Truth Be Told: A Blog by Pastor Bill Alderson

               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 ...

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst (inside) ." And He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, 'Look there! Look here!' Do not go away, and do not run after them. For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered th...