In Matthew chapter 5 v 10-12 Jesus gives encouragement to His followers. Knowing that they would face opposition He said these words "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you".
Why did Jesus say these words? Simply because He knew that as His followers go out preaching repentance and the need for faith in Him there would be many people who would oppose this message. There would be many who would persecute the bearers of truth just as they persecuted Jesus. Indeed, in John 7 v 7 Jesus said that He was hated because He testified to the truth. Just to send out His disciples to preach without fore-warning them of opposition would have been unwise - it may have led to them being so discouraged that they fell away.
Down through the centuries multiplied thousands of Christians have found these words to be true. We are a persecuted people, but we rejoice in the fact that Jesus is with us and that our reward in Heaven is increased when people revile us.
In my own life I have experienced persecution. Twice I was dismissed from jobs because I would not tell lies for my employer, I have been threatened with violence and verbally abused while doing street evangelism and I was ejected from a train station for the "crime" of leaving a Gospel tract in the toilet! (No doubt if a Muslim left an Islamic tract he would have been left alone). Moreover, I frequently have to delete abusive comments from this blog because there are infantile people who have nothing better to do than oppose God, His word and His servants.
Do I complain about this persecution? No, I rejoice in it - my reward in Heaven is increased and I acknowledge that many do not like the truth viz. that they are sinners in need of repentance.
What should be our ongoing response to all this? To rejoice,yes; but also to pray for those who persecute the Christians and seek to silence us. We must pray that God would be pleased to open their eyes to the error of their ways; we must pray that He would draw them to a knowledge of Him through repentance and faith in Jesus as the only Saviour for sinners, and the only way to obtain eternal life.
My the Lord give us grace as we seek to bear witness for Him in the midst of "....a perverse and wicked generation". Philippans 2 v 15
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Friday, 16 December 2011
Is Hitchens in Hell?
News has come through of the death of Chris Hitchens. This militant atheist and anti-Bible fanatic spent his life railing against God and His infallible word. His battle against cancer was finally lost yesterday and he has passed into eternity.
When he was first diagnosed I posted a blog article urging him to make his peace with God. The Lord is merciful to those who truly repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, even to those who have been opposed to Him. However, despite the good advice of many Christians, who were also urging him to come to his senses, Hitchens continued his rebellion against God and even attended an atheist convention two months ago in Texas. At this anti-God rally he admitted that his "time was close". Consequently, I wrote another blog article entitled "Time's running out Chris".
Now, time has ran out for Hitchens. I really, really, hope that before he died he truly repented of his wickedness and called upon Jesus to save his soul. It gives me no pleasure to state that if Hitchens did not repent then he is definitely in the torments of Hell right now and bitterly regretting his refusal to seek God's mercy. People like him openly boast of their evil activities in opposing God and His word but all they are doing is heating up the furnace of Hell for themselves.
In closing I would state this - at least Hitchens had an opportunity to repent knowing he was going to die. There are many people who die suddenly without warning. I would also urge those militant atheists on the Freethinker editorial team and their supporters to learn a lesson from Hitchens' demise - you are not invincible, your time will also come. You MUST repent and believe in Jesus for the salvation of your souls before it is too late. You may shake your fists at God now and consider yourselves so clever, but God is stronger than you and He WILL have the final word.
"Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" Revelation 20 v 15.
When he was first diagnosed I posted a blog article urging him to make his peace with God. The Lord is merciful to those who truly repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, even to those who have been opposed to Him. However, despite the good advice of many Christians, who were also urging him to come to his senses, Hitchens continued his rebellion against God and even attended an atheist convention two months ago in Texas. At this anti-God rally he admitted that his "time was close". Consequently, I wrote another blog article entitled "Time's running out Chris".
Now, time has ran out for Hitchens. I really, really, hope that before he died he truly repented of his wickedness and called upon Jesus to save his soul. It gives me no pleasure to state that if Hitchens did not repent then he is definitely in the torments of Hell right now and bitterly regretting his refusal to seek God's mercy. People like him openly boast of their evil activities in opposing God and His word but all they are doing is heating up the furnace of Hell for themselves.
In closing I would state this - at least Hitchens had an opportunity to repent knowing he was going to die. There are many people who die suddenly without warning. I would also urge those militant atheists on the Freethinker editorial team and their supporters to learn a lesson from Hitchens' demise - you are not invincible, your time will also come. You MUST repent and believe in Jesus for the salvation of your souls before it is too late. You may shake your fists at God now and consider yourselves so clever, but God is stronger than you and He WILL have the final word.
"Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" Revelation 20 v 15.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Time's running out Chris
From time to time I receive circulars from various companies trying to interest me in a product. Very often they will state something like this: "There is a limited time period to take up this offer, so hurry. If you miss this offer you will regret it".
In sense that is the message that Chris Hitchens needs to hear (and very forcefully). Hitchens is a militant atheist who seems to have made it his life's work to oppose the Christian faith and ridicule the infallible word of God - the Bible. Sadly he was diagnosed with a severe form of cancer and has been receiving treatment for many months now. One would have thought that facing death would concentrate his mind and make him realise his need to be at peace with God. However, the reverse appears to be the case - he even showed up at an atheist convention 2 months ago in Texas openly declaring his rebellion against God. This man is so foolish, he is passing up the opportunity to avail himself of God's mercy. If only he would realise that Jesus stands ready to forgive; the Jesus who died for his sins (and for the sins of the whole world) is willing to forgive Hitchens and give him a place in Heaven.
However, time is running out; at the Texas convention Hitchens admitted that "his time is near". Does this foolish man really wish to spend all eternity in extreme and indescribable torments? If, indeed, he does end up in Hell he will bitterly regret all the years of rebellion against a holy God, he will also lament losing out on the many opportunities he had to repent and accept Christ.
Those of us who know Jesus as our personal Saviour need to pray that Hitchens will yet, like the prodigal son, "come to himself" and realise that there is a merciful God who is willing to wipe the slate clean and give him a home in Heaven.
Jesus said: "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and dine with him, and he with me" Revelation 3 v 20
In sense that is the message that Chris Hitchens needs to hear (and very forcefully). Hitchens is a militant atheist who seems to have made it his life's work to oppose the Christian faith and ridicule the infallible word of God - the Bible. Sadly he was diagnosed with a severe form of cancer and has been receiving treatment for many months now. One would have thought that facing death would concentrate his mind and make him realise his need to be at peace with God. However, the reverse appears to be the case - he even showed up at an atheist convention 2 months ago in Texas openly declaring his rebellion against God. This man is so foolish, he is passing up the opportunity to avail himself of God's mercy. If only he would realise that Jesus stands ready to forgive; the Jesus who died for his sins (and for the sins of the whole world) is willing to forgive Hitchens and give him a place in Heaven.
However, time is running out; at the Texas convention Hitchens admitted that "his time is near". Does this foolish man really wish to spend all eternity in extreme and indescribable torments? If, indeed, he does end up in Hell he will bitterly regret all the years of rebellion against a holy God, he will also lament losing out on the many opportunities he had to repent and accept Christ.
Those of us who know Jesus as our personal Saviour need to pray that Hitchens will yet, like the prodigal son, "come to himself" and realise that there is a merciful God who is willing to wipe the slate clean and give him a home in Heaven.
Jesus said: "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and dine with him, and he with me" Revelation 3 v 20
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Preaching the Gospel ?
We can all see by news events that this country is in the grip of rampant sin and wickedness. Indeed, even in the churches there is a great deal of declension and apostasy. Many so-called evangelical churches are compromising - nowhere is this more evident than in the way in which the Gospel is watered down.
A huge number of ministers to-day preach a "Gospel" which goes like this: "God loves you just as you are, Jesus wants to be your friend, believe in Him and you will be happy". However, if we read through the New Testament book of Acts and see how the apostles preached we note that their message contained none of the bland platitudes of much "evangelical" preaching to-day. The apostles preaching tended to contain four main points viz.
1. There is a God in Heaven to whom we must all give account on the judgment day.
2. You are all sinful people in need of salvation.
3. Jesus died and rose again for sinners.
4. Therefore, you must repent and believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour for the "remission of sins".
The problem with many ministers (even those who claim to be "born-again") is that they do not have confidence in the power of God to save. They seem to think that people will be won for the Lord if they avoid unpalatable truths like sin, judgement and Hell. Moreover, they will refrain from urging upon people the necessity of repentance because it offends people to be told that they are sinners. The consequence of this course of action is startling. Many churches today are full of people who think they are Christians but all they have done is to tag Jesus onto an existing lifestyle - they are deluding themselves about their standing before God and they are in for a shock on the judgement day. I know of a C of E church near where I live that even has a sodomite "in civil partnership" in it's membership.
This state of affairs, though distressing, should not surprise us. The Bible clearly warns that in the last days before Christ's return there would be a huge amount of wickedness and apostasy. Not only would there be an increase in wickedness in general but also in the number of ministers and churches that compromise truth. 2nd Peter 3 v 3 tells us "that there shall come, in the last days, scoffers walking after their own lusts".
I am thankful to God that there are some "who have not bowed the knee to baal" and continue to preach the truth of God's infallible word - the Bible. We may be few and far between but at least we know that, week by week, as the Gospel is preached, the lost have an opportunity to be saved from sin and it's eternal consequences.
A huge number of ministers to-day preach a "Gospel" which goes like this: "God loves you just as you are, Jesus wants to be your friend, believe in Him and you will be happy". However, if we read through the New Testament book of Acts and see how the apostles preached we note that their message contained none of the bland platitudes of much "evangelical" preaching to-day. The apostles preaching tended to contain four main points viz.
1. There is a God in Heaven to whom we must all give account on the judgment day.
2. You are all sinful people in need of salvation.
3. Jesus died and rose again for sinners.
4. Therefore, you must repent and believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour for the "remission of sins".
The problem with many ministers (even those who claim to be "born-again") is that they do not have confidence in the power of God to save. They seem to think that people will be won for the Lord if they avoid unpalatable truths like sin, judgement and Hell. Moreover, they will refrain from urging upon people the necessity of repentance because it offends people to be told that they are sinners. The consequence of this course of action is startling. Many churches today are full of people who think they are Christians but all they have done is to tag Jesus onto an existing lifestyle - they are deluding themselves about their standing before God and they are in for a shock on the judgement day. I know of a C of E church near where I live that even has a sodomite "in civil partnership" in it's membership.
This state of affairs, though distressing, should not surprise us. The Bible clearly warns that in the last days before Christ's return there would be a huge amount of wickedness and apostasy. Not only would there be an increase in wickedness in general but also in the number of ministers and churches that compromise truth. 2nd Peter 3 v 3 tells us "that there shall come, in the last days, scoffers walking after their own lusts".
I am thankful to God that there are some "who have not bowed the knee to baal" and continue to preach the truth of God's infallible word - the Bible. We may be few and far between but at least we know that, week by week, as the Gospel is preached, the lost have an opportunity to be saved from sin and it's eternal consequences.
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