Many people turn to fortune tellers, psychics, and horoscopes for hope. Faith in this hope (false hope) has ruined countless lives.
With each passing year, witchcraft has grown more acceptable in the eyes of man, yet God has not wavered concerning His thoughts on these matters.
It is imperative that men speak the truth, for “he that speaketh the truth sheweth forth righteousness,” and his lip “shall be established for ever.”
Believers can strengthen the hands of the wicked by approving of their works or remaining silent concerning their God’s view of those wicked works.
Far too many people have forsaken the simplicity which is in Christ and have instead pursued the complexity and labour of religion (2 Corinthians 11:3).
Historically, the word jealous is connected to the word zeal rather than to envy. Unfortunately, the world has perverted man’s understanding of jealousy by likening it to a detestable sin. The Bible student recognizes that jealousy cannot always be sinful because God says that He is a jealous God (Nahum 1:2) and God does not sin. A scriptural study proves that jealousy can be righteous, or it can be wicked depending upon the intent of the one in whom this jealousy originates. In a very basic sense, jealousy is the unwillingness to share or allow anything to rival the object of one’s desire. Since man has sinful desires, jealously is often viewed as sinful and can lead to other sinful practices. In the Lord’s case, His righteous desire to be man’s only true and living God drives Him to just judgment and godly jealousy.
Without the truth, there can be no true biblical conviction. By definition, conviction is the work of God that convinces an individual concerning the validity of truth and accountability for truth. The Spirit of God takes the law of God and writes it upon men’s hearts. That truth works upon a man’s conscience to accuse or excuse one’s thoughts. Either way, this work is very much the work of conviction. On one hand, a man develops the conviction that Jesus is the only way to get his sins forgiven. On the other hand, a man sees himself as sinful with no hope. In the end, conviction demands a holy God and a holy truth in order to forgive sin. Both elements working together bring true biblical heartfelt conviction.
God has called the saved to be His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), and as such, Christians are to take God’s truth to a lost and dying world. This message must be communicated. Due mostly to man’s ever increasing dependence upon technology, Christians have lost their effectiveness in communicating with others. This may seem insignificant, until one considers how it has weakened our ability to communicate our faith. Fewer people today will knock on a door and tell a stranger that he must be born again. Even fewer will stand upon a street corner and communicate the words of God to those who pass by. The saved must once again become willing to go forth and tell family and stranger alike that Jesus saves.
God often allows problems to enter people’s lives in order to facilitate His initial plans. For example, God had already expressed His desire to Abram for him to separate from his kindred. For various reasons, Abram had not obeyed God up until this point. In order to bring about God’s desired will, He allowed conflict to enter between the herdmen of Abram and those of Lot. The solution to this unnecessary conflict was quite simple. Abram suggested that they part ways (God’s initial plan) and Abram turned toward the land of Canaan (God’s initial plan). The Lord used the same tactic in the early church to get them to spread out and to preach His word outside of Jerusalem (see Acts 1:8 and Acts 8:1).
Every unsaved person will have windows of opportunities when he becomes most receptive to the gospel of Christ. The Devil works hard to keep people in darkness and will distract them by every means necessary (i.e., the death of a loved one, a crying child, a ringing phone, busyness, etc.). The salvation of a soul involves a spiritual battle that can only be won by the Lord’s intervention. There is a window of time when the lost are most receptive to the gospel, likewise suggesting only a window of opportunity for the saved to speak for Christ. This is the very reason the apostle Paul stressed the importance of the saints of God beseeching the Lord to open to them a door of utterance (Ephesians 6:19).
