Christianity Under Attack?

This Christmas season there has been a lot of talk about the attempts on the part of secularists to systematically remove all signs of God out of the public arena. The extent of this phenomenon may be debatable, but taken to the extreme it could amount to a form of persecution of the faith of those who believe in God. As we consider our opinions on this issue however, a word of caution. In modern western cultures, how far are Christians really willing to go to stand up for what they believe? Consider the following as an object lesson of true persecution:

“…Nine years ago in South Pyongan province, a unit of the
North Korean army was assigned the job of widening a highway connecting
Pyongyang to the nearest seaport. Demolition of a house standing in the way
revealed, hidden between two bricks, a Bible and a list of 25 names: a Christian
pastor, two assistant pastors, two elders and 20 parishioners. The 25 were all
detained and, later that month, brought to the road construction site, where
spectators had been arranged in neat rows. The parishioners were grouped off to
one side while the pastor, the assistant pastors and the elders were bound hand
and foot and made to lie down in front of a steamroller. As if following a
script written in early Roman history, they were told they could escape death by
denying their faith and pledging to serve Dear Leader Kim Jong II and Great
Leader Kim Il Sung. They chose death. Some of the parishioners ... cried,
screamed out, or fainted when the skulls made a popping sound as they were
crushed beneath the steamroller."

– Excerpted from "Christians Afoot" - William F. Buckley

I hope the above puts our lukewarm Christian living into some perspective. These people undoubtedly showed their persecutors how important Christ is in their lives. As we live our lives of creature comfort desires and indignation at petty slights, can we say the same?

Were they Saved?

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many… (Hebrews 9:27-28 NIV) My wife and I were talking about a celebrity who we learned had died recently. One of my first thoughts (as is customary) was “were they saved”? Did that person accept that Jesus died for their sins so that they could live forever in Heaven? Though neither my wife nor I could know the real answer to that question, if we went by the “evidence” of how that person lived their public life, then it appeared highly unlikely that a salvation conversion would have occurred in their life. If so, then their death was indeed a tragedy. Acceptance of Jesus is indeed the difference between life and death (for eternity). Look at this diagram below (taken from a previous publication by author Bruce Wilkinson). The size of the circle denotes the average life span of our present life on earth. The length of the line denotes the first .000...

Funerals for the Unsaved or Unbelievers

I am not a leader of a church, but I oftentimes wonder how does one lead a funeral service for someone who dies without knowing Jesus Christ as Lord ? Admittedly I have not been to many funerals in my lifetime, though they are appearing to come more frequently lately, but the fact is that funerals are held daily throughout the world and as such this is a pertinent question to someone just about every day. I’ve been to the funeral where the person lived a fairly routine life, taking care of their families and other responsibilities as best they could, paying taxes and doing the average things that we as human beings do on a consistent basis. They however had no visible relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ. When this person dies, the surviving family members are oftentimes left scrambling trying to find a person and a place to officiate the funeral services – generally because the deceased did not have a regular church that they attended. Funeral homes sometimes ...

Coal Miner’s Error – What Kind of God?

The unspeakable tragedy that was endured by the families of the men who died in the coal mining tragedy in West Virginia will undoubtedly expose their faith in God to ridicule and scorn by some unbelievers, and may even shake the faith of some believers. How could a loving God allow the chain of events to occur in such a cruel way where the families were led to believe that their loved ones were alive only to find out that all except one was dead? This has to be one of the mysteries of God that is hard to figure out. However what kind of faith would we have if we are to turn on God because we don’t understand? Man has an enemy in the devil who is trying to destroy us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. His relentless attacks never cease. Yet by and large we get though each day unscathed! We do so only by the hand of a loving, protecting and faithful God. Always remember, man is what is wrong in the world, not God. We are directly or indirectly responsible for the tragedies ...

Treasure In Clay Jars

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