Every day something untoward happens somewhere in this vast and wonderful world of ours to make us feel downright persecuted as Bible-believing Christians. Many of these events are demolishing longstanding conventions that have their foundations in Judeo-Christian traditions.
Only this week, the mid-western state of Iowa in the United States turned the page on the traditional marriage institution by being the first state in the American heartland to legalise gay marriage. The acceptance of gay marriages, the slaughter of babies, the investment of gay pastors in the liberal churches – all are fulfilling the apostle Paul's prophetic warning of the last days when “ ... men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.”Paul warns the Body of Christ, and anyone that has wisdom to take heed, that “from such (immorality, they should) turn away” (2 Timothy 3).
Haplessly, Christians who are making the choice to turn away from immorality are being decimated in number with each passing day that brings with it apostasy from faith and truth in Jesus Christ. Especially disturbing is the fact that Christians in the United States are being divided on issues of morality and politics such as the actions of President Barack Obama, embryonic stem cell research, gay unions, euthanasia and abortion. Christians should really be supporting one another in matters clearly commanded by God in His Word of Truth, for this is their sine qua non by which others may know that they are Christ's disciples, as the Lord commanded; instead, they are, in fact, reveling in being divisive and causing disunity in the Body.
Why, even thieves are said to live by an anti-villainous dictum; aren't Christians held to a higher moral standard?
As if it's not enough that the members of the Body of Christ are fighting with one another from within, from without they are subject to the double standards with which the world's citizens apply their opinion towards matters of race, religion and morality to demonstrate their bias against, and disdain for, Bible believers and everything that is taught in the Word of God concerning issues of right and wrong.
These double standards are the most egregious where U.S. President Barack Obama is concerned. Criticise Mr. Obama because he sanctions the murder of babies and we are called racist. Similarly, when we condemn his policy of restoring investor-confidence in our sagging economy by ridding the banks of 'toxic assets' with taxpayers' money, we are still branded as racist. It's as if Mr. Obama is god and exempt from the honest scrutiny of governmental watchdogs. On the other hand, had George W. Bush been caught in a dealing that contravened the will of the American people or the U.S. Constitution, he would have been censured or impeached by both Americans and the international community sooner than we could complete this paragraph.What's more, when a Bible-believing Christian teaches about the biblical truths of creation, sin, hell and moral absolutes, he is called backward; but when a skeptic teaches about the manmade ideologies of Darwinian evolution, Marxist social engineering, legal positivism and moral relativism, he is enlightened. Because the Bible-believing Christian wants to obey God by not endorsing the so-called rights of practising homosexuals to teach from the pulpit, he is called a homophobe and bigot that has committed a hate crime. However, a person who condemns Israel, who fights on the side of the so-called 'Palestinians' to raze to ground zero the so-called 'Israeli occupation of Palestine', and who sympathizes with suicide bombers, is commendably advocating for human rights.
It seems to be all right for the world to mock and criticise Bible-believing Christians in the public arena and private quarters. But as soon as a Christian turns the tables on Muslims, gays, the pro-choice, feminists, pacifists, environmentalists, Darwinists and the supporters of the U.S. President, he puts himself at risk of being scourged by the Ayatollah and the world's leading Imams, the civil rights activists and even other self-professing Christians. The world is outspoken when it comes to accusing Bible-believing Christians of a variety of phobia, brain disorder, and being detached from reality for upholding their convictions concerning homosexuality, abortion, Darwinism and Middle-Eastern policies; and the world is unmitigable when it comes to dubbing Bible-believing Christians modern-day Pharisees for daring to judge immorality and oppose popular consensus on moral issues.
On the other hand, many Christians appear to go into hiding and cower in fear at the convoluted persecution of their fellow-believers. Where is the voice of reason and dissent from fellow-Bible-believers, such as the Christian Think-tanks and apologists, when the world, the Imams and the media are reportedly disparaging Christians and reviling Christianity? Why is the Pontiff mum and where is the voice of protest from the Vatican? Why isn't the world accused of Christophobia for attacking a Christian the way Christians are accused of homophobia for their stand against gay marriages? What's worse, Bible-believing Christians are virtually silent when the Lord Jesus Christ is satirised in cartoons, caricatured by talk show hosts and blasphemed on television and in movies. God forbid that the Prophet Mohammad should be denigrated in like manner in books, the media or private conversations. Were these to be exposed, their perpetrator's certain death would be the Ayatollah's sole mission in life.
Can you still call yourself a Christian and not feel persecuted in this wicked age? Nevertheless, Bible-believing Christians are assured that this persecution is a momentary storm in a teacup; for those of us who have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can stand on God's promises that Christ will soon return to put right all that has gone wrong. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is a time when all the nations of the world will be judged according to their deeds, and Christ's coming in the clouds is imminent, an assurance given to His followers after Jesus had risen from the dead (Acts 1:9-11).This weekend faithful Christians all over the world will remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as they observe Good Friday and Easter Sunday. In the midst of this sacred observance, there will, no doubt, be many who will once again debate the truth and reliability of the Bible's accounts of Christ's death and resurrection.
