A PERSECUTION COMPLEX
"I am aware, it is a thing of which many know nothing. Talk to them about it, and they are ready to set you down as a madman, an enthusiast, or a fool." - J.C. Ryle asked back in the 19th century
"are you fighting?" http://bit.ly/1qTNZtI
Is The bible a study
in human struggle?
Time after time from Genesis onward there seems to be a steady stream of stories depicting human conflict. Saint Paul stated: "we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." Romans 8:22
. . . so, what is the true NATURE OF CONFLICT and where did 'the peace
and harmony go?
. . . more fun and games? Is this just 'normal' COMPETITIVENESS or the real shadow of wars? > "The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law". Luke 12:53
more from Ryle :
"there is another warfare of far greater importance than any war that was ever waged by man. It is a warfare which concerns not two or three nations only, but every Christian man and woman born into the world. The warfare I speak of is the spiritual warfare. It is the fight which every one who would be saved must fight about his soul."
Does all conflict involve deception?
. . . "Be not deceived"; Chuck Mcknight commenting on Galatians 6:7-8 says concerning SOWING TO THE FLESH that some people
"Even if not committing blatant acts of sin, they live in a state of apathy, not seeking the Spirit's leading to produce in them good works. "http://bit.ly/W8n1n2
so, AM I FIGHTING THIS FIGHT?
"it is as real and true as any war the world has ever seen. It has its hand-to-hand conflicts and its wounds. It has his watchings and fatigues. It has its sieges and assaults. It has its victories and its defeats. Above all, it has consequences which are awful".
SAINT PAUL: from 2 Corinthians 11
"In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness."
SO, is this still true ?
. . . all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2 Timothy 3
What some "unbelievers" say:
they 'feel persecuted or "oppressed" whenever they find someone that doesn't share their particular worldview" http://bit.ly/W8t5w3
Was this just for the
disciples back then?
"The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. " St John 15
He was born July 17, 1674
Isaac Watts was asking
"Am I a Soldier of the Cross?"
His father was not a member of the state church, and was twice thrown into jail for opposing it, so that when he was a baby his mother often carried him in her arms to visit his father in prison.
This is what he said in poetry:
Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause
Or blush to speak His name?
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease?
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
Sure I must fight, if I would reign
Increase my courage, Lord!
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy word.
Thy saints, in all this glorious war,
Shall conquer, though they die;
They view the triumph from afar,
And seize it with their eye.
When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all Thy armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies,
The glory shall be Thine.
_______________
Are You Fighting?
J. C. Ryle
(1816-1900)
PS
 | Paul Chappell (@PaulChappell) |
"What our Lord said about cross-bearing and obedience is not in fine type. It is in bold print on the face of the contract." | |
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