In The Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton critiqued the critics of the proposed Constitution, who decried its lack of a bill of “rights.” Hamilton trenchantly noted that the absence in such a “bill” in several states’ constitutions didn’t prevent avid support by its citizens.
States’ defenders claimed that state constitutions had implied rights which meant the same as a “bill” since the constitutions were broadly based on British rules and laws. To which Hamilton replied that the U.S. Constitution also had such implied rights, and named several Articles. The Federalist Papers, 532 Nevertheless, only the addition of the first Ten Amendments—the Bill of Rights—to the Constitution guaranteed its passage. Unlike America’s Constitution, God’s Biblical Message has never been amended, Old or New Testaments. Nor does it need amendments; nor will it tolerate amendments. Jesus resolved that issue when he declared that any plant God hadn’t planted in his word would be deracinated Matthew 15:13. His glaring defiance of human additions to and subtractions from Bible teaching hasn’t stopped human additions and subtractions. But it does emphatically warn us that ONLY God’s WORD remains after Judgment. Which also explains how perfect unity exists in God’s new Heaven and earth. Since God obliterates all religious belief that disagrees with his revealed word, any such belief now embraced WILL NOT exist. The devotees of such beliefs will find them “burned up,” and themselves “saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” That is, fortunate that God graciously accepts them though rejecting their mistaken doctrines. The same principle applies to individual opinions now held. Some doubt Jesus performed “such and such a miracle,” or taught “such and such a doctrine.” Anyone who remains unconvinced about anything the Gospels’ say Jesus said or did may be saved, but again, only “as if miraculously escaping from a fire.” Nothing, Jesus declared in Matthew 15:13, exists in God’s Presence, that doubts, disagrees or compromises God’s Word. He has given us NO BILL of RIGHTS to protect our individual opinions! Only his Word remains in the end. The same principle applies to any personality trait that’s now negative, unproductive and anti-Christian. All such will vanish from us, as if we’re escaping with our lives from a vast fire. Now...if we don’t want to live in such a world. If we insist we can’t be happy if someone we have loved won’t be there because he wouldn’t live in such a world. If we persist in holding any position though God says he won’t accept it. If we demand the right to a belief that satisfies us, though it opposes God and Christ, God tells us: We Can Go To Hell!
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ternalThe story appeared in the Sunday edition of the Union-Tribune, 9/29/19. A Polish teen named Renia Spiegel began a private Diary, 1 January, 1939. On 1 September, 1939, German troops invaded western Poland. On 17 September 1939, Russia invaded eastern Poland.
In the 44 months between 1 September 1939 and 30 July, 1942, Renia filled her Diary with daily cares, ambitions, concerns and romance with her boyfriend. On 30 July, 1942, German troops rousted the family from their hiding place, dragged them into the street and SHOT them dead! Her boyfriend survived Auschwitz and preserved the Diary. However, for unknown reasons, it had been in a New York City safe-deposit box for decades. Only recently discovered, it has been published. The Diary resonates with the emotions haunting the Diary of Anne Frank in Holland. Sometimes, what we write as our personal history becomes unwanted public information; and what we want revealed remains a secret. Except when it’s God’s Word, Old or New. As God said in Isaiah 55:10-11, his word achieves all he desires for it, whether revealed to seekers or opponents. It ever lives, proliferates, motivates and LASTS! Written with the world’s population in mind, it’s presently read in nearly every known tongue. Personally written by GOD through chosen servants, it’s been personalized by BILLIONS throughout history. Meant to guide daily life, its wisdom to this day protects believers from the foolishness of life. Designed to prepare us for life beyond the grave, it never fails to fortify us with eternal hope. They took a break from demanding, lengthy and exhausting military meetings and planning sessions in early, 1942. Generals Eisenhower and Clark asked British driver Kay Summersby to show them some of England’s historical and military sites. While on one of the trips Eisenhower related to Clark that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor had visited Washington in 1941. They were invited to visit the War Department, even its War Room. Eisenhower watched as everyone deferred to the royal couple and answered their questions. Their American guides even let them see maps designed to prove military strategy and tactics. All the while that happened, Eisenhower listened as the guides talked—and realized they said nothing whatever to the Duke and Duchess. For a very good reason: they were not trusted because they had spoken favorably of Hitler. They would never receive any information useful to the Nazis. Past Forgetting, 30 That should never be said of anyone preaching the Bible. Wherever a teacher or preacher steps into Scripture, the Holy Spirit sinks him knee-deep in ideas. And those ideas, developed by us, should be clear, have substance, contain depth and be chock-full of challenges for every listener. God trusts common people, filled with the Spirit, to understand his Word when it’s preached at any level or depth. No preacher should ever preach simple sermons, fearing the congregation can’t fathom spiritual depths. See Matthew 22:33. Difficult as his teaching was, the common people grasped Christ’s meaning. None of us will ever preach at his depth. We shouldn’t accuse our people of inability to understand deeper teaching as an excuse not to study God’s word in-depth. New Apologetics book at: Amazon Check out Virg Hurley books at Amazon Check out Virg Hurley Digital books at: Smashwords Increased knowledge has become an asset in medical diagnosis and treatment. But knowledge of the genetic code has revealed the existence only of longer, not eternal, life. It hasn’t always allowed longer life to be active, carefree and independent. It has developed a monstrous industry of health care based on increasing government subsidies.
Should Christians, knowing that Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the grave offers a full life now, John 10:10, and everlasting life beyond the end of history, surrender Biblical knowledge to trust ourselves to medicine or technology? Movies, books, television shows, and even sermons rely on emotion to attract and maintain interest. Without denying or diminishing the usefulness of emotion, God’s Word subordinates it to intellectual stimulation. It can never be true that the less we know, the better. Nor is it true that little knowledge increases trust in God and much only independence from God. That it often happens doesn’t constitute proof that it must. It’s instead disproved by the presence of brilliant minds in history, including today, filled with both belief in Christ and masterful knowledge of one’s interest. A Christian’s Bible knowledge should always exceed his emotional experience. Only if the former exceeds the latter can our faith be anchored in God’s Word, not our feelings. Personal experience, like the human heart producing emotion, is deceptive and can be corrupt, as Jeremiah said in 17:9. Examples of human emotion in the Bible are numerous—high or low, delight or despair, excitement or dread. But Psalm 119 exalts God’s Word, as the basis of the believer’s life. Bible knowledge will always lead to deeper faith and more certain confidence in God. Only it leads to intellectual and emotional maturity. Only it protects us when emotions fail us. Only it leaves us absolutely sure of God when life circumstances seem to deny either his existence or his concern for us. |
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