All The Counsel of God

• Introduction:
• Cremation (the burning of the dead) is not a Christian practice.
  • God commanded the dead to be buried – Deuteronomy 21:22-23.
  • God buried Moses, Deuteronomy 34:5-6.
    • According to Jude 9, Michael the Archangel and Satan came into conflict over the body of Moses and possibly because Satan wanted to make a shrine or place of idolatry of it.
    • If so, God could have burned him just as well as burying him.
    • Note that GOD HIMSELF buried Moses!
  • God commanded Israel not to burn their children – Leviticus 18:21
  • God punished Moab for cremating the king of Edom – Amos 2:1
  • Cremation is associated with idolatry.
    • 2 Chronicles 28:1-3
    • 2 Chronicles 33:1-6
    • 2 Kings 16:1-3
    • 2 Kings17:17,31
    • 2 Kings 21:6
    • Jeremiah 7:30-31
    • Jeremiah 19:3-5
    • Ezekiel 16:20-21
    • Ezekiel 20:30-31
    • Ezekiel 23:37
  • God’s people burned the dead to show contempt.
    • Joshua 7:25
    • 2 Samuel 23:1-7
    • 2 Kings 23:16,20
  • Burial following death is an important spiritual symbol.
    • Romans 6:4 says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death”
    • And Colossians 2:12 says, “Buried with Him in baptism”.
  • Burial is a part of the Gospel, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
    • Read and notice verse 4 “And that He was buried, and that He arose again on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
  • All Scripture is “profitable for instruction” and thus, Christ is the believers’ example in the proper mode of handling the dead.
  • Now, if Christian is cremated, it is not difficulty for God to transform those ashes into a glorified body.
  • The same is true for those burned or consumed by wild animals.
  • God will raise all the bodies of His children, no matter what their manner of death or disposal and will fashion them, “like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” (Philippians 3:21)
• Conclusion:
  • Cremation should not be practiced by Christians who are looking forward to a resurrection.
    • 1 Corinthians 15 – Chapter on the resurrection

“Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure

is, there will you heart be also” (Luke 12:33-34).

This is the list of orders which Christ has placed on record for His

people:

The Unexplainable Bargain– “Sell that ye have, and give alms … “

To the carnal man, this is no bargain at all. Instead it borders on folly. To the Christian, however, there is that which scattereth, and yet increaseth and there is that which maketh himself poor yet hath great riches (see Proverbs 11 :24).

The Unaging Bags – ” … provide yourselves bags which wax

not old … “

Ageless treasures must be placed in unaging bags. Heavenly treasures will be lost except they are bagged in Heaven. Lay up your treasures in Heaven, where your life is hid in Christ in God.

The Unfailing Bounty– ” … a treasure in the heavens that faileth not … “

Everything in Heaven is of God’s making. What we have to enrich us is but the gift of God. Bank your God-given treasures within the heavenly bank, and what interest will be due to you on the great dividend day!

The Unapproachable Bank -” … where no thief approacheth … “

Heaven’s bank has never been robbed nor have any of its treasures been stolen. Our treasures are absolutely safe therein. Happy are those who bank in Heaven.

The Incorruptible Barrier –” … neither moth corrupteth”

The moth cannot fly in between the bars of the treasure trove of Heaven. This Heaven cannot be infiltrated by the smallest of destructive forces. It is omnipotently impregnable.

The Unbreakable Bond –” … where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

What a bond to the heart of the saint is His treasure, the priceless Saviour. That bond forged in the fires of Calvary and hammered on the anvil of grace is unbreakable. It stands steadfast forever.

“And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing” (Mark 12:41-42).

The operative word in this statement is the little word how. Jesus behold how the people cast the money into the treasury. The Master’s interest was not so much in what people were giving, but how they were giving. He was looking at the motive for giving, the impulse of the donation, the inspiration of the offering. There is a very illuminating phrase in 1 Samuel 2:3 which declares that “… by him actions are weighed.”

As Jesus watched, in came the lonely widow, and at once He saw something which deeply moved His heart. As she cast in her two mites, the Master observed that this act was the expression of faith, “… she of her want did cast in all that she had … “ (Mark 12:44). This is an outstanding example of childlike faith. The statement literally means that she gave all that she had to live on. In other words, she trusted God to supply her wants, and devoted her property entirely to Him. It is a comparatively easy thing to give out of abundance, but it requires strong faith to give out of poverty.

Her giving was also an expression of her hope. She gave “… all her living” (Mark 12:44). As Dr. G. Campbell Morgan points out, this woman had vision! She saw beyond this world to the next. Her heart was in Heaven, so she wanted her treasure to follow. She knew what Jesus meant when He said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth … But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven … For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Jesus also observed that her act was an expression of her love. She cast in “… all her living” (Mark 12:44). Only an hour or so before, the Lord had declared that the fulfilling of the commandments was to love God and to love our neighbour. What, it might be asked, had this to do with the gifts that were placed in the treasury of the temple?

The answer is “everything.” All gifts placed in the chest were divided between the priests and the poor; however, as much as the priests might have been degraded, let us never forget that to the simple heart of this woman they stood as the representatives of God. Then there were the poor. She was one of the poorest of the poor, but they were her neighbours, and when she dropped her gifts into the treasury, she was keeping the whole law. She was expressing her love to God and her love to her neighbour.

Jesus still sits “… over against the treasury …” (Mark 12:41), and as the Lord of all giving, He watches with deep interest to see whether or not our offerings are the expression of faith, hope, and love. He is interested in your giving. What does He see behind the coins, the paper money, and the bank book?

“Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein” (Hebrews 13:9).

The text here is an apostolic caution against false doctrine. It forms part of a warning which Paul addressed to Hebrew Christians. It is a caution just as much needed now as it was two thousand years ago. Never, I think, was it so important for Christian ministers to cry aloud continually, “Be not carried about…”

The old enemy of mankind, the devil, has no more subtle device for ruining souls than that of spreading false doctrine. “… He was a murderer from the beginning …” (John 8:44); he never ceases going to and fro in the earth “… seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Outside the church, he is ever persuading men to maintain barbarous customs and destructive superstitions. Human sacrifice to idols – gross, revolting, cruel, disgusting worship of abominable false deities – persecution, slavery, cannibalism, child murder, devastating religious wars; all these are a part of Satan’s handiwork and the fruit of his suggestions. Like a pirate, his object is to “sink, bum, and destroy.” Inside the church, he is ever labouring to sow heresies, to propagate errors, to foster departures from the faith. If he cannot prevent the waters flowing from the Fountain of Life, he tries hard to poison them. If he cannot destroy the medicine of the Gospel, he strives to adulterate and corrupt it. No wonder that he is called Apollyon, the destroyer.

If any one ask me, “What is the best safe-guard against false doctrine?” I answer, “The Bible: the Bible regularly read, regularly prayed over, regularly studied.” We must go back to the old prescription of our Master, “Search the scriptures …” (John 5:39). If we want a weapon to wield against the devices of Satan, there is nothing like “… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). But to wield it successfully, we must read it habitually, diligently, intelligently, and prayerfully. This is a point on which, I fear, many fail. In an age of hurry and bustle, few read their Bibles as much as they should. More books perhaps are read than ever, but less of the one Book which makes man wise unto salvation. Rome and new doctrines could never have made such havoc in the church in the last fifty years, if there had not been a most superficial knowledge of the Scriptures throughout the land. A Bible-reading people is the strength of the church.

A story is told of a school boy who was brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through that wonderful verse in John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

However, when that lad arrived home and was sitting on the couch by himself, the devil began to disturb him, and tried to make him think that Jesus had not really saved him at all. At length the struggle in his heart became so fierce it seemed as though the adversary of his soul was actually under the couch talking to him.

For a while he did not know how to answer Satan and his taunting charges; but finally the Holy Spirit reminded him of James 4:7 about resisting the devil, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Opening his pocket Testament, he placed his finger on John 5:24, and then, reaching his arm under the couch, he said aloud, “There you go, Satan, read it for yourself!” In that moment victory was won, assurance of salvation was gained, and the evil one ” …departed from him…” (Luke 4:13).

Satan laughs at our powers and mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles at God’s Word!

“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever” (Psalm 12:6-7).

God gave His Word to His children upon earth with the instructions to proclaim and practice it. It is not our responsibility to preserve His Word. God has promised to do that, and His is promises are sure.

“Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant” (1 Kings 8:56).

“For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

1. God has not promised us a fragmented preservation. In the text we are told that “The words of the LORD…” will be preserved. There are no lost books of the Bible. They are preserved! There are no lost words of God to man. They are all preserved.

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

“That which is perfect” is the complete Word of God, and it is kept in tact and kept from injury or destruction and protected by God’s promise and power. We have God’s complete Word!

2. God has not promised us a remote preservation. If God’s Words were only preserved in Heaven, that would be of little value to us who are upon earth. God gave His Words upon earth and He has preserved them upon earth.

The Old Testament was given to the Jews, “What advantage then hath the Jew?… Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Romans 3: 1-2).

The Old Testament with its completion in the New Testament was given to the church. “I have given them thy word…” (John 17:14).

God’s Words were not preserved in a cave somewhere, but God’s children have had them all the time. God’s Words were not inerrant in the original autographs only, but have been preserved to all generations. It is not a remote preservation but a present reality!

3. God has not promised us a mingled preservation. “…The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). God has not preserved His Words mingled with the words of men.

Israel was not to sow mingled seed in their fields (Leviticus 19:19)

“Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled” (Deuteronomy 22:9).

The results would be defiled fruit. The result of sowing the preserved pure Words of God is true faith. Faith does not come by hearing man’s words (Romans 10:17). It is not necessary for scholars to search tirelessly through Greek manuscripts in an effort to distinguish between the Words of God and the words of men. “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6).

4. God has not promised us a reasonable facsimile preservation. God has not promised to simply preserve His thoughts or doctrines. He has preserved His Words!

The doctrine of the inerrancy of the Scriptures is a major doctrine. It is continually under attack. Who do you suppose provokes such attacks upon God’s Words? Satan would gnaw this foundational truth away if he could, but he can’t because we have God’s promise of preservation!

CONCLUSION

To say that some of God’s Words have passed away is to charge God foolishly. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

To say this promise of preservation has failed is an attack upon God. It is in essence blasphemy! A young Christian may for a time be confused and unsettled in his beliefs, but to say that God has not preserved His Words is to call God a liar!

God’s inerrant, infallible, inspired words are preserved in the authorized King James Version.

Thank the Lord for His promise of preservation!

These words were spoken by King Nebuchadnezzar, “And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Daniel 4:32).

Perhaps never before in the history of the world (unless it was the “days of Noah”) has evil flourished and apparently “gotten by” us as today. Because iniquity (lawlessness) abounds, the love of many and the faith and faithfulness of many- waxes cold; and many people wonder, does it really pay to serve Jesus? Is the way of the transgressor hard? Is there any goodness, or selfishness, or love left in the world? Is a revival of true religion – Bible Christianity – possible, or has God turned everything over to the devil?

The fact is, God is Still on the Throne and rules the universe. He will never abdicate, nor share with another, the power and authority of that throne! Let us never forget that! God will stay on that throne forever.

His laws cannot be violated with impunity. The fundamental principle of The Word of God- it shall be well with the righteous and ill with the wicked- is unalterably and eternally true. The reprobate who thinks he is cheating the laws of God and nature will find out that “… God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Some time, some how, some where, the harvest will come and that transgressor will pay up. Be not deceived; God is Still on the Throne. It is a righteous throne; it is a throne that sees all, hears all, remembers all, and pays all-in time or eternity.

Seven times in the book of Daniel God is called the God of Heaven, or a similar title. In the text before us, we are assured that the God of Heaven rules in the kingdom of men. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a great empire, a world rule. It turned his head, and he bloated with pride. He boasted, “… Is not this great Babylon, that I have built. .. by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30). Were the heavens silent? No! “While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee” (Daniel 4:31). The king lost his reason, turning insane. He lived for the next seven years in the wilderness as an asylum and ate grass as an ox, and his body was overgrown with hair like the eagle’s feathers, and his nails became like bird’s claws. He was humbled until, at the end of the days, his understanding returned to him, and he blessed the most High ” … whose dominion is an everlasting dominion … and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth …” (Daniel 4:34-35).

The Lord He is God! The Lord He is God! He sits on a throne which cannot be shaken. True prayer still can pierce the din and clamour and noise and confusion that prevails on earth and reach the throne! The eyes of the Lord are still running to and fro throughout the earth “… to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him …” (2 Chronicles 16:9). The promises of God have not been annulled or disannulled. Man’s unfaithfulness hasn’t changed God’s faithfulness one whit! He that sows good seeds today will surely reap an abundant harvest! Sow the Gospel, sow it in tears, and you shall surely come again rejoicing, bearing precious sheaves! (Read Psalms 126:6)

Dare to be a Daniel! Make your prayer steadfastly toward Jerusalem, though all earth, yea all Hell, be arrayed against thee. The darker the night, the brighter thy light will shine, and the more its glow will be needed.

Dare to be a John the Baptist. Witness fearlessly for thy Lord and against sin. Witness when the throngs crowd around thee; witness when thy head must be the price of they faithfulness.

Dare to be a Paul. Step out in faith in the midst of this godless and perverse generation to show that God lives! Exalt the Lord! Preach the Word! Pray with importunity! Seek and expect converts! Lengthen they cords, set out they stakes, enlarge thy borders for God, and remember that God is Still on the Throne!

His Word will never fail. His work will go on. The true church is invincible. The gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. Let faith prevail. Let steadfastness plod on, never looking back, for “… your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

There is complete victory in Christ! Press on! Look Up! Walk with God! Be true! “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).

Those faithful to the Lord will be vastly outnumbered in this day of apostacy, but stick to the right, be the crowds large or small.

Revival is needed. It may be had. God waits to give it, but it will come only on God’s conditions. A supreme need of these momentous days is to know clearly and definitely what God’s conditions for revival are. The next step is to fall in line with God. Then we shall receive the blessing that we seek.

The expressed opinions of men as to means and methods will do little to further the cause. Indeed, such may do much to hinder it. Man’s methods, consciously or unconsciously, so often is to “get up” something that is attractive. God’s method is to “get down” Someone Who is effective. God’s conditions are the only conditions upon which revival can come.

Beloved, settle it now that anything less than a whole-hearted desire for God will never yield a God-sent revival. As the result of man’s effort after revival, there may be intense excitement and much energetic movement, but all of this is possible to “the flesh” apart from God. Let us see to it that it is God we seek; and when we seek Him, we shall find Him.

So it is written, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

To meet God face to face is a heart-searching and a life transforming process. It is in His presence that we see ourselves just as we are, and “… abhor …” ourselves (Job 42:6).1t is there we see Him as the only satisfaction of our longing hearts, and appropriate Him as our all in all.

Surely it is clearly manifest where the responsibility for delayed revival lies. It is not that God holds back His gracious presence and His all-conquering power. It is because God’s people do not conform to the conditions that are needful.

Shall we face this fact individually? Shall we say with divine intention, “I will.” Others may not pay the price of these conditions to receive the proffered power, but “I will-by Thy grace, O Lord, I will.”

Humanism has had an awesome corrosive impact on the basic morality of our country. While America has more Christians than any other nation, the United States has become one of the most immoral nations on earth. Humanism, like Satan is subtle and is often undetected by the unwary- especially children and young people.

What is humanism? Please do not confuse humanism with humanitarianism. All of us should be humanitarians-showing Christ-like compassion for others. Humanism is the exact opposite of humanitarianism. A humanist believes in himself (not God) and is more concerned about his own self-preservation than he is about the needs of others. Humanism is not new. It is the ancient struggle of self-centeredness- man’s will versus God’s will. Children are easy targets for humanistic indoctrination. Humanistic thought reaches them from a wide variety of sources – public school, all forms of news and entertainment media, friends, much of our present day Sunday School materials, and sometimes even family members. Humanism impacts youngsters and young people in varying degrees in the following ways:

1. Disrespect for authority: Students in many secular schools are made to believe that they are not accountable to God, parents, pastors, teachers, or civil authorities. They are told that “anybody’s values are as good as anybody else’s,” and “whatever you choose will be right for you because you chose it.” This, of course, is the humanistic doctrine of situation ethics. The destructive spin-off of situation ethics is awesome in its impact in many lives.

2. Decline in discipline at home and at school: When youngsters believe they are their own authority they “do their own thing.” They ignore the leadership of teachers, preachers, and parents. This can result in increased resentment, confrontation, chaos; and rebellion. The rapid decline in discipline is the direct result of the rapid rise of humanistic teaching in secular schools.

3. Decline in academics: When discipline goes down, learning goes down. Teachers must have the attention of youngsters to impart learning. The “do your own thing” philosophy has led to a steady academic decline of public education over the past fifty years. Consequently, the United states is no longer the academic pacesetter of the world. It is alarming to realize that the small emerging country of South Korea has a higher literacy level than the United States!

4. Self-centeredness: The heart of humanism is the idea that man is supreme over God. It is shocking to some to learn that John Dewey, the father of”progressive education” was an atheist. He was the founder and first president of the American Humanist Association. He said, “There is no God, and there is no soul.” The American Humanist Manifesto reads, “As nontheists, we begin with humans not God, nature not deity. No deity will save us; we must save ourselves.” The “man-centeredness” of humanism leads to self-centeredness, selfishness, and self-preservation. “What’s in it for me,” becomes the cry. Youngsters are taught to look out for “number one” – namely themselves. In contrast the apostle Paul wrote, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Philippians 2:4).

5. Total academic freedom: Humanists believe that children should have the right to read anything under the guise of academic freedom- anything, that is, except the Bible. Speaking of God and the Bible, a humanist said, “It is immoral to indoctrinate children with such beliefs.”

6. Total sexual freedom: Our children are going straight from babyhood to puberty as full sexual beings with no intermission. Dr. Sam Jones, in an issue of the Los Angeles Times, calls our age of sexual freedom the “death of innocence.” Humanist thinkers want to “liberate” our children from sexual inhibitions.

The answer to all of this, as far as your children are concerned, is to avoid humanistic training. True Bible-centered schools and churches, plus the all important influence of a godly family, are the best possible options for the next generation.

Many so-called gospels are preached today, and they are so different from each other that they cannot all be right. Just what is the Gospel? The question is of vast importance, for in Galatians 1:6-9 the double curse of God is pronounced upon “… any man …” or even “… an angel from heaven …”who preaches “… another gospel: Which is not another …”

The clear definition of the Gospel is found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved … For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

Without controversy, that is the Gospel. But it does not tell us in this passage just how to apply the Gospel in dealing with men about their salvation. How shall we “preach the Gospel?”

When the Philippian jailer asked, “… what must I do to be saved?”, the answer was ready, “… Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31).

But what does it mean to “… Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ … “? When one believes, he receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, and he is immediately “born”- “… born again” (John 3 :7): “… not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13).

So the preacher of the Gospel must “preach Christ”? Certainly! But what does it mean to preach Christ? In his own devious way the modernist preaches Christ, the Unitarian preaches Christ, the Christian Scientist preaches Christ, the Mormon preaches Christ; BUT NONE OF THESE preach the Gospel. When Paul wrote about it, his readers clearly understood that to preach Christ was to preach the Gospel in all its fullness, but this is not true in our day. We must PREACH CHRIST according to the Scriptures.

The preacher of the Gospel must preach Christ and Him crucified; he must preach the cross; he must preach the blood.

But one may do all this without preaching the Gospel at all. The Roman Catholic system preaches Christ and Him crucified, it preaches the cross, it preaches the blood, but it never preaches the Gospel.

To preach the Gospel, we must preach the Gospel of grace. We must preach that salvation is the “… gift of God.” We must preach that salvation is “… by grace … through faith …” plus nothing. Salvation is “… through faith … Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Good works are the result of salvation, but not its cause. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works …” (Ephesians 2:1 0).

Romanism preaches Christ, the cross, and the blood; but Romanism has never preached that the sinner can be saved through Christ alone. It is always “plus something” – plus the intercession of Mary, plus works of penance, plus the sacraments, and so on.

The modernist preacher today preaches another gospel which is not Christian; it is pagan.

Beware of any teaching that adds anything at all to the finished work of Christ. Christ saves all who receive Him as Saviour. He is the way, only God. “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).