"Why do the heathen rage....."

The above title comes from Psalm 2 and looks at the question why is it that some get so enraged against God. The Psalm then goes on to declare the sovereignty of God - that when puny man shakes his fist at God He simply laughs at them.

However, the question remains - why do people get so angry at God? There may be various reasons; perhaps they have had some bad experiences in life and feel bitter, which is understandable. The Psalmist, though, does not seem to be addressing this kind of situation but rather one where people are determined to show rebellion against God because they hate Him, and they hate His laws. This is particularly so with atheists - they write books and website blogs railing against God. If God doesn't exist why are they getting so angry at Him, why waste so much time and effort, and even money, opposing God? If He doesn't exist then they can simply put the subject out of their minds and carry on with their lives. I have even come across people who read the Bible for the sole purpose of rubbishing it and exposing it's alleged errors, (of course, there are no errors in the Bible, but we'll save that for the next blog!).

I would suggest 2 reasons for such irrational behaviour:

Firstly, because God has written His laws on their consciences and they know that they are sinners in His sight. Maybe this is why they get angry at Christians who simply offer them Gospel leaflets, or Bible posters that declare the truth of Psalm 14 v 1 (look it up).

Secondly, because God has written eternity on their hearts - and now we are getting to the real problem as far as they are concerned. Deep down they know that there is a coming judgement day when they will give account to God, and that everyone of us will spend eternity in Heaven or in Hell. Because they know they are not right with God, and that (unless they repent) they will end up in the Lake of Fire, they are seeking to convince themselves that there is no God. They are desperately trying to persuade their consciences, and whoever will listen, that there is nothing to worry about when they die.

What should be our response to this? Having been abused by atheists, both on the streets and on the Internet, I have come to the conclusion that our response should be threefold:

1) Declare the Gospel without any watering down. They say they don't believe the Bible but that is no excuse for us to hold back from declaring it's inerrant truths.

2) Answer their questions honestly, if you can get a word in edge ways!

3) Pray earnestly that God will be pleased to grant them repentance unto life and release them from their bondage to Satan.

I would close by encouraging you with the following words of the Saviour "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out" John 6 v 37. If God is drawing an atheist ( or anybody for that matter) to a knowledge of Himself, then that person will come, he/she will repent and accept Jesus as their personal Saviour.

Alyosha - the Baptist

During the dark days of communist rule, in what was then known as the Soviet Union, many people were put into labour/concentration camps simply for voicing opinions or beliefs that the regime didn't like. The vast majority of these victims of repression were unknown to us in the free west but a few were very well known indeed - perhaps the most renowned being Alexander Solzenhitsyn. He was a writer who had voiced unwelcome views and was sent to a labour camp. Afterwards he wrote of his experiences in the classic work - "The Gulag Archipelago". Due to it's size (it was 3 volumes long) I never attempted it but I did read his second most famous book "A day in the life of Ivan Denisovich" - which was much smaller!

This book outlined a typical day in one of these dreadful places. Of course, names had to be changed but it was a factual account of what conditions were like and so on. One of the characters mentioned was Alyosha - the Baptist. He had been put away for preaching the Gospel and he had managed to smuggle in a New Testament. He used to hide it in his bedding and would read it every day before the "wake up call" sounded out for the day to begin.

Had Alyosha been caught by the guards he would have been in trouble - big time, but he was willing to run the risk. The question is why? One would have thought that being incarcerated in such a place it would be wise and prudent to follow the rules and keep one's head down. Yet this man was willing to risk a severe penalty just to read a book! Again the question is asked - why?

The answer is simple - the Bible, of which the New testament is a part, is no ordinary book. The Bible is God's infallible word to us. All that He has to say to us is contained within it's pages. The Holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, the need for God's forgiveness, the sacrifice of Christ for our sins, the eternal penalty for the impenitent, and encouragements/directions for the believers are all there in this wonderful work. It is for this reason that Alyosha was willing to risk so much to read just a few pages of this precious word - it strengthened him for the rigours of the day ahead.

During the days of the Soviet Union many attempts were made by the communists to eradicate the Bible, these attempts failed. Despite 70 years of a deliberate policy to wipe out the Bible it remained, stood firm, caused many to believe in Jesus and today, it is still doing it's wonderful work - years after communism collapsed in Eastern Europe. This fact alone is proof that God is behind His word - but we'll save that for another blog article!

Free Speech Victory - Praise the Lord ! !

Readers of this blog will know that I have mentioned the issue of free speech a couple of times, with particular reference to the government's attempt to remove the "Free Speech clause" from the gay hate law. To put this in context I would remind readers that when the govt. passed the law forbidding the incitement of hatred against gays they allowed what became known as the "Waddington amendment". This basically stated that it was permissible under law to criticise homosexual behaviour. However in the current session of parliament the govt. has attempted to remove this protection thus making it easier for the Police to harass Evangelical Christians.

A great deal of lobbying was done by the Christian Institute and others to persuade parliament to defeat the govt. and this paid off today when the Justice Secretary - Jack Straw- finally came to his senses and accepted that the free speech clause was here to stay. This decision followed last night's defeat by the House of Lords on the matter.

This decision will come as a great relief to us and a wonderful answer to prayer. None of us wants the right to stir up hatred or violence against gays but we do insist upon our freedom to teach the truths of God's infallible word on all issues - this one being no exception. The Bible is crystal clear - homosexuality is an abomination, it is a perversion, and unrepentant homos will end up in Hell. However, the mercy and grace of God is such that if they truly repent of their vileness and accept Jesus as their personal Saviour then the "slate is wiped clean" and they will be saved. 1st Corinthians 6 v 9-11 is a good summary of the truth on this issue.

This victory is clearly of God who has manifested His power to preserve Gospel freedom. Several years ago when the govt. tried to make it illegal to criticise Islam they were defeated by one vote (the Prime Minister having gone home early because he thought that victory was "in the bag" but he reckoned without Divine intervention!). Today's victory has prompted me to remember the words of Psalm 126 v 3 "The Lord has done great things for us, whereof we are glad".

The invincible word

Just after writing my last post, which looked at the fact that some people try to suppress evangelism, my thoughts turned to the events of Acts chapter 12. As a brief recap this is what happened:

King Herod murdered James and put Peter in prison, no doubt intending to do the same to him. Here was a man who clearly had every intention of crushing evangelism and the spread of the Christian faith. However, he was thwarted - Peter was miraculously released, and Herod was struck down by God. Just after reading about his demise these words appear "....but the word of God grew and multiplied".

As I reflected on this I was brought to a wonderful realisation that, no matter how much the servants of the devil seek to stop evangelism God always has a way of getting His word out. What is sobering, however, is that God will bring down those who attempt to stop the spreading of that word. I have read about so many situations where those who have sought to do the devil's work by hindering Christian witness have been removed and God's word has gone out. I will give just one example. Some Christians went to a hotel in order to ask permission to leave Bibles for guests to read, "over my dead body!" said the manager; no way was he allowing Bibles in his hotel. A short while later one of the Christians had a phone call from the deputy manager begging him to come to the hotel and leave Bibles as the manager had had a heart attack! One acknowledges that even devout and godly Christians may have heart attacks but this incident was surely not just a random event. Needless to say the Bibles were taken along and God's word got through!

To be fair most non-Christians are tolerant people and will not seek to persecute Christians or hinder Christian witness. However, there seems to be an increasing number of unbelievers who will attempt to do both; their militancy can be intimidating. Despite this we need not fear - God is sovereign. As Psalm 68 v 1 says "Let God arise......His enemies be scattered". We are on the victory side, God will ensure that His word is spread, obstacles removed and His enemies are dealt with. One hopes that God, in His mercy, will deal with opponents by granting them repentance unto life and saving them like, eg, Saul who became Paul. However, it is a sobering thought that those who dare to stand in the way of evangelism are putting themselves against the Almighty and "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God". Hebrews 10 v 31.

Whither free speech?

Last Thursday the BBC allowed the leader of the British National Party - Nick Griffin - to appear on "Question Time". This decision provoked a massive debate about the limits, if any, that should be placed upon free speech. Should Mr Griffin have been permitted to air his views on prime time TV, or should he have been banned? It appears that a strong majority of people (approx. 75% at the last count) believe the BBC was right, in the interests of free expression to invite Mr Griffin onto the programme. Free speech rights, it seemed, had triumphed, and those of us who feared we were heading towards a society where it was illegal to offend breathed a sigh of relief. (Incidentally, I am a-political and do not support the BNP).

However, this sense of relief was dealt a severe blow at the weekend with the news of the Pauline Howe affair. Mrs Howe, the wife of a Baptist minister, wrote to Norwich City Council complaining about gay parades and expressing the Biblical teaching on Homosexuality. She was subsequently visited by two Police Officers who advised her that she was being investigated for an alleged "hate crime". After some discussion the officers left and no further action was taken. Notwithstanding this a huge furore has broken out in the media over the implications for free speech. Many columnists have expressed outrage at the over-reaction of the Police in what appears to be a blatant attempt to silence someone who simply expressed a Christian belief. Even the director of Stonewall, a gay rights group, accused the Police of acting in a "disproportionate" manner.

Moreover, as if to add insult to injury, the government are determined to press ahead with the removal of the "free speech clause" from the gay hate law. This action will further encourage the Police in their attempts to harass and intimidate Evangelical Christians, What should be our response to all this? Well, the early believers were also told not to spread Christian truth. In Acts 4 v 17-18 Peter and John were told not to preach about the Lord and were threatened. Their response was to pray for boldness and they carried on as before - that should be ours also. We should not be provoked into deliberately seeking confrontation, neither should we be intimidated into silence. As Paul said "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8 v 31). Down through the centuries the Christian faith has been on the receiving end of many attempts at suppression but it has survived and continues to be preached. My hope and prayer is that, should real and lasting persecution come to this country, we would not hold back from declaring the "whole counsel of God" (including the unpopular bits!).

".......should be a castaway"

As we go through life there is a tendency to look back at situations and events; some of these memories will be pleasant ones, some not so. Indeed, as we reminisce on old times there will be those unpleasant recollections of news items that shocked and troubled us, the memories of which are still painful years later. For me the most troubling news I have heard, and still do from time to time, is that of people who were once so zealous for Christ having fallen away. The Apostle Paul recognised this danger in his own life as he penned the words of 1st Corinthians 9 v 27 - "..I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway".

As I reflected upon this subject my thoughts turned to the sad case of Charles Templeton. He was born in Canada in 1915 and, by the time of his 20s, became a dedicated evangelist, being often in the company of Billy Graham. Many souls were won to Christ through his faithful preaching. However, in the second half of his life he turned so completely away from the Lord that he even wrote a book attacking the Christian faith and the truths of the Bible. He died in 2001 at the age of 85. There was no external evidence that he ever repented of his rebellion and returned to his earlier faith. There is always the possibility that he did so privately in his final days - we can only hope so. A story such as this is deeply depressing but, rather than simply shaking our heads in bewilderment that such a thing can happen, the onus is on every professed believer to learn from the errors of others. A biblical example of such being that of Demas. His name is mentioned three times in the New Testament. In both Colossians 4 v 14 and Philemon verse 24 he is mentioned in a positive light - in the latter being described as a "fellow-labourer". However, when Paul is penning his last recorded words we read the sad news that Demas had "departed....having loved this present world". (2nd Timothy 4 v 10).

It is my hope and prayer that in my own life I would remain faithful to the end remembering the words of Jesus that "he who endures unto the end shall be saved". Matt. 10 v 22.

A Double LIfe

We've heard of Robert Louis Stephenson's book about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Written in the 19th century it told the story of how the respectable Dr Jekyll took a drug and this turned him into the evil Mr Hyde. A clear case of a double life if there ever was one. However, I wonder how many people know that the inspiration for the book may well have come from a true story Stephenson was told as a child about a certain William Brodie. Brodie lived in the previous century and was a cabinet maker, an Edinburgh city councillor and one of the most respected men in the city. He often went into the homes of the most eminent people of the day in order to make their furniture. However, while doing this he would take impressions of the house keys, have a set made up and then burgle the house at night. He was living a double life, a respected, law abiding citizen out in the open before people, but a villain on the quiet. Eventually he was caught and hanged.

We often hear of people who were highly respected politicians, or bishops, or some other pillars of society, being caught out in some "indiscretion" and, upon further investigation, it transpires that they were living this double life for many years. Why do they do this? I would suggest that they think they are never going to be exposed. They think they can take their guilty secrets to the grave and die venerated as highly respected people. It is quite likely that for everyone who is caught out there are many who never get discovered, they have got away with it - but have they? What such people often forget is that there is a God in Heaven who sees everything. Hebrews 4 v 13 says: "...all things are exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." This is bad news for one simple reason, we are all sinners, we have all fallen short. Everyone of us have broken God's laws and, in consequence, deserve the punishment of eternal damnation.

The only hope we have is to repent of our sins and accept Jesus as our personal Saviour; He paid the price of sin and rose from the dead. By His resurrection he proved that He was who He said he was - the Son of God.

All of us need to constantly bear in mind the fact that God sees everything, knows everything, and will one day bring us all to account. A double life will be exposed, if not in this life then certainly on the judgement day.