Philippians 1:27: "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. . . ."
Although God teaches us to be under the authority of those He has put over us, we are ultimately to be under His authority. We are not to look for the applause of man, but for the approval of our Heavenly Father. Adrian Rogers at the NRBC, speaks of the importance of standing firm on Gods revealed truth. He made five clear points:
1) It is better to be divided by truth than united in error.
2) It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals than speak falsehood that comforts and kills.
3) It is better to be hated for telling the truth than liked for telling a lie.
4) It is better to stand alone with truth than wrong with the multitude.
5) It is better to ultimately succeed with truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie.
Meditate On This!
As you walk through this life as a believer in Jesus Christ, there may be times where the world, and even believers, will reject you because of the truth you are trying to live. Does that mean we stop trying to live truth? It does if we are trying to please men rather than God. We all want to be accepted by others, but some of us are paranoid about the fear of being rejected. It is one thing to be rejected because of our opinion that is not biblical. But let us not cower back from our responsibility to speak truth no matter what the consequences.
Maybe this week there is somebody that you lovingly need to give biblical truth no matter what the consequences. Prayerfully share it in a loving manner, not as a "sledgehammer".
Galatians 2:11-12: "When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group."
When you have Randy Johnson on the mound and Mark McGuire at the plate, a great battle will probably happen! Fans crowded the stadiums at the end of last season to see McGuire hit, and especially when he came up against the superstar in the game of baseball.
There is something about confrontation that interests a crowd. If done in the proper way, confrontation is good, even in Christendom. It is not so much that we confront one another, but rather how we go about the confrontation. Remember, people are watching!
Meditate On This!
The confrontation between Peter and Paul, the two great leaders of the early church, shows that Peter did not hold the position of authority over all the churches, or any one church in particular. It also shows that good men may disagree in the church and yet, under the Spirit of God, can work through to a solution. No man is above being confronted, especially when he is in a public sin.
Are there issues in your life that you are turning your back on or approaching in an ungodly way? Jesus is not opposed to confrontation . . . He is opposed to ungodly ways of confronting. Galatians 6:1 says those of you who are spiritual will, in an humble broken way, approach that brother in sin. Are there any confrontations you need to approach today? Are there any you need to revisit because you handled them in the wrong way?
II Timothy 4:2: "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encouragewith great patience and careful instruction."
From the book, The Life of D. L. Moody, the following quote comes from Rev. Andrew Thomas, pastor of the Broughton Place United Presbyterian Church. "There is nothing novel in the doctrine Mr. Moody proclaims. It is the old Gospelold and yet fresh and young as the living fountain or the morning sun in which the substitution of Christ is placed in the center and presented with admirable distinction and decision. It is spoken with most impressive directness, not as a man half convinced or who seems always to feel that a skeptic is looking over his shoulder, but with a certainty of the truth of what he says, as if, like our own Andrew Fuller, he could venture his eternity on it, as if he felt that if he did not speak, the very stones would cry out."
Meditate On This!
As I read through this document, I realized that D. L. Moody did not preach "as by a man half-convinced and has seemed always to feel that a skeptic is looking over his shoulder." How do you live and preach your life in Jesus? Are you totally convinced that He is who He says He is? If not, it may be time for you to re-invest study time in the Word of God. When people ask you questions about the Scriptures, do you buckle? When circumstances come in your life, do you know where to go to find the solutions? If you ask to speak, do you ask out of a confidence in your ability to talk, or out of confidence in the fact that the Word of God is total truth? These are penetrating questions which we need to think about. The "simple gospel" was not that simple for Jesus. The "simple gospel" is sometimes hard for us to really understand and live. The "simple gospel" is living out what you know Christ has done for you, and will do for others. How are you going to do that?
