Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the King James Version ( KJV ). 1 Corinthians 7:20-22 read as follows:
"20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. 22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant."
The Greek word ( Greek [ 2821 ] ) for the word "calling," in verse twenty ( above ), is defined as follows:
". . . 1. a calling, calling to, [(Xen., Plat., al.)]. 2. a call, invitation: to a feast (3 Macc. v. 14; Xen. symp. 1, 7); in the N.T. everywhere in a technical sense, the divine invitation to embrace salvation in the kingdom of God, which is made esp. through the preaching of the gospel. . . ." [ See THE NEW THAYER'S GREEK-ENGLISH LEXICON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, Thayer, Joseph Henry, D.D., HENDRICKSON PUBLISHERS, PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS 01961-3473, Copyright 1979, 1981, by Jay P. Green, Sr., pp. 349, 350. ]
Since all denominational baptisms do not result in the receiving of the Holy Spirit ( see Mark 16:15, 16; Acts 2:38, 41, and 47; 4:5-12 ( especially verses 10-12, for example ); 5:32; 8:5-25 ( especially verses 14-17, for example ); 9:1-19 ( especially verses 17 and 18, for example ); chapter 10 ( especially verses 44-48, for example ); 2 Corinthians 4:8-15 ( especially verse 13, for example ); Ephesians 4:5; and 2 Peter 1:1, for example ), they also do not save anyone. There is no salvation to embrace in the denominational realm. Therefore, there is no such thing as a denominational calling.
Moreover, the phrase "called in the Lord," in the first verse twenty-two, means to be Christ's servant, a Christian ( see Leviticus 25:44, 45; Acts 8:26-40 ( especially verses 36-39, for example ); 11:19-30 ( especially verse 26, for example ); 20:28; Romans 6:1-4 ( especially verses 3 and 4, for example ); chapter 12 ( especially verses 4 and 5, for example ); 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; 9:21; and Colossians 1:19-23 ( especially verse 20, for example ), for example ). Thus, because there is no such thing as a denominational Christian, Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, and Catholics, for example, are not called in the Lord. Please study the Holy Bible ( which is God's word - see Psalm 119:65-73, 142, and 151; John 17:1, 3, and 17; and 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>.
