Churchwork
03-28-2008, 02:57 PM
Sinful recreation and amusement places such as bars, marijuana bars, gambling casinos, theaters (I can't resist them either), prostitution houses, and so forth provide conveniences for people to sin. In every city and every town, there are places such as these causing man to fall. All these shall be eliminated at the coming of the Lord: “The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity” (Matt. 13.41).
Many announce generally that they are willing to obey God in all things, yet the fact remains they know not what they are saying because they are far from such perfect obedience. At the time when the Lord was soon to die, Peter boldly announced: “Even if I must die with thee, yet will I not deny thee” (Matt. 26.35). Many are like Peter. We do not know what God requires of us, hence we will not grow spiritually. To determine the degree of spiritual progress of a believer one need only inquire what God presently requires of him. For instance, to a sinner newly saved God’s requirement of him may be to forsake smoking, gambling, and other external matters. We know that this is but the first step in spiritual life. Gradually the new believer will be shown in addition that jealousy, pride, and things of this nature are likewise bad; he is therefore making further progress. Still later, he is instructed by God that he must lay down his own opinion in God’s work; this indicates another step forward.
“All things that cause stumbling” (Matt. 13.31) point directly to Satan and modernists, or broadly speaking, to those things which can serve as tools in Satan’s hands to cause stumbling, such as idol temples, gambling, night clubs, theaters, and so forth. During the millennium, none of these and other things which cause stumbling will exist anywhere.
The Bible teaches plainly concerning this sin. Let us be clear as to just exactly how sin first entered this world. It did not enter in the form of murder, nor a lie told by someone calling his wife his sister. It did not enter the world by a man having taken another’s wife or having sent a rival to the battlefront to die. Nor did it enter through fornication or gambling or pride or jealousy. No, sin first entered the world quite simply by man having eaten a piece of fruit.
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2.36-38). The first work of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was to prick the heart of those who heard. What had they heard? “God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.” This meant that there was something wrong between them and Christ and that they did not have a right relationship with Him. They and God were at odds. God had established Christ as Savior, and they had killed Him. But when they heard this, their hearts were pricked. Not because of their strife with brothers, or their gambling, beating, murder, or arson, but because of their not having a proper relationship with Christ.
Testimony of a believer: Tell your former friends that you have believed in the Lord Jesus. When you see them, bring them to the Lord. When I was younger, I had many friends in school. After I trusted in the Lord, whenever I visited my friends, I took my Bible with me and talked of the Lord. I confessed my inglorious past. Formerly I had gambled and had often been to the movies (movies are the most most difficult to avoid). My friends had easily persuaded me to do these things. But after I believed in the Lord, I would sit down with them and take out my Bible. Soon what had happened to me became generally known. From then on, my friends would not inform me when they went gambling or to the movies. It is better to be unwelcomed than to be pulled down by your former friends. To maintain some association is good, but do not crave for intimate friendship. Be polite and friendly but not deeply involved. You belong to the Lord, and you must bring the Lord to them.
There is a special requirement as to what games should be allowed: all games must involve skill. None of them should be pure chance. A game is commendable only if it depends on skill, not on chance. If it requires both skill and chance, it becomes a gamble. If it is all chance and no skill, it most definitely is gambling. Games which Christians play must be games of skill, not of chance. Dice is purely a game of chance. It is gambling and Christians should not be involved in it. The young may play chess and checkers because it is a matter of skill, not of chance.
All games may be divided into two kinds: skill or chance. Christians should not be engaged in any kind of gambling, for gambling is based on chance. Some people before they were saved played Mah-Jongg (a Chinese gambling game). Such a game is gambling because it needs chance as well as skill. Even if money is not involved, games of that type still stir in people the hope that they may be helped by luck.
By their very nature some things are gambling, while other things, though not essentially gambling, can be used that way. To play dice is gambling whether or not money is involved. Its nature is gambling and therefore Christians ought not engage in it. The principle which decides is: If it is a game of chance, it is wrong, for anything that is accomplished by chance is a gamble. Skill is something that belongs to you, but chance is beyond you. Whatever people generally think of as gambling, we Christians should not touch, for we live by principle.
Counting cards at blackjack and playing poker by being supertight and knowing your risk of ruin by keeping it under 1% nullifies the aspect of it as a game of chance, like any job has a greater than 1% chance of being let go from.
Many announce generally that they are willing to obey God in all things, yet the fact remains they know not what they are saying because they are far from such perfect obedience. At the time when the Lord was soon to die, Peter boldly announced: “Even if I must die with thee, yet will I not deny thee” (Matt. 26.35). Many are like Peter. We do not know what God requires of us, hence we will not grow spiritually. To determine the degree of spiritual progress of a believer one need only inquire what God presently requires of him. For instance, to a sinner newly saved God’s requirement of him may be to forsake smoking, gambling, and other external matters. We know that this is but the first step in spiritual life. Gradually the new believer will be shown in addition that jealousy, pride, and things of this nature are likewise bad; he is therefore making further progress. Still later, he is instructed by God that he must lay down his own opinion in God’s work; this indicates another step forward.
“All things that cause stumbling” (Matt. 13.31) point directly to Satan and modernists, or broadly speaking, to those things which can serve as tools in Satan’s hands to cause stumbling, such as idol temples, gambling, night clubs, theaters, and so forth. During the millennium, none of these and other things which cause stumbling will exist anywhere.
The Bible teaches plainly concerning this sin. Let us be clear as to just exactly how sin first entered this world. It did not enter in the form of murder, nor a lie told by someone calling his wife his sister. It did not enter the world by a man having taken another’s wife or having sent a rival to the battlefront to die. Nor did it enter through fornication or gambling or pride or jealousy. No, sin first entered the world quite simply by man having eaten a piece of fruit.
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2.36-38). The first work of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was to prick the heart of those who heard. What had they heard? “God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.” This meant that there was something wrong between them and Christ and that they did not have a right relationship with Him. They and God were at odds. God had established Christ as Savior, and they had killed Him. But when they heard this, their hearts were pricked. Not because of their strife with brothers, or their gambling, beating, murder, or arson, but because of their not having a proper relationship with Christ.
Testimony of a believer: Tell your former friends that you have believed in the Lord Jesus. When you see them, bring them to the Lord. When I was younger, I had many friends in school. After I trusted in the Lord, whenever I visited my friends, I took my Bible with me and talked of the Lord. I confessed my inglorious past. Formerly I had gambled and had often been to the movies (movies are the most most difficult to avoid). My friends had easily persuaded me to do these things. But after I believed in the Lord, I would sit down with them and take out my Bible. Soon what had happened to me became generally known. From then on, my friends would not inform me when they went gambling or to the movies. It is better to be unwelcomed than to be pulled down by your former friends. To maintain some association is good, but do not crave for intimate friendship. Be polite and friendly but not deeply involved. You belong to the Lord, and you must bring the Lord to them.
There is a special requirement as to what games should be allowed: all games must involve skill. None of them should be pure chance. A game is commendable only if it depends on skill, not on chance. If it requires both skill and chance, it becomes a gamble. If it is all chance and no skill, it most definitely is gambling. Games which Christians play must be games of skill, not of chance. Dice is purely a game of chance. It is gambling and Christians should not be involved in it. The young may play chess and checkers because it is a matter of skill, not of chance.
All games may be divided into two kinds: skill or chance. Christians should not be engaged in any kind of gambling, for gambling is based on chance. Some people before they were saved played Mah-Jongg (a Chinese gambling game). Such a game is gambling because it needs chance as well as skill. Even if money is not involved, games of that type still stir in people the hope that they may be helped by luck.
By their very nature some things are gambling, while other things, though not essentially gambling, can be used that way. To play dice is gambling whether or not money is involved. Its nature is gambling and therefore Christians ought not engage in it. The principle which decides is: If it is a game of chance, it is wrong, for anything that is accomplished by chance is a gamble. Skill is something that belongs to you, but chance is beyond you. Whatever people generally think of as gambling, we Christians should not touch, for we live by principle.
Counting cards at blackjack and playing poker by being supertight and knowing your risk of ruin by keeping it under 1% nullifies the aspect of it as a game of chance, like any job has a greater than 1% chance of being let go from.