When there is something I want to say and I discover someone else has already said it and has said it with clarity and conviction, why do I need to reiterate? Here is a perfect example.................
Three Types of Churches Will Appear in the Last Days
Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. — Revelation 2:16
Today the Church is facing a crisis of morals. More and more, society has no stomach for spiritual or moral absolutes. Pastors and spiritual leaders who decide to “take a stand” and preach the Gospel in its pure, unadulterated form are derided as irrelevant and intolerant hate-mongers.
The public reaction to biblical truth is often so adverse that many pastors are hesitant to take strong positions on issues of morality, even though these truths are clearly stated in the Word of God. Rather than answer difficult moral questions, they are tempted to dodge the questions and skirt around the issues in an attempt to avoid conflict.
This same issue plagued the Early Church nearly 2,000 years ago. Toward the close of the First Century AD, there was a group of spiritual leaders who intentionally “watered down” the message of the Gospel to make it less demanding and more accommodating to other points of view. Because the culture couldn’t stomach the idea of a strict exclusionary faith that claimed to be above all others, this group of spiritual leaders attempted to entice Christians to make their faith more inclusive of everyone else’s beliefs.
The problem grew so rampant at the close of the First Century AD that Christ issued a strong rebuke to the people who were spreading this toxic doctrine when He supernaturally appeared to the apostle John. Addressing these erring spiritual leaders, Jesus sternly warned, “Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Revelation 2:16).
The word “fight” is in this verse is the Greek wordpolemos, a well-known Greek word that describesa full-scale battle that is fought until victory is achieved. This emphatically means that Christ is not willing to surrender His Church toanyone, and He will fight for His Church until it is solidly back in His hands. Herefused to stand idly by and let these individuals His Church. If errant spiritual leaders did not repent of theiractive orpassive tolerance of this false teaching, Christ would rise up against them with His mighty sword.
Christ’s warning to the Early Church applies to the Church in all ages, and it is clear to see why His words are especially relevant to believers today. Although there are many God-fearing pastors, preachers, and spiritual leaders in the modern Christian community, a host of spiritual leaders are replicating the grave errors made by errant leaders in the First Century. In pulpits and congregations around the world, truth is being watered down and altered to reflect the inclusive values of a changing culture. In many congregations, pure, sound doctrine has been completely replaced by soft, “feel-good” messages, and the majority of people in the pews are ignorant of even the most elementary tenets of the faith.
Despite their ability to communicate masterfully, many modern-day ministers lack a basic education in fundamental Bible principles or have simply chosen to avoid teaching sound doctrine in favor of more popular motivational messages. To be direct, it appears that some have been duped into taking a politically correct position on many biblical truths instead of declaring truth — because the truth would put them on a collision course with the society that surrounds them.
This drift away from the Bible has created a doctrinal vacuum in the Church — a void currently being filled with dynamic business ideas, financial advice, and motivational messages instead of the Word of God that the Holy Spirit is bound to honor with signs and wonders. It is certainly true that some of the motivational messages delivered from the pulpit are beneficial in people’s lives, but this help is temporary and can often be found in a book by some psychological guru. When everything is said and done, only the Bible has the power to permanently transform.
Unfortunately, what we currently see and feel is only the beginning of the rift that is developing within the Church world. Unless a major revival occurs, this rift will only grow deeper and wider. If repentance doesn’t melt the hearts of people throughout the Church world, it will eventually seem like there are three churches:
*A Church that holds fast to the truth and faces the brunt of opposition because it refuses to bend.
*A Church in the middle trying to “ride the fence” through accommodation in order to avoid persecution and societal rejection (see Revelation 2:12-17).
*A lukewarm, “Laodicean-like” Church (see Revelation 3:14-22) that has allowed compromise to run its full course, stripping it completely of the power of God and leaving Jesus standing on the outside.
It is not too late for the Body of Christ to make a recovery. In fact, it is never too late as long as there are believers who are willing to hear and hearken to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church. However, in order for the Church to receive the divine power it needs for correction, change, and restoration, it must undergo a transformation from the highest to its lowest levels.
The Bible makes it clear that if spiritual leaders refuse to take a stand for truth in these turbulent times, Christ will fight against them with His mighty sword. This is a battle that they cannot win. Absolutely no one may mitigate the truth of the Gospel — even for the purpose of purchasing peace with the world around them. The only true recourse is to surrender to the Holy Spirit and do what is right, even if it is wrong in the eyes of the world.
Early believers endured bullying, ridicule, imprisonment, and were even put to death because they refused to conform to the world that surrounded them on all sides. Although some believers collapsed under this pressure, many steadfastly resisted this coercion to conform and held fast to their faith. God has always had His remnant — those who will not bow to external pressures. In these last times God will have that remnant once again, and those who refuse to fear or to compromise their faith in Jesus Christ will experience previously unknown levels of the power of God as a result of their commitment to stand by truth.
I realize this is a very different type of Sparkling Gem, but I felt it necessary to write and memorialize what I believe are the greatest struggles facing the modern Church. I encourage you to stay faithful in praying for those believers and spiritual leaders who refuse to succumb to the pressures of the age and stand by absolute, biblical truth, regardless of what the world around them dictates. Why not make a fresh consecration to the Lord today that you will always be counted among that faithful number? Make a quality, immutable decision for your own walk with God: “From this moment forward, there’s no fence left to ride! Compromise in my commitment to Jesus is NOT an option!”
MY PRAYER FOR TODAY
Dear Father, I ask You to help me understand the relevance of this word I’ve read today. I pray that You will strengthen the present leadership of the Body of Christ to stand for the absolute truths of God’s Word even if that stance places them in direct opposition to the world. I ask You to raise up strong leaders in the Christian community who will lead the way and courageously stand for truth, regardless of the price that must be paid. I pray for my pastor and for other spiritual leaders. Father, I ask You to help them hear what the Spirit is saying and grant them boldness to call the Church to a time of holiness and separation, even if it is opposed to the voice of the world around them.
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY
I boldly confess that I will stand by the truth of God’s Word, regardless of what the world around me tries to dictate as morally right or wrong. A day will soon come when we will all stand before Christ’s high court of reckoning and give account for how we upheld truth or how we forfeited it to accommodate the world around us. I have made my decision! Regardless of what the world says or what names it calls me, I am going to stand by the Christian values that have guided the Church for 2,000 years. Truth has not suddenly changed — it is society that has changed. I am determined to stand by biblical truth regardless of the price I must pay.
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER
Today’s television programs often depict homosexuality as the norm. Can you think of other examples in modern society where biblical truths are undermined and exchanged with a new code of ethics?
As a Christian do you believe you should merely go with the flow of what’s happening, or is it your responsibility to uphold the absolute truth of the Gospel?
If it personally costs you to take a strong moral stance that is in line with God’s Word, are you willing to pay that price? How far are you willing to go in your commitment to biblical truth?
The original idea of democracy comes from the Greek societal
concept of a polis (“city” or “city-state”),
which was developed under the assumption that humankind could rule itself
autonomously.
Free market capitalism added fuel to the fire of man’s search for
individual significance, and a proliferation of this worldview went global at a
truly astonishing pace. Pride in our tremendous abilities had become a
contender for the souls of men on the world’s stage through a Darwinian-based
ideology of its own.
In our efforts to be a tolerant people, Christians have
allowed ourselves to be delegated to the backseat of the bus. And while we are told we must not give a
voice to our beliefs lest that be considered intolerant, there is no similar
message being doled out to the militant secularists or the radical Islamists. And so they take the opportunity handed to
them on a silver platter and use it to their advantage.
With its irreligious, amoral veneer, militant secular humanism may
have won the most “converts” of all; and
there appears to be no end in sight. In
terms of numbers, secularists, non-religious people and atheists come in third
place, just behind Christianity and Islam, accounting for 16 percent of the
world’s population (approx. 1.1
billion). It offers no system of moral
absolutes. It is a relativistic paradigm that attempts to develop morality from
the situation at hand, relative to the needs and wants of the individual
perspectives involved.
To those who do not believe in good and evil, the actions of
suicide bombers and Holocaust –deniers do not register for what they are. They naively reason there must be valid
social factors motivating this behavior. Poverty is the most common explanation
this rationale has to offer. When everything is relative to circumstance, there
is always a way of justifying any action, however heinous.
They (militant secularists) ridicule or dismiss as extremist any
who refuses to throw in the towel on absolutes and join them in their relativistic,
“anything goes” malaise.
Christians must use the democratic platform for freedom of
expression to speak the truth in love – at every opportunity living out their
faith, being salt and light in the culture and manifesting godly character in
government, media, the arts, religious settings, education, business and
finance. Jesus admonished His followers
to be a light on a hill and not to hide or retreat (see Matthew 5). America was
founded by Christian believers to be that “city on a hill.” Yes, such activity will be attacked and
ridiculed by the other two houses (radical Islam and militant secularism). The battle for the minds and souls of
citizens will be unremitting, requiring tremendous sacrifices of times,
resources and energy. In the end, we have the sure hope that truth will
eventually prevail.
Christians must give up our false idol of America and
instead use the opportunity God has given us to spread His gospel by speaking
the truth boldly. We have no problem
waving the American flag, raising banners that speak of patriots and freedom
yet fall short of thanking our God in the public square. We are bold when it comes to speaking out for
our country yet timid when it’s time to speak about our God. Have we developed an unhealthy pride in
America? Our God is a jealous God (Ex
34:14) and will not tolerate false idols.
Perhaps we Christians have been lulled into complacency by
the lifestyle we cherish so much. Perhaps
we have become lazy and unwilling to sacrifice. Are we so comfortable that we no longer desire
to seek God’s will for our lives but instead do the minimum and tell ourselves
that is enough – that He doesn’t require anything more? Would God have asked so much of our
forefathers and so little of us? How we
love to quote Washington, Lincoln, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson and the rest, yet
dishonor the sacrifices they made by doing so little to keep the vision they
had from God alive today.
It’s time to stop blaming everyone else – the radical
Islamists, the illegal immigrants, the militant secularists, the feminists, the
humanists, politicians – for our lack of commitment. We have been given opportunity after
opportunity – chance after chance – and yet, like God’s chosen people, we throw
them away. Start today by praying for hearts that will
repent and beg God for mercy. And then
pray every day that we would once again be the light of the world – the city on
the hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14).
