Working Hard is Pointless

Ecclesiastes Pt. 6, 2:17-26

Previous: Death Comes to all

Strong’s Numbers

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge

Thus far, Solomon has showed us in chapter two that pleasure, materialism, fame, madness, folly, and life are all vanity under the sun: you cannot find purpose solely within these things.  Now, in this next section, Solomon shows us that work is also vanity, and trying to find meaning through it is worthless as well.

Solomon starts off on a rather depressing note, saying, “Therefore I hated life….” He tells us he hated life because no matter what he did on this earth, no matter what he gathered or made, no matter how wise he was, he would die exactly as the fool did and be remembered no more than the fool; because of this, all Solomon’s work and responsibilities were grievous and he hated life.  This is not to say he wished to commit suicide.  Like the French humanist Voltaire said, “I hated life and yet I am afraid to die!”  It can be tempting to agree with Solomon here, that life is worthless, but keep in mind his viewpoint: under the sun.  Solomon is exploring every area of life and every philosophy in order to find meaning and purpose for his seemingly pitiful existence.  But if you’ve read ahead, you know that the only worthwhile thing in life is to live for God.  Yet, Solomon concludes once again, “all is vanity and vexation of spirit.”

Solomon expands upon this further in verses eighteen through twenty-three.  First, he brings up a new point, saying he hated his labor, not only because it brought forth nothing meaningful, but because he must leave it to whoever should follow him.  Where Solomon showed himself to be wise and working great things, there would soon be a stranger, and who knows if his successor would be wise or foolish with his possessions?  In fact, because of Solomon’s foolishness, in 1 Kings 11, the LORD tells Solomon that he will give his son’s kingdom to his servant.  We then see Rehoboam, in chapter twelve, acting evilly with his father Solomon’s former kingdom.  And what’s worse, Solomon goes on to say in Ecclesiastes, is that this successor will not have labored for these things; Solomon is putting all his effort into his work only to grimly conclude that someone else will take it from him when he dies.  Jesus, in a parable, tells us of the man who labored for worldly things only for someone else to take what he has provided for himself.

This is a problem we all face, especially in the workplace.  I think we have all been told to complete a project by our supervisor and have thought, “even if I do a good job, someone who doesn’t care will ruin it soon enough,” or perhaps, “why should I do a good job when everyone else won’t?  No one is going to notice if I do a good job or a bad job, so it’s all the same−it doesn’t matter.”  This is exactly what Solomon is saying.  What is the point of working wisely if a fool will not take care of it afterwards?  We see this same problem in Isaiah as well.  God tells Hezekiah the Babylonians will soon take all his treasure for themselves.  Although a foreign country may not take our things, someone eventually will; this is something we cannot control.

Next, in verse twenty-two, Solomon asks a provoking question, although rhetorical.  He is simply asking, ‘what am I going to get for all my labor wherein I had toiled?’  Well, as seen in verses seventeen through twenty-one, that answer is nothing.  It is because of this sorrowful conclusion that Solomon’s heart took “no rest” in the night.  The word travail, used in the KJV, literally means occupation or task; all this worrying about work grieved his heart so much that he couldn’t rest; he was constantly thinking.  However, Solomon tells us in Psalm 127, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”  Here Solomon explains the purpose of work, which is to glorify god.  If we work without God, or try to build a profession without God as a foundation, we have done so in vain.

If we live for work, we are going to come up empty.   That is not to say we shouldn’t work hard; on the contrary, we should work with a Godly work ethic and to honor Jesus.  Yet, if we live to find meaning through work, if we try to fill our earthly void with a career, so that “we will be remembered for something great,” we will determine the same melancholy conclusion as Solomon had; we will eventually realize that we cannot control what people do with our accomplishments and possessions after we die, and when we die, no matter how great our accomplishments were, we will die exactly as the fool does.  Fortunately though, Solomon ends this chapter on a more uplifting note.

As we learned in verses one through nine, no other man in Jerusalem had more things, or the power to enjoy thereof, more than Solomon had.  In verse twenty-four, Solomon is saying that having a heart that is able to “enjoy [the] good in his labor” is “from the hand of God,” and as we will see, this phrase in verse twenty-four comes up more than once throughout Ecclesiastes.  Some might say that Solomon is trying to say to simply eat, drink, and live foolishly because it doesn’t matter; yet, what he says is actually very truthful.  The fruit of our labor does indeed come from God; after all, whom else could it come from?  “God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy” to those who are “good,” meaning those who are born again of the spirit through Jesus Christ.  On the contrary, the sinner, or unbeliever, works and gathers riches in vain since he lacks the wisdom needed to use those riches for God.  Therefore, the sinner works in vain, and God will take his “harvest” and give it to a just man, who will use it for God’s will and purposes.  Accordingly, Solomon tells us this is “vanity and grasping for the wind,” because the sinner works and toils for no reason, and he does this needlessly: it is a vanity for the sinner to gather riches and ignore God.  This section tells us that we shouldn’t worry about the fool, who will not take care of our works after we die; instead, we should focus on the good that God has given us to enjoy under the sun.  Don’t be afraid to enjoy life, money, or the fruits of your work in this life; they are “from the hand of God”!

 

Next Week: A Time for Everything

Further Study:

http://www.christchurchcentralsheffield.co.uk/toughquestions/bibleandwork

Daily Application:

Let’s face it; life is unfair, seemingly unjust, and an odd experience overall.  Bad things happen to good people and vice-versa, but luckily, Solomon underwent an intricate study of life’s purpose under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration so we wouldn’t have to.

Throughout our lives, it may be tempting to think that working hard and living wisely doesn’t matter since everyone dies the same way and there seems to be no discretion between wise men and fools; yet, the Bible tells us that eventually we will be rewarded for our perseverance.

Therefore, we need to work with a Godly work ethic and realize that our laboring is not in vain.  Although they might be when viewed under the sun, they do in fact matter to God.  And even though our accomplishments will possibly be left to a foolish person, we should work hard and more importantly, work and use our possessions for God’s will.  However, we shouldn’t be workaholics; that is a sin.  Solomon adds to this in Psalm 127 when he says, “It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.”  We need to sleep and spend time with God and our families; work is not the most important thing.

Furthermore, we shouldn’t worry about working or the fruits thereof.  Worry is a sin, and it always brings more bad than good.  Remember what Jesus said in Matthew; “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on… Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?”  Likewise, Paul tells us, “…and having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.”  God will “supply all of our need[s] according to His riches” no matter where we are life; all we need to do is have faith, run the good race, and continue to follow him wholeheartedly.  As we saw in chapter one, only God can fix what is crooked.

Death Comes to All

Part 5: Ecclesiastes 2:12-16

Previous: Pleasure is Worthless

Strong’s Numbers

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge

Last week, we saw Solomon experiment with pleasure, only to find out it was vanity.  Now, in the next few verses, he will compare the lives of wise men to those who live by “madness and folly.”

So why is Solomon considering “wisdom and madness and folly” once again?  After all, he already did this in chapter one, concluding, “I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.”  It seems that Solomon is delving into the topic of these three areas again to guide the men who will come after him, since they will only be able to do “what he has already done.”  Thus, they will likely pursue wisdom, so Solomon is writing these things for them and for us (see how humanity repeats itself).  However, there is one important difference between chapter one and chapter two.  In chapter one, Solomon was exercising wisdom, madness, and folly through the lens of life.  That is, what is the point of working and acquiring things if, “what is crooked cannot be made straight, what is lacking cannot be numbered…in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow”?  Conversely, in chapter two, Solomon will confront these three items through the lens of pleasure and gain, to find out the endgame of each and whether one has any benefit over the other.

First and foremost, he tells us it is better to follow wisdom than folly.  So much so, that he compares wisdom to light and folly to darkness.  Having wisdom is like having two good eyes, but living in folly is like being blind; this applies to all of us.  If we, as Christians, start to act foolishly, we will become blinded−walking in darkness.  Of course, this is not a physical darkness but a spiritual darkness.  This means that those with wisdom use their brains, think clearly, and make godly decisions, but those who are foolish don’t have the “eyes” to recognize which actions are godly or not−they walk in spiritual darkness.

After briefly describing to us how much better it is to be wise than a fool, Solomon tells us “that the same event happens to them all.”  What is this event?  Although it is evident, he tells us it’s death in verse sixteen.  Remember, Solomon is talking about man’s view ‘under the sun’ and is not throwing Heaven or Hell into the mix.  I say this because of verse fifteen: “As it happens to the fool, it also happens to me, and why was I then more wise?”  Good and bad things happen to wise men and foolish men alike.  There seems to be no discretion with God when looking at these occurrences with a worldly viewpoint.  And what’s worse, Solomon discovers that the wise man and the fool each die equally, and neither one are more remembered than the other after their death.  So what’s the point?  Why be wise?   Solomon told us in chapter one, “In much wisdom is much grief.”  If living wisely brings grief and it seemingly has no benefit over foolishness, there seems to be no point in living wisely.  In fact, if there is nothing more to it than this, we should all live foolishly since it is easier to do and brings more temporary, fleshly happiness than wisdom.  However, before this conclusion, Solomon told us “wisdom excels folly.”  Even though, as we will find out, wisdom is far more valuable than foolishness in the long run, it appears that even though Solomon knew this to be true, he still grieved in his heart since “the same even happens to them all.”  This illustrates that we are all susceptible to faltering and doubt.  There is nothing wrong with feeling sad or confused about the nature of the world; even Solomon went through this.  I suggest, when feeling this way, that there is no point to being wise as God instructs, reading through Psalm 73 or this site.

Through these five verses, we have seen Solomon’s venture into wise and foolish living once again.  He is attempting to find satisfaction and joy in life by saying that one event happens to everyone so it must not matter.  All the pleasures of life left Solomon with nothing; no matter how wise or how foolish, Solomon concluded that it was all vanity because each one dies the same way; no one can escape death.  Solomon continues on this thought in verse seventeen, which is where we will pick up next week.  Here he tells us about his apathy for work and life since there is seemingly no reward for the wise.

Next: Work and Jobs are Worthless

Daily Application

We all feel gloomy from time to time, and this can be especially so when reading through Ecclesiastes.  But regardless of its melancholy, Solomon’s book is very important.  In this section of God’s word, we see that although the wise man and the fool die the same, wisdom is still more valuable than folly.  Foolishness will not guide us through dark times in life because “the fool walks in darkness.”  However, wisdom is a light to our path.  It may seem that the fool and wise live differently but with the same outcome, so living for the flesh is the best option, but the Bible tells us differently.  It is true, that both the wise and foolish man die equally, but they do not have the same afterlife.  Remember, Solomon is looking at life ‘under the sun.’  We should take this knowledge and live wisely.  Recognize when there is an option to behave foolishly or wisely, and even though the outcomes may be the same regardless of which way you choose to act, the wise road is always the biblical and right choice.

Give More to Get More

What an odd statement to hear.  It sounds contradictory really, “give to get.”  So what does it mean?  Well, the Bible is filled with statements like these; Jesus was especially keen about saying them and turning our logic upside down.  It’s no wonder that some people think (and thought) that Jesus is crazy.  If I was reading through the gospels for the first time, I would too!  Jesus takes everything the world says and literally turns it upside down.  According to fleshly and worldly logic, almost nothing Jesus says makes any sense.  The ‘beatitudes’ display this wonderfully.  Take for example, Matthew 5:5, which says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  That definitely contradicts the wealth and power-hungry society we live in, which says to fight to the top and do whatever it takes to get more.  Jesus also says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake…” That is certainly upside down according to the world.  Society and the media are constantly telling us to fit in, and sadly, as Christians, we sometimes purposely avoid situations where others can make fun of us because of Jesus.  Yet, Jesus, and Paul for that matter, tells us to rejoice, because we are blessed for such persecution.  There are many more examples of Jesus’ profound logic to life, but I want to talk about giving in particular today, of which Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  By the way, there are some people that propose this verse in Acts is a contradiction; yet, as Christians, we know that the word of God is infallible.

Jesus, unsurprisingly, has quite a bit to say on the topic of generosity.  In Matthew, Jesus tells us not to perform our “charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them,” because if we do this, God will not reward us.  Jesus calls those who give for the praise of men hypocrites.  The Greek word used here is hypokritēs.  It literally means an actor or stage player.  Jesus is using very powerful wording, so let’s take this stern warning seriously.  He goes on to say that “they have their reward.”  Jesus is saying that they wished to receive the appreciation of men instead of God; thus, they received man’s esteem but lost God’s.

So what does this passage tell us about giving?  It tells us not to do our charitable deeds for the praise of men; therefore, whenever possible, we should do our giving in secret, so our “Father who sees in secret will Himself reward [us] openly.”  Moreover, giving and charity should be so discreet that we shouldn’t even “let [our] left hand know what [our] right hand is doing.”  This is really for our own good, because it’s very tempting to tell other people or let other people know how much we’re giving in an attempt to show off.  If we give with ulterior motivation, if we give in order to impress men, Jesus will not reward us.  If we are going to give alms or charity with those intents, we shouldn’t give at all.  We would be better off burning that money, because the praise of men is worth nothing!

This is extremely important to understand.  If we want God to recognize our giving and reward us, we cannot attempt to get “glory from men.”  Be wary of giving with the wrong motivations; although the physical giving may look fine, what’s in the heart is what really matters.  Now, this doesn’t mean we can’t give in public; this doesn’t mean to pass up donation boxes and church offering baskets.  It simply means to be conscious of the reason for our giving, and do not be fooled, God does know.  And since God loves a cheerful and loving giver, our motivation for giving should always be love.

Jesus shows us the degree of love that we are to give with in Matthew chapter five.  In verse forty-two, Jesus expands upon the unbiased, fathomless love that we are to portray.  He says, “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”  I want to focus just on the giving part of this section, but add Jesus’s conclusion, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”  Additionally, Proverbs 3:27 says, “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.”  We are to be perfect as God is in every aspect, including giving, and we are to give in every instance where it is in our power.  Obviously, it is impossible to be perfect in this aspect, but it is what we are to strive for.  Jesus expects to have such godly love that we should give to everyone that asks.  That’s powerful.  There have been plenty of times where a friend or co-worker has asked to borrow money, of which I was sure wouldn’t be returned, and I just didn’t want to.  Yet, our creator, our infinitely loving God who calls us to love like him, commands us not to “turn away” those who ask.  But I don’t believe that means we are supposed to be reckless.  If someone asks for money and you know that they are going to use it for drugs or to engage in an activity that dishonors God, you shouldn’t give.  Likewise, don’t give money to every advertisement and every institution that claims they are Christian.  We should research places like that before giving, because not everyone wants our money so they can glorify God.  I’m sure a lot of charities are not godly, and we should not be giving to those.  Keep in mind the passage in Proverbs, though.  This section of scripture tells us not to withhold good “from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.”  This, apart from giving, means to pay your bills and to help those in need.  The Septuagint renders this, “do not abstain to do well to the needy.”  That means if you have money or time to spare, spare it on those in need.  Don’t walk past another homeless man; don’t resist giving or helping someone just because, “you don’t have time.”  Not having time is not an excuse.

Furthermore, remember that we don’t give just to simply give.  Everything we have, every single cent we own belongs to God and God alone.  It is because of God’s loving mercy and grace that we are bestowed and trusted with money.  We should give in order to further God’s workings on earth and to glorify God.  God gives us so much; yet, he only asks for ten percent, and it is important to give to God first.  The first thing you should do with your paycheck is to give God what he deserves and so graciously requests.  Even if you only have enough money to buy either groceries or give to God, you need to give to God; he will reward you!  Additionally, the concept of tithing is not optional, and it should not be a burden.  That money belongs to God anyways, and it would be perfectly just of him to ask for ninety percent!

It is because of God’s generosity that we give, and like the upside-down logic of Jesus’s teachings, giving is no exception.  If you want more money, you have to give more away.  Paul tells us, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”  Similarly, Solomon tells us to, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.  Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil will be on the earth.”  These two passages, and the subsequent ones, tell us to sow bountifully.  The word sow, in Corinthians, is the Greek word, speirō, which literally means to scatter seed.  This verse is evidently talking about giving because of the following verse, which says, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”  Furthermore, Solomon is trying to tell us that if we give, God will reward us and give even more back to us.  Also, we shouldn’t be stingy when giving, because our days on earth are short, and we “do not know what evil will be on the earth.”  Giving and tithing is an amazing part of our relationship with God, and it is the only area in which God tells us to test him.  That’s right, God tells us in Malachi to give as much as we can and see, “if [He] will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”  God, opposed to other areas of life, tells us to “prove” Him in the area of giving.  This section of scripture in Malachi is astounding.  I wonder what it would be like if we took God up on this offer?  What if we take a leap of faith and give to God more than we think we can handle?  It takes a lot of faith to look in your bank account or at your paycheck and give so much that you won’t have money to buy as much food or gas.  But God says to test him and see if he won’t reward you so heavily that you won’t have enough room to receive it!  That is simply amazing.

Further Study:

Daily Application

We need to give to God first and foremost.  God tells us to tithe, which means to give ten percent.  This part of Christianity isn’t optional, and it really shouldn’t be a burden.  Anything over this is optional and considered an offering.  Even if we don’t think we can afford giving ten percent, we need to have faith in God.  Remember, God said in Malachi to test him and see if he doesn’t give you so much in return that you don’t have room for it.  When I think of that, the story of Jesus multiplying the fish so abundantly and this passage in Luke  immediately comes to mind.  Whatever we are giving, it should be the first thing taken out of our paychecks.  Solomon even tells us this within Proverbs.  However, if ten percent really is too much, consider starting at five percent, and raising the percentage every two weeks or so.  So now that we know how to give, where do we give?  Well, I haven’t read any verses that explicitly tell you to give anywhere in particular, but generally, giving to the church you attend is the norm.  Really though, you should be giving to somewhere that feeds you spiritually in order that, that particular place can grow and continue to carry out God’s will and further the gospel.

Deadly Morals

Deadly Morals

I love Old Time Radio.  Actually, I prefer it to television on most occasions.  There’s something about old radio shows from the early-to-mid twentieth century that’s exciting.  New innovations bring about so much creativity, and it’s amazing to see how many stories can be told.  Above all, I especially favor mystery, suspense, and crime shows.  Of course, this applies to modern movies and books, but also to OTR.  My favorite OTR show is the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.  In my opinion, it’s far more enjoyable than modern TV shows, though, television is fun to watch as well.

I’ve attached a media file (YouTube link rather) for a recent radio program I listened to, entitled “The Chinaman Button.”  I’d like for you to listen to it either after or before reading.  It brings up a very provoking moral quandary dealing with murder.  The dilemma described is undoubtedly serious, and I’m going to summarize it briefly.  There is also a movie based on this.

There are over seven billion people living on the planet at any given time.  Most of these people you will never meet or even care to know, and there exists no emotional or physical connection whatsoever with the vast majority of these persons.  Imagine, for a moment, that you’re sitting at a table alone; no one is watching you and no one is listening: you are surrounded in absolute silence and isolation.  The walls around you are thick and grey; the lackluster appearance drowns your senses with a drearily, neutral feeling.  In front of you, sitting atop the leathery, concrete table lays a button.  You would otherwise think nothing of the plastic mechanism and its hushed moan, except that hours before, a man, now long gone, revealed to you the morbid decision you now solemnly face, a decision that involved no more than the simple push of a button.  There is a man, just one of the seven billion specimens that lurk upon our unassuming rock, earth.  Half way around the world, he sleeps in the dense, city depths of China, living and breathing much the way you are now.  He doesn’t know you, and you don’t know him.  The connection between your consciouses and persons is null.  The decision presented to you is rather quaint; you can push the button, receive one million dollars tax-free, and the man will die; or you can walk out of the room with nothing.  The death will be abrupt and quiet: a complete and utter accident, but it will be your doing.  You think to your home life, in a smoggy, suburban town with a wife and five children.  You think to your simple, dull job and its meager wages.  So what do you do?  Do you push the button and send a mysterious man, whom you will never know, to his quiet, painless death, or do you walk away with no money at all?

Look up in the 2nd paragraph to listen to this amazing radio show on YouTube!

The first time I heard this question, I really thought about it.  Of course, due to my morals, I said I wouldn’t push the button, and I hope I would make the same decision if presented with the same question in real life.  However, what if you had bills to pay, were living paycheck-to-paycheck, had a surgery to finance, were dealing with a failing business, and had children to feed?  The death is painless, after all, and you wouldn’t be in trouble or penalized in any way; in fact, nothing would happen after pushing the button except to receive one million dollars in cash.  What if I told you that the man halfway around the world also had a family, friends, and a job?  Would that change your mind?  What does the Bible say?

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…”  Money, the world claims it is the incantation for happiness, but the Bible portrays a much different view.  If I pushed the button: sure I would have money, but I doubt I could live with myself, and that money would be gone one day anyway.

The radio program I’ve uploaded deals with this question, and it has a great ending.  I don’t think the radio program is Christian, but it is safe to listen to, doesn’t use bad language, or bash on God, so I’d say it’s perfectly fine to listen to.  After all, God has a monopoly on truth, and if something, even if it isn’t labeled ‘Christian,’ says something truthful, which can be used to glorify God, then it’s fine.

YOUTUBE LINK TO LISTEN

ROYALTY FREE DOWNLOAD

alternate download (may require some searching)

Wealth and Pleasure are Worthless

 VBV Ecclesiastes, Pt. 4 2:1-11

Previous: Vanity of Wisdom

‘Strong’s Numbers’ for Ecclesiastes, Chapter two

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge for Ecclesiastes, Chapter two

 

During the last two weeks, while studying chapter one, we’ve learned quite a bit.  Verse one tells us that Solomon is the author of the book, and verses two through three describe his plight in life, “What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?” (NKJ).  Through verse four up until verse eight, Solomon shows us the monotony of life and then directly compares this to our own repetitious existences.  Subsequently, nine through eleven explained the problem of not being remembered, and that, apart from God, of course, nothing new can be created.  Then finally, the last section of chapter one tells us that searching out madness, folly, and wisdom is vexatious: grasping for the wind.  Today we will start chapter two; this is where the book really starts to get interesting.

Beginning with chapter two, Solomon begins his experiment to find out what is “good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.”  His first venture into this question brings him to something that was easily obtainable given his wealthy position: pleasure.  Unsurprisingly though, he immediately tells us pleasure is vanity.  Proverbs 14:13 states this quite succinctly.  Although Solomon has already given us his conclusion on the usefulness of pleasure, he will explain how he went about it starting with verse three.

Verse three is basically an introduction to verses four through nine, which explain the vast array of pleasurable things Solomon acquired in order to “gratify [his] flesh with wine” and “lay hold on folly.”  Keep in mind this wasn’t some flamboyant adventure into evil; Solomon says he guided his “heart with wisdom” while he indulged in these things.  He took in all the folly and mirth he could get his hands on in order to “see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.”

Verses four through nine show that if Solomon wanted something, if he desired something, he got it.  Literally anything he wanted he could get.  Verse ten says, “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.  I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure.”  Solomon excelled in the ways of man, keeping hold of wisdom, and he came to the conclusion, in verse eleven, that “there was no profit under the sun.”  Solomon took a long, hard look at all the stuff he acquired, at all the women, and at all the livestock he could ever dream of having, only to find out that it was all worth nothing;  “All was vanity and grasping for the wind.”  Materialism, consumerism, sex, pleasure—in the end it all added up to a big fat zero.  I think we can all relate to this; the world and media are constantly bombarding us with the ideal that “if you get this thing, or this upgrade, you will be happier.”  That’s simply not true, material possessions don’t, and cannot, make you happy.

Next: Pt 5, Death Comes to All.

Further Study:

Study Light

http://www.gotquestions.org/materialism-Christian.html

Daily Application.

These few verses are exceptional.  Solomon’s venture into pleasure tells us that there is no point.  Gathering up materialistic, worldly things won’t fill you up!  Solomon can surely attest to this, so let’s take his word for it.  You could win the lottery, you could win five lotteries, have hundreds of concubines, and own twelve houses, and you’d still be empty inside.  That’s because, “under the sun,” there is “no profit.”  As we will surely see, there is nothing wrong with getting things, having fun, or enjoying material possessions.  What’s wrong is trying to find meaning and pleasure in these things; that’s a void only Jesus Christ can fill.

God Loves Sex

God Loves Sex

Previous: God Loves Gays

I believe this week, given last Thursday’s topic, it would make sense to talk about the restrictions and guidelines for sex that God has put in the Bible.  Many people don’t believe that God loves sex.  This is because we look at God as if he was a human, as if loving sex means to have it copiously and to engage in it with more than one person.  This is not God’s plan for sex–and for good reason.  Look, God isn’t asking much out of us.  God is simply saying that He designed sex for marriage and marriage alone.  Sex isn’t a sin; the Bible encourages marital couples to enjoy it.  But there are rules and guidelines that God has instituted for our own safety.

Contrary to popular belief, there aren’t very many rules.  Seriously, there aren’t!  A lot of people have the misconception that sex is a sin, God hates it, and that the Bible repeatedly condemns it, but these things aren’t so.  Let’s take a look at what God says, beginning with the book of Leviticus.

Leviticus has quite a bit to say about this topic, laying out the basic guidelines for sex.  After all, this was near the beginning of time when the Israelites, God’s chosen people, weren’t knowledgeable about every natural function of the body.

The main section of these sexual laws is found in Leviticus, chapter eighteen.  In the first five verses, God gives a brief overview of why he is going to tell the Israelites about sex.  We, as Christians, should pay close attention to this.  He says that they are His people, and they should not follow the evil examples set by other cultures.  That directly applies to us today.  Christians need to be sexually pure and follow God’s regulations for this type of activity, not following the world’s example, because we as a whole, and our individual bodies, belong to God.  Similarly, obeying God’s statutes in all aspects is essential for life, especially sexually, where there are so many consequences.  These diseases are a direct consequence of disobeying God’s statutes about sexual activity.  AIDS, HIV, herpes, gonorrhea, etc., all of them are uncomfortable or lethal: God is serious about sex.

The first regulation regarding sex is simple, and I’m sure everyone can agree with it.  Verses six through eighteen, which cover just about every possibility, forbid incest–having relations with family members.  This means your mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather, niece, cousin, or any immediate extensions of these (great-, second-, etc.).  This is, for us at least, simple, and for the most part, unthinkable.  However, in the time period to which God was writing, other nations were engaging in such activities, if you can even imagine.  Harrison specifically mentions that “the Persians…encouraged marital unions with mothers, daughters and sisters, on the ground that such relationships had special merit in the eyes of the gods.”

Verse nineteen, which is a little more practical, tells us not to have sex with a woman while she is in her menstrual period.

Following this, God decrees that we are forbidden from committing adultery.  This is a big problem in our society.  There are countless sites explicitly devoted to extramarital affairs.  Today’s society tells us it’s okay to have sex outside of our marriages, to have some fun, or to experiment if we’re getting bored.  This is evil, and God has no part in this type of sexual activity. In Matthew, Jesus strongly defines adultery, saying that if you lust for a woman in your heart, you have already committed adultery.  I venture to say that every single person has sinned in this aspect.

Verse twenty-one is one of those verses that seem to be out of context or put there randomly.  If you ever come across a verse or passage that seems to be out of context at first glance: look harder; these verses are often filled with important insight and detail.  Verse twenty-one is no exception.  Though it seems to be a stretch, this verse is talking about abortion.  In ancient times, Molech, a pagan god, was worshiped by the sacrificing of infants.  Molech’s adorers would heat up the statue’s metal arms and place a living and often-illegitimate child, resulting from immoral sexual conduct, onto the fiery metal until it burned to death (2 Chr. 28:3, 33:6; Jer. 7:31, 19:2–6).  Although more intense and obviously malicious, this type of infanticide can be directly paralleled to abortion.  This law is not sexual in nature, but it is still extremely important.

These next two verses prohibit, quite plainly, homosexuality and bestiality.  It is interesting that our society does not heavily debate about having sexual relations with animals (although it does happen, and is not condemned), but is adamant about allowing homosexual marriage and relationships to be openly accepted.  In Romans chapter one, Paul explains the downfall of societies, which ultimately results in, “God [giving] them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.”  God closes out this section of sexual laws saying, “Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein.”

Leviticus is not the only part of the Bible that has something to say about sex.  In fact, Paul, in addition to the passage mentioned above, has a lot to say on the matter.

The most important guideline for sex is marriage; every sexual act outside of marriage is sexually immoral and sinful.  In today’s world that is a bold claim.  After all, there are very few people who actually follow this law from God.  However, this sexual guideline is clearly stated in Genesis 2, which states, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”  I’m sure that a lot of people will say that this verse is stretching it; “it really only means that marriage is between a man and a wife.”  Well, Hebrews states it even more unmistakably: “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”  Paul, under the Holy Spirit’s divine inspiration, tells us that the marriage bed should be undefiled.  This means no sexual act outside of marriage is Christian; no sexual act before or outside of marriage is allowed according to God’s inerrant word.  Paul, in Corinthians, says, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman,” and to avoid this temptation, each man should “have his own wife,” and each woman her own husband.  God has called some people not to be married; thus, “not to touch a woman,” but to some he has called to “cleave unto his wife.”  It really cannot get simpler; yet, the world proclaims that sex inside of a dating, or even friend, relationship is normal and perfectly fine.  Christians, God has specifically designed sex for marriage, and for good reasons too.  Inside marriage means inside marriage.  Sexual activity while friends, dating, or engaged is sinful; it is sexual immorality, and God condemns it.  Most people will view this as too conservative because our society is more liberal and today’s world is far different from ancient times, but broken homes, broken relationships, and STDs say otherwise.

Hopefully, it is now clear what God has to say about sex.  But why should we care?  People have sex outside of marriage all the time, and they don’t get disease.  In fact, they might seem even happier, as if it doesn’t effect them at all.  Do not be deceived though; Paul says that our body is “the temple of the Holy Ghost” and we are to glorify God in our bodies.  He goes so far to say, “Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.”  In other words, sexual sin is so destructive, it is the only sin that is committed directly against the body; it is an earthly, fleshly sin–stay away.

Now comes the better part of this devotion–showing that God does indeed love sex.  First of all, realize that God creates everything for his glory, and everything he creates is good.  Anything that is not Godly, man has defiled and made it to be that way.  Therefore, God has made sex, and sex is a good thing to be enjoyed through the sanctity of marriage.  By the way, The Song of Solomon, which comes directly after Ecclesiastes, is a beautifully poetic book about love, and anyone wondering what God has to say about love should read this book of the Bible.  Nevertheless, Proverbs speaks about sexual marriage in this way: “rejoice with the wife of thy youth.  Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.”  Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 7:1-40 superbly defines marriage and sex.  I urge you to read this passage, as in the interest of brevity, I’m only going to point out one verse here.  Verse five says, “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.”  God truly does love sex.  He states unmistakably in Corinthians, couples should rejoice in the act and have sex often.

Next Thursday’s Topic: Abortion

Further Study:

CBN

Gods purpose for sex

Daily Application

God has instructed us, in no uncertain terms, to stay away from sexual immorality.  Having sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, bestiality, adultery, and incest are all immoral in God’s eyes.  He wants us to enjoy sex and to enjoy our wives and husbands; if we do these things, regarding God’s guidelines for gratifying sexual activity, we will have much more joyful lives and relationships without guilt.

Wisdom Doesn’t Make Life Worth Living.

VBV, Ecclesiastes Pt. 3, 1:9-18

Previous: Life is pointless

‘Strong’s Numbers’ for Ecclesiastes, chapter one

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge for Ecclesiastes, chapter one

In verses one through three, Solomon laid out the foundation for Ecclesiastes with his problem, ‘what is the point of life?’ In verses four through seven, he revealed the repetitious nature of the earth, and in verse eight, Solomon summarized these last four verses by paralleling the earth’s monotony to our own. Now, in verse nine, ten, and eleven, Solomon will show us that there is “nothing new under the sun.”

So Solomon, supposedly the wisest person that ever lived, said there is nothing new in this life. But things change, right? After all, we acquire new technologies, innovations, and ideas, so how can this be true? Granted, these things seem to be new, but they really aren’t. There is one creator, His name is Yahweh, and at the end of time, He will create “a new heaven and a new earth” when He “make[s] all things new.” The only thing that mankind can do is uncover nature’s secrets and recombine old things to make something that seems to be new. Ultimately, there is a set amount of matter and energy in the world, both of which can only be created or destroyed by God.

Verses nine and ten can also refer to people. Apart from when Jesus Christ transformed us into new creatures, people don’t change. Obviously, people are born every day, but they are basically the same and act no differently than their predecessors. Human nature has not changed since the beginning of time; that is precisely why this 3000 year-old book, and the other ones found throughout the Bible, is still so applicable to us today. Humans today try, and do, the same things as humans in Solomon’s time did; adultery, murder, evil, homosexuality, marriage, debate, family trouble, etc.: they have all “been in ancient times before us.” Jesus, in The Gospel of Luke, tells us that right before his second coming, things will be as they were in Lot’s and Noah’s days. Human nature doesn’t change; evil will persist until Jesus reigns again.

Verse eleven, though it seems to be false, is actually very simple. We have bad memories: we don’t research enough to see that what we’ve come up with is just novelty, not originality. Solomon says this multiple times (2:16, 4:16, 9:5). We should really pay attention to this since it shows up four times in one book! Yet, we won’t: “there is no remembrance of former things.” As you go through life, this will become more apparent. There have been multiple occasions where I think I’ve come up with a great idea only to find out, with a quick Internet search, that someone else has already done it. As the philosopher, Marcus Aurelius wrote, “They that come after us will see nothing new, and they who went before us saw nothing more than we have seen.” Next, in verses twelve through eighteen, Solomon will show us that wisdom and knowledge, along with life, is grievous and pointless.

Like verse one, twelve shows us even further that the author is indeed Solomon.

Starting with verse thirteen, Solomon goes on to show that wisdom and knowledge don’t make life worth living. Firstly, he shows us mankind’s perpetual desire for wisdom and knowledge. We all enjoy learning amazing things about the universe and about things we are interested in, we all love to read wise quotes from favorite authors or philosophers, and we all have an integrated desire for wisdom that has been placed there by God. Who hasn’t thought, at least once in their life, “what is the meaning of life, why am I here, is there a God, or what created the universe?” Our hearts ache to learn these things, and everyone needs to know the purpose. God has given us this “burdensome task…by which [we] may be exercised.” The word exercised here is the Hebrew word anah. It literally means ‘to afflict,’ and The Law of First Mention, confirms this in Genesis 15:13.

Solomon comments on these works in verse fourteen by saying, as he does often, they are “vanity and grasping for the wind.” Psalm 39:5-6 sums this up nicely. Keep in mind that this view is ‘under the sun,’ and finding wisdom is not without profit when done with God and with the right motivation. Furthermore, verse fifteen shows us important insight into God’s workings. In fact, this verse, which seems to be off-topic, is actually very important. Often, when searching for the meaning of life, wisdom, and knowledge, as Solomon will tell us in verse eighteen, you will become distressed and angry because of all the terrible things that are in the world. If you begin to experience these feelings, it is important to remember that God is in control, his ways are higher than yours, and “what is crooked cannot be made straight.” Verse fifteen means that you cant fix what God has done−all his ways are absolute and just. In Psalm 19, David tells us that we cannot understand God’s supposed errors−the things we think are crooked. Compared to God, our knowledge and wisdom is infinitely small; thus, we cannot make things straight that are seemingly crooked. Likewise, the second half of fifteen tells us that we cannot fix ourselves; we were born flesh, and require Jesus to be made new.

Through these last few verses, Solomon tells us he was the wisest person, besides Jesus of course, that Jerusalem ever held or would hold within her borders. Using this wisdom, Solomon sought to truly know madness and folly. Through his years of experience, he tells us his conclusion in seven words: “this also is grasping for the wind.” All the madness and folly were worthless; doing what the world did didn’t give him any more joy. In fact, Solomon became more distressed. Solomon tells us that these excavations into wisdom, madness, and folly are vanity, because “in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” I’m sure we can all see why madness and folly are vanity, but wisdom and knowledge? This seems to be an odd statement. Doesn’t Proverbs, the majority of which Solomon wrote, tell us to seek wisdom and value it more than gold? Well, both statements are true at the same time.

Notice how Solomon separates wisdom from knowledge; they are not the same thing, and the avid pursuit of each one yields different outcomes. If we go through life trying to find a solid explanation for everything that happens, we are going to come to the same conclusion that Solomon had: “he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” There are a lot of things that God expects us to take by faith. Remember when Jesus told Thomas, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”? I know that’s a problem with a lot of people, because we, as Solomon said, are “not satisfied with seeing” or with “hearing.” Always seeking knowledge will bring us into further sorrow, because we will realize just how incredibly ignorant and insignificant we really are. T.S. Eliot even wrote, “All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,” in Choruses from ‘The Rock.’” Besides, if God actually decided to show us an explanation for everything, we wouldn’t be able to even comprehend it!

Furthermore, with great wisdom comes great grief, and not everything can be solved with wisdom and experience. Look, Solomon doesn’t say that wisdom is useless. On the contrary, as we saw in Proverbs, Solomon gives praise to the search for wisdom, but as you get wiser, you start to see the world how it really is. The world is ugly; it’s filled with sinful vanity apart from God, and it’s rather depressing, to say the least. Think of it this way: children are innocent and naïve, and people who never ponder the problems of life or the mysteries of God never feel the “grief” of wrestling with these things. I can remember being in middle school, naïve to the perversions of life. Other kids would use words that I hadn’t the slightest clue of their meaning, and I was content with that. Then high school came along and I would inadvertently learn the meanings of those words. My ignorance to those worldly perversions was broken, and it brought me more grief.

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Next: Pt. 4: Pleasure is Vanity

Ecclesiastes commentary/study links

Matthew Henry Commentary

God Vine

Dr. Barrick Commentary

Daily Application

So now we know what the first chapter of Ecclesiastes means. God has given us understanding, and we need to apply it to our lives. If we don’t, we have just wasted time: there is no point in reading the Bible if we aren’t going to use it in our lives. With that said, Ecclesiastes 1:9-18 tells us five important truths.

1. There is nothing new ‘under the sun.’

2. There is no remembrance of former things.

3. Seeking wisdom, madness, and folly are grasping for the wind.

4. The excessive increasing of knowledge brings sorrow.

5. Much wisdom brings much grief.

Just because there is nothing genuinely new under the sun does not mean we should not strive for creating “new” things. Inventions and innovations help the world, and can be used to further glorify God, so we should strive to create “new” things for that purpose-keeping in mind that everything we have comes from God and God alone. Likewise, the fact that most of what we do will be forgotten in the future may very well deter us from doing anything. This is not what Solomon, or God, wants. We are instructed to be proactive and responsible with the things that God has entrusted to us. Now, realizing that nothing will be remembered by man, we should realize that God remembers what we do for the heavenly kingdom and will reward us accordingly. We should live for God’s praise, not man’s. Moreover, wisdom and knowledge are not without profit. In fact, we are encouraged to seek out wisdom and knowledge. They are extremely important tools in our walk with God. However, we need to realize that some things are just too complicated for us, some things are to be taken by faith, an obsession with gathering knowledge will bring sorrow, and an obsession with attaining wisdom will bring us grief. Instead, we should take Solomon’s word for it. He was a real person, who actually experienced these things so we wouldn’t have to! Let’s learn from Solomon (the wisest person that ever lived) and be ignorant of evil and not flirt with madness or folly. Please note that God hasn’t put theses things in here to restrict us from trying new things or to hinder us from searching Him out. God has nothing to hide. That is extremely important to realize. You can experience madness and folly if you wish, but keep in mind-you have been warned.

What is Christianity? Pt. 1: Introduction

What is Christianity? Pt. 1: Introduction

 

Click Here for a cursory look at what Christianity is.

There are a lot of misconceptions about Christianity out there.  In short, I’m here to prove them wrong and explain what real Christianity is−the way the Bible explains it.  Christianity itself comes from Christ, and it means to follow Christ, or Jesus, who was the Christ.  Christ, by the way, is just a title, it is not Jesus’s last name: it’s another word for Messiah.

Consequently, if we look at Jesus’s life paralleled to ours, we will quickly realize that we aren’t anywhere close to being like Him: we certainly aren’t perfect or completely righteous and blameless before God.  The relieving part of Christianity, though, is that we don’t have to be.  Jesus came to earth in human form and provided a perfect blood sacrifice to be the propitiation for our sins.  He lived a perfect life according to the Mosaic Law so we didn’t have to and took the punishment that we all deserve, which is death.

Christianity is a unique relationship with God, unlike any other religion on the face of the planet, past, present, or future.  In fact, it isn’t a religion at all.

We can all rest in the amazing grace and mercy that God has given us.  For we are saved by grace and not by works, lest anyone should boast!

Next: Part 2, The Old Testament=The New Testament

All the topics discussed here and in the “about me” page will be detailed thoroughly in this series.

 

What is The Bible? Pt. 2: What Does God Say?

Previous: Introduction

What is The Bible? Pt. 2: What God says

Not only is the Bible’s veracity substantiated by science and archeology, which will be illustrated later, but the Bible itself also boasts of its divinity, influence, truthfulness, and reliability within multiple passages.

Firstly, it is important to realize where scripture comes from.  Technically, men wrote the Bible, but the main source for the Bible’s words is not mankind.  The source of Biblical scripture is explained precisely in 2 Peter 1:20-21: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”  This passage is extraordinarily important to understand.  No writer within the scriptures wrote out of their own will or interpretation; every word and prophecy of the Bible came directly from God, namely, the Holy Spirit.  God also attests to the Bible’s importance and theology in Deuteronomy 12:32, which proclaims, “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”  From these passages, it is apparent that the Bible strongly attests to its own divinity.  Nevertheless, divinity without authority is useless; if the Bible is truly written by God, then it should hold an immense amount of authority.

God speaks to this supernatural authority when he says that every word that comes from His mouth will accomplish all that He pleases (Isaiah 55:11).  This is a bold statement that every word that God says will come to fruition.  Yet, as we will see, the Bible is filled with stunningly specific prophecies that have indeed come true.  The Bible, in reference to its supernatural accuracy, mentions in Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of God shall stand forever.”  Likewise, Jesus states this almost word for word in Mark 13:31, declaring, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”  This implies that God’s word is applicable to us even today; God’s word does not fade or become obsolete.  Although there is many people in today’s society that claim the Bible has no value for us anymore, God proclaims that it does (and will forevermore).  Furthermore, Paul, in Hebrews, tells us just how powerful scripture is when he states, “…the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Wow!  Could the Bible actually be so powerful as to divide soul and spirit and to discern our individual thoughts and intents?  Absolutely.  I can certainly attest to the Bible’s convicting power, and anyone who has truly studied God’s word in an attempt to better themselves has also undoubtedly experienced this conviction.  David, within multiple Psalms, directly attests to this truth, testifying that God’s “law is perfect, converting the soul,” that God’s word is wise, pure, and enlightening; and that God’s word is worth more than fine gold.  Fine gold, in case you were wondering, has a purity of 24ct, and as of 28 February 2013, a single gram of 24ct. gold is valued at nearly 51 dollars.

This vital ideal to Christianity, that the Bible’s words are God’s words spoken through man, is also expanded upon within the book of Thessalonians.  In this passage, Paul expresses, “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God…” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).   Indisputably, Paul states that scripture is truthful and indeed given to men by Yahweh, and since men have, in a sense, not written the Bible, it would be logical to say that scripture should be infallible, and in fact, it is.

The Bible attests to this reliability in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which states, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  In other words, all scripture, Old and New Testament alike, is given to man by God through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration and is able to correct, reprove, and instruct every man towards righteousness and good works.  Paul reports this same idea to the Romans, speaking, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).  Along with Paul, Peter, when challenged by Jesus if he would leave Him, declared that Jesus held the words of eternal life and was the Christ so he had nowhere to leave to.  However, Jesus’s followers are not the only ones who affirm the Bible’s accuracy and importance.

In Matthew 22:29b, Jesus tells the Sadducees, “…Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”  Jesus expected them to know the Bible and consequently, the power of God: His Father in heaven.  Jesus clarifies this power in Matthew 4:4, declaring, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”  Jesus, and likewise God, in addition to expecting man to digest His word, charges us to live by His word.  That degree of authority is unheard of; no other human on the face of the earth can so boldly command every single person to follow what he or she says.  In fact, The Revelation of Jesus Christ confidently asserts that anyone who hears the words of its contents and chooses to add or take away from them will be taken out of the Book of Life and subjected to the horrific plagues that are described within Revelation.

Through these verses we have seen that God the Son (Jesus), The Holy Spirit, and God the Father equally affirm God’s word.  Additionally, the divinity, influence, and reliability of the Bible is clearly and explicitly affirmed throughout the Old and New testaments multiple times.  From these passages, it would be foolish to say that the Bible never specifically mentions these traits.  However, should we take the Bible’s word for it without any further investigation?  Should we just believe the words written within it because it says so?  I don’t think that would be correct.  After all, we scarcely take our fellow humans’ words at face value.  Thus, we need to explore further and find actual tangible evidence that attests to the Bible’s self-proclaimed traits.

Next: What is the Bible? Pt. 3: Supernatural Fingerprints

Further Study

What is The Bible? pt 1: Introduction

What is The Bible? Pt. 1: Introduction

The Bible is the most important book you can ever read; it is God’s authentic and inerrant words transcribed through the persons of his choosing, it is his manual for life, it is one unified story over thousands of years about our Savior, Jesus Christ.  But according to most people, these things aren’t true: the Bible is full of errors and is too narrow minded.  There are many different versions of the Bible, and a lot of them say very different things.  How can this be, if God wrote only one Bible?  Doesn’t this mean that the Bible isn’t true?  After all, there are tons of contradictions in it and archeological as well as scientific evidence directly disproves the Bible on multiple occasions.

Although the evidence against the Bible is seemingly mountainous in nature, we will soon see that the Bible is indeed God’s inerrant words.

Throughout this “What is the Bible” series, which is actually a long research paper that I’ve written, I will show that the Bible is supernatural, historically/archeologically correct, scientifically correct, free from contradictions, and inerrant.  After I have proven those things, I will begin the series, “What is Christianity,” which will cover in detail everything that true Christianity stands for and believes.  These will be how the Old and New Testaments are equally valid, how Christianity is not a religion, Jesus is God, how sin affects us, what is sin, how we are all sinners, the nature of blood sacrifices, Jesus’s time on earth, Jesus’s death, Hell, and Heaven.

Next: What is The Bible? pt 2: What God Thinks

These will not be released at regular intervals.