Indifference – The Great Destroyer

Indifference refers to an attitude held by a person indicating a lack of zeal, commitment, and concern regarding whatever that individual is indifferent toward. 

I do not know of anything a person can succeed at long term with indifference dominating him or her.  Natural talent will only take a person so far.  There comes a time when to succeed you have to buckle down, get serious, and do the work.  This is true of the great athletes of the world, the great musicians, of people who are highly successful in their fields, and even the Einsteins of the world, and so how much more so of you and me? 

Of course, we are talking here about the significant things in life, things that matter and make a difference.  If you want to get a degree or degrees, a good education, if you want to have a successful marriage, if you want to succeed in your job or vocation, and if you want to go to heaven.  Yes, and if you want to go to heaven.

We are living in a time of a great falling away from spiritual matters, from Christianity.   The percentage of what are called the “Nones” continues to grow.  “Nones” are those who have abandoned faith in any kind of religion.  More and more people are coming to the decision that they do not need God in their life and they are not searching for him. 

From an article on the religionnews.com website published Aug. 5, 2019, I quote the title of an article found there, “‘Nones’ now as big as evangelicals, Catholics in the US.”  The article itself was dated March 21, 2019, but put online August 5^th.  It may or may not be online by the time you read this and the numbers will no doubt change with time becoming more or less but that has been and remains the trend over the past several years.  

Most churches I know about living as I do in the rural Midwest have declined drastically in membership over the last 50 years, some having closed their doors and others are on the verge of doing so.  People have lost interest in Christianity which is another way of saying they have become indifferent.  They are not seeking and thus they shall not find.  “Seek, and you will find.” (Matt. 7:7 NKJV)

If God and his word are matters of no serious concern to me, if God is only going to make my top 100 list of the most important things to me in my life, if he gets that high, then realistically what kind of hope do I have of salvation, of going to heaven?  To be indifferent is to not care.  If you do not care about God, about his will, about going to heaven, if you are disinterested in living a Christian life what joy do you bring to God?  You bring grief and sorrow like Israel and Judah in the Old Testament before they went into exile but joy, no.      

But, there is a lot of indifference abounding in many who proclaim Christianity.  It is not just the “Nones.”  A lot has been made of the fact that salvation from sin is a free gift from God.  This while true is seldom understood properly because seldom taught properly.  People have gotten it into their heads that their soul's salvation is solely dependent on God.  This lends itself to indifference.  There is nothing for me to do if God is going to do it all.  No need to seek God, from their point of few, despite the fact he says in his word, "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him." (Heb. 11:6 NKJV)

The idea people seem to have is there is no need to study the Bible; God is love; God is grace; God is going to save everyone no matter what he or she believes or practices just as long as the person believes that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world and that belief can be held in the most abstract sort of way divorced from all action and commitment.  Put another way you can be indifferent and go to heaven. 

Attend services wherever you so desire, no matter what they teach or practice, or don't even attend anywhere if you don't want to.  It will make no difference just as long as you believe in Jesus.  That is generally the Christian (?) world we live in here in America today.  False teaching along this line has led to a lot of the indifference we see.

Indifference is one natural byproduct of denominationalism.  If it really does not matter what you believe or practice just so you believe in Jesus then certainly one can be indifferent about both doctrine and practice.  What difference does it make about either if we are all going to be saved anyway?  I thus see people who think they are going to be saved who never worship.  If they have a Bible they would have to hunt it before they could read it and then dust it off for it has sat that long unread and unused.  They never read it.

The scariest thing for me when it comes to one's loved ones having indifference towards God and salvation, toward spiritual matters, is that indifference is one of those types of sins that is nearly impossible to get people to see and thus to own up to and repent of.  They do not see themselves as being indifferent but are satisfied they are doing all that is necessary for salvation, even though it is nothing, and will be saved as they are.  Nothing is necessary for salvation for God will take care of it all is the thought.  This is a perversion of Eph. 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (NKJV) 

The modern-day exegesis of this passage is that man has absolutely no obligations in any way toward God.  There is no need to read his word, there is no need to worship, there is no need to obey any of the commandments.  Just show up at Judgment Day and all will be fine.  Heb. 5:9 thus becomes meaningless, “And having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:9 NKJV)

Indifference is accompanied by satisfaction.  The satisfied do not repent.  The satisfied does not seek, knock, or search in any way for anything other than what satisfied already has for satisfied is satisfied.  It becomes, as a result of that, nearly impossible to get people who fit into that state of mind to a mindset of repentance.  They are not interested in studying or searching the scriptures for they are indifferent and content. 

What does the Bible say or teach about indifference? 

One of the first passages that comes to mind is Rev. 3:15-16 where Jesus is directing a message to the members of the church at Laodicea and 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." (Rev. 3:15-16 NKJV)

Jesus is talking to Christians here.  Does it sound like they are in a saved state?  If you will read one verse further (verse 17) Jesus goes on explaining, "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.'" (Rev. 3:17 NKJV)  They were perfectly satisfied.  Please note carefully the words from this passage, "have need of nothing" expressing their satisfaction.   They were indifferent toward doing anything other than what they were doing.

"If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 NKJV)  Can one go to heaven who does not love God?  “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.” (1 Cor. 16:22 NKJV)  How do you keep the commandments if you are indifferent?  Is love indifferent?  Is love uncommitted? 

In another statement, Jesus said, "Whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:27 NKJV)  What kind of cross does the indifferent person bear for Christ?  Can such a person be a disciple of Jesus?  What does the text say? 

In the Old Testament God said with respect to the people of Israel through the prophet Hosea, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6 NKJV)  If it happened to them could it not happen to people today?  The indifferent cannot gain knowledge of God for the attitude of indifference creates no desire to seek and learn.  Mr. Indifference is also Mr. Satisfied with the way things are and with what little knowledge he already has.

Jesus said, "Seek, and you will find," (Matt. 7:7 NKJV) but one's indifference keeps him from seeking and thus from finding.  We are to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matt. 6:33 NKJV) but the indifferent have no will to seek let alone seek first.

The Bible teaches the love of God, or love for God, is keeping his commandments.  "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." (1 John 5:3 NKJV)  Jesus said, "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)

The indifferent cannot do that.  Why?  Because he/she is too indifferent to read, study, and learn the word that Jesus would have them keep.  They are satisfied with what they have.  They will never wear a Bible out from use.  They do not know the truth from study of the truth.  What they know is only what they have heard which may or may not be the truth and what they believe is that which has satisfied them whether it be truth or error (they know not the difference).

Many are going to die eternally simply because they did not care enough to be saved.  Jesus taught a great deal about the idea of being ready, of making preparation, for his return and the Day of Judgment.  The parable of the ten virgins comes immediately to mind.  Another passage that comes to mind is found in Matt. 22:11, the account of the man who came into the wedding unprepared and as a result was cast out. 

The indifferent, due to that indifference, are negligent and do not prepare and consequently, unless they can be brought to a change of heart cannot be saved.  They live in a continual state of unpreparedness.

Indifference is a symptom of a spiritually diseased heart.  The heart is not where it ought to be as it is concentrated on the self and this world.  It is full of pride; I'm okay; I don't need any more religion than I have.  It is presumptuous and assumes God will save me as I am.  It is rebellious against God (we will do it my way).

The question becomes, for those of us who care about people we fear may be in this state, is what can we do about it?  Here I must stop.  I cannot write any more for how does one answer this question?  If a person is indifferent, satisfied, does not care, then how do you get them to care?  This is why this is one of the most fearful sins a person will ever run up against.  How do you get a person to care that does not care?  How do you move a satisfied person into a state of dissatisfaction where he can repent?

If a person has committed a sexually immoral sin or sins of many other kinds, sinful acts versus sinful attitudes, he/she probably knows what they did was wrong and feels some pang of guilt.  There is hope there.  You can get a person like that to repent but how do you get the indifferent, those who do not care, to repent?  It is your turn now to write the next article and tell me the answer.   

(Originally written July 11, 2011)

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Circumcision and Baptism

Many believers in Christ teach that baptism is just a sign of salvation that has already been received and thus whether or not one is baptized is of no great consequence as pertains to the soul’s salvation.  Many see baptism in the same light they see circumcision in the Old Testament, as just a sign.  Is baptism just a sign of salvation by faith that is already in one’s possession? 

In the Old Testament long before the Law of Moses it was said of Abraham, “He believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen. 15:6 NKJV)  Certainly, no Bible believer would doubt Abraham’s salvation at that point in time.

Many years later the Lord appeared to Abraham and commanded him and all the males in his household to be circumcised (Gen. 17:10-14).  The Lord declared it to be “a sign of the covenant between me and you.” (Gen. 17:11 NKJV)

Even though circumcision was just a sign it was not unimportant.  The male child that was not circumcised “shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (Gen. 17:14 NKJV)  How seriously did Abraham take this command that was but a sign?  Abraham obeyed it immediately, “that very same day.” (Gen. 17:23-27, see Gen. 17:23 specifically)

In Romans 4 Paul talks about this event and again reiterates that circumcision was a sign (Rom. 4:11) and makes the declaration that Abraham was saved, prior to circumcision, by his faith (Rom. 4:3-12, specifically v. 9-10, NKJV).

In thinking about this specific command of God to Abraham, his household, and his descendants one must keep in mind the relationship of faith to obedience.  Without faith, believing God, Abraham would never have obeyed.  Faith had already obtained a righteous standing before God but it was a living active faith that willingly obeyed God that kept Abraham’s standing firm before God.  No one ever seems to ask the question, “what if Abraham had not obeyed?”

Faith is primary in the lives of God’s people whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament.  Faith always has primacy for without it nothing else follows.  Men do not obey nor follow after one, unless coerced to do so, without belief in the one they follow.  Atheists do not seek to follow God and looking at it from their point of view we readily understand why.  Why would they?  Abraham obeyed because Abraham believed.

Well, how about baptism?  Is baptism just the New Testament’s version of circumcision?  There is no doubt about there being some similarities but just because two things are similar does not mean they are equivalent serving the same purpose.  Horses and mules share similarities but it is error to not distinguish between them for there are some real differences.  Mules do not race at Churchill Downs for a reason.

Circumcision and baptism share the necessity of faith for either act to have spiritual meaning.  Circumcision itself had no spiritual significance for man until God gave the command at which time man (Abraham) had the option to either trust and obey or disobey.  Would Abraham honor God by obedience or would he rebel?   In that sense, baptism shares a similarity with circumcision.  As a man of faith Abraham obeyed.  Because of faith, his descendants had their sons circumcised on the eighth day after birth. 

One Hollywood actor can baptize another on film but it amounts to nothing before God.  One can be baptized to please mom or dad, husband or wife, or even the church community but it amounts to nothing other than getting wet until such a time as the person does the act out of faith in God in obedience to God’s command.

Those who talk about people believing in water salvation are generally in error in doing so.  I never knew a person who believed just going down into the water and coming up out of it saved the person who lacked faith in the command giver, faith in the God who commanded it.  Without faith nothing can save a man.  “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6 NKJV)

Faith leads to things that accompanying faith make faith alive and active versus the dead faith that James says cannot save (James 2:14, 17, 20, 26).  Faith leads to repentance and where is the man who would deny that repentance is required for salvation?  There is no motive for repentance toward God outside of faith.  “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness…” (Acts 17:30-31 NKJV).  “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3, 5 NKJV)  

Peter, in the first gospel sermon ever preached, in Acts 2 tied repentance with baptism, “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38 NKJV)  He repeated himself years later in regards to baptism when he wrote 1 Peter saying, “There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:21 NKJV) 

Peter certainly did not mean to say water will save you without faith and repentance, water salvation, but was merely making the point he desired to make regarding baptism.  Baptism is a part of God’s plan for mankind in the age of Christianity as much as circumcision was a part of God’s plan for his people in Old Testament days.   The failure to be circumcised in Abraham’s day and afterwards would cut a man off from God’s covenant.  In the Christian era baptism is the initiatory rite by which man comes into covenant relationship with Christ for man is “baptized into Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 6:3 NKJV, see also Gal. 3:27, 1 Cor. 12:13)  

While the Bible speaks of circumcision as a sign it nowhere speaks of baptism as being a sign.  I searched the concordances for the word sign in seven major Bible translations in a context where baptism was also mentioned.  Not one translation yielded a result.  Man may call baptism a sign but that is man, the Bible does not do so.  

The one passage in the New Testament that relates circumcision to baptism is found in Col. 2:11-13:  “In him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, in which you also were raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.  And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” (NKJV) 

Paul wrote this Colossian passage and provides the best commentary on it in something else he wrote back in Rom. 6:2-4:  “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (NKJV) 

Paul makes it clear that there is a “circumcision made without hands.”  It is Christ’s circumcision.  This is a circumcision that is performed on a person spiritually dead in sins, one whose sins have not yet been forgiven.  That spiritually dead person is buried in baptism into death to sin but arises from his burial with Christ a new creation (Gal. 3:27, 2 Cor. 5:17), “raised with Him through faith” (Col. 2:12) to “walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4)  The circumcision of Christ is the cutting off of the person’s sins which is done in baptism when preceded by faith and repentance.  Only Christ (God) can forgive sins thus it is the circumcision of Christ. 

Peter says in the passage quoted earlier, the passage talking about baptism, that he now has, “the answer of a good conscience toward God.” (1 Peter 3:21 NKJV)  He is a new creation, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17 NKJV)  He was “baptized into Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 6:3 NKJV) 

It is only through faith that one arises from baptism with an answer of a good conscience.  Only through faith can such a person believe that old things have passed away and all is new in his life.  Only through faith can he believe he has been forgiven of all trespasses. 

When a person submits through faith to be baptized into Christ he is submitting himself to accept in that act of faith Christ’s circumcision.  It is not a sign; it is the reality itself. 

As a final note one should not confuse the “circumcision…of the heart” in Rom. 2:28-29 with the “circumcision of Christ” in Col. 2:11-13.  In Romans, Paul is making the point that physical circumcision alone without obedient faith accompanying it was of no avail to the Jew.  God cares about a man’s heart toward God.  “He is a Jew who is one inwardly.” (Rom. 2:29 NKJV)  In Romans it is man who circumcises his own heart, it is man’s circumcision, that which he is responsible for.  In Colossians it is Christ’s circumcision, what Christ does for man when man complies with God’s will by faith.  Man can circumcise his heart as he possesses free will; man cannot forgive his sins.  That is God’s dominion, Christ’s circumcision.

This is a teaching that was found in scripture long before Paul’s time or writings.  Moses spoke of the need for the Jews to circumcise their hearts in Deut. 10:16 and the Lord spoke of the same need in Jer. 4:4.  This did not mean physical circumcision was unnecessary but that more was needed than just the physical act.

There is much more that could be said on this subject and perhaps I will tackle that at a later date. 

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Pregnancy, Prayer, and Abortion

I recently learned I am to be a grandfather for the first time.  I have started praying for the baby God's blessing.  Not long after starting to do that the thought came to my mind that that is one thing those who contemplate having an abortion and those who believe in abortion cannot do.  I had never thought about that.

How does one pray for a baby they plan to abort or kill?  How do those who believe in abortion pray for what they consider to be just a mass of blood and biological tissue, non-human?  One might pray for his/her heart if they had health problems with the physical heart but that would be because one wanted life and health.  In the case of those desiring abortion, they want death.  Does one pray “kill this thing?”

If those who believe in abortion respond by saying we can pray for a pregnancy where no abortion is planned then I say how is there any consistency in that?  Is that which is within the womb human if we plan on keeping it but just tissue and blood, non-human, if we desire to rid ourselves of it? 

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is his reward." (Psalms 127:3 NKJV)  Obviously, not everyone is willing to accept that.

What if the child is born out of wedlock?  What if it is?  Jephthah, the son of a prostitute (Judges 11:1), is listed in what we often call God's hall of fame of the faithful in Hebrews 11:32.  Based on the way his half-brothers cast him out it seems very likely his father was never married to the prostitute mother.  Lange's Commentary reads as follows:

"If he had been the son of one who was properly a wife, his brothers would doubtless have been obliged to admit him to a share in the inheritance … But they maintained that his mother had not been a wife of their father at all, not even one of secondary rank,—that she was nothing but a harlot."

No matter how a child is conceived God is responsible for giving the life.  In the womb, God is in the process of making us.  "Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one fashion us in the womb?" (Job 31:15 NKJV)  Jeremiah says the word of the Lord came to him saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." (Jer. 1:5 NKJV)  Would it have been okay to abort Jeremiah while he was still in the womb?  How about the apostle Paul?  How about Jesus himself?

One never knows how a child will turn out but we must remember the child is God's creation, not our own.  Man should not interfere with God's work.  God opens and closes wombs (Gen. 29:31, 30:22, 1 Sam. 1:5-6) and it is he who fashions us in the womb.

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Love Versus Love

In 1 Cor. 13 Paul talks about and defines love.  If we believe he was an inspired apostle of God then his words were the words of God.  He claims as much when he said earlier in the book, "These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Cor. 2:13 NKJV)

All of us seem to have our own dictionary when it comes to defining terms.  We want words defined the way we desire they be defined even if it means we write our own dictionary.   Even the word "is," as small as it is, came into question as to its meaning if you remember the days of Bill Clinton.  The word "love" is a word we all seem to want defined the way we want it defined.

American society today has defined the word love in a way that is contrary to the way the Bible defines it.  Love for the adulterer, for the one engaged in fornication, for the active homosexual in America today means you tacitly embrace them in the very acts which the Bible calls sin.  And, we are afraid not to do it as the ones involved are often family members or friends whose love we do not want to risk by upsetting them.  The end result is we never rebuke the sinner and he or she goes on their merry way as if all is well with their spiritual being.

They are not to be rebuked for sin, in today’s society, but are to be treated as if they were righteous.  You seemingly are to rejoice that they have been made free to sin without stigma.  If a couple has a child outside of marriage you are to think how wonderful it is that they have a child.  This reaction to sin is now called "love."

Of course, that means our society would have condemned John the Baptist who refused to hold his tongue with Herod and Herodias but rather told Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have her." (Matt. 14:4 NKJV)  Today we want to do what Herod did and persecute the one who speaks out against sin.  We would say John the Baptist was a hater and intolerant, the only true sinner among the three, and that beheading was too good for him.

But how does God define love?  In 1 Cor. 13:6 Paul says of love, "It does not rejoice at wrongdoing." (ESV)  The Bible has declared adultery, fornication, and homosexuality to be sin or wrongdoing (1 Cor. 6:9-10) yet how many Americans rejoiced with the coming of no-fault divorce freeing up the adulterer from blame?  How many rejoiced with the most recent Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage?  That was seen as being merciful, tolerant, and a loving act, and it was about time they received equal rights and ceased to be discriminated against.  There was no point in discussing it with God for if he was to disagree he would be wrong and besides we define love nowadays, not God.  Yes, we have love versus love and the only question is whose definition will prove to hold up in the end.  Most of the world seems to be staking their claim on man, not God.

Our society has had a desire to redefine sin for we as a people have been unhappy with some of God's declarations on it.  Sin is no longer sin because of anything God has said in the Bible but sin is now what man declares it to be.  It is no longer what the Bible declares but what man declares.  It is what seems wrong in man's eyes, not in the eyes of the God of the Bible.   

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isa. 5:20 NKJV)

Woe, woe, woe to man.

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Did God Know Adam and Eve Would Sin

The answer is yes but it is a hard answer to accept for some for they cannot understand how man, make that Adam and Eve, could keep from sinning if God foreknew they would sin.  Did they have free will is the question being asked.  If God knew we were all going to need Jesus and his blood for salvation even before our birth what choice did any of us have but sin?

That question does not bother me.  Why not?  Because God by definition is supernatural.  His understanding is infinite.  What seems impossible with man is possible with God (creating the universe, the virgin birth, raising the dead to life again, walking on water, walking through closed doors, knowing man’s thoughts without being told, disappearing into thin air, etc.).  “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14 NKJV)  “Is there anything too hard for me?” (Jer. 32:27)  “His understanding no one can fathom.” (Isa. 40:28 NIV)  Because a matter is too deep for my own understanding does not mean it is too deep for God. 

Now for the scriptural truth that God did indeed know Adam and Eve would sin I will just quote the appropriate scriptures and leave it with you.

In 2 Tim. 1:9 the scripture says God has "saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began." (NKJV)  You did catch that did you not—"before time began."  John refers to Jesus as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Rev. 13:8 NKJV)

In Eph. 1:4 Paul says we Christians were chosen "in him before the foundation of the world." (NKJV)  The prior verse (verse 3) makes it clear Paul is speaking of "in Christ."  In the same book, we read of “the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Eph. 3:11 NKJV)  If it was eternal it was before the earth was created.

The kingdom was prepared for us “from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 25:34 NKJV)  Paul speaks of “the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.” (1 Cor. 2:7 NKJV)  Did this wisdom have anything to do with Jesus and salvation from sin?  Paul says, “Had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Cor. 2:8)  So, yes, this wisdom that was ordained before the ages dealt with the salvation of man.

We read in Titus 1:2 of the “hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” (NKJV) but, of course, eternal life depends on Jesus and his sacrifice for man so again the answer is yes, God did indeed know man would sin before creating man.

Finally, we close with Peter who says Christ was "foreordained before the foundation of the world." (1 Peter 1:20 NKJV)

Our duty before God as believers is to believe and not fret about how God can do things that seem impossible to us.  God knew we would sin before we were created.

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The Failure of Faith—Lessons Learned from Solomon—Part II

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.  Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?" (Neh. 13:26-27 NKJV)

I would like to list here some things we can learn from Solomon about how to maintain our own faith and guard against losing that faith.

(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 reject God's word.   

These are the kinds of people that destroy, even if unknowingly, those who could otherwise have been saved had they not fallen under their influence.  These 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.  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.  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 has 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 it has its appeal to the fleshly man, not the spiritual man, and is 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.  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 outings, etc. 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, and 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 worshipped 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.  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.

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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 leads 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 ought 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 well 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 necessarily implied that any attempt to cheat another person out of their goods or short them in a sale, in a dishonest fashion of any kind or means 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 in fact 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 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 that are 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. 29:9) 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 your 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 on 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. 18:222 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 in view of the fact he has condemned it in the New Testament as well as the Old?

"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 as far as is humanly possible. 

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Seeking Repentance

Awhile back I received a response (a comment) on an article I had posted online entitled "The Hardening of the Human Heart" from an individual who seemed to be truly troubled after reading the article.  I quote the comment I received in its entirety below.

"The sermon i heard was true hard and direct from god i long disobeyed now its too late there is no way to easily deal with this how do i how can i simply ignore what i was told knowing what i choose to do without the power of repentence you can't simply repent i don't want to accept its too late for me to be saved i feel fear and terror knowing its too late for me knowing there is nothing in heaven i can do or anyone can do to help me i am trying to grasp it but its hard for me to understand even i honestly i don't have any words but the pain i am left with . what do i say god remember me"

The above paragraph is a direct quote but it will be easier to understand if you put in the proper punctuation as I take it that English is a second language for the commentator.  First of all, I want to say that while I always try and write the truth from God's word, or about God's word, nothing I write is "direct from God" as per the commentator's words.  I hope I write the truth and try my best but in the end, only the Bible can be relied upon.

With that out of the way, it is obvious the writer is in turmoil and needs help.  Since the writer publicly used his/her name in commenting on my article I will use it here as well since it is easier than referring to him or her, he or she.  The name was Jamie.  Is Jamie's case hopeless?  Jamie seems to feel as though it is.  I do not. 

A case is hopeless when one has totally rejected Christ, is no longer a believer and is not the least bit concerned or worried about sin or his ultimate destiny.  Even then some tragic event or experience in life may turn him or her back to Christ and the gospel.  The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) gives us some insight into how such a thing can happen.  I think we all know that the father in the parable represents God and the younger son who goes off into prodigal living represents a sinful man who, at least for a time, rejects God.

Jesus in giving the parable says in verse 13 of the prodigal that he "wasted his possessions with prodigal living." (Luke 15:13 NKJV)  The word "prodigal" (Luke 15:13) is used to describe his manner of life in the New King James Version but other translations use words like "riotous living" (ASV, KJV), "wild living" (NIV, NLT, CEV, ISV), "reckless living" (ESV), "loose living" (NASB), "dissolute living" (NRSV), and the NET Bible says "wild lifestyle."  His older brother says he had devoured the father's money with harlots (Luke 15:30 NKJV).  This gives us a pretty good idea of the kind of life he had chosen to lead.

We all know the story if we are familiar with the Bible.  The son becomes destitute to the point of hunger (Luke 15:16) but the Bible says "when he came to himself" (Luke 15:17 NKJV) and began to reason he determined to return to his father and confess his sins with the implication being he had repented.  This took a great deal of humility and involved shame for the failure his life had become.  All pride was destroyed and gone from his life.  He had nothing to be proud of and he knew it.  He had played the role of the fool and had made a complete failure of things but in doing so it brought him to his senses—"he came to himself." (Luke 15:17 NKJV)  He went back to where he belonged—to his home with his father.

We thus have a parable that shows people like Jamie that there is hope of going back to God from a sinful lifestyle.  In fact, Jesus says, "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:7 NKJV)  He again says, "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10 NKJV)  Man has it in his power to bring joy to heaven.  Jamie has power to bring joy to heaven.  Heaven cares about us.  Just thinking about that is powerful, someone cares.  That is powerful for sometimes we all are inclined to get to thinking “who cares.”  Well, heaven cares.  God the Father, Christ the Son, the Holy Spirit, the angels, all of heaven cares.  The creator cares.

Hear the Holy Spirit as he spoke in the Psalms:

"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)  From the tone of Jamie's comments, I think he/she has just such a heart, one God will not despise.

"The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit." (Psalm 34:18 NKJV)

I would say to Jamie it is not too late.  God cares about you and you care or else why are you reading religious articles?  You even say, "i don't want to accept its too late for me to be saved."  You care and for anyone who still cares it is not too late.  The person who is lost because of a hardened heart does not care.  You are not in that category.

Jamie seems to think he or she, as the case may be, cannot repent.  Anyone can repent who wills to do so badly enough.  If we are honest we all know sin can be addictive and pleasurable, at least for a season (Heb. 11:25), and very hard to quit.  Add to that the circumstances in which we can at times find ourselves can make it additionally hard to repent.  Let me give some examples.

Drunkenness is a sin but it is also an addiction for some, a physical addiction and quite possibly a psychological one as well although I am not a psychologist.  Gossip, a sin, can be addictive.  What would life be for some without being able to gossip?  Some are addicted to adultery (they are in an adulterous marriage they refuse to repent of and leave and admittedly it would not be easy to do); some have their own personal idols they are addicted to whether it be money, pleasure, or whatever; some are addicted to "selfish ambitions" (see Gal. 5:20 NKJV); some seem to be addicted to judging others and the list could go on and on. 

I think most of us have a sin or set of sins that tempt us greatly, our own particular weaknesses, that are a real battle to deal with.  They are sins we are drawn to.  I think the Hebrew writer may be talking about this when he says, "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." (Heb. 12:1 NKJV)  Note the writer says of this sin or sins that it "easily ensnares us."  The CEV translation says, "So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go." (Heb. 12:1 CEV)  The Bible commentator Albert Barnes says in reference to this verse, "Every man has one or more weak points in his character; and it is there that he is particularly exposed."  I believe Barnes is right.  The sin that just won't let go, as per the CEV translation, is the sin we are drawn to that tempts us continually and which because of that we have to battle against day in and day out.

It is not at all easy to resist the temptation directed toward our weakness but we can gain victory over temptation and sin through faith in Christ and his strength.  While it is very hard we all know that there have been many who were drunkards, addicted to alcohol, who have successfully been rehabilitated but they fight the battle continually against the urge to drink.

I personally know of a Christian couple who ended their adulterous marriage because of their dedication to Christ and doing what is right.  I think they were married before becoming Christians and one or the other of them did not have a scriptural divorce thus when they married they entered into a state of adultery.  Upon learning the truth about marriage and what constitutes adultery they saw what they must do and did the right thing, unlike Herod and Herodias.  They remain friends and are members of the same congregation.  They no longer are married nor do they live together.

Repentance can certainly be very hard.  It had to be terribly hard for the two Christians I just mentioned but here is another example, a Bible example, showing how difficult repentance can be.  Remember the rich young ruler of Mark 10:17-22 (see also Matt. 19:16-22 and Luke 18:18-23)?  He truly wanted to inherit eternal life.  The Bible also says Jesus loved him (Mark 10:21).  Even so, when Jesus told the young ruler he lacked one thing (knowing the young man loved his wealth) and told him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and then come follow him the Bible says this made the rich young ruler sad and he went away grieved.  It is or can be very hard to make God number one in our life.  Money had become an idol for this young man and in the end he loved it more than Christ, even more than acquiring eternal life. 

We do people a disfavor when we say or imply that repentance is easy and that it is easy to resist temptation and sin.  If it was easy to resist temptation and sin we could live sinless lives once we acquired the proper knowledge and yet we all do things on occasion that trouble us for we know we were in the wrong and did that which was not right in God's eyes.  Neither Jamie nor anyone else is ever going to live sinlessly no matter how dedicated they may be to living a holy and godly life.  We all sin (1 John 1:8) and chances are when we do most of the time it will be in the realm where we are weakest and most prone to sin.  Those sins that don't ever tempt us, say murder, for example, are not the kind of sins we are going to commit.

Jamie says "without the power of repentence you can't simply repent."  I am not sure what is meant by the power of repentance but suspect what is meant is the will to repent.  There is no magical power of repentance given to anyone by God.  He gives motives for repentance, encouragement for repentance, and blessings for repentance, but does not give one person the power to repent that is not available to all persons.

 The power of repentance lies in the will of man.  Repentance is a personal choice; it is an individual decision.  As I have already said it can be a real battle to repent but it is not impossible for any of us.  It is a choice.  And it is God’s will for Jamie and for all for God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  If you are a part of the “any” of this verse God wants you.

We must all forget our past.  It doesn't matter what a no-account you may have been.  It doesn't matter how sinful your life has been.  It doesn't matter what the world may think of you.  None of that matters.  God made each of us in his own image and wants us all to be saved (see 2 Peter 3:9).  He wants us all to come to repentance.  He "desires all men to be saved." (1 Tim. 2:4 NKJV) 

Even Christians must continually be repenting of sin.  David Lipscomb once said he doubted that any man ever lived a single day without sin.  Without trying to make myself a judge of men I suspect he came very close to the truth in that statement.  In fact, the better Bible student you are, the more knowledge you have, the more you realize how short you come in being what God wants you to be, and the easier it is to see the sin you do have and must overcome.

I also want to rid Jamie of any idea that if you truly repented of a sin that once you did so you would never ever again commit that same sin.  It doesn't work that way even though that is the ideal.  The difference between the person who has repented and the one who has not is that the one who has repented fights the temptation and resists committing the sin.  He or she is not always successful in doing so but they fight the fight.  The one who has not repented does not battle temptation at all but readily gives in and engages in the sin.

God does give the Christian help.  "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."  (1 Cor. 10:13 NKJV)  Most translations use the term "endure it" rather than "bear it" at the end of the verse.  I like that better for not only is it true to the Greek (both terms are) but it also tells it like we experience it.  Temptation to sin is something we endure, not something we like or enjoy, for we know when we are tempted it is no fun.  Our spirit is telling us to resist while our flesh is telling us to go ahead and do the sin.  However, the main point of the verse is that there is a way of escape, of getting away if we will take it, so it becomes a matter of our own will.  We can escape if we are willing.  We can win the battle of temptation.

Finally, what does one do if he fails and gives into temptation?  He gets up, dusts himself off so to speak, and says I will not give up but try again to live faithfully.  Of course, he must seek God's forgiveness for the sin he has committed by true repentance and complying with God's other demands for forgiveness which varies for the Christian versus one who needs to obey the gospel.  The Christian repents, confesses his/her sin to God, and prays to God to forgive.  If the sin was against a person then one seeks their forgiveness also and makes whatever amends that can possibly be made. 

Well, what if after doing that he/she commits the same sin again?  The answer is he does the same thing again as he did the first time in seeking forgiveness.  One only obeys the gospel once but one seeks through repentance and confession of sin God's forgiveness many times throughout one's life.  The one thing you never do is give up.  Never ever give up.  Once you give up you are done and lost.

In closing I would say to Jamie and all who may feel like he or she does that God is saying to him/her what he says to all:

"For He says:  'In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.'  Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Cor. 6:2 NKJV)

Jamie, now is the day of salvation for you, now while you have life and breath.

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