By Fenter Northern
2Th 2:15 So, brothers and sisters, stand strong and continue to believe the teachings we gave you when we were there and by letter.
The text speaks to us concerning the identical critical issue that has remained constant since that day of Pentecost on which the Lord’s church was first established—“Save yourselves from this crooked generation. The same Lion that Peter warned the church about in his fist epistle is still on his hungry prowl. The antichrist that John warned about in his first two epistles is still anti-Christ today. He has just adapted the modern trappings that best suit his purposes to destroy or render ineffective the children of God in this generation age of electronic obsession.
It is still true that “only he who restrains will restrain until he be taken out of the way.” Satan is working at full steam to render ineffective the saving gospel in the minds of this modern gadget and push button generation and he is doing a great job of it. Entire congregations “having a form of godliness but denying the authority” of undesirable Bible texts are incubating all around.
Those who restrain are those who love the light of the first century word of God, proclaim it, and let the glory of God’s truth radiate in their lives. (Mt. 5:16) Congregations sing, “Send the Light.” God has sent the light. No congregation is worthy of the pews it sits on unless they are willing to teach and walk in the light as it was written (I JN, 1:7).
Today’s churches of Christ have the burden of evangelism in a generation of self-centered, lust propelled people that are determined to mock God. It has always been so, but this is the hour in which we have been born. We must assume the challenge and be faithful to it for the sake of the salvation of those woefully ignorant of the truth of Bible doctrine.
The heart of this rebellious generation must be smitten with the fact that Christ is still alive in the spiritual body of His church. To underestimate the seductive wiles of Satan is fatal. Our foe that has crept into some congregations is as gentle as a sheep and extremely wise at tempting naïve children of God with lurking desires of pride and lust of the flesh which can lead them into conducting a self-pleasing worship that feigns praise and glory to Jesus while omitting critical self-disciplining scriptures and those that point out the structure of the Lord’s church. The strongest temptation Satan can offer is a worship that glorifies the name of Christ while its worship is subtly redesigned to please the flesh.
The spiritual church cannot fight this battle with the world’s tactics. It would lose quickly against the goliaths of ungodliness. We must be as “wise as the serpent but as harmless as a dove.” While difficult at times, we must render love for hate. Kindness is a weapon the world does not understand or know how to resist. Godliness heaps coals of fire upon the heads of haters. But tepid Christianity that passes so much for the real today is less than useless.
HOW CAN WE STAND AGAINST THE PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS IN HIGH PLACES?
Eph 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”
Eph 6:11 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”
1Pe 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”