|
People of The Living God |
|
June 2022
WATCHMEN ON THE WALLS
COMPROMISE IN THE CHURCH
James Sanderson
Pergamos, location of one of the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation, was a stronghold of Satan. (Rev. 2:13). Christians lived, worked, and worshiped in the midst of a system dominated by pagan practices. Most had been converted from this ungodly environment. While there were those who faithfully remained steadfast to God's standards of righteousness undeterred by the surrounding culture, others in the church continued with their immoral and idolatrous practices, thus living a double standard. For this reason, the church at Pergamos is often dubbed the compromising church.
At times, compromise can be quite beneficial. Learning to give and take in a marriage makes for more peace in the home. The everyday decisions necessary for any business venture often call for compromise. Nevertheless, compromise that involves one's faith or relationship with God can be injurious both to the individual Christian and to the church as a whole.
What is compromise? The dictionary defines compromise as (1) a settlement in which each side gives up some demands or makes concessions, (2) an adjustment of opposing principles or systems in which a part of each is given up, (3) a surrendering or giving up of one's interests or principles, and (4) accepting standards that are lower than is desirable. The present day Christian church is in difficult straits, in part, due to the compromise of its unique godly principles in an effort to appease this world's ungodly culture.
In order to deal with compromise in the church, one must understand that there are certain nonnegotiable standards. Furthermore, God alone determines what those nonnegotiables are. One's preferences are negotiable, but not one's values or God's eternal absolutes. In other words, one cannot compromise the essentials of the faith (I Cor. 15:3-6), the Lordship of Jesus Christ (John 14:6), one's personal convictions (Rom.15:23), or moral directives found in the Scriptures (I Cor.6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21). Ancient Israel brought the wrath of God upon the whole nation because they had amalgamated the pagan practices of the surrounding nations with the ecclesiastical system established by God through Moses. Pontius Pilate compromised with the Jewish hierarchy when he willingly crucified an innocent man in order to curry their favor.
The Prevalence Of Compromise In The Church
The startling fact is that statistics demonstrate that compromise permeates the church. A major survey of professing Christians conducted by Lifeway Research in 2016 revealed that 64% felt that God accepts the worship of all religions. More than half claimed that Jesus was created by God. 51% agree with this statement “the Bible was written for each person to interpret as he or she chooses.” Only 45% agreed with the idea that “churches that do not preach from the Bible should not be considered a Christian church.” Only 49% agree that “sex outside of traditional marriage is a sin.” 42% of Christians believe that “the Bible's condemnation of homosexual behavior doesn't apply today.” 38% of Christians believe that gender identity is a matter of choice. 56% of Christians believe the Holy Spirit is merely a force. Only 60% believe “Jesus Christ's death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of sin.” 45% of Christians agree that modern science discredits the claims of Christianity. 60% believe that eventually everyone will go to heaven. Much more can be added to this list to demonstrate how far Christianity has departed from “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3).
A newer poll conducted in 2020 by Dr. George Barna's Cultural Research Center corroborates these trends that have been progressing for the past number of decades. The following is a statement by the polling organization that accompanied the release of its data: “Professing Christians are developing more and more decidedly unchristian beliefs, demonstrating that many of these professing Christians are un-professing pagans. Syncretism rules the day” (8/12/2020, American Worldview Inventory 2020, “The Christian Church is Seriously Messed Up”). Syncretism is the amalgamation of different religious cultures, the sin for which Ancient Israel faced the wrath of God. Syncretism is nothing more than a form of compromise in which the church absorbs the beliefs and practices of the prevailing culture. Dr. Barna continues summarizing the results of this poll, “We find that most people say that the objective of life is feeling good about yourself, that all faiths are of equal value, that entry into God's eternal presence is determined by one's personal means of choice, and that there are no absolutes to guide or grow us morally.”
What Does The Bible Say About Compromise?
The Bible unquestionably stands against compromise. The Apostle Paul issued this warning to the Colossians, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Col. 2:8). The word spoil means rob. According to Paul, there are only two paths to follow in this life: the way of Christ or the way of the world. Jesus emphasized this point in His Sermon on the Mount, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other, Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24). Those who adhere to the deceitful philosophy and traditions of this world rather than the teachings of Christ will eventually find that they have been robbed of an abiding relationship with God and have damaged their testimony to the world. We, as Christians, are called to be the salt of the earth and lights to a lost world. Those who attempt to amalgamate the lofty standards of the Word of God with the vain philosophies of this world will discover that Christ's mission for the church will be impossible to fulfill. A.W. Tozer once said, “We are sent to bless the world, but never are we told to compromise with it.”
In his epistle, James declared, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). Why? The double-minded man attempts the impossible, to serve two masters. Elijah of old posed a question that is still quite relevant to the present-day church, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. (I Kings 18:21)
Compromise is subtle and insidious. It is never quick. What we witness occurring in the church today is a result of years of giving in a little here and surrendering a little there. Compromise is disastrous to a church, resulting in decline and death. One needs only to examine the history of some of the mainline Christian churches. Judging from the results of these two surveys, others are following the same path.
Compromise always lowers standards. It never produces a strong, steadfast follower of Jesus Christ because the compromiser always has an ear tuned to what the world accepts for the moment. Those who pursue a path of compromise often fear rejection or criticism from the surrounding culture. As the Pharisees of old, they love “the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43).
Seldom is compromise offensive. It doesn't rock the boat. On the contrary, it allows almost anyone to hop on board. (Notice how the present culture has changed the definitions of tolerant and inclusive.) For this reason, it is often difficult to deal with compromise. Whether or not one is willing to confront compromise in his life depends largely on how serious he is about his walk with God.
Christ's Plan For The Church
“I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). This remarkable declaration by our Lord Jesus Christ reveals the extraordinary plan that He has for the Church. Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, is personally involved in every aspect of this grand undertaking. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it: That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25-27). Although there are enemies intent on thwarting His plan, Christ reveals that those enemies, “the gates of hell,” including the compromisers, will not prevail. “The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 13:41-43).
GOD SPEAKS TODAY
Alfred King
In the midst of the cacophony of many voices which in our day are screaming to be heard in an effort to gain people for their particular cause, it can be difficult to hear what God is saying. Even in religious circles each denomination declares itself to be the arbiters of the truths of God and, if you really want to walk with God, you must go their way. Along with cries of the religious, an adulterous world cries out much like the harlot of which Solomon describes in Proverbs seven. “She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:” (Prov. 7:11). Modern society bombards us in its movies, advertisements, music, luxuries, and material possessions, each claiming that it holds the keys to real happiness and success, and it can all be yours if you just listen to their voices. It lures many of those as Solomon describes them, “simple ones…void of understanding” into its grip and consequent bondage from which most never escape. The luxuries, entertainments, pleasures, affluence, etc. are just some of the gods of this world that clamor for our attention and our devotion.
I believe Solomon stated it so succinctly that I will let him describe the scene recorded in Proverb 7 beginning at verse 8: “Passing through the street near her corner;…he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.” Skipping down to verse 13: “So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.” Continuing at verse 21: “With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.”
It is obvious that Solomon is referring to a prostitute who lures in men to commit fornication with her. But from a broader perspective, we see beyond the specific event into the world of Babylon where the mother harlot of the world bids her unsuspecting victims into her bosom where they are set on the path to eternal destruction. The Apostle Paul teaches us where this path leads; “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Rom 6:16) Consequently, when one listens to Babylon’s loud and seductive voice, he is snared and taken captive. Paul writes in II Cor. 4:4; “The god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” It is the loud and boisterous voice of the world that can drown out the voice of God causing one to miss what God is saying to the churches. He fails to hear that voice behind saying, this is the way walk ye in it. (Isa. 30:21)
Hearing God’s Voice In Scripture
God speaks today in many different ways. There have been many who have heard God speak directly and audibly, just as a man speaking to a friend. They heard His voice clearly. There are others to whom God has spoken through dreams and visions or in other supernatural ways. Angels have been seen by some and been given divine instructions directly from God’s throne. However, most Christians have not heard God in any of these ways and yet have heard God speak.
The way God most often speaks to people today is through His word. God has left us His word, which He anointed to be written for our instruction and admonition, to teach us His ways. Hebrews 1:1-2 reads: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” For today’s saints, God has spoken unto us through Jesus Christ. And where do we find what Jesus spoke? In God’s word. If we never read it or rarely thumb through its pages, we will never really know what Jesus taught. We will never know truth. We will never see through the lies and deceptions of the world, that mother of harlots, and we will find ourselves as the “simple ones” who go straight to the slaughter.
The first and most important way to hear God and to understand what He is speaking, is to read scripture and take it to heart.
Hearing God Through One’s Conscience
While the fall was very devastating, in God’s mercy man retained certain elements of the image of God. Contrary to what some teach, man was not totally depraved. He was depraved but not totally. God left man with a conscience. The conscience speaks to us of right vs. wrong. It lets us know when we do wrong and when we do well. Our conscience is a gift of God to the fallen race. God never desired that men should be eternally damned. He still loved mankind, and this is so evident in scripture that it cannot be questioned. God SO LOVED that He sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:16-17).
For some who might question this position, I would ask this question: Why does a small child show love to his parents if he is totally depraved? Why would he offer to share a toy with his brother or sister if he is totally depraved? If he were totally depraved, he would do like most children do most of the time: be selfish. But aside from the obvious, we also have scripture which informs us that God’s laws are written in a sinner’s hearts so that even sinners hear the voice of conscience, and most abide by at least some of God’s laws. Consider Romans 2:14-15, “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)” (Emphasis mine). Some sinners do “by nature,” even though they are lost and have a fallen nature; a degree of God’s image still resides within.
Men have been blessed with a tremendous gift from God; that gift is our conscience. God speaks through our conscience. In Hebrews 3, we read about how Israel had hardened their hearts while in the wilderness. The writer warns those of us under the New Covenant to beware that we harden not our hearts as Israel did. How did Israel’s hearts become hardened? This was not something that occurred overnight; it was a gradual process that happened over time. One’s heart is hardened when he knows God’s will but does not do it. It is when one continually violates his conscience and refuses to abide by the teachings of scripture. Why do you think the enemy does not want us to read God’s word and has fought for centuries to destroy it? Why do people hate God’s word? Because they don’t want to live by its teachings. Scripture teaches what evil is and what good is. Yet men want to live as they please without restraint. This is becoming more and more evident in recent years and, just as America’s southern border is being opened, so men have opened up the gates of hell for every evil and demonic spirit to come forth and to do their vile work. That work Jesus said, is “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10), and we see today the destruction of everything that is good and honest and of good report. Filth has permeated our land, and our morals have declined to such a degree that it is an abomination before a Holy God.
How did we get here? By not listening to the voice of God; by rejecting the council of God speaking through our own conscience. Little by little, man’s hearts have been hardened, and it won’t be long before we arrive to the place where there is no remedy. We must turn back to God or God’s judgment will fall upon us just as it did in Noah’s day and in Lot’s day. Jesus said that day will come.
God Speaks Through Providence
When thinking about Israel and how their hearts were hardened, we need to consider the various ways God spoke to Israel. Their hearts were hardened through unbelief, and unbelief produces disobedience. God spoke to Israel and revealed His love for them through every plague which He sent against Pharaoh. God was speaking through those plagues, both to Israel and to the Egyptians. If they had ears to hear and eyes to see beyond the physical and into the spiritual, they would have recognized that this was God’s love being poured out upon them.
But His voice did not cease to speak after Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, for God opened the Red Sea before them. He led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He showed His love and ability to provide for them when the water was undrinkable and food was scarce. God was speaking through all these things. But, He was also speaking when He led them in the way that was difficult. He was exposing the condition of their own evil hearts and the dangers which resided there. It was their evil hearts of unbelief which finally destroyed them. If, through all the events, they had heard God’s voice speaking to them of His love, concern, and His desire for them to possess a land flowing with milk and honey where He would become a part of their lives, where He could bless them and prosper them, they would have endured the hardships knowing that those things were necessary to burn out the chaff and to consume the dross.
God still speaks today through His providence. What we may be going through presently is something God has allowed. What is He saying through these things? What are we to learn? How are we to respond?
Joseph is a good example of a man who endured great afflictions, but he retained his integrity and his faith in God. God had given him a couple of dreams when he was young, and those very God-given dreams caused his brothers to be jealous of him. They sold him into slavery where he served Potiphar for several years. But providence put him in the sights of Potiphar’s wife and she lusted after him. It was Joseph’s love for God that caused him to flee from Potiphar’s wife. He had told this woman that he could not sin against His God.
It was his stand for godliness that sent him to prison for the next few years. God was still with him and blessed him there. All this was the providence of God preparing Joseph for the position he would later gain in Egypt. Years after his release from prison, when he revealed himself to his brothers, he said, “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life” (Gen 45:5). How many have missed God’s divine plan for their lives because they did not stand upon God’s word when He has spoken through providence? How much has been lost because men have thrown in the towel and cried “uncle” before the test was complete? Jesus said, “he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matt. 10:22). We must remain faithful in whatever trials we find ourselves, being assured that God will bring us through for His glory and for our good.
God Speaks Through Others
In I Timothy 4:12 we read, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” Every Christian has been affected by others. We have been encouraged by those who have mentored us and by our Bible teachers, ministers, and pastors. Not only those in ministry have strengthened our faith, but others also who are strong in the faith encouraged and inspired us to run the race set before us with patience. They have prayed for us and helped us understand scripture in a practical manner. However, the most important thing of all is that they lived godly lives before us. They were examples of true Christianity. The love for God burned within their hearts and it illuminated their lives and affected ours. Yet, God has not only spoken through those who have been giants of faith before us. Those in scripture, as well as those who have personally touched our lives, God has used to speak to us. While God has spoken through the lives of those heroes of the faith in scripture, He has also spoken to us through the actions of some of the most evil of men. The lives of both the good and the evil have testified of the two paths we can take, one leads to destruction and the other to eternal life.
God has not only spoken through men in scripture and those we have personally known, but in history as well. In history, the two paths are clearly marked as well. We can take the path that a Hitler took or the road that John Wesley took. We walk the course that Putin is taking or the path that George Whitefield, by his example, encourages us to take. God is speaking to us today through both evil men and through godly men, and He warns us to take heed lest our hearts be hardened by not listening to the voice of God when He speaks.
God Speaks Through His Creation
The Psalmist wrote that wonderful song in Psalms which states: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4). David declared that God Himself is speaking to men through His creation. Once creation has spoken, it is man’s obligation to learn about this God and seek to find Him. Paul says that finding God is very simple, for God is very near. “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thine heart, the word of faith which we preach.” He goes on to state that all one must do to find God is to believe in his heart and confess with his mouth.
Paul also makes a compelling argument about God’s existence in Romans 1:10. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”
God speaks in many ways, and man is truly without excuse. But we must also bring this down to home, to the place where we live. God speaks to us personally every day. Do we recognize His voice? Do we listen and obey? Do we so love God that we appreciate His direction in our lives? Or are we, as Israel, hardening our hearts?
BACK IN THE FOLD
Bro. Charles Woodard
“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:16).
This is a spiritual fold with spiritual sheep and a spiritual shepherd. The unholy amalgamation of material and spiritual has produced a false fold. It is not so much what we do but what we are that determines our place in the fold.
It is the spiritual attributes of loyalty, allegiance, faith, commitment, perseverance, and constant contact with our Lord Jesus Christ in prayer that opens the door to the sheep. “I am the good shepherd: The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
Many are willing for Jesus to die for them, but are unwilling to die for Him. We must die to self and to the rudiments of this world. Sheep are easily led. This can be both a blessing and a curse. “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep” (John 10:12).
The “hireling” may put on a good show of religiosity, but his (or her) motive is to lift up self as a healer or one that can produce deliverance, collect a following, and become prominent and well-known. These hirelings do not produce unity in the body of Christ, but rather divisions. “Back in the fold” is back to Jesus alone: “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9).
When sheep find “pasture” they can rest and feed. Real Christians find rest and peace in the word of God. They need no showcase of big-name entertainment or the diversion and amusement of the world to excite them.
Back to the fold where Jesus is the door. Back to the fold where there is freedom to enter in to the quiet worship and peace of the great Shepherd.
Away with carnal emotionalism! Down with the strutting, yelling religious noise of false evangelism! Spiritual sheep will not be attracted by pandemonium. Do you believe this? “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you” (John 10:26).
Jesus’ sheep hear His voice: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).
Back to the fold where testimony is given of hearing from God, not some person!
We must follow the Lord our God. Some would follow this or that evangelist. Evangelists may err. But God’s word is TRUTH! Beware lest some man (or woman) try to pluck you out of His hand (John 10:28).
THE EFFECT OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY ON THE WORLD
Clarence Jordan
“Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake: Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?” (Matt.5:10-13)
It is difficult to be indifferent to a wide-awake Christian, a real live son of God. It is even more difficult to be indifferent to a whole body of Christians. You can hate them, or you can love them, but one thing is certain – you can't ignore them. There's something about them that won't let you; it isn't so much what they say or what they do. The thing that seems to haunt you is what they are. You can't put them out of your mind any more than you can shake off your shadow.
They confront you with an entirely different way of life, a new way of thinking, a changed set of values, a higher standard of righteousness. In short, they face you with the kingdom of God on earth, and you have to accept it or reject it. There's no washing of hands. These people must be crowned or crucified, for they're either mighty right or mighty wrong.
To men whose loyalty is to the world, these citizens of the kingdom of heaven are subversive agents, dangerous enemies who must not be tolerated. Jesus, knowing what was in man, anticipated this and spoke to His disciples about it. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matt. 5:10-12)
On the surface, it might appear that Jesus is saying to His followers, “Go out and get yourselves persecuted, because you won't be real Christians until you do.” But this kind of thing leads to a martyr-complex, the basis of which is self-pity. Surely, the Master wouldn't say this paid any great spiritual dividends, for He knew that self-pity is a sign of spiritual decay. It will eventually lead a person to persecute himself if he can't get anybody else to do it. He might sleep on a bed of spikes, or walk on hot coals, or if he's in a more civilized country, he might wear a shirt of hurt feelings. It doesn't matter much what hurts him, just so he's hurt and, therefore, has a legitimate reason to feel sorry for himself. A man's got to suffer for a cause, even if it's just because.
Needless to say, this paganism definitely has no place in Christianity. It was never a part of the thinking of Jesus. Jesus wouldn't even tolerate it, much less commend it.
We must never lose sight of the fact that, while Jesus has been accused of being a visionary, He was in truth the world's greatest realist. And you can count on it, He wasn't blind to the explosive nature of the things He was preaching to the people. It was as clear to Him, as it surely must have been to His most casual listener, that His Kingdom of spirit and truth was the mortal enemy of systems built on power and greed and oppression and falsehood, and that the two could never lie down together. Nobody could have failed to realize that earth-shaking conflict was inevitable. Already the storm clouds were gathering, and there was the distant rumble of thunder in a super-charged atmosphere. Would He let the fury of it burst upon their terrified hearts with no word of calm assurance from Him? Never! He would speak to them as a mother who gathers her child in her arms and presses its pounding heart to hers.
Now, as we've already seen, He didn't tell them to go out and see if they could make the storm a bit worse. Nor did He try to comfort them by telling them that it really wasn't a storm at all – just a lot of lightning and thunder and rain and wind – and that they needn't worry because, if they would just leave it all up to Him, He would take care of everything. He didn't say that they should try to get to sleep, because when they woke up the sun would be shining. He just wasn't that naive, nor were they that gullible. Besides, they were all grown men, and childish prattle had little appeal for them.
It seems to me that He said something like this: “Fellows, this is it. You think you've already been through a lot. You're just getting started. As you walked up these steps and came into My kingdom, I made it clear to you that you were thereby making an all-out commitment. I charge you now to be faithful to it, cost what it may. But don't let them scare you or bully you or make you back down. Rejoice that you've been counted worthy to be on our side. You're in a great company of prophets whose future has no end. So, go to it. I'm with you.”
The history of the Christian movement demonstrates that the intensity of persecution is geared, not to the moral level of the non-Christians, or persecutors, but to the intensity of the witness of the Christian community. The early believers weren't persecuted because the Romans were such bad people. In fact, according to the world's standards, they were quite decent. Oh, on big occasions they would throw one or two thousand helpless people into the amphitheater to be clawed to pieces by lions, but the thought of atomizing a whole city probably would have horrified them. The strong convictions of the believers might not have caused the Romans to persecute them, but there could have been no persecution without such a faith. One wonders why Christians today get off so easily. Is it because unchristian Americans are that much better than unchristian Romans, or is our light so dim that the tormentor can't see it? What are the things we do that are worth persecuting?
Well, it might sound like meddling, but Jesus has something to say about that, too. “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?” (the Greek word is “to be foolish, to act foolishly;” we get our word “moron” from this Greek form) “it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matt. 5:13) Paraphrased, in Luke He says, “Salt is mighty good, but if it, too, becomes flat, how shall it be seasoning? It isn't fit for the land or even for the compost heap. People throw it away.” (See Luke 14:34)
It's hard to see how anybody could miss the meaning of such pointed words as those. Yet, some people insist on putting a period after “Ye are the salt of the earth,” and strut about as though Jesus said nothing else. They turn into a compliment what He intended as a dire warning. He didn't call His followers salt to describe them or to point out their saving or savoring abilities – He did that with the Beatitudes. He called them salt for but one purpose – to warn them that they can lose their power to salt. When this happens, men will no longer bother to persecute Christians. They'll do something even worse; they'll dump them out and go on about their business.
Whenever tension ceases to exist between the church and the world, one of two things has happened: either the world has been completely converted to Christ and His Way, or the church has watered down and compromised its original heritage. In the latter position, the church, due to its weakness, loses its influence, and is discarded.
The history of the Christian church is full of illustrations of this truth. One of the more obvious ones is the way the church was booted out of Russia after the revolution. The priesthood was utterly corrupt, and the church sought to maintain the status quo by siding with the Czarist regime against the exploited masses. Church officials clearly sold the Christian birthright for a mess of pottage. The salt lost its strength and when the revolution came, the salt was promptly cast out. Or, to use another graphic scriptural illustration of this truth, “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15).
That church is yet to be found which long survived in the midst of race prejudice, national pride, militarism, and exploitation without lifting up a mighty “Thus saith the Lord.” To be sure, when it so speaks, it becomes a persecuted church, but it is always so virile that men find it extremely difficult to ignore it or trample it under foot.
In fact, Jesus says it can't be done. “It is impossible to hide a city that's situated on a hill.” By this figure, Jesus means that when the Father created the Christian community, He never had any intentions of locating it in the sheltered cove but on a windswept hilltop where it might be an eternal witness to the way men should live. His next figure says the same in different words: “People don't light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket, but upon the lamp stand and it shines on all those that are in the house” (Matt. 5:15).
Jesus isn't saying here that you shouldn't hide your light. He says that nobody ever does that. Now, if people don't ever light a lamp and hide it, neither does God. The Christian community is His light which He has lit up with the glory of His own Son, and He has no intentions of hiding it. When we come into the fellowship, we become a part of that light, and while we can determine the intensity of it, we cannot escape the fact that we are part of the witness for better or for worse. It isn't a matter of whether or not we'll shine, but how. Jesus says it should be in such a manner “that men might see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16).
“That men might see your good works…” Why did He tack an uncomfortable thing like that on to a nice compliment like “Ye are the light of the world”? How nice it would have been if He had said, “That men might hear your wonderful preacher,” or “that they might see your beautiful new sanctuary” or “hear your choir,” or “see your financial report,” or “read a copy of those strong resolutions you adopted.” Yet, He didn't say it that way. And with His simple words He placed the church under an eternal obligation to live its message, cost what it may.
Of course, it must also preach the Word, but at the same time realize that the power of the spoken word lies in the demonstration of it. It must be an expression of an experience in which the whole fellowship participates. The preacher alone cannot bear witness to the Christian message; the whole congregation bears the testimony. It is the light of the world; it is the city situated upon a hill. And it is in the way that the Christian fellowship lives that the gospel of Christ is made known to the world. Thus, every member of the body is a part of the witness, either strengthening it or weakening it.
Since we can't escape shining, since we cannot be hid, our testimony should be a credit to the Father. We must not live as cowardly, cringing weaklings. Whether persecution or praise be our lot is immaterial. The main thing is that men may clearly see in us the image of the Father who begot us, and that we may be the kind of sons and daughters in whom the Father is well pleased. For the world has no way of seeing God except through the image of Christ which is formed in the hearts of those who love and obey Him.
If you are already in the fellowship, you should work unceasingly to keep it true to the whole gospel of Jesus Christ. You should see that your personal life and conduct causes no dimming of the light. With unflinching courage, you should seek to eliminate all barriers to genuine fellowship until men know that you love one another. And, above all, you should urge and encourage all men everywhere to forsake their evil, selfish ways and come into the kingdom, that they, too, might be a part of the light of the world, citizens of the holy city.
[Used by permission]
(Note: Clarence Jordan was the founder of Koinonia Farm in Americus, GA.)
THE DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE OF THE TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST
Harry Miller
It is necessary for men today to be able to distinguish between the TRUE church of the Lord and the many impostors; for we are living in the day of great religious activity, and there are many who claim the name of Christ, but their “works deny” Him. Isaiah, the prophet, said, concerning this “latter day,” that “seven women” (churches) would “take hold of one man (Jesus Christ), saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach” (Isa.4:1).
John, in the book of Revelation, said: “I know thy works, that thou hast a NAME that thou livest, and art dead” (Chapter 3, verse 1). No man is a Christian merely because he claims Christ's name; neither can any religious group become God's chosen ones merely by claiming His name. The Lord Jesus told us that a tree is known by its fruit – not by its name.
The world has never before seen an age when so many people were claiming the name of “Christian.” But, sad to say, among the great majority of these professing Christians, the “virtues of Christ” cannot be found. The “wayfaring man” finds it very confusing in his search for God's true people.
The very nature of a truly “born again” Christian is social; he desires the company and fellowship of other Christians. This social desire can be either a good thing or an evil thing. Too many folks have settled for the fellowship of amiable professing Christians. Pleasant human fellowship has caused multitudes to lower their standards, and finally compromise moral values rather than offend their fellows. It is never pleasant to be salty SALT, and those “whose deeds are evil” will never welcome your correction.
Beware of too intimate a fellowship with those who are not truly scriptural Christians. Jesus answered the question, “Who is my mother, my sister, and my brethren?” with these words: “He that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” What is the will of our heavenly Father? Jesus also answered this question: “that ye believe…him whom he hath sent” (John6:29).
Many people believe on Jesus as an historical figure, but they refuse to believe Him when they read His words to command. The words of Jesus are not mere suggestions, or recommendations for the Christian: they are commands. As they say in the army, “That's an order!” The orders, or commands, of our Master have been despised by the lawless element of our day. It is time for us to examine the foundation of our faith, and see if it is according to the pattern shown “on the mount.”
To serve the Lord “in word” is unprofitable. He is a great King, and must be served “in deed.” The way which we demonstrate our faith in Him is by the fact that we obey His commands. We seek to know His will through His Word (the Scriptures), and then we conform our lives to the pattern which is given us in the Scriptures. In this manner, we honor the Lord, and also save our own souls.
There are many “broad-minded” folks who tell us that it is all right to practice the teachings of Jesus; but we need not be too exacting, too technical! In other words, they are saying it was all right for Cain to change the manner of sacrifice just a bit, and it was not so bad for Aaron's two sons to offer incense with “strange fire” (just a few hot coals, but from the wrong stove)! Such things are a very subtle way of making void the commands of the Lord. When the Lord tells us to practice anything in a certain way, it is the very peak of insolence to do it in just a little different manner from what He has commanded.
It is utter nonsense to say that we believe His Word, and then practice something different from that which He has commanded. The doctrine and the practice of every true believer is one. The true believer practices what he believes, and the things which he believes he has accepted from Christ's commands. Those who know “the fear of the Lord” will not modify, change, or minimize any of the commands of their Lord. In the spirit of complete devotion, they will religiously try to carry out His will to the letter. For this, they will be accused of “straining at gnats” and of being “too literal minded.”
It is quite probable that Noah and his family were known among their fellow men as fanatics. God's exact command was their standard. Noah refused to lower that standard for any man. Strict obedience to God's commands made him God's man. In any age, the thing that characterizes God's man is the fact that he is willing to be misunderstood by his fellow men rather than lower the standard of the Lord's command.
Fellow ministers and missionaries, let us openly declare that it is time for all men to obey the words of Jesus Christ, and to put into practice the things which He preached in His sermon on the mount. If we do this we have a great reward, for our converts will not merely call themselves members of the body of Christ, but they will in truth be children of the Living God. If, when our Lord returns, His laborers are found feeding the “meat in due season,” what great satisfaction there will be for those wise servants who have “esteemed the reproaches of Christ” greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt.
THE GREAT AWARENESS
J. Grant Swank, Jr.
When Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his music during the 18thcentury Baroque period, he would mark “Jesu, Juva” (“Jesus help!”) at the top of the work. Then, at the end of the piece, he would mark “Soli Deo Gloria” (“To God alone the glory”). He explained his motives by saying, “The aim and final reason…of all music…should be none else but the glory of God.” At another time he remarked that he arranged his church music “not to make an operatic impression, but rather incite the listeners to devotion.”
Bach, being a practical man as well as a devout believer, never dreamed his music would outlive him. Yet, today we continue to speak his name and listen to his music. But more than that – we understand by his life that he understood himself to be nothing, except as Christ became his everything.
Bach had learned what Jesus meant when He said, “…without me ye can do nothing” (John15:5). In other words, the genius had come into the great awareness of his own nothingness in order to experience Christ's everything, thereby making him something through sheer grace and mercy. Until each disciple comes into this awareness, he has yet to touch the reason for life itself, and for the mission of the Christian.
When we truly grasp Christ's statement concerning the branch and the vine (John15:1-5), it is then that we are emptied of our own conceit to experience God's rest of soul (Heb.4:10). We experience the shedding of self-sufficiency for the Savior's efficiency. We no longer put our trust in human resources, but in heaven's reserves. We exchange our cocksuredness for Christ-centeredness, casual stubbornness for the crucified ego, and bull-headed stiffness for the bending heart.
T.S. Eliot wrote that “humility is the most difficult of all virtues to achieve; nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of oneself.” John Ruskin said that “when a man is all wrapped up in himself he makes a pretty small package.” And Carl Sandburg penned: “The earth is strewn with the burst bladders of the puffed up.” What a relief, then, for the Christian to experience freedom from the egocentric existence, from pride, haughtiness, and conceit by way of the sanctifying Holy Spirit.
Being emptied of our own conceit, we are then encouraged to be Christlike. The spirit cannot finally accept a vacuum. Either the demonic or the divine must take control. Therefore, the cleansing of the rebellious nature makes way for the enthronement of Christ in the heart.
Yet, still more – being emptied of our own conceit and encouraged to be more Christlike, we enlarge our conceptions. Where once we lived primarily for earthly, we now breathe for the eternal. Instead of concentrating so much on the temporary, we become wrapped up in the timeless. Rather than maneuvering for the satisfaction of the petty, we relax in the providential. Coming to understand the triteness of the limited, we abandon our very souls to the limitless. It is then that we genuinely grasp the truth that our world is as big as His wonder, our vision is as long as His forever, and our grasp is as firm as His love.
When Jesus was a young adult, He had no father. (There is no mention of Joseph after Jesus was 12; therefore, it is presumed that Mary was left a widow by the time Jesus began His public ministry.) To hope for close companionship with His half-brothers (Mark6:30) was unrealistic, for they had turned green with envy. When looking at His inner circle of 12, more times than not He found self-centeredness and childish rivalry. When seeking refuge in His own religion, He encountered hostile leaders. And, of course, there was no kind gesture from the political order of His day, for by way of an opportunistic Pilate, the Roman Empire was likewise after His blood.
If Jesus had lived for the earthly, the temporal, the petty, the limited fences of His own turf, He would have found very little but disappointment. However, He too had learned by submission to the Father how to enlarge His conceptions. So, we also come upon that power, that purity, that peace.
Only with Christ as our everything do we ever hope of being something, and then only through sheer grace and mercy. As Bach reminds us, from start to finish, it is “Jesus help!” and “To God alone the glory.”
A LETTER FROM JIMMY WINDHAM
Dear friends, people of God, and prisoners across this great and precious United States of America, the greatest nation on the earth. But bear one thing in mind: every nation that rose to become a kingdom as ours has done, rose because God, in His great purpose and power, raised it up by His will. America has been blessed because she was established upon Biblical principles and was ordained to teach other nations about the true and living God! The United States has for over two hundred years sent missionaries all around this globe, declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sadly, though, this nation has become a mockery. We are so sin-laden that the weight of wickedness is bringing this nation down, especially sexual sins; adultery, fornication, and homosexuality. Homosexuals parade in our streets and boast of their perversion. Their sin is an abomination before God but they, in their blind ignorance, are proud to be homosexuals. They say they want gay history. Well, a good place to begin studying about their history is to go to the book of Genesis and read about Sodom and Gomorrah.
Our nation murders more babies in its mother's womb than any other nation in this world. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Prov. 14:34) The writer of the book of Psalms declared, “The fool has said in his heart that there is no God.” (Psalm 14:1) If our nation truly trusted in God, as it says on our coins and in our constitution, would we be in the shape we're in today? Many years ago, when I was young, it seemed that almost everyone believed in God. God's word was read in the schools as well as in our homes. I remember how, before our classes started in the mornings, we would quote the Lord’s Prayer as Jesus taught us to pray, and we stood and pledged our allegiance to one flag and nation.
Now, please know that I'm the man who spent 36 years in SC Dept. of Correction who made parole on the 24thday of June, 2020, and was released on July 23rdof that year. Some of you may remember that I would periodically write an article in the Testimony of Truth. Plus, you remember that I would ask for prayer when I would go up for parole. Well, God moved on a special lady that financed my appointed lawyer that represented me that year. I had been up for 19 years prior to that year, and 19 times I was denied parole. I went up only once with this lawyer’s representation and I was granted parole. Since I have been free, I have gone here and there, and I cannot believe the cesspool of sin I am experiencing. I came out of the cesspool in prison into another cesspool of sin. It seems no one cares anymore about how they dress. Their clothes are so tight that it looks as though they have none on. No one gets married anymore; they just sleep with anyone they want to. No one speaks about God's redeeming work on Calvary and yet, even in their sins they all have religion. If this isn't “as it was in the Days of Noah”, what is? Jesus mentioned these things in Luke 17:26. “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” Believe me, He's not coming to sneak anybody out of this world in a rapture, but to deal with the terrible sinfulness of our world. Everyone but a remnant has forgotten that the wage of sin is death.
Let me say to you who still believe that God our Father has rules, standards, laws, and commands. God is going to take the evil with all their wickedness and that wicked Satan who sowed these seeds of corruption into the hearts of his children, and they will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and He will gather His people to be with Him forever. It isn't the will of God that any perish, nevertheless, “the wage of sin is death.” Trust me, I've had to learn to adjust to how I have to live as I see all this corruption, and I'm not saying that I've arrived. I have to humble myself before God my Creator every day and pray in asking for forgiveness. But, praise God for His grace, tender mercy, and Jesus' blood that washes us clean.
So, in closing let me say that I'm doing good. God has truly blessed me, and He'll bless you, also, if you walk upright before Him! So, I'm saying to you, the body of Christ, be encouraged, for our journeys will end soon. Surely, come, Lord Jesus.
God bless you all!
Bro. Jimmy