What is backsliding, and how do we prevent it to stop a complete falling away? Some might argue that it is not possible to fall away once you believe or are baptized, but that is another discussion for another day. Backsliding, simply put, is when you begin committing sins, usually small ones at first then gradually increase them, after you are a Christian, until complete apostasy (or a falling away) occurs. In man's world, problems occur all the time, and man tries to come up with ways to prevent these problems. In medicine, hospital workers are trained to wash hands when entering and leaving a patients room to prevent the spread of disease. In the auto industry, car makers are constantly inventing new and safer cars to prevent accidents and injury such as seat belts, airbags and new braking systems. So are there ways to prevent one from falling away from God so he/she can do as God wants? Here are some things to consider.
We should let God SAY something to us every day. I don't mean by His physical voice, but by His Holy Word. Psalms 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." When we listen to God, we don't have to be afraid and walk in the dark. Psalms 1:1-2 "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." When we walk in the dark, we use flashlights to guide our way, and show us any dangers that might lay ahead. His Word is our light to show us the dangers of the world, if we would just listen. We should take great delight in listening to God talk to us.
When we listen to the Word and read the Bible, we should do more than just take a mere glance at the particular subject, but study the complete topic to hear all God is trying to tell us. Jesus told us He wants us to study the scriptures. John 5:39 "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." Paul tells us in his letter in 2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Not only are we told to study the scriptures, but we are given an example of some who did this in the first century in Acts 17:11 "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Why would all the time and effort be taken to write the Bible if God felt there was little need to study it daily? Did you ever know of someone backsliding who allowed God to talk to them everyday? We are far more likely to fall away when we stop searching the scriptures daily.
We should also Say something TO God every day, not only starting our day off with a prayer to Him, but pray throughout the day. We should thank Him for our many blessings, and no matter your situation, you have many. Not to thank Him shows ingratitude for all that He has done, including giving us His only son to be crucified for us. One preacher put it this way, "Either prayer will stop sin, or sin will stop prayer." This goes along with studying of the scriptures, because if we don't His Word and do as He commands, why should He listen to us? The Bible says this in Proverbs 28:9 "He that turneth away his ear from ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination." Too many people think that God will listen to us and grant our prayers without listening to Him. This is not the case though as we just read in Proverbs.
You can always tell much about a man when he is a faithful praying man. A faithful man is filled with love, is kind and normally is one who will do all that he can to help someone else. An angry, hateful person is usually one who does not pray or read the scriptures. James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
We should also make sure we say something FOR God everyday. Many are afraid to stand up and say something about God for fear of being ridiculed. We live in a world today where we must tiptoe around and be careful what we say so as not to offend. But when it comes to God, what does He think of us if we don't stand up for Him, or teach someone about Him? When we talk, our speech should have more of God in it so others can learn more about Him. After all, it our job to spread the Word and bring lost souls to Him, or bring those who have fallen away, back to Him. This is the greatest work we can do. James 5:19-20 "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."
There are opportunities that we find ourselves in everyday where we should be speaking for God. Philippians 1:27 "Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye started fast with one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel." We should not be ignoring these chances speak up for God, and you never know when you might be saving a soul, and help us from losing ours.
Finally, we should DO something for God everyday. Our days of full of things that we do, whether it be work, school, playing golf or fishing, we do something. However, most if not all of what we do, has anything to do with God. We should look for opportunities to do something good in the name of God. Galatians 6:10 "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."
One of the greatest things we can do as a Christian is let our light shine, show men what our good works are all about. Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." We should let our light shine, but not shine our lights. We have all seen the T.V. evangelists who thrive on the attention the receive, instead of letting the Word of God be the center. Some of us go to a certain church, or watch someone because of how entertaining they are, but the lesson we are learning from are often times far from the truth. If we do something for God, no matter what it is, it is never in vain. 2 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, foreasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
So if we do these four things, letting God say something to us, saying something to God, saying something for God, and doing something for God, everyday, we will live righteously, and have no fear of slipping down that slope of apostasy. The Israelites in the Old Testament failed to do this, and every other generation would fall away, and God would punish them for this. We cannot be like them, but we must do as God says, for He loves us and wants to us to be happy, truly happy. It is amazing how good your and satisfying your life will be, not to mention your eternal salvation.
A Christian Blog that uses the Bible as it's only source of doctrine.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
One Faith: Age of the Earth and Dinosaurs Part 1
One Faith: Age of the Earth and Dinosaurs Part 1: With the new blockbuster movie about dinosaurs out in theatres, it amazes me how people just believe what "educated" people...
Monday, June 15, 2015
Age of the Earth and Dinosaurs Part 2
We left talking about dinosaurs, a subject that almost all people love, and definitely watch at the movies. The common belief is that dinosaurs are millions of years old and died out long before man ever evolved from the apes. However, this is what the scientists have told us, but what do the facts say? Well, let's take a look and see if the Bible mentions anything about them.
At first glance, there is no mention of them. Of course the word dinosaur would not be in it because dinosaurs were not "discovered" until the early 1800's. However, there is something interesting written about two specific creatures in the book of Job. In chapter 40 starting in verse 15, Job talks about a creature called Behemoth. Modern day dictionaries and even the American Standard version's dictionary say this is simply a hippopotamus, a large but not giant animal that is or at least was common in this area. But there is a problem with this by the description Job gives. This animal eats grass like an ox (hippos do not), his tail is like a cedar (a hippos is more like a reed), his bones are like tubes of brass and iron, and the mountains bring him food. He does not fear floods (which is the only likeness to a hippo), and there is no animal that he is afraid of. After reading this description, Job is clearly not speaking about a hippo, but something much, much larger. In fact, if you describe a Brontosaurus, it would sound much like Job's description would it not?
In the same book in the next chapter, Job begins describing a sea creature called Leviathan. Again, modern interpretations say this is a crocodile, a creature commonly found in the middle-east. In Job's description, notice he never mentions this animal being on land, where a croc spends much of his time. Leviathan is very large, can't be caught with a hook or rope, and has mighty scales that can't be broken. In verse 30 his underparts are "sharp potsherds", whereas a croc's is tough, yet penetrable. This animal also lives in the deep, much like a whale, which of course does not have scales nor tough skin. Job's leviathan appears to be uncatchable, a monster that man can't tame. Although crocs are large, mean, tough and cannot be tamed, Job not only calls it by a different name, but does not fit the description as given by the patriarch. Both animals appear to be something different than what we are familiar with today, possibly animals that are extinct.
All scholars believe Job is the oldest written book in the Bible, probably written before Moses, Abraham and even Noah, seeing as though none of them are mentioned in his book. So, if these were dinosaurs, they would be a just a few thousand years old, not millions. This could also mean that most of these beasts died during the great flood, could it not? If that were the case though, didn't Noah save at least a pair of each? The answer is yes, but we don't know when these animals died off either. Recently, a statue was found in Peru that was believed to be about 900 years old and was made by the local Indians. In the middle of this statue, with many other animals depicted all around it, was an obvious stegosaur, which of course would be "unknown" for around 1100 more years, and millions of years since their "extinction". How could it be possible that Peruvian Indians knew of these creatures unless they had seen one? Maybe, just maybe, scientists are wrong about when they died off and how.
First, the how. There are many different theories as to how dinosaurs became extinct, with the most popular being a meteor strike. That does not hold water though when considering that it only killed off "some" and not all of the animals on earth. After all, alligators, birds, insects and most mammals survived, and no crater large enough has ever been found. Disease is always a possibility, but again, there were other reptiles that were not affected. When you also consider that there may not have been near as many dinosaurs as we think, a simple dying away, something that happens very often, could have been the culprit. That, coupled with a worldwide flood that evidence of has been found on all continents, could have been the doom of these great animals.
What about the when? Scientists have convinced most that millions of years have passed since the last dinosaur walked the earth. How did they get that number? Mainly by using carbon 14 dating, which there is a long mathematical calculation that has to be considered. In this calculation, it must be determined how much C14 is forming in the atmosphere against how much is decaying and so on. To understand the whole process, please visit sites like anthropology.msu.com, livescience.com and others. According to Michigan State University, there is a major problem with C14 dating. The rate at which C14 is decaying is much larger than originally thought, almost 35% more, meaning that their numbers on dating could be off by extremely high numbers. In other words, no one can possibly know for sure how old anything is. This explains why trees on Mt. St. Helens known to be planted in the 1940's were dated 350,000 years old, because the decay was much larger than normal.
So what does all this really mean? Scientists are no closer today disproving God than Darwin was when he came up with his theory. They constantly must change their theories and calculations because as new things are discovered, they are forced to backtrack. Yet the truth of God and what He has told us never changes, and still is the only plausible reason. Why do men continue to try to prove the Bible is wrong? Because they don't believe in God, and many people simply follow along without doing due diligence themselves. You can do as I did and review all this yourself, and use the Bible in reference, and come up with the same conclusion. God is the true creator of all things, and no man or unproven theory will ever be able destroy Him. Grace be with you.
At first glance, there is no mention of them. Of course the word dinosaur would not be in it because dinosaurs were not "discovered" until the early 1800's. However, there is something interesting written about two specific creatures in the book of Job. In chapter 40 starting in verse 15, Job talks about a creature called Behemoth. Modern day dictionaries and even the American Standard version's dictionary say this is simply a hippopotamus, a large but not giant animal that is or at least was common in this area. But there is a problem with this by the description Job gives. This animal eats grass like an ox (hippos do not), his tail is like a cedar (a hippos is more like a reed), his bones are like tubes of brass and iron, and the mountains bring him food. He does not fear floods (which is the only likeness to a hippo), and there is no animal that he is afraid of. After reading this description, Job is clearly not speaking about a hippo, but something much, much larger. In fact, if you describe a Brontosaurus, it would sound much like Job's description would it not?
In the same book in the next chapter, Job begins describing a sea creature called Leviathan. Again, modern interpretations say this is a crocodile, a creature commonly found in the middle-east. In Job's description, notice he never mentions this animal being on land, where a croc spends much of his time. Leviathan is very large, can't be caught with a hook or rope, and has mighty scales that can't be broken. In verse 30 his underparts are "sharp potsherds", whereas a croc's is tough, yet penetrable. This animal also lives in the deep, much like a whale, which of course does not have scales nor tough skin. Job's leviathan appears to be uncatchable, a monster that man can't tame. Although crocs are large, mean, tough and cannot be tamed, Job not only calls it by a different name, but does not fit the description as given by the patriarch. Both animals appear to be something different than what we are familiar with today, possibly animals that are extinct.
All scholars believe Job is the oldest written book in the Bible, probably written before Moses, Abraham and even Noah, seeing as though none of them are mentioned in his book. So, if these were dinosaurs, they would be a just a few thousand years old, not millions. This could also mean that most of these beasts died during the great flood, could it not? If that were the case though, didn't Noah save at least a pair of each? The answer is yes, but we don't know when these animals died off either. Recently, a statue was found in Peru that was believed to be about 900 years old and was made by the local Indians. In the middle of this statue, with many other animals depicted all around it, was an obvious stegosaur, which of course would be "unknown" for around 1100 more years, and millions of years since their "extinction". How could it be possible that Peruvian Indians knew of these creatures unless they had seen one? Maybe, just maybe, scientists are wrong about when they died off and how.
First, the how. There are many different theories as to how dinosaurs became extinct, with the most popular being a meteor strike. That does not hold water though when considering that it only killed off "some" and not all of the animals on earth. After all, alligators, birds, insects and most mammals survived, and no crater large enough has ever been found. Disease is always a possibility, but again, there were other reptiles that were not affected. When you also consider that there may not have been near as many dinosaurs as we think, a simple dying away, something that happens very often, could have been the culprit. That, coupled with a worldwide flood that evidence of has been found on all continents, could have been the doom of these great animals.
What about the when? Scientists have convinced most that millions of years have passed since the last dinosaur walked the earth. How did they get that number? Mainly by using carbon 14 dating, which there is a long mathematical calculation that has to be considered. In this calculation, it must be determined how much C14 is forming in the atmosphere against how much is decaying and so on. To understand the whole process, please visit sites like anthropology.msu.com, livescience.com and others. According to Michigan State University, there is a major problem with C14 dating. The rate at which C14 is decaying is much larger than originally thought, almost 35% more, meaning that their numbers on dating could be off by extremely high numbers. In other words, no one can possibly know for sure how old anything is. This explains why trees on Mt. St. Helens known to be planted in the 1940's were dated 350,000 years old, because the decay was much larger than normal.
So what does all this really mean? Scientists are no closer today disproving God than Darwin was when he came up with his theory. They constantly must change their theories and calculations because as new things are discovered, they are forced to backtrack. Yet the truth of God and what He has told us never changes, and still is the only plausible reason. Why do men continue to try to prove the Bible is wrong? Because they don't believe in God, and many people simply follow along without doing due diligence themselves. You can do as I did and review all this yourself, and use the Bible in reference, and come up with the same conclusion. God is the true creator of all things, and no man or unproven theory will ever be able destroy Him. Grace be with you.
Age of the Earth and Dinosaurs Part 1
With the new blockbuster movie about dinosaurs out in theatres, it amazes me how people just believe what "educated" people tell them about the age of the earth, and the truth about dinosaurs. Of course when I say truth, I am talking about actual evidence and not a theory that can never be proven, a claim that even the most famous scientists admit. But few want to listen, and fewer even know the truth and what the Bible says on these matters. Like most everything else, the Bible is not silent on this. Again, these are not my opinions, but facts that are stated by experts and scientists, which I am neither, and I list when possible, where you can find these statements and search them for yourself. This is what I think is the most important issue in all of this, decide for yourself. Don't take the word of people as complete truth just because they have a P.H.D. or Masters, but yet can't prove anything. Study the evidence as well as the logic, and you might be surprised at the results.
First, let's take a look at how old the earth is. An exact date cannot be proven on either side, but what does the Bible say? In Genesis chapter 1, the Bible says God created the earth and everything on it in 6 days. Science of course says this is not possible and even laughable. Remember this though, most scientists are atheists, and will come up with any theory to counter anything in the Bible. In one theory, and the most famous one, they believe the universe was created by the "Big Bang", an incident that is very detailed and thought out, but cannot (according to Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking) ever be proven. This theory states that the whole universe was compacted into a very small mass, and the energy was so great that it exploded and after eons, the matter eventually formed into solar systems, with earth included. Eventually, after more eons, single cell life formed, crawled out of the ocean, and the rest is history. This of course is a much shortened version, and I am not trying to be disrespectful for some have spent lifetimes studying and writing this, so I encourage you to read more on this, but there are many problems that they can't seem to answer.
Not only does this go against God's Word, but science itself says there are many issues with it. One is this, how can life simply begin out of lifeless matter? Granted, they don't say it happened right away, but at some point it did happen, right? Well, science (or at least natural law) says this is impossible. The Law of Thermodynamics and Biogenesis, both of which are proven laws, states that matter when going through changes, is always weaker than it was in it's original state. For instance when you bend a piece of metal, it is weaker than before. It is never stronger, unless given added support by something with intelligence, such as man. Biogenesis proves that life cannot come from non-life, period. It cannot happen, no matter how hard science tries, it is impossible. Scientists all agree on this, except in the case of the beginning of the world and life on it. Where did life on earth begin? How did it begin if the laws of nature say it can't be done? Even Charles Darwin on his deathbed said he couldn't see how life started without a higher being designing it. So this should be a slam dunk for Christians, right? Enter the somewhat new theory of Theistic Evolution.
Theistic Evolution is the theory that the days in Genesis do not mean actual 24 hour periods, but could be hundreds or even thousands years apart, and evolution happened after creation by God. This appeases Christians who believe anything a scientist will tell them, but actually goes against both science AND the Bible. This theory also cannot be proven due to the facts stated above, but also goes against God's Word. How can they say the Word of God absolutely true, but was mistaken in the very beginning of the first book? Unfortunately, they are mistaken in a very key element. The Hebrew word used in Genesis chapter 1 is Yom, which is used many other times in the Old Testament, and every other time it means a 24 hour period. Hebrew does have a word for millennia, eons, centuries and other long periods of time which all can be found in the Old Testament as well, but is not used in Genesis. Why would the inspired writers do this? Because they were writing what God was directing them to write, the truth. Also, look at what things were created in order in Genesis. First there was light, then the land, then the plants which would need both land and light, and then the animals, which would need light, land and plants to survive. Granted, it may not take much to figure this out, but couple this with the other evidence and lack of evidence from science and theistic evolution, what makes logical sense? Friends, the earth and all that was on it was created in six 24 hour periods, just as God proclaimed. He was not mistaken nor misleading.
So now we come to another "confusing" subject to many. If the earth was created in six true days, the earth would still have to be millions of years old because dinosaurs are that old right? Well, what do we really know about our ancient friends? Many of us believe that there were countless dinosaurs roaming the entire earth and dominating their time. This may be far from the truth. So far, we have only found 700 different species of dinosaurs and a whopping 2,100 complete skeletons (pubs.usgs.org). Granted, there are many more to find, but how many? Compare those numbers with the numbers of other animals. There are 10,000 species of birds, 27,300 fish, 5,416 mammals and 950,000 insects. By these numbers, there were never anywhere near the amount that we really believe existed. Does this really matter though? Well, if what we originally believe was wrong, what else could be? Their age? Did they live at the same time as humans? Laughable again, right? Would it interest you to know that there is evidence that these animals might have lived with man, did not die off in a massive single disaster, and may not be near as old as once thought? Science again will tell you no, but again, is there a possibility they could be wrong? You bet. In the second part, we'll look at this as well as the problems scientists have with carbon dating and how old could the earth be?
First, let's take a look at how old the earth is. An exact date cannot be proven on either side, but what does the Bible say? In Genesis chapter 1, the Bible says God created the earth and everything on it in 6 days. Science of course says this is not possible and even laughable. Remember this though, most scientists are atheists, and will come up with any theory to counter anything in the Bible. In one theory, and the most famous one, they believe the universe was created by the "Big Bang", an incident that is very detailed and thought out, but cannot (according to Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking) ever be proven. This theory states that the whole universe was compacted into a very small mass, and the energy was so great that it exploded and after eons, the matter eventually formed into solar systems, with earth included. Eventually, after more eons, single cell life formed, crawled out of the ocean, and the rest is history. This of course is a much shortened version, and I am not trying to be disrespectful for some have spent lifetimes studying and writing this, so I encourage you to read more on this, but there are many problems that they can't seem to answer.
Not only does this go against God's Word, but science itself says there are many issues with it. One is this, how can life simply begin out of lifeless matter? Granted, they don't say it happened right away, but at some point it did happen, right? Well, science (or at least natural law) says this is impossible. The Law of Thermodynamics and Biogenesis, both of which are proven laws, states that matter when going through changes, is always weaker than it was in it's original state. For instance when you bend a piece of metal, it is weaker than before. It is never stronger, unless given added support by something with intelligence, such as man. Biogenesis proves that life cannot come from non-life, period. It cannot happen, no matter how hard science tries, it is impossible. Scientists all agree on this, except in the case of the beginning of the world and life on it. Where did life on earth begin? How did it begin if the laws of nature say it can't be done? Even Charles Darwin on his deathbed said he couldn't see how life started without a higher being designing it. So this should be a slam dunk for Christians, right? Enter the somewhat new theory of Theistic Evolution.
Theistic Evolution is the theory that the days in Genesis do not mean actual 24 hour periods, but could be hundreds or even thousands years apart, and evolution happened after creation by God. This appeases Christians who believe anything a scientist will tell them, but actually goes against both science AND the Bible. This theory also cannot be proven due to the facts stated above, but also goes against God's Word. How can they say the Word of God absolutely true, but was mistaken in the very beginning of the first book? Unfortunately, they are mistaken in a very key element. The Hebrew word used in Genesis chapter 1 is Yom, which is used many other times in the Old Testament, and every other time it means a 24 hour period. Hebrew does have a word for millennia, eons, centuries and other long periods of time which all can be found in the Old Testament as well, but is not used in Genesis. Why would the inspired writers do this? Because they were writing what God was directing them to write, the truth. Also, look at what things were created in order in Genesis. First there was light, then the land, then the plants which would need both land and light, and then the animals, which would need light, land and plants to survive. Granted, it may not take much to figure this out, but couple this with the other evidence and lack of evidence from science and theistic evolution, what makes logical sense? Friends, the earth and all that was on it was created in six 24 hour periods, just as God proclaimed. He was not mistaken nor misleading.
So now we come to another "confusing" subject to many. If the earth was created in six true days, the earth would still have to be millions of years old because dinosaurs are that old right? Well, what do we really know about our ancient friends? Many of us believe that there were countless dinosaurs roaming the entire earth and dominating their time. This may be far from the truth. So far, we have only found 700 different species of dinosaurs and a whopping 2,100 complete skeletons (pubs.usgs.org). Granted, there are many more to find, but how many? Compare those numbers with the numbers of other animals. There are 10,000 species of birds, 27,300 fish, 5,416 mammals and 950,000 insects. By these numbers, there were never anywhere near the amount that we really believe existed. Does this really matter though? Well, if what we originally believe was wrong, what else could be? Their age? Did they live at the same time as humans? Laughable again, right? Would it interest you to know that there is evidence that these animals might have lived with man, did not die off in a massive single disaster, and may not be near as old as once thought? Science again will tell you no, but again, is there a possibility they could be wrong? You bet. In the second part, we'll look at this as well as the problems scientists have with carbon dating and how old could the earth be?
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