Friday, February 25, 2011
Do You Believe?
For centuries in North America many people have professed faith in Christ. As our national and world cultures change, however, the stakes are being raised. North American believers are now beginning to feel the pressure to conform to socially accepted norms which are in direct conflict with the teachings of Jesus. We are beginning to experience just a tad bit of what our counterparts in Communist, Hindu and Muslim nations have experienced for centuries. We are getting a taste of what the first century believers encountered when they expressed their faith in Christ.
Perhaps you have observed the trend in our culture that beckons believers to expand their thinking and believe in many paths or in many gods. True faith is given intimidating labels such as bigotry or ultra-right conservatism. This aggressive pluralism is illogical in that it leaves room for God to be anything you make Him, thereby violating the very definition of God. Most honest people can quickly see that such a philosophy is idolatry, which is consistently and dramatically condemned in Scripture. To believe “as the Scripture has said” is much different than believing whatever strikes ones’ fancy. G.K. Chesterton warned that “The opposite of belief in God is not belief in nothing; it is belief in anything.”
True believers may be few and far between. Only time will tell if President Obama was correct when he said we are no longer a Christian nation. As anti-Christian bigotry increases we will see who really believes. Back in the 19th century the “Prince of Preachers”, C.H. Spurgeon, noted: “ The moment that the moderns do not like to believe a thing they call it fanatical.” Will you still proclaim faith in Christ when it is declared fanatical? Will you stand with St Paul in declaring that you are a believer even though people accuse you of being a heretic? Many believers have gone this way before. It is a noble but difficult path.
Believers are being intimidated in North America. The winds are blowing. The heat is being turned up. The men are being separated from the boys. Our mettle is being tested. Mind you, for true believers this will have very positive results; when our faith survives testing it is strengthened and purified.
Maybe you believe but struggle to stand against all of the intimidation that comes against believers. It could be that God has a little more strength and power for you than you are aware of. Before leaving the earth He promised His followers power to live the life of a true believer:
He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water. But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor). (John 7:38-39 AMP)
The book of Acts, which is the historical account of the first century church, reveals that shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven believers began baptizing believers in Jesus’ name and God began empowering believers by filling them with His Spirit. This was evidenced by them speaking in “other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” You can read these first-hand accounts in Acts 2:4,38; 8:14-17; 10:44-48; 19:5-6. This kind of power was what gave the first century church the ability to survive in a hostile environment. This is the kind of power that we need in order to maintain true faith in our day. Our world needs you to believe – unashamedly.
Perhaps you have observed the trend in our culture that beckons believers to expand their thinking and believe in many paths or in many gods. True faith is given intimidating labels such as bigotry or ultra-right conservatism. This aggressive pluralism is illogical in that it leaves room for God to be anything you make Him, thereby violating the very definition of God. Most honest people can quickly see that such a philosophy is idolatry, which is consistently and dramatically condemned in Scripture. To believe “as the Scripture has said” is much different than believing whatever strikes ones’ fancy. G.K. Chesterton warned that “The opposite of belief in God is not belief in nothing; it is belief in anything.”
True believers may be few and far between. Only time will tell if President Obama was correct when he said we are no longer a Christian nation. As anti-Christian bigotry increases we will see who really believes. Back in the 19th century the “Prince of Preachers”, C.H. Spurgeon, noted: “ The moment that the moderns do not like to believe a thing they call it fanatical.” Will you still proclaim faith in Christ when it is declared fanatical? Will you stand with St Paul in declaring that you are a believer even though people accuse you of being a heretic? Many believers have gone this way before. It is a noble but difficult path.
Believers are being intimidated in North America. The winds are blowing. The heat is being turned up. The men are being separated from the boys. Our mettle is being tested. Mind you, for true believers this will have very positive results; when our faith survives testing it is strengthened and purified.
Maybe you believe but struggle to stand against all of the intimidation that comes against believers. It could be that God has a little more strength and power for you than you are aware of. Before leaving the earth He promised His followers power to live the life of a true believer:
He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water. But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor). (John 7:38-39 AMP)
The book of Acts, which is the historical account of the first century church, reveals that shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven believers began baptizing believers in Jesus’ name and God began empowering believers by filling them with His Spirit. This was evidenced by them speaking in “other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” You can read these first-hand accounts in Acts 2:4,38; 8:14-17; 10:44-48; 19:5-6. This kind of power was what gave the first century church the ability to survive in a hostile environment. This is the kind of power that we need in order to maintain true faith in our day. Our world needs you to believe – unashamedly.
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