Truth Magazine

In Acts 5, we learn that two Christians, Ananias and his wife Sapphira, were intending to copy the example of Barnabas and other saints by selling a plot of land and bringing the proceeds to benefit the needy of the Jerusalem church. However, unlike Barnabas, this couple covets the notoriety of such a gift but does not want the pain of charity to afflict them so severely. Ananias and Sapphira conspire to pretend they are giving all when they are really only giving part of the proceeds. Truly, it was their option to give as they chose, but they endeavored to deceive their brethren into thinking they had done more.

The apostle Peter accuses the husband of his sin, claiming he had “not lied to men but to God” (v. 4). Maybe that was news to Ananias. Maybe he thought he could gild the lily and look like a big man and no one would ever know. Had Peter not possessed a prescient gift from the Holy Spirit, he might have gotten away with it. But honestly, God would have always known the truth anyway.

Ananias was struck dead and his unwitting wife soon joined him in eternity. They perished simply because they pretended to have piety when in fact, they were just going through the motions.

Our offering to God must be more than financial, of course. Money is only a part of the Lord’s work and what he demands and deserves from his children. The Hebrew writer tells us that he also should receive from us “the sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of our lips” (13:15). Is God listening to our songs? As surely as he beheld the sacrifice of bulls and goats in Moses’ day, he is beholding the notes and words of our songs today. Paul describes our song service as “singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16). Our songs are directed toward heaven and they are received there.

For our songs to be a pleasing aroma to God, they must be sincere. The most avowed atheist could sing “Amazing Grace” on stage for money, but God would not be worshiped because the grace was not in his heart. We must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24); that is, our songs must be authorized by God and sincere from the heart. If you don’t mean it, don’t sing it. If you don’t mean it, God won’t accept it.

What if God calls our songs as evidence in the great day of reckoning? Will they have reflected the thoughts and purpose of the heart and body? Or will they be evidence of hypocrisy and vain worship? We have promised God over and over that we will “Take Time To Be Holy” by speaking oft with him and feeding on his word. We must ask how regular our prayer and study habit is. Or will the Judge convict us of singing insincerely?

When we sing “This World Is Not My Home,” do the words emit from a heart secretly bowing at the altar of covetousness and the evil things of this world? Should God believe we are just a-passing through when we are busy heaping up treasure on earth and accruing nothing where we are supposedly headed for eternity (Matt. 6:19-21)?

We love to sing “Blest Be the Tie” that binds our hearts in Christian love. Do we mean it? Do we live it? Or do we not even consider one another and forsake the encouragement of the assembling together (Heb. 10:24-25)? Do we live to gossip and backbite? Do we count the tie that binds a noose around our libertine necks?

“Into Our Hands” the gospel is given, we sing. “Haste, let us carry God’s precious message, Guiding the erring back to the right.” But how can we say we mean it if we never utter the name of Jesus outside the security of the meeting house? Why should God accept that song from us if we horde the gospel like it might somehow be used up?

“Every time I sin on earth, I feel that I’m the one,” we pronounce in “I’m the One.” How can we even utter the words if we sin like we are sure of tomorrow? Unless we truly hate sin and intend to rid it from our lives, we had better not sing this song — we don’t mean it yet!

“Would you be free from your burden of sin? ‘There’s Power in The Blood.’” Why then do we lust after the premiums offered by denominations like amusements, banquet halls, and dramatic sketches? If we truly believe there is power in the blood, why flirt with anything less?

“Tell Me The Story of Jesus.” How dare we attempt to sing that in God’s presence when we never pick up a Bible to find the story in the first place? How dare we sing such words when we neglect Bible class?

We pledge allegiance to God beneath “The Banner of the Cross:” “Marching on and on! Marching on and on!” Where are we going? Are we marching into our communities, families, and workplaces like Christian soldiers or have we declared neutrality in the world war with the devil? If your faith never leaves the pew — you leave it there on Sunday afternoon and pick it up next Sunday morning — don’t sing like you plan to march under the Christian standard all week.

“Make me as ‘Clay in the Potter’s Hand.’” Singing this means you intend to truly be a disciple of Jesus, a person who is sincerely like Christ. That requires that your life be molded and shaped by the word and will of God. Will you read it? Will you apply what you read to your own life?

Then there’s the best one of all: “Are you ‘Sowing the Seed of the Kingdom’ brother?” You had better be broad- casting the seed of faith yourself before you start asking about your brother’s habits (Matt. 7:1-5).

Conclusion

Christians must start listening to their songs and learning from them. God is listening. And if we are giving him a blemished sacrifice or keeping back part in pretense, we will be held accountable for it. What part of that offering might we be withholding? Is it the spirit or the truth? Could it be both?

Could God be reacting to our songs as he did to the Hebrews in Amos’ day: “Take away from Me the noise of your songs” (5:23)?

 

servants also found water (26:32-33).

Lessons From Isaac

1. Isaac yielded to the Lord’s command not to go to Egypt (26:2-3) . The land of Egypt was notoriously prosperous at the time, but it was outside the land of promise. The Lord commanded Isaac not to go there and he yielded. His desire to move was not motivated in pleasure, but in necessity. Nevertheless, he yielded to the Lord’s command.

Thomas Whitelaw observed, “But the behaviour of this Hebrew patriarch is sometimes outdone by that of modern saints, who not simply project, but actually perform, journeys, of pleasure or of business, across the boundary line which separates the Church from the world, into places where their spiritual interests are endangered, and that too not only without the Divine sanction, but sometimes in express violation of that authority” (The Pulpit Commentary: Genesis 325).

2. Prosperity sometimes causes envy and conflict (26:12- 14). Isaac’s success caused the Philistines to envy him. One sometimes can bear another’s prosperity easier than he can another’s prosperity. Rachel could not rejoice in Leah’s children (Gen. 30:1, 15). Joseph’s brothers were jealous of Joseph’s place in the family (37:4-11, 19, 20). Miriam and Aaron could not enjoy the place Moses had over Israel (Num. 12:1-10).

The proper attitude toward a brother’s success should include: (a) Joy. We should rejoice with those who rejoice, just as we weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15; 1 Cor. 12:26). Elizabeth’s neighbors shared her joy at the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:58). The friends of the one who lost the sheep and coin rejoiced when they were found (Luke 15:5-10). Barnabas shared the joy at Antioch at the conversions that occurred in that city (Acts 11:23). Think of some of the occasions of joy that we should share with our brothers: (1) A raise in pay; (2) A promotion; (3) A new car; (4) A new house; (5) New furniture; etc. Surely, none of us would be like the Philistines who became envious at Isaac’s prosperity and drove him from them. (b) Thankful that one of our brothers was blessed of God to be so prospered. Who had we rather see so blessed as one of our brothers? See 3 John 2.

Some attitudes one should not have toward a brother’s prosperity are: (a) Envy; (b) Jealousy; (c) Suspicion. Abimelech seemed to suspect that Isaac’s increase in power was some threat to his kingdom.

3. The efforts Isaac made to live at peace. He gave up three very precious possessions (wells) rather than fight with the Philistines over them. In an age that demands its rights, this spirit is rare. Indeed, some would even equate it with pusillanimity.

The spirit of Christ teaches his children to give up their rights for the sake of the brother who might stumble because of exercise of their rights (1 Cor. 8:10-12). One is to pursue those things that make for peace (Rom. 14:19). Why did Isaac not fight for those wells? There is no indication that he did not fight because of his inability to win. The Scriptures imply that his giving up the wells was a reflection of Isaac’s peaceful nature.

Isaac was a peacemaker (Matt. 5:9). He chose to be defrauded rather than contend (1 Cor. 6:7). He manifested the attitude toward his enemies that Christ commanded (Matt. 5:39-42), as shown by his willingness to enter a covenant with Abimelech even after he had been so abused (26:30).

Conclusion

How many church conflicts would end if brethren reflected the magnanimous spirit of Isaac! Rather than belligerently standing for one’s own way, sanctifying it of course with “I’m standing for the truth,” why not display more of the spirit of Isaac? Sometimes brethren display more of the spirit of a pit-bulldog which bites and holds on in a death struggle rather than turning loose of something. We are not stating that one should sacrifice the revealed word of truth for the sake of peace, but in matters of judgment and personal preference, such a yielding spirit should characterize each of us.

 

By Richie Thetford

In the Albuquerque Journal (August 13, 1998), a headline read: “Clerics’ Group Draws ‘Line in Sand’ Against Gays.” Before I read the article the first thing that came to mind was the fact that it was not any “cleric” group or any particular denomination that “drew the line” against homosexuality, but rather God himself. It is good that there are still many religious groups that will take a stand against homosexuality because God teaches that it is a sin. There are various passages of Scripture that teach against homosexuality. Notice the line that God has drawn: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Other passages of Scripture teaching against homosexuality are: Romans 1:26-32; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13.

God Called Them Homosexual

It is interesting to me that when the homosexual community raises its head to “come out of the closet” and “tell all” that we are supposed to listen to their concerns and be sympathetic to their cause. Yet when we that are opposed to homosexuality raise our head and cry out against the sin of homosexuality then we are accused of violating human rights. Let’s not forget that it was not me or any other man that determined that homosexuality is a sin, it was our creator, God himself!

This is the same God that made everyone of us. He made us with the ability to follow and practice his righteousness. Yet the homosexual community cries out against those that are trying to uphold the teaching of God as “a well-orchestrated political campaign directed against the ‘gay’ community!” One individual stated, “It’s simply wrong to use God as an excuse for name-calling.” But wait, it was God that called them “homosexual,” pronounced that it is a sin, and said that anyone engaging in this sin will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. The homosexuals of the world don’t want to be labeled as sinners and called names and, as stated in this article, don’t appreciate “using God as an excuse for name-calling” but then the very next line of the article calls those ministers an “intolerant, homophobic chorus.” See what I mean? The homosexual community can take a stand and call names but when it gets thrown back their way they cry “foul!”

Calling It Like It Is

When Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., compared homosexuality to kleptomania and Green Bay Packers star Reggie White called homosexuality a sin during a speech to the Wisconsin legislature they drew immediate fire from the homosexual community. Brethren and friends, homosexuality is lawlessness and those engaging in this act and who do not repent will not be in heaven. God drew this “line in the sand” a long time ago. We can either accept his word or reject it.

Must Do All of the Word of God

By the way, I also find it interesting that all these religious denominations find it necessary to take a stand against homosexuality (that which is lawlessness), but will not take a stand on many, many other things that God has also condemned such as instrumental music in worship, partaking of the Lord’s supper only once or twice per year, raising money for the church treasury in ways not authorized and then using money from the church treasury in support of organizations or institutions not authorized in Scripture, sprinkling instead of immersion, teaching that baptism is not necessary for salvation, etc. The same God that condemned homosexuality is the very same God that instructed us how we must worship him (John 4:24). There is no such thing as a smorgasbord religion as far as God is concerned. We must eat that which has been set before us and that is the all of the Word of God. The “line in the sand” has been drawn by God since creation and he expects man to do all of his will (Matt. 7:21), and to teach his whole counsel (Acts 20:27). May we all do our very best to live and defend all of which God has taught us (Rev. 2:10; 1 Pet. 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:15).