Archive
“Three-sixteen”
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:16
As Christian we all know John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Now how many of you know Revelation 3:16? What an interesting contrast! In one “three-sixteen” God is giving His only begotten Son so that we should not perish, while in another “three-sixteen” God is regurgitating a church out of His mouth for a lukewarm spirit.
As Christians we need to be aware of things that pull us away from following the LORD, and one of the most dangerous things in our Christian life is indifference. In Revelation 3:16 the word “lukewarm” is used. Being “lukewarm” or “indifferent” to the spiritual things of God comes from an apathetic spirit toward God’s sovereign love in John 3:16. Indifference is dangerous because it allows doubt and unbelief to grow and fester. Indifference is dangerous because it is hard to notice, it’s like a chameleon always changing colors. Indifference is dangerous because it whispers the lie, “oh, it’ll be okay.” A good illustration is Kris and his truck.
One day Kris saw an old pick-up truck in a field and thought it would be nice to have a work truck to haul his stuff. So Kris bought this old truck at a cheap price. All it needed was a few adjustments. Kris drove this truck around for a few weeks and one day his father rode with him. His father asked, “What is that awful smell – that stench?” Kris said, “I know it’s bad, but just roll your window down and it’ll be okay.” A couple weeks later Kris was driving down the road when to his surprise a fat, long snake came out from under the passengers seat and slithered upon the dash while he was driving. He immediately pulled over, grabbed a tire tool to get the snake out and killed it.
I fear that among God’s people that there are seasons of indifference, in which we apathetically go through the motions of praising, praying, and preaching without Christ’s leadership. All the while indifference is saying, “just roll your window down, it’ll be okay.” How long will we drive down life’s road with the horrible smell of sin and that Old Serpent called the Devil underneath our seat. Dear Christian do not slight the sin of indifference because it makes God nauseous. The good news is that the same sovereign God in Revelation 3:16 who would have every right to spit us out is also the same sovereign God of John 3:16 who loves us beyond explanation, and if you come to Him through Christ and confess your indifference He will renew your spirit. – (Printed in the Marshall County Tribune)
David C. Hale, pastor
New Life Community Church
Lewisburg, TN
Why is the world full of immorality, violence, hatred, war, terrorism, pain, suffering, disease, and death?
This question in the eyes of many people is an enormous question to ask. The answers given can be anywhere from, “it could be the environment that a person was raised in” or “it was the parents fault due to the lack of attention given the child.” These answers still does not give us the reason “WHY?” These answers and many others are just symptoms of a much larger problem. Yet, the Bible calls such acts as the sinful “works of the flesh” which proceed out of the “heart of men” (Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 3:10-19; Mark 7:21-23). Evolution, and New Age philosophy explain such things, including death, as the “natural process” of life. In Genesis chapter 3, Satan, or the Devil, comes as a serpent to tempt man to sin against God. As a result of Satan’s work, sin was introduced to mankind. This power of sin brought with it d
isobedience, which in turn effected broken fellowship with God. Thus, through the power of sin, the human race and God’s perfect creation were corrupted (Genesis 2:15-17; 3:17-19,24). The world one sees today with all the violence, hatred, wars, and immorality is a result of SIN in the heart of man. Yes, the world in all its grandure and beauty still reflects, to a small extent, God’s original creation, but it has been corrupted by SIN. This power of SIN is so dominate that it is passed down from generation to generation. Simply put, due to Adam’s sin, all of his descendants, including you and me, “were made sinners” (Romans 5:19).
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Romans 5:19) KJV
Genesis 6:11 states that, “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” The reason immorality, violence, hatred, war, terrorism, pain, suffering, disease, and death comes upon us is because of SIN! This is not a popular answer nor is it a pretty picture, but there is no other reasonable explanation. All other explanations are just symptoms of a much deeper issue. The root cause is SIN in the deep dark corners of the heart of all mankind, and if man is left to himself all these sinful evils will come out and express itself in one corrupt sin or another.
The truth is that we live in a sinful world, and the power of sin has “reigned unto death” (Romans 5:21). Common sense tells us that life and death are exact opposites, not the “natural processes” of life. In fact, the Bible specifically calls death the “last enemy” (1 Corinthians 15:26). Death is a constant reminder that “all have sinned” and are in need of God’s grace in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-26). As long as one is in this world, there will be sin related miseries. The only way one can escape these miseries is to run to the One who is life eternal, Jesus Christ (John 1:4; 3:36; 6:35; 11:25; 14:6).
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36) KJV
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6) KJV
REASONS 4 BELIEVING 