The Holy Bible.

     Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the King James Version ( KJV ).  1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 read as follows:

"9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?  Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

The Greek word ( Greek [ 3120 ] ) for the word "effeminate," in verse nine ( above ), is defined as follows:

"soft, i.e. fine ( clothing ); fig. a catamite."  [  See ABINGDON'S STRONG'S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE, STRONG, JAMES, S.T.D., LL.D., ABINGDON PRESS, NASHVILLE, Copyright, 1890, by JAMES STRONG, MADISON, N.J., ( A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek/New Testament with their Renderings in the King James Version, p. 60. ).  ]

     The word "catamite," in the above-given definition, is defined as follows:

". . .  n.  A boy used in pederasty. . . ."  [  NEW ILLUSTRATED WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY Including THESAURUS of SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS, PMC Publishing Company, Inc., 118 EAST 28th STREET, NEW YORK, NY  10016, dictionary portion: pages 1-1150, Copyright 1992, by J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, p. 160.  ]

The word "pederasty," in the definition given immediately above, is defined as follows:

". . .  n.  Sodomy, especially as practiced between men and boys. . . ."  [  Ibid., p. 715.  ]

The word "sodomy," in the definition given immediately above, is defined as follows:

". . .  n.  Carnal copulation between male persons or with beasts. . . ."  [  Ibid., p. 916.  ]

     The word "copulation," in the definition given immediately above, is defined as follows:

". . .  n.  1  The act of coupling; also, the state of being coupled together.  2  Sexual intercourse."  [  Ibid., p. 221.  ]

Finally, the word "effeminate" is also defined as follows:

". . .  adj.  Having womanish traits or qualities; unmanly; voluptuous; delicate.  See synonyms under FEMININE. . . ."  [  Ibid., p. 309.  ]

The word "effeminate," therefore, is associated with the sins ( see 1 John 3:4, for example ) of homosexuality ( see Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:24-27, for example ) and bestiality ( see Leviticus 18:23 and 1 Corinthians 6:18, for example ).

     Moreover, one way in which effeminate behavior is manifested now is by the wearing of earrings, for example.  Although males wore earrings under the Old Testament ( see Exodus 32:2, for example ), we do not find any mention of men wearing earrings in the New Testament.  Thus, we can rightly conclude that under the New Testament ( which is now in effect - see Luke 23:26-49 ( especially verse 33, for example ), Romans 10:1-4 ( especially verse 4, for example ), Colossians 2:11-17 ( especially verse 14, for example ), Hebrews, chapter 8 ( especially verse 13, for example ), and Hebrews, chapter 9 ( especially verses 15-17, for example ), for example ), it is a sin for men to wear earrings, for example.  See also Psalm 119:65-73, 142, 151, Matthew 28:18, John 1:1, 14; 3:16, 17; 5:26, 27; 7:16; 8:26; 10:30; 14:6; 17:1, 3, 17, Romans 1:20; 15:1-4 ( especially verse 4, for example ), Colossians 2:8, 9, 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, Titus 1:1, 2, and 1 John 5:6-8, for example.  Please study the Holy Bible ( which is God's word - see 2 Timothy 2:15, for example ).

If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:

<rewillis1_1@juno.com>

<Russell E. Willis>

The Holy Bible.

     Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the New Testament, known as the Recovery Version.  The following quotation is taken from this version of the New Testament:

"Throughout the centuries, translations of the Bible have steadily improved.  In general, each new translation inherits from previous ones and opens the way for later ones.  While a new translation derives help from its predecessors, it should go further.  The Recovery Version of the New Testament, following the precedent set by the major authoritative English versions and taking these versions as reference, not only incorporates lessons learned from an examination of others' practices but also attempts to avoid biases and inaccurate judgments.  This version, frequently guided by other versions, attempts to provide the best utterance for the revelation in the divine Word, that it may be expressed in the English language with the greatest accuracy."  [  See THE NEW TESTAMENT: Recovery Version, Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, California, Copyright 1985, 1991 Living Stream Ministry, p. iii.  ]

Matthew 7:13, 14 read as follows:

"13 Enter in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it.  14 Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it."

     Jesus ( see Matthew 4:23 ) teaches, in verse fourteen ( above ), that the way that leads to life is constricted.  If someone were to ask you what religion is, what would be your answer?  Simply put, religion is the way you live.  John 14:6 reads as follows:  "Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me."

     Jesus is the way: He committed no sin ( see Matthew 1:16 and 1 Peter 2:21, 22, for example ).  Jesus is the reality: He said in Matthew 4:19, "Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  Jesus is the life: He ( see John 5:19 ) said in John 5:24, "Truly, Truly, I say to you, He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life."

     What is the conclusion, then?  If you are pursuing a life of sin ( see 1 John 3:4, for example ), then you are pursuing false religion.  If you are not coming after Jesus, then you are out of touch with reality: you are pursuing false religion.  Jesus is true religion, if you are not pursuing Him you have no hope of eternal life.  Finally, Jesus ( see Luke 13:12 ) said in Luke 13:24, "Struggle to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will seek to enter, yet will not be able."  The way that leads to eternal life is constricted, and it will require struggle on our part: Jesus is that way.  Please study the Holy Bible ( which is God's word - see 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16, 17, for example ).

If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:

<rewillis1_1@juno.com>

<Russell E. Willis>

NOTE:  The copy of the version of the New Testament, pictured above, is damaged at the lower right corner, because it was dropped: 2014 has been a difficult year, in this regard, for example.  As a Christian ( see Acts 11:26, for example ), I try to be honest ( see Romans 3:23 and Ephesians 4:25, for example ).  Additionally, the apostle Paul ( see 2 Corinthians 1:1; 12:11; 13:10, for example ) wrote of a "ministry of reconciliation" ( see 2 Corinthians 5:18 ): it is not called Living Stream Ministry ( see 1 Peter 4:11, for example ).

The Holy Bible.

     Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION ( ESV ).  Hebrews 10:26-31 read as follows:

"26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.  28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.  29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?  30 For we know him who said, 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay.'  And again, 'The Lord will judge his people.'  31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

The phrase "by which he was sanctified," in verse 29, has a cross-reference to Hebrews 9:13, 14, which read as follows:

"13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

Considering Hebrews 9:14 together with Hebrews 10:29, the phrase "the blood of the covenant," in this latter passage from the Holy Bible, is a reference to the blood of Christ.

     The Greek word ( Greek [ 37 ] ) for the word "sanctified," in verse 29 ( above ), is defined as follows:

"to make holy, i.e. (cer.) purify or consecrate."  [  See ABINGDON'S STRONG'S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE, STRONG, JAMES, S.T.D., LL.D., ABINGDON PRESS, NASHVILLE, Copyright, 1890, by JAMES STRONG, MADISON, N.J., ( A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek/New Testament with their Renderings in the King James Version, p. 5. ).  ]

Moreover, this same Greek word is also defined as follows:

". . . b. to purify by expiation, free from the guilt of sin: 1 Co. vi.11 ; Eph. v.26 ; Heb. x. 10, 14, 29. . . ."  [  See THE NEW THAYER'S GREEK - ENGLISH LEXICON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT: WITH INDEX, Thayer, Joseph Henry, D.D., HENDRICKSON PUBLISHERS, PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS 01961-3473, Copyright 1979, 1981 by Jay P. Green, Sr., p. 6.  ]

Since one is sanctified by the blood of Christ, the following question arises, namely: how does one come in contact with the blood of Christ?

     A person comes in contact with the blood of Christ when he or she is baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ, by immersion in water, for the remission of his or her sins ( see Matthew 16:16, Acts 2:38; 8:26-40 ( especially verses 36-39, for example ), Romans 6:1-4 ( especially verses 3 and 4, for example ), Hebrews 10:19-25 ( especially verse 22, for example ), and 1 Peter 1:1, 2, for example ).  We see the absurdity, then, of the false claim that baptism is not necessary for salvation.  Specifically, if one has not been baptized, then he or she has not been sanctified, and if one has not been sanctified, then he or she has not been made holy or freed from the guilt of his or her past sins ( see Mark 16:16, Romans 3:25 ( KJV, for example ); 6:23, Hebrews 12:14, and Revelation 1:5; 2:10, for example ).  See also Psalm 119:65-73, 142, 151, Matthew 10:32; 11:15; 28:18-20 ( especially verse 18, for example ), Luke 13:3, John 1:1, 14; 3:16, 17; 5:26, 27; 7:16; 8:26; 10:30; 14:6; 17:1, 3, 17, Romans 1:20 ( see Romans 1:20 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references, for example ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Godhead" ), Galatians 3:26, 27, Colossians 2:8, 9 ( KJV, for example ), 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, Titus 1:1, 2, and 1 John 5:6-8, for example.  Please study the Holy Bible ( which is God's word - see 2 Timothy 2:15, for example ).

If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:

<rewillis1_1@juno.com>

<Russell E. Willis>

The Holy Bible.

     Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the MODERN ENGLISH VERSION ( MEV ).  James 1:19-27 read as follows:

"19 Therefore, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20 for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.  21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and remaining wickedness and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.  22 Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man viewing his natural face in a mirror.  24 He views himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  25 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in his deeds.  26 If anyone among you seems to be religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain.  27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

In verse twenty-three, James ( see verse one ) teaches that anyone who hears the word, but does not do it, is "like a man viewing his natural face in a mirror."

     It is this concept of viewing one's natural face in a a mirror that is associated with the perfect law of liberty ( "whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty" - see verse twenty-five, above ).  Thus, the phrase "perfect law of liberty" is a reference to the word of God.  See also Psalm 119:65-73, 142, 151, Matthew 7:21-29 ( especially verses 24-27, for example ); 28:18-20 ( especially verse 18, for example ), John 1:1, 14; 3:16, 17; 5:26, 27; 7:16; 8:26; 10:30; 14:6; 17:1, 3, 17, Romans 1:20 ( see Romans 1:20 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references, for example ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Godhead" ); 15:1-4 ( especially verse 4, for example ), Colossians 2:8, 9, 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, Titus 1:1, 2, verse 22 ( above ), and 1 John 5:6-8, for example.

     Finally, Psalm 19:7 reads as follows:  "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."  God's law is perfect: it is able to convert the soul.  James described this perfect law of liberty as "the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls" ( see verse 21, above ).  Please study the Holy Bible ( which is God's word - see 2 Timothy 2:15, for example ).

If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:

<rewillis1_1@juno.com>

<Russell E. Willis>