The Absolute Truth

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Absolute-Truth.mp3 Text: Jeremiah 32:37-41   I.         I’m sure you have heard people who in matters of right and wrong express this belief             A.        “I feel it is wrong for me, but other people have to decided for themselves whether it is wrong for them. I can’t push my beliefs on others.”             B.        The statement is called “moral relativism.”…

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Is it wrong to give a bribe in a country where bribery is prevalent and demanded?

Question: Please, is paying a bribe to someone who demands it before justice is practiced a sin? The public sector and almost every institution in my country are choked with extortioners and people expecting bribes. Employment in the public sector is found by paying something to politicians and “middlemen” before one is given employment. This…

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Is stealing OK if one is starving?

Question: I am preparing for Bible class that I am teaching this evening during our regular midweek services and need to be prepared in case I am challenged by one of our members who might have the idea that stealing is okay if one is starving. Your response? Answer: “People do not despise a thief…

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Can there be such a thing as a good lie?

Question: Good day, This issue of lying has been bothering me for quite some time now, and I felt I couldn’t keep it to myself. Jesus said in Revelation 21:8 that all liars will go to hell. Are there good lies? For example, if I am faced with a threatening situation in which a man…

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Should the poor be helped if it makes our life harder?

Question: I have a penchant for helping the poor. But I came across an article titled “Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor” and it was really interesting. Here is an excerpt: “If we divide the world crudely into rich nations and poor nations, two thirds of them are desperately poor, and only one…

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Depending on the Situation

Depending on the Situation – Part 1Depending on the Situation – Part 2 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 5:18-6:2   I.         Dinner time conversation was lively the other night. A few caught Dennis Prager’s Ultimate Issues Hour.             A.        Now I like Mr. Prager’s show for the most part. You don’t usually find commentators willing to address…

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“Christian” Situation Ethics

by Dan Gatlin In Matthew 12:1-8 (and its parallel in Mark 2:23-28 and Luke 6:1-5) we have recorded a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath: “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And…

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I think Jesus did defend David in Matthew 12:4

Question: In reference to Christian Situation Ethics by Dan Gatlin: “The example of David. Jesus responded by pointing out what David did when he was fleeing from Saul (I Samuel 21). The bread that David requested had been offered in the tabernacle and was only for the priests to eat (Leviticus 24:5-9). Jesus clearly states…

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Is Anything Done in Moderation Not a Sin?

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 6:8-15   I.         I was asked recently what I thought about the argument that gambling once in a while (two or three times a week) wasn’t sinful because “anything done in moderation is not a sin.”             A.        We could address the issue of gambling from a number of viewpoints to show…

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