June 3, 2001 Volume 2 Number 22
|
Diminishing Convictions About Worldly Entertainment People have always enjoyed being entertained by plays, books, movies, music, radio and television. Certainly there is nothing wrong with an exciting plot, tender love story, or funny bit, as long as these things are presented in a wholesome fashion. On the other hand, there is something wrong with the ungodly and evil entertainment that is so prevalent in our world today. A number of years ago The Statler Brothers released a song entitled, "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott?" The song lamented the development of more and more objectionable material in motion pictures over the years. Gasps of horror erupted when Clark Gable uttered a curse word in the film GONE WITH THE WIND. Yet, that was but a small foretaste of the outrageous language and behavior that would be depicted on screen in years to come. While "surfing the net" the other day I visited the website at http://www.screenit.com to gather a glimpse of what kind of material is present in films today. This website gives a preview of all of the current movies showing at the cinema, as well as hundreds of previously released films which are now in video format. It will tell you how many curse words are in a particular film. It will give a rundown of any occurrences of nudity or sexual innuendo. If you want to see just how far the movie industry has spiraled downward into immorality, just visit this site for a few minutes. Parents, please visit this website before you give your children (or for that matter yourself, RDTsr) blanket permission to go to the movies! Find out what the film is about and ask yourself whether these are the kinds of values that you want your children's minds to be feasting upon. It is amazing to watch parents allow their children to attend movies that are filled with pornographic images of fornication and adultery, and then watch these same parents shake their heads in bewilderment when their child is found to be involved in sexual immorality. Remember, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov 23:7). Today, millions of
Americans attend movies and never even blush as they watch films that
are full of profanity, illicit sex, and immorality. The
description in Jeremiah 6:15 is all too accurate an assessment of the
attitude of so many today. The passage asks, “Were they
ashamed when they Would we gladly take Jesus with us to see the movies that we see? Would we tell Him to cover His eyes and ears during the scenes of nudity and vulgar language? Jesus may not be with us in the flesh when we go to the movies, but you can best believe that He knows where we are going and what we are watching (Heb 4:13). The same questions should
be asked regarding the kind of entertainment we enjoy in our own
homes. Imagine Jesus dropping by your home for a surprise
visit. Would you scramble for the remote control to try and change
the channel before Jesus could see what you had been watching on Would you hide the BOOKS AND MAGAZINES that you are accustomed to reading or would you feel comfortable offering those materials to Jesus as recommended reading? If Jesus were riding along in the car with us, would we listen to the same SONGS ON THE RADIO or CD PLAYER that we normally listen to? Incidentally, parents need to be just as diligent in knowing what kind of music their children are listening to as they are in knowing what they are watching at the movie theater. Moreover, the MUSIC VIDEOS which air on stations such as MTV, VH1, and yes, even CMT (Country Music Television) need to be monitored carefully because many of these videos are filled with sexually suggestive images and lyrics. For that matter, parents must be consistent. Children will see through our hypocrisy if we monitor their music but fail to monitor our own. Similarly, if we prohibit our children from listening to music or watching movies that depict fornication or adultery on screen and then we turn around and read ROMANCE NOVELS that graphically describe fornication and adultery in print, then we are hypocritical. It should be remembered that the word "pornography" is a combination of two Greek words: PORNEIA (sexual immorality) and GRAPHO (to write or depict). Hence, writings of sexual immorality are just as sinful as pictures of sexual immorality! Space limitations forbid
us from examining each and every form of entertainment that poses a
threat to the Christian. However, the problem of GAMBLING is
becoming ever more prevalent in our society. It used to be that
Christians fully understood the sin of gambling and, for the most Gambling is stealing by consent and it most certainly is not an example of practicing the golden rule (Matt 7:12). Furthermore, the very heart and soul of gambling is the materialistic desire for the things of this life. Paul said that even those who desire to be rich “fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Tim 6:9). A Christian has no business being found at the casino. In fact, the middle three letters of the word casino, "s-i-n" are an apt description of what the atmosphere is really like. It is a place of drinking, gambling, dancing, and ill-clad women. Would you take Jesus to such a place? If not, then why would you go yourself? When it comes to our entertainment, we must remember to “abhor that which is evil” (Rom 12:9). We must remember to heed the admonition of Paul in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” We must remember that, as a Christian, we have “Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph 4:24). Therefore, we will not be interested nor entertained by “fornication, and all uncleanness... neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting” (Eph 5:3-4). As Christians, we will “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather will expose them” (Eph 5:11). As those who have named the name of Christ, we will “depart from iniquity” (2 Tim 2:19). In short, we will “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof” (Rom 13:14). We will “not love the world, or the things in the world” because we love the Father and desire to abide in Him forever (1 John 2:15-17). A new product called TVGuardian can help you remove the vast majority of bad language from broadcast TV, DVD’s and Video tapes that contain “closed captioning” (most do). If you “must watch” TV, you CAN do it without having your sensibilities assaulted by bad language. Granted this is not a “cure all”, it does not replace good sense, but it IS the best $100 I have spent lately. RDT,sr
There are several observations about these figures. They show that creativity can be a problem. It is hard to be fresh, original, and non-repetitive Sunday after Sunday. If the same story is repeated occasionally, just realize that the preacher produces an equivalent of 13 books each year. No author can do that without some repetition. It illustrates the problem of consistency. We know Shakespeare wrote "Hamlet" and Macbeth." But he also wrote many other plays that are not nearly as good as these. If he could not be consistent, how can we expect the same level from preaching. A preacher I knew once compared the preacher to a baseball player. He pointed out that a baseball player doesn't hit a home run every time he comes to bat. He strikes out some. He hits some fly balls. He hits singles, doubles, and triples. He doesn't hit a home run every time, but you do expect a home run occasionally. The goal of preaching is consistency, but it is difficult to reach. The volume of words used in preaching shows the RICHNESS OF THE SOURCE. To preach a hundred times a year, not including classes and other speaking opportunities, and still to be able to find material that is beneficial and interesting shows the greatness of the Bible. It is a gold mine from which we have taken many treasures, yet the depths of the mine are still untapped. The thrill of the discovery of Bible truth is unending. The joy of study and discovery and the joy of sharing the word of God makes one want to live for a thousand years and preach every day. THAT STRANGE FIRE In Lev. 10:1-2 we are told, "Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and offered profane [strange] fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." According to Lev. 16:12, for the Day of Atonement, the incense was to be burned with fire taken from the altar upon which the sacrifices were made, fire that was never allowed to go out. We do not know where these two priests obtained the "strange fire," or why they chose to ignore God's instructions, but they did. God told them the fire He wanted. When they used something else, God showed His displeasure. God has always expected people to follow His instructions just as He gives them. He is never pleased with anything else. Aaron's sons may have thought, "Fire is fire. Any of it will burn the incense. What difference does it make?" They learned it did make a difference. The New Testament gives God's instructions about how He wants us to live today. Whether or not we are pleasing in His sight is determined by whether we follow His instructions as well as we can. When God gives us a command, we have no right to substitute something we think is just as good. Nothing we can think of is "just as good" as what God commands. As in the example of Noah, he built the ark of gopher wood, because that is what God commanded, and the ark saved the life of Noah's family. In the New Testament, God says that in order for a person to be saved from sin, that person must be baptized in water (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 1 Pet. 3:21). He also says that baptism is a burial (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12). When God says it is a burial, that leaves out sprinkling. If you think "sprinkling is just as good as burial," remember "that strange fire." In worship to Him, God commands us to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19; Jas. 5:13). Since God did not command a musical instrument such as a flute, or a drum, or a cymbal, or any other thing we can make, we have no right to add them. If you should think it makes no difference, you should remember "that strange fire!!!" The Spirit Expressly
Says ... Definition of Miracles In the Now Testament there are four words used for miraculous events--signs, wonders, miracles, and works. Each word adds to the dimension of New Testament miracles.
We
hope you find this bulletin useful in your Bible study. 2
Sam 22:31
|
