How can you not?

The brethren at Rome were told to “repay no one evil for evil,” (Rom. 12:17). How should Christians react when someone commits an evil against us? If someone breaks into our home, are we to let them ransack the place and hurt us? What is this verse teaching?

The key to understanding this verse is to focus on the word evil. If someone does something evil to us, we are not going to do the same to them. However, let us not confuse evil with that which is lawful. As an example: God said, in times past, if someone murders another, then the murderer is to be put to death (Num. 35:16). Is this two evils? The answer is no. One is an evil, and it was called murder. The other was not a murder, it was justice.

What about Christians though? It is not wrong to call 911 or subdue an intruder. Repaying evil for evil would be to lose control and “take the law into our own hands.” It would be wanting to harm the person in retribution. It is not evil to demand justice, and we need to recognize the difference in order to understand our own relationship with our heavenly Father. Those who think a punishment is the same as the crime do not understand what evil is.

Consider what Jesus did not do while hanging on the cross. “When He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten…” (I Pet. 2:23). Our Lord did not stoop to the level of his foes. He kept His composure and prayed for them. This does not mean their evil was overlooked though. Note that the apostles told those who crucified Jesus to repent (Acts 2:36-38).

Obviously, a desire for earthly justice can overflow and become sinful.  Regardless of what happens on the earth, we must remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Rom. 12:19). We must remember that having the approval of our brethren is not the same as having God’s approval. The only way to please God is to walk by faith (Heb. 11:6). Beware of repaying evil for evil.

                                                                                                                                                                                                             Chuck                       

What not to do 

This past Sunday, we studied a lesson about parents nurturing their children properly. As Paul put it, Christians should “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). That same verse also says that fathers are not to provoke their children to wrath. Children need discipline to be raised as the Lord has instructed, but improper discipline can lead children to wrath. How can parents provoke their children to wrath?

1. Punish them for things they did not do.  We are to care for our children like our Father cares from us. The Bible is clear that God is just, so we also need to be just with our young (I John 1:9).

2. Be inconsistent with your punishment. Christians know good from evil because God has pointed these things out. Similarly, our children must know what our standards are (II John 9-10).

3. Only criticize, never compliment. If brothers and sisters in Christ need building up, certainly our sons and daughters do too (I Thess. 5:11).

4. Belittle and mock. Criticism can hurt, but mocking and embarrassing a child can crush their spirit. This is nothing more than foolish talking and jesting (Eph. 5:4).

5. Make unreasonable demands. Having unrealistic expectations for your child will cut them to the core. Children need to be learn to do things, but giving impossible tasks is just cruel. Children do childish things, and it is foolish to think otherwise (I Cor. 13:11).

6. Administer disproportionate punishment. Parents use judgment to decide when and how to punish. Without love though, a child could end up with a punishment disproportionate to their error (Heb. 12:6).

7. Punish them for things you do as a parent. Nothing will confuse and anger a child faster than being punished for things they see their parents do. Children need proper examples, and parents need to lead that effort (I Tim. 4:12).

8. Show favoritism with your children. It will only hurt all of your children if they see a parent favor one child. This will certainly produce anger (Gen. 37:4).

9. Allow disobedience to go unpunished. It might seem counterintuitive, but children will eventually learn to despise a parent who gives them everything. This is why our heavenly Father stated He will not be mocked (Gal. 6:7). Mocking comes when a child does not reap what he sows, but we can be assured that God will punish all disobedience.

10. Giving them too much freedom. Immature parents think they are benefiting their child by letting them decide everything. Children need to make more of their own decisions as they age, but they still need guidance. Without it, they will be provoked to anger (Prov. 22:6). “Train” means to teach, so be their teacher!

11. Treat them as an inconvenience. If you want to provoke a child, then make it clear that you resent them. Anyone can have a child, but it does not automatically make them a good parent (Eph. 6:4).

As adults, we may remember times where we were provoked to anger as children. This is not an excuse to repeat the cycle by provoking our own children. We have no excuse for not being faithful.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Chuck

How can you say it and then deny it?

The brethren at Corinth were told something by Paul that is a bit hard to follow. Paul told them this: “For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while,” (II Cor. 7:8). So did Paul regret sending the letter or not?

The answer is simple that Paul both regretted and did not regret sending the letter. Paul wrote to correct something in the lives of the brethren. They needed to repent, which meant that they were going to be told that they were doing something wrong. Paul knew that in order from them to repent, godly sorrow was needed (2 Cor. 7:10).

The lesson is very important for us to see. People have become very “politically correct” in all aspects of their lives, including spiritual matters.  Many religious teachers are doing all they can to try and make people feel good while still trying to teach the need for repentance.  You cannot do it! The gospel of Christ is full of hard lessons – at some point we must address these things directly in order to enable genuine faith. Paul’s ultimate goal was not to get the Corinthian brethren to feel bad – it was to get them to repent and be pleasing to the Lord. The same is true today. We are not happy someone weeps over a sin they committed, but we are thankful at the same time because that sorrow is necessary to inspire repentance.

We, like the apostle, want people to repent and be converted (Acts 3:19). We may regret that they will feel bad for their sins because we do not want to see someone full of sorrow. Teachers should not be so hardened as to enjoy the inner pain people can feel when they are convicted by truth.  On the other hand, we should have no regret for teaching the truth, especially if people repent. We should find solace in seeing their sorrow turn to joy by making things right.

May we all see the need to regret and at the same time not regret. Perhaps some people regret not having regrets – think about it.

                                                                                         Chuck                                                                                    

There needs to be less love 

This might seem like an odd thing to say, but there would be more love in the world today if there was less love. First of all, there is no question we need more love. Love covers a multitude of sins (I Pet. 4:8). Christians are even told that if we do not have love, we are nothing (I Cor. 13:1-3). Let us also not forget that we told that we must love because God loves us and He is love (I John 4:8, 19).

Knowing the importance of love, why did I say there would be more love if there was less love? The answer is found in what we love. In other words, if we love certain things less, it will, in turn, help us love other things more. So what things should we seek to love less?

We need to love “self” less

It is interesting to note that when we love “self” less, we become selfless. This is exactly what Christians need to become. Conversely, if we love ourselves more, it becomes harder to be clothed with humility. Our Lord made it perfectly clear that the haughty and arrogant (those who want to be first) shall be last. And those who are last (the humble) shall be first (Mark 9:31-37). Recall the old saying that there is no “I” in team. In God’s family, Christians do all they can to avoid thinking of themselves more highly than they ought (Rom. 12:3). Ultimately, their love of self can cause them to love others less.

We need to love pleasure less

When Paul told Timothy that perilous times will come, he mentioned both those who will love themselves and also those who will become lovers of pleasure rather than God (II Tim. 3:1-4). Let’s

face it – if we did not love pleasure, then there would be no such thing as having fun. The problem comes when we live for fun at the expense of everything else. If daily living becomes a burden that we “endure” until we can go and have fun again, something is wrong. People who live this way will struggle to study their Bibles, participate in worship, etc. Thus our God is loved less and less. The opposite is also true – when we love pleasure less, there is more love for God.

We need to love our present faith less

This point might also seem odd.  After all, we cannot please our God without faith (Heb. 11:6). Nor would our works be any good without being coupled with faith (James 2:26). Here is the issue though - it is very easy to love our current level of faith and never increase it. Our faith will not grow if we are satisfied and comfortable where we are. Such people will become lukewarm (Rev. 3:16). Christians who love their current level of faith less will seek to increase it (II Thess. 1:3) by getting out of their comfort zone and developing their abilities.

We need to love our praises less

There is nothing wrong with being complimented for things that we do. Jesus and His apostles often spoke favorably of certain individuals when they did good things (John 12:7-8; Phil. 1:3-5). The problems arise when we begin to crave the praise of men though (John 12:42-43). If we will love this less, then we can love the praise of God more. Knowing that our Father is pleased with us should bring us more joy than anything else in this world.

We need to love our possessions less

There may be exceptions, but most people buy what they like. The Lord does not want us to hate everything we own. Still, we must be wary of loving our stuff so much that it becomes our main focus.  Loving our possessions less will help us to love the future dwelling-place of our souls more (Matt. 16:26). Let’s do our best to love less in order to love more!

                                                                                         Chuck

Do you trust what was written?

      There is no question that the Bible is rejected by the majority of this word. Even religious people are questioning the inspiration of the scriptures. In many circles, what is written does not have the final say. Reason being, there are numerous people who have said that God has spoken to them personally, separate from the Bible. I have been told this, personally, many times. 

The scriptures are either inspired, or they are not (II Tim. 3:16). You simply can’t have the word of God that was written down, support the idea that God speaks to man directly today. Why not? Because the Lord told us He wouldn’t (Heb. 1:1-2). So did God lie when He gave us His inspired word? If He did, then how can you trust what He tells someone directly today? Think about it.

It is strange to me when people say that God spoke directly to them, that they experienced something that Christ’s own apostles didn’t experience. God did not speak directly to the apostles. It was Jesus who promised the Holy Spirit to come upon them to guide them into all truth (Jn. 16:13; Acts 2:1-4). After all, this was going to be a message that was for all people. So why would God talk directly to someone today?

Here are two questions that I ask people who say God spoke to them. First: Did God say something different than what you read in the Bible? If their message contradicts anything that He already said, then it will make God a liar – and it is impossible for God to lie (Titus 1:2). Second: Did God say something that He already revealed in His written message – the Bible? If they say yes, I think to myself, why did God have it recorded if He is just going ahead and talking to people personally? Not only that, if he doesn’t speak to everyone, is He playing favorites? He already revealed He is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34).

I don’t claim to know what people think they heard. I am not calling them a liar. I believe they believe it was God. But for me to believe it was God I would have to reject His written word, which we should never do!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Chuck