Know Your Bible
January 1998

"...Let God Be True But Every Man A Liar;"

In Romans 1, Paul shows how the Gentiles sinned and were rejected of God. In chapter 2, he shows that the Jews were also guilty of sin and would also be rejected of God. Unbelief on the part of man has never changed the truth which God has revealed.

When man and God disagree, why is God always right? "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men"(1 Corinthians 1:25). Verse 20 also states that God has made foolish the wisdom of this world.

God is always right because man is always changing; God is not. "For I am the Lord, I change not;" (Malachi 3:6). The textbooks my children are using in school today are not the textbooks I used when I was in school. Why? Because man is always learning things that are new to him. This is not so with God. God is omniscience (all knowing). "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things." (1 John 3:20). God's book, the Bible, never changes. The New Testament is in no need of being revised today than when it was written nearly two thousand years ago. Why is that? It is because truth never changes and God's word is truth (John 17:17).

Our attitude toward God's word should be as the text states: "Let God be true...". "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5). Our attitude toward man should be as the text states: "every man a liar". This involves an absolute rejection of man's wisdom and doctrines. They must be rejected regardless of how attractive they may seem or regardless of how wise they may sound.

For example: God says, "Baptism saves" (1 Peter 3:21) but man says, "Baptism does not save and is not essential". God says, "Baptism is a burial" (Romans 6:4) but man says, "Sprinkling, pouring, etc.". God says, "You can fall from grace" (Galatians 5:4) but man says, "You can't fall". God says, "One church" (Ephesians 1:22; 4:4) but man says "Many churches". God says, "Not faith only" (James 2:24) but man says, "Faith only".
As we can see, Paul's admonition is still very much needed today. May each of us resolve to "let God be true but every man a liar" because our salvation depends upon it!

---E.R. Hall, Jr.

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Beware Of Satan's Counterfeits!

The Devil uses every means available to bewitch and deceive people. He has imitated everything pertaining to God and has been quite effective at passing around the counterfeit as being the real thing. The degree of his effectiveness can be seen in that there are many people who believe anything and everything is OK in religion. If this is the case, why did Jesus warn that we could worship Him in vain (Matthew 15:9)? We need to watch out for the counterfeits of Satan. What are some of his counterfeits?

FALSE GODS. Idolatry is one of the oldest counterfeits that mankind has fell for. It constantly plagued the children of Israel throughout their history. Today, the devil has a very well disguised god: covetousness (Colossians 3:5). It is sometimes referred to as "the almighty dollar" and the unsatisfiable appetite for the things money can buy. We live in a society where a person is measured by the things he has. The qualities of "godliness with contentment" mentioned in 1 Timothy 6:6 are given nothing more than lip-service. Many people are worshiping the god of covetousness for Satan has counterfeited it to appear as a way of life.

FALSE TEACHERS. Where are the false teachers? They aren't any! People no longer respect God's Word enough to use it to prove the message preachers preach anymore. Everybody's got the right to their own belief and practice. With this attitude prevailing, false teachers are a thing of the past. Isaiah's day was much like today: "...Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophecy deceits:" (Isaiah 30:10). The truth in the matter is there are many false prophets! "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1). Satan has many ministers who preach almost all of the truth.

FALSE DOCTRINES. It only follows that if Satan has counterfeit preachers he would also have counterfeited the things they teach. Doctrine which is genuine is the doctrine of Christ. That is, it originated with Christ. This is the doctrine that we must "abide in" (3 John 9,10). There is not another gospel but there are gospels that are perverted (Galatians 1:6,7). These "gospels" sound a lot like the real thing; just like a counterfeit twenty dollar bill looks like the real thing. Yet, regardless of our honesty or sincerity, we are holding a worthless piece of paper in our hand. So it is in religious matters. Regardless of our sincerity, if we believe and practice a doctrine that originated with man, our religion and worship is vain. (Matthew 15:9). No matter how long we have practiced a certain belief or been recognized as a member of some religious organization, that does not make it right any more than the possibility that a counterfeit twenty dollar bill will become worth $20 if we continue to carry it around in our billfold or pocketbook.

WATCH OUT for Satan's counterfeits! They look and sound mighty convincing.

---E.R. Hall, Jr.

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Responsibilities Of A Wife II

The responsibilities of a wife can also been found in Genesis 2:18, 21-23. "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him." "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." As a "help" to her husband, the woman's responsibilities as a wife are specifically spelled out. The word "meet" means "to correspond to" or "to be suitable for". There are numerous ways in which a wife is suitable.

To be fruitful. Genesis 1:28 mentions the most basic example of suitability and completes what man cannot do alone. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,..." The woman of faith accepts this as an honorable role with joy and gratification.

For companionship. Genesis 2:18 states: "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone;..." Man and woman are compatible to be friends, to be companions, and to share life together. Talk to any widower about the importance of companionship. He will not talk about sexual satisfaction, the need of a housekeeper, nor the lack of a cook that makes his days seemingly never end. Instead, he will talk about the emotional bond that blends two hearts and lives together as one. This is the thing that is fundamental to the completeness of man and woman. When a wife fails to be the emotional support her husband needs, she has failed in a basic role assigned by God.

For affection. Older women are to "...teach the younger women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children," (Titus 2:4). Husbands need love just as little children do. Many women fail to realize how much a man is dependent upon the approval and acknowledgment of a woman. Nothing helps a man more than being praised by a woman and if he receives more praise from another woman other than his wife, this may be the first step toward infidelity. The "love" of this passage is not the "devote care" like the agape love but it is "affection" or "tender feeling" of phileo love. A man wants to be admired. He needs to know his worth. He yearns for esteem from his wife. Compliments from the boss and close friends are nice but nothing can substitute for the compliment his wife might give him.

For sexual needs. 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 speaks of "due benevolence" which both the husband and wife are to render unto one another. If these "dues" are not rendered, they defraud and Satan can get an advantage.

To be keepers at home. Two passages in the New Testament which show the suitability of woman to help man are 1 Timothy 5:14 ("guide the house") and Titus 2:5 ("keepers at home"). While man is to work by the sweat of his face to provide for the family (Genesis 3:19), his wife is to be his helper by working in the home.

We cannot help but be reminded of Proverbs 31 and the virtuous woman. She rises early and prepares meals for her family (v.15). She spins yarn that is woven into carpets and cloth for garments (vs. 14,19,22). She looks well to the ways of her household (v. 27). No work is more important or vital to the health of the family than the work God has assigned the woman in the home. Ask any child who is greeted with a kiss and a fresh batch of warm cookies when he come home from school. Ask any husband who comes home from work and opens the door to find the warm aroma of supper being cooked. Why would anyone label this work "demeaning" or "slavery". A wife in the home is a co-partner with her husband in the life of that family. What she provides is of equal, if not greater value, than the money the husband brings home. Both are doing what God has ordained and neither of them should be ashamed. The woman, most certainly, should not feel inferior or that she is some "second-class citizen."

---E.R. Hall, Jr.

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