Reading this morning of yet another massacre of Christians in Nigeria that claimed upwards of 100 lives. What tremendous courage and faith such people must have to remain loyal to Christ in an environment where faithfulness brings with it the very real possibility of torture and death. Personally, I wonder how I would react in such circumstances when confronted with a choice between denying Christ and continued life on earth or a horrible and painful death. Is my faith solid enough to stand in the face of the sword? A watered down, feel-good gospel such as preached in so many churches in America today does not readily lend itself to the kind of deep faith that those possess in lands where being a Christian is, not only socially inconvenient, but likely fatal. A Sunday morning rock concert and a self-help speech from a charismatic personality up on a stage is not enough to bring about that faith that enables one to take Jesus words to heart: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28, NIV). Persecution of Christianity has already come to America. Presently, it is of a subtle nature- social ostracism, legislation (a la the Affordable Care Act) and the removal of all references to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from the public arena. But in time, such oppression is likely to intensify both in scope and nature. How will Christians in America stand when so many churches teach that other religions can provide an alternative route to heaven, that Scripture is largely symbolic, that sin is nothing to worry about, and that Hell is a non-entity? The specter of violent persecution, its fetid head peeking just above the horizon, is going to require deep roots in the faith. Unfortunately, many Christians in America are being fed Round-Up herbicide that is killing both the leaves and the roots of faith.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 15:25:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015