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May 12, 2006 Paul the Apostle was blinded and sent off his horse the first time he met the Lord. It was probably the right course of action for the man who had asked for letters charging him with the authority to arrest and kill adherents of the new faith. Something had to get his attention. Paul spent several years in a wilderness being taught by his Lord and when he returned to civilization he had a Gospel that changed lives and souls for the True God of the universe. In all of Paul’s preaching and teaching he knew who his enemy was and he knew how to combat that enemy. He also wrote of his struggles and how he was able to overcome the idiocy he faced every day in the form of unbelievers, humanist philosophers and dogmatic religionists. He did not lose sight of the spiritual forces arrayed against him either. “10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:10-12 NIV) Make no mistake; whatever is not of light is of the darkness. Flesh and blood has no power or authority over that which God controls. No man can ever make himself righteous. No man can even change a hair on his own head into anything other than a hair. The Christian’s Battle is against anyone and anything that efforts offense against the true God. We have been given the tools and the armor to withstand the most violent and evil assaults of the unfaithful. “13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:13-17 NIV) The “Day of Evil” is becoming every day for the Christian. Christianity in its true form rejects all sin and all evil. It does not compromise or help sin proliferate. Jesus did nothing to compromise with sin. He spoke completely against it and he recognized no man on earth was without sin. Only he could forgive and forgive completely. He tried to explain that to anyone who had “ears to hear”. If anyone calls himself a Christian he had better be able to back that up with faithful actions that point men to God. The Christian need never be belligerent or boastful. He has all the righteous authority he needs to combat sin. The “gospel of peace” is truly the Gospel of Christ. The one offensive weapon given the Christian is the “Word of God” the scriptures of the Hebrew/Christian Bible. It is interesting to note that in the day of the Second Coming, the leader of the armies that stretch out of the heavens has a name written on his thigh “The Word of God”. John wrote at the beginning of his Gospel that the Word, which was God, became flesh and dwelt among men. It will never matter what any man might say against any part of God’s word. They will be the proven liar at the last day. They do not see truth because they refuse truth. “18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6: 18 NIV) Christians win because we pray and continually support one another. We have the Spirit of God and we know and recognize enemies. This enables us to avoid the senselessness of vain debates. God has made himself known. There is a core group who have received God’s gift of salvation. We speak a message of truth because we care for the souls of men and desire, as God does, to see souls saved. We pray for “saints” but we also pray for sinners. These prayers have their importance too. A Christian in faithful prayer for his enemy’s salvation may eventually make a friend. In any case, he is fulfilling his role as an intercessor for men. “19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (Ephesians 6:19-20 NIV) And this is my request to my fellow Christians. Paul knew where to draw spiritual strength from. It was never through the words or arguments of the unfaithful. His mission was to confront the unbeliever using God’s word; the only source of real truth. Every Christian is an “ambassador” with a responsibility to “make known the mystery of the gospel”. We who believe have had the “mystery” opened and revealed to us in ways we never imagined. The Gospel is still a locked box to many. Only the True Christian has the key. Only the True Christian can fight the battle. ------------ Email Skip: skiptoomaloo@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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