Tag Archives: Sin

May 24, 2015 · 10:30

Marring the Image

This photo appeared on my Facebook News Feed. I have no idea who is pictured in this photo.

This photo appeared on my Facebook News Feed. I have no idea who is pictured in this photo.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)

The image above appeared on my Facebook news feed recently. Naturally, there were many negative comments made about the young man, who I seriously doubt any of the commentators knew personally. What surprised me was what one young (I presume) lady said in his defense. In part she said, “The guy aint [sic] a pedophile, a murderer or a rapist, he has body modifications, so get over it. It is his body, his decision and he is not harming anyone.” How she knows that I haven’t an inkling. My guess is that she knows him as well as the other commentators, but what struck me was her assertion that “it is his body, his decision and he is not harming anyone.” All three points of her assertion are debatable, so let’s begin with that.

“It is his body.” Is it really? The best place to start is at the beginning. On the sixth day of creation, the Triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26).  The Hebrew word translated “image” is tselem and it means an illusion, or resemblance – a representative figure. In other words, we were created to “look” like Him. God has a human body; His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. We were also created in His “likeness.” The Hebrew word translated “likeness” is demûth meaning resemblance or similitude. The commentator Albert Barnes notes that this implies a “‘likeness,’ in any quality.” Adam Clarke said:

The image and likeness must necessarily be intellectual; his mind, his soul, must have been formed after the nature and perfections of his God. The human mind is still endowed with most extraordinary capacities; it was more so when issuing out of the hands of its Creator. God was now producing a spirit, and a spirit, too, formed after the perfections of his own nature. God is the fountain whence this spirit issued, hence the stream must resemble the spring which produced it. God is holy, just, wise, good, and perfect; so must the soul be that sprang from him: there could be in it nothing impure, unjust, ignorant, evil, low, base, mean, or vile. It was created after the image of God … Hence man was wise in his mind, holy in his heart, and righteous in his actions.

So, as I look upon the young man in the picture, I see the image of God albeit marred. We take offense when we see some work of art vandalized. Our sensitivities are bruised when we see graffiti on public structures or buildings. Why? Because deep inside we know that the vandals do not have to right to disfigure the work of another. It is just wrong! In like manner, our bodies are God’s work of art! He created each one individually to bear His resemblance. The psalmist beautifully phrased it this way:

– I will praise thee [God]; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

– My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

– Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:14-16)

Can we really say that our body is our own to do with as we wish – that it’s our decision? The Bible teaches otherwise. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Some may object, “Paul is addressing Christians.” Yes, and I see many “Christians” following the pattern set by pop culture. Again, I do not know anything about the young man in the picture. For all I know, he may claim to be a Christian. One thing is sure, God knows. The point, whether he is or isn’t a Christian, is that he has taken it upon himself to vandalize the image of God that he bears; he has no “right” to do that. Having been created in the image of God, he has free will to do as he wishes, and he has reasoning abilities to distinguish and decide how to exercise his will. But just as any vandal, he does not have the right to disfigure, damage, or destroy another’s property. God’s creation – all of it – is His property.

Who does it harm? Well, think of the possibilities. First of all, this person obviously has a low regard of his own worth. I am no psychiatrist or psychologist, but it seems obvious to me that he is desperately trying to draw attention to himself. He feels invisible otherwise. No one really sees him, so this is one way to shout, “Here I am! See me?” Someone who has a low regard for his own life will certainly not have a high regard for someone else’s life. The young lady who defended him saying that he is not “a pedophile, a murderer or a rapist,” had nothing on which to base that assessment. A pedophile has no regard for the value of a young child’s life. A murderer has no regard for the life of another human being. A rapist does not value the great worth of a woman. None of these sociopaths value the lives of their victims, and upon close examination, none of them value their own lives.

Someone who is willing to distort and disfigure their own appearance cannot be trusted. Some of the commentators on the Facebook post noted that this young man would have a lot of trouble getting a job. Is it any wonder? Unless one is running a tattoo parlor or a pot house, how many employers would be willing to put a face like that on their business? How many (sober) moms out would entrust a young child to the care of someone that looks like this? Yes, I hear the outcries of the self-righteous saying, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1 taken out of context). The “judging” in this case refers to God’s judgement, which is reserved solely to Him. But God, as part of His image, has given everyone the ability to “judge rightly,” i.e., discern. Further down in that same passage Jesus says, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6). Obviously, one has to exercise a certain amount of “judgement” to discern what is “holy” and who are the “dogs” and what are “pearls” and who are the “swine.” Likewise we, even in our fallen state, have the ability to make certain judgment calls. In teaching about “false prophets” Jesus said, “[By] their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). What is “fruit” but what a tree puts forth that can be seen and tasted. In the winter, when the trees have all lost their leaves, I can’t tell one tree from another; but when the summer comes, and I see the fruit that a tree is bearing, I know what kind of tree it is. Even if I were blind, I would still be able to smell and taste the fruit. People are the same; if they “look” messed up, they probably are, and they have the potential of harming others.

Now, I do not want to cast a broad net. I realize that people make mistakes that they later regret and their lives change, but the outward scars remain. I also realize that there are some people who look really good on the outside, but inwardly they are rotten to the core. A recent case in point were the would-be ISIS terrorists shot down in Garland, Texas by police before they were able to carry out their act of terror. The two men came from Phoenix, Arizona where neighbors in their apartment complex testified that these were two really nice guys. They were friendly toward their neighbors, helpful, hard workers, etc. – certainly not the kind that would attempt to commit such an atrocity. It goes to show that you cannot always judge by what you see; but most of the time you can.

Leaving the judgment of the heart to God, let’s focus back on just the image in the picture. Here is the image of God, distorted, disfigured, damaged and permanently scarred. What would possess someone do that to themselves? May I suggest Satan? Consider that Satan was created as a high-ranking angel, an archangel to be exact. In ranking, he was next to God (See “Why Satan?”). He, along with all the other angels, was created before God created man on Day Six of creation. He observed God’s care in the creation of man. He noted that God created man in His own image — not so the angels including Satan (Lucifer was his name). Lucifer watched as God gave to man dominion over all of His creation (Genesis 1:26-29), and now the angels were to serve man: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). Oh! How this must have galled Lucifer! He has hated man ever since, and his goal from the beginning has been to mar the image of God – to destroy that which God most cherishes. When I look on the face of this young man, I see a young man so deceived by Satan that he succumbed to Satan’s bidding to mar the image of God that he carries. This image saddens me deeply. What saddens me more is when I see “Christians” ignorantly fall for the same deception – piercings, tattoos, immodest dress, vulgar language, etc. What kind of “fruit” do they exhibit? Appearances do matter. No one can judge the heart except God, but we are to bear His image and His likeness, and we cannot do that when we follow that pattern of the world that Satan displays as “pop culture.” Whose image shall we bear? Shall we persist on marring the image of God, or shall we remember that we “have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:10).

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May 17, 2015 · 10:30

The Unifying Theme

holy-bible

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  (Romans 3:23)

Critics of the Bible abound even among so-called mainline “Christian” denominations, but when examined closely, the criticisms always fail to stand up to the truth of God’s Word. As the Apostle Paul said, “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). So it is.

Perhaps the greatest testament to the veracity of the Bible is the unifying theme that it carries throughout its pages. There exists no other so-called “holy” writing that compares with the Bible in clarity and unity of thought, even though it was penned by over 40 different authors (most of which did not know one another so that they could collaborate) over a period of about 1500 to 2000 years. Compare that to the Qur’an which was written by one man over a period of about 22 years (610-632 AD) and compiled over a period of only three years (653-656 AD). Or compare the Book of Mormon written by John Smith. It was produced in only two years between 1827 and 1829. Neither of the “holy” books compares to the Bible in unity of thought even though they were composed by one man each. Yet the Bible, with all of its various human writers over a very long period of time maintains a consistent theme. What is that theme?

The God of the Bible is unique among all other gods. All the gods devised by man demand that man lay down his life for them. The God of the Bible laid down His life for man. The gods devised by man demand that man earn their favor. The God of the Bible completed all the work of redemption, offers it as a free gift, and “asks” man to accept His gift. Let us examine how that plays out.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). From the very start, we are introduced to God as Creator. The verses that follow detail His work of creation and we are awestruck at His omniscience and omnipotence. So great is He that one must immediately decide whether to believe or reject the account of His creation, and therein lie the trappings of disbelief. As we continue in our reading we discover that God’s final and most cherished creation is man. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness … So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:26, 27). Man bears the image of God. It is no wonder that God’s first command for human government was “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:6). The creation of man was the cherry on top of God’s cake, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). “Very good” in God’s economy is flawless.

So far, so good, but then all that fell apart when man disobeyed God’s only command, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s only command (Genesis 3). They sinned. Some attempt to blunt the edge of the word “sin” by suggesting that it means to “miss the mark.” They arrive at this by quoting a passage from the book of Judges describing the accuracy of the Benjamites with a sling. “Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss” (Judges 20:16).   The Hebrew word translated “miss” is châṭâ’, which is often translated “sin.” It could be said that the Benjamites sling a stone without “sinning.” But sin is not so much like taking aim at a target, and missing the bull’s eye. Accurately hitting a target is a product of our own efforts. Sometimes we hit; sometimes we miss. Oh, well! “Sin” cannot be taken so lightly. Paul, quoting Psalm 14:1-3, tells us that, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:10-11). To suggest that sin is “missing the mark” implies that the sinner is trying to “hit the mark,” Scripture suggests otherwise – there is none that seek to “hit the mark,” at least not the mark that God has set. No, sin is more egregious than, “Oops! I missed!”

Sin is outright rebellion against God. More than that, it is man’s attempt to usurp God’s rightful place. Note Satan’s threefold assault on Eve. First, he cast doubt on the Word of God: “Yea, hath God said …?” (Genesis 3:1). Second, he denies the truth of God’s Word: “Ye shall not surely die” (3:4). Finally, he accuses God of keeping something better from them: “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (3:5, emphasis mine). And that, boys and girls, is the basis for all sin. Man desires to be his own god and determine good and evil for himself. This truth repeats itself over and over in a variety of different scenarios throughout Scripture. But look what God does.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God gave opportunity for redemption. Notice Who looks for who. “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9). Does anyone really think that the omniscient and omnipresent God did not know where they were hiding? God gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to confess their sin and ask forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  But rather than confess, they started making excuses and refusing to take responsibility for their own actions – much like people do today. In His patience, God continued to probe, “And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” (Genesis 3:11).  Again, rather than accept responsibility and confess their sin, the couple made excuses. You can read the results for yourself. I want to highlight what God did.

The couple did not die instantly, but their sin set in motion the physical dying process. It has been said that from the moment of our birth, we all start dying. That is so true, but more than that, their sin disconnected them from their source of eternal life. “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33:4). The penalty of their sin was death, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Someone or something had to die to pay the penalty for their sin, but it could not be the man or the woman, for they were now corrupt, and their death could not satisfy Holy God. So God Himself intervened. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). In order to make “coats of skins,” innocent, perfect animals, probably sheep, were slaughtered to make coverings (atonement) for the naked pair. I believe that the preincarnate Christ performed the sacrifice before them to set the pattern that they would follow from then on. On an altar of stone the Lamb of God, shed innocent blood to atone for the sin of man.

That set the pattern for millions of similar blood sacrifices to follow. In the succeeding chapter we find righteous Abel continuing the practice handed down from God Himself (Genesis 4:4). Older brother Cain chose to sacrifice in a way not prescribed by God; he chose to do things his own way and bring the fruits of his own labor (Genesis 4:3). His offering may seem more “humane” in that no blood was shed, but it was what God demanded. “And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:4-5). Like many people today, Cain thought his own efforts done in his own way should be acceptable to God, but God does not see it that way. Like people today, Cain thought that all ways lead to God, but for God, there is only one way and that is through the blood. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).

From the beginning, it has always been the shedding of innocent blood that made atonement (a covering) for sin. The sacrificial system was codified in the Mosaic Law and practiced throughout Old Testament history.  But, “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).  Something more permanent needed to be put in place. “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). “Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

In short, the unifying theme of the Bible is that Holy God created man in His image. Man sinned against God and earned the penalty of sin which is death, both physical and spiritual. God intervened on man’s behalf initially by substituting innocent animal blood to atone for sin, but ultimately He took on human form and as a sinless (innocent) man, shed His own blood on the cross for our sin. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). There is no other “holy” book that makes such a claim. There is no other God that does for His creation, what the God of the Bible did for us.

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May 3, 2015 · 10:30

Adam & Steve or Bev & Eve?

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, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

This week the United States Supreme Court met to hear arguments for and against constitutional protection or sanction of same-sex “marriage” nationwide. Regarding traditional marriage – between one man and one woman – Justice Anthony M. Kennedy made this poignant statement: “This definition has been with us for millennia, and it’s very difficult for the court to say, ‘Oh, well, we know better.’”[1] Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. zeroed in on the agenda driving the gay rights same-sex marriage movement. He rightly pointed out, “You’re not seeking to join the institution [of marriage] – you’re seeking to change what the institution is. “The fundamental core of the institution is the opposite-sex relationship, and you want to introduce into it a same-sex relationship.”[2] Justice Antonin Scalia points out the religious issues that might arise from a favorable ruling from the court. “I’m concerned about the wisdom of this court imposing through the Constitution a requirement of action which is unpalatable to many of our citizens for religious reasons. They are not likely to change their view about what marriage consists of. And were the states to adopt it by law, they could make exceptions to what is required for same-sex marriage, who has to honor it and so forth.”[3]

Regardless of what side of the issue you favor, with all due respect, your opinion on this matter and that of the Supreme Court is irrelevant. While the court’s ruling on this will have far-reaching implications for the course of our nation, the rule for human unions was issued at the beginning of creation from the One whose law supersedes all human laws and institutions. “And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:22-24, emphasis mine). In Scripture, every reference to marriage is always and only presented as between a man and a woman. As Justice Kennedy pointed out, the definition of marriage as a male-female union “has been with us for millennia” – six millennia to be exact. God established marriage between a man and a woman, primarily for procreation, and secondly as the nucleus of social order. The most fundamental form of government is the family unit, and when that nucleus is destroyed, the social order breaks down.

The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, supports the nuclear family unit with one man and one woman as husband and wife. Any time there is a deviation from God’s plan presented in the Bible, there is always trouble associated with it. Take, for example, the relationship between Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, (Genesis 16 and 21). This relationship produced two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, whose descendants harbor aggression toward one another to this very day. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, after he was saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, had incestuous relations with his two daughters that produced the pagan nations of Moab (Moabites) and Ammon (Ammonites) (Genesis 19). Then there was Jacob with his two wives and two concubines that resulted in 12 half brothers from a single father, but four different mothers. That became the nation of Israel, and there was constant trouble among the brothers. The father of Samuel had two wives and there was contention in that home (1 Samuel 1). Then there was David with all of his wives and the trouble that existed in that family. Not to be outdone, David’s son Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3), and following his death the kingdom was divided. The Bible is clear. Any marriage other than between one man and one woman is doomed for disaster. Jesus supported marriage between one man and one woman. “And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4-6, emphasis mine). The New Testament outlines the proper function of the family unit (Ephesians 5:20-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Peter 3:1-7). There is never given such instruction for homosexual couples. According to God’s Word, “marriage” always and only properly exists between one man and one woman.

Now, this is my personal blog, and I am not beholding to or obligated to anyone for political correctness. I really do not care whether you favor “gay marriage” or whether you oppose it. My concern is for God’s opinion on the matter. Some may object by charging that this is just “my” interpretation of Scripture, and that I have simply misread the text. I will gladly take my lumps if I can be proven wrong (from Scripture), but there is no “interpretation” needed to see the obvious truth of the Bible. Take the following passages for example (and please feel free to read the passage in context, i.e., read the verses that precede and those that follow):

Thou shalt not lie [for intercourse] with mankind [Hebrew: zâkâr, i.e., a male], as with womankind [Hebrew: ‘ishshâh, i.e., a woman]: it is abomination [Hebrew: tô‛êbah i.e., something disgusting and abhorant] … For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations [including incest and bestiality (in context)], even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. (Leviticus 18:22, 29)

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness [Greek: akatharsia, i.e., impurity] through the lusts [Greek: epithumia, i.e., longing, desire] of their own hearts, to dishonor [Greek: atimazō, i.e., to render infamous, contemn or maltreat] their own bodies between themselves … For this cause God gave them up unto vile [Greek: atimia, i.e., indignity or disgrace] affections [Greek: pathos, i.e., passion, inordinate affection, lust]: for even their women did change the natural [Greek: phusikos, i.e., physical, instinctive] use [Greek: chrēsis, i.e., sexual intercourse] into that which is against nature [Greek: phusis, i.e., growth (by germination or expansion), natural production]: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned [Greek: ekkaiō, i.e., to inflame deeply] in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly [Greek: aschēmosunē, i.e., and indecency], and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet [Greek: dei, i.e., necessary] (Romans 1:24, 26-27).

Know ye not that the unrighteous [Greek: adikos, i.e., unjust, wicked, treacherous] shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators [Greek: pornos, i.e., a male prostitute, a debauchee], nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [Greek: malakos, i.e., soft, figuratively a catamite (a boy in a sexual relationship with a man)], nor abusers of themselves with mankind [Greek: arsenokoitēs, i.e., a sodomite]. (1 Corinthians 6:9).

The above passages are linked to Biblegateway.com in case the reader does not have a Bible handy. The text stands on its own merits, but I felt that translation of some of the words into their original languages was necessary to demonstrate how strongly God really feels about this issue. Homosexuality is a sin. It is abhorrent to God primarily because it goes against His “very good” design for human sexuality, procreation, and the social order of family. Homosexuality is unnatural. Even the gay activists that are fighting for same-sex marriage admit that fact. Two men or two women cannot produce children together. Procreation requires a man and a woman, and as previously noted, “marriage” from a biblical perspective can only be between a man and a woman.

I am firmly against same-sex “marriage.” That does not make me a homophobe. I do not have a phobia, i.e., a “fear,” of homosexuals, and I find the accusation insulting. I cannot speak for all Christians, but I am sure many would agree. I stand against homosexuality because God is against homosexuality. It is just that simple. I really do not care if gays want to practice their perversion; that is between them and God. However, it is the responsibility of every Christian to identify it for what it is – sin – and it is wrong for Christians to roll over and let the gay community try to redefine marriage. Marriage is, and always has been between one man and one woman.

Homosexuality is not the only sin that God hates, and it is not the “unpardonable” sin. Our starting Bible passage included a long list of other sins, not just that of homosexuality. Jesus said that all sin can forgiven except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31). Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit simply means to reject the Holy Spirit’s call upon one’s heart. The Holy Spirit’s job description is to “convince” the individual of the truth of God’s Word, and “convict” him of his sin and his need to heed the message of God’s Word (John 16:7-11). To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, then, is basically to call Him a liar. Homosexuality, like every other sin, can be forgiven, but it requires repentance, i.e., to agree with God, the Holy Spirit, that it is sin and, with God’s help, be willing to turn away from that lifestyle. God will forgive that sin as He will every sin, but the offender must first recognize it as sin.

This issue of gay “marriage” will ruin our nation. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). Too many very loud voices clamor to make this perversion the law of the land claiming “natural” rights, equality, etc., but they are wrong, and God promises that the consequence of such folly is destruction. Note what God said in the Leviticus passage quoted earlier:

Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things [all the illicit sex acts listed]: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants … (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations [all the illicit sex acts listed], even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. (Leviticus 18:24-25, 27-29, emphasis mine)

God often receives a bad rap because He instructed the Israelites to kill every living thing in the land He was giving them. The reason for this was because of the perversion of the people inhabiting the land. These people were practicing homosexuals. They practiced bestiality.  They had male and female temple prostitutes. They were incestuous. They offered their babies up as burnt sacrifices to their pagan gods. Furthermore, God had given them opportunity to repent through the witness of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob plus over 400 years that the children of Israel were in Egyptian captivity, but they didn’t. These were vile people and God judged them to death at the hand of the Israelites. How much clearer a picture does one need to recognize the intensity of God’s abomination for this sin! Note His warning to the Israelites should they fall into the same practice. That warning speaks to our nation as well.

Gay marriage is not “marriage.” Homosexual unions are wrong, not because of public opinion, but because God, who designed us male and female for procreation and companionship, says it’s wrong, and because it goes against His purpose. The opinion or ruling of the United States Supreme Court holds no sway over the Creator. “For I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). The final ruling by the Supreme Court will be sometime in June 2015. If they rule contrary to God’s law, our nation is doomed, and we will see a rise in the persecution of Christians who hold fast to God’s law. There is still time to pray.

 Notes:

[1] From The Washington Post, “Supreme Court hears arguments in historic gay-marriage case” http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-will-hear-historic-arguments-in-gay-marriage-cases/2015/04/27/083d9302-ed24-11e4-8666-a1d756d0218e_story.html, accessed April 29, 2015.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Jeffrey Rosen, YahooNews, “The Supreme Court gay marriage arguments: What the justices revealed — quote by quote” https://www.yahoo.com/politics/the-supreme-court-gay-marriage-arguments-what-the-117695904751.html, accessed April 29, 2015.

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April 19, 2015 · 10:30

Too Rich for Heaven

camel-needle

And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.  (Luke 18:23)

Let’s face it. With the possible exception of the homeless, many of whom are in that condition by choice, poverty – the third-world kind of poverty where people live on one bowl of rice a day, have only one change of clothes, no shoes and live in cardboard houses – in the United States does not exist. I have visited in homes of the “poor” here in America and found giant-screen TVs in their living rooms with play stations for their kids. They might not have the best food – usually as a result poor choices – but they are a long way from starvation. They may be “low income,” but they are not poor in comparison to third-world nations. They own several changes of clothes and shoes, and many of their vehicles sport shiny custom “rims.”

Affluence often erects an insurmountable obstacle to the Gospel here in America. Many people here in the U.S. are self-sufficient enough that they do not perceive their need for God. They get along fine without Him, so why should they give up their lifestyle to follow Christ who asks them to change their way of living?

Our verse above is taken from an account recorded in the three synoptic Gospels: Matthew 19:16-26, Mark 10:17-27, and Luke 18:18-27. Matthew points out that the man was young (Matthew 19:20, 22). Luke notes that he is a “ruler” (Luke 18:18), perhaps indicating that he significantly, or even solely supported the local synagogue. Such support would place him in a position of high leadership in the synagogue and in the local community. Jairus whose daughter Jesus raised from the dead is such an example (Matthew 9:23-26; Mark 5:35-43; Luke 8:49-56). Mark omits his youth and position, but focuses on his, perhaps, feigned homage in kneeling before Christ.

However, all three Gospel writers point out that the man was rich. In that culture, wealth indicated God’s favor, and was a source of false pride by those so blessed. Jesus often berated the religious leaders for overt exhibition of opulence in their giving of alms and offerings at the temple to be “seen of men” (Matthew 6:5; 23:5). No doubt this “rich young ruler” approached Jesus in a similar hypocritical, arrogant and prideful manner “saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18) Jesus saw right through him. By “good,” he meant “good like I am good.” “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God” (v. 19). In Texanese, what Jesus said was, “Boy, you ain’t so good. Only God is good.” Jesus went on to ask him if he “knew” the commandments (v. 20). “And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up” (v. 21, emphasis mine). He lied. No one can keep all of the commandments perfectly! James says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).

Jesus then gets to the heart of the matter. So, you really are good! “Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me” (v. 22). The hidden sins kept the rich young ruler away from that which he sought – eternal life: the sin of pride, the sin of hypocrisy, the sin of selfishness, the sin of covetousness.  “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:22). He valued his stuff more than the riches of heaven.

In America, we suffer from the fatal disease of “affluenza.” “Fatal” because in many cases it resists the very source of eternal life. Affluenza blinds the victim from seeing “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Affluenza deafens the victim from hearing the Savior’s words, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

As Jesus watched the dejected young man walk away He said, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:24-25). Some suggest that a “needle’s eye” was a small opening in the bulwark of a city that would allow a camel to crawl through once the city gates were closed. I don’t think that is what Jesus meant here. If there were such openings in the in the city walls, a camel could enter even with difficulty, but so could attackers. No, I believe Jesus meant the eye of a “sewing” needle. That would indeed require a miracle for a camel to pass.

If your stuff matters more to you than following Jesus, then you are too rich for heaven.

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February 1, 2015 · 10:30

It’s Not That Bad

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  (Matthew 24:37-39)

Unless you have totally detached yourself from all society, isolated yourself in a cave, or numbed your brain with drugs, you know that the world is in moral decline. We have ejected God from the public square, spurned His law and called what is good evil and what is evil good (Isaiah 5:20). We accept that which is unnatural and hold it up as something to be praised and held in honor. We castigate those who hold firm to their passé morality, and stigmatize them as evil haters. We hail outlaws as heroes and call true heroes cowards. We slaughter our progeny and fearlessly defend the life and welfare of animals. We fight against polluting the planet and think nothing of the moral pollution of our minds. Boy! Are we screwed up!

We hear of wars and rumors of wars. Natural and man-made catastrophes are increasing all over the world, and for the most part, life, for the vast majority of people, goes on as usual. The words of Jesus recorded by Matthew above make me wonder. Just how bad were things at the time of Noah? Genesis records that “it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth … for it repenteth me that I have made them” (Genesis 6:6-7). Things must have been pretty bad for God to take such extreme measures. “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:11-12). Is that not what we see today? Mankind is corrupt and the earth is filled with violence. So, why does Christ delay His return? Surely, things are as bad today as they were in the days of Noah.

It seems that there have been periods in world history that were far worse than they are today, and Jesus did not return then either. When Jesus spoke these words, He was not referring to the moral condition of the world, but rather the suddenness of the destruction that fell upon them. Note that they were conducting life as usual, “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” There is nothing particularly sinful in that, but as they carried on life as usual, destruction came on them suddenly, “And [they] knew not until the flood came, and took them all away” (Matthew 24:39). But there may be more to it than they were just carrying on life as usual. The world was violent then and evil was so rampant that God said, “Enough!”

For Christians (and I always feel that I need to qualify that with the adjective “true”) the world does not have to get as bad as in the days of Noah. Paul would remind us, as he did the Christians in Thessalonica, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, emphasis mine). That “falling away” is the Greek word apostasia, which means a “defection from the truth.” We see that happening today, but God still has a remnant. I heard today that the number of “true” Christians, according to Barna, is down to about 7%, but that remnant is still strong. Paul says that the “son of perdition,” a.k.a. “Antichrist,” will not be revealed until “he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7, emphasis mine). That word “lets” (“letteth”) is actually two Greek words: katechō meaning “to hold down,” and arti, meaning “suspension.” That “He” is the Holy Spirit who indwells every child of God. When the Bride of Christ is “taken out of the way,” there will be nothing left to restrain evil.

It’s bad now, but it’s not that bad. Christ will call for His Bride at any moment. As in the days of Noah, life will be going on as usual. Then suddenly, millions of people – Christians – will disappear from all over the earth, and the trouble begins. It’s not that bad now, but it’s going to get bad. I hope you are ready!

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