Those who meddle with astrologers and sorcerers (and like practices) put themselves on a collision course with God's judgment.
In every way, God is greater than man. A man would have to be a thief to claim equality with God. Yet, Christ thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
The Bible often defines words through their associations. For instance, the words salute, saluteth, and salutation involve a greeting.
It is imperative that each believer not only do what is right, but also examine himself to make sure that he is doing what is right for the right reasons.
Many of those who find joy in pleasure are eventually overcome by seeking out further pleasures. Eventually, they find themselves carelessly given to the seeking of those pleasures. Though the warning given in Isaiah chapter 47 was directed to the “virgin daughter of Babylon” (Isaiah 47:1), the principle applies to everyone. A man given to pleasure often dwells carelessly until he is consumed with self. He lives as though life is a game, void of future trials, difficulties, and judgments. This is sometimes done because he does not truly give thought to future things. For others, it happens in order to avoid thinking about future things. Nevertheless, each decision is based upon how much happiness it brings, rather than how it affects others or his future. The reality is that pleasure cannot stop the outcomes that a person wishes to avoid.
Peter admonished “newborn babes” in Christ to lay aside all hypocrisies. It is a natural battle that every babe in Christ must face. A new believer might have an inappropriate longing to please the one who led him to the Lord rather than giving the Lord preeminence. He might perform actions in hopes that his spiritual mentor will take notice. Eventually, this fault blossoms to the point where he begins to see problems in others while failing to realize the same problems exist in his own life. He might work hard to obey the strictest of commands while missing the overall desire of the Lord in his own life. Even as a babe in Christ, he must work to lay aside hypocrisy. Until he does, he will never grow into the mature believer the Lord wants him to be.
Self-examination serves as a tool for man to use to find out who and what he is. Though some preachers suggest that believers should never question their own salvation experience, the scripture encourages self-examination. If there are doubts, believers should certainly ask questions concerning the basis for their salvation. Was it based upon one’s feelings or solely upon the scriptures? They should ask what they did in order to be saved. Did they join a church, do some penitent work, or did they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith as dictated by the scriptures? They should ask about the effects of their salvation. Have they seen a change of heart, or are they the same that they were before trusting Christ as Saviour?
At first glance, this passage appears to be less expressive than many others which cover a wider range of study. After all, a single reading of our passage proves that nakedness is the opposite of being clothed or covered. This truth is confirmed by other similar passages as well (Leviticus 18:6; Job 24:7; Isaiah 58:7). However, this subject is much more complicated than merely whether someone is covered or not. It is important to understand the full context. For example, is nakedness the failure to cover every part of the body or are there parts of the body considered secret or private (Isaiah 3:17)? Though there are certainly other secret or private parts, the Lord plainly declared that uncovering the legs and thighs was nakedness (Isaiah 47:1-3). For this reason, the priests were told to wear breeches to cover these parts under their priestly attire (Exodus 28:42).
The Bible’s built-in dictionary defines edification by contrasting it with destruction. Destruction gives the sense of tearing down something; therefore, it makes sense that edification refers to the opposite of tearing down. Consider a related word: an edifice is a building. This further confirms that edification means to build up something. As saints of God, we should be building ourselves and others on our most holy faith (Jude 20). In fact, everything we do should be judged by whether or not it works to build up or to strengthen us or other believers. Christians should focus on consciously building others in the faith. Consistently edifying others takes thorough planning and direction; whereas, destructive behaviour frequently takes place haphazardly.
Sometimes the most effective means of defining a Bible word involves researching those words commonly associated with the word in question. Delicate is such a word. On four occasions, the Bible associates the word delicate with variations of the word tender (Deuteronomy 28:54, 56; Isaiah 47:1). This association provides the Bible student with the sense that a delicate person is easily broken spiritually. Additional Bible study demonstrates that a tender heart remains pliable and prone to brokenness before the Lord. Conversely, the Bible points to a hardened heart as remaining obstinate. The word obstinate conveys an inflexibleness or stubbornness. As believers, we should aspire to be tenderhearted before the Lord with a heart easily moved to accomplish His will.
