In my previous blog I wrote about ethics and ethical standards. My conclusion was that as Christians, we are to turn to God’s Word for the standards we embrace in life. Read the following familiar verses slowly and prayerfully as we think about why we should turn to the Bible for guidance and direction as we make decisions concerning our behavior and lifestyle.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth… Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:1-2, 5

The words of Paul in his letter to the Colossians are clearly directed to those who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ. Therefore, these words are not aimed at non-believers, but rather at those who would describe themselves as disciples of the Lord. So, if we profess to be His disciple, then the admonition is clear: we are not to turn to the “things of the earth” as we seek direction and guidance for decisions and choices. And then, just so we understand what he is striving to instill in the minds and hearts of his readers, he mentions a few things that are things of the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, idolatry.

Add to this the injunction found in Proverbs: We are to trust completely and totally in the Lord, never depending on our own understanding. We are to acknowledge Him in ALL our ways so that He may give clear direction.

I realize that what I am about to say is somewhat repetitious, as my conclusion in my previous blog was basically the same, but I feel it bears repeating. The Word of God – His inspired, inerrant, infallible, irrefutable, unchanging Word – must be the source of our belief and behavior. And remember, these words are aimed at believers – followers of Jesus Christ.

If believers would, as Paul says, set their minds on things from above, and not things of the earth, there would be much less confusion on matters of acceptable behavior and lifestyle. So, it must be obvious that there is either a drought of knowing the Word of God, or there is a serious disdain and disregard for that Word.

Jesus said plainly that if we love Him we will keep His commands. Our love for the Lord will be on open display by the choices we make, and the decisions we live by. Our lives will be open displays of our trusting in the Lord with all our heart and trusting in Him in every choice we make.

The teachings of the Word of God may very well lead us to make decisions that go against our earthly desires, but the overriding desire to seek things from above will supersede our desires that are based on earthly, worldly motivations. Then, and only then, will it be clear that we are sincere followers of the Lord, and our utmost desire is to glorify Him in all we do.

Until next time:

Blessings!

Ethics. What comes to mind when you hear the word? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word as “a set of moral principles: a theory or system of moral values”, and “the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group”. We are all guided by a set of ethical standards, and we make decisions based on those standards. But the question is, where do my standards originate? In our present cultural state of obvious confusion, it would do us all well to think seriously about this question.

Let’s give our attention to just a few of the possible sets of ethical standards that are prominent in our society today. First, there is situational ethics. As the name infers, those who embrace this particular ethical standard would simply make decisions of good or bad, right or wrong, based on the situation at hand. Situational ethics places the responsibility of decision making squarely on the shoulders of the individual. For example, consider the situation in which an individual has lost his/her source of income, and has now reached the point of dire destitution. The cupboards are literally bare. The children are hungry, the baby is crying, and all efforts to find employment has proven futile. So, in this state of desperation the father/husband takes it upon himself to go to the local market and steal some food for his family. His actions are based on his situation.

Second, there is cultural ethics. Again, as the name suggests, those who adhere to this set of ethical principles make their decisions based on their cultural environment. I remember hearing my father say on several occasions, “If all your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you do it just to be part of the crowd?” It would amount to brainless, thoughtless actions on the part of the individual, as his decisions are based on what everyone else is doing. This type of ethical behavior is always in a state of flux, as cultural principles and values change with the passing of time.

It is amazing to consider cultural changes that have occurred in my lifetime. Some of them are innocuous, producing no obvious harm, like the changing of popular haircuts or beard trim styles, or the popularity of tattoos, or the changing of accepted vocabulary. But others are much more serious, like the embracing of behavioral patterns that prove to be harmful, or those that are in direct contradiction and opposition to the long-standing cultural norms that have stood the test of time.

Third, there is utilitarianism, which focuses on the greatest amount of happiness or good for the greatest number of people. The person who embraces this philosophy of ethics always thinks of how his/her actions will affect others, and, more importantly, which actions he/she takes will provide the greatest good for the greatest number.

It can be clearly seen in each of the three philosophies of ethics that they are subjective at best, with no real, objective principles to guide in the decision-making process. They are either subjective to the individual’s personal set of preferences, or to actions based on the most popular and widely accepted guidelines imposed by culture or society.

How are Christians to determine what is right or wrong, good or bad? How are we to determine what actions are acceptable, and those that are not? What is to give direction to our daily decisions of what to do, and how to react, to choices we must make in our daily lives?

Simple: for the believer in Jesus Christ, our decisions are not based on subjective principles which have no substantive source of guidance, but rather on the objective truth revealed in Scripture. Read these very familiar words from Paul’s Epistle to Timothy:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

2 Timothy 4:2-4

As believers and disciples of Jesus Christ, let’s always establish our guiding principles of ethical behavior of Scripture, and not allow ourselves to be swept by the popular practices of our culture. Let’s let the true light of God’s word shine brightly through us so the world can see the genuine difference between believer and non-believer as we share the REAL truth to a desperately needy world.

Until next time:

Blessings!

This is the absolutely horrific invitation issued by Planned Parenthood, inviting anyone to come to the Democratic National Convention to receive a FREE vasectomy or abortion. What an affront to a holy God, the One who created humankind in His image. This is the major platform commitment to those who would vote for the democratic candidate for the office of president: abortions paid for by the government!

Let me make it clear: I could never vote for any candidate, regardless of party affiliation, if they support abortion. And yet this is a major, if not THE major issue being propagated by the Democrats. And now Planned Parenthood has the unmitigated gaul to actually broadcast the invitation to come to the convention and have an abortion while you wait on the next convention speech. What a travesty.

I, along with countless others, was appalled at the events of the opening ceremonies at this year’s Olympic games. What a slap in the face of Christianity. I made a commitment to not watch even one minute of the games due to this shameful performance. But now, I am even more appalled that the Democratic National Convention has become a place of child sacrifice, offering free abortions at their gathering. God cannot be pleased.

I am once again reading through the prophecy of Jeremiah and see striking parallels between the captivity of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians because of the people having turned their backs on God. Jeremiah, along with other Old Testament prophets, had sounded words of warning to the people, but they refused to listen to the prophet’s call to repentance. As a result, the people of Judah suffered tremendously at the hands of God as He used the Babylonians to destroy the city of Jerusalem, deporting multitudes to the land of Babylon.

Could this same type of judgment be looming ahead for the United States of America? Could this nation, which was founded on the principles of God’s Word, having now turned its back on those principles, expect anything different? I’ll leave you to answer that question for yourself. My personal response would simply be a quote of a verse from the pen of the Apostle Paul:

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

Galatians 6:7-8 NKJV

This applies to individuals as well as to nations, as is seen clearly in God’s judgment of Judah in the pages of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Let us not think that America is somehow immune to the judgment of God. When a nation begins to flaunt its defiance of God’s Word in such blatant ways as we are witnessing at the Democratic National Convention, then, as I see it, there are only two options awaiting our nation: either repentance which will result in deliverance from God’s wrath, or defiance, which will result in the experience of God’s judgment.

Let’s be reminded of God’s formula for revival for a nation that has walked away from God:

If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Second Chronicles 7:14

God help us!

The fifth word in my disappearing vocabulary series may sound out of place at first, because it is a word that is commonly used in most churches still today. It is a most common word in the pages of Scripture, being found 170 times in our English translations of the Bible. It is a word that is not only commonly used in the church through preaching and teaching, but one that is quite often heard in general conversation among professing believers. The word to which I refer is salvation.

The reason I am including this word in my disappearing vocabulary series is not because it is no longer heard, but because it is, very often, totally misunderstood. So, to begin this blog I would like to strive to explain why the word is so vitally important for us to understand.

From the creation of humans – Adam and Eve specifically – God initiated a set of parameters which would give clear guidance for the behavior of the human family. He placed the first created couple in a perfect environment, gave them everything they would ever need to live fulfilling lives, and even fellowshipped with them personally in the beautiful garden paradise He created for their enjoyment. Life could not possibly have been better than that.

However, they decided to disobey God and go outside those parameters He had established for them. Because of their act of sin, they were banned from the garden, and the sentence of death was carried out. They would no longer enjoy the bounty and blessing of the garden paradise, but far worse than that, they would no longer enjoy the fellowship with God. Their sin had severed that beautiful relationship.

God was not caught off guard by their act of rebellion. The Bible makes it clear that He had already – even before He created anything – preordained a plan by which sinful man could be saved from his fallen state. That plan was His plan of salvation, which would be secured through the propitiatory sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus Christ. John, in the book of Revelation, refers to Jesus as the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”, thus establishing the fact that God’s plan of salvation was established before Adam and Eve were created. The reason being that God, in His ability to know all things, knew that Adam and Eve would sin before the act ever occurred.

Paul presents his argument most eloquently in his masterpiece, his letter to the Romans:

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Romans 6:23

And are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. Romans 3:24-25, ESV

Based on the clear teachings of the Bible, the desperate need of salvation is due to the fact that we are separated from God because of our sin. Thus the need for Jesus Christ to obey the Father’s will to be that Lamb who would be slain to take away the sin of the world.

Jesus Christ is the one and only means of salvation for sinful man. And this is the reason I am including this word in this series of blogs on disappearing vocabulary. It is not because the word is no longer used, but because it is so often misused. In a quite often quoted statement by Jesus we see clearly the importance of understanding this word correctly:

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

And Peter, in the Book of Acts, makes the following assertion:

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

Salvation is provided through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He gave His life in total surrender to His Father’s will so that through His death we might have life. However, the word ‘salvation’ is often used to describe other means and methods of attaining a relationship with God. We need to make sure that in this world of confusion as to what certain words mean, we give careful consideration to the true meaning of important theological words such as salvation. We must not allow ourselves to be forced into silent submission from the pressures of the world to change the clear Biblical meaning of this word.

Salvation is the means through which God the Father provides salvation for lost humans so that they might be reconciled to a holy God. It is through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, through the foreordained plan of salvation, that we must be saved. There is no other way.

Until next time:

Blessings!

Hell – where in the world has hell gone? We sure don’t hear much about it anymore, except when someone, in a burst of anger, tells someone else to go there! (By the way, you would have to hate someone terribly to ever tell them to go to hell!) We hear the word used in this sort of way quite often, but the sad reality is that we very seldom hear the word in the church.

So, what has become of hell? Let’s begin by reviewing some basic, Biblical facts about the subject. We will focus our attention on our Lord, Jesus Christ. What exactly did He have to say about this subject?

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Matthew 5:22

The Son of Man will send out His angels. and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:41-42

Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ Matthew 25:41

And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Matthew 25:46

This very limited sampling of some of Jesus’ statements concerning hell should show us how seriously He viewed the subject. He warned people over and over about the judgment of God against all who rejected His gracious offer of salvation secured through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son. He warned of the eternal consequences of that decision. He called people to repentance (another of those seldom used words we will consider in a future blog), with the dire warning that refusal to repent would result in eternal separation from God.

It may very well be that the main reason for the conspicuous silence on the subject of hell is because it is, to some, such an offensive subject. How could a loving, compassionate God ever even consider sending anyone to such a place as that described in the words of Jesus quoted above?

We certainly don’t have time to delve into that topic in a single blog, but let it suffice to say that God, from eternity past, made certain decrees, and set certain parameters, on His human creation. God created man to live forever: to enjoy His bounty and blessings in a perfect environment, and to enjoy the intimacy of His presence in that environment. However, He demanded obedience from His human family. So, when Eve decided to eat of the forbidden fruit, and then to persuade Adam to partake of the same, they were banned from that perfect environment, and separated from the fellowship they had enjoyed with God. Death was the sentence pronounced on them, and through them on the entire human family.

But, thanks be to God, He did not leave us with no means of escaping the eternal consequences of our sin. He decreed that His Son, Jesus Christ, would be the propitiatory sacrifice for sin. And He made the declaration that anyone who would accept His gracious gift of salvation would be saved from the eternal consequences of separation from God in hell.

Hell is real, just as much so as heaven is real. These two eternal destinations are the only two available to the human family. Every person will spend eternity in one or the other. God offers a choice: a very real choice. It matters not how one views this choice, the fact of the matter is that it is a choice each individual must make. God has put before us blessing, or cursing; life, or death; eternity lived in His presence in the glory of heaven, or banned from His presence in the horror of hell.

What choice have you made? Heaven, or hell? Please, make the choice for life before it is eternally too late.

Until next time:

Blessings!