Blaise Pascal wrote, “People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof, but on the basis of what they find attractive.” William Dembski reflects on this and comments, “Pascal wasn’t just speaking about people merely believing what they want to believe, but people being swept away by attractive ideas that capture their heart and imagination.” I believe many times these two concepts work together. Ideas capture one’s heart and imagination many times because it fits what they want to believe. The presentation simply confirms what it is they feel, or appeals to their desires, or in some way authenticates their value system. The concept of the “sinner’s prayer” is a good illustration of this principle. Saying the words of this prayer requires little effort of the individual, can be said in private and thus kept private, and demands slight commitment or change in one’s lifestyle. It captures one’s heart because his or her heart is attracted to such. It also keeps many from seeing the truth of the Gospel, and the beauty of being immersed in Christ, where we are joined in His death (Romans 6:3-4), commit our heart and lives to our Lord (Romans 6:12-13), and have a sure confidence in the hope of things eternal (Romans 6:23). This is one of Satan’s most effective tools to entice to commit sin and to keep us in sin. This is what appealed to Eve in the garden. “When the woman saw that the tree was good …

The appeal in 1st and 2nd Kings is for faithful obedience to God (1 Kings 2:4; 8:25, 57-58; 9:1-5; 15:1-5; 2 Kings 18:1-6; 22:1-2; 20:3). The chief aim of both books is to teach great moral lessons exemplified by events in the history of the Jewish nation and in the lives of its leaders and people. In studying these two Old Testament books, we see that every king was judged by his obedience or disobedience to God’s law. His success was measured by his adherence to the law, and by his God-honoring testimony before the heathen (cf. Deuteronomy 17:14-20). The good of the nation depended upon its faithfulness to God (our nation needs to give strict adherence to this fact as well). Idolatry and compromise caused the decline and eventual fall of both Israel and Judah (cf. Hosea 1-13; Jeremiah 1-52). Idolatry and all sin inevitably bring defeat and punishment (Psalm 106:34-38; cf. Jeremiah 19:3-11) while faith and righteousness bring victory and joy (Psalm 33:12; Proverbs 14:34). Events in Jewish history are lessons in the righteousness, justice, loving-kindness, mercy and faithfulness of God (Hosea 2:18-20). They also serve as a constant warning and example of the consequences of disobedience (1 Corinthians 10:1-12; cf. Romans 15:4).

The Bible tells of men who questioned God. It tells us of those who thought God was unfair or too demanding. They had to determine to let God be God. They had to let God have His way. The Bible also gives us examples of those who were able to come to an understanding of God’s ways. As we deal with life and its challenges, we are often baffled by what comes our way. Faithful Job, for example, suffered great loss and temptation. He could not understand why the righteous should have to suffer. For him that was a real problem. Was it right for God to allow him to be put to the test? If God is good, why did He allow all the bad stuff to happen to Job? Job asked for answers, and God obliged. The prophet Habakkuk was troubled by what he thought was God’s injustice in judging man. God’s people were violating God’s laws and getting away with it, or so it seemed to Habakkuk. They were not being punished as Habakkuk thought they should. They thumbed their noses at justice and right doing. Habakkuk pleaded with God for judgment. He called upon the Lord for vindication of God’s name. However, when God promised punishment, Habakkuk was not happy that the Lord was going to use a nation more wicked than his own to punish God’s people. Jeremiah had a tough preaching job. God wanted him to take His Word to a hardheaded, impenitent people. God had …

There is an element of rule involved in the eldership’s work of the Lord, and there is to be respect given by the brethren (Hebrews 13:17). Such rulership is to be understood much as the wife is to be submissive to her husband (Ephesians 5:25-28). There is to be such love that working together for the common good is desired over and above any personal decision or will. Warning is given by Peter of the ‘lording over God’s Heritage’ (1 Peter 5:1-4). The use of grievous words can be used to lord over others (Proverbs 15:1). We are not to use grievous words that stir up anger. Thoughts can result in a special look of the eyes and face, which is evil (Deuteronomy 15:9). Mannerism of walk and folding of the arms can result in evil (Deuteronomy 31:29). Divine instruction warns to avoid being around angry people (Proverbs 22:24-25). There are those who are quick to get angry (Proverbs 14:17), yet sometimes such men are found in the eldership of the church. I know these verses are in the Old Testament. Believe me, there are corresponding verses in the New Testament, and such words as “as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25) show us the true manners of the loving Savior and loving Shepherds, too. Discouragement is a plague of many homes and congregations. Who is spreading such a plague? Does this come from the membership and rise up to the leadership of the church, …

The Christians to whom the Epistle of Hebrews was written were in danger of leaving the Lord and returning to their former life of practicing Judaism. Basically, Hebrews is a book that exhorts discouraged Christians to continue strong with Jesus in light of the complete superiority of Who He is and what He has done for us. They were encouraged to “go on unto perfection [maturity]” (6:1). This instruction was given to those that had become “dull of hearing”(5:11) and were in danger of drifting away from the Lord (2:1). The author exposed their dullness of hearing and failure to mature (5:11-12); he also diagnosed their spiritual condition as babes in Christ (i.e., according to the time they had been followers of Jesus, they should have been much more mature than they were). Their diet of “milk”should have been a diet of “meat.”In the original language, the sense of “for he is a babe,” is “for he has become a babe.” There is nothing more delightful than a true babe in Jesus. Yet, there is nothing more irritating and depressing than someone who should be mature but who has become a babe! These Christians demonstrated immaturity by both their lack of discernment between good and evil and in their contemplation of giving up Jesus. Therefore, it can be said that all five human senses have their spiritual counterparts. Consider how discernment and exercise relate to our senses. The mature Christian is marked by discernment and by unshakable commitment. The ability …

Generally, when we talk about fear, we have in mind the act of being afraid of something. I am afraid of spiders. I loathe them, killing every one that comes close. If you have one for a pet, well, I have doubts about your sensibilities. Just to think of such gives me goose bumps. However, there is a fear that has a different meaning, and, it is commanded by God. In Psalm 128:1 we read: “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways.” Notice that this fear, rather than being panic of any sort, is simply having respect for and awe of God. Those who have such fear will always be found walking in the way of the Lord. One cannot have such respect for God and fail to walk in His ways. This is one of the major problems of denominationalism. Those trapped therein have not been taught to have a proper fear (respect) for God. Did not the wise man Solomon say, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)? Question: Is one showing proper honor and respect for God and walking in His way when he calls himself after some man or some system? Is one walking in the ways of God when he deliberately rejects anything that God has commanded as it relates to one receiving salvation from past sins? Are you walking in the fear of the Lord? [To denominate something or to speak of a …

Albert Einstein was what we call a “genius.” He had the ability to study and comprehend how things worked and the results that would occur when certain things were altered or challenged. The Einstein equation expresses the relation of mass and energy and the Einstein theory is that there is no absolute motion but that all motion is relative. Does that sound profound? It does to me! He was a deep thinker but he did not let that get in the way of his understanding that his intelligence was not of himself. He knew that there was an outside force. He made this famous quote: “Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better.” He also said, “We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.” Not a great deal is known about Einstein’s religion, and it is true that these declarations from him about nature are not full admissions of him believing in “a greater power,” but at least he realized he could become more intelligent by observing and learning from God’s creation. Is it not notable to know that sometimes even “great” minds do not rule God out? Too often, people who make a scientific “break-through” of some sort want all the accolades that go with the discovery. They believe they are the brains and are so smart that they do not need to depend on someone else for anything. The Wise Man said, “don’t be wise in …

We were keeping Lil T (Thomas our 4-year-old grandson). I had put some straws we bought in a drawer at home, and suddenly we could not find them (they had dropped out of the drawer into the cabinet below we found out). We were discussing what could have happened to them, and Lil T said, “Probably the Devil took them. He doesn’t like us!” I said, “Well we do not like him either.” Lil T said, “No, we only like God!” As I reflected on what Thomas said, I could not help but realize that this little fellow understood a concept that most people do not: Satan does not like us; Satan does not want what is best for us; Satan does not care at all. He is truly “out to get us” in any way he can possibly trap us. It amazes me that so many have it turned around. They look at God, and say, “Well He tells me I cannot do this and that, or live this lifestyle, etc. Therefore, God does not really care for me.” It is true that Satan says, “Do whatever feels good to you, it really does not matter what you do, you will be fine doing it” (remember – “Thou shalt not surely die!”). God, on the other hand, does warn us about what is harmful, and He does guide us away from what is sinful. God truly cares for us. When the Bible says that “God so loved the world …

Mercy is defined by Webster as: “That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves… It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders.” Mercy is not a common attribute to be found in the world, nor is it as common as it should be in the church. An individual’s general inclination is to repay a wrong by making sure the offender gets “what he deserves.” Yet, the child of God is required to be a merciful individual. Solomon wrote, “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart” (Proverbs 3:3). The attribute of mercy is one that is required by God if one is to be found faithful. The importance of mercy is further emphasized by Jesus when He stated, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). In order for us to obtain the forgiveness of God, we must be willing to show mercy (the attribute that leads to forgiveness) in our own lives. Jesus illustrated this with the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:23-35. He concluded that parable by stating: “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (vs. 35). May we understand and implement the attribute of mercy in our lives, enabling us to present …

It seems like the older our children get the fewer Christmas gifts they actually want. My oldest actually told me, “I really don’t need anything this year. Being with family is enough for me.” The idea that you do not need a lot of “stuff” to be happy has certainly started rubbing off on them. However, while their Christmas wish lists are by far much shorter than in years past, the items on those lists tend to be much more expensive. Gone are the days of the $1 Matchbox cars and coloring books or the inexpensive toys that one can pile high under the tree. Instead, their lists include things like digital book readers, music players or other electronic devices that have multiple uses. All of these have a rather large price tag. One could buy a hundred or so matchbox cars for the price of one of these items. This phenomenon is not new. I remember such as I grew up and graduated from action figures to remote control cars to bikes and then to the motorized variety of bike that costs much more. Ironically, when we are much older, this phenomenon goes into reverse sort of. I cannot remember a single gift that my grandparents requested. If you would ask what they wanted they would say something like, “Just being able to give you all gifts and watch you enjoy them is enough of a gift for us.” They did not want anything. They did not need anything, …

First Timothy 2:13-15 reads, “For Adam was first formed, then Eve; and Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression: but she shall be saved through her childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety.” This verse contains one of the most difficult expressions of the whole epistle. The question of how a woman can be saved through childbearing has given Bible scholars of all ages a difficult time. Almost all of them have missed one or two very significant points, to which I shall try to call your attention. Perhaps we can simplify somewhat if we first say what we can be certain it does not mean. There is not the remotest hint in the Bible that bearing a child has any relationship to taking away any sin, or being saved from sin. Since this surely needs no extended proof, our next approach should be to ask, “Since the salvation cannot be related to being saved from sin, from what could anyone be saved by childbearing?” Our first approach was to look in the Bible at all the words that are translated “saved” or some cognate. We discovered that in the Old Testament there are at least 12, translated by hundreds of different terms, very few of which had anything remotely to do with being saved from sin. They relate to being rescued, helped, released or preserved in some circumstance. In the New Testament there are at least six different …

I heard recently about a stay-at-home mom. One evening she went to a PTA meeting and her husband and her oldest daughter got together and decided they would clean up the kitchen for her. They put up all the food, wiped all the counters, washed all the pots and put them away, put the dishes in the dishwasher and ran it. They swept and mopped the floors and then sat down, and awaited her arrival. Two hours later, she returned from the meeting, took off her coat, hung it up, walked through the kitchen into the den, grabbed the remote control and began watching television. They followed her over to her chair and stood by her side. Finally she felt them looking over her shoulder and looked up at them and said, “What?” Her husband said, “The kitchen.” “The kitchen. What?” “The kitchen. We cleaned up the kitchen. Didn’t you notice? It’s sparkling clean. We cleaned it for you.” The woman replied, “Yes, I noticed. Thankless job, isn’t it?” It is so true that much of what our wives and mothers do goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Please do not let that happen in your home! However, the same thing can happen at work or around the church. My guess is that there are many people around you who do important tasks, but they go unnoticed and unappreciated. For example, when is the last time you thanked one of your elders for the work that they do? These men have a …

God has created us with the capacity to create and store memories. Memories may be of such a nature they are cherished, and they are considered a wonderful treasure that cannot be taken away. On the other hand, they may be so negative that we may be haunted by them, and we just wish that somehow they would go away. Memory is so important in the daily life of the Christian. There are things our Heavenly Father wants us to remember. You and I need to remember the eternal God is our Father and that we rightfully belong to him by adoption (Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:5). We need to remember we are responsible and accountable as “stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). We should remember that He is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). We must remember we have been purged from our old sins (2 Peter 1:9), and that being dead to sin, we are alive unto God and servants of righteousness (Romans 6:11, 18). We need to remember that Jesus is coming again, possibly even today, to take his faithful followers to their glorious heavenly home. What kind of memories are you creating for others to hold? What will be the nature of the memories that will be shared by your family, church family, neighbors, friends and coworkers when you have passed from the scene of life? Perhaps there is yet time to create memories that are more wonderful. How …

In Galatians 1:6-9, the apostle Paul chastised the brethren among the Galatian churches for having accepted the teaching of the Judaizing teachers, who taught that unless the Gentile converts to Christ, accepted circumcision and kept the Law of Moses they could not be saved. In other words, these former Pharisees turned Christian were teaching falsely that the Gentile converts had to be first Jews in order to enjoy the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. Nothing could have been further from the truth, and in the verses mentioned above Paul verbally chastised the Galatian Christians for allowing this perverted gospel to be preached among them. In addition, he also pointed out that some of them had accepted the perverted gospel of the false teachers, and unless they repented, it would not be well with their souls. As a matter of fact, in 5:4 of this Epistle, Paul very plainly told them if they accepted the circumcision of the Law of Moses, they had fallen from grace. The Mormons seize on this passage of Scripture, and from it, they teach what is not found therein. They say the church went into a complete apostasy because they accepted this false gospel. The church, according to their theology, went totally out of existence for the better part of 1800 years, and that God, through his angel Moroni (an angel never mentioned in Scripture) commanded Joseph Smith to restore the church. However, the Mormons have some flies in their apothecary jars, which is to …

Over the years, I have been a student of Christian Evidences, also known as Christian Apologetics. Belief in the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ the Son of God is a paramount doctrine of Christianity. Evidences thereof have been orally debated in a formal fashion as well in a written form since the very early beginnings of Christianity. In my mind, it all boils down to a few questions or propositions: (l) Does God Exist? (2) Is the Bible the inspired Word of God? (3) Is Jesus Christ the Son of God? (4) Was Jesus Christ crucified on the cross and arose the third day? (5) Must men be obedient to our God in order to be saved? For a long time now, all these questions for me are affirmed, “Yes.” Most certainly, “Yes!” There are many more questions that men have pondered, such as: (1) Did order and our earth come into being through the Big Bang explosion? Or worded a different way, did chaos become orderly, creating all life, etc. through an explosion? (2) Did all life on this earth come into being by chance? (3) Is it necessary for life to begat life, or in other words can life begin by chance via dead matter? Such like questions demand examination. Most atheists scoff at questions brought up by Christians that believe the biblical account of creation and have faith in Jesus Christ. Some atheists and the like believe honestly that there is no God. They believe that given enough time …

First, let us observe the person John the Baptist and what he preached and practiced regarding his calling, which was to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ. Bible students are aware of the prophecies in Isaiah 40:3-5 and Malachi 3:1, that he was to be “The voice of one crying in the wilderness” and “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.” His parents were Zacharias and Elisabeth, faithful children of God (Luke 1:5-7). John paved the way for Jesus, and the first disciples of the Lord were the disciples of John (John 1:35-37). He was neither a socialite nor did he wear the color of royalty, but he had a mission to carry out, and this he did with great courage. John lived during a transitional period between the Old Law and the New Testament of Jesus Christ. He exclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). It was in the near future that the kingdom of God would be established on earth as individuals were born of water and the spirit (John 3:5). Jesus Christ became its King and Head. The terms “kingdom” and “church” refer to the same entity (Matthew 16:16-19). The Old Testament prophets foretold of the coming of the kingdom that would be exalted above all earthly kingdoms (Isaiah 2:1-4; Daniel 7:13-14). This was indeed good news for those who would believe in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. John also taught that the descendents of Abraham, Isaac …

The Scriptures speak of open doors several times. Paul often mentioned them in describing opportunities that were presented to him to preach the Gospel. On the first missionary journey, it is said that the door of faith was opened to the Gentiles (Acts 14:27). While in Ephesus Paul wrote, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9). On another occasion, Paul wrote to the Corinthian brethren, “Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother, but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia” (2 Corinthians 2:12-13). The great apostle was referring to the time that a man appeared to him in the night, asking, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” Paul went and preached the Gospel to Lydia and her household as well as to the Jailer and his household, and with their obedience to the Lord, the church was established in that part of the world (Acts 16:6-34). Paul wrote to the Colossian brethren, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak” (Colossians 4:2-4). Yet, while doors may …