Studying Mission in the SSnet.org series Lesson 7, may the Holy Spirit be the speaker to your heart.

The Topic today is: Mission as love sharing for Morning Manna of the Sabbath School Lesson Mission.

The Opening Hymn will be 229 "Spirit of the Living God".

The Sabbath School Quarterly, downloadable from SSnet.org in the Teacher's Edition is on page 89.

The SSnet.org allows anyone, anywhere to read the lesson in their own language. Choose your own language to see God speaking also to your heart.

Why don’t you click on this link right now:

https://www.adultbiblestudyguide.org/pdf.php?file=2023:4Q:TE:PDFs:ETQ423_07.pdf

---“Even though he stated that ‘the righteous shall live by faith’ (Rom. 1:17, ESV), yet living by faith is not something that is hidden, unknown or unseen by others. Paul, Micah, and John make it clear that practical works demonstrate the reality of the faith that we claim.”

---The lesson sums up what our Systematic Theologian Edward Heppenstall said in his book Our High Priest in chapter 12 Judgment by Works. Ellen White said the same.

---James 2:22 “By works was faith made perfect.” The Bible said at James 2:22.

John Calvin 1536 commenting on this phrase said: "By this he again shows, that the question here is not respecting the cause of our salvation, but whether works necessarily accompany faith; for in this sense it is said to have been perfected by works, because it was not idle. It is said to have been perfected by works, not because it received thence its own perfection, but because it was thus proved to be true."

Calvinism "The previous sentence [in James 2:22a “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works”] is hardly intelligible in our version or in Calvin's". Wow. They are confused as to the meaning.

Calvinism differs with Calvin here: look at their and his translation.

John Calvin: 22a Vides quod fides cooperata fuerit ejus operibus

Can you see the word cooperate? It is the Latin for cooperate. Cooperate means a process where two things are equally participating. Correct?

Not so in Calvinism of Theodore Bezae, the successor of John Calvin when he died in 1564 in his commentary on James 22a: “Thou see that faith was the assistant (administer) of his works.” Faith works primarily but works secondarily assisted is Bezae change of Calvin’s words.

Another Calvinist Schleusner translated James 22a as “Thou see that faith was aided of his works.” Faith was just helped by works.

Cooperate is not the same as aid or assisting. There is a diminishing aspect of its importance in Calvinism that was not there in Calvin. See page 282 from the link below in footnote 119.

Calvin translated the Greek absolutely 100% correct.

Calvinism tries to play games with the Greek word. They want to change it to βοήθεια (Schleusner) or βοηθήθηκε (Bezae). But James is using συνεργάζονται.

Calvin is clear enough in my opinion. Faith is only proper faith if there are works related to it. That is what Heppenstall said and that is what Ellen White before him said.

Calvin again: "James then understood no other thing, than that the integrity of his faith then appeared, because it brought forth that remarkable fruit of obedience." Clear. Correct? Commentary on James 2:22 by Calvin. Online at https://www.ccel.org/ccel/c/calvin/calcom45/cache/calcom45.pdf

---Most people believe their pastors without verifying themselves. So most Calvinistic believers do not even know that Calvinism changed their Bibles and act as if that is the truth exactly as it was written by the original authors of the Bible.

---In the Middle Ages the Catholic Church hid the Bibles from the people because they were afraid that they may discover all the loopholes in their system and then rebel against or exit the church.

---Calvinism, Catholicism, and even Islam is in essence a political religion. Their purpose is to gain control of an area and then to commission rules for keeping their religion in control.

---There is evidence in the 1960’s in Spain and Portugal that Catholics were persecuting the Protestants. I do not go into detail here but I read it from the Collier files that are online. It is in the lectures on Catholicism.

---Judaism in Israel is also a political religion that created laws for making other religions very restrictive: no prozelitizing, no evangelism etc.

---Islam-controlled-countries do the same.

---The cult of Communism (which is secular Ideology as religious cult) is also political and control seeking and maintaining even to the point of severe persecution.

---The word “persecution” comes under many colors and shades of meaning but also in various shades of gravity.

---Now we are back at mission. The thrust of mission is love. Because God is love. Love is care. Love has fruits of kindness in all its varied forms you cannot even imagine.

---Love of the Trinity is the main theme that ties the Old and New Testaments and the earth and all galaxies and universes together.

---Love of the Trinity is our past, our present and our future. This is what Satan does not have and fails.

---Satan has infatuation, obsession, selfseeking desires, narcissism. All the things wrong in Psychology, Sociology, in Pests and Virusses books. All his inventions are catalogued scientifically there by humans. And there are more that is not yet in.

---COVID was Satan’s design despite Chinese thinking they invented it at Wuhan Lab with US funds? We will never know for sure. It is a You did, I did not, you did, I did not, you did, I did not conversation. No end in sight. One thing is for sure, humans out of the picture: Satan is the great R&D of all pests and diseases and viruses.

---Even if they were growing the viruses in a lab, when they go home to sleep the one who is not sleeping is Satan and his demons bending over the viruses to make sure they are well underway.

---Is this love? No. The opposite. The father of death, hatred and separation.

---So we pray for the distribution of this Love of God to all areas of the World. Correct?

---You need to see your pastor and other members at church and share their commitment to mission. The Mission of Love sharing. Is your phone out? When? Now.