DISCIPLE

 June has been proclaimed LGBT Pride month. There are marches and other public manifestations. But they have nothing to be proud of, and have forgotten or lost the ability to be ashamed. Proverbs 6:17 lists "a proud look" at the top of the list of seven things that God hates, that are an abomination to him. Long ago Isaiah, a faithful prophet of God, was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these words denouncing sinful pride. "The expression of their faces bears witness against them. And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves... Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him" (Isaiah 3:9-10). Society may change, and man's laws, too, but God's Word is forever settled in heaven, and all will be judged one day by His word, not theirs. Instead of pride, there should be humbling and repentance. "Seek ye the LORD, while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near."  God i...

      Are those who don’t forgive others guilty of holding grudges? Is it wrong not to forgive? Many people today would say yes unhesitatingly. For example I recently saw an article entitled, “How to Forgive Someone Who Did You Wrong–Here's how to (finally) let go of that grudge.” That sums up popular thought in a nutshell. However, the answer depends on the details. Grudge holding is definitely an unbecoming trait, but not forgiving does not automatically equal holding a grudge. Thinking Christians who believe what God’s Word says know that although forgiveness is certainly desirable, it is not always possible.     Some believe in unconditional forgiveness and would immediately protest, citing the so-called Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 as the definitive text on the matter.      “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the ...

 In his first message on the book of Zephaniah, J. Vernon McGee cites Gibbons on why great nations decline and fall. He applied it as a warning to the United States, and it is certainly not difficult to see why, but other nations such as the U.K. and Canada, should also take warning.   The Five Reasons for the Collapse of the Roman Empire  by Edward Gibbon The British Historian Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) was no fan of the Christian faith, but his  History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire  is still worthy of being read, particularly because of his insights into the reasons for the collapse of the empire and the way they should be a sober warning to Western Culture that we are repeating many of the same patterns that destroyed Rome. Gibbon listed the following five primary reasons for the collapse of the Roman Empire:   First: The rapid increase of divorce, with the undermining of the sanctity of the home, which ...

“Father, I have sinned.” Luke 15:21        It was not until the prodigal son returned repentant that the father ran out to meet him, fell on his neck and kissed him. It would not have been righteous to administer forgiveness until first there was repentance. The scriptural principle is, “...if he repents, forgive him” (Lk. 17:3) There is no record that the father sent help to the prodigal as long as he was in the far country. Actually, to have done so would have been to obstruct the work of God in the rebel’s life.      The Lord’s goal was to bring the wayward one down to the dregs. He knew that the son had to come to the end of himself, that he would never look up until first he had hit bottom. The sooner the wanderer got to the husks, the sooner he would be ready to break. So the father had to commit his son to the Lord, and wait for the crisis of extremity. This is one of the hardest things for parents to do – especially for mothers...

Aristotle wrote: "Shame is the mark of a base man and belongs to a character capable of shameful acts." His error was dividing mankind into different categories, some base, some not base. God's analysis of humanity is that all men are base and capable of shameful acts, "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "There is none that doeth good, no not one" (Romans 3:12). Psychologists treat shame as the problem in itself, but they are wrong. They do a great disservice to mankind, teaching people to sin without shame. Shame on them! Shame is not the problem; sin is! Shame comes from sin, and sin must be repented of if there is to be forgiveness. Their false teaching only insures the judgment of God upon the unashamed and unrepentant. "Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I vi...

by J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) Repentance is a thorough change of person’s natural heart, upon the subject of sin. We are all born in sin. We naturally love sin. We take to sin, as soon as we can act and think—just as the bird takes to flying, and the fish takes to swimming. There never was a child that required schooling or education in order to learn deceitfulness, selfishness, passion, self-will, gluttony, pride and foolishness. These things are not picked up from bad companions, or gradually learned by a long course of tedious instruction. They spring up of themselves, even when boys and girls are brought up alone. The seeds of them are evidently the natural product of the heart. The aptitude of all children to these evil things is an unanswerable proof of the corruption and fall of man. Now when this heart of ours is changed by the Holy Spirit, when this natural love of sin is cast out, then takes place that change which the Word of God calls “repentance.” ...

by William R. Newell This is the doctrine that Jesus Christ came to reform society (whatever "society" is!); that He came to abate the evils of selfishness, give a larger "vision" to mankind; and, through His example and precepts, bring about such a change in human affairs, social, political, economic and domestic, as would realize all man's deep longings for a peaceful, happy existence upon earth, ushering in what these teachers are pleased to call, "the Kingdom of God."     1. Now, in the first place, Jesus Christ came to save sinners, not "society."  He said, "The Son of Man hath authority on earth to forgive sins." Now, sins are individual transgressions against a personal God; there is no such thing in Scripture as these social-gospellers dream of, - a condition of "society" to be "changed" or "ameliorated."  All that really exists is the guilt of a vast number of really guilty sinners....

God...now commands all men everywhere to repent: because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness" (Acts 17:30-31). Paul continues in Athens describing the true God and exhorting the Athenians that their thoughts about God were wrong - the true God was not a benign God that smiled on their sin and lifestyle; He was a holy God who commanded repentance and warned of coming judgment to the unrepentant sinner. God Now We can almost hear the educated audience of Athens say, "it is not wise to create that sense of urgency Paul." "Do not use the world 'now.'" "There is plenty of time."  Today the response is no different. Paul was no salesman; his interest was not in mass hysteria on a sham message but real conversion before the truth of a holy God in the light of coming judgment. He could not promise tomorrow. The message is still, " Now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvatio...