"Secret Sins" We often quote Psalm 19:12-13 where David says, "who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me." The "secret faults" mentioned here is frequently thought of as "sins I am not aware of." Granted there are sometimes sins we are not aware of. Yet ignorance of sins does not excuse them any more than a man speeding through town is excused from a ticket because he "didn't know" the speed limit. In the Old Testament, God not only condemned such sins, but demanded sacrifice to cleanse one of such once he learned the truth.(Lev. 5:4-6, 17) That is why we are to study today.(II Tim. 2:15) I'm convinced though the "secret faults" mentioned by David refers, not to sins of ignorance, but to those he sought to hide from God and others. In Psalm 90:8, he says, "Thou has set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance." Solomon refers to these "secret" sins in Ecclesiastes 12:14 as something hidden from others but not from God. And Jeremiah reminds us no sins are "hid" from God.(16:17) Paul also mentions men sometimes hid their sins from others(I Tim. 5:24-25), but reminds us God will judge even the "secrets" of men according to the gospel he preached."(Rom. 2:16; II Cor. 5:10) Let us study to learn the will of God, and turn away from our sins as we learn of them. Let's also remember there are no "secret sins" God cannot see. Even if men never discover them, He will bring them to light and judge us accordingly.(Rom. 2:16) -- Donald P. Ames * * * * * * * * * * *
The Seed Of The Kingdom by David Riggs Some time ago I bought several packages of garden seeds to plant in my garden. One in particular was a package of squash seeds. That package of seeds is still sitting on a shelf, unopened. Jesus taught many profound lessons by parables. His parable of the sower in Luke chapter 8 details how the word of God works in different types of soil. The various types of soil show the different kinds of human hearts. The seed of the kingdom is the word of God and, if an abundant harvest is desired, the seed must be sown in abundance. The different types of soils Jesus spoke about underscores His warning in verse 18, "Therefore take heed how you hear." God’s word is like seed. It is living and active according to Hebrews 4:12. The gospel is God’s power to salvation to everyone who believes according to Romans 1:16. It has the power to change lives, customs, social practices, and empires. Great evils such as infanticide (or the killing of small babies), slavery, the abuse of women and children have been made right by the gospel's transforming power. A man dead in sin can be made into a new creature through the implanted word of God. Jesus taught in Matthew 13:31 & 32 that from a tiny mustard seed (the smallest of seeds) comes a plant large enough for birds to live in. By that same token, from a single Bible can come a whole community of Christians. Remember that package of squash seeds? Seed is of little value if left shut up in a package. Seed will only produce when it is properly planted in the soil. I’m not eating squash today because I haven’t opened that package and planted its seeds. Likewise, a closed Bible is powerless to save. Is God’s word bearing fruit in your life today or, is your Bible, like that package of seeds, unopened on a shelf? * * * * * * * * * * * When A Christian Faced Death About 125 A.D., a Greek by the name of Aristides was writing his friends about a new religion, Christianity. He was trying to explain to them the reason for its tremendous success. A sentence from one of his letters reads: "If any righteous man among the Christians passes from this world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God, and they escort his body with songs and thanksgiving as if he were setting out from one place to another nearby." --Hobart, Indiana bulletin * * * * * * * * * * *[Note: The following came from For A Better Understanding, edited by Billy Moore. While so many think we live in an "enlightened" age and that God and His word are "unnecessary," the truth is our society to a large degree is a world of darkness similar to that of the first century. Below is an example of the depravity of our society. The article on Goth is by Buster Dobbs; what follows are comments on the same by Bill Crews of Baton Rouge, LA. -- p.a.o.] Goth A new sub-culture is attracting the foundation-less. Evolutionists and agnostic teachers have laughed the one true, invisible, eternal living God out of their existence. The Bible is not a light to their way, and they walk in darkness. They dress in black, pierce everything, and revel in Gothic music (an offshoot of punk rock). Bars catering to confused teens of Goth persuasion are found in Manhattan, Boulder, Charlotte, Indianapolis, and Tulsa. They yearn to be vampires (and many claim they are) and have a suicide fantasy. In many places there are Live Action Role-Playing Games (LARP's). More than 3,000 people play every Friday night, according to the Seattle Times. They turn parking lots, city parks and living rooms into stages for these games, filling roles such as "vampire" and "fallen angel." Police in Bellevue, Washington charged a 17-year-old-self-styled Goth, Alex Baranyi, with four counts of first-degree murder; they say he killed an entire family. His actions have been linked to his obsession with a vampire role-playing game. Young people must have something in which to believe. How sad it is that our nation and especially our educational institutions are failing the young by systematically robbing them of an opportunity to know about the Bible, God, love, service, and salvation. Government has joined hands with the ACLU and many public schools to destroy faith in Christ. -- Buster Dobbs, Houston, Texas Young people, when you prefer black clothes, black-dyed hair, black lipstick, the wearing of jewelry in strange places where you have had your body pierced and rock groups whose appearance, music and language is vulgar and who leave the impression that they are Satan worshippers, do not be surprised when people think that you may be aligned with the so-called "Goth": movement. As for the word "Goth," an English dictionary gives two definitions: "1. Any member of a Germanic people that invaded and conquered most of the Roman Empire in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries A.D. (In religion they were pagans who worshipped false imaginary gods); 2) An uncouth, uncivilized person; barbarian," hardly desirable traits.--Bill Crews * * * * * * * * * * * Churches Using Gospel Rock Question: Would you comment on the churches that are now using gospel rock groups to appeal to the young people?Answer: It is a shame that we have drifted so far in our thinking that we think of the church as having to appeal to a certain group. We have forgotten that church services are not to be designed to please ourselves, but to please God. We have forgotten that the only appeal the church should offer the world is an appeal to hear the good news about Jesus Christ. All Paul, the apostle, was interested in using to appeal to anybody was "Jesus Christ and Him crucified."(1 Cor.2:1-3). He did not urge churches to build gymnasiums, invent special appealing music, or even bring in the most dynamic speakers or orators to fascinate and awe the crowds. He just wanted people to know about the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ. It is a shame that churches no longer feel that that is enough. It is a disgrace to the cross that we think we need human schemes and inventions to prop up the message of the cross. There have always been generations that thought of the message of the cross as "foolishness"(See 1 Cor.1:18ff). There have always been people who could not understand or appreciate the message of the cross. If the so-called "Generation X" can't believe and accept God's message of the cross, then we pity them. But, we will not compromise, water down, or doctor up that message just to make it more appealing to a bunch of spoiled, self-centered sinners. We will not insult the Lord by implying that there is not now enough power in the gospel alone to save today's sinners. When Israel wanted a king "like the nations around them", it turned on them and they lived to regret wanting to be like the nations around them. If our young people want the Lord's music to sound like the world's music, then we will see the church wallow in regret. The church is supposed to get sinners to change, not allow sinners to urge the church to change. The message of "repent or perish" is uncompromising. The music of the first century church was "vocal"(Eph.5:19). The reason? It was God's will. They did not want to mimmick the music of the Jews or the pagans. God's worship is not to be designed by man. He hasn't given us the right to change the New Testament pattern of worship. -- Terry W. Benton |