Throughout man’s sordid history, people have mocked, rejected, and forsaken the Lord. They have chosen to look to gods that cannot save or help.
People in the world are generally quite self-centered. Even saved people are often lovers of their own selves instead of preferring one another.
Although there are times where God respects some while rejecting others, God’s acceptance of one and rejection of another is never a baseless respect.
The idea of the word respect is that an individual looks at two things and chooses to look at one of them a second time demonstrating favouritism.
There is one murder that far surpasses every other murder ever committed. That particular murder occurred when Jesus Christ was crucified.
Murder is an act of hatred originating in the heart. Man, however, is not the inventor of murder. It is, in fact, the will and work of Satan.
Capital punishment is not confined to the Old Testament and is not done to the exclusion of God’s grace, but rather as an act of God’s just judgment.
A man’s conscience resides within, yet its expression can be witnessed by others. Because of the testimony of his conscience, Paul rejoiced. According to scripture, that testimony was manifest to the world but especially among the people of God. Those who knew Paul knew that he served the Lord “in simplicity and godly sincerity.” He did not do everything right, but he exhibited a passion of heart to do right in all that he did. No doubt, this was a wonderful example to other believers who looked to Paul for guidance. They saw a man who sincerely loved the Lord and others and also gave every effort possible not to offend either.
Man’s conscience has proven to be one of the most undervalued possessions held by man. The Bible shows that the apostle Paul understood the value of his conscience. He exercised himself to ensure that his conscience was void of offence toward both God and other men. When Paul testified before the council, he could proclaim that he had “lived in all good conscience before God” to that day (Acts 23:1). This did not just happen by chance because Paul described his efforts as exercise (work). It took constant effort. It required willingly denying himself and considering the will of the Lord. The apostle Paul is with the Lord, but the same principles hold true for anyone else who desires the testimony of a good conscience void of offence.
Sin within a person’s life messes with man’s conscience. It begins by attacking man’s knowledge of God with the end goal of causing a complete rejection of God. Sinful man turns to many different devices in hopes of taking care of his sin-tainted conscience. He may seek to pacify his conscience by doing religious works. He also may try to forget that his conscience has been corrupted by a further turning toward the pleasures of sin. In both cases, he is left with a conscience in need of purging. Where can man turn to find the purging he so strongly desires? According to the Bible, only the blood of Jesus Christ can purge a man’s conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14).
