The Most Despised Verse In the Entire Bible

by Frank Hall

"Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." Romans 9:13

This is perhaps the most despised verse in the entire Bible!

Contrary to popular religious opinion, God does not love all people.

There are only two kinds of people in this world—Jacobs and Esaus.

These two men represent the entire human race.

Jacob represents God's elect—and Esau represents the reprobate.

Jacob is loved by God—and Esau is hated by God.

God's love is sovereign and free. God's love for Jacob did not depend on Jacob. God loved Jacob, simply because He chose to love Jacob—not because He saw something in Jacob that merited His love. In fact, Jacob proved himself to be completely unworthy of God's love—as do all whom God loves.

God's love depends on God, not Jacob. Jacob can't earn God's love, and Jacob cannot lose God's love—because it does not depend on him. The love of God is completely sovereign and free. God gives and withholds His love as He sees fit.

God's love is discriminating love. Love is always discriminating. By definition, love is never common to all. Jacob was set apart by God's love, and being set apart by God's love—he had God's special favor and the affection of God's heart. God's love is always particular and distinguishing. He does not love all people—He only loves Jacob.

God's love for Jacob and hatred for Esau are according to His eternal purpose, not according to their works. "Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works, but by Him who calls . . . Just as it is written: 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.' What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy!" Romans 9:11-16

Jacob was elected to salvation before he was born, and Esau was rejected by God before he was born—according to God's eternal purpose.

Because Jacob was loved by God—God sent His Son into this world to redeem him from his sins. Christ died for Jacob—not for Esau! "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

Pais (παις): A Young Male Lover?

With great sorrow, there is another passage of Scripture that both homosexuals and pro-homosexual advocates are twisting and maligning for their cause. As such, I must address this corruption and correct it before it can do any more damage. The passage in question is Matthew 8:5-13.

And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment.

Now, you might read the above passage and ask, "What could they possibly be trying to use as support for homosexuality here?" Well, when the centurion says, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented," the Greek word translated as "servant" is the word pais (παις). In their ignorance, whether deliberate or accidental, these homosexuals and pro-homosexual advocates claim that this word—pais (παις)—means "a young male lover."

Like all cults, false teachings, and other liars, these people have failed to examine this word throughout the rest of Scripture, because doing so is detrimental to the lies they are trying to make you swallow. In Luke 2:43, it says, "the child Jesus," which in the Greek is Ιησους ο παις (pais). Are these homosexuals and pro-homosexual advocates trying to tell us that this passage actually says, "the young male lover Jesus"? This is extremely dangerous ground for these individuals to be standing on, especially for those who call themselves ministers, reverends, pastors, and/or preachers.

The fact is, the word pais (παις) does not mean "a young male lover" at all. It means "a child" and can refer to the child of either sex (see Gerhard Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 5, pp.636-717; Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study New Testament, pp.1089-1090; W. E. Vine, Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, p.76; et al.). In Luke 8:51, the word translated as "maiden" is the Greek word pais (παις). In Luke 8:54, where Jesus says, "Maid, arise," the Greek is παις (pais) εγειρου. In both these verses, the word pais (παις) clearly refers to a female child.

In fact, there is nothing in the Matthew 8:5-13 passage to inform us whether this servant is a male or female child. Pais (παις) refers to a child of either sex. Likewise, autos (αυτος), the Greek word translated as "him" from "I will come and heal him," can be translated as either "him," "her," or "it" (among many other things). But let us accept it as it has traditionally been interpreted here, as referring to a male servant.

Compare Matthew 8:5-13 to Luke 7:1-10.

When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. And a centurion's slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, "He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue." Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith." When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

Matthew uses the word pais (παις), meaning "child," whereas Luke uses the word doulos (δουλος), meaning "slave or servant," except in verse 7. By inferring that the word pais (παις) means "a young male lover," these homosexuals and pro-homosexual advocates are eisegetically forcing an erroneous interpretation upon the word that cannot be found in the context of the passage.

In the Greek, the term erastes was applied to an older male (though not necessarily many years older) who loved boys, while the term eromenos, meaning "beloved," was applied to the younger male lover. These two are precisely what Paul had in mind when he referred to arsenokoites and malakos in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. While an eromenos was sometimes called a pais, the word itself does not mean "a young male lover." To argue that it means so in Matthew 8:5-13 is as idiotic as arguing that it means so in Luke 2:43.

Enough of this pro-homosexual ignorant intellectual stupidity already. Homosexuality is a sin. Period! Our temptations do not rule us nor do they tell us who we are. Read this blog entry for the truth behind homosexuality.

Lead Me

from Sanctus Real

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames, I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear her saying

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear them saying

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh Father, show me the way
To lead them

Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home 

Lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart

Stop asking Jesus into your heart. Just stop it! Where in the Bible does it say you need to "accept Jesus" and "ask Him into your heart"? Chapter and verse, please. Oh... You cannot find it? Do you know why? Because it is not biblical!

Where in the Bible does it teach to pray "The Sinner's Prayer," or that, if you do, you are automatically a recipient of saving grace, whether you live properly or not? Chapter and verse, thank you. Interesting... Do you know why you cannot find it? Because it is not biblical!

We need to be accepted by Jesus—not the other way around. We do not make a decision for Christ, He must decide to save us. We need to stop throwing unbiblical and unChristian language around when sharing our testimonies and telling others what they must do to be saved. When telling others what they must do to be saved, we need to follow what the Bible actually teaches us—not to invent "roads" and "plans" and "spiritual laws" and whatever other nonsense we have incorporated in order to try and convey the Gospel beyond its simplicity.

What does the Bible teach in regard to salvation? Let us look into it, shall we? 

When John the Baptist started his ministry of turning the hearts of the people back to God, what was his message? "Repent..." (Matt. 3:2) and "...bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matt. 3:8). When Jesus began His ministry, what was His message? "Repent..." (Matt. 4:17) "...and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). When the jailer asked Paul and Silas, "what must I do to be saved" (Acts 16:30), their response was simply, "Believe in the Lord Jesus..." (Acts 16:31). Similarly, Paul wrote, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9), and he gives his reason: "for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation" (Rom. 10:10).

As if this is not enough to make it clear, let us look at what Jesus said to individual people. In Matthew 9, a woman who suffered a hemorrhage for 12 years came and merely touched Jesus' cloak in order to be healed. Why? Because she had faith in Who He was. He responded to her, "your faith has made you well" (v.22; cf. Mark 5:34; Luke 7:48). In Mark 10, Bartimaeus, a blind man, was asking Jesus to have mercy upon him while the crowds kept telling him to shut up. Why? Because he had faith in Who Jesus was. Jesus responded to him, "your faith has made you well" (v. 52). In Luke 7, a woman who was a sinner learned of Jesus dining at a Pharisee's house and so she went there, wet His feet with her tears, wiped them off with her hair, and applied perfume to His feet. Why? Because she believed Him to be Who He claimed. Jesus' response to her? "Your faith has saved you" (v.50).

Over and over again we see the exact same information. Faith is believing, and believing is trusting to the uttermost. Just as you would trust a parachute to open and save you when and if you had to jump from a plane, likewise you need to trust Jesus to save you when and if you should suddenly be ripped from this world in death. The only thing involving your heart in regard to salvation is your belief: "for with the heart a person believes..." (Rom. 10:10)—not "accepting Him" or "asking Him into your heart." The Bible nowhere says that Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, makes a home inside your heart. It simply says that the Holy Spirit indwells us. We need to stop preaching nonsense to people and start preaching what the Bible says. Do you want to evangelize the lost? Then follow the examples given in Scripture. Do you want to tell people how they can be saved? Then follow the examples given in Scripture. There is no need to invent ungodly methods for doing so.

What is it that we must believe? First and foremost, we must believe that Jesus is God Almighty in the flesh. Second, we must believe that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified on a cross to atone for our sins, that He died and was buried in a tomb, that He rose three days later, that He ascended into heaven and is presently reigning, and that He will return to receive His own unto Himself. Third, we must be obedient in our faith unto Jesus and His teachings. Obedience is the single most greatest expression of trust; it is an expression of love toward the only one Who is worthy of it, the only one Who died in our place to show us how much He loves us. We hope in Him because we believe that He is Who He said He was and that He will do what He said He will do. Continually believe these things each day and live life in a way that shows you truly believe them and your faith will save you.

Further, we need to realize that conversion does not mean salvation. See the parable of the sower where two of the soils are false converts. See also Matthew 7:21-23, something many Christians want to ignore. These people truly believed themselves to be saved. Not only that, but Scripture encourages all of us who profess Christ to "Test yourself to see if you are in the faith; examine yourself! Or do you not recognize this about yourselfs, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Cor. 13:5) and to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). "Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things [vv.2-8], you will never stumble" (2 Pet. 1:10).

You see, the evidence that helps support whether you truly are a Christian or not is that if you repented and trusted back when you had your conversion experience, you will be repenting and trusting today. But not only that, you will continue to repent and trust in the future. The Bible makes it clear that "They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us" (1 John 2:19). This verse leads us to the fact that the Bible makes it abundantly clear that if you are genuinely saved you will persevere until the end:

"You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved." Matt. 10:22

"But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." Matt. 24:13

"You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." Mark 13:13

"By your endurance you will gain your lives." Luke 21:19

"If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples." John 8:31

"If we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us." 2 Tim. 2:12

"And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end." Heb. 6:11

"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." Heb. 10:36 ("done the will of God"—see Matt. 7:21-23)

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ..." Heb. 12:1-15

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12

"Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus." Rev. 14:12

Salvation, from beginning to end is: Election, Gospel Call, Regeneration, Conversion, Justification, Adoption, Sanctification, Perseverance, Death and Glorification. You cannot start with Conversion and end with Adoption and think you are okay with God. There is no such thing as a "carnal Christian." Again, see Hebrews 10:36 and Matthew 7:21-23, among various others.

Stop asking Jesus into your heart and simply do what Scripture commands you to do: "Repent..." (Matt. 4:17) "...and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15); "Believe in the Lord Jesus..." (Acts 16:31); "confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9). Read your Bible and obey what it says.