Articles
Foolish Judges or Negligent Christians?
Foolish Judges or Negligent Christians?
By Paul R. Blake
“He… makes fools of the judges” (Job 12:17). “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).
Some years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a fifth grade teacher violated the First Amendment's so called “Separation of Church and State” by placing a Bible on his school desk. This “doctrine of separation” is attributed to Thomas Jefferson. However, it was Thomas Jefferson who, while President, asked that the Bible be used in public schools for their reading curriculum. Jefferson said, “I have always said, and always will say, that the studious perusal of the sacred volume will make us better citizens.” Isn't it ironic that in the name of Jefferson the very thing he advocated is now being struck down by our judicial system? While Christians must respect the offices of civil leaders, it is not un-Christian to acknowledge that God calls them fools when they lead in this manner.
Wait just a moment! Before feeling outraged by the assaults on religious liberty and becoming somewhat self-righteous, consider… you still have the freedom to pick up your own Bible and read and study it as often and as much as you like in your home. To what extent are you exercising that liberty? Here is another irony: some of those who most loudly protest restrictions on public prayer and Bible study, often pray and study very little at home.
I am convinced that a Christian will accomplish far more by transforming his life with prayer and Bible study and thus salting the earth with his Christian influence, than he will by fighting city hall. Has there ever been a time in history when true Christianity was in full favor and freedom under any civil government? Even minor victories and freedoms are short-lived. At the same time, there has never been a time (nor will there ever be) when civil government had the power to interfere with the relationship between the individual Christian and God. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38).
Consider Daniel who influenced the most powerful empires of the ancient world when he moved Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian emperor and Darius the Median emperor to believe in God; and, look at the influence of the examples of Esther and Mordecai on Ahasuerus the Persian emperor. They made believers of pagan kings and changed their treatment of God’s people. How did they do it? Leading protest marches? Campaigning for more moral civil leaders? No, they changed the world around them by praying and living consistently moral lives. I am convinced, based on these and other Bible examples, that if the world around us cannot be changed by the prayers and godly examples of the Christians in it, then that world cannot be changed by any other means.
Cultivate the practice of prayer and Bible study in private, and you will be more credible when you advocate for it in public. Can you handle another irony? How tragic it will be for those who publicly protest Perdition-bound Judges and Presidents, only to join them in Hell in the hereafter because they neglected prayer and Bible study in private.
Thinking About Heaven
By Kent Heaton
Can you imagine a city so large that it encompasses two and a quarter million square miles? The northern boundary is 1500 miles as well as the east, west, and southern boundaries. Not only is the size of the city massive in length and width – the height of the city is also 1500 miles. Is it possible to wrap the mind around a city of this size? Imagine further this grand city being made of pure gold and the walls that stretch for 1500 miles in either direction are made of jasper (chalcedony/quartz aggregate beautifully multicolored). The foundation of the city is made up of a myriad of jewels with twelve gates made of one great pearl each. All the streets are paved with gold but have no street lights adorning the curb. This incredible city with its gates standing open eternally is brightened by the glory of God. If we can imagine a city so unbelievable and majestic then we have shared in the tendril of “the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21:10).
John’s account of the “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1) burst from the pages of holy writ. The Revelation captures the imagination from beginning to end as the war between righteousness and evil plays out on the parchment of John’s book. The trumpet of victory sounds in the latter part with the triumph of the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Rev. 19:16) when all that opposes God is banished in the “second death” (Rev. 20:11-15). Rising with wonder is the promise of the city long ago given by God to His saints in illusionary words as Divine seeks to instill in mortality a view of Heaven.
The terms of length and height and materials are only figurative as God seeks to instill an image of Heaven in the feeble mind of man that is beyond anything man could ever dream of. We are not to understand the fullness of its beauty. It is beyond man’s greatest imagination to come to terms with a city of such vast space and splendor; and that is the point of the illustration. If man could ever understand fully the blessing of eternal life then man has mastered the knowledge of God. Yet the Lord keeps man far from the level of knowledge that would give him hope and the longing for something beyond his power.
The Almighty wants his people to think about Heaven and when thinking about Heaven to consider how great God is and how blessed man is to be allowed to dwell in such a place. This is not something built by man; this is built by God. The Hebrew writer alludes to this promise in Hebrews 11:13-16… “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
If a man lives to be one thousand years old he will only grasp the hem of the garment understanding what Heaven is like. What a wonderful life to live and think about something so beautiful and so grand. David said, “I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works” (Psalms 145:5). Think!
Test Your Bible Knowledge of the Prophets
1. I ate locusts and wild honey __________
2. I was married to an unfaithful wife _________
3. I was a herdsman and gathered sycamore fruit _________
4. My name means angel or messenger __________
5. My book has only one chapter _________
6. I was a Tishbite _________
Upcoming Sermons
11/22/20 AM - Four Great Salvation Questions; PM - Melchizedek: King and Priest of Salem (Requested)
11/29/20 AM - “Jesus Loves Me!”; PM - Guest Speaker, Doug Sanders, “Josephus”
12/6/20 AM - “This Commandment is not too Mysterious for You”; PM - Singing Service: Whatever the Weather
12/13/20 AM - “Many Will Seek to Enter the Kingdom, And Will Not Be Able”; PM - Daniel in the Lions’ Den: Not Just a Children’s Bible Story
12/20/20 AM - Seven Stipulations of Sacrifice; PM - Dealing with Impossible People
12/27/20 AM - The Mystery of the Resurrection; PM - Isaiah: Prophet of Redemption
