3/22/19

"THE EPISTLE OF JAMES" Trials Of Poverty & Wealth (1:9-11) by Mark Copeland


"THE EPISTLE OF JAMES"

Trials Of Poverty & Wealth (1:9-11)
                                
INTRODUCTION

1. James has already discussed how we can turn trials into triumph,
   dealing with trials in general (1:2-8)

2. In verses 9-11, he discusses specifically the trials of being poor
   and being rich, and the attitudes we should have

3. In this lesson, we shall concentrate our attention on verses 9-11
   and passages elsewhere which deal with the subject of poverty and wealth

[Let's begin by noticing that both wealth and poverty can be a problem...]

I. THE TRIALS OF POVERTY AND WEALTH (cf. Prov 30:7-9)

   A. IN "POVERTY", WE MAY BE TEMPTED TO CURSE GOD...
      1. Like Job's wife wanted her husband to do, when they had lost
         everything - Job 2:9
      2. And as many do today when things don't go well

   B. IN "WEALTH", WE MAY BE TEMPTED TO FORGET GOD...
      1. As God warned Israel that it might happen to them - Deut 8:10-14,17
      2. And as it did in fact happen to them - Hos 13:5-6

[Having seen that both poverty and wealth have their own potential for
causing problems, let's now consider...]

II. THE REASONS FOR JOY IN POVERTY OR WEALTH (Jm 1:9-11)

   A. IF WE ARE "POOR", THEN WE CAN REJOICE THAT WE HAVE BEEN "EXALTED"!
      1. God has chosen the "poor" to be rich in faith - Is 66:1-2;Jm 2:5
         a. It is the poor who first had the gospel preached to them
            - Lk 4:18
         b. It is the poor slave who becomes Christ's "freedman" - 1
            Col 7:21-22
      2. So even if poor, we can still be "spiritually rich" and on
         equal par with all Christians - cf. Re 2:8-9

   B. IF WE ARE "RICH", THEN WE CAN REJOICE THAT WE HAVE BEEN "HUMBLED"!
      1. The rich are "humbled" by their:
         a. Becoming Christ's "slave" - 1Co 7:21-22
         b. Being placed on an equal par with all Christians...in which
            riches mean nothing - cf. Re 3:11-19
      2. Why it is good that the rich be so "humbled"...
         a. Riches are temporary - Jm 1:10-11; Prov 23:1-5; 1Ti 6:17
         b. Riches are unable to redeem our souls - Ps 49:6-9,13-20
         c. The love of money is a "quagmire" and a source of "self-
            inflicted injuries" - 1Ti 6:9-10
      3. In other words, it is good that in coming to Jesus Christ we
         find these things out...
         a. Or we might have made the same mistake many make today
         b. Thinking that money provides true security (remember the
            rich fool? - Lk 12:13-21)

CONCLUSION

1. Even in the trials of poverty or wealth, there can be a cause for rejoicing!

2. For Jesus is "The Great Equalizer"
   a. Exalting the poor who are rich in faith
   b. Humbling the wealthy by basing their salvation not on wealth, but
      on that which cannot be bought:  the blood of Jesus and the
      obedience of a humble and contrite spirit

3. Keeping these thoughts in mind will help us learn to be content in
   whatever financial conditions we may find ourselves; as Paul wrote:

   11  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in
   whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content. 12  I know both
   how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all
   things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to
   abound and to suffer need. 13  I can do all things through Christ
   which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4)

The important question is not "How rich are you?" but "How rich IN FAITH
are you?"


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

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Evolutionists Want It Both Ways by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=728


Evolutionists Want It Both Ways

by Dave Miller, Ph.D.


Astronomers from more than 30 research institutions in 15 countries are working together to select a site for a giant telescope that they hope will read TV or radio signals from alien civilizations. Slated to cost one billion dollars, the Square Kilometer Array, or SKA, would be the world’s most powerful radio telescope. Speaking at a conference of the International Society for Optical Engineering in Orlando, Florida, project astronomers said they hope to find “immediate and direct evidence of life elsewhere in the Universe” (“Sites Under...,” 2006).
Despite this bold venture, the scientists admit that “such a search would have distinct limitations, to be sure.” “Distinct limitations”? Like what? For one, the scientists “aren’t sure how to recognize such signals, if they do turn up. The hope is that the signals would consist of organized patterns suggestive of intelligence, and not attributable to any known celestial sources” (“Sites Under...,” 2006, emp. added). Wait a minute. Evolutionary scientists are renowned for their condescending ridicule of creationists because those who believe in God assert that evidence of intelligent design in the Universe is proof of an Intelligent Designer. No, the evolutionists counter, the Universe got here by accident through random chance, mindless trial and error, and the blind, mechanistic forces of nature. They maintain that life on Earth owes its ultimate origin to dead, non-purposive, unconscious, non-intelligent matter. Yet they are perfectly willing to squander one billion dollars on a telescope with the speculative idea that solid proof—hard evidence—for the existence of alien life would reside in otherwise undecipherable radio or TV signals that convey “organized patterns suggestive of intelligence.” [NOTE: One is reminded of NASA’s Viking mission to Mars in the mid-seventies in which scientists eagerly declared evidence for life on Mars based on initial photos that appeared to show a “B” or even a face on a rock (cf. “‘Life’ on Mars,” 2006; Warren and Flew, 1976, pp. 112,156). Such judgments soon were deemed premature and incorrect.] Atheistic evolutionists want it both ways: organized patterns prove the existence of life and organized patterns do not prove the existence of God. Philosophers and logicians refer to such duplicitous posturing as irrational and “logical contradiction.” Apparently, evolutionists call it “science.”

REFERENCES

“‘Life’ on Mars” (2006), [On-line], URL: http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/stu/mars_life.html.
“Sites Under Review for Telescope that Could Detect Alien TV” (2006), World Science, July 10, [On-line], URL: http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060711_ska.htm.
Warren, Thomas B. and Antony Flew (1976), The Warren-Flew Debate (Jonesboro, AR: National Christian Press).

Evolutionists Have a Blind Faith by Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=5485


Evolutionists Have a Blind Faith

by Jeff Miller, Ph.D.


Everyone believes in something. Blind faith, however, is believing in something without evidence. Every person on the planet has faith, but having blind faith, by definition, is irrational: drawing conclusions without enough proof.1 The faith/trust I have in the laws of science is not blind; it is based on a mound of evidence that has been formed over many years of faith-building behavior on their part. Christianity is not built on blind faith, but on faith that has been substantiated by evidence, and God demands that Christian faith be such.2 Naturalists, however, have a blind faith in several events that would be necessary if evolution is true.
As just one example, consider: if one is a naturalist, he must believe that at some point(s) in the past, life arose from non-living substances (that is, the spontaneous generation of life occurred). Many scientific experiments have been conducted over the centuries testing the hypothesis that spontaneous generation could occur, and every one of them has resulted in the same conclusion: in nature, life only comes from life. No matter what scientists have tried to do in a laboratory to make non-living material come to life, it still remains non-living.3 If one is rational and follows the evidence to its logical conclusion, he will conclude that in the Universe (in nature), life cannot come about from non-life. If, however, he cannot stomach the evidence, and chooses instead to irrationally believe that life can come from non-life in spite of the evidence, he is holding to a blind faith in so doing. There is not one example from nature in which life has been shown to come from non-life.
If life only comes from previously existing life in the Universe, then whence came the original life? It must have originated from a supernatural Source—Someone outside of the Universe. Indeed, it is God Who “gives to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25).4

ENDNOTES

1 Lionel Ruby (1960), Logic: An Introduction (Chicago, IL: J.B. Lippincott), pp. 130-131.
2 Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1; Acts 17:11; John 8:32; John 10:37; Dave Miller (2003),  “Blind Faith,” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=444.
3 Jeff Miller (2012), “The Law of Biogenesis [Part 1],” Reason & Revelation, 32[1]:2-5,9-11.
4 For more information, see Jeff Miller (2013), “Unlike Naturalists, You Creationists Have a Blind Faith,” Reason & Revelation, 33[7]:76-83.
Suggested Resources

Evolution Can’t Explain “Smart” Plants by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=3762


Evolution Can’t Explain “Smart” Plants

by Kyle Butt, M.Div.


Lisa Krieger recently wrote an article titled, “How Do Flowers Know to Bloom in Spring? Now Humans Know, Too.” She reported about research on flower blooming that is being done by plant molecular geneticist Jose Luis Riechmann from the California Institute of Technology, published in Science magazine. Riechmann’s research centers on the ability of flowers to know when to bloom to take advantage of the proper weather conditions to reproduce. It turns out that for plants to survive, timing is everything. As plant biologist Jorge Dubcovsky of UC Davis stated: “Flowering time is one of the most important traits in breeding because it affects the yield of crops. Too early and you are killed by frost; too late and you are killed by heat” (as quoted in Krieger, 2010).
Reichmann believes he has identified the tiny protein that is responsible for setting blooming in motion. The protein is named APETALA1, or AP1. This tiny wonder “regulates more than 1,000 genes” and “serves as the door that opens the way to flowering” (2010). Without this amazing protein, the plant world as we know it would not exist. The importance of this single protein becomes clear, when we realize that “almost everything we eat is a plant, or something that just ate a plant” (2010).
This petite protein poses a powerful problem for the theory of evolution. According to the theory, all plants and animals evolved over billions of years by chance, random processes that were not directed by any intelligence. Although evolution has been repeatedly shown to be false (see Butt and Lyons, 2009), research like Reichmann’s continues to add more weight to the fact that evolution is scientifically impossible.
First, it should be noted that no research ever done has shown us how random processes can produce a protein like AP1. Second, even if random processes produced AP1, which they cannot, how many times of trial and error would we need to grant the evolutionary process to allow it to finally strike upon the perfectly timed sequence to bloom? If the plants that were supposedly evolving bloomed at the wrong time, they would die or fail to reproduce. While that would be bad for those individual plants, it would also be devastating for the alleged evolutionary process, since evolution would have to start over trying to randomly assemble protein AP1 after every failure. Since all evolutionary scenarios are imaginary, and not backed by real scientific evidence, it is easy to propound a scenario by which natural selection somehow “chose” the plants that happened to bloom at the right time and have the proper protein sequence. But in reality, the first wrong turn would have sent plant evolution (although there really is no such thing) back to the drawing board, as would each additional wrongly timed blooming.
In truth, there never have been millions of years of gradual, chance mutations and natural selections that produced the “intelligent” flowering plants that we see today. The intricate design of plants, as manifested by tiny proteins like AP1, testifies to the fact that an intelligent Designer created flowering plants. Plants “know” exactly when to bloom simply because, when God created them, He endowed them with the ability to perpetuate their kind. As Genesis 1:11 states: “Then God said, ‘Let all the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so” (emp. added).

REFERENCES

Butt, Kyle and Eric Lyons (2009), “Darwin in Light of 150 Years of Error,” Reason & Revelation, 29[2]:9-15, February, [On-line], URL: http://apologeticspress.org/articles/240057.
Krieger, Lisa (2010), “How Do Flowers Know to Bloom in Spring? Now Humans Know, Too,” [On-line], URL: http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_14803818?source=rss.

The Next Step Can Be a Difficult One By Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=1569

The Next Step Can Be a Difficult One

By Ben Fronczek
Over the past few weeks we have been talking about taking our next step in life. Because whether we realize it or not, there is always going to a next step one can take in one’s growth, in maturing, in our walk with Jesus especially when it comes to serving God as an individual or collectively as a church.     In essence we are talking about steps of faith.
As I thought about this subject again this past week I thought about the fact that that taking these steps, or walking in faith and actually doing God’s will as He would have us sometimes can be very difficult. Quite frankly, God never said that doing His will and walking by faith was going to be easy. Sometimes obeying God is going to be downright hard.
Not many of us want to hear that. I don’t know anyone who purposely wants to struggle thru life. But as I look back thru scripture sometimes when God instructed individuals to do something many times it involved hard work, struggles of every sort, frustration, personal sacrifice, pain, sometimes you have to put up with people who frustrate you, and sometimes even death.
But before you give up and say to yourself, “I’m not up for any of this,” you need to also hear that most of those who went thru those hardships probably were very glad that they did in the end. Taking those steps of faith may be hard, but in the end there is a reward for those steps faith.
I’d like to talk about a few individual in the Bible, who took a meaningful step but had to go thru some real hard struggles, but in the end were rewarded.
Noah   (Read Genesis 6:9-22) Now we read that Noah was a good guy and pleased the Lord, but the Lord had in mind to cleanse the earth. In Genesis verse 6:5 it states, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”
Mankind had become totally depraved and evil, so God told Noah the next step He wanted him to take was to build a boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and about 45 feet high to house his family along with all the animals that God wanted to save because rain was on the way.
Now I don’t care who you are, no one is going to convince me that for Noah and his family this next step of faith was an easy one. Besides putting up with the ridicule of those who lived around him (maybe for being the crazy family that was building this huge boat out in the middle of nowhere), it probably took about 75 years of hard labor to construct that boat. An endless number of trees would have to be cut down, and then split or sawn into planks before they could even start construction. I can’t imagine the sacrifice and personal cost of such a project. But in the end, when it was all said and done, Noah and has family were blessed, they survived, and he became the father of all nations to follow.
Abraham (Read Genesis 12:1-7)  ” The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”
Abraham and his family would spend the next 100 years wandering from place to place with nothing more than the promise of God. They experiences one trial after another. Besides taking that big step of moving away from home and family to wander from place to place as nomads, they would suffer through famines, battles, and turmoil in the family with Sarah being barren so long. From the time he stepped out on faith life was difficult.
But in the end, beside God promising him that his family would grow into a great nation of peoples and would possess the lands they traveled on, God promised him that all nations would be blessed through one of His descendants, (talking about Jesus). God also personally blessed Abraham with a great amount of material possessions and wealth in his lifetime.
Moses As you know God gave Moses a huge task. At the age of 80 God told Moses to go to the Pharaoh of Egypt to tell him to let His people go. And as you read the story of God freeing and leading those people with Moses at the forefront, I can’t imagine the how hard his life had become after a peaceful life of leading sheep around in the wilderness. We read that these newly freed Jews were rebellious, argumentative, and corrupt. More than once God wanted to wipe them out and destroy them and start over again but Moses humbly interceded for them.
But in the end God blessed Moses. Moses got an opportunity enter God’s presence on top of the mountain where he received the 10 commandment on stone tablets. In Num. 12:8 we read that Moses spoke to God face to face. That’s why his face glowed with the glory of God like a bright light bulb. First hand he saw and experienced one miracle after another. Moses’ name would ever be memorialized and he was called a friend of God. And in the end, he got to see the promise land that this people would enter as a free people prior to his death. And at the transfiguration of Jesus which we read about in the Gospel accounts, Peter, James, and John saw Moses and Elijah appear in glorious splendor and talk with Jesus prior to His arrest and death on the cross. That’s right, proof that life goes on after this humble existence.
Then there was Joshua. He would be the next one to lead the people with God’s help after Moses into the Promised Lands. But his next step was not walk in the park for him. God would instruct him to lead Israel into the land and fight one battle after another. His next step was one of blood, guts, war and death. But in the end he was blessed with victory and a inheritance of land.
It seem like one Bible character after another had to experience hardship. Jeremiah preached for 40 years with little or no success. And because of that he is called the weeping prophet. It saddened him so that they were about to be destroyed as a people because they would not listen to God’s word and repent. Up until the day his prophecies came true he was abused and ridiculed. But in the end He would survive where others were swept away.
Jesus   Even God’s own Son, Jesus, in order to walk in faith and be obedient to His Father, His next step meant he would also have to suffer. But in the end, He not only freed us from sin, He now sits at the right hand of His Father in Heave and has prepared a place for those of us who will walk by faith.
The difficult steps of faith did not stop with Jesus. Over and over we read in the NT how individuals struggled and were persecuted as they took steps of faith.
Paul – Many of us know what the Apostle Paul had to deal with as he carried out what Jesus assigned him to do. His walk of faith was filled with hardship and eventually led to death as he did his best to share the Gospel, and start new churches where ever he went. Read (2 Corinthians 11:23b-29) “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.  Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”
Was it all worth to Paul, all the suffering? Later Paul wrote some amazing words from prison to those in Philippi. Listen to what He wrote:   Read Phil. 3:4b-16  If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.  I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
All the suffering and hardship was all worth it to Paul.
How was Paul blessed. For one thing he began to see some of the fruit of his labor as churches began to spring up and all around the civilized world as a result of his teaching. But that was nothing compared to the heavenly blessing awaiting him. He knew that death had no hold on him.
Maybe right now you may be thinking that walking by faith, or even taking that next step is gonna be a struggle, even difficult; and you are probably right.As you see in these stories, God’s way isn’t always the easiest way. But we also see that when it is all said and done, in the end it will be worth it.
We may not see the reward right away, just like Noah and his family, Abraham and his family, and so many others who did not see the blessings right away that lay in store. But be sure of this, if you do something that God would have you do, or take a step He would have you take, even though it may seem real difficult at times, somewhere along the line He is going to bless and reward you for that step of faith. And you will positively know for sure it was all worth it in the end.
The next step you take for God may cost you a lot. A lot of work, a lot of time, maybe some grief from others, maybe personal discomfort, or even other unforeseen trials. But I say, trust God’s word that it will be worth it in the end!
Maybe God has been putting something on your heart lately:
– Maybe to absolutely honest at work when your boss says to fudge a little.
– Maybe God is even prompting you to step out and leave that job or even enter a new career because your present job’s unwholesome effect on you.
– Maybe God has put on your heart to keep asking certain people to Bible study or church because God knows where they are and what they need.
– Maybe the next step for you is to give up a bad habit that you’ve been feeling guilty about lately.
– Maybe God simply wants you to stop complaining and change your attitude.
I don’t think you can get around it. Somewhere along the line, there will be a next step and that next step of faith is going to cost you. It may be inconvenient, hard or even painful. But I think it’s absolutely necessary for us to recognize that if God has put something on our heart to do, there is probably a pretty good reason. (Now I am not talking about what we want, what we think, or what we personally feel we should do. Those things may be completely contrary to God’s will, and His word. If what you feel prompted to do it may be contrary to God’s word and it just may be of the devil) We are not talking about those things!
Don’t let the anticipation or fear of hardship deter you from taking that next step! Paul gave good advice for each of us when he said  “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  …One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
So what are you going to do when God puts that next step right in front of you? My advise is that if it is from God, press forward, push those fears aside, trust that God has your back and that He will bless you in the end.
For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566
All comments can be emailed to: bfronzek@gmail.com

What is the truth about God? by Roy Davison


http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/god.html


What is the truth about God?
With regard to non-believers, Paul said: “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25 RSV).
The truth about God remains true, whether it is accepted or not. Nor can the consequences of truth simply be wished away.
What is the truth about God?

God is.
The existence of God is evident from His works:
“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.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world”
(Psalm 19:1-4). 
“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, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:20-22).
God’s eternal power and Godhead are evident “being understood by the things that are made.”
Yet many have rejected the one true God and have become adherents of some fake, materialistic religion. Or they resort to atheism that involves the deification of nature by ascribing godlike creative power to unintelligent, dead matter.

Who says there is no God?
“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1).
The philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, in writings between 1882 and 1889 declared: ‘God is dead’. His writings have been influential in philosophical and atheistic circles since then.
Nietzsche admitted that the loss of belief in God would cause a breakdown of traditional moral values, but he believed that without faith in God a new Ãœbermensch would arise, a higher form of man.
He criticized Christians for taking care of the weak, which according to him interfered with the progress of evolution through natural selection by enabling inferior people to reproduce.
Hitler used ideas of Nietzsche as the basis for his extermination of the physically handicapped and certain races that he considered inferior, in order to advance Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest’.1
Nietzsche at the age of 44 became completely insane in 1889. The doctors thought he had acquired syphilis from prostitutes but perhaps he had a brain tumor.
A year earlier Nietzsche had written a book in opposition to Christianity and Christian morality entitled ‘The Antichrist’. In its conclusion he says: “I call Christianity the one great curse, the one great intrinsic depravity.” He suggested that instead of dating time from the birth of Christ, it should be dated from the last day of Christianity, namely from the year his book appeared!2
In 1889 he wrote to a friend: “The world will be turned on its head for the next few years: since the old God has abdicated, I will be ruling the world from now on.”3
Nietzsche was insane for eleven years until his death in 1900.
Nietzsche is dead. God lives, unhindered by people, über or not, who say that there is no God.
The truth about God is found in the Bible where the attributes of God are described.

God is holy.
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8). 

God is one.
“The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Mark 12:29).
“For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live” (1 Corinthians 8:5, 6).
In Scripture the one true God is revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit [see for example John 4:24; 20:28; Colossians 3:17]. Thus Christians are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

God is Creator.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Genesis 1:1-3). Notice that the Spirit and the Word of God were active in creation. Godspoke the universe into being by the power of His Spirit.
Later the creative Word of God came as Savior in the person of Jesus Christ: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

God reigns.
God is sovereign. “The LORD shall reign forever and ever” (Exodus 15:18). “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne” (Psalm 47:8). “The Lord God Omnipotent reigns!” (Revelation 19:6).

God has spoken.
God has made His will known to man.
“He has shown you, O man, what is good” (Mica 6:8).
“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul” (Psalm 19:7).4
“God who at various times and in different 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” (Hebrews 1:1, 2).5 The teachings of Christ have been passed on to us by His apostles in the Bible (Romans 16:25-27).

“God is love” (1 John 4:8) .
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God saves.
“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4, 5).6

God gave His Son.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9, 10).
“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

God sent His Spirit.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (Jesus promised in John 15:26).
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Galatians 4:4-6).
The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost and inspired the apostles to preach the message of Christ and record it in sacred writings that come down to us in the Bible.7

God calls us.
“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling” (2 Timothy 1:9).8

God is worthy to be praised.
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God” (Psalm 48:1).
“I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:1- 3).
“I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised” (Psalm 18:3).9

God will judge us.
“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked” (Ecclesiastes 3:17).
“He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness” (Psalm 9:8).
“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).
“Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:29-31).

What is the truth about God?
God is. God is holy. God is one. God is Creator. God reigns. God has spoken. God is love. God saves. God gave His Son. God sent His Spirit. God calls us. God is worthy to be praised. God will judge us.

Do you want to serve God?
Believe what God has revealed about Himself in the Bible. Believe the saving message of His Son, Jesus Christ. Confess your faith in Him. Repent of your sins. Be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of your sins. Rise from the water of baptism, born anew, to serve the one true God in spirit and truth. Serve Him faithfully until death and He will give you the crown of life.10 Amen.
Endnotes:
1 Nietzsche himself was opposed to antisemitism, however.
2 Downloaded from the full text of “The Antichrist” on Nov. 6, 2018 from
https://archive.org/stream/theantichrist19322gut/19322.txt
3 Downloaded on Nov. 6, 2018 from http://www.leonardsax.com/Nietzsche.pdf
4 See verses 7-11.
5 See also Hebrews 4:12, 13.
6 See also 2 Samuel 22:47 & Psalm 62:1, 2.
7 See Acts chapter 2 & Romans 16:25-27.
8 See also 2 Peter 1:2-4 & 1 Peter 5:10, 11.
9 See also Psalm 113:1-3, Psalm 96:1-13 & Psalm 145:1-3.
10 See James 1:12 & Revelation 2:10.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

Things happen for a reason by Gary Rose



I really don’t remember exactly when I said this, but I must have been very young indeed. Anyway, this is a good question, To put it another way: why do things that seem unjust happen to us?


First of all, much of what happens in our life is the result of choices we make and the consequences of those decisions. But, it goes deeper than that. Our thoughts, our feelings have an effect on our lives as well.

Next, remember that we don’t live on this planet alone; other people (both good and bad) can impact our lives as well. Also, remember all those laws we must obey (again, good and bad).

Lastly, we are not just physical beings, we have a spiritual aspect to our nature as well. Think about the patriarch Job. He suffered through pain and anguish caused by Satan and how God ultimately blessed him beyond what he could have even imagined.

So, things happen to everyone, but trying to determine why is one very difficult proposition indeed. Here are just a few passages from the Bible to reflect upon….


Ecclesiastes 3 ( World English Bible )
Ecc 3:1, For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: (emphasis added)
Ecc 3:2, a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
Ecc 3:3, a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
Ecc 3:4, a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
Ecc 3:5, a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
Ecc 3:6, a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
Ecc 3:7, a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Ecc 3:8, a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecc 3:9, What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
Ecc 3:10, I have seen the burden which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
Ecc 3:11, He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man can’t find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end. (emphasis added)
Ecc 3:12, I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice, and to do good as long as they live.
Ecc 3:13, Also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.
Ecc 3:14, I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; and God has done it, that men should fear before him. (emphasis added)
Ecc 3:15, That which is has been long ago, and that which is to be has been long ago: and God seeks again that which is passed away.
Ecc 3:16, Moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.
Ecc 3:17, I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
Ecc 3:18, I said in my heart, “As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals.
Ecc 3:19, For that which happens to the sons of men happens to animals. Even one thing happens to them. As the one dies, so the other dies. Yes, they have all one breath; and man has no advantage over the animals: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20, All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Ecc 3:21, Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?”
Ecc 3:22, Therefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who can bring him to see what will be after him?
Ecclesiastes 9 ( WEB )
Ecc 9:1, For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hatred, man doesn’t know it; all is before them. (emphasis added)
Ecc 9:2, All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, to the clean, to the unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who doesn’t sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath, as he who fears an oath.
Ecclesiastes 12 ( WEB )
Ecc 12:13, This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. (emphasis added)
Ecc 12:14, For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
Romans 8:2 ( WEB )
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. (emphasis added)
John 3 ( WEB )
Joh 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (emphasis added)

When I reflect upon all this still have many questions, but this I do know; God loves me and is working out everything in my life for a reason – whether or not I know why. More than this, I must love, trust and obey God in every aspect of my life, because that is what being a Christian is all about!