KNOWING RIGHT FROM WRONG

“And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezek. 44:23 NKJV).

Our verse relates to the duties of the priests in the millennium Temple and focuses on teaching the difference between right and wrong. Thus, we want to note three truths: the importance of knowing right from wrong, the illumination for knowing right from wrong, and the instructors for knowing right from wrong.

Importance of knowing right from wrong - God lays great stress on knowing right from wrong. Folks today are not very concerned about this knowledge. In spite of the billions spent on education, our society is still in a desperate condition morally because it does not know the difference right from wrong. Of course, there are some who know the difference between right and wrong but choose to do wrong anyway.

Illumination for knowing right from wrong - The Scriptures are our guide to illuminate us in regard to right and wrong. However, the attitude is to reject the Scriptures as antiquated, and opt for political correctness and situation ethics. Both have proven to be poor guides and offers no help. Only the Bible can be trusted to guide us accurately about right and wrong.

Instructors for knowing right from wrong – The priests were the ones tasked with the responsibility of teaching the difference between right and wrong. Today preachers are to instruct in this all-important knowledge. Of course, teaching right from wrong will not make them popular with most folks. However, preachers are to distinguish right from wrong in their preaching regardless of how people respond.

(Adapted from Analytical Biblical Expositor)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him alright!”

Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662)

French Mathematician, Physicist, Philosopher, Author, and Catholic Theologian

Word Study

Embittered

In Col. 3:19 we read, “Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them!” (NASB).

Embittered is the Greek word pikraínō (πικραίνω = pik-rah'ee-no). It means to make something bitter. Literally, the word means to make bitter. Figuratively pikraínō means to have bitter resentment or hatred toward someone. In classic Greek pikraínō means to make sharp, especially with respect to the sense of taste. In the Septuagint, pikraínō means to be bitter and was never used as a characteristic of God. In the New Testament, pikraínō also means to be bitter. In the present context, husbands were not to become bitter against their wives. They are not to irritate or exasperate them, but rather to provide loving leadership in the home.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“Then I said unto you, dread not, neither be afraid of them” (Deut. 1:29 KJV).

Did You Know…

Manna stops falling from heaven for the Israelites once they had eaten food from the Promised Land (Josh. 5:11-12).

Bible Quiz

To what does Peter compare the devil in 1 Peter?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What happened to Lot’s wife when she looked back while fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah? She was turned into a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“LIVING GOD”

"And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (Dan. 6:20 NKJV).

1. Meaning – LIVING GOD refers to God as being alive and living as opposed to dead idols.

2. Insights – In context, king Darius came to the opening of the den and cried out to Daniel in anguish. He was holding out hope that Daniel’s God was able to deliver him. His reference to Yahweh as “the living God” suggests that this pagan king recognized the reality of Daniel’s God, as opposed to many idols that were being worshipped. God calls His followers to persist in faithfulness in spite of opposition and the threat of death. He shows Himself able to take care of His people even in the direst of circumstances.

Did You Know...Christian History

William Tyndale was born near the Welsh border of England in 1494. He was an English Biblical scholar and linguist.

After studying at Oxford and Cambridge, he joined the household of Sir John Walsh as tutor to the Walsh children. Walsh often entertained the local clergy, and many times Tyndale’s opinions proved controversial to fellow clergymen. Tyndale was convinced that the Bible alone should determine the practices and doctrines of the church and that all believers should be able to read the Bible in their own language. At one point Tyndale told a priest, “If God spares my life, ere many years pass, I will cause a boy that driveth the plow shall know more of the Scriptures than thou dost.”

Tyndale had a burning desire to make the Bible available to even the common people in England. He was gifted in seven languages including Greek and Hebrew. How was Tyndale to accomplish this when translating the Bible into English was illegal? His request to Bishop Tunstall for authorization to make an English translation of the Bible, was denied. However, Tyndale would not let the disapproval of men stop him from carrying out what seemed so obviously God’s will. With encouragement and support of some British merchants, he decided to go to Europe to complete his translation, then have it printed and smuggled back into England.

In Hamburg, Tyndale worked on the New Testament, and in Cologne, he found a printer who would print the work. However, Tyndale’s activity became known, and the press was raided. Tyndale himself managed to escape with the pages already printed and made his way to the City of Worms where the New Testament was soon published. Six thousand copies were printed and smuggled into England. The bishops did everything they could to eradicate the Bibles, including burning Bibles. Tyndale used the money to print improved editions!

Tyndale continued hiding among the merchants in Antwerp and began translating the Old Testament while the King’s agents searched all over England and Europe for him. In 1534 Tyndale was betrayed, arrested, and thrown into prison. After a year and a half in prison, he was brought to trial for heresy. In August 1536, Tyndale was condemned, and on October 6, 1536, he was strangled, and his body burned at the stake. His last prayer was “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” The prayer was answered in part when three years later, in 1539, Henry VIII required every parish church in England to make a copy of the English Bible available to its parishioners.

We have the Bible in English today, thanks to Tyndale, sometimes called the Father of the English Bible. 90% of the King James Version of the Bible and 75% of the Revised Standard Version are from the translation of the Bible into English made by Tyndale.

A Little Humor

After having children, Adam and Eve started getting a lot of questions from their kids about why they no longer lived in Eden. Adam has a simple answer for this: “Your mother ate us out of house and home.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“We may whitewash sin, but only Jesus’ blood can truly wash it white!”