Let Us Govern Ourselves Accordingly - Nov 8

There is perhaps nothing more irritating than the 'Yes, but ...' crowd, a point Mr. Beck made in my previous post. Either lead, follow or get out of the way! But do not give me a 'Yes, but' when debating a point. Your actions and words should be consistent at all times. Better to take a stand and catch hell for it than to waffle all over the place. All that fence-sitting tends to get uncomfortable and hurts your backside. Which leads us nicely to the main thrust of this post.

'Yes I'm a Christian, But:

1) I don't believe in regular church attendance.

2) I don't believe everthing the Bible says.

3) Prayer is not a regular part of my day.

4) I believe other religions are just as helpful in my spiritual walk.

Which one is it? Time to fish or cut bait as the saying goes. Those individuals who are truly Spirit-filled would be mortified if a fellow believer made any of the above statements. What is truly disheartening is that some Christians who are pastors and church elders have fallen for these lies. Here then are my attempts at refuting these childish statements.

The church is not a social club, it is a place where we worship God in fellowship with one another. While I miss the occasional service, I'm at my church pretty much every Sunday morning. If Christians feared God more than Man the church would be advancing even more rapidly than what it is now.

The Bible's authenticity is non-negotionable as well. This is not meant to be tyrannical or heavy-handed, it is to guard ourselves against shoddy theology divorced from Biblical truth. Did you know that people who are trained to spot counterfeit money only study the real thing? They know exactly what to look for so a fake bill can be spotted right away. The opposite of truth isn't error, it's death. We ought to be just as diligent when Satan tries to pull a fast one on us.

Prayer is another big one. This is where Christians fail the most in their spiritual journey. Why do we pray? Why do we study the Bible? So that we may discern God's perfect will and His love for us. If you truly believe that God exists, hears our prayers and answers them, why then do we flub our lines when in conversation with Him? If you believe that God delivers the righteous from the wicked why are we so afraid of what Man can do to us? Understand we are not 'bothering' God when we pray to Him. Just as a loving parent receives a phone call from their child, our Heavenly Father loves to hear from us. So go ahead and 'bug' God. You may be surprised when He asks, 'Hey, where've you been? I was looking for you all day!'.

Which brings us to our final point. I'm fortunate to live in a free country where I can read whatever silly book I want. If I want to read about other religions than I can do so without someone looking over my shoulder. Given this freedom, why is there so much confusion out there? Much of the universalism being preached today has given us two fatally flawed schools of thought: Practical Atheism and Demonism. Practical atheism burdens and weighs people down. A belief system that says 'Play nice with others' certainly sounds wonderful. Unfortunately religion that is not driven by the Holy Spirit of God is just clever philosophy. Then there's the second point which is actual demonic influence. Should it surprise you that Satan loves religion and religious people in particular? After all, what better way is there to lead someone to their eternal damnation than through false religion? NONE! It is belief in the One Who Was Sent, Jesus Christ the Messiah which gives eternal life, not mere religion. If you really want to study other world religions, than feel free to do so. But to spend time reading something that is useless at best and dangerous at worst strikes me as foolish.

Let us govern ourselves accordingly then. If we call ourselves 'Christian' we'd better damn well mean it. This world will test your faith. I'll guarantee it. Will you be ready when called upon to give a defence for the cross? I hope so for your sake. Let none of us ever be ashamed of who we are in Jesus Christ.

Johnny Cash