From the Outside Looking In

 

As a Christian I've always felt on the outside of the Christian movement. When I was younger I never held to any particular denomination. My parents and grand-parents hailed from Brethren, Baptist and Presbyterian roots. My siblings frequented Baptist and Brethren circles but I just never fitted in. Not that there was any particular doctrinal position that I disagreed with, It's just that I have always felt that the Church is one body and the bible is the inspired word of God and therefore the authoritative text of the Church. So that’s all we need. I guess that makes me fundamentally a Catholic where the word Catholic equates to Christ centered bible believing Christian. 

 

Personally, I've found it easier to go it alone than bicker with other Christians about doctrinal differences and it’s not like you can avoid those key issues. Every individual church has it’s gatekeepers who strive for their churches version of doctrinal purity. My own somewhat naïve point of view has always been there is one Church the Bride of Christ and we should just stick with that and base all doctrine on the Word of God. If we do that and seek to live our lives in the Spirit instead of in the flesh we shouldn't have any troubles.

 

It's really only in recent years that I've discovered that every denomination has doctrinal flaws that indicate the presence of something stronger than just scriptural misunderstanding. There are disputes around how a person is saved and whether that is through the sovereign will of God alone or if there is freedom of choice. How a person receives the Holy Spirit and how the Spirit works through the believer. When the second coming of Jesus Christ will take place and what subsequently will happen. The thing is that although these issues seem small they indicate greater error that has real life impacts on the Christians of the various denominations.  For instance on how they share the gospel if at all, whether people receive the Holy Spirit and how the Spirit manifests, through people speaking in tongues or being slain in the spirit. How they view the coming of Jesus Christ and if the Kingdom of God will be established resulting in error identifying false Christs and their false dominions.

 

The devil has insinuated his forces and his ideologies into every Church and has false Christians under his control misleading  the elect themselves. Gradually he has led them to respond to the world as the world responds not as Christians. They use worldly methods to demand their rights. Get haughty and proud and in many ways are being guided into faithlessness. Instead of trusting God and being obedient to Him they fight their own battles and are ignored by the enemy. This tends to be exactly what is happening to so many believers at this time.

 

I think, the most depressing example of this has been in regard to the way many Christians have reacted to the changes that have occurred in the World since 2015 when the United Nations developed Agenda 2030. 1 Secular Humanism has proceeded at pace and Christian Conservatives in the West have begun to feel excluded and fearful of the changes which are taking place. As in communist societies the state has begun to favor other secular groups ahead of Christianity. LGBTQ+, Islam, Indigenous groups, feminists, liberal progressives, atheists, feminists are all the darlings of the New World Order. Whereas, Christians and Social Conservatives are outed as being hateful and out of date in this brave new world.

 

The reaction from Christians and their response to this alienation is manifesting in Conservative Activism like the Anti-Vaxx Movement, Family First, the Sensible Sentencing Trust, Voice for Life and Right for Life. Not that these organisations aren't doing a good job. It's simply that as Christians we need to be seen to be acting as Christians should. As Christ Jesus outlined when asked about the Great Commandment in Matthew chapter 22 verses 37 - 40 He said “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 2

 

Instead, what is tending to happen, particularly, since the Covid Pandemic arrived on the scene in 2020 is that Christians are getting angry and desperate and that anger is playing into the hands of the enemy who controls the government and the media. Christians are increasingly being made to look hateful, poorly educated and out of place in a modern scientific society. The Media has focused on violent hate speech and sound and video bits which embellish the angry, desperate and seemingly out of touch Christian behaviors of judgment, condemnation and intolerance.

 

Now, the Lord Jesus lived a sinless life but responded with righteous anger when the situation demanded it. He was angered at the misuse of the Temple as a place of business and overturned the tables and chased the vendors out of the temple. So there is a time and place for righteous indignation. The key here is that if you are going to be angry as a Christian you need to have a genuine reason that everyone can understand. Otherwise being loving and treating your fellow man as you would have him or her treat you is a better approach.

 

Christians should be bible based and their behavior should be in the Spirit not in the flesh. Their motivation should be to share the gospel and a Christian point of view. It doesn’t matter that the world attacks them for their faith. In the past Christians have been feed to the lions, burned at the stake and persecuted in many different ways. It is not when they protest that they bring change to the world around them it is when they are persecuted for the name of Jesus and simply bear that persecution with humility and grace, peacefully in the name Jesus Christ.

 

There is no doubt that God has a plan for this current time and that although many Christians can't see what that plan is. God has everything under control. The other important thing they need to realise is that they can't change the world or even their own hearts and minds without God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is important for them to realise so that they don't fall into a state of hopelessness. It may be difficult for them see how God is working in the world or even through other Christians that they know but they need to understand that God is working in the world around them and that He will be triumphant and victorious.3

 

So be aware that doctrine is important but reading and dwelling in the Word of God (Bible), is more important. Your relationship with God is even more important so time in prayer is of paramount importance. It also helps you to know what God's plan for you is on a daily basis. Seek to dwell in the Spirit and be aware of when you are thinking and acting in the flesh. Confess your sins to God and He will be faithful to forgive your sins and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. 4 Bring your troubles to the Lord and your concerns with the World. Seek him in prayer trusting God to answer your prayers. Don't anger and despair. Let not your hearts be troubled neither let them be afraid. 5 Let God keep you in His perfect peace because you trust in Him. 6

 

God Bless You All.