The High Cost of Appeasement

In his sermon, Sinner’s in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards preached that God was not going to be tolerant of sin. He reminded his audience that God desired holiness and obedience to His Word. The enemy of our souls is doing all that he can to bring death and destruction to all of God’s Creation. We some time do not look at the subtle attacks of the enemy. We see the devastation that a person who is without Christ is headed for but some have forgotten that Satan is still trying to kill the Christians as well. He knows that he cannot have our soul so he tries to make us ineffective in our Christian witness.
On February 20th, Bernard Lewis discussed Iran’s active pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. But even without WMD’s, Lewis noted, Iran is still extremely dangerous. Adolf Hitler, he reminded his audience, never had weapons of mass destruction. And look at what that man accomplished with his non-nuclear arsenal.
While many churches try to appease members by preaching that God is love and He is tolerant to sin, the Bible speaks volumes on His righteous judgment and His wrath. Yes, God is love, but many think that is all He is. Jesus’ message was actually the opposite of appeasement, he actually told His followers that following Him would entail a higher risk of direct confrontation, which would erupt into some form of conflict.
John 15:20, Jesus said, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecute Me, they will persecute you…”
We are by nature, not prone to want to have conflict. It is not in our mind in America that Christianint causes people to hate us. Especially in the south, where everyone has some form of Bible knowledge. Around the turn of the last century, many churches began to be more relevant in their message in order to “grow” their churches. They begin to use methods that would make people feel at ease in there services and many of the messages focus on life enhancement and not the Gospel. It has resulted in the development of thousands of false converts who never truly repented of their sins and believed the Gospel. They never heard the Gospel and their motive for salvation was not based on a clear understanding of sin, God, or Jesus Christ. Were in not for those men who have continued to stand and preach the truth despite how much the world hates it, we would be in worse trouble than we currently are.
While preachers and polititions set around and talk about unity and economic growth solutions, many are being jard out of their spiritual slumber. I truly pray that it is not to late, that they have woken up in time to go forth and herald the truth. The enemy has already killed millions and there are millions of other souls at stake. Satan wants to annihilate all of God’s creation. We must ask God to send us a nation shaking spiritual revival. There is absolutely no room for surrender or compromise. Many will hate us and turn against us because they will love this world more than they love God but we must charge into this world with the love of God in truth!
The idea that the Christian life is going to be safe and full of wonderful prosperity and ease, is like telling people that a rabid pit bull is a nice pet. However, we know that being obedient to Christ is a life that is full of abundant peace and joy. Some Christians have been duped into believing that “carrying your cross” means doing without a vehicle for a few days. Friend, this Christian life is full of trials and sometime pure misery. To think that God is going to somehow spare you from this when He didn’t spare His own Son or His Apostles. Where did anyone get that idea anyway? It is not a short war, it is a lifetime!!!
Satan doesn’t play by the rules, he has made no treaty. John 10:10 says, “The enemy only comes to steal, kill, and destroy…” I just look at what millions of people stand for around this world that think they are doing right and it is leading them straight to hell. I pray that America will wake up from its long, deluded slumber. It will take some time to regain the lost ground but together we can win. It will be a difficult battlefield and some will not make it through. I truly believe that if Christians will join together and speak the truth of God’s Word, many that the enemy wants to perish will not. Many will be saved! As Ray Comfort said when speaking of the church, “We are not some Christian cruise ship, we are a battleship, and we are stationed at the very jaws of hell!”
Some have asked me, “Could we have avoided this?” I honestly do not know the answer to that. Regardless, we are in a situation and the only response is to be faithful to the Word of God. Never back down, never be silent, never stop sharing the Gospel! Refuse to give any ground to the enemy! We are more that conquers through Christ Jesus our Lord!!!!!!
Many countries are preparing and sending missionaries to us. How shocking it is going to be to many when a foreigner stands at your front door and presents the Gospel.

Grace and Peace,
Eric