And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.-Matthew 26, 27.
There are some parts of the Bible that our present day “Church” really doesn’t handle well. Any part of the Bible which may be uncomfortable is likely to be avoided, or thought to be only applicable to some other time, place, or people. Pastors are taught how to skillfully handle such passages in a way that will keep their “flock” comfortable-and coming back for more.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. -II Timothy 4:3, 4.
The following is a partial list of some rather uncomfortable truths from the Word of God, the King James Bible. This is in no way a complete list, and the points noted here are not in a particular order of priority.
1) False teachers. God has given us incredible warnings about false teachers, but the “anything goes” Church of today accepts almost everything without any deeper examination. This has likely arisen because the foundation of God’s Word has been destroyed (Psalm 11:3), and there is nothing left to stand on. We have become destructively addicted to getting along with everyone, at any price. We need the discernment of the Holy Spirit, and the boldness to take a stand.
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. –Acts 20:28-31. See also II Corinthians 11:13-15.
2) Worldly affection. Christians are supposed to be “new creatures” in Christ, and dead to the world and its appetites: instead, we remain just like the unsaved world, retaining most of their values (like sports, movies, video games, vacations). Preaching about such things could get VERY uncomfortable in many congregations! Preachers, will you dare to stand up for holiness?
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. –James 4:4. See also I John 2:15, 16.
3) A rough path. The way of a Christian is not an easy one, yet that is not the common perception provided by the Church of today. It is generally regarded that “victorious” Christian living will show itself in the believer’s good standing with others, and in material prosperity. The Bible doesn’t show us this! Hasn’t the book of Job taught us anything?
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. –Acts 14:22. See also II Timothy 3:12.
4) The last days. Christians don’t like thinking about the end times mostly because they know that it will mean a lot of difficulty. This is why so many have bought into the unscriptural notion of a pre-tribulation rapture; they like the idea of this, because it would keep them from the worst of these times, under the reign of the Antichrist. They may also like to believe that no one can really know the time of the end. Such ideas may be comfortable, but they aren’t Biblical. God has given us a lot of help through His Word in order to prepare us- let’s embrace it!
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? –Matthew 24:3. You will note that Jesus’ disciples asked the Lord in private specifically about the end of the world-and Jesus told them! See also all of Matthew 24, Luke 17: 26-37, and 21:7-36.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. –Revelation 13:6, 7. Bold type added.
Revelation 13 is devoted primarily to the Beast (the Antichrist), and also to the false prophet. This referral to him making war with the saints actually comes prior to the implementation of the 666 identity number, found in verses 16-18. There are multiple other scriptures that refer to the plight of believers under the Antichrist (mostly in the book of Daniel). God wants to prepare us, brethren; will we let Him?
5) Hating life in this the world. This is a tough one, but it falls right in line with where Christian affections should be. Jesus directly tells us that we should hate our lives in this world in John 12:25; but how can this be? Aren’t there many blessings to be thankful for? What we need here is a spiritual perception. Sin and Satan have ruined our world in countless ways, and we need to be aware of this as children of God. Wars, famine, disease, wild beasts, social injustice, and untimely deaths are all a part of this world’s sinful ruin; we have fallen very far from the way God created things to be. And nothing can in any way compare with what Jesus has in store for us! Yet it seems that for today’s “church,” reward is primarily in this temporal world.
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. –John 12:25. See also Colossians 3:1-3.
6) Self denial. Luke 9:23 says, “ And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Yet the professing church of today doesn’t really deny itself, does it? And it certainly won’t teach this message to the general congregation. The preaching of the cross has become foolish, even with regard to the daily life of individual believers. Some would say, “God accepts me as I am: and besides that, He hasn’t asked me to give up these things.” The key part in Luke 9:23 is instructing us to deny ourselves. In other words, we are choosing for ourselves to put away anything that might stand in the way of following Christ; we choose it, even if God hasn’t yet instructed us to do it. And the Word of God will reveal what pleases the Lord, and what to avoid.
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. –Luke 17:10.
7) We are fighting the devil. Most Christians will not accept that they are fighting Satan directly, and churches don’t teach it. Typically, our fight with the devil is thought to be indirect; we suppose that because Satan deceived mankind into sinning, and we now have a sinful nature, that this is the measure of our fight with the devil. Such assumptions may have an element of truth in them, but their conclusion is way off base. The devil is very, very real. But our enemy does like to disguise his work by using points of “ordinary” agitation. I will give 2 examples. It is a fact that babies cry, and we would expect an infant to do this in trying to communicate that something is wrong. Satan can take advantage of this. My wife and I attended a church where there was no nursery, so the small infants were kept in the sanctuary with their parents. Occasionally, a loud din of crying would ensue from these young infants; my wife and I would look at each other, and then in barely audible voices we would bind Satan from working upon these children in Jesus’ name. By doing this we were acknowledging that there might be some legitimate reason for crying, but focused on preventing the devil’s agitation. The crying always stopped. When we shared this with the pastor, he was stunned; his reaction told us that he didn’t think the devil could be in his church!
On another occasion, just recently, I was trying to dispatch a “green bottle” housefly in our home. He showed up suddenly, and just before I was going to pray. He was buzzing back and forth quickly, and I thought it seemed almost angry; I thought it would be very hard to get. But then I bound Satan from working upon the fly in Jesus’ name; the fast, angry flying stopped, and he landed on the back of the nearby chair! Yes, I got him! So let’s not take our adversary for granted, or the weapons God has given us to fight him.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. –I Peter 5:8, 9. See also Ephesians 6:10-18.
8) Compromising with family. As Christians, we must expect the resistance of the enemy. We must also expect that he will use those closest to us to cause a lot of trouble. Under many circumstances it is only reasonable and logical to maintain good relations within a family; but our commitment to Christ must take priority. The church of these “last days” emphasizes “getting along” with others above almost everything else. But we as believers must be careful not to let the worldly value of unity lead us into a denial of Christ. There was an article in a local newspaper some time ago, highlighting how a pastor defied his denomination to perform a wedding for his homosexual son! Of course, the paper was presenting this as if there was some type of nobility in the pastor’s decision. Yet the espousal of this sin wasn’t noble in God’s eyes; in fact, it denied Christ.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. –Matthew 10:34-39. See also Luke 14:26. Bold type added.
Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His words (John 14:23). He calls us to embrace His full counsel, and not only the pleasant parts. Living for Christ is really not easy, for it means behaving in a way that is often contrary to our natural inclinations in the flesh. It is time for us to put our spiritual houses in order and prepare to meet our God; for truly, the coming of the Lord draws near.
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. –Romans 13:11-14.
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. –I Peter 4:17-19.
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