Good and evil.
Hebrews 5:13-14. Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Good or God.
John Bevere.
Do you know what good is? Most would answer yes, but if good is so obvious, why does Hebrews 5:14 teach that we must have discernment to recognize it? As I look at our culture, and honestly, the church, I believe we are substituting a counterfeit good – one devoid of God's influence – for the unchanging truth of His Word. The greatest deception the church will face in these last days will not be a blatant evil, but a “good" that is very contrary to God’s ways. I wrote GoodOrGod out of my own personal journey – one I hope you’ll join me on. This is about more than a book. It’s about a movement—a movement away from any form of counterfeit good we may have settled for and back toward a genuine, joy-filled pursuit of holiness, motivated by love, and marked by His presence. There is nothing better.
Good and evil.
Our idea as humans of what is good and what is evil is very different from what God says is good and what is evil.
Modern psychology states that man is inherently good and that a person’s upbringing or environment is what is responsible for how they turn out, but God’s Word paints a very different picture of the state of humankind.
Jesus himself said this about us.
Matthew 7:11.
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Not only do we as humans not have the ability to differentiate between what is good and what is evil, we ourselves are evil.
Good and evil.
The big difference between Religion and true Christianity is this.
Religion is man in his goodness trying to reach God.
Christianity is God in His Goodness reaching out to man.
Mark 10:17.
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. Good teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is good, except God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother. Teacher, he declared, all these I have kept since I was a boy.
Jesus was wanting to know on what basis this man was calling him good.
Good and evil.
The modern society in which we live has undermined all the Biblical principles that we have been brought up with in a western world that had strong Christian values due to the missionary work done by our predecessors and has replaced them with humanistic secular values that are in direct opposition to God’s Word.
This is how God views mankind.
Romans 3:10-18.
There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Good and evil.
We use the term “Good” freely especially at funerals “HE WAS A GOOD MAN”
In fact I seemingly have never done a funeral for a bad person??
In the Way of the Master course we did a number of years ago we saw that when Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort approached He was a good man people on the street and asked.
where they would go if they died, the reply almost without exception was Heaven, because they were good??
Proverbs 14:12.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
Good people go to Hell.
There are prophets, miracle workers and those who have cast out demons will not all go to heaven
Matthew 7: 21-23.
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you.
Away from me you evildoers!
Good people go to Hell.
Pastor Alan Carr gives some statistics on how "heavenly minded" America is in his sermon (Not Everyone Gets to Go to Heaven)
You might not think it, but our world is very heavenly minded. That is a strange statement considering just how wretched and wicked our world is, but in a recent CNN poll, it was discovered that 81% of the people asked, believed in a literal heaven where people lived with God after death. 81%! 61% of those polled said that they believed they would go to Heaven immediately when they died. Another 88% believed that they would see departed family and friends when they arrived in Heaven. I find these numbers astonishing in light of the wickedness that fills our society, don't you?
Good people go to Hell.
Of course, there is another side to this story. Of all those polled, 6% believed Heaven could be reached by doing good works.
Another 57% believed that Heaven was available to all who place their faith in God and did good works and 34% believed that Heaven was for those who had faith in God alone. Now, here is where a problem begins to be seen. A full 63% of those who responded believed they were going to Heaven, but they cited the wrong reason for getting there.
The other 34%, who believed that Heaven came to those who placed their faith in God (Ed: Without specifically placing their faith in God's Substitutionary Atoning Sacrificial Lamb, Christ Jesus )
God’s perspective on death.
Let us look at some examples of where what God says is good man thinks is bad.
Man views death as evil.
This is God’s perspective on death.
Psalm 116:15.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants
We however in general as humans view death as something sad and terrible.
God’s perspective on death.
1 Kings 14:4-5 & 9-13.
Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. But the Lord had told Ahijah, Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else….You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me. Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken! As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, has found anything good.
Paul perspective on death.
Paul perspective on death.
Philippians 1:20-26.
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me.
Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.
Corporal punishment.
Using corporal punishment is something parents are clearly told to do in Scripture, it is good, the world today says that it is bad .
In many cultures, parents have historically been regarded as having the duty of disciplining their children, and the right to spank them when appropriate. However, attitudes in many countries changed in the 1950s and 60s following the publication by paediatrician Benjamin McLane Spock of Baby and Child Care in 1946, which advised parents to treat children as individuals, whereas the previous conventional wisdom had been that child rearing should focus on building discipline, and that, e.g., babies should not be "spoiled" by picking them up when they cried. The change in attitude was followed by legislation.
Since July 1979, 34 countries around the world (at 2013) have outlawed domestic corporal punishment of children. In Europe, 22 countries have banned the practice.
God’s view on corporal punishment.
Proverbs 13:24.
Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their
children is careful to discipline them.
Proverbs 29:15.
A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom,
but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.
Proverbs 22:15.
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.
Proverbs 23:13-14.
Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death.
God’s view on corporal punishment.
Proverbs 29:17.
Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire.
Proverbs 19:18.
Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death.
Hebrews 12:11.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Proverbs 22:6.
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
Legality of corporal punishment.
Green: Corporal punishment prohibited in schools and the home.
Blue: Corporal punishment prohibited in schools only.
Red: Corporal punishment not prohibited in schools or in the home.
Good and evil.
Romans 8:28.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Hebrews 12:4-12. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined and everyone undergoes discipline then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.
False doctrine in the church in recent times views any kind of trial and test to be evil and of the Devil, but God is the one who is in control of what happens to us.
God’s view on abortion.
There are two main issues to consider:
Is the unborn child (“fetus”) a human being?
If so, is it ever acceptable to kill the unborn?
The answer to both questions is found in the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis.
…and Rebekah his [Isaac’s] wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her… (Genesis 25:21-22).
Note that Rebekah’s unborn twins, Jacob and Esau, are referred to as “children” (the Hebrew word used, banim, plural of ben), commonly refers to children after birth, and often has a more specific meaning “sons.”
The New Testament uses the usual Greek word for baby, brephos, to refer to the unborn John the Baptist, who “leaped in her [Elizabeth’s] womb” because of the presence of the unborn Christ (Luke 1:41-44).
God’s view on abortion.
Psalms 139:13-16.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Unborn babies are not disposable clumps of tissue, despite the claims of many pro-abortionists. And they are always human right from fertilization, because all the DNA coding needed to build each individual’s physical features is there in the fertilized egg.
Once again another command of God about not committing murder is thrown aside by our modern day lawmakers.
Stages of development of unborn child.
God’s view on abortion.
Jeremiah 1:5.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
Exodus 21:22.
If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
Ninety-three percent of all abortions in America are performed just because someone doesn't want a child!
There are four basic types of abortion being performed in America today, while two more types may be added in the near future.
God’s view on abortion.
First, there's the suction type abortion. This is where the unborn child is literally vacuumed from the mother's womb during the early stages of pregnancy.
The currette -type abortion is where the child is cut from the mother's womb with a spoon-like object.
A third type is similar to a Caesarean operation. The baby is surgically removed from the mother and allowed to suffocate, because the child's lungs aren't developed.
The fourth type of abortion is the Salt Brine technique. With this method, the unborn child is literally "pickled" to death by the injection of a strong salt solution. A few days after the injection the child is still born.
There is currently much debate about partial-birth abortions. This is where a child is partially delivered, then stabbed in the skull to have his or her brains sucked out.
God’s view on capital punishment.
God instituted Capital punishment after the flood so that he would not have to destroy mankind in a similar fashion again.
Genesis 9:5,6 &11 &16-17. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind…. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.
So God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.
God’s view on capital punishment.
God will punish man again for his wickedness because he breaks the Everlasting Covenant.
Isaiah 24:1 & 3-5. See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants… The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.
Inspite of the clear Biblical teachings to the opposite, the western world has slowly but surely done away with capital punishment and described it as inhumane.
Authority.
In this last generation that we live in.
Men have rebelled against God and Governments.
Wives have rebelled against husbands.
Children have rebelled against parents.
Pupils have rebelled against teachers.
Workers have rebelled against employers.
Church members have rebelled against the leadership.
People leave jobs, marriages, and Churches and behind the excuses that are given lies a rebellious spirit.
10 Authorities to respect.
The sovereignty of God the Father.
The Lordship of Christ.
The control of the Spirit.
The Authority of God’s Word.
The function of Government.
The place of parents.
The position of Elders.
The laws of Nature.
The rights of an Employer.
The authority of the husband in the marriage relationship.
The laws of Nature.
God has placed man within the bounds of his universe and has established physical laws with which he is meant to comply.
Requirement of rest and sleep: To restrict this for any reason reduces our abilities and efficiencies.
Man is created a heterosexual being: Homosexuality is a deviation, Romans 1 catalogues the error and consequences of departing from God’s norms.
Romans 1:24-26. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. But man says that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality and if you discriminate against gays you can be charged with hate crimes.
The laws of Nature.
Romans 1:27-31.
In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done…..
Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
The rights of an Employer.
Scriptures teach the obligations of the employee to the employer.
A Christian’s witness at work through their attitude to those in authority is a powerful tool that God can use to work in their lives.
A Christian is required by Scripture to serve their employer with the same attitude that they would serve Christ.
Ephesians 6:5-9.
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.
The rights of an Employer.
Colossians 3:22-24.
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Unfortunately many professing Christians are a liability to the companies they work for and are the first to complain and take advantage.
The authority of the husband in the marriage relationship.
Christian wives can disobey their unbelieving husbands only on the basis of a higher authority and be a testimony elsewhere.
1 Peter 3:1-2. Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
Good and evil.
The modern westernised world scorns submission and says that women should not be a doormat for their husbands and are their equals, but God says that submission is not bad it is good.
1 Peter 3:3-5.
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.
They submitted themselves to their own husbands.
Man speaks as if he is an expert on what is good or evil.
Right back in the Garden of Eden Satan deceived Eve into eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, getting her to question whether God knew what was best for her and Adam.
Genesis 3:1-6.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden? The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. You will not certainly die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Good and evil.
God’s will is good, but we need to have our minds renewed so that we can prove what it is.
Romans12:2.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Our big problem is that many times we don’t always want God’s will, we only want it when it suites us and fits into the plans we have to live a trouble free, comfortable life.
Isaiah 5:20.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Good and evil. (Billy Graham website)
Many of our news magazines carry stories of immorality. Theologians and pastors are quoted as condoning sexual immorality under certain circumstances. The Bible says “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).
Humanity has always been dexterous at confusing evil with good. That was Adam and Eve’s problem, and it is our problem today. If evil were not made to appear good, there would be no such thing as temptation. It is in their close similarity that the danger lies.
Modern social righteousness often differs from the righteousness of the Bible. Someone has said: A wrong deed is right if the majority of people declare it not to be wrong. By this principle we can see our standards shifting from year to year according to the popular vote! Divorce was once frowned upon by society, and laws against fornication and adultery were strictly enforced. But now divorce is accepted by society, and fornication is glorified in our literature and films.
Good and evil. (Billy Graham website)
The Bible says: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” God has not changed. His standards have not been lowered. God still calls immorality a sin, and the Bible says God is going to judge it.
Honesty was once the hallmark of character. But it has been set aside with an “It’s all right if you don’t get caught” philosophy. Only when we are in court are we required to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Hazen G. Werner, who served as a United Methodist bishop in Ohio, Hong Kong and Taiwan, once said: “There is no more startling phenomenon in our day than the respectabilization of evil.” We accept in stride the false promises of politicians, the misrepresentations in advertising, the everyday dishonesties of Mr. and Mrs. John Doe, the cheating on exams, the usual exaggerations in conversation and the common immoralities of our times. We no longer blush, and we’re no longer shocked by the immorality that’s going on around about us.
Calling evil good . (Grant Phillips)
For some time now, one Scripture verse keeps coming to mind, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)
Allow me to offer several thoughts among the hundreds that could easily be observed (no particular order):
I saw this morning where an Ohio woman may get 50 years in the pokey for beheading her boyfriend’s pig. I wonder what her potential prison time would be if she had murdered the boyfriend?
While we’re on animals, if you abuse or kill an animal, you’re in for trouble, but rip the brains out of an unborn human baby then throw it in the trash and that’s just fine. I have had pets since I was a child, but I have never had a problem recognizing that they are animals, not family members. They should not be mistreated, but they are animals folks, not humans! Today people have gone off their rocker in treating an animal as if it were a family member. Many animals are even treated better than family members.
Calling evil good . (Grant Phillips)
Many areas are usurping the rights of property and/ or business owners by banning smoking in public, but then alcohol consumption is brought in to replace it. I have never known anyone to use their family for a punching bag because they smoked a cigarette, but it is very common from those who love to drink.
Our government takes hard earned money (called taxation) from those who work, and rewards those who are too lazy to work by giving it to them. It’s called “vote buying” with your money, but it’s legal.
Manger scenes and “Merry Christmas” have been pushed out of sight since they honour Jesus. Instead, Satan is honoured with witches and hobgoblins on Halloween.
For those who do actually get married, divorce is quite common. “If it doesn’t work out, that’s okay I’ll just get me another one.”
Virginity has been replaced with free sex. It’s more common today than a kiss was when I was young.
Calling evil good . (Grant Phillips)
Clean language has been replaced with gutter mouths.
Clean and neat dressing has been replaced with dressing “down”; punk, sloth, exposed, etc.
Clean movies have been replaced with trash.
If a lady is raped, she is more on trial than the rapist. In other words, the offended is persecuted, while the offender is defended.
The prisons are overflowing because murderers aren’t executed, and convicts are paroled so they can commit more crimes.
Ban prayer at the ballgame, but cuss all you want.
Bible stories have been removed from the schools, and replaced with free condoms.
The 10 Commandments have been replaced with pornography.
Capitalism is being thrown out the window, so we can have socialism.
Calling evil good . (Grant Phillips)
Decency is ridiculed while filth is promoted.
I saw on the news that a little girl kissed a little boy in school. The school called the sheriff.
I have lost count of the child lemonade stands that have been shut down by city officials.
Folks, I just presented a few examples “calling evil good and good evil” and I haven’t even cracked the surface. These came to me in a matter of minutes. What is it going to take for people to wake up?
Paul Washer speaking to an auditorium of atheist students and professors said that man’s biggest problem is God’s goodness.
A corrupt Judge posses no problem for the criminal, they can be bribed but a good Judge will want justice and will give you what you deserve.
Good and evil. (Don Koenig)
In the last days the scriptures indicate people will speak with forked tongue. Darkness would be called light and evil good and good evil. This is true today; schools teach children lies made up by agnostics who teach that there are no moral absolutes; governments tells lies to their citizens about all kinds of things; corporations lie to their workers about the long term benefits they will receive; religions lie to their members about the nature of God and the true path to salvation. Lying is common in our society and few can be trusted to tell the truth.
Evolution is taught as fact even though it can be proven false by any real examination of the facts. Belief that even a single cell could evolve with its thousands of separate processes (each integrated and dependent on each other for its survival) is comparable to believing that atoms by time and chance could form into a functioning nuclear power plant that could simultaneously develop intelligence to regulate itself and interact with its customers.
Good and evil. (Don Koenig)
Parents are told not to discipline their children physically contrary to scripture and the results are seen in children who are disrespectful to parents and to everyone in authority. More and more little kids with discipline problems are then given the world's solution to discipline called "mind altering drugs".
Addictions and character flaws are now called diseases so everyone is a victim and no one is accountable for their own choices and actions anymore. Any moral failings will be blamed on the "disease" they have.
Homosexuality is being pushed as normal behaviour even though the Bible, common sense, medical science and nature testifies that the practice is unhealthy and that this practice is abominable.
Homosexuals not only want their lifestyles to be tolerated by society they now have become obsessed with brainwashing and bullying society into accepting their perverted views as being normal
Good and evil. (Don Koenig)
Abortion is state sponsored and encouraged. Therefore, instead of unborn children being a blessing from God the lack of children will be a curse to many nations. When the present generation ages there will be few to support them. The young will then find ways to get rid of the old.
The politically correct say the Creator is worshiped by almost all religions but these religions deny the only begotten Son of God that actually is the very Image of God that created all things.
Former President Bush and President Obama tells the world that Islam is a religion of peace while the world burns at the hands of Islamists who are only following the teaching of their satanic scriptures of hate..
The world is told to be more tolerant of other's beliefs but those that teach the absolute truth that Jesus is the only way to God will not be tolerated by the world.
People are taught that there are no moral absolutes, so they believe all their evil deeds are good and acceptable due to their mitigating circumstances.