Current State of Faith - John Clinton, Elder

Today our faith as Christians is being challenged on all fronts. It is especially being critically attacked by those who would make us believe that our beliefs about sin are prejudicial against everything they cherish. While we as Christians stand for what is given to us in the Word and profess our beliefs that these Words were given to us by God, we - now more that ever - need to dig deeper into what we will stand for and what we will stand against.

It is not a matter of whether we offend someone for standing up for righteousness, but rather that we care enough to stand up for their redemption. Don’t get me wrong, we are not to accuse or demean those who do not understand our faith, but rather help them by showing them the love, mercy, and grace that was also given us through Jesus Christ. It takes patience and control of our emotions and tongue. Remember, no one can understand unless they first accept Him as Lord and Savior. Without that, they are without the Holy Spirit's revelation of Jesus’ purpose.

The world wants to label us as unscientific and intellectually clueless because we reject their interpretation of the creation of man and the universe. The world is all about the science, since that is something that is explainable by man. I personally thank God for the science because it is where we can explore and acknowledge the wonders that God has created. But, through science, even the scientists can concede that there is so much more that they don’t understand than what they have learned.

Man makes judgements and claim proofs on that limited knowledge to discredit the existence of God and to make themselves the creators. If we look at how easily we who believe fail, how can we expect those that do not acknowledge God to act any differently than they do? We need to see how much more they need us to deliver the truth through the Holy Spirit. Therein lies our need to be fully prepared and committed to understand God’s Word based on His interpretation through the His Spirit and not our own.

In the days ahead, the real struggle is yet to come…not only for us but for the generations that follow. The world wants to limit our freedom given to us by the Constitution by labeling our teachings as hate speech. Because we speak Biblically about their godless actions, they will challenge our right to express our faith. It’s expected, and we should not cower before the oppression of religion that will come. Even more, we need to make sure we do not conform to their way of thinking. This is not a call to arms but rather a call to faith. Actually, a greater call to love God enough to be obedient to His desire to save the lost. 

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. - Ephesians 6:12 12

I pray that you remain strong and committed to find your purpose of how God can use you during these challenging times. Be prepared on all occasions to offer the truth to those who are lost or confused. Do not speak for the Holy Spirit, but rather let the Holy Spirit speak through you. We need to become like an open window. When we are closed (trying to do it ourselves), others cannot feel the breeze, but open others get the refreshing that the breeze brings.

In God’s love,

John Clinton
April 2020