Morality, Effects of

... The record of biblical history underscores the fact that, where God's people are concerned, military might is far less of a factor in the outcome of a war than morality. ...

Richard T. Ritenbaugh:  ...Is this not a typical American reaction? Two men kill ten people and keep the nation terrorized for more than three weeks, and once police nab the murderers, we all sigh in relief and, with hardly another thought, go back to our comfortable lives. ...

In this sobering sermon, John Ritenbaugh warns of the consequences of fellowshipping outside of God's called-out church. People who suppose they are supplementing their spiritual diet with a poisonous blend of heresy and lawlessness risk losing their identity and witness, and ultimately their spiritual life. God has made his covenant with one body, the Israel of God, which yields to His way of life, keeping His Sabbath as a perpetual covenant. Fellowship with organizations which despise or denigrate God's Sabbath is tantamount to spiritual adultery. Bad doctrine inevitably deceives and destroys. Our behavior and practice must inevitably derive or grow out of our core doctrines - that we were called to qualify as members of His Family, something of which the world's religions have no inkling.

No act is insignificant because of two "natural" principles: the tendency for increase and what is sown is reaped. John Ritenbaugh shows that in regard to sin and righteousness, these principles play major roles in our lives.