God is particularly interested in what is going on within the heart of man. Specifically, He seeks for, and desires to find, TRUTH.
The truth is more valuable than any earthly possession and it would be worth a man selling everything he owns just to possess the truth.
Sin develops, plots, schemes, and finalizes its dastardly deeds within the heart of the guilty long before the sin manifests itself to the eyes of others.
Sin is not something man does by accident. It is something man does or allows based upon an unwillingness to stop an act before it becomes sin.
The world is full of religion, but this religion bears little to no resemblance to the truth of the scriptures. Why? Because man-made religion is vain.
There is one murder that far surpasses every other murder ever committed. That particular murder occurred when Jesus Christ was crucified.
A man who loses hope loses his primary motivation for doing right and living holy. The Bible reveals what men do when they have no hope: “let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32). If there is no hope in a resurrection, man sees no reason to cease to go after his strange gods (Jeremiah 2:25) or follow “the imagination of his evil heart” (Jeremiah 18:12). If there is no judgment after death, or if the Lord is not soon returning, then the greatest impetus for living the Christian life is lost. Man needs a special motivation to help him to live a life of purity. He should live in purity because He loves the Lord. Yet, the answer lies in the fact that the Lord is coming soon, and man will stand before Him to give an account, and all those who have this particular hope will purify themselves, “even as he [Jesus] is pure.” Hope makes all the difference!
Some of the most popular televangelists garner their popularity by falsely teaching that God wants everyone wealthy. God simply does not want everyone to have riches. Yet, if wealth is gained through scriptural means, it can be used to do much good (by supporting missionaries, helping those in need, furthering the gospel, etc.). The Bible clearly teaches that it is wrong for anyone to seek to become wealthy. Yet, one should equally not set out to be poor. As such, every believer should know how to avoid self-induced poverty. According to scripture, there are certain actions or inactions that ultimately lead to poverty: laziness (Proverbs 6:10-11; Proverbs 24:33-34), greediness (Proverbs 11:24), pleasure loving (Proverbs 21:17; Proverbs 23:21), and following vain persons (Proverbs 28:19). These truths hold constant on both an individual level as well as collectively.
Gaining wealth (or riches) has allowed some people to increase their levels of comfort far beyond those who are financially disadvantaged. In one parable, the Lord spoke of a rich man whose ground brought forth plentifully (Luke 12:16). The rich man unfortunately came to trust in his abundance and decided to take his ease (Luke 12:19), but that night he died (Luke 12:20). Riches are not for ever (Proverbs 27:24) even if it is not death that robs a man of his riches. The Bible says for the living, riches “certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:5). Furthermore, we are told that those who trust in riches will fall (Proverbs 11:28). Perhaps this is why Paul told Timothy to instruct the rich to trust in the living God rather than their uncertain riches (1 Timothy 6:17).
An assault upon the conscience of man is indicative of the “latter times.” As men depart from the faith and give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, their consciences become so weak that they show very little sign of life. The Bible describes it as a searing of their consciences with a hot iron. Initially, there is great pain in the sin and the conscience feels the pain. Yet, eventually, the conscience becomes so seared that it is numb. At that point, the conscience loses its ability to warn the believer of sin. It further loses the ability to get the believer’s attention when he is on the verge of danger. Eventually, men speak lies in hypocrisy and do not care or feel any remorse for their wickedness.
