Christians In Peril

Christians in Peril The Christian today has become a people without a vision. The Lord has said that, with out a vision my people perish. We work and cannot obtain, we save and spend more, we fight and loose ground, we obtain and have less, we learn and understand little, we pray and little is accomplished. I wish to share with you a letter some friends of mine sent to me from India. “Dear Reverend Smith. I can’t forget the story I heard a few months ago from one of our missionaries serving the Lord in North India. With scars on his face and back, his body literally bore the marks of persecution. “They asked me to deny Christ,” he told me. “They said they would kill me and cut my tongue out if I didn’t deny Him.” “Stop preaching the Gospel,” they demanded, “or we will take away your bicycle and burn you alive.” This sermon is offered as a lesson to all of us in Humility. Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. {Ref, Isa_29:14}

1Co 8:2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. 1Co 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

Contrary to popular belief, a Christian’s duty is not to become involved in politics nor the rhetoric that comes with it, for as I have said before, The Powers that be are ordained by God. Politics has no business in the House of God, but a Christian’s duty is to, 1. Love God. 2. Seek out the Lost and 3. Preach the Gospel, to be instant in season and out of Season. Lets look at, 1 Corinthians 1:19 for a moment. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. “I will destroy” Who will destroy? [God] What will He do? [Destroy,] What will He Destroy? [The wisdom of the wise] Why will He destroy? [Men’s words and actions and wisdom are foolish] 1Co 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

[Destroy,] In general, to put an end to; to annihilate a thing or the form in which it exists. To ruin; to bring to naught; to annihilate; as, to destroy a theory or scheme; to destroy a government; to destroy influence.

Man has disputed with God from the beginning and will continue to do so until the end. Wisdom only comes from God. The lost or sinners are always looking at the Christian to see if we are who we say we are and anything that they find wrong is always at the top of their conversation. Paul warns us about this very fact in, 2Co 6:3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: Article after article have come forth from many of the news papers, condemning the Christian faith because of politics, because of Christian remarks and even condemning the Scripture itself for giving the Christian his belief. The damage has been done but the question is now, “How do we repair the damage and return to the service that we were commissioned for, the preaching of the acceptable year of the Lord?” My answer, As Paul stated in 2Co 6:3, Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: by putting the blame where it belongs, with us. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is pure and without error. Assuring the lost that the Gospel had no part in the past mistakes of man. Letting them know what was said in, Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 1John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

“My little children” We are little Children of the Father and we tend to make mistakes. We will not sin willfully, for it is no longer in our nature to sin. For we are of the seed of our Father in Heaven. But we, as Paul stated, still flawed by the very fact that we are still in the flesh and the flesh is weak. I feel in my spirit that I must include the following verses. Rom 7:8-25 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.