Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins

What Do You Believe And Why? We live in a world of polls and “surveys”. We think we need a poll or a survey to tell us what people like, what candidate will win, and how many people believe in God. Several firms are willing to oblige us in these areas, but the George Gallup group is considered the most prominent and respected. A decade ago Gallup gave his assessment of American “Christians.” Having polled millions in his very careful way, he said the following about the “Christians” he found in his surveys :“We have to describe most Americans as essentially cultural Christians, because most Christians don’t know what they believe or why.” With the rise of Islam in all nations, these words deserve our attention. Leading denominations today have given up on defending what they believe. “It’s all relative,” say some, and many others don’t even care. They believe what they believe because they “feel it in their heart,” and are not interested in finding evidence. To them, faith does not need evidence, just “acceptance.” How did we arrive at the point where most Christians “don’t know what they believe or why they believe it?” For Many It’s Not Important! What we believe in mechanics, food, and medicine is important. We know that merely “believing” we are taking the right pills is not enough. But for spiritual matters? Many believe that it is not what you believe, but how strongly you believe it. The only necessity is that you are “sincere” That seems to cover all the bases. A Lot of People Just Don’t Care! The latest numbers I have seen tell us that 25-30,000 Bibles are sold every day in the United States. There is no excuse for Americans not knowing what the Bible says. But most Bibles are there just for show, and far too many are covered with the dust of failure to study. The Bible is capable of being understood, 2 Corinthians 1:13, Ephesians 5:17, but it must be read in order to do so.  Those who refuse to read/study it do so at the risk of losing their soul. Jesus said, “He that rejects me, and receives not my words, hath one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day,” John 12:48. That ought to be enough reason for us to care – and to care a great deal! Some Have More Important Things To Do! Yes, life is filled with obligations, some of them very important. But if we compare the relative brevity of life on earth with an eternity occupied in either heaven or hell, doesn’t that make our life here very, very important? There are so many other things to which our attention can be given – tennis, golf, fishing, sewing, crafts, and painting are just a few possibilities. No, they are not wicked, but their true significance cannot compare with our soul’s destiny. It takes a big dose of “sober” though to comprehend that point. If you can learn to cook, sew, change the oil in your car, get a High School diploma or obtain your driver’s license, you have the ability to know what you must do to become a Christian. What is more important to you than your convictions, your spiritual growth and your preparation for eternity? Some Would Rather Remain Ignorant! As a rule, most of us know that to be ignorant of something does not remove us from any obligation to it. Try telling the IRS that you didn’t know that you needed to send in your income tax. Try telling the policeman in the patrol car that you didn’t know what the speed limit was. I don’t have to explain that to anyone. It does little good to claim ignorance on the job, in the schoolroom, in the doctor’s office, or in the courtroom. Tell the dentist that you did not know you should take care of your teeth – see if that clears up your dental problems. I can think of no area of life for which ignorance is a legitimate reason for an individual’s behavior. And it won’t work as an excuse for being ignorant on the day in which we will be judged by a loving, yet just and omniscient God. What if we were forbidden to read the Bible and attend the worship service? That is not an impossibility considering what is happening in our religious world. Everything tells us there is a real possibility that such could take place here, maybe much sooner than we want to think. What did Gallup discover in his surveys about those who said they are truly dedicated to God?  What did his questions bring out regarding those whose faith was found to be more active and strong? The surveys revealed that about 13% of those who responded considered themselves as “highly spiritually committed.” He found that they were twice as likely to be involved in charitable activities. They are more inclined to be reaching out to those in trouble or financially strapped. They were also found to be much happier than the rest of the population. What Should We Learn From Gallup? Whatever you think of Gallup and his polls, they are interesting. Our nation was built upon Christian principles – that is obvious from our history. But there is more to being a Christian than merely occupying a pew occasionally in some church building. If we really are Christians we must not hide our light, but let it shine for all to see. Carl Garner

WARM WEATHER AND IMMODEST DRESS As the weather warms up, we generally wear less and/or lighter clothing. There is nothing wrong with adjusting our clothing to fit the weather so long as our clothing adequately covers our bodies. The fashion of the world, of course, is to wear scanty, provocative clothing, especially when the weather is warm. Unfortunately, some in the church will be influenced more by the fashion of the world than they are by the word of the Lord. Your Bible says, "I will therefore….that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety…" (1Timothy 2:8-9). Certainly the same is required of men. In case some woman wants to know what modest apparel is, then she should read verse 10: "But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works." It is modest if it is becoming; that is, if it is appropriate, suitable, and proper to women professing godliness. It is a fact that times have changed, and styles have changed, and society has changed, but the word of God has not changed and human nature has not changed. Several years ago a well-known preacher wrote the following. "What is wrong with mixed swimming? I can't speak for the ladies, but I can speak for the men. There's not an ordinary man who can look at a woman clad in nothing but a bathing suit for a long time without entertaining evil thoughts. 'But,' some will say, 'it does not bother me.' One who says that may be so young that his passions have not arisen, or he may be so old they have subsided, or he may be so ignorant he doesn't know what is going on, or he may not be normal, or he may be lying. He fits into one of these five categories, or he is a spiritual giant; but spiritual giants don't spend their time at mixed swimming parties.” Our Lord warned against looking and lusting when He said, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart," (Matthew 5:27-28). I know there are those who accuse anyone who warns against the evils of immodest dress of being "evil-minded." This accusation has intimidated many preachers and caused them to stop preaching against immodest dress. I pray I might never be intimidated by such charges. I hasten to say also that the danger of lust is not the only reason Christians should dress modestly and decently. The matter of our good influence should be weighed carefully in determining how we are to dress. In the forty-odd years I have been preaching I guess I have heard all the arguments as to why the Bible injunction with reference to modesty does not have to be obeyed.  Here are some of them: "Nobody thinks about it anymore." "In some cultures the women go bare-breasted." "Time was when a woman was immodest if her ankle showed." "Some are going to lust anyway." And on, and on, and on the arguments go. But the real reason most members of the church persist in wearing clothing that is less than modest and decent is simply this: God's will is not important enough for them to yield their own will to Him. Bobby Ducan (deceased)