The Naked Truth

During the 1980s I regularly watched MTV (an initialism of Music Television) to hear cool sounding songs I wouldn’t have heard otherwise on the radio. Although I wasn’t living for the Lord then, I still didn’t care for the suggestive imagery in many of these music videos. It’s ironic this network still calls itself MTV considering their programming nowadays is mostly reality shows that have nothing to do with music.

That’s also the case with MTV’s sister channel VH1, which originally played songs targeting older viewers. One of their current programs called “Dating Naked” features nude contestants (with certain areas of their bodies blurred) talking openly about sex and body parts. This program came to my attention through a Charisma article about the activist group One Million Moms. They launched a protest that resulted in one of the “Dating Naked” advertisers pulling their ads.

Some argue nudity is “natural” since the first people mentioned in the Bible “…were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25) Keep in mind Adam and Eve were the only two humans on earth at that time. Some theologians believe the earth’s first couple were clothed with the glory of God until they ate the forbidden fruit.

Nudity is discouraged in numerous Scriptures. In Genesis 9:20-25, a curse came upon Ham and his descendants after he told his brothers that their father Noah was lying uncovered in his tent. Years later Moses instructed the Israelites not to look upon the nakedness of various relatives (Leviticus 18:6-19). The priests were told in Exodus 20:26, “Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.”

The demon-possessed man in Luke 8 originally “wore no clothes” but became “clothed and in his right mind” after receiving deliverance. When Jesus comes back to judge the nations, He will commend those who clothed the naked (Matthew 25:36). Other New Testament passages such as 1 Corinthians 12:23 and 1 Timothy 2:9 encourages modesty.

Since the Fall of Man, the only passages that mention nudity in a positive context describe marital relations. Proverbs 5:18-19 says, “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love.” Song of Solomon chapter 4 gives a more graphic description of a married couple enjoying each other's bodies.

One might question why 1 Samuel 19:23-24 says of King Saul, “Then the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’” This doesn’t mean God approved of Saul prophesying in the nude. By this time Saul lost the anointing to be king and exhibited erratic behavior until he died on the battlefield.

God did command Isaiah, “Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.” (Isaiah 20:2) The next two verses explain why, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.”

Have you thought about what you might be wearing for eternity after you die? Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

On the other hand, I’ve seen gospel tracts showing unsaved men and women standing naked before the Lord on Judgment Day. There are Scriptures supporting this belief. Jesus said in Revelation 16:15, “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” 

In Matthew 22, Jesus spoke these words in the Parable of the Wedding Feast…

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 

12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 

13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Regardless if any clothing will be worn by men when facing God, every hidden sin will be exposed. Nobody will be able to hide behind fig leaves. Make sure you ready for eternity by being born again.

“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” - Hebrews 4:13

Making God a Liar

Once I had a discussion with a young man who said he didn’t believe in God. He even claimed God was a liar! This man tried proving his point by referring to Genesis 2:17, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Because Adam didn’t physically die the same day he partook of the forbidden fruit, this supposedly makes God a liar.

People who don’t want to believe the Bible often select verses taken out of context in attempts to prove there are contradictions. Jesus said in Matthew 18:17, “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” Before we address the accusation that God lied in Genesis 2:17, let’s look at these verses…

“God is not a man, that He should lie…” - Numbers 23:19

“And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.” - 1 Samuel 15:29

“He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.” – John 3:33

“Let God be true but every man a liar” – Romans 3:4

“in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,” - Titus 1:2

“that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.” - Hebrews 6:18

Men also accuse God of lying by their actions…

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” - 1 John 1:10

“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.” – 1 John 5:10

So how should we respond to claims that God lied in Genesis 2:17?  Dr. Terry Mortenson points out in his web site www.answersingenesis.org the phrase “you shall surely die” can be literally translated from the Hebrew Biblical text as “dying you shall die.”  Dr. Mortenson further states, “The Hebrew wording of Genesis 2:17 allows for a time lapse between the instantaneous spiritual death on that sad day of disobedience and the later physical death (which certainly did happen, just as God said, but for Adam it was 930 years later). As Scripture consistently teaches, both kinds of death (spiritual and physical) are the consequence of Adam’s rebellion.”

Verbs in the Hebrew language can be used either in a causative or permissive sense. This would explain why it appears some Scriptures say God causes men to lie such as 1 Kings 22:23, “Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.”  

The bottom line is that God is not a liar and certainly doesn’t expect His people to do so.  But no matter how hard one may try to be truthful, men in their unregenerate state are liars especially those who do not acknowledge their need of the Savior. Jesus points out they are (by default) following the father of lies – the devil. (John 8:44)

“Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.” - 1 John 2:22

Talk to the Animals

It’s amazing how heresy hunters will fault-find the silliest little things. A few months ago while John Crowder was speaking at a conference in England, a group stood outside protesting various things he has said and done. One thing they didn’t like was John encouraging people to talk to animals. The protesters apparently forgot about Balaam and his donkey in Numbers 22. In verse 30 of that chapter, the donkey talked back. Scandalous!

One could assume the animals in the Garden of Eden talked before the fall of man. After all, Eve conversed with the serpent in Genesis 3. Some people might also think of birds that talk today like parrots and mynas. But these creatures simply mimic words taught to them. 

There are animals in heaven. Some people believe they will see their deceased pets there. Of course, that is open to speculation. Nevertheless, the Book of Revelation mentions Jesus and His saints riding to earth on white horses and also describes beings that don't exist on earth like the ones that have eyes that see in every direction.  How would you like to have a pet like that? Perhaps this creature is God's guard dog.

God gave man dominion over all animals. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with people talking to them whether they are our own pets or in the wild. Of course, I would be shocked if one ever talked back to me. But I wouldn’t run away. I would listen in case God chose to use that animal to say something to me.

“Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal.  And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.  The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.” - Revelation 4:6-7

Good Without God?

This morning while surfing the Internet, I learned that subway ads are coming out next Monday in New York City declaring “You Can Be Good Without God.” This won’t be the first time this sort of thing has happened in the Big Apple. Earlier this year, a group of atheists sponsored bus posters that read, “You Don’t Have To Believe In God To Be A Moral And Ethical Person.” Similar signs have also appeared on buses in Chicago, Toronto, and London. Immediately I thought of Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1 which both affirm, “There is none who does good.” Ecclesiastes 7:20 reads, “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.”

How should Christians respond to atheists? While unbelievers need to hear the truth of God’s word, we must remind ourselves that it’s the goodness of God that leads one to repentance (Romans 2:4). Sinners need to hear about a God who wants to do good things in their lives. As David said in Psalm 52:1, “The goodness of God endures continually.”

It’s true that God called man “very good” in Genesis 1:31. But because of sin, the human race became estranged from God. Nevertheless, Matthew 5:45 says that God “…makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” God is so good that He even provides necessities for people who won’t believe in Him! So the next time you encounter atheists who say they don’t believe in God, you can let them know that God is good and He believes in them. Then if they will listen, share the plan of salvation with them.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” – John 3:16-18