There is a great deal of evil that permeates oursociety; socially, politically, and religiously. Efforts are always underfootto entice others to compromise solid, proven paths. The phrase, “let us agreeto disagree” is utilized to entice others to compromise their convictions in aneffort to keep from being called all of the nasty names that opponents hurl ateach other. We live in a society that is bent on being politically correct inwhat we say. The effort has so convoluted society that no one knows what tocall anything, especially sin.  Terms like “closed minded,” “unyielding,”“unreasonable,” “opinionated,” “extreme,” or “fanatical,” are used quiteloosely. And now, there is an attempt to charge those who proclaim the truth aboutmatters with “hate crimes.” A push to compromise is alwaysunderfoot.  Compromise = “In arguments,compromise is a concept of finding agreement through communication, through amutual acceptance of terms—often involving variations from an original goal ordesire. Extremism is often considered as an antonym to compromise, which,depending on context, may be associated with concepts of balance” (Wikipedia).

The prophet Isaiah,said, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness forlight, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet forbitter!” (5:20).  What is the compromising of truth, butcalling evil good and good evil? Solomon said, “Buy the truth, and sell itnot…” (Proverbs 23:23). What is compromising thetruth, but selling out?

God does not approve of his children “compromising the truth” in an effort to be “fair” in the eyes of the ungodly: “Be subjecttherefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James4:7). When Israel received the Law of Moses, at Sinai, Jehovah said, “And in all things that I have said untoyou take ye heed and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let itbe heard out of thy mouth” (Exodus 23:13). When the godly are told to “flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14), we might do well to consider Israel’s charge to “make no mention of the name of othergods” as the first step in “fleeing.”

The world has its abundance of evil men. Men who“entice thee” saying, “Come with us, let us lay wait for blood; let us lurkprivily for the innocent without cause; let us swallow them up alive as Sheol,and whole, as those that go down in the pit; we shall find all precioussubstance; we shall fill our houses with spoil; thou shalt cast thy loot amongus; we will all have one purse” (Proverbs 1:11-14), or those who “entice theesecretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods…” (Deuteronomy 13:6). “Othergods” do not have to be made of wood, stone, or some precious metal devised bythe hands of men, and changing “the glory of the incorruptible God for thelikeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts,and creeping things” (Romans 1:23), but simply a matter of taking “his idolsinto his heart” (Ezekiel 14:4), for even covetousness is idolatry (Colossians 3:5).

If there is that which is good, and that which isevil; that which is right, and that which is wrong; that which is righteous,and that which is unrighteous, why are godly people afraid to call somethingwhat it is? Why are godly people afraid to stand up for truth, and deny lies?When the apostle Paul saw false brethren who were attempting to bringothers into bondage, he said, “to whom we gave place in the way of subjection,no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (Galatians 2:5).

Jesussaid, to his apostles, “And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but arenot able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). How serious is it,in being so fearful of ridicule and mocking, to the point, that itsilences godly men?  “But for the fearful, and unbelieving, andabominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolators, andall liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire andbrimstone; which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). How does “compromisingthe truth” sound now?

         Sin is literally a “missing of the mark” (W. E. Vines, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words). Sin is referred to in the scriptures as “lawlessness” (1 Jn. 3:4), and “all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 5:17). Righteousness is a standard. Three types of standards exist: Man’s, Society’s and God’s. Man’s standard is when every one does what is right in their own eyes. Such a standard is subjective and characterized by “self-righteousness.” God’s standard is objective and characterized by “knowledge”: “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:2-3). Thus, in society, a lawless man does what is right in his own eyes, rejects the accepted righteousness prescribed by the laws of the land, and in so doing misses the mark. In reference to God, a lawless man does what is right in his own eyes, rejects the righteousness of God (God’s laws), and in so doing misses the mark.

        Sin has consequences, physically and spiritually: Consequences that cannot be fixed. When you plant a fruit tree and it bears fruit, you cannot change the fact of its existence and consequent use, be it good or bad. When you speak a word, it bears fruit: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverbs 18:21). Once the word is spoken, you cannot change the fact of its existence and consequent use, be it good or bad.

        Individuals who suffer from the consequences of sin often ask, “How can I fix it?” The truth is, you can’t “fix” it. You cannot change the fact of its existence and consequence, any more than you can change the nature of the produce of a fruit tree: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Jesus did not come to fix, or remove the consequences of sin, He came to pay it: “For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6, 8).

From where did we come? When did it all begin? These are questions that have entered the hearts of men for centuries. It’s difficult for beings of a finite existence to grasp the beginning and the end of the matter. Science (falsely so called) has attempted to explain the origin of all things through theories and suppositions, taking what is and applying it to what was is unreliable, at best. Beyond all the suppositions lies the fact that no human being was present at the moment of creation to reveal the process. What anyone believes concerning the origin ofall things is based entirely upon faith. Many debates have been conducted on the subject and it is not the intention of the writer to enter such an arena.The purpose of this article is to set forth what the Bible has to say about the creation.  The Bible does not argue the existence of God. It simply begins with “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The term “beginning” refers to the beginning of the heavens and the earth, not the beginning of God. The Psalmist said of Jehovah, “Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (90:2). God is described as having no beginning and no end. Inverse one we have the beginning of time, the operation of energy (God), the action of creating and the beginning of space, i.e. the heavens, and matter,i.e. the earth. Thus, “By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear” (Hebrews 11:3). The scriptures reveal that “God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). The scriptures also reveal that “in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11).

The term day is defined within the text of Genesis 1: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (vs.5). The sequence of event is described as having taken place in the following order: on the first day God created Light, day and night; the second: the firmament, waters were divided; the third: land and water were divided and vegetation; the fourth: sun, moon and stars; the fifth: animal life, fish and birds and the sixth: beasts, creeping things and man.

Man was unique from all the creation,in that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).

Whereas chapter one follows an order of time, chapter two follows an order of thought. Though the two chapters reveal the “who, what, when and where” of the creation, the writing was penned by Moses when the children of Israel were at mount Sinai. By writing as he does, Moses calls attention to the fact that in all the created world, woman is the only suitable answer to man’s needs. The focus is not on the order of the creation,but the relationship between man and woman.

Following the creation of man, and before God created the woman “God formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the heavens; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them: and whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof”(Genesis 2:19).  After the woman was created and brought to the man, Moses reveals that God established at that time that man shall “leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). This identifies the marriage relationship. It was the first “institution” to be established by God.

When God first created man he was placed in a “garden eastward, in Eden. Though the exact location is unidentifiable, the scriptures tell us that “a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted,and became four heads. The name of the first (river) is Pishon, the second river is Gihon, the third river is Hiddekel and the fourth is the Euphrates” (Genesis 2:11-14).

Thatgives us a brief glimpse of the creation and how the universe came to be.Concerning the purpose of creation, God said, “every one that is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yea, whom I have made” (Isaiah 43:7).  “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1Corinthians 10:31).

Hebrews 12:1 speaks of a "great cloud of witnesses that compass us. Those "witnesses" were described in chapter 11. The continued admonition to "imitate" God and his people is abundant in the scriptures (1 Cor. 4:16; Phil. 3:17; Eph. 5:1-2; 1 Thess. 1:6, 2:14; Heb. 6:12; 13:7). When we reflect upon these witnesses we cannot help but be in awe of their faith: Men like Paul who said, "I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected" (1 Cor. 9:27). This conflict that Paul, and others engaged in was described by Paul as "the good warfare" (1 Tim. 1:18). Warfare requires offense, Acts 20:27-28, as well as defense, Phil. 1:16. How does this "great cloud of witnesses" view our performance on the battle field? Are we able to stand alongside Paul, and say, "I have fought the good fight"?

The question:

Here's one for u 2 ponder: based upon the bible definition of sin, can you (commit) sin by faith only?

The Response:

The Bible definition of sin: "sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4), and "All unrighteousness is sin" (1 John 5:17). Righteousness is God's standard of what's right (Romans 10:1-2). Those who do not abide in God's righteousness, establish their own, i.e., self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is not God's righteousness, therefore it is "unrighteousness," and sin.

2 John 9, says, "Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that  abideth in the teaching the same hath both the Father and the Son."

Therefore, as Matthew 7:21 clearly states, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven," and James expressly stated, "Thou believeth that God is one; thou doest well, the demons also believe, and shudder. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called a friend of God. Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith" (Emp. mine, ret).

Conclusion: An individual cannot hold to, or teach a "faith only" doctrine, and abide "in the teaching of Christ."

First, there was the link:

Interesting....

http://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=5301284&page=1

To which I responded:
Another date to come and go...(and then you'll be able to pick up generators on the cheap).

Second, came the question:

I know the statement made in Mark 13:32, but could there be any validity to the predictions? Other research talks about a "Planet X" that is supposedly the tenth planet of our solar system on a 3000 year or so solar path. The planet (if it really exists) supposedly travels so far out of our known solar system on its path that it wasn't until within the last ten years it was even considered that the planet may belong in our solar system. The planet is supposed to pass into relativity of the other 9 planets (8 if you consider the "declassification" of Pluto) and the Sun in 2011 and remain in relativity for 3-4 years. In 2012 it is supposed to be placed in our system in such a manner that it will appear to us as a second sun and with the expected elevation in solar flares in 2012, it is suspected to result in the ignition of our atmosphere. Could the predictions be right regarding the general time frame, but not the "day and hour" as indicated in Mark?

Then came the spider:

The fervor associated with the Mayan calendar is interesting. It appears that mankind cannot accept the Lord's statement, "It is not for you to know times and seasons, which the Father hath set within his own authority" (Acts 1:7).

Although I have heard of, and heard about the 2012 predictions, I do not believe that "man" has the ability to predict such events. I have heard of the Mayan calendar and Planet X, but I do not take stock in "mans" ability to determine the outcome: I still believe God has something to say about it. Predictions have been made for thousands of years, all to no avail. I believe such will continue to be the case. I figure the Mayan calendar stopped at 2012 because the writing instrument wore out .

The "news" recently reported a planet that was drawing excessively close to its sun, and would spiral into destruction in, hmmm....I think it was 1 million years. I have also heard that the earth is wobbling on its axis and will throw everybody off in 15 million years, or some such...however, the earth is supposedly getting closer to the sun and will burn everybody up in 5 million years (so, I guess the one's thrown off, will be those who were cremated 10 million years before).

Whether it's the interpretations of religious whack-Os (highly technical term), that see a "Rapture" at every          turn, or whether it the Nostradamus predictions...or whatever else man finds to pass the time, the child of God remains ready for it to happen "today."

There is no need to be overly concerned with man's fancies, concerning the end of time. Man can't even predict the weather for more than a week out. So, my advice is to save your money, and in 2013, maybe you'll have plenty to purchase generators at half price, or keep an eye out for those who truly believe the end is coming, because come 2011, they will be selling their possessions (houses, etc.) for cheap. That has happened before. In 1840-44, the Millerites believed the Lord's return was eminent, many quit work in anticipation of the Lord's return: "So that night many gathered in the groves and fields in prayer to await the return of their Lord. The hours ticked by. At last midnight came, but Jesus didn't come. What was sweet at first suddenly became bitter. The sweet prophecy of Daniel's little book was now the source of a great disappointment. Many had sold their homes and failed to bring in the harvest from the fields. Every hope was centered in the soon return of Jesus. That night, many spent the entire night in bitter weeping and returned the next morning to their villages to meet the jeers and laughter of their neighbors.)

There is not a definitive "what's going to happen" in 2012. Some believe it will be the end of the universe, others believe it will be a period of "great change." I like one explanation to as to why the Mayan calendar ends December 21, 2012..."can it possibly be that the Mayan dude who made the calendar got bored or had better things to do?" Here's a number of failed end-of-time prophecies: http://totallytop10.com/entertainment/arts-culture/top-10-failed-apocalypse-prophecies

   

We had a visitor today that made inquiry concerning the teachings of the Baptist church. As it is, there is but one sign posted outside the main door that leaves the impression that the services being conducted within (on both sides of the hall) are Baptist. I told her, “I’m not Baptist, so I’ll not presume to state what Baptist teach.” She said, “Then what are you?” It’s difficult to answer that question, and at the same time remove a denominational view. I ultimately opted for, “We are members of the church of Christ, a non-denominational collective, which differs from the Baptist in many ways, but two areas of concern would be the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins, and the use of vocal, as opposed to mechanical instruments of music, in worship to God.” She said, “You don’t have music?” I said, “We have music, but not accompanied by a piano, or organ.” An attempt was made to get her to understand that a theological discussion involving the doctrines of the Baptist church, and Christ’s church is not something that can be done in five minutes: which is what the time restraints consisted of. We dealt with Romans 10:1-3, and the need for knowledge, as opposed to zeal not according to knowledge. When she informed me that her presence was motivated by the feeling in her heart: that the feeling in her heart was aching to hear the band, and “they had music way back there, also;” I commented that they didn’t “in the church,” she proceeded to inform me that she knows that’s what she needs. After being asked, “What basis do you have that God will accept the feelings of your heart, over and above what He’s revealed in His word?” She proceeded to tell me, “I just know He will.” After my patience waned, I said, “Well, you will probably be happier over there with those folks (Baptist), who offer to God what they want to offer, rather than being concerned with what God said he wants.” Thus, she found her way into a worship circle that met her expectations, rather than expressing a desire to abide by the word of God. How would you have handled the situation?

I spoke with a man today, about his spiritual condition. It was a simple statement: "Have you given thought to your spiritual condition?" Answer: "It is fine!," and plainly intended to say, "...and that is the end of the matter." What is a person to do, knowing full well that the individual does not understand the consequence of their statement? The Lord encouraged Israel, "Consider you ways." How often do we truly consider our ways? When Jesus "saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd." Do we pay attention? Solomon once said, "The way of the wicked is a darkness: They know not at what they stumble," and thus "they know not to do right" (Amos). When men turn from God, to serve idols, "none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" What a bitter end!

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We live in a world that is well described as being on the run. There are few if any moments of setting at the gates and discussing the events of the day. Individuals work long hours, and when they arrive home, the last thing they want to do is go somewhere. And when they do, it’s usually to some social event that isn’t designed to discuss or answer the questions of life, i.e., questions of spiritual importance and guidance. Often times, brethren (you know who you are, if you are one), meet three or four times a week, but are simply a part of a structured gathering. The topic of discussion has been predetermined, and the audience is sometimes held hostage until the speaker has exhausted their notes, or is simply exhausted. We all live in a unique area of the country, with our own unique circumstances that either hinder or help our spiritual development. This venue is provided specifically for a certain, unique group of people that live in a unique part of the country. What makes them unique is their relationship with the author. They hold a very special place in the heart of the author, and his desire to see them grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. They, like many people, have questions to be discussed, yet lack time and opportunity. The technological advancements of our society provide us with the ability to ask those questions without a face to face presence. It is the desire of the author to provide such a venue. Submitted questions will be monitored by the author before placed on the website. Therefore, when someone submits a question, the origin will be held in the strictest confidence. Our purpose is to answer, or seek answers from others that will help us be better servants of God. This format will allow others to respond to specific questions, as well as the author (I just get to choose whether or not the responses have scriptural support, or not). Not all questions or responses are likely to be displayed: only those that pertain to life and godliness. The aim of this venue is to hear the truth as “The Scripture Speaks.”