Abortion

I have heard it said that the ultimate test of any civilization is what it does with its children. The American legal system has decided quite some time ago that the murder of innocent babies is alright. Doctors are legally allowed to practice this gruesome procedure. Many debate whether or not the “fetus” is alive or not, but medical studies have shown time and time again that the child is in fact living. In all of my reading of Scripture, I have not come across any explicit command dealing with the subject of abortion. It was practiced. History has shown us that. Then why is the Bible silent on the issue? It is because I believe that abortion falls under the category of murder. Abortion is murder! In Exodus 20:13, God gives this commandment, “You shall not murder.” This is talking about the premeditated killing of a life. An abortion is definitely premeditated. An abortion also leaves the mother scarred physically and mentally for life. Just listen to the testimonies of women who have had an abortion.

Does God consider the fetus a person? In Psalm 139, David writes about how well God knows him. In verses 13-14, he says, “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.” In calling Jeremiah, God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). In Proverbs 6:17, God hates the “hands that shed innocent blood.”

Should we as Christians take a stand against abortion? Well, consider some more of the Proverbs. Proverbs 24:11 says, “Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter, oh hold them back.” The next verse tells us that we cannot plead ignorance. Millions of unborn babies are being slaughtered here in America and around the world. We must be a voice to those who cannot speak. Proverbs 31:8 says, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate.” We should not support the doctors who practice abortions either. Proverbs 28:17 says, “A man who is laden with the guilt of human blood will be a fugitive until death; let no one support him.”

Divorce

My position is as follows: a married couple should not ever get divorced, except in the case where one or the other has been unfaithful to his or her partner. Why do I say that? It is because Malachi is explicit in quoting God, “I hate divorce” (Malachi 2:16). Those are pretty strong words. It is not too often in Scripture that God is quoted as hating something. Why then is this ignored so often? Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, “But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband…and that the husband should not divorce his wife.” That can only mean one thing—do not get divorced!

Jesus Christ gave only one situation in which divorce is allowable, and that is in the case of unchastity. In Matthew 5:31-32, Jesus teaches, “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” Jesus repeats this statement in Matthew 19 and in Mark 10. Not only is divorce a sin, but it leads to more sin, namely adultery. Joseph was going to divorce Mary quietly because he thought she had been unfaithful to him.

Marriage is designed to be a lifetime commitment. Jesus says in Mark 10:9, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” Paul Hamar writes concerning the subject, “God made one husband for one wife, and anything contrary in this setting is breaking Christ’s command.”[1] We have always heard in marriage ceremonies, “Until death do us part.” The death of a spouse releases the other person from the bonds of marriage. That really is the only honorable way for a marriage to end. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 7:39, “A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord” (see Marriage to a non-Christian). Furthermore, Paul goes on to say in Romans 7:2-3, “The married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning her husband.”

Brother and sisters, let us live our lives with love for one another through the good times and the bad times, the thick and the thin. How tragic it is that statistics show that the divorce rate in the Church matches that of the world at 50 percent! This should not be the case. Divorce is wrong in God’s eyes, and therefore, it is wrong in my eyes as well.

[1] Paul A. Hamar. The Book of First Corinthians. (Gospel Publishing House: Springfield, 1980), 58.

Marriage to a non-Christian

My position is as follows: no Christian should ever marry a non-Christian. My primary argument, which is the strongest support of my position, is found in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness.” Paul, with the Holy Spirit, gives an imperative here. It is plain and simple: “do not be bound together with unbelievers.” Webster’s defines “bound” as “tied or joined, obligated.” That is a pretty good description of marriage as well. Many can recall the words from Genesis 2:24, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (emphasis mine). One may ask, “What is the big deal? Why can I not marry whoever I want?” Well, elsewhere Paul warns the Corinthians, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). It is so much easier to be brought down than to bring someone else up. Allow me to illustrate, suppose I am standing on a chair, and a lady is standing in front of me. It would be quite easy for her to pull me down from the chair, but on the other hand, it would be very difficult for me to lift her up to my position. Paul uses a language that can be found in the Old Testament where God commanded the Israelites not to yoke together an ox and a donkey (Deuteronomy 22:10). J. Vernon McGee was profound when he wrote, “A clean animal and an unclean animal should not be yoked together to plow. A child of God and a child of the devil cannot be yoked together and pull together in their life goals.”[1]

My secondary argument comes from Old Testament examples. Isaac and Rebekah were grieved to learn that Esau had married out of the faith (Genesis 26:34-35). Before Joshua died, he warned God’s people not to intermarry with foreigners (Joshua 24:12-13). 1 Kings 11 describes how Solomon’s heart was turned after his foreign wives’ idolatry. Verse four provides a sad commentary on his life, “For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.”

It seems clear to me from Scripture that I should seek a godly wife and avoid getting entangled with an unbelieving woman. Proverbs 19:14 says, “A prudent woman is from the LORD.”

[1] J. Vernon McGee, Second Corinthians, (Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, 1991), 83.

Fire Alarm

What is it about dorms and fire alarms? At the liberal arts university that I went to, Georgia College & State University, people pulled the fire alarm all the time. It was pretty much the same at Georgia Southern.

We now have a college at Southwestern, and guess what, it's happening here. I just happened to be getting some good rest when I heard, "Aaaannkkk, Aaaannkkk, Aaaannkk!!!" I was like, "You've got to be kidding me."

So I threw on some shorts and a shirt and joined a few other guys who appeared to be enjoying their sleep as well. I decided to walk over to the Student Center to check my mail, and on my way back I heard and saw the fire truck driving up to the dorm. When it stopped, three firemen jump out and go inside. Of course, there was no fire, but they have to check these things out.

I saw a few friends while I waited outside. They were telling me what they were doing when the alarm sounded. Snuggles was sleeping. Chase was in the shower. Earls wasn't happy that he had to use the stairs. Jerry was wide awake and proceeded to investigate for himself what was going on (I think he used to be a fireman). A few guys were in the middle of cooking lunch, and Daniel was his usual laid back, cheerful self.

Well, I guess I will start working on some homework, now that I'm up and awake. For those of you who have missed out on dorm life, I'm sorry. Ah, good times!

Tribute to Edgar

Edgar is perhaps the coolest waiter ever to work at a restaurant. However, Saturday is his last day to work at our (Suresh, Josh, myself, others) favorite place to study: IHOP.

I've known Edgar since this past summer. You see, IHOP was where Suresh and I did most of our Hebrew translations. Edgar always took real good care of us. I'm talking about refills. I'm talking about extra portions. Besides those things, we always had great conversations.

I know you must be moving on, Edgar, but thanks for everything. You will be missed, and IHOP will not be the same.

Wisdom from Jonathan V. Adams

"Life's too short to be complicated."

Noteworthy Blogs

Please visit my friends' blogs.

EK

Jason (Be sure to check out his quote page as well.)

Tim

Josh

Deuteronomy 6:1-8

This is my translation from the Hebrew text.

"Now this is the commandment, the enactments and the judgments that Yahweh your God charged to teach you to do in the land to which you are about to pass over there to take possesion of it; in order that you will fear Yahweh your God to keep all of His statutes and His commandments that I am commanding you, you and your son and the son of your son, all the days of your life in order that your days will be prolonged. Now hear, O Israel, and be careful to do them that it will be well for you and that you will become exceedingly numerous as which Yahweh the God of your fathers has promised for you a land flowing with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is one. And you will love Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your force. And these words which I am commanding you today will be on your heart. And you shall teach the words incisively to your sons and you shall speak of them in your sitting in your house and in your walking by the road and in your lying down and in your standing. And you shall bind them for a sign on your hand and they shall be for perpetual remembrance between your eyes."

Genesis 3:6-13

This is my translation from the Hebrew text.

"Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a thing desirable to the eyes and the tree was desirable to make one wise. So she took from its fruit, and she ate. Then she gave also to her husband close by, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed together fig leaves, and they made for themselves loin coverings. Then they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking around in the garden in the cool of the day. Then the man and his wife hid themselves from the face of Yahweh God in the midst of the trees of the garden. Then Yahweh God called to the man and He said to him, 'Where are you?' Then he said, 'I heard your sound in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. So I hid myself.' Then He said, 'Who told you that you are naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from it?' Then the man said, 'The woman that you gave to be with me, she gave to me from the tree, and I ate.' Then Yahweh God said to the woman, 'What is this that you have done?' Then the woman said, 'The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.'"

Aristotle and Augustine

Aristotle said that men are social creatures and that they have the ability to reason (meaning they are rational). He also proposed that man has four virtues: justice, wisdom, courage, and temperance (self-control). There is a natural law to things in life. When you act according to that law or virtue, you have character, and this is good for society.

Aristotle went on to say that there are two ways to gain character: watch someone who has character and listen to stories (narratives). Who else is better to watch and learn from than Jesus? And what better strories to listen to other than the Scriptures?

Pastors have a need to preach and teach expsitorally from the Scriptures. By reading the Word (the Bible), people learn Christian character. Perhaps one of the reasons why there are so many problems in the Church today is because the Bible and Scripture reading have been neglected.

Christians, we can't live like everyone else. We have to be role models. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul writes, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ."

Now, Aristotle's system sounds great, but there is a problem with it. Aristotle does not take human sin into the equation. He says people do the wrong things out of a lack of knowledge and a lack of power. All have a weakness in will and in power. We act contrary to good reason.

Aristotle said that the virtuous person gets eudaimonia (happiness, well-being), and that happiness comes from self-effort. He would say you are not a happy person unless you are a moral person.

Augustine, on the other hand, would say the lost person with character has virtues, but his virtues are only excellent vices. This type of man will do the right things, but for the wrong reasons. Augustine said we need the theological virtues.

You may ask, "What are the theological virtues?" Augustine would reply that the theological virtues are faith, hope, and love (see 1 Corinthians 13). Faith and hope grow out of love. Love is defined as caritas, and it is the greatest of the theological virtues. Caritas is defined as the love of God and the love of man for God's sake.

Theological virtues are spiritual gifts. They are not natural; they are works of grace. These give the believer the power and the knowledge to live righteously.

One needs to read the Word of God in order to gain the knowledge to live righteously. The believer also needs to live in accordance with the theological virtues. This doesn't just bring eudaimonia, but makarios. Makarios is defined as the happiness that comes from God. The word translated "blessed" or "happy" in Matthew 5:1-12 is makarios.

When a believer does not live in accordance with God's Word, he is in a miserable place.

Now, the opposite of caritas is cupiditas, which is the love of self.

Aristotle said that if a person worked hard for eudaimonia, he would also be blessed by the gods with makarios. Augustine would disagree because Aristotle's system is a system of works. Augustine's system is about grace.