Month: January 2022

In This Issue:
If Eve said, “No!”
Clouds and Sin
The Curse of Sin
The Tree-killing Worm
The Love of Sin

Volume: 843       January 24, 2022
Theme: Sin

FREE Printable versions of THE BIBLE VIEW (including large print and church bulletin inserts) are available at https://www.openthoumineeyes.com/

Are you reading the Bible every day?  Learn something taught in a KJV chapter from a included short commentary, read the chapter and more spiritual “meat.” Have the Daily View Devotion e-mailed to you. Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to start receiving it.

If Eve Had Said, “NO!”
Bill Brinkworth

Genesis 3:1-19 tells the well-known story of Eve and Adam’s disobeying God.  Because of this first sin, humanity has been plagued with iniquity and its consequences.  One wrong decision changed all mankind and the Earth.  Sin has a terrible price tag.  No one gets away from its costly wages.

What happened when Eve disobeyed:

• She thought God was not right.  The fruit did taste good, and they did not die — right away.
• Adam and Eve had to be clothed.  Innocent animals lost their lives so that the couple’s nakedness was covered.
• Adam and Eve could not have fellowship with God anymore.  The one-on-one conversations with the Creator in the Garden ceased.
• Eve, and all women after her, have had pain in childbirth.  Women would not have that experience if sin did not enter the human race.
• The ground was cursed.  Now, there are weeds that overcome most crops.  Before God cursed the land, there were none.
• Work would not have been as hard.  There would have been no sweat in hard labor.
• Physical death entered into our lives.
• All people now commit sin

What happened when King David sinned:

• King David’s wrong decision started with his staying home from battle.
• He did not obey God by going to war.  He tarried.
• He looked at a bathing woman.  His peeping led to adultery between him and Bathsheba.
• David conceived a child out of wedlock with her.
• The King deceived Uriah, his faithful soldier and husband of Bathsheba.
• David was involved in Uriah’s death.
• David and Bathsheba’s baby died.
• David’s sons were disobedient, and some died early deaths.

Other great men and women sinned and “paid” its terrible consequences:

• If Samson had not sinned, he would not have lost his strength, sight, and position to judge Israel.
• If the people of Israel had not sinned, they would not have been attacked by serpents, faced starvation, and would have been allowed to see the Promised Land.
• If Moses had spoken to the rock as God commanded him, he would have entered the Promised Land.
• If Herod had not boasted, he would not have been eaten by worms.
• If Aaron and Miriam had not talked about Moses, Miriam would not have had leprosy.
• If Jonah had obeyed God, he would not have ended up in the belly of a whale.
• If Haman had not been bitter against Mordecai, he might not have died by hanging.
• If Judas had not “given place to the devil,” he would not have been used to identify Jesus so He could be killed.
• If the soldiers had gotten saved, they would not have nailed Jesus to the cross.
• … and on the list could go from biblical examples of sin’s wages.

As the Bible confirms, there is a price tag for committing what God forbids. No one gets away with sin. Those guilty of iniquity will have their lives changed because of it:

• Some will have a divorce because they did not wait on God’s choice of a mate.
• Some will flunk in school because they would not learn the right way and cheated through school.
• Some may end up in jail because they cheated on their taxes, stole cars, did drugs, etc.
• Some may hurt someone physically because they watched the wrong TV shows and got desensitized about harming others.
• Someone may be addicted or killed by drugs because their desensitization to sin started with a sip of daddy’s beer.
• Some may be killed in a car accident because they disobeyed their parents and snuck out at night.
• Some girls may have children out of wedlock because they would not listen to their parents about how, who, or when to date.
• Some may be crippled by fighting because they did not listen to their parents and stay away from the wrong people.
• Some may not graduate high school because they are too lazy to study.
• Some may go to Hell and burn forever because they worried about what their friends would think if they got saved and lived according to God’s will and way.

If Eve had said “no” to sin then, we might not be battling its tempting grip today. All sin has consequences — either here or in eternity.  Most know this because they have seen what others have reaped by sowing iniquity and have seen the damage it has done in their lives.  Why do we willingly commit it and think we can get away with it?

“God hates the sin, but He loves the sinner.”  — D. L. Moody

Clouds and Sin
John Bate

• Clouds sometimes obstruct the beneficial influences of Heaven coming upon the Earth.  Sin also prevents the blessings of God from flowing into the hearts and lives of men.
• Clouds have their origin on the Earth.  Sin originates from below and never from Heaven.
• Clouds can create a powerful, damaging electric field.  Sin also damages humanity, and ruins lives with the storm it can bring.
• Clouds assume every variety of shape, color, and duration.  Sin has no set form but varies according to persons, circumstances, times, and places.
• Clouds cannot be dispersed by any human force.  Sin also cannot be forgiven by any power except by One that is Divine!

“Oh, what authority and show of truth
Can cunning sin cover itself withal!” — Shakespeare

The Curse of Sin
Dr. J. Parker

O sin!  How it has cursed us!  It has thrown up a barrier between ourselves and God.  With its chilling breath, it has extinguished the light of our household joys.  It has robbed us of joys and filled the air with discordant cries.  Sin has unsheathed the sword and bathed itself in human blood.  It has dug every grave on the Earth.

Without it, we should not have known the name of a widow or orphan, tear or sigh, and sorrow.  Because of sin, our hearts are torn by pain and anguish, and our joy is gone!

“Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”  II Timothy 2:22

The Tree-killing Worm
Author Unknown

While touring a park of towering trees, a guide pointed out one.  “That fine tree,” he said, “was killed by a single worm.”

We learned that the tree was as healthy as any in the park two years ago.  A wood-worm, about three inches long, was observed to be forcing its way under the bark of the trunk.  It caught the eye of our guide.  Although he was warned that the worm could kill the tree, our guide left it alone as it seemed improbable to him that the black-headed worm could do such damage.

After a time, it was found that his assumption was wrong.  The worm indeed had tunneled its way a considerable distance under the bark.  The following summer, the tree’s leaves dropped off very early, and in the succeeding year, it was a dead, rotten tree.

I am reminded that there is a lesson to be learned from that tree’s demise.  How many have ruined their lives by a single, harmlessly-appearing sin!

“To cover sin with a layer of earnest efforts to do right will not take the sin away.  The underlying sin will assimilate all the dead works that may be heaped upon it, and the result will be a greater mass of sin.”  — Arnot

Love of Sin
T. Watson

It is worse to love sin than to commit it.  A man may commit sin through temptation or ignorance, and when he knows it to be sin, he is sorry for it.  He that loves sin, however, puts his will into the sin and heaps the danger onto one’s life.  The heart allows it to continue, and sin’s consequences will reap much havoc.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

In This Issue:
Not Even Ten
We Have Lost Our Way

Volume: 842     January 17, 2022
Theme:  Sin’s Consequences

FREE Printable versions of THE BIBLE VIEW (including large print and church bulletin inserts) are available at https://www.openthoumineeyes.com/.

All should read the Bible daily!  While at your computer,  go to www.DevotionsFromTheBible.com and read a chapter each day, and learn something from what you read. SIGN-UP to have the FREE devotion e-mailed (Mon.-Sat.) and read a devotion, the KJV chapter, and more spiritual “meat.”

Not Even Ten!
Bill Brinkworth

Lot and his uncle, Abram, had amassed great wealth and belongings.  Their servants and laborers lived and worked together.  As expected, there was strife between the two companies.

Abram, in his wisdom, realized that the two groups, their livestock, and workers, should separate.    The patriarch allowed his brother’s son to pick (Gen.  13) where he, his possessions, and workers would go.  Lot chose the choicest land.

Although the city Lot picked was prosperous, and the surrounding lands were lush,  it turned out to be a terrible, costly choice.  He chose to inhabit Sodom.

There was great wickedness in the city and included violence and rampant homosexuality.  Its indulgence in iniquity angered God Almighty.  So much was the Creator outraged by the out-of-control lasciviousness and other sins, he planned to destroy it and other surrounding cities.

The Lord shared His plans (Gen. 18) for the city with Abram (at this time known as Abraham).  On hearing that God was to destroy where his nephew dwelt, he pleaded with the Lord to spare Lot’s dwelling place.  At first, he reasoned with God to spare the city if 50 righteous people were found among those committing grievous sins.

Perhaps Abraham thought some and then remembered the rumors of atrocities occurring in the city.  He lowered his request to 45.  More consideration was most likely given to the community’s wickedness.  Then he dropped his plea to God for 40, then 30, then 20, and finally asked God if He would spare the city if only ten righteous people were found.

God’s angels went to the city and warned Lot of Sodom’s soon demise.  On hearing of the impending destruction, he pleaded with his daughter’s husbands to get their family’s to flee.  They would not.  Ten righteous people could not be found.  All he could gather to leave were his wife and two daughters.

As they took flight, perhaps by being so enamored with Sodom’s worldly pleasures and luxuries,  Lot’s wife looked back one more time at the place she would miss.  Because she disobeyed God’s commandment not to look back, she was turned into a pillar of salt.

The two young ladies may have escaped destruction from raining fire and brimstone, but their minds were corrupted by the ideas and sights they had experienced in Sodom.  Without his knowing, they committed incest with their father.

Lot, who knew what was righteous, got too close to sin and paid an outrageous price for it.   Because of his poor decision, he lost his married daughters, sons-in-law, wife,  wealth, and his virgin daughters were spoiled by the city’s behavior to which they were exposed.  His focus on the trinkets that fluttered before his eyes cost him more than he ever imagined his temptation and toleration for worldliness and sin would cost him.  The man was in a place a godly person should never have been.

Many shake their head and wonder why a man who had “it all” would make such a poor decision and lose the important things in his life.  Unfortunately, most, including many Christians, make similar poor choices, as did Lot.   They choose to live in, work around, or associate with ungodly “Sodom”s and do not consider what damage it may do to them and their relationship with the Lord.

Soon, because they allow themselves to be exposed to ungodly activities, they accept and are involved in the same things the ungodly are.  The Lord and His ways have been given a very back seat because of their love for “things,” fixation on entertainment, and all the attractive things this world offers.  So many, including “Christians,” give little thought to obeying God’s commandments,  if any at all.

A quick examination of the lives of even Christians today reveals little difference than the ungodly.  Many have allowed themselves to be contaminated by sin’s enticing grip.

People have allowed themselves to be enamored by the cares and things of this world so much that they never intend to leave the “Sodom” they chose.  Dishonesty, sexual sins, adultery, substance abuse, no regard to the sanctity of life, violence, laziness, and most sins God hates are no longer viewed as evil.  Those iniquities are so accepted that they are themes in movies and literature and are sought as entertainment.

Not only is it sinful to be involved in what God hates, but it does other damage.  As happened to the daughters of Lot, daily seeing and hearing iniquity eventually desensitizes the exposed to wrong-doing.  It no longer bothers most, as they get used to depravity and soon tolerate it.  The constant bombardment of accepting wrong-doing from all forms of media has done that to the majority today.

However, what was sin in Lot’s day is still sin today.  What ruined a person who should have known better then will do the same now.  God’s wrath was poured out on sinners then, and it will not be spared in our day.  There always will be a payday for iniquity someday.

We may not be able to flee to a faraway sin-free place, but we do not have to accept the sin and tolerate what we see or hears.  Avoid places and people that will soil minds and testimonies.  Speak up and let God’s morals and commandments be heard by many that have never been aware of what He hates. 

Christians should battle sin, not surrender to it.  We cannot stop all the evilness around us, but we can be an untolerating light that exposes it.

Christian, separate yourself from sin.  Do not look longingly to the ungodliness of this world, as did Lot’s wife.  It will cost you more than you would want to pay if tolerated.

We must be the steadfast example of what the world needs to see.  They also need to hear what is right in God’s eyes from our lips.  We may not be able to save an entire city or nation from reaping the consequences of their sin, but if just ten or more escape the ultimate punishment of Hell, then it will be worth any hardship or trials we will endure.  If we do not tell or show others, who will?

We Have Lost Our Way
Bill Brinkworth

Since America’s inception in 1620, God has always been One whom the country’s citizens relied on and followed.  Most knew, and many followed, His written commandments in the Bible.  His standards enabled people to dwell together.

There was always a clear understanding of right and wrong, as many laws and practices were derived from biblical principles.  Legislations were made and followed.  Crimes were quickly recognized and punished.  It was understood that if the violation of law went undealt with, it would not be a deterrent for future law-breaking.

The butchering of unborn babies would not have been even considered sixty years ago.  Torture was something the ungodly did, not a Christian nation.  Work was something that people were proud to do, and it was a shame not to have a job or even take someone else’s aid when one was not employed.

There were clear understandings of the differences in sexes and their abilities and responsibilities.  Marriage was special, and most decent folks would not even consider pre-marital sex as they knew it could lead to social ruin, lack of respect, and other shameful situations.

Teachers were known for their outstanding, moral examples, and their decisions and discipline were rarely questioned.  Police were honored and respected.  Citizens were usually treated equally as a whole, and not different treatments for different groups.  Christians usually were better examples of behavior and showed others how to face difficulties.

After having clearly defined social standards for centuries, something changed.  One by one, the standards were slowly eroded.  Perhaps they were ignored because those guilty of doing something not socially accepted ignored ridicule or publicly encouraged others to tolerate their sin.  Soon, convicting consciences no longer had control of people’s characters, and people did what changing standards allowed.  Moral boundaries were moved further to the left or obliterated completely.

It was not long until unprincipled people gained governmental powers.  They helped society legislate what was once recognized as immoral.  These leaders passed unbiblical laws.  Perhaps it was just a means to get more votes, but it pushed overall morality further down the slope of decline.  The public allowed these changes and rarely balked at such legislation.

Since moral measurements were changed, many immoral philosophies crept into public bully pulpits such as schools, radio, and television.  Thoughts that were previously taboo were now the center of television programs and movies.  Away from parental control and knowledge, public education became a means of indoctrination of unbiblical philosophies to children.

The saturation of social input continued to corrupt and confuse morality.   Forbidden practices were often initially introduced in comedy television programs.  Soon, unmentionable activities were now giggled at and accepted more readily.  Homosexuality, drunkenness, adultery, law-breaking, and other sins gained acceptance by constant brainwashing on television, movies, and even video games.  Those once forbidden practices were now no longer “bad”; they were “entertainment.”

After decades of watered-down morality and social engineering, a nation emerged that did not know right from wrong.  Men, women, and children now do what is right in their own eyes, as the moral compass God left for man to succeed was discarded.
“In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 17:6.  Also: Job 32:1, Prov.12:15, Prov. 16:2, Prov. 21:2.

Because of moral and social changes, our country and the world are in the situation they are in today.  Murder is not the fault of guns, nor is it totally the abortion clinic’s fault for butchering millions of young babies.  It also is not the fault of some chemicals that there are so many addictions.  One cannot blame the government for not having enough laws to stop or curb out-of-control crime.

The fault for man’s decline falls rightly on each man, woman, and child for not knowing and obeying God’s preserved truths.  Society will always fail when God’s roadmap through life is ignored!  Only if His Word is believed and followed will mankind find His way again!

“Most often, today’s ‘morality’ is yesteryears immorality!  Morality’s measuring tool has been altered!” — B. Brinkworth