Atheists have tried for years to prove that God does not exist. This is impossible, however, because God does exist, and the nature of the atheist’s position is self-defeating. An atheist makes the claim, “I know God does not exist.” This is what is called a universal negative. That means, that in order to know what they claim, they must have all of the evidence. Imagine the following illustration: There are two men in the woods. One man says to the other, “I know that there is not even one deer in these woods, nor has there ever been.” The other man says, “I know that there is, at least, one deer that exists, or has existed in these woods.” The first man would have to know or do a couple of things that would be impossible for him to know or do. 1) He would have to be able to see the whole area that he was considering. 2) He would have to know that there had never been a deer in that area. The man that said that he knew there was at least one deer that exists, or had existed, in the same wooded area, would have much less to prove. He would simply have to provide one deer track, some deer hide, rub marks from a buck, deer bones or even some droppings. If this man provided any one of these, he could uphold his side of the case. The first man is holding a position similar to …

The word play of the media and the political world is ever intriguing. Much ado was made when the National Security Advisor of the present administration agreed and was allowed to testify under oath and publicly before the 9/11 Commission. Inherent in all the attention given this landmark case was the implication that there was much more to be expected from the qualifications “under oath” and “publicly.” Private testimony without an oath, it was inferred, could not be trusted. Then, other officials testified privately and without an oath. The reports led listeners to believe there was something lesser and even sinister about such testimony. Without an oath, would people really tell the truth? Without being in public, would they be more apt to hedge on the full story? Perhaps. But the point of this article is neither to question the motives of either the media or the politicians, nor accuse anyone on either side of those volatile issues of any malice or perjury. Rather, the whole affair calls to mind a very relevant biblical principle. Christians, one should observe, should always be considered under oath. Whether or not a verbalized oath is taken, or a hand is placed on a Bible or a “so help me God” is uttered, Christians ought to be people who tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Consider the following biblical teachings: Jesus sharply rebuked the Pharisees for regarding some oaths as more binding than others (Matthew 23:16-22). Jesus also taught that such swearing should …

Can it be said with any degree of certainty that anything is necessarily wrong? Have black and white really dissolved into the murky world gray? Are there no absolutes any more, except, of course, that there are no absolutes? A few years ago I would not have considered such questions as worthy of serious discussion. Right and wrong were clearly differentiated, and most folks understood the difference. Abortion was unthinkable, divorce unacceptable and unwed pregnancy a disgrace. Now these are common occurrences in many families. And, there seems to be no shame, no sense of failure, no stigma attached. Why is the realm of ethics and morality shrouded in a dense fog? Is there nothing that we can point to as always right or always wrong? The “enlightened” answer is “No!” Is that your approach to this subject? Are you among the growing number calling for tolerance? Is your voice among those who plead for acceptance? Do you sit in judgment of those whom you condemn for judging? Are you among that number whose knowledge of the words of Jesus is limited to his statement, “Thou shalt not judge”? If you find yourself in this crowd, answer these questions. Is it ever right to abuse a child? Is child pornography ever morally acceptable? Is it ever wrong to treat people the way you want to be treated?  And, how do you know? The realm of right and wrong is not nearly as murky as we are led to believe. Whether …

Recently a young man read the text for the morning’s lesson from Ephesians 6. He read verse 4 this way, “And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and abomination of the Lord.” I do not know whether anyone else noticed the difference in the word “admonition” which Paul used, and “abomination” which the young man used, but the thought occurred to me that many parents are bringing up their children in abomination of the Lord. There are at least nine verses in the Bible that specifically use the expression “abomination unto the Lord,” but the number that are an abomination to him is too great to list here. Deuteronomy 25 mentions several things that were unlawful, then verse 16 says, “All that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.” That covers every deliberate sin. God mentions specific things in Proverbs 6:16-19: “There are six things which Jehovah hateth; yea, seven which are an abomination unto him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood; a heart that deviseth wicked purposes, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness that uttereth lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” When a parent lives or speaks in such a way that his children feel that they are superior to others, he is teaching them in the abomination of the Lord. When a child hears his parents tell a lie about anything, they are teaching what is …

One of the most interesting conversations recorded in the Bible took place between the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate and our Lord Jesus Christ on the day he was betrayed into the hands of sinners. The conversation is recorded in John 18:33-38, which reads as follows: Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, Are You the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore said to Him, Are You a king then? Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. Pilate said to Him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, I find no fault in Him at all. (NKJV) One of the reasons this conversation is so interesting, in addition to the fact that Pilate found no fault in our Lord, …

Some say that there is no God. This is not a new fad or philosophy. More than three thousand years ago David wrote: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good’” (Psalm 14:1). It should be noted that the passage does not say,”Because there is no evidence available, some people fail to believe in God.” The fool of the passage knows the evidence. He may even have examined that evidence and realized that all reasoning and logic show such evidence to be true. Surely, like the Psalmist, he could see and say, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard” (Psalm 19:1-3). The fool, however, is like those described in the first chapter of the book of Romans. Here we are told: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, …

The recent best selling book, The Prayer of Jabez, written by Bruce Wilkinson, was the “surprise religious book” of the year 2000. It has sold over seven million copies. Every book writer would like to boast of such success. That success has spawned a marketing phenomenon that includes books for kids and teens, T-shirts, coffee mugs, a desk calendar, a study Bible, a devotional guide, a website and a reminder coin — all in the name of Jabez. This book, or any of its related merchandise, might very well be under your Christmas tree this year (given by some well-meaning friend or relative). I realize that this book enjoys some popularity among our brethren. I see no problem with that as long as the reader is able to see past the hype surrounding the book, as well as the pseudo-promises and the false teachings of the author so as to derive some benefit from the commentary provided. The apostle John wrote, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). The trouble is that the largest portion of the reading public is not so discerning. All that the Bible tells us about Jabez is found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, which reads, “And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh …

Most people want to be right, to the fullest extent of their ability, in the sight of all observers. However, there are some depraved souls who could not care less how they appear in the sight of either God or man, and they conduct themselves solely by their own selfish whims and notions. When they are reminded of being out of harmony with God’s perfect moral and spiritual standards (or even man’s imperfect standards), their response often is: “I don’t care what anyone thinks or says” or “It’s none of your business” or “It’s my life to live and I will live it as I please.” This latter concept is often heard these days to the sad dismay of parents from their children, and it generates a double grief in godly parents: grief because of the sin of rebellion, and grief when that rebellion ultimately results in fruits that hurt and sorrow for their children. Sadly, the above expressed attitudes are becoming more and more prevalent in our society as a whole, and it is spilling over into the precious body of Christ, the church for which Christ died. “That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26-27). We would expect an infidel, who is regulated only by humanistic values, to have an “I don’t …

[First Century Christian 22.12 (2000): 11.] Mistakes and failures of the past should not be allowed to hinder and rule in regard to the present and the future. Paul’s admonition needs to be applied in such cases. “But one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). However, this does not mean that we cannot learn from our mistakes and failures and profit from them. Righteousness of God is a learned behavior, just as sin is; therefore, we must unlearn sin and learn righteousness. To be righteous, we must study God’s will and learn to do right (James 1:21-22). Righteousness is turning away from sin to do right; it involves repentance. There is a commendable saying, “I’ll not make that same mistake again!” Such a statement expresses a bold and courageous determination to do better, but we must not forget that the devil can also be incited by it to attempt to bring us to an even greater downfall. When we clean our houses (souls), we must also fill them with righteousness (Luke 11:24-26). “Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more evil than himself; and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first.” We are righteous only as we learn and put into practice right doing, and our heavenly …

In the 23rd chapter of Matthew, we read the severest denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees that can be read in any literature in the world. This castigation was the fulfillment of prophecy because the prophets had foretold how the Son of God would be maligned and abused by the leaders of the Jewish people. In this instance, our Lord was not just lashing out in human anger against those who were about to crucify him; on the contrary, because he knew his days were numbered and that the earthly phase of his redemptive work was about to end, he was making a “last ditch” effort to dissuade the Jews from the path they had determined to take. Near the end of his sermon to them, he made two statements that catapult our minds back to Daniel 9:24. In this passage Daniel said, “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.” The two phrases to which we give attention are: (1) “to finish the transgression,” meaning the ultimate transgression of the will of God that was to be committed in the crucifixion of his Son; and (2) “to make an end to sins,” meaning that when Jesus was crucified upon the cross the act that would bring about the forgiveness, or end, of sins for millions of …