CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH
"I Have Quit Caring"
Stan Harvey
A discouraged person recently requested that his
name be removed from a national journal devoted to exposing smut and garbage
from media outlets and magazines across the nation. The person had simply written:
“Please remove me from your mailing list. I have quit caring.” The quote caught my attention
immediately! I was made to feel sick to
my stomach, but somehow I was not surprised.
As a nation, we have been overloaded for so long with lying, cheating,
and immoral behavior, so much so that we have been truly overwhelmed. What is worse, there seems to be in the
minds of some who have fought hard and long against such things, the idea that
there is no way of stopping the slide, no way of changing the anti-God and
anti-Biblical onslaught. As a result, many
just quit caring. For them it
is easier.
The child of God who is committed to following the
teaching of the Bible not only faces the problems related to the above, but
also he faces the “debarking” of God’s doctrine found in the Bible by those
that place little or no regard upon the authority of that word. To those that oppose this fleecing of God’s
word, it also appears that it is happening with increasing speed. Those trying to keep the “dam from breaking”
are led to believe that nothing can be done to stop the exodus of folks who
have accepted this mainstream of liberal thinking. The result? Many once
faithful and devoted Christians just quit caring because they
perceive themselves as not being able to do anything to stop the flood of false
teaching and the indifferent attitude toward proper interpretation of the
Bible.
There is a lot at stake! God has not left man, but it is man who has left the safety and
security of God and his word (cf. Isaiah 55:6-7; James 4:7-8). Without
doubt, man has been duped into believing that the Bible is not reliable, that
it has many mistakes and that it cannot be understood by scholars, much less
the average man or woman. Do not be so
deceived (cf. Ephesians
3:3-13). Before falling into the evil
web of Satan, think carefully about Paul’s charge to Timothy: . . .continue thou in the things which
thou hast learned and hast been assured of . . . And that from a child
thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Paul then urges Timothy to stand by the scriptures
because:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may
be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (II Timothy 3:14-17).
Do you believe the words you just read?
Yes, baptism is necessary to one’s salvation (Mark 16:15-16; I Peter 3:21). No, we are
not saved by faith alone (James
2:14-24). Yes, how one worships God is
important (John 4:24). Yes, there is teaching about marriage,
divorce, and remarriage to which we must adhere (Matthew 5:32;
19:9). Yes, we can know the
truth (John 8:31-32) and yes, there are moral absolutes (cf.
Galatians 5:19-26). We cannot
stop caring about God’s truth!
Embattled brethren, we must not stop caring! We must “fight the good fight of faith.” “and keep that which is committed to [our] trust . . .” (I Timothy 6:12, 20). AMEN.