The time is coming when it will be illegal to mention Jesus Christ as the only way to Heaven.
The time is coming when ‘government’ will be the sole regulator of our churches. Everything said and done within and without the confines of the church walls will be subject to those that hate religion, and more so, Christianity.
The “easy times” for Christians is on the way out. Our faith and faithful witness will be put to the acid test and it won’t be long now.
Stand fast. Do not let government officials stop you from speaking of Christ and Him alone as the way to salvation and true peace.
He is our Great Redeemer. He is our Great Hope. He is our Great Comforter. He is our God. He will never let us down, nor forsake us.
Jesus Christ is our Lord…period.
Filed under: Testing our Faith |
The Old Adam Lives! 
Thanks for your comments and patience during our ‘move’.
I appreciated your comments and well wishes during our move. We are settled in, and ramping up to do battle once again.
Yours in Christ,
Steve
What well wishes?
Glad to see you are back on.
It is not the government I am so worried about as it is those people who make their career in the church being bureaucrats and hamper the Gospel from within.
“What well wishes?”
I wasn’t refering to you, Bror.
Good point about the church being it’s own worst enemy.
If the government has it’s way, that might not be such a problem anymore. The church won’t be big enough to have bureaucrats.
Maybe that will be a good thing.
The problem, I think, for Christianity in general is that it’s essential message has so often been undermined by the very ‘ferment’ which Jesus and Paul warned so clearly about, that many can cry ‘Lord, Lord’ but essentially reject the vital truths of the faith. That cancer will no doubt plague the church on earth until the day of Christ’s return, and the consequences of that are dire indeed – to express the true Lordship of Jesus Christ over every facet of our world…that is the real ramification of Justification by Grace through Faith alone.
Nice pic to go along with this post…….
Yes, get ready.
It is coming and the remnant (true Christians) will not be found wanting. The pews will clear themselves of the falsely converted when the iron grows red hot with persecution.
The remnant will be faithful, steadfast and true.
Good post Steve.
Howard,
That the church is forever twisting the gospel message into it’s own projects is certainly a huge problem. There is only one cure for that silliness and that’s to trust and as you say, “express the true Lordship of Jesus Christ over every facet of our world…”
The government controls on a “free church” that loom so near, may just be what the doctor ordered.
The signs of this clamping down on those of us who are not so open-minded as to declare Jesus as being the only way are showing up on a regular basis and are the forerunners of a much more harsh persecution to come.
But, we can take comfort in knowing that whatever the future may bring, the Lord will always take care of His Church.
Thanks Howard!
WayneDawg,
Thanks Wayne! Yes indeed…it’s coming! The pews might still be filled, but the message of those churches will hardly speak of Jesus. They will be speaking a lot of “God” in the generic sense and they will tell the lie that there is more than just One Way.
As you say, Wayne, a faithful remnant will remain. I pray that by God’s grace, I will be counted amongst them.
I didn’t realize you had moved. My time has been so consumed with keeping my head above water for classes that I haven’t had the time to keep up on my favorite bloggers. Where have you moved to? Blessings Steve.
Ivy,
Nice to hear from you, Ivy. I’m glad you are doing well in your classes. Keep up the good work!
We’ve moved to a small apartment in town (San Clemente)
It was a lot of work. We had to get rid of a lot of stuff.
Our new place has a fantastic view of the ocean, but is a bit noisy (trains).
You can’t have everything…not in this life.
Take care and God bless you, Ivy!
“The signs of this clamping down on those of us who are not so open-minded as to declare Jesus as being the only way are showing up on a regular basis and are the forerunners of a much more harsh persecution to come”.
For the follower of Jesus, it’s a fact of life. The Lord told us that whilst here, we would have tribulation, and Paul instructed Timothy that every true child of God would know persecution in some fashion. Paul, who knew it worst that most of us, spoke of it as a ‘light, momentary affliction’ in comparison to the weight of significant life that is so close – the day of resurrection.
It’s pretty clear to me that what troubled the Apostle much deeper was the manner in which those ‘of the circumcision’ worked amongst God’s flock to remove us from the simplicity of the faith into all manner of deceits.
To be maligned and even bruised bodily by the world can actually bring something wonderful – I’ve seen the impact that such testimony has on those who encounter such moments -but to become the victim of or to witness those ‘angels of light’ that seed another gospel is a cold, dark thing that so murders the soul and makes many twice the child of hell as those who espouse such heresy.
I have often wondered why so rarely at Easter churches totally omit the lengthy ’95 thesis’ of Jesus Himself against such ‘piety’ (recorded in Matthew’s Gospel) – an aspect of the message of ‘Christ Crucified’ so key to Paul (the book of Galatians) yet silenced in our times.
Howard,
You are absolutely right. The Church should expect no less, Jesus Himself told us as much.
I agree with you that the real danger the Church faces comes from within. And we ought resist the temptation to give in to the deceits of the ‘self’.
“Those who would lose their life in this world will gain it.”
I guess much of the trouble is that we just do not want to die.