Edition 6 of the First Principals

Thursday, October 27th

Edition 6 of the First Principals

(Warning: This is a bit long… but I think it is really enlightening, at least for me, anyway.)

Luke 7:36-50
36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."

40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."

"Tell me, teacher," he said.

41 "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."

"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

49The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

50 Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Sinful (adj.):

1. Marked by or full of sin; wicked.


2. Characterized by iniquity; wicked because it is believed to be a sin.


3. Having committed unrighteous acts.

Sinner (noun):

1. One that sins or does wrong; a transgressor.


2. A scamp (a rogue; a rascal).

Perceive (verb):

1. To become aware of directly through any of the senses, especially sight or hearing.


2. To achieve understanding of; apprehend.

Note: This scripture screams about perception. How do I perceive my sin? Do I look at it like I don’t sin that much, so it’s not a big deal? Do I become overwhelmed by it and become depressed? I am a sinner. I do wrong. In fact, I am sinful. I am full of sin. The hardest part is to say that I am wicked. I want to separate the two. Sinful and wicked are one in the same. To say that I am sinful and not wicked would be contradictory. So do I look at my sin as being little or much? Am I a Pharisee or am I like the woman coming humbly before Christ? Do I look at my debt like $5.00 or $5,000.00?

1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Mercy (noun):

1. Compassionate treatment, especially of those under one's power; clemency.


2. A disposition to be kind and forgiving.


3. Something for which to be thankful; a blessing.


4. Alleviation of distress; relief.

Note: Once I was a person who did not receive mercy, but now I am. Once I was in the dark, but now I am in the light. No God = No Light and in darkness; Know God = Know Mercy and be in God’s light.

Isaiah 59:1-2
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Iniquity (noun):

1. Gross immorality or injustice; wickedness.


2. A grossly immoral act; a sin.


3. Absence of moral or spiritual values.


4. Morally objectionable behavior.


5. An unjust act.

Separate (verb):

1. To set or keep apart; disunite.


2. To space apart; scatter.


3. To sort.


4. To differentiate or discriminate between; distinguish.


5. To remove from a mixture or combination; isolate.

Note: When I sin, I become separated by God. He does not hear me anymore. Furthermore, if I am not baptized, I am not a part of him. He has nothing to do with me. He doesn’t even look at me.

Romans 3:23-25
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished

Forbearance (noun):

1. Tolerance and restraint in the face of provocation; patience.


2. A refraining from the enforcement of something (as a debt, right, or obligation) that is due.


3. A delay in enforcing rights or claims or privileges; refraining from acting.

Note: God has restrained from enforcing his laws. I have sinned. We all have sinned. EVERYONE. But the things is I have to read this scripture like this: For Johnny has sinned and falls short of the glory of God. If I read it any other way, I loose touch with my heart and may justify that I am not so bad. God has patience with me. Shouldn’t I be grateful for that? What should my response be? I have a debt that is due and I cannot pay it. Therefore, I should work as hard as I can to show that I am grateful for the release of that debt.

James 4:17
17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

Ought (verb):

1. Used to indicate obligation or duty.


2. Used to indicate advisability or prudence.


3. Used to indicate desirability.


4. Used to indicate probability or likelihood.

Note: This is a tough scripture. I know that there is a ton of things I ought to do. I should stop when I see someone stuck on the side of the road. I should spot a homeless person a miniscule dollar when I see them. I should volunteer for this or that activity. And by acknowledging the things I should do and then don’t do them, in short I am sinning.

Galatians 5:16-24
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Sexual Immorality (noun):

1. The evil ascribed to sexual acts that violate social conventions.

Impurity (noun):

1. Lack of consistency or homogeneity; adulteration.


2. A state of immorality; sin.

Debauchery (noun):

1. Extreme indulgence in sensual pleasures; dissipation.


2. Seduction from morality, allegiance, or duty.


3. A wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity.

Idolatry (noun):

1. Worship of idols.


2. Blind or excessive devotion to something.

Witchcraft (noun):

1. Magic; sorcery.


2. Wicca.


3. A magical or irresistible influence, attraction, or charm.


4. The art of sorcery.

Hatred (noun):

1. Intense animosity or hostility.


2. The emotion of hate; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action.

Discord (noun):

1. Lack of agreement among persons, groups, or things.


2. Tension or strife resulting from a lack of agreement; dissension.


3. Lack of agreement or harmony.


4. Disagreement among those expected to cooperate.


5. Strife resulting from a lack of agreement.

Jealous (adj.)

1. Fearful or wary of being supplanted; apprehensive of losing affection or position.


2. Resentful or bitter in rivalry; envious.


3. Inclined to suspect rivalry.


4. Having to do with or arising from feelings of envy, apprehension, or bitterness.


5. Vigilant in guarding something.


6. Intolerant of disloyalty or infidelity; autocratic.

Rage (noun):

1. A feeling of intense anger.


2. A state of extreme anger.


3. Something that is desired intensely.


4. Violent state of the elements.


5. Behave violently, as if in state of a great anger (verb).

Selfish Ambition:

1. Concerned chiefly or only with yourself (selfish – adj.).


2. An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power.


3. The object or goal desired.


4. Selfish Ambition would then be a desire to achieve something for oneself.

Dissension (noun):

1. Disagreement among those expected to cooperate.


2. A conflict of people's opinions or actions or characters.

Faction (noun):

1. A group of persons forming a cohesive, usually contentious minority within a larger group.  


2. Conflict within an organization or nation; internal dissension.


3. A clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue.

Envy (noun):

1. A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another.


2. A feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something possessed by another.


3. Spite and resentment at seeing the success of another.

Drunkenness (noun):

1. Delirious with or as if with strong drink; intoxicated.


2. Habitually drunk.


3. The condition of being delirious with or as if with alcohol; intoxicated.


4. The act of drinking alcoholic beverages to excess.


5. Habitual intoxication; prolonged and excessive intake of alcoholic drinks leading to a breakdown in health and an addiction to alcohol such that abrupt deprivation leads to severe withdrawal symptoms.

Orgy (noun):

1. A revel involving unrestrained indulgence, especially sexual activity.


2. Uncontrolled or immoderate indulgence in an activity.


3. A secret rite in the cults of ancient Greek or Roman deities, typically involving frenzied singing, dancing, drinking, and sexual activity.

Note: I would have to say that I have done a lot of the things on this list. Even orgies, in the context of immoderate indulgence in an activity. Gossip can be a big thing. Gossiping leads to dissension and discord. Gossip is such a big thing for people in the church. And women are not the only ones guilty of it. Men tend to think it is just a woman’s issue. Guys are just as guilty and I am of the worst. “Did you hear about so-and-so?” And so it begins. This list is convicting. Now, to the fruits.

Love (noun):

1. A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.

Joy (noun):

1. Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness.


2. The expression or manifestation of such feeling.

Peace (noun):

1. The absence of war or other hostilities.

Patience (noun):

1. The capacity, quality, or fact of being patient.

Kindness (noun):

1. The quality of being warm-hearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic.

Goodness (noun):

1. Moral excellence or admirableness.

Faithfulness (noun):

1. Adhering firmly and devotedly, as to a person, cause, or idea; loyal.


2. Having or full of faith.


3. Worthy of trust or belief; reliable.

Gentleness (noun):

1. Mildness of manner or disposition

Self-Control (noun):

1. Control of one's emotions, desires, or actions by one's own will.

Note: When I move into the light, when I belong to Christ Jesus and have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires, I have the fruits of the Spirit.

Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wages (noun):

1. Payment for labor or services to a worker, especially remuneration on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis or by the piece.


2. A fitting return; a recompense.


3. A recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing.

Note: The consequence of sin is death. The whole weeping and gnashing of teeth doesn’t sound like something I would like to be working for. So, when the UPS man comes to deliver my gift from God, will I sign for it? Who am I working for? Who signs my check? What kind of return am I looking at for my deeds?