“Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.” (Matthew 13:21)
Among the many things that continually surprise me in modern Christianity is the inability of so many professing Christians to withstand those who object to their words and actions. It seems as though many have the idea that the world loves them for following Christ and will commend them for it. When the opposite happens, they become discouraged and begin rethinking their position.
The best mode for a Christian to be in is the offensive mode, always realizing that when you run the ball you’re going to get hit. We are running the gospel ball for the Lord Jesus, and Satan’s defenders are out there in attack mode. This should never surprise us or upset us.
Since my teenage years, my favorite football team has been the Pittsburgh Steelers. Several years ago they had a receiver named Hines Ward, and his game attitude is a fine example of what a Christian ought to be. I’ve seen Ward make catches and then nearly get his brains knocked out, yet he would always get up smiling, even laughing. He was happy that he made the catch, not bothered that he got hit.
Friend, if God opens a door for you to get in a witness for Him, then rejoice in that and take for granted that someone will object. That’s the attitude to have.
Shortly after I began writing for the Lord, I placed some tracts in a tract rack at the church I attended at the time, and one of the members complained because one tract had one small paragraph that spoke against the doctrines of the Mormons and the Charismatics. The preacher (independent, Baptist, KJV, etc) agreed with me that the tract was a good one, yet he asked me to remove the tract from the church because of that one objector. That’s where we are today: in a society where one person can object to something and everyone gets all scared and tense.
Why would a Christian be moved from the will of God by an objector? I think I know the answer. I think it has to do with convictions and preferences. If I call your wife an ugly witch, you’ll probably go into immediate fight mode. If I slap her, you’ll punch me out. Why don’t you just overlook it? The answer is CONVICTION. You will not overlook it because I have attacked someone very dear to your heart. That’s conviction. I suspect that most professing Christians do not have much real godly conviction—not much that they really believe in strongly—so they lack the will to keep fighting when the objections come. They have preferences, not convictions. They prefer this church, that Bible, this preacher, that gospel group, etc. They really BELIEVE very little, so the smallest objections, like a door slammed in their face or a tract thrown down, will knock them out of the fight.
The objectors will only increase as the politically correct and ultra-sensitive days of Laodicea continue, so may God grant us some deep rooted convictions, based on the word of God, that we might not be moved. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." (I Corinthians 15:58)
The best mode for a Christian to be in is the offensive mode, always realizing that when you run the ball you’re going to get hit. We are running the gospel ball for the Lord Jesus, and Satan’s defenders are out there in attack mode. This should never surprise us or upset us.
Since my teenage years, my favorite football team has been the Pittsburgh Steelers. Several years ago they had a receiver named Hines Ward, and his game attitude is a fine example of what a Christian ought to be. I’ve seen Ward make catches and then nearly get his brains knocked out, yet he would always get up smiling, even laughing. He was happy that he made the catch, not bothered that he got hit.
Friend, if God opens a door for you to get in a witness for Him, then rejoice in that and take for granted that someone will object. That’s the attitude to have.
Shortly after I began writing for the Lord, I placed some tracts in a tract rack at the church I attended at the time, and one of the members complained because one tract had one small paragraph that spoke against the doctrines of the Mormons and the Charismatics. The preacher (independent, Baptist, KJV, etc) agreed with me that the tract was a good one, yet he asked me to remove the tract from the church because of that one objector. That’s where we are today: in a society where one person can object to something and everyone gets all scared and tense.
Why would a Christian be moved from the will of God by an objector? I think I know the answer. I think it has to do with convictions and preferences. If I call your wife an ugly witch, you’ll probably go into immediate fight mode. If I slap her, you’ll punch me out. Why don’t you just overlook it? The answer is CONVICTION. You will not overlook it because I have attacked someone very dear to your heart. That’s conviction. I suspect that most professing Christians do not have much real godly conviction—not much that they really believe in strongly—so they lack the will to keep fighting when the objections come. They have preferences, not convictions. They prefer this church, that Bible, this preacher, that gospel group, etc. They really BELIEVE very little, so the smallest objections, like a door slammed in their face or a tract thrown down, will knock them out of the fight.
The objectors will only increase as the politically correct and ultra-sensitive days of Laodicea continue, so may God grant us some deep rooted convictions, based on the word of God, that we might not be moved. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." (I Corinthians 15:58)
