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Our world says, "You're okay, I'm okay." "What you do is your
own business." "What you believe is okay." The apostles warned
the early Christians that it was NOT okay to believe whatever
we wanted. If we do, we are on a slippery slope to heresy. The
battle ground for Christians is Truth! True reconciliation seeks
to bring emotional peace and doctrinal unity. This is the message
of the following verse.
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And the Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind
to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting
those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance
leading to the knowledge of the truth . . . (NASB) 2 Timothy 2:24-25 |
We are to seek to help others discover the truth. Some Christians
are on a campaign, fighting on all fronts to establish the truth,
and their behavior is the opposite of this passage. Christians
need to be ready to do the following in a spirit of reconciliation.
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. . . always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks
you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness
and reverence . . . (NASB) 1 Peter 3:15 |
Conclusion: May I suggest that we are too preoccupied with one another and
not occupied enough with seeking Jesus' face and longing to share
Him with a needy world? Our eyes need to be on Jesus (Heb. 12:2)
and not on each other. When we feel burdened over the divisions
in the church, we need to take that burden to God in prayer and
pray for other Christians and protection against Satan. We are
in a spiritual warfare! We need to confess our sins, and seek
the truth that is revealed in the scriptures because then and
only then can we really know the truth about our Creator. Only
then can we really know Him! |
