So, we cannot afford to hide behind the hope that somehow we will be able to hide behind distorted images of justice that look good or promising to us.

As for children, those who are too young to weigh good and evil, too young to sin in God’s eyes–not ours–for instance, crying loudly for a diaper change or a bottle is not sin, I am sure God will do what is right in His eyes, and not what is right in our eyes, and what is right in His eyes will be correct–not our view.

In any case, I would NEVER, EVER, EVER want to give someone a false comfort that they can get out of pain in this life by turning the gun on themselves and fleeing this life on earth.

If someone were to commit suicide and end up in hell for it, whatever the age, I would not want their blood to be on my hands because I gave them false comfort.

I highly recommend Ray Comfort’s and Kirk Cameron’s Way of the Master program and materials. It is by far the best program I have found for getting people to present the Gospel in a way that is truly Biblical and effective and avoids many of the pitfalls of many other evangelism programs that all too often lead people into a false conversion.

Another gentleman named William Lau and his wife came and presented the Elijah Challenge training in our church a couple times, and it, too, is an excellent program in that it introduces another Biblical side of evangelism and that is evangelism though miracles and healing.

I think it is vital to keep a proper balance. The conversion does not happen merely because someone sees a miracle and decides to go along with God. In that situation, you very well may end up with a person like Simon the magician willing to pay to get the power to create miracles, and that’s not good, and it is not a true conversion.

God does do miracles. There are indeed miracles that can take place and open the eyes to the people to the Gospel. But, still, whether miracles are used or not, people need to be brought to the place where the know without a shadow what it is to be a sinner and why this puts us into a bad relationship with God. Many evangelism programs try to give the answers and lead a person through a sinner’s prayer but too often leave people in a state where they have merely carried out yet another ritual or program or rattled off the words of a prayer without really coming to a place of true repentance and salvation.

The Way of the Master goes into the 10 commandments. From the start, a person might be asked, “Do you consider yourself to be a good person?” Of course, most people would naturally say, “Yes”. The feeling is that we haven’t done anything seriously wrong like robbing a bank or murdering someone. However, have you ever lied? What does that make you? Ouch. Have you ever stolen anything? What does that make you?

The point here is not to condemn anyone but rather to bring us all to realize we are already rightfully condemned before a holy and just God who must tell the truth about our character and therefore cannot allow us into a place as holy and good as heaven or else our character would bring utter ruin to heaven if our selfishness were to allow to continue unchecked. Sin brings more sin. One lie requires more to cover the first sin. Addictions and habits take hold and deepen and take over a person, and over an infinite number of years, any place where a sinner resides would eventually become ten times worse than hell is right now.

But, God has to honor our freedom to choose who we will be and what we will love and hate. Will we be faithful to Him? Will we love Him? Will He be our Lord, or will we choose to trust and obey ourselves and our lusts and our fears instead?

So, with the Way of the Master, we all learn we really are sinners and are in big trouble with God. If we have a false repentance and are continuing to live in sin, that is exposed and we have no plea for our defense before God. God gave us the ten commandments as examples to show whether we really do love Him and our fellow human being or whether we do not. And, we all stand as violators of God’s commandments. We have all thwarted the authority of an infinitely loving and worthy and holy God. We all hang treacherously from a very thin thread of life over the pit of hell mocking God, abusing God, disobeying God, daring Him to snap the thread and waiting for the flames of hell to lick that thread in two before we turn from our sins and accept the salvation bought by Jesus Christ as He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

If you have not repented and turned from your sin, you are in a very dangerous place. Why not repent from your sins right now and ask God to forgive you? Why not thank Him for taking your place on the cross and paying for your sins? Why not throw yourself on the alter and offer your life a living sacrifice to God leaving your sin behind right now? Later is not an option you can depend on. Now is the only moment you have. If your heart fails, if you have a sudden aneurysm in your brain and it takes your life suddenly, if you cross in front of a car and are hit, or if you die in your sleep, where will you be? With God? Or lost forever with no hope? Can you lead your loved ones to Christ and up and out of sin if you will not give yourself to Christ in repentance yourself?

We need to be saved ourselves and then turn and learn how to lead others out of sin and away from a path to hell and to salvation through Jesus Christ, and the sooner we give ourselves to this service, the more God can use us to reach more people for Christ. Truth is, soon is not soon enough. The only thing that is soon enough is now. Right now. Here and right now. Don’t take another step. Don’t wait for something else to happen or for a better time. If you have to cry right there at your computer before others in your workplace and it costs you your pride, you will have to lose that pride to receive Jesus as your Lord anyway, and this may be why you are reading this at this time because now is the time of your salvation. Do not let it slip away for one minute longer. Surrender to Jesus. Put down your weapons of sin and rebellion and pride and self-righteousness. Give it up. They way to rule you as your lord, but Jesus will not share the throne of your life with any other lords. Dethrone them. Refuse them. Repent from ever having surrendered to them. Give up your slavery to them. They do not seek your well being but only bait you for your own destruction. Give it up and turn to Jesus Christ right now and have for the remainder of eternity a Lord who loved you dearly enough to die for you.

Chances are the lord you chose to rule over your life will be the one you chose tomorrow and the next day. Don’t let this time of decision go unaddressed. Surrender to Jesus Christ and repent and be saved from a life of sin and ruin.

Dan

Even so, the spirit of adultery, divorce, and abuse travel together. The person who cannot forgive even the smallest and most unintentional pain may have unresolved hurts from the past. And it is often these people who become very infantile and selfish in their thinking.

When someone is getting to safety, running to a shelter, and taking the children with them to the shelter, or seeks help from the police from a truly dangerous situation, that is often the right thing to do.

However, there are people who lie to get the upper hand. Not everyone who cries “violence” or “abuse” is telling the truth. Some are. Some are not. Those who are need to be protected. Those who are lying are themselves abusing. And, nobody should be abused.

The problem is that serious wrongdoers in a relationship are often too cowardly to address their wrongs honestly if there is a way to shelter themselves from the pain of the truth. If a man or a woman is being a liar and a whore and ripping to shreds the marriage unjustly, it is often so convenient for them to complain they were not getting their needs met. Or they will try to incite the other spouse to commit some wrong just so they can grab the first opportunity to blame the other spouse for causing the problem.

What so often happens when one spouse is deeply committed as I was to my first marriage is that the committed spouse ends up being a slave to the unfaithful one. The unfaithful spouse can hold onto two partners and use jealousy to play one partner against the other saying, “If you don’t give me what I want, I’ll run to the other partner”.

What happens so often is the faithful spouse will have been carrying the marriage all along. He or she will read books, study videos and recordings on marriage and attend seminars and study families who have been successful in marriage making every effort to be the very best spouse and parent they can be while the unfaithful partner criticizes and abuses emotionally, verbally, and/or physically.

But, then there are spouses with problems such as drinking or gambling or drug abuse or sex addictions that bring danger or harm to the family.

Bottom line, the vows that make up a marriage vow faithfulness for better or worse, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer. For a person to end a marriage for good reason, that reason has to be very serious, and the Bible keeps the list very short. That is why it is important to think and pray before making the commitment knowing that even if we forget our promises, God will not tell a lie when we arrive before the throne and God has to speak the truth regarding whether we were faithful or not. We need to be ready to hang in there faithfully and prayerfully through hard times. I know God is loving and forgiving, but He is also truthful, and if our hearts are not pure, He will have no choice but to say so.

Many people imagine they can just choose sin and say, “Sorry God” and all will be fine. Truth is if they would do it again under the same circumstances, then their repentance is fake. To repent requires coming to the place where the sin is no longer something one would commit, excuse, justify, or fake repentance about.

I know that’s hard, but God has to be truthful not because He is unloving, but because He is honest and faithful and holy and just. He really does not have a choice because He cannot give up His holiness or righteousness or honesty just to save us from the demands that justice places on us when we live in sin. We have to give up the sin and take hold of the grace of God through faith and receive Him as our Lord and Savior. He is Lord — it isn’t as though He were going to say, “Oh, goody, I get to be Lord of the universe now because someone accepted Me”. But, we have to take Him into our hearts as our Lord and King — the one we trust and as a result of that trust our lives are changed and we become obedient to His will. The grace of God makes us love serving God and makes us want to go the distance and be faithful to Him. We will probably stumble and need to ask forgiveness again. But, overall, throughout our lives, our lives will be dramatically changed to the point where we can be said to be new creations where the old man in us is dead and we become alive in Christ.

In this condition, it is not possible for a person to be unfaithful or break a marriage. One can experience a situation as I did where my first wife was unfaithful and broke our marriage. Yet I tried and prayed for help to save the marriage. It took years for me to be willing to give up, and then a few more years to heal and become ready for God to put me into a new marriage.

And, this marriage is more healthy and happy than my first marriage ever was. Eileen has never lied to me or done anything purposely to harm or abuse me. She has never insulted me or cussed at me or put me down whether before others or while we were alone. I never have to worry about whether she will push me to sin or whether she is telling the truth. I don’t have to worry she might go with another man. She is faithful to the core of her being and it nearly defines who she is.

But, in my first marriage, I was continually abused verbally and emotionally and sometimes physically. It was very painful for that marriage to end, and I went through such a deep depression I found it almost a miracle I survived it at all. But, God is a God of restoration and what the devil has intended for harm, God can use for a greater good.

That’s a good reason to hang in there in the marriage.

Another thing that made me glad I stayed with the first marriage is that I never have to wonder whether the marriage could have been saved if I had done something different. I don’t have to wonder whether I prayed enough or waited or was willing enough to forgive. And, Eileen never has to worry whether I will honor my vows to her, either.

So, faithfulness through the hard times and loving through the hard times is more precious than most people know. It is hard, but well worth it.