Alice Cooper: “I’m Eighteen”

This shock rocker wasn’t a mere singer. Many of his songs had a lot of thought put into them. This one is particularly relevant to that magic age when a boy morphs into a man. Hear it here:

Adulthood is difficult for a child to adjust to at first. That’s why Paul said about spiritual maturity in 1 Corinthians 13:11 (Bible in Basic English), “When I was a child, I made use of a child’s language, I had a child’s feelings and a child’s thoughts: now that I am a man, I have put away the things of a child.”

We should also be glad to take responsibility as adults, even if it seems frightening. One great example of this is Jeremiah 1:6 and 7 (BBE). “Then said I, ‘O Lord God! see, I have no power of words, for I am a child.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am a child:” for wherever I send you, you are to go, and whatever I give you orders to say, you are to say.'”

By the time we become adults, we should be able to assume the duties of an adult. Sadly, children these days don’t have the beneficial correction of Proverbs 22:15 (BBE). “Foolish ways are deep-seated in the heart of a child, but the rod of punishment will send them far from him.”

The God-given privilege of an adult is to raise a family. As Christ said in Matthew 19:5 (BBE), “For this cause will a man go away from his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and the two will become one flesh?”

As adults, married men need the sacrificial maturity to provide for his family. Like Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:25 (BBE), “Husbands, have love for your wives, even as Christ had love for the church, and gave himself for it;”

Furthermore, work is where real consequences happen to lazy people. As Proverbs 10:5 (BBE) explains, “He who in summer gets together his store is a son who does wisely; but he who takes his rest when the grain is being cut is a son causing shame.”

If Christ returns for his harvest by Thursday, I won’t bother uploading my post about nothing.

Were the Proverbs About Christ?

A preacher named Voddie Baucham spoke in one sermon about the book of Proverbs being all about Christ. I doubted that until I read Colossians 2:1 to 3 (BBE) which reads, “For it is my desire to give you news of the great fight I am making for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not seen my face in the flesh; So that their hearts may be comforted, and that being joined together in love, they may come to the full wealth of the certain knowledge of the secret of God, even Christ, In whom are all the secret stores of wisdom and knowledge.”

Voddie pointed out that since all wisdom dwells in Christ, all the references to the wise son or man refer to Christ. Being perfectly righteous, Christ fulfills all the proverbial sayings about Wisdom.

But some smarty-pants person might ask about Lady Wisdom. How could she represent Christ? The truth is that she doesn’t. This woman is a literary device which shows us how valuable wisdom is.

As for the fool, that’s us. One example of this is Proverbs 11:29 (BBE) which says, “The troubler of his house will have the wind for his heritage, and the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.”

In my How I Was Razed memoir, I wrote about how I foolishly turned my back on God due to the lies a cultic church taught. It took the loss of my house and a bad condo deal to make me realize my folly.

And which one of us can boast of never despising wisdom? Proverbs 1:7 (BBE) condemns all of us. “The fear of the Lord is the start of knowledge: but the foolish have no use for wisdom and teaching.”

Certainly we were unwise rebels as children. Proverbs 22:15 (BBE) reveals this. “Foolish ways are deep-seated in the heart of a child, but the rod of punishment will send them far from him.”

Only the Trinity possesses all wisdom. As we read in Jude 1:25 (BBE) about the complete wisdom of our Master. “To the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, let us give glory and honour and authority and power, before all time and now and for ever. So be it.”

I also apologize to those who are awaiting my next book called You Think You’re Going to Heaven? I’m not used to writing in a didactic style so compiling my book is becoming difficult. Even so, I hope to have time this summer to buckle down and edit it.

On Thursday, I’ll post on the subject of God’s X-ray vision.

The Born Basically Good Error

Liberal Christian denominations teach that humanity is basically good and all people need to do is be nice to one another. But these misled folks forget that we live in a fallen world where humanity has been corrupted by the fall.

Even in the beginning, humanity quickly sank into wickedness. Genesis 6:5 (KJV) shows just how bad folks became. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

The very first human family was dysfunctional. After Cain’s offering to God was rejected, he became bitter. Genesis 4:8 (KJV) reports, “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”

In fact, we are so corrupted that we can’t possibly even know how bad we are. Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV) describes how far gone humanity is. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) shows that we have no hope of saving ourselves from God’s wrath. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Even children aren’t innocent. Proverbs 22:15 (KJV) states, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”

Even David, a man after God’s own heart, was born under Adam’s curse. He admitted in Psalms 51:5 (KJV) that, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Gospel means good news and this is the best news which any sinner can hear. Romans 5:15 (KJV) explains, “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.”

This is the theme of my next book called You Think You’re Going to Heaven? People figure they aren’t so bad but even a small sin is an affront to the Almighty. We wouldn’t like it if there was a black speck floating in our glass of milk and the waitress said, “It’s only a little dirty.” Imagine how much more offensive our sin is to a pure and holy God.

On Saturday, I’ll post about a secular rock group and their song about Christ’s return.