When the Ephesians believed on Christ, they examined the moral nature of each aspect of their lives. This led them to burn their curious arts books.
Nations have lost sight of the Almighty God. In doing so, they fail to recognize that neither they nor their leaders are the highest authority.
The Bible offers two circumstances to truly define death: the departure of the soul (Genesis 35:18) and the departure of the spirit (Genesis 25:8).
Although one individual may possess both power and authority, the two are not identical. Authority is the right or responsibility to do something whereas power is the ability to do something. Unfortunately, the modern versions missed this truth when they translated Matthew 28:18. Instead of properly expressing that because of the resurrection the Lord Jesus had been given all power in heaven and earth, these so-called bibles suggest that He had been instead given authority. The authority already resided with Him, but the resurrection declared Him “to be the Son of God with power” (Romans 1:4). His resurrection from the dead gave Him the power over death by conquering the one who possessed the power of death (Hebrews 2:14).
It may appear at times as though the wicked have all the advantage over the righteous, but it is important to note that the LORD has never lost His control of this world. The Bible says of God that His soul hateth “him that loveth violence.” Yet, “The LORD trieth the righteous” and often accomplishes this through the wickedness of the wicked. According to the psalms, the wicked “bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart” (Psalm 11:2), and the Lord allows this to happen. Why? Because He wants to reveal the hearts of those who claim to fear Him. In the end, the Lord will take care of His own but will “rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest” upon the wicked (Psalm 11:6).
Sometimes the right decisions are the easiest to see and the most difficult to make. In the case of Korah’s rebellion, many of the people at that time recognized the ease of making the right decision. The person who understood and saw God’s impending judgment knew that the only proper solution was the one offered by the Lord—separate from the tents of the rebels. The proper solution was also quite easy to perform. However, there were many family members of these men involved in the rebellion who had to make a difficult choice. The solution was made known unto them, the details were clear, but their choices were not easy. Why? The right decision involved walking away from a father and family whom they may have loved dearly. According to the psalms, at least some of the sons of Korah chose to do the right thing and separate from their family.
Man is made up of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. Death takes place when the soul (Genesis 35:18) and the spirit (Genesis 25:8) leave the body. This event happens to everyone regardless of the individual’s spiritual state at death. Saved or lost, a person’s spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 3:21; Ecclesiastes 12:7). However, the soul’s destination is based upon whether or not a person has trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour during this life. There exists no midpoint between earth and heaven (or hell) to purge one’s sins, including places invented by religions to do so. For a saved person, the Bible declares that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Unfortunately for the lost, this same outcome is not true. Following death, the Bible reveals that the lost man’s soul immediately goes to hell (Luke 16:23).
God gave us the Bible to serve as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice. This certainly includes the types of songs that should be sung. In fact, the Bible contains an entire book of songs, the Book of Psalms. According to Colossians 3:16, the psalms is only one of three categories of songs to be sung by New Testament believers. Basically, psalms are scriptures set to musick, hymns are doctrinal songs speaking specifically of the Lord, and spiritual songs deal with the Christian life and practice. A diligent study of history yields evidence that God’s people have been singing songs from each of these categories since the church’s inception.
The Lord is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). He calls upon His people to follow Him with an undivided heart. One facet of our calling involves hating evil. Our love for the Lord will naturally breed a hatred for the things of this world. Throughout the psalms, we find statements of hatred from the people of God. They hated “the congregation of evil doers” (Psalm 26:5), “them that regard lying vanities” (Psalm 31:6), “the work of them that turn aside” (Psalm 101:3), “every false way” (Psalm 119:104, 128), “vain thoughts” (Psalm 119:113), and “covetousness” (Proverbs 28:16). God never intended for these truths to be limited to His children in Old Testament times. Just as the Bible commands that we should love the Lord and the brethren, it also commands that we should hate things contrary to the Lord.
The New Testament frequently incorporates minor word variations when quoting Old Testament passages. Some Bible critics have pointed to these variations suggesting that the Bible contains contradictions. However, Bible-believing students know that these variations actually provide additional light and understanding of God’s word. For example, Romans 3:13 quotes Psalm 5:9 with the variation in wording shedding light on the meaning of the word flattery. The phrase from Psalms reads “they flatter with their tongue” (Psalm 5:9). Romans modifies this Old Testament quotation by stating that “with their tongues they have used deceit” (Romans 3:13). This indicates that flattery involves the use of deceitful words; and according to 1 Thessalonians 2:5, the motive is often connected to covetousness.
