April, 2023 | THE BIBLE VIEW

The Bible View #906 — Separation

In This Issue:
Stay in the Henhouse
A Worldly Christian
Safe in the Ark
Get Far from Evil
The Danger of the World

Volume: 906 May 1, 2023
Theme: Separation

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Stay in the Henhouse
Bill Brinkworth

I have endeavored to raise chickens to raise as much food as possible. After hearing the locals tell of coyotes and seeing evidence of a fox, coupled with the knowledge of nearby black snakes, I knew that the pen and the henhouse must resist those predators.

When building their coop, I accommodated for all those dangers in the design. Their outside run was wrapped with strong chicken wire. Even the floor was laid with the fence material in case one of the raiders tried to gain entrance by digging in. The wire was doubled stapled so no creature could gain entry by tearing off the covering. Even the roof was partly covered with wire and sheet metal to keep out airborne enemies like hawks.

The house was sheathed in strong material, with even the smallest gaps eliminated, so an egg-hungry snake could not slither in. Windows were covered with heavy screening that would keep them out and was higher than any ground predator could reach. When finished, the house was safe for all the fowl that lived within.

Afterward, the squeaking and squawking chicks were brought into their new living quarters. Their daily needs were met. They got their daily food, water, and occasional kitchen waste that they devoured. Soon, they grew and were nearing the age that they would produce eggs.

However, their behavior began to change. They no longer fear me as I come to feed, water, and clean their living quarters. At times, they were a bit hostile to me as I tried to feed them.

As I left their pen or henhouse, they kept following me to get outside their protected environment. Sometimes, as I went, they attempted to dart out to the unprotected outside. Usually, they could be herded back into their safe environment and were discouraged from escaping.

One morning, however, one hen managed to get out. Fortunately, before she got too far, I was able to catch her and put her back in the safe area I had created for her.

I realize their discontentment with their secure environment and curiosity to go “outside” was very much what too many Christians spend their lives trying to do. Instead of following God’s commandments, as preserved in the Bible, they take every opportunity to go outside God’s protection.

The rules that they ignore, disobey, and often dislike are there for their protection. A life within those guidelines will be safe and guarantee a closer walk with God. A life lived outside those guidelines will be one without God’s protection and guidance and may result in hardship, unhappiness, and even destruction.

God knows what waits “outside.” He knows all about the luring temptations, the strangling grip of sin, and the devouring Devil that can ruin any man, woman, or child once they are outside His protection.

Man may learn God’s commandments and what God warns him not to do, but he often looks “outside.” He sees most of the world doing things he knows he should not do.

Often he observes that it appears that nothing happens when the world commits sin or even gets close to it. It seems that they get away with it.

He considers that the biblical warnings are wrong or for a different time and that now they must be okay to do, as so many appear to get away with iniquity. (If man could follow those people’s lives and learn of all the details, he would find they did not get away with it after all!).

Mankind often lurches outside the protection God has provided. For a short time, doing what everyone else is doing is fun. There are no repercussions for sin or getting too close to it.

However, his life changes so slowly that he often does not see the changes that happen. His desire to please God and obey Him is usually the first thing that is eroded, along with the fear of the consequences of getting involved in sin.

Lack of concern for others also disappears. What remains is a self-centered individual bent on satisfying one’s selfish desires.

Often involvement in sin does physical damage or changes. Again, the sinner never sees the damage exposure to the “outside” has done.

No one gets away with sin. That is why God commands us not to get close to it, so it can never get a hold of a person. There is a wage to iniquity’s commission. Stay inside God’s boundaries, and you can escape the dangers that lurk “outside.”

“If we could look steadily at the world and see it as it is in the eyes of God, many of our estimates would be amazingly changed.” — Edward Gareshe

A Worldly Christian
C. H. Spurgeon

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Mat. 6:24

No man can serve God and mammon because there is not enough life in the heart to serve the two. Alas! Many people try this, and they fail both ways.

I have known a man who has tried to let some of his heart run into the world and another part he allowed to drip into the church. The effect was that he was suspected of hypocrisy when he came into the church.

“Why,” they said, “if he were truly obeying the Lord, could he have done yesterday what he did and then come and profess so much today?” Other believers look upon him suspiciously, or if he deceives them, they feel he cannot be trusted because he has not given all his heart to the Lord.

What is the effect of his conduct to the world? Why, his religion is a constraint to him there. Any mention of God or His commandments, especially any expression of guilt, makes the world uncomfortable around him, and they also do not trust him.

The world will not have him, and other Christians will not have him. He wants to go between the two, and both avoid him.

“If you can get along with the world, then you are out of step with God.”
— Dr. Harold Sightler

Safe in the Ark
D. L. Moody

When the voice came down from Heaven to Noah, “… Come thou and all thy house into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation,” there was a minute when Noah was outside the ark and another when he was inside. By being inside, he was saved. As long as he was outside the ark, he was exposed to the wrath of God just like the rest of the people.

If he had stayed out and remained with the others, he would have been swept away, as they were. It was not his righteousness. It was not his faith or works that saved him; it was the ark.

God has provided an ark for us (His Word), and the question is, “Are you inside or outside this ark?” If you are inside, you are safe; if you are outside, you are not.

Get Far from Evil
Adam Clark

Abstain from all appearance of evil (I Thes. 5:22). Sin not and avoid even the appearance of it. Do not drive your morality so near the bounds of evil as to lead even weak persons to believe you touch, taste, or handle it. Let not the form of it appear with or among you.

Ye are called to holiness. Be ye holy, for God is holy.

“If you are saved, you are on the winning side. Why would you want to look or act like the losing side that is headed for Hell?”

The Danger of the World
J. Mason

Beware of the world. It has slain its millions!
What ruined Lot’s wife? The world.
What ruined Achan? The world.
What ruined Haman? The world.
What ruined Judas? The world.
What ruined Demas? The world.
What will ruin you? The world.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mat. 16:26

The BIBLE VIEW #905 — God’s Word

In This Issue:
God Kept His Word
What the New “bibles” Do

Volume: 905 April 24, 2023
Theme: God’s Word

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God Kept His Word
Bill Brinkworth

God said He would keep His Word for and with us, and He has done so!
“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isa. 40:8 According to verse seven, the grass refers to people. People will come and go, but God’s Word will always be amongst us.
“But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” I Pet. 1:25 Also: Psalms 102:12, Luke 16:17.

God preserved His Word in written form.
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Mat. 5:18 Jot and tittle refer to the dialectical marks of the languages used. This implies that the preserved word is in written form!

Its preservation is essential to our faith. Why would God require it if He would not keep it for us?
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Rom. 10:17

Many places in the Scriptures were quoted accurately at a later date by prophets, leaders, rulers, and even Christ. “As it is written” is used in 49 verses, indicating that the preserved Word was trusted then.

It is inspired! “God breathed” into the originals, and He has preserved His original inspiration.
“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” Psa. 12:6-7
We have the inspired, preserved Word of God!

There have always been copies. The originals have never been gathered together in one place. There are now no originals! From the beginning, God has used and blessed copies:

Moses broke the first tablets. God made sure His people had an accurate copy of them.
King Jehoiakim (Jer. 36) did not like what Jehudi read from the Word of God and burnt them. God again gave it to Jeremiah. Then it was thrown in the river (Jer. 51:63); end of original #2, but we still have it now. It is preserved!

The Hebrews preserved the Old Testament in the Masoretic Text. The New Testament was preserved in Greek in the Textus Receptus. There have been copies from those translated texts since 150 AD.

Different men had a burden that the Word of God be written in a language the common person could read. Before their work, only certain clergy could read it. They only told the masses what they wanted them to hear, often in a language the people did not understand. The work of many preserved God’s Word in these forms from such men as Erasmus, William Tyndale, Miles Coverdale, and the six companies of 47-54 (according to different accounts) translators that translated the 1611 King James.

The King James 1611 had several changes done to it up to 1769. The KJV that we read today is the 1769 version. All the 400 changes from the 1611 to the 1769 version were spelling and grammatical changes as the written English language grew more consistent and changed. Compare those minimal changes to the thousands of alterations reportedly changed in the New King James Version in the 5^th version from the 1^st version.

KJV 1611: “For God so loued the world, the he gaue his only begotten Sonne: that whosoeuer beleeurth in him, should not perish, but haue euerlasting life.” John 3:16 Notice where we used a “v” the earlier language used a “u”. Also: “I”’s were used as “J”’s, “f”’s for “s”’s….
KJV 1769: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Since the beginning, Satan has gotten man to doubt and question the Word of God. If you doubt it, you will not believe it or live it. I am sure this is why Satan has done much to water down God’s Word, hide His Word, or get people confused enough not to read or believe the Bible.
Gen. 3:1 “ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

Even the early church had to deal with Satan’s attack on the Truth. That attack continues even more so in these last crucial days!
“For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.” II Cor. 2:17

If the Bible is missing or has words changed, it is not the preserved Word of God that God promised to keep. All modern translations and revisions have changed words. They cannot be trusted. They are tampering with the Word of God!

The modern translations and revisions are counterfeits!

Their root is from Egypt. The Bible has a negative outlook on Egypt (Rev. 11:8.), especially Alexandria (Acts 6:9, Col. 2:8). Alexandria is where the philosophy that the Bible is fallible (Origen) grew and that it has mistakes and must be corrected. Most modern translations come from the Alexandrian manuscripts.
They remove or change words. i.e.: NIV is 90,000 words short of what is in the KJV.
They change the meaning of the verses. Bible teachings are altered many times to suit the author or organization producing the “bible” and their beliefs. Often the new perversions change verses dealing with the deity of Christ, Jesus’ virgin birth, Hell, and salvation.
The new “bibles” bring confusion. Who is the author of confusion (I Cor. 14:33)? Not God! Satan is behind the perversion of God’s Word. The perversions change biblical doctrine!
They profess to make the Word of God easier to understand, but they do not! The Holy Spirit reveals the understanding of God’s Word to man, not man’s intellect. The “bible” is said to be made “easier” to understand, yet fewer than ever are reading any version!

There is a battle raging over the souls of man. The warfare can only be won with the Word of God. Many, including Satan, are working hard to dull the only spiritual weapon man has. God has made sure the Bible is still preserved in the KJV. Do you read and obey it?

“If the modern ‘bibles’ are supposed to make it easier to understand and also correct ‘mistakes,’ why did 300+ different English versions still not make it easy enough and get it right, and why are they still creating more versions? The answer is that the goal is not to make the Word of God clearer, but to make money and make it say what they want!”

What the New “bibles” Do
Bill Brinkworth

There are thousands of changes in all the different versions. Here are a few so one can get an idea as to how man has changed what God has said!

They change God’s Commandments.
King James (KJV): “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Acts 8:37
New International Version (NIV): Verse removed and footnoted
New American Standard Version (NASV): Verse removed and footnoted
New World Translation (NWT — Jehovah Witness Bible): Verse removed.
Revised Standard Version (RSV): Verse removed and footnoted
New Century Version (NCV): Verse removed and footnoted.
These re-writers wanted to do away with the biblical teaching of baptism!

They alter truths about Christ.
(KJV) “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” Mat. 1:25
(NASV) “and kept her virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called his name Jesus.”
(RSV) “but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.”
(NIV) “But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

Other versions remove wording that indicates Jesus was Mary’s firstborn son.
(KJV) “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.” Mat. 18:11
(NASB) This verse is footnoted and implies that it should not be there.
(NIV) Verse removed and footnoted (footnote is changed, however).
(NWT) Verse removed.
(NCV) Verse removed.
The important reason for Jesus Christ’s coming has been deleted! The way of salvation is removed!

They alter truths about judgment and Hell!
“Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:46
(NIV) Omitted and footnoted
(NWT, NASB, NCV. RSV, Amplified) Omitted.

They do not make God’s word easier to understand, as they claim!
(KJV) “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” Eph. 5:18
New King James Version (NKJV) “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation….”
(NIV) “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”

(KJV) “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.” Daniel 3:2
(NKJV) “And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” A difficult word was inserted, and facts were changed.
(NIV) “He then summoned the satraps, prefects ….”

They change facts:
“Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.” I Kings 18:19
(NKJV, NIV, NCV, NASB, RSV) “… and the four hundred prophets of Asherah ….”
(NWT) “… four hundred prophets of sacred pole ….”
In the Catholic Confraternity Version (1963), this verse is found in III Kings 18:19.

They not only remove and change words, but they add words.
“And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Rev. 22:19
(The Amplified Bible) “And if any one cancels or takes away from the statements of the book of this prophecy — these predictions relating to Christ’s kingdom and its speedy triumph, together with the consolations and admonitions (warnings) pertaining to them — God will cancel and take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the city of holiness (pure and hallowed) which are described and promised in this book.” — wheeww!

“Things That Are Different Are Not the Same!”
— Title of Dr. Mickey Carter’s book on the Bible version issue

The BIBLE VIEW #904 — Alcohol

In This Issue:
Should a Christian Drink Alcohol?
Effects of Drinking
A Monster

Volume: 904 April 16, 2023
Theme: Alcohol

Should a Christian Drink Alcohol?
Bill Brinkworth

Today, possibly because the Word of God is not obeyed and is considered not relevant, many Christians have no conviction about what the Bible says about many things, including the drinking of alcohol.

The Bible says much about the dangers and effects that alcohol will have on one and a Christian testimony. Indulgence in alcohol is never recommended in God’s Word. Its use is usually negatively spoken about.

Here are some reasons why a Christian should avoid alcoholic beverages:

Alcohol is dangerous. Even wine is likened to a poison that will ruin one’s life!
“Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright [fermenting]. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.” Pro. 23:31-32
Alcohol should not be drunk by a wise person.
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” Prov. 20:1 Wine’s influence will make one mock, or deride, others. Strong drink will often make one loud and cause him to show his anger.
Alcohol will increase one’s problems and affect health and mental stability.
“Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.” Pro. 23:29-30
Alcohol will control a person and affect one’s thinking and discernment.
“But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.” Isa. 28:7
Alcohol will affect one’s will.
“Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.” Hos. 4:11 Notice that there are two types of wine: new, unfermented wine, and alcoholic (fermented) wine.
Alcohol will affect one’s desire to do something for the Lord and the desire to be industrious.
“Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! 12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.” Isa. 5:11-12 “
Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: 21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. We are not to even be around drinking, so certainly the Saviour would not have broken this commandment.” Pro. 23:20

These verses, and many more, show we should not drink, especially if we are concerned about keeping the “temple” that God gave us clean (I Cor. 6:19) from temptations and sin. However, what confuses many, and is often used to justify drinking, is the Bible’s usage of the word “wine.” In the New Testament, that word is used to describe alcoholic and non-alcoholic wine. The Greek word “oinos” refers to fermented and unfermented “wines.” The context of the verse usually reveals which type of “wine” it refers to.

What is non-alcoholic “wine”? We call it grape juice. Sometimes the Bible refers to it as “new wine” (Mat. 9:17, Luke 5:39). Understand that in biblical days there was no refrigeration and that it was hot, which would quickly ferment the “new wine.” To keep this from happening, the new “wine” was often simmered so that the water would evaporate from the “wine.”

That process would result in a thick grape syrup that would last a long time. It also was called “wine.” Before it was drunk, water would be added to it again. An ancient shipwreck was recovered with a cargo of containers of that grape syrup, which was still preserved.

There are other reasons why a Christian should not drink, even wine. They include:

Fermented wine is a picture of sin! The yeast (“leaven”) in the grape skins turns the juice to alcohol. Yeast is a picture of sin, as it spreads and “ruins” (fermentation is a decaying and rotting process) many things it is placed in. For this reason, it should not be drunk and should NEVER be used in the Lord’s supper, as Jesus was sinless and should not be pictured as sinful by fermented grape juice.

Also, for the same reason, raised bread should not be used. A little “leaven” in grape juice or flour will raise and spread throughout the product, just as a little sin spreads and affects whatever life it touches.
“A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” Gal. 5:9
“Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” I Cor. 5:6
Many justify drinking because Jesus turned water into “wine” (John 2:9-10). It was not alcoholic wine He changed from water. If He did that, He would have been serving alcohol, which would have earned Him God’s “woe” rather than God’s approval on His life (Mat. 3:17). Jesus’ converting the water was not an example of biblical doctrine on drinking. It was a miracle to show Jesus was God in the flesh.
“Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!” Hab. 2:15 If one is not to give it to others, then he should not be drinking it himself.
Alcohol is often a gateway to other sins. One sin usually leads to others, and alcohol is no exception.
“Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.” Pro. 23:33
Some twist I Tim. 5:23 around to say that drinking wine for your health is okay. Any drunk or doctor will tell you that alcohol will tear up one’s stomach. Alcohol irritates the digestive system, including the stomach, causing it to produce too much acid. This can lead to gastritis, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding. Look at the beer belly of a beer guzzler for proof. God knows all this, so alcohol consumption cannot be what I Tim. 5:23 is referring to.
“Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.” I Tim 5:23 I read that to get the “good” chemical in wine that is supposed to help one’s health, many bottles of wine should be drunk daily. Drinking that much would qualify one as a drunkard the Bible condemns. Eating grapes or drinking unfermented grape juice is a better choice for one’s stomach health.
What is “drunk”? How many drinks does it take to be “drunk”? An excellent answer to this question is from Jim Jorgenson in Should I. He wrote, “Perhaps you would say, ‘It would take six beers to make me drunk.’ If you only drink one beer, then you are one-sixth drunk. You are one-sixth less able to serve God than before drinking.”
We are not to have the appearance of doing anything wrong. We are to have an upright testimony. Drinking would give an impression to others that we were drunkards.
“Abstain from all appearance of evil.” I Thes. 5:22

Christians should be led and guided by the Spirit of God, not the spirit of drunkenness. Interestingly, the old-time drunkards knew that drinking was not of God, and the wrong spirits influenced users of it. To prove that look at a bottle of booze, which will still be identified as 50% (or another number) spirits. Drinking it leads one to follow the wrong spirit, which will not be the Spirit of God.

A Christian should be “Christ-like,” as the name implies. He should not be close to the edge of the godless world from which he was saved. A believer should be as far from temptation and sin as possible. One cannot lose his salvation, but he can lose his Christian testimony and be ensnared by many of the same pitfalls the unsaved fall into when they indulge in alcohol. All lose when they drink booze!
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” Eph. 5:18

“Alcohol is a very effective dissolving agent. It dissolves families, marriages, friendships, jobs, bank accounts, and neurons, but never problems.”

Effects of Drinking
Gleaned from Should I? by Jim Jorgensen, Page 51

Physical Effects
Controlled by alcohol: (Isa. 5:11)
Leads to sickness: (Hosea 7:5)
Causes one to stagger: (Job 12:25)
Can cause one to vomit: (Isa. 19:14)
Affects one’s eyes: (Prov. 23:29)
Leads one to be hurt: (Prov. 23:29)
Produces filthiness: (Isa. 28:8)
Provokes one to do dumb things: (Prov. 23:34)

Mental Effects
Impairs judgments: (Prov. 31:5, Isa. 28:7)
Impairs the memory: (Prov. 31:4-5)
Encourages one to lose his temper: (Prov. 20:1)

Moral & Spiritual
Leads to indifference for the work of the Lord: (Isa. 5:12)
Is allied with gambling and licentiousness: (Joel 3:3)
Is allied with indecent exposure: (Gen. 9:21, Hab. 2:15-16)

Ultimately, it can lead to:
A ruined life: (Prov. 23:32)
Poverty: (Proverbs 21:17, 23:21)
Strife: (Proverbs 23:29-30)
Woe and sorrow: (Proverbs 23:29-30)

“One never has to battle the strangling grasp of alcohol, if one never takes the first sip.”

A Monster
T. Adams, 1871

A drunkard is the annoyance of modesty, the trouble of civility, the spoil of wealth, and the destroyer of reason. He is the thief of one’s self, the beggar’s companion, and the sheriff’s trouble. The drunk is his wife’s woe, his children’s sorrow, his neighbor’s scoff, and his shame. He is a spirit of unrest, a thing below a beast, and a menacing monster.

“To a drunkard who feels unlovable, the message that God loves him comes as good news.” — Jerry Dunn

The BIBLE VIEW #903 — God’s Words

In This Issue:
One Reason for Reading the Bible
They Can’t Understand
A Form of Godliness

Volume: 903 April 10, 2023
Theme: God’s Words

One Reason for Reading the Bible
Bill Brinkworth

The compiled Word of God, the Bible, has many purposes. It tells man the mind of God, what He likes and disapproves of, how to live, how to die, how to be successful, why one fails, and many other essential life lessons.

There is another purpose for spending time in God’s preserved Word. That reason is so man can learn from examples of those in the past. A wise man should not want to repeat the errors of others. Reading and learning from others’ mistakes is one of the reasons God allows us to have His preserved Book.
“Now these things were our examples …” I Corinthians 10: 6
“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples and they are written for our admonition…” I Cor. 10:11

Although the vehicle of temptation, sin, and trials have changed appearance and may not look like they did 6,000 years ago, basically, they are the same. Mankind may no longer be tempted to have a chariot like his Roman neighbors, but today he is enticed to lust after a car just like his neighbor’s. Seldom does a man lust after watching a woman bathing on a rooftop, as did King David, but desire still rages through pornography on the internet. A person may not spend time worshipping a silver idol, but many still put more value on material things than the things of God. Fewer gossip at the city market as was done in the past, but more talk about others quite a bit on the phone or e-mail.

Mankind has not changed, and because he is basically the same, we can learn about how problems were dealt with in the past, what their consequences were, and how one can face hardships. God’s wisdom is preserved for us in God’s Word.

A wise person learns from others’ mistakes. One should follow advice and wisdom that has worked in the past. The Bible contains much of man’s knowledge and, most importantly, God’s leadership on how to get through life.

God went through a lot of trouble to ensure we have every word He wants us to have so we can have a successful life. Are you wise, and are you reading God’s example book?

“Wisdom is applied knowledge.”

They Can’t Understand
Bill Brinkworth

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” I Corinthians 2:14

Many people try to understand the things of God, but they never truly grasp His truths, nor do they seem real to them. They may have studied the Scriptures, memorized them, and appeared knowledgeable about biblical facts. However, there still seems to be a veil that does not allow them to see and understand the truths from the Word of God.

Preaching also may be entertaining and even interesting to them. Still, the truths spoken to them from the pulpit never get into their hearts and change anything. Many even feel church attendance is meaningless, so they seldom attend.

It is often not the preacher’s fault that they “get nothing from the service” or “do not feel convicted.” This verse in I Corinthians 2 puts the finger on who some of them are and why a spiritual connection is missing in their lives.

Many are not grasping biblical truths or are not Spirit-led because they are “natural” men and women. They are either not born-again and cannot have a relationship with the Lord until they are saved or may be saved and are so worldly-minded that they could not hear the convicting Spirit of God if He blew an air horn in their left ear. A “natural” man is just how they were born, without any spiritual alterations, illuminations, and connections.

No one can understand the things of God unless the Holy Spirit shows them to him (I Cor. 2:11). A person can have a head-knowledge of biblical and spiritual things. Still, unless the Holy Spirit is involved, there will never be a connection to what the brain knows and what a person’s spiritual “heart” believes.

Educated preachers have been in left field regarding understanding God’s things because they were under their own power of understanding and not the Holy Spirit’s. Education alone does not make the “connection.”

Preaching and the things of God are not appreciated and are meaningless to a “natural” man. However, the preaching of the Word of God is important to a saved man. The exhortation of God’s Word and its teaching are spiritual food to a spiritual person. It encourages, guides, and strengthens a child of God. To him, it is foolish not to be at church where God’s Word is taught.

“If you want to hear from the Father, you must speak the same language.”
— Barbara Brinkworth

A Form of Godliness
Bill Brinkworth

Paul warns us that sin will be rampant in the church’s last days. He lists 19 different sins churches during the end times will be guilty of in II Timothy 3. Many of those iniquities have always been committed by individuals throughout history.

In the last days, however, the commission of those sins will change civilization, and they will be committed without guilt or restraint. Although no man knows exactly when the Lord will return for His church, one has to admit that the prominence and rampant involvement of the sins listed in this chapter describe today’s spiritual condition too well.

One particular sin has done so much damage to the cause of Christ and Christian living. It may look Christian. It may use religious and Christian vocabulary. Perhaps it may even involve many doing biblically correct things, but this sin is very deceptive and dangerous. It is watered-down, liberal Christianity. It is a “… form of godliness, but denying the power thereof …” (I Tim. 3:5 5), and it is doing much damage in the world today.

Most want to please God and believe He is real sometime in their life. Many look for Him in a church. They go there, but instead of hearing the true Word of God preached and practiced, they only hear partial truths and a lot of humanistic, unbiblical teaching.

Because so many do not search and study the Scriptures themselves, they soak up and believe lies. Sadly, so many will die and open their eyes in a dark, tormenting Hell only to discover that they were led astray by false teachers, preachers, and lies. That is why Paul said to avoid any church or ministry that does not align with what the Word of God teaches (II Tim. 3:5).

However, as dangerous as it is, unless people find the truth in the Word of God for themselves, they will never see the lies they may have been exposed to. To make matters worse, even the Word of God has been tampered with by those that are deceiving those searching for the truth.

Words have been added to modernized “bibles,” and words have been removed or changed. Even if they pick up a newer translation (any other than the KJV version for English-speaking people), they are still only getting a “… form of godliness.”

Seminaries that once trained leaders of churches sthat did much for the cause of Christ have strayed far from biblical teachings and practices. Denominations have replaced the Word of God with their writings or modified a “bible” to teach their beliefs.

Many churches have embraced all religions into their fellowship and called themselves non-denominational or have gotten far from where they spiritually stood years ago. Some organizations have cropped up discarding biblical references and created their own philosophies and religion.

As the time approaches for the Lord’s return, finding churches that teach the truth is getting more difficult. However, we cannot blame them alone for their errors. Most of the time, they have been allowed to stray from biblical teachings because there were none or few that even knew the truths the Bible teaches. That is why it is essential, as II Timothy 2:15 says, to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” If more would delve into the Scriptures for themselves, fewer watered-down, unbiblical teachings from pulpits would go unchallenged.

“A little arsenic in a glass of drinking water will poison the drinker. Just a few altered words in the ‘bible’ will poison one’s mind about the things of God.”
— Author Unknown