The Bible is the unpopular truth to many today. Those who believe it are ridiculed and accused of unloving behavior and attitudes. Many demand that instead we “give hardy approval” to the sinful things they do. Some who refuse have been sued or threatened with fines and other legal action. Freedom of religion is fast being replaced with a demand for the freedom “to do whatever I please.”
So, how does God expect us to respond? Are we to compromise in an attempt to hold on to whatever rights we still have? And how should we pray in these difficult times?
It didn’t take long. Less than 70 years into church history and there were already those who wanted to water down the Word of God and the call to personal holiness. And others who wanted to add things to the requirements for salvation and Christian living. Nothing much has changed. There are still those who distort the gospel truths. Instead, we’re to teach and understand the whole counsel of God. In 25 verses Jude’s epistle called believers to contend for the truth. It still does today.
Sadly, many still prefer to teach only the easy-to-swallow parts … those things that don’t make anyone uncomfortable or the Christian life seem too hard and others who claim that something else is necessary.
How about you? Are you contending for the truth and seeking to understand the whole counsel of God? And why is doing so as important as ever?
Many people today want to throw the Bible out completely. They try to discredit God’s people by saying we’re intolerant and mean-spirited when we call for a biblical standard. Attempting to destroy God’s Word is nothing new, but God will preserve it and one day judge those who try to destroy it just as He did in Jeremiah’s time.
While we can rejoice that God will deal with evil men who reject His Word, we may need to examine our own attitudes toward Scripture, as well. How do you view the Bible? As a cafeteria line where you can pick and choose what you like? Do you cut and paste it at will? Do you view it as merely a book of nice suggestions for living or do you view it as God’s Word and allow it to direct every area of your life?
Do you know someone who used to come to church, but somewhere along the line they became discouraged, even angry at God? Maybe He didn’t answer their prayers or work the way they thought He should. Or, perhaps, they suffered some tragedy.
Maybe that’s you! If you have walked away from God because of something He has allowed in your life or because you’ve been hurt or disillusioned by someone or something in the church, could it be you had a wrong understanding of who God is or how He works?
Today we’ll, also, talk about prayer, obedience, godly friends, requirements for church leadership, and the importance of good doctrine.
In the garden, Satan sold Eve a bill of goods by telling her she could be like God. In Jeremiah’s day, he spoke through false prophets who told the people that the consequences of their sin wouldn’t be so bad. False teachers and false prophets are saying much the same things today. Some propagate lies because they are misinformed and listening to the wrong voice themselves, but others have their own selfish agenda. But each one of us is responsible to rightly divide the Word of God for ourselves, to know how to study it, and to examine what we hear in light of it. When we don’t we, too, can fall prey to the enemy’s lies.
These are challenging times to be a believer. There is a huge clash of worldviews. The truthfulness of God’s Word is being attacked on many fronts. Perhaps, you are being attacked personally for standing for the truth. How should a believer respond to those attacks?
Also, read about the source of our strength, the value of staying where God has placed us, and the importance of earnestness in prayer.
God had a problem with those in Jeremiah’s time. So, He sent the Prophet to warn them of coming judgment. Instead of listening, their leaders assured the people they were fine with God. After all, they were His people, they had His temple and He would never let it be destroyed. And when the Prophet and others tried to speak the truth, it was a reproach to them. They hated it and refused to listen.
Sadly, many of our leaders today have, also, compromised the truth. Rather than biblical morality, they are more concerned about popularity, being politically correct, and being re-elected than the well-being of the nation, spiritually or otherwise.
Even many of our spiritual leaders seem more concerned with not offending anyone than with speaking the truth. While we can’t fully understand all the motives, it seems that selling books and filling their churches are more important. Even whole denominations have twisted the truth to accommodate the culture in which we live and have deceived many.
And from our New Testament reading, how did the Apostle Paul pray? Could his prayers become a model for ours and hold a key to how we should pray for our families, our leaders, and our nations?
After explaining who we are in Christ for three chapters, Paul begins chapter 4 of Ephesians by saying, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” Because of everything Christ has done for you, I’m begging you to walk worthy of that calling. Or to say it another way, he gives us a snapshot of what a Spirit-controlled life should look like. We’ll take a closer look at some of those characteristics today.
And our reading from the book of Isaiah could be headlines from today’s newspapers! “Our courts oppose the righteous,” “Justice is nowhere to be found,” and “Anyone who renounces evil is attacked” for starters.
If you’ve been around church for a while, you have probably heard someone teach or talk about strongholds. Depending on your church background, you may have different ideas about what the word means. When the Apostle Paul talked about strongholds, what was he referring to? Could we have strongholds in our own lives? And, if so, how do we get rid of them?
We’ll also look at the Sovereignty of God, how to be more sensitive and discerning in our personal ministry to friends and family, and ask ourselves a couple of important questions: Could we be drunk on something other than drugs and alcohol? If so, how could it put us in a stupor that is just as dangerous?
Good doctrine … there I said it … the “D” word. It seems, in many churches, we’re afraid of the word and of calling many biblical concepts by their traditional or biblical names. I understand the value of making preaching and teaching relevant. But have we gone to such lengths to avoid using biblical terminology that we have become a generation of biblical illiterates?
According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, doctrine is, “a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true.” Biblical doctrine is made up of the ideas and beliefs that the Bible teaches to be true. It’s the Bible carefully studied and understood.
Good doctrine matters because what we believe about God, His sovereignty, and His dealings with those He loves, determines how we’ll respond to the tests and trials of life, among other things. It also determines whether we witness, how we interact with others, especially our spouses and children, and whether we have peace at the end of our lives. Good doctrine matters more than we know and bad doctrine, even when it sounds very appealing, has a nasty downside.
