Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of the Moses for Zion's 4. The Muslim religion has, of late,
been in the spotlight for quite a few incidents, which proves
that very fact. Yet over the years that religion,
which is commonly called Christianity by some, has produced its own
share of atrocities, perpetrated by men who were zealous to preserve
what they perceived as its purity and to protect its subsequent
generations against those who were thought to be its enemies.
There is only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, which those
who were first called Christians at Antioch have followed through
the ages. On the other hand, there are
hundreds of closely aligned substitutes for that pure and undefiled religion
which have been set forth by men in their quest to improve
upon the original and make it into a kingdom of flesh and blood.
It is these substitutes which have produced those who are ready
to use the power of the flesh, that is, human governments and
institutionalized religion, to defend and protect its supporters
from all sorts of perceived enemies, heathens, and heretics. The weapons
of the warfare of true Christianity are not carnal, but rest in the
power of Him who is the author and finisher of its faith. The
battle to which the sons of God are called is not that which
is articulated by conservative radio and TV hosts or flamboyant
evangelists and positive thinking preachers of various stripes
whose smiles and upbeat message appeal to the religious flesh
of men. In fact, they are often as much the enemies of that faith
which was once delivered to the saints as are the militant Muslims
and other zealots armed with bombs and machine guns. They
sometimes speak of the benefit of faith in a generic and generally
inoffensive sort of way. The conservative pundits usually
lay a groundwork to prove that our nation is one which was founded
upon Christianity, and they say it is therefore morally superior
to other nations because of this fact. They equate godliness with
those who agree with them and godlessness to those who oppose
their political and world views. The smiling preachers espouse
the common message of the ability of men to accomplish great things
and approach unto God by the power of their own free will,
enabling God to aid them as they attempt great endeavors and perform
mighty works of faith which are said to impress Him even as they
impress other men by their efforts and successes of one sort or
another, especially the supposed conversion of the masses. Yet
none of this has anything at all to do with the preaching
of the cross, which is the only message which compels the saints
of God to worship at his footstool. It is this message alone which
characterizes the declaration of sound doctrine. Paul told
Timothy that the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine. Some construe his admonition to Timothy to be a prophetical
reference to an age or time in the distant future when men would
no longer desire to hear the truth. Yet it seems from the
context of his remarks that he is apprising Timothy of the natural
tendency of men in all ages to move away from sound doctrine.
Paul clearly declared that all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution. This persecution does not come
from remaining morally upright. Rather, the persecution of which
he speaks is related to an unwavering commitment to the singular declaration
and worship of the crucified Christ. This message, in its
stark simplicity, is totally reprehensible to the natural
man because it gives him no place to glory. He will always seek
to modify it in one fashion or another. Each one of us has beating
within us an evil heart of unbelief which remains unchanged and would
seek to overturn the things we have been taught by the Spirit
of God in the inward man. If it were possible, even the
very elect would be thus deceived. Because of the close proximity
of God's children to those who love this present world, the
admonitions such as Paul set forth to Timothy are all the
more dire and appropriate. Let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall. The writer of Hebrews issues
the same warning as the one Paul gave to the Corinthians, using
a similar example. Take heed, brethren, lest there
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from
the living God. Those who are the true followers
of Christ cannot be discovered by how they begin their journey,
but in what manner they complete it. Let no man judge himself
to be a believer in Jesus Christ who has any confidence in any
activity of his own flesh. For we are made partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto
the end. But we are bound to give thanks
all the way to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.