From the Pen of Paul

Limiting God

In Genesis 1:27 we are told, "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Jesus endorsed this account of creation when He said, "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female" (Mark 10:6); and again, "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female. . ." (Matt. 19:4)? Paul endorsed the Genesis account of creation in I Corinthians 11:7-12. Peter endorsed the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis, including the story of Noah's flood (II Peter 2:5). I don't believe you could find any greater witnesses than these three.

If God be God at all, He could and did create all things by miraculous power, as stated in the Genesis account. The entire nation of Israel fell into ruin because they limited Almighty God until, when they got through reducing Him, He was, according to their theory, unable to do anything for His people. Listen as David described this terrible predicament, "Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel" (Psalm 78:41). Then David goes on and on through verse 64 detailing how God destroyed these unbelieving people. Also study carefully Psalm 106 in regard to this matter.

If one believes the first verse of the Bible as it is written and without any sort of reservation, then he should never ever question God's ability to do anything that is in keeping with His will and His nature. The God of Genesis 1:1 is an ALMIGHTY GOD! Please take the time to read and reflect carefully upon Isaiah 40:10-31. It is foolish to claim to have faith in God and then seek to limit Him by accepting infidel theories that would make faith and redemption impossible. God is the great Creator of the universe, or He is not God at all! Those who foolishly proclaim theistic evolution need to come to grips with this fact. Why limit the Holy One of Israel? "Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee" (Nehemiah 9:6). Read and study Job 12:7-9; 26:7, 13; Psalm 24:1-2; 33:6-9.

Some of our brethren seem intent on limiting the Holy One of Israel in today's world. Some are saying that God doesn't do anything for us today. How sad when we allow our unbelief to take away from the Christian one of his greatest blessings. One man has stated that for one to ask in prayer for God to bless the preacher and help him to remember his lesson is unscriptural—and the child of God should know better. John encourages us to pray by writing, "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight" (I John 3:22). And again, "This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (I John 5:14-15). My question is this: does God answer our prayers, as the Holy Spirit guided John into telling us, or was John just joking? Someone asks, "How does God answer prayers?" I don't know and have never claimed to know; however, I know that He does. Notice the example that John gives to illustrate the truth of what he had just written: "If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death; I do not say that he shall pray for it" (I John 5:16). When an erring child of God responds to the invitation and confesses his sins, and the church prays for him, John said we know that petition is answered. How do we know? Do you see the sins taken away? Or do we know because God assures us that when we meet His terms, He will do His part? We can KNOW that as surely as we could know it if we could literally see the sins taken away.

Now, when God takes away the sins of the man described in this passage, does He do anything? And, if He does do anything, is it direct or indirect? And is that action of God natural or supernatural?

Why can't we just take God at His word? I believe that is a good definition of faith, isn't it? We need to quit splitting hairs and limiting God just because we cannot explain the HOW of everything that He does!
—Paul Wilmoth

From the Preacher's Viewpoint. . .

In Season and Out of Season

There are times when general apathy prevails; when it appears impossible to rouse the people to anything like an appreciation of the things of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ; when the hearts of the people appear to be closed against all that can be said or done to save them. They frequently hear at such times, act as orderly as ever, and show as much respect to the gospel; but they do not have the heart and soul in it, and can not be moved to action. Their emotional nature appears to be utterly inaccessible. There are again times when the hearts of the people are open. They not only hear the truth, pay a decent respect to it and admire its beauties, but, with joy, they receive it into good and honest hearts, believe it to be the salvation of their souls. It melts them down, fills their hearts to overflowing and moves them to obedience. This much we know to be fact. We have tried to see the cause of this fact, but do not claim that we can see the cause, nor do we see any particular importance in seeing the cause, but we ought to turn the fact to account. How can this be done?

Paul has a period, or state of things, that he styles "in season," and another that he styles "out of season." There is a time to sow and a time to reap, a time to dress the vineyard and a time to gather the fruit. These periods, when the hearts of the people are open, are the harvest times—the time for gathering in the ripe grain ready for the harvest—for turning sinners to the Lord. No matter about the cause of it; there is the opportunity; and we should be ready and go into the harvest and gather precious souls into the fold of Christ. A door is now open and let no man waste his time about the cause of this opening, but while the way is open go up and possess the land. Never mind explaining how the Lord now is opening the hearts of the people; it is enough for the man of God to find that the hearts of the people are open, and that they will attend to the word of the Lord when it is spoken. Go on and speak to them the word of the Lord—the words of everlasting life—turn them to God and save them.
—Ben Franklin