“We are at War!” the Wayfarer 1/18/14

“We are at War!”
1/18/14

“Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

 Thou, therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

No man that warreth, entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

(2^nd Timothy 2: 3&4)

 As Christians, we are at war with the remainder of the world, as that world attempts to quash all semblance of morality, godliness, and particularly the teachings of Christ Jesus.

 If we are at war, we must assume a posture of defense of all in which we believe.

I recently heard a sermon, taken from this scripture, in which the primary premise seemed to be an emphasis that Christians, once having attained the grace given through salvation, are no longer subject to sin, and will always overcome the temptations placed before them.

With this premise I am in total disagreement!

The grace given through salvation is indeed sufficient to  render the one seeking it a surety of resurrection to a glorified body, but in no way prevents the corrupt body inhabited by our earthly soul from all sin from there on. That is why daily and continual repentance is, in my estimation an ongoing and constant requirement.

We are at war, with sin, and must fight that war through daily battles, on our knees, and with all our resources, despite the nature of this creature called man, which is imperfect, to sometimes fail in those efforts.

Another point that was made, was, that the world, and all the detractors of the gospel, were not attacking us, individually and personally, but was an attack only on the word of God.

I again strenuously disagree.

Any attack on the word of God is an attack also on the believer himself, and will eventually lead to the persecution of that believer.

That is why so many are still being martyred for their faith around a world bent on destroying that faith. We need only to watch word news, or pay attention to legislation that is in place and more being passed in our own nation to see the effects and reality of that persecution.

It falls to that believer, the true believer to stand and defend that Word, in any and all ways possible and on every front in which it is encountered.

Failure to do so constitutes an attitude of the failure of that Word, and therefore a denial of that Word, and a denial of Christ himself!

Paul tells us in Timothy not to entangle ourselves with the affairs of this life….he does not tell us that we should stand by and allow those who deny the teachings of our Lord to go unanswered, nor did Jesus!

Jesus was vociferous and continual in his refutation of those who corrupted the law and its intent, and equally vociferous and adamant about what we need to be and do.

The Word of God is not an affair of this life… but an affair of eternal life to those who comprehend the teachings contained within it, and requires the defense of it.

Again, Jesus did not hesitate to defend the Word and the precepts it contained… That is why he was crucified!

His disciples also defended that Word, and His teachings, and all but John were martyred for that very defense.

It is of utmost importance that we recognize the enemy of the very core teachings of our Lord in all of its various guises; call it by name, expose it for what it is, and teach only those core beliefs and tenants taught by Him!

If we allow the small percentage of atheists among us to repudiate all we stand for without defending our belief, then we do not truly hold that belief, and are as guilty as are they, when our children no longer have the availability to worship in Spirit and in Truth, that has been not only a right, but a duty to all who truly are soldiers for Jesus.

That defense must be viable, visible, and total to be victorious!

“Oh, preacher, you are one of those zealots, talking crazy talk.”

This will be the response of those who fail to grasp the importance, especially in this day and time, of what I attempt to impart today.

My response is that yes, indeed, I am a zealot; firmly believing what is contained in that Word, and will defend it with zeal and fervor at every opportunity to do so.

 Should I fail to have that zeal, and fervor, I would be denying all the martyrs who allowed the Word to be presented to me, and call my attention to the need for the salvation I have received.

More importantly, if I had not that zeal and fervor, I would be denying Christ himself, instead of glorifying Him as Christians are supposed to do.

Yes, we must separate ourselves from the sinfulness of this world, we must daily fight against that sin that wars with us in our own hearts, we must negate any and all pride that would destroy our faith in any but ourselves, but we must also recognize the limits of our corrupt bodies, to attain perfection, and depend of Christ himself for that perfection, not any of our own poor attempts to be perfect.

We must also recognize and respond to the attacks on faith, as well as those on the Word of God, in full realization that those attacks are indeed on us as well.

I close with the admonition to fight the battles that inevitably come, on your knees, knowing that only with the help of our Lord can those battles be won, then to stand and fight those battles with every ounce of strength available to assure the continuity of that Word.

Do so in love as is required by our Lord, remembering that love is sometimes harsh, and that chastisement and rebuke are a part of that love.

Accept both of these when given, and are merited, but do not fail to stand firm on the rock of our salvation in confrontation of any man who denies any part of that Word that has been given us.

I remain, yet and still, as always, no more and no less, the same simple sinner I was born, with the important distinction of having been saved by grace through, and abiding and fervent faith in, my Lord, still the imperfect but willing soldier called into the battle long ago serving to the best of my poor ability until the battles are all over and that war is won, when I can serve in the perfection I so desire to have, but may only attain when this corrupt body is replaced with the incorruptible to be given when I have finished my fight here.

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen.
the Wayfarer