Regarding Friendship

[John 12.24to28]

In the NWT, there are 35 occurrences of the word "friend"; 42 occurrences of the word "friends"; and 7 occurrences of the word "friendship". 

[John 12.24to28]

3 hours ago, AudreyAnnaNana said:

 

"God is Love."

 

When John described what Jehovah is like, he didn't say "God is He Who Causes to Become." He said "God is Love." 

 

Seeing Jesus was like seeing Jehovah, since Jesus is Jehovah's image, a reflection of Jehovah. Jesus showed love. He commanded us to show love.

 

Yes, the romantic love between a man and a woman is special. But there are higher forms of love that are even more special. 

 

David had a wife, even wives. Jonathan did too. And yet David said of Jonathan "my brother Jonʹa·than; You were very dear to me.  More wonderful was your love to me than the love of women." He meant that their friendship was a type of love higher than romantic love.

 

"Lazʹa·rus...he was from Bethʹa·ny, the village of Mary and her sister Martha...So his sisters sent a message to him, saying: “Lord, see! the one you have affection for..."

 

"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazʹa·rus."

 

The love Jesus had for Martha and Mary and Lazarus was higher than mere romantic love. Their affection was mutual and it was based on clean, chaste love. Brothers and sisters can have this higher love, this strong bond of friendship and it is very special indeed. It is evidence of Jehovah's holy spirit, a reflection of God's glory and light.

 

 

The answer is: it doesn't matter how you pronounce it, whether you choose Jehovah or Yahweh or Yehowah or another variation based on that theme...Jehovah knows when we are talking to Him. What matters is Love. "God is Love." That's Jehovah's name, His reputation. His true reputation is Love. That's His name. That's Who He Is.

 

In order to worship Him, in order to be a true worshipper and a true witness, we must have Love. 

 

"If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet is hating his brother, he is a liar. For the one who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  And we have this commandment from him, that whoever loves God must also love his brother."

 

If somebody thought they were pronouncing Jehovah's name exactly the same way as Moses or Abraham or Abel, it wouldn't make that person closer to God or a better representative of God more than anyone else if that person didn't have love, because God is Love. That's His "name" really, in the sense of His reputation.

 

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal.  And if I have the gift of prophecy and understand all the sacred secrets and all knowledge, and if I have all the faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  And if I give all my belongings to feed others, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I do not benefit at all."

 

Calling on Jehovah in truth is not dependent on using a specific pronunciation. It's dependent on the heart.

 

"Jehovah is near to all those calling on him, 

To all who call on him in truth."

 

In truth, Jehovah is Love. Calling on Jehovah in truth is dependent on reaching out to Him with a true heart, not some so-called perfect pronunciation. Jehovah is God's name. "God is Love." That's the truth.

 

(Exodus 34:5-7; Colossians 1:15; 2 Samuel 1:26; John 11:1-5; Psalm 89:24; 1 John 4:20,21; 1 John 4:8; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3; Psalm 145:18)

 

1 hour ago, boyle said:

 

Didn't you just mention what does any of your response have to do with God's name?...

 

...God's love is besides God's name.

 

...Why not start a new thread?

 

8 minutes ago, boyle said:

If you want to post your heart's desire, start other threads that appeal to you.

 

It is my heart's desire to post about what the Bible has to say about Friendship.💖

 

(But I have to go do some stuff right now, so I will come back later...) 🙂

[John 12.24to28]

1 hour ago, boyle said:

https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/friend-friendship/#:~:text=In the New Testament several words appear%2C including,one's family for whom one feels special affection.

 

 

Selected passages from the above link...

 

"The highest level of friendship contains the components of association and loyalty along with affection. The friendship of David and Jonathan ( 1 Sam 18:1-4 ; 20:14-17) has all three components, as does the friendship between Paul and the Philippian church (see, e.g., Philippians 4:1 Philippians 4:15-20 )."

 

"As one can be a friend to another person, so one can be a friend of God or of God's Son. Abraham gains the title "friend of God" by his faith and obedience ( 2 Chron 20:7 ; Isa 41:8 ; James 2:23 ). Those who keep God's covenant are called his friends ( Psalm 25:14 ). By contrast, one can be a friend of the world, which excludes the possibility of friendship with God ( James 4:4 ; 1 John 2:15 )."

 

"The New Testament shows a certain "in-group" mentality by making a distinction between members of the household of faith and outsiders ( Gal 6:10 ). But the writers never press this distinction, and they often make the point that Christian friendship should not appear only within Christian circles. While Paul, for example, encourages special concern for believers, he does so in connection with encouragement to "do good to all" ( Gal 6:10 ). Jesus encourages his followers to invite needy strangers, not friends, to their tables ( Luke 14:12-14 ), and in the parable of the Good Samaritan he extends the concept of neighbor to include anyone in need ( Luke 10:25-37 )."

 

The organization tends to teach that anyone who does not have the label of "one of Jehovah's Witnesses in good standing" is "worldly" and then goes on to say that "worldly people cannot be our friends". 

 

The Bible is very clear that it is possible to have Jehovah's approval while having friends that are not "one of Jehovah's Witnesses in good standing" and also while having friends that are "worldly." (There is a difference between "being a friend of the world" and "being a friend of people of the world" or "people who are worldly.")

 

The first passage quoted above is talking about David. For part of his friendship with Jonathan, David was a fugitive, condemned to death by King Saul. He was not in good standing with Jehovah's anointed king. King Saul wanted to not just "shun" David, but to "shun him to death" so-to-speak. And yet, Jonathan maintained his friendship with David, and both Jonathan and David were blessed by Jehovah.

 

The second passage quoted above mentions Abraham. Abraham was a friend of Jehovah even though some of what Abraham did would be considered "worldly" by people in the organization today. Having more than one wife at a time, sacrificing animals, and going to battle to get back family members are all things that today a person would be "disfellowshipped" for, and yet Abraham did all those things and remained Jehovah's friend. Would Jehovah consider that Abraham be good association for us today? Certainly, He would. Abraham was not yet baptized, did not know a thing about the New Testament, and hadn't heard anything about the Ten Commandments, and yet he is called the father of all those having faith and a friend of God. 

 

The third passage quoted above mentions the apostle Paul. Regarding friends, Acts 19:31 says of Paul:

 

some  but  also  of the  Asiarchs,

 τινὲς  δὲ    καὶ   τῶν  ᾿Ασιαρχῶν,

being     to him   FRIENDS,

ὄντες    αὐτῷ     φίλοι,

having sent   toward   him

πέμψαντες    πρὸς    αὐτὸν

they were entreating   not  to give

παρεκάλουν                  μὴ    δοῦναι

himself    into   the    theater.

ἑαυτὸν   εἰς   τὸ     θέατρον.

 

According to this verse, Paul had "worldly" friends.

[John 12.24to28]

 

"The Son of man did come eating and drinking, but people say, ‘Look! A man who is a glutton and is given to drinking wine, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ All the same, wisdom is proved righteous by its works."

 

(Matthew 11:19)

 

"Now the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him.  And they saw some of his disciples eat their meal with defiled hands, that is, unwashed ones.  (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands up to the elbow, clinging to the tradition of the men of former times,  and when they come from the market, they do not eat unless they wash themselves. There are many other traditions that they have received and cling to, such as baptisms of cups, pitchers, and copper vessels.) So these Pharisees and scribes asked him: “Why do your disciples not observe the tradition of the men of former times, but they eat their meal with defiled hands?”"

 

(Mark 7:1-5)

 

Paul wrote that we need to not be unevenly yoked with unbelievers. And yet Jesus ate with people who were considered to be "worldly" and "unclean" by the religious leaders of the day.

 

What really is the definition of being "yoked"?

 

Jesus used the phrase twice, once when he was talking about being "yoked" in marriage; the other time when he was talking about being "under the yoke" with him in the refreshing work of caring for the needs of others out of love for Jehovah.

 

Having a meal with an unbelieving neighbor is not being "yoked" to them. Talking to a schoolmate is not being "yoked" with them. Texting an ex-JW relative is not being "yoked" with them. Being a friend to a person is not being "yoked" with them. In context, when Paul spoke about "bad associations" he was talking about people in the congregation who weren't adhering to the truth about the resurrection. He was saying, "don't be yoked in worship to people who don't have faith in Jesus," or "don't worship side-by-side with people who don't agree with Jesus' teachings."

 

Jesus gives us permission to love people, to be a friend to them. Especially should we be friends with fellow believers. We shouldn't shun them.

 

"We are not restricted in our affections for you, but you are restricted in your own tender affections for us.  So in response—I speak as to my children—you too open your hearts wide."

[John 12.24to28]

 

On friendships between men and women...

 

Tradition in the organization tends to frown upon close friendship between a man and a woman who are not married.

 

What does the Bible say on this topic?

 

Jesus was close friends with Martha and Mary.

 

Jehovah is close friends with all the women who pray to Him.

 

Paul, Timothy, Silas, and Luke stayed overnights with Lydia at her house.

 

There are women among the 144,000 who will be very close in a chaste way to the men among the 144,000 - so close they are all part of the same body, and yet they are not depicted as being "married" to each other. Christ is their head.

 

The Bible does not frown upon a close friendship between a man and a woman who respect Bible principles. Here is what the Bible says:

 

"Do not severely criticize an older man. On the contrary, appeal to him as a father, to younger men as brothers, to older women as mothers, to younger women as sisters, with all chasteness."

 

"Yes, I request you also, as a true fellow worker, to keep assisting these women who have striven side by side with me for the good news, along with Clement as well as the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life."

 

"Greet Try·phaeʹna and Try·phoʹsa, women who are working hard in the Lord. Greet Perʹsis, our beloved one, for she has worked hard in the Lord."

 

Jesus appeared to some women when he was resurrected, before he appeared to the apostles. Why? He loved them. They were his friends. They were there when he was on the torture stake. Jesus was not partial, and he wasn't afraid of being alone with his sisters, his friends. He wasn't afraid to talk to them, to be friends with them. Jesus was alone with them and he talked to them without other people around and it wasn't a sin.

 

"Now his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.  As there was a crowd sitting around him, they said to him: “Look! Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.”  But he replied to them: “Who are my mother and my brothers?”  Then he looked at those sitting around him in a circle and said: “See, my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does the will of God, this one is my brother and sister and mother."

 

We don't have to limit ourselves to "friends" who are the same type of person that we are. We don't have to limit our love to those who are defined as our expected social circle by some people who write magazines in New York. Jehovah's love is clean and not prejudiced based on whether someone is a male or a female. He is not partial with His friendship. We don't have to be either.

 

"I am a friend of all who fear you 

And of those who keep your orders."

 

(John 11:5; Psalm 65:2; Acts 16:15; Galatians 3:26-28; 1 Timothy 5:1,2; Philippians 4:3; Romans 16:12; John 20:11-18; Mark 3:31-35; Acts 10:34,35; Psalm 119:63)

[John 12.24to28]

 

"As iron sharpens iron, 

So one man sharpens his friend."

 

(Proverbs 27:17)

[John 12.24to28]

 

Oh, poor @boyle, a person doesn't need to be able to read hearts with you so clearly exposing what is in yours, my dear...

 

"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."

 

(Matthew 12:34)

 

Okay, let's see, what do you have to say, here...

 

4 hours ago, boyle said:

blaming Christ

 

I am sorry you feel that way. You are blaming the wrong person.

 

4 hours ago, boyle said:

Can an ex-witness really be a good friend?

 

Yes.

 

4 hours ago, boyle said:

Can a disfellowshiped person that refuses to see their own errors in life really have something good to contribute to another witness?

Yes.

 

4 hours ago, boyle said:

fake...false...condemn someone's soul to judgment

 

Who is the fake false one here doing all the condemning and judging?

 

4 hours ago, boyle said:

If you text your ex-witness relative, just to complain and agree with that person that they were right about the Watchtower, then why not have that conversation with the devil. 

 

Wow, I don't think that's very nice of you to call ex-jw's the devil. Jesus said truth is important. If an ex-witness relative is telling the truth about the Watchtower, that ex-witness is not acting like the devil, they are showing a godly quality - honesty. I highly value honesty in a friendship. Jehovah does too.

 

"We wish to conduct ourselves honestly in all things."

 

(Hebrews 13:18)

 

"And Jehovah said to Satan: “Have you taken note of my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth. He is an upright man of integrity, fearing God and shunning what is bad.”"

 

(Job 1:8)

 

4 hours ago, boyle said:

So, loving someone outside a marriage is okay because Jesus gave us permission to love people. In what context should that be applied?

 

I was clear about the context: chaste love. It is possible to have deep love for someone without having sexual relations. It is possible to work at having self-control instead of just giving in to every desire like some unreasoning animal or beast. 

 

Some people do physical exercise so they can get physically stronger. Some people do spiritual exercise so they can get spiritually stronger. For a person who doesn't believe in "spirit", of course it's going to be incomprehensible to get "spiritually stronger". But just because a blind person can't see something doesn't mean that "something" doesn't exist. 

 

Some people who want to be chaste stumble at times. They need to get back up and move on.

4 hours ago, boyle said:

Do you honestly think the word desire won't creep in at some point in a friendship between an unmarried man and a woman? If you can prove that, I'm happy to live in that fantasy world

 

Of course desire creeps in, we are imperfect people. We don't have to act on the desire. When we beg Jehovah for His holy spirit, He helps us to have the strength to push away the improper desires. That's why the admonition is in the Bible to continue in prayer, and to keep asking for holy spirit. Until we are perfect, we all have improper desires, and we all have to keep begging for holy spirit in different situations, not just in relationships with people of the opposite sex, but in all different kinds of situations.

 

"Above all things, have intense love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins."

 

(1 Peter 4:8)

 

4 hours ago, boyle said:

6 hours ago, AudreyAnnaNana said:

The Bible does not frown upon a close friendship between a man and a woman who respect Bible principles.

Only if you can keep the desires in check. If, not, then it does.

 

That's the same with any friendship relationship. A friendship between woman with a woman, a man with a man, an adult with a child, a person with a dog...improper desires need to be kept in check because acting on improper desires hurts people. Until humans are perfect, there will always be improper desires. Only Jehovah's powerful spirit can help us truly keep such things in check. The whole reason we need the ransom is because it's not possible for us all to be perfect at present, we make mistakes. We have to get back up and move on. There will be a day when it's not so difficult, when the bad desires aren't so strong. We have to keep moving in the right direction and not give up. We have to give Jehovah something to bless.

 

4 hours ago, boyle said:

For ex-witnesses and the removed. They can have all the friends they wish. But that's not the point to a true Christian. 

 

"Friends" aren't friends if they hurt you. Sometimes ex-witnesses and the "removed" have real friends, and sometimes they have fake friends. Sometimes a true Christian has real friends, and sometimes they have fake friends. Having friends isn't dependent on whether a person is an "ex-witness" or "a true Christian". People are individuals. We make poor choices in friends sometimes, or we make good choices but later a person who was a good friend might change because people change. A person who was a good friend yesterday might change and be a bad friend today. That's just how life is at present.

 

Each person on earth is made in God's image. There is something we can learn about Jehovah from considering the beauty in each human soul. When we limit our love and affection because of having prejudice (whether it be prejudice because a person is male or female or a prejudice against "ex-witness" or "anointed" or whatever), we are limiting not just our exposure to the unique beauty and insight of that person but also our knowledge of Jehovah and our relationship with Him. We are limiting ourselves.

 

Granted, we have to protect ourselves from those who would harm us, thus we curtail our association with people who we perceive desire to hurt us. But we hope they eventually turn to Jehovah so as to get the strength to put up the boundaries for their improper desires, so that that potential friendship may grow, not just now, but for all eternity.

 

"For this is the will of God, that you should be holy and abstain from sexual immorality.  Each one of you should know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,  not with greedy, uncontrolled sexual passion like the nations have that do not know God.  No one should go beyond proper limits and take advantage of his brother in this matter, because Jehovah exacts punishment for all these things, just as we told you previously and also strongly warned you.  For God has called us, not for uncleanness, but for holiness.  So, then, the man who disregards this is disregarding, not man, but God, who gives you his holy spirit. However, concerning brotherly love, you do not need us to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.  In fact, you are doing so toward all the brothers in all of Mac·e·doʹni·a. But we urge you, brothers, to go on doing so in fuller measure."

 

(1 Thessalonians 4:3-10)

 

4 hours ago, boyle said:

A true Christian should think about having a relationship with the world or a friendship with god?

 

That article you posted the link to about friendship talks about different degrees of friendship and association, based on how much the other person involved is willing to apply self-control and respect for God's standards. We do not have friendship with the world, but there is a difference between loving the world and loving people who live in the world. There is a difference.

 

"Let everything you do be done with love."

 

(1 Corinthians 16:14)

 

 @boyle not one of us could truly be a good friend forever if Jehovah did not make provision for us. We are all damaged goods. But He made provision for us, if only we are willing to accept it.

 

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.  For God did not send his Son into the world for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through him.  Whoever exercises faith in him is not to be judged. Whoever does not exercise faith has been judged already, because he has not exercised faith in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.  Now this is the basis for judgment: that the light has come into the world, but men have loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were wicked.  For whoever practices vile things hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his works may not be reproved.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that his works may be made manifest as having been done in harmony with God.”

 

(John 3:16-21)

 

I wish you would have peace, @boyle. I wish you could have peace, my brother. ❣️💔❤️‍🩹

[John 12.24to28]

Jehovah designed us to have friendships with everybody. It's only because of the present fallout from the rebellion in Eden that friendship has been marred. However, the difficulties we face give an opportunity to build even stronger friendships, if we want to seize the opportunity to be a friend when it comes.🌷

 

 

[John 12.24to28]

Oh, @boyle, you're such a jokester!

 

Speaking of jokes, how's about a few cow jokes...

 

What do you call a sad cow?

 

Moo-dy.

 

What does the farmer talk about while milking a cow?

 

Udder nonsense.

 

Why do cows have hooves instead of feet?

 

Because they lactose.

 

What do you get if you cross a cow and rooster?

 

Roost beef.

 

What kind of shows do cows like best?

 

Moosicals.

 

What happens when a cow laughs?

 

Milk comes out of its nose.

 

What has the lone cow been up to lately?

 

Nobody’s herd…

 

 

[John 12.24to28]

2 hours ago, boyle said:

I stay true to Jehovah

I can see you. Why do you try to hide? I know you like to play with puppets, and that's fine with me, but I don't know if you know that whatever mask you put on it doesn't change that I'm wearing "the ransom-sacrifice glasses", lol. 

 

 

(What are you so afraid of?)

 

"And there is not a creation that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and openly exposed to the eyes of the one to whom we must give an account."

 

(Hebrews 4:13)

 

Jehovah can see everything anyway. We're all "exposed". That's why He tells us to cover things with love.

 

"And Jehovah God kept calling to the man and saying to him: “Where are you?”  Finally he said: “I heard your voice in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.”  At that he said: “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”"

 

(Genesis 3:9,10)

 

It's our inherited sinful nature that makes us want to hide ourselves. We all have it. (It's also our sinful imperfect reasoning that makes it difficult for us to understand anything correctly.) Jehovah feels bad for us, that's why He sent Jesus to fix it, so we don't have to hide from Him anymore.

 

Higher friendship-love is enough to cover the sins of the imperfect flesh, if a person is willing to repent. He made the way out for us, so we don't have to stay in the dark. Jesus is the Way and the Light and Jehovah is a True Friend.

 

You are willing to believe that I am a real person, even though you haven't ever seen me. Why can't you believe He's a Real Person too? There's plenty of evidence. I've only posted words on a forum, and it's obvious I'm real. He's got a book that's been published for years and years way before we were even born. He's reaching out to be your friend. Why don't you just take His hand and recognize that He will explain all those other questions you have in time?

[John 12.24to28]

 

"Let your brotherly love continue.  Do not forget hospitality, for through it some unknowingly entertained angels.  Keep in mind those in prison, as though you were imprisoned with them, and those being mistreated, since you yourselves also are in the body."

 

"A true friend shows love at all times 

And is a brother who is born for times of distress."

 

"There are companions ready to crush one another, 

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

 

"And if a friend of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. 

But if there is not, it will return to you."

 

We're all in the same "prison hole" at the moment. Why not let the light shine?

 

"However, because I have experienced the help that is from God, I continue to this day bearing witness to both small and great, saying nothing except what the Prophets as well as Moses stated was going to take place—  that the Christ was to suffer and that as the first to be resurrected from the dead, he was going to proclaim light both to this people and to the nations.” Now as Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice: “You are going out of your mind, Paul! Great learning is driving you out of your mind!”  But Paul said: “I am not going out of my mind, Your Excellency Festus, but I am speaking words of truth and of a sound mind.  For a fact, the king to whom I am speaking so freely well knows about these things; I am convinced that not one of these things escapes his notice, for none of this has been done in a corner.  Do you, King A·gripʹpa, believe the Prophets? I know that you believe.”  But A·gripʹpa said to Paul: “In a short time you would persuade me to become a Christian.” At this Paul said: “I wish to God that whether in a short time or in a long time, not only you but also all those who hear me today would become men such as I am, with the exception of these prison bonds."😁

 

(Hebrews 13:1,2; Proverbs 17:17; Proverbs 18:24; Luke 10:6; Acts 26:22-29)

😆

[John 12.24to28]

50 minutes ago, boyle said:

I don't hide.

 

Okay, @boyle.🤭

 

50 minutes ago, boyle said:

puppet

 

 

50 minutes ago, boyle said:

3 hours ago, AudreyAnnaNana said:

Jehovah can see everything anyway. We're all "exposed".

You got this right.

 

We're all made of dirt anyway. We all return to dirt. Is it a big deal to be exposed as dirt? Some people want to watch dirt, but I don't recommend it. Why not just go play with mud pies? It's not as messy.

 

"All things are clean to clean people; but to those who are defiled and faithless, nothing is clean, for both their minds and their consciences are defiled.  They publicly declare that they know God, but they disown him by their works, because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort."

 

(Titus 1:15,16)

 

And yet, Jesus can clean even the most leperous of individuals...

 

"There also came to him a leper, pleading with him even on bended knee, saying to him: “If you just want to, you can make me clean.”  At that he was moved with pity, and he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him: “I want to! Be made clean.”  Immediately the leprosy vanished from him, and he became clean."

 

(Mark 1:40-42)

 

"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove your evil deeds from my sight; Stop doing bad.  Learn to do good, seek justice, ...“Come, now, and let us set matters straight between us,” says Jehovah. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They will be made as white as snow; Though they are as red as crimson cloth, They will become like wool."

 

(Isaiah 1:16-18)

 

50 minutes ago, boyle said:

3 hours ago, AudreyAnnaNana said:

Higher friendship-love is enough to cover the sins of the imperfect flesh, if a person is willing to repent. He made the way out for us, so we don't have to stay in the dark. Jesus is the Way and the Light and Jehovah is a True Friend.

When it is placed in the right order and category. Do you think God was friends with the Pharisees or did the Pharisees think they were friends with God?

 

Jesus' friendship was extended to the Pharisees - most of them refused to take advantage of it, but some of them did.

 

"But some of those of the sect of the Pharisees who had become believers..."

 

Jehovah extended His friendship while we were yet sinners. We are not higher than Jehovah. Who are we to hold back our friendship when Jehovah is extending His?

 

"For, indeed, while we were still weak, Christ died for ungodly men at the appointed time.  For hardly would anyone die for a righteous man; though perhaps for a good man someone may dare to die.  But God recommends his own love to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

 

(Acts 15:5; Romans 5:6,7)

 

50 minutes ago, boyle said:

Not all of us are prisoners

 

We are all imprisoned to sin at the moment, with death as the eventual outcome. We don't have to let sin rule as king, but we are all in the same prison, dear. Look around.🙂