U.S. Law and the Bible Versus Sharia Law

Download a PDF of this Bible study.

The philosophy of law envisioned by our Founding Fathers assumed the existence of self-governance. The idea of self-governance is a term that identifies two things: independence from a Monarch, as well as a religious people capable of policing themselves.

In America we have fewer laws related to sins against one’s self, such as greed, gluttony, cussing, adultery, drinking, laziness and the likes. Philosophically, we have attempted to confine our lawmaking specifically to punishing those who harm others. As damaging as sinning against one’s self is, we have wisely avoided creating a police state to eradicate sins against self.

This is in contrast to the philosophy of Sharia Law, where there is a heavy-handed attempt by the State to eradicate all sin. But who enjoys living in a police state?

What follows are seven sins against self that are legal in America; but just because they’re legal don’t mean they’re profitable! So what can we do to personally eradicate them in order to please God, benefit the State and increase the quality of our lives? Read on.

I. INTRODUCTION

The book of Proverbs has something to say about decreasing the quality and longevity of your life regardless of whether or not you hold public office. Solomon says the following will lead to our own demise or death.

It is important to note at the outset of this study that “death” as it is used in Proverbs relates both to a gradual decline – notice this use in 5:23 “He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray” – and a sudden end: “A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy” (29:1). Accordingly, the following seven subjects will not only slowly depreciate your life over time, but also they have the ability to suddenly change, if not end, the direction of your life as you intend it to be.

Here from Proverbs, in no particular order of importance, are seven sins that will diminish your life and bring much harm to your soul. Even though what follows are not necessarily against the law in America, these are seven ways you can displease God, subsequently diminish your life and hurt our nation.

II. BY PRACTICING GREED

1:19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.

In this particular Proverb the propensity for gain is the obstinate, compelling, uncontrollable, overriding, out-of-control internal force preeminent in an unregenerate sinner. Believers refer to this as the old nature. The old nature is characterized by various greedy manifestations, culminating in a willingness to resort to violence in order to satiate internal zeal, or greed, for gain. Such violence (think of this Hebrew word in the English sense of “to violate” more so than “to riot”) could be manifested in and by murderous gossip, as evidenced by mischaracterizing an opponent in an election, or by borrowing designated funds from one’s restricted campaign account, or by falsely claiming authorship in policy formation. Such actions should be understood and identified for what they actually are – manifestations of the sin of greed: zeal to satisfy personal, fleshly desires for gain. These compromises, in the end, take away the life of its possessors. Make no mistake, left unchecked, your innumerable manifestations of greed will inevitably, eventually come back to haunt you!

All of the above illustrations of greed are too often personified in the world of American politics – as are the resultant downfalls. Check your motives.

GOD’S WORD SHOULD GUIDE YOU TODAY TO MORTIFY THE FLESHLY GREED OF YOUR OLD NATURE

Further, the exclamation of Proverbs 1:19 relative to this guarantee of a diminutive life is reinforced by the preceding Proverbs, 1:17 & 18:

Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net in the sight of any bird; but they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.

The above are contrasting Proverbs. The sight of danger should lead one to avoid it. That is the case with birds when they see a net. But the propensity of the old, fallen nature toward sin is self-delusive and destructive. It is in fact addictive. People who have not gained victory over sin via the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit move instinctively, habitually and unthinkingly toward those devices that they know will lead to their undoing. Such is the case with drug addicts, sluggards, alcoholics, porn users, gluttons and the like. They telegraph enslavement to sin. Their fallen, internal desires dominate them! Jesus said in John 8:34, “Everyone who commits sin (“commits” is a present active participle in the Greek, meaning an ongoing action) is the slave of sin.” A sure testimony to the presence of sin in the world is the addictive behavior that exists throughout it – that people can see where their path leads and still go down them? Such underscores the previous words of Jesus. The Psalmist also refers to this phenomenon….

He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, and has fallen into the hoe which he made. His mischief will return upon his own head, and his violence will descend upon his own fate.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:13, “for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.” It doesn’t take a PhD in sociology to figure out that people are too often controlled by greed – and that folks still sin even when they can see the consequences of their own actions. Victory over greed, triumph over its temptations, can only be achieved through the cross of Christ!

One might not be breaking U.S. Law as they practice greed, but greed pleases not God, nor does it up benefitting you or the nation.

III. BY PRACTICING SEXUAL SINS

2:18,19 For her house sinks down to death And her tracks lead to the dead; None who go to her return again, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

5:5,6 Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

5:23 He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatnessof his folly he will go astray.

6:26 For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.

These Proverbs vividly illustrate the cost of sexual deviation. Solomon’s use of the phrase, the path(s) of life refers to one’s regular habitual schedule, the cadence and industriousness synonymous with regularity over an extended period of time. Sexual sin destroys those habits, the paths of life. As a result of sexual deviations, (or any sinful addictions) one is reduced to a loaf of bread, meaning insignificance in life.

Proverbs 29:3 further adds that on account of a harlot one wastes his wealth. A marriage, a family, purity, dignity (and albeit to a lesser extent today) the possible sacrifice of a fruitful career: all are the costs of sexual sin, even though in America many forms of sexual deviation are lawful.

States 7:23 in regards to habitual sexual manifestations outside of wedlock, “Until an arrow pierces through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not know that it will cost him his life.” And 7:26 adds, “For many are the victims she has cast down, and numerous are all her slain.” Have no doubt or self-deception about this fact: uncontrolled sexual desires are devastating to every individual and their path of life. “Be sure of this, your sins will find you out” states Numbers 32:23. Because this is such a prevalent and detrimental sin in the capital community, next week I will issue a Bible study titled:

HOW TO AVOID SEXUAL TEMPTATION AND SIN

Be on the lookout for this critical study.

IV. BY LIVING CROOKED

11:3 The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroyo them.

When you possess a singular internal yearning to know the will of God in a particular situation, God will grant you light for your path. Crooked people’s lack of desire for God’s will is the perversity that leads to their destruction. As the crooked and treacherous pursue their riches, they may find temporary monetary success (cf. Psa. 37:7) but in an ultimate sense, “riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death” (Pro. 11:4). Scripture is clear and repeated that there will be a day of final accounting when God will judge every man according to his deeds (cf. Ezekiel 7:19) wherein the just God of the universe will give to every many his or her full recompense. A person can get away with a lot of crooked actions in America without breaking the law per se. But at least three additional Proverbs describe the ultimate fate of their sin: “Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die” (Pro. 11:19). “The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death” (Pro. 21:6). “He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live” (Pro. 15:27). Being crooked may not be illegal in many situations, but make no mistake it profits not your soul or our nation.

V. BY BECOMING YOUR OWN AUTHORITY

14:12 & 16:2 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way to death.

When mankind fell in Genesis chapter three, so did his veracity, sincerity and objectivity in reasoning. Theologically this is referred to as the noetic effect of sin. That’s to say man isn’t always right; the outcome of his thoughts cannot always be trusted. Conversely, the Scriptures represent God’s unadulterated, preserved thinking in a fallen world, circumnavigating and transcending the corruption of the fall via the Holy Spirit’s inspiration of its authors as well as graphic (Gr: graphe, cf. 2Tim. 3:16; contr. cerebral) conservation and sanctuary.

To rely on one’s own authority then – versus God’s – will too often lead one in the wrong direction. Therefore the frequently heard comment beginning with, “well I think…” is meaningless, if it does not explicate a principle or truth parallel to, or in concert with Scripture. Such self-confidence and insubordination to God’s Word bespeaks personal deification and pride—a testimony void of authority, save what one thinks or seems right. The book of Judges twice states, “Every man did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6; 21:25).

I don’t know about you, but what seems right in someone’s mind is not good enough for me. I would much rather know what God thinks about a subject than know what anyone else thinks.

IN THE COURSE OF CONVERSATIONS EXPOSTULATION THAT TELEGRAPHS SELF-IMPORTANCE AND PROMOTION NOT ONLY WREAKS A TANG IN THE MOMENT, BUT TO DEATH IN THE DISTANCE

One is not jailed in America for becoming his or her own authority and disagreeing with biblical truth or for that matter negatively bespeaking of its Prophet-Messiah, but to do so is not advantageous for self or nation.

VI. BY ENVYING OTHERS

14:30 A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, But envy makes the bones rot.

A sound heart, liberated from corrosive sin via the cross, is most certainly conducive to physical health. Envy on the other hand is a deadly fruit of selfishness. “This vice is the executioner of itself” said Bishop Hall. States Bridges regarding envy, “Such a hell does one carry in his own bosom….Alas! That this plant should be the growth of our own soil!”

Why should one wish harm in response to his neighbor’s prosperity? Such disdains self! One should always “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Rom. 12:15). No US laws prohibit envy, but to practice this extreme form of jealousy in the long run will most surely rot your bones. In a nationalistic sense, it is the unchecked envy of the heart that is the sinful soil of class warfare.

VII. BY BEING LAZY

21:25 The desire of the sluggard puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work;

There is a huge work ethic presented in Scripture. Much of poverty is related to slothfulness—his hands refuse to work. The NT provides further insight into this. 1Timothy 5:8 says, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” This truth need not be elaborated on in the Capitol, as most here have not a problem of working too little; in working too much you jeopardize not self, but family.

THERE ARE NO STATE OR FEDERAL LAWS PROHIBITING IDLENESS, BUT ITS FRUITS ARE DEVASTATING!

As legislators who exhibit supreme industriousness, use yourself as a model when speaking to various groups: to our national demise, our historic, cultural characteristic of industriousness is quickly fading away! Poor work habits harm not only individual prosperity, but national achievement.

VIII. BY UNJUST TREATMENT OF THE AFFLICTED

22:23 For the LORD will plead their case And take the life of those who rob them.

The Proverb immediately prior to this one reads, “Do not rob the poor because he is poor, nor oppress the afflicted at the gate.” The gates of the city were not only places where the poor begged, but where civil matters were solved, and so the “afflicted” would come there and plead their case. They were to be treated fairly, versus taken advantage of. Throughout Scripture God is the protector of those who are truly poor (cf. James 2) as witnessed in this Proverb. It is important that one develop a personal responsibility to the poor and afflicted. Rather than exploit the poor, and afflicted, the wise man in response should seek to “Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter, oh hold them back” (Pro. 24:11, 12). Herein is the need to defend against unjust treatment and violence, and is the historical underpinning for why every person has and should continue to have a right to an attorney. Amen to that! Power should never taint justice, personally or corporately: “And justice for all” is something we attempt to do as a nation that God honors.

IX. CONCLUSION

The book of Proverbs affords us with at least seven spiritual rules that King Solomon says are sure to harm your life if you break them – even though you can get away with a lot of this stuff in America.

Wise is the man, wise is a nation that studies, meditates and practices these precepts. May God intertwine them into the fabric of your and our daily life.