Have you ever stood up for something you believed? I have. How did it turn out? Did you loose friends? Were you ridiculed by others because of your stance? Have you ever stood up for someone else? I have. How did that make you feel? How did it make that person feel? Did it bring you and/or them hope? It did me. Let us look at what God taught me about standing and why it brings me hope.
I am going to talk about standing up for your faith in the midst of a culture that is rapidly moving away from what The Bible says. I want you to understand that I am doing this out of love. 1 Corinthians 13:6 says, “it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” (ESV) It is out of this definition that the culture no longer follows that I am writing. I also hope that I am following the spirit of 2 Timothy 2:22-26, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (ESV)
As I see the culture turning away from the principles of living as defined by the Bible, I believe that I must stand firm on what the Bible teaches. In some ways it is getting to be more difficult to do in part because people and churches that call themselves Christian are not following the teachings of the Bible. They are saying that divorce is okay without reason, rioting in the streets is okay because the people rioting have been oppressed, looting (stealing) is okay because the people doing it are oppressed, homosexual practices are okay, that there are now more than two genders, and other things that Satan is rejoicing about in our culture.
I belive however that the Bible is clear about these things and many other things including the need for us to stand against these things. Starting out with 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (ESV) and 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (ESV) I believe it also tells me how to do it. James 4:7 tells me to submit to God resist the devil, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (ESV) It also tells me to prepare for the battle in Ephesians 6:10-20 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (ESV)
It is important for me to stand up for what the Bible teaches because the Bible is my only source of true hope. If what it says can be changed or manipulated to say whatever someone wants it to say it is no longer reliable. Unfortunately, that is happening today and has in the past. It is that reason that I left the church I grew up in because it no longer believed that all of Scripture was true. Which would make it no longer profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV). This is where my hope lies to be a better version of myself each day.
It is also the only way that the culture I live in will change. If the culture and the church continue to turn from God and Hid Word than it will continue to decay. It is not about politics that I stand it is about the Word of God that I must stand. As I said the only way the culture will change is when the members of the culture finds Jesus. As a Christian I believe that I also must pray for my culture because without prayer there is no power to change the culture or the church. My pastor Troy Dobbs from Grace Church Eden Prairie gave a great message the inspired me to write this blog. You can find it here.
So, join me standing firm for the Word of God. Knowing that the culture that we live in is messed up and the only hope that exists for it is for it to believe and follow the Word of God. Understanding that Jesus is the only source of true hope. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for my sins and yours as well. It satisfied all my sins from the past, in the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because wisdom shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
If you have not read my previous blogs, you can find them here. You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here. eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google.
