Simply, Life!

Simply, Life!

Have you ever taken the time to consider what your life is based on? What is the
framework for your life? Does your life have an anchor? What do you believe? Many
people don’t seem to consider this very much. Without an anchor, when the storms of
life come, they bring destruction. We all go through storms in life. It is not a matter of “if”,
but “when”. The Bible gives a solid framework and anchor for our lives. The Bible
answers the “why” questions.
One of the most basic and fundamental questions people ask is “Why do I exist?”
Another is “What is the meaning of life?” We are all born, and eventually die. Our life
here on this earth is finite. It is short. It has a beginning, and an end. Why? What is the
point of living for anything other than momentary pleasure if death is just the end for
everyone?
Have you ever wondered why the world is so messed up? We live on a beautiful
planet with everything we need for life and happiness, but if you study world history,
mankind has been engaged in futile war and murder ever since the beginning of time.
Something is drastically wrong. Have you ever wondered why we, as individuals have
such a hard time doing what we know to be right and good? The Bible answers these
questions for anyone willing to read and listen. But we must do more than read and
listen, we must obey what it says.
The perspective that the Bible gives us is that there is a grand reason for
everything, and that reason originates in God, our Creator. He is the Creator, and He
has a reason for what He does. In order to make sense out of life, we need to
understand that. In the end, it doesn’t matter what we think or what our opinions are
about anything. God runs His creation, not us. If our beliefs, actions, and lives do not
line up with what God says about what is His, we lose in the end, plain and simple.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
Let me ask you a very practical, common-sense question: When you go out and
look at nature, when you look at the majesty of the earth, all its intricate life forms, the
complexity of things on the molecular level, the complexity of your own body, and the
universe and all its complexity, does this appear to you as an accident, the result of
chance, materialistic evolution, or something intentionally created? Beauty and order do
not evolve from random chaos. We do not see this happening in the real world we live
in, so why do we think it can happen in “nature”? Have you ever taken the time to create
(make) something that you are proud of? A work of art? Written a song or poem or
some other writing you hope will inspire someone? A meal you want others to enjoy?
Would you feel offended if you worked tirelessly on a fine piece of artwork, and
someone commented to you that it looked like an accident, or random chaos? I would
be offended by that type of comment. Don’t you think it is reasonable for our Creator to
be offended when His marvelous works of creation are accredited to blind evolutionary
chance?

If you are determined to hold to the dogma of evolutionism and are not even
willing to consider the possibility that you, the world, and the entire universe was
“created”, then there is really no point in reading further. If the idea of a “creation”
resonates with you, please continue to read. A creation can’t exist without a Creator. If
you are willing to consider the possibility that there is a Creator, and you were created
by Him, it would probably benefit you to gain some perspective about what the Creator
has to say about His creation and what His purpose for it is.
The next question we might ask is, “Is the Creator good, and is His creation
good, or is He evil, and are His intentions evil?” Do you, personally desire good for
yourself and others? Do you desire for life to be good, or do you prefer pain, misery and
suffering? If you desire pain, misery and suffering, you need serious help. If you desire
good, ask yourself “Why”? If we are merely evolved beasts striving to survive and
reproduce, what difference does it make if things are good or bad? What difference
does it make whether we survive or not? What difference does it make if we reproduce
if we are merely reproducing to create more miserable beings?
The Bible paints a picture for us of a God who is good, benevolent, merciful, just
and fair, unlike the tyrannical and warlike gods of mythology. The Bible paints a picture
for us of God’s creation that is good, life-giving, and meaningful.
“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good…” (Genesis 1:31)
Do you ever feel a sense of outrage when you witness, or learn of something that
has harmed innocent people, even if it does not affect you personally? I know that I do.
Why does injustice bother us if it doesn’t even affect us? It bothers us because it
bothers God. God is just, and we are made in His image. He created us to be like
Himself.
“So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them, male
and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
Would you rather live in a society with no laws where everyone is free to do
whatever they want, with no consequences, (anarchy), or a society that is governed by
just and fair laws? I think most rational and sane people would prefer law and order over
anarchy.
God’s creation is governed by His moral law. God’s moral law is the standard by
which we are judged. If you ask most people if they are good or not, most people will
say they are basically a good person. They are setting their own standard based on
their own thoughts, not God’s moral law. Imagine if you were a school-teacher and
exam day came. You tell the students that they can each make up their own tests. How
many of them would pass? My guess is that %100 students would make straight As on
their tests. But that is not the way reality works. The teacher is the authority. The
teacher is the subject matter expert, and he or she makes up the test, not the students.
We can make up our own criteria for judging ourselves and others, but that is not based

on reality. When we judge ourselves, everyone passes. The problem is that we are not
the judge, God is. He sets the standard, because He made us. He sets the rules. This
moral law is contained in what we refer to as the ten commandments:

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall make no idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.
    Let’s examine the significance and meaning of each of these moral laws:
    You shall have no other gods before me.
    Your “god” is whatever in your life is of the utmost importance to you. It is as
    simple as that. It can be anything, a possession, a career, money, another person,
    the list can go on and on. Since God created us and gives life to us, He should be of
    utmost importance. Nothing can be placed before Him. He is the one who gives us
    our life. We can breed and create new biological life, but the life itself, the spirit that
    animates our mortal flesh comes directly from God. We cannot create that life. Many
    people have the misguided idea that the perfect mate can fulfill all their needs. They
    place another person in the place of utmost importance. When we put another
    person, husband, wife, child, or whoever on the throne of our life, we expect
    something out of them that it is impossible for them to fulfill. What is of utmost
    importance to you? If it is not the Living God, tear it down. You are in sin.
    You shall make no idols.
    This is similar to the first commandment, but there is a distinct difference. We
    tend to think of idols as some visual image of God, be it a statue, a painting or
    whatever. People in ancient times, and still in some places in the world today, make
    statues to represent God and worship those finite things as God. The reason for this
    being abhorrent to God is that God is infinite and outside our realm of space and
    time (finitude), so He cannot be represented within the constraints of our finitude.
    The scripture says that “No man has seen God at any time.” (John 1:18). That
    means that no one is capable of seeing God in His infinite state. Think of it this way:
    If you are standing in a specific spot on the earth looking into a telescope capable of
    seeing the entire universe, you could still not see the entire universe, because you
    could not see your own self, and the spot of ground you are standing on. You cannot
    be behind the telescope and in front of it at the same time. The finite (us) can’t fully
    comprehend the infinite (God). We can only comprehend what He reveals to us

about Himself intentionally. He has not revealed everything about Himself to us, but
He has revealed everything we need to know.
The other more subtle and dangerous way of creating an idol is to make up a
version of God in your own mind to suit your wants and needs. Many people do this.
If you ask many people if they believe in God, and they say, “yes” and then go on to
describe what they think God is like, it is far different from the God who is described
in the Bible. The Bible gives us an objective, rather than a subjective view of God
that is not based on our personal whims.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
This involves more that simply using God in a curse, such as “G&% damn it”. It
means any use of the name or reference to God in a flippant manner. A common
example of this on social media is the acronym OMG, meaning “Oh, my God.” This is
referencing God in a trifle or flippant manner. It is not showing respect to the holy God
who created you. How would you feel if someone called your mother a bad name?
Unless you hated your mother (which is a violation of another commandment), it would
probably make you angry. In the same way, we do not speak of God in an insulting,
derogatory manner. It is an afront to His holiness.
Keep the Sabbath day holy.
This is based on Genesis 2:2-3: “By the seventh day God had finished the work
He had been doing; so, on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God
blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of
creating He had done.”
God set the pattern for us to follow here. There are two elements to the Sabbath,
or as we call it, “The Lord’s Day” that we need to understand. First, it says God rested.
Spiritually, mentally and physically, we need a down day, a day of rest. We can’t work
all the time, or we will wear ourselves out. God knows this. The second element of The
Lord’s Day is corporate worship. We need to go to church to worship and hear God’s
word with like-minded people. We should be focused on God every day of the week, but
we need to be intentional about specifically focusing on one day of the week to honor
God and turn our attention to Him. This brings order and stability to our lives.
Honor your father and mother.
Some would argue that their father and/or their mother are bad and do not
deserve to be honored. That may be true, but we don’t honor our father and mother
because they deserve to be honored, just as we don’t love others because they deserve
to be loved. We love others because that is what God tells us to do, and it is good for us
as much as it is for others. When we have love for others, that puts us in a good place.
Your mother is the first person you come in contact with as soon as you are born. Her
face is the first face you see. Her voice is the first voice you hear. Even if your mother
puts you up for immediate adoption, that still applies. Under normal circumstances, the

next person you meet is your father. They are the two primary influences on you in your
early years. There are many other places in Scripture where we are commanded to
obey and honor those in authority over us. When we honor our father and mother, we
are learning the pattern of honoring those in authority over us. It teaches us the value of
respect. This is good for us. Just as some would argue that their father and mother do
not deserve to be honored, it can also be argued that many people in places of authority
over us, (a bad boss, bad government leaders, etc.), do not deserve to be honored.
Again, we do not honor authority because that authority deserves to be honored, we
honor them because that is what God commands us to do, and that is also good for us.
It is more beneficial for us to live with an attitude of respect for others than to have a
heart of rebellion and contempt for others.
You shall not murder.
Study world history. Study the history that has been recorded for us in the Bible.
Since the beginning of time, from the first-born son of Adam and Eve, Cain, human
beings have been killing each other. It is a sad commentary on human history. Notice
the commandment is “You shall not murder”, not “You shall not kill”. Murder is the
intentional, premeditated killing of another person with malice.” It is possible to kill or
cause the death of another person without committing murder. You might do something,
unintentionally, that causes the death of another person, such as an accident. You
might kill another person in self-defense to prevent them from killing you. Most people
with any common sense understand this, and it does not need elaborate explanation.
Murder (intentional killing for unjustifiable reasons) is always wrong, and we all
instinctively know this.
You shall not commit adultery.
This is based on Genesis 2:20b-25: “But for Adam no suitable helper (mate) was
found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was
sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the
Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and he brought her
to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she
shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The
man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”
Earlier, the Bible tells us that God had made Adam (Man) out of the dust of the
ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Man’s life was breathed into him
by the breath of God. Animals and other living creatures were not created this way.
Woman was taken out of man. This may seem hard to understand, but bear in mind that
this IS supernatural, and can only be done by God. These words should not be taken
lightly. They are sacred and holy. This is God’s pattern for normal human life. It shows
us the nature of the male/female relationship. The man and his wife were joined in life.
They were bonded together. They became one flesh. This is the pattern for all humans.

This is God’s pattern. One man, one woman, joined for life, in a mutually dependent
relationship. All sexual relationships outside the bonds of heterosexual, monogamous
marriage is sin in God’s eyes. We repeat this process each time a man and a woman
are joined in marriage:
(Groom’s name) will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live
together after God’s ordinances in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her,
comfort her, (some say cherish), honor and keep her in sickness and in health, (some
say for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer), and forsaking all others, keep
yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?
The same is repeated for the bride. Marriage is a sacred covenant entered into
with God and your spouse. Adultery is the violation of that sacred covenant by engaging
in sexual relations with anyone other than your spouse. Adultery is the only justifiable
reason acknowledged by Christ as grounds for divorce.
Aside from adultery being a horrendous sin in God’s eyes, even from a secular
perspective, it is devastatingly destructive. Adultery is a violation of trust at the highest
level. Once that trust is violated, it is impossible, aside from a miracle of God, to get it
back. It is worse than being stabbed in the back by your business partner. A line
NEVER to be crossed!
You shall not steal.
This one is simple and does not require a lengthy dissertation. Stealing is the
taking of anything that does not belong to you, plain and simple. Did someone give it to
you as a gift? Did you buy it with money you earned? Did you find it and try to find out
who the rightful owner is to return it to them? If not, you stole it, and it does not rightfully
belong to you. We come up with all kinds of justifications for stealing, but it is all
stealing, and a sin against God, and your fellow man. When you steal, you lose your
credibility with others and destroy their trust. You damage your own soul, and you hurt
those around you. Don’t steal! If you have stolen anything, return it.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Who is your neighbor? Any other human being on the planet, basically. This
could be technically interpreted as “Don’t say untrue things to, or about other people”,
but on a more basic level, it means simply “Don’t lie”, period. Our world is awash in lies.
It is hard to know what the truth is today with all the cacophony from the media. People
lie to others, and they lie to themselves. Some people lie so much they lose touch with
reality, (pathological liars.) Lying can become a never-ending cycle of trying to cover
your own tracks, a maddening effort to remember your own lies, and make up new lies
to cover your old lies! Lies do not work. Most people with any common sense know
when they are being lied to. Tell the truth, even when it is hard, and even when you
don’t want to. It is much better for you and for others in the end. Scripture calls Satan
“the father of lies.” When you lie, you are following Satan. No one likes a liar!

You shall not covet.
Coveting simply means to envy what someone else has. It is caused by personal
discontentment. The Apostle Paul, in Philippians 4:11b-12 puts things in the proper
perspective:
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in
need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in
any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Things come and go. Things can’t make us happy or joyful. They can give us
temporary excitement, but not long-lasting peace and internal joy. That only comes from
being in a right relationship with the living God. Envy goes hand in hand with jealousy. It
makes us hate the person who has what we want but do not have. It drives a wedge
between us and our Creator. It says to God, “What You have provided is not good
enough. You are not being good to me.” It is basically accusing God of evil.
There are many more laws contained within the Old Testament other than the
Ten Commandments, but the Ten Commandments represents the most fundamental
and basic laws of God that govern the moral order of His creation. This is our starting
point, no matter the time or social context. These moral laws apply to everyone. Most of
the laws of a moral nature other than the Ten Commandments are elaborations and
specific applications of the original ten. To understand many of them, you must
understand the context in which they were written. Some of them seem strange to us
without understanding the context. Others involve ritual associated with the Jewish
practice of their religion.
Before the Law was given to Moses, and established for Israel, there was one
original commandment: “…you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17). In other words, “Obey
me.” In eating from this tree, Adam and Eve had decided for themselves to determine
what was right and wrong. That, in a nutshell is the crux of all human sin. We choose to
decide for ourselves what is right and wrong, rather than listening to, and obeying God.
It is that simple. Most people in our society who are not Biblically oriented, have no clue
that we are obligated to obey God’s moral law, and we have been judged for not
obeying it, even though God has written it into our conscience. We instinctively know it
is right:
“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the
law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they
show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also
bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.” (Romans
2:14-15)
That is why our conscience bothers us when we do something wrong. It is not
because our culture has programmed into us some rigid set of ideas. God Himself has

written it into our heart, or our DNA in today’s vernacular. The sad fact is that your
conscience, like anything else that is not used, will atrophy. The more you ignore it, the
sicker and weaker it will become, and then it will eventually die. The apostle Paul refers
to this sickening and death of our conscience as having a reprobate mine:
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and
wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be
known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since
the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature-
have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are
without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor
gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were
darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the
glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and
animals and reptiles. Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts
to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged
the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the
Creator- who is forever praised. Amen.” (Romans 1:18-25)
“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He
gave them over to a depraved (reprobate in KJV) mind, to do what ought not to be
done.” (Romans 1:28)
Paul has more to say about this for the remainder of the chapter, which I would
advise you to read if you haven’t already done so. But this is enough to prove the point
that when we ignore the voice of our God-given conscience, we are in grave danger,
and become more wicked. Romans 1:26-32 paints a picture of the world we are now
living in where people seem to get more perverted every day. The things we see and
hear on the news are absolutely shocking to anyone retaining any moral decency.
Our world is in a fast moving, and increasingly more dangerous place today.
Most people can sense this. It is hard to make sense out of many things that are
happening in our own country, and in the world today. The level of degradation in
humanity seems to be rapidly increasing. Evil is a very real spiritual force in the world
that can’t be ignored. Who would have even thought five to 10 years ago that we would
come to a place where people say they don’t know whether they are a man or a woman,
or they don’t even know if there is such a thing as male and female? Who would have
thought that we would see a day when our elementary and kindergarten aged children
would be subjected to displays of vulgar perversity right in their classrooms? It makes
no sense.
Who would have thought we would see our once great nation the United States
of America decline and fall into moral, political and economic collapse so quickly? Who
would have thought we would see our political leaders working so desperately to tear
down the very fabric of our nation and intentionally put it on a path to communism and

totalitarianism, denying and destroying our most basic constitutional rights, right before
our very eyes?
We need answers to the deep questions of life. The Bible gives us the answers
we seek. The overarching theme of the Bible puts things in their proper perspective. Our
society ignores the significance and relevance of the Bible’s truth to its own peril. We
see that in the end, all who align themselves with truth and righteousness win in the
end, and those ensnared in the wickedness of this world’s sin meet their end in horrific
and eternal damnation.
When we compare our individual lives to God’s moral law enshrined in the ten
commandments, we all see we are guilty, and have failed miserably. We stand judged
and are pronounced guilty by our holy and righteous Creator.
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’ (some translations: NO, GOD!) They are
corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from
heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does
good, not even one.” (Psalm 14:1-3)
“We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it
is written: There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, no
one seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless, there is no
one who does good, not even one.: (Romans 3:9b-12)
But there is hope. There is a way out of this terrible fate:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world
to condemn the world, (remember, we are already under judgement for breaking
God’s moral law), but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already, because he has
not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16-18)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 6:23)
Remember, God told Adam and Eve if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, they would die. Obviously, they did not immediately fall over dead. But
the process of death was set in motion by that act. Death was passed onto their
offspring (you and me.) The judgement of death was passed to all mankind. They were
created as immortal beings, but they forfeited their immortality for mortality by willingly
disobeying God’s first command.
Most people alive today have heard that message presented to them at some
time or other, but most people choose to ignore it because they want to remain in their

sin, which is the path to eternal damnation, cast away from the presence of the good,
holy, righteous and loving Creator who made them.
You do not have to be one of those people. We all make the decision for
ourselves, and in the end, have no one to blame but ourselves for winding up in hell.
“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith we
are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your
heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that
you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
(Romans 10:8-10)
Believe
Confess
Repent
What are you waiting for?