THE POUND
PROCLAIMER
Volume III
June 2008
Number 8
Sing
to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day
to day. Psalms 96:2
WRONG IS ALWAYS
WRONG!
Don Wright, Jr.
If you took a survey asking people what some of the greatest dangers facing our society are, you would probably get a variety of answers. You would hear about things such as inflation, unemployment, crime, or someone, somewhere would make reference to the hole in the ozone layer as a major problem that threatens our world. The truth is, the biggest danger that confronts this world today is immorality.
What is
morality? Morals refer to rules or habits of conduct with reference to
standards of right and wrong. To be moral means to conform to the standards of
what is right and just behavior. To be moral is to be ethical and virtuous,
qualities that are lacking in this country of ours. Omar N. Bradley once said,
“Ours is a world of nuclear giants, and ethical infants,” and he was right.
Another important question is who determines what is right conduct? What is to be the standard judging what is right and wrong? There is much moral skepticism in our society today. Moral skepticism is any theory that maintains that moral principles can not be established. To the moral skeptic, morality has no rational basis and the difference between right and wrong is simply a matter of opinion or taste. So then, in this world of moral skepticism, we must know what makes a thing right and what makes a thing wrong. The truth is found in God. God is the Creator and we are just creatures. Such being the case, God is the One, and He is the only One, who determines what is right and wrong. Has God set forth an absolute standard of morality that is applicable to all people of all time? Yes! That standard is the written Word of God. The Bible is our code of ethics. The Bible is our measure of right and wrong, and it is that standard whereby we shall all someday be judged (John 12:48).
Since we indeed have an absolute standard, we should recognize that whatever that standard says is wrong is wrong. Wrong is always wrong no matter what!
When one does something wrong sincerely, it is
still wrong.
People who
violate the standard of God’s Word do not always do it on purpose. Sometimes
people think they are doing right when they are actually doing wrong. We don’t
have to look any further than the book of Acts for an example of this. Before
Paul was converted to Christ, he persecuted Christians with all his might (Acts
8:1-4; 9:1-2). Was Paul trying to do wrong? No. Indeed, Paul thought
with all his heart that he was doing right. Paul said, “… I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (Acts
23:1), and “I verily thought
with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of
When one does something wrong and it is
accepted by the majority, it is still wrong
In Exodus 23:2 we read, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil ...” Just because the majority thinks that something is right doesn’t mean that it is. The majority of the Jews rejected Christ as the Son of God (John 1:11). Nevertheless, their actions were still wrong. In the days of Noah, the majority of people had thoughts that were only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). The corruptness of heart led to sinful living by the majority of people on earth and that in turn led to the flood.
Numbers never determine right or wrong. As we have seen, the Bible is God’s standard for right and wrong. It doesn’t matter how many people think that the moral standard of God’s Word is foolish. It doesn’t matter if most people refuse to live by God’s Word. We will all be judged by the Word of God regardless of what the majority does. It behooves us to remember that the majority of people are going to be lost (Matthew 7:13-14). Wrong doesn’t suddenly become right because the majority is doing it. When a child says to a parent, “well everyone is doing it,” a responsible parent isn’t going to say, “Okay then, it must be right.” Wrong is still wrong even when the majority thinks it right. Fornication is wrong! Abortion is wrong! Homosexuality is wrong! Denominationalism is wrong! These things are wrong because God says they are wrong. Man doesn’t have a say in the matter. Wrong is always wrong!
When one does something wrong in secret, it is
still wrong
Too many people think they can get away with sin, because no one finds out about it. Sometimes even very religious people do wrong things in the privacy of their own home that they would not think of doing in public. However, secrecy does not make a wrong thing right. Wrong is still wrong when nobody knows about it except for the wrong-doer. The truth is, though, that the wrong-doer is never the only one to know about a wrongful act. There are no secrets with God. The Hebrew writer made this clear when he wrote, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13).
These words would cover, not only the outward acts of a person, but also the inner thoughts as well. David once affirmed that God knew his thoughts afar off and such is the case with every one of us. So then, what do we learn? If I demonstrate a hateful disposition toward my fellowman by some outward act, that’s wrong. But if I only have hateful thoughts and feelings towards my fellowman, though no one knows about them, they are still wrong. If I go and watch an R rated movie that is full of immoral activity in a public theater, all accept that is wrong. But if I watch that same movie in the privacy of my own home on HBO, though nobody knows about it but God, it is still wrong. It matters not if no one sees our sins. Private sins done in secret will condemn us just as fast as public sins that are known by others. Wrong is always wrong!
Breaking God’s law is always wrong. Lying is always wrong no matter what the circumstances may be. Stealing is always wrong. There is never any justification for wrongdoing. From a human standpoint, we may understand why a person does something wrong in certain situations, but understanding why something wrong is done and justifying the act are two different things. Wrong is always wrong!
via – THE WORD OF LIFE – Vol. 6, No. 23
The Editor’s
Page
The greatest deterrent we face in our Christian walk is ‘mammon’. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). Mammon is a common Aramaic word for riches. As it is used in Matthew 6:24 and in Luke 16:9, 11, 13, it means wealth in its literal sense. This is clearly seen in the English Standard Version quoted previously. This doesn’t mean we should limit mammon to just money, for in its general sense it encompasses all that is sinful in this present world.
There are many things that vie for our attention. At the fore front, we find money and material possessions. While wealth is not sinful in itself, it tends to occupy our hearts to the point of drawing us away from God. The temptation of wealth is so powerful it overcomes the best of us from time to time. This makes worship of mammon a problem that no Christian can afford to ignore.
Rich and poor are relative terms. This causes Christians to look upon being rich as something they are not. Many think of themselves as poor regardless of their numerous material possessions.
What if the Christian’s assessment of his wealth is true? Does being poor exempt one from the temptation to serve mammon? Jesus’ audience on this occasion no doubt consisted of more poor people than rich when He spoke, “You cannot serve God and mammon”. The choice between serving God or mammon is a fundamental decision that every Christian who lives in the world must make, whether rich or poor.
When money and wealth are made one’s top priority or interest in life, that person becomes a servant and worshiper of mammon. As Christians, we know that God gives gifts to those who are His. The earth and all in it was created for man as a means of his survival and pleasure. Even when it comes to the good things that are blessings from God, we must make a choice of whether to worship the Creator or the creation. When our desire is fixed upon the money and the wealth God has entrusted to us, we quickly lose our way in our journey toward heaven. It is evident a Christian has become a worshipper of mammon when they only give God the left over of their money, time and love.
The truly foolish man is the one who underestimates the seductive, powerful pull on the human heart that is exerted by mammon.
We have an example of one who set spiritual matters as priorities in his life. I speak of Enoch in Genesis 5:22-24. He walked with God for three hundred years. God rewarded Enoch by ‘taking’ him so that he did not see death. On the other hand, we have an example of one who made money his priority in life. The young man of Luke 18:18-23 turned away from the Lord, because he could not part with his possessions.
Had we observed the life of Enoch, what would we have seen? What if we had observed the life of the rich young man? Could we, as an objective third party, have seen a difference in the two? I believe all who are honest will admit that an objective third party can look at the ways we spend our money and determine where our priorities reside.
What does the
objective third party observe in you? Does he see an Enoch or a rich young man?
THE LAST WORD
####################
WHAT MUST
I DO
Hear: Rom 10:17
Believe: Heb 11:6
Repent: Lk 13:5; Ac
17:30
Confess: Matt 10:32; Ac
8:36
Be Baptized: Ac 2:38;
22:16
TO BE
SAVED?
###################
FAMILY
MATTERS
AUDIO SERMONS & RADIO PROGRAM:
If you would
like to hear a sermon you can access our Audio Sermons page. Also on this page
is a place to access our radio program [WALKING BY FAITH]. Place your cursor
over the title, WALKING BY FAITH radio program and click. This will take you to
a page where you can download a program. The program is a weekly so there will
be a new program uploaded each week. We also keep the sermons updated as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Pound church web site = www.poundchurchofchrist.org/
WALKING BY FAITH
9 AM
102.3 WDXC Radio
The Pound Proclaimer is published monthly by the Pound
All articles by the editor unless
otherwise stated
Editor: Glen Young
Phone: 276-796-5767=Office
804-365-8694=Home
Time of Services
Sunday: Bible Classes—10 am
Assembly—11 am
Assembly—4 pm
Wednesday: Bible Classes—7 pm
E-mail: gyoung47@comcast.net
All questions or comments regarding the
content of this bulletin should be directed to the editor. He may be reached at
the e-mail given above or at
Our desire is to send The Pound
Proclaimer to those who want to receive it.
If you received The Pound Proclaimer and
do not want to receive it in the future, you may unsubscribe by clicking here
- ebulletin-unsubscribe@poundchurchofchrist.org
If you are not subscribed to The Pound
Proclaimer and wish to subscribe click here - ebulletin-subscribe@poundchurchofchrist.org