BiblicalInsights.net

     Recently, many people throughout the world have experienced dramatic earthquakes.  In the last 30 days, the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) has recorded several hundred earthquakes all over the world.  Some of the worst earthquakes have hit in Haiti, Chile and Taiwan.  The earthquake in Haiti was 7.0 in magnitude.  Its epicentre was 16 miles from Port-au-Prince.  It hit Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010.  Between 217,000 and 230,000 people have been identified as dead.  300,000 have been injured.  1,000,000 people are homeless.  250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings have collapsed.  The earthquake in Chile was a magnitude 8.8.  It occurred on Feb. 27, 2010.  The total costs have not yet been determined, but hundreds have been killed.  The earthquake in Taiwan occurred on March 4, 2010 (more than one quake it on this day).  It was magnitude 6.4.  Its epicentre was 40 miles east southeast of Tai-nan.  How do we explain these natural disasters? 
     Some natural disasters occur as the result of the physical design and forces necessary to the operation of the universe.  God has created the best of all possible worlds as a “vale of soul-making.”  The phrase, “vale of soul-making” was first used by John Keats in 1819 in a letter to George and Georgiana Keats.  In this letter, Keats sets aside the phrase “vale of tears” preferring the phrase “vale of soul-making.”  The phrase helps define the purpose for which the world was created.  Keats states, “Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?  A place where the heart must feel and suffer in a thousand diverse ways.  As various as the lives of men are–so various become their souls, and thus does God make individual beings, souls, identical souls of the sparks of his own essence” (www.alpheratz.f2s.com–  March  1, 2010).  Suffering develops patience (endurance), compassion, love (Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30-37), good-will toward men.  Suffering also impresses each of us with the brevity and uncertainty of life.  Through suffering we learn our own helplessness and the great need we have for God, His help and His mercy and grace. 
     Some disasters are the result of God’s chastening men for their sins.  This fact is illustrated by:  the flood in Noah’s day (Gen. 6-9); the plagues brought upon Egypt (Ex. 8-10); the drought in the days of Ahab (I Kings 17:1; Luke 4:25; James 5:17).  These calamities were brought about by the miraculous hand of God and were designed to be punitive in nature.  The reason we are aware of this fact is the revelation that God made in Scripture specifically indicating His involvement.  Today, we do not have direct revelation from God concerning whether or not He is involved in the disastrous event.  God is still ruling among the nations (Dan. 4:17).  While it is possible that God is chastening a nation, it is not possible for us to know this with certainty.  We may only say “perhaps” (Philemon 15) and recognize God’s providential Will.  Christians should withhold judgment in such matters simply because they do not know with any certainty what directly caused the disaster. 
     The sufferings of this present time should cause us to reflect upon the brevity and uncertainty of life.  They should cause us to realize that this world is not our final abode.  In the face of the reality of disasters, we grow in our understanding of the need of God and of being in a right relationship with Him through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.  Whenever our soul is secure in the hands of God, we can confidently face life or death.  Christians look forward to an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled and fadeth not away reserved in heaven for us (I Pet. 1:4;  See also Rom. 8:18-25). This world is not our home, but it is a vale of soul-making!

     I am a regular reader of Kiplinger magazine which provides finanical information to the average consumer.  In August of 2009, an article appeared in Kiplinger written by Andrew Feinberg titled, “A Prescrption for Panic.”  In this article, Feinberg warned against panic in the financial markets and in the average investor.  He references Paul Krugman’s The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008, and remarks, “But Krugman also noted that panic can become self-fulfilling and that the “expectations, even the prejudices, of investors become economic fundamentals.”  Panic can drive markets!  Whenever panic becomes a predominent force, the markets generally suffer.  Feinberg goes on to say that governments have an uncanny ability to throw gasoline on almost any economic fire.  He states, “Conclusion: Blind trust in government is not a wise investment strategy” (p. 43).  Feinberg lists the enemies of investing: incompetent government officials, executives, monumental greedheads and misguided investors.  He then remarks, “But the biggest enemy of all may be heedless panic” (p. 43).  Human folly generates panic that is detrimental to investing. 
     Human folly generates panic that is detrimental to life!  When facing any crisis we have two choices:  panic or peace!  Consider for a moment the alternative to panic–peace.  God is the “God of Peace.”  This phrase is found in the New Testament seven times (Rom. 15:33, 16:20; I Cor. 14:33; II Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; I Thess. 5:23 and Heb. 13:20).  God gives men peace. Peace is “a conception distinctly peculiar to Christianity, the tranquil state of the soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatever sort that is” (Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon, 182). The peace God gives is inner peace that is not dependent upon or affected by external circumstances.  It is the result of salvation through Jesus Christ.  It is peace through conquest.  “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20).  God’s power destroys the works of the devil (I John 3:8).  Sin creates enmity between man and God.  Remove sin and peace results!  Christ’s blood removes all iniquity and brings us into full reconciliation with God (Rom. 5:8-10). 
     God’s power brings us into His presence!  Consider these words from Scripture: “Finally, brethren, be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you” (II Cor. 13:11).  The Christian lives with this promise–God will never fail nor forsake him (Heb. 13:5).  Brethren should live in peace.  Five things rob of peace:  avarice, ambition, envy, anger and pride.  These enemies of peace must be banished!  I might add one more: unbelief in the living God.  Peter experienced panic whenever he stopped trusting in the Lord (Matthew 14:25-31). 
     When faced with a real crisis (even a financial crisis), we can either panic (the result of unbelief or misplaced trust) or have peace (the state of tranquility of the soul that fully trusts in God).  God’s power brings us into His presence where we have great peace!

     The following quotations are taken from Ravi Zacharius’ book, Deliver Us From Evil.  In this book, Zacharius shows how the postmodern mind strips humanity of decency by eliminating objective standards of right and wrong.  Secularism has impacted our society in three ways:  (1) denuding the world of a sense of transcendence (eliminate God from the thinking of people); (2) rendering Scripture irrelevant; and (3) reducing human kind to nothing more than matter (absence of spirit or soul).  “Secularism’s primary target is Christianity” (p. 52, 53). 
     “Secularism strips humanity of decency because it strips it of common sense first by denuding the mind” (p. 63).
     “Shame or remorse or society’s disapproval is powerless today to induce a desire to change, because the ideas that shape our culture make shame a hangover of an antiquated religious world-view” (p. 64).
     “Shame is to the moral health of a society what pain is to the body.  It is the sense of shame that provides an indicator to the mind” (p. 64). 
     “How pitiful is the condition we have reached if we smother that sense of shame that was a part of society’s  scanner system to detect wrongdoing and deal with it” (p. 65).
     “To raise a child without shame is to raise one with no immune system against evil” (p. 66).
     “Secularization–the silencing of the supernatural–brings about an eerie silence” (p. 67). 
     Where there is no spiritual sense of the holy, which comes directly from God, there is no conscience of the unholy.  This lack of conscience centered in one’s belief in God and His holy Will, results in  no compass for the soul, no moral direction for life.  The sense of shame is the direct result of knowledge of the holy.  Where there is no knowledge of the holy, the profane mind rules.  This reprobate (corrupt) mind (Rom. 1:28) produces all manner of evil.  Listen to the words of the apostle Paul, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not covenient (fit, acceptable to God, DS).  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate (strife-DS); deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Rom. 1:28-32).  Take heed, whenever a reprobate mind rules in the land and a sense of shame is destroyed, evil abounds!

     A recent Columbus Dispatch article relates a study published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine dealing with abstinence-only education.  The article was titled, “Study: Abstinence sex ed is effective” (Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010).  The article was written by Rob Stein who states, “In the first carefully designed study to evaluate the controversial approach to sex ed, researchers found that only about a third of sixth-and seventh-graders who went through sessions focused on abstinence started having sex in the next two years.  In contrast, nearly half of students who got other classes, including those that included information about contraception, became sexually active.”
     After declining for more than a decade, births, pregnancies and STD’s among U. S. teens have begun increasing again.  The current administration eliminated more than $150 million in federal funding targeted at abstinence programs, which are relatively new and have little rigorous evidence supporting their effectiveness.  The same administration has proposed spending $183 million in 2011 on programs aimed at preventing pregnancies that have been shown scientifically to work. 
     Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation who wrote the criteria for federal funding of abstinence programs commented on the new study.  He states, “This takes away the main pillar of opposition to abstinence education.” 
     Stein further stated, “Based on the findings, Obama administration officials said programs like the one evaluated in the study could be eligible for federal funding.” 
     Sexual abstinence before marriage is not a new idea.  The Bible plainly teaches it.  “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4).  One of the aspects of sexual purity that is based upon a love and respect for God is fewer pregnancies out-of-wedlock and fewer sexually transmitted diseases.  Sexual purity leads to a healthier lifestyle!   Why not associate sexual abstinence with sexual purity?  Someone may argue that the separation of church and state forbids us from teaching morals in our schools.  However, we teach students that they cannot lie to the teacher or cheat on a test.  We teach them to respect the property and person of another student by not hurting (bullying) them or stealing from them.  Yes, these things are taught every day in schools across the nation and they are moral imperatives that improve character and enhance the atmosphere of the school.  Why not teach sexual  purity and sexual abstinence?  Sexual  purity involves respect for self and others.  Sexual purity is a value worth restoring to our schools and our society.

     Jesus Christ is our high priest.  In Hebrews 7, the author quotes from Psalm 110:4, “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (KJV).  The priesthood of Jesus Christ means that the Law of Moses has been abrogated (set aside).  Jesus Christ is not a high priest after the order of Aaron.  Let me appeal once again to Hebrews 7:11-19.  “If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”  Jesus is not from the tribe of Levi.  He is from the tribe of Judah (v. 14).  Consequently, Jesus could not be a priest if the Law of Moses was still in effect.  A change in the priesthood necessitates a change in the law.  This is positive proof that we are not living under the Law of Moses today.  We are living under the law of Christ (the New Testament). 
     Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek.  He is God appointed. “And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest” (Heb. 7:15).  Melchizedek was both a priest and a king (Heb. 7:1).  He is a type of Christ.  Christ is also a priest and a king.  Notice this, Jesus is a priest and a king at the same time!  Whenever Jesus ascended up into heaven, He became a priest and a king (Dan. 7:13,14; Heb. 1:8; 7:14).  Jesus could not be a priest on the earth (8:4).  “For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law.”  If Jesus could not be a priest on the earth, He could not be a king on the earth!  The doctrine of premillennialism which promotes the idea that Jesus will have a future reign on the throne of David in the city of Jerusalem is false.  Jesus reigns right now from the throne of God in heaven (Heb. 1:8). 
     The consequences mentioned above follow a proper understanding of the high priesthood of Jesus Christ.

     The voters of the state of Ohio approved casino gambling in the last election (Nov. 2009).  The result is that four new casinos are slated for construction in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo.  Community Research Partners (CRP) recently released research on the social impacts of casinos.  The research was undertaken for the Columbus Human Services Advocates.  The most direct impacts are those associated with increases in gambling problems, which are double for a person living within 50 miles of a casino.
     Here are some of the findings:
     1.  CRP estimates that when a casino is built in Columbus there may be over 22,000 new problem and pathological gamblers in Franklin County.
     2.  Using figures from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, CRP estimates that the ongoing annual costs to address this increase in problem gambling could be $28 million.
     3.  One time/lifetime costs for events such as divorce and bankruptcy could be $223 million.
     4.  Problem gamblers and Pathological (requiring treatment) gamblers are many times more likely to be involved in:  poor health, mental health services, emotionally harmful family arguments about gambling, drug use, job loss, bankruptcy, and criminal activity, than non-gamblers.  The real costs are impossible to estimate.
     5.  These social costs will be borne by human services systems, businesses, government, individuals and families. 
     6.  The estimates given above are for the casino to be built in Columbus.  Remember, there are three other casinos scheduled to be built.  This mutiplies the costs!
     Did the Ohio voter really count the cost of bringing casino gambling to Ohio?  The allurement was jobs.  However, the CRP found that most casino jobs are low-pay unless unionized.  Jobs are lost due to the number of restaurants, bars, and shops around casinos declining in number.  The amount of tax revenue generated by the casino will not be sufficient to account for the overall costs of the casinos.  Who profits?  The casino owners! 
      In 2009, the country watched the effect of greed/covetousness on the banking industry and most people’s retirement accounts.  We were on the brink of disaster and still have not recovered.  When will we learn that the pursuit of sinful practices will always cost more in the long run.  Sure, sin produces immediate gratification and pleasure, but it always produces detrimental results.  I have said this before, we cannot  afford our sins!  Casino gambling in Ohio is another example of this fact.

     What would you allow to come between you and God?  Jesus asked, “What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26).  What is worth more than your soul?  What holds you in relationship to God no matter what happens?  What force is powerful enough to keep you in covenant relationship with God?  A force more powerful than persecution.  A force more powerful than death?  A force more powerful than life? 
     In Rom. 8:35-39, two loves are brought together for the preservation of relationship to God and the glorification of man.  One is God’s love for us and the other is our love for God.  Together, these two forces can withstand anything!  Together, these two forces make us and God inseparable!  In Rom. 8:35, Paul asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”  One of the first aspects of this statement that needs to be answered is: does this phrase, “love of Christ” refer to Christ’s love for us or our love for Christ?  I believe this phrase describes the love we have for Christ.  Consider the following:  1)  The word separate comes from a Greek word (chorizo) meaning “to put asunder.”  It is in the middle voice which indicates that the subject participates in the results of the action.  Who does the departing?  The saint separates himself from God.  2) The seventeen things mentioned in v. 35, 38,and 39 are all external to the Christian.  These are outward pressures, powers, beings that can cause a Christian to give up on God and separate himself from God.  3) Christ’s love for the Christian is absolute.  Christ will never abandon His own.  4) The Christian’s love for Christ is going to be tested, but it can stand the test.  Christ’s love for the Christian is not tested by the 17 things mentioned.  Is your love for God strong enough to pass the test?  Consider that the apostle Paul’s love for Christ was strong enough because he faced all of these seventeen trials and never broke relationship with God.  If Paul can do it, you can do it.
     Love beareth all things (I Cor. 13:4-8).  Love is strong, tough, and resiliant.  Love connects us to God!  God loves us and we love Him and consequently, we are more than conquerors!  Love connects us to the greatest Being in the world.  Love connects us to the most powerful Being in the universe and beyond the universe.  His love meets our love and forms a bond so strong that it cannot be overthrown.  This type of love is the grounds upon which Paul has great confidence–I am persuaded–that none of these things will separate us from God.  Why?  Love is powerful enough to prevail. 
     The ultimate glorification of the elect of God comes from the meeting of two loves in one life.  When these two loves come together, the result is an inseparable relationship.  Mutual love is a strong bond that can bring us to eternal glory.  Love for God means: adoration of God, complete attachment to Him in covenant relationship, fidelity to Him, unspeakable gratitude to God and fullness of consecration to Him.  God’s love for us will never fail and continually supplies His grace to us. 
     The problem we face in our churches, homes and communities is a lack of love for God.  Love for God is the first and greatest commandment.  If we don’t get this one right, nothing else matters (Matt. 22:36-39).  “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.”