30 ¶ I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. 33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
The final verse of this passage was repeated in chapter 6.
6:9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
Clearly, this is another take on the evils of laziness. God apparently doesn’t approve of slothful behavior and attitudes. On the surface it is a great lesson to be learned. But, look at this from the perspective of the laziness of American Christians. As a rule, they don’t have family devotions and family prayer and Bible reading. Just as the parent’s basic responsibility of educating their children is left up to the state so the primary responsibility of teaching God’s word is left entirely up the the church. When was the last time you prayed with your spouse on your knees? When was the last time you had your own prayer meeting with your family?
People talk about the “old time religion” and then extol the virtures of a Christian faith that existed around 1900 in rural areas. But, that’s not old time. Just because you come to church whenever the door is open and all your social activities revolve around church. You tithe of your weekly paycheck. You don’t smoke, drink, or swear, you wear the right lapel pin, vote for the right political party, listen to the right music, and you don’t watch anything on TV or in the movies that is overtly sexual or full of foul language. So what? What does that have to do with having a Christian family? Or being a Christian?
Christian, there are thorns and briars in your family. Some of you have even invited the Devil into your home and given him a place of honor. You watch movies about death, destruction, and all the things God says He hates, as entertainment. I don’t care one whit if it’s a war movie and the good guys win and you think that teaches a great moral lesson. You are watching violence and mayhem as ENTERTAINMENT. You celebrate death just like the heathen that lives next door. Or your horror movies. They’re so laced with hidden sexual references and violent sexual imagery that not one piece of clothing needs to come off nor one foul word uttered for them to be wicked, and they’re full of ungodly violence. These are windows into Hell or doors from Hell into your home, violent, bloody testimonies to a spiritual life infested with devils.
The family is your first mission field. Your family is the field of the slothful, a vineyard of a man void of understanding, with a broken down wall. You are supposed to be like a husbandman, a gardener tending God’s garden, like Adam.
Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Instead of coming home bawling about what a jerk the boss is or the person who cut you off in traffic you should be praising God for the opportunity to earn a living and thanking Him for safety. Your children should hear God’s praises coming out of your mouth for being born in a country where you’re much freeer than in many other places in time and geography not blistering the President or the political party you think is deliberately trying to destroy the country. Did you know that when Wednesday night prayer services were started according to “Protestant Worship: Traditions in Transition” by James White it was to give the congregation a chance to pray for things that concerned them and to give the fathers a pattern for family prayer at home where even the children could bring their concerns and praise before God?
Do you know that in the real “old time religion” in this country, back in the days when the King James Bible was called “The Common Bible” that Christian families read the Bible together, prayed together, and that father taught the Bible to the children. There was no Sunday School in those days. Learning about God was the family’s responsibility. You came to church to worship God corporately as the body of Christ. It wasn’t a place to hide out. What we’ve done is to separate our lives so much that church is for God and home is for whatever floats your boat.
Our gardens are full of weeds and brambles. Our children go off to drinking and carousing and perhaps ruining their lives and the lives of their own children with no thought of actually how to live outside of what they are told on TV or hear from their radio or music player. Church has little impact in American Christian’s lives because the sermons are all about politics, attendance, or tithing or even perhaps how to get what you want out of life and there is little instruction on how to experience the power of God on your life through His word.
You’ve got a Sunday night service where the Pastor quotes the Bible and then someone in the pew says that their version doesn’t say that and then another and finally the Pastor says he’ll run to the office and see what “The Greek” says. You’ve got an extreme fundamentalist Pastor telling his congregation that they must beat their children regularly to “break their will” whether they’ve done wrong or not. You’ve got another Pastor speaking before a crowd of thousands talking about their self-esteem. This dog and pony show that is modern American Christianity is so unbiblical and so far off the rails it’s pathetic. The Laodicean, the people judge, Church Age is upon us.
We’re lazy Christians. We don’t read the Bible.
1Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
We don’t pray.
1Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
We don’t like uniting with a church body in worship and fellowship.
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
We don’t want to hold family devotions, prayer, and Bible reading.
Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
We live in the field of the slothful, in the vineyard of a man void of understanding. It is covered with thorns and brambles and its wall is broken down. There is as much drug addiction and alcoholism, divorce and perversion among professing Christians as there is among the unbelieving population. In fact, many studies show that in the so called Bible Belt pornography is more popular than in the more liberal states. God is judging us now. Can we even see that or are we too spiritually lazy?
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Proverbs 24: 28-29 commentary; Do unto others NOT as they have done to you
28 ¶ Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips. 29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
Again, we have something that is rarely preached on today, along with not getting revenge nor gloating over the catastrophes that come upon your enemies. Here, in the Old Testament is a form of a command given by Jesus Christ. This specifically tells us not to falsely accuse our neighbor nor to give him what you think are his just desserts.
Matthew 7:12 ¶ Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Rendering to any man according to his work is not Christian. It is certainly not our place to falsely accuse a neighbor and it is neither our place to give paybacks. If we received from Christ what we deserved for our own wickedness we would never stop suffering. In God’s provision of grace mercy is not found by rendering to any man according to his work. We are to treat other people according to what Christ has done, not what they have done.
And who is our neighbor? Wasn’t Christ asked the same thing? In Luke 10, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, anyone we come upon in our daily business is our neighbor, not just the person who lives next to us in the three bedroom rancher with the noisey car, the loud teenagers, and the ugly fountain in the front yard. So, these verses extend far beyond our neighborhood. And remember, concerning your neighbor, even the stranger you meet on the road, that Jesus had said just before this parable that for a Jew to inherit eternal life one of the things he had to do was to love his neighbor as himself.
Of course, then you say, well he was talking to his Jewish disciples and the Jews in general, still under the law. So, why does this apply to me? He wasn’t risen yet, faith in Him and trusting in Him wasn’t the grounds for salvation, salvation wasn’t predicated on belief in a risen Saviour. So, you want me to show you out of the doctrines given specifically to the church?
Romans 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
1Thessalonians 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
These things are standards that God has laid on us under the Law and under Grace. Do not bear false witness against someone and do not pay back wrongs done to you. Anything else is a lack of faith and is disobedience to God. We fundamentalists are all big on a literal interpretation of the Bible and we say you have to be baptized to be in obedience to Christ because of a verse and you have to go to church functions whenever the door is open because of a verse but there are many verses in the Bible about not getting revenge, about not giving someone their comeuppance, their just desserts for their wicked behavior against you, and about not delighting in your enemy’s trouble so why are you ignoring those?
Again, we have something that is rarely preached on today, along with not getting revenge nor gloating over the catastrophes that come upon your enemies. Here, in the Old Testament is a form of a command given by Jesus Christ. This specifically tells us not to falsely accuse our neighbor nor to give him what you think are his just desserts.
Matthew 7:12 ¶ Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Rendering to any man according to his work is not Christian. It is certainly not our place to falsely accuse a neighbor and it is neither our place to give paybacks. If we received from Christ what we deserved for our own wickedness we would never stop suffering. In God’s provision of grace mercy is not found by rendering to any man according to his work. We are to treat other people according to what Christ has done, not what they have done.
And who is our neighbor? Wasn’t Christ asked the same thing? In Luke 10, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, anyone we come upon in our daily business is our neighbor, not just the person who lives next to us in the three bedroom rancher with the noisey car, the loud teenagers, and the ugly fountain in the front yard. So, these verses extend far beyond our neighborhood. And remember, concerning your neighbor, even the stranger you meet on the road, that Jesus had said just before this parable that for a Jew to inherit eternal life one of the things he had to do was to love his neighbor as himself.
Of course, then you say, well he was talking to his Jewish disciples and the Jews in general, still under the law. So, why does this apply to me? He wasn’t risen yet, faith in Him and trusting in Him wasn’t the grounds for salvation, salvation wasn’t predicated on belief in a risen Saviour. So, you want me to show you out of the doctrines given specifically to the church?
Romans 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
1Thessalonians 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
These things are standards that God has laid on us under the Law and under Grace. Do not bear false witness against someone and do not pay back wrongs done to you. Anything else is a lack of faith and is disobedience to God. We fundamentalists are all big on a literal interpretation of the Bible and we say you have to be baptized to be in obedience to Christ because of a verse and you have to go to church functions whenever the door is open because of a verse but there are many verses in the Bible about not getting revenge, about not giving someone their comeuppance, their just desserts for their wicked behavior against you, and about not delighting in your enemy’s trouble so why are you ignoring those?
Latest Reading
Kasserine: An Anatomy of Slaughter by Charles Whiting, published by Scarborough House, 1984.This battle was the first large scale contest between German and American forces during World War II and it was a disaster for the American Army. This is also the stage for one of the opening scenes of the movie, Patton, where he is about to take over command of the beaten American forces. Its a brutal book. I recommend it for World War II buffs.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Proverbs 24:27 commentary; afterwards build thine house
27 ¶ Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
Solomon built the first “systems-built” building in recorded history, a type of modular home, where everything about the Temple was prepared “in the field” and brought to the site and assembled (1 Kings 6:7). This took great precision and know how, not the kind of thing that we modern loving people dare ascribe to the ancients.
Here is practical advice to the Hebrew living under the Law given by God to Moses to make careful preparation “in the field” before bringing your work together to build your home. Now, let’s look at these verses from a practical and spiritual standpoint for a Christian and I’m sure if you think about it you can come up with even more applications.
Every verse in the Bible has at least three applications; one in its historical context, two in its doctrinal context of to whom it is speaking and what instructions they are being given, and three in its spiritual or practical application to anyone of any age and time period. Many times for Christians, since such a small part of the Bible is written directly to us as doctrine, the historical and doctrinal don’t seem to apply so we must look for a deeper, a third dimension in meaning and application to give us something for our mind to chew on and to reflect upon, with which nourishment we can grow.
Only those people involved in the heresy of “replacement theology” who view Christianity, taking the place of the physical Israel, as a physical kingdom building God’s kingdom of heaven on earth to hand over to Him when He returns, who see the world system as getting better and better and becoming more Christian, who deny the “translation” of the church, and look for, like the old time evangelist Lorenzo Dow, man to create a golden age without God’s direct intervention as their devotion to Him is perfected, see the Old Testament commands under the Law to be doctrinally applicable to the Christian in spite of Paul’s clear statements. These people have been responsible for all of the death and murder caused by so called Christianity through the ages. As Dr. Ruckman said, “kingdom builders are bloody killers.”
Galatians 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Bible believers, however, are not waiting for mankind to build the kingdom of heaven on earth. We await the church to be Translated, a Bible term, which is often popularly called The Rapture, a non-Bible term based on the Latin word Rapto, to seize out or remove by force. I’ll use the Bible term, Translation, for as Enoch was translated;
Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
…so the church, the body of Christ on earth, shall be translated and, in fact, in eternity, already is.
Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
But, back to the Proverb. Practical advice for the Christian young man would be to prepare your work in the field, get your education and training, establish your career, save up some money, learn to budget, etc. etc. before attempting to marry and build your house, your family, as in household, which we have discussed previously in the word, house, often being a reference to a family or dynasty. Young people, without the proper education from the parents who probably also did things backwards, often do things in just the reverse of what they should be done, having the emergency need of preparing a place for a family they got by emotional impulsivity before they were actually prepared.
Missionaries and evangelists have much work to do “in the field” so to speak before they can retire to their house, to enjoy rest for a season. Indeed, the house of God, which is the people of God likened to a building, as I’ve shown many times before from the Bible, often requires much work “in the field” sowing the ground with the word of God, winning people’s affections to Christ, and starting from scratch before the local house of God is established.
The New Testament church was a house church that met in people’s homes and Paul went to many pagan cities to make converts to Christ and set up churches in homes in these cities. There were no known buildings set apart for church use only until late in the second century as far as anyone I have read can tell. He had much work in the field to do first to build the house of God wherever he went. Do you see the comparison with Solomon building the Temple in the physical dimension and Paul building the spiritual house of God consisting of people who had received Christ? The building was constructed in the field and then assembled on site.
Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
As you and I have contemplated this Proverb under the direction of the Holy Spirit we’ve seen the contrast between the physical directions given to the Jew and the spiritual dimension of the church of God. We’ve also gone over two of my pet peeves with modern Christianity. One is the use of the word Rapture, in place of the Bible word, Translation.
Why “translation” you might ask? Well, God spoke everything into existence by Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, our behavior is called our Conversation, we Communicate good things to those who are over us in the Lord, the definition of a word is called its Interpretation, and if you read the first chapter of Genesis with the verses connected by “And” we see that the Uni-Verse is one long unbroken sentence until it is complete, then comes the seventh day or Sabbath rest which typifies the millennial reign of Christ. Everything that exists as we know it is based on the speech of God, God’s word, so it is only natural that when we are changed from this vile body of flesh to His glorious body we are translated from one form of speech to another. Its not rocket science, folks. Read the book. I’m far from the sharpest knife in the drawer and I can see this stuff. I know, as smart as some of you are, you can see it and much more if you just read the Book over and over again. I’m on my 56th time. I’ve been a Christian for 25 years. Do the math. That’s only a little more than twice a year for each year I’ve been a Christian. You can do better than me.
The other pet peeve is mistaking the building in which the church meets for the church. There are no sacred spaces in Christianity. The Christian’s body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost. As we discussed, the believers meeting together are the body of Christ, the church, the house of God. We can get hung up in the physical and drift into replacement theology, the wickedness of Nicolaitanism which is a special priesthood elevated above the laity (Nicolaitanism = victory over the laity), and other heresies easily by setting up as sacred, things on this earth, which is not our home. Only as memorials, spiritual reminders of heavenly things can we safely do that and then we must be careful not to confuse new believers into thinking there is some kind of special power in a place; whether it be a church building or a grove of trees. We do not call the Holy Spirit down. We have all the Holy Spirit we’re going to get when we’re saved. We want to be filled with it. God does not come down on a church meeting. He is already here or we’re just playing church. We don’t come to church on Sunday morning to get close to Christ. We come to church because we are close to Christ. I, for one, will not substitute the sublime and eternal beauty of heaven and the spiritual for the profane and temporary ugliness of a fallen earth.
Just as Jesus called the world a field, and we must work in the world, to prepare the house of God let us also do our work in our own field, our hearts, to build the Temple of the Holy Ghost, which Paul calls our bodies, by submitting to God’s word, surrendering to Christ, and making way for the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds.
Solomon built the first “systems-built” building in recorded history, a type of modular home, where everything about the Temple was prepared “in the field” and brought to the site and assembled (1 Kings 6:7). This took great precision and know how, not the kind of thing that we modern loving people dare ascribe to the ancients.
Here is practical advice to the Hebrew living under the Law given by God to Moses to make careful preparation “in the field” before bringing your work together to build your home. Now, let’s look at these verses from a practical and spiritual standpoint for a Christian and I’m sure if you think about it you can come up with even more applications.
Every verse in the Bible has at least three applications; one in its historical context, two in its doctrinal context of to whom it is speaking and what instructions they are being given, and three in its spiritual or practical application to anyone of any age and time period. Many times for Christians, since such a small part of the Bible is written directly to us as doctrine, the historical and doctrinal don’t seem to apply so we must look for a deeper, a third dimension in meaning and application to give us something for our mind to chew on and to reflect upon, with which nourishment we can grow.
Only those people involved in the heresy of “replacement theology” who view Christianity, taking the place of the physical Israel, as a physical kingdom building God’s kingdom of heaven on earth to hand over to Him when He returns, who see the world system as getting better and better and becoming more Christian, who deny the “translation” of the church, and look for, like the old time evangelist Lorenzo Dow, man to create a golden age without God’s direct intervention as their devotion to Him is perfected, see the Old Testament commands under the Law to be doctrinally applicable to the Christian in spite of Paul’s clear statements. These people have been responsible for all of the death and murder caused by so called Christianity through the ages. As Dr. Ruckman said, “kingdom builders are bloody killers.”
Galatians 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Bible believers, however, are not waiting for mankind to build the kingdom of heaven on earth. We await the church to be Translated, a Bible term, which is often popularly called The Rapture, a non-Bible term based on the Latin word Rapto, to seize out or remove by force. I’ll use the Bible term, Translation, for as Enoch was translated;
Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
…so the church, the body of Christ on earth, shall be translated and, in fact, in eternity, already is.
Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
But, back to the Proverb. Practical advice for the Christian young man would be to prepare your work in the field, get your education and training, establish your career, save up some money, learn to budget, etc. etc. before attempting to marry and build your house, your family, as in household, which we have discussed previously in the word, house, often being a reference to a family or dynasty. Young people, without the proper education from the parents who probably also did things backwards, often do things in just the reverse of what they should be done, having the emergency need of preparing a place for a family they got by emotional impulsivity before they were actually prepared.
Missionaries and evangelists have much work to do “in the field” so to speak before they can retire to their house, to enjoy rest for a season. Indeed, the house of God, which is the people of God likened to a building, as I’ve shown many times before from the Bible, often requires much work “in the field” sowing the ground with the word of God, winning people’s affections to Christ, and starting from scratch before the local house of God is established.
The New Testament church was a house church that met in people’s homes and Paul went to many pagan cities to make converts to Christ and set up churches in homes in these cities. There were no known buildings set apart for church use only until late in the second century as far as anyone I have read can tell. He had much work in the field to do first to build the house of God wherever he went. Do you see the comparison with Solomon building the Temple in the physical dimension and Paul building the spiritual house of God consisting of people who had received Christ? The building was constructed in the field and then assembled on site.
Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
As you and I have contemplated this Proverb under the direction of the Holy Spirit we’ve seen the contrast between the physical directions given to the Jew and the spiritual dimension of the church of God. We’ve also gone over two of my pet peeves with modern Christianity. One is the use of the word Rapture, in place of the Bible word, Translation.
Why “translation” you might ask? Well, God spoke everything into existence by Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, our behavior is called our Conversation, we Communicate good things to those who are over us in the Lord, the definition of a word is called its Interpretation, and if you read the first chapter of Genesis with the verses connected by “And” we see that the Uni-Verse is one long unbroken sentence until it is complete, then comes the seventh day or Sabbath rest which typifies the millennial reign of Christ. Everything that exists as we know it is based on the speech of God, God’s word, so it is only natural that when we are changed from this vile body of flesh to His glorious body we are translated from one form of speech to another. Its not rocket science, folks. Read the book. I’m far from the sharpest knife in the drawer and I can see this stuff. I know, as smart as some of you are, you can see it and much more if you just read the Book over and over again. I’m on my 56th time. I’ve been a Christian for 25 years. Do the math. That’s only a little more than twice a year for each year I’ve been a Christian. You can do better than me.
The other pet peeve is mistaking the building in which the church meets for the church. There are no sacred spaces in Christianity. The Christian’s body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost. As we discussed, the believers meeting together are the body of Christ, the church, the house of God. We can get hung up in the physical and drift into replacement theology, the wickedness of Nicolaitanism which is a special priesthood elevated above the laity (Nicolaitanism = victory over the laity), and other heresies easily by setting up as sacred, things on this earth, which is not our home. Only as memorials, spiritual reminders of heavenly things can we safely do that and then we must be careful not to confuse new believers into thinking there is some kind of special power in a place; whether it be a church building or a grove of trees. We do not call the Holy Spirit down. We have all the Holy Spirit we’re going to get when we’re saved. We want to be filled with it. God does not come down on a church meeting. He is already here or we’re just playing church. We don’t come to church on Sunday morning to get close to Christ. We come to church because we are close to Christ. I, for one, will not substitute the sublime and eternal beauty of heaven and the spiritual for the profane and temporary ugliness of a fallen earth.
Just as Jesus called the world a field, and we must work in the world, to prepare the house of God let us also do our work in our own field, our hearts, to build the Temple of the Holy Ghost, which Paul calls our bodies, by submitting to God’s word, surrendering to Christ, and making way for the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Proverbs 24:23-26 commentary; Judge a righteous judgment
23 ¶ These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment. 24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: 25 But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them. 26 Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
Matthew Henry, writing in the early 1700’s, takes these verses together. He says that, in the first verse, the reference to “the wise” is a reference to judges and magistrates. This is understandable in the literal sense for the Hebrews as they lived under God’s Law which covered not only their religious duties to God but their civil duties to man. Henry would also think it to be taken in the literal sense for the state of his day as the English also believed that they lived in a sort of theocracy under God’s Laws with the King as the head of the church on earth.
However, that notion has been shown to be false as we have seen through history that the sole purpose of the modern nation-state has been to perpetuate itself and its power not only over the people over whom it executes governance but also, inasmuch as possible, over its neighbors and fellow nation-states. The empire of Great Britain was, like all other empires of man, one of the greatest forces for evil in the world and more than any other empire besides the one that inherited the Roman Empire, the one that rules its people throughout all countries from the Vatican, it has given us the confused and mixed up world system we have today, its superficial dedication to Christ notwithstanding.
As the Christian must view the verses under the doctrine of the Law specifically given to God’s chosen people, the Hebrews of Ancient Israel, in a spiritual sense or he becomes a worldly monster much like Imperial England, Germany, or Spain let’s try to apply these verses to the individual Christian. The Christian must apply God’s standard equally in all things, if he or she is wise. For instance, take these verses quoting Christ in His ‘Sermon on the Mount’ to some of His beard wearing, pork abstaining, temple going, Sabbath observing disciples.
Matthew 7:1 ¶ Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. 6 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.
There are many issues covered in these few short sentences such as in verse 6 not placing your converts to Christ under the control of false male or female teachers who are teaching an ungodly religion. However, our focus is more narrow. Jesus says to judge others by the same standard you judge yourself. He states, at least to the Jews who are still under the doctrines of the Law at the time of His most famous sermon, that they will be judged by the same standards they use to judge others. As a consequence it would be better for them not to judge others at all. He goes on to say that they are willing to judge the speck in their brother’s eye while ignoring the beam in their own. We often point our fingers at other people’s faults and sins and ignore our own glaring defects. As I have pointed out before, for others we issue accusations, for ourselves excuses.
Paul, in writing of doctrine to the Christians at Rome, as he prepares his own argument against legalism and self justification in the book of Romans, gives a brief moral history of man and ends it with a punch that must have knocked his readers off their feet. Please bear with me as I believe a large section of the passage must be read to get the whole effect, and I will read it as it was meant to be read, with pauses at punctuation marks, lest my own emphasis give the wrong impression.
Romans 1:16 ¶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 ¶ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
2:1 ¶ Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
So, to judge by a righteous standard we must use the same standard for others as we do for ourselves. It is the rare Christian, particularly a fundamentalist like myself, who has not at some point held the truth in unrighteousness and judged others, particularly in today’s society, those who engage in homosexual behavior or those who support the unfettered constitutional right to abortion, by a different set of moral standards than we do ourselves. Of course, the self righteous Christian has a problem even seeing the truth of this perspective because they are so very convinced they have never been guilty, since being saved, of any of the sins of action AND thought listed in the verses in Romans.
In verse 24 in Proverbs, it talks about calling someone that is evil, good. For instance, under the civil law, declaring someone’s argument in a conflict as correct who is clearly wrong and oppressing the other side, usually the person without the deeper pockets. How can our own country, secular nation or Christian one, as either side will profess, hope for any good to come of us when even Christians extol the virtues of celebrities, the wealthy, and the powerful;
Psalm 12:8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.
For a Christian to hold out as a person to honor, respect with your attention and money, and your conversation people who are so vile and wicked to the extreme: actors and actresses, sports figures, music personalities, and many politicians, also men and women of the business world, is an absurdity to the extreme. How many Christians, I wonder, enjoyed the appropriately named television show, American Idol? How many Christians have put money in the pockets of people who denounce their faith and ridicule their intelligence like Bruce Willis or Ian McKellan, by watching their movies and praising their performances? What about people like a former president of the US who called Jesus Christ his “favorite philosopher” when God calls philosophy “vain deceit”?
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
It is impossible to judge a righteous judgment if you use a different standard for yourself than you do others and it is impossible to judge a righteous judgment if you uplift wicked men and women as being examples of anything good.
Finally, the verses in Proverbs state that by judging righteously you will win the approval of others. This was certainly applicable in the Jewish state when it honored God but would hardly have an application today as the whole world lies in wickedness (1 John 5:19), the proof of which lies in the fact that more often than not people in positions of authority are praised for their indecent decisions rather than righteous ones. [By the way, we find the concept of men kissing each other as inappropriate and gross but there are many customs of other cultures that might appear so as they are alien to our contemplation. I refer you to Paul’s references to a “holy kiss” (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26) and to Peter’s reference to a “kiss of charity” (1 Peter 5:14) although I wouldn’t recommended you walking up to a Christian in our culture and giving them a smooch, even on the cheek, as their might be trouble.]
So, let me repeat, for the Christian to contemplate, what I have taken away as the spiritual value for you of these verses in Proverbs;
It is impossible to judge a righteous judgment if you use a different standard for yourself than you do others and it is impossible to judge a righteous judgment if you uplift wicked men and women as being examples of anything good.
Matthew Henry, writing in the early 1700’s, takes these verses together. He says that, in the first verse, the reference to “the wise” is a reference to judges and magistrates. This is understandable in the literal sense for the Hebrews as they lived under God’s Law which covered not only their religious duties to God but their civil duties to man. Henry would also think it to be taken in the literal sense for the state of his day as the English also believed that they lived in a sort of theocracy under God’s Laws with the King as the head of the church on earth.
However, that notion has been shown to be false as we have seen through history that the sole purpose of the modern nation-state has been to perpetuate itself and its power not only over the people over whom it executes governance but also, inasmuch as possible, over its neighbors and fellow nation-states. The empire of Great Britain was, like all other empires of man, one of the greatest forces for evil in the world and more than any other empire besides the one that inherited the Roman Empire, the one that rules its people throughout all countries from the Vatican, it has given us the confused and mixed up world system we have today, its superficial dedication to Christ notwithstanding.
As the Christian must view the verses under the doctrine of the Law specifically given to God’s chosen people, the Hebrews of Ancient Israel, in a spiritual sense or he becomes a worldly monster much like Imperial England, Germany, or Spain let’s try to apply these verses to the individual Christian. The Christian must apply God’s standard equally in all things, if he or she is wise. For instance, take these verses quoting Christ in His ‘Sermon on the Mount’ to some of His beard wearing, pork abstaining, temple going, Sabbath observing disciples.
Matthew 7:1 ¶ Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. 6 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.
There are many issues covered in these few short sentences such as in verse 6 not placing your converts to Christ under the control of false male or female teachers who are teaching an ungodly religion. However, our focus is more narrow. Jesus says to judge others by the same standard you judge yourself. He states, at least to the Jews who are still under the doctrines of the Law at the time of His most famous sermon, that they will be judged by the same standards they use to judge others. As a consequence it would be better for them not to judge others at all. He goes on to say that they are willing to judge the speck in their brother’s eye while ignoring the beam in their own. We often point our fingers at other people’s faults and sins and ignore our own glaring defects. As I have pointed out before, for others we issue accusations, for ourselves excuses.
Paul, in writing of doctrine to the Christians at Rome, as he prepares his own argument against legalism and self justification in the book of Romans, gives a brief moral history of man and ends it with a punch that must have knocked his readers off their feet. Please bear with me as I believe a large section of the passage must be read to get the whole effect, and I will read it as it was meant to be read, with pauses at punctuation marks, lest my own emphasis give the wrong impression.
Romans 1:16 ¶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 ¶ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
2:1 ¶ Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
So, to judge by a righteous standard we must use the same standard for others as we do for ourselves. It is the rare Christian, particularly a fundamentalist like myself, who has not at some point held the truth in unrighteousness and judged others, particularly in today’s society, those who engage in homosexual behavior or those who support the unfettered constitutional right to abortion, by a different set of moral standards than we do ourselves. Of course, the self righteous Christian has a problem even seeing the truth of this perspective because they are so very convinced they have never been guilty, since being saved, of any of the sins of action AND thought listed in the verses in Romans.
In verse 24 in Proverbs, it talks about calling someone that is evil, good. For instance, under the civil law, declaring someone’s argument in a conflict as correct who is clearly wrong and oppressing the other side, usually the person without the deeper pockets. How can our own country, secular nation or Christian one, as either side will profess, hope for any good to come of us when even Christians extol the virtues of celebrities, the wealthy, and the powerful;
Psalm 12:8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.
For a Christian to hold out as a person to honor, respect with your attention and money, and your conversation people who are so vile and wicked to the extreme: actors and actresses, sports figures, music personalities, and many politicians, also men and women of the business world, is an absurdity to the extreme. How many Christians, I wonder, enjoyed the appropriately named television show, American Idol? How many Christians have put money in the pockets of people who denounce their faith and ridicule their intelligence like Bruce Willis or Ian McKellan, by watching their movies and praising their performances? What about people like a former president of the US who called Jesus Christ his “favorite philosopher” when God calls philosophy “vain deceit”?
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
It is impossible to judge a righteous judgment if you use a different standard for yourself than you do others and it is impossible to judge a righteous judgment if you uplift wicked men and women as being examples of anything good.
Finally, the verses in Proverbs state that by judging righteously you will win the approval of others. This was certainly applicable in the Jewish state when it honored God but would hardly have an application today as the whole world lies in wickedness (1 John 5:19), the proof of which lies in the fact that more often than not people in positions of authority are praised for their indecent decisions rather than righteous ones. [By the way, we find the concept of men kissing each other as inappropriate and gross but there are many customs of other cultures that might appear so as they are alien to our contemplation. I refer you to Paul’s references to a “holy kiss” (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26) and to Peter’s reference to a “kiss of charity” (1 Peter 5:14) although I wouldn’t recommended you walking up to a Christian in our culture and giving them a smooch, even on the cheek, as their might be trouble.]
So, let me repeat, for the Christian to contemplate, what I have taken away as the spiritual value for you of these verses in Proverbs;
It is impossible to judge a righteous judgment if you use a different standard for yourself than you do others and it is impossible to judge a righteous judgment if you uplift wicked men and women as being examples of anything good.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Proverbs 24:21-22 commentary; the change agents of Christianity
21 ¶ My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change: 22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
Both Henry and Gill put this in a political perspective having to do with betrayal and disloyalty and treason. From a purely physical standpoint you could certainly express it in this way. But, what about a spiritual application for Christians? At the time the New Testament was written there were no Christian kings and Christians were told to obey the laws of the land in which they lived and to not bring shame on the cause of Christ. There are more pressing things to consider than conservative and liberal issues and what kind of change the current President may or may not have brought to the White House.
Our king is God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, who is composed of three parts, as we are; the Spirit, which is the Holy Spirit, the soul, which is God the Father, and the body, which is God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, all three part of one but in God’s case only capable of acting independently and yet in perfect harmony with each other. We, as well, are composed of body, soul, and spirit but if ours are separated we physically die.
Our Lord, who is our king, gave us His words in book form to speak to us through and to enlighten and edify us with and by reading it each day, hearing it preached, and studying it we grow as His people. The Bible is so important to the faith of many that the famous and controversial Anglican, William Chillingsworth, said “I am fully assured that God does not, and therefore that men ought not to require any more of any man than this, to believe the Scripture to be God’s word, to endeavor to find the true sense of it, and to live according to it.”
He also wrote the famous line about the Protestant religion, which is the physical expression of the Protestant faith, “The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, is the religion of Protestants.”
(as reported on page 363 of John Fletcher Hurst’s 1892 book, Short History of the Christian Church.)
But, in spite of 2,000 years of the majority of Christians using and believing in what modern scholars call the Byzantine line of Bible manuscripts and versions, in spite of the common usage among Christians of many important verses relating to doctrine, and in spite of the preponderance of historical and Biblical documentation underscoring the inspiration of God in both copies and translations of the true line of Bible manuscripts there are many today who would change God’s word.
These dividers and malcontents are willfully ignorant of how the Bible is divided, how it’s words are self defining, how it is designed to be read and understood, and how the Holy Spirit uses it to talk to the believer and to change his or her life. They view the Bible as merely an old book that “contains” God’s word but not necessarily IS God’s word, and only view the validity of a version or translation based on available manuscript evidence alone rather than looking at the larger picture of the writings of the early church “fathers” and the documents used by the churches of God throughout history. They attempt to describe what the Bible in one limited way just as a person might try to describe an elephant by describing only its tail.
We are not to meddle with them. Their own calamity is at hand. Just as those people in the realm of politics who are given to change, not for a specific reason such as correcting an inequity or an injustice, but simply for the point of their addiction to change, often come to ruin and drag others down with them, these Bible correctors have reduced the power and the value of the Bible, God’s words, to the level of a book of good advice and moral example.
Just as the young person is warned in these Proverbs written under the dispensation of the Law given to Moses about worldly politics in God’s physical kingdom on earth not to follow those who speak rebellion and treason, we must warn Christians to not allow so called scholars, with an agenda, to take the Bible that God has given them away from them.
The essence of Modernism is that all things modern are superior to all things of the past, that the past has nothing to offer us but a bad example. The essence of Modernism is to believe that if we have done it now, it is better than something our forefathers did in the past. And as Paul was taken to Rome to his death by two ships of Alexandria, Egypt so Christianity is being taken to its demise by two manuscripts of Alexandria, Egypt’s apostasy, the Codices Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, two among a small minority of around 50 manuscripts (out of thousands) that support the modern Bible versions in their addiction to changing the traditional text.
The Bible that we use is the fountain of our knowledge and understanding of God’s will. The Bibles that they use are the excuses for their own opinions and worldly, humanistic drivel that passes for sermons, creeds, and purpose led psychological innovations in the church. When the change agents get up in front of a church and announce they are going to speak from God’s error free word, they do not mean the one they have in their hands and they have no direct knowledge of the one they are referring to. Don’t meddle with them. Their opinions will be pure humanism and they will set up two conflicting authorities in Bibles that say different things and then they will offer to be the arbiter between those two opinions. The change agents of modern Christianity, in pulpits across the nation, mean to do what Satan has been unable to do for two thousand years, to take your Bible away from you, right out of your hands, and to render you totally dependent on them and their opinions to learn the things of God.
Both Henry and Gill put this in a political perspective having to do with betrayal and disloyalty and treason. From a purely physical standpoint you could certainly express it in this way. But, what about a spiritual application for Christians? At the time the New Testament was written there were no Christian kings and Christians were told to obey the laws of the land in which they lived and to not bring shame on the cause of Christ. There are more pressing things to consider than conservative and liberal issues and what kind of change the current President may or may not have brought to the White House.
Our king is God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, who is composed of three parts, as we are; the Spirit, which is the Holy Spirit, the soul, which is God the Father, and the body, which is God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, all three part of one but in God’s case only capable of acting independently and yet in perfect harmony with each other. We, as well, are composed of body, soul, and spirit but if ours are separated we physically die.
Our Lord, who is our king, gave us His words in book form to speak to us through and to enlighten and edify us with and by reading it each day, hearing it preached, and studying it we grow as His people. The Bible is so important to the faith of many that the famous and controversial Anglican, William Chillingsworth, said “I am fully assured that God does not, and therefore that men ought not to require any more of any man than this, to believe the Scripture to be God’s word, to endeavor to find the true sense of it, and to live according to it.”
He also wrote the famous line about the Protestant religion, which is the physical expression of the Protestant faith, “The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, is the religion of Protestants.”
(as reported on page 363 of John Fletcher Hurst’s 1892 book, Short History of the Christian Church.)
But, in spite of 2,000 years of the majority of Christians using and believing in what modern scholars call the Byzantine line of Bible manuscripts and versions, in spite of the common usage among Christians of many important verses relating to doctrine, and in spite of the preponderance of historical and Biblical documentation underscoring the inspiration of God in both copies and translations of the true line of Bible manuscripts there are many today who would change God’s word.
These dividers and malcontents are willfully ignorant of how the Bible is divided, how it’s words are self defining, how it is designed to be read and understood, and how the Holy Spirit uses it to talk to the believer and to change his or her life. They view the Bible as merely an old book that “contains” God’s word but not necessarily IS God’s word, and only view the validity of a version or translation based on available manuscript evidence alone rather than looking at the larger picture of the writings of the early church “fathers” and the documents used by the churches of God throughout history. They attempt to describe what the Bible in one limited way just as a person might try to describe an elephant by describing only its tail.
We are not to meddle with them. Their own calamity is at hand. Just as those people in the realm of politics who are given to change, not for a specific reason such as correcting an inequity or an injustice, but simply for the point of their addiction to change, often come to ruin and drag others down with them, these Bible correctors have reduced the power and the value of the Bible, God’s words, to the level of a book of good advice and moral example.
Just as the young person is warned in these Proverbs written under the dispensation of the Law given to Moses about worldly politics in God’s physical kingdom on earth not to follow those who speak rebellion and treason, we must warn Christians to not allow so called scholars, with an agenda, to take the Bible that God has given them away from them.
The essence of Modernism is that all things modern are superior to all things of the past, that the past has nothing to offer us but a bad example. The essence of Modernism is to believe that if we have done it now, it is better than something our forefathers did in the past. And as Paul was taken to Rome to his death by two ships of Alexandria, Egypt so Christianity is being taken to its demise by two manuscripts of Alexandria, Egypt’s apostasy, the Codices Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, two among a small minority of around 50 manuscripts (out of thousands) that support the modern Bible versions in their addiction to changing the traditional text.
The Bible that we use is the fountain of our knowledge and understanding of God’s will. The Bibles that they use are the excuses for their own opinions and worldly, humanistic drivel that passes for sermons, creeds, and purpose led psychological innovations in the church. When the change agents get up in front of a church and announce they are going to speak from God’s error free word, they do not mean the one they have in their hands and they have no direct knowledge of the one they are referring to. Don’t meddle with them. Their opinions will be pure humanism and they will set up two conflicting authorities in Bibles that say different things and then they will offer to be the arbiter between those two opinions. The change agents of modern Christianity, in pulpits across the nation, mean to do what Satan has been unable to do for two thousand years, to take your Bible away from you, right out of your hands, and to render you totally dependent on them and their opinions to learn the things of God.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Proverbs 24:19-20 commentary; God settles all accounts
19 ¶ Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; 20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
We’ve been told before not to envy wicked people. Here, we are told not to worry and fret ourselves because of them. The prophets often would question God as to why the evil were allowed to prosper so long.
Even Job himself laments;
Job 12:6 ¶ The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
Jeremiah also complains;
Jeremiah 12:1 ¶ Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore [Why] doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
We have the past evidence in the Bible that God does eventually settle accounts with the wicked person; whether it be a robber or a wicked king or even a rebellious nation. You can be sure, in our day, that He will eventually settle accounts with crooked, cynical politicians, merchants of war, and the occasional Wall Street investment banker, as well.
God settled accounts with Germany for over a century of what is called “Higher Criticism” of the Bible which was thinly disguised contempt and unbelief. He settled accounts with the British Empire for trashing His Bible, for starving tens of millions of people in India to death while the grain stocks of England were filled, and for turning its back on the Jews after promising them a homeland. It is said that World War One prepared the land for the Jew and World War Two prepared the Jew for the land. Man does the work, thinking he is running things, but God brings His plans about often through men. Even Abraham Lincoln admitted the Civil War was a judgment on the entire nation for the sin of slavery.
God settles accounts but, remember, we are not to gloat over the fall of the wicked. God has already warned us about that. And what about you? Will God settle accounts with you? Or will you receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour? God is in the process of settling accounts with this wicked Babylon of America even as we speak. When will He settle accounts with you? Now is the time to believe and be saved. Otherwise;
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
We’ve been told before not to envy wicked people. Here, we are told not to worry and fret ourselves because of them. The prophets often would question God as to why the evil were allowed to prosper so long.
Even Job himself laments;
Job 12:6 ¶ The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
Jeremiah also complains;
Jeremiah 12:1 ¶ Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore [Why] doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
We have the past evidence in the Bible that God does eventually settle accounts with the wicked person; whether it be a robber or a wicked king or even a rebellious nation. You can be sure, in our day, that He will eventually settle accounts with crooked, cynical politicians, merchants of war, and the occasional Wall Street investment banker, as well.
God settled accounts with Germany for over a century of what is called “Higher Criticism” of the Bible which was thinly disguised contempt and unbelief. He settled accounts with the British Empire for trashing His Bible, for starving tens of millions of people in India to death while the grain stocks of England were filled, and for turning its back on the Jews after promising them a homeland. It is said that World War One prepared the land for the Jew and World War Two prepared the Jew for the land. Man does the work, thinking he is running things, but God brings His plans about often through men. Even Abraham Lincoln admitted the Civil War was a judgment on the entire nation for the sin of slavery.
God settles accounts but, remember, we are not to gloat over the fall of the wicked. God has already warned us about that. And what about you? Will God settle accounts with you? Or will you receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour? God is in the process of settling accounts with this wicked Babylon of America even as we speak. When will He settle accounts with you? Now is the time to believe and be saved. Otherwise;
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
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