by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“And the land was defiled, therefore I did visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomited out her inhabitants.” Leviticus 18:27-28 Leviticus 18 expresses God’s standards regarding sexual purity. Among His prohibitions, He includes incest, bestiality, adultery, and homosexuality. Note the interdependence of the people and the land; when the people defiled the land, the land “vomited out her inhabitants. God revealed to Abraham that his descendents would spend 400 years in Egypt, after which God would return them to the Promised Land. “And in the fourth generation they shall come back hither; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.” The Amorites lived in the land God promised to Israel, and He had to wait until the iniquity of the Amorites was complete before removing them. There comes a point when the sexual immorality of a people crosses a threshold and the land “vomits” them out. I have no idea where that threshold is, but God does. It has nothing to do with God’s election, nor with whether or not the inhabitants are His chosen people; when Israel crossed the line God sent them into captivity in Babylon. In our country where we sanction divorce, homosexuality, and all manner of immorality – where the dormitories at our universities have become dens of licentiousness – I fear we may be getting close to crossing this threshold, if we have not already done so. Lord God, have mercy on us! We dare not forget that although investigation and experimentation in the intellectual realm leads to excellence, when applied to the moral realm it leads to depravity...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” Romans 1:14 Paul discusses debt and obligation a great deal. To the Corinthians he wrote, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves yourservants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:5 He tells them that he is obligated to minister to them. “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity islaid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” 1 Corinthians 9:16 In his opening remarks to the Romans Paul says that he is indebted to the non-Christians, for from them he accrues profit in the form of fruit. “…oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruitamong you also, even as among other Gentiles.” Romans 1:13 For this reason he is “eager”to come to them. Paul longs to minister to them, for in so doing he gains fromthem; he wants fruit from them. Your desire for fruit or profit is not bad, depending on what you consider to befruit or gain. You should not try to divorce debt and obligation. Your obligation to participate in the Great Commission is tied to your indebtedness to the fruit of evangelism, for this fruit accrues to your eternal bank account. According to the eternal economics of Scripture, when you give you...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2Corinthians 12:8-9 Scripture makes a connection between sin and sickness that I find disturbing: “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” This seems to support the teaching of Jesus as well: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk… Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” It seems from this that we should conclude that sickness may result from sin, but this does not mean that those sick are ill because of their sin. We must be careful that we do not draw unwarranted conclusions from Scripture, while at the same time looking to God during times of illness to ensure that we are not living in un-confessed sin. James 5:14-15 Mark 2:5 John 5:8,...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“This He said to show by what death he (Peter) was to glorify God. And after this He said to him, ‘Follow me.'” John 21:19 As in life, so in death, Peter was to glorify God. Death affords us our last opportunity on this earth to glorify our Lord Jesus. Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators, affords a good example: He died saving the life of another. Often, I have asked God, when He comes for me, to take me from behind rather than straight on. But if God answers my prayer, it may limit my ability to glorify Him. Would I rather have the opportunity to glorify Him, or the absence of pain that comes with a silent death? The only way I can hope to glorify God in death is to “follow Him” with a biblical hope as the anchor of my life. Most men who do not live their lives with a biblical hope die cynical and bitter. “For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain.” I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t ask for the Lord’s return. With the passing of years, I find that my capacities – emotional, physical, mental, etc. – diminish. I fear that I may finish the race poorly, and thus my fervent prayer is that I can end this life without being a major embarrassment to the Savior. Jesus said, “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 Paul sought to make his life a reflection of the gospel; that is, make the messenger like the message. Just as the gospel appears weak and foolish to the world, so does the preacher. The foundation of your faith is not reason, but the wisdom of the cross. Paul, in his preaching, makes no reference to the inferiority of heathen gods or the folly of idolatry. Neither does he seek to give proofs for the existence of God. The power is not in the argument of the messenger, but in the message. “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2 Conversion comes solely through the gospel in all of its simplicity, not because of craftily formed arguments and logic. Proclaim the gospel from a posture of inadequacy and dependence. Don’t try to impress people through technique. You will not bring people to conversion by satisfying the needs of reason. They come because the Holy Spirit has transformed their hearts. The gospel is eminently reasonable when you accept its presuppositions. But logic and reason cannot bring a person to acceptance. This marks the difference between the seeker and the skeptic. Reason may help the seeker, because God has already touched his heart, but it can do nothing for the skeptic. Human wisdom is not bad. It just cannot bring a person to...
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