“Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose…(Acts 6:1)”
“When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13)”
Success for God is failure for Satan.He will oppose, in any way he can, the progress of the kingdom.We can count on it: when things are looking good, Satan is looking for an opportunity.And, being a thorough demon, he usually finds one.
The church in Jerusalem was enjoying a brief run of popularity.In spite of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, “…the people held them in high esteem.And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women were constantly added to their number” (Acts 5:13,14).Then, all Hell broke loose.The first trouble came from outside: the arrest and flogging of apostles with a warning to shut up about Jesus.Then it came from inside with a complaint of unfair distribution of food.When it originates inside the body our out, it is the work of our adversary.Satan will not abide such advancement since it means retreat for him.
It is highly dangerous to discount his ability to disrupt any forward movement on our part.He will shut us down us if we let him.It is wise to aware of his schemes and strategies and to be assured that he will employ them against us.The warnings are clear:
“Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:26,27). “…so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:11). “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
It is when disciples are growing numerically and everything looks good that we should be on guard.I have, with my own eyes, seen savage wolves filled with the lust for power, tear successful churches apart.The carnage is horrible.
In the case of Jerusalem, seven godly men were chosen to answer the complaint and the tables were turned on Satan.“The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).
In Australia, several churches are making decisions and plans to recapture the purpose and mission of the church.God will surely bless such decisions but we must be warned: Satan is also making decisions and plans.
As you may know (and if you don’t know you are soon to find out), atheism has declared war on theism.One of their tactics is to lump all of religion together.Here is the obvious problem with such generalizations: all religions are not the same.They do not all believe the same things; they do not all act the same ways.
Religion is not even settled on whether a supreme being exists.Those who believe in a supreme being are not in agreement on who or what he is.There’s not even agreement on his nature and expectations of those he created.The god of the Muslims, for example, is quite different from the God of Christians and Jews.The Muslim God expects his followers to rid the earth of the infidels.If you can’t persuade them, kill them.If you have to kill yourself, your children, your babies to eliminate a few of them…so be it.Then again, not all Muslims would agree with this, but they are strangely silent.
Atheists delight in pointing out the horrendous acts of religious people they lump together as “Christians.”A favorite target is the Roman Catholic Church with its crusades, persecutions, executions, edicts, etc.Next on their list are the Protestants with much of the same.Not only are these vastly different from each other, but they are quite different, in varying degrees, from the primitive Christianity exposed in the New Testament.They are the results of virgin Christianity being interfered with by the likes of Calvin, Luther, Wesley, Smith, Zwingli, popes, assorted false prophets, and various televangelists.
Now, if you don’t believe that most atheists lump together all religions, especially those claiming to be Christian, just have a look at their blogs and websites.
For those who are interested in seeking alternative scientific views regarding the universe, you can find a list of Intelligent Design links by going to the website below and clicking “Websites”. Thanks to John Staiger in Auckland, New Zealand for the tip. In fact the whole website looks good. Have a look.
Sometimes the opposition seems overwhelming.Most of it has been self-inflicted. History – people doing horrible things in the name of Christ.The world of observers, not knowing any better, makes uninformed assessments and forms terrible opinions of Christianity. Televangelists – money-grubbing, high-living, charlatans and false teachers giving religion in general and Christianity in particular a bad rap (1 Timothy 6:3-5). Division & infighting – people who should be loving each other and thus proving to be disciples (John 13:35) fighting and slinging mud in the most unloving ways.Dividing into yet another denomination over the slightest perceived doctrinal error, we assist the world in its dismissal and unbelief (John 17:20-23).
It disturbs me greatly that so many Christians are remaining in the huddle instead of fronting up to the line of scrimmage and fighting the good fight.We stay within our own comfortable groups and pretend that all is well with the world.Well here’s a newsflash: there’s a war going on!The skeptics and atheists are on the attack and we ignore it to our harm and the detriment of our faith.
I’ve noticed most atheists/skeptics fall into two categories:
Refugees from religion who have chosen a life of skepticism.They are in angry rebellion to the excesses and misdeeds of religious leaders and their contradictory, confusing, erroneous and ignorant teachings.
People who have never been religious and look with disdain upon those who are. Their rationale is well-fed by the stupidity, misdeeds, inconsistencies, shenanigans and ignorance of religious pundits and their followers.
These are the aggressive skeptics and atheists who write blogs and books and appear on television.
What bothers me about this is how they are largely unopposed.It seems that the majority of religious people just shake their heads and silently go about their business.They’ve given up trying to make sense of it all.They’ve never given theism or atheism much thought.Well, the time has come for that to change.Here is what must happen and it must happen now.
Become aware.Realize that the conflict is raging.It is raging all around us.Get your head out of the sand and take a look.There are battles that must be fought.
Get educated.
Read the Word.You must know your Bible if you are going to defend your faith.Read it for yourself.You’ll find that some of what you thought was truth is based on someone’s interpretation.Be like the Bereans (Acts 17:11).
Read the books and blogs of those who oppose theism (that’s why I have a part of my blogroll called “The Opposition”).Become acquainted with their arguments.Study science (not pseudo-science but the real stuff).Science is the ally of faith, not its enemy.When you use science to defend your faith, know what you’re talking about.
Read and learn from the books, websites and blogs of those who have been successfully fighting.One apologist I highly recommend is John Clayton.These people have been at it for a long time and you can benefit from their experience.
Get real.Some of the ridiculous stuff promoted by self-appointed apologists just doesn’t hold water.Stop trying to defend the indefensible.Stop trying to prove what cannot be proven. The existence of God cannot be proven (or disproven) but you can rally the evidence to show that it’s the reasonable choice.If you take No. 2 and 4 seriously, you will learn which arguments are effective and which are not.
Get engaged.There is no better way to learn how to “get real” than getting into the fray.Don’t be afraid to be proven wrong.Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.We learn how to fight by fighting.Sometimes we will make valid points; sometimes we will discover a point is invalid.How do you get engaged?Seek out discussions with your atheist/skeptic friends.Comment on their blogs.Write your own blog.Write articles.Speak when you can.Above all…do something!
Be humble.You don’t know everything.Some of your opposition will know much more than you do (then again, some of them are dreadfully ignorant).Listen to them.Learn from them.There’s an old Texas saying, “You ain’t learnin’ nothin’ when yer talkin’.” Be polite, be civil, and be respectful.Don’t polarize your opposition by being an arrogant jerk.
Don’t retreat…don’t give up.If you lose a battle, learn from it and get back into the war.There’s no more effective soldier than a battle-hardened one.
“Rise up, O men (and women) of God! / Have done with lesser things. / Give heart and mind and soul and strength / To serve the King of kings” – William Merrill.
If you would like to read an excellent, sensible and rational article on the supposed “war” between science and faith, go to Saij’s blog, Good Tithings. For some reason he applies it to Republican candidates but the reference is somewhat beside the point. Tell him Dwight sent you.
It was interesting to watch Glenn Beck interview best selling author Vince Flynn tonight on CNN. Torture came up in the discussion and it was interesting to listen to them nervously defend it as sometimes necessary. It was a “the means justify the ends” kind of discussion. It makes me wonder, dude, where did my country go? Americans torturing people? Say it ain’t so!
For years now I have watched my country participate in things, support people and prop up regimes that were definitely on the dark side. I have watched us support the worst of despots, dictators and tyrants simply because they were enemies of our enemies. So, perhaps I shouldn’t be amazed that we’re discussing the relative merits of torture. I love my country but enough is enough! There is right and wrong and it is never right to do wrong.
Torture is just plain evil. Can you torture information out of a prisoner that will save lives? Yes. Does that make it OK? No. My Master, Jesus, tells us how to treat our enemies (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27). How can you reconcile such a teaching with torture?
Maybe the arguments from a Christian standpoint leave you cold. OK, then what kind of a nation are we going to be? Are we going to dive into the cesspool with the same barbarians we seek to bring to justice? I’m with McCain on this one, “This is really fundamentally about what kind of nation the United States of America is.”
I’m getting a little tired of hearing that Ron Paul doesn’t stand a chance. I challenge my American readers to read this article by Chuck Baldwin. Dr. Paul may not make it to the White House (don’t count him out yet!) but his ideas will live on. He’s a man whose principles and philosophy need to be taken seriously by lovers of freedom. Thanks to Bob Chapman for alerting me to this excellent article.
Success for God is failure for Satan. He will oppose, in any way he can, the progress of the kingdom. We can count on it: when things are looking good, Satan is looking for an opportunity. And, being a thorough demon, he usually finds one. 
