Take A Stand

Have you ever been near someone who appears to be indecisive? It can be very frustrating for you and for the other person. Whether it is in deciding what movie to see, where to eat dinner, what church to visit, or what socks go with a purple shirt and green pants ensemble. Aside from those minor indecisions, there is a stronger form of indecisiveness. What do we do with the laws that God has set down for us to follow and obey? Do we become complacent and not worry about what God says? Do we just stay in the middle of the road, for the fear of being labeled a "right wing Christian fundamentalist"? Do we therefore become like the Laodicean neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm.? It is time to take a stand for God and His righteous decrees and quit hiding our collective heads in the sand.
What happened to the Ladoicean church? Let’s look to God’s word for the answers. "So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about so spit you out of my mouth." (Rev 3:16 NIV). Because they didn’t take a stand, Jesus politely told them that he would spit them out of his mouth. Jesus will have nothing to do with them. It is something he prophesied about. "Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers." (Mat 7:21-23 NIV)
There is a saying, "God said, I believe it, that settles it." The problem with that statement is we are saying that if I don’t believe it to be God’s word or law, therefore it isn’t settled. I say, "WRONG!" God said it, that settles it. If God made it law 2000 years ago, it is still law today. Notice I said God’s law not man’s law. "Your word, oh LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you." (Psalm 119:89-91NIV) If God said something is detestable to Him 4000 years ago, then it is still detestable to him now.
Murder is murder, adultery is adultery, stealing is stealing, no matter how flowery we put the language. We only deceive ourselves when we try to justify our own actions by using different language. It’s not murder, she had an abortion. It’s not adultery, it’s an open marriage. It’s not stealing, it’s enhancing my taxes for a better return. It is murder, it is adultery and it is stealing. If God said it is a sin, then it is a sin
The latest justification for sin is "I was born that way, or It’s genetic," or something to the equivalency of the nature of the person. Hogwash and nonsense. We are born with the disposition to sin. It is when we give in to the desire that sin is born. "When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." (James 1:13-15 NIV)
So as a Christian, we need to take a stand. Fully grasp what God says is right and wrong. The extreme of sin is applauding and accepting the sin, rather than regretting the sin of others. Society tells us that we must be tolerant of other peoples differences. In one regard I accept that and fully understand that. Yet, when it comes to distorting the Bible and claiming that what once was sin is no longer sinful, I can not be tolerant. We are even warned against such behavior, "Although they know God’s righteous decrees that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those that practice them." (Rom 1:32) We can not continue to accept sin as OK. We must love the sinner, the ones who practice the sin, but not what they do. We can not continue to fool ourselves and say, "That is their nature, we must be tolerant and allow them to do what they want to do, even though it’s wrong." To give you an example as to how inefficient that is: Two young children (ages 4, 6) are playing together. The older child hits the younger child. If you use the logic that states, "That is their nature", then you wouldn’t punish the older child for his malfeasance. You would accept it as their nature. But, you don’t see it like that, the hitting of the younger child is wrong. Why then, do we accept the destructive behavior of others that we know will lead them to an eternity without inheriting the kingdom of God?
It is time, as Christians, to take a stand. Stand up for God’s laws. It won’t be popular and many people will ridicule you. But, it is better to stand for Christ than to stand for the world.
Know God’s laws and rebuke those with love. Know where God stands on issues of the day, and be not afraid to take a stand.
Have a blessed week
Daniel G Vandenburg