Acceptance
Acceptance
The noun itself is not found in the Authorized Version of the NT, though we come very near it in acceptation (), 1Ti 1:15; 1Ti 4:9. Instances of the verb and adjective are frequent, and are mostly equivalents of and its derivatives, as the following list shows: , 2Co 6:1; 2Co 8:17; 2Co 11:4; , Php 4:18; , 1Ti 2:3; 1Ti 5:4; , Heb 11:35; , Rom 15:16; Rom 15:31, 2Co 6:2; 2Co 8:12, 1Pe 2:5. We also find , Gal 2:6; * [Note: On the use of these words in inscriptions see A. Deissmann, Bible Studies, 214f. The use of , pleasing, and the verb in the NT should also be noted.] Rom 12:1-2; Rom 14:18, 2Co 5:9, Eph 5:10, Php 4:13, Col 3:20, Tit 2:9, Heb 13:21, and .* [Note: On the use of these words in inscriptions see A. Deissmann, Bible Studies, 214f. The use of , pleasing, and the verb in the NT should also be noted.] Heb 12:28; 1Pe 2:20; and , Eph 1:6. It should be noticed that in the Revised Version the adjective well-pleasing often takes the place of the Authorized Version acceptable; and that in Eph 1:6 the familiar expression (his grace) wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved gives place to the more correct which he freely bestowed upon us, etc. See the commentaries of Westcott and Armitage Robinson, in loc.
2Co 8:17 (Titus accepted the exhortation) and Heb 11:35 (not accepting deliverance) do not call for comment. With 2Co 11:4 on the non-acceptance of another gospel than that of Paul, compare 1Ti 1:3; 1Ti 4:1, 2Ti 1:10; 2Ti 4:10; see also for the accepted time (the day of opportunity for accepting the Divine message) 2Co 6:1-2 (cf. Luk 4:19). In Rom 15:31 St. Paul hopes that the collection for the Jerusalem poor may be acceptable to the saints; and, referring to the same project in 2Co 8:12, lays down the principle that contributions are acceptable in proportion to the willingness with which they are given.
We are now left with the passages which speak of Gods acceptance of man. Christians are children of light, are to prove what is acceptable (or well-pleasing) to the Lord (Eph 5:10; cf. Col 3:20), to test and discern the Lords will (Rom 12:2). They are to make it their aim, whether living or dying, to be well-pleasing to him (2Co 5:9).
What then are the principles and practices that ensure this happy consummation? We may first notice the familiar negative proposition set forth in Gal 2:6 and Act 10:34 God accepteth no mans person (i.e. the mere outward state and presence); and over against it the comprehensive declaration of Act 10:35 In every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is acceptable to him. This furnishes a starting-point for a detailed enumeration of the courses which are well-pleasing to God, and which may be set forth as follows: the offering of our bodies as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:2); the serving of Christ by not putting stumbling-blocks before weaker brethren (Rom 14:18); missionary work-the offering up of the Gentiles (Rom 15:16); the gift of the Philippian Church Co St. Paul in prison (Php 4:18; cf. Mat 25:31-46); filial affection to a widowed mother (1Ti 5:4); supplication and intercession for all men (1Ti 2:3); undeserved suffering patiently endured (1Pe 2:20). All these may be looked upon as examples of the spiritual sacrifices (1Pe 2:5), the offering of service with reverence and awe (Heb 12:28; cf. Heb 13:16), which are acceptable to God. He it is who works in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ (Heb 13:21).
It is interesting and instructive to compare the grounds of acceptance in the circle of OT thought with those in the, NT. In the former these grounds, are partly ceremonial (Lev 22:20), and partly ethical (Isa 1:12-15, Jer 6:20 etc.), though here and there a higher note is struck (cf. Pro 21:3, Mic 6:8, Deu 10:4); in the latter the ceremonial association has entirely vanished except in a metaphorical sense, and become purely ethico-spiritual, as the above references prove. It was largely due to the prophets that the old ceremonial ground was gradually ethicized; and, though it never died out under the earlier dispensation (which, indeed, reached its most rigid and mechanical development in the degenerate Pharisaic cult of NT times), the way was effectually prepared for the full proclamation of the spiritual message of the gospel by Jesus, who was Himself the perfect embodiment of all that was acceptable and well-pleasing to God (cf. Mar 1:11, Mat 17:5, Joh 8:29 etc.).
There is a theological problem of importance raised by these passages-What is it that constitutes the ground of our acceptance with God? The full treatment of this problem must be sought under the article Justification, but the following considerations may be properly adduced here. Unquestionably the Christian religion is a religion of Grace, as contra-distinguished from Judaism and other faiths, which are religions of Law, Salvation, according to the NT throughout (explicitly in the writings of St. Paul, more or less implicitly elsewhere), is of God, and not of man; not our own doings, but willingness to accept what He has done for us, and what He is ready to do in us, is the condition of initial inclusion within the Kingdom of Divine love and life. This is the watershed which determines the direction and flow of all subsequent doctrinal developments in Christian theology; it is what settles the question whether our thoughts and practice are distinctively Christian or not. There are, however, two alternative perils to be carefully avoided-antinomianism, on the one hand, which assumes our continued acceptance with God irrespective of our moral conduct afterwards; and the doctrine of salvation by works, on the other, which makes moral conduct the condition of acceptance, thus surreptitiously introducing the legal view of religion once more. This Either-Or is, however, a false antithesis, from which we are saved by the recognition of the mystical union of the believer with God in Christ. By that act of faith, in virtue of which the sinner accepts Christ and appropriates all that He is and has done, he passes from a state of condemnation into a state of grace (Rom 8:1), and is henceforth in Christ-organically united to Him as the member is to the body (1Co 12:12 f), as the branch is to the vine (Joh 15:1-4). This justifying faith is, however, not an isolated act; it is an act that brings us into a permanent relation with the source of spiritual life. Now, good works in the Christian sense are a necessary proof and outcome of this relation, and as such are well-pleasing or acceptable to God, because (a) they are a manifestation of the spirit of Christ in us (Gal 2:20; cf. Gal 2:21); and (b) a demonstration of the continuance of the believer in Christ (Joh 15:8; cf. Mat 5:16, Php 1:10 f.). The relation of the believer to Christ, in other words, while it is religious in its root, is ethical in its fruit, and the quality and abundance of the latter naturally show the quality and potency of the faith-fife of which it is the expression and outcome. Thus our works do not constitute our claim for acceptance with God after entering the Kingdom of Grace any more than before; but they determine our place within the Kingdom. There is an aristocracy of the spiritual as well as of the natural life; the saved are one in the fact of salvation, but not in the magnitude of their attainments or the quality of their influence; and they are more or less acceptable to God according to the entireness of their consecration and the value of their service. There is thus an adequate motive presented to us for perpetual striving after perfection, and St. Pauls spiritual attitude-not as though I had already attained, but I follow after (Php 3:12)-is the normal attitude of every true believer (cf. Col 1:10-12 : 1Th 4:1-3, 1Jn 3:22). It was given only to One to be altogether well-pleasing to God; but it is the unfading ideal, and the constant endeavour of His true disciples to follow in His steps, and in all things to become more and more like Him, as well as well-pleasing to Him.
See, further, articles Justification, etc., and Literature there specified.
E. Griffith-Jones.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Acceptance
Acceptance, in canon law, the act by which one receives a thing with approbation or satisfaction. The collation of a benefice is not complete till it has been accepted by him on whom it has been conferred. Acceptance is the link between the benefice and the benefited. It is therefore necessary to accept the benefice, to have jus in re; till the acceptance, there is at most a jus ad rem. (See RIGHT.) Acceptance is needed for the validity of an election. If the person chosen be absent, a specified time may be given for acceptance, and a further time may be allowed to obtain the confirmation of the election to an office.
Acceptance is of the essence of a gift, which, in law, means a gratuitous transfer of property. Delivery of personal property with words of gift suffices; if delivery is not made, a deed or writing under seal should be executed and delivered. For the transfer of real property, a deed is generally necessary. In all cases acceptance is necessary to make the transfer binding in law. Acceptance of a law is not necessary to impose the obligation of submission. Even in a democracy, where the organized people may, or should, take part in the preparation and making of the laws, it may not refuse to accept and to obey the laws when made and promulgated. Otherwise the legislative authority would be a mockery, and all governmental power would vanish. We are not now posing the question whether an unjust law is binding; nor are we discussing how far either custom or desuetude may take away the binding force of a law; both may imply the assent of the lawmaking power. Acceptance by the faithful is not required for the binding force of ecclesiastical laws. The Apostles received from Christ the power of binding and loosing, and the hierarchy (i.e. the Pope, bishops and other prelates) have inherited this power, as has always been recognized in the Church. In the Catholic Church the lawmaking power established by Christ will ever have the authority to make laws previous to, and independent of, the acceptance of the faithful. If bishops or other prelates should enact a law contrary to the canons, there is the remedy or an appeal to the highest authority of the Church for its annulment. Wyclif attacked this authority when he proclaimed, in the fifteenth thesis condemned by the Council of Constance and Martin V, that “no one was a temporal prince, or prelate, or bishop, who was in mortal sin.” Huss (ibid., Prop. 30) declared that “ecclesiastical obedience was an invention of the priests of the Church, and outside the authority of Scripture.” Luther, in the proposition condemned (1521) by the University of Paris, taught that neither pope nor bishop nor any one among men has the right to impose on a Christian a single syllable without his full acceptance; anything otherwise done is in the spirit of tyranny. The Jansenists favoured the theory that the authority of the bishops and Pope was representative of the will of the whole body of the Church; hence Clement XI, in 1713, condemned the 90th proposition of Quesnel: “The Church has the power to excommunicate, to be used by the chief pastor, with the (at least presumed) consent of the whole body.” Against a natural or divine law, no custom or desuetude can avail for the cessation of obligation. From a merely ecclesiastical law either custom or desuetude may withdraw the obligation, wherever they may properly imply the assent of the lawmaking power in the Church. (See LAW, CUSTOM.)
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D’AVINO, Enc. dell’ Ecclesiastico (Turin, 1878); ANDRE-WAGNER, Dict. de droit can. (3d ed., Paris, 1901); DIDIOT in Dict. de theol. cath. (Paris, 1903), s.v.
R.L. BURTSELL
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume ICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Acceptance
1. a term which imports the admission of man into the favor of God. As things are best understood by contrast with their opposites, so acceptance is to be understood from its opposite, rejection, the sense of which will be found by reference to Jer 6:30; Jer 7:29. To understand aright the Scriptural idea of acceptance with God, we must keep in mind the fact that sin is highly displeasing to God, and is attended by the hiding of his face or the withholding of his favor. Sin causes God to refuse to hold friendly intercourse with man; but the mediation of the Son of God restores this intercourse. Sinners are said to be accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:6); that is, in Christ. They are no longer held in a state of rejection, but are received with approbation and kindness. It is to be noticed that it is an idea of a positive kind which the word acceptance contains. As the rejection which sin occasioned was express, equally express and positive is the acceptance of which Christ is the author. One who had disgraced himself before his sovereign would be particularly refused any share in the favors of the court. When this breach was repaired, the excluded party would again be favorably received (Eden). SEE ACCEPT.
2. Acceptance (Eph 1:6); in theology, is nearly synonymous with justification. We mistake the terms of acceptance with God when we trust in, 1, the superiority of our virtues to our vices (Rom 3:20; Jam 2:10); 2, in a faith in Christ which does not produce good works (Jam 2:14); 3, in the atonement, without personal repentance from sin (Luk 13:5); 4, in the hope of future repentance, or conversion on a dying bed (Pro 4:1-27; Pro 24:1-34; Pro 25:1-28; Pro 26:1-28; Pro 27:1-27; Pro 28:1-28; Pro 29:1-27; Pro 30:1-33; Pro 31:1-31). SEE ADOPTION; SEE JUSTIFICATION.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Acceptance
Several words are taken to represent the doctrine of the Divine acceptance of man in Pro 21:3, we read, ‘To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.’ Here the word Bachar () signifies to choose or select, whether for work or for honour. this is the word used of the ‘chosen people,’ and answers to the word , ‘elect,’ in the LXX and the N.T in some passages the LXX has rendered it , It has been rendered ‘elect’ in Isa 42:1; Isa 45:4; Isa 65:9; Isa 65:22, in all which passages there is reference either to Israel or to the Messiah.
In Lev 10:19, ‘Should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?’ we might render, ‘Should it have been good or pleasing () in his sight?’ in Psa 20:3, ‘The Lord remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice;’ here, as we read in the margin, the word for accept () may signify either make fat or turn to ashes, the latter being the most probable in Ecc 12:10, ‘The preacher sought to find out acceptable words,’ the word (Chaphets) signifies pleasant or desirable.
In 1Sa 26:19, David says to Saul, ‘If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering.’ Here the word to smell (Ass. ruhhu) is used, so that the passage may be compared with others, suc has Gen 8:21, where God is described as smelling a sweet savour, that is to say, being pleased with the offering, and hence with the offerer.
Nasa (), which has been discussed above, is frequently used to represent acceptance, with the addition of the word ‘face’ or ‘person’ (). It occurs in Gen 19:21, where the angel says to Lot, ‘I have accepted thee concerning this thing ;’ in Gen 32:20, where Jacob says of Esau, ‘Perhaps he will accept of me;’ and in Job 42:8-9, when God says of Job, ‘Him will I accept.’ See also 1Sa 25:35; Job 13:8; Job 13:10; Job 32:21; Job 34:10; Psa 82:2; Pro 18:5; Mal 1:8.
A noun formed from the verb Nasa is used without the additional word ‘face’ or ‘person’ in Gen 4:7, ‘If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?’ Perhaps the word might be rendered excellency (as in the margin), or superiority, rather than acceptance. Our translators have rendered it dignity in Gen 49:3, excellency in Job 13:11, and highness in 31:23.
The most important word for acceptance is ratsah (), to be well pleased. It is used of God’s acceptance of Aar on s ministrations in behalf of Israel (Exo 28:38; Deu 33:11), and is applied to the Divine regard for the offerer who comes before God in the appointed way. Thus, we read in Lev 1:4, ‘He shall put his h and up on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him (), to make atonement for him.’ in the third verse of the same chapter, instead of rending with the A. V. ‘ of his own voluntary will,’ there is little doubt that we should read ‘ for his acceptance;’ and so in other passages. See R. V.
The following passages illustrate the usage of ratsah:–Lev 7:18; Lev 19:7, ‘If it (the peace offering) be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth it shall bear his iniquity’ (compare Lev 22:21; Lev 23:11). 2Sa 24:23, ‘ and Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee.’ Psa 19:14, ‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight.’ Psa 69:13, ‘ as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time,’ e.g. at a se as on agreeable to Thee (compare Isa 49:8). Psa 119:108. ‘Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth.’ See also Pro 10:32; Ecc 9:7; Isa 56:7; Isa 58:5; Isa 60:7; Isa 61:2; Jer 6:20; Jer 14:10; Jer 14:12; Eze 20:40-41; Eze 43:27; Hos 8:13; Amo 5:22; Mat 1:10; Mat 1:13.
It is evident that by the Divine acceptance is to be understood the pleasure with which God welcomes into personal contact with Himself those who approach Him in his own appointed way, and in a spirit cognate to his own. An evildoer, as such, is not acceptable to God, even though he offer sacrifices. He must be sheltered by atonement, and must thus have the germ at least of a Divine life working in him if he would be regarded by God with pleasure.
The LXX frequently adopts , to be well pleased, for ratsah, especially in the Psalms. We also find and , to accept, in several passages. The adjectival form is usually , and the substantive is and .
In the utterance, ‘Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am swell pleased,’ which is repeated in six passages in the N.T in slightly different forms, there may be an implied reference to Isa 42:1 (‘Mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth’), where the word ratsah is found. If so, we might gather that the purport of the announcement was that Christ Jesus was accepted by God as the minister of the true sanctuary and as the offering for the sins of the world. It is more probable, however, that the Greek word here used answers rather to the Hebrew chaphets, and signifies that Christ is one in whom God takes pleasure.
The verb in the N.T. generally means either to expect or to receive. It is used in the passage, ‘This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them’ (Luk 15:2) in Php 4:18, Christian service is spoken of as ‘an acceptable sacrifice’ ( ). That which is acceptable in God’s sight is spoken of as in Mat 11:26, and Luk 10:21, ‘So it seemed good in thy sight;’ compare also Eph 1:9, and Php 2:13 in Eph 1:5, the two Greek renderings of ratson are combined in one phrase– ‘according to the good pleasure of his will.’ in the angels’ song (Luk 2:14), if we accept the reading ‘good will towards men,’ we must understand God’s willingness to accept men; if we read ‘towards men of good will,’ we ought to understand his good will; so that the meaning is practically the same; and, after all, we are only dealing with a Greek rendering of what must have been a Hebrew song.
With regard to the word , we have, in Heb 10:7, a quotation from the Psalms which rules the meaning of the word in other passages, ‘Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.’ Here answers to ratson, that which is acceptable in thy sight. ‘by the which will,’ continues the writer, ‘we are sanctified.’ Forasmuc has sacrifices of bulls and goats did not prove acceptable to God, the Divine son came to do what would be acceptable. He substituted the offering of Himself for the types, and this offering being accepted by God, believers in Him were sanctified there by (see Mat 26:39) in Heb 10:36, the responsibility of doing the will of God is laid on the believer; and so in Heb 13:21, where we learn that what we do is wrought in us by God, and is acceptable to Him through Jesus Christ. Compare Rom 12:1.
on reviewing the passages of the N.T in which the idea of acceptance is presented, they will be seen to confirm the view taken of the Hebrew word, as signifying the favourable and pleasurable reception given to man by God. God’s acceptance of the man who believes in his son is not to be regarded as a mere fictitious theory; it is a solid fact, a spiritual reality. Just as men here below have pleasure in one another under certain circumstances, so the unseen Author of Existence takes pleasure in those who fear Him, draws near to them when they draw near to Him, and in the person of Christ ‘receiveth sinners and eateth with them.’ It is indeed a mystery; but it is gloriously true, and will be more fully realised hereafter, when the Tabernacle of God shall be with men.
Fuente: Synonyms of the Old Testament
Acceptance
ACCEPTANCE.The state or relation of being in favour, especially with God. It is a common OT conception that has been carried over into the NT. In the former it has both a ceremonial significance, involving the presence of an approved offering or a state of ceremonial purity, and also an ethical significance, involving divinely approved conduct. The Hebrew expression to lift up accept the face or person of one, becomes in NT , to accept the person presence, which, however, with its derivatives, and , always implies the acceptance of the outward presence, without regard to the inward or moral qualities; hence, in a bad sense, partiality, as in Luk 20:21 (cf. Mat 22:16 and Mar 12:14). In a good sense the idea is expressed by , well-pleasing (Mat 3:17 This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; cf. Mat 17:5); cf. also , acceptable (Luk 4:24, Php 4:18), used with , acceptable year (Luk 4:19) and with , acceptable time (2Co 6:2), of a period or time when Gods favour is specially manifest. In numerous passages in the Gospels and Epistles acceptance with God comes only through and in Jesus Christ (Joh 14:6, Eph 1:6 accepted in the Beloved, Rom 14:18, Heb 13:21). So also the disciples conduct and service are to be such as will find acceptance with Christ (Eph 5:10, 2Co 5:9; cf. Heb 12:28). See, further, art. Access.
As applied to our Lord Himself, the idea of His acceptance both with God and man is of frequent occurrence in the Gospels. Of Jesus as a growing boy this twofold acceptance on earth and in heaven is expressly affirmed (Luk 2:52). His perfect acceptance with the Father is testified to, not only by a voice from heaven both at the beginning of His ministry (Mat 3:17 ||) and towards its close (Mat 17:6 ||), but by the constant affirmations of His own self-consciousness (Mat 11:27 ||, Mar 12:6 ||, Joh 5:20; Joh 8:29; Joh 10:17; Joh 15:9 etc.). The favour with which He was regarded by the people when He first came declaring the acceptable year of the Lord, is proved not only by such notices as, The common people heard him gladly (Mar 12:37), but by the crowds which followed Him constantly all through the period of public favour. So far as acceptance with men is concerned, there is, of course, another side to the picture. No prophet, He said, is acceptable in his own country (Luk 4:24). His own brethren did not believe on Him (Joh 7:3-5), His own townsmen thrust Him out of their city (Luk 4:28-29), His own people were guilty at last of that great act of rejection which found utterance in the shouts, Not this man, but Barabbas (Joh 18:40), and Crucify him, crucify him (Luk 23:21), and was visibly set forth to all coming time when He was nailed to a cross in full sight of Jerusalem (see Rejection). He who had been accepted for a time was now a root out of a dry ground, the despised and rejected of men (Isa 53:2-3). And yet it was from this same root of rejection and sorrow that the acceptance of Christ was to grow into universal forms. Being lifted up from the earth, He drew all men unto Him (Joh 12:32). And though as the well-beloved Son He had never for a moment lost favour in His Fathers sight, it was through enduring the cross and despising the shame that He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:2; cf. Php 2:8-11).
E. B. Pollard.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Acceptance
ACCEPTANCE denotes the being in favour with any one. In EV [Note: English Version.] the noun is found only in Isa 60:7, but accept and acceptable are used frequently both in OT and NT to express the acceptance of one man with another (Gen 32:20, Luk 4:24), but above all the acceptance of man with God. In OT the conditions of acceptance with God are sometimes ceremonial (Exo 28:38, Psa 20:3). But of themselves these are insufficient (Gen 4:5; Gen 4:7, Amo 5:22, Jer 6:20; Jer 14:10; Jer 14:12), and only moral uprightness (Pro 21:3, Job 42:8) and the sacrifices of a sincere heart (Psa 19:14; Psa 119:108; cf. Psa 40:6 ff., Psa 51:15 ff.) are recognized as truly acceptable with God. In NT the grounds of the Divine acceptance are never ceremonial, but always spiritual (Rom 12:1, Php 4:18, 1Pe 2:5). Jesus Christ is the type of perfect acceptance (Mar 1:11 ||, Heb 10:5 ff.). In Him as the Beloved, and through Him as the Mediator, men secure their religious standing and fundamental acceptance with God (Eph 1:6). In serving Him (Rom 14:18), and following His example (1Pe 2:20-21), they become morally acceptable in the Fathers sight.
J. C. Lambert.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Acceptance
ak-septans: A rendering of the Hebrew , recon, delight, found only in Isa 60:7. It pictures God’s delight in His redeemed people in the Messianic era, when their gifts, in joyful and profuse abundance, shall come up with acceptance on mine altar. With accepted and other kindred words it implies redeeming grace as the basis of Divine favor. It is the living, holy sacrifice that is acceptable to God (Rom 12:1; compare Tit 3:4-6).
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Acceptance
This means being ‘brought into favour.’ As God is holy, and man is a sinner, he can only be brought into acceptance by means of a Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. To effect this the Lord had to die, to vindicate the justice of God, and atone for the sins of those who believe. In Him risen and glorified the believer is brought into favour according to the value before God of Christ’s person and work, wherefore the apostle says, “to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. ” Eph 1:6. It is then a fact that the Christian is accepted or brought into favour in the Lord Jesus Christ: cf. Rom 5:2. How far his spirit and conduct is acceptable or well-pleasing to God is entirely a different question. 2Co 5:9 should read “We labour that whether present or absent we may be acceptable to him.” Being accepted we should be zealous that in all things our ways may be well-pleasing to God.