Surprise! Skeptics are as religious as the rest of us. Religion doesn’t have to be practiced in a church. It need not be defined by a name or written creed. What defines religion is devotion to a person or system of thought powerful enough to dictate the way one lives. Skeptics are devoted to their skepticism. They worship the great First Skeptic whom we’ll name later. They have definite beliefs and live their religion. But the tenets of that religion are scary indeed.

Their cult does not acknowledge the all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, righteous, holy God. Which is not to suggest that skeptics are true atheists. Theirs is a reactionary religion. With them, if God said it, it’s open to question. For six thousand years now, they have echoed and reechoed the great First Skeptic, Satan, who challenged Eve in the Garden of Eden: ‘Yea, hath God said?’ (Genesis 3:1) It’s the theme that runs consistently through their talk, reasoning, and literature — rebellion.

Skepticism is dangerous. Only a sovereign, righteous God can restrain man’s foolish, destructive impulses. Man is not capable of saving himself. Where skepticism runs rampant, and Christianity is at a low ebb, crime soars.

For all its intellectual veneer, skepticism thrives on ignorance. The neatly packaged philosophies of skepticism would unravel, and its foundational flaws be quickly exposed, should skeptics develop the graces of listening, teachability, and love of the truth.

The skeptics’ religion is intolerant, cruel, and oppressive. God would have spared the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had He found ten decent people there. But skeptics will rave long and loud against one Christian who dares to speak up for creation or eternal absolutes, or who calls into question their pet sin. Their legislative agenda is packed full of liberties for their unbridled lusts, and the suppression of God’s truth and moral values.

Skepticism is bondage. Christ sets the captives free. While we cold-shoulder God, we quickly become the slaves of our own self-will, intemperance, and vanity. But when we confess Christ and our need of Him, and are born from above, we are given the keys of self-discipline, and experience the blessings of living for God and others instead of ourselves.

No, you won’t find The First Skeptics’ Church listed in the yellow pages of the telephone directory or the religion page of your local newspaper. You won’t find skeptics burning incense to Satan. Still skepticism is many folks’ religion today. Note the ritual sneer when God is named in reverence. Many of the great First Skeptic’s followers are also members of religious denominations. Might even you or I have worshipped at his altar? Have we questioned what we once knew to be God’s truth? Are we already practicing skeptics, having adopted attitudes, lifestyles, and beliefs that are opposed to the truth of God’s Word? Have we paraphrased the First Skeptic, Satan’s words, like this: “Does the Bible say that? God couldn’t have meant it!”

-by Dallas Witmer

Jobs are insecure. Retirement investments vanish, and disappear like smoke in the wind. What seemed secure and stable a year ago is today vulnerable and unstable! Without question this brings stress into marriage relationships and parent-child relationships.

What are our options when we become jobless or homeless? What are our options when we can no longer meet our obligations, pay our bills, or provide for our families? While we cannot provide answers to all of the above questions, we can offer some basic Bible principles that will help us look at our situation objectively.

Fear God

There are many promises in the Bible for those who fear God. “O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him” (Psalm 34:9).

Fearing God is not being afraid of Him as if He were a sovereign ready to punish and to destroy us. Rather, it is worshipping God and reverencing Him for who He is, the Creator, the provider, the protector of His children. Fearing God is believing and knowing that His Word is true, His promises sure, and His commandments are to be obeyed.

“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward [stubborn and disobedient] mouth” (Proverbs 8:13).

When we begin to hate evil we learn to abhor sin and everything that is in opposition to God’s righteous standard. You may ask, “What has this to do with economics or loss of job or credits?” Very much. Sin is costly at best. Sin is what brings economic woes upon a nation and upon the people of the nation.

Drinking, smoking, drugs, gambling, partying, and indulging in expensive or unnecessary entertainment consume finances that could be used for family necessities. Disconnect the T.V. and use the time for family interaction. Story time with children creates memories and bonding that money cannot buy.

The fear of God causes us to turn our eyes toward Him and away from our troubles. Hear what the Psalmist David said, “I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:4, 6).

Trust in God

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6).

The abundance of material things has made our lives complex and complicated. Numerous demands are made on us by society. Our wants, not our needs, become mandatory. We need God”s guidance and wisdom to help us sort through what is practical and necessary and what is unnecessary.

There are only two basic objects of trust- God, or man with all his inventions. Many people have chosen to trust man instead of God.

We are learning the hard way that trusting in the institutions and wisdom of men is disappointing. The stock market crashes. Business schemes cause investments to vanish, the bank forecloses on our property, or the company we had so much confidence in folds up and we lose our job.

We believe God can use all these failures to get us to turn our hearts to Him and learn to trust in Him. He alone is trustworthy. Read Psalm 50 in the Bible. Note verse 15: “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”

Every day we need to make many decisions. Perhaps you are bombarded with a multitude of advisors saying, “You should do this, you must do that, or do it this way.” While they mean well, they often only add to the complexity.

On the other hand, if we turn to God and give Him our trust and loyalty, He will superintend our lives to do His will. Placing our trust and confidence in the Lord simplifies life and makes it more manageable. “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him” (Nahum 1:7).

Follow the Teachings of Jesus

Matthew 6:31-34 reminds us of where to put our trust. “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

Jesus taught us how to relate to material things. “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” (Luke 12:15, 23, 24).

These teachings of Jesus are not suggesting irresponsibility, but rather encourage us to place our faith and trust in the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. We are more than physical beings who need food and clothes for survival. We are also spiritual and emotional creatures that are answerable to our Creator and to each other.

God is pleased when we bring all our perplexities, difficulties, and burdens to Him in prayer. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

If we choose to ignore our heavenly Father and refuse to acknowledge His commandments and promises, can we blame Him for our troubles? God is waiting and ready to receive all who come to Him in faith. He forgives those who are repentant and restores those who plead for mercy.

The economy crisis will prove to be a blessing if we turn away from our greed, selfishness, and extravagance, and learn to live in simple faith and trust. In living more simply we have more time for family and neighbors and community service. We will develop appreciation for the nobler virtues of life- a caring attitude, a sensitivity to others” feelings, an understanding compassion for growing children and youth, and an awareness of God”s hand in the small details of life. Can we thank God for the lesson?

-by J. Martin

But God is not mocked. Heaven is reserved not for those who merely profess Jesus as Lord, but for those who do the will of the Father in Heaven. Salvation results in single-minded devotion to God, producing a separation from the world and the powers of darkness. Separation is the principle whereby Christians live “in the world without being of the world.” Separation serves as a divinely prescribed respirator, sparing every godly person from the toxic effects of sin that dooms the multitudes on the broad way to destruction. Rather than adopting the destructive ways and values of the world, children of God receive their orders from God, through careful and faithful application to Biblical commands and teaching.

Separation has both a long history and an eternal future. In the beginning of creation, God separated natural light from natural darkness, a major factor in making the world habitable.

Spiritually, He applies principles of light versus darkness as the litmus test of any people who claim a relationship with Him. “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth” (1 John 1:6).

In the beginning, God, in six days, created everything by the power of His own Word. He filled the universe, like a giant canvas, in a mind-boggling, breathtaking display of His infinite power, His wisdom, His glory, and His majesty. Even though this is now a fallen world, all nature obeys Him still, for God upholds it all by the same Word of His power. Yet even before the Fall, in a still perfect universe, God separated one tree in the middle of Eden with the command, “Thou shalt not eat.”

Without exception, the lifestyle choices of godly men of history were regulated by command of God. Adam failed the test. But Noah, moved with fear, built the ark to exact divine specifications, and separated himself and his family from the plight of the ungodly. Abraham (designated spiritual father of all the faithful), at the command of God, deserted the idolatrous city of his ancestors. He left the love of the world to dwell in tents, but gained the eternal city of God. Moses made the early choice to reject worldly pleasure to embrace the hardships of the godly. Probably the greatest leader of all time, Moses regularly and specifically received the ordered ways of God for his people. Sacrifice, worship, dietary instruction, wardrobe, giving, sanitation, principles of marriage and of justice-no details escaped the notice of God. This obedience would set Israel apart as a wise and understanding people in a pronounced separation from nations who had long departed from the ways of God, who were slated for judgment and destruction.

And yes, separation does have an eternal future. In the Day of the Lord, all who ever lived and breathed will stand before God in judgment. All will be judged, not by profession of Christianity, not by miracles or prophecies, nor by brownie points of accumulating good deeds (some of the biggest givers of our day do not know God), but according as we have done the will of the Father in Heaven. In that day, the sheep will be forever separated from the goats. The righteous will inherit the kingdom prepared for them. The wicked will be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God.

The contrast could hardly be more striking. The pursuit of worldliness is temporal and meets a horrific end, for the friend of the world has made himself an enemy of God. Separation unto God is good for the present life and for eternity. It is the only permanence available within a temporal system. For the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Strange, isn’t it, that we should be so enamored with “forbidden fruit” of this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which all are to pass away, and mark its adherents for judgment? Equally strange, isn’t it, that questionable things, and even the deeds of darkness of the world should be preferred to the glorious light of the commandments of God?

Billy Graham made a striking point in a message at a missions conference in Urbana, Illinois, in 1987. His language appeared wistful as he addressed 18,000 people (mostly college students) and recalls a message by one Donald Grey Barnhouse, a message Graham had heard in a similar conference in 1948. Even after those thirty-nine years, Billy said, “I’ll never forget his message on separation from the world.”

Now quoting Graham again: “We have gotten away from that. We have moved in with the world and allowed the world to penetrate the way we live. So things we used to call sin are no longer sin. Things that we would have abhorred a few years ago, we accept as matter of fact today, not realizing that they offend a holy God.”

Earlier in that same message, Graham referred to TV: “It’s almost embarrassing to turn on the television set. We do not realize how this offends a holy and righteous God. We act as if it doesn’t really matter how we live or what we think or say because God will forgive us anyway.”

Thus, Billy Graham exposed the heart of the matter. But has Christianity made any kind of a turnaround? The indicators of acceptable Christian culture and practice indicate that we have not. We are no longer afraid not to do the will of God. We seem bent more than ever to reject the redeeming commands of our Creator/Saviour, preferring to blindly copy the degrading cultural practices of the world. Thus the signals come, not from God, but from deniers and haters of God. He who would be the friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Typical Mr. and Mrs. Christian (and their offspring) are mere imitators of ungodly culture. Yet they would be shocked at the idea of being enemies of God. The result is what we have repeatedly reflected upon in this column. Many people in the churches reflect the same failure of basic standards-the loss of integrity and truthfulness, personal shamelessness and immodesty (marked by exposure of the body), music that banishes the echoes of tender conscience by glorifying lawlessness and sexual immorality, church youth groups give over to fornication, adulterous elders, and broken homes. In this way, the “church” is in affinity with a world at enmity against God, aligning with the multitudes of those who treasure up wrath against the day of wrath, and the day of perdition of ungodly men, and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

But what does the Bible say? “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers . . .: and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God . . . . Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

-by Lester Troyer

Of course any enlightened observer could see that the supposed new revelations of the liberal theologians was nothing more than the old agnosticism (that God cannot be known if He does exist) or outright atheism. Of course some who parroted the God-is-dead theology tried to deny that they were saying that God does not exist at all. Rather, they would say that our old ideas about God are dead.

The God-is-dead movement was the logical conclusion of liberal theology as well as the logical end of the way many people were living. After all, many people in the ’60s (and now, for that matter) lived as though God did not exist. It is but a short step from living like an atheist to talking like an atheist to being an atheist. Many young people as well as older people live for the material things of life and to have a good time. They may profess to believe in the existence of God, but they seldom think about God, much less worship Him or honor Him with their lives.

The God-is-dead movement seemed to pass away by the early 1970s. At least we no longer hear many references to it. The deistic, agnostic, and even atheistic ideas continue to abound, however.

In the 1990s the emphasis was on reinterpreting the Bible rather than outright denying it. It is popular to twist and manipulate the Bible to approve of about every sin it condemns. Some time ago, the Bible was reinterpreted to approve of divorce and remarriage by most religious groups. The “new” interpretation twisting is being applied to homosexuality, the ordination of women, the use of “she” in referring to God, and whatever the current theological hobbyhorse happens to be. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, the emphasis in many religious circles is on the “positive.” Words such as “sin” and “Hell” are hardly heard anymore. The emphasis is on a religion that makes people feel good about themselves. The teachings are more man-centered than God-centered.

The end result is a pall of doubt cast over the Word of God and over God Himself. Will the generation that seeks to reinterpret what God has to say give rise to another generation that will throw it all away and not even profess Christianity? Time will tell.

The liberal Bible-denying, even God-denying, philosophies of this world certainly are dead, devoid of spiritual nourishment and hope. Their idea of a fickle, fluctuating God who tolerates sin is dead as well. It is dead in God’s sight.

But the true God of creation and His infallible Word, the Bible, are not dead. May we follow that way of truth. The psalmist reminds us: “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Likewise the unchanging, unchangeable Word of God is everlasting. “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89).

Our God is very much alive today and in control of the world He created. He calls us to heed His call and obey His laws. He is waiting to give us true satisfaction in life. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14).

-by Roger Berry

RECOGNIZE

That you have transgressed God’s laws and have fallen short of God’s will.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

BELIEVE

That God loves you and offers you His mercy through the salvation work of His Son, Jesus Christ.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

ACCEPT

Christ’s death and resurrection as God’s provision for your forgiveness. Acknowledge your acceptance of Christ by praying sincerely:

“Jesus, I am a sinner. I accept you as the Lord and Saviour of my life. Make me an obedient child of God.”

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).

LIVE

In newness of life. When a person truly becomes a child of God, it will change the way he thinks, the way he talks, and the way he acts.

“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:4, 12, 13).