Post by tlsitd on Jul 12, 2018 18:20:31 GMT -5
We can't blame America for the wretched state of Christianity in America. The blame lies not with the surrounding culture but with every Christian who has chosen to stray from the teachings and commands of the New Testament, accepting the "wisdom" of the world over the wisdom of God and choosing to do as it does instead of being faithful to the Book.
We have a law that God has given us to live by, and it is not the laws of this land (and I don't mean that we are not to keep the laws of the land, but that the laws and morals of the land are not our standard). It's our own choice whether to live by Christian law or not. Being in the midst of Babylon in no way means that it is inevitable that we will be corrupted by her; and it is certainly no excuse for our being corrupted. The word of God will keep us clean in the midst of her if we live by that without compromise. The fact that we have chosen not to do so, and so have been influenced and polluted by the culture of this society, is no one's fault but ours.
He who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. Jesus asked the Father not to take us out of the world, but to keep us from the evil of it and the temptations and devices of its ruler. And God is entirely able to do that, no matter what country we live in---if we choose to obey Him faithfully. American Christians have no more excuse for being corrupt and lukewarm or cold than Christians in any other country in the world. America didn't make us dull, sleepy and lazy; we did that to ourselves by choosing to indulge in her offerings and to follow her ways, and to accept the invitation of Folly's banquet rather than Wisdom's.
I guarantee you that if the American church was living according to the teachings of the New Testament and doing the work of Christ His way, she would not be dull and sleepy. She would be persecuted, and the saints would not be living the comfortable, self-indulgent and self-centered lives they are living---which have made them spiritually lethargic, like drunkards or gluttons---because the word and will of God would prevent it. The reason Christians here are as comfortable and as dull and sleepy as they are is because they are compromising the word of God and are not doing His will but their own. America is not to blame for that. She might tempt, as Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, but it's our own individual choice how we respond to the temptations.
Ironically, American Christians have the potential to be some of the strongest Christians in the world for resisting the influences of the culture in which we live---because of its temptations---and the opportunity to be some of the brightest lamps of Christ in the world for being in the midst of one of the most wicked, most anti-Christ cultures. The greater the temptation, the greater the grace of God to endure it and resist it. What glory to God it would be for American Christians to be shining as lights in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, holding fast to the word of life in word and deed and attitude, showing the contrast between the wickedness and folly of this country's culture and the righteousness and wisdom of God by His grace! (And yet...)
It was by God's will that we were born, (and born again), in the country where we live, whatever its culture, to be what He desires us to be and to do what He desires us to do wherever He is pleased for us to live. American Christians aren't cursed for living in Sodom; we're here for a good purpose. It's our own fault---not God's, and not America's---that we blend in with her and are in love with her.
We have a law that God has given us to live by, and it is not the laws of this land (and I don't mean that we are not to keep the laws of the land, but that the laws and morals of the land are not our standard). It's our own choice whether to live by Christian law or not. Being in the midst of Babylon in no way means that it is inevitable that we will be corrupted by her; and it is certainly no excuse for our being corrupted. The word of God will keep us clean in the midst of her if we live by that without compromise. The fact that we have chosen not to do so, and so have been influenced and polluted by the culture of this society, is no one's fault but ours.
He who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. Jesus asked the Father not to take us out of the world, but to keep us from the evil of it and the temptations and devices of its ruler. And God is entirely able to do that, no matter what country we live in---if we choose to obey Him faithfully. American Christians have no more excuse for being corrupt and lukewarm or cold than Christians in any other country in the world. America didn't make us dull, sleepy and lazy; we did that to ourselves by choosing to indulge in her offerings and to follow her ways, and to accept the invitation of Folly's banquet rather than Wisdom's.
I guarantee you that if the American church was living according to the teachings of the New Testament and doing the work of Christ His way, she would not be dull and sleepy. She would be persecuted, and the saints would not be living the comfortable, self-indulgent and self-centered lives they are living---which have made them spiritually lethargic, like drunkards or gluttons---because the word and will of God would prevent it. The reason Christians here are as comfortable and as dull and sleepy as they are is because they are compromising the word of God and are not doing His will but their own. America is not to blame for that. She might tempt, as Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, but it's our own individual choice how we respond to the temptations.
Ironically, American Christians have the potential to be some of the strongest Christians in the world for resisting the influences of the culture in which we live---because of its temptations---and the opportunity to be some of the brightest lamps of Christ in the world for being in the midst of one of the most wicked, most anti-Christ cultures. The greater the temptation, the greater the grace of God to endure it and resist it. What glory to God it would be for American Christians to be shining as lights in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, holding fast to the word of life in word and deed and attitude, showing the contrast between the wickedness and folly of this country's culture and the righteousness and wisdom of God by His grace! (And yet...)
It was by God's will that we were born, (and born again), in the country where we live, whatever its culture, to be what He desires us to be and to do what He desires us to do wherever He is pleased for us to live. American Christians aren't cursed for living in Sodom; we're here for a good purpose. It's our own fault---not God's, and not America's---that we blend in with her and are in love with her.