Excerpted from John MacArthur’s book, The Truth War:

“Much of the visible church nowadays seems to think Christians are to be at play rather than at war. The idea of actually fighting for truth is the furthest thing from most churchgoers’ thoughts. Contemporary Christians are determined to get the world to like them – and of course in the process they also want to have as much fun as possible. They are so obsessed with making the church seem “cool” to unbelievers that they can’t be bothered with questions about whether another person’s doctrine is sound or not. In a climate like that, the thought of even identifying someone else’s teaching as false (much less “contending earnestly” for the faith) is a distasteful and dangerously countercultural suggestion. Christians have bought into the notion that nothing is more “uncool” in the world’s eyes that when someone shows a sincere concern about the danger of heresy. After all, the world simply doesn’t take spiritual truth that seriously, so they cannot fathom why anyone would.

But Christians of all people, ought to be most willing to live and die for the truth. Remember, we know the truth, and the truth has set us free (John 8:32). We should not be ashamed to say so boldly (Psalm 107:2). And if called upon to sacrifice forthe truth’s sake, we need to be willing to be willing and prepared to give our lives.”

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” – The Apostle Paul (Romans 1:16)

How many Christians do you know who don’t talk about God much, in the workplace, at school or college, in a recreational setting, etc.? I know quite a few, not just in a ‘mixed’ public setting, but even amongst themselves in any of those settings!  I know a lot who come to church on Sunday morning and talk about everything BUT God, in the sanctuary, when spiritual music is softly playing, even when there is a big slide up front inviting them to pray!

Having made that observation, it comes as a pleasant surprise when I meet other believers who like to discuss their faith, what God is doing in their lives, how a scripture verse jumped off the page at them, and of course when there’s some ‘earnest contending’ for the faith going on. 

It’s sad though, when the contending, which might just be sharing scripture, or asking if what someone ‘says scripture says’ is seen as intolerance and bigotry. It seems that some of the time, sharing one’s personal thoughts and opinions (no matter how crude or vitriolic) is inversely proportional to the desire for biblical truth.

But that’s to be expected – biblically speaking. . . 🙂