What if God was true, but on a limited basis? This would be a cause for great concern; however, this is quelled by the fact that He is both true and faithful.
After Christ removes the church, He will establish the time of Jacob’s trouble. After this, Christ will return as a thief in the night to make up His jewels.
Men rob God by simply withholding what God requested. This robbing takes on two forms: not giving what God has required or giving less than one’s best.
To steal is to wrongfully and selfishly take something that belongs to someone else and place it amongst one’s own possessions.
At times, God called people to enter into war with the goal of killing their enemies. The Bible clearly distinguishes between this type of killing and murder.
God places a high value on life. His desire was for man to be fruitful and multiply and bring forth abundantly in the earth (Genesis 9:7).
God is a jealous God, yet that jealousy is only manifested when men provoke the Lord because of their unfaithfulness. Men can provoke the Lord through various means, but ultimately, they all unite in the fact that they place something or someone else ahead of the Lord. The Lord does not want the leftovers of man’s time, love, money, and strength (Malachi 1:7-9). Instead, He wants the first and greatest of man’s possessions. Anything less is idolatrous and offensive to the God who gave man everything he has. Each man must make a daily evaluation of his life to insure that he is doing nothing to provoke the Lord to jealousy.
The Bible says that “The poor is hated even of his own neighbour” (Proverbs 14:20). In fact, his wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard (Ecclesiastes 9:16). His friends go far from him, and his brethren hate him (Proverbs 19:7). But this should not be the case amongst believers. Instead, believers should defend the poor (Psalm 82:3). They should open their ears to the cries of the poor (Proverbs 21:13) and deliver them in time of trouble (Psalm 41:1). Believers must realize that their treatment of the poor is directly related to their relationship with the Lord (Proverbs 19:17; Proverbs 17:5). Even in the New Testament, Paul was admonished to “remember the poor” (Galatians 2:10).
The apostle Paul was a man who believed his actions were simply the wishes and desires of God. This was until the Lord met him on the road to Damascus. Paul’s warfare with the Lord was likened to Paul kicking against pricks. Though Paul thought he was doing the right thing, he was, in reality, hurting himself by putting himself at odds with the Lord. Some men in Paul’s position would testify to the Lord concerning their own good when directly confronted by the Lord. Paul, however, responded by submitting himself to the Lord’s conviction and seeking out the necessary means for proper restitution. He did not accuse the Lord or justify himself. Instead, the apostle asked the question, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
Since God is the rightful recipient of man’s sacrifices, then, by necessity, He is the only One who can rightfully provide the rules for the administration of the sacrifices. In the Old Testament, God established rules about the place (Joshua 22:29) and purity (Malachi 1:8, 14) of man’s sacrifices. Men who violated these rules, choosing rather to adopt their own rules of sacrifice and worship, often suffered harsh consequences, including death. The sacrifice of Christ for sin has changed many details of God’s demands for sacrifice; it has not, however, changed the fact that man must do things God’s way. God’s rules for sacrifice whether performed in the past, present, or future are to be dictated by scripture.
