THE TIME IS NOW! For this generation of Christ Followers to just quit, give up, fold under pressure and be complacent, passive, scared little wimps, too afraid to take a stand for The Truth! What?! I’m pretty sure most Christ Followers would disagree with that statement. But the reason I say that is because even though we may not want to admit it, this has been happening. Sure it’s not always a blatant throwing in the towel and letting darkness win. Instead of defending the truth we are replacing it with acceptance and tolerance, thinking that’s the same thing as love. While that sounds good and right, it’s NOT! It is actually a cleverly disguised trick of the devil, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 2:11 to be aware of his tricks. Yes, the Bible says SPEAK the Truth in Love. So we are not supposed to be mean, harsh and cruel but don’t forget about the SPEAK the TRUTH part of that scripture. I am not implying condemning people to hell but like Jesus with the woman caught right in the middle of adultery-he did not shame her, condemn her to hell but neither did he say what she did was ok, in fact he called it sin when he said “Go, and SIN no more”. But we that call ourselves Christians are facing more and more pressure to back down from the teachings of Jesus Christ. When I say Jesus I mean all scriptures since Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. Many are trying to shame us for our Biblical stances, especially if in their minds it is “unaccepting” and “intolerant” of their unbiblical lifestyle. Right before our eyes they are trying to redefine morality and what is and is not moral. But we DO NOT need to conform to the prevalent unbiblical God-less culture. And we DO NOT need to apologize for BELIEVING and PREACHING the ENTIRE Bible. The Christian Faith is on trial just like the Apostle Peter’s faith was and we have a decision to make. We can chose to deny him and I am not just referring to his existence or Jesus the man but the teachings of Christ, the Word of God, because to discredit/deny the Word is to discredit/deny Jesus. I am sure it was easier for Peter to be strong and fearless when the miracle working Jesus and the other disciples were by his side. But what did Peter do when his hero Jesus was taken away like a common criminal, mocked, laughed at, slapped around and did not even fight back? What did Peter do when Jesus was no longer the popular person he was when crowds of people were surrounding him to hear him and be to healed? Peter distanced himself, it says in Matthew 26:58 (NIV) “Peter followed him at a distance”. Just hours before Peter said he would never leave Jesus, he would die with him before he ever would deny him. Even after experiencing and witnessing all the miracles Jesus performed, Peter denies Jesus 3 times. The question is what will we do now that following Jesus is not the popular choice?
It says in 2 Timothy 3:12 everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. This is not something that might happen it will happen-IF you are really trying to live like Christ. Jesus said in John 15:18-20 If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. But like Peter even if we have been cowards, afraid to boldly stand up for the truth we can change. Peter went on to preach the gospel boldly and even wrote about what to do when your faith is tested-He would know. The time is now for Christians to take their place, assume position, hold the line and NEVER retreat or surrender our FAITH no matter what it costs! As it says in Jude 1:3 I am urging you to “DEFEND THE FAITH”!