Puritan Corner - The Committing vs. Reckoning

 Sin is not so sweet in the committing as it is heavy
and bitter in the reckoning.

by Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) 

..... for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Galatians 6:7

Genesis 1 SERIES - Verse 26-28

 Commentary of Charles Spurgeon, Adam Clarke & Matthew Henry

 

 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: 

and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 

And God blessed them, 

and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Vs.26-28

 

We have here the second part of the sixth day's work,...God evidently meant the two persons, male and female, to complete the man, and the entireness of the manhood lies in them both....That man's creation was a more signal and immediate act of divine wisdom and power than that of the other creatures.

 

That man was made last of all the creatures, 

*that it might not be suspected that he had been, any way, a helper to God in the creation of the world: 

*that question must be for ever humbling and mortifying to him, Where wast thou, or any of thy kind, when I laid the foundations of the earth? Job 38:4

 

And God said, Let us make man - It is evident that God intends to impress the mind of man with a sense of something extraordinary in the formation of his body and soul, when he introduces the account of his creation thus; 

Let Us make man. The word אדם Adam, which we translate man, --- of animal, as חיתו chaitho, marks the wild beasts that live in general a solitary life; בהמה behemah, domestic or gregarious animals; and רמש remes, all kinds of reptiles, from the largest snake to the microscopic eel. 

---Though the same kind of organization may be found in man as appears in the lower animals, yet there is a variety and complication in the parts, a delicacy of structure, a nice arrangement, a judicious adaptation of the different members to their great offices and

functions, a dignity of mien, and a perfection of the whole, which are sought for in vain in all other creatures. 

 

 In our image, after our likeness - What is said above refers only to the body of man, what is here said refers to his soul. This was made in the image and likeness of God. Now, as the Divine Being is infinite, he is neither limited by parts, nor definable by passions; therefore he can have no corporeal image after which he made the body of man. The image and likeness must necessarily be intellectual; his mind, his soul, must have been formed after the nature and perfections of his God..... all the persons in the Godhead are represented as united in counsel and effort to produce this astonishing creature.

 

And let them have dominion - Hence we see that the dominion was not the image. God created man capable of governing the world, and when fitted for the office, he fixed him in it. 

 

And God blessed them - Marked them as being under his especial protection, and gave them power to propagate and multiply their own kind on the earth.

 

God himself not only undertakes to make him, but is pleased so to express himself as if he called a council to consider of the making of him: Let us make man. ---The three persons ---- Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, consult about it and concur in it, because man, when he was made, was to be dedicated and devoted to Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 

 

 That man was made in God's image and after his likeness, two words to express the same thing and making each other the more expressive; image and likeness denote the likest image, the nearest resemblance of any of the visible creatures. Man was not made in the likeness of any creature that went before him, but in the likeness of his Creator; yet still between God and man there is an infinite distance. Christ only is the express image of God's person, as the Son of his Father, having the same nature. It is only some of God's honor that is put upon man, who is God's image only as the shadow in the glass, or the king's impress upon the coin.

satan's Fraying of the Edges

"First Satan casts doubt on God’s Word by querying, “Did God actually say?” (Genesis 3:1).

Next, he flat-out denies God’s Word, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4).

Lastly, he claims, “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). 

 

The devil is cunning and knows that overtly suggesting that people

disobey God, and instead do their own thing, would not work. McQuoid affirms, the “destruction of any worldview often begins with a subtle undermining and a fraying at the edges” . 

---Or, to put it differently, Satan deconstructs God’s sovereignty (in Eve’s mind) and says human autonomy is better than following God (contrast Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5)." CMI

IN the NEWS - Example of why "Christians" can't be part of "social justice" movement

"A student has been reinstated by State University of New York

(SUNY) Geneseo after being suspended from the school’s education program after he expressed his views on biology on social media, stating “a man is a man,” and “a woman is a woman.”

“I was made aware of a current student’s Instagram posts pertaining to transgender people,” the office of the university president wrote. “I imagine that reading these sentiments from a member of the of the Geneseo community raises apprehension of trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming students and their allies. I want to take this opportunity to publicly restate my deep personal commitment to promoting social justice,” the office added." Breitbart

 

Bingo...there it is....how can any of you who are "Christians" be involved with the so-called self ordained "social justice" movement?

It's a movement at odds in so many ways with what God teaches us...  male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27

Benefits of Your Sacrifice

Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness... Psalm 51:19

"Only through the surrender of our will to God is it possible for Him to impart His life to us. . . . 

It will require a sacrifice to give yourself to God; 

but it is a sacrifice of 

---the lower for the higher, 

---the earthly for the spiritual, 

---the perishable for the eternal."

E.G.W.

Creation Moment 3/31/2021 - Zipping around it's Sun in One Day? TOI-1634b

More Planetary Diversity---- Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,.. Hebrews 11:3

"Using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the HARPS-N spectrograph at the 3.6-m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, astronomers have discovered and confirmed an ultra-short period keystone planet orbiting an M2 dwarf (red dwarf star) called TOI-1634.

Radius valley planets, which we refer to as keystone planets, are valuable targets to conduct tests of the competing radius valley emergence models across a range of stellar masses.

Doing so requires that we characterize the bulk compositions of a sample of keystone planets using precise radial velocity measurements.....confirmation and characterization of one such keystone planet from TESS: TOI-1634b....

TOI-1634b is a sub-Neptune planet with a radius of 1.8 times that of Earth and a mass of 4.8 Earth masses.
The world has an orbital period of 1 day and lies 0.015 AU (astronomical units) from its host star, the M2 dwarf TOI-1634.

The mass and radius of TOI-1634b are inconsistent with an Earth-

like composition. 

Also known as TIC 201186294 or 2MASS J03453363+3706438, the system is located 115 light-years away in the constellation of Perseus.

The bulk composition of TOI-1634b is inconsistent with models of thermally-driven mass loss (i.e. photoevaporation and core-powered mass loss) and with gas-poor formation." SciNews

---The orbital period is the time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object, and applies in astronomy usually to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets, exoplanets orbiting other stars, or binary stars.

Genesis 1 SERIES - Verse 24,25

 Commentary of Charles Spurgeon, Adam Clarke & Matthew Henry

 

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after

his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Vs.24,25 

We have here the first part of the sixth day's work.

 

Let the earth bring forth the living creature, etc. - חיה נפש nephesh chaiyah ; a general term to express all creatures endued with animal life......Let the earth bring forth, not as if the earth had any such

prolific virtue as to produce these animals, or as if God resigned his creating power to it; but, "Let these creatures now come into being upon the earth, and out of it, in their respective kinds, conformable to the ideas of them in the divine counsels concerning their creation."

 

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, etc. - Every thing both in the animal and vegetable world was made so according to its kind. 

 

 There is as much wisdom and care displayed in the creation of the tiniest creeping insect as in the creation of leviathan himself. Those who use the microscope are as much amazed at the greatness and the goodness of God as those are who use the telescope. He is as great in the little as he is in the great. After each day’s work, God looks upon it, and it is well for us every night to review our day’s work.

Digging Deep into John the Baptist's Preaching

 "John the Baptist's work made

---a great stir (And there went out unto him all the land of

Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. Mark 1:5), 

---and a general belief that it was time for the Messiah led to a spirit of inquiry concerning this man of the wilderness (And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; Luke 3:15).

 

--Sacrificial offerings of animals could not avail (For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Heb. 10:4), 

--but the death of Christ met every demand for all time (And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Heb. 9:15) 

--and for the whole world (And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2). 

 

When, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John had pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, a new light was shed upon the Savior's mission.

 

-The work of John accomplished the right result,-his disciples heard him, but they followed Jesus. 

-The great apostasy was caused by men winning disciples to themselves. (Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20:30)."

Sabbath School Lesson 1896

Creation Moment 3/30/2021 - United Methodist Steps to Rebellion

Thus saith the LORD, 

Stand ye in the ways, and see, 

and ask for the old paths, where is the good way,

and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. 

But they said, We will not walk therein.

Jeremiah 6:16

 

"The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 as a result of a merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. 

The 1800s Methodist Church split over slavery is not covered here except to note the split was not only their view of slavery, but also creationism and other topics. 

 Thomas Yorty, in a review of academic Methodist thought, wrote that “use of the argument from design abounds in the [UMC’s] Review. Significantly, however, the [design] argument after 1877 seems to be used as a way to accommodate or modify Darwin’s ideas.”

Yorty concludes that after 1877 the accommodationists’ view, often articulated as theistic evolution, or where God used evolution to create life, often dominated Methodist academic thought.

 

Professor Dawn Digrius, in a review of how theistic evolution became established in Protestant churches, and specifically the UMC, observed that Rev. Lyman Abbott’s mission was to persuade Americans that “science and faith were compatible and ... as he and John Fisk believed, ‘Evolution was God’s way of doing things’ and ... there had never been any conflict between science and religion, nor was there any need for reconciliation, because harmony had always existed.”

As an advocate of evolution, Congregationalist Lyman Abbott (1835–1922) naively assumed the scientific evidence supported Darwinism and focused on accommodation of evolution with Protestantism. Church historian William Warren Sweet wrote Abbott was so important that “no religious leader in the modern period has exercised a more abiding influence” on American Protestantism, including on the Methodist Church.

 

Digrius then traces the influence of Fisk and Abbott to Methodist minister Lynn Harold Hough (1877–1971), who supported the accommodationists’ view, and taught that Christianity could

assimilate evolutionary concepts without compromise. As a dean at Methodist Drew Theological Seminary, where he had been a professor since 1930, and dean since 1934 until he retired in 1947, he was involved in training thousands of ministers and other church leaders.

 

About this time, William H. Phelps, editor of The Michigan Christian Advocate, wrote that the conviction of John T. Scopes in Dayton, Tennessee, produced “careful thinking on the part of every one of us”. He concluded Methodists should “begin to use evolution a bit instead of abusing the scientists!” 

 

As a result of this statement by Phelps, on Monday, 31 August 1925, formal charges were brought against Hough and William H. Phelps by Rev. Bird led by Dr E.J. Warren of the Detroit Conference. Consequently, the Methodist Episcopal Church was forced to respond to the heresy charges. Congregants who agreed with the views of Hough recalled the enthusiasm with which his sermon was received locally. Although the committee was reticent to have the press present at the meeting, Bird demanded media coverage, and the committee reluctantly agreed. Bird declared he opposed the “encroachments of the evolutionary theory upon religion” and believed that “the doctrine of evolution was going to split the church in two”.

 

 The UMC committee met and recommended the Detroit Conference refuse to even consider Bird’s charges. When the UMC conference received the report, they responded with “loud and prolonged cheering”.

Widespread coverage of the heresy proceedings strongly supported Hough over Bird. This event was important in solidifying the Darwinists’ position in the UMC. 

Digrius asserted that those persons like Hough wish to deflate the conflict, a goal that includes groups such as The Clergy Letter Project. Their goal is to bring clergy and scientists together in an effort to convince them that “numerous clergy from most denominations have tremendous respect for evolutionary theory and have embraced it as a core component of human knowledge, fully harmonious with religious faith”. In fact, the project’s goal actually silences Darwin critics in the church. 

The acceptance of evolution by leaders of the Methodist Church was by no means unanimous. 

 When the 1986 Louisiana Darwinism anti-indoctrination case designed to protect teachers’ right to objectively present the evidence for and against evolution in the classroom was before the Supreme Court, several UMC bishops filed a brief against this bill. Specific Methodists involved included Bishop Kenneth Williams Hicks of the Arkansas UMC Conference and Bishop Frederick C. James of the African Methodist Episcopal Church of Arkansas.

 

The official position of the UMC since at least 2008 is very clear: theistic evolution, which translates into evolution with a thin coat of theism. 

“United Methodist General Conference passed three petitions that accept the theory of evolution. 

One opposes the introduction of any faith-based theories such as creationism or intelligent design into public-school science curricula.”

 

Another example officially supporting evolution is in answer to a question published on the official church website: “What is the UMC’s position on evolution?” The answer was: “the official statement is, ‘We find that science’s descriptions of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution are not in conflict with theology.’”

 Under the subtitle “It’s time for people of faith to accept evolution,” we read that the UMC needs 

“... to overcome its qualms about evolution for the sake of our children, each other and the future of society ... . in accepting the findings of science. Together we need to correct the misconceptions and discard the myths. Eugenie C. Scott, the executive director of the [aggressively anti-creationist] National Center for Science Education, says that rejecting evolution puts at risk the high level of scientific achievement that has helped propel the United States to a position of economic, technological and political leadership. ..."

  

The UMC has since then become even more hostile against any opposition to Darwinism, and church bishops are not innocent in this controversy. In 2016, they were given the title ‘censor of the year’ by the Discovery Institute for banning a group of Christian educators and scientists from displaying scientific literature at the Oregon conference, even though many other groups, including some very controversial ones, were allowed space to present their literature.48 The banned scientists were part of the Discovery Institute that produces books and films about the wonders of nature that give testimony to the Creator. ....The specific source of the ban to exclude the Discovery Institute from the church’s General Conference is unclear, but the result was to censor discussion of intelligent design. When the Discovery Institute inquired about the source of the ban, they were told only that Commission ‘leadership’ made the decision. The UMC—although its motto is “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors”—refused to disclose who made up this shadowy ‘leadership’ group." CMI/Jerry Bergman

Genesis 1 SERIES - Verse 20-23

 Commentary of Charles Spurgeon, Adam Clarke & Matthew Henry

 

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Vs.20-23 

....admires the Creator's wisdom and power as much in an ant as in an elephant....

 

Let the waters bring forth abundantly - There is a meaning in these words which is seldom noticed. Innumerable millions of animalcula are found in water. Eminent naturalists have discovered not less than 30,000 in a single drop! How inconceivably small must each be, and yet each a perfect animal, furnished with the whole apparatus of bones, muscles, nerves, heart, arteries, veins, lungs, etc., etc. What a proof is this of the manifold wisdom of God!

 And God created great whales - הגדלים התנינם hattanninim haggedolim . Though this is generally understood by the different versions as signifying whales, yet the original must be understood rather as a general than a particular term, comprising all the great aquatic animals, such as the various species of whales, the porpoise, the dolphin.

 

Let fowl multiply in the earth - It is truly astonishing with what care, wisdom, and minute skill God has formed the different genera and species of birds, whether intended to live chiefly on land or in water. 

 

God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply - God will bless his own works, and not forsake them; and what he does shall be for a perpetuity, Eccl. 3:14.

 

---We have the thoughts that soar like fowl in the open firmament of heaven, 

---and other thoughts that dive into the mysteries of God, as the fish dive in the sea, 

and these are after-development, after-growths of that same power which at the first said, “Let there be light.”

Enfolded and Unfolded

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:27

 "The New Testament is enfolded in the Old; 

and the Old Testament is unfolded in the New. 

For what is the law but the Gospel foreshadowed? 

and what is the Gospel but the law fulfilled?"

Sabbath School Lesson 1896

 

IN the NEWS - "Exceedingly" Nails It....

 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
Genesis 13:13

"A former priest and Labor Party branch president’s sentence for the sick exploitation of children in southeast Asia has been delayed due to a prison strike.

 

Peter Andrew Hansen has pleaded guilty to 31 offences, including one of sexual intercourse with a child under 18, and 15 counts of producing child abuse material after being caught with the vile videos in 2018.

Hansen admitted to filming sexual videos of young boys in Vietnam and the Philippines while living overseas, with the earliest offences coming in 2014.

The depraved cache of meticulously filed material was discovered by Border Force officers on a hard drive after Hansen was stopped on arrival at Sydney Airport on October 6, 2018.

Court documents revealed Border Force officers in 2018 found videos depicting underage male children who were “instructed to remove their clothing and perform sexual acts on themselves and other children”.

A title page aired prior to the video beginning listed the name and ages of the children, revealing them to be between 12 and 15 years old, the court was told.

 The offence of producing child abuse material carries a maximum term of 10 years in jail." The Australian

The "Really" File - (Nike's "satan shoes")

 ....inventors of evil things,.... Romans 1:30

 

"Pop star Lil Nas X disturbingly has simulated sex with the Prince of Darkness himself in his latest music video.

 

Rapper Lil Nas X has unveiled “Satan Shoes,” which contain

human blood, and will be limited to 666 pairs that are individually numbered. The sneakers start at $1,018, and are a collaboration with Nike.

 

“Satan Shoes” are expected to be released on Monday, March 29. They contain “60cc ink and 1 drop of human blood,” according to the streetwear culture and news account, Saint.

 

In selling the sneakers, the rapper has partnered with MSCHF — a company that runs on “structured chaos,” and has been “creating some of the most absurd, cynical, and viral projects and products that have spread across the internet,” according to Business Insider.

 

Moreover, the release of the satanic sneakers will arrive on the heels of Lil Nas X’s latest music video, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” in which the rapper can be seen dancing on a stripper pole while descending to hell, where he subsequently gives Satan a lap dance. In the

video for his new hit, Montero (Call Me By Your Name), the 21-year-old multi-platinum rapper is depicted in the Garden of Eden where he’s tempted to sin by an evil serpent. The “Old Town Road” rapper, who came out as gay shortly after rising to fame, is then judged and sentenced to an eternity in hell.

 

“Dear 14 year old Montero, I wrote a song with our name in it. It’s

From the "Really" File

about a guy I met last summer. I know we promised to never come out publicly, I know we promised to never be ‘that’ type of gay person, I know we promised to die with the secret,” the rapper wrote.

 

Late last year, the rapper make headlines when he told one of his pregnant fans to “get rid of it” during an online Q&A with his 6.3 million Instagram followers." Breitbart/NewsWars

REALLY?