The God of the Bible is a God of truth. On the other hand, the Devil is the great enemy of truth. The Bible says of him, “there is no truth in him.”
More knowledgeable Christians should never mock or disdain weaker believers, nor should they become stumblingstones toward these brethren.
People's motives in serving Christ vary from pure to sinful. However, other men’s motives should not rob us of the joy of Jesus Christ being preached.
There are two categories of sin: sins against God and sins against man. By default, every sin is against God. Yet, not all sin is against man.
Most people view sin as a private or earthy matter. Yet, every sin is against the Lord. In truth, men can sin against the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Life is a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. Likewise, the trials of life are temporary and should be viewed in that light.
Many who understand the wickedness involved in murder fail to realize that the scripture also warns “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.”
Increasingly prevalent today, it seems more than at any other time in history, man continues to experience a sense of emptiness. Every day, people expend an enormous amount of time, money, and energy in hopes of obtaining this ever elusive goal of being happy. How can a people so desperately intent upon finding happiness find happiness so unreachable? The answer is quite simple. Happiness is not found in entertainment, money, one’s appearance, social acceptance, careers, achievements, spouse, or any other number of things where men continually search for this happiness. Instead, the Bible points out that happiness is attainable for the man “whose hope is in the LORD his God.” Hope can keep a man going when all other wells have run completely dry. Regardless of man’s circumstances, hope can put a song in a man’s heart and praise upon his lips.
Believing that one man can cause true biblical conviction upon another man serves as one of the greatest misconceptions concerning conviction. Obviously, one man can proclaim the truth to another, but only the Spirit of God can open that other man’s heart to convince him of the truth being conveyed (Acts 16:14). Even when the scriptures reveal that Apollos convinced the people that Jesus was Christ, the Bible student understands that he did so only through the help of the Holy Ghost (Acts 18:28). Apollos was merely the instrument. Thus, man is only responsible for giving the truth and doing so in a scriptural fashion. God then takes that word and makes it effectual in the hearers’ hearts.
A man’s conscience is likened to a muscle. When a man exercises his conscience, it becomes strong and increasingly useful. It can protect when the enemy attacks and keep that man from being taken captive. When the conscience is ignored, it deteriorates and becomes weak and less dependable. The apostle Paul warned the believers at Corinth about defiling the weak conscience of others who might not be as strong in the faith. It was so important that they were to be willing to refuse to eat meat, a perfectly acceptable food, if eating it meant someone else’s conscience was going to be harmed. According to Paul, damaging someone’s conscience was to sin against that brother.
