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Vol. 11 No. 4 April 2009 |
Page 14 |
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Vol. 11 No. 4 April 2009 |
Page 14 |
Ernest S. Underwood
In one of His parables, Jesus told of a farmer whose fields brought forth bountifully. This lets everyone who has ever farmed know that this man was a hard worker. The fields of a lazy man grow more weeds than they produce grain. However, near the end of this parable, God calls this man a fool. An analysis of the parable tells why.
First, he left God out of his life. He gave God no credit for what he had been able to acquire as a result of God’s blessings. He left his fellow man out of his life. Everything was “I, my, mine.”
Like so many today, he thought that his soul could be satisfied by material things. “Soul, you have much goods laid up…eat, drink, and be merry.”
He thought he had time that he did not have. “Much goods for many years…” He talked about years while God talked about “this night.”
God called this man a fool. Jesus said, “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Do any of these actions and attitudes describe your way of life? If so, don’t you think that it is time to change?
Ernest S. Underwood
No one appreciates a liar. The Book of Revelation tells us that all liars shall have their part that burns with fire and brimstone. Solomon, too, spoke of the difference between a true and a false witness. In Proverbs 14:25 he said, “A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful witness speaks lies.” Let us keep this in a religious context and notice what Paul commanded of Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16. He wrote, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing so you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” In short, he was telling Timothy to teach truth that will deliver the souls of men. Still staying in the religious context, let us look at the warning of Peter as found in 2 Peter 2:1-3 where he says in part, “…there will be false teachers among you who will…bring in destructive heresies…and many shall follow their destructive ways…they will exploit you with deceptive words.”
Herein is the difference in the church of the Lord and every denomination of man. One is built upon truth that can be verified by searching the Scriptures; the other is built upon the doctrines, creeds, dogmas and opinions of men, which constitute destructive heresies. On the Day of Judgment, in which would you want to be?