1996 Issue 8
"Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." - Heb. 1.2:14.
Reader - I offer you this passage of Scripture as a subject for self-inquiry; and I invite you to think over the question before your eyes, "Are you holy?" It is a question that can never be out of season. The wise man tells us, "There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;" (Eccles. 3:4, 7.) but there is no time, no, not a day, in which a man ought not to be holy. Reader, are you?
Jesus is everything Isaiah said He would be. He is the cornerstone upon which a believer can build his life and future; and He is the stone of stumbling, Who came to earth that all those who refuse to believe in might stumble over Him into hell, I Pet. 2:8. What is He to you? If you come to Him in faith, He will be the sure and unshakable foundation for your life and future. If you take offense at Him, you will stumble over Him into eternal torment. Jesus came to save men from death and hell and to bring them to resurrection and to eternal life; and the miracle of the healing of the man with the withered hand, is proof that He is able to do all that He promises. You have no good reason not to believe in Him and submit your life to His sovereign Word.
As we mentioned in our last message, we are in the section of Deuteronomy which deals with the Seventh Commandment: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." This commandment is a protective for the family. As such it is a vital law that demands our close attention in the anti-marriage and anti-family modern world today. Conntrary to modern radical "equal rights" advocates, man and woman are fundamentally different. There is a creational distinction ordained by God between the two sexes that no amount of philosophical argument or political legislation can overcome. Like it or not, in the beginning "male and female created he them" (Gen. 1:21). One aspect of the distinction between the sexes is a God ordained role distinction between husband and wife. According to the Word of God (and undoubtedly to human experience): the woman is the "weaker vessel." Thus, it is incumbent upon the husband to "give honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel" (l Pet. 3:7). This is why it is the husband that is commanded to be the head of the home throughout Scripture, beginning in Genesis and continuing into the New Testament. This is why it is left to the man to "leave his father and his mother" in order to take the initiative in seeking out a wife (Gen. 2:24). This is why it is the husband who is to "nourish and cherish" the wife (Eph. 5:29). The words "nourish" and "cherish" literally mean "feed" and "warm". Thus, the command means to support by providing food and clothing. This is why it is the husband that is commanded to "provide for his own, and specially for those of his own house" (1 Tim. 5:8). In this message we will consider a three-fold application of the various case laws presented. These three applications of the laws listed are deSigned to protect the weaker vessel. Although the specifics of the case laws may not directly apply today, the principles upon which they are erected undoubtedly do.
Contrary to the thoughts and dreams of our modern radicals (in church and state as well as the university) this continent was founded by men who were driven by a desire to see the Lord Jesus Christ honored and His kingdom come. Columbus, Cortez, Balboa, and any number of the early explorers to cross the perilous ocean to this land in the late 15th and early 16th centuries had this in common.
These men were followed by Englishmen of similar vision. The settlers of Jamestown came (in 1607) for the purpose of establishing a society where men might live freely to the glory of God. The pilgrims of Plymouth came for the same reason thirteen years later. These two groups of early settlers, set the tone for all that would follow in this nation. This would be a place dominated by nothing so much as the gospel and faith in Christ.
In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce by G. A. Henty.
Liberty or death. This was the stark choice the people of thirteenth/fourteenth century Scotland faced if they rose up against their English rulers. Many would say that it was no choice at all. How could the Scottish people ever hope to gain their freedom on the battlefield? Many of the nobles were English supporters. Few people could be expected to rise up against the numerically overwhelming English army that would assuredly invade from the South. Edward I, the king of England, would quickly and consistently resist any and all attempts by Scotland to rule itself. The odds seemed insurmountable. Yet with the right leader, with a long term commitment and above all with God's good providence it could be accomplished.
The Theme Is Freedom: Religion, Politics, and the American Tradition by M. Stanton Evans.
During the week of July 4th, one or more poll results were released, showing the little knowledge many citizens have regarding the origin of the annual Fourth of July celebration in America. Accompanying this is the increasing demand by many for the civil government to insure their multiple rights, defined by themselves, are granted and protected.
