A Strong Bulwark

 A strong Bulwark

In Ecclesiastes we read,

"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty of man. 

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.

Abba Hillel Silver wrote,

"Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society.  Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority." Abba Hillel Silver.

Abba Hillel Silver is right. It is only when men realize that ultimately there is a God they must answer to that society becomes a better place.

If memory serves me correctly Abba Hillel Silver wrote those words during the dark days of World War Two when millions we dying in the concentration camps. Concentration camps set up by evil men who did not recognize God.

The same thing is happening today in some countries around the world. It is also happening in some of the so called democracies of the world where people are putting political leader ahead of God while turning a blind eye to the evil being done.

Ultimately God will judge everyone. It is therefore imperative that we who truly believe in the gospel of Christ Jesus present His saving grace and the love He shows to all people to all we come in contact with.

Please think about it. 

God

God.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” 

                                                                                    Genesis 1:1.

Today in Canada is Boxing day. The day after Christians celebrate the day God sent His one and Only Son into the world to save the world from their sins.
I know there are many who do not believe as Christians believe. That is their right. I know there are many people around the world that do not believe in the existence of God. That is their right.
Just because someone does not believe in God, does not mean He dose not exist. As C. S. Lewis put it in his book The Problem of Pain,
“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.” C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain.
The Bible does not debate the existence of God. It was written to believers and therefore has no need to do so. It simply makes the statement,

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” 

                                                                                    Genesis 1:1.

Abba Hillel Silver wrote,
“Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society.  Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority.” Abba Hillel Silver.
What he says is true. It is because of the belief in God that we have the ten commandments. Basic rules for living not only for God, but living in harmony with ones fellow man. No Atheist group from ancient times to the present day has come up with a more complete set of rules.
Such rules are, I believe, written on the very hearts of all men from birth. Every person in the world whether they have read the Bible or not instinctively know what is right and what is wrong.
It is when men fail to recognize these basic laws that society starts to fall apart. The best example is the rise of the Nazis in Germany during the 1930's through to the end of world war two.
Hitler and his henchmen chose to live by their own rules. They legalized murder on an industrial scale. Killing in excess of twelve million in the gas chambers. They arrested people simply because they disagreed with them. They stole private property.
Their actions plunged the world into a war that would cost fifty-six million plus lives.
These men did not fear God, and when the fear of God is not there. When the fear that they will not be held accountable is taken away evil can run rampant.
The Psalmist tells us,
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;...” Psalm 111: 10a.
The writer of Ecclesiastes states,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
Ultimately however it is up to you the reader who must decide as to whether you believe in God or not.
Still I would ask you to consider this,
“Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.” Blaise Pascal.
So before you place your wager, consider reading at least the New Testament. Learn what the writers believed about God and Jesus Christ.
Please think about it. 

A Political Liability

A Political Liability
In my previous blog I noted that the apostle John in his gospel told of the incident in which Jesus raised Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, a man who had been dead four days back to life. It resulted in many who had seen it believing Jesus was the Messiah. Something that brought on another problem for Jesus. John recording,
“Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.  
But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.  
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs.  
If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” John 11:45-48.
The Pharisees at this point had already branded Jesus a heretic for equating himself to God. For calling God his father.
Now according to John they didn’t seem to be as concerned with whether Jesus was a heretic or not but rather their political future.
John notes,
“Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs.  
If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” John 11:47,48.
John goes on to note,
“So from that day on they plotted to take his life.” John 11:53.
One teacher pointed out to me that it was rather ironic that they plotted to kill a someone who could raise the dead.
It showed that these men had no idea who they were up against. They were just thinking about their political power nothing else.
Today in the twenty-first century there are political leaders and governments all over the world that fear God.
They say Jesus is not the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind, God incarnate.
They say God does not exist. Yet they ban the worship of God. They refuse to let followers of Christ practices their faith.
If God does not exist. If Christ is not the Son of God, The Saviour of mankind, God incarnate then why would they fear Him?
If God dose not exist and Jesus is not all Christians believe He is, then Christian belief amounts to nothing.
If on the other hand God exists and Jesus is all Christians believe Him to be then those who oppose God have a lot to fear. For the Apostle Paul in Athens in a meeting of the Areopagus and said,
“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30,31.
Please think about it.