THE STRUGGLE OF FAITH

     Throughout history men have placed their faith in the direction of their desires. This has been both a blessing and a curse to civilization. For the morals guiding one’s decisions determines the outcome whether for a legacy of admiration or one of abhorrence. In the warfare between good and evil there can only be one or the other. And whichever one is exercised is strengthened, while at the same time the other is weakened.

     Whatever attracts man’s attention and holds it, this tends to be the course that is chosen. And the broad range of morals in the choices accounts for every blessing and abuse of life: everything from warmongers to saviors; the arrogance of pride to the humility of sacrifice.

     There are many things where our faith is unwavering. Everyone has faith in the knowledge that you can’t breathe under water. Although this is an obvious boundary between faith and presumption it is a clear example. Presumption has cost untold lives, from military campaigns to man’s industries assaulting the balance of nature. The Bible’s wisest man, King Solomon gave precise counsel on the boundaries where our safety lay. Among his many counsels in the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes it is written, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Prov.14:12.

     Suppose I take you to the top of the Empire State building in New York City, and I tell you with full confidence, “I believe I can fly. I can jump off and fly like a bird and glide safely to the ground.” And you, being my good friend assure me, “What? The laws of physics will not let you, man!” But again, I reinforce my objective, declaring as a Christian my faith in Christ’s words when He said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Mk.9:23. Now you get very worried for me, declaring, “If you jump, you will plummet to the earth and perish!”

     The lesson is simple: we either conform to GOD’S established laws or we perish in their violation. And the Bible is resounding that the laws of physics and morality go hand-in-hand, and there can be no separation of the two. It is the belligerent arrogance against GOD’S established laws that accounts for every crime and needless loss of life throughout history. And this compass heading of civilization will never end.

     There is a similarity between the character of the human race and cancer. Cancer cells live and multiply until they destroy the human body. But when the body dies what happens to the cancer? It perishes with the body. This is precisely man’s relationship to the Earth. We are the cancer, and the Earth is our host. And we are slowly but surely destroying this world. The environmental and medical evidence is overwhelming. And only man’s conceited presumption stands in denial of this future. Man presumes the intellectual aptitude to defeat this Frankenstein of our own devising. But as the human body has its limits of healing, so does this planet. And man has crossed the tipping point.

Enter, Jesus Christ.

     In order to accomplish our deliverance, GOD could only redeem what man is by becoming what man is in order to bring man to Him where He is.

This was the purpose of Jesus Christ.

     To take the time to study how the One we call Jesus has always been and will ever be the “Servant,” “Saviour” & “friend” of the human race, and how our Creator took it upon Himself to see His children through the turmoil of life to bring us to the place of eternal safety, by His flawless, virtuous life and victory over the dominion of death is the grandest knowledge that can be learned and taken to heart in a death-bound world. Through the life of Christ we can see the common ground between our deep aspirations and the will of GOD to fulfill each and every one.

     Man instinctively desires to rescue those in need, whether of the hungry, the poverty stricken—the unjustly treated. People desire to see everyone safe. There are many stories where individuals took it upon themselves to rescue someone from the pit of poverty, of sickness—of abuse. In fact, among life’s greatest joys is to provide this gallantry toward our fellow man. This deep yearning is a gift from our Creator Who Himself feels the same. This is why He established the Gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

     But, for every act of kindness and compassion there is a price to pay. The compassion of man for his fellow man stands among the most hindered and exploited virtues. How many of you have opened your hearts for the needs of another, only to suffer for your kindness? This illustrates more than any other the tyranny of sin that rules over the Earth.

     And then came the Supreme Gallantry in the Person of Jesus Christ. He came to show how men could live in peace. His every deed, word and promise spoke of our rescue from this system of life that opposes our desire for good and robs from us our most profound aspirations.

     We know what Jews and Romans did to Jesus Christ. They were bitter opponents of each other. And yet, these bitter enemies united to crucify "the Son of God." And it is no different today. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." Eccl.1:9. The character of man has not changed.

     But one day Jesus will come and restore all that was lost through sin. He will one day come to rescue all who desired to live a righteous life from the living and the dead, as He promised: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” The Apostle Paul added: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them [the resurrected righteous] in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Matt.24:30,31; I Thess.4:17.

     Until Christ’s return becomes a reality at “the end of the age” every believer is called to exercise prayerful service toward GOD & our fellow man. With GOD'S Presence in our lives, inspiring wise decisions for both our personal growth & ability to bless others our best legacy can be achieved. Along the way we discover that man's desire for perfect justice and GOD'S virtuous judgment is in perfect agreement. Everything we desire but have been denied in this world is included in the prophetic promises of Jesus Christ. He has given His assurance that every hope for utopian life will be fulfilled in the “new earth.” And He has provided sufficient evidence: through nature, common sense, our universal desire for justice, mercy & love, and the Book we are free to employ in our prayerful investigation: the beloved King James Version of the Holy Bible. Only the Protestant manuscripts that became the KJV can historically be traced back to the hands of the Apostles. Only these manuscripts stand as the inerrant Word of GOD.

     In closing, simply contrast the promises of GOD with the simple reality that the people of earth are on a collision course. Both the Bible and common sense teach that mankind is destroying the “vital organs” of the Earth's ecosystems. Man is literally dismantling the balance of nature that secures the safety of life. This is evident by the ever-increasing pollution, resource depletion, and corporate extermination of the biodiversity that preserves life. The Bible calls this sin. In essence, man has failed miserably as stewards over the Earth and the Bible has given prophecy on what should be obvious to all: that mankind is destroying all life on Earth including his own. This course to self-destruction was inevitable from the moment sin took dominion of the Earth. But we do not have to perish with this present world. The Creator has made a way of escape! And just how this is accomplished we are free to explore: logically, ethically, and Biblically.

     In this study contrasting GOD’S ways to that of man’s is also exposed the unethical practices employed by today's religious institutions that are defiant to GOD'S character and purposes, actually opposing our standards of goodwill as well as the Bible’s ethical boundaries revealed by Jesus Christ.

     Through illustrations contrasting the Law of GOD to the laws of men; the life of Jesus Christ vs. the lives of selfish men, the persevering graduate of this education will obtain a sufficient coordination to withstand every temptation to violate the only Law whereby we are safe in one another's care: “the law of liberty:” GOD'S Emblem of Universal Peace: The Ten Commandments.

     The social fabric of heaven will one day reside on the Earth, “and none shall make them afraid.” Mic.4:4.