BiblicalInsights.net

     In Christianity Today, July, 2009 p. 17 an article appeared titled, “What To Do About Polygamy.”  Jacob Zuma was recently elected as South Africa’s fourth president.  He is a polygamist.  He has three wives.  The question that captivated observers has been which of the Zulu traditionalist’s wives would be first lady?  Polygamy, traditionally the practice of men with the land and money to support a large family, is now practiced by middle-class and poor men.  The African church is not united on what should be required when polygamists convert.  Earlier Western missionaries felt a need to confront polygamy at the point of conversion.  Many African church leaders today feel that  treating polygamous marriages as invalid raises a number of serious problems:  what to do about the children; the economic plight of the women involved, and demanding divorce.  
     What is wrong with normalizing polygamy?  What is wrong with normalizing any sin? (gambling, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, etc.).  I think that these questions can be answered by asking three questions:  What is truth?  What is sin?  and What is repentance?
     What is truth?   Whenever we normalize evil we pervert the truth.  Isa. 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”  Whenever we call evil good, we prevert the truth and distort reality.  Truth is that which conforms to reality as God defines it.  In order to normalize evil, we must prevert the truth and, consequently, we no longer have a correct view of reality.  When we make decisions based upon a distorted view of reality, we are destined to destruction.
     What is sin?  The only intrinsic evil is sin.  Sin is a transgression of the law of God (I John 3:4; 5:17).  “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”  Jesus clearly teaches God’s will concerning marriage is that one man and one woman come together in covenant relationship for life (Matt. 19:1-9).  Jesus teaches monogamy not polygamy.  Polygamy is a form of fornication (I Cor. 6:9,10).  Polygamy is a sin.
     What is repentance?  In Acts 17:30,31, the apostle Paul declared, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”  Repentance is a change of heart that affects a change of life.  Repentance means to turn away from sin and to turn to God.  Repentance involves the intent of stopping sin and starting to live righteously and godly before God.  The Gospel call involves a call to holiness (I Thess. 4:7).  We must purpose to cease sinning and begin living according to God’s Will.  Once we become a Christian, we do not continue in sin (Rom. 6:1-2).  We are dead to sin and alive unto Christ!  Repentance demands that sin be confronted at the time of our conversion.  We are saved from sin not in our sins!  (see I Thess. 1:9 for an example). 
     All sin must be confronted at the point of conversion.  A knowledge of the truth, of sin, and of repentance demands it.

     After several weeks, I am fulfilling a commitment to Marilyn Lancelot to publish a review of her book titled, Gripped By Gambling.  This book relates Marilyn’s personal journey with the experience of an addiction to gambling.  It was written by a woman for women (but men will benefit too).  She reveals the unbelievable costs associated with a gambling addiction.  She relates her feelings and emotions as she gets caught up in the excitement of gambling and then the destruction it brought to her life.  Many share her plight.  Many will relate.  We live in a culture of addiction.  Marilyn has been addicted to alcohol, food, drugs, and gambling.  She has broken free from these addictions and offers help and hope in her book.  The book does not focus primarily on her spiritual journey, though her belief in God was an important aspect of her recovery.  I would like to point each of you to the only true remedy for sin–the grace of God manifested through the cross of Jesus Christ.  Love, faith and obedience to God’s Will will secure true freedom from sin (John 3:36; 8:32; 14:15). You can read my review by going to the Book Review page on this site.

     The Bible on Trial is a new book by Wayne Jackson.  I have written a brief review of this book and posted it on this site under book reviews.  Some of the excerpts below will give you an idea of the value of this book.
     Consider the integrity of the text of the Old Testament.  “Let us compare Isaiah 53 in the Masoretic Text with that of the Dead Sea Scrolls–and remember, the two are separated by a thousand years of time.  Of the 166 words in Isaiah 53, there are only seventeen letters in question.  Ten of these letters are simply a matter of spelling, which does not affect the sense.  Four more letters are minor stylistic changes, such as conjunctions.  The remaining three letters comprise the word “light,” which is added in verse eleven, and does not affect the meaning greatly.  Thus, in one chapter of 166 words, there is only one word (three letters) in question after a thousand years of transmission, and this word does not significantly change the meaning of the passage (Geisler and Nix 1986, 263–quoted by Jackson, p. 260-261).
     The marvelous accuracy of the New Testament.  “In Acts, Luke mentions thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities, and nine Mediterranean islands.  He also mentions ninety-five persons, sixty-two of which are not named elsewhere in the New Testament.  And his references, where checkable, are always correct” (Jackson, p. 27).
     The wonderful unity of the Bible.  “The sacred Scriptures were written by some forty different persons, over a span of some 1,600 years.   These authors, from a variety of cultural and educational backgrounds, writing in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), produced a volume of sixty-six books that is characterized by such an amazing unity and beautiful continuity as to be inexplicable on the basis of mere human origin” (Jackson, p. 26).  The unity of the Bible is seen in its theme, plan, doctrine and factual harmony.
     These exerpts contain a sample of insights into the sacred Scriptures that will thrill any Bible student.  This 294 page, paper-back book, is worth reading and studying.  I highly recommend it to you.