Is God On America’s Side?

The following is from Erwin W. Lutzer’s book, Is God On America’s Side?, pg.29-30:

Yes, America is a great and wonderful country with a benevolent people, but the question is this: May God use a very wicked country to judge us? The answer is yes. After all, we are among the leaders of the world in the production of pornography, abortion, and the acceptance of same-sex marriages. We have been proud of our wealth and power and have acted as if we have ourselves to thank for our many blessings. Our congress now enacts legislation that isolates God from people’s daily lives. The judicial system, especially the Supreme Court, renders judgments that, in effect, banish God everywhere from the public school to the public marketplace. Local school boards have insisted that atheistic evolution be taught rather that affirming belief in God the Creator. If Jesus is still spoke of with respect, it is only because He has been redefined to fit the pluralistic spirit of the times.

The sins of the world are found in our churches along with the sin of racism and the benign neglect of the poor. As God’s people, we Christians have been preoccupied with our own peace and affluence and cared little about whether our neighbor knows the warmth of our heavenly Father’s heart. We have turned our back on full-orbed biblical teaching in favor of positive suggestions on how our life can be better if we just included God. In many matters of life we have substituted the wisdom of man for the wisdom of God.

God may indeed judge us using another nation with different and oppressive policies.

In Lutzer’s book he gives us seven principles about God as seen in Scripture and the above citation is part of the explanation for the third principle:

1) God can both bless and curse a nation.

2) God judges nations based on the amount of light and opportunity they are given.

3) God sometimes uses exceedingly evil nations to judge those that are less evil. 

4) When God judges a nation, the righteous suffer with the wicked. 

5) God’s judgment takes various forms.

6) In judgement, God’s target is often His people, not just the pagans among them. 

7) God sometimes reverses intended judgements.

It's a thought-provoking book!

Did God Create Evil?

God did not create evil; He created the possibility of evil by giving us freedom. Evil is nothing more than the corruption of that which intended for good. It is logically impossible for Him to create a world in which people have genuine freedom yet without the potential to do that which is depraved or even evil. If God had created us without freedom, we would have a world without humans and a world without love.

Richard E. Simmons III, Reflections on the Existence of God, pg. 52

The Existence of God

God’s existence does not necessitate a bit “leap of faith.” There is an element of faith but, given the otherwise inexplicable existence of the world, of life, of intelligence, of order, and of design, belief in God the Creator, while not provable, is rational, even rationally compelling. However, given all the evil caused by human beings and all the suffering caused by nature, belief in God’s goodness may necessitate a leap of faith. That’s why God informs us, “I am compassionate.”

Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible, Exodus: God, Slavery, and Freedom, pg.329

Some Articles for Edification and/or Education

As I do with the reports about wolves and false teachings, I also like to periodically share links to articles I found to be informative in many ways.  These are the links I have collected over the past few weeks.  I hope you find them as interesting as have I.

Pagan Idolatry and The Democrats’ Quest For Unfettered Sex

What does the Bible say about purgatory?

Counter arguments to Egalitarianism.

What does the Bible say about misogyny?

Did God command genocide in the Old Testament?

Four dumb myths charismatics believe that aren’t real.

How do we know the Gospels were written prior to 70 AD?

Excellent response to “transgender” ideology by John MacArthur.

 Are the Gospels “hopelessly contradictory”?

Minimizing God.

The Most Politically Incorrect Bible Passage.

Practical Thoughts on Leading Your Husband From Behind.

Is the Bible Pro-Choice? Simple answer — Absolutely not.

I don’t normally get into discussions about evolutionism, but this article is just too good to not pass along. Bill Nye is NOT a scientist and yet claims to be one. Good article.

No, Jesus wasn’t tempted with homosexuality.

God Is Spirit, Light, and Love

God is spirit as to His essence; He is not flesh and blood. To be sure, Jesus Christ now has a glorified body in heaven, and one day we shall have bodies like His body. But being by nature spirit, Go is not limited by time and space the way His creatures are.

God is light. This refers to His holy nature. In the Bible, light is a symbol of holiness and darkness is a symbol of sin (1 John 1:5-10; John 3:18-21)Go cannot sin because He is holy. Because we have been born into His family, we have received His holy nature (2 Peter 1:4; 1 Peter 1:14-16).

God is love. This does not mean that “love is God.” And the fact that two people “love each other” does not mean that their love is necessarily holy. It has accurately been said that “love does not define God, but God defines love.” God is love and God is light; therefore, His love is a holy love, and His holiness is expressed in love. All that God does expresses all that God is. Even His judgments are measured out in love and mercy (Lam. 3:22, 23).

Much that is called “love” in modern society bears no resemblance or relationship to the holy, spiritual love of God. Yet we see banners saying “God is love!” displayed at many festivals, particularly where young people are “doing their own thing”—as if one could dignify immorality by calling it “love.”

Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Real [commentary on 1 John], pg.138-139

What Does “Holy” Mean?

The primary meaning of holy is “separate.” It comes from an ancient word that means “to cut,” or “to separate.” To translate this basic meaning into contemporary language would be to use the phrase “a cut apart.” Perhaps even more accurate would be the phrase “a cut above something.” When we find a garment or another piece of merchandise that is outstanding, that has a superior excellence, we use the expression that it is “a cut above the rest.”

God’s holiness is more than just separateness. His holiness is also transcendent. The word transcendence means literally “to climb across.” it is defined as “exceeding usual limits.” To transcend is to rise above something, to go above and beyond a certain limit. When we speak of the transcendence of God, we are talking about that sense in which God is above and beyond us. Transcendence describes His supreme and absolute greatness. The word is used to describe God’s relationship to the world. He is higher than the world. He has absolute power over the world. The world has no power over Him. Transcendence describes God in His consuming majesty, His exalted loftiness. It points to the infinite distance that separates Him from every creature. He is an infinite cut above everything else. 

When the Bible calls God holy, it means primarily that God is transcendentally separate. He is so far above and beyond us that He seems almost totally foreign to us. To be holy is to be “other,” to be different is a special way.

R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, pg.37-38

Define Your Terms — God

It is theologically fallacious to believe that those who reject the biblical Christ and call God by some other designation are worshipping the God of the Bible, the true and living God. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus any person’s definition of God that excludes the Son (and the Spirit) as God in the biblical sense results in that person’s denial of the true and living God.

Steven Tsoukalas, Knowing Christ in the Challenge of Heresy, pg. xxiii, footnote 29

Good, Bad, and Ugly

Quite a few good articles to link to this time; some for education and some for edification.  

The Shroud of Turin is NOT genuine.  I’ve been saying that since I first heard of it years and years ago.

Romanism’s false hope of purgatory.

The moral law reflects God’s character.

The image of God.

Jesus is NOT a copy of pagan Gods.  But we knew this, didn’t we?

25 Reasons Why the World Hates Christians.  H/T: Doug

A book review of a new biography of Aimee Temple McPherson; she is the origin of the Foursquare Church.

Troubling terms of the “Social Justice Movement.”

The great Flood of the Bible or uniformitarian geology? I’ll go with the former, which makes much more sense scientifically!

Apologetics is about love.

The Bad and/or Ugly

The ELCA needs to quit pretending it is a Christian organization. In this incident they are promoting child abuse and perversion. If you are a member of the ELCA, WHY?

Former President Jimmy Carter worships a different Christ — a Christ who accepts an abomination.

Catholic defense of Marian devotion is actually no defense at all, and horribly bizarre  unbiblical nonsense.

Sarah Young has a devotional Bible out now, with all sorts of direct teachings from God and Jesus, or so she claims. Stay away from this spiritually dangerous publication.

Matt Chandler continues to implode with false teachings.

Rachel Held Evans has a new book: be forewarned that it is 100% false teaching.

The humorous

Oh, wouldn’t this be great!!

Oh how I wish this was true!

I love these jabs at Joel Osteen — they are so poignant!

The Wrath and Vengeance of God

Even Christians who are firmly convinced of the authority and inspiration of the Scriptures tend to minimize, or explain away, descriptions of the wrath and vengeance of God such as Nahum presented here.  While it may not be appropriate to use such passages when first approaching people with a view to persuading them of the truth of the Bible, eventually there comes a time when we cannot avoid the question of how God’s wrath and vengeance are related to His love.  Pursuing these connections requires thought, courage, and a willingness to come to know God as He is and not as we might wish Him to be.  

Conversion to the faith of Christ is not simply a matter of “asking Jesus to come into your heart.”  It involves a metanoia (the NT word for repentance), which means, literally, a “change of mind.”  In other words, becoming a believer involves adopting a new worldview, or perspective on reality.  The modern Western worldview has blurred distinctions between right and wrong, and within such a perspective there is no place for the wrath and judgment of God.  But when one’s perspective changes, and it becomes evident that God is a moral force to be reckoned with, then it becomes equally apparent that serious consequences ensue for those who attempt to live without regard for His plan for human life (see Rm 1:16-32).

Commentary on Nahum 1:2-6, The Apologetics Study Bible.

Miscellaneous Items of Interest

Parents, do not provoke your children!

Why Believers Muse Avoid Immoral Joking.

I’ve always said that the millennial was a literal 1000-year-reign of Christ on earth, because that is what the Bible actually teaches if you read it as it was intended.  The proof is in the pudding.

Why Biblical inerrancy is IMPORTANT!  Serf the site for some more important information.

Is This Really the Kind of Judge You Want God to Be?

We will not rewrite the Bible for the homosexual community.

Justice is an Important Attribute of God

Thus far, then, justice is the very fulness of the Deity Himself, manifesting God as both a perfect father and a perfect master: a father in His mercy, a master in His discipline; a father in the mildness of His power, a master in its severity; a father who must be loved with dutiful affection, a master who must needs be feared; be loved, because He prefers mercy to sacrifice; be feared because He dislikes sin; be loved, because He prefers the sinner, s repentance to his death;4 be feared, because He dislikes the sinners who do not repent. Accordingly, the divine law enjoins duties in respect of both these attributes: Thou shalt love God, and, Thou shalt fear God. It proposed one for the obedient man, the other for the transgressor.

Tertullian, Book II Against Marcion, chapter XIII

It's God's World

If God exists as the Bible describes him, he is the giver of life and has complete authority to take it when and as he wills.  He could destroy the world by a flood or eliminate Sodom and Gomorrah by fire in a way that no human has the right or the power to do.  If in the judgment of God the Jews were to be placed in a certain land so that they might prepare the way for the Messiah, he had the right to give them that land, as the earth is his.  If the original inhabitants had to be removed, both as punishment for their wickedness and to ensure that the Jews would be permanently established in the land, God had the right to make that judgment.

Joseph Keysor, “Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible,” pg.45

A Right Conception of God is Needed

A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well.  It is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must sooner or later collapse.  I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God. . . .  Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous.  The idolater simply imagines things about God and act as if they were true.

A.W. Tozer, "The Knowledge of the Holy Spirit," pg.3-4, cited by Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson in "Mormonism 101," pg.33

If God is the Giver of Life, He Can Take It

If God exists as the Bible describes him, he is the giver of life and has complete authority to take it when and as he wills.  He could destroy the world by a flood or eliminate Sodom and Gomorrah by fire in a way that no human has the right or power to do.  If in the judgment of God the Jews were to be placed in a certain land so that they might prepare the way for the Messiah, he had the right to give them that land, as the earth is his.  If the original inhabitants had to be removed, both as punishment for their wickedness and to ensure that the Jews would be permanently establish in the land, God had the right to make that judgment.

Joseph Keysor, “Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible,” pg.45