This message addresses the issue of the LORD’S judgment how it is not contradictory for the LORD to demand that we do not put someone to death for the sins of another. Yet, in His judgment He takes entire families, cities and nations. The requirement for us is to understand why.
I pray it is profitable for you.
For those who cannot use the embedded player, wish to use a different player, or want to save the file, the following link is provided:
In Christ,
Paul W. Davis
Without realizing it, the LORD’s children frequently refuse His blessings. Unfortunately, the complaint of those same children is frequently to the effect the LORD does not bless like they think He ought. This message addresses how it is that we refuse the blessings the LORD does desire to bestow upon His children. May it be profitable for you.
In Christ,
Paul W. Davis
For those who want to download the file or the podcast does not work, the following link to the mp3 file.
This addresses being internally a doer of the word, and not just a hearer of the word. Far too many individuals who claim Christ are doers of the word only outwardly – the word never penetrating their heart where it must go to do any good at all.
I pray it is profitable for you.
For those who cannot use the embedded player, wish to use a different player, or want to save the file, the following link is provided:
In Christ,
Paul W. Davis
The following audio is about those sins that we all harbor, and consistently fail to acknowledge as sins. Rather, we tend to justify these and excuse them as being the fault of those who offended us.
May you profit by the message.
In Christ,
Paul W. Davis
If the podcast does not work for you, or you wish to download the file, you can access it by the following link:
The following audio is the first part on a series on spiritual war. The title of the study is “What Kind of War.” It focuses on what the spiritual war that all are involved in is like, and how Christians can unwittingly make things worse for themselves and their brethren in this war.
The following link is provided in case you cannot use the embedded player:
May you find it profitable.
In Christ,
Paul W. Davis
What relationships we have as Christians, matter — and matter greatly. The order of importance of those relationships is also just as important as the relationships themselves.
I do pray the following message is profitable for all.
For those who cannot get the podcast above, the following link is the MP3 file that can be downloaded.
The Most Important Relationship
In Christ,
Paul W. Davis
The following audio is Sunday night’s (12/27/2009) message about the spiritual war we are involved in and where is it primarily fought. The message focuses on an area that is frequently ignored in this war, and is crucial to fighting it effectively. I pray you find it profitable.
If you wish to download the audio or listen to it with a different player, use this link: Changing Our Thinking.
In Christ,
Paul W. Davis
The following podcast is a Wednesday night lesson on the dangers of assuming you know the intent of someone else. As the Scripture plainly demonstrates, we cannot know the heart of another — only the LORD God can know the true intent of someone’s heart.
I pray you find the lesson profitable.
In Christ,
Paul W. Davis
This is the sixth in a series addressing those who profess Christ and consider themselves Americans first and foremost. The point of this series is to educate everyone (not just born-again believers) on what the Scripture actually states concerning a proper attitude toward authority and toward those around us, both the froward and the good. As always, my prayer is that everyone learn what is the heart and mind of the LORD God. — In Christ, Paul W. Davis
In the last five posts addressing this subject, we have dealt with the heart and mind of the LORD God toward the lost, and how Steven L. Anderson departed from that in his sermon of August 16th, 2009, in which he loudly and strongly proclaimed that he was praying for the LORD to slay Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, and send him to Hell for his advocacy and support of abortion, among other egregious things.
Now, we turn to how Pastor Anderson justifies his heart and attitude from Scripture. The reason we do this is so we also can understand how not to depart from the truth of the word of God. We know from Scripture that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), and that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Moreover, I (and many others) hold that the King James Version of the Bible is the word of God (the Scripture) for the English-speaking people — worldwide. ((Here we must clarify something for American English-speakers: the King James Bible is written in formal modern British English. This makes it acceptable and accepted worldwide. Were it written in the American dialect of English, it would only be acceptable in America and perhaps Canada. But since England (specifically Britain) is the birthplace of English, and thus the source from which all English dialects come, formal British English is acceptable worldwide.)) This means that we must interpret the texts of the Scripture in such a way that they do not end up conflicting with other passages in Scripture. By that, I do not mean wrestling them until they finally fit the way we want them. Rather, what I mean here is that we allow the construct, the grammar, and the setting (context) be the drivers of our interpretation. This does not mean they are the sole factors in driving our interpretation, but that they have a major influence on how we determine what the passage states. The true driver or influence is what we perceive by and through the operation of faith. The proper operation of faith will insure that we never interpret a passage so that it is in conflict with other passages of Scripture.
That stated, we turn our attention to the passage used by Steven L. Anderson to justify his belief: Psalm 58
Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. (Psalm 58:All)
What are we to make of Psalm 58?
First, it states this psalm is “To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David.” Knowing this, let us begin with understanding something more of David in relation to his service to the LORD. In Acts, we are told by the apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, that king David was a prophet, and that he particularly prophesied of Christ. As we shall see, this bears heavily upon the interpretation and application of Psalm 58.
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (Acts 2:29-31)
The above passage from Acts is a quotation from the 16th Psalm, and is speaking of Christ as the apostle Peter confirms. We can also see in Psalm 22, Psalm 40, Psalm 69, and many others where king David speaks of Christ to come and the work of redemption Christ would accomplish. This should give pause to consider whether Psalm 58 applies to David only, all saints everywhere and at all times, or to the Lord Jesus Christ only. To gain that understanding, it is necessary for us to examine other psalms and see if we can find a consistency of thought with Psalm 58.
And indeed we do find a consistency of thought to two other psalms, both of which are quoted in the New Testament. The first is Psalm 82:
God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations. (Psalm 82:All)
Which is quoted by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself:
The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? (John 10:33-36)
To be continued . . .
This is the fifth in a series addressing those who profess Christ and consider themselves Americans first and foremost. The point of this series is to educate everyone (not just born-again believers) on what the Scripture actually states concerning a proper attitude toward authority and toward those around us, both the froward and the good. As always, my prayer is that everyone learn what is the heart and mind of the LORD God. — In Christ, Paul W. Davis
It is interesting to note, as pointed out in the last post, that the Lord Jesus Christ did not condemn the scribes and Pharisees to Hell. Instead, He clearly stated they were bound for Hell, and they needed to determine how it is they were going to escape that damnation. This is manifestly not the same as praying for them to die and be sent to Hell to be tormented for all eternity. We should remember at this point that the Lord Jesus Christ does have the power both to kill, and to cast men into Hell. However, during His earthly ministry, He did not do either one. Rather, the LORD’s heart toward men is somewhat different, and is in direct contrast to someone who wishes that another would die and be cast into Hell.
To begin with, we should without question understand the following statement:
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: . . . (Hebrews 9:27)
What the above states is that we all have one period of time to be reconciled to the LORD God — the life we live on this earth — that is all. Once the soul departs the body into eternity and the body ceases to function, bringing physical death, there is no more opportunity to be reconciled to the LORD God. If one has chosen to refuse the gospel and reconciliation with the LORD God through the Lord Jesus Christ, then the opportunity to be reconciled to the LORD God is forever lost, and one will stand in judgement before the LORD depending solely upon their record of life on this earth and their own righteousness as demonstrated by that record. Sadly for them, that record will be weighed against the commandments of the LORD God to show where they have erred and fallen short of the express commandments of the LORD. Hence, it is utter foolishness to ignore or disregard the gospel, resisting it unto death. That will guarantee eternal damnation and torment in Hell and the Lake of Fire.
By the above, the born-again Believer should be able to discern what attitude and heart they are supposed to have toward the lost — no matter how wicked they are. If someone claims to belong to Christ and does not earnestly desire that everyone come to Christ for salvation, then somewhere along the line they have missed understanding the heart of the LORD toward all men, which is expressed in the following passages of Scripture:
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (I Timothy 2:1-6)
Need it be stated that the “due time” is now? Moreover, that it is the duty of the adopted children of the LORD to proclaim the gospel? Where in the above does it say that the Believer is to ask for the death and judgement of someone? Even if that is how we feel (the wanting of judgement to be brought upon someone), where does it fit in the above admonition to “first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men”? It doesn’t, does it? Therefore we, as born-again Believers, are to give place unto the LORD, and be obedient to His commands:
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21)
“Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” does not sound like “When I go to bed tonight, Steven L. Anderson is going to pray for Barack Obama to die and go to hell.” does it? No, the heart and attitude expressed in the two are poles apart in every respect, aren’t they? Hence, we should now understand the error of Steven L. Anderson (or anyone else) in praying for someone to die and be cast into Hell. It certainly is not the heart of the LORD as expressed in the following passage:
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:11)
Something is obviously being missed by Mr. Anderson, who claims to be a Believer and a preacher of the gospel — and that something appears to be the heart of the LORD God.
To be continued . . .