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About Jesus Steve Sweetman Living In An Anti-Christ Culutre Part 2
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- Our Co-Ed Culture In case you've just
returned back to earth from another planet and haven't quite noticed the
cultural conflict I've been speaking of, here's a recent example. I live in Ontario, This fall the Liberals
will introduce this new curriculum into parliament again.
They say the conservative outcry is now "of little
significance". Due to
the balance of power in parliament, this legislation may pass this time.
The Liberal government
now has a radio add to promote their new sex curriculum.
You hear young children's voices in the add saying such things
as, "I need to know these things".
"I want to know my choices".
It's obvious they've been coached into what to say.
Such coaching of young innocent children is abhorrent.
The provincial Liberal
Minister of education says that the problem with bullying in schools is
being alleviated with the introduction of co-ed bathrooms.
I used to be a young boy. I
know what young boys will think, say, and act out, when young girls join
them in the bathroom. So, if you've just
returned to earth from Mars, you'll see some changes down here.
The apostle Peter may have written his letters centuries ago, but
what he says is relevant for today's Christians in conflict with
culture. 3
- A Living Hope My
pastor friend told me that those who are preoccupied with the next life
are too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good.
I got his point. If
you're always thinking about Heaven, you won't accomplish much on earth.
The apostle Peter might have a bit of an argument with my pastor
friend, especially when one is suffering through pain, poverty, or
persecution. Emphasizing the
reality of the Kingdom of God right now, as my pastor friend does, is
important, but when mixed with a hedonistic instant gratification
mentality, as is the temptation, becomes heretical.
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Peter 1:3 says, "In His great mercy Jesus has given us new birth
into a living hope …" Picture
yourself as one of the suffering souls to whom Peter was writing.
Your neighbour has just been executed for his allegiance to the
Lord Jesus. Your son has
just returned home from prison where his fingernails were ripped out of
his finger tips, and you now suspect that you're next on their hit list.
Those of us today might wonder just where the great mercy of
Jesus is in times like these. The
great mercy Peter had the audacity to write about relates to being
"born into a living hope".
In context, this hope is the surety of a resurrected life with
Jesus upon death. The words
"being born into" suggest that this hope isn't a matter of
crossing one's fingers in hopes of a better future.
Combined with the word "living", this hope of life
after death empowers and motivates those stuck in pain, poverty, and
persecution to persevere. Those
suffering in Peter's day were so convinced of the resurrection of their
mortal bodies that they viewed death as a doorway into a blessed
eternity. For those of us
who probably love this world more than we should, we would do well to be so
convinced as we claw our way through the conflict. 4
- God's Shield Of Protection 1
Peter 1:5 states, "Through faith you are shielded by God's power
until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed at the
last day". Again,
think this through. Put
yourself in the shoes of the suffering saints to whom Peter is writing.
You've just witnessed the rape and torture of your neighbor's
wife by ruthless pagan soldiers. A
flash of fear suddenly strikes you as you hear the knock on your door.
Is your wife next? Would
you seriously wonder where God's shield of protection is in such a
situation? The
lesson to be learned here is that God's shield of protection doesn't
guarantee the protection of our material possessions, including our
material bodies. In the
context in which Peter writes, God's shield protects our saved souls,
our inheritance in Heaven, and all that Jesus has for us when He returns
on that last day. We
should know in advance that if we experience suffering due to our
allegiance to the Lord Jesus, we may lose things we now hold dear.
What we won't lose is our salvation and the life to come.
Peter would have agreed with the apostle Paul who put it this
way. "So we fix our
eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen, since what is seen is
temporary, and what is unseen is eternal". (2 Corinthians 4:18)
No one can take this unseen world away from the Christian.
Every day it penetrates our lives with the needed strength as we
stand in the center of the conflict.
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