The Choice Is Clear

Good day my friends, God is good all the time. You may not always feel like it but we don't go by our feelings, we live by the facts of the Word and our experience. Today may be difficult and I may have lots of questions but Jesus has proved himself faithful in the past and he will continue to prove to be faithful today. I know this because the Spirit of God testifies to my spirit of this truth. But what do people do who do not have the Spirit of God or who shut out the Spirit?

Those of us who live through Jesus scratch our heads and ask ourselves, why can't the world see it. In fact, we ask that about parts of the Church as well, because there are those who have the appearance of godliness but lack the power, which is the power that transforms and allows us to understand Yahweh, his revelation and his plan. This is what is written:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of those who don’t have faith so they couldn’t see the light of the gospel that reveals Christ’s glory. Christ is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

So if people don't understand why you do what you do, you should know why. There are so many Scriptures that explain this that we should not be surprised when the world says good is bad and bad is good. Scripture says:

But people who are unspiritual don’t accept the things from God’s Spirit. They are foolishness to them and can’t be understood, because they can only be comprehended in a spiritual way. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

However, Paul wasn't addressing struggles with the world, because it is obvious that the world is in rebellion to God, but he was addressing Christians who lacked the ability to understand. They had not progressed in their spiritual maturity, had not learned to rely on the Spirit and were still relying on the wisdom of the world:

Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you like spiritual people but like unspiritual people, like babies in Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:1)

And again:

Now you are still not up to it because you are still unspiritual. When jealousy and fighting exist between you, aren’t you unspiritual and living by human standards? (3:3)

Certainly things are getting worse in the world but what is disheartening is the confusion it is causing in the Church. God is still God. Jesus is still Lord. The Holy Spirit is still the power of God in us. The Church is still the Body of Christ. The holy is still holy and the common is still common. Nothing has changed for us, just the lostness of the world is more clear, and gets clearer with each passing day. But in the Church it is also becoming clear to us who are controlled by the Spirit and who are controlled by the patterns of this world.

This fact should also be clear to us, Jesus told us we cannot have it both ways. We cannot be friends with the world and be friends with him:

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Matthew 6:24)

James explained it with no uncertain terms:

You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy. (James 4:4)

It used to be that people could fudge the lines but now the distinction is clear. And now for us the choice is clear. As Joshua told Israel, we have to make a clear decision concerning who we will serve. Will it be the Lord? Then let us serve him wholeheartedly, seeking his righteousness. If it be the world, then stop calling yourself Christian.