DEFENSIVE CHURCH, OFFENSIVE CHURCH

D a v i d    P a m    M c Q u e l

The rise of evil is indisputable. It's acceleration is in no doubt. 

In the face of evil, the Church must be brave to confront, with the Light of the gospel of Christ, the forces of darkness. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."

Notice that the confrontation will take place at the gates of Hades, not at the gates of Heaven or gates of the Church.

We are not a defensive church, we are an offensive Church.

Crime
*"Control Risks recorded 38,523 political violence and crime incidents worldwide in 2017, an increase of nearly 17% from 2016 
Incidents in Europe: up 63% | Asia Pacific: up 51% | Africa: up 39% | Americas: up 26% 
The Middle East and North Africa remained the region most affected by violence, but saw an overall reduction in incidents of 20% 

The number of terrorism-related incidents attributed to Islamist extremists remained stable in Europe and the US, but fell sharply – by 27% – in the Middle East and North Africa"

Terrorism
Terror, mostly Islamic is now a global disaster. But more shocking is attitudes towards it. Islamic terror has become so rampant on daily basis so much that opinions are changing from rejecting outrightly to seeking to understand it. 

How cowardly!

Massive worldwide corruption is not only acceptable but refined. The lines between justice and injustice are getting more and more blur.

Man's old ungodly nature is getting embraced and refined. Language is changing, vocabularies redefined and justice is becoming relative. The strong are feeding on the weak openly.

Death is still dreadful. Yet death is daily. Life is surely losing values. Euthanasia is eulogized again by social engineers who are playing God.

It is terrifying.

Sickness is a global terror. With the advancement in science and technology, medical breakthroughs and advanced risk management, yet the quality of health and life is falling. Can we really argue that we are winning the battle against sickness?

Secularism
One of the most harmful attack on the church is secularism. It is that state where there is mounting pressure on the Church to soft her message, compromise, become worldly friendly and reduce the gospel to a mental discourse.

Paul the apostle face the pressure to soften his tone, in Galatians 5:11, "11 Now, brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed."

The Cross offenses.

And Jesus Himself said if we seek to please men to find acceptance, then we are not worthy of Him and the kingdom. Matthew 10:32-33  “Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven."

The cowardice
The pursuit for comfort and shying away from pain. The fight for what is right no more fashionable.
There is so much enchantement with fame, glamour and glory. It is amazing that we are not talking about unbelievers here but among those who call on the Lord.

Paul by the Spirit wrote to Pastor Timothy these words, in 1 Timothy 6, "6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out."

However, these verses are no longer fashionable.

Mamon is god
Jesus stated that nothing first for the heart of man like money.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Money competes for servitude from man's heart. There is so much allegiance to money even among believers today that it makes it impossible to understand, to honour or to respect the will of the Lord.

The worst is the pursuit for money. Anything that does no to produce monetary reward is much less attractive. Any engagement that makes money is motivating.

The Indifference
The case for compassion.
The case for the sinners need.
The sinner is lost eternally. He is dead spiritually. He has no hope and now way on his own to rescue himself from the imminent judgment.

Romans 10:13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

The case for sacrifice of Christ
Jesus Christ our Lord paid a very high price to save man. His sufferings and His death were not ordinary afflictions. He carried the sin of the whole world.

This is way beyond the struggle of a researcher, the sacrifice of military service or the price of natural disaster rescuers, all those alb those sacrifices are worth memorializing.

Jesus did what no man could do for all humanity. We should find is a far essential sacrifice to share the good news.

The Case for Love
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

This is probably they most quoted scripture in the entire Bible by those who preach salvation in Christ. And rightly so!

Everything about Christianity is born out of love. This love is the unconditional love of God shown in Christ. Jesus laid down His life, willing, the righteous for the unrighteous. He suffered and died to reconcile us to God.

Therefore, we are not only saved by grace but driven by that love to share the same gift of eternal life and escape from eternal judgment. When God saved us, he regenerated our heart. He removed the heart filled with greed, hate and Selfishness. He pour His love in our hearts.

A committed believer must be driven by God's matchless love to share the gospel with those who really need it.

The Case for the Coming Judgement
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

The fact that those who reject the Labour of love through Christ already stand judged and condemn is scary enough. All God requires is that they have an opportunity to hear clear and understand well this gift of life fully paid for by Jesus.

The fact that rejecting Christ is nothing like rejecting a politician or political ideology is enough to drive us to go tell them the good news of eternal life in Jesus.

*Sourc e: https://www.controlrisks.com/riskmap-2018/articles/political-violence-and-crime

Photo courtesy of USAF special ops.