The Modern Day American Mindset

Fewer and fewer people believe in absolute truth today, believe the Bible is verbally inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, or believe that man must submit to its dictates or suffer the consequences if he does not. Sin is now generally accepted, and no attempt is made any longer to hide it as long as the law of the land will allow it. We abort babies in states that allow it, commit fornication (taken for granted these days), and become adulterers thinking God wants me to be happy and this is what it takes for my happiness. It is either that or else we do not care at all what he thinks or even believe in him. One of the things that has amazed me recently in my own neck of the woods is the push for gay marriage among groups of people who you would never have thought would do such a thing, which illustrates the state of mind of many who confess to be believers today. (Let the reader note that this article was originally written before gay marriage became the law of the land.)

One man was quoted in a local paper as saying that there was no scriptural justification for denying gays the right to marry. I just could not believe that a person who knew anything at all about the Bible could say such a thing as that. Another wrote that he was a born-again Christian and that he was a supporter of gay marriage. Please tell me how a person can read 1 Cor. 6:9-10 and get that we ought to support gay marriage. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor. 6:9-10 ESV) There is a footnote in my ESV for the phrase “men who practice homosexuality,” which reads as follows: “The two Greek terms translated by this phrase refer to the passive and active partners in consensual homosexual acts.”

Now I ask, should we Christians be in the business of helping people sin by giving our consent to it and striving to pass laws to promote it? If the passage above is not enough to convince you of God’s will in this matter try Jude 6-7, Rom. 1:24-27, and 1 Tim. 1:9-10. When I wrote on the subject elsewhere, which I did, one lady wrote in telling me Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. Is that right? Did Jesus ever mention Sodom? Check out Matt. 10:15, Matt. 11:23, Matt. 11:24, Mark 6:11, Luke 10:12, and Luke 17:29. In most of these passages, Jesus is saying with regard to a specific city that it will be more tolerable for Sodom on the Day of Judgment than it will be for that city. But I ask the question, why does he use Sodom as a standard for comparison? Was it not because it was infamous? Had not all the Jewish people heard of what was done to Sodom and Gomorrah and why?

No doubt he used Sodom as a basis for comparison because all were aware of how evil it was and the consequences it reaped as a result. Jude says Sodom and Gomorrah were to serve as an example “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude 7 NKJV) He gives the reason, saying they had “given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh.” (Jude 7 NKJV) So don’t tell me Jesus never talked about homosexuality. When you talk about Sodom, you are talking about homosexuality.

Yes, I oppose the whole man-made concept of gay marriage and I do on scriptural grounds, but the thing that is even more troubling to me is the loss of faith in the word of God by those who call themselves Christian and yet opine that God approves what he has clearly condemned. In the Old Testament, he even calls the homosexual act an abomination (Lev. 18:22, 20:13). Where is the faith in statements of Scripture that cannot possibly be misunderstood?

The words of the Bible seem to no longer have meaning among a certain class of people that would like for others to think they are God-fearing. They speak of love and grace as though the commandments of the Bible can be tossed aside as of no consequence and God be mocked in doing so. If they decide among men that an act is holy and righteous, that overrides everything the Bible has to say about it. Jesus spoke of just such a group when he said, “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:8 NKJV) I don’t think any gay marriage advocate will ever have the gall to say that gay marriage is from God, but if it is not from God, where is it from? Whose tradition is it? To ask is to answer.

Eve had trouble accepting the word of God when presented with another option. Today’s generation ought to learn from history, or do people ever learn from history? Sometimes it seems we do not. Eve set aside God’s commandment on the say-so of another that it would be okay to do so. Are we not being told to do the same today? We are when we deny the words from the passages I have quoted. Read 1 Cor. 6:9-10 again and then take on the role of the serpent and tell people it will not matter. Tell them like the serpent told Eve, “You will not surely die.” (Gen. 3:4 NKJV)

For those advocating gay marriage based on love, the Bible says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” (1 John 5:3 NKJV) You and I as mere men do not have a right to define love when God has already done so. What are you going to do? Are you going to override God?

To endorse gay marriage is a violation of the Golden Rule and of love. “Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” (Luke 6:31 NKJV) I do not want any man to encourage me to sin. To do that to me is to sin against me, and it carries a consequence. “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.’” (Luke 17:1 NIV) Those who are presently encouraging gay marriage are encouraging people to sin, and there will be a consequence.

For those who think the homosexual act is sinful outside marriage, just as fornication is, but would be acceptable to God in a marriage relationship, they need to give that a second thought. There is a difference. God has never condemned the sexual act between a man and woman as sinful in its own right. In fact, God said to Adam and Eve “be fruitful and multiply.” (Gen. 1:28 NKJV) “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” (Heb. 13:4 NKJV) But note the sexual act outside of marriage, fornication, is condemned, so it depends on the relationship between a man and a woman: are they married or not?

That cannot be said of the homosexual act between man and man. That act God has declared to be sinful in itself, and that is the big, big difference. As for marriage, the Bible refers to Eve as Adam’s wife and thus a marriage designed by God. Nowhere in Scripture will you find God making a marriage between man and man. Thus such a thing is an invention of men, and of men, not of God.

Postmodernism would say there is no absolute truth, thus all my quoting of Scripture amounts to nothing with a postmodernist. That, my friends, is the day and age we live in and the mindset that seems to have captured so many of our people. Let the Bible as the inspired word of God take a hike. That is depressing to me to know we have come to that state of affairs. Faith is now the invention of man, each making his/her own faith, making their own truth, thinking all the while that all is A-okay. We will see. We will see.

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

Hell—The Furnace of Fire

Hell is not real in any practical way for most people. They think little about it and do not believe if there is such a place (many people doubt it) that they will end up there. Hell, if real, would only be reserved for characters like Hitler, Himmler, Stalin, Pol Pot, murderers, child molesters, etc., the very worst society has to offer. It is not a place for the average man or woman is the general thinking.

The Bible teaches no such thing. What it does teach is that it is very possible for you and me, your wife, your husband, your daughter, your son, your mother or dad, your neighbor, your friend, some of the best people you know to end up in what the Bible calls the furnace of fire. And what people cannot comprehend and refuse to believe is that Jesus will put them there.

Hear Jesus, “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:41-42 NKJV)

Many people who think they know Jesus would say, “No, he would never do that.” Well, if not, he is a liar. If he is a liar, you cannot depend on a single word he ever uttered, for who would know when he was lying and when he was not, but God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

Let us take a closer look and see who it is that will be cast into this furnace. It is “those who practice lawlessness.” (Matt. 13:41 NKJV) I know vast numbers of people, while good in many respects, many proclaiming that they believe in God, who never make any effort to obey Jesus and thus they practice lawlessness. The New Testament is the law of Christ, the law he gave, the law he is talking about in the passage under discussion.

Have they ever been baptized for the remission of sins? (Acts 2:38) No! Do they intend to? No! Do they worship God? No! Do they “forsake the assembling of ourselves together”? (Heb. 10:25 NKJV) Yes! Have they put on “the whole armor of God”? (Eph. 6:11 NKJV) No! And the list could go on and on. Just common ordinary day folks. Where are they headed? You say, “Don’t judge.” I am just quoting Jesus. He is the one who said that those who practice lawlessness will be cast into the furnace of fire. I just happen to know what lawlessness is: it is disregarding his word.

Paul, for example, gave us a list of sins in Gal. 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (NKJV) Paul says, “and the like,” meaning this is only a partial listing of sins. There is another long list that can be found in Rom. 1:24-32, and then we find this in the last verse there, verse 32, “those who practice such things are worthy of death.” (NKJV)

Sin is lawlessness, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4 NAS) It is those who practice lawlessness, Jesus says, who will be cast into the furnace of fire.

To be saved a man must love Jesus. “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.” (1 Cor. 16:22 NKJV) “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me,” says Jesus. (John 14:21 NKJV) The apostle John says, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:3-4 NKJV) “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” says Jesus. (Luke 6:46 NKJV) If Jesus is not your Lord (he is not if you are not obeying him), how are you going to avoid the furnace of fire?

But people say, “I know what the word of God says about this or that, but I know how I feel in my heart.” Thus the standard for being saved and for living a faithful, obedient life, for determining what is and is not sin, ceases to be what the book we call the Bible says and becomes instead the feeling in the heart. That feeling becomes the standard for salvation and the word of God is cast aside. Commandments no longer matter, especially if they prove inconvenient or troublesome.

“I love God. I will be saved.” How do you know? “My heart tells me so.” Just as long as your heart tells you so, it makes it so? Well, Jacob felt Joseph was dead, felt it in his heart, but that did not make it so. “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9 NKJV) People head to death and judgment with faith built on personal feelings (quicksand) rather than on the word of God (a solid rock).

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matt. 7:24-27 NKJV)

There are so many who consider themselves saved that never enter a church door and many more who enter it only occasionally. They do not know God’s commandments and make little or no effort to learn them. They rarely, if ever, read the Bible and have no desire to study it. The Hebrew writer tells us that there is a time when we “ought to be teachers.” (Heb. 5:12 NKJV) There is no way most people can obey that directive, for they have never studied enough to even think about being a teacher.

They have never made any effort to “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15 KJV) Other versions read a little differently, but the same idea is in them all. Their indifference to the word of God is great, but they are still going to heaven, according to the consensus of the public.

I write this article because I am fearful. I am scared. I am scared for the many who are likable, kind, and caring people—we would call them good people by our worldly standards. I am scared, for they are not scared, not at all. They do not know enough to be scared. Like an infant running toward the busy highway, having no concept of the consequences that awaits it, they go on day by day walking toward the precipice from whence, once the last step is taken, there will be no return, the final step into hell.

I am scared because their indifference is great. I am scared because they presume, just presume. I am scared because they have no interest in searching the scriptures to see what they need to do and how they need to live.

Should a man fear God? They do not. If a man has no fear of God, he will not repent. That is one reason so many today can go on day after day, month after month, year after year, living carelessly and indifferently. They believe God will save them the way they are and have no fear that he will not. Hear the Bible on the subject, “By the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.” (Prov. 16:6 NKJV) “The fear of the LORD leads to life.” (Prov. 19:23 NKJV) When you do not fear God, you do not worry about keeping God’s commandments.

There is a real furnace of fire, or else Jesus lied about it. It may or may not be like what we would think of as being a furnace of fire, but the effect on the soul will be that of extreme pain and suffering such as physical fire brings to the body. There will be little to no difference in the intensity of the suffering, else the analogy fails.

In the book of Revelation, in John’s vision, he saw the great Day of Judgment. “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” (Rev. 20:12 NKJV)

His vision of judgment day closes with verse 15, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:15 NKJV) I cannot imagine such a horror. That does not mean I do not believe it, but the horror of it is more than the mind can grasp. Can you imagine the fear, the terror, the panic, the hysteria, when one realizes this is his or her fate?

No wonder there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” is used 4 times in the book of Matthew (Matt. 8:12, 22:13, 24:51, and  25:30 NKJV). In each instance, the phrase is used by the Lord Jesus himself, in red print in your Bible. Does Jesus lie? When was the last time you had pain so bad you had to gnash your teeth? Could you bear that for eternity?

Hell is a place of unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43), a place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48). These are the words of Jesus himself. Paul, in a passage that is talking about hell, speaks of God’s “indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil.” (Rom. 2:8-9 NKJV) Is a man stronger than God who created the millions of stars in the universe? Can a man withstand God’s indignation and wrath?

Jude speaks of Sodom and Gomorrah and says that they were “set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude v. 7 NKJV) The Hebrew writer spoke on the topic saying, “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:30-31 NKJV)

Peter says, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now ‘if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’” (1 Peter 4:17-18 NKJV)

We have become so accustomed to talking only about the love of God, of his mercy and grace, of his forgiveness and salvation that we scarcely can comprehend anything else from him. However, God is also a God of justice, holiness, and righteousness.

What kind of a Father would God be if he said, “Okay, so I sent my son into the world to suffer and die for you and you rejected him and made his commandments of no account, paying no attention to them and caring less? You did your own will rather than mine; it is okay; you come on up into heaven with us anyway and we will forget all about it. What is a little spilled blood even if it was my son’s?”

If God were to say a thing of that kind, what kind of God would he be? Would he be good? God cannot be a good and just God and let man get by with despising his son. Jesus cannot be Lord of our life if we are the Lord of our life. God cannot be God if we are going to play God ourselves.

Paul wrote in language so fearful I find it hard to read what he said in 2 Thess. 1:8-9 of Jesus’ second coming saying his return would be “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” (NKJV) The phrase “in flaming fire” catches my attention every time I read the passage. Terror will be a mild word to use when that day comes. Are you prepared?

Can you see in your mind’s eye that day coming and perhaps for the first time in their life your son or daughter, your husband or wife, your mother or your dad, realizing the horror that is about to befall them? Can you see in your mind’s eye the hysteria, the panic, the terror that will be on their faces? Can you see them weeping and sobbing uncontrollably and you being unable to do a thing about it? As I said earlier, we ought to be scared as we see how people are living so indifferently to God. Are you one of them? Is one of your family one of them?

Many are lukewarm, maybe a step up from indifference. Is that a big enough step to avoid the furnace of fire? Hear Jesus in the book of Revelation speaking to the church of the Laodiceans; remember the church is the people who make it up. He says, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Rev. 3:15-17 NKJV) What kind of a Christian are you?

The only good thing that can be said for the Christians in the church at Laodicea was that God was going to allow them a little more time to repent. He says, in verse 19, “Be zealous and repent.” If you are reading this today, it means you are being granted some time to repent if you need to do so. You have now, today, with no promise of a tomorrow.

If you have family who are still alive as you read this, it means they still have time, “if” they will use it, time to bring their life into accord with God’s will to avoid the furnace of fire. Maybe you can help them. You can pray for them and ought to do so earnestly time and time again.

It distresses me to write an article like this, for I know few listen. As I said earlier, the assumption is that all is well, everything is fine, it is okay, and we are all saved. Jeremiah wrote words that I fear are going to end up applying to our generation as well as to his, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!” (Jer. 8:20 NKJV) Is God first in your life or is he thirty-first, forty-first, fifty-first, or just not there at all? Is he just a Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and Easter Day God in your life? If so, it is time to make some changes. There is a furnace of fire.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Prov. 1:7 NKJV)

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

Without Natural Affection and Covenantbreakers

Most of us prefer a version of the Bible today that is more modern in its language than the original American Standard Version of 1901 or the King James Version, thus making the Bible easier to read and understand.  However, in a few passages scattered about the Bible, the new literal translations like the ESV, NASB, and the NKJV, all excellent translations taken as a whole, have, in my opinion, given us inferior translations in an attempt to make reading easier for us.

One such example is found in Rom. 1:31.  In Romans 1, Paul, toward the middle of the chapter, begins to talk about the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (v. 18) and then in the last few verses lists a series of sins into which mankind had fallen.  Verse 31 is a part of this listing and reads in its entirety as follows, “undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful.” (NKJV)

However, read this same verse from the King James Version and it reads as follows, “Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.”  The ASV of 1901 reads the same as the KJV except that it omits the word “implacable.”

Here is a case where both of these older translations are more accurate to my mind than any of the newer ones, more accurate in exactness of the meaning of the original Greek words behind the English words untrustworthy (NKJV) and unloving (NKJV).  That is to say, covenantbreakers is a better translation than untrustworthy, and without natural affection is a better translation than unloving.  

For covenantbreakers (it is one word in the KJV), the ESV and the NIV have "faithless," the NAS, the CSB, and the NKJV have "untrustworthy."  These words are close enough that you can see where modern-day translators were coming from, but they still stray in my mind from the exact intent of the original.  The original is not referring to general untrustworthiness but specific untrustworthiness in breaking a covenant one has made with another.  I may be wrong, as I am not a Greek scholar, and modern scholarship seems to say I am based on the newer translations, but if you go back in time, translators thought covenantbreakers was the best translation.  Let each do their own research and study. 

Hear the words of Malachi 2:13-16, and for this I will use the NKJV.  “And this is the second thing you do:  You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying; so He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.  Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’  Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.  But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one?  He seeks godly offspring.  Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.  ‘For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,’ says the Lord of hosts.  ‘Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.’”

When a man and woman marry, they make a solemn covenant between each other and God.  To break that covenant would be exactly what the Greek word used in Rom. 1:31 is talking about.  But there is more.  How many times in reading the Old Testament do you run across the word covenant in connection with covenants God made with his people and them with him?  How many times did his people break those covenants?

I did a quick e-sword search on the NKJV concordance for the word covenant in the New Testament and the word popped up 31 times in 28 total verses.  The New Testament is sometimes called the New Covenant (it is listed as that on the title page of the copy I have of the original American Standard Version of 1901).

As Christians, we have entered into a covenant relationship with God.  When Jesus died on the cross and we come to accept him as Lord, Savior, and King of our lives by gospel obedience, we have entered into a covenant relationship with him.  Remember his words, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matt. 26:28 NKJV)

Paul spoke of himself and his cohorts as “ministers of the new covenant.” (1 Cor. 3:6 NKJV)  “Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant” (Heb. 722 NKJV) says the Hebrew writer.  It is said to be a “better covenant” than that which was under the Law of Moses with better promises (Heb. 8:6).  To be a covenantbreaker, whether between husband and wife or a Christian and his God, is a serious matter.

“Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing…,” says the Hebrew writer (Heb. 10:29 NKJV).  We must be as good as our word, and if we are not, we need to repent and get to being that good.  This easy covenant breaking we have today is not going to get it with God, whether the covenant we are breaking is with our wife or husband or with God.  

Am I saying modern-day translations have it wrong?  Well, to me, yes, but I can see where the translators were coming from.  Here is what the Claude A. I. said about it, at least what it is saying today, to me, in response to my prompt, "The Greek word is ἀσυνθέτους (asynthetous), and “covenant-breakers” is the more accurate rendering of its core meaning, though “untrustworthy” captures the practical result."

ChatGPT, the A.I., says, "In Romans 1:31, “covenantbreakers” is probably the more accurate and specific English rendering of the Greek word, although “untrustworthy” conveys part of its meaning. … The word carries the idea of failing to keep an agreement or pledge, rather than simply being an unreliable person in a general sense.  There is an important distinction here. Paul is not merely saying these people are generally unreliable. He is describing people who are unfaithful to their agreements and obligations, who break their word."

Certainly, a covenantbreaker would be faithless and untrustworthy so I can see those words being used in a dynamic equivalence translation.  However, here is a case for me where I find it hard to discern between translation and commentary, which is which.

The other phrase I want to talk about from Rom. 1:31 is the words, “without natural affection.”  In the ESV and the NIV, the Greek is translated by one word, the word “heartless.”  The NAS, the CSB, and the NKJV  have “unloving.”  I think you will find the old King James Version has it correct as to the exact meaning of the Greek.  A person might be heartless and unloving in general and still not be “without natural affection.”

The Claude A. I. says this about the translation here, "The Greek word is ἄστοργος (astorgos), and “without natural affection” is the more accurate rendering, with “unloving” being a looser paraphrase."

Chapgpt said, in response to my prompt on this phrase, "I would argue that “without natural affection” (KJV) is more descriptive and precise than “unloving,” although both communicate the general idea. … He is describing a breakdown of even the most basic, instinctive human attachments."

Vine’s,  An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, a standard work that Bible students consult regularly to see what the original Greek behind the English word means, says this, “signifies without natural affection…love of kindred, especially of parents for children and children for parents.”  The Greek word is “astorgos.”

An example of natural affection is found in the story of the two women (harlots), who while living together, gave birth to sons 3 days apart.  The one woman lay on her son in the night, killing him by accident.  She then claimed the other woman’s son as her own.  The matter was taken before King Solomon, who heard both women claiming the living boy as their own.  In his wisdom, King Solomon proposed to have the son killed by the sword and both women given a half, knowing the real mother would be willing to give up the child to have his life spared.  Natural affection led to this very result, with the real mother pleading for the life of the son, willing to give him up to the other woman to save his life.  “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” (1 Kings 3:26 NKJV) 

What is natural affection if it is not God given, natural, by nature?  It is hard for most of us to understand how this can be, that one would not have natural affection, and yet Paul says some have this sin in their life.  In writing Romans 1, he includes it with a long list of many sins about which he says in closing, “that those who practice such things are worthy of death.” (Rom. 1:32 NKJV)   We read in the Old Testament of some offering their babies up for burnt sacrifices.  In 2 Kings 17, one reads of the sins that caused God to allow Israel to be carried away into captivity.  One of these sins was that “they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire.” (2 Kings 17:17 NKJV)  This was a sin associated with the worship of idols.

Manasseh, the king of Judah, became guilty of the same thing: “he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom.” (2 Chron. 33:6 NKJV)  God, in the book of Jeremiah, said, “And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my heart.” (Jer. 7:31 NKJV)  

This shows the depth and degree to which men can sink when they get involved with false doctrine.  Radical Islam (ISIS) comes to mind, where men can slit a man’s throat with a knife, the burning of Christians at the stake, etc.  

However, it can work the other way as well, children against their parents.  Almost every Bible reader is acquainted with the attempt by David’s son Absalom to overthrow him.  One can read about Absalom’s revolt beginning in 2 Sam. 15, and every indication is that David felt Absalom would put him to death if he had the opportunity. 

Many years later, Jesus spoke of a time when “brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.” (Mark 13:12 NKJV)  From time to time, we read or hear in the news of children abusing their aged parents.  In fact, Jesus talked about this very thing, although not speaking of physical abuse, in Matt. 15.  He accused the scribes and Pharisees of not honoring their parents, not being willing to help them (Matt. 15:1-6). 

Yes, these are all extreme cases, but if men can fall into the depths of sin to the degree they are willing to do these things, then certainly there is such a thing as a lack of natural affection, which none can deny.  The lack of natural affection can manifest itself in many ways.  But in whatever way it manifests itself, the sin of the heart remains the same.  The sin of lacking natural affection is simply the sin of not loving.  Perhaps this is the reason some of the modern translations use the word “unloving” in their translations.  

“For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” (1 John 3:11 NKJV)  “He who does not love his brother abides in death.” (1 John 3:14 NKJV)  One would do well to read the book of 1 John where the word love is used 36 times in the New King James Version.

If one lacks natural affection, it is not something we are incapable of doing anything about.  All sin begins in the heart, unless one is talking about sins of ignorance.  If the Bible teaches anything at all, it teaches that men and their hearts can be changed.  Saul had a hand in seeing Christians put to death (Acts 26:10), but God and his word changed him into the apostle Paul.  Paul said there was a reason for that—that he might be an example.

I use the New Living Translation here, not because I think it is the most accurate translation of the passage, but because I think, as a commentary, it has hit the nail on the head of what the verse teaches.  I refer to 1 Tim. 1:16 where Paul says, “But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners.  Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.” (NLT)

It is not a matter of saying I was born without natural affection; what can I do?  We are the way we are because of the attitudes we have developed over time.  Saul was not loving toward those families he tore apart, casting a mother, a dad, a son, or a daughter into prison and possibly seeing them put to death depending on the case.  Even so, he became a changed man.  

The apostle John reached a point where he no longer had any desire to have fire called down from heaven to consume those who rejected them (Luke 9:54), but given a lifetime came to be known to us today as the apostle of love.

Those 3,000 converted on the day of Pentecost who yelled for the Son of God to be put to death had their hearts changed from hatred and murder to love and compassion.  Christ can change us.  It all comes down to a matter of our wills.  Do we want to be known as the man or woman who lacked natural affection or the man or woman who loved his or her family?  It is a matter of personal choice just as much as salvation is.  Natural affection goes with salvation as much as the lack of it goes with condemnation.

Love is a choice.  That cannot be emphasized too much.  Love is a choice, and remember, we are talking about natural affection.  When you begin to love rather than hate, you will find life to be much happier.  Where do you begin?  You begin from within, within your heart.  You begin with your will.  God can change your heart, your life, but you have to want it first.  When you want it, you will begin seeking it, and when you seek, you shall find (Matt. 7:8).

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

Things God Hates From the Psalms and Proverbs

In one sense there is little need to write an article on specific things God hates, for it is evident that God hates all sin. Just list a sin and you know immediately it is a thing God hates and a thing that separates man from God. “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” (Isa. 59:2 NKJV) As much as God loves man, his nature is such that he cannot tolerate sin.

He who knowingly sins shows disrespect for God and a lack of love for him. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” (1 John 5:3 NKJV) “He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me.” (John 14:21 NKJV) “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word.” (John 14:23 NKJV) “He who does not love me does not keep My words.” (John 14:24 NKJV) It is true we all sin through weakness of the flesh, but when we do, we need to face up to the fact of what it tells us about ourselves and then repent.

For a Christian to sin willfully is to trample the Son of God underfoot, count the blood of the covenant a common thing, and insult the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:26-29). Considered this way, one can see that God is entirely just in making the wages of sin death (Rom. 6:23) and especially in light of the fact he sent Jesus into the world to make a sacrifice of himself on the cross to redeem man from sin. God’s great love should not be spurned and will not be by those having a good and honest heart.

While God hates all sin, and we are all well aware of that, it still seems to hit one with more force when the word of God specifically says of a thing that God hates it or if he specifically says of a thing that it is an abomination to him. Here is a list of such things as taken from the Psalms and Proverbs.

(1) “The wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.” (Psalm 11:5 NKJV) How much so? The next verse reads, “Upon the wicked He will rain coals, fire and brimstone and a burning wind; this shall be the portion of their cup.” (Psalm 11:6 NKJV)

Wickedness is determined by God. We can only know wickedness from righteousness by his word. “All your commandments are righteousness.” (Psalm 119:172 NKJV) “Salvation is far from the wicked for they do not seek Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:155 NKJV) To walk without the light of God’s word is to walk as a blind man and to be led into wickedness. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105 NKJV) but that is only true of the one who will follow it.

(2) “These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.” (Prov. 6:16-19 NKJV) In Prov. 16:18 the Bible teaches that “Pride goes before destruction.” (NKJV) “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord.” (Prov. 16:5 NKJV) In Mark 7:22-23 Jesus listed pride as an evil thing that comes from within and defiles a man.

As for liars, the book of Revelation tells us, “All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8 NKJV)

I really do not think it necessary to speak of the other things listed in this Prov. 6 passage, for we all know what the Bible says about murderers (“hands that shed innocent blood”), wickedness, evil, and false witnesses who are liars, but I do think it might be good to take a moment to speak of those who sow discord among brethren. It is a thing God hates, but some people thrive on stirring things up. We might well use the word strife here for the meaning is the same.

Strife can be aroused as the result of hatred (Prov. 10:12), pride (Prov. 13:10, 28:25), anger or wrath (Prov. 15:18, 29:22), and/or pure perversity (Prov. 16:28). Proverbs 16:28 deals with perversity and strife and helps clarify the nature of a perverse man.

“An ungodly man digs up evil, and it is on his lips like a burning fire. A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends.” (Prov. 16:27-28 NKJV)

The note in the NET Bible says of this perverse man, “This refers to someone who destroys lives. The parallelism suggests that he is a ‘slanderer’ or ‘gossip’ — one who whispers and murmurs.” This goes along with Prov. 26:20, “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.” (NKJV) “The perverse person is an abomination to the Lord.” (Prov. 3:32 NKJV)

John Gill, the well-known eighteenth-century Bible commentator, says the perverse person of this passage (Prov. 3:32) “is one that acts contrary to the nature, will, and word of God.” It is a person who “goes astray,” as the NET Bible puts it. Some translations use the word “devious” (HCSB, ESV) rather than perverse, so we get the idea of an ungodly person who does not care about God or keeping his word. The NAS77, the original New American Standard Bible, uses the phrase “the crooked man.” Such a person is an abomination to God. Such a person sows discord. He is devious.

The one who sows discord among brethren not only sins himself but, generally speaking, leads others into sin as they begin to grow angry with one another because of what he has said and done to stir up strife. In turn, they end up saying and doing things they should not and developing hearts that are less than pure.

The church is not to tolerate and celebrate sin in its midst (see 1 Cor. 5, 2 Thess. 3:6). We are to have corrective discipline in the church, and it would be sinful not to; we are to “reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition.” (Titus 3:10 NKJV) This divisive man is likely to find fault, sin, and error everywhere even when it exists mainly in his own mind. He is a sower of discord.

In addition to perversity and its relationship to the sowing of discord, here are some other things that the Bible says in the Proverbs that are an abomination to God. I will try not to repeat things already listed above which are repeated elsewhere in the Psalms and Proverbs.

(3) “Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord.” (Prov. 11:20 NKJV) This differs from the above only in that it goes deeper into the very heart of a man. One might say, as long as a man does not do the deed, he can think as he pleases. Not so according to the Lord.

The Bible has much to say about God reading a man’s heart and knowing it, a topic for another article, but the bottom line is it is the pure in heart that shall see God (Matt. 5:8). This passage from Proverbs clearly teaches the state of a man’s heart toward God, God’s word, and toward his fellow man makes a big, big difference with God. The Psalmist said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Psalm 66:18 NKJV) True it is that the perverse in heart will act out in life, but he is a condemned man because of the state of his heart even before he acts.

Proverbs 15:26 teaches much the same thing but uses the word “wicked” instead of “perverse.” “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord.” (NKJV)

(4) “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord.” (Prov. 11:1 NKJV, see also Prov. 20:10 and 20:23) For the younger generation who might not know, a false balance is a reference to “false scales” and the passage has reference to one who sets out to cheat another, in reality, steal from him, by using a dishonest measure. By implication, it is any attempt to cheat another person out of their goods or short them in a sale. This is abominable to the Lord. It is just and fair for a merchant to make a profit as long as it is an honest profit, not one made by devious means.

(5) “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.” (Prov. 15:8 NKJV, see also Prov. 21:27) One cannot just go through the motions of worship, even if making a sacrifice to do so, and think God is going to be pleased. Cain found this out very early in the history of man. The sacrifice that is pleasing to God is a broken and contrite heart. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17 NKJV) This is the very sacrifice the wicked will not give God. Repentance is far from them.

We also must remember God gets to define wickedness, not you or me. A person may be sincere in heart and not fit into the category of those I just spoke about and yet his worship is unacceptable to God. Why? Because it is authorized by man, not by God. Man, without necessarily having ill intent, may worship God in ways thought up by other men and handed down by tradition and not worship by what God’s word has taught him. The Bible says, Jesus quoting from the book of Isaiah, “In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Mark 7:7 NKJV) Some of these doctrines taught by the commandments of men in our own time deal with how men should worship, but God, not man, gets to define what is acceptable worship.

(6) “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.” (Prov. 17:15 NKJV) Wow! This one can easily arouse a lot of anger and bitterness among men, especially in the realm of politics. How many people are there, when it comes to election season here in America, who  want to justify candidates who hold unscriptural positions? Unfortunately, there are many. The Bible says it is an abomination. Many in high positions of power and influence are today justifying unscriptural marriage, fornication, abortion, homosexuality, and sexual perversions, and yet we advocate for such men and women at election time. They say we must separate politics and religion at the voting box. However, I have never found that passage in my New Testament. I will keep looking.

On the other hand, how many do we have today who will gladly condemn the Christian who holds to Christian teaching from the word of God? The number is growing every day as America becomes more and more secular. They condemn the just because the just will not go along with gay marriage or abortion or the secular agenda, and it is said we are denying civil rights and are engaged in a war against women, we are haters and intolerant, and ignorant (ignorant for believing in God and the word of God). The unjust are now setting the standards by which they expect America to live, but the Bible says, “those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.” (Psalm 34:21 NKJV)

One final thought on this. In the personal realm, we cannot justify or uphold a son or daughter, a mother or dad, a sister or brother, a husband or wife, or any other relative or friend engaged actively in sin. It is an abomination to God. Who says so? God does in Proverbs 17:15.

(7) “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” (Prov. 28:9 NKJV) Sometimes we hear people saying things like the more persons praying for you the better. Well, yes, if they are the right kind of people. However, if people are going to be praying for me, I am more interested in who is doing the praying rather than the number doing it. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.” (Psalm 34:15 NKJV) Not every man’s prayer is going to help.

Those caught up in all kinds of false doctrine, believing it and promoting it, are not going to do me much good according to this verse (Prov. 28:9) and no more so than the man who is totally ungodly. There are religious bodies doing things in the name of Christianity that you cannot find a word of authority for in the New Testament, and yet the Holy Spirit says, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Col. 3:17 NKJV) It is hard to do a thing in the name of the Lord Jesus when the Lord Jesus gave no word for it. To do a thing in the name of the Lord Jesus is to do it by his authority, by his word. Where there is no word, there is no authority. To act without the word is to turn away from hearing the law and do as you please.

This completes a listing of things God says he hates or that are an abomination to him from the book of Psalms and the book of Proverbs, but I think it would be good to go outside these two books and list three other things God finds abominable or hates because of their application to modern-day life here in the United States.

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” (Lev. 18:22 NKJV) I list this because it is a sin listed in the New Testament—see 1 Cor. 6:9 in the English Standard Version—and there is a big push in the U.S. to legalize this sin and make it a civil right (gay marriage). If they succeed will it be any less an abomination to God?

“One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife.” (Ezek. 22:11 NKJV) This is listed because adultery is as much a sin under the New Testament as it was under the Law of Moses and God declares it an abomination. Literally millions of Americans have and/or are presently engaged in this sin not just by having illicit affairs alone but by living in adulterous marriages. The word neighbor in this passage should not be limited to the woman next door. It was never meant to be defined that narrowly.

And finally, God has made it clear that he hates divorce. “For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce.” (Mal. 2:16 NKJV) I also wanted to include this passage for it is such a common sin in America today. Do not misunderstand. Just because you are divorced, it does not mean that you were/are the guilty party, but in every divorce at least one party has sinned, and as is sometimes the case both parties have. God hates it. Just about every time you find a divorce (there are exceptions, of course) you will find another woman or man involved and thus you have not only divorce but adultery also.

This concludes this piece, but I would have the reader remember what was said in the first paragraph of this article. God hates all sin and its wages are death (Rom. 6:23). We all need forgiveness and have the need to put away sin from our lives once and for all.

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