A Collection of Advice and
Thoughts for a Brother or Sister of Christ

[under revision]

This is a collection of various thoughts I've had over the years, ideas I have found useful in either understanding my own thinking or in examining the world of ideas that a person will face.

  1. Fear God. Even "perfect love" will not cast out the proper fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom (Pro 1:7, 9:10, 15:33). Anyone who sets 1st Peter 2:17, Ecclesiastes 12:13 and other verses against 1st John 4:18 should not be trusted for sound Biblical exposition.
  2. Honor God's Word. Read the readings daily to gain the power you need to overcome. If Christ said, "I can of mine own self do nothing", what then can we do without God's help?
  3. Develop a prayerful attitude. Study the subject of prayer. Making Prayer Powerful by bro. H.P. Mansfield is a good place to start. See Romans 12:12.
  4. Learn to trust in God. This does not come naturally. We naturally turn within and are inevitably disappointed by the results.
  5. Ask what is the meaning of my life? When life ends, will it have been a fruitful life in real service of God? Make time to regulary sit down and evaluate how you use your time and what your priorities are. You will probably find a lack of harmony between the two.
  6. "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7). You must transform information into knowledge and knowledge with experience and contemplation into wisdom. " If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct" (Ecclesiastes 10:10).
  7. Knowledge is not equal to righteousness or right judgment. A man may have his Bible marked and noted cover to cover and yet be a habitually immoral person. It is a difficult lesson to learn and against instinct but one you will probably find by personal experience to be true.
  8. Recognize your faults. "Is not this the fast that I have chosen?... and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?"
  9. Be willing to confess your faults. Self-protection built on pride will be destroyed, now or later.
  10. Develop a thankful attitude. Murmuring about your present circumstances shows a lack of appreciation for God's care, a lack of faith and self-centeredness. See Jude 1:16, Numbers 14:36, Psalm 106:25, 1st Corinthians 10:10
  11. Guard your heart (where are your affections?), eyes (what are you looking at or reading?), ears (what are you listening to?), feet (where are they taking you?) and hands (what are you doing?). Control and respect your mind and body. Defilement of these "temples" is natural. Mankind is steeped in wickedness and folly of every kind. Only the holy will inherit the things God has set apart for those that love Him, serve Him and honor Him. The righteous will scarcely be saved therefore pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.
  12. When you stand up for the Truth you will find that some people, some brethren included, will not engage you on the points of the argument you make. Instead, they seem to be haunted by demons of their own mind -- whatever their (limited) personal experiences and imagination project onto the entire kosmos. To oppose your arguments, they set out a false dichotomy projecting onto your arguments the worst things they have or can imagine because to see it any other way would come at their personal cost. They think these personal demons "justify" their position, not recognizing that they have done nothing more than what amounts to slander and then they act as though they have done justice to both your arguments and you personally. That such persons existed in Biblical times is shown by Jer. 3:3, Jer 28:2-4, 10 and Ezek. 3:8-9
  13. Many people will reject an idea and its evidence, no matter how clear ("even though one rose from the dead"), because they see the implications of the idea or the evidence. They convince themselves they are rejecting it because of faultiness in the ideas or the evidence when the reality is they are rejecting it because of its implications. The idea and its evidence are not the same as its implications and we need to be careful to see the difference and be self-inspectingly honest in our thinking. A recent example is the Darwinism vs. Intelligent Design (ID) movement. Secular minded people reject ID, not on the basis of the evidence but on the implications of the evidence. The mainstream media even describe ID as a theological position but that's the implication, not the evidence. They ignore the fact that biologists, chemists, geologists, cosmologists and mathematicians present scientific arguments and evidences, not theological arguments. Likewise, some Christadelphians reject historical evidences (from 1872, 1885, 1887, 1893, 1898, and 1921) because there are personal implications (their own beliefs and their own, often comfortable, fellowship position). If we are going to reject something based on its implications we should be honest, with ourselves and those around us, and not pretend like our rejection is based on the ideas and evidences themselves. If we are not intellectually honest with self we certainly cannot be honest with God or with people.
  14. "Convince a man against his will, he's of the same opinion still". "There are none so blind as those who will not see." You can prove a hundred points and still not convince someone of something they do not want to believe. Learn to live with this fact and you'll have fewer gray hairs and perhaps a few extra years of life. Facts and logic just do not mean much to most people once they have given those terms feigned praise. And if you have the urge to recite the hundred proved points again, don't waste the time. Instead of proving your point you will be only be accused of being hard and uncharitable.
  15. Guard your conscience. Once you violate it, you rob yourself of something of priceless value. Do not lie. You will be shocked that even in the brotherhood, some will urge you to lie or 'spin' the truth. Be scrupulous even when its difficult. You'll regret dishonesty the rest of your life (assuming you maintain your conscience). But expect adversaries to unjustly accuse you of lying, amongst many other things. They will also, feigning innocence or earnest inquisitiveness, lay doctrinal traps (Luke 20:26).
  16. Be honest with your words. "Earnest men value words only as the vehicles of ideas, and where there is any uncertainty as to the meaning they will convey, they do not hesitate to use others, whatever the subject may be."
  17. Never measure yourself by your contemporaries. Do not justify your behavior by other people's behavior. No matter how righteous someone is, they have flaws too. More so, do not use other people's wickedness or faithlessness or foolishness to justify your own thinking and behavior. Measure yourself and what to do by the Scriptures alone.
  18. Seek counsel from wise elderly brother(s) or sister(s) if possible. Always weigh their advice in the scales of Scripture.
  19. If you find your peers worldly minded, spend your time with older brothers and sisters who have something useful to teach you.
  20. Select your friends very carefully. Friendliness or sociability is a natural qualification but should not be a leading qualification for a genuine friend. Friends will have a profound impact on the rest of your life -- beyond what you can imagine -- and once you realize it, its probably too late! Bad company corrupts good manners. One spiritually minded and wise friend is worth more than ten thousand pious timeservers. Find friends who have a yearning to understand the Bible, a willingness to obey it especially in the sacrifices the truth requires, a single-minded attitude and not double tongued. Find someone who is sober minded, does not require social approval, and has a willingness to forgo worldly possessions and fleshly entertainment that are within their power. That should radically cut down on your choices.
  21. If you are choosing a spouse do not look on outward attractiveness. Never so often were the sons of God corrupted, or the fire of truth dampened, so often than with domineering wives or weak husbands. Look for a genuine friend with the above qualifications. Both parties should realize that major sacrifices will have to be made to make the marriage fruitful. What the husband probably inclines to (allowing the wife to lead) cannot be allowed and what the wife probably inclines to (leadership) cannot be allowed. Men and woman are made totally different, and as a general rule, that which comes natural to their flesh is usually that which must be suppressed and that which doesn't come naturally must be developed. Some differences need to be suppressed while others need to be appreciated. The words of Scripture on the marriage relationship show keen insight and wisdom into how both should behave. It is certain you won't have a good marriage if one party is uneducated on these things or is unwilling to follow them.
  22. Expect some of your friends, whom you have thought sincere, to prove very unfaithful.—Are you better than David, who had an Ahithophel? or than Paul, who had a Demas? or than Christ, who had a Judas? ‘Because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold.’ If pride, vain glory, and sensuality, are unmortified, such persons are not to be trusted. For wealth, honour, or worldly interest, they will part with God or salvation; and much more with their best friends on earth. With Job you may have occasion to complain, ‘He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinsfolk have failed and my familiar friends have forgotten me. They that dwell in my house, and my maids, count me for a stranger; I am an alien in their sight. I called my servant, and he gave me no answer. I intreated him with my month. My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children’s sake of my own body. Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me. All my inward friends abhorred me; and they whom I loved are turned against me.’ You may be obliged to say, as well as David, ‘Yea, my own familiar friends in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lift up his heel against me.’”—Richard Baxter.  “Those that have been most acquainted with the secrets of your soul may be your betrayers. They whom you have laid under the strongest obligations, may prove your most inveterate enemies. Many faithful ministers of Christ have preached and prayed for their brethren’s good; and after all have been reproached and persecuted. Like the patient, that, being cured of a mortal disease, sued his physician at law, for making him sick with medicines. Paul was accounted an enemy by the Galatians, because he told them the truth. Ungrateful truth makes the faithfulest preachers most ungrateful. “I heard the defaming of many,” says Jeremiah; “fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.’ Thus must the servants of Christ be used, in conformity to their suffering Head.”—Ibid.
  23. If you have children, remember they are children only once. The time passes so quickly. Once they've grown up you've missed the only substantial opportunity to raise them up to be a Godly seed. It will be one of the most lamentable regrets you have if you miss the opportunity.
  24. Learn how to work, both in the truth and to take care of yourself and your family. Learning to do "all to the glory of God" is not an overnight thing. Responsibility is key. See Luke 16:10.
  25. Be obedient to your parents. This is the first experience we have in submitting to authority. If we cannot give honor to our parents (which we can see) while they are yet alive, we will probably be incapable of learning to honor God. But never dishonor God in behavior or doctrine if a parent requests the contrary. See 1st John 4:20.
  26. Be on guard against extremes. The human mind has a proclivity towards extremes. Sin drives people to liberalism. Hiding one's flesh from self and excessive criticism of others drives people towards reactionary conservatism.
  27. Be on guard against those who call obedience to the Scriptures, or attempts to "keep thyself pure" 'extreme'. They are invariably lovers of the present evil world.
  28. Avoid mind and time wasters. TV, theater, public sports etc. "Walk not as other gentiles walk." Can a Scriptural command be any clearer than that?
  29. 'Never miss an opportunity' to condemn sin in yourself. At the same time, recognize that evil comes from your physical nature and that God will deliver those who justify Him.
  30. Grand projects dedicated to the truth do not atone for “big” or “little” sins. Keep perspective and apply yourself to a methodical and wise use of time. Discipline must be developed. Righteousness is to be truly manifested in the many little things of life and some of the larger things afford little or no opportunity for true righteousness to be manifested.
  31. Avoid word crafting deceivers (2nd Peter 2:3) -- "by good words and polished speeches" they "deceive the hearts of the simple" (Romans 16:18). Errorists tend to hide behind words so their wolf garments are not easily discovered.
  32. Do not be deceived by verbosity. Some ignorant people do not let their dearth of knowledge interfere with the movement of their lips.
  33. A common problem with the human mind is that people take one idea and admire its beauty, whether true or not, and then put it away. Later they will hold out another idea, which they also admire but it contradicts the first. When you look at ideas try to look at a big perspective. Examine it critically. Try to see if the one idea has implications upon other beliefs you have. If necessary draw a diagram or flowchart to work out an idea's ramifications.
  34. Not only do we come into the world expecting people to be logical, we naturally assume that other people won't contradict themselves. We assume that if they believe "such and such" that they will have worked out the consequences of their beliefs and removed the contradictions. We especially expect this when someone takes the time to write, edit and publish printed material upon a particular topic. This is such a natural assumption and a consistently wrong assumption. When talking with people or reading printed materials, never assume, that the person is not contradicting their own beliefs. Critical thought is necessary lest one be "led down the [same] garden path". By 'critical' it is not meant that one should 'make a man an offender for a word' but rather that basic logic and the consequences of assertions should be tested.
  35. Be on guard against specious arguments. Many people construct their future hopes on a fabric of lies. People can argue the most absurd propositions when directed by their own lusts -- great or small. For example, some will take the "touch not, taste not" argument of Paul (Col. 2:21) and portray any prohibitions as a weakness, or "pharisaical". Paul was not giving anyone license to do whatever they like no matter how much lovers of the present evil world would like to claim.
  36. Most people are taken in (at least for a time) by kindness, and charismatic individuals -- ever so charming eyes and facial expressions. Our own natural compassion for those who by the eye appear genuine, makes it difficult, naturally, to resist being taken in. Be on guard. Emotions can blind the eyes -- a tool skillfully employed sometimes by errorists. Avoid people who use this natural animal characteristic and be on guard against those who have it. "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his garments not be burned?".
  37. Do not be taken in by those who dramatize exposition of the Bible going beyond the record the Bible provides. Such belong on a theater stage, not at an ecclesial podium.
  38. People whose mind is out of tune with the truth and in tune with humanism "give themselves away" when they present "the truth" as all "positive teachings" and the negative things, say for example "Doctrines to be Rejected" as inventions of faithless men necessary to give them "a sense of security". That the condemnation of sin is a "negative" thing is true only so far. That without it there would be no declaration of righteousness is equally true. The very concept of light indicates the existence of darkness. Right or sound doctrine indicates the possibility of false or unsound doctrine. Acceptance indicates the possibility of rejection. But leaving logic aside, the Scriptures plainly indicate that there are certain things God hates (Isaiah 61:8; Amos 5:21; Zechariah 8:17) and things that are an abomination to him. David, the beloved of God hated every false way (Psalm 119:128) and he hated those who hated God "with perfect hatred" (Psalm 139:20).
  39. The destruction of morality; the absence of respect; the attitude of “no fear” to God or man; and society’s insatiable appetite for material goods (idols) have combined to create a society of gods. Impatience, rudeness, anger and violence results when the gods are offended.
  40. If you are young and zealous, beware of older brethren who want to guide you into the camp of humanism and error. Seeing the threat you pose, they will go out of their way to befriend you, and then they will blind you with all that the milk of human kindness can offer you and leave you in the same ditch they have fallen in. "Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?" They will, of course, do this with great kindness, a show of piety and 'love' (which is always fundamentally love of self). They will offer "warm fellowship" for the present age but it will not stand. "A man that flattereth his neighbor spreadeth a net for his feet". "The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar." "They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak". "Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool". See Matthew 15:14. "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." Christ sent his disciples to the Jewish ecclesia saying "I send you forth as lambs among wolves" (Luke 10:3). Has flesh been transformed to something better over the last 2000 years or is its seed not more crafty and cunning than ever?
  41. Most people are persuaded by emotion and controlled by emotion. This is why most people elevate human kindness above God's ways. And its why some people become angry, even violent, when challenged. Emotion is natural to the human creature and is no evidence of Godliness. Being natural to the human animal it is typically indicative of the opposite of Godliness. This is not to say that emotions are wrong, but rather, emotions must be ruled by intellect. God's truth, His ways, must come first. Man's reaction, or emotions, must follow that lead. Only then can emotions be a positive and Godly expression. Be on guard towards anyone who allows emotions to rule over their intellect. “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”
    • “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”
  42. The Truth is not about "me". "Me" is the religion of the devil. Any uninspired brother or sister who makes public or publicized pleas about how they've suffered, for whatever reason, are not showing wisdom. This is putting self above the truth. If the inspired Paul calls himself a "fool" (2nd Corinthians 12:11; gr. fool, insane) in establishing his "credentials" what are we to think of those who suffer far less when they plead for self?
  43. When people are accused of doctrinal error or behavioral problems they often are not content to leave you alone till either you've justified them or they've done whatever they can to destroy you. A tendency of human nature that when inflamed dominates most people is self-justification. Examples: some who divorced and remarried have made a point of traveling to ecclesias that do not have the problem in an effort to satisfy their need to be "accepted". Errorists of the Turney, Bell mold... and their supporters go on crusades to justify their leaders especially when the power to do so comes to their hands. Tolerationists caricature non-tolerationists because tolerationists feel condemned by the position of non-tolerationists and to lower the adversary, they think, raises themselves.
  44. Do not become involved in ecclesial or fraternal politics. Leave flesh servers alone.
  45. No uninspired expositor of the Bible has ever been 100% right in every case. The best expositors clearly improved with time and effort. Do not waste time, or sacrifice intellectual honesty, when the evidence indicates growth. Our rock is the Bible. God will justify His true servants in due time because they have justified Him.
  46. Be on guard against those who feel the need to undermine or tear down real pillars of the brotherhood from the past. The serpent mind can be very crafty in this. People who do this are invariably 'making room' for their themselves or their own idols. If they were real brethren they'd be doing what Shem and Japheth did in Genesis 9:23. Instead like Ham they can only mock so as to destroy other people's respect.
  47. Those who elevate witnessing and warfare against the world and minimize or ignore warfare against false doctrine and 'false brethren' who have entered into the ecclesia are like the men of Succoth who lacked faith that Zebah and Zalmunna would be slain. There has never been a lack of traitors, or worse, collaborators. Like Gideon take courage in the warfare. When victory later came to Gideon he 'taught the men of Succoth' with thorns of the wilderness and briars. But "the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day." "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law." "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
  48. The Truth is not founded upon humanitarianism, humanism, socialism, democracy, social work, or social events. These things should not be confused with genuine fellowship and service to the ecclesial family.
  49. Be on guard against pride. The human mind is quite crafty at hiding it. Most people are insecure, but the mind is naturally self-centered, so that when they are praised, pride crawls out of its hiding place.
  50. Most brethren should take special care concerning public speaking because so many brethren have stumbled upon the pride that can naturally result. Most brethren who regularly speak develop a pride which ultimately manifests itself in moral or doctrinal problems. The foolish walk carelessly. "Hide not thyself from thine own flesh".
  51. Money and worldly goods will never bring satisfaction. Like a child who must have that new toy, once you get it you realize how empty it is. See Haggai 1:6, 1st Timothy 6:17
  52. Electronic entertainments of all kinds are worse than a waste of time. TV should be avoided because of the filthy images and mindless time wasting programming. We naturally think TV and computers are good for education. They are actually harmful to children and young people because they develop a short attention span. Computers are good for research or work where focus is maintained.
  53. Don't get trapped in time wasting Internet chat forums or web sites. All these things encourage shallow thought and builds a mental pattern of saying whatever comes to your mind which eventually sears the conscience.
  54. Any reasonable brother or sister will find the warfare against sin a trying and exhausting matter. Israel wearied of war and found fleshly peace more fleshly profitable rather than warring against that which God has declared war against. Most men just want peace, "don't we all?". But "Yahweh hath sworn that Yahweh will have war with Amalek from generation to generation". The fight against sin is first internal, then against false brethren and then against the world. So long as 'sin in the flesh' exists the warfare must continue.
  55. Beware of those who glorify natural suffering, such as suffering or death brought on by some illness. It is one thing to appreciate a good example of taking things patiently and another all together to 'canonize' a brother or sister simply because they have suffered from some physical illness. Suffering for Christ's sake is to suffer for the Gospel's sake. Not because you suffered from cancer while reposing in front of the big screen TV.
  56. Avoid the "life is great" crowd that treats life as one big party. This is sometimes done by those who claim to follow the Truth. "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
  57. "Meddle not with them that are given to change". People with personality disorders, long term problems with emotional instability, and emotional dependencies , or those sorely deficient in wisdom will surely burn you. "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his garments not be burned?". At the same time, separate illness from choice and lifestyle. Have compassion on those who are ill. Help where you can but do not commit beyond that which wisdom would have.
  58. Doctrine is easy to judge. Lifestyle issues are more difficult though not always outside the scope of judgment (1st Corinthian 5:9-11). Do not render judgments just for the sake of rendering judgments (Matthew 7:2). Avoid passing judgment on things just to pass judgment.
  59. Brethren who meddle in another ecclesia's business when it concerns behavioral problems, especially without a full knowledge of the relevant facts, will probably just stir up trouble and will likely wound those upholding the truth, regardless of the outsider's good intentions. Both respect of persons and ignorance disqualify men from making right judgments. And "Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint."
  60. Be patient in giving other people time to develop conscience and obedience to the truth. People who come out of the world are typically accustomed to walking as other gentiles walk and it takes the light of Scripture to enlighten them as to how they should behave in their daily lives. But if there is the passing of time and a lack of development, it becomes obvious that they are not applying their minds to the truth but are in reality just pious timeservers.
  61. When leaving one error it is possible to overreact and take on another error. Some who have left the Unamended community have been deceived into adopting clean flesh ideas on the specious claim that the historical Christadelphian doctrine of 'sin in the flesh' (physical) is Andrewism (legal). Others have assumed that schismatic representations of the pioneer position on fellowship were accurate. There is as much ignorance of Christadelphian history as there is of Biblical doctrine.
  62. Beware of traveling backbiters. They are like 3rd century clergymen who feigned themselves as brethren. [And great was the fall thereof...]
  63. Rumors are almost always untrue or tainted with falsehood or one-sided expressions. There's more to the story than one side of a story. (And often there's more to the story than "both sides" of the story). What an enlightening experience it is for a young person to believe a rumor because normally reliable so-and-so said it, and then to find out that so-and-so was just repeating what they had heard. And then comes the embarassment of having thought evil about someone without cause.
  64. Do not assume that other people's representations are accurate where important issues are involved. "Just so stories" are a dime a dozen whereas the facts and details are often quite different. Research the matter or the history for yourself.
  65. Those who think we can change the truth to make it more acceptable to the world do not know God or understand the Truth. When they propose a 'revolution' for the Truth (short of Christ's return) realize it is the voice of the serpent speaking.
  66. Do not be hasty. Do not confuse hasty and poor judgment with “following your conscience.” Intent to “do the right thing” is not the same as doing the right thing. Our conscience cannot be guided by the truth where sober judgment and a well thought out plan with its implications is lacking.
  67. When controversies arise there is a particular blindness called hypocrisy that is usually manifested. When you see hypocrisy be careful particularly when it is directed at you! Do not return “stroke for stroke” for this is merely contention and it adds sin to sin. Suffer it patiently for Christ’s sake.
  68. Be careful in judgment. In any particular dispute, both parties involved may take wrong positions. One side may be the initial cause of dispute while the other side may refuse counsel from an unbiased and worthy mediator. Be careful when judging the case. You can support sound doctrine without allying yourself with wrong behavior. At the same time you can avoid supporting errorists. Above all, do not sit on the side of self-protection and self-interests.
  69. Those who do not understand man's nature as he was first created, how his nature changed following the Edenic transgression -- what man's nature is today -- how Christ came in the flesh, and how God's righteousness was declared in the sacrifice of His son, or the Abrahamic and Israelitish hope of the Gospel, are ignorant of the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. Given time, if they are unteachable avoid them.
  70. The world examined through the lens of the Bible teaches us that the vast majority of people, including many who claim the name of Christ, walk according to their own lusts. Yes, all people sin, but to walk in sin -- that is to make a practice of wrong living or sinful behavior -- is different. We naively come into the world thinking that people are logical and unbiased thinkers and will see "the truth" if only the facts are set before them. But rather than being unbiased and logical, human nature is such that people believe what they want to believe and they usually attempt to interpret new data so that it conforms to what they already believe, want to believe or are comfortable with. If they cannot subvert the facts, they reject them altogether. People tend towards prejudice, crotchets and extremes which can only be checked by knowledge that comes from the Bible, guided by prayer and learning from mistakes.
  71. True principles are often ignored or, where they cannot be ignored, they are subverted. The reason is found in the previous point. For example, plain Scriptural declarations of "one faith" are OK till the concept is brought into a practical form. If there is only "one faith" and we are not to walk with those who "obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ", or if we are told to "rebuke them that sin before all", or to not so much as "keep company" with the heretic, these Scriptures are dismissed as "cliches that justify hatred". Under the guise of "love", God's love that saves is replaced with humanistic love that kills.
  72. A predominant tendency of human nature expressed in human thought is to search for and promote the "promise of liberty", in one form or another. For some it may be liberty to engage in immorality. But even amongst "religious" people there is almost always another form of liberty sought for and promised: if its not liberty from "every word" that has proceeded from the mouth of God, it is a liberty from almost "every word" that has proceeded from the mouth of God, or liberty from the 'inconvenient' words of God. For some, there is a liberty found in their schismatic fellowship practices. For others, under the plea of fellowship and "unity", those who themselves are servants of sin, promise a liberty with simplistic or compromised creeds that are always shortsighted and short lived. Some of the same people who talk about a "stupid, sinful, time-wasting, spirit-sapping and Christ-denying vaudeville" and say we should "ALL [be] on our knees in sackcloth and ashes" because of doctrinal controversies will in the next breath tell us that "By the way Madagascar is nowhere near as good as Shrek". It seems to have escaped the lecturer that he is only encouraging others to engage in a "stupid, sinful, time-wasting, spirit-sapping and Christ-denying vaudeville" (to quote his own words). Which is worse, high moral and doctrinal standards or low standards and the encouragment of "stupid, sinful, time-wasting, spirit-sapping and Christ-denying" entertainment? Apparently the former in the minds of the promisers of liberty.
  73. Human nature naturally believes that 'the majority must be right', no matter how many times Scripture, history and personal experience prove the majority to be uninformed, fickle and foolish.
  74. Some people, especially in religious matters, like to demand that all laws have full satisfaction over every case -- even when they confuse a physical law of the body with an (assumed) legal condemnation (eg. "the law of sin and death must be fully satisfied in every individual by death or some other means"). Every conclusion they reach is premised on full satisfaction of every legalism they can imagine. The premise being faulty, they go astray.
  75. It is unsettling, at first, to find so many apparently 'educated' people against the Bible. It is not unsettling once youth comes to terms with the fact that it is sin in the flesh which motivates these persons. The world is filled with books that go out of their way to undermine the authority of the Bible. Get used to the attacks -- they come from people who neither understand what the Bible says, nor have any interest in understanding it. Worse, they actively search for any excuse to disbelieve it: The lusts of their father, the devil, that is to say, sin in the flesh or human nature, they will do. To expect otherwise is, well, naive.
  76. Human "rights" are the inventions of societies and enforced by cultural or judicial systems. The deceit is that "rights" are "natural" and "inalienable". "The Declaration of the Rights of Man" was man's substitute for the fear of God. "The hope for preserving civil order once invested in God today is invested in the concept of rights" (GH). Time along with immoral elements of society, will ensure that the system of "rights" will be destroyed from the inside out.
  77. There are some people, including some brothers and sisters, who are both insecure and also competitive. It is a very damaging combination which, because of their insecurity, they constantly seek to demonstrate their "superiority".
  78. Some people are offended when you either repeat or make a doctrinal argument they are unable to answer. Rather than answer the point they may act disrespectfully towards you. It is emotion and not intellect at work. There is no point even trying to reason with someone who does not want to be convinced against their self-willed conclusions.
  79. A man may admit a specific point and yet not understand the principle which the point is based on. So in the first case of disagreement you may convince him he is wrong and he will change his position. But he does so from some other motive than accepting the the true principle. You may find later that he uses the same (wrong) argument against you, when another disagreement arises, and that which he supposedly condemned in the first case, he now embraces.
  80. When a man likes you he finds reasons to like you and overlooks your flaws. When he is angry with you he looks for reasons to justify his anger and to further dislike you. In some cases he makes himself a victim to justify what he believes. This is the flesh at work and exhibited unvarnished in children who have not learned restraint.

 

October 14, 2007