Christianity in the West has most certainly gone off the rails. It seems so many professing believers are satisfied sitting in the tea room, enjoying the pleasant views and peaceful atmosphere, as opposed to doing the actual work of the church. Christianity seems to be the class of religiously aligned living their days out on a cruise ship instead of on a battleship. It seems Scripture is no longer relevant, or through the smooth deception of many diluted sermons – the warnings such as Ephesians 6:12, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, or 1 Peter 5:8 do not mean anything anymore.
For many, life is nothing more than living in a Demilitarized Zone – a place free from military action. However, this is not the case – if a person is a Christian, they live in an active war zone. Granted, not a physical war zone, but spiritual bullets, armour, and attacks are taking place every day. So while many sit, watch TV, sip tea and enjoy the ease of life, the enemy is preparing more flanking manoeuvres, infiltrating more denominations and seminaries, and preparing for a final blow.
Now granted, the adversary cannot have the final victory, as this belongs to Jesus and is accomplished already – we are simply waiting for this manifestation at his final return. However, such a reality does not permit believers to ignore their duty. Loving God as first and foremost (Luke 10:27), they are to preach the Gospel, make disciples and baptize (Matt 28:18-20), be strong and courageous amid our enemies (Josh 1:9), live a life marked by the cross (Gal 2:20, Rom 12:2). However this is not what is taking place. We have professing believers soaking in hours of perverted entertainment and watching movies filled with LGBTQ-affirming, Scripture-attacking plot lines. Screens filled with sex, nudity, blasphemy, cursings and many other things. Now, this should not be so. Believers are called to flee such things, and pastors are called to warn of the perils of such – sadly, recently, the Gospel Coalition released another article supporting the viewing of such nonsense – but regardless – Christians are to stand firm and exemplify Paul's charge in Colossians 3:12-17
Colossians 3:12-17 (NASB)
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also. In addition to all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
So, how do we do this? First, by realizing we are at war. If the enemy is not taking shots, it is because there is no threat or one is wearing the same uniform. It is time for believers to understand that they must leave the cruise ship mentality and get back on the battleship. They are not to find comfort in the DMZ but to take such rest to prepare for the next attack. How? Not by watching movies – but by spending time in Scripture and prayer. Second, to this is by reading good books. Though some of us have read these titles before, here is my list of 15 books that need to be read or reread in 2023 to help combat the apathy, slothfulness, weak doctrine and rebellion with believers' lifestyles.
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