In his first letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul sharply rebuked the congregation for tolerating, within the congregation, a degree of sexual immorality so depraved that even the Gentiles would not so much as talk about such a thing. A man had become involved in an affair with his father’s wife, apparently his step-mother (1 Cor. 5:1). The Gentiles were unbelievers and idol worshipers. Immorality seemed to naturally go hand-in-hand with idolatry, yet this was a form of immorality that even they found repulsive. Sadly, what the Gentiles of Paul’s day would not even talk about might well be accepted in our nation today with its present cultural mind-set. We are living in a culture of immorality!
Many people are reluctant to be baptized into Christ because they are uncertain as to exactly what living a Christian life will be like. They’re not sure what all Christianity is about, and they’re not sure they can live the lifestyle of a Christian. A brief overview of Christianity can be seen under the heading “The Grace, The Groan, And The Glory.”
Many parents have advised, in some cases instructed, their children to not associate with certain kids at school or in the neighborhood. Their counsel had nothing to do with prejudice. Rather, from their perspective of experience and wisdom that comes with having lived life longer than their children, they saw serious warning signals in the lives and/or behavior of those other kids. Out of love for their children and trying to live up to their responsibility as parents, they took this step to protect their children from potentially dangerous associations. Associations matter!
As established in the previous four articles in this series, there is a war being waged on Christianity. The reader is encouraged to read those articles. The terms Christian and Christianity are used in this segment of articles to refer to all who would call themselves Christians. The war is real, it is worldwide in scope, and the devil is behind it.
The war on Christianity is real. The world is being turned Upside Down before our very eyes. As previously noted, for the purpose of this segment in this series of articles the terms Christian and Christianity are used in a loose sense, referring to all who would call themselves Christians. The war has turned violent in some parts of the world. In our country it is being waged through legal maneuvers, the media and social pressure. The reader is encouraged to read the three previous articles in this segment.
As noted in the previous article in this series, the war on Christianity is being waged through blatant violence in some parts of the world. Christians are being beaten, mutilated, killed because of their faith. In our nation the battlefronts are laws, media and social pressure. While not yet violent, the enemies of Christianity in this country are relentless and aggressive in their actions. As previously noted, for the purpose of this segment of this series of articles, the terms Christian and Christianity are used in a loose sense to include all who would identify themselves as Christians.
For the purpose of this segment of this series, the terms Christian and Christianity are used in a loose sense to include all who would identify themselves as Christians. Probably, most people are oblivious to the war that is being waged against Christianity in our nation and around the world.
I believe the text of Revelation 12 depicts war waged by the devil against God. First, war in Heaven (vs. 7-12). The devil was defeated and expelled from Heaven, whereupon he turned his attack upon the faithful followers of God on earth, the church (vs. 13-17).
As we enter into a new year, there's a question that ought to be up front in everybody's mind: "How Is My Relationship With God?" At about this time every year people consider how their lives are going. They reflect on what happened to them last year and look ahead to what is realistically appearing for them on the horizon.
This is a good time to think about your soul. When? Right now. Many people would that statement probably has something to do with the holiday season in which we are in the midst.After all, a few weeks ago we celebrated the Thanksgiving Day holiday. That certainly sounds as though it has spiritual overtones, and for many people it does. They focus on all of the blessings with which God has blessed them and they make a special effort to give Him thanks. That's a good thing.
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