Man’s Intellectual Descent #2

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

“And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah” (Genesis 4:21,22 KJV).

Man, “armed” with evolutionary theory, “thinks” he is getting smarter and smarter… how dumb!

Before sin, Adam enjoyed perfect fellowship with his wife, Eve, and with their Creator, Jesus Christ. Adam and Eve had God’s wisdom, for God had daily Bible studies with them. Sadly, that paradise only lasted a few days.

Once Satan approached Adam and Eve, Satan successfully distracted Eve from God’s Word by inquiring, “Yea, hath God said…?” (Genesis 3:1). Satan deceived Eve and she ate the forbidden fruit, but Adam was not deceived (1 Timothy 2:14). Adam knew he would be disobeying God by eating that fruit with Eve, but Adam ate anyway, and plunged humanity into sin. What a foolish action!

After mankind’s fall, he became increasingly rebellious, until God finally sent the Great Deluge to destroy all but eight people (Genesis 6:5-22; cf. 2 Peter 2:5). Nevertheless, mankind grew worse: the nations, by gathering around the Tower of Babel in empty pagan religion, challenged God’s instruction to scatter (Genesis 9:1,7; Genesis 11:1-11).

Today’s Scripture shows early mankind—just 500 years after creation—was musically inclined and worked with iron and brass. This is just a glimpse of man’s early technological advances. Although mankind’s machines have improved, he is more ignorant of God’s Word than ever.

“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations [empty, worthless thoughts!], and their foolish heart was darkened [ignorance!]. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,… And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate [degenerate] mind, to do those things which are not convenient;…” (Romans 1:21-32; notice the sins caused by man’s foolish thoughts).

Contrary to evolutionary theory, the Bible says mankind started “at the top,” but is now spiraling downward, mentally, socially, and spiritually.

Man’s Intellectual Descent #1

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

“And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah” (Genesis 4:21,22 KJV).

Evolutionary theory suggests that man has progressed from grunting, lurching great apes to modern-day, “civilized” brilliant Homo sapiens sapiens. Considering the recent technological explosion within the last few decades, mankind is advancing to a higher state of intellectualism… or so he “thinks.”

Did you know that Adam, only a few hours old, was speaking and giving names to the creatures (Genesis 2:19-23)? Less than one week after creation, Adam and Eve were communicating intelligently with one another, with God, and with Satan (Genesis 3:2-13). It did not take millions of years for human language to “evolve;” God created man with fully functional mental capacities and a complex language system.

Although you are probably unfamiliar with today’s Scripture, these two verses describe some of Cain’s descendants. Notice that Tubalcain, who was the seventh generation from Adam, was a teacher of craftsmen who worked with iron and brass. His half-brother Jubal fathered musicians who played the harp and organ.

Later, just 1600 years after Adam, Noah built a massive boat, 450 feet (137 meters) long, 45 feet (13.7 meters) high, and 75 feet (23 meters) wide (Genesis 6:15)! Can you imagine what technology Noah used in order to obey God’s instructions? Just think of the size of those wooden beams and what equipment was used to lift them…. Surely, the Great Flood destroyed that antediluvian technology.

Before sin, mankind enjoyed the pinnacle of his mental faculties. But, once sin entered, sin slowly corrupted the human genome. The curse gradually set in. Slowly, but surely, mankind would grow less and less intelligent. He would drift further and further away from God’s Word, becoming more savage and irrational.

Today, as in those early days, man still struggles with sin and has extensive ignorance about the things of God. He still is rebellious. Despite his intellect, man is a “fool” in God’s eyes, for he rejects God’s wisdom, the Bible.

Sacrifice Not Thy Kids

Thursday, April 26, 2012

“And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shall thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 18:21 KJV).

Human life is often postulated to be the latest “innovation” of random, mindless biological evolutionary processes—which is nothing more than an attempt to make our lives meaningless. However, the Bible explains that God sees human life as something to be respected, something never to be downplayed.

God’s Word makes nearly a dozen references to Israel “passing [her] seed through the fire to Molech” (today’s Scripture; Deuteronomy 18:10; 2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 17:17; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Jeremiah 32:35; Ezekiel 16:20,21; Ezekiel 20:26,31) and one reference to Israel “burning their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal” (Jeremiah 19:4,5).

Molech was a pagan god of Israel’s neighbors, the Ammonites (Lot’s children; Genesis 19:38). The Ammonites offered human sacrifices to Molech, and sadly, God’s people Israel did too! God strictly warned Israel not to burn their children, but they did it anyway to worship some silly idol. Imagine—sinful Israel worshipping a meaningless idol, deliberately forgetting that they already had the living Creator God (Almighty JEHOVAH) meeting their every need!

In Deuteronomy 18:10 the LORD commanded Israel, “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire.” From the common Jews to kings, priests, and prophets, Israel sacrificed their own kids (2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Jeremiah 32:32-35). Jewish babies and children were literally grilled on pagan altars… alive! How horrible, but equally atrocious as modern-day abortion procedures!

Unfortunately, many parents today still have little to no regard for their children’s wellbeing (especially preparing them for eternity!). When parents fail to grow up their children using proper (dispensational) Bible study, they are sacrificing their kids on the world’s pagan altar (the depraved moral society and the apostate religious society). May we never relinquish our kids to anyone but the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, and His Word rightly divided! 🙂

What Does God Want Me to Do? #7

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).

Every person has an innate knowledge of the Creator God (Romans 1:17-23; Romans 2:14,15): those who deny His existence have a heart problem (a sinful heart; Jeremiah 17:9; Psalm 14:1; Psalm 53:1)! For those of us who are willing to submit to God’s authority, what exactly does God want us to do? God does exist; why do we?

People naturally seek purpose and meaning in life, but, sorrowfully, they usually never find them because they always look in the wrong places. Scientific analysis, although very interesting, is not the method whereby we learn our origin and our purpose. In order to learn God’s will, we need to look in the right place (the Bible!).

The Apostle Paul wrote, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” (Ephesians 5:15-18).

As people who have trusted in Christ Jesus alone as our personal Saviour, God’s Holy Spirit wants to fill us—not to give us a “charismatic high,” but rather to transform us from the inside out. God does not want us Christians living carelessly: “walk circumspectly [carefully, cautiously], not as fools, but as wise….” God wants to fill us Christians with His Spirit so He can be glorified in our church families (Ephesians 5:19-21), our marriages and families (Ephesians 5:22–6:4), and our workplace (Ephesians 6:5-9).

God’s will is to “strengthen [us] with might by his Spirit in the inner man [soul]; that Christ may dwell in [our] hearts by faith” (Ephesians 3:16,17). The indwelling Holy Spirit wants to strengthen us with sound doctrine so Christ can live His life in and through us (cf. Galatians 2:20)! This is “Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith,” and this is God “working in [us] both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (today’s Scripture).

What Does God Want Me to Do?

Thursday, March 29, 2012

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).

Someone recently asked, “What does God want me to do in life?” Well, what would God want us to do?

God wants to use us for His glory, but sin interferes: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). So, in order to use us, God must first save us from ourselves (sin, death, and ultimately hell). This is why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, to shed His innocent blood for our forgiveness (to wash away our sins), and to resurrect the third day for our justification (to give us a right standing before God). That is Paul’s Gospel, the Gospel of the Grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

God’s will is to have “all men saved” (1 Timothy 2:4a); God wants no one to go to hell forever (2 Peter 3:9). Do you want to do God’s will? Get saved! Trust Christ Jesus alone as your personal Saviour (Paul’s Gospel) and receive eternal life in heaven. God the Holy Spirit will then take you and place you into the Church the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). Salvation is that simple!

But, God’s will is to also have “all men… come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4b). Once a person is saved, God then wants him or her to learn why He saved them. God wants to teach us His overall goal for creation and our role in accomplishing that purpose (we learn this by studying His Word, the Bible). Do you want to do God’s will as a Christian? Follow the Apostle Paul as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1)! Learn about God’s will for you in this Dispensation of Grace by focusing on Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon.

As today’s Scripture teaches, God wants to accomplish a magnificent work in us, a work that will literally reverberate throughout the ages to come (eternity future). He wants to save us forever so He can use us forever.

The Glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ #5

Thursday, March 22, 2012

“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13,14 KJV).

God the Father’s original purpose for creating the heaven and the earth was to make His Son, Jesus Christ, the Head of their governments (Ephesians 1:9,10; Colossians 1:16-18). Both heaven and earth were to be filled with creatures that would bring Jesus Christ (the Creator) glory and honor. Unfortunately, sin interrupted that plan, and Jesus Christ has yet to become the rightful Ruler of the universe. In the ages to come, Jesus Christ will be glorified in both heaven and earth, and we will share that glory with Him!

We are born into this world useless to God. From birth, sin separates us from God. Thus, God used Paul’s Gospel—Christ’s finished crosswork at Calvary—so we could “obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (today’s Scripture). Now that we have trusted in that Gospel, we have restored fellowship with God, and we can be useful to God. In the ages to come, God will utilize us, the Church the Body of Christ, in the heavenly places to reflect Jesus Christ’s glory (Ephesians 2:6,7; cf. Ephesians 1:18) just as God will use redeemed Israel to reflect Jesus Christ’s glory on earth (Isaiah 60:1-3). Also see Colossians 1:16-20.

When we receive our glorified bodies at the rapture, we will be “glorified together [with Christ]” to forever reign for Christ’s glory in the heavenly places (Romans 8:16-25). Those new (enhanced) bodies will be made specifically for operating in heaven for all eternity (2 Corinthians 5:1-5). Throughout the ages to come, creation will see us reflecting the holiness and righteousness we have in Christ now (2 Corinthians 5:21). They will worship and praise the God whose righteousness and holiness our new bodies will reflect—not our glory, but “the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ!” What a glorious truth! 🙂

The Glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ #4

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13,14 KJV).

Saints, today’s Scripture tells us that through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork at Calvary—Paul’s Gospel of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4—we can now obtain “the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Christ, we have acquired the righteous status before God that Adam had prior to mankind’s fall into sin. God has redeemed our souls from sin and hell and He has given us a new identity in Christ. But, our vile physical bodies have not yet been redeemed from sin’s curse, so we cannot see the glory of that new identity. At the rapture, we will receive glorified physical bodies, and the glory we have in Christ will be manifested (Romans 8:18-25).

Our Lord Jesus Christ “dwells in the light which no man can approach unto” (1 Timothy 6:16). Christ is so holy that light emanates from His body (remember the Mount of Transfiguration?). When the ascended Lord Jesus appeared to Saul of Tarsus (the future Apostle Paul), Saul was blinded for three days because of “the glory of that light” (Acts 9:1-9; Acts 22:5-11; Acts 26:12,13). This is the glory of God that dwells in us; we just cannot see it right now.

Currently, we live in these limited physical bodies that cannot reflect the glory of Christ that we have inside (in the inner man). That will change at the rapture. “As we have borne the image of the earthy [these physical bodies linked to fallen Adam], we shall also bear the image of the heavenly [the glorified bodies that will reflect Christ’s glory; Philippians 3:20,21]” (1 Corinthians 15:49ff.).

After the rapture, we will have bodies that will be just as radiant as Jesus’ body on the Mount of Transfiguration. Then, we will be glorified together with Christ (Romans 8:16,17). Glorious truth!

The Glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ #3

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13,14 KJV).

In the beginning Adam and Eve were physically naked, but they were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25). Why? They had perfect fellowship with God, for God had made man “in his own image” (Genesis 1:27). Mankind reflected God’s glory, God’s holiness: man, like God, was sinless. Adam and Eve needed no clothes, for the light of God’s righteousness emanated from their bodies: God’s holiness was their covering. However, once Adam sinned, they “knew that they were naked” (Genesis 3:7). They quickly sewed (itchy!) fig leaf aprons for clothes! They no longer bore God’s image; sin caused them to lose that glorious light covering them.

During His earthly ministry, our Lord Jesus took the Apostles Peter, James, and John to a high mountain. Instantly, the Lord Jesus’ body shone brightly. “[H]is face did shine as the sun, and his raiment [clothing] was white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). His clothes were “exceeding white as snow [bleached white!]” (Mark 9:3; Luke 9:29). This is the famous “Mount of Transfiguration” account. Usually, Jesus’ physical body looked normal; but here, the glorious light (holiness) in which He dwelt in glory was briefly manifested for these three apostles. This was the light that once covered Adam and Eve before they sinned!

Look at those who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Physically, they look like everyone else. The light of the righteousness of God that Christians have inside (in the soul) is not visible today; just like Jesus Christ looked normal physically (the difference was spiritual!!). At the rapture, our resurrected (glorified) physical bodies will display the glory that now resides in us Christians. Our new bodies will shine brilliantly, reflecting the inward glory (of our Lord Jesus Christ) that we have right now (today’s Scripture). Glorious truth!

The Glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ #1

Sunday, March 18, 2012

“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13,14 KJV).

We enter this world as sinners, heirs of Adam’s sin nature (Romans 5:12). As King David wrote, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). Saints, we were once hell-bound sinners, marred by sin—that was our “glory” in Adam. Now that we are “in Christ,” we have obtained the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Adam was “made in the image of God” (Genesis 1:26,27). Originally, Adam was sinless, in complete and unbroken fellowship with his perfect Creator God. Once Adam ate the forbidden fruit, he lost that fellowship. Sin destroyed his link with his sinless Creator. Mankind had chosen the way of Satan, seeking his own glory instead of the glory of his Creator. He was now lost, God’s enemy.

Jesus Christ, humbly left heaven’s glory, to walk earth’s filthy streets and subject Himself to wicked man. Why? God the Son became a man, to undo what Adam did, and reconcile man unto Himself (2 Corinthians 5:18,20). He came to die for our sins, to be buried, and to be raised again for our justification (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus’ perfect blood was shed to restore us to the perfect fellowship that Adam (mankind) once had with God!

Now that we have trusted Christ alone as our Saviour (the Gospel), we have “obtained the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (today’s Scripture): we have been “sanctified” (set apart for God’s purposes) and “saved” (from sin and hell). We have been made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ’s perfect nature has been now applied to us Christians! Jesus’ blood has made atonement for our sins (Romans 5:6-11); sin no longer prevents us from fellowshipping with our Creator God. Glorious truth!

Stand in Awe of the LORD

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

“Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him” (Psalm 33:8 KJV).

Who stands in awe of God today? Very few. For the past 2,000 years, our world has grown very comfortable in its sins. After all, in this the Dispensation of Grace, God is not imputing the world’s trespasses unto it (2 Corinthians 5:19). God’s attitude toward the whole world today, saved and lost, is “grace and peace” (the expression with which Paul began every epistle). Alas, rather than gratefully accepting God’s grace, man has taken advantage of God’s grace.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 explains man’s overall attitude toward God in the Dispensation of Grace: “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Today, scoffers mock God and blaspheme His name, with no immediate judgment. They ridicule His Word and persecute His saints. Operating under the false impression they have gotten away with it, they sin even more.

Look at how harshly God dealt with rebellious people in time past (Noah’s contemporaries, Sodom and Gomorrah, et cetera). Today, God does not pour out His wrath and judgment. The day is coming however, when God’s wrath will be executed. Our world is headed for the Tribulation, “the day of the vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2; cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10).

We who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we have submitted to God’s authority. We saints humbly stand in awe of God, our Creator, our Saviour, and our Head, awed by His grace, love, and mercy. We respect His power and authority. But, most of the world, lost and headed for hell, hates God.

Nevertheless, the day is speedily approaching when, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10,11). In that day, ALL will be forced to kneel in awe of the LORD!