2006 Issue 1
The Bible makes careful distinctions with reference to the taking of drugs.
First, drugs may be used for medicinal purpose — No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments, I Timothy 5:23.
Second, God graciously gave man wine for the Lord’s Supper, celebration, pleasure, satisfying thirst and general physical-emotional-spiritual health. However, with this gift of wine God has given us several warnings regarding its use. Leaders in home, church and state should not let wine blur their thinking and their ability to lead wisely, Proverbs 31:4-5. Also, drunkenness is a heinous sin — Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise, Proverbs 20:1.
Dr. Ernest F. Kevan, author of The Grace of Law, a Baptist minister, was the Principal of London Bible College, where he labored until his death in 1965. “Let’s Talk....” Talks About the Bible (out of print) by Dr. Kevan consists of talks to young people about the Bible – What is it about? How did it come to be written? Why do Christian people attach so much importance to it? The book is divided into three parts: Part I – About the Bible, Part II – About The Old Testament, and Part III – About the New Testament. Chapter 1 was printed in the last issue. If there is enough interest we will continue printing this book, chapter by chapter. Let us hear from you.
Frankly, I am glad I am not a child. Oh, don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed my childhood. I carry fond memories of carefree times, waking up with the feeling of freedom and anticipation as I knew play was my only agenda that day. I went to a public school where the Bible was taught and most of the children claimed to be Christians. By my teenage years, I was aware that some students were involved in drugs and sex, but these were the ‘oddballs’, a group apart from the mainstream of students who were basically moral. I enjoyed television, movies and music, but most of the entertainment was fairly innocent by today’s standards. There seemed to be a conspiracy to promote good values wherever I looked, be it at home, school, church, or the media. Children were largely protected from the immoral trends that were building up momentum in the adult world.
DEARLY BELOVED BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST,
GREETINGS FROM ECUADOR! Praise God for His indescribable gift! Praise God for another year to serve the King here on earth. To make His name known, to rejoice in Him, to worship and adore Him! “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever!” Rev. 5:13
The side rooms all around the temple were wider at each successive level. The structure surrounding the temple was built in ascending stages, so that the rooms widened as one went upward. A stairway went up from the lowest floor to the top floor through the middle floor (Ezekiel 41:7)
In last month’s editorial I introduced the subject of the paganization of the church and stated that this paganization largely has to do with the way our culture views human sexuality. I quoted from a recently published book entitled True Sexual Morality, in which the author, Daniel R. Heimbach, stated: “In just one generation, we have witnessed a total revolution in the way people think of sex and this in turn is creating a demand for monumental revisions affecting every social institution at almost every level… Everything related to sex, gender, and family, whether in law, politics, defense, education, entertainment, health, business, or religion, is being shaken to the core” (p.32).
The Post-Modern View Of Sex
While for many centuries Western civilization has been shaped by the Judeo-Christian approach to sexual morality based on the Word of God, with the rise of modernism there emerged an opposing view according to which sexual activity need not be restricted to hetero-sexual relations within the bond of marriage, but may be engaged in by anyone and with anyone, regardless of gender or relationship, provided it takes place with mutual consent. Sex, in this view, serves no moral or spiritual purpose beyond the experience itself.
