Paul: The Lost Epistles. Robert M. Price

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      ¹⁷ So put off the practices of the Gentiles in these things, for it is such sins that draw the wrath of God down upon them, ¹⁸and I would not have you sharing their fate. Better to be the slain child than the slayer. ¹⁹ If by the will of God I am to come to you again, we may speak of these things at greater length. ²⁰ May God's mercy be upon those who may have sinned in ignorance. ²¹ I commend your elders Galbius Demetrius and Aelius Varro, who are careful to watch over your souls and to keep them safe from sin. Amen.

      The Epistle of Paul to the Beroeans

      1 ¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, called by God his Father to wage war against the Principalities and Powers that set themselves against God,

      ² To the brothers and sisters in Beroea,

      May the grace and peace of our Lord Christ, who garrisons us about with hosts of angels, keep you safe.

      ³ I thank my God on your account every time I think of you, remembering as I must your sincere thirst for the truth of God from the first day I preached among you the word of our Lord, Jesus Christ. ⁴ For you embraced it as a mother embraces a returning son whom she had thought lost in war. ⁵ I have none so zealous as you for greater understanding of the way of Christ and what the Lord requires from us who invoke him. ⁶ For you are not as many who consider themselves merely as clients and not as slaves of our Lord Jesus.

      ⁷ I have lately heard from more than one of your number that some of your youths have been called upon to bolster the ranks of Rome's legions. ⁸ While some of these are glad enough for the opportunity to travel and to show their zeal and courage, ⁹ you, their parents, are well concerned whether such a call may not be incompatible with our calling in Christ Jesus. ¹⁰ It is a grave and difficult question, and well deserving of our attention. ¹¹ And while I have no prophetic word of knowledge from the Lord himself concerning these things, I am mindful that true perfection such as we seek lies in training our faculties to weigh matters upon which Scripture and prophecy shed no light directly, ¹² so that we may gain wisdom, which fails not even when the voices of Scripture and prophecy fall silent. ¹³ It was for lack of such wisdom that Saul resorted to the abomination of the seeress at En-Dor. ¹⁴ For the righteous one is ever more than a mere channel for the voice of God; rather is he one who has learned the ways of God to decide for himself.

      ¹⁵ It is plain to all that Scripture records very many commands for the children of Israel to make war upon their enemies, and this not merely in defense, but also, humanly speaking, without provocation. ¹⁶ For so did God cleanse the promised land of the wicked Canaanites with whom no terms of peace might be made. ¹⁷ Again, in this manner Moses and the children of Israel achieved just vengeance upon the Amalekites and others who had hindered them in their holy trek to the land of promise. ¹⁸ But these wars were one and all ordered by the word of God in the hearing of Moses, Joshua, and Samuel. And his blessing was seen from the fact that, of the Israelites, not a man was lost, save for Achan's treachery. ¹⁹ Nevertheless many of them fell in later years when David and Saul and the rest campaigned in worldly fashion, trusting in the might of horses and chariots, of numbers and armaments. ²⁰ And do not forget the humiliation of Jehoshaphat when the Lord God sent a lying spirit into the mouths of the hireling prophets of the king of Israel. ²¹ But neither should we hasten to lay blame on those who had no certain word from God whether to wage war, for did not their situation mirror our own at the present time?

      ²² Those of you in Beroea who are Jews need not fear the Roman conscription, and while we who are in Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles, regard ourselves as rightful heirs of Abraham, the Roman authorities do not see it so. ²³ But we are nonetheless a priestly people before God, in service to him as we obey his commandments and as we worship him with songs and hymns and shouts of joy. ²⁴ What does Scripture say of the priesthood concerning warfare? In the early days the priests and Levites might engage in combat, ²⁵ when wars were ordained of God and the vanquished were placed under the ban as those "devoted to the Lord." ²⁶ But later on, we see Samuel rebuking Saul, for that Saul offered holy sacrifice with hands bloody from battle. ²⁷ In like manner, God told David that it was not for him to build the temple of the Lord because his hands, too, were stained with the blood of his foes. ²⁸ Thus we can see that it was deemed unseemly for the priest in his state of purity to join battle, or to shed human blood. ²⁹ Being ourselves not under the Law, we may yet learn a lesson from the Law. For we are a priestly people unto our God. ³⁰ Shall we then conclude that we may not take up arms? Some may say, "We are too pure in the service of the Lord to defile ourselves with the shedding of the blood of human beings." ³¹ But you who enjoy the protection of Caesar from disturbance within and barbarians without, do you refuse to share the burden of that protection? ³² Shall others put their bodies at risk for your sake, and you will not do the same for them? ³³ Are they defiled when they bear the sword for your good? Let us not risk bringing shame upon the name of Christ for seeming to be cowards who will not take up arms for the common welfare.

      2 ¹ And yet what of our priestly calling? Bear in mind, my brothers and sisters, how the call of God is diverse, and all are not called to the same task. ² There are among us virgins, male and female, who have pledged themselves to undivided devotion to the Lord, wherefore we consider them exempt from the common duties of this world. ³ They are not to be distracted by the worldly obligations of caring for family and earning a wage, but God feeds them through your charity and that of all the saints. ⁴And so we ask them to pray for us. The same holds true of bearing the sword. ⁵ Some are called to pure and undivided service to the Lord, and it is only these who correspond fully to the priests who serve in the temple. ⁶ Their hands are truly too pure to shed human blood, just as they are too pure to touch a mate or to toil in the fields. ⁷ But for the rest, we may say that if they would be exempt from the service of Caesar, they ought equally to renounce all gainful employment, not to mention marriage.

      ⁸ For you must understand, my beloved, that while we still live in this present world, though it may not be for long, we must breathe the same air that others breathe. ⁹ We cannot eschew food because it may be prepared by an adulterer. We must not throw off all clothing because we suspect the tailor may be a drunkard. ¹⁰ If you were to separate yourselves from the wicked of the world altogether, you must needs leave the world altogether. ¹¹ But while we are in the world, we are subject to the strictures of the world, even as our Lord Christ was when he left the purity of heaven to sojourn here on earth. ¹² May we use no coins because they bear the image of a tyrant? Indeed, how shall we preach the gospel if we feel ourselves too pure to associate with those who need it? ¹³ What doctor is there who cannot bear to look upon sickness? ¹⁴ And so the world is filled with enterprises to be shared by all alike, both those who are being saved and those who are perishing. And warfare is one of these. ¹⁵ Do you not know that this world is given into the hands of fallen Principalities and Powers who rule the world by means of the sword and the purse? ¹⁶ Hence the wickedness and venality of judges and kings. And yet they are a dam to stem the flood of chaos. ¹⁷ And the task of the soldier is not one that is beneath you. A bad man may work for a good cause, but that does not mean you must eschew that good cause for his sake. ¹⁸ Join him in what is good and show the goodness you have thanks to Christ Jesus.

      3 ¹ But are not those who serve in Caesar's armies required to swear oaths to the spirit of Caesar? Are they not required to bear ornamentation of pagan design? ² See if it is possible instead for you to swear an oath to our Lord Jesus to serve faithfully and to bear the sword for righteousness' sake. ³ Swear, as do the priests who attend the altar, to pray daily СКАЧАТЬ