"Love and charity are not the same words in the King James Bible, despite what Bible critics argue. There's a special nuance connected with the word charity that is not in the word love. The word charity has a special emphasis.
"Sometime people get so intent on a particular definition for a word that they overlook the general usage of the terms," explains Richard Jordan.
"The word charity in the Bible is a very specific kind of love and the translators of the KJV understood that they needed a special word to refer to this because this is not just a general kind of love.
"What did that verse in John 3:19 say? [19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
"The word love can be used to describe someone who loves darkness and evil.
I Corinthians13: [4] Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
[5] Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;[6] Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
"Charity does not rejoice in iniquity. It rejoices in the truth. The only way you can have charity is to have truth. You can say men love darkness but you can't say men have charity for darkness. See the difference?
"Nine times in I Corinthians 13 the term charity is used and it's the charity chapter in your Bible. By the way, the number nine is the fruit of the spirit.
"In I John 4 the term love is used 27 times and if you add the word beloved it's used 30 times. That's the chapter that says we love Him because He first loved us. If you want a love chapter, it's I John 4.
"By the way, in I Corinthians 13, William Tyndale used the word love. The King James translators followed Tyndale the majority of the time, but when they translated this chapter they didn't; they understood they needed a special nuanced word to describe what's going on here.
Verses 1-3: [1] Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
[2] And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.[3] And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
"I can have all these gifts and skills, but if I don't have charity, there's nothing to me. Verse 3 tells you that the term charity in your Bible isn't what we use in our culture because we talk about charity as taking care of poor people and trying to help people with problems.
"Charity is not giving to the poor, which is what we normally call charity. When you think of charity in the Scripture, don't think of it in the context of the world you live in; think of it in the context of the Bible. It's something more than all these noble things people do for underprivileged people.
"Charity is reserved for people who know and operate on the truth. It only values and esteems truth.
"Charity is love that suffers long. When others come to an understanding of the truth, it's patient with them. It's kind when others ridicule. It esteems others better than itself. It behaves itself as a servant of righteousness.
Verse 13: [13] And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
"Charity is when you see the truth benefitting other people. In the Bible, the word is limited to a love that is expressed to other people.
"Romans 14:15 is the first time the word, in one of its forms, is used in your Bible: [15] But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
"What that's pointing to is here's a brother and you want to walk toward him charitably and if you do this, you're not walking toward him charitably.
II Thessalonians 1:3: [3] We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
I Peter 4:8: [8] And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
"It has to do with the relationship between people, saints.
"Now, if you look at III John, you see it's expanded a little: [5] Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;
[6] Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:"Charity is me relating to others on the basis of truth."
(new article tomorrow)
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