Points To Ponder About Halloween

Is it OK for a Christian to go trick or treating? I offer a few things to think about.

A thought for those churches that are offering alternative events to trick or treating tonight. Are you not still celebrating Halloween? Just because you celebrate Halloween differently by changing the “ritual” doesn’t necessarily remove you from the intent and purpose of Halloween, the “why” you are doing it.

If you are not celebrating, “All Hallows' Eve” (Halloween) because of its pagan origins, shouldn’t you also stop celebrating Christmas as well? It is clear that Jesus was not born on December 25. Evidence points towards a March birth. The time of Christmas coincided with another pagan ritual. It is understood that the early church incorporated that celebration of the pagans so as to attract and draw pagans to the church.

Many, many things have their origins in paganism, including the days of the week.

“The Greeks named the days week after the sun, the moon and the five known planets, which were in turn named after the gods Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, and Cronus. The Greeks called the days of the week the Theon hemerai "days of the Gods".” H/T The Crowl Family.

Are we to stop the days of the week? Rename them?

During the Sermon on the Mound, Jesus made it a point to highlight the fact that the sin doesn’t necessarily lay in the act, but rather in the spirit that motivated the act.

“Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)

Jesus makes it clear; it is the spirit within the man that causes the sin without. John in his epistles speaks of the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Whichever spirit that resides in you will be made manifest without; not necessarily consciously or by effort, but rather the nature and essence of that spirit within you will naturally flow without.

So, why are you going trick or treating? What spirit is inspiring you to go? Jesus sat and ate with the sinners with unwashed hands and tableware. Was Jesus sinning? The priests thought so.

Christians ate meat that was sacrificed to pagan gods. Were they sinning?

Paul said, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” (1 Corinthians 10:23)

The key is our relationship and attitude towards others. This is why Paul said, “Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.” (1 Corinthians 10:24)

For the child of God, all things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial to all or leads to edification of our neighbor. The focus of what we do is not self, it is for others.

Paul goes on to explain in more detail. The problem he is addressing is that the meat from animals that had been used in pagan sacrifices was being sold at the meat markets (shambles). The problem for some Christians is that when they went to the meat market to buy meat, they wouldn’t know if what they were buying had been used during a ritual sacrifice. They were afraid of unintentionally sinning by eating sacrificed meats unawares.

“Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. But if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof: Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks? Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:25-31)

The message of Jesus and Paul is the same. It is the spirit within the person which will determine motivation and intent, which in turn determines whether or not the act is a sin or not.

But Paul takes it a step further by going beyond self. He makes it clear that everything is of God therefore eating sacrificed meats is not a sin in of itself, unless you are aware that it has been ritually sacrificed, then you would be participating in the ceremony by eating it. But we must keep an eye out for our brothers and sisters who may not totally understand the situation or circumstance. The objective here is not focused around our self, it’s focused on another. We do not want to cause another to stumble. Self-interest must take a back seat to the interests and well-being of others. This is by definition what loving your neighbor means.

So how does this all relate to Halloween? 1. Why are you doing it? Do you think you participating in a pagan ritual? 2. Do you understand that altering the ritual doesn’t necessarily stop the sacrifice? 3. How do your actions effect others?

Points to ponder and pray on.

Bill Hitchcock

The Spirit Of God And Love

"We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." (1 John 4:6)

We are always under the influence of a spirit. There is no such thing as a spiritless person. “For as the body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26a). We may not realize it or be aware of it, but all of us are spirit filled. But which spirit are we filled with?

Spiritually speaking, there is no such a thing as a vacuum. Even the repentant, clean, and the “good person”, if they don’t bring the Holy Spirit into their heart, they will be filled by the spirit of error. There is no middle ground. A no choice is a choice.

“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24-26)

The spirit within makes manifest without. The spirit of truth manifests truth in thought, desire, and deed. The spirit of error does likewise, making manifest its nature and essence.

The fruit of the spirit of God manifests love, joy, and peace and is demonstrated by a person’s manner and way of life.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:7-9)

Love is the cornerstone of our religion. You can’t help but love when filled with the spirit of Christ.

Bill Hitchcock

Labels

Labels. They are dangerous. They stop the thinking process. They solidify a preconceived notion of someone or something in which a person bases their opinion or judgment on.

The labels I’m speaking of are those we place on our self and other people to identify who and what they are. In politics we have Republican and Democrat, conservative and liberal. In religion we have evangelical, conservative, liberal, orthodox, and fundamental. Of course, we have the range of religions such as Baptist, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, etc.

Other labels we use on people include Yankee, southerner, redneck, country, urban, queer, straight, black, white, and the list of labels goes on and on.

We put labels on people so we can quickly identify who they are, what they represent, and how they think and act. Once we have labeled someone, we now think we know them, and we treat them according to the labels we have placed on them.

One of the big problems with labeling people is our idea of what that label means. Someone’s preconceived notion of let’s say, what a liberal is or what a Roman Catholic is, could be way off base. So now we must deal with someone who is prejudiced with false and erroneous notions of a person all the while that person who has been labeled has no idea of the error.

Jesus dealt with labels and what they meant. “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17)

I was having coffee with a Pastor recently. During our conversation I was mentioning some books that I have read and theologians I have studied. When I mentioned John Calvin it automatically evoked a reaction from the Pastor, and I was pegged a Calvinist. I quickly pointed out that I have read the Quran as well but that doesn’t make me a Muslim. I then asked him what does being a Calvinist mean. I knew, I just wanted to see how he defined the label. A little later in our conversation he asked me what I thought of Reformed Theology. Again, I asked him to tell me what it was. I knew, I just wanted to know what his idea of it was.

I read an article today about the problem of (not with) Fundamental Christians. The author, a PhD, never defined fundamentalism, but judging from the article, a Fundamental Christian to him is a cross between an idiot, a baboon, and a heretic. Now imagine the problem we would have if I identified as a Fundamental Christian upon meeting this gentleman. He has me labeled, he has his preconceived notions, he thinks he has me pegged theologically, and I haven’t even opened my mouth yet.

There has been a lot press over the past several years about the rise of the religious, “Nones”. These are folks claiming no affiliation to any particular religion. A lot of people assume that the label of “None” means that you are an atheist or an agnostic. Nothing could be further from the truth in many cases. There are millions of God fearing, Jesus loving, church attending Christians that do not belong to any denomination. They are by definition, a none.

Think of the nightmare I would create for many if I had to label myself. I would be an evangelical, fundamental, none. Peoples brains would melt trying to figure that one out.

Another problem with labels is that sometimes it becomes a mold that some try to squeeze them self into. Or worse, the person doesn’t know all of what a particular label entails. For example, someone identifies as a conservative Republican not realizing that this group is pro-life all the while he is pro-abortion.

I don’t like labels. Thinking stops and biases and prejudices begin when they are used. Folks are multi-faceted and rarely can be all the different points that a label represents. Often times you will find yourself defending a point of a label not because you agree with it, but because it is part and parcel of the label you identify with.

I have learned to ask people to define any label they mention. It helps to avoid a lot of misconceptions and opens up a clearer and more substantial dialogue.

Bill Hitchcock

It Started With A Post Then A Question

Yesterday morning’s message that I posted on Facebook was titled, “Morning Thoughts On Politics and Religion”. You can figure out the subject matter from the name. Musician and recording artist John Jones followed my post with a rather interesting question.

John asked, “So, if we wanted to take this thought a step farther, maybe we could discuss how "freedom" relates to politics, religion, and truth then?”

This at first threw me for a loop. Freedom as it relates to politics, religion, and truth? Well now, that certainly isn’t a light undertaking! I asked John to clarify and give some kind of context to his question.

John replied, “I began considering the meaning of freedom sometime back. As you know, each political party has their own ideas of freedom, so to discern why I stand on the principles I stand on, I needed to search out what true freedom is, and let that determine my political views. I began wondering how many of us simply pick a side or denomination without the goal being the experience of freedom or the truth that sets us free. Hoping you would take it from here...?”

Below was my response to John’s rather intriguing question. He seems to come out of the woods every so often and ask an excellent, thought provoking question like this one. Iron sharpens iron! Thank you!  

Freedom and Truth

Freedom is a thing. It has form and substance. Many labor under the misconception that freedom is devoid of boundaries, that to be free means no restrictions.

Let’s use a football game as an example.

A football field is 120 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide. There are two 10-yard endzones on both ends of the field. There are hash marks every yard and lines that cross the entire field every 5 yards.

The goal posts are 30 feet high, 18 ½ feet apart with the cross bar at 10 feet.

Football is a timed sport consisting of four 15-minute quarters.

To be able to play the game of football we need the above restrictions.

Now imagine we are playing in the Freedom Bowl where there are no restrictions, we are totally free! We would have to remove the hash marks and the sidelines because they are restricting the field of play. We would have to remove the end zones and goal posts too. The clock would have to go because we are no longer confined by time. So now we have two teams playing each other on an infinite playing field with an infinite amount of time. The game would never end, no one would ever score or step out of bounds. And while we are at it, we wouldn’t have to limit it to 11 players on the field at one time, nor would we have to limit it to just 2 teams playing. By removing restrictions we’ve removed time and space, heaven forbid if we try to remove matter too!

Freedom requires direction and purpose, which means it needs some type of boundaries or guideposts. All things have a certain form, substance, and purpose to it. To be free means there is nothing inhibiting or prohibiting that form, substance, and purpose from being and doing. Now anything that would hinder the game of football would be working against the freedom of the game.

We live in a free society. Guideposts were put in place so as to allow folks to live freely all the while ensuring that no one intruded upon another person’s swing at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Our political system is based on the right of every citizen to vote. We have rules and regulations in place that allows that to happen.

Christianity first had the Ten Commandments as our guidepost for righteousness which freed us from sin and then the understanding that love fulfilled all of those commandments.

Think of boundaries as the mold that forms the substance into its purpose. Think of freedom as purpose fulfilled. In this sense, purpose fulfilled is true. The act of fulfillment is truth. This can get confusing because by this standard both sin and righteousness are true when they fulfil their individual purpose and untrue when they don’t. Righteousness isn’t righteousness when it sins. Sin isn’t sin when it is righteous.

Pontius Pilate looked Jesus Christ in the face and asked, “What is truth?” He didn’t know truth, although looking at it straight in the face because he didn’t know Jesus.

All form, substance, purpose, and existence are of God. They fulfill their purpose, so they are true. Any deviation from form God’s purpose would be an untrue. For example, we are being untrue when we depart from righteousness because we were made to be righteous and holy.

Anything not of God is unrighteousness therefore untrue.

God made everything. He gave all its form, substance, and purpose. Anything within the realm of God and His creation is righteous and it is true. Conversely, if Satan had been the creator instead of God, then everything of Satan would be true and God a lie.

True and truth are being consistent with form, substance and purpose.

God made us righteous and holy. Unrighteousness (sin) is not truth although it can be true.

Hope this helps! Any feedback will be most helpful! 

God Bless!

Bill Hitchcock

Freedom and Truth

Freedom is a thing. It has form and substance. Many labor under the misconception that freedom is devoid of boundaries, that to be free means no restrictions.

Let’s use a football game as an example.

A football field is 120 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide. There are two 10-yard endzones on both ends of the field. There are hash marks every yard and lines that cross the entire field every 5 yards.

The goal posts are 30 feet high, 18 ½ feet apart with the cross bar at 10 feet.

Football is a timed sport consisting of four 15-minute quarters.

To be able to play the game of football we need the above restrictions.

Now imagine we are playing in the Freedom Bowl where there are no restrictions, we are totally free! We would have to remove the hash marks and the sidelines because they are restricting the field of play. We would have to remove the end zones and goal posts too. The clock would have to go because we are no longer confined by time. So now we have two teams playing each other on an infinite playing field with an infinite amount of time. The game would never end, no one would ever score or step out of bounds. And while we are at it, we wouldn’t have to limit it to 11 players on the field at one time, nor would we have to limit it to just 2 teams playing. By removing restrictions we’ve removed time and space, heaven forbid if we try to remove matter too!

Freedom requires direction and purpose, which means it needs some type of boundaries or guideposts. All things have a certain form, substance, and purpose to it. To be free means there is nothing inhibiting or prohibiting that form, substance, and purpose from being and doing. Now anything that would hinder the game of football would be working against the freedom of the game.

We live in a free society. Guideposts were put in place so as to allow folks to live freely all the while ensuring that no one intruded upon another person’s swing at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Our political system is based on the right of every citizen to vote. We have rules and regulations in place that allows that to happen.

Christianity first had the Ten Commandments as our guidepost for righteousness which freed us from sin and then the understanding that love fulfilled all of those commandments.

Think of boundaries as the mold that forms the substance into its purpose. Think of freedom as purpose fulfilled. In this sense, purpose fulfilled is true. The act of fulfillment is truth. This can get confusing because by this standard both sin and righteousness are true when they fulfil their individual purpose and untrue when they don’t. Righteousness isn’t righteousness when it sins. Sin isn’t sin when it is righteous.

Pontius Pilate looked Jesus Christ in the face and asked, “What is truth?” He didn’t know truth, although looking at it straight in the face because he didn’t know Jesus.

All form, substance, purpose, and existence are of God. They fulfill their purpose, so they are true. Any deviation from form God’s purpose would be an untrue. For example, we are being untrue when we depart from righteousness because we were made to be righteous and holy.

Anything not of God is unrighteousness therefore untrue.

God made everything. He gave all its form, substance, and purpose. Anything within the realm of God and His creation is righteous and it is true. Conversely, if Satan had been the creator instead of God, then everything of Satan would be true and God a lie.

True and truth are being consistent with form, substance and purpose.

God made us righteous and holy. Unrighteousness (sin) is not truth although it can be true.

Hope this helps! Any feedback will be most helpful! I want to make this one of my morning messages and possibly a magazine article.

God Bless!

Bill Hitchcock

Idols Of Silver And Gold

"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." (Psalm 115:4-8)

How about that! We are like our idols, our gods, and demi-gods that give the appearance of something but in reality, are nothing.

We idolize and worship what we value. We give credence to it and justify it because of its value. We idolize a great boxer and give credence to his religious views, never mind the fact that boxing has no bearing or association to religion.

We idolize an entertainer and adhere to their politics even though singing and dancing doesn’t qualify as political credentials.

We idolize the Pastor who draws millions of people to their alter even though Christ and Him crucified are never preached.

Talent and ability do not have universal applications.  Albert Einstein was a renown theoretical physicist, but that doesn’t mean he could sink a 30-foot putt or prepare a delicious beef wellington.

Lebron James is idolized by millions. He is a once in a generation basketball superstar. But that basketball super stardom doesn’t qualify him to be a Pastor of a Christian Church. But countless people would get baptized and join the church if he did.

We make idols out of what we value, so we can value our idols because there is no intrinsic value in the idol itself to start with. And as the Psalmist points out that our manmade idols have a mouth, eyes, ears, nose, hands, and feet, but can’t use them. Here’s the clincher, “They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." The idol worshippers are as deaf, dumb, blind, and halt as the idol they fabricated and idolize.

We take on the attributes of who we worship. The idols are dead, but Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is alive and active.

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:3-4).

All things are of Him and by Him and for Him. There is nothing that is, that didn’t come about by His hand. There is nothing that exists that isn’t sustained by Him.

We are made in the image of God and glorify Him the more we are like Him. The idols of man are deaf, dumb, blind, and halt because there is no spirit within to quicken them. God’s Spirit, “is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63) and the “body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26)

Being spirit filled we, “put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

We become who we worship. Jesus Christ is life eternal. The idol is dumb and dead.

We are, “followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us” 

(Ephesians 5:1-2)

Bill Hitchcock

The Driving Force Behind Oppression

At first glance, one would think that the Politically Correct agenda and movement was driven by one thing; the desire to stop oppression. Social Justice Warriors are the boots on the ground army of the PC that attack oppressors. This is, in any case, the impression they want to convey.

The Politically Correct and the Social Justice Warriors are not driven to end oppression. They are driven to obtain it. They think that their beliefs are correct which makes them superior to all others. Those who do not agree with their belief system are thought to be less than human, incapable of proper thought and emotions. The Politically Correct, in their own eyes, are the standard for humanity. Anything less is not human and can be and should be dealt with accordingly, as less than human.

A good example of this type of philosophy would be Adolph Hitler and his idea of the German master race. Anything less than true German was brutalized and exterminated. Earlier propaganda films put out by Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany, used rats as a metaphor for non-Germans, particularly Jews. These “rats” were nasty, diseased, and inhuman, that ran around in gutters and sewers. The only humane thing to do to these horrid, miserable creatures was to kill them and put them out of their misery.

This is the same mindset of the today’s Politically Correct, the Social Justice Warriors and Antifa. Anyone who doesn’t think and act like them is nothing but a rat fit for extermination. The Politically Correct feel justified in any action taken be it legal, moral, or physical against their opponent, because the Politically Correct are human, all others are not.  

It is pride that drives them, plain and simple. It is pride, the feeling of superiority, that drives the Politically Correct to try to squelch and oppress its opponent. This type of pride has an over-appreciation of self that is unwarranted. This self-inflation of being and worth causes the prideful person to believe that not only are they superior to others, but that others are inferior and are lesser beings. Because of this they feel justified in their acts. This idea causes the proud to treat others poorly, to abuse and advantage them.

Truth and justice are relative to their ideals. Whatever runs consistent with them are accepted as true.

But take a look at what God thinks of the prideful.

“Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.” (Proverbs 16:5)

The solution to pride is humility. James tells us that, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” (James 4:6). The proud are fighting against God.

“The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low. (Isaiah 2:11-12)

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)

The battle against pride and the oppression it creates is very much an Old Testament issue. The Old Testament is replete with examples of it and God’s reaction to it.

Do not oppress the stranger

“Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 22:21)

Do not oppress your neighbor

“And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another.” (Leviticus 25:14)

Do not oppress your employees or workers

“Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates” (Deuteronomy 24:14)

Do not oppress the sick and afflicted

“Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate” (Proverbs 22:22)

Do not oppress anyone!

“Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 25:17)

Pride is the root of all oppression

“I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors. Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.” (Psalm 119:121-122)

With pride comes oppression creating contention and strife.

“Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” (Proverbs 13:10)

The humble have a responsibility to the oppressed.

“Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.” (Psalm 10:17-18)

“Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.” (Psalm 10:17-18)

God is the refuge for the oppressed.

“O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” (Psalm 9:6-10)

Oppression is defined as “prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control”.

The Cambridge Dictionary has a more modern, PC definition, “a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom”

The Collins Dictionary covers about all conceivable forms of oppression. “the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. an act or instance of oppressing or subjecting to cruel or unjust impositions or restraints. the state of being oppressed. the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, etc.

The root word for oppress found in the Old Testament is “lachats”. It means to squeeze or press. The New Testament word for oppress is “katadynasteuo”. It is a composite word combining “great authority or power” with “against or in” to define the act.

No matter how oppression is defined, the source and cause will always be pride. Pride produces other sins as well. As mentioned earlier, contention is caused by pride. Contention which includes ill-will, quarreling, strife, controversy, and disputes, these things are the result of pride.

The root of bigotry and racism isn’t hate, its pride that causes the hate.

The proud don’t think rules apply to them, after all, they are above the realm of mere mortals therefore they are above any rule, regulation or law. This includes God.

“The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” (Psalm 10:4)

“O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.” (Psalm 94;1-2, 5-7)

The proud do not think that God and His ways apply to them. After all, they are superior to other people and God made rules that apply to the common man, not to them. Besides, the proud have proof that God’s laws don’t apply. They have done what is considered to be sin and have suffered no consequence for it!

But God is in the generation of the righteous (Psalm 14:5). The humble know that, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way” and they also know that with God, “the froward mouth, do I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13)

The humble rest in the promise of God and know that God has, “heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.” (Psalm 10:17-18).

The humble have the, “Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.” And that when it comes to the proud who believe they are above the consequences of sin and the law that God will, “bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.” (Psalm 94:22-23)

Bill Hitchcock

Fearful Amount

"There will be a fearful amount of blood upon the skirts of a man whose ministry has startled nobody." (Charles Spurgeon)

Obviously, the goal isn't to startle someone. But everyone will be at one point in time or another by the truth that is revealed in scriptures.

Here’s something I hope you’ll contemplate. Some Ministers, Pastors, and Preachers will shy away from preaching certain aspects of scripture not because they’re afraid of offending, but simply because they don’t understand or have a firm grasp on the subject matter. They’ll focus on popular topics that are well received but don’t preach on all aspects of the relationship with Christ and salvation. Not everything is “exciting” and not everything is lovy-dovy. Some topics are just accepted as is without diving into them. Election, justification, predestination, sanctification, salvation (once saved always saved mindset), sin and what it is, fornication and sexual deviancy, morality, pride and a host of other things really aren’t taught, discussed, and clarified and defined.

Even religion itself isn’t discussed. How many folks know why they belong to whatever religion it is they belong to and why. What are the other religions? Who knows their church’s doctrine and their religion’s doctrine?

While the truth shall set you free, the people will perish by a lack of knowledge (John 8:32 & Hosea 4:6).

Solomon decries to Get wisdom! Get understanding! He then adds that wisdom is the principle thing! (Proverbs 4)

Jesus said, “Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?” (Mark 12:24)

Spurgeon is right, there will be a lot blood on the skirts of a man whose ministry has startled nobody. But the preacher needs to get startled first.

Bill Hitchcock

A Daysman

“If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?  If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both. Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:  Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.” (Job 9:29-35).

Job so clearly states the problem man had with God before Jesus. God can have nothing to do with unrighteousness, which is what man became after the fall. This presents an interesting scenario considering it was God who was to save man from the fall and original sin.

Job understands that man’s attempts at righteousness by his own hand is vain. He also recognizes that judgment, the act of righteousness, between the two is impossible as well. God is divine and man is mortal.

There is an ever-present wall of righteousness that separates man and God, a wall that can’t be scaled or broken down. So, Job wishes that there was a “daysman betwixt us”. A daysman is someone who can act as a mediator, a go-between the unrighteous and the righteous, the mortal and divine, the natural and the supernatural.

That daysman came in Jesus Christ. He is our mediator, our go-between. Jesus is both man and God and is the only bridge between man and God.

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5)

“And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” (Hebrew 9:15)

The only way to the Father is through the Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus truly is the way, the only way.

Bill Hitchcock

We Are The Times

“Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times; Such as we are, such are the times.” – Augustine

Jesus was sound asleep on a boat in the midst of a raging storm. His disciples were freaking out. They awoke Him and the first thing out of Jesus’s mouth was, “Why are ye fearful?” and then went about calming the seas.

We are the times; Such as we are, such are the times!

The Greek word for grace is charis. It is where we get the word charisma from, which is a dynamic personality that draws people to it. Those full of grace are charismatic. Grace is God’s gift of power, potential, and capacity that is given to us. When we are full of God’s grace it draws people to us as well as emanates from us, affecting everyone and everything around us.

We are the times; Such as we are, such are the times.

Bill Hitchcock

The Two Bear Confusion

“Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden.” (Galatians 6:2-5)

Sometimes the Bible can be a bit confusing. Other times it seems as if it contradicts itself such as here with Paul’s letter to the Galatians. At first Paul says to bear one another’s burdens and then 3 verses later he says that every man should bear his own burden. Which is it? Do we worry about someone else’s burden or do we mind our own business?

As happens a lot in the Bible, what we think we are reading isn’t what was wrote. Translating from one language to another isn’t always clean and neat. Add to that the English language was in a period of transition around the time the King James Bible was written. Our language certainly has changed radically since 1611 when the King James version was first published.

When Paul says, “Bear ye another’s burdens”, he is telling us to help with other people’s problems. This is a natural desire and impulse for a Christian. It’s part and parcel of loving our neighbor.

But when Paul says, “For every man shall bear his own burden”, this is a reference to our obligations. There are many things in life that each of us are obligated to and responsible for, including God and the church, our family and country.

In the original Greek that this was written in, there are two different words that have been transliterated into English as being, “burden”. The first burden comes from the Greek, “Baros” and the second burden was transliterated from the Greek “Phortion”. These are two distinctly different words with different meanings that were transliterated as the one word, burden.

And speaking of a period of transition, what we as individuals and what our culture and society consider to be our obligations and responsibilities has been going through a drastic transition. People today are striving to shift personal responsibilities away from self and unto the government. This nation was founded on the principle of independence, of both for self and for country. This independence and self-sufficiency were called the “Spirit of ‘76”, a reference to 1776, the year our nation established itself as sovereign and independent nation from the British crown. Today people are trying to gain their personal independence by giving the government their obligations and responsibilities. This is the impetus, the driving force of our society today. The thought being that with no obligations we are free to do as we please, not realizing that obligation and responsibility are the wings of freedom.

But Paul here is teaching that we must take care of our own burdens and that of those incapable of doing so on their own. This is so important that James even defines it as pure religion.

 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27)

We are to relieve burdens, whether it’s our own or that of those incapable of doing so for them self and we are to strive to remain sin free. This is our responsibility and obligation to each other and to God. It is the manifestation of our religion.

It all boils down to burdens, be they problems or obligations. We are to assume them all for the glorification of God.

Bill Hitchcock

Overtaken

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1)

“Overtaken in a fault” would be better transliterated as being caught off guard by sin resulting in a momentary lapse of judgment. Every Christian has found himself in this position at one time or another. We have momentary lapses of judgement for a variety of reasons. Heightened emotions have a tendency to overrule the mind, body and spirit. Our emotions can cause us to pause clear thought and stir up passions that taint and paint our spirit an unrighteous hue. This is why Paul gives us the following warning.

“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27)

While some may interpret anger as being the sin, it is rather that anger can be the gateway for sin. Our emotions can have sway over our spirit. That’s why Paul says, “Don’t give place to the devil”. Anger can do this, but so can other emotions such as love. Who hasn’t attempted to cover up a sin of a loved one or excuse and defend their indiscretions?

When emotions overrule the spirit causing someone to do something violent, law enforcement calls it a crime of passion. Inflamed and heightened emotions can penetrate to the bone and permeate the spirit and soul.

Time may heal all wounds, but it also can strengthen and ingrain emotions into our very soul. Allowing bad emotions to stay and fester can change our essence, nature, and being. Don’t give place to the devil. He tends to stay and set up shop.

The man overtaken by fault is a restoration project, not a renovation, demolition or rebuild. There’s no need to come with bulldozer and wrecking ball. A feather duster and maybe a dab of paint will do.

“Ye which are spiritual.…in the spirit of meekness”.

I love Thayer’s Greek Lexicon definition of spiritual. It is the, “part of the man which is akin to God and serves as his instrument or organ”.

Vine’s Greek Lexicon goes on to say, “The spiritual state is reached by diligence in the Word of God and in prayer; it is maintained by obedience and self-judgment. Such as are led by the Spirit are spiritual, but, of course, spirituality is not a fixed or absolute condition, it admits of growth; indeed growth in 'the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,' 2Pe 3:18, is evidence of true spirituality."

A little caveat here. Did you notice that the “spiritual state is reached by diligence in the Word of God and in prayer”? We have control over our spiritual condition, state and being. We can increase spiritually as well as do the opposite.

“And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” (1 Corinthians 14:32)

We are to come to the man overtaken in a fault in the spirit of meekness. Meekness is often thought of as a position of weakness. But it is true strength in that meekness is directed power that’s all under control.

Think about this for a moment. You, as a child of God and blessed of His full benefits; kin to the most High, and as an extension of God, in servitude through His love and grace, come to the fallen, not in righteous indignation, but in the spirit of meekness, love, and grace. There is none lower than the meek and none but one higher.

The power is unlimited, supreme and divine.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me (Jesus), the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)

Only the meek and humble of God could handle such power. The rash, selfish, angry, and the proud would only destroy themselves and all around them. Maybe the reason why the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5) is not so much as a reward but rather given as a responsibility.

Paul gives probably the best advice at the end of this verse. “…considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

We are dealing with someone who unexpectedly fell for some temptation. Be careful that you yourself don’t do likewise. The meek will never believe that they are above any sin or temptation, realizing that we are all susceptible to them.

The meek are truly the most powerful for they are the most respectful and mindful of every vice and virtue. They know nothing can be taken for granted because there will always be a little David ready and able to defeat a warrior king like Goliath. Although the meek are not impervious to sin, they are least likely to be overtaken by it. This is why Paul said that we should be in the spirit of meekness when interacting with sin and the sinner.

Bill Hitchcock

The Workings Of God

You know, sometimes when you pray to God for guidance, the skies don’t part, a beam of light doesn’t illume your path, and you don’t hear God say, “Go ye thou thither and beholdest yon hedged holy highway of righteousness to your predestined and chosen life, oh ye elect child of mine!”

Nope, sometimes you just realize that you’re in the middle of His answer. You meet someone, the phone rings, you are sent to someplace new; something happens and by its very nature and essence, you feel or discern that this is the movement of God. Other times you realize this after it is all said and done with.

Acts of God rarely if ever happen to the stationary and static person. God being a forward motion works with those who work and move. Doing is part of our being and is how we exercise and manifest our faith.

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26)

God is energy and capacity. Apply those two things to something stationary and all you get is potential. But apply energy and capacity to something kinetic and look out. The Greek word for this is “Dynamis” The King James version of the Bible transliterates dynamis as power, strength, virtue, work, and might. This is what God infuses into His children that are doing.

God may stop you and cause you to wait for a season. That’s different. Do as the spirit leads because doing otherwise will not work to your benefit. God also knows that during times of turmoil doing nothing is the last thing you’ll want to do. But trust God. He knows what He is doing. Having you do nothing just may be a test of your faith in God and your resolve in His plan.

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14)

You may be at your ropes end. That’s when most folks usually turn to God, when they have exhausted all their options and don’t know what else to do. This is when they decide to give God a try.

By the way, have you ever wondered where life’s stumbling blocks come from? There is no such thing as an occurrence without cause. In Aristotelian terms, there must always be the prime mover. The only time this does not apply is with God, for He is the first cause. He has always been the first mover and creator of everything. If there had been something that caused God, then that would be the supreme being, the cause, the first mover. If something, the creator, caused God to be created, that creator would be God, and not the created God.

This should now put to rest the big bang theory, or at least explain how it could happen if in fact it did happen.

Stephen Hawking theorizes that “a tiny speck of matter and energy began to grow, bringing about the birth of our universe billions of years ago. However, scientists are intrigued by what was there before the “explosion” when there was supposed to be nothing.

“There was nothing around before the Big, Big Bang,” Hawking said.” H/T Press Trust of India, New York

To quote from a Billy Preston song from some 45 years ago, “Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'”.

Something had to be in existence prior to the big bang to cause the big bang to occur. The materials/substance had to be and the energy to form and to cause it had to be. Hawking has no answer for this. We know that God pre-exists everything. He is from everlasting to everlasting. If the big bang occurred, it was caused by the prime mover and creator of all things, God. It was God that created the material substances for the big bang and it was God that supplied the power and energy that caused it to happen.

All of that to say what happens in life is not one big random, catch as catch can moment. Man attempts to explain what he cannot understand by attributing things to random acts. But because we can’t comprehend life, doesn’t mean there is no purpose to it. God made it very clear at the end of Romans Chapter 11 that His ways are not our ways and that things are just simply above our capability to understand and always will be while we exist on this earth.

God works in favor and benefit of His children. He wants us to prosper and to live! The road we travel and all the potholes and bumps along the way are intended for our benefit and growth. God’s guidance isn’t always felt or known. But sometimes we realize that God is at that very moment involved in our lives and presently guiding us by His hand. This are wonderful moments of revelation to be cherished and told.

Personal experiences testified of God will excite the spirit of every listener and does nothing but glorify God.

Bill Hitchcock

Seek Judgement and Relieve the Oppressed

"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." (Isaiah 1:16-17)

How about that. We must learn to do well. Carnal man is self-oriented. That doesn't help anyone or do anyone any good other than self. So, to do well we must shift the focus 180 degrees away from self and onto others. That's the first step. Once the emphasis is off me, myself, and I and onto all others is when we can “put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil”.

Think about that. Evil happens when we are the center of the universe. When we prioritize self above all other people, evil to others will happen. But when we focus on the betterment of others. When we uplift and edify people. When we take care of the basics for our neighbor, making sure they have food to eat, water to drink, a roof over their head. Good is the goal and target when we do these things. The good, by the way, is righteousness.

The word righteousness has morphed from the original, “rightness”. It is doing what is right and that always means doing the will of God.

Now that we have stopped applying the dirt of sin to our self, we can now, "Wash you, make you clean”. To our newfound righteousness we must wash clean through repentance. John came before Jesus so that we could be washed clean. What? Are we going to save a dirty soul? No, we must wash it clean before the grace of salvation is applied.

We are washed clean and sealed in our redemption unto salvation. We have become a new man. Our being has changed therefore our doing will have changed as well.

We are to seek judgment which runs counter to the reasoning and will off carnal man. Judgement is simply a course correction to keep us in the way of the Lord.

Now look at who are energies and attention are pointed towards. It is the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widows. We are to relieve, judge, and plead for them. In short, we are to stand for those who are incapable of standing on their own. We are to fend and defend them, which is both caring for and protecting them.

The devil has convinced the world that judgement is a bad thing. Every apostate and child of the god of the air will run from it and condemn the practice and practitioner for it. But what is judgment?

When God said, “seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless” He is actually speaking about two different things.

The word, “judgement” comes from the Hebrew “mishap” meaning, “justice, right, rectitude” (Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon)

The word “judge” comes from the Hebrew “shaphat” meaning, “to act as law-giver or judge or governor” (Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon).

So what God is saying is to seek righteousness and defend those who are incapable of defending themselves. In this case the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widows. The oppressed are those who are suffering because they have no judge to act on their behalf.

How important is it to act in the stead of the less fortunate, the oppressed, fatherless, and the widows?

In the judgements that God gave Moses that proceed immediately after God gave him the Ten Commandments, God said, “Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.” (Exodus 22:21-24).

God issues a very harsh warning to those who would seek to take advantage those unable to fend for themselves.

Put away the evil and wash yourself clean. Seek judgement, yes run to it. Embrace the righteousness that judgement reveals and secures. Allow the righteousness that is you bubble up and flow towards all those around you. You were made in the image of God. That doesn’t pertain to just looks. It is a comment about our heart, mind, spirit and soul. It is a comment about our being and doing.

Bill Hitchcock

Judge Me

"The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me." (Psalm 7:8)

Stop and think about this for a moment. Not only is the Psalmist willingly and knowingly asking God to judge his righteousness and integrity, but he is asking God to do so against His righteousness and integrity, not against some other man. No, this is not an issue of pride for the Psalmist, quite the opposite. And the Psalmist knows that he must pay the consequence of any and all shortcomings. He knows this, but asks God anyway.

As Solomon wrote in the Book of Proverbs, “Iron sharpeneth iron” (Proverbs 27:17).

Our standard should always be God and His word. The Psalmist is offering to God both his righteousness and his integrity to be proved and reproved.

Yes, this will be painful, for all sin and shortcomings come with consequence. There are always shavings when iron sharpens iron. These shavings are nothing more than iniquities that interfere with the sharp edge of righteousness. Remove the iniquities and you have a perfect edge and a sword fit for a king.

Carnal man runs from judgement. But the righteous man asks for it, runs towards it, and welcomes it.

Bill Hitchcock

Of His Own Will

“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18)

“Of his own will”, of God’s elect, the chosen is the “word of truth” given to. It is the chosen who comprehends and rejoices in this truth. To the others God’s word is a mystery, silliness and even evil.

It is through God’s word of truth that His elect is made “a kind of firstfruits”. Scripture tells us to judge a tree by the fruit that it bears. We are that fruit. The world looks at us to judge God. Are we faithful ministers?

A minister by definition means to serve (verb) or to be a servant (noun).  A minister as a title and position needs to embody the spirit of divine servitude. This means that holiness and righteousness are the foundation, point, and purpose of the deed. God is the cause of the deed. He is also the recipient.

Good works and deeds in of themselves are just that, good works and deeds. These don’t honor God on their own, for the devil himself can do these things, and does, daily.

The word of truth cleanses the heart and soul, restoring us back to God. The good that we do now is rooted in God. We are the branch that is attached to the divine tree. The good that is manifest through us is by a righteous nature and not of carnal necessity or want. Only good can flow from the soul unfettered by sin.

“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” (Matthew 7:10)

The righteous soul seeks the will of God. Doing His will satisfies and gratifies us and pleases Him.

The carnal spirit in a man seeks self in all that he does. There must be gain in pleasure, power, or wealth to motivate that soul into action. Helping another is not the nature of a Godless person. The will and ideology of the carnal self is itself, what it can take, consume, use, possess or dispense. No matter how good the deed, self must always be the beneficiary, not the benefactor.

The gain for the righteous in heart and spirit is God. He is our portion, our lot.

We are the first fruits of God. God created us by His will with the word of truth. Think about that for a moment. God has, “chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4)

We were made with the word of truth. Truth is our nature, our form and substance, and will. This is by design through God’s will. Anything that departs from this is sin and not of God.

We are the first fruits of God. Let us shine and act as such.

Bill Hitchcock

Uphold Me With Thy Free Spirit

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. (Psalm 51:12)

God’s Spirit and His will are synonymous. Never would they or can they conflict or contradict each other. The Psalmist asks for restoration of the joy in his salvation. This is a big red flag. We should always find joy in being saved, even when our salvation takes us down an unfriendly or unfamiliar path.

Then there is this simple fact that man refuses to understand; God upholds us by His will through His Spirit. But prideful, pompous man demands that he himself has “free” will, thus invalidating what the Psalmist has said. Really? How free is the will that has known God’s will since Moses and yet can’t find the will to do them?

“He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7)

If man has free will, why is it that he has not done God’s will since he became aware of it several millennia ago?  What else could it be than purposeful and premeditated rebellion? What else could it be if he knows God’s will but doesn’t do it?

A reality man must face is that certain things are greater than him. This does not mean that man must always fall victim to the greater force. This is one off the reasons why God gave us the David and Goliath accounting. God made manifest a spiritual principle and demonstrated it through little David, barely a teenager who defeated a seasoned warrior in Goliath who stood over 9 feet tall.

Sin is our Goliath. But do you see the liberty we have through God upholding us with His free Spirit? 

God gives us a righteous foundation in which to secure our footing and stand. Jesus fought against Satan and won with only the truth of God’s word. The truth and righteousness of God was his sure foundation. This is why God has influence over us, to give us truth, holiness, and righteousness in which to stand and fight the unrighteousness. Otherwise we are left naked and bare against a world of iniquity. We can’t win that war on our own.

The scales are tipped in the devil’s favor if God does not uphold His children in this spiritual battle for souls.

Also realize the nature of sin and the devil. Not only was he made a snake due to his cunning and deception, but his name “Devil” means false accuser, slanderer, and “Satan” is defined as the adversary of God that incites apostasy from God and to sin, circumventing men by his wiles.

The devil’s enemy is God and since we are God’s children that are made in His image, the devil has made us his primary target. But he is the father of lies and the master deceiver. The devil rarely if ever attacks head on. While we have this self-image of being a Christian soldier, clad in the finest of armor going out to the battlefield to defeat the devil in a one on one fight, the devil has already poisoned our morning tea.

We don’t know the extent of the devil’s influences on us. We can’t because we still have original sin to contend with which acts as blinders to the devil’s ways.

Without the quickening of our spirit through the Spirit of Christ, we walk this place deaf, dumb, and blind. This is why throughout the Bible we are roused, literally brought out of our spiritual sleep and directed to be sober, to be vigilant, to pray always, to watch, and to stand, and to be “strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)

We all know that the, “adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). What we must understand is that he is rarely obvious. We don’t see him coming and we don’t see what he is doing until he has accomplished his task.

Jesus is the way.  God’s word is a, “lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105). God has called us and predestined us to Him. This is how God upholds us with His will through Jesus, the way, His light, and His will. Even if we stumble and fall out of the way that God has luminated for us, which is the New Testament definition of sin, we have Christ who has nailed that sin to the cross which pays the debt we created by our fall.

We are a woke through Christ, but we still must endure for, “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

Watch, be sober and persevere.

Bill Hitchcock

Servants Of Sin

“For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.” (Romans 6:20)

I don’t think anyone will have a difficult time imagining being a servant of sin. We have all exercised our sinful self. What may be difficult to imagine is when Paul states being, “free from righteousness”.

Let’s look at its opposite. John in his third epistle writes, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1 John 3:9).

That’s somewhat mind boggling, isn’t it? We can either be void of righteousness completely, which means we are nothing but sin, or we can be sin free!

How are either possible? Especially the “doth not commit sin” statement by John. After all, nobody is perfect, right?

We must look at the spirit within, what it is, and the intent and motivation of that spirit and not necessarily the deed itself. This is what Jesus was talking about during His Sermon on the Mound.

“Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 521-22)

It is our spirit not the act that is the source of sin. The sin is with, “whosoever is angry…without a cause”. In Aristotelian terms, the spirit is the first mover, the agent or efficient "cause" of sin, not the act. The act of sin is the manifestation of the existing sin within the spirit.

While the Jews looked only at the act, Jesus showed that we need to take a step back and look at the spirit that caused the sin to be born. Hence the Aristotelian idea of the spirit being the first mover. The spirit moved the body to perform the sin that existed within.

For example, A kills B. If A killed B because A was angry at B or wanted to rob him, then A sinned. But if A killed B because B was attacking A with malice aforethought, then A didn’t sin. In either case A kills B. But in the first scenario A does so because of an unrighteous spirit. In the second scenario A killed from a just and righteous heart in self-defense.  

The act of sin doesn’t have to occur for us to sin since it is our spirit with its intent and motivation that is the source or efficient cause of sin. Jesus continues in His sermon by giving examples of reconciling with a brother before giving a gift at the altar, to settle with an adversary, and not to look at another woman in lust.

The changed heart, the righteous spirit, the one that cannot commit sin is the heart and soul that has accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Many things occur when this happens.

Two become one. The Spirit of Christ is in us, and we in Him. Our nature changes, which in turn changes our thought, emotions, sentiments and will. We have put on the new man.

“And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Colossians 3:10-17)

Accepting Jesus Christ within changes our spirit. Unrighteousness leaves, and our righteous self is born a new. We don’t sin because sin is no longer our desire, God’s will is. And since, “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:10)

God is love. Love is the fulfillment of the law.

Jesus nailed every sin we ever did or ever will do to the cross for those that believe in Him. Our nature changes when we have faith and belief in Christ so our desire to sin is gone. But while we are still on this earth, man will always be burdened with original sin.  Although our nature has changed and our need, lust and will for sin is gone, we still are not yet perfected. Sin still has sway over us.

Here’s something to understand about sin. There are, what we’ll call, the overt sins. These are the sins that the Ten Commandments lists out. They are obvious no-no’s like murder, theft, and adultery. We are consciously aware of these sins and for the most part can manhandle our own sinful will and not do them.

(As a side note, is it not a great testimony to the depravity of man that he had to be told not to murder, not to steal, not to commit adultery, etc.?)

There are also the subtle sins that influence the way we think and rationalize. It’s called the noetic effect of sin. “Noetic” coming from the Greek word “nous” which means the mind. What it addresses is more than our thoughts being impure and sinful, but the true noetic effect is the influence sin has on us that we are unaware of, that we are blind to.

Paul speaks of this to the Corinthians. “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (2 Corinthians 4:4b).

To the Ephesians Paul warns, “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18)

John reminds us that God warned Isaiah what would happen to those who don’t believe.

“Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.” (John 12:39-40).

One off the purposes of the Ten Commandments was to bring sin to the attention of man. It worked well for the “big” overt sins. But man discovered he couldn’t do them through pure will. This is what Jesus is addressing in His sermon. The spirit of the man must change. To do that he must bring Christ into his heart. His sins will be forgiven, and his sin nature changed to righteousness.

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (Psalm 32:1-2)

The stumbles in life are forgiven to those who repent of their sins. Remember, Jesus has already paid the price for our sins, but we still must redeem ourselves. Think coupon. The cents off has already been taken off that box of laundry detergent, but you still must redeem your coupon at the register for the discount to go into effect.

Only those with a changed heart will repent. This is very important to understand. The fruit of the tree is on display not only for our righteousness, but for our repentance as well. The unrighteous, unchanged heart (spirit) won’t repent. Hide and deny, yes, but repent of their sins, no. Keep in mind what repentance means. Not only is repentance asking for forgiveness from a sincere and sorrowful heart, but it is also an understanding of that sin and the desire to never do it again.

Never forget that the tree of righteousness bears many kinds of fruit that testify of its roots in Jesus. The tree of righteousness bears such fruit as love, forgiveness, patience, forbearance and also that of repentance.

Because of original sin being present, man will continuously sin. Which means he must continuously repent. Consider it a winnowing out process. Because if the spirit isn’t secure in Jesus, at some point in time that man will stumble, fall but won’t get back up. The spirit will refuse to repent.

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13).

Losing your salvation will fly against the face of many. Yes, it is true, the Bible says that whomever God has called and drawn to Jesus, that none shall be taken from His hand. But remember the parable of the sower. Most of the seed had already taken root first and started to grow before the devil and the world killed them off.

“For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14)

Many respond to the gospel call of God, but few will endure that call to the end. Those who do are the chosen, the elect of God. Most folks think this backwards. They think that if they can hang on and “do” the righteous things of God then they will be saved. But this runs counter to everything we’ve been talking about here. The endurance isn’t about the doing of righteousness, it’s about being righteous. The doing flows naturally from the being.

How do you know if you are chosen? Again, we must be sure we aren’t hyper-focused on the doing. This by the way is why many religions are so heavily into rites, rituals, and ceremonies. The doing makes them feel holy, feel righteous and feel saved. The doing comforts their minds and tries to set at ease an unsettled spirit.

Jesus said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

It is the spirit, not the body with its deeds, that brings eternal life. The word will awaken and enliven your spirit. In Jesus, “we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). We do because we want to do. We are by nature, not by deed. We must focus on the spirit and what it is, not on the body and what it does.

Stop looking for signs and wonders and works and deeds. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

The spirit is inside of you. It quickens and profits. It is life. It is where God dwells. How do you know if you are the chosen of God? Look inside.

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. His nature has changed so that his will to sin is gone and his desire for God’s will reinforced. The awoke spirit is highly aware of original sin and the battle that the flesh has with it. Even the holiest of men like the Apostle Paul struggled with sin crying, “O wretched man that I am” because of sin that was warring against his mind.

It is with the elect of God, “whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile”. These are the chosen who are born of God and do not sin.

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”

But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:22-23,26-27,32-39)

Bill Hitchcock