The Soapbox

Halloween is a season for giving. What does it give?

1. It gives justification for coveteousness. Children will desire after the goodies and candy that are promised them by the world. They won't need to expend any work for them. They just beg, expecting that people will give them things.

   2 Thessalonians 3:10 "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat."

2. It gives justification for greed. They want things, they desire after the goodies.

   Judges 18:10 "When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth."

   Psalm 23:1 "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."

   Psalm 34:9 "O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him."

   Psalm 34:10 "The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing."

   Proverbs 13:25 "The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want."

   Philippians 4:11 "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

3. It gives them early training, to be greedy, coveteous, and lustful for greater things later on: careers, homes, or control over others.

   Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

   This verse can go both ways. A child trained up to be coveteous or rebellious will be firmly entrenched in it when they are older. If they are called by God, they will have to go through tremendous fire before they will come to Him. On the other hand, if a child is trained up in the ways and admonitions of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the words and the example of their parents, then, if they are called by God, they will be ready and eager to follow, serve, and submit in love.

4. It gives justification to live a lie, in dressing up as something they are not.

   Psalms 58:3 "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies."

   Psalms 144:11 "Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:"

   Proverbs 3:3 "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:"

   Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight."

   Proverbs 20:17 "Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel."

   Proverbs 21:6 "The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death."

   Ecclesiastes 5:6 "Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?"

   Isaiah 28:15 "Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:"

   Jeremiah 7:28 "But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth."

   Jeremiah 9:3 "And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD."

   Jeremiah 9:5,6 "And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. [v.6] Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD."

   John 8:44,45 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. [v.45] And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not."

   Colossians 3:9 "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;"

   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 21:27 "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."

   Revelation 22:15 "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."

Argument: "Well, there's nothing demonic in a small child dressing up as a character from the Bible, is there?"

Response: "It is still deception. The child is not a character from the Bible. In saying they are, they are lying to others."

Argument: "It's just innocent, harmless fun. Why make an issue out of it?"

Response: "It's far from innocent or harmless. The innocence of children are shattered by Halloween, and the secular sides of Easter and Christmas. They are taught how to desire, to lust, to covet after what they do not need. The children do not understand what the Bible says about what they do, but the parents should; they are accountable for their childrens' acts up to the time they know the Law (right and wrong), and become accountable for their own actions."

Romans 7:7-12 "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. [v.8] But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. [v.9] For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. [v.10] And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. [v.11] For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. [v.12] Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."

Paul did not know sin before he knew the Law. But when he knew the Law, he became aware of his own sinful nature, and the wretchedness of his flesh, and the need for repentance, in order to be free from that sin.

We grew up into a sinful world, the personal playground of Satan, called the "Prince of This World" (see John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11, and Ephesians 2:2). This is his turf, his domain, and we are his to control - except for the hand of God's mercy protecting us. It is His hand that protects us in the darkness of this world.

Halloween may be "innocent fun" to unsuspecting children, but the damage is still done unto these children.

Mark 9:42 "And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea."

The responsibility is upon those who know the truth, and yet continue in the ways of the world.

Is there any hope? Yes, always.

My past, as the past of everyone living in this world, is sin. If we grew up in the world, we will be in the darkness of the world until we see the light of Christ. Then we either turn or burn.

I now strive to live for Jesus Christ, by His mercy and grace upon me, and through whatever fires I must go through.

Every little child begging candy on October 31st will have to face the God of all Creation one day. If their parents have raised them up in the ways and admonitions of the Lord Jesus Christ, by their word and by their examples, they will face God in faith, in joy and expectation of seeing their Lord and Saviour face to face.

The way to Jesus Christ will be easier for them, and the children of these parents will seek ways to please God and their parents, in the examples they have set. Their lives will be directed into service unto Jesus Christ.

This world is going to Hell. The devil is called the Prince of this World. This is his turf, his domain. He is in control of planet Earth. But there is hope:

John 8:12 "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

John 12:25 "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."

John 14:17 "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

Galatians 4:3 "Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:"

Philippians 2:15 "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;"

Titus 2:12 "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;"

James 1:27 "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

2 Peter 1:4 "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

1 John 4:4 "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."

1 John 4:9 "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."

We're in the world. We have to live here, until God chooses to take us to be with Him. But it doesn't mean we have to live unprotected. The Holy Spirit within us protects us from that which is going on in the world. It instructs us to the Truth of the Word of God.

And when we let the Holy Spirit work within us, we are invincible to anything Satan can toss at us - except what will be to God's glory, of course.

As I submit, in obedience to Jesus Christ as Lord and Master of my life, I will overcome this world, as Jesus Himself overcame this world.

We are a peculiar people:

Titus 2:14 "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"

In Christ, we will not be participating in the events the world calls special, unless they glorify God in all aspects - not just the obvious ones. Halloween doesn't even begin to glorify God.

When we aren't glorifying God, we're in sin.

What are the priorities? What should always come first for us?

Matthew 6:24-34 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. [v.25] Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? [v.26] Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? [v.27] Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? [v.28] And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: [v.29] And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [v.30] Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? [v.31] Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? [v.32] (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. [v.33] But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. [v.34] Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

Seek God, not the world.

God is eternal. The world isn't.

2 Peter 3:7-14 "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. [v.8] But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [v.9] The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. [v.10] But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. [v.11] Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, [v.12] Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? [v.13] Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. [v.14] Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."

Want more? Check out World Peace Now!, HELL: The Fifty-Cent Tour, or Salvation's Inquiry: 'What's it all about?'