By Rev. Ken Silva,
Apprising Ministries, October 1, 2005,
"...take up the whole
armor of God,
that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all,
to stand.... And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God...."
Ephesians 6:13,
17
"For the word of God is living
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Hebrew
4:11-12
It would seem that many today feel we
are getting close to the end of this Age of Grace. There are some who would say
that I am being sensationalistic to say this, but I really don’t think that I
overstating this impression at all. More and more people are talking like the
Messiah–Christ Jesus could actually return in our lifetime? And certainly there
are many fine teachers of biblical prophecy who will say that everything that
needs to be fulfilled before the Second Advent of Christ has occurred, and maybe
you even feel this way yourself.
Well here is a rare time that I’ll offer an opinion from this Internet “pulpit.”
You may have noticed that I don’t do that a whole lot. No, I really don’t often
give my opinion on the latest issues. And truthfully, that’s by design. The
reason for this is my opinion has been–for as long as I can remember–that far
too much of what passes for “preaching the Gospel,” from way too many pulpits,
is little but the offering of the preacher’s opinions. Somebody just takes a
verse of Scripture as an excuse to “yak” on about what they personally believe
about some hot button issue. And I offer in the Lord that this is the root cause
for the deplorable shape the Evangelical Church is in right now here in America.
I remember where Dr. John MacArthur –- one of the finest expository preachers of
our generation -– had someone inquire about this issue of offering personal
views. He was asked: “Why don’t you give your own opinions more often? Why just
preach the Bible?” I love MacArthur’s reply -– and it happens to forms the basis
of my own theology as well–he said: “God’s opinion, is my opinion.” O if only
more pastors could understand that! And this would especially apply to those
ministers who have already begun the purpose driven dance of deception, as well
as those who are submerging themselves in the misplaced mysticism of the
Emergent Church.
Heed The Master’s Warning
Let me relate this to the subject of the certain return of our Lord Jesus
Christ. As I was saying, it would definitely seem there is kind of an excitement
that He might come back in our lifetime. You could even say that there is kind
of an expectation among people that Jesus will return in a time as short as a
matter of a few years; in a relatively short time in any event. Now, I’m not
sure that I would personally agree with this opinion, but I am still open to
discussing with people what the Bible has to say about it.
The main point being, there is just no way that I wish to build a reputation -–
or a following –- as some kind of an alarmist preacher. Truthfully, this is a
major reason why I teach in the fashion that I do. It is my firm conviction in
Christ that I pay very close attention to what the text of the Bible itself
actually says. And this is what I attempt to teach you to do as well. I am
fully persuaded by our Lord that this is the way I can best serve Him. And I
also feel that this is the single best way that I can nurture and protect this
growing flock that Jesus has been entrusting to my care.
Which brings me back to this idea that so many today are thinking the return of
Jesus Christ will happen relatively soon. So let’s take a moment to think about
what this would mean. We’ll use what is known in the apologetics trade as an
“if” proposition. This by the way, is a very good tool for sharing the Gospel
with someone because initially they don’t feel pressure that they have to
necessarily agree with you. The reason is, all you are really asking them to do
at that point is to think about “what if” – as in what if what you say is true.
Try it sometime; I use these all the time, and it really does work as a
conversation starter because it helps relax the person to whom you are talking.
In any event, for our purposes here, if Jesus could indeed return in our
lifetime, then wouldn’t it make good sense to be following the Master’s warning
in the Book of Matthew? This is, of course, Matthew’s own eyewitness account of
his time living with the God-Man–Christ Jesus of Nazareth -– Who just so happens
to be the
LORD God Almighty in human flesh. Here is one of the things he
records Jesus as saying about the time prior to His return -– and I quote:
"So you also must be ready,
because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Who
then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of
the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It
will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he
returns." (Matthew 24:44-46)
And wouldn’t it make just as much
sense to become very sure of what the Bible actually teaches us about Him? Well,
the best way you can do that is to make absolutely certain that what someone
teaches you about our Lord is accurate. So you see, this is why it’s so
important that each of us should be careful to read the Bible thoroughly–and in
context–as we attempt to teach others, and as we witness to them. I’m sure there
is one thing that all true Christians will agree on, this is such a critical
time in history that God has chosen to place us in. As such then, we should
strive all the more to be one of those who correctly handles the word of truth
(2 Timothy 2:15).
Prepare To Defend
This cynical postmodern age that we find ourselves thrust into -– particularly
here in America (land of the free…thinkers) -- is a time where up often looks
down, as in the children of God called to soar like eagles, instead are choosing
to remain in the barnyard with the chickens of the world. We who are believers
in Christ are told in 1 Peter 3:15 that we must – "Always be prepared to give an
answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
The Greek word for “answer” here is apologia and primarily means “to give a
defense.”
The idea behind this usage of apologia is that of standing in a courtroom and
presenting your defense in front of a judge. Dr. A.T. Robertson, whom many
believe to be one of the greatest New Testament Greek scholars who ever lived,
commenting on this passage of Scripture in his classic Word Pictures in the New
Testament, pointed out that apologia means to “[be] ready with a spoken defense
of the inward hope. This attitude calls for an intelligent grasp of the hope and
skill in presenting it.” The truth is, every Christian needs to be ready to be
an apologist -– a defender -– of the faith that we have been given by our
Lord. As the noted Christian apologist Josh McDowell likes to say:
"the ideas we share with people
don’t necessarily definitively prove the existence of God, or the truth of
Christianity, but they do give the thinking person better information from
which to make an informed decision as to whether or not to trust in Jesus
Christ by faith."
As some of you know, in addition to
my duties as pastor of Connecticut River Baptist Church, I also work at Stevens
High School as a study hall supervisor. Up until this year I was also the head
coach of the varsity football team. One year I filled in at the school as an
instructor in the CAP program and had the opportunity to work closely with Holt
Littlefield, who is also a fine fencing coach. A couple of times we compared
notes as fellow coaches. And something that all coaches have in common is the
use of what are called “drills.” These will vary somewhat for each different
sport, but their function remains the same.
The reason that coaches use various drills is to teach –- and reinforce -– the
essential basics of the particular sport involved. These repetitive activities
are designated to stress key skills a player needs, and usually one or two at a
time. The players generally don’t like them because it forces them to go over
and over and over the same basic activity, but coaches know very well the value
of repeating skills frequently, as these drills will eventually form a habit–an
unconscious reaction–that in a game will cause a player to naturally respond
correctly without thinking too much about it.
Train To Use The Master's
Sword
Here’s how this relates to our thoughts on the Master's Sword -– the Bible. Just
as in fencing where the student must drill to learn to properly handle his
rapier, so the Christian must study Holy Scripture to learn to properly handle
his Sword of the Spirit. Charles Spurgeon once asked his church: Do you not know
that the Master has given you His Own weapon to use? Knowing how to use the
Scriptures as you witness will enable you to quickly give a lot of absolute
truth to those you witness to, which the Holy Spirit will then use for His Own
purpose.
And what I have been doing here at AM is to attempt to get people to think about
what they believe. This is the exact opposite method used by the Devil. For
Satan’s strategy in this nation has been to so thoroughly confuse issues of
history, science and religion, that people just finally go: “Who even knows
whether there is a God; so what difference would it make what someone believes
anyway?” Men and women, as Christians we know that what a person believes about
God makes a great deal of difference–to God.
Let’s think of it this way. Suppose you were the President of the United States.
And the head of a rival party, oh -– we’ll call Satania -– was out spreading
lies and creating unrest around the country. Wouldn’t you send out correct
information through the media into the various parts of the nation, as well as
sending out people who represented your actual positions on the issues to clear
your name? Well, this is precisely what Satan has been doing to God -– spreading
lies and creating unrest throughout His entire Kingdom. And our King–Christ
Jesus –- has sent us out to represent His interests in this country. And this is
what the Apostle Paul meant when he writes –- "We are therefore Christ’s
ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us." – 2 Corinthians
5:20.
Prayerfully this humble work has helped you to look at the time you spend
studying the Bible in a fresh light. Beyond question we spend time reading Holy
Scripture to commune with our Lord. It also helps to remember that the Bible is
where God had His very thoughts written down so we might be able to learn to
think as He does. Now though, you have another reason to read, study and
meditate on the Word of God in the Bible. And that’s so you can let the Holy
Spirit help you prepare to better handle the Master’s Sword as you share your
faith in Christ as this Age of Grace draws ever closer to an end. Today, let's
all ask the Lord to give us a fresh desire to really prepare to handle His
Sword, and all the more as we look forward together for the blessed hope — "the
glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13)."
"Behold what
manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should
be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us,
because it did not know Him.
"Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been
revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed,
we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And
everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He
is pure."
1 John 3:1-3
Copyright © 2005 by Ken Silva. All
rights reserved.
Pastor Silva's beautiful website:
Apprising Ministries
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See also The
Falling Away of the Evangelical Church and
Why Fear Reveals Love
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