The Failure of Faith (A Case Study of Solomon)

I was recently reading an author (C. S. Lewis) who, to paraphrase it, was making the declaration that faith must be fed if it is to survive. I have thought about that quite a bit since reading it and I am persuaded he is right. Just because a person holds a belief today does not mean he is going to hold it tomorrow. People lose their faith. The question is why? Lewis would say that the faith was not fed and, as he said, most people who lose their faith just gradually drift away, drift until faith is gone.

I was trying to think of a Bible example of a person like that, one who once believed in God and followed him and then lost his faith or, at least, became unfaithful. The one I know about that best fits into that category, and certainly the best known, would be Solomon, David’s son and king of all Israel.

If you recall the story, David had wanted to build a house for God, but God told David that he would not be allowed to build it due to his having “shed much blood” (1 Chron. 22:7-8 NKJV) but went on to say that a son would be born to him, “his name shall be Solomon,” (1 Chron. 22:9 NKJV) who will build the house and have the throne (1 Chron. 22:10, 2 Sam. 7:12-13).

When Solomon was born, the Bible says, “The Lord loved him.” (2 Sam. 12:24 NKJV) God sent word by Nathan the prophet, so his mother called him Jedidiah (2 Sam. 12:25 NKJV), which literally means “Beloved of the Lord” (see the footnote in the NKJV). That is a good start in life, and his life did start out well. He listened to his father David, who gave him the kingdom, instructed him as to the building of the temple for God, and warned him to be faithful to God and not to depart from him. “Keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.” (1 Kings 2:3 NKJV)

These things Solomon seemed to do in the early years of his kingdom. The Bible says of Solomon in those days that “Solomon loved the Lord.” (1 Kings 3:3 NKJV) It was about this time, very early in Solomon’s reign, that “the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night” (1 Kings 3:5 NKJV, see also 2 Chron. 1:7), before the building of the temple, and asked Solomon what he could give him. I am sure you know the story how Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge (2 Chron. 1:10, see also 1 Kings 3:9) and it was granted to him (2 Chron. 1:12, see also 1 Kings 3:12 and 1 Kings 4:29-31) and his desire for these things so pleased the Lord that God chose to grant him also riches, wealth, and honor (2 Chron. 1:12, see also 1 Kings 3:13-14).

It is important to point out something here at this point in the life of Solomon. Solomon had a personal relationship with God the likes of which men do not have today. How often has God appeared to you? We think that if he did, it would strengthen our faith to the point that we would never lose our faith. Why then did Solomon lose his faith? Are we stronger than Solomon?

Solomon again had direct contact with God during the building of the temple, for we read in 1 Kings 6:11 where the Bible says, “Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying.” (NKJV) This was an admonition to be obedient so the Lord could fulfill his word to Solomon which he had spoken to David earlier. Here is another instance of what should have been a faith-building event in the life of Solomon of such a nature that he would never forget it—the word of God coming to him in a direct way.

So far, so good in Solomon’s life. The temple is built, and when it is completed, the ark is brought down and placed within it. There was an incident here that occurred showing God’s presence, another faith builder. When the ark was set in its place, “the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.” (2 Chron. 5:13-14 NKJV) Solomon was fully aware of this (2 Chron. 6:1).

Solomon on this occasion is a faithful, obedient servant of God. Immediately after the event just described, Solomon says “blessed be the Lord God of Israel” (2 Chron. 6:4 NKJV) and goes on to tell how God has fulfilled his word. He then offers a prayer of what some might call a dedication in which he says, and I repeat this here to show the state of his faith at this point in time, “Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.” (2 Chron. 6:14 NKJV) When the prayer is completed, the Bible says, “Fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” (2 Chron. 7:1 NKJV) Solomon believes in God, and Solomon has experienced God in supernatural acts.

The Lord then appears to Solomon for the second time in Solomon’s life after all the ceremonies associated with the temple have passed (2 Chron. 7:12-22). On this occasion, God tells Solomon that he has heard his prayer and basically says he will be attentive to Solomon’s requests for forgiveness, on the basis of repentance, for the children of Israel, but he also issues a warning, “But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them...” (2 Chron. 7:19 NKJV), and the reader knows the rest as regards the consequences of such acts.

This applied not only to the nation but also to Solomon himself. His father David, while still living, had said to him, “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” (1 Chron. 28:9 NKJV)

Throughout the rest of his life, the Bible does not tell us much to enlighten us on the state of Solomon’s faith. We are told about his wealth, the visit of the Queen of Sheba, and some of his accomplishments but not anything about his faith until near the end of his days. We do know he reigned for 40 years (1 Kings 11:42), started building the temple in his 4th year (1 Kings 6:1), and 1 Kings 6:38 tells us it took 7 years to build. What am I getting at? We know Solomon lived a life of faith for a number of years after becoming king.

We also know much of the book of Proverbs is attributed to him, as is the book of Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, and even a couple of the Psalms (Psalms 72 and 127). 

We know, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16 NKJV), and we thus know God’s Holy Spirit was with Solomon for a time as he wrote by inspiration.

At what period during Solomon’s reign he wrote, one can only say with certainty that it had to be either in the earlier years of his reign or, at the latest, his middle years. An important point to be made here is that not only has God appeared to Solomon in his life, spoken to him, and worked a miracle before his eyes at the dedication of the temple, but also inspired him with his Holy Spirit, yet his faith eventually fails. If his faith can fail, how about the faith of the average man or woman, can their faith fail?

The Bible tells us “when Solomon was old...his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God.” (1 Kings 11:4 NKJV) As is well known, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth and Milcom and evidently also Chemosh and Molech (1 Kings 11:5, 7 and 2 Kings 23:13) in his old age. He also built what were called high places where the worship of these gods took place, and based on the text of 1 Kings 11:8, one can surmise there were even more idolatrous gods involved than just these 4 mentioned.

God grew angry with Solomon and spoke to him one last time, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.” (1 Kings 11:11 NKJV) This was to occur after Solomon’s death during the reign of his son Rehoboam, but, nevertheless, Solomon spent his last days trying to kill the one who was to be the recipient of the kingdom—Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:34-35, 40). What a sorry way for a man of God to end his life—as an idolater, as a man in rebellion against God (a God who speaks to him), as a man who is actively fighting to keep God’s decree from fulfillment by attempting to kill Jeroboam.

How could such a thing happen? How could a man who once loved the Lord (1 Kings 3:3) fall away? How could his faith fail him? How could a man who wrote things like “trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Prov. 3:5 NKJV), “the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life” (Prov. 14:27 NKJV), “righteousness leads to life” (Prov. 11:19 NKJV), etc., come to the point in life where he falls away? How does his heart become so hardened that when the Lord tells him he is taking the kingdom away from him, he does not repent? What can we personally learn from this account that would be applicable to us today for “whatever things were written before were written for our learning” (Rom. 15:4 NKJV)?

The loss of faith begins with being drawn away by one’s desires. We know Solomon was led into sin by the influence of his wives, but they were women he had no right to. “But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love.” (1 Kings 11:1-2 NKJV)

Solomon’s first sin was not idolatry. It was marrying foreign wives of the nationalities mentioned. His desire for these women led him into sin. “Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin.” (Neh. 13:26 NKJV)

I would like to list here some things we can learn from what happened to Solomon so we can keep our faith and not fall away.

(1) Beware of the company you keep, for it will influence you despite yourself. The New Testament teaches this principle. “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (1 Cor. 15:33 NKJV) or as the NIV phrases it, “Bad company corrupts good character.” Even Solomon, speaking by the Holy Spirit, confessed this earlier in his life when he said, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” (Prov. 12:26 NKJV) I might add, the closer a person becomes to you, the greater their influence will be. We can develop a love or fondness for people who can turn us from God.

The loss of faith is a gradual process. It takes time to lose one’s faith, it doesn’t happen overnight, and it often takes outside help which the Bible clearly teaches that Solomon got from his pagan wives.

Here is the problem: the wicked do not at first appear to be wicked. The women Solomon married did not appear to him to be wicked, not at all. I would say the chances were great that they treated him with all respect, honor, and kindness, and chances are many of them truly loved him. Most certainly Solomon did not go out looking for wicked women to marry. They were most likely the class of their cultures. There was only one problem with them—they were wicked by God’s standards; they were idolaters.

We have the same problem today. The world is full of good people, good to us; we consider them good, but with God they are wicked. They may be the most outstanding people you would ever meet, but outstanding by the measures used by one human being to measure other human beings. They may be very likable, have great personalities, are friendly, kind, considerate, thoughtful, helpful, compassionate, honest, hard working, the kind that would not mistreat a mouse, and some of them may even be religious folks, and yet in God’s eyes, by his standard, they are wicked. All it takes to fit into that category is to be a sinner who has not yet been cleansed by the blood of Jesus in gospel obedience. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23 NKJV)

These are the kinds of people that destroy, even if unknowingly and without intent, those who could otherwise have been saved had they not fallen under their influence. They are people who themselves either do not have faith or, if they do have faith, it is not a faith based on the truth of God’s word. They are worldly people. Their faith is in what they believe, not in what God’s word says.

We become close friends with people like this, grow fond of them, and get to thinking so highly of them that we get to the point where we cannot allow ourselves to see anything but good in them, whether they have any religion about them or not. We get to seeing them as so good that a just God could not possibly condemn them. If they are lost, we want to be lost too. Man thus becomes the standard of what a man ought to be, forget what the Bible says, for we consider them to be too good to be lost. Unfortunately, often such people are family members.

The most dangerous people in the world are not those that appear wicked to us. We run from them. They are no danger to us. Those of the kind I have described above are the ones who take us down, for they often appear to us as ministers of righteousness of a sort, the righteousness this world has to offer, the self-made righteousness of man.

Again, some of these may even be quite religious people, but they hold to false doctrine with the thinking often being that the Bible just cannot be interpreted for our generation the way the word of God was for the first generation of Christians. For this group, it is a liberal Christianity they hold to that will not allow the Bible to mean what it says. They lead well-meaning people astray by what appears to most men to be righteous lives.

(2) A second lesson we can learn from Solomon’s experience is to obey God whether you want to or not, whether you can see the reasoning behind his commands or not, whether you think his commands are wise or not. We are not told Solomon’s reasoning process that led him to disobey God and marry these pagan women, but disobedience always leads to trouble with God. One problem with sin is that it is likely to lead to even more sin. It is likely to compound and even multiply once it gets started in one’s life. Sin repeated time and again eventually leads to the hardening of one’s heart. We get to the point that our desire for the sin outweighs our desire to do what is right, which is to say we cannot repent because we do not want to repent, and that is a sad state to get in.

Faith does not grow by being disobedient. Sin will lead one to flee from God as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden when they tried to hide from God. We know God does not approve of sin; thus, when we commit sin, we prefer not to be in God’s presence (say, worship services, prayer, Bible reading, etc.). We begin the process of withdrawal, unfaithfulness, and of losing our faith. Faith in such circumstances torments us rather than comforts us. We feel better without it. We become more comfortable away from God rather than with him.

We may attempt to justify our sin, our unfaithfulness. Solomon found new religions that would allow for what he was doing, although I cannot say that was his motivation for turning to them, but only that it had that effect. Certainly, his new religions did not condemn him for marrying the pagan wives or worshiping multiple gods.

With men today, it is often that way. It is not hard to find a body of religious people who will not only not condemn your sins but justify them and make the claim that no sin is involved at all. Just change your religious affiliation. You can always find someone more liberal than you who will accept more departure from God’s word than you without calling it sin. They will not condemn your sin and in fact will declare it to be no sin at all. Churches today, for example, are full of people involved in adulterous marriages. I know of one that had a lesbian couple and a transsexual man who, I am told, came to services around Veterans Day with his old army jacket on while wearing high heels and a skirt.

There is no indication from the Bible that Solomon ceased his idolatry even after God spoke to him the last time. We can get to the point, evidently, that even God talking directly to us would no longer turn us away from our evil passion. But I ask the question, what if Solomon had just obeyed God and never started down the path of marrying pagan women? Would it have made a difference in his faith in his old age?

There is a lot to be said for just obeying whether you want to or not. Obey, and in time you will find you are obeying not because you have to but because you want to. It has become your life, who you are.

(3) A third lesson one can learn from Solomon is to beware of religions that are based on appeals to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, for they will lead you from the faith of God’s word. Solomon may have been drawn to one or more of these idolatrous religions because some of them enticed by the nature of their worship. In at least some of them sexual activities were involved as a part of their worship. It was an appeal to the lust of man’s flesh. I do not accuse Solomon of being guilty, for I cannot know. I can only know there was an appeal to the lust of the flesh in many pagan religions of that era.

A lot of religious bodies today appeal to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life in one way or another, and have an appeal to the fleshly man, not the spiritual man, and are certainly capable of drawing people away from biblical faith into false doctrine and away from God. Something drew Solomon into idolatry, and we know with certainty that it was not logical argument or miracles or signs or wonders that did so. The appeal was, without doubt, an appeal to the flesh, to the lusts of man.

In our own time, there are some religious bodies calling themselves Christian whose drawing card is an appeal to wealth. God wants you to be materially wealthy is the claim. Clearly, the appeal is to the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. It is all about the contribution. The more you give, the more wealth God will give you in return, and in the meantime, the finer home the evangelist can live in and the more expensive the car he can drive.

Big, costly buildings, robes, rituals, choirs, drama performances, musical entertainment, trips to amusement parks, ball teams, golf outings, and other such things are not found in the pages of your New Testament in the first-century church, but they have an appeal to modern man. Some groups have built worship facilities that include gymnasiums for basketball, snack bars, rooms for pool and/or badminton, choir and band rooms, etc. Were these things built to appeal to the spirit or the flesh? One can be drawn away from the things of the spirit by the things that appeal to the flesh. Can you imagine the apostle Paul soliciting funds from the brethren to build and provide for such things? Was his interest in athletics, entertainment, or in food and drink?

(4) A final thing I would list for our consideration as a lesson we can learn from Solomon’s unfaithfulness and loss of faith is that one must beware of our human tendency to desire peace rather than war. I speak here of arguments and debates and all the unpleasantness that goes with that. Solomon should have been at war against these idols. As it was, he had peace but not a peace pleasing to God.

I am far from certain that Solomon ever gave up his original religion fully. There is some indication he did not based on 1 Kings 11:6, “Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David.” (NKJV) I emphasize the word “fully” in that passage, which makes it sound as though he did follow the Lord but only up to a point. It could be he simply added these idolatrous gods to the Lord God he worshiped, becoming a polytheist.

If that is the case, is that not also what the denominational world today has done as well? They have said one religion (denomination) is as good as another; it makes no difference. And yet they each consider the other to be teaching some error they do not hold to in their own denomination. But does error really matter at all if you can be saved practicing the error? To ask is to answer. Of course, error does not matter in the denominational world if you can be saved in any denomination despite the error they hold to in that denomination.

So, did Solomon get to where we are in America today where one religion is as good as another? But you say, wait a minute. All denominations believe in the same God and the same Savior. Solomon was worshiping multiple gods. That argument sounds good until you examine it. What is wrong with it? Just this much—is the God of denomination A the same God as the God of denomination B if he is teaching one thing in one place and another in another place? It sounds like two different Gods.

Solomon did not wage war with the other religions or other gods. He sought peace with them all. In doing so, God was not pleased. We ought to learn from that. God is never pleased with a departure from his word, never. Our job is to seek out the truth and hold to it. If the rest of the world wants to believe and practice error, so be it, but we do not have to run after those gods.

A slow, continual drip of water will eventually erode rock. A steady diet of withdrawal from the things that make up the Christian life will eventually erode and destroy faith. We may not do like Solomon and change religions or, as his case may have been, just add other religions to his Jewish religion. We may simply cease to have any religion at all.

Some think faith can be turned back on at will. It didn’t work with Solomon, so why should we think it would work with us, and bear in mind God even spoke to Solomon concerning his unfaithfulness, whether directly or through a prophet, but it did not cause him to repent and turn back to God; at least, if he did, it is not revealed to us. We can get to the point where we just cease to care. When we reach that point, it is all over. We are done. We need to nurture faith and keep it. Let us learn from Solomon and move toward God and not away from him. Let us learn from his mistakes.

[To download this article or print it out click here.]

The Christian, Politics, and Government

What role, if any, should the Christian play in politics? All any man can know about the subject is what the Bible says, and since it was written for the benefit and enlightenment of all men in all ages from the time it was first penned until the last day of this earth’s existence, and for all cultures and under all the different kinds of governments, it speaks to us not in specifics but in general statements on the subject. As it relates to specifics, it is sometimes hard to know exactly what one ought to do under some scenarios that arise, but we have God-given principles to guide us.

That America is a deeply divided nation, no one doubts. There are two very distinct trains of thought in our society about what the nature of our country ought to be, and it seems any middle ground has disappeared, leading to anger and bitterness on both sides. So where does a Christian fit in, what does he do, what should he do? What does the Bible teach?

First of all, it should be clear to all who truly want to be what a Christian ought to be that one’s first order of business is to be as much of a Christian as he/she can be every single day of his/her life. What does that mean? It means I should live a spiritual life daily. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23 NKJV) Just above this passage in Gal. 5:19-21 are listed the “works of the flesh” (v. 19) of which I would like to list two of those works as they pertain most directly to the topic at hand (politics), namely, “hatred” (v. 20) and “outbursts of wrath” (v. 20). The reader can clearly see the contrasts between the works of the flesh and those of the Spirit.

Furthermore, there is a passage in Eph. 4:31, which also speaks directly to the issue, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” (NKJV)

When we Americans are so deeply divided over the issues, it is very easy for a citizen who is also a Christian to become bitter and angry and think and speak evil of others who are in opposition, and even reach the point where he/she despises them in his/her heart. Yes, the Bible teaches we ought to hate evil, “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Psalm 97:10 NKJV; see also Prov. 8:13 and Amos 5:15) Hate the evil but love the person. “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:8 NKJV)

We ought to hate the evil a government does when it enacts laws that are contrary to God’s teaching and supportive of evil (say, as examples, laws supporting gay marriage and abortion), and it must be admitted, for it cannot be denied, that government is made up of the men and women who make the laws. Yes, they are responsible for the evil a government may allow or do in its lawmaking and governing capacity, but in a democracy, we are also accountable in that we vote the lawmakers and the executive into or out of office. We, as a nation, will be held accountable, which means we need to vote for those candidates running for office who are most supportive of Christian principles.

We can and ought to hate laws that are contrary to God’s teaching in the New Testament, and the kind of thinking that leads to those laws, but yet have compassion for the misguided lawmakers who made them in that each has a soul that is worth more than all of the wealth of this world combined. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matt. 16:26 NKJV) Jesus said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Mark 2:17 NKJV) That was his mission. What is the mission of his servants? Are we in the condemning them to hell camp or are we in the converting them to Christ camp?

If our reaction to ungodly laws that are passed is one of hatred, anger, bitterness, railing, and reviling against the lawmakers, then we have done two things—(1) we have allowed politics to destroy our own soul and our hope for heaven and (2) we have ended any hope that those responsible can be converted due to our unchristian attitude and reaction toward them. Please note I said against the lawmakers. It is right to hate sinful, evil laws.

Do not misunderstand: the unjust are not going to heaven, which includes lawmakers who have promoted sin via the laws they have helped pass. The Bible does not teach that they are. It does teach, however, that the Christian’s job is to do his/her best to bring the world to Christ. We must teach the truth of the Bible on every Bible subject. If the powers that be in government reject the truth, God will deal with them on the last day. “‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Rom. 12:19 NKJV) As for the Christian, God says, “give place to wrath” (Rom. 12:19 NKJV) or as the ESV translates it, “never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” (Rom. 12:19 ESV)

The Bible teaches we ought to pray for those in authority. “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:1-4 NKJV)

One might say, what do we pray for when we pray for them? We might pray a number of things. We might pray that they be given wisdom, if there is need they might be led to repentance, we might pray that God would work providentially in their life to help them see the light, we might pray for their welfare and that of their family, and as the text says, we should give thanks for them. We might say sometimes, what is there to be thankful for in some men? Well, we ought to look for the good.

No one was ever more unjustly mistreated by the government than Jesus himself. Pilate declared Jesus innocent when he said, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person” (Matt. 27:24 NKJV) and then turned right around and had Jesus “scourged” (Matt. 27:26 NKJV) and handed him over to be put to death. Do you think that might have aroused bitterness and anger in most of us had we been in Jesus’ shoes or been a family member or close friend? Yet, Jesus “was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” (Isa. 53:7 NKJV)

Peter says, “When he was reviled, did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.” (1 Peter 2:23 NKJV) God is the ultimate judge of all things and everyone. The government may do great evil, but the Christian answer is to follow the example of Jesus. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom. 12:21 NKJV) “Do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Rom. 12:19 NKJV)

That God judges governments (thus countries) cannot be doubted by anyone who has ever read the Old Testament prophets. It was not just Israel and Judah that God judged and brought to ruin because of their sins. If you read the Old Testament, you will read of nation after nation that God prophesied judgment against through his prophets and eventually brought them to their downfall.

Even before that, we can go back to the time when the children of Israel were given the land of Palestine after they departed from Egypt. Why did God drive out and destroy those nations that occupied the land before Israel? Because of evil, of sin, of wrongdoing. Moses, speaking on behalf of God, told Israel prior to their entry into the Promised Land that “it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you.” (Deut. 9:4 NKJV) Every nation God brought judgment against in the Old Testament was brought to judgment because of its sin and evil.

A couple of points need to be made here. (1) Generally speaking, a country comes to be whatever its leadership leads it to be or allows it to be. Thus, in the Old Testament history of God’s people, we read of good kings and bad kings. When a bad king ruled, idolatry and other evils were in the ascendancy; when a good king came to power, a check was put on that and some, if not all, of the evil was rolled back. Leadership (government) is always for the better or the worse. (2) God will eventually judge a nation for its evil, even if the leadership led it to be that way, unless there is repentance. Needless to say, repentance is hard to come by. (The reader would do well to read Jer. 18:7-10.)

Unfortunately, from a human point of view, when God brings judgment on a nation, the just often suffer along with the unjust, even if it is only for a time. When Judah was carried away into Babylonian captivity for the sins of the nation, Daniel and his three friends had to go too, even though guilty of no sin themselves. The just became captives along with the unjust.

Romans 13 is the chapter that tells us our duties as Christians toward the government. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Rom. 13:1 ESV) Paul goes on to say, “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” (Rom. 13:2 ESV) Paul then goes on to explain that government is meant for our good, not to bring evil upon us (Rom. 13:3-7). I think we all understand the need for government and how there must be laws, rules, and regulations for our safety and well-being. Try and imagine living in a world of utter chaos and lawlessness where there was no government at all and it was every man for himself.

There is also a passage in Titus we need to take note of, “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.” (Titus 3:1-2 NKJV) So, we are to obey the government, but there is more in this passage for our consideration. One who desires to get involved in politics ought to ask himself this question: Can I do it and obey the scriptures at the same time? Will it lead me to be peaceable, gentle, to be humble, and to never speak evil of another, or will it make all of that harder for me?

By getting involved, I am not speaking about running for office (although that would be included) as much as I am about becoming immersed in politics so intensely that it comes to be a major part of one’s life and being. We need to be informed citizens and know the issues and the candidates, but when I become so immersed in politics through the news outlets and programs that it begins to dominate my life, almost like being possessed, that is what I have in mind and what I am talking about. Is that good for the Christian? Will it help or hinder you in developing the fruit of the Spirit in your life?

Does there ever come a time when government must be resisted? Peter answered that question in Acts 5:29 when he said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (NKJV) He was not speaking to the Roman authorities when he spoke, but rather to the Jewish authorities. Nevertheless, the principle would be the same. If our government were to fall into the hands of Islam and we were commanded by law to abandon the Bible and Jesus as Lord, do you think God would say, “okay, obey the government you are now under, become a Muslim?” To ask is to answer.

When I say that under such circumstances we ought to resist the government, I do not mean by taking up arms. Christians do not go to war to fight, kill, and maim, but we ought to do as Peter and the other apostles did. What did Peter and the other apostles do? They simply continued to go on about their business of being Christians and doing the Lord’s will. Now I grant you some Christians did die because of it (Stephen and later James come to mind), but they were to “rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings.” (1 Peter 4:13 NKJV) “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him in doing good, as to a faithful creator.” (1 Peter 4:19 NKJV)

The Christians in the church of Smyrna were told, “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10 KJV) Here is an example of the government throwing Christians into prison (who else had that power?) and possibly, if I understand the passage correctly, ending in their death, although the phrase does not have to mean that. It is certainly, however, an admonition to faithfulness even if death is the result.

The Bible does not teach that every single government that has ever existed has been good and done what is right. If so, why did God destroy the nations he did in the Old Testament? If so, why were Christians murdered by the Roman government in the first two to three centuries after the Christian faith came to be? It does teach us to submit to government and only resist in the way I have spoken of, and only do that when the laws made by men violate the law of God. The resistance consists of living as a Christian despite what the government demands.

The God-given purpose of government is for the good of man. However, as long as men are the governing body, men will be men, which inevitably means there will be some ungodliness in them. That is not God’s fault but man’s. Both David and his son Solomon were great kings but both also proved to be sinners.

So, to what extent should a Christian become involved in politics? I will ask a better question, one that is also easier to answer and is more personal. To what extent do you think you can do so and still maintain the fruit of the Spirit and be the person God would have you to be?

When I answer that question, I know it sets some severe limits on my involvement. As a Christian living in a democracy and having been given the right to vote, I feel I have the duty to go vote even if it means voting for the lesser of two evils, so to speak. Beyond that, I think I need to leave it with God for my soul’s sake.

If we believe God is still an active God in the affairs of man (I believe the Bible teaches he is), then he is going to work it all out eventually in the way that is in accord with his will and righteous nature. Yes, that may mean sometimes evil men rule, but they rule for a reason if they do (God knows why). But always bear in mind God is in charge. Daniel talks about a decree made against King Nebuchadnezzar in Dan. 4:17 and says it was made, “In order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever he will, and sets over it the lowest of men.” (NKJV)

God is in charge. Evil governments may arise for a time, but they shall be punished for their evil eventually. If you think your government is evil and doing wrong, and you are right about that, God will take care of it in due time, one way or another, unless there is repentance. Sin never goes unpunished unless it is repented of and forgiven. But the question is for me, as an individual, what do I do as it relates to politics and the government? The answer is I live as a Christian.

[To download this article or print it out click here.]

 

Why the Waters of Marah Still Matter

When the children of Israel left Egypt, led by Moses, the first major event one reads about in the book of Exodus after the Red Sea crossing is found in Ex. 15:22-26, the crisis at the waters of Marah. I say crisis, for that was how the children of Israel perceived it. They had been traveling three days in the wilderness and had found no water to drink during that time.

Was that a crisis? It was, when you consider how much water was required for this exodus. In Ex. 12:37-38 we get some idea of the numbers. It reads as follows: “And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.” (ESV) There may have been over 2 million men, women, and children needing water, as well as all the flocks and herds of livestock. You do not carry that kind of water in canteens.

After this three-day journey without finding water, they come to Marah, a place that has water, but water so bitter it cannot be used for drinking. In fact, according to the notes in the NET Bible, the Hebrew word “Marah” means bitter. The Bible says, “The people complained against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’” (Ex. 15:24 NKJV) One has to understand Moses was only God’s representative; thus, to complain against Moses was to complain against God (see Ex. 16:8). Moses individually had no power to provide them with water; they knew that, so the complaint was against God.

This manifested a lack of faith in God. How? Back in Ex. 3:16-17, before the plagues, before Moses ever entered Egypt after his personal exile, God told Moses at the burning bush incident to “Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’” (NKJV)

After entering Egypt, Moses did as commanded according to Ex. 4:29-30 with Aaron being his spokesman. He was also directed to perform miracles before the elders as you read about in Ex. 4:1-9, and according to Ex. 4:30 he did so, as signs of confirmation that it was God who was behind this affair. Afterwards, we know of the plagues that hit Egypt which were further confirmation that God was intent on bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt into “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Add to these miracles the Red Sea encounter, where the waters were parted for the children of Israel but collapsed on the Egyptians, and the children of Israel should have seen God’s determination to hold fast to his promise to them.

Why then would the children of Israel believe that God would allow them to perish for want of water at Marah after seeing all he had already done on their behalf? Did they not believe God? Did they not trust him after all they had both heard and seen? According to the footnotes in the NET Bible, the Hebrew word translated “complained” or “murmured” or “grumbled,” depending on your translation, “is a much stronger word than ‘to grumble’ or ‘to complain.’ It is used almost exclusively in the wilderness wandering stories, to describe the rebellion of the Israelites against God … They were not merely complaining—they were questioning God’s abilities and motives. The action is something like a parliamentary vote of no confidence.”

That they needed water there was no doubt. That they were in want there is no doubt. What should they have done rather than rebel? Well, I can think of several things—trust in God for deliverance, pray to him, ask Moses not in a complaining or murmuring way but in a supplicating way to intervene with God on their behalf. God had told them he would bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey. If they believed in the goodness of God, that he would not lie to them, then surely they should have seen he was not about to let them die of thirst. But the Psalmist had this to say about them, “They did not believe in God, and did not trust in his salvation.” (Psalm 78:22 NKJV) That was said of them at a later date in their history but was true of them basically from the beginning, as their first rebellion, based on a lack of faith, was at the Red Sea (Psalm 106:7).

A lesson for all Christians in this is the need to trust in God in our own personal crises. If we are faithful, God is on our side, and if we will trust and obey and be patient, he will work things out for us. This does not mean he will allow us to live eternally upon the earth. It is appointed for man once to die (Heb. 9:27 NKJV). Nor does it mean we will be blessed in the ways we might like—say fame, fortune, and prestige—but it does mean he will see us through our life’s struggles and help us through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4).

However, that is not the main lesson I want to get from this Old Testament story. God did come to the rescue of the children of Israel and provide water, but how did he do it? The Bible says he told Moses to cast a tree he showed him into the bitter waters at Marah, which, having done so, the waters were made fit to drink (Ex. 15:25 NKJV). However, it is my understanding that the Hebrew word denotes “wood” and not necessarily a tree, although either is possible; thus, the English Standard Version translates the word as a “log” rather than a tree; other translations say “a piece of wood.” (CEV, GNB, NLT)

I want to ask the reader some questions to get to the main point of this article. What power was there in that tree or piece of wood to transform a body of water from bitter to pure, sufficient to quench the thirst of perhaps as many as 2 million people with all their livestock? Not one bit of power—none at all. However, what would have happened had Moses not thrown the tree or wood into the water? Would the water have become drinkable had he not?

What power was there in the rod Moses had in his hand to part the Red Sea? God told him, “Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.” (Ex. 14:16 NKJV) None! But what if he had not done it?

What power was there in the rod Moses used to strike the rock, in a later incident where water was needed, to bring forth water out of the rock to provide for the people’s thirst? (see Ex. 17:5-6) None! But what if he had not done it?

What power was there in the fiery serpent that God told Moses to make and put on a pole (he made it out of bronze) to heal those who had been bitten by poisonous serpents to save them from death if they would look at it? (see Numbers 21:8-9) None! You surely do not believe your doctor would treat you that way if bitten by a poisonous scorpion or rattlesnake, do you? But what about those who did not look at Moses’ bronze serpent?

What power was there inherent in marching around the walls of Jericho, blowing trumpets, blowing a ram’s horn, and shouting to get the walls of the city to fall down? (Joshua 6:2-5) None! But what if they had not done it?

What power was there in the water of the Jordan River to cleanse Naaman of his leprosy? (2 Kings 5) None! Could all lepers have been cleansed of leprosy by doing what Naaman did? Was the power in the water? What if Naaman had not gone and washed 7 times as directed? (We know, don’t we, for until he did so, having refused for a time, he remained leprous and was not cleansed.)

In John 9, Jesus meets a man blind from birth. The Bible says, “He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And he said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.” (John 9:6-7 NKJV) What power was there in the water of the pool of Siloam to cure blindness? None at all! But what if he had not gone to the pool of Siloam?

Are you seeing a pattern? The God who spoke the universe into existence and who needs but speak and it is done does not need rods, or bronze serpents, special water treatments, or marching, or horn blowing, or anything else to achieve the end he desires. All he needs to do is speak and it is done, but sometimes he chooses to work by means of agency. When he chooses to do so, it becomes a matter of faith on our part—faith to believe and do or faithlessness to disbelieve and not do.

Naaman was a person who had a hard time believing and doing. He just could not see the sense in it or the reason for it. Be that as it may, he was not healed until he believed enough to obey.

Let me drive the point home. It does not matter in the least whether you or I see a reason in a command God gives. Sometimes he gives commands just to test our obedience (Abraham being a case in point with the sacrifice of his son Isaac). Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, said to the Corinthians, “For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.” (2 Cor. 2:9 NKJV)

Many, many people who consider themselves to be Christians (the reality is they are not) cannot bring themselves to be baptized. Is it a command of God? They know it is (Mark 16:16, John 3:5, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Gal. 3:27, 1 Peter 3:21, Rom. 6:3-4, etc.), but they cannot believe it is necessary, for they cannot see any reason behind it. How often has one heard the phrase that “the water does not have anything to do with salvation”? It does if God says to be baptized. It fits into the same category of things we have discussed here.

I have asked the question before and never received an answer, but I will ask it again. If Jesus wanted you to know baptism was for the remission of your sins, how would he have to phrase it to get the message across to you; that is, if you do not believe baptism is necessary? He actually specifically said it was for the remission of sins, that exact thing, speaking through Peter via the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” (NKJV) Then, in Acts 22:16, the Holy Spirit spoke of being baptized to wash away sins. Years later Peter states it again, as if we could not understand what he said in Acts 2:38, when he writes, ‘there is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism.’ (1 Peter 3:21 NKJV) Jesus himself said, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5 NKJV) and he said the man that would be saved would be the man that “believes and is baptized.” (Mark 16:16)

People all over the world are convinced Jesus was in error when he said “he who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16 NKJV), believing the truth to be “he who believes and is baptized or not baptized, either way, will be saved.” That is adding to the word of God and is just as dangerous as if a man were to say, “he who believes and is not baptized will be saved.” Add to God’s word or contradict it, either one, and face God in the judgment.

The lesson we need to learn from the event at the waters of Marah is that if God decides to use agency or means to save us, then so be it. We must either conform and throw that log or tree into the water, or forget about receiving the blessing. We either believe and obey, or disbelieve and do not obey and forfeit the blessing. The spiritual application is valid until the earth no longer exists. One must respect whatever agency or means God so desires to use to bring blessings and salvation to man. To fail to respect that is to show a lack of faith in God despite all protests to the contrary.

[To download this article or print it out click  here.]

Is Denominational Baptism Scriptural

Many different baptisms are being performed today by religious people, using different methods and modes and for different purposes. However, the only baptism that I as an individual facing eternity ought to be concerned with is the baptism that Jesus spoke of when he said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16 NKJV)

This is the baptism of the Great Commission when Jesus told the apostles, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in (literally “into”—see NAS reference note—DS) the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19-20 NKJV) This is the “one baptism” Paul spoke of in Eph. 4:5 that places one in Christ (Gal. 3:27) where salvation is found (2 Tim. 2:10). It is therefore spoken of as being “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38) and is a baptism into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13) of which he is “the Savior of the body” (Eph. 5:23 NKJV), the body being the church (Eph. 1:22-23).

It is a baptism you are required to teach, for the Great Commission that was given to the apostles was that they teach those they had made disciples of and baptized to go and do the same, teach and baptize others. (Matt. 28:20) This continual handing down of the teaching and practice from one generation to another is to last as long as the Great Commission remains in effect—until the day of Christ’s return. It is the one and only scriptural baptism that was to last for all generations.

While the baptism we have just discussed is the only one a man or woman needs to be personally concerned with, the truth is man has come up with his own inventions, thus we have differences in baptisms today. Solomon said, “God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” (Eccl. 7:29 NKJV) Human nature never changed, and so it is today as it was back then.

The first invention of man, relating to baptism, was the idea that he could sprinkle men and call it baptism and put his man-made invention on an equal plane with the baptism of the Great Commission. Man can try it and use that procedure and pay for his error in the end. God never gave man the authority to change the meaning of his inspired word or to add to it. “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches.” (1 Cor. 2:13 NKJV)

The words baptize, baptism, etc., found in your New Testament were words from the Greek carried over into the English without ever being translated. We call them transliterated words. Why were these Greek words never translated? Because the Greek means to submerge, immerse, or dip. Vine’s “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,” a standard work, says of the word baptism, “consisting of the processes of immersion, submersion and emergence.”

By the time the Bible was being translated into English, men had already become wedded to their invention—sprinkling and calling it baptism. To translate the word accurately using the word immerse would end their deception for any capable of reading. Sprinkling for baptism was officially adopted by the Roman Catholic Church in 1311 A.D. at the Council of Ravenna hundreds of years after the apostles were gone.

Paul says, “We were buried with him through baptism.” (Rom. 6:4 NKJV) He was talking to people who had been buried in water, not sprinkled or poured, for baptism was a burial. Sprinkling and pouring are not only frauds but also exceedingly dangerous in that many who know no better believe they have been scripturally baptized. It would only be scriptural if one could change the meaning of God’s word. Wise people will not do that, not if they have read the scriptures concerning those who would do so.

Scriptural baptism is immersion and immersion only, but many denominations do practice immersion and are still in error on the subject of baptism. How so? They are in error on the meaning or purpose of baptism.

Let me ask a question that will help clarify. If I dive off a diving board or someone pushes me into a swimming pool or a lake and I end up immersed, is that a scriptural baptism? If young children were in a backyard pool playing church and one immerses the other would that be a scriptural baptism? We would all say no to both, but why so? It would be because baptism is about more than just being immersed in water. There has to be understanding, purpose, and heart behind it of such a nature that will make it pleasing to God.

God has told us, if we will accept it, exactly what the purpose of baptism is and what it accomplishes. Acts 2:38 tells us what we need to know about the purpose of baptism, but how many believe what they read there today? Not many. Man came along generations later and began denying what Peter, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said in that sermon recorded in Acts 2 and gave to baptism a different purpose and meaning to suit themselves. When one changes an ordinance of God and gives it an entirely different meaning than he gave it, then it is a little presumptuous to just assume he is pleased. What we have done is set ourselves up as God, displaced God as the lawgiver, and said this is now what this ordinance means. We now decide. He does not.

Generally speaking, most denominations believe one is saved by faith with or without baptism and prior to baptism. It is to them either a symbolic act or, in some cases, the means of entrance into their denomination. In the latter case, there is a world of difference between entering a denomination (which they admit is not the body of Christ but only a segment of it) and entering the body of Christ, the church he established. What denomination was Lydia a member of? Lydia had it right, denominationalism has it wrong.

Why is one who believes he is already saved, had his sins remitted, already entered into Christ through his faith alone, and thus already in Christ’s church, baptized to get into a denomination? There were no denominations in New Testament times. Not a single person in the New Testament was ever baptized to enter into a denomination, so why do it now? Certainly, this kind of baptism is not scriptural, for, as I have said, it was impossible to do such a thing in New Testament times, thus baptism was never designed for that purpose.

For those who believe they are saved by faith alone apart from baptism, passages like 1 Cor. 12:13 become meaningless, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” (NKJV) It becomes meaningless, for that is the very thing a saved by faith alone advocate must deny. He must deny that “we were all baptized into one body.” His point of view is that he was already in the body (Christ’s body and thus saved) before and without baptism.

Salvation is in the body of Christ (Eph. 5:23, 1:22-23). You are baptized into that body (1 Cor. 12:13), but the saved by faith alone man must claim to have gotten into that body some other way. He claims to be saved without being baptized into the body of Christ. It logically follows then that his baptism, since he feels it does not put him into the body of Christ, must be to put him into a denomination of which the New Testament knows nothing. Or else be merely symbolic since it is not a baptism into Christ.

If one is baptized only as a symbolic gesture, much of what has just been said applies as well. Why is one who believes he is already saved, had his sins remitted, already entered into Christ through his faith alone, and is thus already in Christ’s church baptized as a symbolic gesture? When did God command man to be baptized as a “symbolic gesture?” My Bible does not say anything about “symbolic gestures.” If someone would grab a concordance and look up the word “symbol” or “symbols” or “gestures” it might help, but when I tried it, I only got one hit on the word “symbol” and it related to the head covering in 1 Cor. 11. I also tried the word “sign” and the word “figure” and came up dry as well.

The old King James does use the word “figure” in 1 Peter 3:21 related to baptism, but it does not help those who want baptism to be just a figure, for it says, “the like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us,” and that is not the figure those who promote denominational baptism are wanting. The bottom line is that all of this business about baptism being just a symbol is not found in my Bible or yours but only in the minds of men who have wandered from the truth. It is a baptism that has no scriptural meaning and is an invention of men who want some changes in the Bible so it will read more to their liking.

Whether one views baptism as a passageway to enter a denominational church, to gain membership in it, or as just a symbol, both are inventions of men and worthless as far as the Bible is concerned. If you were baptized for either reason you were simply immersed like a man diving from a diving board (that is, if you were immersed at all).

But the objection is made that I did it to obey God. How can you obey God when you do a thing he has not commanded? He never commanded you to be baptized into a denomination (obviously since they did not exist back then) nor did he ever command you to be baptized as a symbol for anything. He did command you to be baptized for a specific set of purposes none of which are found in denominational baptism.

One cannot accidentally obey God. Let me explain. If I were to partake of the Lord’s Supper without knowing the meaning of it, could it be truly said I worshiped God in that act in a way pleasing to him? We would all say of course not. So it is with baptism. To obey God you have to know what you are doing and why and desire to do it for the reasons he said. One is to walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:7) and faith comes by hearing God’s word (Rom. 10:17). We cannot walk blindly without knowing what we are doing and think we might just get lucky and do the right thing by accident. There is no such thing as obedience in that type of action.

Sometimes years down the road, after the fact, there are those who learn the truth about baptism and need to be baptized scripturally, but they look back some decades earlier and deceive themselves into thinking that way back when 30-40 years ago when they were baptized it was for the right purpose. How does this happen?

We all learn the truth gradually, not all at once. Minds are changed and/or brought to the truth gradually over time, bit by bit. Because this process is so gradual, by the time we have finally come around a full 180 degrees in our thinking, we look back and cannot remember a time when we did not think as we do now. There is great danger in this.

Because of it, we may never obey the truth, never be scripturally baptized, and thus never enter the church of which Jesus is the Savior, because we cannot remember the truth of our thinking and motives at the time years earlier when we first were immersed. We tell ourselves we thought back then the way we think now, thus we do nothing to change our state. Denominational baptism ends up sinking another ship. There is but one scriptural baptism and denominational baptism is not it.

The purpose of this article has not been to be a wrecking ball, but before one can build in a location already occupied, the old structure must first be torn down. Denominational baptism is an old structure that needs tearing down so that the truth can be built in the location that old structure once occupied.

[To download this article or print it out click here.]