Brethren, Let’s Get Real!

Allan Turner
02/10/13 - General

Some who make the plea for the continued restoration of New Testament Christianity are caught up, quite erroneously, in the pipe dream of a golden era of the church when there were neither problems nor divisions. But when was that? Churches of Christ have always been plagued with strife (Phil. 1:15-16), false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-3), perverse and destructive leaders (Acts 20:29ff.; Jude 4), the preaching of a false gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), servants of Satan (2 Cor. 11:13-15), and divisiveness (3 John 9-10). This is why Jude exhorted Christians "to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (June 3b). This is why Paul admonished Christians to "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong" (1 Cor. 16:13, NIV).

Thus, what the kingdom of God needs right now is more soldiers of the cross and less spiritual namby pambys who get their feelings hurt when someone challenges them to give a spiritual reason for the hope that is in them. You know the ones I am talking about — the ones who have become so proficient at bemoaning what they claim is a lack of love among brethren, and who frequently point their accusatory fingers at those whom they consider to be much too strident in their defense of the gospel.

Brethren, let us not be fooled, i.e., let's get real! If Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, then it should not surprise us that his servants sometimes masquerade as ministers of the gospel (2 Cor. 11:14-15). From such a vantage point, and all in the name of "grace," "love," and "mercy," these spew forth some of the most bitter rhetoric imaginable at those who are standing against their attempted, and very underhanded, onslaught.

The objective standard, which is none other than God's word, says their end shall be according to their works, and their works are, indeed, damnable. In the meantime, let us "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong" (1 Cor. 16:13, KJV). In other words, it is time for men of God to start acting like men!