Ironworks

                        Benjamin Franklin was quoted as saying, I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. — I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer. To sum up this thought, if we want to get someone out of poverty, we need to make them uncomfortable with it. Think about it. If someone is in relative comfort, being taken care of by everyone else and not doing for themselves, then they will remain in poverty. If on the other hand, they have to rely more on themselves to get out of their situation, they may get ...

                  A brother once shared the results of a Swiss study on factors in children’s attendance of religious services. The study showed that two-thirds of all children will attend religious services at least sporadically if their father attends regularly. Two-thirds will not attend religious services if their father never attends. Why is this that a father has such a great influence? We cannot deny the results but perhaps we can better understand.            Have you ever looked at a child and said, “he looks like his dad.” it is pretty easy to tell if we can look at a man’s son and see the physical likeness? We might also notice the family resemblance in a child's mannerisms. Also, one tell-tale sign of a father is a child's attitude. Fathers love hearing about the good qualities that are seen in their children. It is a sense of great joy when the good is seen. One thing I know is that ...

     The five previous weeks we have discussed how to become saved and stay saved. While this subject is fresh in our minds, let us reflect and seek to understand what forgiveness is. The need for forgiveness necessitates the perfect sacrifice of the Messiah, Jesus. Without forgiveness of sins, we remain in sin and hopeless. So with regard to forgiveness, how must we as Christians forgive those who have sinned against us? Some have attempted to look at Matthew 6:14-15 to justify forgiveness as a purely one-sided transaction. The text reads,  “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Does this mean that one forgives regardless of repentance or is forgiveness unconditional?  Repentance is Always a Prerequisite of Forgiveness There has been an error taught in the world including many denominational groups, that has begu...

“And it came to pass, that he was sitting at meat in his house, and many publicans and sinners sat down with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and publicans, said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:15-17 “They're going to hell, and you’re glad they’re going there.” I have mentioned this comment made to me by a brother from a liberal congregation once before, but I have to tell you, it bothers me. It should bother you, too, because this is a common tactic used against New Testament Christians who still ask for the old paths (cf.Jer. 6:16-17). If you teach the exclusivity of the church, people assume that you absolutely hate the lost among the r...

  Honesty is the best policy. This is the old adage that many people have valued for many years. In our employment we are expected to be honest. To be dishonest would be an offense that could lead to punishment including dismissal from that work. How many of us want to deal with dishonest people in commerce? None of us do. We recognize that honesty plays a large role in dependability, faithfulness, and love.  Lying in every instance is a sin, and, because of that, we must avoid lying at any time.  Occasionally, there are members of the Lord’s church that lie to one another. This takes varying forms. Some brethren will overtly lie. This can be premeditated or compulsive. The intent is what makes it such. This would be the case if a brother or sister seeks to defraud another. This, in most cases, would be very infrequent. Lying is condemned in such a clear fashion it seems almost elementary regardless of one's maturity in Christ. However, the events of Acts 5:1-11, in p...

     Unconditional election is the doctrine held by many individuals in the religious world. “Unconditional election means that God does not foresee an action or condition on our part that induces Him to save us. Rather, election rests on God's sovereign decision to save whomever He is pleased to save.” Simply put, the doctrine of Unconditional Election states that you simply do not have to do anything to be saved. There is no command you have to follow, no submission to God’s will. Rather, God takes your free will from you and forces you to be His child.       Edwin Palmer, who served as executive secretary on the NIV Committee on Bible Translation, and was coordinator of all translation on the NIV said. “Foreordination means God’s sovereign plan, whereby He decides all that is to happen in the universe. Nothing in this world happens by chance. God is in back of everything. He decides and causes all things to happen that do happen. He is not sitting o...

     “I was born that way.” “We have a sinful nature.” You have likely heard these expressions or something like them from someone who teaches the concept of original sin. They practice their presentations and will put out so many verses to present a false doctrine that has been the cornerstone of many religious bodies (i.e. Reformed Theology and the like). I do not want to paint with such a broad brush because many people who are Calvinists do not know they hold to an error that was organized in the 15th century and its very basic origins in Augustine in the fourth and fifth centuries. Over the next few weeks, I will aim to write on the five points of Calvinism, sometimes called by the acronym T.U.L.I.P. We shall begin with T for Total Hereditary Depravity.       This erroneous doctrine teaches that man is born with the inherited sin of Adam. Thus, every human born of the seed of Adam is born totally depraved, he is sinful from his first cry, and ther...

“Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth oppression, and their lips talk of mischief” Proverbs 24:1-2.     You know you have heard the expression, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” A Christian needs to examine this saying a little closer. If you remember a few Sunday mornings ago that we discussed the sin of covetousness. I want to bring back to your mind that covetousness is desiring something that is not yours, and also it is desiring something that you cannot have. God’s warnings are throughout the Scriptures. New Testament Christians must remember we cannot have the life of the wicked.       Through the Inspired Word he declares do not be envious against evil men. Why would we envy evil men? Why would we want anything that evil men enjoy? Sometimes it’s the case that we want the benefits of their evil. A Christian who is not wealthy might look at the riches of the wicked ...

          It has been so cold the latter part of this week. I do not doubt that all of you have paid attention to having the proper clothing with which to cover up. What do you think of when you hear cover up? We think of political scandals or something of that nature. We also can consider a more simple example that is much closer to our own lives. Have you ever tried to cover up something that you did? I think we all have at some point in our lives. We do this because we do not want to face the consequences for what we have done. We do things in secret; we hide them away and hope that someone will not find out. However, covering sins is not always wrong. There are actually two ways to cover sins. There is a wrong way and there is a right way. First, let’s examine the wrong way. Inadequate Covering “He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy.” Proverbs 28:13       The...

  “Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about); and the king went by the way of the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.” 2 Kings 25:4-7 Sin Will Cause You to Flee One that lives outside the law will face the consequences of the law; this is what happened to Israel first and then the kingdom of Judah. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had control of Judah and yet King Zedekiah rebelled against him (2 Kings 25:1). Zedekiah believed he was safe for a while holed up in the ...

Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. 1 Kings 16:2-4             There is an old saying amongst the brethren: you cannot live wrong and die right. We often say this to get the point across that a life of sin, while it may seem fun and entertaining, will end with eternal damnation. Yet many live a life of self-gratification, and when they pass we are faced with the question, “Where will so-and-so spend eternity?” The answer is obvious if we will only look at the Word of God.  ...