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Whom Shall I Fear?

February 22, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

Jesus said, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). The doctrine of hell has never been popular. It is certainly not pleasant to consider souls suffering for eternity. Few preachers will press the seriousness of it in their sermons for fear of driving people away. Those few who do are categorized as “hellfire-and-brimstone preachers.” Yet, Jesus spoke on hell more than any other person in the Bible (Matthew 5:22, 29-30; 18:9; 23:15, 33; 25:41, 46; Mark 9:43-48; et. al.). The love the Lord Jesus has for lost people cannot be surpassed (John 15:13); in fact, love is why he warned about the reality of hell awaiting the disobedient. It is why he died for us (Romans 5:8). His love compelled Him to tell people how to be saved and avoid eternal damnation (Mark 10:21).

Our world is filled with people afraid of what man may do to them. It is no wonder. The cold-blooded massacring of the innocent is a common problem in our society. The Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17). When young lives are snuffed out before so many of their experiences, contributions, and aspirations can come to fruition, it is particularly galling to our consciences.
But Jesus tells us not to fear them which can only kill the body. Instead we are to fear Him (God) who can destroy both soul and body in hell. This life is not about getting everything we want here and now. It is not about having the best life now. Of course, God gives us good gifts here to enjoy (James 1:17). But life is not about enjoying as much as we can (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11). It is about fearing God and keeping His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13). The scales will always be uneven in this life. There will be wicked individuals who will kill righteous individuals, just as Cain murdered Abel (1 John 3:12). It is hard to make sense of their wickedness and cruelty. But we must remember that though our physical existence is temporary, our eternal souls belong to God (Ezekiel 18:4).

God is the father of spirits and should be revered (Hebrews 12:9). When people have no fear of God before their eyes (Romans 3:18), become lifted up with pride so that they put themselves in the place of God (Isaiah 14:14), and allow the god of this world to blind their minds to the light of God’s truth (2 Corinthians 4:4) there is no telling what kind of evil lengths they may go to. We want justice to be served when the wicked murder the innocent. The God who created us can bring our eternal souls to ruin in a place of everlasting punishment called hell. Our God is both good and severe (Romans 11:22). If justice calls out to us, how much more blaring must it be in the ears of Him who is perfect in justice (Psalm 89:14; cf. Genesis 4:10)? The absence of justice in this life is clear proof that future judgment is coming (2 Thessalonians 1:4-10). The fear of hell can lead people to reform their lives; John the Baptist, by inspiration, so preached (Matthew 3:7-12). Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:28 are to deter man from pursuing evil ways that lead to eternal ruin.

God wants man to repent (2 Peter 3:9) and to be saved by coming to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). He does not delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). However, God does not offer any consolation to those who remain lost. He will not compromise on His guarantee to punish the wicked. May we not compromise His teaching, but with love warn of the grim reality awaiting the lost so that they choose to avoid eternal damnation.

– Mark Day

Take the Sword

February 16, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

When the Israelites clamored for a king to fight their battles—rejecting God as their king—Saul was selected (1 Samuel 8:7, 19-20; 10:18-24; 12:12-13). After reigning on the throne for two years, Saul had an army of 3,000 men, 1,000 of whom were under the command of his son Jonathan (1 Samuel 13:1-2). The Philistines readied a daunting military force of 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and people as numerous as the sand on the seashore to meet the Israelites in battle (1 Samuel 13:5). Saul’s army was so frightened that they ran and hid themselves (1 Samuel 13:6). After Saul had sinned in attempting to present unauthorized offerings to the Lord, Samuel rebuked Saul and the situation grew even dimmer (1 Samuel 13:8-14); only 600 men were present with Saul (1 Samuel 13:16). Moreover, their lack of weaponry is described in 1 Samuel 13:19-22:

Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

Thus, only two swords, one for Saul and one for Jonathan, could be found among the entire Israelite army.

Israel was unarmed to meet the foe and frightened before an enemy that vastly outnumbered them. The Lord’s church is described in the New Testament as the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). Though our warfare is not carnal (2 Corinthians 10:4), the need for God’s people to be armed against Satan’s assaults could not be more pressing. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10-13:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

God’s word is sharp as a sword (Hebrews 4:12). We are to take, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Trials, temptations, skepticism, fraudulent religions and false doctrines surround you. But God is with you and He is greater than the world (1 John 4:4). God delivered Israel through Jonathan (1 Samuel 14); there is no telling how much God can do through one person armed with His word today. Do not be left unarmed to meet the foe. Spend enough time with God’s word that you make it a part of you. With the word of God you can “war a good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18), you can “fight the good fight of faith,” and “lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:12).

-Mark Day

A Prayer for Enemies

February 8, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

Jesus told us to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44). We are to bless them instead of cursing them (Romans 12:14). However, there are some passages in the Bible where God’s people call for the wicked to be punished. David, in some of the Psalms, appeals to God regarding His enemies. He prays, “destroy thou them, O God” (Psalm 5:10), and “break their teeth, O God, in their mouth” (Psalm 58:6). David even goes so far as to say, “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked” (Psalm 58:10). How do these reconcile with Jesus’ command in Matthew 5:44 to love our enemies and pray for them? Should we take these as just David venting his anger and as soon as it was released he would not truly desire his enemies to see such a grim end? Were these appropriate for only the Old Testament in keeping with the principle of divine justice that God would curse those who cursed the nation from Abraham (Genesis 12:3) as well those who disobey God who are among His people, as Moses describes in Deuteronomy 32?

No, there are New Testament verses that call for divine vengeance on the wicked in certain circumstances. Romans 13:1-4 argues that Christians should submit to governmental authorities because they function as God’s minister to execute wrath on evildoers. It is important to note that David’s “imprecatory” psalms (where he is calling for his enemies to be punished) are not intentions of personal vengeance, but rather an appeal to God to exact vengeance. One of the ways God does this is through judicial proceedings. The “eye for an eye” of the Old Testament is not a barbaric code for personal vengeance but rather an instruction to deter crime by prescribing the judges to levy punishment in proportion to the crime committed (Deuteronomy 19:16-21). Justice from the authorities rather than personal vengeance is what is called for.

The call for a curse on evildoers is also on the condition that they are impenitent. We are to desire that men come to repentance like God does (2 Peter 3:9). Peter pronounced a curse on Simon the sorcerer for his wicked request to buy the power to give the Holy Spirit, saying “thy money perish with thee” (Acts 8:19-20). But Peter also appealed to Simon the sorcerer to repent (Acts 8:22). Simon was receptive and asked for prayers (Acts 8:24). Did Peter still desire the sorcerer’s death after this penitent request? Certainly not. Those who follow the course of Simon’s temptation, but are so hard-hearted that they refuse to repent, promulgating a false gospel in order to use their followers, are not pleasing to God. Paul called for such people to be accursed (Galatians 1:6-9).

There are those extreme cases where after repeated attempts to get the wicked to turn from their ways, they show that they are dead set on assaulting God and His people. In such situations, it is proper to request divine justice. God’s justice is represented by those souls who had been slain for the word of God crying out, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:9-10). In a nation, as ours, where Christians are not having their blood shed for following God’s word it is easy for us to say that we should never call for God to punish the wicked. But to Christians who are experiencing extreme persecution by wicked men who have continually spurned all appeals to cease from their violence there is solace found in these passages that call for God to punish the wicked. In such extreme cases, as Paul did, we can ask the Lord to repay evildoers according to their works (2 Timothy 4:14).

-Mark Day

Give Heed to Reading

February 1, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

I was recently perusing a book in my library, “The Essence of Guy N. Woods” edited by Johnie Scaggs, Jr. Many may recognize brother Woods name from our Book Reading Challenge list. The book is a collection of articles written by brother Woods, one of which I submit for your reading. (By the way…we have this book in our church library.)

-Jerry Sturgill

“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13).

It is inconceivable that one who loves God will not also be greatly interested in His word and equally determined to learn as much of it as possible. One may indeed read the Bible and not heed its precepts, but it is incontrovertible that one who neither reads nor heeds its teaching can please Him who is its author. Every child of God should read regularly the sacred writings, since such effort, when pursued in the right spirit and prompted by proper motives, will immeasurably increase one’s spiritual stature, and secure the greater favor of God.

In recent years, booklets designed for daily devotions have proliferated, and they possibly serve some useful purpose in focusing attention on religious themes, but their thrust is generally away from the scriptures rather than toward them, since they consist, in large measure, of material matters involving the observations and experiences of those who write them, rather than detailed studies of the text itself. It is far better to quench spiritual thirst at the source of all wisdom, assured that the divine fountain, from which one drinks, is pure and unpolluted. Every child of God ought daily to read the divine writings diligently, prayerfully, and with open mind and pen in hand to jot down for further meditation and possible memorization, those precious gems of truth one regularly unearths in such effort.

It is far more than mere coincidence that through the ages the successful pursuit of liberty and happiness has been in those nations and among those peoples where the scriptures are read and reverenced and religion is honored and respected. Conversely, it is also an established fact of history that there is an eclipse of spiritual life, and an inevitable loss of liberty of mind and body where the holy volume is ignored or unknown.

Green, in his “Short History of the English People,” quite correctly observed that “no greater moral change ever passed over a nation than passed over England in the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. England became the people of a Book, and that book was the Bible. It was read by every class of people. And the effect was amazing. The whole moral tone of the nation was changed.”

It is doubly tragic that the one book, capable of directing us all into the way of greatest and enduring happiness here and hereafter, is so widely ignored today. There is little danger, in our land at least, that through legislative edict and the exercise of tyrannical powers of government, the Bible will be taken from us. The grave and ever present danger is that we will allow it to remain a closed volume on our study tables and in our book shelves!

Wonderful indeed it would be if our own beloved land, conceived by the Founding Fathers as “one nation under God,” could be influenced to turn from its materialistic and secular ways, and its peoples led to respect the Book and its Author as in former days. Were this done, from Maine’s rockbound coasts to the placid and peaceful waters of the Pacific, and from the great lakes to the southern shores of the Gulf, happiness, peace and prosperity would be ours, and the blessings of the great God and our Saviour would descend on us like the gentle dew from heaven. Let us all pray and labor to the end that this worthy goal may be fully and speedily realized.

-Guy N. Woods

Sticks and Stones

January 28, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

God’s dealings with Old-Testament Israel are beneficial to us today by providing examples of God’s faithfulness to His word (1 Corinthians 10:1-11; Romans 15:4). The book of Numbers contains a section of several rebellions against the Lord in chapters 11-16. Between the rebellion of the congregation—who listened to the evil report of the ten spies rather than the faithful report of Joshua and Caleb—in Numbers 14 and the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, Abiram and 250 princes of the congregation in Numbers 16, lies a crucial command about rebellion. “But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him” (Numbers 15:30-31). God made a difference between a sin committed through ignorance (Numbers 15:24-29), and high-handed sins. Parents understand this principle and discipline their child differently depending on whether the child was just not thinking or deliberately defied their parents’ orders.

Presumptuous sin recognizes God’s law and goes its own way anyway. It places self on the throne and arrogantly looks down on the law of God; it has no fear of the Lord or His judgments. Presumption says man, not God, has the best way to conduct his steps; this is false (Jeremiah 10:23).

Immediately after this commandment regarding presumptuous sin, Moses records an example of such in Numbers 15:32-36. A man was caught picking up sticks on the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32). Sticks were gathered in order to make fires for cooking (cf. 1 Kings 17:10-12). The Lord’s daily provisions from heaven were doubled on the sixth day so that Israel would not have to gather manna on the seventh day; thus, they could keep the Sabbath (Exodus 16:22-30). But this man chose to go out and gather sticks in defiance of the Lord’s command to keep the Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8-11). When he was brought before Moses and Aaron, he was placed in ward to see what the Lord would have the congregation do with him (Numbers 15:33-34). The Lord gave His judgment to Moses, “The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp” (Numbers 15:35). Israel followed through with this command (Numbers 15:36).

This punishment may seem harsh, but it was not as if the man did not know what God had said. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt and were used to obeying or being punished strictly. For this man to blatantly disrespect the Lord and His plain command was to shake his fist at God. All of Israel learned a lesson. God then instructed them to remember to keep His commandments by makings fringes or tassels on their garments (Numbers 15:37-41). God’s word should be respected. He has magnified His word above His name (Psalm 138:2). While we are no longer under the law of Moses with its Sabbath command (Colossians 2:14-16), we should not refuse the word of Christ (Hebrews 12:24-25). If today we see ourselves becoming apathetic toward God’s commands let us remember to ask ourselves, “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:28-29).

-Mark Day