Many people turn to fortune tellers, psychics, and horoscopes for hope. Faith in this hope (false hope) has ruined countless lives.
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.”
More knowledgeable Christians should never mock or disdain weaker believers, nor should they become stumblingstones toward these brethren.
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).
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.
When true worship gets blended together with amusement, it yields varying types of worldliness and idolatry. In Exodus chapter 32, the children of Israel observed a “feast to the LORD” at the same time that they “rose up to play.” As men begin to grow increasingly cold and indifferent toward the Lord and His ways, they will seek ever more imaginative ways to make spiritual worship appeal to the flesh. This is often accomplished by uniting pleasure and worship. In an effort to keep people interested in the worship of God, churches add comedic relief, drama, carnal music, and a host of other worldly amusements. In doing so, the worship of God gets corrupted and becomes nothing more than idolatry or false worship.
Chastening is best associated to a parent-child relationship (Deuteronomy 8:5; 2 Samuel 7:14; Proverbs 13:24; Proverbs 19:18; Hebrews 12:6-8). As such, God’s chastening, at least within the New Testament, is only intended for those He calls His sons (1 John 3:2). God chastens His children, not to administer justice, but to strengthen and correct them. The believer does not receive some type of punishment from the Lord resulting from the believer’s sins because these sins have been completely atoned through the shed blood of Christ. However, the saint’s continued practice of sin requires the chastening hand of the Lord in order to conform him into the image of Christ. While chastening is reserved exclusively for sons, a lost man receives only punishment or salvation.
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).
