Our Fallen Nature: Part 3

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, 

sold under sin. For that which I do allow not: 

for what I would that do I not; but what I hate, 

that do I. If then I do that which I would not, 

I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then 

it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) 

dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; 

but how to perform that which is good I would not,

 that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more 

I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then 

a law, that, when I would do good, evil is

 present with me. 

Romans 7:14-21

      Testimony, that which many too often continue to live, their testimony, that testimony becomes as much as who they are is in actuality concerns depravity even though a person is wholeheartedly committed to Jesus Christ. It seem somehow that to relive their past, their testimony causing them to become more "Christian." They tell of their past, even admit to their fallen nature, and how they attempt to live a life of obedience. This attempt to be "Christian" is in their story as to how they have come to know how their minds work, and that they have discovered how corrupt their minds work, and how corrupt their heart really is, and this conviction grows every day. Furthermore, those telling their testimony will speak about how poorly it is for them to live out their convictions, how their desires, as selfish as they are, how feeble they are, how halfhearted are their attempts to do the right thing. There is an acknowledgement of the opening verses in Romans chapter 7, and that their is a conflict between two natures, sin, and God and they know they have great difficulty carrying out the wishes of God. A problem is that even our spirituality is corrupted by sin, by our fallen nature. What do we have to brag about? Nothing! We must remember that God gives to His children, those living Authentic Christian lives, even though still living in their(our) fallen nature, imparts grace so that we can bear with our faults, and gives mercy to forgive our sins if we will repent of our sins: "...and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 1:3). 

     This is our spiritual condition, that condition that plagues mankind. The two natures are contrary to one another. It is true that within people there are different nuances of particulars and even intensity that might be different for each person, but the underlying principle remains true. No matter if we examine ancient times, or our modern times the record is a record of human depravity. This truth, this humbling truth, should humble each of us.

     Man has amazing capabilities, yet, when we compare them with what we have done with them, we find it difficult to explain the contrast. Where is the rationale, the explanation? The only logical explanation, the only rationale is that mankind has lost its relationship with God. Ancient men of the past attempted to find God in ways that were contrary to the way God was, is, so that they could find a way to somehow appease their conscience for doing what they knew internally was wrong. The problem was and is, the fundamental problem is that mankind is fatally flawed. Mankind has the ability to say no to doing that which is wrong, that which they know is wrong, but the power of their fallen nature, this sin that besets mankind is so strong, strong enough to overpower any inclination to do right. 

     Mankind has a tendency to resist the truth about God. This fight, this contrary fight against God is to fight God's commands on morality, those moral restraints and ethical expectations. Remember: an ethical person who does that which is right, even when no one is looking. A problem with sin is that at the outset by man to sin and not addressed by repentance, makes it easier for man to sin again and to ignore God's commands and precepts. Man in this condition loses sight of God and losses the ability to respond to God. In this fallen condition mankind has a change in their thinking, and their consciences become greater in their faulty and distorted condition adding or creating delusions of righteousness; that is mankind will make excuses to become reasons. 

     Here it is: THIS IS THE WAY SIN WORKS! Yes, we can see that some in deep bondage, even though not always apparent the fact remains, this is true of all our hearts, true of all persons, all of mankind.

     The only explanation, the reason that this is so pervasive, this defect in man, can only be that this is the human condition. This is the only adequate account for the facts. This being true then let us turn from pure reason and observation and look into the Bible and find what the Bible says about this situation. When we look into the Bible we validation in regards to this doctrine about man: "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Genesis 8:21), and, "What is man, that he could be pure, or one born of woman, that he could be righteous" (Job 15:14)? Jeremiah states: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it" (Jeremiah 17:9). In the Psalms we read: "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5). We need a cure and the apostle Paul gives us one: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death" (Romans 7:24)? Man cannot rescue himself! This rescue from our fallen and sinful nature can only be done by God. What is needed is a complete change of nature. Yes, that complete change will not come until a child of God receives a new incorruptible body after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ for His bride and the destruction of all sin. Yet, in this life, we can live as God requires us to live, the way God intended for us to live. 

     All true: Yet, there is a problem and that problem will be the subject of the next blog.

Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God

    of your fathers, and do His pleasure: and separate

yourselves from the people of the land, and from

   the strange wives.

                     Ezra 10:11

Strange wives are those that we have joined with

Richard L. Crumb

Cults How They Operate And Our Responsibility

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, 

but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Proverbs 16:25

     A post this statement by Leah Remini to remind or to inform those who do not know; all cults do the same thing: they brainwash their adherents and this by teaching them to read only what the organization writes or what they say to be truth and to avoid another writings or speakings. Those involved in a cult are soon cut off from family and friends who will not believe as they are being taught. While this is true about cults it can also be true of Orthodox Christianity, that is, false teaching slips in slyly often from those who have come to believe differently, and this slow change in doctrine is done easily when the congregants do not take time to examine what they are being taught. The Bible clearly warns us about this laxity as it in the least gives tacit approval to false teaching. It is our responsibility to ensure what we are hearing and reading and to do this we should be reading "outside the box" more than just our denominational writings. We are told to study, to learn, to add knowledge, to be prepared, and this takes study and not just reading one denominations output of theological thought. You might find that what you are hearing and learning and reading when compared to Scripture is the truth and now you know, your faith has changed from the inside/out, you are ready to be a warrior for God dispensing truth.

 

Brainwashing by Cults

This was the statement by Leah Remini whether or not Scientology is a cult and if the church brainwashed her and this is her answer. I find this true of any cult.

Yes, Scientology is a brainwashing proposition from the very first book tht you read in [church doctrine] Dianetics, where L. Ron Hubbard positions himself as a college-educated person, which he wasn’t; a nuclear physicist, which he wasn’t, and a decorated military man, which he wasn’t. Also important is that he claims that Scientology and Dianetics is a proven science. So when you’re indoctrinated when you’re very young, as I was, and all the information that you receive from is from Scientology, and you’re not allowed to look at other things because you’re penalized for doing that, yes, that is the way cults work. They cut you off from information from the outside world and they start to sequester you by saying everybody else is enemy. That is another way that cults work. It satisfies all the checkmarks for what a cult is and what brainwashing is. (I apologize, I did not get the website for this and when I went back to get it I could not find this exact statement but there is much more if you take the time to look up what has been written about this so-called church). 

     We are examining the nature of man as a beginning to understand sin, how sin is allowed, how mankind is affected by sin, and how God views mankind. 

     Evidence about the nature of man can be seen in our children. We see, even in Christian homes the difficulties when we attempt to correct our children when they rebel against us in attitude and action. In fact we can see how even newborn babies show their dislike, their temper, their desire to get things their way. We may think it funny, cute, and it is in some way but human nature is displayed even in such young children.

     Here is a major problem with human nature: how the most twisted variety there is about the truth of the Bible and how this twisted theological thought has caused the most hideous purposes. The name Jesus Christ has been used, even vilified, as an excuse for cruelty and persecution. We must be very careful in our search for the truth to distinguish between twisted zeal from Authentic Christianity, and Authentic Christian Faith. We must not forget that it is His Authority over our lives: "For Him we live, and move, and have our being; (Acts 17:28a). We must first accept, yes, acknowledge, and to have faith, in His provision and the blessings from God, we live, we exist, we have much to enjoy in this life even with all its harshness at times, we have the blessing of eternal life no matter what occurs, all provided to those who truly repent of their sins, not because they have been caught in sin, because they have come to know how their nature is so opposed to a Holy God who came and died for them on the cross. We cannot allow our fallen nature to become the authority in our lives, to become cold and uncaring about Him in our hearts. 

     We are learning about us so that we can make any changes necessary to change us from the inside/out so that our faith becomes Authentic Christian Faith, and our exercise of that faith is done for the right reason. We have much to praise God for and allowing us to learn about us, and what God desires. Keep reading the Bible, pray for guidance, read literature, men of early times, etc., here is a good website: ccel.org; hit browse, and then authors and pick a letter and you will find many men's writings. Oh, hit read on line at the bottom.

In my distress I cried unto the LORD,

    and He heard me.

Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips,

   and from a deceitful tongue.

                      Psalm 120 1-2

Do stress out: learn

Richard L. Crumb

The Fallen Nature Of Mankind: Part 2

It has been written for, I will destroy 

the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding 

of the understanding ones I will set aside. 

Where [is the] wise? where [the] scribe? were 

[the] disputer of this age? did not make 

foolish God the wisdom of the world?

1Corinthians 1:19-20

(literal translation of the Greek) 

     The wisdom of the world is no match for the wisdom of God even though mankind throughout the ages have attempted to be wiser than God the Creator, God the Sustainer, and God the Saviour. Man has and even in this day, made gods to worship and not to hold fast to the true God Jehovah. Man made gods allowed for atrocities, those atrocities that we can see from all the artifacts and documents. Evil reigns in the world and we often only see evil of the sort that pagan religions have propagated so that we too often overlook the evil of our day. Yet, if we take the time to focus from the ancient to our modern day we find the same condition: man is evil, and the nature of man is towards the doing of evil. An American historian describe this in the following way:

          "It is a compound of pride, and indolence, and selfishness, and cunning, and cruelty; full of a revenge that nothing could satiate, of a ferocity that nothing could soften; strangers to the most amiable sensibilities of nature. They appear incapable of conjugal affection, or parental fondness, or filial reverence, or social attachments, uniting too with their state of barbarism, many of the vices and weaknesses of polished society. there horrid treatment of captives taken in war, on whose bodies they feasted, after putting them to death by the most cruel tortures, is so well known, that we may spare the disgusting recital. No commendable qualities relieve this gloomy picture, except fortitude, and perseverance, and zeal for the welfare of their little community, if this last quality, exercised and directed as it was, can be thought deserving of commendation". (William Robertson's History of America: italics mine). We can see that this is true even of the most civilized nations, the truth of the fallen nature of humanity. 

     Here is a fact that we too often overlook or not say enough about: In some of the nations were Christianity has survived, Christianity has raised the bar and has improved the character and comforts of society. Christianity has brought with it blessing for many even though many of the people deny the truth of the Bible, and will not accept its authority. Yet even with the influence of Christianity in nations, we may still see so many example of human depravity. 

     Christian influence when it has revealed the nature of man, a nation were Christian influence held sway, depravity becomes so obvious as not be known, even if ignored. Laws are of a moral nature, designed to restrain evil forces of human nature. Yet, when those laws are removed, or violated then we can see the most hideous and atrocious crimes perpetrated, not in the dark, but in the light. Example: Roe vs Wade: the right for a woman to have an abortion. This right stands against the moral law and direct law of God that holds life in the highest position, not to be violated, He has laid out laws to protect humanity. This law is thrown into the face of this law, and millions of little unborn humans have died, died a horrible, painful death. This atrocity, abortion, in a land where once Christianity had great influence shows how far the depravity of man's fallen nature, is how God's laws are ignored. 

     Christianity through Bible teaching shows the superiority of God's laws, that we are to hold morality in the highest priority, and that we are to be obedient to God's laws. Remember: God has told us that we will be held accountable for our actions. A person may say: "I do not believe the Bible", and feel that they will not be held for their actions even if seen to be contrary to God. Show me, show me, how not keeping God's law is better than not keeping God's law. Cannot a thinking person see that when God's laws are not follow then humanity is subject to many atrocities. Look at the lands where paganism has reigned, i.e., India for instance, Hinduism, Buddhism, and see the way people live, the poverty, the abduction of girls, little girls to become prostitutes, the life that ends far to early due to this atrocity. It seems that there is this rule: people are willing to suffer negative consequences of vice that take advantage of the blessings of living a life of Christian obedience. 

     We here in the United States suffer the wrongs precipitated upon people because there are those who will not adhere to morality except the morality that they want to have ignoring the cost to others due to the desire to fill their lusts. Some will say: "I am moral", yet they do not practice what they preach. Furthermore, in the Church the world's culture has infected Authentic Christian Faith to the point where prosperity has hardened the hearts, to have unlimited power, a power that abuses, bad habits are excused away and virtue is not developed leaving a person to not develop one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles, there is no moral excellence: there is a lack of chastity, virginity: i.e., the high divorce rate among people, even so with Christians. 

     Yes, this points out negativity and it is hard to read, to accept for man loves to be entertained, to hear words that tickle the ears. Yet, before we can find and accept a solution we must first understand the problem and this is what I am doing now, but the time will come in this blogging, that we will see the solution and understand that it is the solution to our fallen human condition. Stay tuned!

With my soul have I desired thee

   in the night; yea, with my spirit 

within me will I seek thee early: 

   for when thy judgments are in 

the earth, the inhabitants of the 

   world will learn righteousness.

                       Isaiah 26:9

Seek God: not experience 

Richard L. Crumb

     

Learning About The Nature Of Man: Part 1

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven 

against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, 

who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because 

that which may be known of God is manifest in them;

 for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible 

things of Him from the creation of the world are 

clearly seen, being understood by the things that

 are made, even His eternal power and Godhead: 

so that they are without excuse: because that, 

when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, 

neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 1:18-21

     Authentic Christian Faith is so important and unfortunately there is a lack of understanding of Authentic Christian Faith and about the true spiritual state of humanity. This subject is of the utmost importance and this subject is at the very heart of all Authentic Christian Faith. 

     A problem exists and that is too many people, Christians as well, overlook or deny, at in the least, and minimize what it means to be a fallen human being. Oh! We can recite the fact that Adam and Eve fell from grace and was causative for man to become infused in his soul sin. We all have seen or at least heard of the many atrocities done by the Muslims, the beheading, the killing of those women who in some way disgraced them (as they hold in their religious views), or to harm many by gassing them, or just not seemly to care if they are harmed when they decide to overtake a city. We may even know something about the inquisition, or that many ancient civilizations practiced religious rites where they killed innocent people to somehow appease the god(s). We might just simply acknowledge that the world has always been filled with wickedness and that human behavior tends toward sensual and selfish desires. We might even acquiesce that people act this way even if they do not know better, therefore people are just sinful. 

     Well! This is true! We don't deny them! They are obvious and yet, a mystery as to why so many people still believe in the goodness of human nature. We might know the facts, acknowledge that they exist, but we do not necessarily know, or even admit as to the source of the facts. Yes, some will say: "Satan is the cause!" At the foundation yes, but is Satan the cause for a person to do or to will to do sinful acts. Or, we rationalize: small failures or periodic problems are explained away and fail to get at the heart of the problem(s). You probably can recite this verse: "Pride goeth before destruction, and in haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). That is true, but, we must look at this further: human pride refuses to face the truth. Too many Christians know this fact but still believe that humans are basically good and are subject to temptation and by means of a fallen soul they succumb to temptation. What is furthermore believed is that sin and evil are the exception, not the rule. 

     Do you really believe the Bible? Not partly, not only those verses that seem to speak to you, or to only hold to some verses that seem to agree with your opinion, or doctrine. The Bible paints a clear and plain picture that is in opposition to those views that mankind is basically good. The Bible teaches us that man is a apostate creature. Man is degraded, depraved, who thinks toward evil. Man does not tend toward the good, unless he/she gets something by thinking that way. Man does not actually believe that they have been so impacted by sin in their very core of his/her being. Man does not want to acknowledge these truths and this is evidence of the veracity of this fact about man as revealed in God's word. If you do not hold that the Bible is in all its words is inspired of God, written by men who were inspired of God, and that those words reveal to us what God desires of men, how to live, how to exercise life: well: that is the root of the problem and until you believe that the Bible is the word of God, truth, then nothing said in these blogs will have an impact upon you.  John Milton in Paradise Lost: "Into what depth thou seest,

          From what height fallen.

             John Milton, Paradise Lost, bk, 1, lines 91-91

     The human mind has amazing capabilities seen by evidence of the power to invent, to reason, to make judgments, to remember the past, to make decisions in the present, and to plan for the future. Humans are not simply an animal, as it is with a horse, a dog, a frog, or any other animal for man has the ability to admire, not just understand, to reflect on something for its beauty, and its moral excellence. We as humans have the ability to have emotions of fear, as to animals, but more, we have the ability to hope, to experience joy, and sorrow, to empathize and to love. Humans can will, and to exercise courage to do hard tasks and to exert patience to stay the course. With our power of conscience we can monitor the thoughts and desires of our hearts and we can use reason to regulate our passions. We are amazing!

     Here is what we know, unfortunately, this is not the way things are. We see that man has lost the ability of reason, for the most part, and has become confused. Human desires have become twisted, anger, envy, hatred and revenge all are seen in humans. We can blame Satan for the cause, but we cannot blame Satan for our willingness to be evil, to sin, this is on us! We have become as lower creatures and seemingly unable to do good. 

     WOW!  You may say: "This is a dark and horrible estimation of humans: yes, but you cannot deny this fact. But you can do something about it, you have will, you have what you need to teach you how to avoid this problem of human nature even if it is not removed from you in the present. You have God's word, you have the ability to learn about human nature so that you can examine yourselves and if need by, and probably so due to our fallen nature, receive the nature of God in us, to have the Holy Spirit to reside in us, to lead us, to guide us, BUT! You must decide to learn, to read God's  word, to believe. God is calling: can you hear Him, are you listening for Him. Do you want Authentic Christian Faith? Well these blogs on this subject as to what is Real Christian Faith is to guide us to learn what is true Spiritual Authentic Christian Faith. Stay with me, as we both learn how we can live an Authentic Christian life.

The heart of the righteous studieth

     to answer: but the mouth of the

wicked poureth out evil things.

                Proverbs 15:28

God gives hope and assurance: believe

Richard L. Crumb  

 

The Second Greatest OfGod

 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the 

Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ

 unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, 

pulling them out of the fir; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Jude 20-22

            Christians if asked: what is the greatest gift given to man by God would answer: Jesus Christ. They would be correct for Jesus Christ is and will always be: the greatest gift given to man. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise given to Adam, reinforced to Noah, and to Abraham. This gift was known be the Hebrews even before they were a nation as this gift of a promised Messiah was know by their forefathers and especially to Jacob (Israel): “And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And He said. Here am I. and He said, I am God, the God of they father: fear not to go down into Egypt: for I will there make of thee a great nation” (Genesis 46:2-3). When Jesus came into this world as a babe the angels spoke: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests” (Luke 2:14). No doubt: Jesus is the greatest gift to man. Is there a second great gift from God? As the first great gift from God was rejected outright by even those who called themselves believers in God, and by those who treated this gift with little worth (He was nothing more than another seer), so too, the second greatest gift has had the same problem: it was, and is rejected outright or has been so changed by men and women who call themselves “Christian” that it has little effect on the lives of people that much of it has been called into question or changed to meet a doctrinal or theological position of men. It is not that many people outright reject this gift, they simply ignore it as this gift sits on the shelves getting dusty, or dusted off so that they, when they go to Church look as though they read it. This second gift to man from God is the Bible and yet for too many the Bible is a book that remains mysterious, a mystery. This lack of knowledge and understanding of this Second Greatest Gift from God has led to, not only heresy, but for people to become cultural Christians, nominally Christians.

            What is a nominal Christian? A nominal Christian is one who says that they believe in the Bible as the word of God and even claim to have committed their lives to Jesus Christ. This nominal faith is one that simply agrees with statements such as, “It doesn’t matter what you believe; it is how you live that counts” and “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere in your belief.” This is absurd! As a side note: The word “sincere” has as at its etymology the Greek word for “ceres” that means wax and wax was used to hide cracks in pottery so that the buyer would not be aware of the faults. When the prefix “sin” is added to “ceres” the word changes from a noun to an adjective, that is it describes the noun and means then to be free of fault, to be genuine. The person who is sincere may be genuine and be without fault, yet if the adjective “nominal” that which describes a “Christian”, nominal meant to be in name only, to be in form only so if a person is a “nominal Christian,” that is in name or form only then their sincerity is based on truth, it is hiding from the truth.

            This is a fact: What we believe determines how we live. If a person believes, that is determined, that they are doing God’s work by killing heretics, they do this in all sincerity. They believe they are doing right even though in fact they have perpetrated a hideous crime against mankind who may not have done anything physical or in word to warrant death, maiming, or incarceration. We have recent events to show that mankind can be so determined to be able to kill as though this is godly. It does not need be so horrible as killing, or maiming to bring untruth, and harm to people as when false teaching or heresy allowed to be taught in our Churches. No matter how sincere: they are promoting that which is against God. Yes, it may that those persons are living good moral lives, yet they measure their lives, their beliefs, against some subjective criteria without realizing that this may be simply ignorance of fact, or due to wanting to gain personally leading people to not know right from wrong, they cannot distinguish between the two, truth or error.

            This is the reason we study God’s word, that great second gift from God. It is here in this great gift we find how to live our lives, to be instructed so we can know right from wrong, from false teaching and error, from heresy. We must come to know the principles and precepts or we will fall to and become victims of our own subjectivity. If this is not down then it is most possible that our hearts will become hardened, and our mind blinded to all moral distinction.

            This blog is to aid us to change from the inside/out, from false understanding of God’s second greatest gift. This will require critical thinking, reading of His word, common sense, and prayer. We have this opportunity and this opportunity is accompanied by responsibility. If we find that we have settled for cultural Christianity, and if we remain ignorant or even unresponsive to Authentic Christian Faith, how then can we face God, what kind of justification will we be able to give to God?

Incline not my heart to any evil thing,

    To practice wicked works with men

That work iniquity: and let me not eat

    Of their dainties. Let the righteous

Smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let

    Him reprove me; it shall be an excellent

 Oil, which shall not break my head:

    For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.

                                  Psalm 141: 4-5

Change may be hard: but it is necessary if found wrong

Richard L. Crumb

The Greatest Gift: Some Ignore It

And I saw the dead, small and great, 

stand before God; and the books were opened: 

and another book was opened,which is the book of life: 

and the dead were judged out of those things 

which were written in the books, according to 

their works. And the sea gave up the dead which 

were in it; and death and hell delivered up the

 dead which were in them: and they were judged 

according to their works.

 Revelation 20:12-13 

     Question: Would our world be better if our system of morality, our lives, were based on the Bible standards instead of being devised by the world culture and cultural Christians? We soon forget: all laws are made of and from morality! take the time to examine the laws: i.e., speed laws for instance; and you will see that those laws meet the standard that Jesus set forth: "....and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 19:19b). We have a second witness: "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Romans 13:10). There is a civil responsibility of all citizens of the United States and to the state in which they live, and furthermore, as a Christian we have a responsibility to God. We are to deny ourselves, those pleasures that we just want to have in our lives. (Secret: I love fast cars too: those muscle cars: but no matter that my speedometer goes to 140: I as a Christian as good citizens: must obey the law and that law has as its foundation the law of God. A moral law)! There is this paradox, that is a contradiction: we say we love God: we say we follow God: But we do not follow the laws of the land as though God is not looking, that He will not judge us according to all we say or do (Opening verses). 

     This is a serious matter, and a danger that this paradox presents that speaks of our inadequate faith. These are eternal issues and the stakes are high.

     God is eternal: God is everywhere with no boundaries: God does not live in time: and God is all knowing. Yes: God is love but God is also just. God does demand that we follow after His laws and we will one day have to give an answer with what God has given to us. We are to be the stewards of the laws of God: first in are lives; then towards our fellowman, our homes, our cities, our states, and even our nation. Do you want the love of God in your life? Do you want blessing from God? Good! Then become an Authentic Christian and apply Authentic Christian Faith in your lives. Example: Drive to fast, over the speed limit, you are not only in jeopardy to get a speeding ticket and if you do you are spending money that could go towards you family: they lost. Maybe you are speeding and get into a wreck because you were not able to stop due to your speed: People are hurt, maybe die, maybe only a wrinkle in the car: nonetheless you are not following the will of God towards your neighbor. 

     I have noticed and maybe you too: people, especially the young know the words to songs, they can sing them, recite them; but when it comes to knowledge of the Bible they are not able to recall verses, maybe the ones that they have heard over and over: Jesus loves the little children, or John 3:16, but they have little knowledge of what the Bible actually reveals for us in this life. People are not taking advantage to learn the truths of the Bible, the truths as how to be an Authentic Christian. They listen to sermons on Sunday only to go about the rest of the week living like the world. I wonder: What does God thing about our voluntary ignorance? 

      It is true: understanding Christianity is not something that comes without effort. Almost every example in the natural world teaches us this principle. We must make an effort, especially when It comes to God, as to what He has declared to us in His word. I have two hobbies: 1. oil painting and I must take the time the effort to learn about brushes, color, and techniques so that I might make a painting that I would be proud to show others and for myself. 2. I play the guitar: I must and do take time and effort to learn some music theory, the notes and how to play them, and if electronic to learn about how to use it, all takes time and effort and I am willing to take the time and effort so that I can enjoy all the good. God has given us what we can have for joy in this life, and He has provided us with many lessons for us to learn and to enjoy the freedom that comes by following what He is teaching. Here is the crux: YOU MUST WANT IT! This requires effort! The wealth of this knowledge will never be mastered without diligent effort: And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge patience; and to patience godliness" (2Peter 1:5-6). 

     The greatest gift is the Bible, a gift from God to mankind. This gift tells us of the greatest of gifts mankind has sought throughout the centuries. That gift so sought after by men and women in every land even though so often off track of the truth, they still sought after this gift and that gift was and is: JESUS CHRIST! Jesus is the light, the light of and for the world, and this light brings freedom, freedom from darkness and slavery that this world imposes upon all who follow after their doctrines and ideologies, and philosophies, a light that is Good News, news about God's love that He so love the world that He came to become a babe, to live as a man, God in the Second Person, still God, but fully man, just to save, yes to pay the debt owed to Him that no man can pay: but more: He came to apply that sacrifice and payment to all who will believe upon the Savior: Jesus Christ! The early Church valued this message and received it with joy and overflowing gratitude. Question: will you?

He hath shewed thee, O man,

    what is good; and what doth

the LORD require fo thee, but

    to do justly, and to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with they God?

                  Micah 6:8

What hold your highest priority?

Richard L. Crumb

    

     

The Dark Side Of Good

The heathen are sunk down in the pit that 

they made: in the net which they hid is their 

own foot taken.....The wicked shall be turned 

into Sheol (hell) and all the nations 

that forget God.

Psalm 9:15;17

     I used the word "sheol" as this is the Hebrew word that is translated "hell." Sheol means the place where the dead go when people die and there is in "Sheol" no understanding that this is a place of torment or punishment, rather the resting place for the dead. (Strong's Dictionary: #7585). I begin with this clarification so that there is no misunderstanding as to what I write. If a person does not have Authentic Faith in God, not just any god, but the God of the Bible, then they face death, Sheol, and there they reside until the return of Jesus when we all face the judgments seat and give answers as to our lives and words. 

     As a 75 year old man I have the ability to take time to reflect on my life, my past and I have found in this reflection time that the world I live in is not the world in which I grew up in to become a man, an adult. This history has much which is good, or seemingly good: i.e., the phone. When I was a boy on the ranch we had a party line, that is there was at least 9-13 people who could hear what was said when I spoke or others spoke to me on the phone. Not a problem: just watch what you said. Then came the rotary phone and even this had ears that could hear what you said: the operators: so watch what you said. Now we have cell phones and we can talk to people all over the world: but there is people gathering your phone calls, even though not in the present do they do anything about those calls unless NASA, or others think that you are a threat. Nothing has changed: people can still hear what you say on the phone. But it is good for business as one can be instantly appraised of sells, and other business needs and not have to wait long for answers, etc. and yet there is a down side to all this innovation: Texting and driving and people getting killed or maimed and others using you texts to affront you in some way. So this moderation is both good and bad. 

     As a boy growing up in the 50's television had just become purchasable and the shows on TV were very moral: i.e., Ozzie & Harriet; The Lucy Show: etc. Morals were held high and important. By 1960 things began to change and this change was a change in morality. Cinemas were allowing what would previously declared as pornography to be seen on the screen. The "hippie" movement that wanted to have "free love," anywhere and in any place. Porno shops opened up on many corners of the cities, not hidden any longer in the back room. Abortion became legal: the killing of unborn human beings, marriages floundered, both in the secular world but also in Churches as the world culture began to infiltrate into the Church. Divorce skyrocketed both in the secular and in the Church. The homosexual (gay) movement began, that is the lesbian and the male homosexual, and the women's liberation movement began and was and is now, taken to the streets. Television and movie producers pushed and are pushing the envelope so that what was considered X rated in the 50's and early 60's is now considered "g' rated. Here is an example: 1965: movie of the year: The Sound of Music, the academy award winner. A few years later the academy award went to Midnight Cowboy an X rated movie, the first such movie to win such a prestigious prize. We have gone from Leave It To Beaver to Beavis And Butthead. The change in this morality has not been good as sexual transmitted diseases have risen to an all time high, especially among the 15-25 year old boys and girls. Here is the facts:

 CDC FACTSHEET:

Reported STDs in the United States

2015 National Data for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis

This fact sheet summarizes 2015 data on chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis published in CDC’s annual report,

SexuallyTransmitted Disease Surveillance, 2015

(available atwww.cdc.gov/std/stats).

The data are based on state and local STD

case reports from a variety of private and public sources. M any cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis continue to go undiagnosed and unreported, and data on several additional STDs — such as human papillomavirus, herpes simplex virus  , and trichomoniasis — are not routinely reported to CDC. As a result, the annual surveillance report captures only a fraction of the true burden of STDs in America.

However, it provides important insights into the scope, distribution, and trends in STD diagnoses in the country.

 STDs are a substantial health challenge facing the United States. CDC estimates that nearly 20 million new sexually transmitted inf ections occur every year in this country, half among young people aged 15–24, and account for almost $16 billion in health care costs. Each of these infections is a potential threat to an individual’s immediate and long-term health and well-being. In addition to increasing a person’s risk for acquiring and transmitting HIV infection, STDs can lead to chronic pain and severe reproductive health complications, such as infertility and ectopic pregnancy.

 

Snapshot: STDs in the United States, 2015

Despite recent declines, 2015 was the second year in a row in which increases were seen in all three nationally reported STDs. The approximately 1.5 million cases of chlamydia represent the highest number of annual cases of any condition ever reported to CDC. Substantial increases were also seen among reported cases of gonorrhea and syphilis. While young people and women are most severely affected by STDs, increasing rates among men contributed to the overall increase in 2015 across all diseases. 

     Here is a list and am I attempting to scare you? YES!

 What Causes Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)?

Depending on the disease, STDs can be spread with any type of sexual activity. STDs are most often caused by viruses and bacteria. The following is a list of the most common STDs, their causes. Additionally, there are other infections (see STDs with asterisk mark*) that may be transmitted on occasion by sexual activity, but these are typically not considered to be STDs by many investigators:

STDs caused by bacteria

Chancroid (Haemophilus ducreyi)

Chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis)

Gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhea)

Granuloma inguinale (Calymmatobacterium granulomatis)

Lymphogranuloma venereum (Chlamydia trachomatis)

Syphilis (Treponema pallidum)

STDs caused by viruses

Genital herpes (herpes simplex virus)

Genital warts (human papillomavirus virus [HPV])

Hepatitis B and D, and infrequently, A*,C*,E* (hepatitis viruses, types A-E)

HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus [HIV virus])

Molluscum contagiosum* (poxvirus)

STD caused by protozoan

Trichomoniasis (Trichomonas vaginalis)

STD's* caused by fungi

Jock itch (Tenia cruris)*

Yeast infections* (Candida albicans)

STD's caused by parasites

Pubic lice or crabs (Pediculosis pubis)

Scabies* Sarcoptes scabiei

As the illustration about the telephone and that it has with all the new technology as good as it may for people in some sense has brought with it much trauma. This account about morality does not have a good side, albeit those participating in "free sex," or "free love," have a horrible side affect: some 19 million men and women in the United States are affected by some sort of STD. Some STD, as with syphilis, a disease that can remain in the brain even after treatment, and can and often does disfigure a person, causes a women to no longer bear children and can be passed on to their children.

     This world culture and cultural Christianity has allowed for this change in morality. This is and has been done by new philosophical thought and a denigrating Christian principles. Everything has become subjective, a plurality of thought whereby everyone has some sort of right, not earned, but some how imparted to them by birth, to allow all sorts of beliefs: from antinomian that teaches that Christians are even free from the moral law by grace and faith, or just to be a follower of antinomy, an opposition against rules or laws. 

     Authentic Christianity has fallen under the sway of some eloquent speakers that have conjoined world thought to Christianity making for cultural Christians. The standard that they have set, that this world has set is against the Gospel. There has and is a pawing off these non-Christian philosophies made up by men as authentic faith, when in fact it has nothing to do with Authentic Christian Faith. The world has sunk down into a pit that they have dug sucking in those unaware of the truth. 

Authentic Christian Faith vs Cultural Christian Faith

They that forsake the law praise the wicked:

 but such as keep the law contend with them. 

Evil men understand not judgment: but they 

that seek the LORD understand all things.

Proverbs 28:4-5

     Throughout my writings I have used Authentic Christians, Authentic Christian Faith and yet there is many faulty ideas regarding the importance of Authentic Christian Faith. For some "good" people and those against "bad" things believe their faith is adequate. The fact is: this only may mean that you are a moral person; even those who do not believe in a God can be moral. In my years (in March 75 years) I have seen changes within Christian Churches as many Churches have adopted the culture of this world, or some of it, of this world and have little understanding what constitutes Authentic Christian Faith, or Authentic Christianity. It is not that they do not know basic facts about Christianity, it is that they have no idea as to how those facts should be applied in their lives. 

     The term "cultural Christianity" is one such term that I have used for those Christians that have adopted some if not most of this world's culture. A cultural Christian is one that do not make Authentic Christian Faith as important, to have a priority, they do not take time to teach their children as to what it is that they believe and why believe it? Often a great education has greater importance rather teaching them to learn about God. Parents are often embarrassed because their children do not possess a higher education, but they are not embarrassed if their children do not know God. Often children are left to learn about God on their own. If a child becomes a Christian or at least accepts some Christian doctrine or have some knowledge about the Gospel it is because they came to learn on their own and have come to some point whereby by intellectual conviction they chose Christianity but not due to family training. Unfortunately this intellectual conviction is not based upon true and authentic knowledge about God, but they believe that they have a "foot" in the door because their family is Christian, so they believe that they too are Christian. If a person believes that they are a Christian because they come from a Christian family, they are wrong, for Authentic Christian Faith cannot be inherited. Intellectual learning, or education may not be all bad, but the question is: Who is teaching them, and what are they learning? If education is not of Authentic Christian Faith many questions may not be answered according to the Bible. This leads many to question Christianity, to question the truth of Christianity and when they are challenged they often abort their Christian Faith, or they begin to associate with non-Christians. When you cannot defend your faith, not to be able to respond to questions about your faith, when confronted, either by peers, or professors, etc. and then it becomes easy to shrink back in fear, or to join the opposing group. 

     I have great concern for the future of Authentic Christianity for we live in a time when Christianity is being confronted by laws, by people who want to live autonomously, or by false teachers reaping financially while "sheering " the sheep. The climate in which we live as Christians today, a climate whereby worldly culture and education propagates an anti-Christian message should shake us out of our apathy. Our Christianity is being successfully attacked, marginalized by these anti-Christian groups because the majority of Christians cannot properly defend their faith, those augments that are deeply flawed. We should be alarmed that instruction in Authentic Faith has and is being neglected, if not complete, at least eliminated as we can see how this is played out in our schools, and universities. 

      Do you want Authentic Christianity? Are you willing to take the time to study about this issue? If so, stay tuned as I will be writing about the difference between Authentic Christianity and cultural Christianity. If then there is seen some defect in your understanding, then a change from the inside/out is necessary. 

Whosoever therefore shall confess 

    Me before men, him will I confess

also before My Father which is in heaven.

   But whosoever shall deny Me before men,

him will I also deny before My Father 

   which is in heaven.

                      Matthew 10:23-33

There is work to do: put on your spiritual gloves

Richard L. Crumb

Learning What Is Real Christianity: The Beginning

Study to shew thyself approved unto God,

 a workman that needeth not to ashamed,

 rightly dividing the word of truth.

2Timothy 2:15 

     The New Testament having been completed verse by verse I shall turn to another subject that is related to faith, and living an Authentic Christian life. Much of these blogs will have as their foundation the works of William Wilberforce in his book Real Christianity. Who is this William Wilberforce, you may know or have read some of his works, if not, you will be introduced to a man, an important figure in Christian history. The book Real Christianity was published in the year 1797 A.D. and you may, as some do today sort of scoff at earlier works and hold only to the works done during their present or within a short period of time in high authority. I believe that we should look into our Christian history so that our foundation and knowledge of our faith becomes Authentic. It is not that those present works are not always good, some are, but we need to know history and then determine if what is being written today matches Authentic Historical Christian Faith. Therefore, William Wilberforce' work is a classic work on Christian faith. This is what this blog is all about: Faith, changing ourselves inside/out to conform to Authentic Christian Faith. William Wilberforce born Aught 24, 1759 A.D., into a merchant family and in 1780 A.D., Wilberforce secured a seat in the House of Commons as a member of Parliament for Hull, he was just 21 years of age. Wilberforce was active in educational reform, the promotion of public health initiatives and advocating shorter working hours  and improved condition in the factories. Wilberforce always dealt to be the salt and light within his culture: "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour wherewith shall it be salted" (Matthew 5:13)? Notice that the pronoun is masculine and not neuter, speaking of man, not just salt. Wilberforce engaged in prison reform worked with Jeremy Bentham and in partnership with Charles Fox in the abolition of the slave trade: "It is the true duty of every man to promote the happiness of his fellow creatures to the utmost of his power"(W. Wilberforce, A Practical View of Christianity, ed Kevin Belmonte; Peabody, MA). Three days before he died, he learned that Parliament would pass the legislation abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire. Wilberforce served his nation for 45 years, retired in 1825 A.D., and in 1833 William Wilberforce died but not after having affected many men: Thoreau, Emerson, Whittier, Jedidiah Morse, Samuel Morse, Lyman Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jonathan Edwards, Abraham Lincoln, and many more and by his example we can learn that we too, if we choose to do so, affect many people starting with our spouse, our children, our friends, people we work with, and even to go to foreign lands as missionaries, or spokesman, you see, Authentic Christians are not apathetic or lazy, they are those who actively apply their faith in action: 'But be ye doers of the word, which is able to save your souls. But by ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your  selves.....But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of he work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth not his own heart, this man's religion is in vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted form the world" (James 1:22; 25-27). "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works" (James 2:18). 

     I will then write on the subject of faith. This subject is of the utmost importance and I have, and hope you will, research, question and repeatedly reflect on all that you will read. We have an obligation to do whatever we are able to do to promoted the welfare of our fellowman. Yes, I suggest that faith is everyone's business, and yet there is a need to advance faith as it is so intimately connected to the welfare of society that it should be even of particular interest to politicians, to you and to your association to others. I will not write for self-interest or to promote theological prejudice. There will be no attempt to convince skeptics or to answer the questions of unbelievers, those questions the so often ask, but rather to point out  some of the problems with the beliefs and actions of those who already claim to be christian. I am particularly disturbed by so many so-called Christians having little understanding in regards to the nature of the faith they profess. This subject is so much important that we should not ignore it because there are so many distractions of the heretics, those false teachers in our lives. I only ask that you take the time to check out what is said and written and if you accept the Bible and its authority, then I must assume you agree.

For wisdom is a defence,

     and money is a defence: 

but the excellency of knowledge is,

     that wisdom giveth life to them 

that have it.

              Ecclesiastes 7:12

Add to your faith, your virtue, knowledge

Richard L. Crumb