Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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Pastor John,
Today I did my normal spelling lessons with Matt as we do on Tuesday and Thursday. In each lesson, there is a “keyword”, and today’s word was “sincere”. It was fascinating I thought.
The word comes from the Latin sincerus which means “clean, pure, genuine, and honest”. That had much more meaning from what I thought “sincere” was. The Greek word equivalent meant “pure when examined by the light of the sun”, as when you hold a diamond up to light and see no imperfections.
I recalled how you said that the cure for slander was “sincerity”.
With pure motives, a genuine heart, and an honest spirit, God can hold us up to the light of the sun, and there will be no imperfection. After reading that I said to the Lord, “Yes, Lord, keep me always sincere.” I like when I feel those kinds of things from Jesus . . . they come from deep within.
Gary
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Hi Gary:
It may be that the most important part of the meaning of “sincere” is “pure”; that is, mixed with nothing. A person who is sincere is completely whatever he appears to be. There is no pretense at being one thing while really being another. When we are exhorted to have “sincere love of the brothers”, it means that we should not have any reservations about loving one another with all our heart.
Pastor John