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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
Is There A Right Way and
A Wrong Way to Live?
Have you ever tried to get something done on the computer and discovered you were doing it the “wrong way”? How about preparing your income tax return? It doesn’t take long to realize that there is a right way and a wrong way to do some things.
What about life – is there a “right way” to live your life? Or a “wrong way” to treat your spouse or your children? We often learn those things the “hard way.”
When we begin to look at moral questions we hear some say there is no “right way” and “wrong way,” only “my way” and “your way.” That is confusing, I agree, but we must give a Bible answer to our question: Is there a “right way”?
MORALS – YESTERDAY AND TODAY
Most of us are aware that today’s standards of behavior are often pretty shaky. Modern man likes “pluralism”, which gives him a lot of choices in morals. When the Bible is consulted, however, it becomes clear that God says there is a right and a wrong way.
In the earliest days of King Saul, the great prophet, Samuel, addressed the nation and gave them a way to be righteous before God and before their neighbors:
“The Lord will not forsake his people: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart,” 1 Samuel 12:22-24.
Those were difficult times for God’s people. He made it known that there is a “good and right way” for them to live. God still has a “right way” for His people.
In Psalm 107, His family is encouraged to “Give thanks to the Lord,” for He had taken a wandering people and guided them from the four corners of the earth to a place of rest. In verses 6 and 7 we read:
“Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way.”
Yes, there is a right and a good way, and if we will but listen to His Word, we can find it and rejoice in it. It is the only way to true peace.
CAN WE FORSAKE THE RIGHT WAY?
Unfortunately, some do stray from the “right way,” and find that wrong path strewn with temptation and distress. The apostle Peter describes those people as possessing such qualities as:
“… lust... self-willed… speak evil… corruption… adultery…”
Those words in 2 Peter 2:1-15 describe those who are led astray by “false teachers,” “even denying the Lord that bought them.”
This context ends with the words, “Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray.” Even later in that same chapter they are said to be in eternal peril:
“For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire,” 2 Peter 2:21-22.
That’s what can happen to those who forsake the right way and stay in the wrong way. They will reach a destination they will regret for eternity. Yes, there is a “right way” and a “wrong way.”
WHY SHOULD I TAKE THE RIGHT WAY?
Is there any good reason to avoid that “wrong way”? Is that way not the happy way, the way of pleasure, of enjoying the “good life”? That’s what Satan and his emissaries will tell you. But they are wrong – dead wrong! There is no better life for anyone than that of the person who can look forward to eternal life with Jesus, with the saints of old, with Abraham and Moses. Nothing Satan can offer can come close.
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that there are two “ways.” One leads to life, the other to destruction, Matthew 7:13-14. One way appears to be the easiest, the quickest way, but it takes you where you don’t want to go. The way to “life” has a few bumps along the way, but there is a joy in living for Christ that can never be ignored.
HOW CAN I KNOW THE RIGHT WAY?
It’s not always easy for us to know the way we should go. Today’s choices of profession, location, lifestyle – all have their advocates. But God’s Word is the road map to eternal bliss, and God’s Love is its motive. Sanford Bennett wrote these words to a familiar song:
There’s a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar.
For the Father waits over the way,
To prepare us a dwelling place there.
While there are alternate routes to some earthly destinations, there is only God’s way to heaven. Why not take the “way” God has provided. You will meet some nice folks along the way, and live with some great folks for eternity.
Carl B. Garner
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“Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.”
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Our Bible Teachers
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the Bible class teacher. There are those who can teach and impart certain skills, trades, and knowledge. There are those who run large corporations, and those who rule countries. Yet, if a list were somehow composed of all positions of the world being arranged in order of importance, the Bible class teacher would be above them all. Why is this the case? When one is teaching the Bible, he/she is fulfilling the very means by which one may be drawn near to God (John 6:44,45). It is the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), which is only able to act when it is presented (Romans 10:13,14). Furthermore, it is through the teaching of God’s Word that the Christian may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16,17), and then, by acting upon that knowledge, his calling and election is made sure (2 Peter 1:10). Thus, the efforts of the Bible class teacher are supremely important.
Not only can we see the eternal results of the labor of the Bible teacher, we also can see the immediate results. When the parents are overjoyed to hear their child’s first recital of a Bible lesson – we can thank the teacher. When we see our children grow in the admonition of the Lord, when we see our children developing good morals, when we see our members abstaining from doing that which is evil and clinging to that which is good – we can thank the Bible teacher. When we see men who faithfully preach the gospel, men who stand up to defend the truth, men who serve as God-fearing elders, deacons, and teachers, and women who teach and help the church in every way they can – we can thank the Bible teacher for his/her vital part in their instruction and influence.
Teachers, your efforts can be felt into eternity, and it just might be the case that your efforts will help raise up strong, faithful leaders of the church for the future. Surely, it is impossible to overstate the importance of the Bible teacher!
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