Curses!

CURSES!

No, not foiled again; curses found in the bible. Curses not just on people, but also on things that are not even alive. Do you know we are not to curse, or to put curses on other people? That in the Old Testament, only a few were given the right to curse? Let's see what I'm talking about...
The first curse was put upon the serpent in the garden of Eden by God; "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:" (Gen. 3:14)

The second curse came right after it, and it was put on the ground!  "And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, 'Thou shalt not eat of it': cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Gen. 3:17-19)

And the third curse was from God onto the eldest son of Adam and Eve; "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." (Gen. 4:11-12) So here are three curses that were made before the fifth chapter of Genesis we find a curse on a snake, on the ground, and on Cain. Let's find more on these things called curses.

After the flood, God apparently repented cursing the ground; "And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done." (Gen. 8:21)

In case you haven't noticed yet, cursing comes as a result of action on the part of a living thing, and anything is fair game, apparently, after the action has taken place. But how about before the action has taken place? Consider this passage of Scripture: "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Gen.12:3) So woe to anyone who peradventure felt the need to curse Abram, later Abraham, because they would incur a curse from God, and God in this passage has not addressed how He would curse the errant individual(s)!

Here's one that I would surmise many have done out of ignorance of God's commandment, but because of the behavior of many of our leaders of the country, it is understandable, except that it be sin nonetheless. "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people." (Exod. 22:28) I would venture to say many have done this regarding presidents and senators and governors and state representatives, and not that the behavior of them doesn't give people cause to do it, but one has to bite a hole in their lip not to if they be without willpower to hold their tongue otherwise. Remember this, that whoever is in charge over your land in some capacity is either a blessing or a punishment from God. If the land be overun by wicked and corrupt and rebellious people, why would you not understand that God would so punish those in the land with an appropriate ruler? And if the people turn, and repent, why would not God also allow leaders to take charge of the land who would be a blessing?

There are more commandments even in the Old Testament not to dare to curse for your own sake; "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD." (Lev. 19:14)

Num. 5:11 - 31 has an interesting curse called a trial of jealousy. In it, a priest wrote out a curse known as bitter water that, if a woman willfully ingest it, denying infidelity, and being honest, the water would have no effect. However, if she was lying, yet willfully ingested it, her belly would swell, and her thigh rot, and she shall be a curse among her people. I would imagine after even the first woman to fail the test, all others would be honest than go through the trial of jealousy!

Num. 22:6 - 21, 23:1 - 30, and 24:1 - 25 have the story of a prophet of a man named Balaam hired by Balak to curse the people of Israel, and Balaam initially was told by God not to go, but later he did go, and was saved by his ass along the way from being smitten for going by an angel of the Lord, but he went anyway, and when Balak had everything ready for him, Balaam cursed not Israel, but blessed it three times, enangering Balak to the point of him ordering the prophet to leave!
Now let me take you to the passage where a chosen few were authorized to curse, and many curses are in this passage in a ceremony of a ratification of a covenant; "And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen." (Deut. 27:13 - 26) See how all these curses were upon anyone of Israel who was an outlaw against the laws and statutes of God? But what about in the New Testament? What does it say of curses and cursing?

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus gives you the impression that if anyone is going to do any more cursing, it will be Him, and not us. For my first example, let's look at Matt. 5:43 - 44, Luke 6:27 - 28; "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you..."

Now there is one citation of a cursing done by Peter to his shame, and he wept bitterly for it, because he did it during his denial of Christ three times. "Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, 'Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.'" (Matt. 26:74 - 75, Mark 14:71 - 72)

As for Jesus doing the cursing, let me bring to mind the fig tree. "Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, 'Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.' And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, 'How soon is the fig tree withered away!'" (Matt. 21:18 - 20) Mark 11:12 - 14 has similar accounting of the cursing of the fig tree.

Jesus also tells of all those who will be cursed at the last judgment! "Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not." (Matt. 25:41 - 43)

The Pharisees had no problem cursing people; they called those who believed on Jesus cursed! "The officers answered, 'Never man spake like this man.' Then answered them the Pharisees, 'Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on Him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.'" (John 7:46 - 49)

One group of men were foolish enough to put their own selves under a curse; "And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul." (Acts 23:12) As one of Paul's relatives overheard and related the matter to Paul, and he in turn, had him taken to the chief captain, then the foolishness of their curse led to Paul's protection and their starvation!

Paul has an interesting passage concerning the law having a curse, and that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law; "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Gal. 3:10 - 14) The law defines sin, and sin is a curse on all mankind; however, because of the unspeakable gift of Christ's death on the cross, we who believe on Him are freed from our sins and of the curse it brings under its definition by the law.

As children of God, let us not give in to the temptaation to curse anyone, though they frustrate and vex us so, because: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man." (Gen. 9:6) We are to love our enemies; Jesus said so. We are to pray for them, not hate them to the point of cursing them, we are to hate the sin, not the sinner. They, like us, were made in God's image, too! And there is one more thing about cursing that many are not aware of. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (Eph. 4:29) Cursing someone is neither edifying nor of use to minister grace to those who are hearing what you're saying. As Paul said to the Romans, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:21)

The Deity Of Christ

THE DEITY OF CHRIST

When witnessing to a muslim friend who has many questions concerning our religion, he asked among his many questions, about how Jesus was God, when we also claim that the Father is God. I gave him many verses of Scripture concerning Jesus' deity, and I always welcome this man's questions, because it makes me exercise my mind and reminds me of the many facets of our doctrine that we need to keep in mind ourselves, for when we forget, we sometimes fail to follow Jesus' teachings or example!
Jesus Himself testified of His deity, as well as many others in the gospel alone, let alone Paul in a number of his letters. Here is one place where Jesus stood firm under fire concerning who He was; "But Jesus held His peace. And the high priest answered and said unto Him, 'I adjure thee by the living God, that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God.' Jesus saith unto him, 'Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.'" (Matt. 26:63 - 64) Plainly He was painting Himself as our deity, our Savior, and our God; and there are more verses to this effect.

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matt. 28:20) Here Christ is affirming that He is onmipresent, something only God can be.

To the unbeliever, the beginning of John's gospel may appear to be mumbo-jumbo, but to the understanding Christian, it makes sense. in John 1:1 - 14, 18, Christ is testified of as being the Word, and to the mystification of unbelievers, John's first verse declares the triune Godhead in part by declaring Jesus to be with God AND God at the same time; if you want to confuse an unbeliever right away, start to teach him or her with this passage! It is an excellent description of Jesus and His purpose, and from the beginning declares Him God; Emmanuel!  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Hm; and without Hm was not any thing made that was made.  In Hm was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made by Hm, and the world knew Hm not.  He came unto Hs own, and His own received Hm not.  But as many as received Hm, to them gave H power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on Hs name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld Hs glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:1 - 14)

"For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me." (John 5:26 - 30) Here Jesus is claiming His divine capability to raise whomever He will from the dead, a feat only God can do, omnipotence unable to be claimed by any other entity.

"I and My Father are one." (John 10:30) Here Jesus is straight and to the point using only six words!  If we understand the Father to be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, then here Jesus is declaring that He also is God, as He is one with the Father.  He is saying that there are not three separate Gods, as false teachers want to teach, but rather that there is one God alone, with three parts, He being one, and the Father being another.

There is another place in the gospel where Jesus tries to reiterate the reality of He and the Father being one God.   In this passage, Jesus seems disappointed in that Philip has not yet grasped exactly who he has been in association with since the day Jesus chose him as one of His disciples, and hereby our Lord patiently tries to put it plain enough for Philip to understand that he is not just following a prophet! "Jesus saith unto him, 'Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?  He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, "Shew us the Father?" Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake.'" (John 14:9 - 11)

"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 shew you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:13 - 15) Wow. Here Jesus is explaining a working between the three persons of the one God. He is herein declaring the interaction of the three as one God. Also, He is again testifying of His deity and being God. If all things that belong to the Father God belong to Jesus also, then we are to understand that both Jesus and the Father are God indeed, in perfect agreement with one another! Here also the Holy Spirit is in perfect accord with the Father and the Son, declaring them the perfect Triune Godhead!

In this next passage, Jesus again testifies that He and the Father are one deity, yet separate entities. While on earth, Jesus was in human form, yet 100% God, and inseparably joined to the Father in Spirit, one God without regard to the difference in form between He and the Father! "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." (John 17:9 - 12)

"And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, 'Peace be unto you.' Then saith He to Thomas, 'Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing.' And Thomas answered and said unto Him, 'My Lord and my God.'" (John 20:26 - 28) Because Thomas knew Jesus had been crucified, and because Jesus suddenly materialized in the room with them, despite the doors being shut, for this reason the overwhelming evidence of the truth struck Thomas, and thereby he exclaimed Christ's deity.

When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he wrote of the full essence of deity of Christ, and of His firstborn place over all creation, the first to rise from the dead in a resurrection body. It is written that we shall have a body similar to His resurrection body, but He is the first fruit of the dead with a resurrection body: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 3:2) "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell;... For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." (Col. 1:15 - 19, 2:9)

Paul also penned to Titus a letter that, within it, he wrote concerning Jesus' second coming and of Jesus being our great God and Savior! "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" (Tit. 2:13)

When writing to the Hebrews, Paul wrote of Christ's deity over all mankind, in that the Father gave all creation to Christ; but then, Christ affirmed His omnipotence already in the gospel! Paul wrote that Christ's image was of God, and His position was seated at God's rightful position in honor. "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;...But unto the Son He saith, 'Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom.'" (Heb. 1:2 - 3, 8) "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." (Matt. 28:18)

"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." (1 John 5:20) Here John confesses Jesus' deity and His gift of eternal life for those who believe on Him. Believers are those who understand Him to be the true God. Let us praise God for opening our eyes, that we have come to believe in Him!

TONGUE TROUBLES

Tongue Troubles

Ah, the trouble we cause when we open our mouths! We can sometimes bring so many troubles upon us with our own tongue, we want to cut it out during our most miserable consequences! We should be using it to edify one another in Christ, we should be using it to glorify God, to confess Jesus, to sing glory, honor and praise to Him, and what do some of us do? Some use it to poison relationships, to hurt people's feelings, to even drive a person to murder another, in some cases! We could do so much good with this mouth muscle, but some of us make many mistakes with it, and many of them have great consequences. Let's look at some of the evils people use their tongues for...

1. Gossip - This has to be one of the worst uses of the tongues. The bible warns about it so often, and though women are famous for doing it, men are not immune to its trappings, either! "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD." (Lev. 19:16) Here, anything by slander is forbidden, but there's an earlier commandment from the Lord about gossiping; "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." (Exod. 20:16) Yes, the 9th Commandment; gossip is so often slanderous in nature, and slander against someone is false witness! It is also lying about someone, and we know what happens to people who habitually lie about someone all their lives. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Rev. 21:8) Again it is written, "Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness." (Exod. 23:1)

2. Rebellious Speech - Num. 13 - 14:24 tells the story of the Lord telling the Israelites to spy on the land of the children of Anak, and all the spies came back saying the Anak people were too big and many, and disenchanting the people to go fight for the land, except for Caleb and Joshua. Now here the trouble with the tongue was the fact the spies, save Caleb and Joshua, spoke without faith, even agaisnt what God was telling them, that He would give the Anak people into their hands. We all know disagreeing with God is sin!

3, Rumor Mongering - "And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to. And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them. And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel." (Josh. 22:10 - 14) If you know the rest of the story, the 2 1/2 tribes had to explain their way out of being slaughtered by the rest of Israel's tribes from the other side of the Jordan, but here in this passage I have printed let us examine what went on here. The other children of Israel heard of it. That's right; third party information; let the assumptions begin! Not wanting the wrath of God to fall on all Israel, the rest of the tribes rumored amongst themselves that the 2 1/2 tribes on the other side of the Jordan must have already fallen into idolatry, and so they went to investigate armed for war, in case it was so. Spreading rumors like this can cause division in a congregation, and would we be any different in response than they?

3. Quarrels & Divisions - "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." (Rom. 16:17 - 18) As Christians, we should have the same doctrine, but it is not so. As it is, there are a number of denominations because of the service of pride, which here Paul addresses as "the serving of their own belly". Here the tongue exposes the evil of the heart, for it lets out the defilement of the person uttering what causes the division. Pride is demonstrated in two ways: behavior, and speech. Jesus Himself said it. "And He called the multitude, and said unto them, 'Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.'" (Matt. 15:10 - 11)

4. Corrupt Communication - Oh, this is a wide coverage of what comes off the tongue! I know someone who can't get a job because of the foul language they use every time they speak. Even worse, they weren't even phased when a woman said to them upon hearing their words, "Do you eat with that mouth, too?" Foul language is considered by the educated to be a lack of education. It is also considered poor upbringing. Who wants to hire a "potty mouth"? Such language drives away business, so the individual with this verbiage as stock daily speech will never have a service-oriented job, if ever any job at all. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (Eph. 4:29) Besides foul language, corrupt communication covers habitual lying, rabble-rousing, and all manner of diction that causes negative consequences. "Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:" (Rom. 3:13 - 14)

5. Lying - Of all the people one might think I would use in an example of lying, I will use this one: "And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, 'Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, "This is his wife": and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.' And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, 'What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, "She is my sister?" So I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way." (Gen. 12:11 - 19) Abraham told this lie not once, but twice! In Genesis, chapter 20, he tells this half-truth to another king, Abimelech, and is rebuked for it by the monarch! While Sarah was indeed his half-sister, yet still, she was also his wife! Look at what consequences this lie brought about; the pharaoh received great plagues on his household, and in king Abimelech's case, all the wombs of his household were sealed up, that they could not bear children! Now this is in biblical passage, but in the here and now, there are still consequnces for telling lies. Think back on if you ever told a lie, and you got caught, or even if you didn't. There were consequences! There will always be consequences for lying, besides the fact it is a sin. First, the lie causes misbelief. Either the hearer(s) believe it, and act in response; or they recognize it for what it is, and then whoever told the lie is held in contempt, and they gain an immediate reputation not to be trusted for what they say. How about that story of the little boy who cried "wolf"? They believed him until he proved false so many times, that when there really was a wolf, nobody listened to his cries, so the wolf was free to do what he would. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Rev. 21:8) Now this isn't to say that people who have done this only a few times will inherit the lake of fire, but rather those who practiced this all their lives, being unbelievers and rebels against God, it will be those who inherit everlasting hellfire.

While none of us are completely immune to committing a sin with our tongue, try as we might, let us strive to control this rather small but mighty member and use it to the glory of God and the edification of our family of believers! I leave you with a passage James wrote concerning our tongues, that we consider well each time we use them, what shall we allow them to utter! "Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? Either a vine, figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." (James 3:3 - 12)

Y Suffer?

Y SUFFER?

When people are unsaved, if they suffer, they groan, grumble, and do whatever it takes to extricate themselves from their situation. They see no need to suffer, particularly for any matter concerning God, because they live as heathens and godless people, and they thereby find no logic to it. But Christian hope as believers shrinkwraps the effects of suffering, and even eliminates it for the Christian who suffers for Christ's sake, for we try to live in the spirit and not the flesh, knowing that our time is short and finite on the physical plane of existence, but our eternity with Christ will be totally devoid of all negative influence, including all forms of suffering: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom. 8:18) "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Cor. 4:16 - 18) When we walk in gout pain, or are given unfair conditions by heartless taskmasters at work, or even when we are afflicted by burdensome taxation and other unfair laws of the land we live in, we are easily and understandibly ready to complain of the suffering of all manner of afflictions of the world, and I, too, struggle to suffer without complaint, for it is too easy to readily vocalize how we are feeling, and so it is with patient practice that we should strive to bear suffering because we know that when we are in glory, we will be totally rid ofits effects.
Who all among you have figured out why God allows us to suffer? This is a very common question some who are Christians (and many not!) have concerning this seeming lack of protection, and the answer is that because of our experiences involving suffering, we can not only understandingly comfort others who later suffer similar situations, but when we are finished with our trial or tribulation, it lends to our trusting Him to carry us through other periods of suffering. "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation." (2 Cor. 1:3 - 7)

"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake; having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me." (Phil. 1:29 - 30) As Christians, we should expect to suffer all kinds of affliction from anyone in opposition to the gospel. Every antiChrist, heathen or atheist, is going to desire to cause us grief, and as Christ suffered them for our sakes, so we are called to suffer for Him. If anyone asks how it is so that we are called to suffer for Christ, let them read this in the gospel; "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matt. 5:10 - 12) Persecution is a form of suffering! If one be ridiculed for witnessing, this suffering is promised to lead to reward by Christ Himself! If a gang of unbelievers beat you up because they know you are a witnessing Christian, you can get up and rejoice in their faces, because you remember this promise from Jesus your Savior. It might not be wise at that close of proximity, of course, but upon Christ's command, one can rejoice and be glad in their heart, knowing His promise of reward.

Paul suffered much for Christ, and counted suffering as He suffered for the gospel as a kind of fellowship with Christ; "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." (Phil. 3:10-11) Paul once spoke of all the kinds of sufferings he did for Christ's sake and that of the gospel; "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands." (2 Cor. 11:23 - 33) That's a whole lotta suffering, and doesn't include the time he was bitten by a poisonous snake! "And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand." (Acts 28:3) As we who read the bible know, he suffered all this and even death by execution for the gospel. We, too, are called to suffer even this, if peradventure it comes to be a life threatening experience.

"It is a faithful saying: 'For if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us: If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself. (2 Tim. 2:11 - 13) Complex passage, isn't it? If we die believing in Him, we who believe kow we shall also be raised with Him. Suffering for the gospel as He did, we will reign with Him. But denying Him to the death is denying the gospel, and He will deny us, too. Even though we be unfaithful, yet He will be faithful.

Peter, too, wrote of the suffering of trials and temptations against our faith, and how great the reward that shall come upon the completion of our salvation. "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" (1 Pet. 1:6 - 7)

"Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously: Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Pet. 2:18 - 24) This says loads about suffering, and I have a very hard time suffering unrighteous treatment without complaint or outlet of some sort. If you feel convicted by what this says concerning harsh taskmasters appointed over you, let it lift you up to know that I have already confessed the same weakness. Misery loves company. And when we are able to grin and bear it, as I have managed to on yet some occasions, on those occasions we do please God. See how Christ suffered in silence, and this was only one facet of all the reasons in which the Father was well-pleased of Him! Here Peter says we are to silently suffer in the example He gave.

It is difficult to work out our salvation, those of us who are believers. We must be diligent in our perusal of Scripture as often as we can, and we still find flaws in our behavior that warrant a change, so that we follow His example and commandments. Though we might suffer odd tribulations we never expected, yet we are called to be glad in particular when we suffer for Christ. Because while we and He are derided in the language of the wicked by whose hands we suffer, yet we are safe in the fact that by our own mouths we have confessed and witnessed to His gospel. "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." (1 Pet. 4:12 - 19) Let no family member in Christ be embarrassed in whatever is thrown at them out of the mouth of unbelievers; because there's is the shame, and not the Christian's. I remember a young Christian being crestfallen for having been heckled by unbelievers he witnessed to. When this happens, we are to edify our fellow Christian, reminding them of their reward.

"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." (1 Pet. 5:10) As we get used to this calling to suffer in Christ's example, we shall become pleasing to God as in our practice of it in all kinds of trails He establishes us in His paths and strengthens us to be Christlike!

Incest, Adultery, Fornication, And Divorce

INCEST, ADULTERY, FORNICATION, AND DIVORCE

I thought it necessary to start this particular study with incest, because after Adam and Eve, the bible did. "And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." (Gen. 4:17) We know that if Adam and Eve were the first man and woman, the family tree had to be forced not to fork somewhere in order for mankind to spread out and subdue the planet as it has today.
On top of this also started out natural to have more than one wife, which is currently a violation of God's desire that we be monogamous; "And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah." (Gen. 4:19) Considering how tight the gene pool was, most likely Lamech was married to his relatives, too. Because of the purity of the human genetics, our patriarchs typically lived over 700 years, and the oldest, Methuselah, lived 969 years!

Now the legalism seems a little wishy washy in this next paragraph, because it seems Sarai told Abram to have an adulterous relationship with her maid for the sake of having a child, and then gave Hagar to him for a second wife, but later took away her concubine rights! " And Sarai said unto Abram, 'Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her.' And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. And Sarai said unto Abram, 'My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.' But Abram said unto Sarai, 'Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee.' And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face." (Gen. 16:2 - 6)

More incest occurred right after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but it still was not labelled a sin by God; after these cities were destroyed, Lot's daughters got their father drunk and both got themselves pregnant to him! (Gen. 19:30 - 36) Their incest created children later known as the Moabites and the Ammonites. The Moabites were at odds with the Israelites in such cases as when their king Balak wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites, and the Ammonites did likewise, as when Saul slew them in 1 Sam. 11:11. The Lord had no favor for either of these peoples sprung from this incest, except in prophecy of the antiChrist to come; "He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon." Dan. 11:41 (KJV): "Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD." (Ezek. 25:10 - 11)

Still another marital anomaly was Jacob marrying two women who were sisters. (Gen. 29:21 - 30) He married Laban's firstborn daughter, Leah, which was a trick on him by his new father-in-law, and then, in one week, he was also allowed to marry the youngest daughter, Rachel, whom he truly loved. Rachel bore him Joseph and Benjamin, and he favored these over all his other children to Leah, and Joseph paid heavily for the favoritism, but God's will caused it to come to pass for good. "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." (Gen. 50:20)

Fornication comes in two forms; consentual, and nonconcentual (rape), just as does adultery. The first nonconcentual fornication is recorded in Gen. 34:2; "And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her." This rape was met with a massacre at Shechem! Another fornication which is not given as to whether it was consentual or not was that of the son of Israel with his father's concubine! "And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:" (Gen. 35:22) In this instance the consequence was the forfeiture of his birthright!

Prostitution is either fornication or adultery, depending on whether one is married or both are not. But Gen. 38:13 - 19 has Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah, playing as a harlot, and Judah was seduced into causing her to conceive! When he found out his daughter-in-law was pregnant, he meant to have her killed by fire for her conception out of wedlock, but when she proved him the father of the twins she bore with his pledge property..."And Judah acknowledged them, and said, 'She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son.' And he knew her again no more." (Gen. 38:26) He was twice wrong; he failed to give her his son for a husband, and he committed adultery with her.

The next adultery is Potiphar's wife with Joseph. While he never allowed himself to be seduced into the act, she did her best to attempt to force herself on him, and remember Jesus' stand on adultery; "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matt. 5:28) The incident between her and Joseph is in Gen. 39:7 - 20, and Joseph was falsely imprisoned because of the matter. According to Jesus' words, Potiphar's wife sinned adultery, but Joseph did not.

As we finally leave Genesis, we come upon the Ten Commandments in Exodus, and the two concerning carnality are the 7th and 10th commandments; "Thou shalt not commit adultery...Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." (Exod. 20:14, 17) These same commandments are repeated in Deut. 5. While the 7th covers the act, the 10th is worded to cover not only the act, but also the thought, and Jesus restated it in His own words in the Gospel!

Lev. 18 further laid down standards from the Lord concerning sexual relationships, including one for no more marital relationships as the one Jacob had to two sisters! He further gave laws against homosexuality and bestiality, (Lev. 18:22 - 23),and commanded death penalties for the acts (Lev. 20:13, 15), and even some of the other acts, particularly the incestuous ones (Lev. 20:10 - 21)

Deut. 24:1 - 4 covers divorce and remarriage. It explains that once a man divorces a woman, and she remarries a different man, and then divorces him, she may not be remarried by the first husband, because it is abomination. Imagine how many people in the world today have committed abomination because of their ignorance of this statute from God? Further, Jesus spoke against divorce happening at all, except in the case of infidelity, and even then, remarriage was only allowed in the case of one spouse dying, or reconciliatory remarriage. I will give chapter and verse soon after below.

In Deuteronomy curses were spoken of anyone who had incestuous relationships; "Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law." (Deut. 27:22 - 23) There recently once was a TV show that paraded these kind of people around as somewhat to glorify what they were doing; what a sick way to make your money, hosting THAT show!

One of David's sons raped his own sister, and while it took a while, he paid for his sin - with his life! "And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, 'Come lie with me, my sister.' And she answered him, 'Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? And as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.' Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her." (2 Sam. 13:11 - 14) These sins have consequences! Incest was somewhat a common sin, and called an abomination in the days of Ezekiel! "And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter." (Ezek. 22:11)

"It hath been said, 'Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement': But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." (Matt. 5:31 - 32) Jesus here contends that divorce should only have one allowed reason, and otherwise, should not happen at all. Luke 16:18 is similarly worded. Divorce traps the divorcees in celibacy, and remarriage is asserted by Jesus to be a state of adultery, even fornication, because the commitment first made in the eyes of God cannot be broken asunder in the eyes of God, and therefore, the remarriage is not recognized. This means the divorcee remarried and they whom has married the divorcee are in a sinful relationship until the other divorcee dies, at which time the commitment before God has been satisfied. Then in Matt. 19:3 - 12, Jesus tells the Pharisees that celibacy is better than marrying with the potential for divorce, and thus they can more completely serve God. However, not all can handle being celibate all their lives, so for them, they should marry with the intent on remaining that way in a lifelong commitment. Mark 10:2 - 12 is similarly worded without reference to celibacy.

Can you imagine someone would kill to cover up a sin such as adultery, and even to marry their own brother's wife? Such it was in the days of Jesus, but it had to be done of strategy in the case of the wife, Herodias; "For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, 'It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.' Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:" (Mark 6:17 - 19) 2 Sam. 11 has a similar story concerning David, only he commits adultery with one of his soldier's' wife, then has him killed on the front line. If I were David, I think he rued the day he fell in love with Bathsheba, in that no good and many consequences befell him for following through with the adultery. How many people today suffer consequences for committing adultery!

Paul wrote to the Corinthians an interesting concept concerning marriage and resisting divorce; "And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace." (1 Cor. 7:10 - 15) If divorce occurs, they must be celibate permanently, or reconcile back to one another permanently. While Jesus didn't teach about unequally yoked marriages, Paul does so here. He promotes the believer to stay with the unbeliever because the Christian in the marriage still sets the home apart by the believer's influence in Christ.

Paul preached against fornication, which is sex outside of marriage: "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:18 - 20)

Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of heaven any more than adulterers and fornicators and all those who practice carnality outside of God-defined marriage unless they repent and fall into God's accepted form of the use of sex. "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: 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. 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; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 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." (Rom. 1:26 - 32) "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Cor. 6:9 - 10)

So here we have much enlightenment on how God wishes us to live concerning incest, adultery, fornication, and divorce. We now know all are frowned upon, and most importantly, we understand what constitutes each lifestyle. The ignorant who have not read this group of passages from scripture are unaware of the importance of avoiding practicing committing any of these things which are sinful in the eyes of God.