A People for His Name

“Biblical Revelation about Honey and the Teaching of Romans 14”

February 18, 2025 — Leave a comment

My latest post in my thread on Sharper Iron concerning foods, days, worship music, and the teaching of Romans 14:

“To further probe the teaching of Romans 14 concerning those who eat “all things” as being strong believers, examining what Scripture reveals about honey provides a biblical basis for establishing some relevant considerations.

A. Divinely provided use of honey as a foodstuff

Deut. 32:13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;

Ps. 81:16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

B. Divinely approved use of honey as a foodstuff

Prov. 24:13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

Prov. 25:16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.

Isa. 7:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

C. Prohibited consumption of honey [from an unacceptable source] as a foodstuff

Jdg. 14:8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.

Jdg. 14:9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.

D. Divine revelation warning against intemperate consumption of honey as a foodstuff

Prov. 25:16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.

Prov. 25:27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.

E. Divinely prohibited use of honey in worship

Lev. 2:11 No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.

F. Sinful use of honey in idolatrous worship

Ezek. 16:19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.

How do these biblical points about honey inform our understanding of what Romans 14 teaches about strong believers being the ones who eat ‘all things’?”

In Interpretation, Theology

“What Does Romans 14 Teach about Foods, Days, and Worship Music?”

February 15, 2025 — Leave a comment

I started a new discussion thread on Sharper Iron recently: “What Does Romans 14 Teach about Foods, Days, and Worship Music?” If you are interested in learning more about this subject, I encourage you to follow the discussion on Sharper Iron.

Below is my opening post in that thread.

I have been studying Romans 14 a lot lately. In this thread, I am interested in intensively exegetical and theological discussion about what Romans 14 teaches about foods, days, and worship music.

Paul begins his teaching by saying the following:

Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

Paul speaks of some who believe that they may “eat all things,” but others who are “weak in the faith” eat herbs. A sound handling of this teaching requires careful, thorough, biblical probing of this teaching.

When Paul says that some believe that they may eat all things, what is Paul actually teaching? To begin to answer this question properly, it is necessary to point out what Paul is not teaching.

When Paul says that some believe that may eat all things, he is not teaching that those who are not weak in the faith believe that they may eat all plant and animal substances whatever they may be, including even things that are known to be poisonous or otherwise unfit for human consumption as foods.

The teaching of Romans 14:1-2 does not show that Christians who do not eat plant and animal substances that are poisonous, etc. for human consumption are weak in the faith. Being strong “in the faith” does not entail that you believe that you may partake even of poisonous berries, mushrooms, etc.

In CCM, Exposition, Interpretation, Music, Theology

What Psalms 1:1-3 Compared to Romans 12:2 Teaches Us about the Right Approach to Worship and Music

January 30, 2025 — Leave a comment

Comparing Psalms 1:1-3 closely to Romans 12:2 profoundly teaches us vital truths about the right approach to worship and music:

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.	Romans 12:2a And be not conformed to this world:
Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.	Romans 12:2b but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.	Romans 12:2c that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The Spirit is the Author of both passages. Seeing how closely these passages correlate and keeping in mind that the Spirit began His perfect Book on music (the Psalms) in the manner that He has, we must understand that both Psalms 1:1-3 and Romans 12:2 teach us the same foundational truths about the right approach to worship and music!

We cannot have a right approach to worship and music apart from our first stopping being conformed to the world through walking in its counsels about worship and music. Categorical rejection of worship practices and music that are ungodly because they are worldly has everything to do with pleasing God with acceptable music for corporate worship!

“Worldliness is demonically energized, creaturely, lust-driven, arrogant enmity and opposition to God.”

Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM

In Interpretation, Music, Theology

Eternal Punishment for Something That Is Never Specified!

January 29, 2025 — Leave a comment

In His capstone book of divine revelation, the Spirit makes known that sorcerers will suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire:

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

What are we to learn from God’s punishing people eternally for being practitioners of the occult (“sorcerers”) but never defining or specifying in Scripture as to what being such sinful people entails?

In Theology

Demons, Supernatural Evil, and Occult Music

January 18, 2025

Satan and his demons exist—they are real. They are incorrigibly evil.

Satan and his demons are spirit beings in ways that humans as spirit beings are not and never will be.

Satan and his demons have experienced realities that no humans on their own have ever experienced or will ever experience. They have knowledge that no humans on their own have ever had or will ever have. They have powers, abilities, and capabilities that no humans on their own have ever had or will ever have.

Because of all these truths about Satan and his demons, evil that is the result of direct or indirect demonic activity is of a supernatural character that other forms of evil are not.

Occult activities, therefore, are supernatural evil activities that are of a distinctively different character than other evil activities.

In keeping with all the preceding points, we must not approach music that is of the occult in the same ways that we approach other music. The supernaturally evil aspects of such music require us to categorically reject all music that is distinctively of the occult.

In CCM, Music, Theology

Bible Reading Report for 2024

January 1, 2025

I praise God that I was able to read the entire Bible in 2024! God has now graciously allowed and empowered me to read through the Bible at least once every year for all 35 years of my Christian life!

In addition, I read through Isaiah, Daniel, and the entire NT twice. I also read through the Psalms once and sang through every word of Psalms 1-100!

The books that I read through more than twice in 2024 were Ephesians (6x), Colossians (5x), James (4x), and Jude (3x).

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for giving us your perfect Word and for giving me the freedom to freely read it again and again, year after year!

In Bible reading

Finished Singing through Psalms 1-100!

December 30, 2024

Earlier this year, I decided to do something that I had never done before. I was going to sing through the entire book of Psalms word-for-word.

This project has been an interesting experience. Without using any hymnbooks or music, I began singing through each Psalm.

I tried to sing every word of each Psalm as best as I could without any concern for whether I was following any specific musicological principles or guidelines of singing. I tried to vary how I sang the verses in a way that seemed to me to fit what each verse said.

This morning, I made it through Psalm 100! As God directs, I intend to continue singing through the Psalms until I finish the book.

In Discipleship, Music

Peter Masters on the Dangers of Contemporary Christian Music

December 26, 2024

Throughout the world contemporary Christian music has captured countless churches, absorbing them into the domain of semi-charismatic, worldly evangelicalism. Sometimes the preaching has largely remained sound, but for how long now that the worship ethos of such churches has so dramatically changed? Whether its victims realise it or not, the contemporary worship movement is the instrument of the hour to pull down both the conduct and the doctrinal walls of Zion. How the arch-enemy of the churches of Christ and of human souls will be straining to speed on such a catastrophe! . . .

Even the partial adoption of contemporary worship will inevitably constitute a bridge to the total acceptance of ‘Christian’ rock culture. Composers and writers of ‘sounder’ modern genre songs say themselves that their primary aim is to draw conservative churches into the fold of Christian rock, and also to hasten ecumenical advance.

—Peter Masters, “Worship or Entertainment?,” 95-96

In CCM, Christian Books, Music, Quotes

Beware This Serious Faulty View about Authentic Occult Activity

December 16, 2024

I believe that there is a very serious, faulty, widespread, contemporary skepticism among believers today that holds that authentic occult activity is rare or hardly even exists.¹ The only way to know that is true would be to have supernatural abilities to examine all occult activities around the whole world and somehow know that there isn’t any real demonic activity going on.

No human being has such ability. Holding such a viewpoint (that authentic occult activity is rare or hardly even exists) is therefore a totally unwarranted notion that has no merit.

Any individual person’s own life experience is not any legitimate basis to establish the validity of such a view. The life experiences of everybody that a person knows or has ever known are not a legitimate basis to establish the validity of such a view.

Only divine revelation could establish the validity of such a view. Tellingly, the Bible never teaches that the occult is mostly fake, sham, charlatans, etc.

There is no legitimate basis to hold that authentic occult activity is rare or hardly even exists.

¹This post is an adaptation of a comment that I posted in a discussion thread on Sharper Iron.

In Theology

“A Lying Spirit, False Prophets, and No Possession”

December 10, 2024

I posted the following today in a discussion on Sharper Iron to treat what Scripture reveals about how a lying spirit worked in the mouths of false prophets so that they gave forth false prophecies without any evidence of their being demon-possessed.

A lying spirit, false prophets, and no possession

Scripture provides plain revelation that refutes the notion that genuine demonic activity in false prophets requires demonic possession:

2 Chronicles 18:20 Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? 21 And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the LORD said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so. 22 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee. 23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?

Four hundred false prophets gave false prophecy to Ahab (2 Chron. 18:5; 18:10-11) that led to his doom (2 Chron. 18:28-34). A true prophet made known that what had taken place in the giving of those false prophecies by all of those false prophets was the working of “a lying spirit in the mouth of all his [Ahab’s] prophets” (2 Chron. 18:21-22).

The passage does not provide any evidence that any of those false prophets manifested in any way that they were demon-possessed when they gave their false prophecies that were the working of a demon in all of their mouths. In reality, had any of these false prophets displayed such evidences of demon-possession, it would likely have tipped Ahab off that their prophecies were not to be heeded.

In particular, Zedekiah was a leader among these prophets in the giving of false prophecy (2 Chron. 18:10-11). Tellingly, he wrongly believed that he actually had the Spirit of the Lord on him prior to Micaiah’s giving true prophecy to Ahab (2 Chron. 18:23).

Zedekiah thus seemingly attests to how a leading false prophet was himself deceived and appears to have thought that he was a true prophet of the Lord. Nonetheless, we know with certainty that the false prophecy that he gave on this occasion was the work of a demon in his mouth.

Tellingly, neither Zedekiah nor any of the other 399 false prophets who prophesied falsely at the working of a demon on this occasion gave any evidence of their being demon-possessed. This passage plainly shows that the notion that false prophets who are genuinely involved in demonic activities certainly will be demon-possessed people is categorically false.

In Exposition, Interpretation, Theology

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A lying spirit, false prophets, and no possession

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