May 31, 1994
According to a survey by Queens University at Kingston entitled “Canada Youth & AIDS Study”, about 1 percent of the population is homosexual, not 10% as some claim. (Three studies in 12 areas of the United States reach the same percentage figure.) Why is such a small segment of the population given so much clout in determining what moral values should be acceptable in Canada?
The Bible offers one explanation. Romans 1 says, “Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities... have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that (people) are without excuse.
“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator... because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.
“Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”
This passage of Scripture not only denounces homosexual activity, it explains the reason those with that orientation (which it calls “their perversion”) cannot control themselves. God has taken His hand of grace from them. They have no power over their own lusts.
Those who refuse to acknowledge God as God and who exchange the truth about God for a lie cannot worship and obey Him. Instead, they bow down to their own gods. In New Testament times, these gods were images and carved idols. Today, an idol could be defined as anything people rely on to meet their needs. If it is not the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, then it is an idol.
The power that only 1% of the population wields is really a misconception. The few who are gay are able to convince a larger majority who are not because the larger majority has also rejected God. Just as the mood of the dog can be discerned by the wagging of its tail, the prevailing attitude of Canadians seems to be against godly sexual morals. While not all these would call themselves gay or lesbian, they also have rejected God. As a consequence, many have been turned over to their various sins, as reflected in Canada’s crime rate, the divorce and abortion rate, and the increase in social problems. No one can reject God and maintain goodness.
According to Patrick Johnson’s Operation World, Canada’s population may include about 10% genuine Christians. However, for a nation that largely rejects God, our message is more repulsive than that of the 1%. While they insist on their right to freely sin: we call for a return to God and freedom from sin’s control. Does anyone really want that kind of freedom?
Showing posts with label power of sin is broken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power of sin is broken. Show all posts
Monday, April 25, 2016
Friday, November 20, 2015
God invites all to His river of life ............. Parables 355
February 2, 1953
Three generations of unsuspecting people drank from it, swam in it, gave it to their animals and children, sprayed it on their plants, and said it always tasted good, but now are being told the Techa River is the most polluted river in the world.
Over 40 years ago, atomic waste was jettisoned into this body of water in Russia. For the past several years, residents downstream have experienced cancer, anaemia, stillborn babies, paralysis and numerous other problems related to continual exposure to radiation. Apparently the cause of these and other horrors is an ignorant and tragic mistake made years ago by a few nuclear scientists.
One article about the Techa includes “river of death” in its title. But a river is not supposed to bring death. It is no wonder the survivors, who drank and used its water without realizing there was anything wrong with it, feel betrayed and devastated. My own outrage is difficult to describe. This is so sad particularly because there is nothing to be done. Once exposed, radiation damage to the human system is irreversible.
It is bad enough when we foolishly do things that are obviously harmful and others get hurt in the process, but these people were completely unaware of their danger. We might well ask how could God allow this? It seems these people didn’t have a hope. Yet that is only partly true. Hope is not limited to this life and hope is never beyond those who still live and breathe and can make decisions. Hope is always available.
This week, we will be returning from eastern Europe. Writing in advance of the trip, we have not been able to include the former Soviet Union in our itinerary, but if we could, I would go to Techa’s banks and tell these suffering people about another river: the river of life, a river described in the first verses of Revelation 22.
“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
We cannot imagine water so clear, water that tastes of life itself, eternal life, life that heals and cleanses and refreshes. No river on earth can compare with it. It is perfect, totally unpolluted, completely without defilement.
Life, since the first sin in Eden, has been marked by tragedies of many kinds, most of which can be directly connected to human sin and error. We are guilty of ruining our own environment, whether through mistakes made in ignorance or deliberate defiance. Environmentalists and others wonder if it is too late to turn things around.
The sad truth is that the book of Revelation also talks about judgments on sin that include defiled oceans and rivers, “a third of the sea became blood; and a third of the living creatures in the sea died.... a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water because it was made bitter” and “the rivers and springs of water became blood...”
At the end of these terrible prophecies, the river of life is described and the invitation is made to all who want to escape the sorrows of this world: “The Spirit and the bride (the church) say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
Anyone can be refreshed and restored for all eternity by this river, even those who drink the polluted water of the Techa.
Three generations of unsuspecting people drank from it, swam in it, gave it to their animals and children, sprayed it on their plants, and said it always tasted good, but now are being told the Techa River is the most polluted river in the world.
Over 40 years ago, atomic waste was jettisoned into this body of water in Russia. For the past several years, residents downstream have experienced cancer, anaemia, stillborn babies, paralysis and numerous other problems related to continual exposure to radiation. Apparently the cause of these and other horrors is an ignorant and tragic mistake made years ago by a few nuclear scientists.
One article about the Techa includes “river of death” in its title. But a river is not supposed to bring death. It is no wonder the survivors, who drank and used its water without realizing there was anything wrong with it, feel betrayed and devastated. My own outrage is difficult to describe. This is so sad particularly because there is nothing to be done. Once exposed, radiation damage to the human system is irreversible.
It is bad enough when we foolishly do things that are obviously harmful and others get hurt in the process, but these people were completely unaware of their danger. We might well ask how could God allow this? It seems these people didn’t have a hope. Yet that is only partly true. Hope is not limited to this life and hope is never beyond those who still live and breathe and can make decisions. Hope is always available.
This week, we will be returning from eastern Europe. Writing in advance of the trip, we have not been able to include the former Soviet Union in our itinerary, but if we could, I would go to Techa’s banks and tell these suffering people about another river: the river of life, a river described in the first verses of Revelation 22.
“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
We cannot imagine water so clear, water that tastes of life itself, eternal life, life that heals and cleanses and refreshes. No river on earth can compare with it. It is perfect, totally unpolluted, completely without defilement.
Life, since the first sin in Eden, has been marked by tragedies of many kinds, most of which can be directly connected to human sin and error. We are guilty of ruining our own environment, whether through mistakes made in ignorance or deliberate defiance. Environmentalists and others wonder if it is too late to turn things around.
The sad truth is that the book of Revelation also talks about judgments on sin that include defiled oceans and rivers, “a third of the sea became blood; and a third of the living creatures in the sea died.... a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water because it was made bitter” and “the rivers and springs of water became blood...”
At the end of these terrible prophecies, the river of life is described and the invitation is made to all who want to escape the sorrows of this world: “The Spirit and the bride (the church) say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
Anyone can be refreshed and restored for all eternity by this river, even those who drink the polluted water of the Techa.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Death’s Web ................ Parables 321
June 9, 1992
The sunlight catches the silken strands of a spider’s weaving. It was not there last week but sometime during the nights and days since I last looked in my garden, a small brown creature created a beautiful design — beautiful but a trap for the unwary. Once entangled in the web, other insects cannot escape the spider’s sting of death. Their lot is cast.
Spider’s webs are a wonderful metaphor. From the philosophy of Charlotte’s Web, to poems of conversations between spiders and flies, we have a greater perception of certain slices of life.
The Bible, rich in imagery and figures of speech, also uses this metaphor — but only part of it — the relationship to life found in the sting of death. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, Greece. He tells them how vital the truth of Christ’s resurrection is to living the Christian life. For one thing, it removes the threat of dying. Verse 55 of chapter 15 asks the rhetorical question: “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades (grave), where is your victory?”
With that, Paul triumphantly proclaims the grave can only claim its victims for a short while — Christ rose from the dead, proving there is life after death — so death has lost its sting.
Death’s sting, at least on this side of dying, is fear. Most of us, most of the time, do not want to die. Fear of death is expressed in many ways, from re-labeling it with euphemisms to spending millions of dollars in life-prolonging research. We fear partly because we like life and do not want it to end, partly because of the process of dying, and certainly because of the uncertainty of what will happen after death. Is there a judgment? Or nothing?
The good news is that God the Son participated in human life — and in death — that “... through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Death is like that spider’s web — - and it catches all of us. Paul explains that “... the sting of death is sin...” Put another way, death is the result of sin and since all sin (Romans 3:23), no one can avoid its web. So sin (falling short of the righteousness of God) strikes the killing blow.
The Bible does not liken Satan to the spider but he could fit that role because he held “the power of death” however, notice that Christ has “destroyed him who had the power of death... the devil.”
When Jesus came, He could have decreed death out of the picture but He did not choose to circumvent dying. Instead, He destroyed its control over us by robbing the spider, the web, and the sting of their power. This He did by surrendering to the web, just as we eventually must, but with one big difference: since death’s sting is sin, that sting could not touch Him — He was sinless so the only way He could die was by willingly allowing our sin to be put on Him (2 Cor.5:21). That was all the spider was waiting for.
But death could not hold Jesus; it had no power over Him personally. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He conquered the web and the sting, broke the dominion of Satan, and walked out of the tomb.
Because of what Jesus did, sin and death cannot hold those who trust Him. The pain of death is overcome — it is the Christian’s transition to heaven, not to be feared. Furthermore, the present pain and sorrow of sin is forgiven, even conquered in Christ — it’s domination is broken. Both still seek to frighten the unwary into bondage and fear of dying, but Christ has put both sin and death under His feet. Death is no longer our biggest enemy.
Perhaps the real enemy now is unwary unbelief.
The sunlight catches the silken strands of a spider’s weaving. It was not there last week but sometime during the nights and days since I last looked in my garden, a small brown creature created a beautiful design — beautiful but a trap for the unwary. Once entangled in the web, other insects cannot escape the spider’s sting of death. Their lot is cast.
Spider’s webs are a wonderful metaphor. From the philosophy of Charlotte’s Web, to poems of conversations between spiders and flies, we have a greater perception of certain slices of life.
The Bible, rich in imagery and figures of speech, also uses this metaphor — but only part of it — the relationship to life found in the sting of death. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, Greece. He tells them how vital the truth of Christ’s resurrection is to living the Christian life. For one thing, it removes the threat of dying. Verse 55 of chapter 15 asks the rhetorical question: “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades (grave), where is your victory?”
With that, Paul triumphantly proclaims the grave can only claim its victims for a short while — Christ rose from the dead, proving there is life after death — so death has lost its sting.
Death’s sting, at least on this side of dying, is fear. Most of us, most of the time, do not want to die. Fear of death is expressed in many ways, from re-labeling it with euphemisms to spending millions of dollars in life-prolonging research. We fear partly because we like life and do not want it to end, partly because of the process of dying, and certainly because of the uncertainty of what will happen after death. Is there a judgment? Or nothing?
The good news is that God the Son participated in human life — and in death — that “... through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Death is like that spider’s web — - and it catches all of us. Paul explains that “... the sting of death is sin...” Put another way, death is the result of sin and since all sin (Romans 3:23), no one can avoid its web. So sin (falling short of the righteousness of God) strikes the killing blow.
The Bible does not liken Satan to the spider but he could fit that role because he held “the power of death” however, notice that Christ has “destroyed him who had the power of death... the devil.”
When Jesus came, He could have decreed death out of the picture but He did not choose to circumvent dying. Instead, He destroyed its control over us by robbing the spider, the web, and the sting of their power. This He did by surrendering to the web, just as we eventually must, but with one big difference: since death’s sting is sin, that sting could not touch Him — He was sinless so the only way He could die was by willingly allowing our sin to be put on Him (2 Cor.5:21). That was all the spider was waiting for.
But death could not hold Jesus; it had no power over Him personally. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He conquered the web and the sting, broke the dominion of Satan, and walked out of the tomb.
Because of what Jesus did, sin and death cannot hold those who trust Him. The pain of death is overcome — it is the Christian’s transition to heaven, not to be feared. Furthermore, the present pain and sorrow of sin is forgiven, even conquered in Christ — it’s domination is broken. Both still seek to frighten the unwary into bondage and fear of dying, but Christ has put both sin and death under His feet. Death is no longer our biggest enemy.
Perhaps the real enemy now is unwary unbelief.
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