The precursors to modern pornography date back to prehistoric times. One of the oldest known artifacts is a 35,000-year-old ivory statuette discovered in the Hohle Fels cave near Stuttgart, Germany, which features exaggerated female sexual characteristics. We are reminded of the Bible’s description of human society just before God destroyed it in a flood: “ Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). Evil is ancient as is its attraction to the human heart.
Within our lifetime, pornography has moved from the printed page to the internet and from static images to video. Websites now allow live interaction from one bedroom to another, selling every form of depraved sexuality to ‘subscribers’. It is a billion dollar ‘industry’ at which society yawns, factoring it into our Gross Domestic Product. It is morally corrosive on every level, as men and women compete to make Sodom and Gomorrah look like yesterday’s news.
It is a very short step to move from the ‘intentions of the heart’ to the reality of what has been imagined. Moral depravity is nothing new, but the delivery system is.
This same unhinged attitude towards sex, was present in the first century. The Empress Valyria Messalina, the young wife of Emperor Claudius, engaged in sexual competition. She initiated and weaponized it for her own warped pleasure; degrading Roman Senators and Rome’s Aristocracy, forcing their families to commit acts of flesh publicly. A hardened Roman soldier stationed in the Emperor’s courts was so disturbed by the public acts of degradation that he escaped and fled from it saying, “ Blood dries, but shame never does.”
Her behaviour has become normalised by men and women who compete online to set new records of sexual profligacy. Perhaps the only difference is that now there is very little that shocks or offends society, unless it is those who object to immorality. When society ignores God and his commandments there is no boundary to the depravity it can achieve.
I was very disturbed to hear just a few days ago that OpenAI, one of the biggest and most accessible AI firms, will very soon provide adult content on their app. Combine that with Virtual Reality headsets and how easily the app can be used at a relatively cheap price and you have a whole new method of depraved sexuality that doesn’t involve a prostitute. But it is worse, in that it can be accessed 24/7 and gives the person using it, absolute authority over what happens. This is an instance of Man putting himself in the place of God.
When we read the words of Revelation 18:1-3 they can easily be superimposed upon the acts of man today, “After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”
Money, power and sex have been highly connected going back thousands of years. 2000 year later, it has moved from the Emperor’s courts and pagan temples, into the privacy of our homes.
Even Christian homes are not out of reach. The danger is there and ready to quench the influence of the Holy Spirit with instant gratification.
Galatians 5: 17-21, warns: “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
As unsavoury as it is to talk about, I think it is important to be made aware of and discussed, especially for parents of young people. Our youth need to be forewarned and guided. The trap of pornography is real and addictive. It is the new “digital forbidden fruit”, custom tailored by AI to enslave, giving the Devil a foothold.
Forewarned is forearmed. Let us strengthen each other with eternity in mind.
Barrie ON
I recently watched a short video entitled “The Heaviest Door in the World”, it is a door that weighs about 97,000 pounds or 44 tonnes yet because it had specially designed bearings on the hinges one person could open it. It was 2.5m or about 8 ft thick.
Why such a massive door? It was for a special concrete box facility that housed the world’s most powerful neutron beam. If you accidentally walked through this beam you would quickly die. The facility existed for nuclear companies to test different materials for building nuclear reactors that would be safe for the public and be able to withstand years of nuclear fission. It was not so thick and heavy to keep people out but to keep deadly neutrons in.
Watching this, I was reminded of how the Roman soldiers sealed the tomb of Jesus with a stone to keep His “dangerous disciples” from tampering with His body. It was dangerous to let what was in that tomb get out to the public don’t you know? I don’t know how heavy the stone was that was placed in front of the tomb of Christ but it wasn’t anywhere near 44 tonnes. But even if it had been, God would just as easily brushed it aside to reveal that Jesus had risen and to bring His long desired will to pass.
As Paul explained in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:29-37)
“When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestorshe has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, “‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ So it is also stated elsewhere: “‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’ “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed.But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.”
The power of God cannot be measured in tonnes or feet and is beyond our ability to comprehend. We can almost grasp the love of God which brought Jesus to earth and carried Him through his ministry, his trial, scourging and crucifixion. He did all of this to make his people holy, and as the objects of his love, to reflect it forward.
When he rose from the grave, Jesus opened the heaviest door ever – from death to life, so that nothing is able to separate us any longer – from the love of God.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39
Barrie ON
On YouTube lately there have been short videos featuring a Venus flytrap. The owner releases different species into the terrarium; a black widow spider, a scorpion, a crayfish and a garden snail. The only one that escaped and survived was the humble snail. The physical strength and speed of the others actually ensured their untimely demise because inside the Venus flytrap are little hair triggers so that when something is trapped the more it struggles the more they are triggered and the quicker and tighter it will close upon its unsuspecting victim. The snail at its mild pace was barely inside the trap when it started to close and with its hard shell kept it open enough to slowly work its way out the side of the carnivorous plant and escape.
This experiment serves as an apt metaphor for a few things in our Christian walk
It is similar to the dangerous impulse to get rich 1 Timothy 6:9-10
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
It is like fighting against Gods will; Acts 26:14
And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ To “kick against the goads” is defined as an exercise in futility. It is pointless and cannot succeed. The Greeks and Romans used this saying to imply “ruinous resistance.”
Being flexible, patient and thoughtful ; James 1:19 – Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger… Wise and godly decisions take time, and godliness cannot be rushed.
It demonstrates the value of perseverance when tested. James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Beyond these, I am reminded of one other important aspect of our Christian walk – which is to teach, gently rebuke and to be kind; 2 Timothy 2:24-26
“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will”.
As a parent there a few things I feel like I have said constantly to our young daughter over the past few years, which are: Slow down, Be gentle, and (not quite as often) Be Kind.
We will do well then to remind ourselves daily of these things, making every effort to put God’s will into practice within His kingdom, which has come to earth.
Why do humans need to be constantly reminded, rebuked and admonished to do what is righteous?
We see what happens to others when they sin, the consequences that they suffer. We make mistakes in our own lives and learn from them for a time, but sometimes months or years later we find ourselves making the same mistakes again.
Not that long ago there was a TV show called “Downton Abbey” and it was mostly about the lives of the servants, maids and butlers of a wealthy family in England at the beginning of 20th century. And to me it was a sad and depressing thing to watch these people devoting their entire lives to completely serve a person or family. Because if they had that type of complete devotion to the living God, you can imagine the amazing spiritual lives that they would lead. They would be much less likely to need rebuke or admonishment because they are continually serving God through unending service just as a butler is always on call for his master.
I was searching online, asking the question “why do we do we never learn?” And there was response I found that I felt gave an honest answer to that.
It stated; What are the lessons people most often learn too late in life?
And it gave 6 points
1 We want to earn money as if we want to have enough stored up for the next thousand years.
2 We want to own material things as if they will stay with us permanently.
3 When we get angry, we hold onto our anger as if it will bring the world to a stop.
4 When we want to take revenge, we want the other person to feel so hurt it will make our lives better somehow.
5 When we speak badly of someone, we speak as if our words are going to pierce them and remain stuck to them.
6 When we join the mad rush, we run as if we are going to run non-stop. But then a day comes when we realize that we are not going to live forever and often, this realization comes too late.
The Bible has answers to all of these points doesn’t it?
1 Money doesn’t really exist yet man will do terrible things to gain it. We get paid now and they are just numbers on a screen. We transfer them to pay credit cards and utility bills, that again are just numbers on a screen, produced by the 0’s and 1’s of the computer, but there is nothing backing that currency. So did the money ever really exist at all? Our entire financial system is solely based on everyone believing that those numbers on the screen have value. And yet people will lie, cheat, steal and even kill for that artificial monetary system.
We remember the rich man who built bigger barns, thinking he was set for life (Luke 12:16-21)
“And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. [19] And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
2. You may remember if you’re old enough a Stephen King book that became a film called Needful Things about an antique shop that opens in a small town and everyone who enters it finds an object that they become obsessed with and want. Surprisingly the price is low, but there is a catch. The owner (who may or may not be the devil) says, that part of the deal is they have to play a prank on another citizen of the town. And even though the shop owner is new to town he knows the perfect prank for each person – to cause chaos. That’s what happens in the story. The town descends into chaos with people attacking and murdering one another, all because they will do anything to protect their cherished object.
While that may be a fictional story, how far is it really from reality?
Never in human history has there been such a vast number of material possessions that a person can own. You can go online anytime of the day and purchase almost anything from millions of different websites and have it delivered right to your home. Combine that fact with social media and it can be so easy to get caught up in the trap of “I have to have it!”, rather than “I would like to have it “.
But we know what the Bible says concerning this in Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
3. I just mentioned social media and in social media outrage, anger is something that has been weaponized, either for profit or just for attention in the hopes of financial gain.
But the Bible is clear about what our attitude towards anger should be as James put it in 1:19-21: “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
4 Revenge is nothing new in society, it goes all the way back to Cain and Abel. Revenge is a dangerous thing become it can involve a multitude of sins when you are lashing out against a person, and when sins multiply usually the consequences multiply also. God’s people are expected to rise above this attitude with a certain amount of self-control. We are to allow God to have the final word when we are wronged.
As stated in Romans 12:19-21. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
And writing to the church at Thessalonica, Paul said:, “that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.” (1 Thessalonians 4:4-6)
5. Closely related to the matter of anger in social media, there is also the practice of speaking badly of someone trying to harm them with words to the point of extreme malice.
Quite often, celebrities feud with each other publicly and while I think most of those are manufactured for the sake of publicity, it still has an effect on people, especially young people, who sadly think this is a normal way to act towards others.
Contrast that, with the wisdom of the Lord in Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
6. And finally, in Japan there is the word Karoshi, which basically translates to “over work death”.
This is where people work so many hours per week consistently that it causes them to die young of either heart attack or stroke. In the 21st century that has expanded to include suicide. It had gotten so bad that a law was brought in around 2018 to limit the amount of overtime hours a person can work per month, after a young woman committed suicide. She had posting online she was completely burnt out mentally and physically from overwork at her advertising agency.
There is a company in China called FoxConn and they build iPhones and computers for Apple, and they actually have dormitories there for workers to live so they don’t even have to leave. But again this has caused people being overworked to the point of suicide and the company has had to place nets around the factory and dormitory to help prevent their workers from attempting to jump off the edge.
In this part of the world things aren’t that dramatic but work has certainly changed over the last 5 years. The rat race has shifted slightly from just traffic jams and crammed city sidewalks but work from home, so that you never can get away from work. The government had to bring in legislation a few years ago to keep companies from asking people to work after hours at home and to keep working hours separate from personal hours.
As God’s people we have to make a distinct effort to separate ourselves from the hectic pace of the world and to pace our lives and place on minds on the the things of God… as Psalms 46:10 encourages; “Be still and know that I am God.”
Paul wrote in Romans 14:18-19 that; “Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual building up.”
When a person does something sinful, such assault, murder or adultery the media or the scientific community will say that they were just reverting back to their original animal nature; their primal instincts. This is how evolutionists and atheists understand humanity.
But there is a problem with that statement if you believe in the word of God. The Garden of Eden was the first dwelling place of man, who had been created in the image of God and was distinct from the beasts of the land and the birds of the air. Eve was created for him because there was no other suitable companion for him…there was no other of his kind.
Genesis 2:7-8 states; “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.”
And then verses 18-22 “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.”
Thus, for man to go back to his most basic nature is to be really more like the image of God. So, by God’s grace, as extended through the sacrifice of His Son, when we are baptized into Christ, and clothed with Christ, we are returned to that original image of God.
And having done that, we also benefit from his sacrifice by sharing his preeminence, as stated in Colossians 1:15-20:
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
There are further reasons why we need reminders and admonishment.
The first one is pride;
In 1 John 2:15-17 we read, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
Laziness
Right now, much of the world is suffering from mental fatigue and for many, that can be a reason to just give in to apathy. But instead, when we feel tired or beaten down, that is the best time to draw closer to God for strength as we are encouraged to do…in James 4:6-8:
“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Greed;
Greed can refer both to immediate gratification and also to a selfish desire for overabundance. Greed may motivate us to set aside God’s principles, to get what we want and to no longer trust God to provide what we need. As His people we should lean upon Him for our daily provision.
In Paul’s charge to Timothy, we read: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-1)
Temptation/Desire;
Greed is one of the temptations or desires that we experience when we want what we want now and not later. Personal desires do not respect the blessings that God has already bestowed and lead us to demand more.
The scriptures are quite clear about what will happen if we pursue temptation. James the brother of Jesus writes: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:12-15)
I was watching an interesting short video by Jordan Petersen talking about very smart people who aren’t successful in life and how they have become bitter. What they shared was an inordinate pride in their own intelligence.
In 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, the apostle Paul pointed out this type of conceited pride and the foolishness of man’s wisdom when he wrote:
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. [19] For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Anger/ Hate blinds us to reality and godliness; When we allow anger to overtake us, especially to the point of hate, it has the disturbing effect of blinding us to reason and logic. It can also harden a person’s heart and make them forget the love that they should have for others.
James warns against worldliness in James 4:1-5,
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this; that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?”
Boldness on behalf of Self, but not on behalf of God/Jesus Christ
More people than we can count, have over the years been very vocal about their own boldness. Shameless self promotion is common among sports figures, military leaders and politicians. But when it comes to well known people who have had great boldness on behalf of God and the Son of God, the list gets a lot smaller.
Those who wish to honour God properly , must humble themselves and raising up God and His Son. We are reminded of what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:1-5: “I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away! I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
The world is like a powerful river and it’s easy to get caught up in its current and swept to a place where we don’t want to be. It takes concerted effort to swim upstream…to pursue the fruit of the spirit, in a lost and dying world.
Let’s look at that reminder in Galatians 5:16-25:
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Underestimating Sin and not taking seriously its penalty;
We live in visual society. Most of the information we take in is through images and videos. When it comes to ultimate penalty for sin after this physical world, we have no image to accurately convey that. What we do have are the scriptures which give us a basic idea and a warning from the Holy Spirit.
We Don’t Pray Enough;
When it comes to maintaining our physical health or combating an illness, it’s always the same advice that medical professionals give:
If you follow those tips you’ll probably stay reasonably healthy.
Here are some instructions from the Bible to help us maintain spiritual health.
As Paul put it in Romans 12:12 – “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
Many have forgotten that there is a standard set by God for every person and especially for those purchased by the blood of Jesus. It is absolute, unchanging and anchored in the person and character of God Himself. In order to please God, we must conform to his will and strive for his righteousness. All such efforts are counter-cultural and face the headwinds of societal pressure. We have to consciously oppose the mindset of the world around us and remember that which has been written for our benefit by the unchanging God.
As Paul puts it in Romans 3:19-26
Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
We’re not perfect; we’re not going to entirely stop sinning or falling short. But neither will we stop striving to be holy as our Heavenly Father is.
Each year the company 3M sells about 50 billion Post-it notes, because, people need constant reminders. Some come as admonishments and rebukes. For all these reasons we thank God for the immeasurable grace that he has extended through his perfect Son Jesus, to an imperfect people.
Barrie ON
I watched a video recently that popped up on YouTube entitled, “This has become common in Christianity and it needs to stop.” This title intrigued me so I clicked on it and watched and I was glad I did because it gave a quick example on our decisions as Christians in this world. The video was like a parable and it went like this:
A man woke up in a field and the field was beautiful to see. It had vibrant green grass, colorful flowers and along one side, mature tress with different types of ripe fruit. The sky was a calm blue with billowy white clouds pushed along by a gentle breeze.
The man walked along admiring the tranquil field when he realized that there was fence on his left side that traversed the whole field and there was a being leaning on the other side of the fence. He looked closer and saw it was Satan. Satan was calling him over saying, “C’mon over to this side of the fence and you can do all those things you like to do in the world.” Then the man looked to his right and he saw God standing there watching and God said, “Come to me and stay on this side of the fence.”
So the man stood there for a moment and thought, “Well, there are those things I like to do on the other side of the fence but it is pretty good here too.” So the man replied to both God and Satan, “I have to think about this for a while so I am just going to sit on top of this fence to make a decision.” So the man walked over to the fence and hopped on top to consider his options and after a short time everything suddenly went black, pitch black. A cold hand came out of the darkness and put a vice like grip on his arm and the man realized that it was Satan who was hurrying him up…saying “Okay, let’s go. It’s time.”
The man instantly protested shouting, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! I didn’t choose your side, I was still thinking about it!” And Satan looked at him and said plainly, “Yes, but I own the fence.”
It turns out that sitting on the fence is not an option. It divides a sinful life from a godly one. But the fence is not a place where anyone can live.
Not only that, but every Christian deals with different types of sin. Those who became Christians later in life bring with them the baggage of past sinful decisions and lifestyles. Those who made the decision early on, may feel that they have missed out.
Satan does not give up on us, just because we belong to Jesus. But then, neither does God, and especially not once we belong to Him.
In order to choose God’s way, we must fully die to sin, in order to be completely clothed with Christ. In that way, we are comforted and blessed in this life and inherit eternal life in the one to come.
About ten years ago my wife Shannon and I travelled to San Antonio, Texas, and during that trip we toured a few of the historic Catholic Missions that are still standing. This included The Alamo, which was not a fort as some might guess but a Mission that became the site of a famous battle during the Texas Revolution against Mexico.
But one of the things I remember from these was the Mission at San Jose which had a separate window called the Rose window – for the Native Americans to hear the word of God. They would stand outside this window in the elements, in the heat and the cold, in the sun or the rain to listen when Mass was given. They were not allowed into the church building, since they were not thought of as worthy Catholics. They were considered 2nd class by the Catholic church, in much the same way that the Jewish Priests and Israelites thought of the Gentiles. Those who wanted hear the Old Testament spoken had to stay outside the Temple or the synagogue walls in the time of Jesus.
Obviously the Church of Christ today has no such practice, but it can still happen in a different way. It can happen when strangers visit a congregation, especially those who look “poor” or lower class and are ignored or treated with less respect than members or more wealthy visitors.
In my bible, James chapter 2 is entitled Favoritism Forbidden, and in verses 1-9 we read:
“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.”
We recently had a community BBQ at our church building and there were a number of people who attended from the neighborhood. I would say that the majority of the people who attended were mostly interested in a free meal. They were not “rich”. They were not what the world would define as “beautiful people”, yet every single one was beautiful in God’s eyes. The only way they were truly poor was that they lacked God in their lives; God’s word, His wisdom and most importantly the salvation offered through his Son Jesus Christ.
Speaking to his disciples Jesus summed up the position of the poor in this world in Luke 6:20, when he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
All those who search after God and find Him, no matter what their appearance, social standing or finances, all are worthy and deserving of respect and compassion, since we are all made in the image of God.
Barrie ON
This question has been pondered and asked constantly for many centuries, and just over two years ago there was a group called the Freedom Convoy who gathered in Ottawa because they felt their livelihoods were being taken away due to severe government restrictions. This made more than a few people stop and think about the idea of freedom, and not just in Canada but also around the world, especially in other western countries.
How do we define freedom? I think that many would simply define it as being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want, all the time.
There was a movie about 20 years ago called Napoleon Dynamite, and in it, the main character confronts his Uncle, who had moved in with them. He says to his uncle that he should leave because he’s ruining everyone’s lives. To which his Uncle responds, “It’s a free country, I can do whatever I want.”
That sums up a misconception of freedom which is very different from the way than God defines it.
Another such misconception comes from about 60 years ago and arrived in the form of a sexual revolution. It combined ideas about body autonomy and freedom of expression without boundaries – in terms of promiscuous sex and homosexuality. It normalized divorce along with the widespread abortion, while rejecting God’s covenant of Marriage. It took casual sex “mainstream” – based on the Devil’s falsehood that there is such a thing as “sex without consequences”.
Numerous Biblical passages make it clear that this is not God’s view of freedom at all. One such passage comes from the first letter of the apostle Paul to the church at Corinth, where he writes:
““I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6: 12-20)
Some in the church at Corinth were saying something like: “I have the right to do anything” – to which Paul responded, “but not everything is beneficial” (1 Cor 6:12) They certainly did not have the right to commit the sins condemned in the previous 3 verses. And even within the freedoms that they did enjoy, they were supposed to use them in light of the God’s purposes within the church.
Having freedoms is one thing. Using them to accomplish positive outcomes for the church, is another. From the very beginning, God has endowed human beings with freedom of choice. And we must practice that freedom to remain in control over our use of freedom.
I remember turning 18 when I was in grade 12 – back in High School. It meant that I was considered an adult and if I didn’t want to go to class I could skip it without suffering any immediate consequences. I still went to my classes (most of them, anyway) because I realized that it was beneficial to do so. I used my freedom to gain more freedom. That kind of freedom was a positive thing because I respected the responsibility that came with it.
Going back the false freedoms of the sexual revolution, those ideas had been planted about 280 years earlier near the start of the “Age of Enlightenment”. This was a movement put forward by academics and philosophers like Kant, Rousseau and Voltaire.
Voltaire is still being quoted today and was probably the kindest of these three to Christianity. But one of the things which he said, that Christian apologists would NOT agree with, was that “Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.”
The Age of Enlightenment challenged the right of God and of religion to be the centre of human society. Faith in God was replaced by skepticism which having rejected God turned to science as the basis for human knowledge and experience. They believed that this would give a person complete freedom in life. And those ideas have borne fruit which is all around us, in our self-obsessed and technology- driven society.
As the Age of Enlightenment spread in Europe and the United Kingdom, many who disagreed took their leave. Wanting to regain their freedom to worship God, they sailed for the new world and settled in what is now the US and Canada. They wanted to start new societies and to return God to the centre of their culture.
So for example the following quote is part of a letter from the Continental Congress (an entity that represents a number of the founding Fathers of the US) dated October 20, 1779. It was a proclamation to the entire country that contains the quintessential answer to the question: “On what does freedom depend?”
It reads:
Whereas it becomes us humbly to approach the throne of Almighty God, with gratitude and praise for the wonders which his goodness has wrought in conducting our forefathers to this western world; for his protection to them and to their posterity amid difficulties and dangers; for raising us, their children, from deep distress to be numbered among the nations of the earth; …and above all, that he hath diffused the glorious light of the gospel, whereby, through the merits of our gracious Redeemer, we may become the heirs of his eternal glory: therefore, Resolved, That it be recommended to the several states, to appoint Thursday, the 9th of December next, to be a day of public and solemn thanksgiving to Almighty God for his mercies, and of prayer for the continuance of his favour and protection to these United States; …that he would grant to his church the plentiful effusions of divine grace, and pour out his holy spirit on all ministers of the gospel; that he would bless and prosper the means of education, and spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth; …that he would in mercy look down upon us, pardon our sins and receive us into his favour, and finally, that he would establish the independence of these United States upon the basis of religion and virtue, and support and protect them in the enjoyment of peace, liberty and safety as long as the sun and moon shall endure, until time shall be no more.”
It really is almost impossible to imagine a modern government issuing a letter like that today.
So then, how does God define freedom? It is freedom to choose, freedom to worship and it is freedom from sin. True freedom is, somewhat ironically, obedience, self-control and responsibility.
I think most of us are aware of the novel and film 1984. The 3 mottoes that the dystopian government in power wanted people to read and memorize were; Freedom is slavery, War is peace and Ignorance is strength.
They were trying to convince people that the opposite of what they knew, and of what their conscience was telling them, was THE truth. This portrayal of society is very disturbing as we see it coming true all around us. The Bible refutes ALL of these mottoes, for in reality, Sin is slavery, War is enmity with God and Ignorance is foolishness.
So then, why are Freedom and Christianity intertwined or overlaid in our society?
The people that are often passionate about freedom and from whom we have often heard over the years, are conservative Christians. Maybe it’s because they know what freedom is since they are now free from the bondage of sin.
As the apostle Peter puts it:
“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” (1 Peter 2:15,16)
The people who are fighting for the wrong kinds of freedoms are often those who deny the presence and the destructive nature of sin. The freedom that they care about is the right to keep on sinning.
Paul warned about this in Romans 6:16-18,
“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”
Sin has made this world, an ugly place in which to live. Pretty much everyone wants to rise above that ugliness. But all efforts to do that without letting go of sin, are in vain. Wealth cannot protect. Alcohol is no remedy. And Utopian dreams of a society where everyone does as they choose and it all works out for the greater good – that dream ends in a rude awakening. The only permanent and lasting answer is to remove the bondage of sin by turning to the salvation that Jesus Christ provides.
Paul wrote this to the Ephesians (2:14-18)
“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”
Let’s take a moment and ask ourselves, why does freedom seem so hard to achieve?
Could it be, that the freedom that we are trying to achieve is beyond our ability? We cannot undo our sin, but Christ has done it for us. We have to place our confidence in God and not in ourselves. This frees us from fear and the certainty of our own failure.
I am reminded of a song by the The Eagles. It was entitled “Already Gone” . One of the lines in the lyrics went like this, “So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, And we never even know we have the key.”
I mentioned earlier that I disagreed with one of the things that Voltaire said. But I do agree with this: “It is difficult to free fools from the chains that they revere.”
Now when it comes to intimidation, governments and large corporations have both admitted to using fear tactics. They hire psychologists to better play on our fears so that we will vote for them or buy their products. It is manipulation, pure and simple.
In the face of that, the scriptures call us to place our confidence in the living God. As the writer of Hebrews puts it:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you “. So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:5,6)
Paul expresses a similar thought in Philippians 1:12-14,
“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
Our adversary the Devil is hard at work. He wants us to think that we have no freedom at all. That we are born as the result of an accident, and in the world that we are born into there is no objective morality or absolute truth. In the end, we just die and there is nothing more. But even if there is a wide path that leads to destruction, there is nothing that we can do about it. We have no freedom of choice. All outcomes are predetermined and choice is an illusion.
Earlier in this article we mentioned the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ and another philospher that came out of this was Friedrich Nietzsche. He who was known as a critic of Judaeo-Christian morality and of religions in general. It was his conviction that genuine ‘free-will’ did not exist in humans. Somewhat ironically he argued his case, hoping no doubt that others might choose – or should I say – be predetermined to agree with him. But for those whom he persuaded, free-will had died.
Nietzsche was the founder of the philosophy called Nihilism. Nihilism holds that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist believes in nothing, has no loyalties, nor any purpose except perhaps to destroy. Sounds like somebody we know doesn’t it?
Totalitarian governments are very good at tearing down the Christian foundations of society and replacing them with their own. The communist governments of Russia and China have historically removed the Bible from their societies, replacing churches with state institutions and preachers with atheist philosophers. The State has become god so that even the godless collective has no choice at all.
On July 8, 1949 George Orwell published the book “1984”. His vision of humanity’s future under totalitarianism was not only bleak in fictional form but even more so in the real world. When asked about the future (before his death in 1950) he was quoted as saying, “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face- forever.” What a horribly pessimistic view.
But there was also cause for pessimism nearly two thousand years ago as a man hung on a cross. All of that changed when 3 days later his tomb was found empty. For as the writer of Hebrews put it: “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him”. (Hebrews 5:8,9)
When you think of a person who has little or no freedom, you might picture an inmate in chains, shackled and incarcerated. Or an animal caught in a trap and struggling in vain. But for those who have accepted the gift of salvation offered by Jesus Christ, there is freedom now and moving forward into eternity. It is freedom from sin, freedom to worship and freedom to obey.
Others have done it, and so can we. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1,2)
We’re told in scripture that the devil is “the prince of this world” and that the language that he speaks in, is lies because he is “the father of lies.” It makes sense then that one of his most fervent deceptions involves the afterlife of Man and the type of morality, actions and words that determine whether a person either goes up to heaven or down to hell.
Over the years there have been countless Hollywood versions of what happens when “good people” die and go to heaven.
“Good people” go to heaven in the clouds. They ascend with the aid of newly minted wings, with harp in hand and a golden halo above their head. And once through the ‘pearly gates’ of Heaven and they get to do whatever they want, living in luxury for eternity. For some reason God is not seen or mentioned in Hollywood heaven, even though it is His home.
There was a song years ago by U2, but sung by Johnny Cash, called “The Wanderer” that reflects this outlook. One section of lyrics goes:
“I stopped outside a church house where the citizens like to sit.
They say they want the Kingdom but they don’t want God in it.”
In reality, heaven is for people who want to know and follow God and to worship Him. They recognize His supreme righteousness as their Creator.
In Hollywood’s version, only the “bad people”, that is, the really evil people, go to hell…which is deep below us. And the devil is there to receive them when they arrive. He is a bright red figure with horns, a tail and a pitchfork, which he will use to personally torture you for eternity.
To anyone who thinks that this is an accurate outcome, I have some bad news. After an ungodly person dies, the devil does not care about their existence one little bit. The devil’s part is over, the part where he deceives you to separate yourself from God. Now you right along with the devil await the final judgment with fear and trembling, knowing that there is nothing you can do now to change the past, or for that matter the future.
Reality: hell is made up of a people, who were not necessarily all bad, but those who chose not to follow God and did not want to worship Him through His son. As we read in Matthew 7:21-23,
““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Hell is eternal darkness without any hope of light in the future.
Matthew 8:11,12 states, “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
If you have ever had a nasty burn from the stove or a fire, you know the only thing that can give some relief is applying ice to the wound. There is no ice in hell, to give even brief relief; Matthew 13:41,42, “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
There is no water in hell, the thirst you have will be like Jesus Christ on the cross, but it will not be quenched; Christ is the eternal source of water. We read in Revelation 21:6, “He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.”
Jesus’ account of the ‘rich man and Lazarus’ suggests that prior to the resurrection and final judgment, in the place of the dead, there is a foretaste of suffering for those whose lives have displeased God.
Luke 16:22-24, “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
Something similar appears to apply to rebellious angels in Jude 6 which states: “And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.”
The other part of what makes hell, torture, is separation from God and thus from all that is good in the human experience. By contrast, heaven is all about life in God’s presence, which is what makes it good and desirable as our eternal home. It is a place of direct and pure worship – the kind pictured by John in Revelation 4:
“After the vision of these things I looked, and there before me was an open door in heaven. And the same voice that spoke to me before, that sounded like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” Immediately I was in the Spirit, and before me was a throne in heaven, and someone was sitting on it. The One who sat on the throne looked like precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow the color of an emerald. Around the throne there were twenty-four other thrones with twenty-four elders sitting on them. They were dressed in white and had golden crowns on their heads. Lightning flashes and noises and thunder came from the throne. Before the throne seven lamps were burning, which are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was something that looked like a sea of glass, clear like crystal.
In the center and around the throne were four living creatures with eyes all over them, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion. The second was like a calf. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of these four living creatures had six wings and was covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stop saying:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. He was, he is, and he is coming.”
These living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever. Then the twenty-four elders bow down before the One who sits on the throne, and they worship him who lives forever and ever.
They put their crowns down before the throne and say:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, because you made all things. Everything existed and was made, because you wanted it.”
Isaiah also was blessed with similar vision of God in Isaiah 6:1-4,
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “ Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
We praise God – not to get into heaven but because God is worthy. We begin to do that which we will continue – in the His immediate presence, for all eternity.
So forget about Hollywood. Only the Word of God is a trustworthy guide to lead us to the glories of heaven and to avoid the darkness of hell.
It may surprise you, or maybe not at all, that a new Bible has been written. No, it’s not the one being written by artificial intelligence, though that is happening as well. It is being manufactured where most things are made these days, and that is in China. It’s a new Bible being distributed in China by the Communist Party government to its state authorized churches.
I’ll give you an example of one of the “minor changes” they have made. If we read John 8, we find the account of the woman caught in adultery who is brought before Jesus by the Pharisees. In our genuine Bible, starting in verse 9, we read,
“At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
In the new Chinese version this passage reads, “Jesus once said, He who is without sin among you cast the first stone. When his words came to their ears, they stopped moving forward. When everyone went out Jesus stoned the woman himself and said, “I am also a sinner.” So just a minor difference there between the forgiving sinless Jesus to the new murdering-sinner-Jesus.
In China, concerning Christianity, there are state approved Protestant churches allocated for acceptable worship in the governments eyes. And in at least one province of China they have instructed them to alter the ten commandments from those in the bible to some of Prime Minister Xi JinPing’s quotes. So for example, instead of “thou shalt have no other gods before me” from Exodus 20:3, the new bible reads: “Resolutely guard against the infiltration of Western ideology.”
Now it’s disturbing to think that people are being falsely taught these things as God breathed scripture in China, but it’s even more disturbing to think that in the near future it could spread and be taught outside of China as well. But this is what liars have done from the beginning…exchanging the truth for a lie to suit their own purposes.
In Genesis 3 we read about the first act of deception.
‘Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will NOT certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
Jesus told his followers that the devil is “the father of lies” in John 8:42-44 and speaking to the Pharisees:
“Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
On April 3, 1965 the famous radio host Paul Harvey gave a speech titled “If I Were the Devil”. This is what he said:
If I were the Devil . . . I mean, if I were the Prince of Darkness, I would, of course, want to engulf the whole earth in darkness. I would have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree, so I should set about however necessary to take over the United States. I would begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as you please.” “Do as you please.” To the young, I would whisper, “The Bible is a myth.” I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what is bad is good, and what is good is “square.” In the ears of the young marrieds, I would whisper that work is debasing, that cocktail parties are good for you. I would caution them not to be extreme in religion, in patriotism, in moral conduct. And the old, I would teach to pray. I would teach them to say after me: “Our Father, which art in Washington” . . . If I were the devil, I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten T.V. with dirtier movies and vice versa. And then, if I were the devil, I’d get organized. I’d infiltrate unions and urge more loafing and less work, because idle hands usually work for me. I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. And I’d tranquilize the rest with pills. If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions . . . let those run wild. I would designate an athiest to front for me before the highest courts in the land and I would get preachers to say “she’s right.” With flattery and promises of power, I could get the courts to rule what I construe as against God and in favor of pornography, and thus, I would evict God from the courthouse, and then from the school house, and then from the houses of Congress and then, in His own churches. I would substitute psychology for religion, and I would deify science because that way men would become smart enough to create super weapons but not wise enough to control them.
If I were Satan, I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg, and the symbol of Christmas, a bottle. If I were the devil, I would take from those who have and I would give to those who wanted, until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And then, my police state would force everybody back to work. Then, I could separate families, putting children in uniform, women in coal mines, and objectors in slave camps. In other words, if I were Satan, I’d just keep on doing what he’s doing.”
Once again that was from 1965……..
The apologetics novel The Screwtape Letters by the famed christian author CS Lewis, which was first published in 1942, described a senior demon named Screwtape instructing a young demon named Wormwood on how to best tempt humans and capture souls for the devil. In one specific part of the book Screwtape calls over Wormwood and says he wants to tell him the 3 poisonous lies to best ensnare humans to eternal damnation.
That’s why we are to focus on truth as God’s people, as Christians; we must be aware of our surroundings and the battlefield of spiritual warfare; as we read in Ephesians 6:10-13,
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
God has equipped us with freewill. We can accept and embrace the lies of Satan or shun them and draw nearer to Him, as we read in James 4:7,8,
“ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
But we have to be able to identify the truth before we can properly discern that which is not true.
Paul’s prayer for the church at Philippi was:, “…that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11
When the apostle Paul first presented the gospel of Jesus to the Jews in Berea, they took their time to investigate what he was saying. They came to be known for their honesty and love of the truth as established by scripture. So Luke wrote this about them in Acts 17:11: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
Now we all intuitively know that there is something unnatural about lies. Our hearts and minds have been made in the image of God and are hard-wired for truth. An article in Psychology Today stated, “In addition to short-term stress and discomfort, living a dishonest life would seem to take a toll on health. According to a 2015 review article, constant lying is associated with an array of negative health outcomes including high blood pressure, increased heart rate, vaso-constriction, and elevated stress hormones in the blood.
Other studies suggest that long-term effects diminish since, unfortunately for our spiritual health, it appears that we get more comfortable with lying the more we do it. In other words, we develop an unsettling tolerance to being devious.
Brain imaging experiments conducted by Tali Sharot at University College London show that the brain adapts to dishonest behavior. Participants showed reduced activity in their limbic system as they told more lies, supporting the idea that each lie makes lying easier. In addition, the findings support the adage that small acts of dishonesty can escalate into larger ones.”
This is not a surprising discovery since that it was said by Jesus in Luke 16:10,11, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”
So then we need to immerse ourselves in the truth of Gods Word constantly to remain vigilant again the schemes of the devil. As we read in 1 Peter 5:8, “ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
When we look at the world around us it can feel like everything is built upon a foundation of lies. From corporate greed to corrupt government, scandal is everywhere. There is little accountability for those who poison our land, our water and our food. Nor do those who deny the truth of God’s word seem any worse off.
It can all feel a lot like the words in Romans 3: 10-18,
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[d]
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
The thing about those words is that they are a collection of verses from the Old Testament when God’s people were under the Old covenant, the Law of Moses. So if we continue in verse 21 it tells the condition of those under the New covenant,
“But now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
I still remember visiting New York City years ago with my parents. We were at the bottom tip of Manhattan and we went to take the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island which is about five miles away. They have a large terminal there and there are two ferries that go back and forth constantly all day and it’s actually free, there is no cost to ride. So we were at the terminal and my dad was looking around for a ticket booth or a machine to get a ticket and I told him; ‘no it’s free there’s no ticket.’ And he couldn’t believe it, “What? Really? No!” And it took him a couple minutes, and speaking to a security guard, for him to finally believe that it was free of charge.
That is in a way, what Christ has accomplished for us; he has bridged that gap, that huge gulf that we could never cross by ourselves, and He has done it at no cost to us. He suffered to pay that great price for us.
By His word, His crucifixion, His death and His resurrection, he has carried us over and eliminated that gulf between us and God. As we read in Romans 8: 31-34,
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
And to think that it all started with just one lie – at the very beginning.
Barrie ON
