September 26, 2017

Freedom for all by Gary Rose


Very recently, a gunman killed someone and wounded others in a church of Christ. Did you hear about it on the news? I didn't. The media was too busy emphasizing the protestation of our national anthem to be bothered. The shooting just didn't fit into their agenda. 

Has anyone else noticed that there seems to be a coordinated effort to bring down our democracy? Attacks on freedom of speech and religion have become commonplace and may-in-fact escalate to the status of this cartoon. I hope not, but anything is possible.

Anyway, the Feds in the cartoon ARE WRONG!!!! Christianity can be for anyone who will follow God on HIS TERMS!!! Please read the passage below...


John, Chapter 3 (WEB)
 1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  2 The same came to him by night, and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” 

  3 Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.” 

  4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” 

  5 Jesus answered, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom.   6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.   7  Don’t marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’   8  The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 

  9 Nicodemus answered him, “How can these things be?” 

  10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things?   11  Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen, and you don’t receive our witness.  12  If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?   13  No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.   14  As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,   15  that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.   16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.   17  For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.   18  He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.   19  This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.   20  For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed.   21  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.” 

If you read vss. 14-17 you will know that Jesus died for everyone and not just a few!!! Discriminatory; I think not!!! Anyone can believe and follow Jesus, anyone!!! 

Bible Reading September 26 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading September 26
(World English Bible)

Sept. 26
Psalms 105-108

Psa 105:1 Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples.
Psa 105:2 Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works.
Psa 105:3 Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
Psa 105:4 Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more.
Psa 105:5 Remember his marvelous works that he has done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
Psa 105:6 you seed of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
Psa 105:7 He is Yahweh, our God. His judgments are in all the earth.
Psa 105:8 He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
Psa 105:9 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac,
Psa 105:10 and confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
Psa 105:11 saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;"
Psa 105:12 when they were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it.
Psa 105:13 They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
Psa 105:14 He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,
Psa 105:15 "Don't touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!"
Psa 105:16 He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.
Psa 105:17 He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave.
Psa 105:18 They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons,
Psa 105:19 until the time that his word happened, and Yahweh's word proved him true.
Psa 105:20 The king sent and freed him; even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free.
Psa 105:21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all of his possessions;
Psa 105:22 to discipline his princes at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom.
Psa 105:23 Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
Psa 105:24 He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries.
Psa 105:25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.
Psa 105:26 He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
Psa 105:27 They performed miracles among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
Psa 105:28 He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn't rebel against his words.
Psa 105:29 He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish.
Psa 105:30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.
Psa 105:31 He spoke, and swarms of flies came, and lice in all their borders.
Psa 105:32 He gave them hail for rain, with lightning in their land.
Psa 105:33 He struck their vines and also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
Psa 105:34 He spoke, and the locusts came, and the grasshoppers, without number,
Psa 105:35 ate up every plant in their land; and ate up the fruit of their ground.
Psa 105:36 He struck also all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood.
Psa 105:37 He brought them forth with silver and gold. There was not one feeble person among his tribes.
Psa 105:38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen on them.
Psa 105:39 He spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night.
Psa 105:40 They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of the sky.
Psa 105:41 He opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places.
Psa 105:42 For he remembered his holy word, and Abraham, his servant.
Psa 105:43 He brought forth his people with joy, his chosen with singing.
Psa 105:44 He gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession,
Psa 105:45 that they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Praise Yah!

Psa 106:1 Praise Yahweh! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
Psa 106:2 Who can utter the mighty acts of Yahweh, or fully declare all his praise?
Psa 106:3 Blessed are those who keep justice. Blessed is one who does what is right at all times.
Psa 106:4 Remember me, Yahweh, with the favor that you show to your people. Visit me with your salvation,
Psa 106:5 that I may see the prosperity of your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.
Psa 106:6 We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly.
Psa 106:7 Our fathers didn't understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn't remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
Psa 106:8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power known.
Psa 106:9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; so he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
Psa 106:10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
Psa 106:11 The waters covered their adversaries. There was not one of them left.
Psa 106:12 Then they believed his words. They sang his praise.
Psa 106:13 They soon forgot his works. They didn't wait for his counsel,
Psa 106:14 but gave in to craving in the desert, and tested God in the wasteland.
Psa 106:15 He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
Psa 106:16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, Yahweh's saint.
Psa 106:17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
Psa 106:18 A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.
Psa 106:19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image.
Psa 106:20 Thus they exchanged their glory for an image of a bull that eats grass.
Psa 106:21 They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
Psa 106:22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome things by the Red Sea.
Psa 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn't destroy them.
Psa 106:24 Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They didn't believe his word,
Psa 106:25 but murmured in their tents, and didn't listen to Yahweh's voice.
Psa 106:26 Therefore he swore to them that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
Psa 106:27 that he would overthrow their seed among the nations, and scatter them in the lands.
Psa 106:28 They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Psa 106:29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds. The plague broke in on them.
Psa 106:30 Then Phinehas stood up, and executed judgment, so the plague was stopped.
Psa 106:31 That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come.
Psa 106:32 They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;
Psa 106:33 because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.
Psa 106:34 They didn't destroy the peoples, as Yahweh commanded them,
Psa 106:35 but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works.
Psa 106:36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
Psa 106:37 Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
Psa 106:38 They shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was polluted with blood.
Psa 106:39 Thus were they defiled with their works, and prostituted themselves in their deeds.
Psa 106:40 Therefore Yahweh burned with anger against his people. He abhorred his inheritance.
Psa 106:41 He gave them into the hand of the nations. Those who hated them ruled over them.
Psa 106:42 Their enemies also oppressed them. They were brought into subjection under their hand.
Psa 106:43 Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.
Psa 106:44 Nevertheless he regarded their distress, when he heard their cry.
Psa 106:45 He remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
Psa 106:46 He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them captive.
Psa 106:47 Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise!
Psa 106:48 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting! Let all the people say, "Amen." Praise Yah!

Psa 107:1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
Psa 107:3 And gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
Psa 107:4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in.
Psa 107:5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Psa 107:6 Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses,
Psa 107:7 he led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in.
Psa 107:8 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:9 For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good.
Psa 107:10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron,
Psa 107:11 because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High.
Psa 107:12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was none to help.
Psa 107:13 Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bonds in sunder.
Psa 107:15 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:16 For he has broken the gates of brass, and cut through bars of iron.
Psa 107:17 Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities.
Psa 107:18 Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death.
Psa 107:19 Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, he saves them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:20 He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves.
Psa 107:21 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:22 Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with singing.
Psa 107:23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24 These see Yahweh's works, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25 For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.
Psa 107:26 They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble.
Psa 107:27 They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
Psa 107:28 Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress.
Psa 107:29 He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still.
Psa 107:30 Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven.
Psa 107:31 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful works for the children of men!
Psa 107:32 Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders.
Psa 107:33 He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground,
Psa 107:34 and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
Psa 107:35 He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs.
Psa 107:36 There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in,
Psa 107:37 sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase.
Psa 107:38 He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn't allow their livestock to decrease.
Psa 107:39 Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
Psa 107:40 He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
Psa 107:41 Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock.
Psa 107:42 The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.
Psa 107:43 Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh.

Psa 108:1 My heart is steadfast, God. I will sing and I will make music with my soul.
Psa 108:2 Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn.
Psa 108:3 I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations. I will sing praises to you among the peoples.
Psa 108:4 For your loving kindness is great above the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Psa 108:5 Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth.
Psa 108:6 That your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us.
Psa 108:7 God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph, I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth.
Psa 108:8 Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is my helmet. Judah is my scepter.
Psa 108:9 Moab is my wash pot. I will toss my sandal on Edom. I will shout over Philistia."
Psa 108:10 Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who has led me to Edom?
Psa 108:11 Haven't you rejected us, God? You don't go forth, God, with our armies.
Psa 108:12 Give us help against the enemy, for the help of man is vain.
Psa 108:13 Through God, we will do valiantly. For it is he who will tread down our enemies.


Sept. 26
2 Corinthians 6

2Co 6:1 Working together, we entreat also that you not receive the grace of God in vain,
2Co 6:2 for he says, "At an acceptable time I listened to you, in a day of salvation I helped you." Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
2Co 6:3 We give no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our service may not be blamed,
2Co 6:4 but in everything commending ourselves, as servants of God, in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,
2Co 6:5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;
2Co 6:6 in pureness, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love,
2Co 6:7 in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
2Co 6:8 by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;
2Co 6:9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and not killed;
2Co 6:10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
2Co 6:11 Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians. Our heart is enlarged.
2Co 6:12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.
2Co 6:13 Now in return, I speak as to my children, you also be open wide.
2Co 6:14 Don't be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
2Co 6:15 What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever?
2Co 6:16 What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.
2Co 6:17 Therefore, " 'Come out from among them, and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.
2Co 6:18 I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty." 

Lawlessness causes love to grow cold by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/058-lawlessness.html

Lawlessness causes love to grow cold
Jesus said: “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).
Lawlessness is rampant in the world. We can be thankful if we live in a county where the rule of law prevails and lawlessness is kept somewhat under control.
But Jesus is referring to lawlessness in the church! Persecution would come. “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:10-13).
This prediction has been fulfilled: many false prophets have arisen; they have deceived many; lawlessness doesabound; and the love of many has grown cold.

What is lawlessness?

Lawlessness is a customary disregard of laws. A lawless person has little respect for law and refuses to be restricted by it.
We witnessed an annoying example of lawlessness when we visited Carlsbad Caverns in the United States. In front of us, a young woman, in her twenties, rubbed her hand on every cave formation she could reach, although, and probably because, a sign said not to touch the formations.
Although everyone has violated laws, not everyone is lawless in this sense.
A law-abiding person wants to obey the law, but sometimes falls short. Every driver, for example, exceeds the speed limit at times. A lawless person ignores the speed limit!

Why does lawlessness cause love to grow cold?

Jesus said: “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). And indeed the love of many has grown cold.
This is inevitable because lawlessness and love are not compatible. Lawlessness is a form of self-indulgence, and love is not self-indulgent. Love “does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:5).

Lawlessness betrays a lack of love.

When Jesus was asked, “Which is the first commandment of all?” (Mark 12:28) He replied, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). By rejecting God’s law, a lawless person also rejects the love on which God’s law is based.

Lawlessness betrays a lack of love for God.

“The LORD is our Lawgiver” (Isaiah 33:22).
How can a lawless person (who scorns law) love the Lawgiver?
Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15) and “He who does not love Me does not keep My words” (John 14:24). John explained: “Whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him” (1 John 2:5). “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
God’s commandments are not burdensome for someone who loves God because he wants to please God.
To a lawless person, however, God’s commandments are burdensome, because he does not love God, has no desire to please Him, and dislikes restrictions that conflict with his own desires.

Lawlessness betrays a lack of love for man.

“Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).
A lawless speeder lacks love for others on the road, lacks love for others in his car, and lacks love for those who love him.
God’s law is based on love. God has declared evil to be unlawful because it is harmful to man. God loves man and wants to protect him from harm.
A lawless person considers his own desires more important than the welfare of others.

Lawlessness results in immorality and evil practices.

“We know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers” (1 Timothy 1:8-10).
Someone who loves God and man concurs with God’s law and strives to live a godly life. He recognizes God’s law as good because it is based on love and protects man from evil.
The lawless person, however, rebels against God’s law because he does not have the love of God in his heart, he gives priority to his own desires, and has little concern for the welfare of others.

Lawlessness results in false religions.

One might suppose that religious people would not be lawless. But what did Jesus say to the religious leaders of His time? “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:27, 28).
Lawlessness leads, not only to immorality, but also to wrong religious practices. To these same religious people Jesus said: “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matthew 15:7-9).
Lawlessness results in worthless worship. Lawless religious people deceive themselves into thinking they are serving God when actually they are serving the lawless one. They are in the habit of serving God, not according to His word, but according to their own wishes.
Jesus warned: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Thus, people who are very religious can reject God’s law to follow traditions, their own desires or the spirit of the times. Their zealous religious practices are lawless if they do not comply with the word of God. 
There can even be lawless people in God’s kingdom. But on judgment day they will be removed. “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practicelawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire” (Matthew 13:41, 42).


Christ came to redeem us from lawless deeds.

“Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself Hisown special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).
Why is this redemption necessary? “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).
Everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23). Thus everyone has committed lawless deeds, whether lawlessness is for him a way of life or something he strives to avoid.
Because Jesus “loved righteousness and hated lawlessness” (Hebrews 1:9), He allowed Himself to be crucified to redeem us from lawless deeds by paying the penalty for our sins.
To accept this grace we must give up our former lawless ways and serve Christ. “For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness” (Romans 6:19).
Through baptism we are united with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law.
Law condemns everyone because no one keeps law perfectly (Galatians 3:10-12). “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’)” (Galatians 3:13).
Christians have been freed from “the law of sin and death” by “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:2).
“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3, 4).
Thus, as we strive to keep the law, we must understand that we cannot be saved by law-keeping, but only by the grace of God, which He extends to those who have a living, obedient faith, to those who walk according to the Spirit.
Christians serve God under the “law of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 6:2). They are guided and judged by “the law of liberty” (James 1:25; 2:12), a law in which “Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13).
The Christian’s freedom from the curse of the law, does not mean however that he may be lawless! “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh” (Galatians 5:13).
Just as it is wrong to think that salvation can be earned by law-keeping - “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4) - it is also wrong to “turn the grace of our God into licentiousness” (Jude 4 NASB), by thinking that salvation is possible by faith only (see James 2:24).

The Scriptures warn us about lawless influences.
We may not attach ourselves to lawless people. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
Because of lawlessness, many Christians fall away. Paul wrote: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4).
This great apostasy began at the close of the first century (1 John 2:18) and is called “the mystery of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). This apostasy still exists: the great majority of those who call themselves Christians, do not follow Christ.
Satan is behind these lawless influences: “Then the lawless one will be revealed.” ... “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:8, 9, 10 ESV).

We must resist lawless influences.

What have we learned?

“Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Lawlessness is contempt for law. Lawlessness displaces love. They who love Jesus keep His commandments. The lawless one rebels against God’s law. Many religious people are full of lawlessness. Their worship is worthless. Christ came that He might redeem us from lawless deeds and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

May our love for God’s law increase.

With the Psalmist let us say: “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Psalm 119:165). Amen.
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

Authority, Reliability, and Truth by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=1824&b=Jeremiah

Authority, Reliability, and Truth

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Are questions about the Bible’s reliability all that important? Are they so serious that they warrant discussion on our Web site on a regular basis? Couldn’t our time be better spent on some other subject?
It certainly is true that Christians have a responsibility to consider many serious subjects. Studies regarding acceptable worship, stewardship, evangelism, church organization, etc., are all topics on which Christians should meditate frequently. However, by acknowledging that a proper understanding of these topics (and many more) rests ultimately on the authority of Scripture, then attacks on the trustworthiness of Scripture is no trivial matter. Skeptics are very well aware of the fact that if they can undermine the reliability of the Bible, then they can undermine the very foundation of Christianity. Unfortunately, with prominent positions in public schools, universities, and the media, the Bible’s critics have become much more powerful and influential in recent times, and can be heard throughout the world on radio, television, and the Internet.
In the May/June 2006 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Michael D. Coogan wrote an article titled “Question Authority!” in which he linked the issue of authority (or lack thereof) with Bible (in)consistency.
“The Bible says” is often regarded as decisive in contemporary debates about such issues as abortion, assisted suicide, the status of women, same-sex relations, capital punishment and war and peace. The problem is that the Bible is often inconsistent.... [T]he Bible does not speak with one voice.
Just because something is written...in the Bible...doesn’t mean that it’s the only possible view or even that it’s true (2006, 32[3]:24, emp. added).
What example did Professor Coogan give to “prove” his point about the Bible’s inconsistency and unreliability? Supposedly, since the Bible teaches that God “punishes children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 5:9),” yet also states “The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son” (Ezekiel 18:20; cf. Jeremiah 31:30), then “the Bible does not speak with one voice,” but is “inconsistent.” Is he right?
In reality, the Bible’s teaching on sin, suffering the consequences of sin, and bearing the guilt of one’s own sin is very consistent. Ever since Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, man has suffered the consequences of sin. A person frequently suffers because of his own sins (cf. 1 Peter 4:15). Many times, however, man suffers because of the sins of his forefathers (including parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.). Today, children may suffer because a father is thrown in jail for drunk driving, and thus is unable to provide sustenance for his family. A starving civilization may suffer partially because their forefathers set in place a belief system where eating animals like cows is taboo (since the animal might be a reincarnated ancestor).
God informed the Israelites that the sin of idolatry (and the fruit of such sin) is so heinous and bitter that children (even to the third and fourth generation) would suffer as a result. The children of idolatrous parents sometimes suffered death because their parents sacrificed them to Baal (Jeremiah 19:5). Others, such as those living during the time of the judges, were afflicted time and again with poverty, disease, and slavery, because they, like their parents, “forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths” (Judges 2:13). It may be that even in America, the righteous remnant will suffer because of God’s decision to punish a “God-fearing nation” that presently is expunging Him and embracing sin at every turn.
But, even though innocent descendants may suffer the consequences of their forefathers’ sins, they do not “bear the guilt” of their forefathers’ sinful actions (Ezekiel 18:20). That is, they do not inherit their parents’ sins. The Bible never suggests that children are guilty of idolatry simply because their parents were idolatrous. Children are innocent; so much so that Jesus said, “of such is the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). Ultimately, being held responsible for sin and bearing the guilt of sin is altogether different from suffering the physical consequences of the actions of others.
In the conclusion of his article in Biblical Archaeology Review, Coogan wrote: “Just because something is written...doesn’t mean that it’s the only possible view or even that it’s true” (2006, 32[3]:24, emp. added). In reality, it is Coogan’s article that lacks truth, and it is the authority of his article (not the Bible!) that should be questioned.
REFERENCES
Coogan, Michael D. (2006), “Question Authority!” Biblical Archaeology Review, 32[3]:24, May/June.