I read the newspaper and am exasperated daily by what I read. If people really knew the truth, obviously they would make different choices. Satan is the author of confusion. He spreads his fiendish deceptions through his people in the media. Anyone that does not believe that all people are biased demonstrate their naivety. One thing that you should absolutely drill into your mind is there is no such thing as neutrality. The Lord Jesus Christ said so in Matthew 12:30, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." Here it is plainly spoken. If you are not with Him, then by definition, you are against Him, no matter how loudly you may protest.
Another important principle to learn is do not listen to what people say but watch what they do. The Lord Jesus Christ said so in Matthew 7:20, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Their actions demonstrate objectively what someone really and truly believes. Words and arguments are used as smokescreens to deceive the gullible. The wise see what an individual does because they recognize that the spirit of man is inflexible and acts in accordance with the beliefs of that individual. Once again, the Lord said as much in Matthew 12:34, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Whatever is in one’s heart will come out of their mouth. The reason most people cannot hear what someone else is saying is because their mouth is always running, like a festering sore. If they could but shut up long enough, they could easily ascertain the beliefs of those they come in contact with.
There are two voices in the earth just as there were in the garden of Eden. We have the authoritative word of God and the voice of the tempter. Neither of these voices can change what they are. In other words, both are immutable. One is unchangeable in a ultimate sense. The other in a derivative sense. God is ultimately unchangeable as Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Satan is the same in a creature sense as Jeremiah 13:23 reads, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." The devil cannot change who he is, neither is it possible for him to be changed from what he is. His voice does not change from being the deceiver that he is. This must be kept uppermost in our minds.
The Lord Jesus Christ accurately depicted him in John 8:44, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." Do not believe for one moment he can tell the truth. He majors in myths, half-truths and other manners of deception. He is totally devoid of truth. So why listen to him? Yet, the unsuspecting are easily taken in by his wiles.
The Christian has an advantage over the devil as John 16:13 so plainly points out, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come." The Spirit of truth reveals truth to our hearts and we have a love for the truth. Truth overcomes error each and every time. This means the Christian must be saturated with the word of truth, the Bible.
This is the message of John 8:31-32, "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Only truth can truly free an individual. A lie will bring one into bondage. It is amazing how the natural man calls bondage freedom and true freedom bondage. He is like his father, he cannot think straight. His thinking is as crooked as the snake that crawls on its belly.
The biggest lie in the Bible is found in Genesis 3:4, where the devil says, "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die." What he meant by this statement is that there are no consequences to your actions. He knew this was a lie. In fact, to tell a lie, one has to presuppose the truth and to presuppose the truth, one has to know it is truth. In other words, where you begin, you end, as all reasoning is circular. Daily in the newspaper, one is confronted with this same lie. Go ahead and sin to your hearts content, there are no consequences. We know this to be contrary to the truth of Galatians 6:7, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." In other words, we live in a cause and effect world. There are consequences to every action that we make.
A half truth that is spread repeatedly is that "God hates sin but loves sinners." Does God love the abortion doctor? Does God love the devil? Does God love the homosexual? The above quote makes God to be schizophrenic. Let us see if this statement holds up in a court of law. Go to the judge and say to him, "Judge I know that you hate my crime but I know that you love me." Question, What gets judged the act or the actor? What gets thrown in jail, the act or actor? How can you separate the act (sin) from the actor (sinner)? What gets thrown in the lake of fire, the sin or the sinner? If God loves sinners, why does He have a lake of fire? How does one explain verses like Psalm 5:4-5, "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. 5The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity and Psalm 7:11, "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day," if God loves sinners? Notice what Psalm 146:8 says, "The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous."
We are now able to correct the statement to "God hates sin and sinners and He loves righteousness and the righteous." Man cannot be divided. He is either a sinner or righteous. There can be no neutrality. Then in what sense does God so love the world? Through covenant. All covenants need a mediator. This is the message of 1 Timothy 2:5-6, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." Christ is the provision to bring sinful man to a holy God so that God can bestow His love upon the repentant sinner. One cannot build an entire doctrine out of John 3:16 but must encompass the whole of the Bible to ascertain the truth. Otherwise, one will easily be led into half truths and myths that will leave them paralyzed to effectively counteract the poison of the devil.
An interesting headline from today’s Johnson City Press is "Rudolph wants death penalty out." Eric Rudolph who is charged with abortion clinic bombings that have killed people thinks that the most he should receive is life in prison. He believes the federal death penalty is unconstitutional, arbitrary, cruel and unusual.
It is amazing that someone can murder others and receive a punishment of life in prison. This denies the punishment fitting the crime. This plainly denies Deuteronomy 19:20-21, "And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. 21And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." Also, Exodus 21:24 and Leviticus 24:20 say the same thing. Life for life which means that if someone murders someone else, then it is life for life. There is no other penalty possible.
I agree with Rudolph that abortion (death penalty for the innocent) is murder but I disagree that I am to take matters into my own hands. Personal revenge is prohibited in Leviticus 19:18, "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD." This is something that Eric Rudolph did not do but set himself up as above the law. Romans 13:4 gives government the power of the sword, "For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." Rudolph decided that he was God and then determined who would live and die.
I have no compassion for Eric Rudolph should he be found guilty of the charges of murder. He should have worked to change the law regarding abortion rather than become the law himself. He took matters into his own hands. God does not and will not bless his actions. If guilty, he deserves nothing but the death penalty. The death penalty is for the guilty. There is no other restitution a murderer can make but with his life. He does not deserve sympathy or mercy (which life in prison is). How much mercy did he show to his victims? What should be judged, the act or the actor?
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