O you who love the Lord, hate evil! – Ps. 97:10 ~ There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. – Pro. 14:12
Zephaniah 1:
2 “I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”
declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away both man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea—
and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”
“When I destroy all mankind
on the face of the earth,”
declares the Lord,
4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,
the very names of the idolatrous priests—
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host,
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
and who also swear by Molek,
6 those who turn back from following the Lord
and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”
Matthew Henry’s Commentary
Ruin is coming, utter ruin; destruction from the Almighty. The servants of God all proclaim, There is no peace for the wicked. The expressions are figurative, speaking every where desolation; the land shall be left without inhabitants. The sinners to be consumed are, the professed idolaters, and those that worship Jehovah and idols, or swear to the Lord, and to Malcham. Those that think to divide their affections and worship between God and idols will come short of acceptance with God; for what communion can there be between light and darkness (between Christ Jesus and Tammuz)? If Satan have half, he will have all; if the Lord have but half, He will have none. Neglect of God shows impiety and contempt. May none of us be among those who draw back unto perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
http://bible.christiansunite.com/mhcc.cgi?b=Zep&c=1
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/…
Leviticus 10:10 “You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean.”
In a world still swirling in sin thousands of years after its catastrophic collision with evil, the need for discernment is critical, and God has assigned to His followers the task of knowing the difference between good and evil. What seperates God’s people from everyone else is the wisdom He gives that enables them to discern holy from common, sacred from profane, clean from unclean, good from evil. ~Julie Ackerman Link from her booklet, Loving God With All My Mind
Warn the brethren about the practice of paganism in their worship of God but use wisdom in when to stop trying to reason with them. They have been told and that is all we are to do and after, when there is no repentance nor desire to search the matter out, leave it in God’s hands.
1. Christians will not boast in their religion because they exchanged it for an eternal relationship with Christ (Heb. 13:5).
2. Christians will not receive the Eucharistic Christ because we received the true Christ at conversion and now live in permanent union with Him (Rom. 6:5).
3. Christians will not confess to an earthly priest because we have a perfect High Priest in heaven (Heb. 4:14-15).
4. Christians will not submit to the pope as head of the church, because Jesus is our Head (Eph. 5:23).
5. Christians will not follow unbiblical traditions of men because we have a more sure word (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:19).
6. Christians will not earn indulgences for the remission of sin because Jesus paid the eternal sin debt with His perfect and sufficient sacrifice (Heb. 7:27; 9:12).
7. Christians will not participate in the ongoing sin-offering of the Eucharistic Christ on an altar because Jesus finished the work of our redemption (John 19:30).
8. Christians will not pray to Mary and the Saints because Jesus is the one mediator to God and He has given us access to Him (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 4:16).
9. Christians will not have unity with Roman Catholics because we have been sanctified by the truth and will not be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14-18; John 17:3).
10. Christians will not bow down to Catholic statues, icons and the Eucharist because it is the sin of idolatry (1 Cor. 10:14).
hattip: Dan Allnut
The X Mass Blog 