Who Is on the Lord’s Side?

 Our nation is changing right before our eyes, and not in positive ways. It is evident in the decline of morality, in the celebration of wickedness and the rejection of holiness. A Massachusetts town has legalized polyamory, which involves polygamy and multi-partner relationships, granting such the same status as monogamous heterosexual relationships. Teens and young adults are addicted to porn, with 68% seeking it out daily. They regard viewing pornographic images less wrong than not recycling or using excessive amounts of electricity.

 The decline of morality is obvious in the eroding respect God, and the body of Christ, have in the estimate of many, not only in our nation, but across the globe. Decisions are being made in our nation that erode the liberty that is contained in Bill of Rights. Secular society is being treated with partiality, while people who claim allegiance to Christ are finding greater restrictions being placed on their ability to assemble and worship. How does this affect us in the Lord’s church? Is our faith of such a nature that we will be faithful even in times of distress?

 Jesus prayed to the Father before facing the cross regarding His followers, “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:14-15). To the church in Smyrna, He says, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). The preposition “until” here carries the meaning of a point in time, with the time referenced in this verse being one’s death. Whether by natural causes, or by persecution (the tribulation spoken of earlier in Rev. 2:10), being faithful is the charge laid on every Christian throughout his or her life. This is why later on in Revelation, John would write of the faithful, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the point of death” (Rev. 12:11).

 If we are called to stand up for our faith in times of distress, in days of adversity, when doing so would cause us to stand in opposition to the powers that be, or of popular opinion, what will our response be? Perhaps the answer is found in how we respond to the will of God in times of relative ease. If we find it difficult to be faithful now, would we stand up for what’s right then? If it’s hard to assemble, to serve, to give, to love, to live for Christ, while we still have the freedom to do so, will we really have the strength, the conviction, the determination to do so when there could be real penalties, including suffering? Would we instead choose quietly to do nothing, until there was little to no faith left within us to defend, to take a stand for? We should consider the hymn Frances Havergal wrote, which we often sing; “I gave My life for thee, My precious blood I shed, That thou might ransomed be, And raised up from the dead; I gave, I gave My life for thee, What hast thou giv’n for Me? I gave, I gave My life for thee, What hast thou giv’n for Me?”

 Paul reminded Timothy, “In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted’ (2 Tim. 3:12). Whatever comes our way, may our faith be committed to our Lord, who loved us even to death. In view of what lies ahead beyond the here and now, it is worth it. Are we willing to love with the measure Christ has loved us? “Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love” (1 Cor. 16:33-34).

 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Robert