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	HIDDEN LDS/JEWISH INSIGHTS #36 New Testament Gospel Doctrine Supplement by Daniel Rona Weekly E-mail Reminder << BELOVED OF GOD, CALLED TO BE SAINTS >> Romans -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1.) CLOSE TO TWENTY DIFFERENT WORDS DENOTE SIN IN BIBLICAL HEBREW: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ". . . they range from a deliberate act in defiance of what God has forbidden to accidental, unwilling transgression." Paul’s admonition to recognize sins and then do something about overcoming them is a basic Biblical Judaeo-Christian principle. "The very fact that Judaism has a doctrine of mitzvot (commandments) means that it must also take sin into consideration. Performing a mitzvah is doing God's will; sin is doing something which is against God's will." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (2.) SINS DIVIDED INTO TWO CATEGORIES: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ". . . those of commission and those of omission. The former are more serious insofar as they involve a positive action -- doing something which is forbidden. The latter consist of the failure to perform "mitzvot." As far as the rabbis were concerned, the three most serious sins are murder, idolatry, and adultery or incest. They ruled that rather than commit these, a person must give up his life. In order to save his life, a person is allowed to commit the other sins." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (3.) SINNER IS NOT WITHOUT HOPE: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ". . . Above all, the best protection against the evil inclination is the study of Torah." ". . . Repentance consists of several stages --- firstly the sinner must reflect on his actions and realize that he has indeed done the wrong thing. He must then make up his mind never to do it again, and confess his sin . . . however, even when a sinner has done all these things, his repentance is still not final until he has been exposed to the same temptation and withstood it. Of course he should not deliberately put himself on that spot again." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (4.) CHALLENGE OF ASSIMILATION: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of Paul’s great concerns was the assimilation of early saints into the world culture that existed around them. One of the Jews’ greatest concerns is assimilation. ". . . the process in which one cultural or national group loses its identity and becomes part of another group . . . losing Jewish identity and becoming absorbed in gentile society." "The Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel caused many Jews to reaffirm their Jewish identity . . . increased efforts were made by almost every American Jewish body toward intensifying Jewish education and strengthening the connection between American Jews and Israel. The last generation of American Jews has rebuilt the institutions of Jewish communal life at an estimated cost of two billion dollars, and enormous personal energy." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (5.) IN THE WORLD" AND YET NOT OF THE WORLD: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assimilation for Latter-day Saints represents a compromise in lifestyle and obedience to the Lord’s commandments. Yet being "in the world" and yet "not of the world" allows us the interchange with others that would benefit from our God-given standards. Those higher standards even apply to the treatment of our enemies. Through the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we find that the motivation of the Essenes was to move away from wickedness and establish a singular community of righteousness. The Dead Sea sect shunned others and probably evoked one of the Savior’s comments in the Sermon on the Mount. ". . . I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you . . ." Matthew 5:43-46 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (6.) BEING SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENT: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the Old Testament, Elisha’s continued theme was that he was a servant of God, even refusing payment from Naaman, Syria’s highest ranking officer in the Land of Israel at that time. The Children of Israel strongly objected to the Syrian "occupying" forces. However, a faithful young woman, serving in Naaman’s household, prompted the "occupying" Syrian officer to come to the prophet to be blessed. In blessing Naaman, the prophet was probably teaching the same principle that Jesus taught and that has been revealed again in our day. ". . . Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s." (Matthew 22:21) "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." (Articles of Faith 11) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (7.) SAINTS BLESS OTHERS UNCONDITIONALLY: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The earliest ethical teachings are commandments in the Bible: to do justice, to avoid bribery, gossip, robbery, oppression, to protect the weak --- the widow, the orphan, the slave, the stranger; to be kind to animals. Man is obliged to overcome his normal feelings and to obey these commands --- even with respect to his enemy." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) -
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