February 6, 2000 Volume 1 Number 6
“Heartfelt
Religion”
"I
know it's right because I feel it in my heart!"
How many times has that been the answer to a question? It doesn't
necessarily have to be the answer to a religious question, but it certainly is
one that is used in response to scripture that, let us say doesn’t suit
someone's views. The Bible never uses this expression, yet the idea is taught
throughout the religious community. It's
an interesting subject, one worthy of consideration.
We could start out the discussion by asking, “What is
the heart?” in relation to the Scriptures? Is it the fleshly muscle that pounds within our chests? No!
The heart is defined by what it does. The heart thinks (Gen 6:5), by how it
reasons (Mark 2:8), by what it understands (Matt 13:15), by what it believes
(Rom 10:10), by what it loves (Deut 6:5), by what it desires (Psa 27:4; Rom
10:1), by what it purposes (Dan 1:8; 2Cor 9:7) and by what it obeys (Rom 6:17).
Being that the Bible definition of the heart is not physical it follows
that sinners hearts need changing. The
sinner’s heart would like this: It’s thoughts are evil, it reasons from a
human standpoint, it’s understanding is darkened, it believes falsehoods, it
loves the world and the things of the world, it’s desires are sensual and
fleshly, it’s purposes are for the here and now (temporal) and not for eternal
life, it obeys those selfish desires and temporary purposes.
It changes by reading and meditating upon the Word of God.
God’s plan can be summarized like this. First of all, we must understand that our thoughts (thinking) are changed and conquered when they engage the word of God. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2Cor 10:4-5). The Psalmist puts it like this, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; (Psa 19:7). This law is perfect, without fault or defect, fully and completely discovering both the nature and will of God, and the whole duty and business of man, who he is to worship and serve, what he is to believe and practice, and whatsoever is necessary to his present and eternal happiness. So God's testimony (His Law) is sure, that is faithful, or true. It will not mislead or deceive any man that trusts and follows it; but will certainly and infallibly bring him to happiness and it will make wise the simple. Here is a qualifier: The one's who will be made wise are the simple, i.e., those who are humble, those who trust little in themselves, who are willing to be taught. God refuses to give this wisdom to those who are proud and scornful. Remember Rom 1:22, “Professing to be wise, they became fools: by learning to their own understanding, and despising or neglecting the directions of God's word, they become and prove themselves to be fools. The Word of God also changes our understanding. “Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psa 119:129-130). The very beginnings and rudiments of God's words; the first discoveries of those sacred mysteries, give understanding. The opening of men's minds by the word of God; is compared to giving light to those who are willing to learn. Belief is also changed. Note Rom 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” It is the very source of faith. Another changed comes in the realm of love. God loved us before we loved him, He has done it all for us, namely to merciful and loving act of sending his son to die on the cross for us. God’s Word changes all the items enumerated. Our desires are changed by promises of God (Rev 22:14), our purpose changes and we desire to do right (Prov 11:23), and our obedience is changed by the love for God. John 14:15 states, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” This says in effect, that love for the Lord is evidenced in keeping his commandments. The test of genuine love is the keeping of the commandments. It is idle for one to profess love for him, while refusing to do what he said. John says it like this, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him” (1Jn 2:3-5; cf. 2Thess 1:7-9). Many people misunderstand religion. It is not something you “get.” Instead it is a system of faith and practice ( Acts 26:5; Gal 1:13-14; James 1:26-27). So where do feelings come into play? Can we base our eternal outcome on what our feelings tell us? Sometimes our feelings are wrong. Remember when Jacob was told that Joseph had been killed? He tore his clothes, put sackcloth on and mourned for many days. Was he dead? No. Did the fact that he wasn’t’ dead changed Jacob’s emotional state? Again the answer is no. Belief of a lie will produce the same feelings as belief of the truth (Gen 37:29-35). Our feelings can only come into play when they are based on facts. We can feel good because we are saved, while others think they are saved because they feel good. In order to truly have “heartfelt religion” certain conditions must be met. We must have faith (Heb 11:6), we must repent (Acts 17:30, we must confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Rom 10:9-10), and then we must be baptized (Rom 6:3-9, 17). Heartfelt religion, sure we must have it. But only as it is accomplished and defined by the scriptures and not man.
#Carlos Aguilar
Home
and Family:
RESPONSIBILITIES OF WIVES
Your interest in this subject is appreciated and I am
glad that we have the Bible as our source book to tell us what God expected of
the wife in the marriage relationship.
There are several verses in Ephesians, the fifth chapter that
you should read, beginning with verse 22. Let me read only three of these for
you. Verse 22, "Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the
Lord". Then verse 24, "Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ,
so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything". Then verse 33,
"nevertheless let everyone of you in particular so love his wife even as
himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband". Then in I Peter
3:1, "Like wise you wives, be in subjection to your own husbands".
None of these passages teach that women are inferior in
intellect, but that her feminine qualities preclude her being as well endowed
for leadership. The subjection does not mean servitude. It is not the
relationship of master and slave or as a maid or servant. Hers is recognition of
the husband's leadership, wisdom and tenderness. He should be as loving toward
her as Christ loved the church.
At this point, several privileges belong to the wife.
For instance, she is to be loved like Christ loved the church as commanded in
Ephesians 5:25. She is to be honored as none other in I Peter 3:7, and she is to
be praised by her family, Pro. 31:28. In Titus 2:4 we read, "That (the aged
women) may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love
their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their
own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed". Here is a fine list
of the responsibilities of the wife. All of these are important, but let us just
dwell on four of these.
"To love their husbands" is a command. Too
often, men believe this to be only a sexual relationship. In the mind of some
women, that is all they think they are good for. To love your husband means that
you are a partner with him, working together toward a common goal. Then you can
be appreciative of his actions, efforts and work in supporting the family. You
will do all that you possibly can to see that they are comfortable and happy
when they come home.
"To love their children", is another command.
As men provide for the family financially, mothers stay home and rear the
children. This might often be considered a thankless job, this is an area in
which you can excel. As he earns the living and supports the family, you take
care of the children while he is gone to work and make the house comfortable by
keeping it pleasant and enjoyable. Yes, children can become exasperating at
times, but remember, they are children who are still developing and learning.
They need that sober guiding hand of the mature mother who lets them know that
they are the objects of her love and concern.
"To be obedient to their own husbands” points
out the closeness of the two. " This is not indicating that you can't, and
do not have any thoughts of your own The idea is that as husband and wife work
together and that you are not constantly pulling in an opposite direction. This
obedience does not mean that you are a slave or an indentured servant, but
rather that you are sharing a mutual goal. The harshness of the word obedient is
tempered by the display of love and affection that the husband shows his wife.
"To be keepers at home" is a command that indicates a divided
responsibility. His job seems to be to go out, earn the living, and provide for
his family while she looks after the home. Even though a wife does not work
outside of the home in what we call public work, she is still vital to the
income of the family. Hers is a non-income producing activity, but it is still
vitally important to the overall success of the family.
When God created woman, she was taken from the rib of
man as is described in Genesis. She was not taken from his foot that she might
be crushed underneath his heel in bitterness. Neither was she taken from his
head so that she might rule over him. She was not taken from the hand so that
she might continually fill the position of waiting upon him. She was taken from
the rib of man that she might be by his side continually. She is to be loved and
is to respond as a part of his body. Husbands and wives are a part of each
other.
Let me call your attention to the Old Testament in
which the writer Solomon describes a worthy woman. It is Proverbs 31:10-31.
(Read). These verses quite explicitly give us God's view of a wife and mother.
from The Bible Research Library
A Letter To You From Satan
I saw you yesterday as you began your daily chores. You
awoke without kneeling to pray. As a matter of fact, you didn't even bless your
meals, or pray before going to bed last night. You are so unthankful, I like
that about you. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you have not changed your
way of living, Fool, you are mine.
Remember, you and I have
been going steady for years and I still don't love you yet. As a matter of fact,
I hate you, because I hate God. I am only using you to get even with God. He is
my sworn enemy, and I'm going to use you as long as possible to hurt Him.
You see, Fool, GOD LOVES YOU
and HE has great plans in store for you. But you have yielded your life to me,
and I'm going to make your life a living hell. That way, we'll be together
twice. This will really hurt God. Thanks to you, I'm really showing Him who's
boss in your life . . . with all of the good times we've had.
We have been; watching dirty
movies, cursing people out, stealing, lying, being hypocritical, fornicating,
overeating, telling dirty jokes, gossiping, backstabbing people, disrespecting
adults and those in leadership positions, showing no respect for the Church and
displaying our bad attitudes. SURELY you don't want to give all this up. Come
on, Fool, let's burn together forever. I've got some hot plans for us. This is
just a letter of appreciation from me to you. I'd like to say "THANKS"
for letting me use you for most of your foolish life. You are so gullible, I
laugh at you. When you are tempted to sin, you give in HA HA HA. You make me
sick.
Sin is beginning to take
it's toll on your life. You look 20 years older, and now, I need new blood. So
go ahead and teach some children how to sin. All you have to do is smoke, get
drunk or drink while under-aged, cheat,
gamble, gossip, fornicate, and live being as selfish as possible. Do all of this
in the presence of children and they will do it too. Kids are like that.
Well,
Fool, I have to let you go for now. I'll be back in a couple of seconds to tempt
you again. If you were smart, you would run somewhere, confess you sins, and
live for God with what little bit of life that you have left. It's not my nature
to warn anyone, but to be your age and still sinning, it's becoming a bit
ridiculous.
Don't
get me wrong, I still hate you.
IT'S
JUST THAT YOU'D MAKE A BETTER FOOL FOR CHRIST.
~from
www.freebibletracts.com
Sentence
Sermons
There
are some whose faith is not strong enough to bring them to services, but they
expect it to take them to heaven.
We
hope you find this bulletin useful in your Bible study.
2
Sam 22:31
As
for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to
all who trust in Him. NKJV