Many people whom consider themselves Christians cannot articulate their beliefs. If
questioned
about even rudimentary doctrines, for instance, "Why does God
choose some for salvation and not others?", they balk, or worse,
spout out things that are in some book other than the Bible.
They cannot present, in well-defined terms, their faith. They
smile and say, "I just know that I'm saved and that's all I need
to know." Or, "Jesus loves me just the way I am", etc.We have all heard these things because we go to church and hear them. We say these things to each other because this is acceptable behavior among parishioners. But do we obey Christ when we do these things?
That should be our only concern. What men say behind our backs (or to our face), things like "He is parading his faith around, shoving it down others' throats, being a Bible-beater, a holier-than-thou...", shouldn't concern us. But it does. We are made of flesh. That is why we have to fight against this, or we will eventually join their ranks, the ranks of those to whom Christ says, "He who is ashamed of me and my words, of him will I be ashamed..."
Let us not be ashamed of Christ and his words. If we are ashamed of one, we will be ashamed of both. There is no such thing as a silent witness, unless it is the woman's role under an unbelieving husband. But even then, as the occasion arises, the woman must share her faith with others, especially when they see her godly behavior and ask, Why the hope? The sophists will come up with arguments of "what ifs" to avoid the plain teaching of Christ on this subject, but then, these theologians want nothing to do with the gospel anyway.
Therefore, dear Christian, does the scripture, "I have believed, therefore have I spoken" apply to you? If our love for Christ does not ignite a passion to share the whole story of redemption with our fellow believers as well as the lost, perhaps we have lost our savor.
A word to the sisters: Explaining the story of redemption includes all aspects of the Bible teachings, such as Proverbs, which instructs us in a fatherly way. Remember that God has appointed to you your proper gift of being a woman. The women's lib movement has tried to destroy this and it has filled the church. But we should not ignore reality. You are not to assume the role of a man. In obedience to love, you should teach morality and ethics to women and children, but you are not to teach a man nor usurp authority over him, no matter what your opinion of him may be. Once you have settled this in your heart, you will have no problem presenting the gospel to a man without teaching him. You will be submitting to him in the fear of God. It's too bad the pastors won't teach the men in their congregations to reject the spirit that goes along with women usurping the role of the man in their own households. But the spirit of the age has destroyed even that foundation in the family, under the guise of focusing on the family.
So, let us all praise our God by speaking forth the wonderful story of salvation, in as many ways as possible, as opportunity presents itself. Let us not be ashamed of Jesus or his words. As we have believed, let us therefore speak.
- Chris Simonson
We encourage you to email the author to prove or disprove, from the Scriptures, the intent, meaning, purpose or doctrine of this piece. email Chris