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Did God Create Evil?

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"If God created evil then that's not a kind of God that I want to know!"... this is a phrase heard a lot. Another question asked is "if God is a God of love, then why would he create evil?" There are people in this world who like to act clever and reject the whole notion of God because of one small thing that they cannot understand, however, these questions are actually very good questions that need to be answered. We all at some point must make a decision to either accept God or reject Him. There is no middle ground, because if you sit in the middle, then you have not consciously accepted God, therefore you have in fact rejected Him. It is an important decision we all must make, therefore it is important that we know the facts before making such a decision. God does not want us to adopt blind faith. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 "Test all things; hold fast what is good." In answering the question, "why did God create evil?", first the question...

Hebrews 11:1 What is faith?

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Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen." Today, to have faith is considered by many as foolish. It is science that most people now chose to believe in. Undoubtedly science has furthered mankind and benefited us greatly, but when it comes to the question of life and death, science is still (and always will be) unable to produce an answer for us. However, most people don't stop to think about what the Christian faith actually is. Is it something for the foolish and the weak, or is it a faith that is calculated and well placed? There is no doubt that you can have a foolish faith. Many people put their faith in things that have no basis. What about the Christian faith? Hebrews 11:1 provides a definition of what biblical faith is. To understand what it is saying it is best to deconstruct the verse into two parts: "faith is the substance of things hoped for;" and "the evidence of things not seen...

1 Thessalonians 2: Are Actions More Important than Words?

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Many Christians hold the view that it is what we do, not what we say, that is most important in spreading the gospel, however this viewpoint is entirely unbiblical. The phrase “preach the gospel and use words if necessary” spoken by Francis of Assisi is often quoted to back up the view, but Francis of Assisi never actually spoke these words at all. What he did say was, “[we]…should preach by our deeds.” ( Rule 1221, Chapter 12 ). The meaning of this is completely different to the meaning of the phrase we often hear used in our churches today. Whilst some Christian believers in the ‘actions not words’ approach are sincere and perhaps naïve, the majority who hold strong to this view do so out of cowardice and fear to speak out for Christ. Granted some people are more gifted with public speaking than others, but this should not stop any of those who have chosen to follow the Lord Jesus from speaking up and out for Him: whether it is preaching; encouraging a fellow Christia...

Understanding the gospel through law and ADR

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We are all accountable to laws. It is by the law that we are able to live peaceably and order is kept. The law is good. Knowing that there are laws in place gives us peace of mind (unless you break it, of course). Countries have objective legal structures in place and without them there would be anarchy. The laws which we live by every day are based on the principles laid down by God. Man may change and introduce different laws from time to time that are not of God, but on a whole, the moral laws in place across the world such as do not steal, do not murder, do not defraud, are all based upon God and God’s law. (The picture shows the US Supreme Court building which has the Ten Commandments etched into the stone).   We all live accountable to the local laws where we live, however we are all also accountable to God’s law which is much more sovereign and unchanging than any earthly legal system. As our laws are based on God’s law, it is sometimes easier to understand the Gos...

Psalm 12: A description of today's Christians

Psalm 12: Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. 2  They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
 With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 3  May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
 And the tongue that speaks proud things, 4  Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?” 5  “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” 6  The words of the Lord are pure words,
 Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times. 7  You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever. 8  The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men. This Psalm is increasingly becoming a correct description of our world today. This Psalm is not focusing on the sin ...

The difference between the Bible and politicians

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Politicians generally have a poor reputation. Young political minds generally aspire to become politicians to try and fix the problems caused by current politicians. Rarely is a politician looked upon favourably, although there are some. Most often the reason politicians have a poor reputation is because they make all sorts of promises, but then never really act on them. A politician who makes extravagant claims but does not act upon them is not to be trusted. He is a liar and the reason for why politicians have such bad reputations. However, a politician who makes claims and backs them up by putting them into practice is to be trusted, for he has proven that he is credible. The same principle is true for the Bible. The Bible makes extravagant claims, however unlike politicians; the Bible goes further and backs up its claims with actions. This is how we know that the Bible can be trusted as God’s Word. Our trust is not based on the claims alone. It is based on the f...

Two Approaches to God

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There is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. In John 14:6 Jesus states “I am the way the truth and the life, nobody comes to the Father except through Me.” However there are two ways we can approach God. We can either approach God based on His goodness or we can approach God based on our sin and shortcomings. We can praise God for His goodness or we can seek God and cry out in repentance of our sin. The Psalms uses these two approaches throughout. Many Psalms praise the goodness of the Lord and his attributes, whilst others cry out to Him in anguish of the writer’s sin. Psalm 45 focuses solely on God’s goodness. Psalm 45:2-3 “Everyday I will bless You and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.” Psalm 118 too focuses upon God’s goodness: Psalm 118:1 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Nothing is greater t...