in you. I surely do wish I could be with you right now and change my tone of voice, because you’ve got me all befuddled.21.???????? Tell me something, you who want to be bound by the traditions: Why aren’t you obeying the traditions? For history tells us that the founder of the white race, Abraham, had two sons -- one from a slave woman of his and another from his legal wife. Now the son from the slave women was sired out of plain sexual desire, but the one from the free woman (his wife) was sired through God’s intervention. All of which is sort of an allegory, or story. The two women represent two different sources of tradition. One is rooted in slavery, as represented by the slave woman, Hagar. Now Hagar is the slave South, and corresponds to the present-day segregated structure, for her descendants are still pretty much in slavery. But the Godfearing South is free, and she is our mother. For history sings:??????????????????????? Paint the town, you childless lady:??????????????????????? Dance a jig and shout aloud, you wife who had no baby.??????????????????????? For the children of the barren woman??????????????????????? Will outnumber hers who has the husband.28.???????? So we, brothers, like Isaac (the son of the free woman), are the children of God’s intervention. But even today it is still very much like it was back there when the boy who was sired in lust persecuted the one who was the product of God’s spirit. So what did God say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her boy. The son of slavery shall not be an heir along with the son of freedom." And that’s why, my brothers, we are not children of a slave system, but of a free society.??5.1.???????? It was for this freedom that Christ emancipated us. So stand your ground, and don’t let anybody saddle you with that slave system again. Look here, I, Paul himself, am telling you that if you accept segregation, 4?? Christ isn’t worth a cent to you. Again I solemnly warn every man who accepts segregation that he is duty-bound to abide by the whole code. You who look to the Southern way to save you have severed relations with Christ; you have stumbled away from the idea of unmerited favor. For we are staking our hope of being right with God on a spirit of faithfulness. Because in Christ Jesus neither segregation nor integration 5 ? is a determining factor; rather, it. is faithfulness activated by love.7.???????? You were doing nicely; who drove a wedge between you and the truth? Such doing was certainly not with the consent of him who converted you. Remember: "One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel." I surely hope to the Lord that you won’t listen to anybody else. That guy who is stirring you up will have a lot to answer for in the judgment, no matter who he is! But in my case, brothers, if I’m still preaching segregation, then why am I still persecuted? Christ’s lynching would then offend no one. I wish to goodness that those who are unsettling you were themselves tarred and feathered.13.???????? So you my brothers, were invited to sit at the freedom table. But even so, don’t use your freedom for any physical advantage. Instead, serve one another in a spirit of love. For the whole social code can be summed up in one sentence: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you snap and bite one another, be careful that you don’t eat each other up.16.???????? My advice is: Walk in the Spirit, and don’t let human desire go to seed. For the body has it in for the conscience, and the conscience has it in for the body, for the two are directly opposed to each other. That is why you cannot run wild, doing as you please. Now if you are guided by the conscience, you are not under the sway of social custom.19.???????? It is clear that the results of being guided by the body are loose sex relations, filthiness, unbridled lust, worshiping gadgets, trickery, hostile feeling, division, jealousy, temper tantrums, boot-licking, snobbery, arguments, envy, tippling, horsing around and things like these. I am calling to your attention now, just as I did previously, that all who practice such things as these will hot be counted in on the God movement.22.???????? On the other hand, the results of the Spirit-led life are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, loyalty, humility and self. control. There is no law against things of this nature. And true Christians have subdued the body with its unruly passions and cravings. If we are people of conscience, then let’s stick by our conscience. Just don’t be arrogant, nor ridicule one another, nor be envious of each other.??6.1.???????? Brothers, even if a man gets caught at some misdeed, you who are spiritual-minded should straighten him out. But do so with a gentle spirit, always wondering if someday you might not be tempted to do the same thing. For the essence of the Christian life is to shoulder the loads of one another.3.???????? Now if somebody thinks he is a big shot when he is nothing but a nubbin, he is kidding himself. Each man should size up himself by his own accomplishments, and then he will have pride in himself and not just in what someone else has done. For every man has to stand on his own two feet. Let the student share his material goods with his teacher.7.???????? Don’t let anybody pull the wool over your eyes -- you can’t turn up your nose at God! For a man harvests exactly what he plants. If he plants the seed of materialism, he will reap the rottenness of materialism. And if he plants the seed of spirituality, he will harvest the superb life which the Spirit produces. So let’s not give up the good fight, for our harvest will come in its own good time if we keep on keeping on. Every chance we have, let’s work for the good of all, and especially for the members of the church.11.???????? Look at the size of the following letters which I have written to you in my own hand: THEY WHO FORCE SEGREGATION ON YOU ARE SEEKING THE APPROVAL OF SOCIETY SO THEY WON’T GET PERSECUTED FOR ACCEPTING CHRIST’S LYNCHING. For even the segregationists themselves do not keep the code, but they try to force it on you so they can brag about it. But as for me, God forbid that I should ever take pride in anything, except in the lynching of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through it I have hanged the world and the world has hanged me. So now neither segregation nor integration makes the difference -- it s the new man. Let peace and mercy abide on all who hold to this position, on God’s true "white people."17.???????? Finally, let no one have it in for me personally, for on my body I bear the brand marks of Jesus.18.???????? May the unmerited favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with the spirit of each of you, my brothers.Yours,Paulfootnotes1 ?The Greek is even stronger!2 ?The Greek word, Petros, "Peter," means "rock," and is here so translated. His last name was Bar-jonah, which means "son of John" or "John’s son" or "Johnson." Thus Peter’s full name may be accurately translated, "Rock Johnson."3? Since Abraham was the father of the Hebrew nation, or the first Jew, we would need to think of him, in the Southern context, as "the first white man."4 ?The Greek word actually means "circumcision," which was the initiatory rite into Judaism. Since it was the symbol of being a Jew, or in our context, a white man, it would mean to the ancient Jew about the same thing as our word, "white Southerner." Thus "a circumcised Jew" would be the near equivalent of "a white Southerner," or perhaps more accurately, "a white church member."5 ?The word here is "uncircumcision," used to refer to those who had abandoned the Jewish traditions, or who had never observed them in the first place. They were the nonconformers.LETTER TO THE CHRISTIANS IN BIRMINGHAM (EPHESIANS)1.1.???????? From Paul, Jesus Christ’s preacher by the will of God;??????????? To all who live a different life because of their faith in Jesus Christ.??????????? I greet you all and wish you grace and peace from our Father-God and from our Lord, Jesus Christ.3.???????? Three cheers for our Lord Jesus Christ’s Father-God, who through Christ has cheered us along the heavenly way with every possible spiritual encouragement! It was he, you know, who picked us out before the world began to stand before him as a people apart and pure. In love he chose us to be his family through Jesus Christ. This was his gracious will, and it reflects his marvelous kindness which he has freely given us through his dear One. For it was by this One’s supreme sacrifice that we got our "emancipation," the forgiveness for the mess we made of things. This act was an expression of his overflowing goodwill which he lavished upon us with wisdom and insight.9.???????? Now he has let us in on the secret of his plan, which is to make Christ head over everything, both spiritual and material. He’ll do this in his own good time, when he thinks things are right. And it has already been determined at "headquarters," from which come all directives that get things moving, that we who have put our trust in Christ shall take part in this plan and be a credit to the cause.13.???????? You all, too, when you listened to the message of the truth, the good news of a "new way of walking," and put it into action, then the promised Holy Spirit put his OK on you. This is our "certificate of membership," entitling us to engage in the liberation movement set up for God’s glory.15.???????? This is why, when I heard about your Christian living and the love you show towards everybody in the fellowship, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you all every time I prayed. And I asked the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, our glorious Father, to give you spiritual wisdom and a better understanding of him. May he give clear sight to your soul’s eyes. May you know the hope which his call inspires and the wonderful resources available to Christians because of their membership in his family. May you experience the incredible outburst of his power in us who rely on his might and his abundant energy. This same energy working in Christ raised him from the dead and gave him spiritual victory and authority over every ruler and every governor and every judge and every sheriff and every other title you can name both now and in the future. Furthermore, it brought everything and everybody under his rule, and made him the head of everything in the fellowship, which is his body, the full expression of him who gives meaning to everything everywhere.????2. 1.???????? In days gone by you all were living in your sin and filth like a bunch of stinking corpses, giving your allegiance to material things and ruled by the power of custom. You can still see this spirit working now in the lives of those who won’t listen. In fact, at one time or another all of us were following our selfish inclinations and doing just as we pretty well pleased, because we were naturally just as big scoundrels as everybody else. But even though we were a bunch of corpses rotting in our mess, God in his overflowing sympathy and great love breathed the same new life into us as into Christ. (You have been rescued, I remind you, by divine intervention.) With Christ Jesus he resurrected us and elevated us to the spiritual household. This clearly demonstrates forever the untold richness of his favor which he so kindly bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus. So again I remind you, you have been rescued by his kind action alone, channeled through your faith. You didn’t get this on your own; it was God’s free gift. So nobody can brag that he himself achieved it. For we are his doing, made for the good deeds which God intended all along for us as Christians to practice.11.???????? So then, always remember that previously you Negroes, 1 ? who sometimes are even called "niggers" by thoughtless white church members, were at one time outside the Christian fellowship, denied your rights as fellow believers, and treated as though the gospel didn’t apply to you, hopeless and God-forsaken in the eyes of the world. Now, however, because of Christ’s supreme sacrifice, you who once were so segregated are warmly welcomed into the Christian fellowship.14.???????? He himself is our peace. It was he who integrated us and abolished the segregation patterns which caused so much hostility. He allowed no silly traditions and customs in his fellowship, so that in it he might integrate the two into one new body. In this way he healed the hurt, and by his sacrifice on the cross he joined together both sides into one body for God. In it the hostility no longer exists.17.???????? When he came, he preached the same message of peace to those on both the inside and outside. In him we both found a common spiritual approach to the Father. So then, you are no longer segregated and pushed around, but you are fellow citizens with all Christians and respected members of God’s family. This is based on the unshakable foundation Jesus himself laid down through the apostles and other men of God, with Christ being the cornerstone. Around him all the rest of the building is fitted together into a dedicated temple of the Lord. And you all are a vital part of God’s spiritual dwelling place.?????3.1.???????? It is for this reason -- my own Christian convictions on race -- that I, Paul, am now in jail. (I suppose you heard about my assignment on your behalf which, by God’s grace, was given to me.) The secret was made known to me by a revelation, about which I briefly wrote before. If you will reread it, you’ll clearly understand my insight into this secret of Christ’s. You’ll also find that it was not made known to the people of former times as now it has been made crystal clear to his dedicated preachers and deeply spiritual men of God.6.???????? The secret is that the Negroes are fellow partners and equal members, co-sharers in the privileges of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result of God’s kindness, so freely bestowed on me and so undeserved, I am now an ardent advocate of that gospel. I just can’t get over it, that I, the least likely of all the Christians, was chosen for this honor -- the honor of explaining to the Negroes the untapped resources of Christ, and to make clear to them what their part is in this insight that God created everybody alike, but which has been so little understood in the past. Today, however, God’s richly colored wisdom has been gotten over to the authorities and the leaders in high places by the action of the church. This is in accordance with his eternal intent which he expressed in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him we have the boldness and the confidence to give such an expression to our faith. That’s why I beg you not to let the things I’m suffering for you get you down in the dumps. It’s for your ultimate benefit.14.???????? When I think of all this I get down on my knees before the Father who has stamped his image on every race in heaven and on earth, and I beg him to give you, out of his glorious abundance, the power to win by his Spirit ruling your inner life. God grant that Christ, through your faith, might establish residence in your hearts. May love be your tap root and foundation. May you have the strength to grasp with all God’s people the width and length and height and depth of the love of Christ which surpasses all human understanding. Let God’s fullness fill you.20.???????? Now to him who is able, by the power energizing us, to exceed all our fondest hopes and aspirations, be the honor in the church and in Christ Jesus, not only for this generation but for all time to come. Please may it be so.?????4.1.???????? As a prisoner in the Lord’s cause, I urge you all to walk in a way becoming to the calling with which you were called. Be humble-minded and gentle and patient. Bear with one another in love, and be careful to preserve the spiritual unity within the framework of peace. "One body, one spirit," is the principle on which you all have been called together into one active fellowship. "One Leader, one plan of action, one initiation, one Father-God of all, who is over all and in all."7.???????? Each one of us received a measure of Christ’s favor as he was pleased to bestow it. This is why the Scripture says: "When he went up front he captivated the leadership; he gave men gifts." Now when it says "he went up front" it implies he was also in the rear, or the lower reaches of the earth. This same one who was in the rear also assumed the spiritual leadership and is in charge of everything. The "gifts" which he made are appointments as missionaries, preachers, reporters, organizers and educators, who are to shape the believers into a working force, into a functioning Christian body. Their job is not complete until we all come into the oneness of the faith and the unifying experience of God’s Son -- until we become grown men, filled out to the measurements of Christ’s size.14.???????? They are to help us quit being babies, so easily swayed and carried away by every windbag that comes along with some clever gimmick, with some big show to snare the gullible. Rather, let us by practicing the truth in love, grow up in every way under Christ our head. Under his leadership all the rest of the body is coordinated and neatly fitted together with the necessary parts, each functioning in its own way so as to give a lovely symmetry to the whole body.17.???????? Now I want to say this to you, and I believe I’m speaking for the Lord: Forever quit living like the rest of society who live in the utter emptiness of their intellects with the shades of their minds pulled down, complete foreigners to God’s way of life. They got this way through lack of insight and by spiritual callousness. They are so greedy that God turned them loose in their stink and let them run wild in their shameful brawls.20.???????? You all were never taught that such conduct was Christian. On the contrary, if you really paid attention and were instructed in the truth as Jesus gave it, then strip off the old rotten clothes of your previous way of life, which was so full of lust and deceit, and let the Spirit rejuvenate your mind and make you a new person, created by God for righteousness and dedication and truth.25.???????? So then, let each one of you put away the false and speak only the truth to his brother, because we’re all in this together. Don’t sin by flying off the handle. Never let the sun set on a tantrum of yours, and don’t give in one inch to the Devil. Let the man who has been in the habit of stealing cut it out. Let him go to work and make an honest living with his own hands, so he’ll have something to share with the needy.29.???????? Let no off-color word fall from your lips. Instead, talk about any good thing needful for one’s uplift, so that you’ll benefit those listening. Don’t wring the heart of God’s Holy Spirit, who stamped his OK on you on your emancipation day.31.???????? Let every scrap of bitterness and resentment and anger and loud talk and running down of others be put away from you, along with all other evil. Deal gently with one another and maintain a good attitude. Show goodwill toward each other as God showed toward you in Christ.?????5.1.???????? Therefore, become God’s mimics, like children who are dearly loved. Make love a habit, just as Christ loved you and gave himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice to God like a fragrant perfume. Don’t let sexual sins or any lewdness or money-grubbing even be mentioned among you, just as Christians ought to behave. Smutty jokes, dirty language and running off at the mouth aren’t put up with either, only those things that are aboveboard. This should be absolutely clear to you that anybody who is sexually loose, or a punk, or a money-grubber has no place in God’s and Christ’s spiritual family. Don’t let anybody kid you with slick talk. That’s why God is mad at the people who have gone to the dogs. Don’t let them suck you in. For you once operated under cover of darkness, but now in the Lord’s light. Behave as people of light, for light produces only goodness and uprightness and truth. Test a thing to see if it is acceptable to the Lord, and don’t participate in meaningless and shady activities. Instead, bring them out into the open, for the things some people do in secret are so shameful you can hardly talk about them. Everything that is exposed to the light is clearly visible, and that which is clearly visible is obviously on the side of light. That s why it says:??????????????????????????????? Get up, you sleepyhead,??????????????????????????????? And arise from the dead,??????????????????????????????? And God’s Son will bathe you in light.15.???????? Take extra care, then, how you live -- not like nitwits but like wits. Use your time as though you had to buy it, because there’s a lot of wickedness around these days. Therefore, don’t be dumbbells but have an intelligent understanding of what the will of the Lord is. Don’t get drunk on wine and carry on a lot of foolishness; tank up on the Spirit and do your talking to each other with hymns and songs and spirituals, singing and strumming in your hearts to the Lord. Always give thanks for everything to the Father-God in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Put yourselves under one another with Christ-like respect.22.???????? You women, be subject to your men as to the Lord, because a man is head of the woman just as Christ is head of the church and is himself the nerve center of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also women are subject to men in everything.25.???????? You men, love your women, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her, so that, having bathed her in purity, like a bath in water, so to speak, he might stand her by his side, a lovely church without stain or dirt or anything like that, but that she might be true and pure. Men ought to love their women as though they were their own bodies. He who loves his own woman loves his own body. No one ever hates his own body, but rather he takes care of it and grooms it, just as Christ does the church, because we are parts of his body.31.???????? "For this reason a man shall sever his ties to Papa and Mama and shall be wrapped up in his woman, and the two will be a unified body." Admittedly, this whole thing is a puzzle -- I mean Christ and the church. Anyway, you all -- every one of you -- love your woman as though she were you, and let the woman have respect for her man.??????6.1.???????? You kids, listen to your parents, 2 ? for this is as it should be. "Respect your father and mother" is the first of the commandments with a promise attached -- "that it might go well with you and you will live a long time on earth."4.???????? You fathers, don’t aggravate your kids, but bring them up in the Lord’s guidance and counsel.5.???????? You workers, cooperate with those over you with humility and respect and with the same kind of loyalty you give to Christ -- not for praise or promotion, but as Christ’s workers, doing the will of God from the heart and carrying out your work with a good attitude as though the Lord, and not man, were your employer. Realize that whether you are a worker or an employer, whatever good thing you do will be noticed by the Lord.9.???????? And you employers, treat your workers the same way. Don’t go around breathing down their necks. Understand that both they and you have the same boss, the Lord in heaven, who makes no distinction between employer and employee.10.???????? Lastly, be strong and courageous men for Christ. Put on God’s uniform so as to be able to withstand all the Devil’s tricks. For we’re not fighting against ordinary human beings, but against the leaders, politicians and heads of state of this dark world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. So, put on God’s uniform so you ll be able to put up a fight on the day of battle and, having tended to every detail, to make your stand. Therefore, take your position when you have put on the pants of truth, the shirt of righteousness, and the shoes of the good news of peace. Above all, take the bulletproof vest of faith, with which you’ll be able to stop the tracer bullets of the evil one. Also, wear the helmet of salvation, and the pistol of the Spirit, which is God’s word.18.???????? When you offer a prayer or a petition on any occasion, let it be truly spiritual. Along this same line, be on your toes as you encourage and pray for all the members. Pray especially for me, that when I speak, the right words will be put in my mouth, and that I may boldly expound the gospel’s secret, for which I am now a delegate in the clink. Pray too that I may lay it on the line whenever I have a chance to speak.21.???????? To let you all know how things are with me, and what I am doing, I’ve asked Tic, my dear brother and faithful assistant in the Lord, to tell you everything. This is the very reason I sent him to you -- so he could give you the news about us, and that he might boost your spirits.23.???????? Peace to the brothers and love mixed with faith from the Father-God and the Lord Jesus Christ. May divine favor be upon all who unashamedly love our Lord Jesus Christ.Yours,Paulfootnotes1 ?The Greek word which is commonly translated "Gentiles" has two meanings: (1) From the standpoint of the Jew it refers to all non-Jews, just as the Greeks referred to all non-Greeks as "barbarians." From the standpoint of the white man, "Gentiles" would mean all nonwhites, or specifically in the Southern context, Negroes. It should also be said that from the point of view of colored people, all noncoloreds are "Gentiles." (2) It refers not only to the nondescendants of Abraham according to the flesh, but particularly to those who walk not in his ways. In this respect it would be about the equivalent of non-church-member, or non-Christian.??????????? So, when the racial aspect of the word seems uppermost we have translated it "Negroes," assuming the viewpoint of the "superior" white man of today to correspond to that to the "proud" Hebrew of New Testament times. When the spiritual and ethical meaning is paramount, we translate it with phrases like "the rest of society" or "the people of the world." (4:17)2 ?Some reliable Greek manuscripts add "in the Lord."THE LETTER TO ALABASTER AFRICAN CHURCH (PHILLIPIANS)1.1.???????? From two of Jesus Christ’s slaves, Paul and Timothy;??????????? To all the loyal Christians at Alabaster, especially the ministers and church officers.??????????? Grace and peace to you from our Father God and from our Master, Jesus Christ.3.???????? Every thought of you makes me thank God for you, and all my prayers for you are flooded with joy because of your partnership with me in the good news from the very first moment you heard it until the present. And I can assure you that, having started you off on the right track, I will follow through until Jesus Christ has his day. It is nothing but right that I should feel this way about you all, for I have a very warm spot in my heart for you. All of you are my fellow partners in God’s grace, whether I’m in jail or preaching and explaining the gospel. I declare before God that I have the same tender feelings toward you as Christ Jesus himself does. And this I pray: that your love may keep growing until you have such understanding and keen perception that you can sort out the truly important matters. I pray too that you may overflow with the goodness that comes from following Christ, to God’s credit and honor.12.???????? I want to let you know, brothers, that everything that has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel. For it is now quite clear to all the guards and to everybody else that I am in jail for my Christian convictions. Furthermore, my jailing has greatly strengthened most of the brothers in the Lord and they are daring to speak fearlessly the word of God. It is true, perhaps, that some are motivated by envy or even rivalry, but the others preach Christ from genuine conviction and love. They know that I am put here to make a clear case for the good news. They who insincerely preach Christ just to get a following of their own suppose that they will make my imprisonment all the more bitter. So what? Only that in every way, whether for outward show or genuine truth, Christ is proclaimed! I am glad about this, and will continue to be glad. I am certain that, with the help of your prayers and the continued support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this thing will actually make me better off spiritually. And I am confidently banking on the fact that I’ll not be let down in the least. Whether I live or die, so long as there’s a breath left in my body, even as previously and so now, I will boldly exalt Christ. For it is Christ if I live, and gain if I die. If I keep living, there must be something worthwhile for me to do. I just don’t know which I’d rather do, because I am drawn by the prospects of both. I have a deep desire to set sail and be with Christ, for this is better by far. Yet for your sakes it is more urgent for me to stay on here. Since the latter seems certain, I guess I will stick around and lend you all a hand for the improvement and enjoyment of your faith. In this way you’ll be all the more enthusiastic about Christ Jesus for my having come by to see you again.27.???????? The main thing is that your life together be becoming to Christ’s gospel. Then, whether I get by to see you or am absent and hear only reports about you, I’ll know that you stand as one man, carrying out with perfect teamwork the faith of the gospel. Do not be the least bit scared of those on the opposing team. Your fearlessness is proof to them of their failure and of your God-sent success. For to you it has been granted, on behalf of Christ, not only to walk in his way but also to suffer for him. Run the same race you saw me run and in which you hear that I am now engaged.?2. 1.???????? So then, if there is a measure of mutual strength in Christ, a certain persuasiveness of love, a kind of spiritual partnership; if there is an element of genuine compassion and concern, make me completely happy by being harmonious, by having the same love, co-thinkers, people of a single purpose. Never act competitively or for self-praise, but with humbleness esteem others as above yourselves. Don’t confine yourselves to your own interests, but seek the welfare of others. In this regard, you all think as Christ Jesus did. Though he was in a God form, he didn’t think that being on an equality with God was something to be hoarded. So he humbled himself and took on a slave form, just like any other human being. And on purpose he turned up as a man and brought himself so low that he submitted to death — even a death on the gallows. That’s why God is so proud of him and has bestowed on him the name that is above every name. In homage to the name of Jesus every knee on land, sky or sea shall bow, and every tongue shall cry out in praise to the Father God, "JESUS CHRIST IS LORD."12.???????? So then, my loved ones, just as you’ve always been obedient, not only when I was with you but especially now that I’m absent, I urge you to carry on with your emancipation with a deep sense of reverence and responsibility. For it is God who gives you the energy both to will and to work in his behalf.14.???????? Do everything without griping and arguing, so as to be clean and above reproach, uncorrupted children of God in the midst of misguided and bad people, among whom you shine as beacons in the world, offering to all of them the living ideas. Then I’ll be proud of you in the dawning Christian era, because you will be my proof that I neither ran in vain nor worked for nothing. For even if my life is sacrificed in ministering to your faith, I am glad and want to share my joy with you. And if you are called upon to do the same, you too rejoice and in turn share your joy with me.19.???????? As soon as possible I am hoping, with the permission of the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you so he can put my mind at ease about you. For I have no one else with a spirit like his, who will be so genuinely concerned about you. All the others are primarily interested in their own welfare, not the things of Christ Jesus. But you know his record, how he, like a son to his father, practically enslaved himself to me in the gospel. So I’ll send him just as soon as I can find out how things will turn out for me here. I feel certain in the Lord that I myself will be coming to you in a little while.25.???????? Also, I consider it urgent to send to you Happy, my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier, whom you sent to wait on me during this time of need. He has been homesick for you all, and quite distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was so sick he nearly died. But God had mercy on him — not just on him but on me too — so I wouldn’t have one grief on top of another. So I’ll hurry up and send him, because when you see him again you will be happy and I’ll be relieved. Give him a sure-enough joyful homecoming in the Lord, and hold men like him in high esteem, because he nearly died for the work of Christ. He actually risked his life pinch-hitting for you and lending me a helping hand.?3.1.???????? Finally, my brothers, be glad you are Christians. (Writing like this to you is no great chore for me, and it will do you no harm.) Be on your guard against "the dogs," against the bad actors, against religious racketeers. For we are the true church, that is, all who worship God spiritually, who stand up for Christ Jesus and who put no stock in status symbols — even though I myself have plenty of these symbols. If anybody else thinks he has status, I have even more — a baptized church member, a white man from an old Southern family, a 100 per cent Anglo-Saxon. As to religion, a Protestant; as to dedication, giving all outside agitators hell; as to church rules and regulations, spotless. But everything that was "profit" for me I put down as "loss" for Christ. Yes, indeed, I consider everything to be loss as over against the surpassing worth of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. I lost everything for him and think of it as but garbage, that I might instead get Christ and identify myself with him, not having my own brand of church goodness but a goodness that comes through obedience to Christ, a God kind of goodness based on obedience. I did all this to get to know him, to have the astounding power of his Risen Presence, to be a partner with him in his sufferings. I committed myself to him in death, if somehow I might share in his aliveness. I don’t claim that I have already arrived or that I am as yet fully mature. But I keep on struggling, trying to catch on to why Christ Jesus caught hold of me. Brothers, I don’t think I’ve caught on even yet, but with this one thing in mind, forgetting everything that lies behind and concentrating on what lies ahead, I push on with all I’ve got toward the prize of God’s invitation to the high road in Christ Jesus. So then, let all of us who are mature set our minds on this. Even if you should see things somewhat differently, this too will God make clear to you. Let’s just live up to the progress we have already made.17.???????? Become my fellow mimics, brothers, and watch those who walk according to the example we set for you. For many people have joined the church, about whom I have frequently told you and even now am telling you with tears in my eyes that they are bitterly opposed to the thought of Christ’s lynching. With their minds set only on material things, their destination is destruction, their god is pleasure, and their pride is in their shameful behavior. For our church fellowship is a spiritual thing, out of which we constantly expect the deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform our humble little group into a form resembling his own glorious body, by means of the inner working which enables him to captivate everybody.?4.1.???????? Now then, my loved and esteemed brothers, my pride and joy, hold the line for Christ, dear ones.2.???????? I beg Eunice and I beg Cindy to settle their differences in the spirit of the Lord. Yes, and I beg you too, my loyal and true buddy, to give a hand to those women who shared the gospel struggle with me and Clement and my other co-workers, whose names are inscribed on the "Scroll of Life."4.???????? Always be glad you are Christians. I say it again, be glad. Let your gentleness show through to all people. The Lord is close by, so don’t fret over anything. Rather, as you thankfully pray, let God in on all your needs. Then God’s peace, which is beyond anything you have ever experienced, will stand watch over your mind and emotions in Christ Jesus.8.???????? Lastly, brothers, all that’s true, all that’s honorable, all that’s right, all that’s clean, all that’s friendly, and all that’s uplifting — if you are looking for something genuine and worthwhile, consider these things. And keep on practicing all that I taught you and demonstrated to you and told you and showed you. And the God of peace will be with you.10.???????? As a member of the fellowship, I am truly glad that you are now concerned about me. You’ve had me in mind all along, but were unable to show it. I’m not hinting that I’m in need, for actually I’ve learned the secret of both feasting and fasting, of being loaded and being broke. With the help of him who empowers me, I feel up to anything.14.???????? But just the same, it surely was good of you to share as partners with me in my troubles. For you yourselves know, my Alabaster friends, that in the earliest days of the gospel, when I left Alabama, not one single fellowship joined with me in the common purse for mutual sharing except you alone. For even while I was in Mississippi, you sent money time and again to meet my needs. It’s not that I’m looking for a handout, but I am expecting the kind of action from you that will increasingly enrich you.18.???????? I received everything in good shape and am bursting at the seams. Ever since I got the stuff you sent by Happy, I have been brimful. Your gift is like sweet perfume, a noble sacrifice, pleasing to God. May my God meet your every need in keeping with his marvelous wealth displayed in Christ Jesus. And may the credit be given to our Father-God through all ages. Please may it be so.21.???????? Greet every person dedicated to Christ Jesus. The brothers here with me ask to be remembered to you. In fact, all the Christians here, particularly the government workers who have joined us, send you their warm greetings.23.???????? May the unmerited favor of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.Yours,PaulLetter to the Christians in Columbus (Colossians)1.1.???????? From Paul, by God’s will a minister of Jesus Christ, and Brother Timothy;??????????? To the dedicated and faithful Christian brothers in Columbus.2.???????? We wish you peace and the best of everything from our Father-God. Every time we pray we surely do thank the Father-God of our Lord Jesus for you all. We have heard about the way you live for Jesus Christ and the love you show toward all the believers. It’s a sign of your sureness on essential spiritual matters. You first learned of this when the true word of the gospel was presented to you, and it is now multiplying and bearing fruit all over the world the same as it has been doing in you ever since you were privileged to hear and understand God’s truth. It’s the same as you learned it from our good old buddy, Pat, who is as loyal a Christian friend as you ever had. He’s the one who convinced us, by his spirit, of your love. From that moment on we haven’t let up praying for you all. We are asking that in every scrap of wisdom and spiritual insight you might be loaded up with a clear understanding of what God is up to, and thus behave in a way that’s pleasing to the Lord. May you shuck out every kind of good deed and bust out all over with the true understanding of God. In everything that demands strength, may you have the energy of his marvelous dynamo to give you all the patience and persistence you need. And may you give joyful thanks to the Father who enabled you to be partners with enlightened Christians.13.???????? It was the Father who sprang us from the jailhouse of darkness, and turned us loose in the new world of his beloved Son, through whom we got our pardon, the forgiveness of our crimes. He is a perfect photo of the Unseen God, and has got it over everything that ever was made, because he’s the reason everything was put together, whether it’s in heaven or on earth, whether seen or unseen, whether sitting on thrones or governors’ chairs, on judges’ benches or in sheriffs’ offices. Through him and for him the whole business has been put together. He’s the starting point of everything, and he’s got it all in the palm of his hand. Too, he is the boss of the body, his church. He is the source, the originator of the resurrection. The result is that he’s tops any way you look at it. In him God put all his eggs in one basket and showed, through him, that he was friendly towards everybody. Indeed, by the blood shed at his lynching he brought about peace with all, both on the earth and in heaven.21.???????? At one time you all were not on speaking terms with God, and because of your mean ways, you had your mind set dead against him. But now, by dying he has made friends of you who are in his visible body, so as to get you on your feet before him— dedicated, clean and above reproach. But you’ve gotta stay with the faith, riding it out and staying in the saddle without getting bucked off the back of the gospel—the gospel which you yielded to and of which I, Paul, am an agent.24.???????? Now I am quite happy that by suffering for you I am able to extend in my flesh the incompleted afflictions of Christ for his body, which is the church. I became his agent by the divine appointment which was given to me, so as to bring God’s word to a head in you. This indeed is the secret which has been hidden away for ages and generations and has now been made public in those who are dedicated to him. In them God wanted to exhibit among all races what a priceless thing this glorious mystery is, the mystery of Christ’s indwelling presence with you all, the basis of the glory. It’s him we keep talking about. We spur people on and teach everybody with all the wisdom we’ve got so as to help every man stand on his own two feet as a grown-up Christian. To this end 1 work like a dog, straining with all the energy which he so powerfully released in me.??2. 1.???????? I’d like you to know what a deep concern I have for you, as well as for everybody in Montgomery and for all whom I’ve never personally met. I’m anxious that their hearts, yoked together in love and in the good fortune of a full-blown awakening, might be boosted into an awareness of God’s mystery—Christ himself. For in him, still unexplored, are all the values of education and wisdom. I say this so nobody will trip you with their smooth talk. For even though I’m not actually present, my spirit is with you, and it it really sends me to see your orderliness and your firmness in the Christian faith.6.???????? Keep on walking in Christ Jesus the Lord just as when you first received him. Sink your roots in him; bet your life on him; plant your feet firmly in the faith as you were taught it; bubble over with joyful thanks.8.???????? Watch your step now and don’t let anybody make a sucker of you with his intellectual jazz and his smooth-sounding baloney, which is based on human concoctions and worldly standards, not on Christ. For the whole spectrum of Deity resided corporately in him, in whom your own lives find meaning. He’s the boss over every ruler and big shot. And by him you’ve been initiated into his fellowship—I don’t mean physical initiation—when he relieved you of your lower nature. This indeed is Christian initiation. Likewise, in baptism you were buried with him, and with him you have been raised by the inner working of faith in God who raised him from the dead. And to you all, corpses rotting in your sins and moral estrangement, God gave new life along with him. He freely forgave all our wrongdoing; he scratched out the signed charges against us which were then pending, took them out of the courtroom and tied them in the noose! And having frisked the top brass and the power boys, and made them his prisoners of war, he publicly exposed them.16.???????? Therefore, don’t ever let one of those big shots jump all over you about official regulations or special observances or denominational programs or Sunday activities. Such things are but forms, whereas Christ is the real stuff. And don’t let anybody browbeat you into an assumed piety and into prayers to saints, insisting on some vision he has had. He’s a worldly-minded muddlehead who has lost his grip on the true Head, under which the rest of the body, outfitted and bound together by its joints and muscles, grows into God’s maturity.20.???????? If with Christ you died off from the standards of the world, why do you keep insisting on the world’s way of living? "Keep away from such-and-such"; "Don’t drink that"; "Hands off this." These are all perishable things, and the rules and teachings regarding them are purely human. Sure, it all sounds terrific with its daily devotions, its self-commitment and its rigorous disciplines, but it isn’t worth a hoot to anybody who wants to live above a human level.?3.1.???????? So then, if you’ve been given new life in Christ, go after the things of the New Order, in which Christ rules with God’s authority. Set your hearts on the ways of the New Order, not on those of the world. For you all died, and your Christian life is now wrapped up in God. Whenever Christ—our life—is made real, then you too shall be made real with him in a wonderful way.5.???????? That’s why you should kill off those areas of your life which are worldly, such as whoring, gutterbugging, uncontrolled emotions, wicked craving, and being too rich, which is false worship. These are the things which bring down God’s wrath. And at one time, when you were living in the old ways, you yourselves practiced such things. But now you all must have no truck with all that nor with blowing your top, getting all steamed up, acting ugly, throwing your weight around and running off at the mouth with dirty jokes. Quit playing false with one another, since you have shucked off the old man and his habits, and have put on the new one which is constantly being remade to the specifications of its Creator’s pattern. The pattern for the new man is the same for a Negro and a white man, a church member and non-church-member, foreigner, Mexican, employee, employer, but Christ is everything in everybody.12.???????? Wear the clothes, then, that will identify you as people whom God has selected and dedicated and loved. Your outfit should include a tender heart, kindness, genuine humility, loyalty, persistence. Put up with one another, and freely forgive each other if one has a gripe against somebody. You all forgive as freely as the Lord forgave you. Over all these things wear love, which is the robe of maturity. And let Christ’s peace, into which you were called as one fellowship, order your lives. And be thankful for it. Let Christ’s nature find abundant lodging among you. Teach and correct each other with great wisdom. With joy in your hearts sing hymns and songs and spirituals to God. And no matter what you’re doing, by word or deed, let everything be in the name of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to the Father-God.18.???????? Ladies, be subordinate to your men, as becomes a Christian wife. Men, love your wives and don’t act ornery toward them. Kids, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, don’t dominate your kids too much lest their spirits be broken. Employees, always cooperate with your human bosses, not for promotion or praise, but with the pure motive which springs from reverence for God. Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as though you were working for God and not men. You may rest assured that you will receive from the Lord the pay that’s due you. You are employed by Christ the Lord. For the crook will get back his own crookedness, since there is no favoritism.?4.1.???????? Employers, treat your employees with justice and equality, realizing that you yourselves have a spiritual employer.2.???????? Keep saying your prayers, and when you do, stay awake on the thanksgiving. Also, please pray for us, that God might open for us a door to preach, to explain the Christian secret, for which I’ve been arrested. Pray that when I speak I may lay it on the line as I ought to. Walk sensibly before outsiders, using your time as though you had to buy it. Let your conversation always be graceful and properly seasoned, so you’ll know how you should respond to others.7.???????? My dear buddy Tic, my faithful helper and co-worker in the Lord, will share the news about me with you all. In fact, I sent him to you for just this reason, so you might be brought up to date on the happenings on this end, and that he might pep you up a bit. With him is Obie, our loyal and loved brother, who is a member of your congregation. They’ll fill you in on all the details here.10.???????? Rusty, my fellow jail-bird, sends his greetings to you, as does Mark, Barney’s cousin. (You received instructions about him that if he came your way you should take him in.) Greetings also from Josh, or Justus as he is called. These are the only whites who are my partners in the God movement. They have become a tower of strength to me. Pat, another of your members, also greets you. An utterly devoted Christian, he is always agonizing over you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully equipped in the total will of God. For I know for a fact that he is heavily burdened for you and for those in Montgomery and Mobile. Luke, the beloved doctor, and Damon want to be remembered to you. Give our greetings to the brothers from Montgomery, and to Nancy and the church gathered at her house.16.???????? When you’ve finished reading this letter, send it over to the Montgomery church for them to read, and get the one they have so you can read it. And tell Arch: "Be careful to carry out the assignment you got from the Lord."18.???????? The greeting is in my own handwriting. Remember my chains.Best wishes to you all,PaulFIRST LETTER TO SELMA CHRISTIANS (1 THESSALONIANS)1.1.???????? From Paul, Silas and Timothy;??????????? To the fellowship of Selma folks who are rooted in Father-God and in Lord Jesus Christ.??????????? Grace and Peace to you.2.???????? We unceasingly thank God for you all and are continually bringing you up in our prayers. And in the presence of our Father-God we recall how you lived by your faith, put your love to work, and stuck by your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. My brothers whom God loves, you may be sure of your prize. For our great story was not brought to you in sermons alone, but in powerful action, in a dedicated spirit, and in much forthrightness. Well, you know the kind of guys we were while working with you and for you, because you yourselves imitated us and the Lord. With the joy of a dedicated spirit, you accepted the word and paid a terrific price so that you became a challenge to all the believers in Mississippi and Alabama. For from you the word of the Lord has echoed not only in Mississippi and Alabama but all over the country. News of the way you live for God is so widespread that we don’t need to bring it up any more. Others are now telling about what kind of visit we had with you, and how you switched from your old sacred customs to God; in fact, how you literally enslaved yourselves to the true and living God and practiced the presence of his Risen Son, Jesus, whom he made to live again and who keeps on getting us out of the damnation that’s always pressing in on us.?2.1.???????? Brothers, you yourselves know that our visit with you was no tea party. You also know that just before this we got beat up and cussed out in Smithville. Just the same, we were given the courage by our God to preach the word of God to you, knowing we would get into a lot of trouble. For our approach is not to beat around the bush nor to get in the mud ourselves nor to be sneaky; rather, since we have been examined by God to be fit to handle the gospel, we speak, not to be popular, but to be responsible to God, who constantly inspects our hearts. For never once did we soft-soap anybody, as you well know, nor pretend to have a lot of money— God knows—nor try to extract praise from people—from either you or anybody else. As Christian missionaries we had the right to freeload on you, but instead, all the while with you we were as thoughtful of you as a good baby-sitter taking care of her children. With such fussy concern over you, we were glad to share with you not only the gospel of God but even our very lives, because we had come to love you very, very much. Brothers, just review our sweat and our grubbing. Moonlighting so as not to freeload on any of you, we preached God’s good news among you. You can testify and so can God as to how dedicated and right and above reproach our lives were with you believers. You know, like a father talking to his own boy we counseled with each one of you, sharing our insights and showing you how to walk becomingly of the God who called us into his movement and magnificence.13.???????? And another reason why we keep thanking God continually is that, having listened to the word of God spoken by us, you accepted it not as man’s reasoning but, as it truly is, God’s reasoning, which even now is energizing you who are living by it. For brothers, you all became exactly like God’s Christian fellowships in Georgia, because you suffered the very same things at the hands of your kinfolks as the Georgia Christians did from their fellow whites who lynched the Lord Jesus and the honest preachers. They gave us hell too, and couldn’t have cared less about God. With utter contempt for human beings they ordered us not to tell the Negroes how to be helped. As always, they piled their sins sky-high, and damnation got on their tails before it was over.17.???????? So, brothers, having been separated from you for a while (physically, that is, not spiritually) we have been all the more anxious to see you in person. Once, and then again, we—or rather I, Paul—tried to get by to see you but Satan blocked the way. For who but you is our hope, our joy, our crown of authority before our Lord Jesus in his movement? Yes, indeed, you all are our pride and joy!?3.1.???????? Well, when our separation from you reached the breaking point, we decided that I should stay on alone in Hattiesburg, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s partner in the gospel of Christ, to put some steel in your spirit and to pep up your faith so nobody would get cold feet from all these acts of violence. For you realize that this is all part of the game, because while we were with you we kept warning you that we would be given the works. And sure enough, that’s what happened, as you now know. That’s why, when I just couldn’t take it any more, I sent to find out what was happening to your faith, fearing that possibly the Confuser was confusing you and that our effort there might be lost.6.???????? But a little while ago Timothy got here from you and brought us the good news about your faith and love. He told us that you always have a high opinion of us, and that you’re as hungry to see us as we are to see you. I tell you, brothers, your faith surely meant a lot to us in our own difficulties and troubles. With you standing up for the Lord we can now start breathing again. Oh, how can we ever thank God enough for all the joy you’ve brought us in the presence of our God! And oh, how we’re praying around the clock to catch a glimpse of your face and to fill in the gaps of your faith! May our Father-God himself and our Lord Jesus home us in on you! May the Lord load you up and run you over with love for one another and for everybody else too, the same as we have for you. May you have the guts to stand without reservation and in utter abandonment before our Father-God in the Inauguration of our Lord Jesus, in company with all those who are devoted to him.?4.1.???????? So finally, brothers, in order that you might grow even more, we beg you and plead with you in the Lord Jesus to keep on walking exactly as you learned from us how one who would please God must walk. For you are aware of the various instructions we gave you with the help of the Lord Jesus. God’s will—that which makes you different—is that you hold back from catting around, that each of you know how to control his own genitals with dedication and honor, not with lustful passion like those guys who don’t know God; and that one not go over and stimulate his brother in this matter. Just as we told you before and keep on mentioning it to you, the Lord is ruthless toward all such things. For God called us not for loose living but in disciplined dedication. And so then, the rebel is rebelling not against man but against the God who gives you his Holy Spirit.9.???????? Now you don’t need me to write you about brotherly love, because you yourselves are God-taught to love one another. And you are doing just this toward all the brothers even throughout Mississippi. But we are encouraging you to grow even more in this respect—also to consider it a virtue to keep your ears, not your mouth, open and to tend to your own business, and earn your living, just as we strictly ordered you, so that your conduct will appeal to those outside the fellowship and that you yourselves not go hungry.13.???????? Now we don’t want you to be in the dark, brothers, about those who have died, lest your grief be the same as those who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and was made to live, then just as surely will God bring to life, through Jesus, those who have died with him. Now this we say to you on the authority of the Lord: We who remain alive in the Lord’s movement shall in no way get a head start on those Christians who have died. For the Lord himself, at countdown, with a sound like a big angel and God Almighty blowing a siren, will blast off from heaven. And the dead Christians will come to life first, then we who are still living will be whooshed up in the clouds with them to meet the Lord in the sky. Then we shall live happily with the Lord ever after. So use these words to calm down one another.?5.1.???????? Brothers, you don’t have any need for me to write to you about schedules and seasons. For you yourselves know for a fact that "Lord’s Day" comes like somebody breaking in at night. Just when people settle back and say, "It’s so peaceful and quiet," then all of a sudden calamity hits them like a woman having labor pains, and then it’s too late. But you all, my brothers, are not night creatures with the day about to surprise you as a thief. You all are light children; you are daytime people; we don’t belong to the night nor to darkness. Well, then, let’s not wallow around in bed like other people but let’s keep moving and stay on our toes. For sleepers sleep of a night, and drunkards get drunk of a night. But let us, since we are daytime people, get on the ball. Let’s put on the space suit of faith and love, and the headgear of hope and salvation. Because God has not intended damnation for us but an achievement of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we shall surely live with him. Therefore, stand by one another and each one build up the other, just as you are doing now.12.???????? We call on you, brothers, to recognize those who are slaving for you and are your managers and trainers in the Lord. Show them particular affection because of their work. Cultivate peace among yourselves. We encourage you, brothers, to straighten out the cantankerous, lend a hand to the spiritual runts, doctor the sickly, and get along with everybody. See that no one pays back another evil for evil, but always press for the good in one another and in everybody. Always be cheerful. Never quit praying. Be thankful for everything, for this is God’s will for you.??????????? Don’t switch off the Spirit.??????????? Don’t belittle honest preaching.??????????? Sample things, accept what’s good and reject every hint of evil.23.???????? May the very God of peace totally possess you. May he make one bundle of your spirit, mind and body and keep you above reproach in the movement of our Lord Jesus Christ. You can trust him who called us to do this.25.???????? Brothers, keep us in your prayers. Greet all the brothers with our heartfelt love.??????????? I put you under oath to the Lord that you read this letter to all the brothers.??????????? May the unmerited favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.Paul, Silas and TimothySECOND LETTER TO SELMA CHRISTIANS (2 THESSALONIANS)1.1.???????? From Paul, Silas and Timothy;??????????? To the fellowship of Selma folks who are rooted in our Father-God and in Lord Jesus Christ.??????????? Grace and peace to you from Father-God and Lord Jesus Christ.3.???????? We feel bound to thank God continually for you, brothers, which is nothing but right. Your faith is growing and the love of each one of you for one another is getting bigger and bigger. Why, we ourselves are singing your praise throughout God’s fellowships, telling about your tenacity and faith in the face of all your persecutions, and the terrible things you’re putting up with. It’s an indication of the rightness of God’s decision to count you worthy of his movement 1 ? for which you are suffering so. It would be only right if God dished out some trouble to those troubling you, and gave a breathing spell for you and us who are being mistreated. It’ll happen, too, on that day when Lord Jesus, with his mighty angels about him, will bust out of the spiritual realm and with roaring fire will mete out justice to those who ignore God and won’t live by the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They’ll be sentenced to spiritual exile from the presence of the Lord and from the mighty display when he shall come to be honored by his devout ones and to be amazed himself at all the believers. Because our position on this was accepted by you we are always praying for you, that our God may make you worthy of the call and may make a reality of every intention of goodness and every work undertaken in the power of faith, so that the Name of our Lord Jesus may be held in honor by you, and you by him, according to the unmerited favor of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.?2.1.???????? Brothers, let us speak earnestly to you about the coup 2?? of our Lord and our gathering together around him, so that you may not be easily thrown for a loop nor upset by a "spirit" or a message or a letter supposed to be from us stating that the Lord’s era 3?? has "arrived." 4?? Don’t let anybody bag you with that kind of foolishness. For unless there first comes the reformation, 5?? and the mask is pulled off the Man of Tyranny, the damned bastard, who opposes and lords it over everything called God or sacred; in fact, he sits in God’s house and claims that he himself is God... 6?? Don’t you remember that while I was with you I was telling you these things? Even now you know the Despot, so he may be unmasked in his own time. For already the secret of tyranny is working only until the Despot can be gotten out of the way. And then the Tyrant shall be unmasked and the Lord Jesus will smash him with a sneeze and make him powerless for the ushering in of his coup. 7?? His coup is the result of Satan’s energy expressed in much activity and charts and phony programs and in much crooked slick talk by those who are going to hell because they spurned the love of the truth whereby they may have been rescued. And that’s why God is bringing upon them a "generator of error" that leads them to put stock in the outright lie, so that all who don’t trust the truth but delight in wickedness might be brought to judgment.13.???????? Now my brothers whom the Lord loves, we should be f or-ever grateful to God for you, because God chose you, by the dedication of your spirit and your trust of the truth, to lead the Freedom Parade. He also called you, through our preaching, to be an ornament of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand your ground, and sink your teeth into the lessons we taught you, both orally and by letter. And may our Lord Jesus Christ personally, and our Father-God who by his grace loved us and gave us a charge that’s out of this world and who provided us with a solid footing—may he charge your hearts and pep you up in every good deed and word.?3.1.???????? Lastly, brothers, pray for us, that the Christian faith may spread rapidly and be respected even as it has and is with you. Pray also that we may not fall into the hands of extreme [or unbalanced] and evil men, for not all are Christians. Surely the Lord will put starch into you and guard you against evil. And we have no doubt whatsoever that you are doing and will continue to do as we tell you. And may the Lord home your hearts in on the love of God and on the steadfastness of Christ.6.???????? On the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, we direct you, brothers, to part company with every brother who bucks out of the harness and refuses to live by the instructions you got from us. For you yourselves know how important it is to imitate us, because while we were with you we didn’t buck out of the harness nor freeload on anybody. Instead, in hard labor and sweat we worked far into the night so as not to be a burden on any of you. It wasn’t that we didn’t have the right to eat off of you, but that we might set ourselves as an example for you to copy. For even while we were with you we kept insisting that if a man were unwilling to work he shouldn’t come for chow. Now we hear that some there are not pulling their load, working at nothing but getting out of work. We are both ordering and urging those guys to quietly go to work and earn their own bread.13.???????? Brothers, don’t you all ever lose your zest when you’re doing what’s right. And if anyone doesn’t do what we’ve said in our letter, single him out and don’t associate with him, so he’ll be ashamed of himself. In other words, treat him, not as an enemy, but as a brother to be corrected. Now may the Lord of peace personally give you peace—always and in all ways. The Lord be with you all.17.???????? Now the greeting, written in my (Paul’s) own hand, which is the way I sign every letter. Thus I am writing: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.Paul, Silas and Timothyfootnotes1 ?The Greek word is "kingdom".2 ?The word here is παρουσια, "appearance" or "presence." Here it seems to indicate the sudden appearance of one leading a coup.3 ?The Greek word is "day" but it can refer to a period, or age, or era, as in our "day of the automobile." Thus Paul’s thought is that while Christ’s era reaches into the past and is also a present reality, it is not yet over. It stretches toward its future consummation. Its root is in the past; its trunk, in the present; its crown, in the future.4 ?Or "is an accomplished fact," "has fully dawned and has run its course," "has had its day," the implication being that it is now the "post-Christian" era. The verb is third person singular, perfect indicative of ?νιστημι, "to be present," and represents the action as having been completed. The "train" has arrived, reached its destination, and will go no further. The action is over. It is a past event. We are done with it.5 ?The word is ?ποστησια (English "apostasy") and refers to a revolt, primarily a religious one; hence, reformation.6 ?Paul does not complete this sentence.7 ?Παρουσια, the same word as in v. 1. Thus the world is faced with the prospect of two coups, that of the Lord and that of the Tyrant. But the outcome is already certain.FIRST LETTER TO TIMOTHY (1TIMOTHY)1.1.???????? From Paul, an agent of Jesus Christ by appointment of both our Savior-God and Jesus Christ, our hope;??????????? To Timothy, a legitimate child in the Christian faith.??????????? I wish you much favor, kindness and peace from our Father-God and our Lord Jesus Christ.3.???????? When I set out for Mississippi, I urged you to stay on in Birmingham so you could warn certain people not to spread wrong ideas nor get bogged down in endless programs and reports which generate a lot of discussion but little else for God’s household of faith. The purpose of such a warning is to produce love which springs from a clean heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith. A few of them, having missed the mark entirely, have soared off in high-flown gobbledygook. They want to be doctors of divinity, but they have no understanding of what they’re talking about or what they’re trying to prove.8.???????? Now we know that hellfire preaching is all right if one treats it as such, realizing that brimstone is not aimed at a truly good man but at the wild and unruly, the anti-religious and sinners, the holy Joes and the nice Nellies, the bombers of men, women and children, the catters, homos, exploiters, liars, fixers and anything else that’s opposed to the wholesome teachings found in our blessed God’s wonderful gospel with which I’m entrusted.12.???????? I am eternally grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ who cranked me up and considered me fit to be put into service. I used to be a slanderer, a persecutor and an insulter of Christians. But I was pitied, because as a disbeliever I did it without knowing what I was up to. And so the undeserved favor of our Lord just busted loose all over me, along with the faith and love for which Christ Jesus is famous. Timothy, you can bet your last dollar on this: Christ Jesus came into the world to rescue sinners, and I’m the worst one of all. But that’s why I was pitied—that of me, the worst one, Christ Jesus might make Exhibit A of all his incredible goodwill. He used me as a display of what can happen to those who put their trust in him for spiritual life. So all honor and credit for evermore to the Leader of movements, undying, unseen, God alone. May it ever be so.18.???????? Timothy, my boy, in keeping with earlier predictions about you which enabled you to put up a sure-enough fight, I am entrusting to you this responsibility. Hold on to your faith and keep your conscience clean. Some people, among whom are Henry and Alec, have stifled their conscience and shipwrecked their faith. I let Satan have them, so they might learn not to play fast and loose with God.??2.1.???????? So in the first place, I recommend that requests, prayers, pleadings and thanksgivings be made for all people, for heads of state and for all who are in positions of authority, so that we might carry on a pleasant and quiet business with all reverence and dignity. This is proper and fitting before our Savior-God, who is anxious for all people to be rescued and to know what the truth really is. For God is one, and there is one connecting link between God and man—the Man Christ Jesus. He sacrificed his own life as the price of setting all men free, a fact that has become clear time and again. I was made a preacher and agent to spread this word, yes, and—believe it or not, but I’m telling the honest truth—a teacher of other races in the Christian faith and truth.8.???????? I’d like, then, for the men at each place to join in prayer, doing so with clean hands, with no hard feelings or arguments. It’s also my wish that .the women outfit themselves in suitable clothing with modesty and good taste. They should not go in for fancy hairdos and gold ornaments or expensive dresses, but for that which really becomes dedicated Christian women—their gracious ways. Let a woman learn to quietly take a subordinate place. I don’t permit a woman to teach a man or to boss him but to stay in the background. For Adam (man) was put together first, then Eve (woman) - And it was not Adam but Eve who was tricked and became the offender. But she’ll get off the hook by having children, provided, of course, she shows good sense and lives in faith, love and devotion.?3.1.???????? You can bank on the fact that if a fellow seeks the office of overseer in the church, he has his heart set on an honorable occupation. It’s necessary, therefore, that the overseer be a top-notch man, faithfully married to his wife, level-headed, with a lot of horse sense, polished, one who loves people, open-minded. He should not be an alcoholic, nor a military man, but gentle, non-violent and free from the love of money. He should do a good job running his own household and should show good judgment in keeping his children well in hand. (For if a man doesn’t know how to manage his own home, how shall he take care of God’s family?) He should not be a newcomer, lest he get the bighead and the Devil throw him for a loop. He must also be highly regarded by those outside the church, or the Devil might hook him with some scandal.8.???????? In the same way, the church’s financial administrators 1?? should be conscientious, straight-shooting, not hitting the bottle very often, nor grubbing for money. They should hold onto the secret of the Christian faith without any reservations. Let them first serve a trial period and then if they pan out OK let them have the job. It’s important, too, that their wives be conscientious, not devilish nor flightly, utterly loyal. Financial administrators must be faithfully married to their wives, handling well both their children and entire households. For they who serve well as financial administrators earn a fine reputation for themselves as well as much openness on matters of the Christian faith.14.???????? I’m writing these things to you in the hope that I’ll be coming your way soon. But if I should be delayed, then you’ll know how people must order their lives in the household of God, which is the Living God’s family, the focal point and repository of the truth. And without doubt the secret of the Good Life is tremendous:??????????????????????????????????????????????? Born in the flesh,??????????????????????????????????????????????? Matured in the Spirit–??????????????????????????????????????????????? While the angels peeped–??????????????????????????????????????????????? Preached to all races,??????????????????????????????????????????????? Trusted by the world,??????????????????????????????????????????????? Returned to glory.?4.1.???????? The Spirit definitely tells us that as time moves on some people will twist Christianity out of shape. They’ll go wild over misguided preachers and the books of distinguished devils. With their consciences branded with a hot iron, they hypocritically preach what isn’t so. They teach that it is wrong to marry, and to eat certain foods which God made for believers and others who have an understanding of the truth to eat with humble gratitude. For all of God’s creation is good, and nothing we gratefully accept is forbidden, since it is made kosher by God’s work and intervention.6.???????? As you lay these things on the hearts of the brothers you will be a worthy agent of Christ Jesus, nourished on the ideas of the Christian faith and the fine principles which you’ve practiced. But don’t get involved in ridiculous and seedy religious fads. Rather, give yourself a good workout in real religion. Physical fitness is quite valuable, but spiritual fitness is worth more than anything, because it enables one to have life for both the present and the future. Bank on this and don’t hesitate to accept it. This is why we work and sweat, because we have bet our lives on the Living God, who is the rescuer of all peoples, and especially Christians.11.???????? Stress these things and teach them. Don’t let anybody look down his nose at you jnst because you’re a young man. Instead, you be an example of what church members should be in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in dedication. Till I come, keep up your reading, your counseling, your teaching. Care for the inner spiritual gift which was prophetically bestowed on you when the elders laid their hands on you. Let these things consume you; breathe them, so that it will be clear to everybody that you’re making progress. Keep a tight check on yourself and your teaching. Stay on the ball, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.?5.1.???????? Don’t jump all over an elder; rather, approach him as a father. Approach young men as brothers, elderly women as mothers and young women as sisters—in complete sincerity.3.???????? Accept responsibility for widows who are clearly dependent. If a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn to exercise religion first at home and meet the needs of the elder members of the family, for this is what God expects. But a truly dependent widow who is alone pins her hopes on God and lives by asking and praying to him night and day. On the other hand, the widow that’s revving it up, though she’s living high now, has already died off. So insist on these things, that they may be above reproach. Too, if someone does not provide for his own relatives and especially his own family, he has denied the Christian faith and is really worse than a non-Christian. Now to get a pension from the church a widow must be at least sixty years old, undivorced, with a good reputation. You should know whether she reared her children well, if she was hospitable, if she put herself at the disposal of the church, if she befriended people in trouble, if she did all the good she could in every way. But turn down young widows. For when they get too hot for Christian restraint, their desire is to mate. Then they feel guilty for having broken their original commitment. But on top of this they learn to be loafers, flitting around to people’s houses, not only loafing but babbling and carrying on like mad, never discussing anything important. So I recommend that the young widows get married, have children, keep house and not give someone opposed to us any grounds for ridiculing us. For already some have gone trekking off after Satan.16.???????? If a church member has widows in the family, let him provide for them and not burden the church, so it can provide for widows who are truly dependent.17.???????? Spiritual leaders who perform their duties well should be eligible for a double allotment, particularly those who make real sacrifices to preach and teach. For the Bible says, "Don’t put a muzzle on a mule that’s plowing corn," and, "A worker is entitled to his wages."19.???????? Don’t entertain a charge against a spiritual leader unless there are two or three witnesses to back it up.20.???????? Openly rebuke those who make sin a habit, so as to put the fear of God into the rest.21.???????? I hereby call on you, in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the chosen angels, to uphold these things with an unprejudiced mind and show no favoritism whatsoever. Don’t embrace a fellow too quickly, nor be a partner with others in their sins; keep yourself clean. You may stop being a teetotaler, but use only a little wine to settle your stomach and for your serious illnesses.?6.1.???????? Let all who are laborers consider their bosses as worthy of the utmost respect so that God’s name and Christian principles might not be smeared. Nor should workers whose bosses are church members and loved ones have hatred for them, since they are brothers. Rather, they should work all the harder, because the beneficiaries of a job well done are fellow church members and loved ones. Keep on teaching and counseling these things.3.???????? If anybody contradicts and does not consent to the sound principles laid down by our Lord Jesus Christ and to the well-tested precepts he gave, that man is a puffed up blowhard. He not only doesn’t know the score, but he is cracked on side issues and controversial matters which give rise to hard feelings, breakups, smears and malicious suspicions. This is the kind of running off at the mouth that men do when their mind is festered and they’ve robbed the truth of all meaning. They’re counting on getting well off on religion. The religion that produces inner satisfaction really is something to get well on. For we brought nothing into the world, and we surely can’t take anything out of it. We have enough food and clothing, and with these we shall be content. You know, when people make money their goal they fall head over heels into confusion and into a bear trap and into all kinds of senseless and harmful cravings which shove them down into ruin and destruction. For the root of everything wicked is money-addiction. And some folks, in forming the habit, have ceased to be Christians and have hanged themselves with a peck of troubles.11.???????? But you, God’s man, turn your back on all that. Set your heart on justice, honest religion, faith, love, steadiness, unswerving loyalty. Put all you’ve got into the faith’s noble struggle. Stand on tiptoe to get the spiritual life into which you were invited and which you so nobly accepted in front of many others who had done the same thing. Before the God who makes all things alive and before Christ Jesus who made the Great Acceptance in front of Governor Pontius Pilate, I plead with you to keep the new commandment untainted and without compromise until our Lord Jesus Christ shows up. This will be made clear at his own convenience by the wonderful and only ruler, the President of presidents and the Governor of governors, who alone is deathless, whose home is blinding light, at which no human being has ever been able to look or ever will. To him be eternal respect and rule. May it ever be so.17.???????? Plead with the worldly rich not to be conceited nor to rest any weight on the mirage of wealth, but on God who liberally offers us everything needful for our well-being. Plead with them to do good, to be rich in noble deeds, to be sharers, full partners, assembling material for a fine foundation for the future, so that they might hang on to life that’s real.20.???????? Timothy, guard your directions with your life. Don’t get bogged down in the muddle-headed spoutings and fancy froth parading under the name of "higher learning." Some people have gone for that junk and have really messed up their Christian faith.Best wishes to you all,Paulfootnotes1 ?The word here is "deacon" and refers to those men appointed by the church to be responsible for the physical needs of the members. They were to see that none had too little—or too much!SECOND LETTER TO TIMOTHY (2 TIMOTHY)1.1.???????? From Paul, an agent of Jesus Christ appointed by God to carry through on the promise of the life seen in Christ Jesus;??????????? To my dear son, Timothy. I wish you much favor, kindness and peace from Father-God and Christ Jesus, our Lord.3.???????? I breathe a word of thanks to God, whom I learned from my parents to serve with a clean conscience, when, without fail, I mention you in my morning and evening prayers. When I remember the tears you shed I really do get anxious to see you so I might be cheered up a bit. I have a vivid memory of the utterly sincere faith that’s in you. I saw it first imbedded in your Grandma Lois and in your Mama Eunice and I am certain that it’s in you too. So because I know you’ve got the stuff in you, I’m reminding you to shake the ashes off the God-given fire that’s in you from the time I ordained you. For God has not given us the heart of a coward but of a strong man filled with love and self-discipline. So don’t you ever be ashamed to stand up for our Lord, or for me, his prisoner. Rather, with God’s help, get in the swim with others who are suffering for the gospel. For it is God who rescued us and invited us with a special invitation, not because we deserved it but because of his own inclination and kindness. Actually he extended the invitation through Christ Jesus before time began, but now he has made it clear and plain by the earthly appearance of our Life Guard, Christ Jesus. It was he who deactivated death and, through the great story, brought to light life and health. To establish this I was made a proclaimer, an agent and a teacher. That’s the reason, too, that I get into all this trouble. But I’m not griping about it, because I’m not in the dark as to whom I’ve committed my life, and I’m quite confident that he is fully capable of taking care of my "deposit" under any condition.13.???????? Use the sermons you heard me preach as an example of sound preaching in Christian faith and love. Protect that wonderful "deposit" made by the Holy Spirit, whose house we are.15.???????? You know, don’t you, that all those Texas folks let me down, including Findlay and Hardy. May the Lord bless the Butterfinger family, though, because he frequently invited me over and was not ashamed of my jail record. In fact, when he came to New Orleans he looked all over for me—and found me! May the Lord bless him with his mercy on the Big Day! And you know better than I about all the ways he helped me out in Birmingham.?2.1.???????? So then, my boy, as one who is a member of the Christian movement, be real spunky. And all that you heard from me through many sources you should place in the hands of committed men, who in turn will be capable of teaching others. As a good soldier of Christ Jesus take your share of the suffering. A man on active duty in the army gives up his private business in order to be free to carry out the orders of his commander. Also, if one enters a contest, he is not given a prize unless he competes according to the rules. And too, the farmer who produces the crop must have priority in eating from it. Think about what I’m telling you, for the Lord will help you to know what it’s all about.8.???????? Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ as I preached him to you— one of us in the flesh but made alive when he died. This is why I’m arrested and jailed like a criminal, but they haven’t locked up God’s word. So I keep on putting up with everything for the sake of the converts, in order that they might get hold of the salvation which, along with spiritual discernment, is in Christ Jesus. This poem is true:??????????????????????? For if we’ve shared his death, we shall also share his life;??????????????????????? If we bear our suffering, we shall share his reign.??????????????????????? If we renege, he will reject us.??????????????????????? If we turn loose the faith, then he holds on to it,??????????????????????? Because he can’t disown himself.14.???????? Keep these issues alive, urging people before God not to split hairs, which gets nowhere and confuses those who have to listen. Get the lead out of your britches and stand yourself up before God as a seasoned veteran, a skilled worker, correctly slicing the word of truth. And don’t waste your time on theological twaddle, for it will actually increase paganism, and such junk will spread like blood poisoning. An example of this are some professors1?? who have overshot the truth by saying that "God is dead,"2?? and they’ve got the faith of some folks in a tizzy. But just the same, God’s cornerstone is still in place, and it reads: "The Lord knows his true ones," and "Let all who call themselves Christians withdraw from evil." Now in every house of importance there are articles not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, and some are valuable and some are cheap. So then if someone keeps his life clean of those things which cheapen him he will be a valuable article, highly prized, useful to his Owner, ready for any good purpose. So turn your back on loose kid stuff, and in company with those who have in utter sincerity joined the Lord’s movement, set your heart on fairness, faith, love and peace. And don’t get involved in idiotic, playpen arguments, since you know that they generate fights. Now the Lord’s man ought never to fight but to be friendly toward everybody, to be disciplined, not easily riled up, one who puts his point across to his opponents with genuine humility, hoping that God might give his opponents a change of mind so as to understand the truth. And when they do understand, they’ll wise up to the fact that the Devil has had them in the palm of his hand all along, and they’ll bust out of his trap.?3.1.???????? Now get this clear: In the final showdown3?? some mighty rough times will come to pass, for people will love nobody but themselves and their money. They’ll be big talkers, big shots, blabbermouths, shirking responsibility for their parents, with no inner grace, no commitment, no tenderness, no integrity. They’ll be devils, wild and fierce, with no regard for the right, informers, unbalanced, inflated, loving a good time rather than loving God. They have all the outward trappings of religion, but will have nothing to do with its inner power. I say, shun them For some of these creeps worm into families and play footsie with silly little women who are already piled sky-high with sins, who are aroused by all kinds of passions and who are always experimenting but never able to come to any understanding of the truth. These people fight the truth like Jerry and Jumbo fought Moses. Their minds are polluted and they would never pass the test on faith. But they won’t make much headway, because their idiocy will become clear to everybody, just as in the case of the above-named gentlemen.10.???????? But you, you have carefully observed my teachings, my conduct, my motive, my loyalty, my ability to take it on the chin, my love, my endurance. You’ve seen the persecutions and sufferings which came my way in Albany, Opelika and Biloxi, as well as other troubles I had to put up with. Yet from it all the Lord rescued me. Furthermore, everybody who tries to live a life dedicated to Jesus Christ will be hounded, whereas the crooks and the hucksters will climb still higher up the ladder, fooling others and being fooled.14.???????? Now as for you, son, take your stand on the things you’ve learned and have been assured of, recognizing that you’ve studied various subjects and that from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which can wise you up to the salvation that comes through the kind of faith that was in Christ Jesus. Every God-breathed writing is helpful for enlightenment, for guidance, for correction, for instruction in right living, so that God’s man may be outfitted and fully equipped for performing any good task.?4.1.???????? Here before God and Christ Jesus, who stands ready to judge both living and dead on the basis of his own earthly life and his movement, I’m pressing it upon you: preach the word; stay on your toes when you’re on duty and off; challenge, admonish, encourage, using both tact and reason. For the time will come when they won’t put up with the genuine gospel. Delighting only in what they hear, they’ll hire a whole staff of preachers who’ll give it to them the way they want it. They’ll turn their attention away from the truth and will settle for book reports. But you, son, always stay on the beam, be nonviolent, work as one who bears good news, carry out your job.6.???????? But I, I am in the process of being sacrificed for the cause, and it’s just about time for me to check out. I have played the Great Game; I have finished the last inning; I have stuck by the team. Ahead, the Trophy of Right Living is being prepared for me, and the Lord, the fair Umpire, will award it to me on the big day. And he will give one, not only to me, but to everybody who has loved the Real Man.9.???????? Please do all you can to get here quickly, because Damon, still in love with the wordly life, let me down. He went to Thomasville; Chris went to Alabama and Titus to South Carolina. Luke alone is beside me. Stop by for Mark and bring him with you, for he is helpful to me on the job. I sent Tic to Birmingham. That overcoat I left in Nashville with Carl, bring it when you come. And the books too, especially those expensive ones.4??? Mr. Alexander, the welder, sure did me a lot of harm. The Lord will pay him back for what he has done. You too should keep your eye on him, because he violently opposed our testimony.16.???????? At my first hearing no one stood up for me but they all ran out on me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood with me and put heart in me, so that through me the message might be carried out and the whole public might hear. I was also spared from a "lion’s-mouth" sentence. The Lord will spare me from every mean act and will lead me safely into his spiritual movement. May all credit be given him from one age to another. Let it be so.19.???????? Say hello to Prissy and Adrian and to the Butterfinger family. Hank stayed on in Atlanta. I left Troy sick in Meridian. Please try to get here before winter. Rube and Dan and Len and Claud and all the brothers send their regards. The Lord be with your spirit.Best wishes to all of you,Paulfootnotes1 ?Paul goes so far as to name them, Henry and Fred.2 ?In the Greek the phrase is "that the resurrection has come and gone."3 ?The final showdown is between Christianity and the world—"the final age of this world." (NEB) This "showdown" obviously comes, not at the end of time, but whenever and wherever the gospel confronts the demonic powers of the present age. The people whom Paul describes in the following verses are already on hand, and their true nature will become apparent when Christians have the guts and the strength to face them. That’s why Paul wants Timothy to be aware of them now and to form no alliance with them (v. 5). Thus, the "last (extreme) days" are the days of conflict between the gospel and a man-centered society, regardless of where or when it comes.4 ?The Greek word means "highly finished skins."TITUS1.1.???????? From Paul, God’s slave, Jesus Christ s agent. My business is the faith of God’s special people and their understanding of the truth, so that they may have a genuine devotion based on confidence in spiritual life. Before the age of time, the ever truthful God was pregnant with this life. And in his own good time, he brought it forth in the great story which, by orders of our Savior-God, was entrusted to me.??????????? To Titus, a true son in a common faith.??????????? Grace and peace from Father-God and from Christ Jesus, our Savior.5.???????? The reason I left you in Arkansas was that you might tie up the loose ends there and organize some key men in each city. Just as I instructed you, such a man should be above reproach, faithful to his wife, and have loyal children who don’t have a reputation for delinquency and running wild. For as manager of God’s house, it is absolutely essential that the supervisor himself be above reproach, not stuck on himself, or short-tempered, or a wino, or a bully, or a money-lover. Instead he should be friendly to strangers, on the side of the good, sensible, decent, devoted and disciplined. He must have a good grasp of the Christian faith so as to be able both to instruct others with sound teachings and to give the right answers to those on the other side of the fence. And believe you me, there are plenty of the latter, especially among the religious people. They are unbridled, smooth-talking windbags whose mouths must be stopped. They are converting whole house-holds by holding "revivals" just to collect the "love offerings." One of them - in fact, one of their own evangelists - has said: "Some Arkansans are born liars, low-down brutes, lazy gluttons." This statement is correct. And because it is, let them have it straight from the shoulder, so that they might be spiritually healthy and not hold on to religious myths and to the traditions of a society that hides its face from the truth.15.???????? To the clean-hearted all things seem clean, but to the filthy and faithless, nothing looks clean, because both their minds and consciences are dirty. They pretend to know God, but their lives deny it. They are stinkers, disobedient and not fit for anything worthwhile.?2.1.???????? Now you, Titus, speak out on clear Christian issues. Help the adult men to stay on the wagon, to be dignified, wise and solid in the faith, in love and in steadfastness. Likewise, help the adult women to behave like saints and not devils, not to be addicted to drink but to be well-mannered, that they might train the young women to be husband-lovers, child-lovers and not flighty, to be sincere, to be good housekeepers, just plain good, and obedient to their own husbands, so as to cast no reflection on God s word.6.???????? In the same manner encourage the young men to be levelheaded, and you yourself lead the way on all these matters as an example of proper behavior. Do not compromise on Christian principles. Be upright and let your talk be so sound that they can’t throw it back in your teeth. The opponent will then feel sheepish when he finds he has no criticism to level at us.9.???????? Let the workers be cooperative with their bosses on all matters and try to please them without a lot of back talk. They should not kill time on the job, but should prove that they are completely loyal and good, in order that they might beautify the teachings of our Savior-God in every way.11.???????? For God’s undeserved kindness has burst in upon us, bringing a new lease on life for all mankind. It is challenging us to turn our backs on junk religion and worldly cravings, and to live wisely and rightly and devoutly right here and now. Thus we constantly anticipate the marvelous hope and the bursting in of the wonder of the great God and our Savior, Christ Jesus. He gave himself for us, that he might cut us loose from every bad habit and purge us until we are clearly a Christian group bent on doing right. These are the things you re to talk about, to preach on and to insist on with all your authority. And don’t take any sass from anybody.?3.1.???????? Don’t let them forget that they are to accept the authority of governing officials and obey them, to be on call for every worthwhile task, and to smear no one. They are to be nonviolent and level-headed, and extending every courtesy to all men. For we too were once crazy, rebellious, hoodwinked, addicted to the whole works of sex and "fun," leading lives of wickedness and boredom, hating our own guts and hating each other. But then, when a sense of responsibility and human concern burst upon us from our Savior-God - not because we ourselves were so smart but because he was kind to us - he put us on the right track by completely making us over and giving us a new outlook. This came from the Holy Spirit which he so generously poured out on us through Jesus Christ, our Savior. This means that we have been set right by his undeserved favor and have become participants in a spiritual life that has purpose.8.???????? What I’ve told you is absolutely correct, and I want you to really put your foot down on these matters. Those who have rested their weight on God will then be encouraged to be responsible for good deeds. Such behavior is not only excellent but also beneficial to people. But silly slogans and reports and "isms" and theological fights, you should shun like the plague, for they are useless and senseless. After one or two attempts to straighten out a bigot, excuse him. Realize that such a fellow has been brainwashed and is sinning, he himself being his own evidence.12.???????? When I send either Art or Tic to you, hurry and come to me at New Orleans, for I’ve decided to stay there through the winter. Do all you can to help professors Smith and Oliver on their way, so that they do not lack anything. Let our people be trained to be responsible for proper actions in meeting urgent needs, lest they become uninvolved.15.???????? All here join me in sending greetings to you. Say hello to those who love us as Christian brothers.Best wishes to you all,PaulPHILEMON1.???????? From Paul, Christ Jesus prisoner, and Brother Timothy.??????????? To Philemon, our beloved co-worker, and Sister Abbey, and Archie, our fellow fighter, and the church gathered at your house.??????????? We wish you grace and peace from our Father-God and our Lord Jesus Christ.4.???????? You have constantly been in my prayers as I thanked God for the news of your love for all the Christians and of the life you lead based on the Lordship of Jesus. May your common life together stimulate you to a deeper understanding of all the advantages of being a Christian.7.???????? I personally got a lot of joy and comfort from your love because, brother, you really did make the members perk up.8.???????? There’s a matter about which I as a Christian have every right to make a demand of you, but because of our mutual love, I’ll rather make it a request. Being no other than Paul, an old man and now a prisoner for the cause of Christ Jesus, I want to make a request of you about my boy, Obie, whom I converted while in jail. Before his conversion he wasn’t worth a dime to you, but now he is very valuable to both you and me. And though it tears my heart out, I’m sending him back to you. I wanted so much to hold on to him myself, so he could pinch-hit for you in waiting on me while I’m in jail for the gospel. But I wouldn’t do a thing like that without your permission, because you might feel obligated to respond favorably, rather than doing it gladly from your heart.15.???????? Perhaps the reason he left you for a while was that you might have him with you always, no longer as your slave - far more than that - as your beloved brother. He is especially dear to me, and I’m sure he’ll be even more so to you, both as a person and as a brother in the Lord. If then you count me your partner, treat him as you would me. If he has hurt you in any way, or is in debt to you, transfer it to my account. I, Paul, hereby pledge with my own signature to pay it. (I won’t mention the fact that you owe me your own self.) Yes sir, brother, I’d even like to make a little profit on you for the Lord! Give me a bit of Christian encouragement, will you?21.???????? I have written to you like this because I am sure of a favorable response from you. In fact, I believe you’ll do even more than I’m asking. And by the way, get that guest room ready for me, because I’m hoping to be released soon and will be coming your way.23.???????? Pat, my cell-mate in Christ Jesus, sends his greetings, as do Mark, Rusty, Damon and Luke, my co-workers.25.???????? May the unmerited favor of the Lord Jesus Christ be upon the spirit of you all.Sincerely,PaulHEBREWS1.1.??????? In the past God spoke to men at different times and in all kinds of ways through prophets, but just recently he has spoken to us through a son whom he appointed overseer of everything and through whom God made history. He is a clear reflection of God, and he makes it easy to understand his character. Moreover, he supports it all with powerfully convincing evidence.4.??????? When he had made a clean sweep of wickedness, he assumed his place as leader, under God, of the powerful and exalted spiritual forces. He is far above the angels as his title, Son, indicates. For to what angel has God ever said,"You are my son, I myself sired you."or"I shall be like a father to him,And he shall be like a son to me"?And again, in bringing his first-born into the world, he says:"Let all God’s angels kneel before him."Regarding angels he says:"He makes his angels breezes,And his ministers flames of fire."But about his son he says:??????????????????????? "Your divine throne is everlasting,??????????????????????? And your royal rule is benevolent,??????????????????????? For you loved right and hated wrong.??????????????????????? Therefore God – your God – has inaugurated you??????????????????????? Into an office above that of any of your contemporaries."He also says:??????????????????????? "You, O Lord, laid out the foundations of the world at the beginning;??????????????????????? And the skies are all your handiwork.??????????????????????? While they perish, you persist;??????????????????????? They shall all wear out like an old shoe,??????????????????????? And you will roll them up like a shirt, and trade them in.??????????????????????? But with you it’s different; you’re always the same,??????????????????????? And the years leave no mark on you."Now to what angel has he ever said:??????????????????????? "You be my ‘right hand man’,??????????????????????? While I put all other contenders??????????????????????? Under your official sway."?Really, aren’t angels simply spiritual "altar boys" sent out to do what they can to help those sincerely seeking salvation??2.1.???????? Now please, let’s pay much more attention to what we’ve heard, and let’s not let our minds wander. For if the sermons of God’s messengers proved true, and every sin and crime denounced by them was justly punished, how do you think we’ll escape if we disregard the kind of salvation which, to begin with, was explained by the Lord and then confirmed to us by those who actually heard him? And especially since God himself backed it all up with signs and wonders and all kinds of miracles, and even the sending of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.5.??????? Now God hasn’t put this whole new order that we’re discussing in the hands of angels. Somewhere there’s a Scripture like this:??????????????????????? "Who is man, that you should notice him,??????????????????????? Or man’s child, that you should take an interest in him???????????????????????? Only for a time you made him lower than the angels;??????????????????????? Then you elevated him to a position of honor and trust,??????????????????????? And turned everything over to him."??????? When we speak of "turning everything over," nothing is excluded. Of course, at present we don’t see this as an accomplished fact. But I do think that the sentence, "Only for a time you made him lower than the angels," refers to Jesus who, because he made the supreme sacrifice, was elevated to a position of honor and trust, so that he, by God’s grace, might taste of death for each of us.10.??????? For even though he has ultimate authority over everything and everybody, it was nothing but right that he, as the head of a remarkable deliverance movement, should take the lead among his many followers in going all the way in suffering the cause. For he who calls for commitment, and they who respond with commitment are all together in the same boat. That’s why he isn’t ashamed to identify himself with them as his brothers. To quote another Scripture:??????????????????????? "I will tell my brothers your name,??????????????????????? I’ll join them in congregational singing."And in another place:??????????????????????? "I shall put the utmost confidence in him."And still again:??????????????????????? "Here I am with the dedicated band which God has given me."14.??????? Since the "dedicated band" were frail mortals, he himself became one, too, so that by dying he might break the grip of the one who controls death – that is, the devil – and set free those people who, all their lives, have been dominated by a fear of death. It is as clear as day that his real concern is not with angels, but with plain ordinary human beings. That’s why he became just like one of "the brethren," and is such a gracious and dedicated spiritual leader. He is completely devoted to God’s work and able to deal effectively with the sins of his followers. Since he himself has been tempted and has suffered so deeply, he knows how to sympathize fully with those who also are being tempted.?3.1.??????? So then, committed brothers, partners in the spiritual assignment, give careful consideration to Jesus, the founder and leader of our movement. For he was loyal to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was a loyal leader of his people. But Jesus is as much greater than Moses, as the architect is greater than the house he designs. While every house is designed by someone, God alone is the master architect. Now Moses was indeed a trustworthy leader of his people as a deputy, a symbol of the things to be explained later. On the other hand, Christ leads his people not as the King’s deputy but as his own son. And we Christians are his people, provided of course that to the very last detail, we diligently carry through on our courage and our confidence in our only hope. It’s just like the Holy Spirit says:??????????????????????? "If you would take him seriously today,??????????????????????? Don’t let your souls get calloused, like they did that day in the wilderness,??????????????????????? When I got sick and tired of their demands for ‘proof’;??????????????????????? When your fathers tried my patience with their ‘let’s-be-practical’ speeches,??????????????????????? And were given forty years in which to see plenty of my ‘proof.’??????????????????????? So I got thoroughly fed up with that bunch and I said,??????????????????????? ‘They are eternally making a mess of things??????????????????????? Simply because the pay no attention to my instructions.’??????????????????????? While in this up-set condition I swore??????????????????????? That they would never achieve my rest."12.??????? Take extreme care, brothers, to see that not a one of you might have such a wicked and untrustful attitude as to turn your back on the living God. Rather, remind each other every day during this period we call "today," or the present," not to let one’s soul get calloused by flimsy excuses. For we are Christ’s partners only if we steadfastly carry through on our commitment from beginning to end, just like it says:??????????????????????? "If you would take him seriously today,??????????????????????? Don’t let your souls get calloused like they did that day in the wilderness."16.??????? Let me ask you, who were the ones who were still stubborn even after they heard the full report? Wasn’t it practically the whole gang that came out of Egypt under Moses? And with whom did God get fed up for those forty years? Wasn’t it with those who missed the mark and who died like flies in the wilderness? And wasn’t it to the distrustful that he swore that they would never arrive at his destination? So it is obvious that it was lack of faith that kept them from making the grade.?4.1.??????? Therefore it should really frighten us to realize that we, like them, are given an opportunity to enter his "Promised Land," with the same possibility also that some of us might flub-the-dub. For we have had the good news (that God has a kingdom prepared for his people) to fall on our ears the same as they. The reason it didn’t do them one bit of good was because their hearing and their behavior didn’t connect. For only they who act on their convictions enter the "Sabbath," just as it says:??????????????????????? "While in this up-set condition I swore??????????????????????? That they would never achieve my rest."He speaks of his "rest" even though work has been continuing since creation. Somewhere there’s a reference to the seventh day like this: "And God entered on the seventh day into a state of rest from all his works." And then again, "They shall not enter my state of rest." Since it is implied that some will enter it, and since those who were originally told about the promised land didn’t make the grade because they didn’t live buy the Unseen, God has decided to provide another opportunity which he calls "Today" or "Now," just as he says later in one of David’s psalms:??????????????????????? "Today if you are serious about following him??????????????????????? Don’t let your souls get calloused."8.??????? For if, under Joshua, they had achieved God’s rest, then God wouldn’t have spoken of still another day. You see, then, that a "Sabbatism" has been saved for God’s people. For he who finally achieves his "rest," or goal, need no longer struggle. It’s like God did when he wound up creation.11.??????? Therefore, let’s put everything we’ve got into entering that "rest," so that none of us will fall into the same trap as those who wouldn’t trust him. For God’s word is alive with energy, and sharper than any double-edged sword you ever saw; so sharp, in fact, that it can draw a line between the mental and the spiritual, like separating bones from marrow, and discern all our inner emotions and drives. For there isn’t a thing in the world he doesn’t notice. Before him, whose word searches us, everything stands naked and bare.14.??????? Since we have such a great, heaven-sent spiritual leader as Jesus, God’s son, let’s get on the ball. For we have a leader who isn’t coldly indifferent to our weaknesses, but who himself has been put through the mill like we have, yet without giving in. So let’s hold our heads high as we pass his "reviewing stand," having every assurance that we shall both find and be given all the mercy and inner strength we need for any situation.?5.1.??????? One of the qualifications of a spiritual leader of men is his ability to interpret God to them and to help them have a sense of his presence and forgiveness. In addition, he has a tender spot in his heart for the uneducated and the fallen, since he knows that he himself is a weak human being. That’s why, in seeking God’s forgiveness for his people, he must also seek it for himself. And a man does not appoint himself to such a sacred task – it is a call from God, like Aaron’s.5.??????? So Christ didn’t just up and appoint himself a spiritual leader. God did it when he said to him:"You are my son; today I fathered you."And in another place he says:"You are an immortal spiritual leader, a sort of ‘Melchisedec.’"??????? During those days when Jesus was a man, he agonized in prayer, sometimes with pained outcries and tears, pouring out his heart to the one who could have saved from such a death. And God listened to this kind of devout sincerity. Even though Jesus was a son, he learned his lesson the hard way. And when he had matured, he became an inspiring example of spiritual emancipation to those who come under his discipline, having been approved by God as "a spiritual leader, a sort of Melchisedec."??????? There’s a lot I’d like to say about this, but it’s so hard to explain to people with limited understanding. You all have had plenty of time to be teachers by now, and yet you still need somebody to teach you the kindergarten stuff of the Gospel! In fact, you’re still on the bottle and can’t take solid food. The fellow who is still on the bottle isn’t a seasoned veteran in the good cause – he’s just a kid! Solid food is for adults who, by strenuous exercise, have sharpened their abilities to distinguish between good and bad.?6.1.??????? So then let’s move on from the basic Christian teachings to the more mature things of the faith, For it shouldn’t necessary to discuss again such topics as "Turning Away From Empty Observances," "Faith in God," "The Doctrine of Baptism," "The Laying On of hands," "Resurrection of the Dead," and "Hellfire and Damnation." God permitting, we’ll go on to other matters.??????? Once a man has seen the light and has had a good taste of truly spiritual food and has become one of the Holy Spirit’s partners and has chewed on God’s good word and has felt the vibrant power of the coming revolution, and then gives up the struggle, it is hopeless ever to get him to try again. Inwardly he re-crucifies the Son of God and holds him in contempt. For example, land which has drunk in the rains and has produced abundant crops for the farmer is highly cherished. But if it won’t grow anything but weeds and briars, it is unloved, cussed at, and burned over.9.??????? Even though we’re talking like this, we do have a high regard for you in the coming regime. For God is not so inconsiderate as to forget the good you’ve done and the love you have displayed for his cause as you have served – and are still serving – the members of the fellowship. We surely hope that each of you will show the same diligence carrying through on the goal to its full accomplishment. Don’t be spiritual morons; rather be imitators of those great souls who by creative and persistent effort achieved their dreams.13.??????? Take a man like Abraham, to whom God promised: "I’m going to bless you and make your family reunions crowded." He won this promise by his sheer tenacity. (Actually, it was more of a pledge, or oath, than promise, and since God had no one above him to administer an oath, he swore on his own. Men take their oaths under a higher authority, and in every dispute their oath becomes the point upon which truth is established. So when God wanted to make all the more clear to his followers that he wouldn’t let them down, he made it binding with an oath.) Because of two absolutely certain things – the oath, plus the fact that God can’t lie anyway – we "refugees" can find strong encouragement to take hold of the hope held out to us. Such hope is like an anchor for our souls, to steady us and keep us safe. And its roots lie deep in the beginnings of our faith when Jesus, like a pioneer, blazed a trail for us and became our spiritual leader, "a sort of Melchisedec."?7.1.??????? Now this Melchisedec, King of Peace, was God Almighty’s preacher. He met Abraham coming back from the butchering of the royalty, and praised him. Whereupon, Abraham gave him a tenth of the loot. (When you translate this man’s title it means a "King of Righteousness," or more literally, "King of Peace," which more accurately translates King of "Salem.") Fatherless, motherless, without any kinfolk, having neither birth certificate nor record of his death, he is like the Son of God a timeless, eternally contemporary preacher.??????? Just think of it! He was such a great guy that Abraham the Patriarch gave him a tenth of his very best loot! Now clergymen have a church rule to accept tithes, in God’s name, from their people, their own brothers and sisters even though there’s no distinction between clergy and laity. But Melchisedec, who is in no way related to the clergy, accepted tithes from Abraham and blessed him, a man himself of great spiritual maturity. Beyond any doubt the little man is always blessed by the one higher up. And on the one hand tithes are received by frail humans, while on the other they are received by one who is eternally alive. We might even say that in a sense the clergy themselves paid tithes though Abraham, since they were his unborn descendants at the time Melchisedec met him.11.??????? Now if one could become spiritually mature by entering the ministry (an honorable profession through which the people are spiritually nourished), why should there be a need for a radically different type of minister (the Melchisedec kind), rather than the average, typical parson? When a change is made in the kind of preacher, there will also of necessity be a change in the type of message.13.??????? The one we’re talking about is entirely different from the usual clergyman. He was no professional at all. For it is perfectly obvious that our Lord was a layman. He doesn’t therefore come under the usual "ordination" procedures. The difference is all the more obvious when there arises a radically different minister (the Melchisedec type), who doesn’t follow the traditional social patterns but whose power stems from his uncompromising stand. And this is true of Jesus, just as it says,"You are an eternally contemporary minister of the Melchisedec type."??????? Clearly, then, there is a change in the traditional approach, which has always been weak and ineffective (custom never made a saint out of anybody), and a much better way has been ushered in. By it we come into God’s presence.??????? So we can’t say that Jesus was without divine approval, like some self-styled preachers who have set themselves up in business. God himself "ordained" Jesus when he said to him, "The Lord, who never retracts, has pledged, ‘You are an eternally contemporary minister.’" This makes Jesus the founder of a vastly superior order.23.??????? Also, there is a continuous procession of human clergymen, because death prevents them from staying in office indefinitely. But he, the eternal contemporary, has an ageless ministry. That’s why he is forever able to save those who approach God through him – he’s always on the alert to assist them in every way possible. He’s the man for us – a qualified spiritual leader, dedicated, sincere, incorruptible, having no truck with hoodlums, a highminded man out of this world. It isn’t necessary for him, like other ministers, to go through all the rigamarole of daily masses, worship services, etc. He got all that over with once and for all when he offered up himself. By tradition, frail humans are ordained into the ministry, but God’s solemn vow, which supersedes tradition, has ordained the stalwart Son, the Eternal Contemporary.?8.1.???????? In substance, what we’re saying is that we have an outstanding spiritual leader who is at the top of God Almighty’s list. He is pastor of the true church established by the Lord, not by man. Every minister is ordained to conduct worship services and take up offerings, so he himself certainly should set the example in these things. But if Jesus were on earth, he probably wouldn’t be a preacher at all since there are plenty of parsons to conduct traditional worship services. Their meetings are only a type or symbol of the true, spiritual gatherings. It’s somewhat like God’s warning when Moses was about to begin his building program: "See to it," he said, "that you build everything according to the model which was shown you on the mountain."??????? Now Jesus has set up worship services which are deeply meaningful, since he is the author of a more vital commitment, or constitution, which is based upon vastly superior ideas. For if that first commitment, or constitution, had been successful, there would have been no need to draw up a second. But God brands the first a failure when he says,??????? "The days are coming," says the Lord, "when I will draw up a new constitution for the Jewish nation – not the kind I made with their founding fathers when I took them buy the hand and led them out of Egypt. They wouldn’t live by that constitution, so I walked out on them," says the Lord. "This constitution which I shall propose for the future Jewish nation," says the Lord, "will be an inner one in which my principles will be imbedded in their minds and hearts. And I shall be ‘God-in-them’ and they shall be a ‘nation-in-me.’ And not a single one of them will need to teach his fellow citizen or his brother saying, ‘Here’s the way to know the Lord.’ For everybody, from the little fellow to the high brass, will already know me. And I will be patient with their shortcomings, and I won’t ever throw their sins in their faces."??????? Note that when mention is made of the "new constitution" it makes the first constitution an old one. And anything that’s old and worn out is headed for the garbage can.?9.1.???????? The first constitution spelled out the order of worship and the arrangement of the sanctuary. The outer room, which is called "Holy," was fixed up with a lampstand and a table and a place for receiving the bread. Beyond the second curtain was another sanctuary called "Holy of Holies," in which was a gold altar and the constitution’s gold-covered showcase. In the showcase were a gold jar containing a sample of the manna, and Aaron’s stick that sprouted, and the original copy of the constitution. Above this were the gorgeous cherubim hovering over the Forgiveness exhibit. There’s no need now to go into further detail about these things. When everything is in order, the priests are constantly on duty in the outer sanctuary performing their liturgical services. But only the high priest is allowed into the inner sanctuary, and he but once a year. On this occasion he must take blood to offer for the stupid acts of both himself and the people. This is sort of a parable or symbol pointing to the present situation buy which the Holy Spirit makes it clear that unimpeded access to the Holy of Holies is not possible so long as the outer sanctuary is still in existence with its gifts and sacrifices. These things cannot develop the inner life of the worshipper since they are externals – bread and wine and holy water – mere physical symbols pointing to spiritual truths.11.??????? When Christ came, however, he was a minister of more meaningful things in a vastly better and more advanced sanctuary which was not built by human hands and cannot, therefore, be claimed as a human achievement. Nor did he go through all that goat-and-calf-blood ritual. Instead he made himself expendable and entered once for all into the "Holy Place" and made the supreme sacrifice for our lasting welfare. For if you think that the ritual of sprinkling the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer has a cleansing effect on the bodies of those who consider themselves ceremonially defiled, how much more will Christ’s supreme sacrifice, which he made in a spiritual way by offering himself to God without reservation, effectively cleanse our consciences from dead rules so we can worship the living God.15.??????? Furthermore, he is the administrator of a new will. And now that a death has occurred and a release obtained from the excessive demands of the first will, the participants may share in the provisions of the spiritual inheritance. (In the case of a will, it is necessary, you know, to prove the death of the one making it.) A will is for the establishment of the rights of the dead, since it does not go into effect while the person is still living. This is why the previous will couldn’t have become effective without blood, a symbol of a death. You recall that when Moses had explained each commandment of the constitution, he took the blood of fattened calves and goats, mixed it with water and strands of red wool and spice, and then sprinkled it on both the document and the people. As he did so he said,"This is the blood of the will which God drew up for you."??????? He also sprinkled the blood on the sanctuary and on all things used during the worship services. In fact, legally speaking, almost everything requires blood to clear it. So that without some kind of blood-shedding, there is no contract. If, then, it is necessary for the earthly symbols of spiritual things to be cleansed, the actual spiritual things themselves require a still more effective sacrifice. For Christ didn’t enter any humanly designed temples, which merely symbolize the real one. Rather he entered the spiritual realm, itself, where he now represents us before God. It isn’t necessary, either, that he repeat his sacrifice, like the high priest does each year when he enters the Temple with blood which is not his own, If this were required, then Jesus would have to go through his sufferings over and over again from the beginning of time. But now at this high point of history, he has come on the scene and nullified sin by his one complete sacrifice. And just as it is required that men die only once and then face the judgment, so Christ also, having been already offered in one final act to bear everybody’s sin, will hereafter be related to his eager associates not from the standpoint of sin but of spiritual growth.?10. 1.???????? At best, the old set of rules and regulations merely foreshadowed the coming Reality.? It was never the genuine article itself.? That’s why it was incapable of bringing spirituality to the congregation by its round of annual sacrifices.? If it could have, the need for such sacrifices would have by now ceased to exist.? For once you get a congregation genuinely forgiven of its sins, it no longer has a guilty conscience about them.? Yet under the old system they are told, at the annual sacrifice, that they are guilty sinners.? Evidently, the blood of cattle and goats just can’t take away sins! 5.???????????? So when He came into the world, he agreed with the Psalmist:???????????? “You don’t want the outward sacrifice, the showy giving;??????????? Rather, you have woven me into a fellowship.??????????? You were never pleased with the elaborate displays,??????????? And the shallow confession of sin.??????????? Then I respond, ‘O God, I have come to do your will.’??????????? And He said, ‘Every chapter in the Bible is about Me.’” 8.???????? When it says that “you neither wanted nor were pleased with the external sacrifice, the showy giving, the elaborate displays and the shallow confessions,” he was referring to the things laid down in the old set of rules and regulations.? Then he continues, “I have come to do your will.”? Thus he abandons the former that he might concentrate on the latter.? And what is his will?? That we should be a people set apart by the one final offering of the Body of Jesus Christ. 11.??????? Another thing:? Every minister gets up and in his liturgy for the day goes through the same thing over and over.? All of which has no power to get people out of their sins.? But this minister made one final sweep of sin by his supreme sacrifice and then took his place by God’s side as his “right arm,” with the confident expectation of ultimate victory.? By this one act of self – giving he has fully outfitted for all time those who are dedicated to the cause.? The Holy Spirit also confirms this when he says:???????????? “This constitution which I shall draw up for them – the time will come,” says the Lord, “when I will lay my laws on their hearts and I will burn them into their minds.? Then I can forget all about their sinful conduct and lawless behavior.”? So, where there is an effective handling of such sinful conduct, there need be no further means of eliminating it.19.?? So then, brothers, let us draw courage, from Jesus’ supreme sacrifice, to enter the “sanctuary.”? For by breaking through “this veil of clay,” he opened up for us a meaningful and vital way of life.? And with a Great Spiritual Leader over God’s movement, let’s keep walking with a pure motive and an abundance of faith.? Let’s cleanse our hearts from any unworthy feeling and let’s bathe our group in clean water.? Let us hang on with tooth and toenail to our promising commitment, for he who maps our strategy can be completely trusted.? And let’s think up ways to provoke everybody into “fits of love and kindness.”? Don’t fail to meet together in cell groups, as some are beginning to do.? Rather, keep everybody on his toes, especially as you see D-day approaching.??????????? For, if we keep on deliberately sinning after the truth has been clearly explained to us, there is no further means of dealing with our sin.? Such a person can expect the awful judgment and the roaring flame which waits to consume the stubborn.??????????? When a man broke a law of Moses, and it was proved by as many as two or three witnesses, he was given the death sentence without mercy.? Don’t you think a much worse punishment is deserved by the man who runs roughshod over the son of God, and who considers the bloodstained constitution, to which he owes his citizenship, a mere scrap of paper, and who pokes fun at the Spirit of self – giving?? For we know who’s talking when it says:??????????? “Execution of the sentence is up to me; I will see that justice is done.”And again:??????????? “The Lord will have final say-so over his people.”How frightening it is to be delivered into the custody of God Almighty!!32.?? Always remember the early days of your conversion when you went through a great struggle that caused you much suffering.? Sometimes a mob would gather and cuss you out and beat you up.? At other times you caught it because you stood up for those who were living this way.?? You all suffered together with those who went to jail, and you accepted with joy the seizure of your property.? You knew that you had a more precious and lasting Possession.? Just don’t squander your prize which can pay you handsome dividends.? You need a lot of determination to carry through on the will of God and hit the jackpot.??????????? “By and by, sooner than you think??????????? The Leader will arrive, and he won’t go slow.??????????? And my dedicated man shall live his faith;??????????? But if he chickens out, I’ll be ashamed of him.”We are not cowards doomed to failure, but men of faith finding meaning to life!? 11. 1.??????? Now faith is the turning of dreams into deeds; it is betting your life on the unseen realities.? It was for such faith that men of old were martyred. And by so relating our lives, we become aware that history is woven to God’s design, so that the seen event is a projection of the Unseen Intent.??????????? Living by the Unseen, Abel brought to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.? By so living he got the O.K. for being on the right track, as evidenced by the fact that God approved his gifts.? Such a life, though snuffed out, is still speaking.??????????? Living by the Unseen, Enoch was transfigured so that he didn’t die.? His corpse was never found, because God transfigured him.? Without living by the Unseen, it’s impossible to get such approval.? For anyone who is serious about the God – life, must stake everything on the fact that God is, and that he amply rewards those who make him their quest.??????????? Living by the Unseen, Abraham obeyed when he was called upon to depart for a country which was going to be his inheritance.? And he set out without knowing where he was heading.??????????? Living by the Unseen, he homesteaded in the Promised Land like a foreigner, living in temporary shelters with Isaac and Jacob, who had inherited with him the same mission.? For he had his heart set on a permanent city, whose architect and general contractor is God.??????????? Living by the Unseen, Sarah herself had a full – term pregnancy, even though she had passed her menopause.? She was sure all along that God would carry through on what he had promised.? So it was through her that one man, practically dead, sired descendants as countless as the stars in the sky and as numberless as grains of sand on the ocean beach. 13.?????? Holding fast to their life by the Unseen, these all died without experiencing the final outcome.? But they did see it from a distance and cheered for it.? They frankly admitted that they themselves were aliens and transients in society.? (People who talk in this way are actually referring to the fact that they have their heart set on a land they can call “home.”? If they were really attached to their birthplace, they would have plenty of chances to return to it.? But as it is, they are yearning for a better land – that is, a spiritual one.)? Therefore God was not embarrassed to have them call him God.? In fact, he had a community all ready for them.? 17.????? Living by the Unseen, Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered up Isaac.? The man who had been let in on the “Grand Design” laid on the altar his only son, the one to whom God referred when he said, “Your descendants will come through Isaac.”? He was convinced that God could raise him from the dead if need be.? So, figuratively speaking, Abraham did get him back from the dead.??????????? Living by the Unseen, Isaac gave Jacob and Esau blessings which were yet to be realized.??????????? Living by the Unseen, Jacob, on the day he died, blessed each of Joseph’s sons while he reverently leaned on the handle of his cane.??????????? Living by the Unseen, Joseph, before his death, saw the Exodus of the Israelites coming, and gave instructions about his remains.??????????? Living by the Unseen, the parents of Moses hid him for three months after he was born.? They recognized that he was an unusual child, and were not intimidated by the King’s decree.? Living by the Unseen, Moses himself, when he had become a great man, refused to be called a son of the Emperor’s daughter.? Rather, he chose to identify himself with God’s people in their oppression than to have the temporary comforts of a life of ease. He figured that the hardship of the Christlike life was worth a lot more than the luxuries of Egypt.? He had an eye for real values. 27.?????? Living by the Unseen, he walked out of Egypt; he didn’t run from the wrath of the king.? Like a man who sees the Unseen, he pressed on. Living by the Unseen, he provided for the sprinkling of blood at the Passover so the Slayer of the First – Born might not harm the Israelites.? Living by the Unseen, they went through the Red Sea like it was dry ground.? When the Egyptians made a try at it they were swallowed up.? Living by the Unseen; they toppled the walls of Jericho after seven days of marching around them.? Living by the Unseen, the whore Rahab escaped the destruction of the wayward by befriending our intelligence agents.??????????? And what more shall I say?? Time would run out on me if I told about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtha, David, Samuel and the prophets.? Living by the Unseen, all of these went to war against kingdoms, carried the banner of civilization, obtained treaties, muzzled lions’ mouths, smothered fires, escaped from death by the sword, got their second wind when they had given out, became highly successful in war, and overcame foreign armies.? Wives whose husbands were reported dead got them back alive.?? Some people were tortured terribly when they refused bail in order to make a better witness.? Still others took a lot of abuse and beatings, and repeated arrests and jailings.? Rocks were thrown at them, they were investigated, they were hacked apart and butchered with swords, they wore rags and cast-off clothing – wretchedly poor, hounded, treated disgracefully (people too honorable for the world), herded into slums and tenements and hovels and even holes in the ground. 39.?? That all of these lived by the Unseen is well – documented.? Yet they did not participate in the final outcome, because God had in mind something better which involved us, too, so that neither they nor us could be complete without each other.? 12. 1.?????? Now here’s where we come in.? Surrounded by such a cloud of veterans of the faith, let’s strip off all heavy and tight-fitting clothes 1 ? and run with endurance the race stretching out before us.? Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and guiding spirit of our way of life.? In place of joy that stretched out before him, he took on a cross, without hesitating one second to consider the disgrace involved.? Now he is God’s “righthand man.”? So take another look at him who put up with so much opposition from “the good-people-of-this-town.”? It’ll keep you from getting blue and down in the dumps.? After all, you haven’t stood up to the point of shedding any of your blood in the struggle against sin.? Perhaps you should recall the passage which refers to you as “sons”:???????????? “My son, don’t minimize the value of a celestial spanking,??????????? And don’t let it get you down when you’re bawled out from on high.??????????? For the Lord has got to love you to spank you,??????????? And he uses the belt on only a son.”? 7.????? Take your “spanking” like a man – it is evidence that God regards you as sons.? For what son is there with a father who never spanks him?? If you’re without your spanking, which all the other boys got, then you must be bastards and not true sons.? Clearly we have great respect for our human fathers when they spank us.? Then how much more should we put ourselves under the spiritual Father and prepare for life.? For they spanked us for a limited period and at their own discretion, but he does it for our welfare to help us dare to be different for him.? Indeed, every spanking, while it is going on, is not a joy but a grief.? But afterwards it shows up in the peaceful and upright lives of those whose rear ends were so exercised.? Therefore, get some pep into your sagging hands and shaking bones.? Give your feet a good workout, so they’ll stay in good shape and not develop fallen arches.??????????? Go all out for peace with everyone, and for the different life, without which nobody can get to first base with the Lord.? Coach a member to keep him from flunking the course on God’s grace and becoming a real stinker who’ll get a lot of others disgruntled.? Take good care of a brother, that he not be a whoring compromiser like Esau, who for one good bellyful surrendered his whole inheritance.? For you know that later, when he wanted to be included in the family estate, he lost out and never did find a way of changing the situation, even though he tried to do so with tears in his eyes. 18.?????? Now you are all not faced with a physical Sinai, with its crackling lightning and blackness and dense clouds and hurricane and blast of a siren and a sound of talking that made those listening beg that not one more word be said.? They couldn’t take an order such as, “Even if an animal should touch the mountain, it shall be stoned.”? To tell the truth, Moses himself was so afraid of the amazing sight that he admitted, “I’m so scared I’m shaking all over.” 22.?????? No, you all aren’t faced with Mt. Sinai, but with Mt. Zion, and the city of the ever-living God, the spiritual Jerusalem.? You are members of a vast body of kindred spirits, of a Church of regenerated people who have been enrolled in the spiritual order.? You stand before God, Judge of all, and a jury of upright souls who have reached maturity.? You are facing Jesus, the initiator of a new constitution written in blood that speaks far more eloquently than that of Abel’s.25.?????? Be sure you don’t excuse yourselves from God’s sermons. For if those who excused themselves from the warnings of a human like Moses didn’t get by with it, how much less chance will we have begging off from him who speaks straight from Heaven???????????? Once God’s voice rocked the earth, but now he has made this promise:???????????????????????? “Once again I’ll rock not only earth but heaven.”???????????? It is obvious that the phrase “once again” implies a previous clearing away of all that fell as having served its day, so that the things which didn’t collapse might live on.? Since we are the winners of a Kingdom unhurt by quakes, let’s have a sharing spirit by which we might worship God acceptably in sincerity and in prayerfulness.? For our God is a refining fire.? 13. 1.?????? Let your love for the brotherhood be for keeps, and don’t you all ever forget to love strangers too.? For by so doing some people entertain missionaries without knowing it.? Keep the prisoners in mind as though you wee in jail with them, and those who have been beat up as though the blows fell on your body. 4.?? In every way consider your marriage a precious thing, and don’t let sexual intercourse be perverted.? For God will pass judgment on those who go around tomcatting and having illicit relations.? Don’t let the desire for money dominate your life.? Make do with what’s on hand, for he himself has said, “Never will I abandon you or run off and leave you.”? That’s why we say with calm assurance:??????????????????????? “The Lord is my provider;??????????????????????? I shall never be ruled by fear.??????????????????????? How shall a human do me in?”? 7.?????? Remember your leaders who brought you the word of God.? Watch the results of their conduct, and imitate their living by the Unseen.? However, Jesus himself is the Leader – past, present, and future.? So don’t get carried away by all kinds of crackpot ideas.? It is better to nourish your heart on grace than your body on “health foods,” which bring little benefit to those who use them.? But speaking of foods, we have a table from which even preachers aren’t allowed to eat.? You recall that when the blood of animals is brought into the sanctuary by the bishop for cleansing of sin, the carcasses of these animals are burned up, uneaten, outside the enclosure.? So Jesus also, in order to make the people different by his supreme sacrifice, suffered outside the city gate.? Therefore let’s go out to him outside the restricting enclosure and accept his “excommunication”.? For right now, we just don’t have a “city” to live in, but we’re working for one that’s on the way.? Through him, then, let’s offer a sacrifice of continual praise to God.? I mean by this an unashamed public confession that we are Christians. And of course you won’t forget to do good and to share all you have.? For these too are sacrifices acceptable to God. 17.?????? Listen to your leaders and do what they tell you, for they lie awake at night because of their responsibility for your spiritual welfare.? Make their task a joy, and not an agony that would bring you no gain.18.?????? Please pray for us.? We are sure that our consciences are clear, because in everything we have tried to live an exemplary life.? I especially urge you to do this:? Pray that I may be returned to you real soon.20.?????? Now may the God of peace, who lifted up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of sheep and author of an eternal constitution written in blood – may he outfit you with everything needed to do his will.? May he work out his purpose in you through Jesus Christ, to whom be the credit for all time to come.? Please may it be so. 22.?????? I urge you, my brothers, to bear with this sermon, for I really have made it short.? Please know that our brother, Timothy has been released.? If he gets by here soon, I’ll see you with him.? Remember us to all your leaders and to all the devoted.? The group from Italy send their regards to you.? To all of you – grace!footnote1 ?The Greek words for “sin” and “cloak” are phonetically almost identical.? I believe that the scribe who copied this manuscript mistakenly wrote “sin” (as in RSV) instead of “cloak,” as I have translated it.JAMES1.1.???????? Greetings from James, a slave of both God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the whole Christian fellowship, wherever it may be scattered.??????????? Consider it a real privilege, my brothers, when you are surrounded by all kinds of difficulties, because you know that when your faith is given a good workout it builds up your determination. And let your determination have that grown-up look, so that you might be mature and well-balanced, not short on anything. If you don’t have enough understanding, ask for it from God, who gives liberally to everyone and without scolding, and it will surely be given to you. But you must ask in complete trust, without any reservations. For the man with reservations is like an ocean wave whipped and ripped by the wind. Such a fellow should not think for one minute that he’ll get anything from the Lord. He’s a fence-straddler and inconsistent in all he does.9.???????? Let the underprivileged brother take pride in his improved condition, and let the rich brother be proud of being one of the underprivileged, since he, too, like a fragile blossom, will pass away. For as the sun and the scorching winds bear down and wither a plant, and its blossom falls off and its lovely appearance is gone, so it is with the well-to-do man. During his pilgrimage on earth he will be dried up.12.???????? Fortunate indeed is the man who doesn’t yield to compromise. For when he has come through the test he’ll receive the "Trophy of Life" which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one in a compromised position say: "God put me in this dilemma," for God himself never makes any compromise with evil, and never puts anyone else in that position. The truth is that each person is dragged and pulled into compromise by his own self-interest. And self-interest, when it gets pregnant, gives birth to sin, and sin grows up and spawns death. Never forget that, my dear brothers.17.???????? Every good gift and every mature act of sharing is from above, streaming down from the Source of light who never flickers nor enters into an eclipse. It is his intention to bring us up on the word of Truth so that we might be sort of an example to the rest of his creatures.19.???????? Listen here, my dear brothers. Let every man of you be quick with his ears, slow with his tongue, and hard to get riled up, because a man s temper contributes nothing to God s cause. So scrub off every spot of filth and caked-up evil and submissively accept the transplanted word which can save your souls.22.???????? Become doers of the word. Don’t kid yourselves by being listeners only, because if a man listens to the word and doesn’t act on it, he is like a person looking at himself in a mirror — he looks himself over, walks away and then forgets what he looked like. But when one takes a good look at the mature idea of freedom, and hangs on through thick and thin, not being a wishy-washy hearer but a man of action, such a person will be really happy in his work.26.???????? If a fellow thinks he has religion, but can t keep from running off at the mouth, and if he has a dishonest heart, that man’s religion is as dead as a doornail. The religion which God the Father considers pure and clean is to look after helpless orphans and widows and to keep one’s self free from the taint of materialism.????2. 1.???????? My brothers, never let any prejudice creep into the faith of our glorious Lord, Jesus Christ. For if a well-dressed person in expensive jewelry comes to your church, and then a poor fellow in rags comes, and you go out of your way to be nice to the well-dressed person and say to him, "Come over here and sit by me," and then you say to the poor man, "Stand over there, or go up in the balcony," don’t you make distinctions in the fellowship and become parties to vicious prejudices? Listen here, my dear brothers, hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world’s goods to be rich in faith and to be full citizens in the spiritual order which he established for those who love him? And here you go insulting the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and actually drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones who poke fun at the noble Name you bear?8.???????? So if you observe the Scripture’s finest law — "Love your neighbor as yourself" — you’re doing all right. But if you segregate, you commit a sin, and stand convicted under the law as a violator. Furthermore, if a man obeys the whole legal code, and yet falls down on just one point, he has busted the whole works. For the same one who said, "Don’t fornicate," also said, "Don’t murder." So if you don’t fornicate but do murder you’re a lawbreaker right on. You also must talk and act like people who can be entrusted with the rule of freedom instead of law. For there is merciless judgment on a merciless man, and mercy is much more preferred than judgment.14.???????? What’s the use, my brothers, for a man to say he has belief but doesn’t have the deeds to back it up? Can his belief do him any good? If a brother or sister is naked and lacking the material necessities of life, and any one of you say to them, "God bless you. May you be warm and well fed," and yet you do nothing to meet their physical needs, what good is it? So belief, if it is not backed up by deeds, is dead through and through.16.???????? But somebody will say, "You have belief, while I have deeds." All right, show me your belief without deeds, and I will show you my belief transformed into deeds. Do you believe there’s only one God? That’s fine. Demons believe this too and shudder at the thought of it.18.???????? Do you want me to prove to you, you stubborn fellow, that belief without deeds is empty? All right, didn’t our father Abraham win approval of God when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? Here you can see how his belief was helping along his deed, and how by his actions his belief was brought to maturity. It is just like the Scripture says, "So Abraham put his trust in God, since he, being a friend of God, thought it was the only right thing to do." You see, then, that a man is made whole by what be does, not merely by what he believes. Wasn’t this true even of Rahab the whore? Wasn’t she spared because of what she did in sheltering our spies and letting them escape by another route? So then, as the body without a spirit is dead, even so belief without deeds is dead.???3.1.???????? Many of you should stop trying to be Bible explainers, my brothers, especially since you know that we bear a much greater responsibility, and we all frequently stumble.2.???????? If a person is never loose-mouthed, he is a mature man, capable of exercising complete control over himself. For example, by putting a bit in a horse’s mouth to control him, we are able to steer his whole body. And take a ship that’s ever so big and is driven by enormous engines, yet the captain steers it wherever he wants it to go by a little biddy rudder.5.???????? The same is true of the tongue. It is a small organ with immense potential. Just think what a roaring fire can be kindled with a tiny match! The tongue, too, is a flame, setting the world afire with mischief. It has established itself among our organs and messed up the whole body. It is hell’s blowtorch, making life an inferno. Man can tame — or has tamed — every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and even inhabitants of the sea, yet he is unable to control his own tongue. It is an unsubdued evil, full of deadly poison. With it we praise the Lord and Father, and with the same tongue we cuss out our fellow men who are made in the image of God. From the same mouth comes a prayer and a curse. Such a thing my brothers, should never be. Can good water and brackish water come out of the same spring? Can a fig tree bear peaches, my brothers, or a vine yield figs? Nor can a salt hole give fresh water.13.???????? Let him who is wise and intelligent among you demonstrate, with true discipline of mind, the fruits of a noble life. But it is nothing to be proud of when you all have bitter jealousy and self-interest in your hearts, turning the truth into a lie. This is by no means divine wisdom; rather it is humanistic, purely intellectual, and devilish. For wherever you find jealousy and self-interest, you also find lack of discipline and every kind of false deed. But divine wisdom is above all saintly, then peaceable, considerate, open-minded, extremely charitable and gracious, consistent, unhypocritical. For the harvest of genuine peace must first be planted by men who live it.???4.1.???????? Where does all fighting and bickering come from? Honestly now, doesn’t it arise from your mad desires for pleasure which are literally tearing your group to pieces? You grab for everything and get nothing; you are so envious you even murder, and still you can’t be satisfied. You scrap and fight like cats and dogs. You get nothing because you haven’t learned to ask for it. Even when you do ask, you don’t get anything because you ask with a bad motive — so you can spend it on your own selfish pleasures. You whores, don’t you know that to flirt with the world is to jilt God? Anybody who decides to run around with the world makes it clear that he is not God’s friend. Or do you think that there’s nothing to that Scripture which says: "He deeply yearns over the spirit he implanted in you"? What greater favor could he bestow on you? It says further: "God is against the high and mighty and is on the side of the little man." So turn yourselves over to God. Put up a fight against the devil, and he’ll run from you. Walk close to God, and he’ll walk close to you. Wash your hands, sinners, and clarify your motives, you two-faced people. Learn to take it on the chin, to be actively concerned and serious. Let your gaiety be changed into serious purpose, and your outward joy into solemn intent.11.???????? Don’t run down one another, brothers. Anybody who belittles his brother or passes sentence on him actually belittles and passes sentence on God’s word. And if you sit in judgment on God’s word, you aren’t obeying it but criticizing it. The only one who has the right to establish and pass sentence on God’s word is he who has the power over life and death. So who do you think you are, you criticizer?13.???????? Hold on a minute now, you who talk so big and say, "Today or tomorrow we’ll go to such and such a city and stay there a year buying and selling and making a killing." You don’t know one blessed thing about tomorrow, or even if you’ll be alive. You are just a wisp of smoke which is seen for a little while and then disappears. Instead, you should say, "If the Lord so wills we shall live and shall do this or that." But still you are proud of your big talk. All such strutting is downright wicked. And it is a sin for a man to know what is right and then not do it.???5.1.???????? And you rich guys, hold on a minute. Get ready to moan and groan because of the hardships coming on you. Your gadgets are all broken down and your pretty clothes are full of holes. Your stocks and bonds are worthless, and their certificates shall be evidence against you and will gnaw at your hearts like a flame. You piled them up for the Judgment Day.4.???????? Now listen, the wages of the workers who tilled your plantations and whom you cheated are crying out, and the pitiful pleas of your laborers have been heard by the Lord of Redress. You’ve gorged at the posh restaurants and whooped it up at the swank hotels. You’ve fattened yourselves like a slaughterhouse steer. You arrest and kill even an innocent person who offers no resistance.7.???????? But you, brothers of mine, hold on till the Lord’s movement gets going. Look how the farmer awaits the precious harvest of his land, staying by it until it receives both spring and summer rains. You, too, hold on and pep your hearts, because the Lord’s movement is right here. Don’t gripe about one another, brothers, so as not to be convicted yourselves. Look, the Judge is ready to convene court!10.???????? Brothers, if you want a good example of holding on under terrific abuse, take the prophets who spoke up for the Lord. Look how we praise them for sticking it out! You’ve heard of Job’s perseverance, and you see how the Lord brought him through, because the Lord is tenderhearted and sympathetic.12.???????? Above all else, brothers, don’t pledge, either by the heaven or the land or by any other security. Give an honest and simple "Yes" or "No," and thus avoid condemnation.13.???????? If any one of you is suffering abuse, let him pray. If any one is happy, let him sing. If one of you is sick, let him send for the church leaders, and let them pray for him and wait on him in the name of the Lord. Faithful devotion will restore the sick man, and the Lord will make well. And if he has done some sin, this too shall be forgiven him.16.???????? Be honest with one another about your sins, and pray for each other that you might get the victory over them, for the petition of a truly good man is powerfully effective. Elijah, for instance, was a human being just like us, and he earnestly prayed that it might not rain, and not a drop fell for three-and-a-half years. Then he prayed again and it poured, and things began to grow again.19.???????? My brothers, if one of you should stray from the truth, and another guides him back, you may be sure that he who guides an erring one away from his false course, will literally save his life and shield him from a lot of sins.1 Rock (1Peter)1.1.???????? Rock, Jesus Christ’s agent, to the migrant Christians scattered through Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and California. With his experienced eye, Father-God handpicked you and created you in his spirit, for washing and processing by Jesus Christ. May kindness and peace bust loose all over you.3.???????? Three cheers for the Father-God of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his overflowing mercy he has refathered us into a life of hope, based on the raising of Jesus Christ from the dead. This put us in a family that’s unbroken, uncorrupted and undwindling -- a spiritual family set up especially for you who are sheltered by God’s power. This power is yours because of your faith in the solution that’s ready to be made crystal clear at the last roundup. Delight in this, even though for a while it is necessary for you to put up with all kinds of harassment. When your faith is tested like this, it is more valuable than perishable gold which also is tested by fire. And at a time when Jesus Christ is clearly present, your faith stands out with commendation, genuineness and respect. You are indescribably happy with One whom you’ve never seen but still love, whom you’ve never caught a glimpse of, but still have faith to live by. As a result of a faith like that you’ll find the answer to your deepest needs. In fact, this is the solution that was sought after and studied over by the old-time preachers who foresaw the undeserved favor that would fall on you. Under the leadership of the spirit of Christ that was in them, they studied hard to find out who would have the credentials of the suffering Christ and when he would appear. And it was made clear to them that the matters they were dealing with were not for them but for you. These very things are now explained to you by those who, in the Holy Spirit from on high, brought the Good News to you. They are things of which angels themselves have a craving to be a part.13.???????? So, put work clothes on your mind and get moving. Have a grown man’s hope in the spiritual power that’s delivered to you at a time when Jesus Christ is clearly present. Now that you are God’s obedient children, don’t be controlled by the hankering you had before you saw the light. Instead, you should be different in your whole manner of life, just as he who invited you to it is different. For there’s a verse which says, "You all be different, because I am different."17.???????? And if you claim as Father the One who utterly disregards a man’s race and is concerned only with the way he acts, then carry out your Christian commitment with fear and trembling. Realize that you were snatched from the emptiness of your traditional ways not by material things -- money and jewelry and such stuff -- but by the priceless lifeblood of Christ himself, who was as innocent and harmless as a lamb. That he would do this was known from time immemorial, but it came through sharp and clear only recently when you put your trust in God who raised him from the dead and qualified him. That’s why your faith and hope are rooted in God.22.???????? Now that by your response to the truth you have dedicated your inner lives to genuine brother-love, go ahead and love one another straight from the heart with all you’ve got. For you all have been refathered, not by a mortal man, but by the immortal word of a living and abiding God.??????????????????????????? "Every human being is like a blade of grass,??????????????????????????? And his appearance is like a blossom.??????????????????????????? The grass dries up, the blossom falls off;??????????????????????????? But the Word of the Lord lives on and on."??????????? Now "the Word" is the Gospel message that was preached to you.?2. 1.???????? So, then, sweep your house clean of all meanness and fibbing and double-dealing and green-eyedness and all cattiness. Like new babies, yell for the pure Gospel milk that’s just right, so that you might get fat and healthy on it. When you got your first taste you saw that the Lord is real nourishing.4.???????? Gather around him, a live stone which the world architects considered worthless but which God prized as a jewel. And as live stones yourselves, be laid up together into a chapel for the sacred ministry of making acceptable spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. For there’s a verse like this:??????????????????????????? "Look, I m laying up a stone in America,??????????????????????????? A prized jewel of a cornerstone;??????????????????????????? And the man who rests his weight on it??????????????????????????? won t be let down."Its true worth, then, is for you who rest your weight on it. But for those who don’t, this applies:??????????????????????????? "The very stone which the architects threw away??????????????????????????????????????? has itself become the key stone."Also,??????????????????????????? "It’s a stone to stump one’s toe on, a rock to trip over."??????????? The unconvinced stump their toe on the Word. It’s just their luck. But you all are a special breed, a noble clergy, a different race, a show-stock people, so that you might demonstrate the virtues of the One who called you out of darkness into his dazzling light. "The former nobodies are now God’s somebodies; the outcasts are now included in the family."11.???????? Dear ones, I urge you as migrants and transients in a foreign land, to put the brakes on animal passions which tear you to pieces on the inside. Let your manner of life before non-Christians be so good that while they rip into you as criminals they will also get an eyeful of your fine conduct and will give the credit to God on inspection day.13.???????? Be loyal to anything created by the Lord for the human situation, whether it’s to a king as supreme ruler or to governors as his appointees to punish criminals and to encourage the law-abiding. Such indeed is the will of God, that the law-abiding should put the muzzle on the stupid charges of half-baked people. You are free men, but only as you are God’s slaves. You must not use your freedom as a disguise for evil. Hold all in honor, love the church community, give God glory, respect the King.18.???????? Employees, with all humility be loyal to your bosses, not only to the kind and considerate but even to the ornery ones. When someone with a God-touched conscience endures the pain of undeserved injury, this indeed is commendable. Now if you take it when you get cussed out for doing something wrong, what’s so great about that? But if you’re doing your job and then put up with abuse, this wins God’s approval. That’s why God chose you. For Christ too suffered for you and set an example for you so you might walk in his tracks. He never did a mean thing, and nobody ever caught him in a lie. When folks cussed him out, he never cussed back; when beat up, he shouted no threats; instead, he put it all in the hands of Him who sets things right. In order that we might shuck off our sins and live a good life, he bore our wrongs on his own shoulders as he hung from the tree. At his flogging you were cured. For you all were wandering aimlessly like sheep, but now you have been corralled by the shepherd and overseer of your hearts.?3.1.???????? By the same token, ladies, be loyal to your own man, so that even those who are not Christians, when they notice how nobly and humbly you live, will be won over without an argument by the exemplary life of their wives. Don’t let your good looks depend on external things, like fancy hairdos, expensive jewelry and fashionable clothes, but on the inner radiance of a gentle and sweet spirit which does not fade with age. In God’s eyes, this is true beauty. This is exactly the way the saintly women of old who trusted God and were loyal to their men made themselves pretty. Sarah, for instance, yielded herself completely to Abraham and spoke of him as her head. And you are true daughters of Sarah when you do the right thing and are not afraid of just any bugbear.7.???????? Along the same line, men, conduct your marriage with intelligence. Hold in high esteem your partners of the weaker sex, since they also are joint heirs of the life of grace; otherwise, your prayers won’t reach the ceiling.8.???????? The whole thing in a nutshell is that you all be agreeable, sympathetic, brotherly, amiable, humble-minded, not paying back wrong for wrong or insult for insult. Instead, you all cool it, because that’s why you were converted—to show that the Lord treats you real cool.??????????????????????????? "Anybody who wants to enjoy life,??????????????????????????????????????? And live a long time,??????????????????????????? Should not let his tongue say a mean thing??????????????????????????????????????? Or his lips tell a lie.??????????????????????????? He should put the brakes on badness,??????????????????????????????????????? And give the throttle to goodness.??????????????????????????? He should seek for peace and go all out after it.??????????????????????????? For the Lord keeps an eye on the truly good,??????????????????????????????????????? And a keen ear toward their prayers.??????????????????????????? But for the wicked he has only a frown."13.???????? Indeed, who can hurt you if you become fireballs for good? But even if you should get pushed around for what’s right — wonderful! Just don’t be scared of what they’re scared of, and don’t get all upset. Instead, consecrate your hearts wholly to Christ the Lord, being ready at the drop of a hat to give a full explanation of your inner hope to anyone making an inquiry of you. Yet do so with gentleness and respect, keeping a clean conscience, so that when you are attacked, the people who slander the excellent way of life you have in Christ may be ashamed of themselves. For it is a sight better to get hurt for doing right, if God’s will so permits it, than for doing wrong. You know that Christ, too, laid down his life once and for all for your sins — a truly just man dying for unjust men — so as to put us on the right track to God. Though his body was murdered, his spirit was made very much alive. In this state he went and preached also to the spirits in jail who, a long time ago, turned a deaf ear while God patiently called to them during the days that Noah was building the ark. A few souls — eight to be exact — were saved from the flood by the ark.21.???????? This flood and ark business is sort of a symbol of how baptism now saves you. 1 ?? It isn’t a riddance of physical filth, but a petition to God, through Jesus Christ’s resurrection, for a fresh conscience. When Christ entered the spiritual realm, all angels, rulers and the high and mighty were placed under his command, and he himself became God’s righthand man.?4.1.???????? Since Christ took a beating physically, you-all, too, prepare yourselves with the same insight. It’s a plain fact that anybody who takes a physical beating has broken away completely from wickedness, with the result that he no longer spends the rest of his life on earth swayed by society’s expectations but by God’s will. For you have already put in enough time in the past in service to the pagan world, going along with them in sex orgies, stupid cravings, beer guzzlings, wild parties, drinking sprees, and religious flings. They think you are queer now for not buddying up with them in such a flood of asininity, so they poke a lot of fun at you. Okay, they will account for every word to him who is ever on the alert to judge both the living and the dead. That’s why the gospel was preached also to the dead — that they might be judged on the same basis as people who haven’t died, and might live in the spirit according to God’s plan.7.???????? The goal of everything has come upon us. So get with it and pray like you mean it. Above all, try hard to love each other, because love smooths over a pile of wrongs. Keep your latch-strings on the outside for one another, without griping about it. As responsible handlers of God’s many-sided grace, serve others with whatever gift each has received. If someone has the gift of words, let him share God’s words; if someone has a knack for lay service, let him throw all his God-given strength into it. In every way so live as to be a credit to God through Jesus Christ, to whom is the praise and the power throughout all ages. May it ever be so.12.???????? Dear ones, don’t consider the bath of fire you’re going through as something unusual, or that an extraordinary thing has happened to you. Instead, let the fact that you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ be a source of real joy to you. Then at the unveiling of his glory your joy will be simply out of this world. You’re especially fortunate when you catch hell just because you are Christians. That’s a sure sign that a beautiful spirit — God s spirit — is roosting in your heart. On the other hand, don’t ever get into trouble as a murderer or a thief or a crook or a meddler in someone else’s business. It’s when you suffer as a Christian that you need never be ashamed. Praise God that you bear such a name!17.???????? The day of reckoning is going to start off with church people. Now if we are the first ones to be called up, what will be the final outcome of those who have turned a deaf ear to God’s Good News? And if a truly good man barely squeaks by, what are the chances of a hypocrite and a scoundrel? So then, let those who are having a rough time for doing the will of God entrust their hearts fully to the faithful Creator by continuing in their good behavior.?5.1.???????? Now please let me urge you pastors, since I am your fellow pastor and an actual witness to Christ’s mistreatment, and am also your partner in the dawning Christian era: Be good shepherds of the flock that God has put in your care. Do this gladly before God, and not out of a sense of duty; from the heart and not with an eye on the salary. Don’t lord it over the members, but be examples for the congregation. And when the Head Shepherd arrives, he’ll bestow on you an honorary degree that keeps its luster.5.???????? Similarly, you assistants be cooperative with the pastors. All of you should wear the jeans of gentleness, because God is dead set against the arrogant, but gives his favor to the humble. So then, bring yourselves low under the hand of Almighty God, that he may stand you on your feet at the proper time. Let him in on all your problems, because you mean much to him.8.???????? Sober up now, and get with it. That old roaring lion — your adversary, the Devil — is stalking around looking for someone to gobble up. Put steel in your faith and stand up to him, realizing that the brotherhood in other parts of the world is enduring the same kind of persecution. But after you have taken it for a while, the God of all kindness, who through Christ invited you into his marvelous era, will personally make you as good as new. He will make you secure and give you vigor and will undergird you. May He rule the rolling ages. Please may it be so.12.???????? I have dictated this little letter to you through Silas, whom I consider a reliable brother. I just wanted to spur you on and to add my testimony that this truly is God’s gracious gift. Plant your feet in it.13.???????? The fellowship here in "the ghetto" sends you greetings, as does my son, Mark. Give each other a big hug of love. To all you Christians — ShalomYours,Rockfootnote1 ?That is. by putting you on board the Christian "ark," or community.2 Rock (2Peter)1.1.???????????? From Simon (Rock), a "captive" of Jesus Christ, as well as his agent, to those who, due to the fairness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, have gotten a faith that’s every bit as good as ours. May you have lots of undeserved favor and peace as you get to know God and our Lord Jesus better.3.???????????? Through his divine power and through the knowledge of him who has invited us because of the goodness of his own heart, he has loaded us up with all we need for the good life. In so doing he has dealt us in on some wonderful offers that are out of this world. By accepting them you may become partners in the divine order and may escape from the awful hellishness which greed generates in the world. On top of this, you should do your dead-level best to put goodness in your faith;??????????????????????????????? wisdom in your goodness,??????????????????????????????? self-control in your wisdom;??????????????????????????????? patience in your self-control,??????????????????????????????? godliness in your patience;??????????????????????????????? brotherliness in your godliness,??????????????????????????????? and love in your brotherliness.8.???????????? Being packed down and running over with these things keeps you from being duds and washouts in the course of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. But the man who hasn’t got them is nearsighted and is going blind; he has become forgetful of his previous cleansing from his sins. So, brothers, concentrate all the more on taking the slack out of your Christian commitment and assignment. By doing so, you won’t ever fall overboard. What’s more, you’ll be guaranteed full admission into the spiritual movement of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.12.??????????? Well, I’m going to keep right on nagging you on these matters, even though you are fully aware of them and have been drilled in the essential points. So, as long as I’m in this "house," I think it is a good idea to keep jogging your memory. I realize that in a little while I’ll be moving out of my "house," just as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. That’s why I’ll do my best to help you always to have a clear memory of these things even after I’ve checked out. For when we made known to you the power and the presence of our Lord Jesus, we didn’t bait you along with polished sermons; rather, we spoke from firsthand experience of his greatness. For we were there on the holy bill with him when he accepted from Father-God honor and praise, as a voice came to him with surpassing glory. With our own two ears we heard that voice coming in from heaven and saying, "This is my dearly loved Son, of whom I’m real proud."19.???????????? Also, we put the prophetic word on a more solid footing, and you’ll do yourself a favor by clutching it as though it were a light in a dismal swamp, and hanging on to it until day breaks and "Light-bearer" rises in your hearts.20.???????????? Understand this from the outset: No prophetic writing launches itself. 1 ? For prophecy is never produced by human volition; instead, as men get carried away by holy spirit, they speak for God.?2.1.???????????? Now just as there were phony preachers among the people then, so will there be phony teachers among you too. They will introduce false teachings that are destructive, while disowning the Owner who paid for them and while consigning themselves to hell in a hurry. And a lot of folks will imitate their immorality and bring disgrace on the true way. They are so greedy they’ll whip up speeches just to get the honorariums from you. These jerks will find that old-time judgment isn’t a thing of the past and that their doom isn’t napping. For if God did not exempt angels when they went astray, but put them in dark hellholes while awaiting trial; and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but slapped a flood on the whole godless business, sparing only the eight in the ark because Noah was living right; and if God brought catastrophe on Sodom and Gomorrah and made ashes of them as an example of what happens to an irreligious setup; and if he rescued a good man like Lot who was heavily burdened by the filthy and loose behavior about him, whose tender heart was torn day after day by the sight and sound of the immoral acts of people he lived among; then the Lord clearly knows how to get sincere folks out of trying situations, and how on the day of sentencing, to dish out punishment on guilty people, especially on those who, scorning discipline, go trotting after the corrupt cravings of the lower nature. Daring and self-willed, they insult those in high positions without batting an eye. Why, not even angels, though greater in strength and power, would bring such insolent charges against them before the Lord himself.12.???????????? But these jokers are like natural-born dumb animals that are trapped and slaughtered. They poke fun at things they don’t even understand. As they slaughter, so shall they be slaughtered; acting unjustly, they’ll be paid with injustice. Their idea of fun is to have a fling in broad-open daylight. Splotched and deformed, they wallow around while deceitfully taking communion with you. They have eyes that see nothing but sex, that are eternally hungry for the obscene. They seduce the innocent. They are bastards who have a heart exercised in greediness. Having jumped the straight and narrow, they highballed it to hell, taking the same route as the Reverend Balaam Berry, who loved the money he got for doing wrong but was rebuked for his waywardness when a dumb jackass, talking like a man, prevented the preacher from making an ass of himself.17.???????????? These kooks are dry wells, wisps of fog lashed by a hurricane, who have a reservation in the blackness of the nether regions. Running off at the mouth with a lot of poppycock, and with their uncontrolled hankering for sex, they seduce those who are on the verge of breaking away from their false standards. "Let’s be free," they bark at everyone, while they themselves are slaves of destructive habits. (For to whatever a man sells out, to that is he a slave.)20.???????????? Now, if by an understanding of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, people break away from the pollutions of the old order and then get entangled in them again and sell out, they are worse off at the end than at the beginning. They would have been better off never to have known the right way than to have understood it and then turned their backs on the precious truth delivered to them. This proverb describes them perfectly: "A dog will eat his vomit," and also, "A washed hog will still wallow in the mud."?3.1.???????????? This makes the second letter, my dear ones, that I have written to you. Each time, by refreshing your memory, I have tried to clarify your mind, to keep before you the previous sermons of the saintly preachers as well as the will of the Lord and Savior as expressed by your missionaries. Keep this uppermost in your minds -- that when time begins to run out, impudent mockers who run after nothing but their own interests will come and say to you: "Where is the evidence of his aliveness? For from the beginning of creation right up to the present generation things continue in the same old rut." But here’s what they purposefully forget: that the heavens existed for ages and then, at God’s command, the earth was formed out of water and divided by water. Again at his command, that world then was flooded and destroyed. All right, the present heavens and earth, by that same command, are being reserved for fire, and kept for the day of trial and sentencing of needless people.8.???????????? So please don’t forget, dear ones, that from God’s viewpoint a single day may be the same as a thousand years, or a thousand years the same as a single day. The Lord just doesn’t present his evidence according to some peoples’ timetable. But he does yearn over you all, not wanting anybody to go to hell, but everybody to enter into a transformed life.10.???????????? Now Lord’s Day will slip up on you like a thief. At that time the skies will disappear with a blast, the basic elements of life will be consumed in the heat, and the entire earth will become uninhabitable. In the light of this total destruction, what kind of persons should you be? Shouldn’t your life together be one of dedication and deep concern as you wait for and encourage the breaking in of God’s day, on which the blazing skies will be smashed and the earth’s structures will melt away in roaring flames. But, on the basis of his assurance, we live in anticipation of "a new heaven and a new earth, in which justice makes its home."14.???????????? So then, dear ones, as you anticipate these things, do your darnedest to be clean and straight and to be found in peace with Him. Consider our Lord’s perseverance in salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul wrote to you with the insight that had been granted to him. Notice how he mentioned these things in every one of his letters. To be sure, some of the things he said are really hard to understand, and people who are unlearned and flighty twist them out of shape, just as they do the other writings, to their own destruction.17.???????????? So now that you’ve been given advance notice, my loved ones, really be careful not to be taken for a ride or knocked off your balance by the slick tricks of smooth operators. Rather, keep on growing in the undeserved favor and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the credit both now and on the day of eternity!Love,Rockfootnote1 ?Or, arises under its own impetus.1 Jack (1 John)1.1.???????????? In order that you-all, too, might be our partners, we re plainly telling you about something that s real, something that we ourselves have heard, that we have seen with our own two eyes. It s about the idea of life which we looked at and even felt of with our own hands. Now the life took shape and we saw it, and we are giving you our word and plainly telling you about the spiritual life which was with the Father and which took shape in front of us. Our partnership, then, is with the Father and with his son Jesus Christ. And we are recording this so that the joy of us all may be completely full.5.????????????? And here is the announcement which we have heard from him and are relaying to you: "God is light and there isn’t a single speck of darkness in him." If we say that we are in partnership with him and keep on gadding about in the dark, we’re just plain lying and not acting on the truth. But if we keep moving in the light, as he himself is in the light, we are in partnership with one another, and the sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ is ridding us of every sin. If we say, "We don’t have a sin," we re kidding ourselves and are not truthful. If we honestly face up to our sins, he is so fair and straight that he will put our sins behind him and will rid us of every bad habit. If we keep saying, "We’ve never done anything wrong," we make a liar out of him, and his idea is not rooted in us.?2.1.????????????? Children of mine, I’m writing to you like this so you won’t go wrong; however, if a person does go wrong, we have a fair-minded lawyer, Jesus Christ, to represent us before the Father. He indeed is the bondsman for our misdeeds - not for ours alone but also for those of the whole world as well. And the reason we are sure that we are his client is that we act on his orders. The person who says, "I’m his client," and doesn’t act on his instructions, is a phony who simply isn’t telling the truth. But the person who follows his advice is the one in whom the love of God has matured. That’s how we can tell if we are Christians. Anyone who claims to be a Christian is obliged to live the same life he lived.7.????????????? Loved ones, I’m not introducing a new instruction to you, but an old one which you’ve had all along. The old instruction is the message you listened to. And yet, it is a new instruction that I’m writing about, and it’s true both in his experience and yours, that the darkness is lifting and the true light is already dawning. Now a man who claims to be in the light, but still hates his brother is in the darkness right on. The man who loves his brother lives in the light and has no trick up his sleeve. But he who hates his brother is in the dark, lives in the dark and has no idea what direction he’s going, because the darkness has blindfolded him.12.????????????? I’m writing to you, children, because your misdeeds through his name, are being forgiven. I’m writing to you adults, because you know the Source. I’m writing to you young people, because you have conquered the Devil. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know the Source. I write to you, young people, because you are strong, and God’s Idea lives in you and you have conquered the Devil.15.????????????? Don’t love the old order or the things which keep it going. If anyone loves the old order, it is not the Father’s love that’s in him. For everything that’s in the old order—the hankering for physical comforts, the hankering for material things, the emphasis on status—is not from the Father but is from the old order itself. And the old order, with its hankerings, is collapsing, but he who lives by the will of God moves into the New Age.18.????????????? Children of mine, it’s real late. Just as you were advised that a Christ-fighter is coming, so now they are all over the place! That’s how we know that it’s real late. They came from our midst, all right, but they never were genuinely one with us, because if they had been they would have stuck with us. By leaving, they proved that not all of us are sincere.20.????????????? Now you all have a special insight from the Holy One and you are fully aware of it. I did not write to you that you do not know the truth, but that you do know it, and that nothing phony ever springs from the truth. Who really is the phony, if it isn’t the one who denies Jesus’ authority? He indeed is the Christ-fighter, the rejecter of both Father and Son. Anybody who rejects the prince has no loyalty to the king. Anybody who openly supports the prince is also loyal to the king. As for you all, follow your original instructions. If you do so, you’ll follow both Son and Father. And the guarantee which he himself has made to us is spiritual life.26.????????????? I wrote to you along these lines about those who are hoodwinking you. Now, you-all, the special insight which you received from him is still in you and you don’t need anybody to teach you. Moreover, just as his special insight, which is genuine and not a sham, gives you guidance on all matters, even so stick with him just as he taught you.28.????????????? And now, my little ones, stick with him, so that whenever he appears we can look him in the eye and not hang our heads in shame before him on his triumphal day. If you are convinced that he is just, you may be sure that a man of justice is his offspring.?3.1.????????????? Just imagine how much love the Father showed us by allowing us to be called "children of God." And that’s exactly who we are. The reason that the old order doesn’t understand us is that it didn’t understand him. My loved ones, at present we are "children of God," though our future has not yet taken shape. We do know that when it does take shape we’ll be just like him, that we shall see him exactly as he is. And everyone who so pins his hope on him dedicates himself, just as Christ himself is dedicated.4.????????????? The person who practices wrong also practices disobedience, since wrong is disobedience. And you are aware that Christ was given that he might remove wrongs, even as there is no wrong in him. Any person who sticks with him doesn’t wallow around in sin. The man who wallows in sin hasn’t taken a good look at him nor clearly understood him.7.????????????? My children, don t let anybody pull the wool over your eyes: He who practices justice is just even as Christ himself is just. And he who practices evil is devil-inspired, because from the start the Devil practices evil. For this very reason the Son of God was born that he might break up the Devil’s doings. Anyone who has been fathered by God doesn’t make wrong a habit, because he carries in him his Father s genes. Since God has fathered him he just can’t wallow in sin. That’s how God’s offspring are distinguished from the Devil’s offspring. Any person who doesn’t practice justice and who doesn’t love his brother is not fathered by God. For the word you got from the start is this: "Let us love one another." We are not to be like Cain whose father was the Evil One and who murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his ways were wicked and his brother s ways were right.13.????????????? So don t be surprised, brothers, if the old order hates your guts. We ourselves are convinced that we have switched from death to life because we love the brothers. The man with no love still lives in death country. The brother-hater is a man-killer, and you know that no man-killer has spiritual life residing in him.16.????????????? Christ laid down his life for us and taught us what love really is. So we too should lay down our lives for the brothers. Now if somebody who has material things sees his brother in need and then padlocks his concern for him, how does the love of God stay in him? My little ones, let’s not talk about love. Let’s not sing about love. Let’s put love into action and make it real. By so doing we’ll know that we are truth-people and shall bolster our conscience before God. And even if our conscience still hurts us, God is bigger than our conscience and knows every detail.21.????????????? My loved ones, if our conscience doesn’t hurt us, we feel at ease around God. Then, if we ask something of God, we start receiving because we are acting on his instructions and are carrying out his wishes. And his instruction to us is this: Live up to the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he told us to do. The person who faithfully follows his instructions keeps company with God and God keeps company with him. And the reason we know that he keeps company with us is that he shared his spirit with us.?4.1.????????????? Dear ones, don’t fall for just any religious person that comes along. Instead, give religious people a thorough road test to see if God actually sent them, because a lot of phony preachers have descended on the world. Here’s the way you recognize God’s spiritual man: Every one who takes his stand on the humanity of Jesus Christ is rooted in God. And every one who does not so take his stand on Jesus is not rooted in God. And the latter is from the Christ-fighter, about whose coming you were advised and who is already in the world right now. But you-all, my little ones, being rooted in God, have gotten the upper hand over them, because the One who moves in you is greater than the one who moves in the old order. They indeed are part and parcel of the old order. Accordingly, they speak on behalf of the old order and those in the old order respond to them. We, however, are rooted in God, and the person who is sensitive to God responds to us, while the one who is not rooted in God does not respond to us. In this way we distinguish the spirit of the truly sincere person from the spirit of the hypocrite.7.????????????? Loved ones, let’s love each other, because love springs from God, and every lover has been fathered by God and is sensitive to God. The nonlover is not sensitive to God because God is love. And God s love took shape in our midst when he sent his one and only son into the world so we might start living. And that’s real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to answer for our wrongs. Loved ones, if God loved us that much, then we ought to love one another. Nobody has ever once caught a glimpse of God. Yet if we love everybody, God is present among us and his love is brought to maturity in us.13.????????????? The fact that he gave us his spirit assures us that we are in unity with him and he with us. And we ourselves have both experienced and are the evidence that the Father has sent his son to be mankind’s deliverer. Whenever one takes his stand on the fact that Jesus is God’s son, God is present in him and he in God. So we have both experienced, and based our lives on, the love that God has put in us.16.????????????? God is love, and the person who stays in love stays in God, and God stays in him. In this way love has made men of us, so that in the time of crisis we may have guts. For just as he faced the world, so do we. Fear and love don t mix; mature love actually expels fear. Since fear clips a man’s wings, he who fears has not yet matured in love.19.????????????? Because he first loved us, we ourselves are practicing love. If someone says, "I love God," and is hating his brother, he is a phony. For the man who has no love for his visible brother cannot possibly have love for the invisible God. So the advice we get from him is that the God-lover is also a brother-lover.?5.1.????????????? Everyone who recognizes that Jesus is the rightful ruler has been fathered by God. Now if one loves the father, one also loves the father’s child. By the same token, when we love God and do what he tells us, we can be sure that we also love God’s children. To love God is to follow his instructions, and his instructions are not unreasonable, since the true child of God wins hands down over the old order. And it is our way of life that licks the old order. Who is it that licks the old order if it isn’t the one who bases his life on Jesus as God’s son?6.????????????? This same Jesus Christ came in body and mind—not in body only but in both body and mind; the spirit also is evidence, because the spirit is the real thing. There are, then, three convincing factors—the soul, the body, and the mind, and the three make a whole.?1?????????????????? If we accept evidence presented by people, God’s evidence is even greater, because this is God s evidence which he presented concerning his son. The person who bases his life on the son of God has the evidence within himself. He who does not base his life on God has already made God a phony because he has not acted on the evidence which God presented concerning his son. And the evidence is this: That God gave us spiritual life and this life is in his Son. Who has the Son has the life; who has not the Son of God has not the life.13.????????????? I wrote all this to you who live up to the name of the Son of God, so as to assure you that you have spiritual life. And the thing that puts us at ease around him is that when we ask for something in line with his purpose he really listens to us. And if we are sure that he listens to us when we present a need, we are sure that we get responses from him to what we proposed.16. If someone sees his brother engaging in sin, but not to the point of death, he shall pray for him and God will give him life. But this is not for those sinning to death. There is such a thing as sinning to the point of death. I’m not saying that you should pray about that. All wickedness is sin, but there is such a thing as sin not to the point of death.18.????????????? We are aware that anyone who has been fathered by God does not wallow in sin; instead the one who has been fathered by God holds on to him and the evil one doesn’t run off with him. We’re convinced that our life is from God, and that the whole old order is in cahoots with the devil, We re sure that God s son has come, and has given us the ability to recognize the true One. And we are in the true One, in his Son Jesus Christ. This indeed is the true God and spiritual life, So, my little ones, don t let false gods sweep you off your feet.Yours,Jackfootnote1 ?This passage, verses 6-8, is very difficult to interpret and translate into modern equivalents. Literally, it says: "This is the one who caine by means of water and blood—Jesus Christ. Not in the water only but in the water and in the blood. And the spirit [or breath] is the evidence, because the spirit [or breath] is the truth. There are three facts of evidence, the spirit [breath] and the water and the blood, and the three are in one." The key words, of course, are "water," "blood," and "spirit." Almost without exception, the translator. and commentators that I have consulted interpret "water" as Jesus baptism, "blood" as his death, and "spirit" as the Holy Spirit. I cannot accept this interpretation for the simple reason that it doesn’t make sense. Jesus did not come by, in, or through his baptism or his death, And certainly his baptism, his death and the Holy Spirit are not one or in one.??????????? I suggest, then, that "water" refers to the primary element out of which the Hebrews believed the earth to have been formed. In the story of creation "the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen.I:2 KJV). Peter speaks of earth as "formed out of water and by means of water," (II Peter 3:5 RSV). So like the rest of all the physical creation, Jesus came through "water," the primordial substance of all things created. He had a form, a physical body.??????????? But John insists that Jesus came not through water alone—that he was not merely matter or body—but also through "blood." Since the ancients believed that the blood was the container of life, and that it distinguished animate from inanimate matter, perhaps blood here refers to Jesus’ animate (cf. "animal") nature with a mind or intelligence. He was a live, "blooded" being, with "animus," or mentality.??????????? Yet having Form, or substance, and physical rational life, or blood, isn’t enough. He has "spirit" or breath. (The Greek word is the same for both.) When the Lord God formed man he "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Gen. 2:7 KJV). This breath, or soul, is the very essence of man, or as John puts it, "the soul is the truth," the reality (verse 6). So these three—the "water," the "blood," the "breath" (or as we would put it, the body, mind, and soul) —are the three evidences of the one whole, the fully human son of God.2 Jack (2 John)1.???????????? From the pastor, to the official board and to all whom it represents. I truly love you-all. And not just I, but all the others who know what truth is. They do so because of the truth that’s living in us and will always be with us. May there be on all of us favor and compassion and peace from Father-God and from Jesus Christ, who in truth and in love is the Father’s Son.4.???????????? I’m extremely happy to find those of your membership walking in truth, just as we were told by the Father. And now I am urging you, the official board, "let’s love one another." (I’m not writing to you as though this were a fresh exhortation, but one which we’ve had all along.) And love means that we are to follow his instructions. The specific order, just as you recall from the very start, is that you walk in love.7.???????????? A lot of quacks—people who deny the full humanity of Jesus—are footloose in the world. Such a person is indeed both a quack and a Christ-fighter. Give him a wide berth so you won’t flunk out on the training we’ve given you but will come through with flying colors.9.???????????? The man who is so liberal he doesn’t stick with Christian teaching has no God. He who sticks with the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If some guy comes along who doesn’t uphold this teaching, give him neither hospitality nor encouragement. Anybody who encourages him is a partner with him in his erroneous ways.12.???????????? I have a lot of things to write to you-all, but I won’t try to put them on paper. Instead, I m hoping to get by your way so we can talk face to face. That’ll make us all happy.13.???????????? The members of the official board of your sister church ask to be remembered to you.Yours,Jack3 Jack (3 John)1.???????????? From the pastor, to beloved Gayle, whom I truly love.2.???????????? My dear one, above all else I pray that you are doing well and are in good health, the same as you are doing spiritually. For I was mighty happy when some brothers got here with news about your truth-life and how committed you are to it. Nothing pleases me more than to hear that my chillun are walking in the truth.5.???????????? My loved one, you’re really on the beam when you lend a hand to the brothers, even though they may be strangers to you. They spoke about your love at the church meeting. It’s wonderful when you chip in on their expenses so they can travel like men of God. For they launched out for Christ without taking one dime from outsiders. That’s why we ought to get in the harness with such people, that we all might be partners in the truth.9.???????????? I wrote to the church about a matter, but Godbold, who loves to be their big wheel, doesn’t pay us any mind. So when I get there, I’ll review his record of insolent mouthings against us. And as if this weren’t enough, he not only pays no mind to the brothers himself, but he threatens those who do want to, and turns them out of the church.11.???????????? My dear brother, don’t copy evil but good. The man who does good is God’s man; the man who does evil has had no vision of God.12.???????????? People from all over surely do speak highly of Doug Smith; indeed, the facts speak for themselves. And we’re glad to add our word to this, and our word, you know, is sincere.13.???????????? I have a lot of things to write to you about, but I’ll not try it on this typewriter. I’m still hoping to see you shortly and we’ll chew the fat then. The friends here send you their love. Give our personal regards to the friends there.Sincerely,JackJoe (Jude)1.???????????? From Joe, Jim s brother, and owned by Jesus Christ lock, stock, and barrel; to the church members—people who have been loved by Father-God and nursed by Jesus Christ. May you all be loaded up with kindness and peace and love.3.???????????? My dear ones, while doing my dead-level best to write to you about our mutual salvation I had the urge to get a letter off to you begging you to fight like fury for the way of life that has been totally entrusted to the Christians. For some guys have come into the church like snakes in the grass. (It was pointed out in earlier writings that they would stoop to this.) They are uncommitted; they twist the undeserved favor of our God into a cover-up for their lewdness; and they disown Jesus Christ as our only ruler and master.5.???????????? I’d like to refresh your memory a bit on some things you’re already thoroughly familiar with: (1) that while on the first time around God delivered the people from Egypt, on the second he destroyed those who didn’t live their faith; (2) that He has kept in the hole, without bail, for sentencing on the Great Day, those missionaries who didn’t stick to their assignment but ran away from their own stations; (3) that London and Berlin and their suburbs, acting in the same way, went whoring and trekking off after some stranger, and they serve as a perfect example of piling up a punishment of consuming fire.8.???????????? And so it is with these fellows I’m warning you about. With their imaginations they debase the human body; they utterly disregard leaders, and they snicker at sacred things. Why, not even Michael the archangel dared poke fun at the devil when he was arguing with him over Moses’ body. Rather, he politely said, "The Lord will tend to you." But these jerks sneer when they don’t know what it’s all about, and when, like dumb animals, they do catch on to something naturally, they make a joke even of that. Hell on them, because they’re behaving exactly like Cain, and are rushing pellmell into the error of Balaam who preached for pay; and in an uprising like Korah’s they are being destroyed. These people are a disgrace at your church suppers, brazenly coming to the table while interested in nobody but themselves. They are rainless cloud-puffs scurrying in the breeze. They are trees at harvesttime with nothing on them, dead as a doornail, pulled up by the roots. They are tempestuous waves of the sea, boiling up their own shameful froth. They are off-course stars, doomed to the eternal outer darkness.14.???????????? Now Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, was clearly referring to these people when he said, "Look here, the Lord appeared with a vast throng of his followers to create a time of crisis for all people and to convince all the insolent of the insolent acts they have committed against him, and of all the brazen things they have hurled in his teeth" These jokers are belly-aching gripes who do only as they pretty well please. They are windbags who lick boots for status.17.???????????? But you-all, my dear, dear people, constantly bear in mind the things you were told previously by those sent out by our Lord Jesus Christ. They told you, "When time runs out there will be men who make a joke of their religion and follow their own insolent desires." These are the segregationists-kooks without a conscience. But you, my loved ones, deepen your commitment to your most sacred way of life. With spirit-filled prayer keep yourselves in God’s love. Always be eager for the kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ which leads into spiritual life.22.???????????? You must deal gently with some people who are wavering but others you are to save by actually snatching them from the fire. Still others you must handle with gloves, as much as you may dislike their clothing messed up by their own filth.24.???????????? Now to him who can keep you on your feet and present you at his court, spick-and-span and happy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, greatness, power and pre-eminence throughout the past, present and future.Sincerely,Joe ................
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