Results 781 - 800 of 4232
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
781 | What does the Bible say about tithing? | Lev 27:30 | kalos | 163429 | ||
What does the Bible say about tithing? New Testament believers are never commanded to tithe. "Two kinds of giving are taught consistently throughout Scripture: giving to the government (always compulsory), and giving to God (always voluntary). "The issue has been greatly confused, however, by some who misunderstand the nature of the Old Testament tithes. Tithes were not primarily gifts to God, but taxes for funding the national budget in Israel. "Because Israel was a theocracy, the Levitical priests acted as the civil government. So the Levite's tithe (Leviticus 27:30-33) was a precursor to today's income tax, as was a second annual tithe required by God to fund a national festival (Deuteronomy 14:22-29). Smaller taxes were also imposed on the people by the law (Leviticus 19:9-10; Exodus 23:10-11). So the total giving required of the Israelites was not 10 percent, but well over 20 percent. All that money was used to operate the nation. "All giving apart from that required to run the government was purely voluntary (cf. Exodus 25:2; 1 Chronicles 29:9). Each person gave whatever was in his heart to give; no percentage or amount was specified. "New Testament believers are never commanded to tithe. Matthew 22:15-22 and Romans 13:1-7 tell us about the only required giving in the church age, which is the paying of taxes to the government. "Interestingly enough, we in America presently pay between 20 and 30 percent of our income to the government--a figure very similar to the requirement under the theocracy of Israel. "The guideline for our giving to God and His work is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: "Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver." ____________________ (www.gty.org Click on Issues and Answers. Then click on Previous Topics) For much more in-depth information on Tithing, including many Scripture references, look up Tithing in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Baker's Dictionary is available online at (bible.crosswalk.com) |
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782 | GOD'S TIMING - Today if you hear... | Heb 3:13 | kalos | 163240 | ||
GOD'S TIMING Heb 3:13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Heb 3:15 while it is said, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME." Heb 4:7 He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS." (Scripture quotes are from the New American Standard Bible.) |
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783 | what is this | NT general Archive 1 | kalos | 163138 | ||
joel_way: As of 8:53 p.m. (Eastern) on Thu., 11-24-2005, you have posted a total of eight (8) Answers and Notes. May I remind you this is the Study BIBLE Forum? In all eight posts, you have not included any Bible references. According to forum guidelines, "Posts must...include supportive Bible references whenever possible." Grace to you, Kalos |
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784 | God Question | Rom 10:17 | kalos | 163128 | ||
Jeff: Excellent post. Well said. Grace to you, Kalos |
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785 | BEST COMMENTARY ON REVELATION? | Revelation | kalos | 163080 | ||
Who has written the best commentary on the book of Revelation? I don't know. But there is a commentary on Revelation that I recommend. You can read it online at: www.revelationcommentary.org From the INTRODUCTION: "We offer no defense of our belief that the recipient of the Revelation was John the Apostle; that the date of writing falls near AD 96; that the Revelation has epistolary, prophetic, and apocalyptic features, which must influence its interpretation; and that the book is progressive in nature with parenthetical details added for clarification. Where necessary we will comment on the structure of the book to understand the meaning of the text..." Grace to you, Kalos |
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786 | BEST COMMENTARY ON REVELATION? | Revelation | kalos | 163079 | ||
To DAN HOLMES you write: "Please give the answer." This is not going to happen. The user DAN HOLMES has not posted to the Forum in more than 4 years. His last post was on 05-11-01. Moreover when he asked the question he wasn't testing us. I.e., he did not have the answer. The reason he asked is that he really wanted to know. Grace to you, J. Holmes |
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787 | Help!!! | Bible general Archive 3 | kalos | 162995 | ||
Doc: Well said! And, as we know, in the U.S.A. there is tolerance for every religion except conservative Christianity. Grace to you, Kalos |
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788 | Can we change God's Will? | Mal 3:6 | kalos | 162993 | ||
"IF God changed His mind, in that He adapted to new information, then God does not know all things (1 John 3:20)..." ____________________ 'For convenience sake, I have reproduced the comments on Exodus 32:12-14 here. ' Different Bibles translate this verse differently. The NASB says, "the Lord changed His mind." The NIV and NKJV say "The Lord relented." The KJV, RSV, and the 1901 ASV say, "The Lord repented." The Hebrew word at issue here is for relent/repent is nacham. There are 108 occurrences in the Old Testament. The KJV translates it as “comfort” 57 times, “repent” 41 times, “comforter” nine times, and “ease” once.1 ' The issue, of course, is whether or not God actually goes through a process of changing His mind due to learning something as the open theists would maintain. But, is God actually reacting to knew information or is He working on our level, in our reference, for our benefit? The context is important. Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. The people had become impatient as they waited for him to return. So, they then made a golden calf to worship. God then says to Moses in Exodus 32:10, “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them, and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” Moses then intercedes for the Jews and asks God to not destroy them. '"Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people. 13“Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants to whom Thou didst swear by Thyself, and didst say to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people," (Exodus 32:12-14, NASB). ' First of all, it is apparent that Moses disobeyed God's instruction to leave God alone (v. 10). Instead of Moses listening to God, he pleads with God to spare Israel and God relents. Why? What is the significance of God allowing Himself to be swayed by the interceding work of Moses on behalf of Israel? Why did God not ignore Moses' request and go ahead and destroy the nation? The answer is simple: because of Jesus. Jesus said in John 5:39, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me." Jesus says that the Bible is about Him. Certainly, such an important figure as Moses must reflect Jesus in some way, and he does. As Moses interceded for his people, Jesus also intercedes for His. God listened to Moses, because God would listen to Jesus. ' Second, we must ask if God was or was not aware of the condition of the hearts of the people of Israel. Open theism states that God knows all of the present exhaustively, including the attitudes and thoughts of all people. Now, didn't God know the hearts of the people? Didn't He know that they were ready for idolatry? Are we to believe that God didn't know that there were going to be a host of Jews who would most certainly fall into idolatry if Moses was up on the mount too long? It seems so. Yet, God allowed them the time necessary to fall into idolatry. Moses then ordered that the Levites kill those who opposed God and about 3,000 fell that day (Exodus 32:28). It is interesting to note that in Acts, when Peter preached and the Spirit of God moved on people and they were saved, 3,000 were added that day to the church (Acts 2:41). When the Law was given, 3,000 died. When the gospel was given, 3,000 were saved. ' Third, God often waits until something happens before He "makes His move." In the Garden of Eden, God waits to come on the scene until after Adam and Eve sinned. God promises Abraham he would be the father of a great nation, but waits until after Ishmael is born before he allows Abraham to have Isaac. Jesus waited until Lazarus died before going to resurrect him. In fact, Jesus' incarnation did not occur until the time of Roman oppression and Pharisaical legalistic apostasy. Can we not also expect that God had Moses wait on the Mount until the people of Israel fell into idolatry so that He might desire to exterminate them, and so that Moses might intercede (as a type of Christ), so that God might show His mercy?... 'Conclusion '...If God changed His mind, in that He adapted to knew information, then God does not know all things (1 John 3:20), did not even know the then present condition of the Israelites, waited too long with Moses on Mt. Sinai, and was influenced by Moses who disobeyed God's command to leave God alone. It would make more sense to say that God waited for a reason, threatened to destroy Israel, and allowed Moses to intercede on their behalf so they would be saved.' ____________________ www.carm.org/open/Deut9_13.htm |
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789 | Can we change God's Will? | Mal 3:6 | kalos | 162991 | ||
Why should the Egyptians say, ‘For evil he led them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger, and relent[35] of this evil against your people. Exodus 32:12 The NET Bible [35] 'tn The verb “repent, relent” when used of God is certainly an anthropomorphism. It expresses the deep pain that one would have over a situation. Earlier God repented that he had made humans (Gen 6:6). Here Moses is asking God to repent/relent over the judgment he was about to bring, meaning that he should be moved by such compassion that there would be no judgment like that. J. P. Hyatt observes that the Bible uses so many anthropomorphisms because the Israelites conceived of God as a dynamic and living person in a vital relationship with people, responding to their needs and attitudes and actions (Exodus [NCBC], 307). See H. V. D. Parunak, “A Semantic Survey of NHM,” Bib 56 (1975): 512-32.' ____________________ www.bible.org/netbible/index.htm |
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790 | Can we change God's Will? | Mal 3:6 | kalos | 162989 | ||
Does God change His mind? 'Psalm 102:25-27 says “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens [are] the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou [art] the same, and thy years shall have no end.” Also, Malachi 3:6 says “ For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” And finally, James 1:17 tells us “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” 'These verses assert that God is unchanging, and unchangeable. However, it can seem that there is a contradiction between what is taught by these verses, and other verses such as Genesis 6:6 “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” Also, Jonah 3:10 which says “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” Both of these verses speak of the Lord repenting of something, and can seem contrary to verses that teach that God is unchanging. However, close examination of these passages reveals that these are not truly indications that God is capable of changing. The key to these verses is the word “repent.” In the original language, the word that is translated as “repent” is the same in both verses. The word is the Hebrew expression of “to be sorry for.” Being sorry for something does not mean that a change has occurred, it simply means that there is regret for something having taken place. 'Consider in Genesis 6:6, that “…it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth,” This verse even goes on to say “…it grieved him at his heart.” This verse comes right out and says that God had regret for creating man. However, obviously He did not reverse his decision; instead, through Noah, He allows man to continue to exist. You and I are living proof that God did not change His mind about creating man. Also, the context of this passage is a description of the sinful state man was living in, and it is man’s sinfulness that triggered God’s sorrow, not man’s existence. Consider what Jonah 3:10 says “…and God repented of the evil, that he said that he would do unto them, and he did it not.” Again, the same Hebrew word is used here, which expresses “to be sorry for.” Why was God sorry for what he had planned for the Ninevites? Because they had a change in heart, and as a result, changed their ways from disobedience to obedience. 'Romans 3:23 teaches us that all men sin, and fall short of God’s standard. Romans 6:23 states that the consequence for this is death (spiritual and physical.) So, the people of Nineveh were deserving of punishment. All of us face this same situation, as it is man’s choice to sin that separates us all from God. Man cannot hold God responsible for his own predicament. So it would be contrary to the character of God to not punish the Ninevites had they continued in sin. However, the people of Nineveh turned to obedience, and for that the Lord chose not to punish them as He had originally intended. Did the change on the part of the Ninevites obligate God to do what he did? Absolutely not! God cannot be placed in a position of obligation to man. God is good and righteous, and chose not to punish the Ninevites as a result of their change of heart. (By the way, God still offers salvation to all that turn to Him!) If anything, what this passage does is point to the fact that God does not change, because had the Lord not preserved the Ninevites, this would be contrary to the character of God. 'What all this boils down to, is an examination of the grammar and context. The word that is translated “repent” or “repented” simply means “to be sorry for” and does not indicate a change, but simply a state of regret. Further, neither of these passages shows that a change in the character of God occurred, or that God did something contrary to His character.”' Recommended Resource: Knowing God by J.I. Packer. Related Topic: What is the immutability of God? ____________________ http://www.gotquestions.org/God-change-mind.html |
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791 | if you are saved are you always saved? | Bible general Archive 3 | kalos | 162961 | ||
The next time someone tells you that "one can lose their salvation by taking themselves out of God's hands", just ask them the following: John 10:28-29 In what version of the Bible does John 10:28-29 say: 'And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. [29] My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand, BUT WE CAN TAKE OURSELVES OUT OF GOD'S HAND'? If it is true that we can take ourselves out of God's hand, then according to verse 29, we are greater than God. Rom 8:39 In what version of the Bible does Romans 8:39 say: 'nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, BUT WE CAN SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM HIS LOVE'? In verse 39, if man can separate himself from God's love, then man was not created. It says: "nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God." Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall ADD unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: Deut. 4:2 Ye shall not ADD unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Grace to you, Kalos |
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792 | if you are saved are you always saved? | Bible general Archive 3 | kalos | 162960 | ||
He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life. Revelation 3:5 "It is unfortunate that this passage in Revelation has become a focal point of controversy. The result has been a fixation on what the verse does not say rather than what it does say. This verse was never intended as a warning. Within its context there is nothing negative or foreboding about these words. In fact, it makes a strong statement in favor of eternal security. It is a passage of encouragement and praise. "The comments are directed to a group of faithful believers from the church in Sardis. Unlike the majority of the folks in their congregation, this handful of members had remained unsoiled by the world around them. The verse in question contains Christ's commendation to this group for their consistent walk. "To assume from what is said here that God will possibly erase names from the book of life is to read into the text a concept clearly not present. At best, it is an argument from silence, for the verse simply reads, "And I will not erase his name from the book of life." If this statement raises doubts for some about eternal security, they would do well to search the Scriptures for an answer. But to base one's answer to this important question on this verse is to adopt a method of study with the potential of leading to all kinds of problematic conclusions." (...) "The good news is, God's pencil has no eraser. Before you breathed your first word, God knew how you would respond to His offer of grace. According to His foreknowledge, He wrote your name in the book of life. And there it shall remain forever. Jesus said it this way: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. John 10.27-28 "And as if that were not clear enough: "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. John 10.29 " (To read the entire article, which I suggest you do before you reply, go to: www.intouch.org/myintouch/ exploring/bible_says/ eternal_security/erase_149096.html) |
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793 | if you are saved are you always saved? | Bible general Archive 3 | kalos | 162958 | ||
Did you know...? God sits at a desk up in heaven all day with a pencil and a big eraser. Whenever a believer sins, he erases their name. When they confess, he pencils it back in. Sin, erase. Confess, write it down. Isn't this a ludicrous picture? Yet that's what some would have us believe. "The good news is, God's pencil has no eraser. Before you breathed your first word, God knew how you would respond to His offer of grace. According to His foreknowledge, He wrote your name in the book of life." ____________________ (www.intouch.org/myintouch/exploring/ bible_says/eternal_security/erase_149096.html) Grace to you, Kalos |
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794 | Suffering and God's providence | Bible general Archive 3 | kalos | 162812 | ||
You write: "I will admit I may disagree with orthodox confessions and theologians. They were not inspired, which leaves the possibility that their interpretation of Scripture is erred at some points. However, I do not think my view of the Bible at present is basically erred." And what? You WERE inspired? ____________________ "It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others." -- C. H. Spurgeon ____________________ "In order to be able to expound the Scriptures, and as an aid to your pulpit studies, you will need to be familiar with the commentators: a glorious army, let me tell you, whose acquaintance will be your delight and profit. Of course, you are not such wiseacres as to think or say that you can expound Scripture without assistance from the works of divines and learned men who have labored before you in the field of exposition. If you are of that opinion, pray remain so, for you are not worth the trouble of conversion, and like a little coterie who think with you, would resent the attempt as an insult to your infallibility. It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others." -- C. H. Spurgeon |
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795 | Islam, the religion of peace, and Terror | Bible general Archive 3 | kalos | 162807 | ||
More questions for Muslims ' Dear Muslim, I do not post these questions as a "proof" that Islam is false. I do not believe that is possible with a simple list of questions. Nevertheless, they are here to encourage discussion that the truth may be known. 'The Qur'an states that you shall marry only up to four women: "If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with orphans, marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or that which your right hands possess..." (4:3). 'If the Qur'an is eternal, having been written on the table in heaven, then the four wife limit was an eternal decree. 'Question: Why did Muhammad have 12 wives if the Qur'an says to have only four? Khadija, sawda, Aesah (8 years old), Omm Salama, Hafsa, Zaynab (originally the wife of Muhammad's adopted son), Jowayriya, Omm Habiba, Safiya, Maymuna, Fatima, Hend, Asma (of Saba), Zaynab, Habla, Asma?...' To read more go to: www.carm.org/islam/questions2.htm islam |
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796 | Islam, the religion of peace, and Terror | Bible general Archive 3 | kalos | 162769 | ||
Mohammed - Terrorist or Prophet? ____________________ Christians and Jewish martyrs say; "I will die for what I believe". A Muslim martyr says; "you will die for what I believe".... ____________________ 'We apologize to anyone who may be offended by the history of the founder of Islam (Mohammed) below. And we are aware of the sensitivities involved. However, infinitely more damage has been done to Islam's "believers" by Islam's history of withholding the truth about its founder to them -- - and the circumstances surrounding its inception -- than any "damage" this true history below can cause. 'This article is intended to warn Christians who may be "duped" into Islam, because they did not have all the facts. The immortal souls of billions of individuals are involved here. To good Muslims I say; "I have sympathy with your having to grow up in a closed society -- where not embracing Islam would have gotten you shunned or even killed". According to many interpretations of the Qur'an (aka: Koran), conversion to a faith other than Islam is punishable by death. 'The Muslim Qur'an is unique among all the sacred writings in the entire world -- because it alone counsels its followers to make war on unbelievers. 'Read the true history of Islam below and then look into your own heart to see if you are missing something, or if you have been lied to regarding Islam itself...' To read more go to: www.bibleprobe.com/muhammad.htm islam |
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797 | Islam, the religion of peace, and Terror | Bible general Archive 3 | kalos | 162759 | ||
The Nation of Palestine "No such country has ever existed in history." ____________________ www.biblicist.org/bible/goblet.shtml |
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798 | Islam, the religion of peace, and Terror | Bible general Archive 3 | kalos | 162758 | ||
Islam, the religion of peace, and Terrorism '"Truthfully your condeming of our faith would probably have you warned, and if you persisted, would have consequences, of which i am not sure. But there have been cases where people have been put to death for MALICIOUSLY harming the image of our noble master Muhammad, the best creation of God. But you fail to see that islam means peace, just as when we meet each other and say 'assalamu alaikum' 'peace be upon you' to our brothers. We are a tolerant religion, and our communities have and still have many faiths still practicing their own religions in islamic land. From the time of the prophet up until today." ' The preceding quote was received via e-mail from a Muslim. Notice that he says Islam is a religion of peace, yet that there would be "consequences" for me in my condemnation of Islam. He then mentions how people have been killed for harming the image of Mohammed. Quite frankly, Mohammed damages his own image when he marries multiple women, advocates lying, and spreads his religion by the sword. (...) 'As you can see, the Qur'an definitely teaches that it's people are to fight for the cause of Islam. This list of verses is important because they are within the holy book of Islam. What are we to conclude if a Muslim were to take the Quran seriously? Is he not obligated to slay non-Muslims, to go to war, to kill those against Islam, etc.? Isn't this what the verses are teaching? Yes, they are and this is the source of Islamic Terrorism. (...) ' Do Muslims practice the Qur'an principle of killing non Muslims? Yes they do. Following is a list of some articles that you can read a demonstrate some of the actions taken by Moslems in different parts of the world. 'Muslims torture Christian to death 'Muslims slaughter 600 Christians 'Killing Christians and burn down churches 'Muslims slaughtering Christians in the Sudan 'Islam killing Christians 'Killing Infidels 'Killing by beheading is Islamic ' Since Islam teaches that the entire world is to be subjected to its laws, we need to prepare ourselves to withstand the future attacks motivated from the Quran that teaches killing in subjection of the unbelievers. We Christians need to be in prayer for the Muslims so that they would come to know the truth of who Jesus is and follow his peaceful ways, instead of promoting Islam by the sword.' ____________________ www.carm.org/islam/terrorism.htm islam |
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799 | Is trespassing ever right? Is violence? | Bible general Archive 3 | kalos | 162246 | ||
No such thing as a moral dilemma? Part 2 'White Lies and Other Deceptions 'by Gregory Koukl 'Is trespassing [ever right]? Is violence? Some thoughts to help you sharpen your ability to make ethical decisions. (...) 'A moral dilemma is when you must choose one of two things, but either thing would be wrong to do when taken on its own. Do you endanger a human life, or do you tell a lie? If you choose to tell the truth, you may do right by telling the truth, but it seems you do wrong by exposing a human being to serious harm. If you protect the human being by lying, well, you've saved a life, but told a lie. That is a moral or ethical dilemma. 'There are a couple of different ways Christians have approached this historically. One is to claim there really is no such thing as an ethical dilemma. Some will say you should never lie, you should always tell the truth, and let God worry about the consequences. (...) 'The Bible gives us some guidance on this. It teaches that not all sins are the same. Some are more egregious than others. This is very clear in the Scriptures. Jesus said to Pilate, "He who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin" (John 19:11). According to Jesus, some sins are greater than others. 'Common sense alone tells us that stealing a pencil is not as serious a crime as taking someone's life. Make no mistake, it's still a sin, and even a small sin is enough to make us guilty before God. But all sin is not the same to God. He certainly does make distinctions. And because God makes distinctions, it's possible for us to solve ethical dilemmas. When stuck between two options, we choose the greater good. 'What about so-called "white lies." Are they okay since they're only small deceptions? My rule is this: I think people should tell the truth unless they have a more weighty moral reason not to be straightforward. 'If my wife asked me if I thought she was overweight and she was, I wouldn't say, "No, honey, you're perfect." First, she probably knows better. Second, I think she'd actually be looking for affirmation from me, not really an assessment of her weight. I'd tell her what I thought, but would be careful to do it in a way that protected her as an individual. I'd let her know that being overweight wouldn't change my love for her. 'Here is another example, a classic for single guys. A guy goes out on a date and doesn't enjoy himself, so he wouldn't be inclined to ask the young lady out again, though he suspects she enjoyed herself and would like to get together again. What does he say when he drops her off? He isn't going to say, "I'm never going to call you again," yet he doesn't want to just walk away and say nothing. Because of the awkwardness he says, "I'll call you," but he doesn't intend to and never does. 'I think that's wrong. There is no moral reason to lie to her. He's just saving himself from a little awkwardness, but he's telling an untruth. 'I also think it's wrong to tell children that Santa Claus is real. It accomplishes no superior moral purpose. It's only deception. Children might eventually believe you've deceived them about God, too. They can't see Santa and they can't see God, either. There's no good reason to create a problem by starting with a deception. 'It takes some moral development to be able to solve ethical dilemmas. People who aren't working at it will not be capable of making good ethical decisions because they are not alert to ethical distinctions. (...) 'We can only be adept at solving ethical problems if we give some effort to thinking about it and to living the ethical life. 'I think lying is right sometimes. I think Rahab did right when she lied about the spies. I think the Hebrew midwives did right when they lied to Pharaoh to protect the lives of the Hebrew children. 'I think trespassing is right sometimes. I think violence is right sometimes. I think there are many things that, in isolation, would be wrong, but when a higher moral good is served, they not only become not wrong, they become obligatory. That's hard for some to accept. 'Rahab was obliged to lie to protect the lives of those spies. Both James and the writer of Hebrews applaud her for her action. They didn't say, "Shame, shame, but I guess you chose the lesser of two evils." Instead, they acted like she chose the greater of two goods. She did what was right. 'I think that's the Biblical view. In Acts 4, the apostles were told to disobey the government and preach the gospel. Paul says that we are obliged to obey the government. Yet when the government tells us to disobey a higher command of God, then we are morally obliged to disobey the government. We have to choose the greater good, as the disciples did.' ____________________ This is a transcript of a commentary from the radio show "Stand to Reason," with Gregory Koukl www.str.org |
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800 | Suicide: a question on sin | 1 Cor 6:19 | kalos | 162172 | ||
How about snake handling? Whether we survive or die from it, is that merely a matter of God's will being done? Many years ago there was a couple in our church (now deceased) who refused medical treatment for their 6-year-old daughter who subsequently died of appendicitis. Yeah, that kind of "faith" really glorifies God, doesn't it? |
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