Profiling, though it has many new names, is still a hot topic today.  Many of our legislators have moved to make it illegal.   I’m sure there are times in which profiling is the harmful result of bigotry, but like many practices that are as old as time and now labeled politically incorrect, categorization can help us to put things in perspective.  For instance, according to 1 Corinthians 2-3, the whole human race can be divided into three categories:

  The Natural Man is described as an individual who cannot understand the things of God.  To suggest to him that life consists of a spiritual element along with the obvious physical, is utter foolishness to him.  He believes that God, if there is a God, does not play a significant role in his day to day existence.  His godless life will result in a godless eternity.

  The Spiritual Man is just the opposite.  In addition to his physical existence, he sees himself as a spiritual being.  He has embraced God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, who came down to earth to reconcile natural man to his supernatural God.  This spiritual man is, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, able to comprehend and affirm those things that the natural man does not see or perceive.  How does the natural man graduate into the realm of the spiritual?  Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

  But there is a third category mentioned, the Carnal Man.  This man has discovered the life changing truth; his eyes have been opened to the things of God, but he has little regard for their significance.  He is so overwhelmed with the pleasures of earthly treasures, so busy with earthly responsibilities, so enamored with the wisdom and ways of the world, that he has no time for the eternal.  In both realms (physical and spiritual), he is a hypocrite.

  This type of profiling might help you discover the benefits of knowing God personally.  Start by answering this question, In which category are you? 

  Did you ever read through the books of Kings and Chronicles in the Bible?  These books tell the story of the nation of Israel after the death of Solomon, the third king of Israel.  The kingdom was divided and while Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, reigned in Jerusalem over two of the twelve tribes of Israel, Jeroboam reigned in Samaria over the remaining ten.  Before the close of the Old Testament era, eighteen additional kings would be enthroned in Jerusalem, and nineteen others in Samaria.  With only a few exceptions, the kings of both realms “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,” building upon the sinful atrocities of their fathers.

  Though the kings of Israel lived in the distant past, it is truly amazing how often their errors are repeated in this modern era.  As in those days, men seem bent on satisfying the appetites of the flesh and escaping the ever watchful eye of God.  Signs of the times abound: societal obsession with illicit sexual encounters, rampant growth and acceptance of homosexuality, the degradation of the God ordained institution of family, the embrace of moral relativism, the mutilation of the bodies of our youth with “cuttings,” studs and rings, etc.  Evil, as it is defined by God, is indeed on the rise.

  As you know, ideas abound in the quick fix department.  Social reform, political manipulation, educational programs and the like, each finds ready advocates from all walks of life, but none of them seem to be working.  Only God knows what would pull us out of this downward spiral, and restore our nation to greatness, and it is not surprising that He nestled His prescription in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.  It is addressed, not to the spiritually depraved, but to those who would deem themselves the people of God.

  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  (2 Chronicles 7:14).

“And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:23-24).”  This was the birth of the family as it has been known since the beginning of time.

  The family is God’s institution for the proliferation of life on earth.  It is the basic building block of society, the blocks by which nations would be formed.  But now, in these unprecedented years of attack, the enemies of the traditional family believe that they have delivered its final, mortal blow.

  Our flesh craves all that is ungodly.  We have adopted the idea that Human Rights take precedence over Human Responsibility.  The enemies of God will not be satisfied until the family is destroyed and it becomes the norm for men to marry men, women to marry women, and either to marry a child, or even an animal.  Sounds ludicrous doesn’t it?  But the same authority that condemns the debauched lifestyle of homosexuality, also warns of the sins that are sure to follow.  The Authority?  We call Him God.

  What can you do to save the family?  Most importantly, you can spend time in prayer for our country.  The Word of God says that your prayers make a difference.  Secondly, you can vote for leaders who will work to maintain the sanctity of the biblically defined family in writing our laws.

  Perhaps you are homosexual and this article angers you.  Please understand that I am not against you, and do not consider myself better than you in any way.  But the lifestyle that you have chosen will destroy you and is changing the sociological landscape of our nation.  God calls homosexuality sin, and sin nailed His Son, Jesus Christ, to the cross.  He loves you and wants you to come to Him by faith and receive forgiveness and unprecedented peace.  God help you to be bold enough to look into His great love.  I would count it a privilege to help you discover this new path.

Profile Of A Willful Unbeliever

  During Jesus’ life on earth, He was confronted by religious leaders who had resolved not to believe that He was sent from God, no matter what He said or did.  You might say they were willful unbelievers.  Jesus told them, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. (Matthew 12:34).”  In other words, what you say reveals the content of your heart. In light of this truth, we are able to profile the willful unbeliever by examining what they have said.  John the Apostle records many of their words:

• Willful unbelievers continually seek a supernatural sign or proof that Jesus is God’s Son and the Bible is His Word.  (John 2:18-21)
• Willful unbelievers refuse to look, listen or even think of anything outside of the realm of the physical.  (John 6:51-52)
• Willful unbelievers have no spiritual perception (John. 7:15-17)
• Willful unbelievers are fixed on the temporal things of this world. (John 7:31-36)
• Willful unbelievers judge others, but refuse to judge themselves. (John 8:5-7)
• Willful unbelievers measure truth by their own opinions rather than the Word of God. (John 8:13-14)
• Willful unbelievers reject the claims of Jesus. (John 8:22-25)
• Willful unbelievers trust in their moral heritage and good works to make them acceptable with God. (John 8:33,39)
• Willful unbelievers dismiss undeniable proofs found in the Bible that Jesus is who He claims to be. (John 10:19-33)
• Willful unbelievers incriminate and condemn themselves by their own words. (John 11:47-52)

   Paul writes of the unbeliever, Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. (Titus 1:15). 

  Just this morning the story was conveyed to me of a husband and wife who were traveling down a local highway when they noticed smoke billowing out from under the car in front of them.  As the smoke turned to flames, the husband knew that if he did not do something quickly, the unsuspecting driver would be consumed by the flames.   Finally, when it seemed that time for rescue had elapsed, the car left the road, came to a stop, and was quickly engulfed in flames.  As the terrified couple looked on, the husband, without regard for his own life, decided to enter the burning vehicle and pull its now unresponsive driver to safety.  Because of the smoke and heat the effort seemed hopeless, but after the third attempt the woman was heroically delivered from a fiery demise.  The story, as it was told to me, contains every element of a newsworthy event, but there is more.  One other detail causes us to look beyond the good fortune of the unsuspecting victim and the heroic act of her deliverer to catch a glimpse of the merciful hand of God.  Neither the rescued nor her deliverer received serious injury in the incident!

  There will be those who attribute this successful rescue to good luck rather than the intervention of the Almighty, but those of us who know God personally know that, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above… (James 1:17).

  According to the Bible, because of our sin, we are all separated from God and condemned to eternal flames that were intended for the devil and his angels.  But God, because of His great mercy has taken the penalty for our sin upon Himself.  Jesus Christ, without regard for His own life, took your place in judgment to purchase your pardon and rescue you from eternal ruin.  He died, was buried and rose from the dead to satisfy God’s just requirement for your sin.  And now, …as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12).  Because of Christ, your story can have a happy ending too!