Sin Causes Division

We live in a world marked by dissension, division, strife, hatred, war and other
manifestations of violence and bloodshed. To a large extent, humans are cut off from God as well.

At the root of division, between God and mankind, and among human beings, is sin. If we can understand the root cause of division and strife, perhaps we can understand more clearly the path we should walk in, and eventually the way to peace with God and among human beings.

“Sin Causes Division,” audio recording by Rod Reynolds, COGMessenger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

In Prosperity Beware

In recent history the nations of the world have prospered as never before in history. This is especially true of the western industrialized nations, but also of many other nations, though vast numbers of the world’s people remain impoverished in many respects.

God wants us to prosper, in the right balance and as we walk in truth (III John 1:1-4). 

But wealth often has its own problems, given human nature and how humans tend to react when in the midst of abundance. God warned the people of Israel of the consequences of turning to idols and lawlessness in the latter days, after they had become prosperous, prideful and arrogant, as he foresaw they were inclined to do. It’s not difficult to see the very things prophesied in Scripture concerning the latter days happening in today’s world.

“In Prosperity Beware,” audio recording by Rod Reynolds, COGMessenger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Do You Have the Fear of God?

When God tested Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice to him his only son, Isaac, Abraham obeyed in faith. “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense” (Hebrews 11:17-19).

It was not God’s intent that Abraham actually slay his son, but God sought to test the extent of Abraham’s faith and see if he indeed had in him the fear of the Eternal (Genesis 22:10-12). Abraham proved that his fear of God was genuine, because he obeyed (Genesis 22:15-18; 26:4-5).

To fear God means to regard him with awe and deep respect, to see him as exalted and holy, just and righteous, to love him without reservation. Such fear comes from the heart. Because God is righteous and just, the fear of God is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13). As Christians, we must overcome sin and put it out of our lives. Having a genuine fear of God, as we’ve described, enables us with God’s help to do that. If you truly hate evil you will abhor it and want to put it away from you (Proverbs 16:6).

Do you have the fear of God? We will discuss how that can be determined. One way to test yourself is ask yourself, do I hate what God hates? Do I hate evil?

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