When men choose to reject the truth, God tends to withhold further truth from them. The result is spiritual and intellectual darkness.
The thief does not care for the well-being of those he victimizes. He cares for himself and only himself. He hurts and has no trouble hurting others.
Sin affects men in various ways, but it attacks them in every facet of life. It hinders their walk with God and hurts their ability to reach others for Christ.
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.
The world often accuses faithful believers of being arrogant or simply narrow-minded because of the believer’s unwavering certainty concerning the things he believes. Although there are times when believers reveal an unchristian arrogance, the godly believer is simply certain of his beliefs because he is certain of the authority substantiating those beliefs. According to Titus 2:15, the believer canand should “speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.” Why? Because the Bible is the word of the God that has all authority and it offers to the believer that level of authority. It is not, therefore, arrogance which causes a godly believer to be unwilling to waver on what he believes, but faith in the written word and words of his God.
The question concerning duly authorized or appointed authority is crucial. Although the question above originated with the chief priests and elders, it remains a good question. What was the Lord’s authority for the things He was doing, and from what or whom did this authority originate? It is under this microscope that everything in life should be examined. The Lord’s authority was Himself (or His Father), and so it should be with the New Testament believer. Everything believed or done should be believed or done because it is the will of the Lord. Unfortunately, the typical believer today has other competing authorities such as feelings, experience, and even peers that often lead to unscriptural beliefs and works.
The Bible says that God is angry every day. Yet, at the same time He may display His anger, the Bible also says that He is love (1 John 4:8), and righteous (Ezra 9:15), and compassionate (Psalm 86:15), and just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and merciful (Deuteronomy 4:31). The source of God’s anger and the means by which He acts upon His anger sets the standard for what is truly a righteous anger. If man’s righteous acts provoked God to anger, this would signify a sinful nature. The Bible is clear that the opposite holds true. God is provoked to anger by sin (1 Kings 16:2), vanity (1 Kings 16:26), and idolatry (1 Kings 22:53). His righteous anger in each case plainly declares God’s righteous nature. The source of His anger sets forth the only sources by which men should become angry.
We are promised that the word of God works effectually in those that believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Yet, the Devil works hard to choke out the fruitfulness of the word. In order to achieve his ultimate objective, the Devil uses any means within his arsenal. Pleasure-seeking serves as one of his choicest weapons. In order to convince people that they do not need the Lord or His word, the Devil convinces people that they have everything they could possibly ever want or need without Him. The Devil convinces them that they are happy or satisfied and there is nothing better than their lot in life. He keeps them preoccupied so that they do not take time to reflect and recognize that they are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17) apart from the Lord.
In the most basic sense, punishment is directed toward those who have done wrong. Though any particular punishment may seem harsh by those receiving the punishment, God intended it to be a calculated response toward wrongdoing. Though there are some passages in the Old Testament that indicate punishment was directed toward the people of God (Ezra 9:13; Hosea 12:2), the vast majority of references demonstrate that it was intended for the enemies of God (Psalm 149:7; Proverbs 11:21; Isaiah 10:12; Isaiah 13:11; Isaiah 24:21; Isaiah 26:21; Isaiah 27:1; Jeremiah 25:12; Jeremiah 46:25). A careful study of the New Testament will strengthen the distinction as there are no references to God punishing His people.
NOW is the ideal time to love and serve the Lord. Some unwise counsel has suggested that young people should go out and experience the world in their youth before they later settle down and serve God once mature. An equally erroneous teaching proclaims that godly parents should raise their children to love and serve the Master at some future time. Both have misled far too many homes! The Lord wants young people to love and serve Him now. One should begin early in life to learn the most important lessons of life. As a child, one should learn “the fear of the LORD” (Psalm 34:11), to “praise the name of the LORD” (Psalm 148:12-13; Matthew 21:15), and to “remember” his Creator (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Like Samuel, children should grow and be “in favour both with the LORD, and also with men” (1 Samuel 2:26).
