The Hem of His Garment

A lot of times we read accounts of events that happened in scripture accounting them to be but a historical record and of no special importance to us today.  The account of the woman healed from her flow of blood is one such event that can easily be overlooked as having no importance for you and me today--that is until we look closer at it.  The account of this healing can be found in Matt. 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, and Luke 8:43-48.  Because Matthew's account is so short I will quote it here.

"And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment; for she said to herself, 'If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.'  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, 'Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.'  And the woman was made well from that hour."  (Matt. 9:20-22 NKJV)

At the time this event occurred Jesus was on his way to raise from the dead Jairus' daughter.  Jesus and the disciples were accompanied by a great multitude on their journey to the home of Jairus and in that crowd was the woman who is the subject of our study.

We live in a day and age where the idea that seems to prevail is that faith alone saves.  The idea is that no effort on our part is required for that would be, we are told, salvation by works.  Jesus said this woman was healed by her faith but according to today's thinking why did she have to leave home to be healed?  She believed in Jesus and his powers before ever making the journey to meet him else why leave home to go?  Why did she if faith alone is sufficient?  Why would her faith not heal her at home? 

The answer is really quite simple and is written all through the Bible and taught time and time again.  Faith must act if it is to be of any value.  This unnamed woman had undoubtedly heard from others that those who touched Jesus were often healed of whatever disease they had.  Luke's account of the story is found in chapter 8 but in chapter 6 earlier in time we read that, "the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all." (Luke 6:19 NKJV) 

Mark's account of the event of the woman's healing is found in chapter 5 but in the next chapter, a little later in time, we are told, "Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well." (Mark 6:56 NKJV)  It must have been well-publicized throughout the country that by touching Jesus one could be healed.  The woman left home based on some things she had heard and believed.  That much is obvious.  The test of her faith was whether or not she would leave home to go to Jesus.  Was her faith strong enough to get her to act?  It was a test of her faith.

Many people today do not believe faith is tested.  God, however, has always tested faith.  Adam and Eve had a test before them of their faith in God while in the garden.  Would they believe God or the serpent?  Would Noah believe God concerning a flood to come and build the ark or would he not believe and thus not build it?  Would Abraham offer up Isaac or would he not do it?  The Bible specifically calls this a test for it says, "God tested Abraham." (Gen. 22:1, Heb. 11:17 NKJV)  We can call these events and many others like them tests of obedience if we want to for they are that but if we stop there we have stopped short and failed to see the big picture.  Why does one obey in the first place?  There is only one reason—one obeys because one believes.  He believes the word of God and believes it is essential to obey it to achieve the end he desires.

The Hebrew writer reminds us of the reason the children of Israel failed to enter the Promised Land when he says in Heb. 3:18-19, "And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." (NKJV)  They did not obey God for they did not believe God.  Moses reminds the children of Israel of what happened when he says, "And I said to you, … Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers, has spoken to you … Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD you God." (Deut. 1:20, 21, and 26 NKJV)  God had given them the promise of victory over the inhabitants of the land but they did not believe God and thus feared and failed to act.  Moses says plainly, "You did not believe the LORD your God." (Deut. 1:32 NKJV)

A man acts when a man believes.  We strictly obey the speeding law when we see a state trooper parked along the side of the road because we believe he will indeed come after us if we violate the law.  The first thing we do when we see an officer is look at our speedometer and if it shows us over the speed limit even a tiny bit we will do whatever is necessary to get ourselves slowed down.  We act because we believe.  Genuine belief leads to action.  So it is also in religion.  This is why only a deeply committed faith can save because it is the only kind of faith that is strong enough to act, to obey God.      

Our lady with the issue of blood acted on her faith.  Today one often hears that baptism, clearly a command of God (I have never heard anyone disagree with that), just does not matter.  Many seem to believe you can disobey God and not be baptized and you can and will still be saved.  Have you ever given thought to the idea that baptism might well be a test of your faith? 

When we say this command matters and I will obey it on the one hand but then, on the other hand, say that this other command does not make that much difference so I will be negligent in my obedience to it then we have displaced the king of glory as the lawmaker, we have displaced King Jesus and made ourselves king.  James puts it this way, "if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge." (James 4:11 NKJV)

We do not get to decide what laws ought to be obeyed and which ones can be discarded.  James goes on to say "there is one Lawgiver" (James 4:12 NKJV) and that is not you or me.  Disobedience can expose ignorance of the word of God or weakness of the flesh but it also in many cases exposes unbelief, unbelief being the root cause of the disobedience.

Most of us are probably familiar with Heb. 11:6, "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." (NKJV)  The part of this verse that is overlooked is the last part, a thing the text says must be believed—"that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."  No person who is willfully disobedient to the commands of God can be said to be a diligent seeker after God.  Why are they not diligent seekers?  They lack the faith to be such.  Faith and action (we might well call it obedience) must travel together or, as James says, faith is dead and thus useless.  "Faith without works is dead." (James 2:20 NKJV)

What have we learned from the woman who was healed of her blood flow issue?  For healing to take place faith must be accompanied by action.  That is as true of spiritual healing as it was of her physical healing.  It was not enough to travel to where Jesus was.  Once there she had to follow through and touch Jesus’ garment.  That is what her faith required.  Would Jesus have healed her without her faith following through with this act?  He didn't; he didn’t heal her until she reached out and touched his garment.  That was in accord with her faith.

Her faith in Jesus' power to heal was just as great before she touched him, when she left her home to travel to meet him, as it was when she actually reached out and performed the act but the act was required.  She was not healed a single second before she reached out and her faith was made perfect by her works.

It is a simple lesson taught time and time and time again in the Bible—faith without works is dead.  Faith must act.

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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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