This is a good question, and the answers are there for everyone to see if only they would look in the right place.

We make no apology for always basing our answers on the instruction manual that God has given mankind – the Bible. But the Bible today is ridiculed, maligned, scorned, rejected and attacked by so many opponents, including intellectuals (so-called), many in the teaching fraternity, politicians and other leaders including those who are involved in shaping the direction of society which the overwhelming majority of people just blindly accept.

It is such a huge subject to address, and yet the answer is simple. In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, we read about the promise of blessings and also the pronouncement of cursings (or retribution) that God would bestow on the ancient nation of Israel depending on their obedience or disobedience. Not just blind obedience, but obedience based on the principles that would bring about peace, protection, prosperity and plenty.

The Bible does not hold back on its reporting of the good things and bad ways of Israel and of its kings and their subjects. We see that when the people respected and followed God, good things happened. When they rejected God and followed worthless idols and lived ungodly lives, their good life was replaced by war, captivity, subjection and a miserable existence.

The Bible gives a very important admonition in Galatians 6:7, which reads: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”  This is such an important principle, and one that man ignores at his peril. In the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, we read: “There is a terrible rebuke implied in the choice of this word. It is far stronger than ‘deceived’. The word means ‘to sneer at’, and here denotes not merely the attempt to impose a cheat upon another, but the open gesture of contempt for one who is an easy dupe.”

Perhaps most of us grew up, understanding the consequences of the Law of Gravity. Just what is it?  Is it as simple as, “Things tend to fall downwards?” The gravitational attraction between the Earth and the object pulls it towards the ground.

Likewise, when we choose an action, we also choose the consequences! This is not always known and understood; otherwise, so many actions that so many have taken may not have been made in the first place, had this principle been understood! But the ancient nation of Israel made wrong choices and suffered the consequences, and the same principle applies to us today! There are natural consequences to our actions. The world operates under the law of cause and effect. There is no way around it: every time we choose an action, we also choose the consequences of that action.

If a penalty or reward doesn’t come quickly, the thought might be that it isn’t coming at all, and then the wrongdoer may just think that the law of cause and effect is broken.

One person put it this way: “But what if a farmer thought this way? What if just because the seed he planted on Monday hadn’t sprouted by Tuesday, it meant that it wasn’t going to sprout? Or, if it did produce, he would get, say, beetroots when he had planted carrots? Ridiculous? Of course it is. But we humans can do bad things and then think we got away with them, or do good and then become discouraged, simply because the pain or pleasure that’s supposed to follow takes a while to come.”

A number of years ago, Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show, and Jane Clayson asked her: “How could God let something like this happen?” She made reference to the attacks on September 11, hurricanes and earthquakes. Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. Some have disputed the source of this response, but whoever gave it, it was very meaningful.

She said: “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.  And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.

“How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone? In light of recent events… terrorists attack, school shootings, etc., I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

“Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school … the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide).

“We said an expert should know what he’s talking about. And we said OK.  Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.  Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out.  I think it has a great deal to do with ‘WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.’

“Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.  Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

“Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.  Are you laughing?  Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think, of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.  Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it… no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.”

That was a very hard-hitting and accurate assessment of the way that things have gone in recent decades, but most people don’t see any connection at all between the behaviour and lifestyle of people, and the state of the nations.

We must also add into the mix the fact that Satan the devil is alive and well. He sees that he doesn’t have much time, as we read in Revelation 12:12: ‘Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.’”

Because his time is almost up, we are warned in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

He wants to stop our progress in our Christian lives so that we don’t make it into God’s Kingdom. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 we read about carnally-minded people “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

Make no mistake about it, Satan will continue his attacks on God’s people and it is up to us to be, and remain, close to God who can and will protect us at the end of this age. For further information on the demonic spirit world, please read our free booklet “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.” 

We have recently covered two other Q&As which are, in many ways, inter-related with the question in this Q&A. They are:

https://www.globalchurchofgod.co.uk/who-determines-what-is-right-and-wrong/

https://www.globalchurchofgod.co.uk/why-do-you-think-that-christian-values-are-the-right-ones/

The Church of God has forecasted the downward spiral of our nations for many decades but, unfortunately, as people grow ever more distant from God and His ways, so the punishments will continue and increase.  If such ungodly practices were repented of and eliminated, the countries would benefit enormously but there seems to be no general recognition that our nations’ behaviour is wrong!

As the nations continue to lurch from crisis to crisis, many more bad days lie ahead. But after the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, the world will experience the righteous rule and government of God on earth. But until that time, with no leaders having the answers and none of them truly trusting God, more punishments will inevitably follow.

Society is at odds with itself because it doesn’t know how to live and behave. They know little about blessings and cursings. They don’t understand the principle of sowing and reaping.  And Satan, who deceives the whole world (compare Revelation 12:9), is very active in his demonic activities.

So, expect much more of the same as we rush headlong into the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation (compare Daniel 12:1).

We have been warned.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

The basis of the question is correct; we do think that true Christian values are the only ones that would work in this society making it a much happier, safer and more enjoyable world than it currently is. What we see around us today is a world in turmoil, but this was prophesied.

We have made it clear on so many occasions that we believe that the 6,000 years allocated to man is almost up and that we are living in the end times. A passage in the New Testament sums up the behaviour of man at the end of this age: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Having said that, man’s history over the last 6,000 years is a catalogue of anti-godly behaviour where evil, in general, has proliferated throughout that time. Man has had more than enough time to show that he can live happily and peacefully with his neighbour but history shows that man has consistently gone the wrong way by thinking that he knows the answers and ignoring the One who created mankind and who has set out a blueprint for happy and abundant living.

We read in Judges 17:6: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This is repeated in Judges 21:25. Today, this same behaviour has proliferated where legislation is enacted all around the world which is in contravention to God’s Way, and the end result has been disastrous.

The Word of God has been ignored for the most part and, today, man thinks that he knows better than the One who created us all. Laws are pushed through that can often defy the commandments of God and His Way, and this happens around the world.

G.K. Chesterton wrote in “What’s Wrong With the World”, “that people who oppose Christianity do so not because they think it is unreasonable but because they have not truly looked into it.”

A brief overview of the world today clearly shows that God’s Way is ignored and the results include anarchy, hatred, wars, selfishness and much much more.

Almost 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul set out a list of the works of the flesh as we read in Galatians 5:19-21. These applied to human nature for the previous 4,000 years and these are still extant nearly 2,000 years after this was written:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Many talk today about values, but their values are often in direct conflict with biblical admonition. The works of the flesh, which we can see wherever we look, are certainly not the way that God wanted man to behave when He created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden around 6,000 years ago. Even the first child born, Cain, was a murderer, and the evil of that action at the dawn of civilisation has continued down to our time now.

Since the time of Adam and Eve, man has tried every available form of government. We have seen autocracy, democracy, communism, dictatorships, monarchy, oligarchy, socialism, presidential, theocratic and so many others – a quick search of the internet will easily reveal a huge number of governmental structures tried out by man.

The ancient nation of Israel had God as their leader but the people wanted to be like all the other nations. In 1 Samuel 8:4-5 we read: “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.’” This displeased Samuel (compare verse 6) but God said that they had not rejected him but had rejected God (note verse 7). Even when God had looked after and cared for His nation Israel, stiff-necked and stubborn human beings wanted to discard divine protection and just be like all the other nations. They wanted a human king to also lead them in battle and fight their wars (see verses 19-20). How utterly absurd was that decision, and the fruits were not good.

In 1 Samuel 8, from verse 11 onwards, Samuel told the congregation of Israel what would happen and in spite of the warnings given them, they still demanded a king! Their first king was Saul who started out well enough but by the time of the end of his life, he had become a king destroyed by his own jealousy.

When we review true Christian values, we see that these are designed to bring about and sustain a peaceful and supportive environment. Not even the most optimistic person could say that mankind has enjoyed that over the last 6,000 years.

In Deuteronomy 7:7, we read the reason why God chose Israel to be His people:

“The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments…”

They were given instructions on how to live but, generally, Israel failed miserably. God had a plan for mankind and the Saviour, Jesus Christ, came from Judah, one of the tribes of Israel.

In Matthew chapter 5 are the beatitudes (blessings) that come from the way that Jesus taught us how to behave. In this chapter, Jesus states that He had not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets but to fulfil them – that is, to expand and develop them, not to do away with them as mainstream Christianity erroneously believes (verses 17-19).  He then goes on to expand the meaning and understanding of murder and adultery which are the 6^th and 7^th of the Ten Commandments.

If Israel, and mankind, had lived according to these instructions, how much better, more gentle, kinder and sensible society would be today. But that has simply not happened.

The Bible is replete with instruction for right and proper living, and great examples of these are to be found in the book of Proverbs. Add to these, the instructions to keep the law of God and you have a really great resume of how to live a life pleasing in the sight of God and how beneficial it would all be to society.

We know that the commandments of God are sneered at today even by so many professing Christians, but instruction from the 1st book of John are there for a reason:

1 John 2:3-6 states: ^“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”

1 John 3:4 reads in the Authorized Version:  ^“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

1 John 5:3 says: ^“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”

And in 1 John 5:20 we see where our right understanding comes from:  ^“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

Please see our free booklet “The Ten Commandments” for a comprehensive review of God’s Commandments.

There are those who might react and accuse Christianity of being “exclusivist,” and they would be right! In Acts 4:12 we read: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

In John 14:6, we read: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

In spite of some of the other religions, teaching good values and proper behaviour, true Christians understand that there is only salvation in Jesus Christ which is something that everyone alive at the time of Christ’s return to this earth will come to realise.

Yes, we do believe that Christian values are the right ones and are values that Christians in the true Church of God need to keep today. However, they are a tiny minority who are living the way that God wants His people to live while mankind, in general, goes in exactly the opposite direction which is leading to destruction.

The really good news is that the world, under Christ’s loving, caring and righteous rule which is just ahead of us now, will learn how to live properly and according to God’s Commandments as we read in Isaiah 9:6-7:

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

In the final analysis, 6,000 years of history has shown us in an undeniable way that man’s approach simply does not work, and that it has not worked. In the future, after Christ’s return, true Christian values will be the only way and will work for the benefit of all concerned.

At that time forward, and for eternity, true Godly values will be the order of the day.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

We are living in a world that can be very discouraging and depressing, and a word of encouragement can be very uplifting. We know that in our spiritual life, roadblocks will be put in front of us in order to deter us from achieving our goal, but we mustn’t let these deter us in any way! We can and will win if we keep the Way of God.

What is the definition of encouragement?   In collinsdictionary.com we read that it is “the activity of encouraging someone, or something that is said or done in order to encourage them.” It then gives the following synonyms: “inspiration, help, support, aid, favour, comfort, comforting, cheer, cheering, consolation, reassurance, morale boosting, succour.”

Merriam Webster gives these definitions of encourage:

to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope: HEARTEN

to attempt to persuade: URGE

to spur on: STIMULATE

to give help or patronage to: FOSTER

We know that when we were called to God’s Way of Life, it was not an easy way that lay ahead of us but was the “narrow way” (compare Matthew 7:13-14) and while pursuing it, encouragement can greatly help us in our goal of making it into the Kingdom of God.

In the Old Testament we read of discouragement in Ezra 4:4-5: “Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.” This resistance to rebuilding the Temple came from outsiders – the people of the land. As we know, the Temple was rebuilt years later.

We know that Elijah was extremely discouraged after his Mount Carmel victory over the prophets of Baal. In 1 Kings 19:1-10 we read that “he prayed that he might die” after he was threatened by Jezebel and said: “I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” We read in the following verses that God encouraged him and he went on to do more things in the name of the LORD.

Today, many of us live in countries where we do not suffer any real persecution at all, but that does not detract from the fact that a true Christian lives a completely different Way of Life from those who have not had God’s great calling at this time. Even with the astounding and wonderful knowledge that God has made available to us, we can still feel down, and discouragement is not unknown to God’s people. Satan will, of course, want to throw us off track as we read in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” We have been warned!

The following is an old story that is worth repeating in the context of discouragement.

“The devil was holding a yard sale one day and displayed his most useful tools, marked at different prices, on a table. Lying side by side were some of his most notable implements of destruction: hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit, lust, lying and pride- all on sale. But over to the side of the yard on display was a worn-out tool that cost more than all the others combined. The tool was labeled DISCOURAGEMENT. When asked why it was more expensive than the other tools, the devil responded, ‘It’s more useful to me than any of the others. When I can’t bring down my victims with the rest of my tools, I use discouragement, because so few people realize it belongs to me.’”

An internet writer observed: “Discouragement is a thief.  It steals your vitality, your zeal, your joy, your peace, and your contentment.  If discouragement dwells long with you, its friends will soon join.  Their names are fatigue, hopelessness, despair, self-pity, depression, doubt, and bitterness. Sometimes, discouragement can be so strong that you even don’t want to go on living.”

If we find ourselves discouraged at any time, we should take this to God in prayer and ask for His help in turning this difficulty around.

It is interesting and helpful to review positive information about encouragement in the Bible. In Acts 4:36 we read that “Joses  who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement)…” This is the first time in the Bible that he is mentioned and it shows his outstanding example of generosity when he sold a field that he owned and then took the money to the apostles to distribute to those in need (verse 37).

Barnabas was a nickname given to him: a product of his character. It seems that he played a vital role in the early church. Here we see that he had sold some land to help provide for fellow Christian believers. The Church members in Jerusalem were in severe economic need and what did he do – just give out sympathy? No, he encouraged everyone by providing for their needs.

In Acts 9:26-27, Barnabas is seen encouraging the apostle Paul. He even took him to the apostles in Jerusalem for an introduction. Two chapters later he encouraged new believers in Antioch (compare Acts 11:22-24).

We read the apostle Paul’s instruction in Hebrews 3:13: “… but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” The NIV uses the word encourage where the New King James Bible uses the word exhort, but exhort means to urge and to encourage.

The apostle Paul further instructs us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing,” and the margin in the New King James Bible says that we are to “encourage” each other.

Do we encourage others? Is this part of our Christian Way of Life? It certainly should be! Hebrews 10:24 states, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” In a world of doom and gloom, a word of encouragement can work wonders. As the saying goes: “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticise me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”

We know that in this life now, we will have tests, trials and tribulation, as our calling is tested, and Jesus told His followers nearly 2,000 years ago and, by extension today, to be of good cheer as He had overcome the world (compare John 16:33).

In 2 Timothy 2:3-4, we read about being strong in Jesus Christ: “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”  This clearly tells us that there is to be hardship – the Greek word can also be translated as to undergo hardship, be afflicted, endure afflictions, to suffer trouble.   The true Christian Way is not easy, and we will be tested throughout the rest of our lives.   God has got to see whether we are serious about our calling and His Way of Life.   If it were easy, anyone could do it, but the reward is so glorious and wonderful – and will last for eternity – that God has to be sure of us.   And that is why we will be tested.

When was the last time that we encouraged or sincerely complimented someone?  Negative comments are easy to make but encouragement is a quality not normally exercised by too many.

Another internet writer put it this way: “Encouragement makes it easier to live in a fallen world in a holy way. Encouragement makes it easier to love as Jesus loved (see John 13:34-35). Encouragement gives hope (Romans 15:4). Encouragement helps us through times of discipline and testing (Hebrews 12:5). Encouragement nurtures patience and kindness (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and Galatians 5:22-26). Encouragement makes it easier to sacrifice our own desires for the advancement of God’s kingdom. In short, encouragement makes it easier to live the Christian life.”

It has been said that encouragement is the greatest tool available to adults to boost children’s self-esteem. The psychologist Rudolph Dreikers once said, “Like a plant needs water children need encouragement.” It is through encouragement that we help others to achieve greater things than they thought possible.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.”

This tells us that God is a God of mercy and comfort who comforts us, and that we may comfort others. There many verses in the Bible that can be helpful and encouraging and which can lift our spirits, and here are but a few of so many that are worth reviewing: Psalm 18:1-2; 27:1, 46:1; Isaiah 12:2; Acts 1:8; Romans 14:19; Philippians 4:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us: “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” The New Living Translation uses the phrase “motivate one another” instead of “exhorting one another”, and this is another way of encouragement.

What a future God’s people have to look forward to in the Kingdom of God and a time when encouragement, not doom and gloom, will be the order of the day!  The original question was “How Important is Encouragement in the life of a Christian?“ This answer has shown that it is vital.  Encouragement is the expression of approval and support.   We should, in the true Church of God, support each other and help in any way we can.

Don’t ever give up. Tough times will come and go. For a true Christian, everything happens for a purpose, and God is always with us. The future is wonderful, and at this time, we should acknowledge this and use encouragement as a vital part of our Christian life.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

This is a fundamental question that affects every facet of life. If there is no God, then everything is determined by man. It seems that the consensus of opinion in society is that concepts of right and wrong are just a matter of personal choice.

Dr J Slattery, writing specifically about sexual matters, stated the following:

“In today’s culture, right and wrong are sorted through a grid of what we perceive as being the best for ourselves and our fellow humans. Essentially, human beings are now ‘god,’ with the authority to determine our own moral compass. With this type of humanistic worldview, morality is defined as ‘do no harm.’ Ethics and morality are measured by whether or not people are harmed. ‘She’s not hurting anyone, so how could she be doing something wrong?’ From this perspective, Christians who stand against gay marriage, for example, are thought to be doing harm. They are ‘hurting’ people who want to celebrate the gay lifestyle. In contrast, those who want to participate in gay marriage are viewed as doing no harm.”

In today’s secular society, God and His Word are neither thought about nor consulted when laws are enacted. The consensus is that when it comes to morality which can be defined as “principles of right and wrong,” there are those who believe that there are no absolutes, merely personal preferences and these can be different in varying cultures.   It is because man wants to do his own thing that he dismisses God, and the standards expected of a God-fearing individual don’t apply to them as they don’t believe in a superior Being who created everything we see.

On the website, truthnet.org, we read: “…the problem is that Christianity proclaims there are absolute moral norms that apply to all persons in all places at all times. Relativism denies there are moral norms. If relativity is true then Christianity is false. If there is no basis for right and wrong, then Christianity is a meaningless set of values. If relativity is false, then there must be an objective source of what is right or wrong.”

This same writer asked this question:

“Why is there a right and wrong? Have you ever asked yourself this question? What makes something right and what makes something wrong? Imagine a world, where you could do whatever you want? No one to stop you from your heart’s desire, if you like the car you just take it! If someone offends you, you have the right to hurt or even kill them. What’s the problem with this scene?

“Well if you are like me, you might think, ‘What if I am on the other side?’ What if I am the guy who owned the car or I am the guy who offended the person?’ The world would be a chaotic place to live if everybody got their heart’s desire. What is the basis of rules? Who said it’s wrong to steal, murder or rob? The real question being asked is who determines our morality, and why should we care?”

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist and philosopher wrote that “If God doesn’t exist, everything is permissible.” And that is what the liberal, permissive and atheistic element in our society is determined to achieve, and just look at the chaotic state that exists around the world. The world denies God and His way at their peril, and judgment cannot be that far away now for this God-hating world and its determined ignorance of the way that God wants us to live for our own good.

In 2012, Ben Kinchlow wrote an article, entitled, “Who Decides What’s Right and Wrong?” Below are just a few brief excerpts from his thought-provoking article.

“Doing right: Actions which are fair, proper, good, upright, righteous, virtuous, moral, ethical, honorable, honest, lawful, legal.

“Doing wrong: Actions which involve crime, lawbreaking, lawlessness, criminality, misconduct, misbehavior, malpractice, corruption, immorality, sin, sinfulness, wickedness, evil, vice, iniquity, villainy, offense, felony, wrong, misdeed, misdemeanor, fault, peccadillo, transgression.

“Now I have a few questions: Says who? Who sets the standards for right and wrong? Who gives them the right to establish these standards? Suppose we disagree on our definitions of right or wrong … who are you to decide for me? Based on what?

“Remember when sodomy was not only wrong but a crime? Who suddenly decided it was not only right, but now legal? And who has the right to declare pornography as wrong or illegal? Doesn’t that interfere with my rights? Who gives them that right?

“Why can Saudi Arabia say homosexuals should be put to death if homosexuality is OK in the United States? If NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association) thinks sex with boys, including 8-year-olds or younger, is OK, who can say it isn’t?

“Did anyone come up with the answers to some questions I asked in an earlier column: Should lawbreakers be prosecuted just because they don’t agree with society’s standards of behavior? Is anything truly right or wrong, really legal or illegal? Does it all just depend on whether one agrees or disagrees?

“If we all began as an electromagnetically charged single-cell product of lifeless slime, evolving, like other life forms, with no reason or purpose other than survival of the fittest, why should I be subjected to another life form’s delineation of right or wrong?

“If no One is in charge, isn’t everyone?”

What an excellent question to ask those who think that man is in charge of all law-making processes. They believe that they are, but look at the state of society when mankind is left to its own devices. No one in their right mind could possibly accept that societies around the world are law-abiding and shining lights for others to follow!

It is not a new phenomenon. We read in Judges 17:6 and 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” In fact, it goes back even further than that.

In the garden of Eden, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). We know that Satan tempted Eve as we read in chapter 3, and she made the decision not to do as God had instructed but, with the help of the serpent, made her own decision, and Adam followed that poor example. It was a case, right at the dawn of civilisation, that man wanted to make his own rules and do his own thing.

After just over 1600 years of man ignoring God and making up his own rules, the wickedness of man had become so great that God said that He had regretted making man (Genesis 6:7), and the flood came and man was destroyed except for Noah and his family. We know that man again followed the cunning of Satan, “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), and man, today, still wants to live by his own rules, laws and regulations.

What you may consider right for you may not be right for another person. It cannot be that each person makes up his own rules and regulations to live by as there would be chaos, and no one set of rules would be accepted by everyone; hence the reason why the nations’ rulers and legislators enact laws and put them on the statute book for all citizens to live by. In a way, that makes sense as everyone knows what is and what isn’t acceptable, but the system fails when God is ignored because He has our best interests at heart. He is the Creator of us all and, consequently, knows far more than man will ever know.

Proverbs 21:2 tells us that “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes…” This is repeated in Proverbs 16:2, in this fashion: “All the ways of man are pure in his own eyes.” In Jeremiah 17:9 we read: “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

As already mentioned above, we read in Judges 21:25 and in Judges 17:6 that when there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. The Benson Commentary observes: “There were elders (Judges 21:16), who had some authority, and there was a high-priest (Judges 20:28), but there was no supreme governor, such as Moses and Joshua were, and after them the judges, and none that had power sufficient to punish public wrongs, whoredoms, and idolatries, and thereby check the progress of vice and profaneness, and keep the people in order. It is a natural inference from hence, that men ought to be extremely thankful for lawful authority: and, if they would preserve their felicity, ought to be zealous to support that authority, as well as to discourage all licentious approaches toward its dissolution.”

“What are the fruits?” is always a very good question to ask about anything that man does, and we can see that there have been 6,000 years of disobedience to the great Creator God. Man, following the lead of Satan the devil, has had a history of wars, killing, cruelty, barbarism, inhumanity, persecution, depravity, wickedness and so much more.   When we compare the “fruit of the Spirit” listed in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), we see the difference between God’s Way and the way of the world, and the chasm between the two is enormous.

The true Christian will not, and cannot, just accept the law of man when it contradicts instruction from the Word of God.

The great Creator God set the standard for absolute Truth, and it is His authority that establishes that Truth. When Jesus was on earth, He said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). When Jesus was praying for His disciples, He said, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:16-17).

Therefore, God’s Word is Truth; that is, the source that a Christian must consult to find out what God has to say on any given matter. Let us look at just four examples of conflict with what society now accepts legally and as the norm, and what the Bible has to say on these four matters. There are many more, but these examples will clearly show how deeply man has sunk into depravity, compared to what God instructs and expects.

Abortion has now been legalised in many countries around the world. The Centre for Reproductive Rights, an organization dedicated to promoting abortion around the world, estimates that 60% of the global population lives in countries where abortion is broadly legal. During the years 2010-2014, it was estimated that 546 million abortions per year were carried out worldwide. For an explanation as to why abortion is wrong, please see our booklet “Are You Already Born Again?”

Homosexuality is roundly condemned in the Bible, but is now accepted in many countries around the world as being normal. Please see our booklet God’s Teachings on Sexual Relationships,” pages 95-105, to see the biblical instruction and condemnation on this issue.

Couples living together rather than being married is another commonly accepted practice, but is against God’s clear instructions. Please see our booklet “God’s Teachings on Sexual Relationships,” chapter 6, entitled “Cohabitation or Common Law Marriage.”

A family was defined by God, and again this issue is covered in the booklet mentioned above, “God’s Teachings on Sexual Relationships,” on pages 75-79. Man has re-defined marriage and family to suit his own requirements, which is certainly at odds with the Bible.

Is man right on these, and many other issues, or should we always and solely look to God for His wise instruction? Secularists and atheists would say the former and true Christians, the latter.

Most people live by their own rules and accept society’s rules without too much thought as to whether they are acceptable in the sight of God. Some others, even church members, may, at times, try and change the meaning of Scripture so that it can fit into what they want it to mean to suit their own particular sinful lifestyle (compare Romans 1:25). However, we must never forget that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Too many Christians today are prepared to compromise with God’s Word because they are not separate from the world and its customs when they should be living by God’s standards and setting the example that is required of them (compare Matthew 5:13-16). Some may think that God’s Way is too hard, boring or not what excites them, and if that is the case, it may be that they are not convinced about the “Way of Life” which is the lot of a true Christian.

Many may want to indulge their own desires, have a fear of what others may say or just be ignorant of the true Way of God, and so they weakly compromise. They should have known that following God and His Way is the narrow way (Matthew 7:13-14). When such people compromise, they will, inevitably, follow the way of the world and its laws and edicts, and God’s Way will be either ignored or discarded. Right and wrong will then be decided by them and the society they willingly accept!

Who is the ultimate authority in all moral matters? Is it the created – man – with all of his imperfections and lack of wisdom and Godly knowledge, or is it the Creator God of the Bible who was the One who created us all? The answer is that God reveals what is right and wrong in His Word—the Bible. Put as simply as we can, God decides what is right and wrong in His Word, and that must be our guide to life.

Only God has the right to decide what is good and evil.

As the Church of God has said many times, if the law of the land is in conflict with the law of God, then we must follow God’s Way and be willing to suffer for righteousness sake which might even include not violently resisting any punishment or sentence that the state dishes out for such an infringement to its man-made law. In order to see what a Christian’s duty and responsibility is in this regard, please read our free booklet, “Obeying God Rather Than Men,” pages 44-45. We must always strive to do as God instructs and remember that God’s Word is our basis for living and our instruction manual for life.

Psalm 119:105 is a good Scripture to finish this Q&A with: “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

The Worldwide Church of God Bible Hymnal which was originally published in 1974 (“Hymnal”), is, and has been for a long time, an integral part of our weekly Sabbath and annual Holy Day services. In the opening notes of the Hymnal, headed, “How This Hymnal Came to Be,” Mr Herbert W Armstrong gave the historical background, and below are a few of the observations he made:

“It is… scriptural to sing hymns. Jesus sang hymns. After His last Passover, it is recorded, ‘And when they had sung [a] hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives’ (Matthew 26:30). I knew that the Psalms were, in fact, songs—or hymns. It was clear in my mind that God’s people should sing God’s inspired words, not man’s uninspired and often unscriptural words. But the Bible has not preserved nor revealed to us the music. God has left it to us to compose the music.

“When we moved to Pasadena to found Ambassador College, in 1947, I asked my brother (Dwight Armstrong) to devote full time to setting the words of Psalms-and/or any other Scripture – to music in the four part harmony of hymns. For some little time the Church, then small, sang the first 12 or 15 hymns that had been composed. The Church grew, and so did the number of hymns sung with God’s own inspired words.

“It is, indeed, a happy achievement to have, at last, God’s own hymnal for God’s own Church.”

It is interesting to review those hymns where the meaning can be, at first glance, a little difficult to fully understand. In this Q&A, we will look at three examples.

Hymn 78 is entitled, “He Shall Reign Forevermore!” It is taken from Psalm 102. In the New King James Bible, the sub-heading of this Psalm is that it is “A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint to the LORD.” Verses 1 and 2 read: “Hear my prayer, O LORD, And let my cry come to You.  Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; Incline Your ear to me; In the day that I call, answer me speedily.”

In verses 6 and 7, we read: “I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake, And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.”

In hymn 78, it reads in the second verse: “Like a melancholy sparrow, Like a pelican alone,” but what does it really mean? How many times have we sung this without fully understanding what we were singing?

We find an interesting note about the authorship of Psalm 102 in Wikipedia:

“Midrash Tehillim quotes Rabbi Pinchas, who notes that in some psalms David calls himself by name, as in ‘A prayer of David’ (e.g. Psalm 17 and 86), but here he calls himself ‘the afflicted’, as in ‘A prayer of the afflicted’. Rabbi Pinchas explains that when David foresaw the righteous men who would descend from him— Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Isaiah— he called himself David. But when he perceived the wicked men who would be his descendants— Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon—he called himself ‘the afflicted.’”

It would seem that David is the author, but what does he convey in the psalm?

Poole writes about the Pelican:

“Pelican, or, bittern, as the same word is translated (in the Authorized Version), Isaiah 34:11, Zephaniah 2:14. It is a solitary and mournful bird, as also the owl here following is.”

Spurgeon adds:

“Pelican, owl: ‘The Psalmist likens himself to two birds which were commonly used as emblems of gloom and wretchedness.”

Poole continues about the sparrow:

“… this Hebrew word doth not only signify a sparrow, but in general any bird, as Leviticus 14:4, Deuteronomy 14:11, Daniel 4:12, 14, 21. And so it may here design any one or more sort of birds which used to sit alone, watching and mourning upon house-tops.” (Compare hereto enduringword.com).

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible adds:

“The Jews had flat roofs upon their houses, and here birds of solitude would come and sit alone in the night season, to which the psalmist likens himself; being either forsaken by his friends and acquaintance; or, being in melancholy circumstances, he chose to be alone, mourning over his sorrowful state and condition.”

Dr. W. M. Thomson elaborates:

“A sparrow alone upon the house-top. When one of them has lost its mate — a matter of every-day occurrence — he will sit on the house-top alone, and lament by the hour his sad bereavement.” Dr. Thomson says that he has often heard a sparrow which had lost its mate, uttering “by the hour” its sad lament, seated upon a housetop (“The Land and the Book,” p. 43).

Suffice to say that this was a time when king David was overwhelmed. Many of the 150 Psalms are laments. The pelican was a representation of being alone and thoroughly discouraged but he does finish up the Psalm in a very positive way. Verse 28 reads: “The children of Your servants will continue, And their descendants will be established before You.”

A second example is Hymn number 89: “O Give Thanks Unto Our God.” In the 3^rd verse, it reads: “All nations compassed me about; compassed me like bees. But the Eternal is my strength; In His name I cut them off.”

This is adapted from Psalm 118:10-12, which reads: “All nations surrounded me, But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.”

The Pulpit Commentary opines:

“Verse 11. – They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about (comp. Psalm 88:17). The special compassing about alluded to is probably that in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, when not only the Babylonians but the Syrians, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Edomites took part in hostilities against Israel (2 Kings 24:2; Psalm 137:7). But in the Name of the Lord I will destroy them. The threefold repetition of this trenchant phrase (verses 10, 11, 12) lends it vast additional force. It is no casual utterance, no mere wish, or thought begotten of a wish, but a deep and firm conviction.

“Verse 12: They compassed me about like bees; i.e. in vast numbers, and with intense energy, and a furious desire to injure (comp. Deuteronomy 1:44)…”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible observes as follows:

“They compassed me about like bees… In great numbers; as a swarm of bees, which, being irritated and provoked, will fly upon persons in a body, and with great fury; to which the Amorites and the Assyrian army were compared, Deuteronomy 1:44. They will attack horses and kill them, as Aristotle says; and places besieged have been delivered by throwing out hives of bees among the besiegers: and yet as they are feeble creatures, so by striking they lose their sting; and either die very quickly, or however become useless.”

In the Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, they state that “the heathen of every kind (in the Aramaic and Arabic with) are both bees and wasps, which make themselves especially troublesome in harvest time.”

The Independent newspaper reported this interesting item in December 2020:

“In late November 2020, two flights were delayed in India after the planes were surrounded by a huge swarm of bees. The incidents took place at Kolkata airport, first on 29 November, delaying a Vistara flight by around an hour, and again on 30 November. Firefighters were called to the scene and had to deploy a water cannon to disperse the insects.

“In the first instance, the bees amassed around the plane just before boarding was due to start for the service to Delhi. ‘Within minutes, lots of bees had settled on the plane as though ready to build a hive,’ a Vistara spokesperson told The Times of India. ‘Water jets had to be sprayed for a good 30 minutes to dislodge them. The flight ultimately took off at 6.30pm instead of 5.30pm.’

“The disruption wasn’t over though. Just 16 hours later, the bees were back, swarming around yet another Vistara flight, this time bound for Port Blair. The bees congregated just above the cargo bay door, making it impossible for baggage handlers to load passengers’ luggage into the hold. The fire department was called out again, and the flight departed an hour later than schedule, at 11.30am, after the water cannon had been successfully deployed for a second day running.

“In September 2019, a swarm of bees covered a plane’s cockpit windshield, delaying the flight by almost two hours.”

We should realise that bees, part of God’s wonderful creation, are a necessity as part of the natural order.

“Bees are some of the hardest working creatures on the planet, and because of their laborious work ethic, we owe many thanks to this amazing yet often under-appreciated insect.  Our lives – and the world as a whole – would be a much different place if bees didn’t exist. To illustrate this fact, consider these numbers: bees are responsible for pollinating about one-sixth of the flowering plant species worldwide and approximately 400 different agricultural types of plant” (onegreenplanet.org).

There is no doubt that bees [as well as wasps and hornets], in certain circumstances, can be seriously troublesome, and in this analogy in Psalm 118, they are shown in this light.

A third example is the hymn, “Praise You the Lord!”, on pages 112-113 in the Hymnal, which is one of the most upbeat hymns that we have.

This hymn was adapted from Psalm 148 – sub-headed in the New King James Bible as “Praise to the LORD from Creation.”

In this psalm of just 14 verses, we see that praise to the LORD from heavenly things are contained in the first 4 verses with reasons why this should be done in verses 5-6. We then read that those on the earth should praise the LORD in verses 7-12 with, again, reasons why in verses 13-14.

We can surely understand that the righteous angels would praise God (verse 2). In the hymn, it reads: “Praise Him, ye angels, Praise Him, ye hosts…” But what about the sun and moon and stars, mentioned in verse 3? In the hymn, it says: “And praise Him, ye sun, moon and stars in the heights.”

In John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible, we read:

“The sun praises the Lord, the Creator of it, by doing the work constantly it is appointed to do; to rule by day, and give light and heat to the earth, and the inhabitants of it; and so is the cause of man’s praising the Lord for the benefits they receive from it; for its enlightening, warming, and refreshing rays; and for the precious fruits brought forth by it and so the moon likewise doing its office, ruling by night, and reflecting the light of the sun upon the earth, and producing precious fruits, also praises its Maker, and is the occasion, of others praising him;

“…The stars of light which are very beneficial in the night season, especially to mariners and travellers, and shed their benign influences upon the earth and things in it; which are a means of praising the Lord, and in their way they do it.”

George Horne wrote that “Though they have neither speech nor language, and [lack] the tongue of men, yet by their splendour and magnificence, their motions and their influences, all regulated and exerted according to the ordinance of their Maker, do, in a very intelligible and striking manner, declare the glory of God.”

Likewise, the sea creatures in verse 7 show in their way the praise and glory of God (Psalm 102:24-26). In verse 8, the fire, snow, hails, cloud and stormy winds display greatly the power, majesty, and glory of God; and in verses 9-10, mountains, fruitful trees and beasts are described which are all very beneficial to mankind, thereby figuratively giving praise to God; see Isaiah 55:12.

The rest of this psalm is about earthly and human praise and the instruction is clear; we are to give praise to the One who is deserving of such praise.

In hymn 112, it is expressed in these terms:

“Heaven of heavens, waters above; Praise the Eternal let all praise His Name!… Praise ye the Lord! Ye mammals and deeps too, Fire, hail and windstorms fulfilling His word! Vapours of snow all hills, too, and mountains, All cedars and fruitful trees, let’s praise His Name! Wild beasts and cattle, birds and all reptiles, Earth’s kings and judges, all people and chiefs; Young men and maidens, old men and children, All praise ye the Name of our God evermore!”

Philippians 2:9-11 gives us the news of a wonderful future event:

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Psalm 148 is a testament to God’s creative power—not the appallingly ridiculous and ungodly evolutionary theory which is nothing less than man trying to explain creation without a creator because they do not want to acknowledge a superior Being who created all things.

We have looked at just 3 hymns in this Q&A–Psalms 102, 118 and 148 out of a hymnal containing well over 100 hymns. Beautiful and descriptive Scripture conveying meaning in an easily understood form can help us to appreciate the great God and His ways. When we don’t quite understand what we are singing in the hymns that are available to us, then researching the meaning can be a very worthwhile exercise and allow us to understand more clearly what has been written.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

It is interesting to review this section of Scripture although Mr Norbert Link has already addressed aspects of this recently in a member letter and a StandingWatch programme.  In this Q&A, we want to show specific details of some of the New Testament apostles and make appropriate observations on a number of Scriptural references.

First of all, let us read what Deuteronomy 18:20-22 says:

“But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death. You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.”

Mr Link observed in his member letter that “On the face of it, that would mean that the early New Testament apostles would have been false prophets, because they all believed and proclaimed dogmatically, undoubtedly with the conviction that they were inspired by God, that they would still be alive at the time of the return of Jesus Christ. Later it became clear to them that they would all die, but that was not clear to them at first.

“It is obvious that Deuteronomy 18:20-22 does not address these kinds of scenarios. Matthew Henry explains that the false prophet makes wrong predictions, contrary to the plain meaning of Scripture, to encourage people to sin (cp. Jeremiah 23:20-22). The false prophet claims to speak in the name of the LORD, but it is his goal to lead the people to wrong gods. In reality, a false prophet speaks in the name of other gods, either expressly (cp. Deuteronomy 13:1-5), or clandestinely.

“The Nelson Study Bible points out that false prophets might even predict events which do come to pass, while true prophets may predict events which do not materialize.  A classic example is Jonah who proclaimed that God would destroy sinful Nineveh in 40 days. Due to the sincere repentance of the Ninevites, God relented from the calamity which He had planned to bring about (compare Jeremiah 18:7-8; 26:3). This did not make Jonah a false prophet.”

For the purpose of this presentation, let us look at the statements of several apostles in the New Testament who thought that Christ would return in their lifetime.

In Acts 2:16-21 we read the passage where Peter was speaking on the day of Pentecost in 31AD and written by Luke some 30 years or so later:

“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,  That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;  Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,  Your young men shall see visions,  Your old men shall dream dreams.  And on My menservants and on My maidservants   I will pour out My Spirit in those days;  And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above  And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.  The sun shall be turned into darkness,  And the moon into blood,  Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.  And it shall come to pass  That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’”

Peter was quoting the prophet Joel and while this happened in part with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, this prophecy has to be fulfilled at the end of this age. It seems fairly obvious that Peter thought that they were in the last days then; otherwise, why would he have quoted this prophecy at that time?

Also, Peter thought it was the end-time with his comment in 1 Peter 1:20:

“He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”

This was written nearly 2,000 years ago, but does that make Peter a false prophet?   If he was, we might as well throw the Bible away because all Scripture stands, without exception, or it falls.   We believe that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Further, Peter was joined by Paul in thinking that time was short then. We read an interesting verse in 1 Corinthians 7:29.   This was written by Paul between AD 50-52:

“But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none…”

Paul thought that the time was short and that the Great Tribulation was imminent, but here we are nearly 2,000 years later, still awaiting Christ’s return.

Over a few pages in 1 Corinthians 15:50-52, we read the following:

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

The last four words of verse 52 are very revealing – “we shall be changed.”   When we use the word “we,” it obviously includes ourselves, and in this case it included Paul himself.

The first letter that the apostle Paul wrote was 1 Thessalonians, around AD 50-52. The disciples’ early epistles reveal that some, if not most of them, thought that Christ’s return was imminent. So, what does he write in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18?

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

We read here that Paul expected, at that time, that Jesus would return in his lifetime as again, the word “we”—that inclusive term— is used.  He even said that he was passing this information on to the readers as “the word of the Lord.”

In Hebrews 1:1-2, we again see Paul referring to the last days:

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds…”

There are four different references of Paul, and we need to fully realize how some—or maybe all of the early apostles—felt on this matter. There are of course many more references where Paul expressed his conviction that Christ would come soon (compare for example Philippians 4:5: “The Lord is at hand.”)

Let us see what James, the half-brother of Jesus, had to say.

He stated in James 5:1-3:

“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.”

Yet again, the phrase “the last days” has been used.  Compare also James 5:8: “…the coming of the Lord is at hand” or, as the margin in the New King James Bible has it, “has drawn near.”

The apostle John felt exactly the same. As we read in 1 John 2:18:

“Little children, it is the [or: a] last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the [or: a] last hour.”

The or a last hour is quoted twice in the same verse.

In this Q&A, we have quoted numerous references for Peter, Paul, James and John.  Were any of these disciples of Christ a false prophet? If they had been, they would have been condemned in the Bible, but they are not. They were men of God, but none of these men were perfect, nor were any of them false prophets.

With the wrong idea that they were false prophets, we might as well conclude that Jesus Christ was a false prophet. In the book of Revelation, we read that God the Father revealed to Christ “things which must shortly take place” (1:1). Christ passed the information on to an angel to communicate to the apostle John. John then adds in verse 3: “the time is at hand.” In Revelation 3:11, Christ Himself is quoted as saying: “I come quickly.” The Greek word for “quickly” is “tachu” and has the meaning of, shortly, without delay, soon. It can also mean, suddenly. Christ repeats this in Revelation 22:7, 12, 20. John understood Christ’s words as saying that He was coming soon, because he responds: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

We must remember, though, that Christ said this and that He inspired His apostles to write what they did, because “they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Even though their words were meant for the last generation—for us today–, still, they believed when they wrote them down, that what they wrote would be fulfilled in their lifetime.

In our anxiety as the people of God, and having been given such a tremendous calling with the promise of a wonderful future, it is unsurprising that members and ministers of the Church have eagerly looked forward to the time when Jesus Christ will return to the earth to set up the Kingdom of God and rule in peace.  This may also be partially due to the fact that they have been very well aware of Christ’s warning in Matthew 24:48-51:

“But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (New International Version).

With such an incredibly marvellous and magnificent future in store for us, we may well have been over-anxious for this time to arrive before it is God the Father’s time to send Jesus back to this earth to save mankind from extinction. But this does not make us to be false prophets. We are certainly getting close to that point now but we all have to remember that God is the Master of timing and it will happen at exactly the right time – in His own time!

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

It’s a good question to ask and one to carefully consider; after all, they were doing the Work of God not long after Jesus was crucified and returned to heaven. In fact, this question is more important than we may, at first, think!

We know the process that true Christians have to go through when they are called by God. In his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, just 7 weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, Acts 2:38 states: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” It is not just a question of “giving your heart to the Lord” but a complete change of direction. We read that we are to “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13). The Authorized Version has here, more accurately, “But straight is the gate, and narrow is the way…”

It can sometimes be difficult to walk that narrow way towards the straight gate, and it can be difficult to understand why those who make such a life-changing decision may have problems with inter-personal relationships, from time to time, with others who are making the same journey. After all, they have all received the Holy Spirit of God to lead them in living a godly life, so how can there be difficulties?

First of all, we should consider three different scenarios in the New Testament, one of which is the heading of this Q&A — the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas.

Paul and Barnabas were very good friends, not just casual acquaintances. We read in Acts 9:26-27 how Barnabas had been instrumental in convincing the disciples that Paul was genuine and no longer the persecutor of the brethren that he had previously been:

“And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.”

But they had a disagreement, as we read in Acts 15:36-41:

“Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.’ Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.  But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.  Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.  And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”

We read in Colossians 4:10 that John Mark was the cousin of Barnabas and he was commended. However, he decided to return to his home in Jerusalem (Acts 13:13), but no mention is made about why he did that.  Many suggest that he did so because of his youth and personal weakness. William Barclay wrote in “The Acts of the Apostles,” under the heading, “The Deserter”:

“Mark was a very young man… Paul and Barnabas took him with them as their helper… but he turned and went home… When [Paul] set out on the second missionary journey Barnabas wanted to take Mark again but Paul refused to take the one who had proved a quitter (Acts 15:38) and he and Barnabas split company… over it. Then Mark vanished from history, although tradition says he went to Alexandria and Egypt and he founded the church there. When he re-emerged almost 20 years later he is the man who has redeemed himself… By the grace of God the man who was once a deserter became the writer of a gospel and the man whom, at the end, Paul wanted beside him.”

Later, under the heading, “Paul takes the road again,” Barclay says:

“It is impossible to say whether Paul or Barnabas was right. But this much is certain, Mark was supremely fortunate that he had a friend like Barnabas… It may well have been the friendship of Barnabas which gave Mark back his self-respect and made him determined to make good.”

We also read that later Mark is called by Peter “my son” (1 Peter 5:13). Mark was not Peter’s literal son; this is an expression of spiritual closeness—Mark was Peter’s son in the faith. Tradition has it that Peter dictated his letters to Mark to reduce them to writing.

This disagreement between Paul and Barnabas was not over any doctrinal matter, but it was a personal issue. From what we read, it didn’t seem to adversely affect the work that they were doing.

We read years later in 2 Timothy 4:11 that Paul wrote: “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.”

The Bible says nothing about the future relationship between Paul and Barnabas, but it seems that in the end it all worked out. We can learn from this. We may differ at times about certain matters but that should never affect us in following the Way of God and the life we have been called to.

“Here we see an example of Christian leaders modelling good disagreement. Sometimes there are times where one can ‘agree to disagree’” (christiantoday.com).

The second example is where Paul took Peter to task, as we read in Galatians 2:11-15:

“Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.  But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, ‘If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles…’”

In our booklet “Paul’s Letter to the Galatians,” we read the following on pages 25-26:

“The truth of the gospel requires no separation between Jews and Greeks. All are to be ONE in Christ. God is not a respecter of persons, compare Acts 10:34–35; Romans 2:11; 1 Peter 1:17.

“But Peter set the wrong example. As it is stated in verse 12, he still feared those who were of the circumcision. The understanding prior to the conference in Acts 15 had been that a Jew was not to eat with uncircumcised Gentiles (compare Acts 10:28; 11:2–3). But God had revealed to Peter that that understanding was wrong and that it had no place in the Church of God.

“What does Paul mean, in verse 14, that Peter was compelling Gentiles to live as Jews?

“Peter was ‘compelling them’ by first sitting and eating with Gentiles—thereby living after the manner of Gentiles—but then separating from the Gentiles when Jews came, as IF there still WAS a separation and as if there still WAS a need for Gentiles to be circumcised and to keep all the Jewish rituals. That is, he was inducing them or coercing them to think that they should perhaps adopt those customs and be circumcised.”

Paul was accusing Peter of hypocrisy which was one of those sins committed frequently by the religious establishment at that time. Paul said that even Barnabas was affected or “carried away.” Peter should have known better, as we read in Acts 10:28: “Then he (Peter) said to them, ‘You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.’”

We do not read about Peter’s immediate reaction to Paul’s public rebuke (some suggested that Paul was a little bit overzealous in this matter and could have handled the situation a little bit differently), but it is obvious that they had the highest regard for one another in spite of this rather public disagreement, as we read in 2 Peter 3:15-16: “… and account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”

The third example is the story of the disciples arguing amongst themselves, as we read in Luke 22:24:

“Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.”  In verses 25-27 Jesus corrects them: “But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.”  (Also see Matthew 18:1 and Mark 9:33.)

Pushing for position is not new; it is as old as the hills. Right from the dawn of civilisation man has wanted to be at the top table, the one calling the tune, the one who is in charge and the one that others can look up to. Even with the Saviour of mankind teaching them, their own carnality showed through although, again, there is no Scripture that shows that they didn’t co-operate in the Work they had to do after Christ’s ascension. They were a co-operative whole who worked for God and for each other.

God hates bickering between members of His Church. Let us review just a few Scriptures that highlight His view on people’s problems where human interaction is problematic.

James 4:1-2 says:

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.”

We read in 2 Corinthians 12:20:

“For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults…”

Galatians 5:15 states:

“But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!”

An answer to difficult personal relationships can be found in Philippians 2:3-4:

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better [“more important,” New American Bible] than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

As Church members today, it is vital that we conduct ourselves in such a manner.   Jesus said in the beatitudes (blessings) in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.”

Also, Ephesians 4:32 is important: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:1-3 adds: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Over the years in this era of the Church of God, there have been many instances where brethren have fallen out with others by not resolving their issues with them. That particular procedure as to how to solve problems is covered in Matthew 18:15-17: “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

Unfortunately, this biblical instruction in resolving conflict and interpersonal problems has sometimes been ignored with “offended” brethren just leaving either their particular Church fellowship or the Church altogether.  It is a very sad state of affairs that, occasionally, a member may replicate the “waiting to be offended” mindset that is a mark of current society. The problem is that they can “infect” others and persuade them of the rightness of their situation and cause them to question their Church membership.

A few others, from time to time, can be argumentative which is certainly not what God expects of His people. Galatians 5:22-23 sums up perfectly what our approach must always be: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” When we implement this teaching, we will insulate ourselves against the wiles of the devil and happily remain in the true Church of God.

As the end of this age looms large, it behooves us all to forge close and strong relationships within the Church which should keep us in good stead as world problems increase and where membership of God’s Church will be a magnet for Satan’s further assault through worldly individuals. Leaving the Church must never be an option for any of us.

If they had inter-personal relationship problems in the New Testament Church, why should we believe that we won’t have them today?  The key is how we deal with them that matters.

In this context, we would do well to apply the following part of the model prayer that Jesus gave as we read in Matthew 6:12: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” If we do that, we will strive to reconcile any differences we may have with others, esteem others better or more important than ourselves and prayerfully and faithfully push ahead toward the Kingdom of God. With that attitude and mindset, we will give ourselves the best chance of making it into the wonderful world tomorrow.

And that, at all times, must be our goal!

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

We cover the matter of sexual sins in our booklet “God’s Teachings on Sexual Relationships” on pages 95-105, showing, quite clearly, that homosexuality is most certainly condemned in the Bible.

We read in Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible the following notes about Sodom: “A city on the shore of the Salt Sea south of Engedi; destroyed in the days of Abraham and Lot along with Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim.  BC 1900.”   All four cities are mentioned in Genesis 10:19.

On the website Britannica.com, we read: “Sodom and Gomorrah, notoriously sinful cities in the biblical book of Genesis, destroyed by ‘sulfur and fire’ because of their wickedness (Genesis 19:24). Sodom and Gomorrah along with the cities of Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar (Bela) constituted the five ‘cities of the plain,’ and they are referenced throughout both the Old and New Testaments and the Qur’an.”

Deuteronomy 29:22-23 identifies two of the other cities as Admah and Zeboim, while Genesis 19:23 identifies the final city as Zoar.

The first reference to Sodom and Gomorrah is in Genesis 10:19, and they are mentioned in 15 different books of the Bible– from the first book to the last.

Sodom and Gomorrah have become synonymous with depravity, perversion and wickedness—a byword for sin usually with a sexual connotation.

First of all, let us look briefly at the background to the whole episode.

We know that Lot decided to leave Haran with his uncle Abraham when God instructed Abraham to “get out of your country from your kindred And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).  “So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him” (verse 4).

However, there was a parting of the ways between Abraham and Lot after “there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock,” and Abraham gave Lot the choice between going to the left or to the right, and Lot chose to journey east towards Sodom (see Genesis 13:7-12).

It is interesting to note that Abraham was sitting in the “tent door in the heat of the day” (Genesis 18:1) when the LORD and two angels appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre (Genesis 18:2) before the two angels went to Sodom, and where Abraham interceded with Christ—the LORD—for the people of Sodom (verse 16).

In contrast, we read: “Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.”   It is interesting to note that a short while after leaving Abraham, the angels were now in company with Lot who “sat in the gate.”

Unger’s Bible Dictionary states that “the gate was the place for great assemblies of the people (Proverbs 1:21) as they passed into and out of the city.   This naturally led to the custom of using gates for places for public deliberation; reading the law and proclamations (2 Chronicles 32:6, Nehemiah 8:1,3,) holding court (2 Samuel 15:2; cf Deuteronomy 16:18; 17:8; Ruth 4:11); gathering news (Genesis 19:1) and gossip (Psalm 69:12)…”

There is much more information given in Unger’s but the above will suffice to show that “the gate” is where so much happened, and Lot would have been there to greet the two angels to the city, indicating that he was much involved in their local events.  Abraham was not involved in the politics of any city but looked after his family, whereas Lot had become an important figure in a corrupt city.

Now the story moves on to the sexual depravity of the city.  Looking at the events in brief, we read the following in Genesis 19:1-5:

^“Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, ‘Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.’ And they said, ‘No, but we will spend the night in the open square.’ But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.  And they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.’”

There were just men, both young and old, and to know them carnally obviously meant sexually.  The Benson Commentary observes that “No description which could be given of their vile and abominable conduct, however laboured, could possibly have conveyed so striking an idea of their unparalleled wickedness, as this simple narrative of facts. Here were old and young, all from every quarter — Collected for practices too shameful to be mentioned! Either they had no magistrates to protect the peaceable, or their magistrates themselves were aiding and abetting.”

We then continue to read that Lot offered his two virgin daughters to the mob but the two angels pulled Lot back into the house and struck the men with blindness (verses 6-11).  Then Lot and his family were told to flee from the city which they did, although it seems with some reluctance because we read: “And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters” (verse 16).  Lot and his two daughters escaped to a city named Zoar and “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.  So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (verses 24-25).   They were told not to look back but Lot’s wife did and was turned into a pillar of salt (verse 26).

It’s an old and familiar story but is that all there is to it?   In Ezekiel 16:48-50 we read:

^“‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.’”

It is generally reckoned that the destroying of Sodom was around 1900 BC and Ezekiel was written circa 600 BC; therefore, this event was some 1300 years before, and in the New King James Bible, the sub- heading to this passage in Ezekiel is “More Wicked than Samaria and Sodom”.  It appears that the Sodomites were not the worst but it does also state that they had other faults, in addition to their homosexual behaviour, which were not pleasing to God.   These were, as stated below, and it is worth a study of the Scriptures given (this is in addition to “iniquity” which God mentioned in Ezekiel):

They were proud;

They had fullness of food (without caring for others);

They lived in abundance of idleness;

They didn’t strengthen the hand of the poor and needy;

They were haughty;

And they committed abomination before God.

That is quite a list of ungodly activities!  Let us look briefly at these actions that were not pleasing to God.

Matthew Poole’s Commentary observes as follows:

“The iniquity; iniquity, either for iniquities, or the fountain and occasion of all amongst the Sodomites.

 “Pride; a haughty mind, swelled with the excellency, beauty, and grandeur of their state, and vaunting of it above their neighbours.

“Fulness of bread, i.e. luxury, and riotous excess in eating and drinking: their plenty was not their sin, but they made it occasion of sin to themselves; they were very intemperate in their diet.

“Abundance of idleness; every thing so plentiful, that they little regarded to employ themselves, but were idle and slothful, or deeply secure in their peace, plenty, and honour, neither feared God’s wrath nor man’s sword; the first was the fault of particular sinners, the latter was the sin and fault of the community.

“Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy; she refused to help strangers, as appeareth in the history of the angels’ entertainment, Genesis 19; nor was she mindful of helping the poor with counsel and defence; they were unmerciful and hard-hearted toward the poor amongst them. This was a great sin to those that abounded in wealth, as the Sodomites did.”

Here are a few Scriptures about each of these failings (there are many more in the Bible):

Pride

Job 35:12; Psalms 10:4; 59:12; Proverbs 8:13; 11:2; 14:3; 16:18: 29:23; Isaiah 9:9; 25:11; Jeremiah 3:11; James 4:6.

Fulness of Food 

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible states the following: “fulness of bread; the land of Sodom was very fruitful before it was destroyed; it was like the garden of the Lord, Genesis 13:10; it brought forth plentifully, so that there was great fulness of provision, of all sorts of food, which is meant by bread: this, considered in itself, was not sinful, but a blessing; it was the Lord’s mercy and goodness to them that they had such plenty; but it was their sin that they abused it; luxury and intemperance, eating and drinking to excess, are here meant; which led on to that sin, and kindled the flames of it, and were the fuel to it, which has its name from them; and, besides, this fulness of good things enjoyed by them was the source of their pride, and served to increase that, as before mentioned.”

Some verses that show that this sort of behaviour is ungodly and has bad consequences are: Numbers 11:19-20; 1 Samuel 25:36-38; Proverbs 23:19-21; Isaiah 56:12; Joel 3:3 (trading in human beings); Luke 12:45-46; Galatians 5:19-21; Philippians 3:19; 1 Peter 4:3; and 2 Peter 2:13.

Abundance of idleness  

Proverbs 6:4-8; 14:23; 15:19-21; 20:13; 21:25-26; 22:13; 24:30-34; 26:13-16; 28:19;  Ecclesiastes 10:18; Isaiah 56:9-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-15.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary defines “abundance of idleness” as, “literally, ‘the secure carelessness of ease’ or ‘idleness.’”

Didn’t strengthen the hand of the poor and needy: 

Exodus 23:6; Leviticus 19:9-10; 25:35-37; Deuteronomy 15:7-8, 11; Job 6:14; 20;19; Psalm 10:8-10; 37:14; 41:1-2; Proverbs 3:27; 14:20-21, 31; 14:31; 17:5; 19:17; 22:9; 28:27; 29:7;Matthew 23:14; 1 John 3:17-18.

The Pulpit Commentary states: “Prosperity and luxury in her case, as in that of other wealthy cities, hardened the hearts of men against the poor and needy.”

Haughty.

Proverbs 16:18; 18:12; 21:4;       21:24; Isaiah 10:12;  Psalm 138:6; Isaiah 2:11; Ezekiel 16:50; Zephaniah 3:11; Romans 12:16.

The Benson Commentary points out: “they were high, lofty, arrogant in their deportment toward good men, vexing Lot’s righteous soul, toward the angels, whom they assaulted in his house, and toward God himself, all whose laws they trampled under foot.”

John Gill’s John Gill’s Commentary on the Bible adds: “And they were haughty,…. Sodom and her daughters, the inhabitants of that place, and the cities adjacent; they lifted up themselves above God and man; they were above regarding the poor and needy; and were elated and swelled with their plenty and prosperity, and behaved very insolently, both to fellow citizens and strangers; see Genesis 19:4.”

And committed abomination before Me

John Gill’s Commentary on the Bible continues: “and committed abomination  before me; perhaps referring to that sin, which has its name from them; a sin abominable to God, and scandalous to human nature; and which they committed openly and publicly, neither fearing God, nor regarding men; and are said to be sinners before the Lord, (Genesis 13:13);  therefore I took them away as I saw [good]; both as to time and manner, as he in his sovereignty thought most fit and proper, by raining fire and brimstone on them, and setting them forth as an example of the vengeance of eternal fire…”

In conclusion, we read in Genesis 13:13: “But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord,” and we know that this ended dramatically and fatally for all concerned.

In fairness, the sins that they committed have been replicated in all nations down through the ages, but the main sin was that of homosexuality, as the text of the story clearly shows.   It shows that only “the men” were involved, and there is no mention of women in this context, but it appears that they approved of the wicked conduct of their husbands, sons and other male relatives and friends (note an interesting statement in Romans 1:32), and they would also have been guilty of all the other sins mentioned in Ezekiel 16:48-50; hence the reason why there were not even 10 righteous people in the city.

answersingenesis.org states:  “‘Pride is a fountain of many sins because it effectively is saying, ‘I want what I want, and I will have it regardless of what God says or the cost to someone else because I am better than they are and deserve it.’ If that lustful passion is for ‘strange flesh’ or ‘unnatural desire’ as Jude 1:7 terms it, then that can lead to homosexual behavior. So yes, Sodom was judged for homosexual sin—which flowed from pride, which also led to cruelty and exploitation of their fellow men and women.”

Today, the homosexual lobby fails to learn the lessons of history but, as we have seen, there is even more to the account than just sexual perversion, and living a life pleasing to God in all aspects of life is what is required of His faithful people.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

One of our many booklets is entitled, “Sickness and Healing – What the Bible Tells Us,” and the aim of this Q&A can be likened to a trailer which is a preview, generally, for a film or book coming out in the future.   However, in this case, it is for a booklet that was first published in 2004.

With the coronavirus pandemic, most people are looking to the medical profession and scientists for answers, although politicians and other leaders are also involved in the implementation of the recommendations that the scientists and the medics make.   Hopefully, the people of God will have their priorities right and the last sub-heading in our booklet is, “Let God’s Will Be Done”—where it states the following:

“Whatever trials or sicknesses we have to deal with in our lives, let us ALWAYS be subject to God’s Will, giving Him the honor, praise and thanks for whatever He does for us. God created us, and He knows what is best for us. When Job was plagued with sickness, he thanked God for it, knowing that God would not have allowed it unless there was a purpose. Job did not understand that purpose for a long time, and neither might we be able to see God’s purpose clearly during a particular illness, but God knows, and that should ultimately be sufficient for us.

“Once everything in God’s plan for all of mankind has been accomplished, sickness and death will be a thing of the past. Let us always have this hope of a better future in mind when we go through trials and sicknesses, because the time will come when EVERYTHING will be different.”

On pages 18/19 of this booklet we read about those who may have a problem with the medical profession:

“While some may concede that there might be certain ‘medicines’ that can be used by sick people without constituting a lack of faith, they claim that we must never consult doctors, let alone receive treatment from them, as this would clearly mean that we place our trust in doctors, rather than in God. Yet, they don’t seem to have a problem with consulting those who profess to have knowledge regarding ‘health foods’ herbs or other ‘natural’ substances, and asking them for a ‘prescription’ of numerous vitamins or vitamin supplements.

“Then, there are those who would allow a doctor to conduct ‘repair surgery’ but they would be strongly opposed against any operation going beyond such ‘repair surgery.’ When those people are asked what they mean by ‘repair surgery,’ the answers vary and are many times dependent on the ‘need’ of the individual being asked. While they would perhaps agree that medical assistance regarding the healing of a fractured bone might be ‘repair surgery’ they would vehemently deny that ‘laser surgery’ of an impaired eye would fall into that category, until they themselves are confronted with the question of whether or not to undergo such surgery themselves.”

And there is much more to read about these issues.   If you haven’t read this booklet yet, we would encourage you to do so; if you have read this, a revisiting of this material could be beneficial.

Let us review some Scriptures where physicians are mentioned.

In the Old Testament we read about physicians to heal, repair (rapha—Hebrew).

Genesis 50:2

“And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.”

Physicians were not spoken of in a derogatory sense but that they were helpful in this task.

2 Chronicles 16:12

“And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.”

This indicates the issue of priorities, as God must always be first!

Matthew Henry’s Commentary observes as follows:

“…his sin was that in his disease, instead of seeking to the Lord for relief, he sought to the physicians.   His making use of physicians was his duty; but trusting to them, and expecting that from them which was to be had from God only, were his sin and folly.”

Job 13:4

“But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians.”

Albert Barnes Notes on the Whole Bible comments:

“Physicians of no value – The meaning is, that they had come to give him consolation, but nothing that they had said had imparted comfort.  They were like physicians sent for to visit the sick, who could do nothing when they came.”

This was not saying that physicians in general were of no value but they had come as “worthless physicians”—of which there are undoubtedly some physicians who are not competent or who are of no value (consider those who perform abortions, which is against their remit /oath to preserve life).

Jeremiah 8:22

“Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery For the health of the daughter of my people?”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible:

“Is there no balm in Gilead?…. Which was famous for it; see Genesis 37:25, or rather turpentine or rosin, a gum which drops from pine trees and the like; since balm or balsam grew on this side Jordan, near Jericho and Engedi.  Is there no physician there? or surgeon, anyone that heals wounds and bruises; very probably there were many such lived in Gilead, since it was a place where proper medicines were to be got and applied: this may be understood of prophets and teachers, who, in a moral and spiritual sense, are instruments of healing of men, by showing them their evil, calling them to repentance, and directing where to go for healing or pardon of sin; namely, to Christ, the alone physician, and to his precious blood, shed for the remission of sins.”

Again, physicians are mentioned, but not condemned as such, but the spiritual application is the most important aspect here.   Many other commentaries make similar observations and in Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary we read about the spiritual application of these comments:

“At length they begin to see the hand of God lifted up. And when God appears against us, everything that is against us appears formidable.  As salvation only can be found in the Lord, so the present moment should be seized.  Is there no medicine proper for a sick and dying kingdom?  Is there no skilful, faithful hand to apply the medicine?  Yes, God is able to help and to heal them.   If sinners die of their wounds, their blood is upon their own heads.   The blood of Christ is balm in Gilead, his Spirit is the Physician there, all-sufficient; so that the people may be healed, but will not.  Thus men die unpardoned and unchanged, for they will not come to Christ to be saved.”

In the New Testament we read about physicians–a healer (iatros–Greek).

Matthew 9:12

“When Jesus heard that, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.’”

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible:

“They that be whole … – Jesus, in reply, said that the whole needed not a physician. Sick persons only needed his aid.  A physician would not commonly be found with those that were in health.   His proper place was among the sick. So, says he, ‘If you Pharisees are such as you think yourselves – already pure and holy – you do not need my aid.   It would be of no use to you, and you would not thank me for it.   With those persons who feel that they are sinners I may be useful, and there is my proper place.’   Or the expression may mean, “I came on purpose to save sinners: my business is with them. There are none righteous; and as a physician is in his proper place with the ‘sick,’ so am I with guilty and miserable sinners.”’”

Here, Jesus did not say that we should not use physicians but that the sick needed them.  He was speaking in a spiritual sense as verse 13 would imply.  Jesus was not condemning the use of physicians where they are needed.

Of course, Church members should seek God’s healing first for physical healing but that doesn’t rule out any help from a physician where necessary.

Mark 2:17

“When Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’”

This is the same as in Matthew 9:12.

Mark 5:26

“…and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.”

Without making any excuses for the medical profession, there are usually a few charlatans in their midst as there are in every profession, primarily because human nature exists and people are imperfect.   But Christ did not condemn them, because they can be very helpful in many ways.

Luke 4:23

“He said to them, ‘You will surely say this proverb to Me, “Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.”’”

Luke himself was a physician (see Colossians 4:14 where he is called the “beloved physician”) and neither Christ nor the apostle Paul, who wrote the book of Colossians, censured him in any way about his profession.   The medical profession, and physicians, were not in the dock here.

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible:

“…physician heal thyself; and which was a proverb in use with the Jews……the meaning of which is, that a man ought to look at home, and take care of himself, and of those that belonged to him; and Christ was aware that his townsmen would object this to him, that if he was the person he was said to be, and could do the miracles and cures which were ascribed to him, he ought to do something of this kind at home, among them, who were his townsmen, neighbours, relations, and acquaintance.”

Luke 5:31

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.’”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible:

“…they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick: suggesting hereby, that as such who are in good health, who are free from all diseases, wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores, stand in no need of the advice and assistance of a physician, or surgeon, but such who have either distempers or sores on their bodies; so they, the Scribes and Pharisees, who, in their own opinion, were free from the disease of sin, original and actual, and touching the righteousness of the law, were blameless, stood not in any need of him, the physician, who came to cure the maladies of the souls, as well as of the bodies of men;”

The application of Jesus’ words is both for physical and spiritual application.

Luke 8:43

“Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,”

See comments on Mark 5:26 previously made about this same situation.

At present, with the coronavirus pandemic, most people around the world are looking to the medical profession and potential vaccines as a source of healing, and God never seems to be mentioned by the scientists and politicians in their pronouncements.   In the UK, for example, the National Health Service (NHS) can be elevated in many people’s eyes to a god-like status.   There are indeed many dedicated and hardworking people in the NHS, but it is a man-made institution with its limitations, whereas God will always do what is best for His people with His unlimited power.   We know what the procedure is for members of the Church of God as we read in James 5:13-16:

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

We state in our booklet “Sickness and Healing – What the Bible Tells Us” (pages 25/26) the following:

“We are not to place our faith in God’s faithful ministry, however, but we must place our faith in God. Still, God has established certain procedures, as we will see, that need to be applied and that involve His ministry, when it comes to physical, as well as spiritual healing.”

Physicians can be very helpful in advising about diet and exercise.  They can bind up wounds and put a broken leg in plaster to facilitate the body’s healing process.   God has put a wonderful immune system in the body and as a cut will heal, given a short time, so there are many other recuperative systems built into the human body which may only need time, not the surgeon’s knife.   In other cases, the removal of a trapped nerve, or similar, may be necessary to allow the natural healing processes of the body to perform as intended.

The medical profession can be very helpful but God’s healing should always be sought first.   However, we must play our part, and if there is anything that the medical profession can do to help a condition then it is not wrong to allow them to help the body function more effectively.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)