Uncategorized – Massillon Baptist College Alumni Fellowship

When Life Turns Backward

In Numbers 12, we find that Moses has re-married. Commentators disagree as to whether this “Ethiopian woman” is referring to Zipporah (his first wife) or a second wife that he chose after Zipporah died. There is a case for both, but I think the circumstances make the most sense that he re-married. Either way, Miriam wasn’t happy about it and starts to complain.

Miriam felt this was an affront to her position in society, which was a very high position. She led the women in song after The Exodus (Ex. 15:20-21). She is mentioned as a prophetess there also. Surely the entire nation knew she was the one who tended the baby basket with her brother as it wafted toward the palace. She was the go-between who brought Moses back home to be weaned by his mother and taught about God. Without her help, surely the people would not be free this day. Her status is also seen in the fact that the nation wouldn’t travel in the wilderness with her outside of the camp during her week of punishment (v. 15).

Her pride got the best of her as she felt her status in life taking a step backward. And what an odd age to manifest her pride! Remember she’s probably a good 10-12 years older than Moses, and he’s at least 80! Nevertheless, this new ‘strange woman’ from another country was a threat to Miriam’s position. And she brings Aaron into the middle of the contention (v. 2). Isn’t it like human nature to feel the need to get people on our side when we’re in the wrong?

Throughout the wilderness wanderings, we see pride and its ugly consequences. Just four chapters later, Korah tries to usurp Moses’ God-given authority and was swallowed up by the ground. His 250 cohorts were burnt alive as they offered incense before the Lord (ch. 16). Miriam was still on the Lord’s side, but God did render swift punishment in the form of leprosy. God saw no problem with Moses and his choice, and in fact, defended him before his siblings (vs. 6-8). We should ask ourselves the question, “What would God say about my character?” That’s a convicting question because God knows our heart!

We’re all smiles when life is going in the right direction, but how do we respond when life takes a turn for the worse? In marriage, we pledge our love and loyalty ‘in sickness and in health.’ Should our devotion to the Lord be any less substantial? We can all think of at least one believer who turned his back on God when the going got tough. The truth is that God is still good and heaven is still our home, regardless of earthly circumstances. While Miriam didn’t deal well in this situation, let’s resolve to stay close to the Lord ‘for richer, for poorer; for better, for worse, in sickness and in health…’ And concerning the Lord, not even death will ‘do us part.’ Nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39)!

Does God View All Sins the Same?

If you have gone to a Bible-preaching church for a length of time, you’ve probably heard the concept that God sees all sins as the same. This notion says that we categorize sin while God does not. There is some semblance of truth here, but I believe it is an incomplete picture. God views any sin as sin and God hates all sin. But does He view every sin the same? Let’s find out.

Universal Truths

All sin is an affront to God, and He stands opposed to all forms of it, no matter how small. Why is this? The Bible says that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). James echoes the end result of sin as well: “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust (sinful desire), and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14-15). Rather than face death, God wants us to experience life, and that more abundantly (John 10:10).

We often define death as the cessation of physical life (heartbeat, breathing, etc.), but the Biblical understanding is that death is separation. That’s how you can have such a concept as death (eternal death) in hell, contrasted with “eternal life” in heaven in Romans 6:23. Physical death is separation from our loved ones and separation from this world, for we are no longer present in it. “Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (in heaven)… We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (II Cor. 5:6, 8). Simply, “the body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26). At death, our physical body and spiritual soul are separated.

Now that we know that sin produces death (separation from God), we realize that death is opposed to the eternal will of God. God’s desire through the ages is unending, intimate fellowship and union with human beings.

Why This Idea Is Taught

I’ve heard good preachers say that God views all sin the same. Again, there is some truth to that statement. Where do we find such an idea in the Bible?

In the Old Testament, we learn that God does not see sin quite the same way we do. When King Saul disobeyed the clear word of the Lord, the prophet Samuel was sent to rebuke him. God commanded Saul to destroy the Amalekites completely, but he saved alive the king and kept the spoils of war (I Sam. 15:18-21). Samuel then says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (v. 23). It would seem that God views stubborn disobedience the same way He sees communicating with the demonic realm.

Let’s look in the New Testament. Jesus stunned His listeners as He uttered the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus turned the current-day religion on its head, proving what righteousness really looks like in God’s eyes. He told them what the Law said (or how it was understood at least), then He condemned the socially-acceptable sins of the day that edged so close to the prohibitions of the Law. We’ll consider two particular instances. First of all is the command to not kill, which comes directly from the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:13). Jesus expands on this, equating anger with murder (Mat. 5:21-22). Murder often springs from anger. Then He deals with adultery. Of course, everybody knew the seventh commandment. But Jesus shows that the same root sin is involved in a lustful look as the physical act (Mat. 5:27-28).

Furthermore, James 2:10 states, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” This surely sounds like all sins are the same in the eyes of God. But the next verse clears up the meaning, showing us that one sin brands you “a transgressor of the law.” One sin is all that’s required to earn us eternity in the lake of fire (Romans 6:23). It doesn’t matter how many sins you’ve committed or even what sins they were — the end result is the same for those who break God’s law, and everybody breaks God’s law (Romans 3:23). This is illustrated by a person hanging high off the ground by a chain. How many links must fail for him to fall? Of course, just one. Even if fifty of the links broke at the same instant, the result is the same.

As we’ve seen above, God views certain “lesser” sins similarly to more egregious sins. So why would anyone say that God views different sins differently? The answer is two-fold.

Why This Idea Is Incomplete

1. God does not punish all sins the same.

If God viewed all sins equally, then why does He punish them differently? First John 5:16 says, “There is a sin unto death.” In other words, there is a particular sin, unknown to us, that will occasion a believer’s death. For Saul, it was consulting the witch at Endor. For Achan, it was the theft of war spoils.

In the Mosaic Law, God required captial punishment for certain crimes (murder, rape of a married woman, kidnapping, idolatry, witchcraft, etc.). We all know the same punishment was not to be inflicted for lying or theft. The Law prescribed different means of remediation for those sins.

There are sins of commission and sins of omission. One is a sin of action and the other of in-action. Would God weigh not reading your Bible today the same as the crimes of the likes of Hitler?

It seems that the only logical options are that God views different sins differently or else He must punish all sins the same.

2. God declares specific sins that He hates and finds abominable.

To learn who God is and what He is like, we must search the Scriptures. Observing creation displays the glory of God and shows His handiwork (Ps. 19:1), but doesn’t teach us much more about Him. So what do the Scriptures teach us? As we’ve already seen, God hates sin — any sin and all sin. It would then seem unnecessary to state that He hates specific sins. Yet, God says there are many that He hates.

“Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the Lord thy God hateth” (Deut. 16:22). Other sins He hates are child sacrifice (Deut. 12:31), sacrificing stolen property to Him (Isa. 61:8), devising evil against your neighbor and not keeping your promises (Zech. 8:17), and divorce (Mal. 2:16). Furthermore, “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” (Prov. 6:16-18). Here the writer of Scripture ties the thoughts of what God hates to abominations.

An abomination is something that is repulsive, disgusting, and abhorrent. It’s like finding a fly in your mouth as you take a bite of soup. As you spit out the soup and fly, you realize it provokes an immediate and strong reaction — it is abominable to you. You become disgusted and lose your appetite. So when God calls a particular sin abominable, be sure that He hates it.

So what is abominable to God?

He lists many sexual sins in Leviticus 18. All the sins of this chapter are abominations before God (see vs. 26, 29, 30), which are…

marrying a close relative,
seeing the nakedness of any of your relatives (i.e. sexual relations),
taking two sisters as your wives,
bestiality,
adultery,
and child sacrifice.

Homosexuality is summed up in one verse in this chapter: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination” (v. 22) and is reiterated in 20:13 – “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” See also I Kings 14:24.

God lists other abominations in Scripture:

using witchcraft (Deut. 18:10-12),
wearing clothes of the other sex (Deut. 22:5),
bringing the profits of prostitution or sodomy into God’s House (Deut. 23:18),
unjust trading (Deut. 25:13-16, Prov. 11:1, 20:10),
lying (Prov. 12:22),
wicked people acting righteously by sacrificing to God (Prov. 15:8-9, 21:27, Isa. 1:13),
pride (Prov. 16:5),
unjust judges (Prov. 17:15),
the prayer of the unteachable (Prov. 28:9),
violence (Ezek. 8:17),
and a list of sins in Eze. 18:10-13.

Other abominations are often repeated, such as committing idolatry, committing adultery and eating unclean animals. (Note that the ceremonial law was done away with when Christ died on the cross. We’re no longer held under the dietary laws, nor in keeping the feasts of Israel or the sacrifices.) While the ceremonial law was done away with, the moral law stays consistent through time.

So God singles out many sins, which goes against the idea that He sees them all the same.

Conclusion

To sum it up, God views all sin as sin. It’s all evil and it all works death (separation) in us (see Isa. 59:2). When you choose a particular sin over another, it’s the same as “picking your poison” — it leads to separation (death) from God. Any one sin is enough to render us unfit for heaven. Thus, the eternal impact of any sin has the same impact: eternal death.

But certain sins have different consequences. Consider another example: divorce renders a man unfit for the position of pastor or deacon (I Tim. 3:2, 12). There is a sin unto death, as Achan and King Saul found out. For the sins of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, they were told they would receive greater punishment in hell (Mat. 23:14). If every sin looked the same in God’s eyes, necessity would dictate that they must all be punished alike.

Still, the stronger point is that God declares certain sins to be ones He especially hates and finds abominable. If all sins were the same, why would He single out particular sins and not the rest? So there is some truth to the idea that God sees all sins the same, but the greater truth is that He does not consider them all alike.

A Hard Heart

The 10 plagues upon Egypt in Exodus has yielded much theological debate because God said that He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. How do God’s sovereignty and man’s free will intersect? Without getting into the weeds, I have a few thoughts on this particular matter, which I’ll share briefly. Exodus 5:2 records Pharaoh’s first words to Moses — “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” Pharaoh’s very first response to Jehovah was one of scoffing. Beyond that, he had allowed the continued enslavement of hundreds of thousands of people — and not just any people, but God’s people. For his sin, Pharaoh was worthy of death right at that moment, especially considering what God would later say in the Law about getting gain by selling another into slavery (Exo. 21:16). God worked Pharaoh’s death out for His glory, telling Moses ahead of time, “I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go” (Exo. 4:21).

While God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, the Bible also records that Pharaoh sinned and hardened his own heart (Exo. 8:15, 32, 9:34, I Sam. 6:6). Regardless of how you put the pieces together, a hard heart is something we should eschew at all costs! Job said, “He (God) is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against Him, and hath prospered?” (Job 9:4)

We see the results of a hard heart throughout the Scriptures. It caused Pharaoh to die in the Red Sea. Hardness of heart resulted the breakup of many marriages in Israelite society (Mat. 19:8). It also prevented men from seeing Jesus as the Messiah as He performed the supernatural (Mark 3:5-6). Hard hearts forget what God has done for them and how blessed they truly are (Mark 6:52, 8:17-20). It’s also why the disciples weren’t camping out at Jesus’ tomb on Saturday and doubted the ‘tales’ of His resurrection (Mark 16:14).

Nothing good comes from a hard heart. We ruin relationships with fellow man because our relationship with God is in disarray. How can we fix this? Romans 2:4-5 tell us that “the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” When we realize that God is so good to us, we will return to Him. A good illustration of this is found in the Prodigal Son. When he realized life was so much better in his father’s house than his present, pitiful condition, he resolved to return.

If we’re going to remove hardness from our heart, we must be honest with ourselves: it’s easy to let it happen. We become “hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13). It will sneak up upon us, tricking us through the desires of our flesh (James 1:14). When we give in, hardness inevitably results. When we become soft on sin, our hearts become hard. Conversely, if we’re soft in heart to the Lord, we will be hard on sin.

So let’s search our hearts to make sure it’s soft to the Lord — i.e. mold-able and pliable to His Spirit. Let’s dwell upon God’s goodness, as it will motivate us to serve Him wholeheartedly. Then we must be willing to be hard on sin as we live in a world in love with sin. Let us avoid a hard heart because hard hearts don’t hear God: “To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Heb. 3:15, 4:7)

Let’s have a soft heart so that we can hear God speak to us!

Salvation Is a Personal Decision

In Matthew 8:10-12, Jesus is speaking to those in Capernaum who are following Him. He marvels at the Roman centurion’s faith. This man realized that Jesus need only “speak the word… and my servant shall be healed” (Mat. 8:8). He acknowledged that what Jesus speaks will happen, alluding to His omnipotence, and that Jesus was a greater man than he (v. 9), alluding to His divinity. In answering the centurion’s confidence, Jesus exclaims, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel” (v. 10). He literally means this, for this centurion is not a Jew.

Jesus proceeds to shock the Jews in His audience by telling them that the Gentiles will be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven (i.e. heaven), while some of the Jews will not. “But the children of the kingdom (i.e. Jews) shall be cast into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat. 8:12).

Jesus is teaching some most important principles regarding salvation. First, salvation is not guaranteed by birth or pedigree. The Jews were counting on their lineage to get them to heaven, but Jesus makes clear here that ancestry is not a factor in receiving the gift of eternal life. Your last name may grant you favors in your social or professional circles, but not in the Lamb’s Book of Life. This leads to the second principle: salvation requires a personal decision to place your faith in Christ. Though the faith in this context is that Jesus can heal, Jesus further indicates this man’s faith to be saving faith, hence verses 11-12.

Many church denominations have departed from upholding the Bible as their final authority. Even in colonial America, the Biblical teaching on salvation was watered down, giving rise to the “halfway covenant”. This type of apostasy continues all around us to our present day. But we must be concerned with people misunderstanding how to be saved even in our own churches. Some men and women that fill our pews may assume that they are right with God because of their religious upbringing, though they’ve never personally accepted Christ’s offer of salvation. How tragic that would be!

May we pray to preach the gospel clearly to men and women and for the Spirit to work in their hearts.

Deniers

There are many cultural wars being fought in our country today. The issues change over time, but there is always strong divergence of opinions in our vast land. Abortion seems to be taking center stage at this time. As summer draws near, the media will probably give more focus to “climate change”. (These stories just don’t seem to make much of an appearance in the throes of frigid Januaries!)

Decades ago, the “crisis” started out as an impending ice age, as the older generations remember. Then it changed to global warming, and now it is classified as climate change. What I want to draw out is what they call those who don’t accept the bombastic premises of climate change: deniers.

The dictionary defines denial as stating something to be not true which others declare or believe to be true. The most familiar Bible story on this topic is Peter’s three denials of our soon-to-be-crucified Lord.

For the first occurrence in the Bible, we have to go back to Genesis. Here Sarah, at 89 years of age, denies the angel of the Lord’s prophecy that she will have a son (Gen. 18:15). It’s interesting that she “laughed” at this news, and her child was named Isaac, meaning laughter.

In the New Testament, Peter and John healed a lame man in Jerusalem, who then entered the Temple “walking, and leaping, and praising God” ( Acts 3:8 ). What a wonderful miracle and testimony! When the people gathered around, Peter told the crowd that they had recently “denied [Jesus] in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just…” (Acts 3:14-15). I’m glad that when it comes to Jesus Christ, we’re not deniers — we’re believers! We have personally accepted Jesus Christ’s claims of being God and our Saviour as true.

In our Christian life, we must be careful not to deny Christ. It is certainly possible for us to commit this very deed. Jesus cautions us when He says, “He that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God” ( Luke 12:9). As opposed to Peter, who swore he didn’t know Christ, we ought to be proud to be a believer. Because of what Jesus tells us, we had better confess that we know Him to those around us! Imagine the shame upon those whom Christ denies in heaven. God forbid that that be us.

There is one that we are to deny constantly: our self. To His followers, Jesus says, “If any will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mat. 16:24). Our old flesh likes to rear its ugly head and distract and detour our walk with the Lord. It gets in the way of serving and especially sacrificing for Him because our flesh desires to have the preeminence. We must, with God’s help, subdue our flesh by following the ways of the Lord and seeking to do *His* will, as opposed to our own.

As you go to work or to doctor’s appointments or the grocery store, let others know you’re a Christian by giving them a tract. When sinners entice you to join them, refuse the offer and let them know that you follow the Lord and don’t want to sin. Don’t be afraid to talk about the Lord with family and friends. Live your life so that Jesus could say to you what He said to the church at Philadelphia, “Thou… hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name” (Rev. 3:8)!

Doers Of the Word

I was recently reading I Kings chapter 8. Solomon has just finished building the Temple and they ceremoniously brought the crowning piece of furniture into it, the Ark of the Covenant. God’s glory descended upon the Holy of Holies, to which Solomon offered a sermon and a lengthy prayer.

In his prayer, he asks for God to have a ready ear toward His people’s prayers and that forgiveness be extended when divine punishment came due to their sin. Such punishments might include being defeated in battle, withholding of rain, famine, pestilence, etc. Sin truly brings ugly consequences — and all of them unnecessary — into our lives. It’s always right and best to do what God says is right!

In this prayer, Solomon repeatedly asks for God to hear their prayers when they pray “toward this place” This is mentioned in verses 29, 30, 35, 38, 42, 44, and 48. Solomon is emphasizing this point.

Skip forward 300+ years when the time of the kings and Israel’s independence has vanished. The leading world superpower, Babylon, has taken over the nation of Judah and Medo-Persia has taken over Babylon. Daniel has been in a foreign land for over 60 years, employed by various rulers. We are all very familiar with the story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den. He was sentenced to death by lions because he prayed out of habit thrice each day, “his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem” (Dan. 6:10). (Little-known fact: Daniel was approaching or beyond 80 years of age when he entered the lions’ den.)

Notice that Daniel was very much aware of Scripture. We assume that he possessed a copy of the sacred writings in Babylon. He had read when Solomon asked God to hear the Israelite captives’ “prayer and their supplication” and maintain their cause” when they “pray unto Thee toward their land” and the house which I have built for Thy name” (I Kings 8:49, 48).

Daniel read his Bible, studied it, and knew it very well. And most importantly, he acted upon it. We rejoice in his miraculous rescue from the danger of the famished lions and how the instigators of that evil law were devoured before they even hit the bottom of the den. God has great blessings for those who obey His Word. But to obey it, you must read it and meditate on it so you know what He says to do. Let’s dare to be a Daniel!

“Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only” for “a doer of the work” shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:22, 25)!

Was Jesus Forced to Die on the Cross?

Most men and women do not want to meet their death. We desire to prolong our lives as long as possible with medicine and by living an active lifestyle. Hardly a murder victim has desired to lose their life. Even the murderer appeals his death sentence.

So… Was Jesus forced to die or did He choose to die?

To answer that question, read Matthew chapters 26 and 27 in the Bible and consider the following.

Jesus prophesied that His arrest leading to death was soon coming, but He made no effort to leave Jerusalem to avoid it. See Matthew 26, verses 2, 11, 21, 23-25, 31, and 45.
When hundreds of soldiers came to arrest Jesus, He had eleven of His twelve disciples with Him. Peter took out his sword to fight against these men, yet Jesus commanded him to put his sword back away. See Matthew 26, verses 51-52.
Peter swung his sword once at a man’s head before Jesus told him to put his sword away ( Matthew 26:51). Malchus ducked, and Peter cut off only his ear. Jesus took the time, as He was being arrested, to heal his ear. See Luke 22:50-51.
Not only did Jesus not want His disciples to fight against those who had come to arrest Him, but He also asked that they let His disciples go in safety since they were only interested in taking Him. Jesus did not resist His arrest in any way. See John 18, verses 7-8.
He prayed that there might be another way for man’s sins to be forgiven because He did not want to drink of “the cup“ of suffering and death. Nevertheless, He was committed to what God the Father wanted. See Matthew 26, verses 39 and 42. There was no other way, so He accepted the shame and suffering of the cross so we could be saved from death in hell.
As Jesus was brought to trial before the Jewish High Priest, He offered no defense to the outlandish accusations against Him. See Matthew 26, verses 59-63.
Jesus was then sent to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governmental official who had legal authority to condemn men to death. As Jesus was vigorously accused by the Jewish religious leaders, He didn’t answer these charges before Pilate either. See Matthew 27, verses 12-14.
Pilate, knowing Jesus was innocent, sought to release Jesus. Yet Jesus did not assist Pilate in this endeavor. See John 19, verses 7-12.
Jesus knew He could have called more than fifty thousand angels to come and rescue Him from the cross, but He remained silent. See Matthew 26, verse 53.
As He was dying on the cross, He asked God to forgive His murderers, “for they know not what they do.” See Luke 23, verse 34.

Jesus endured the shame and suffering of the crucifixion because of “the joy that was set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2). What joy could Jesus find in dying such a painful death? He knew that because of His death we could be saved from our sins and our sins’ punishment, which is the lake of fire. Peter tells us that because of Jesus’ being beaten with “stripes,” we can be healed (First Peter 2:24). As He went to the cross, He did so bearing “our sins in His own body on the tree.”

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Jesus was not forced to die. Rather, He allowed man to kill Him because by His death we might have life – everlasting life with God in heaven! Jesus took the punishment you and I deserved for our sins.

If you would like to believe in Christ and have Him give you “everlasting life,” simply ask Him for it. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). That’s God’s promise to you!

There are no special words to pray to be saved, as God will hear even a simple child’s prayer. More important than the words you speak, God sees your faith. If you believe it, you can receive it!

Here is a sample prayer to be saved:

Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner and that You died for my sin. I ask you to take me to heaven and give me the gift of everlasting life. Thank you for loving me, dying for me, and saving me! Amen.

If you have asked Jesus to save you and take you to heaven, please let me know! I will be so happy to hear you are now on your way to heaven!