Category: good vs evil

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #25

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

We previously discussed how sin works slowly: it takes an extremely long time before its damaging effects are fully comprehended. An illustration helps here. Think of a beautiful edifice, with a fresh coat of white paint on its exterior. Entering the front doorway, however, we notice the inside walls are rotting! Looks are deceiving. Despite its nice outward appearance, the structure is actually quite weak and liable to fall at any moment. Our final “incentive” to leave is the sight of a casket containing a corpse! What seemed to be a “lovely” house is nothing but a crumbling tomb!

Likewise, Israel in Christ’s day had a religious external form, but, upon closer investigation, there turned out to be thorough rot and decay internally! In Matthew chapter 23, He condemned their spiritual leaders who corrupted them: “[25] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. [26] Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. [27] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. [28] Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

Frankly, this is America—and has been for centuries. We were not a true Christian nation, but merely one in name only. “Having a form of godliness,” we “denied the power thereof” (cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-5). Nationally, we were the epitome of hypocrisy, but it took decades before people finally realized just how hideous our national soul was. We looked spiritual, like we were worshipping God, but we were really rejecting His words in unbelief. Now, we can fake it no longer….

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #24

Monday, February 1, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

Talk with Americans who have lived several decades. Those over age 60 have a greater context with which to compare social changes of recent years. For instance, I once spoke with a family member nearly 100 years old. She just could not fathom the news she was hearing in her final months here. The world she left at death was far worse than the world in which she arrived at birth. However, it does not bother those ages 40 to 60 to that extent, because the transition to this “new” culture began early in their generation. Those between ages 20 and 40 are even more deadened to society’s downward spiral because the transition encompassed their whole generation; some older members such as me (30-40 years) saw the fleeting moments of the old culture. The transition now complete, anyone under 20 years old has known nothing but the “new” culture, so they are most anesthetized. They did not even witness a glimpse of the world their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents knew.

Read 2 Timothy chapter 3: “[1] This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. [2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, [3] Without natural affection, trucebreakers [insatiable, cannot be pleased], false accusers, incontinent [no self-control], fierce [violent, aggressive], despisers of those that are good, [4] Traitors, heady [rash, impulsive], highminded [conceited, arrogant], lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; [5] Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” Is this not today’s news?!

What people find most disturbing is how the “religious” and “Christian” United States could go down this dreadful path. How could we become so anti-God, and be proud of it? So anti-Bible, and flaunt it? So anti-Christian, and revel in it? The answer to these “riddles” has already been provided in Scripture. We just read it, but let us re-read it with analysis….

Our latest Bible Q&As: “Who were the ‘chief priests?’,” “What was the Sanhedrin?,” and “Who were the “elders?’”

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #23

Sunday, January 31, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

While social problems affect every age group, they have compounded among young Americans in recent decades. Youth—particularly Millennials (my generation, born 1980–2000)—were not adequately disciplined at home. They did not learn to esteem and trust the Scriptures, discern right from wrong, respect authority, learn the roles of the two sexes, avoid drug and alcohol use, be faithful spouses and responsible parents, accept and handle losses, appreciate their national identities, and so on.

Having discarded the Bible, the resultant vacuum in our nation’s heart has sucked in anything and everything. Boundaries and benchmarks are long gone. Many have no idea what constitutes personhood. Hence, in the name of “tolerance,” we continue to accommodate increasingly deviant behavior. “I allow my children to choose their gender!” “Since we have not gotten our way, we are vindicated in rioting and vandalizing!” “I can marry anyone I love, and we can even cohabitate without marriage as well!” “Skin color must determine beliefs and values!” Utter, complete, hopeless confusion. There is no longer a standard for anything; all is in flux, subject to perpetually change with every whim and feeling. Life founded on shifting sand—a civilization based on vacillation—will perish.

We go to great lengths to justify aborting (murdering) unborn members of our species. “It is just a clump of cells and tissue, not an actual human!” How paranoid we have become as touching environmental issues—global warming/climate change, clean energy, et cetera! “Science, science, science” is a golden calf, a mantra mindlessly repeated. “Racism, racism, racism” is another overused and cheapened term. Allegedly “woke,” conscious of social injustices everywhere, they really do not have a clue as to what really matters. Boasting in their “light,” they languish in spiritual pitch blackness. Our society is scrambling so frantically to fix its problems. Nevertheless, proceeding without sound Bible doctrine (and even unaware it lacks that knowledge!), it will only aggravate its misery….

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #22

Saturday, January 30, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

Lacking a clear understanding of the most fundamental concepts—that there is a Creator God, that He has spoken to us through the Holy Bible, and that He holds us accountable to walk in that revelation He gave us—our society is confused about what else it should believe. This ignorance, of course, is courtesy of the home where the parents, especially the father, did not serve in his capacity as Bible teacher like that Creator intended. Most regrettably, the man’s children left his house as defenseless prey for the evil world system to seduce, entrap, and ruin!

Friends, mark these words well. There is only sure way to destroy a nation from the inside out: use worthless information to indoctrinate each successive generation during its most impressionable age. The LORD God knew that, which explains the Bible’s numerous admonitions to guard the youth with sound doctrine. Unfortunately, we have not heeded those warnings. Consequently, with the breakdown of American homes (over 100 million, remember), everyone else was willing to teach those children. The teachers—particularly college professors—swayed countless millions of young, unsuspecting minds to adopt their warped philosophical outlooks on life. Also, children learned from other children, leading to non-reality-based information. Moreover, we have allowed electronic media to brainwash us and our younger generations for well over a half-century. Televisions, computers, and internet websites (namely, social media these last several years) all serve—even to this very minute—as “educators” in the absence of the fathers with an open Bible!

As adults, the children in the above scenarios have further contributed to the deterioration of society. They are the individuals in power, leading our governments, businesses, schools, churches, and so on. Using the worthless information they learned, they will make spiritually-poor decisions, impacting mankind as a whole. That destructive cycle will continue, both small-scale (individual and home) and large-scale (state, nation, and world). Let us see specific examples of the results….

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #21

Friday, January 29, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

Re-read Moses’ advice: “But if ye will not do so [obey the LORD’S words], behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” Stated another way, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). We as a nation have thrown away the Scriptures, and taught our younger generations to do likewise. Our sin has found us out. The expression “what goes around, comes around” is true: the consequences of one’s evil actions catch up in a negative way, and, behold, our bitter harvest is finally here!

All evils in society start in the home—and never forget it! “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-8). “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Notice, the duty of spiritual instruction is given to the father, not the mother.

Since most fathers have overwhelmingly failed in their spiritual responsibility, youth have grown up and are growing up in households that are breeding grounds for instability, immaturity, and misinformation. These children grow to adulthood physically, but are emotionally and spiritually undeveloped. Alas, it is even worse than that. They repeat the pattern, passing on their ignorance and weakness to their own children. Multiply that one such spiritually-darkened household by more than 100 million, remembering that process spans several decades, and the result is staggering. We have arrived at our present-day fatal culture….

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #20

Thursday, January 28, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

Anyone who wants to see and hear can perceive our culture is undergoing irreversible transformation. Through eyes of faith, having insight from the Scriptures, we realize our numerous problems have two fundamental sources. Firstly, of course, is our ungratefulness for even the scant Bible knowledge our ancestors had. No matter how shallow they were in doctrine does not excuse our lack of gratitude! Secondly, we have passed on our spiritual thanklessness to our descendants, and those youth have begun the next step in that endless cycle of man’s downward spiral. No matter how shallow we were in doctrine does not excuse their lack of gratitude either!

The LORD knew human tendencies and frailties. Hence, He repeatedly warned Israel about how their nation would be ruined if they allowed sin to enter their land and run its course through their soul. Re-read Deuteronomy 4:1-10. They were to be thankful for God’s words to them. Under no circumstances were they to alter them in any way; adding to or taking from those Divine words was strictly prohibited. These statements were God’s wisdom, and they were to be Israel’s wisdom. Israel was to teach that unchanged Bible to their children.

Verses 9 and 10: “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me [Moses], Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.”

Like ancient Israel, we have refused to hear and fear God’s Word. Our carelessness has thus resulted in costliness….

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #19

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

Keep reading Romans chapter 1, paying attention to its final verses: “[28] And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; [29] Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, [30] Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, [31] Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: [32] Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

Wow! Dear friends, there is our society—in all its “glory!” Despite our innumerable technological advancements, we are still just as evil and savage as our ancestors were 2,000 years ago when Romans was written. In the names of “progress,” “tolerance,” and “inclusion,” we have normalized sin. It is all the more appalling to realize we did it while possessing a completed Bible for the last 20 centuries. During the past 400 years—since the Pilgrims landed on these shores with a Geneva Bible—we Americans have outright ignored the Scriptures. How foolish we were if we thought we would get away with it! No matter the dispensation, the fact remains, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17). Sin has a payday someday… whether minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, or millennia later. That applies to individuals, families, nations, and the whole world.

As human “civilization” deteriorates with each passing day, is not the reality of sin’s consequences becoming increasingly apparent? Having consistently excused sin, we have made ourselves vulnerable to a whole lot of problems we never dreamed our sin would use to fracture us in twain once it found us out….

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #18

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

Romans chapter 1 provides the reason why human civilization has been ruined: “[18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; [19] Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. [20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: [21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. [22] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, [23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

“[24] Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: [25] Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. [26] For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: [27] And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”

Mankind was not thankful for knowing God or God’s revelation to him. He could not have cared less about his Creator’s words and will. Therefore, the Creator gave the creature up to proceed on his own path, with destruction the destination, to be found out and fractured in twain….

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #17

Monday, January 25, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

Modern society is in grave danger—and, most absurdly, we are just now realizing it. While not original to me, the following illustration is helpful in this regard. Intense flames and thick billows of black smoke have been exiting the windows of our house for several minutes, but we are still attempting to test the fire alarm! We would do well to remember how sin works.

Firstly, our human heart is untrustworthy, just as Jeremiah 17:9 declares: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it” Sin deceives, and since our heart is sinful, our heart misleads us. Two additional simple verses amplify this truth. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). In modern speech, “I may have a fever, but I feel perfectly healthy!” We humans have a sin problem—and no amount of denial or religion will nullify that fact. “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me” (Romans 7:11). We could paraphrase this as, “Okay, I might be a sinner, but I can manage and conquer it by holding out or holding on, and I can compensate for it by doing the best I can next time!”

Secondly, sin operates extremely slowly; actually, it is barely detectable. Just remember our previous studies in earlier verses—how sin worked in the lives of Lucifer, Adam, Eve, Cain, Abraham, Solomon, and so on. On the surface, their sinful actions did not seem morally or ethically wrong. Yet, upon close inspection, they were evil. By the time the commission of sin was underway, it was too late to undo the damage. It was only later—sometimes decades or centuries afterward—that the scope of the injury was fully grasped. Today’s society should have taken heed to those Bible passages, before the first spark was seen….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Do Mark 15:25 and John 19:14 contradict?”

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #16

Sunday, January 24, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

To receive and possess God’s Word is an awesome privilege, but with it comes a solemn responsibility that is frequently ignored. When remarking on the nation Israel’s prolonged unbelief during the Acts period, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul penned in Romans chapter 10: “[14] How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? [15] And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! [16] But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? [17] So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

JEHOVAH God had been sending preachers to Israel for centuries, calling her to repentance (change in mind). Whether the Prophets of the Old Testament Scriptures, or the 12 Apostles of the New Testament Scriptures, Israel had been hearing from God but had been refusing time and time again. Even after the Apostle Paul was saved and commissioned, Israel did not want to listen to God’s words through him either! The only way to have faith in God’s words—that is, believe them—is to first have them. Israel had the Bible for over 1,500 years, but was still languishing in unbelief! Quoting Isaiah 53:1 (originally referencing Israel’s unbelief seven centuries before Christ), Paul commented, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?”

When God reveals information to man, He expects man to receive it by faith. If man chooses not to believe, however, his sin will indeed find him out and fracture him in twain….