Our Lord said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). While much time and effort is consumed with preparing physical bread to nourish our earthly frames, Jesus encourages us to put forth the effort to be fed spiritually.  To the masses who followed Him when He multiplied the bread from a boy’s lunch to feed 5,000, He said, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you” (John 6:27).  Indeed, true life comes not from physical food, but from the word of God (Matthew 4:4; John 6:63).

We sometimes sing “God Is Calling the Prodigal” as an invitation including these words, “Come, there’s bread in the house of thy Father and to spare.”  While many would not consider themselves prodigals, in a spiritual sense they are starving like that young man who, after squandering his inheritance, gladly would have filled his belly with the husks the swine ate (Luke 15:16).  He realized that his father’s servants had “bread enough and to spare” (Luke 15:17).  Just as there were twelve baskets of leftovers gathered when Jesus multiplied the bread beside Galilee, so God’s word offers more than enough for us to be filled (John 6:13).  How can we ever exhaust the supply of spiritual nourishment God offers?

Have you tasted the word of God (Hebrews 6:5)?  Do you desire it so you may grow (1 Peter 2:2)?  Can you handle the meat (1 Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:13-14)? Or are your interests in other areas?  Do you fill up on news, pop psychology, entertainment, sports, etc. and have no room for the truly nourishing teaching of God’s word?

The more we study the Bible the more our minds will become like God’s.  Bygone generations in this country saw many individuals in the Lord’s church who really knew God’s word; sadly, many in today’s generation have become so busy consuming every other kind of information that serious Bible study has taken a back seat.  When a generation arises that neither knows the Lord nor His judgments on morality, peril soon follows (Judges 2:10).

While others may search for satisfaction in their secular education, their physical prowess, or their attractive earthly possessions, let us be satisfied to simply know God through His word.  “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” Jeremiah 9:23-24.  Do you hunger to know God?

-Mark Day

The subject of Jude’s epistle was changed due to a more pressing need to exhort Christians to “earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3).  This exhortation was needed because false teachers had crept secretly into the church.  As Peter said in 2 Peter 2:1, “there shall be false teachers among you,” now Jude says they are here.  There is a general sentiment today that each person has their own truth – (“What is true for you is not necessarily true for me and vice versa”); however, the Bible clearly shows that there is objective truth which we can know (John 8:32).  God does not say sincerity is the only criterion for salvation, rather He wants us to sincerely come to a knowledge of the truth in order to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4).  False teachers are so dangerous because they purport to bring saving truth to their audience, but in reality they lead their listeners down a path of lies (Mt. 7:15; 2 Thess. 2:10-12).  The false teachers of whom Jude wrote, “turned the grace of God into lascivious,” evidently making God’s grace into a license to throw off all restraint and pursue sexual sins (Jude 4).  God’s grace is a wonderful gift essential to our salvation, but it does not sanction sin; on the contrary, it teaches us to deny worldly lusts (Titus 2:11-12).

To combat this false teaching, Jude reminds his readers how unrepentant disobedience brings about divine justice.  Three examples serve to establish this truth: 1. The Israelites who died in the wilderness (v.5); 2. The angels which fell (v.6).; 3. The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah (v7).  The Israelites who died wandering in the wilderness show us that once we have responded in faithful obedience to God and have been delivered from sin, it is possible to lose our faith and be finally lost.  Jude 5 says the Israelites were destroyed in the wilderness because they “believed not.”  Thus, we must cultivate our faith and be on guard lest there be in any one of us, “an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Heb. 3:12).  The angels whom God has “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” are a testament to God’s judgment on pride and rebellion (Jude 6).  These angels “kept not their first estate” (Jude 6), in other words, they were not satisfied with the place God had for them.  To exalt oneself in such a way is to sin (2 Pet. 2:4).  Even the pure-spirit beings who serve God are not exempt from divine punishment, a never-ending torment that wicked human beings will share in (Mt. 25:41).  This is a lesson that should make us take heed to God’s commands and be thankful that, unlike with the angels, the Lord took upon himself our nature to die in our place so that we could be saved from eternal death (Heb. 2:16).  Finally, Sodom and Gomorrah “are set forth for an example,” to us of divine punishment; as we speak, the inhabitants of these cities are “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7).  Their sin is detailed in this verse.  It is not abuse that is given as the reason for their punishment, but rather “going after strange flesh” (Jude 7).  While the men of Sodom were certainly brazen and violent, their homosexuality was against God’s created order for a man and a woman to be together (cf. Rom. 1:26-27).

False teachers today will twist passages to say that once you have true faith you cannot fall away, that God will not send anybody to hell or at least not eternally, and that homosexuality itself is not sinful, but these verses in Jude make the truth plain.  Will we contend for it?

-Mark Day

“Minus any argumentation to the contrary or any quibbling by way of countering plain truth, the consuming of alcoholic beverages is one of the greatest, gravest evils of our era. It is a rampaging evil of iniquitous proportions. Its victims are now numbered among multiplied millions. More and more it is extended socializing grace and entertaining approval. To offer a person an alcoholic beverage upon entering one’s house or at a planned party is now considered by the masses to be ‘thoughtful hospitality’, More and more alcoholic consumption is being accepted as a way of life.” From: Social Drinking: Unjustified, Unsocial, Unwise, Unscriptural by Garland Elkins and Robert R. Taylor Jr. (Tract)

The words quoted above from these Gospel preachers are as true today as when they were penned in 1986. Many today accept social drinking of alcoholic beverages as a normal part of everyday life. Religious people, and even some in the Lord’s church, have accepted this idea and even joined in the practice. In this article, let us examine a few passages from the Bible regarding social drinking.

Many people see the word “wine” in the Bible and automatically associate the word with its modern usage denoting an alcoholic beverage. While wine is used specifically today, originally it was a generic term used to refer to either fermented or unfermented juice of the grape. The word “wine” is used in the Bible generically as well and the context must determine whether fermented or unfermented is being referred to. For example, Jeremiah 48:33, “And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.” Wine does not come from winepresses, so the “wine” referred to here is clearly unfermented (nonalcoholic).

Some would say “Drunkenness is what is condemned, not the moderate use of alcoholic beverages.” Notice a couple passages of Scripture:

1. Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” Most would agree this passage speaks of intoxicating beverages. Note: mocker…raging (a brawler – ASV) …unwise. Question: Where is reference made in this passage to excessive drinking? God’s indictment here is not on excessive drinking, but on the beverages itself. Regardless of the quantity used alcoholic wine is a “mocker”.
2. 1 Peter 4:3-4, “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.” This “excess of riot” (flood of reprehensible behavior) of their past life included 1) “excess of wine” – drunkenness, 2) “revellings” – a nocturnal and riotous procession of half drunken and frolicsome fellows who after supper parade through the streets with torches and music in honour of Bacchus (Roman god of wine) or some other deity, and 3) “banquetings” – this is defined as “a drinking bout” or a drinking party, the same as what today is called “happy hour”. So, this verse refers to the sinful practices of drunkenness, being half drunk, as well as social drinking.

Clearly, social drinking is unjustified, unsocial, unwise, and unscriptural. Alcohol destroys internally, externally and eternally.

-Jerry D. Sturgill

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). We would do well to learn a lesson from the deception of Eve. While Satan is not appearing to us in the form of a serpent, he is still seeking to delude the minds of men from following the simple truth of God’s word (2 Cor. 4:4).

Eve was created from Adam’s rib as a companion for him (Gen. 2:20-24). She was in a beautiful paradise and with her husband who was given the work of tending to the garden (Gen. 2:15).  How perfect their situation must have been.  She and Adam were only given one simple restriction: do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17).

Satan came in the form of a serpent and said to Eve, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1).  The word “yea” in this question means truly or really.  Satan tempts people to ask whether clear spiritual truths are really so.  Is there really a God?  Will there really be a judgment?  Do heaven and hell really exist?  Many people skeptically ask these questions today.  Their denial of these facts displays their willingness to follow the father of lies (John 8:44).  Eve answered the serpent with the simple, plain rule God had mandated and then added, “neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Gen. 3:3).  Perhaps she was highlighting how restrictive God was being in this whole ordeal; if so, Satan’s question was already working by impugning God’s goodness and motives.  The serpent immediately told Eve a lie, saying, “Ye shall not surely die: 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” (Gen. 3:4-5).  Eve would die the day she ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree.  She and Adam were separated from God that day they ate, sinning and dying spiritually (Isa. 59:2; Rom. 5:12).  As a consequence they would no longer be among the tree of life, which would lead to their eventual physical death (Gen. 3:22).

Eve knew the clear rule of God.  The devil told her a lie.  So why did she eat?  She was not listening to reason when she ate.  She “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise” (Gen. 3:6).  Since God made such a perfect paradise for her, it would stand to reason that He loved her and wanted what was best for her; He did not want her to die.  But she abandoned reason and let her feelings take over.  Many today claim that Bible believers do not listen to the voice of reason, insinuating that they, instead, do listen to the voice of reason.  However, just as it was in the beginning of the world, so it is today – those who deny God and his plain laws are giving into their feelings and selfish desires rather than listening to reason (Rom. 1:22-28).  The fool has said in his heart there is no God (Psa. 14:1; 53:1).  Nature all around us testifies to God’s existence, power and goodness (Psa. 19:1-4; Mt. 5:45; Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:20).  It is Christians who listen to the voice of reason and embrace true and sober thinking when they follow God (Acts 26:25).

So the next time you are tempted to question plain truths clearly set forth in God’s word and creation all around, remember Eve.  Be honest and consider whether there is a selfish, sinful desire that is driving you to abandon clear thinking.

-Mark Day

Prayers of giving thanks to God will be uttered this week.  This is good; we do not want to be unthankful people who take God’s blessings for granted.  The United States is so blessed with material wealth that we should acknowledge the source of it all (Deut. 8:18).  Many fall into the same trap as the rich Israelites in the days of Amos who were “at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1).  As long as they could enjoy themselves relaxing on their ivory couches, listening to music, eating the finest steak and drinking their wine, they could not have cared less for the affliction of God’s people (Amos 6:3-6).  Ingratitude leads to a whole host of other sins (Rom. 1:21ff).

This brings us to another component that should also be included in our prayers: confession of sin (Neh. 1:6; Jer. 14:20; Dan. 9:3-15).  Our founding fathers and some of our past presidents thought it necessary to set aside a day not merely for giving thanks, but for confessing the sins of the nation. While the threat of terrorist attacks and the mounting national debt are real concerns for the citizens of this nation, we must realize it is not the strength and cunning of our enemies nor the fiscal woes of our federal government that should be our chief concern. By far the sins of our nation pose the most serious threat to our peace and prosperity (Prov. 14:34).  The sins of murder and fornication are described in God’s word as defiling a land; when God dealt with the particular nation of Israel in the Old Testament, He gave these two sins as reasons for why that nations of Canaan were taken off the land and why Israel herself would lose the land if she allowed such (Lev. 18:24-28; Num. 35:31-34).  God hates the shedding of innocent blood (Prov. 6:17), and the 58 million children who have been slaughtered in their mothers’ wombs with the legal consent of our highest court since 1973 is a debt that is far more serious than the $20 trillion of national debt that has so many people talking.  Sooner or later the bill comes due.  When nations refuse to make murderers pay for their crimes, as our nation has since the legalization of abortion, God will require payment sooner or later (Gen. 9:6; 2 Kings 21:16; 24:2-4).  The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stand as a testament to God’s judgment upon fornication and perversion (Jude 7; cf. Rom. 1:26-27; Heb. 13:4).  A land that is filled with fornication and remains impenitent should be most terrified by a coming judgment from God.

This brings us to a third component that should be in our prayers: requests for deliverance.  Faithful children of God who are troubled every day by the wickedness that surrounds them should pray to God for deliverance (Mt. 6:13; cf. 1 Cor. 10:13).  Just as God would have spared Sodom for the sake of ten righteous souls (Gen. 18:32), so He is mindful of the Christians who are living righteously in our nation.  We should recognize that God, “delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (2 Pet. 2:7-9).  We should pray for our nation and its leaders so that we can lead a quiet and peaceable life of godliness and honesty (1 Tim. 2:2).

-Mark Day