Truth Be Told: A Blog by Pastor Bill Alderson

When Jesus appeared on the scene nearly 2,000 years ago, He came on a mission from His Father to introduce a new covenant as prophesied by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31:31-32: “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord . The people had not kept the old covenant, and it was time to change the covenant's dynamics to give the people an opportunity to succeed. The people could not obey the entire law and consistently slipped into idolatry. Jesus would introduce a spiritual kingdom. From that time, Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand " (Matthew 4:17). When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples ca...

               Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good                     conscience [ suneidesis – the faculty of the soul which distinguishes between right and wrong]                     before God until this day."                          Acts 23:1 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience , desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.                  Hebrews 13:18 Conscience signifies knowledge in conjunction with, in conjunction with an action or decision to act. It is two sets of knowledge, often competing against each other: divine ...

America recently celebrated its 250th anniversary of declared independence from King George III and British rule on July 4th. Our founding fathers established a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people” through an intense process of developing self-government that eliminates the need for authoritarian rule, like a king or other dictator. There must be a way to balance the interests and power of the elites and powerful against the strength of government. For the first 100 years, slavery caused great division in finding a legal system that acknowledges the rights of all Americans. Starting with the Constitution, many amendments have been added to address the ongoing challenges of life in America. These challenges are not present under an all-powerful king since he needs no approval from others. He said, "This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen, ...

  “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments .                           Exodus 20:4-6 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”                           Exodus 20:17 One of the most significant issues of the Protestant Reformation was the emphasis ...