R.H. blog

"For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ," Gal.1:10-12, NKJV. It is a truth too often forgotten that, in embracing Christ, we give up the world. Our aim, in preaching the Word, is not to please man with some new and comforting philosophy, but to inform a dying world of an eternal truth. Truth is not relative, as philosophers of this age would have us believe, but absolute. Truth does not apply exclusively to those who believe it, but simply is. It is our duty, then, as Christians, to inform those deluded by the Great Lie of the Great Truth which governs their eternal destiny and the destiny of the universe. Truth is not pleasant to man because it is not of his making. Neither is t...

“Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s,” 2 Cor. 10:7, NKJV. “…But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us….” 2 Cor.10:12-13, NKJV. The danger among Christians is the tendency to glorify one’s faith as an individual as a mark of superiority. We know that our core belief is absolutely true—that is, the gospel of Christ—but are wont to extend that sense of absolute truth into all areas of our life, so that we become more or less convinced that because we are correct in our belief of Christ, we are correct in all things. Are our political beliefs guided by our belief in Christ? Certainly. Are our domestic habits guided by our belief in Christ? Absol...

We expect a certain degree of accomplishment, of success, and of joy in life, and work for the same--but to what end? For there are some among us who do not believe in eternal consequences, or eternity of the individual at all. I read recently that "without the belief of immortality, virtue cannot exist." Presumably because, if there are no eternal consequences to an individual's actions, that individual might do as he/she pleases in the moment, and give no regard to the needs or desires of his/her fellow man. Virtue is contingent upon self-denial--it is not selective kindness, that is, doing good as long as it is convenient, but giving up oneself for the express goal of enriching another person. Without belief in immortality--that is, immortality of the soul--it would not matter if another person were enriched or not, since all must die in the end, and the virtuous person will receive no reward for his/her actions. That is the skeleton of the idea, anyway. I am not sayin...