Day 2685 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Ephesians 4:17 NIV

Only a few find their way through the small gate onto the narrow path toward life. That's the verse that we discussed in yesterday's post, and how unfortunately it means that many will miss out on the reward that's been offered to those who choose to humble themselves and accept Christ into their hearts as their Lord and Savior. We like to imagine that nearly everyone will make it into Heaven, but with how highly sin is praised and enjoyed in this place, Heaven's population is likely dwindling due to the continuous choice to serve self over serving God.

So how do we find the narrow path that leads to life? How do we set our sights on chasing down that prize of eternal peace? How do we know that we'll be among the few who one day walk the streets of gold without pain or sorrow or any other negative thing? Well, thankfully, Scripture helps us out, and in all reality, it's not too difficult to understand. Actually, it's rather simple, but where we often run into problems is that we’re in a world that teaches us to simply assume the best and live as if we have plenty of time to get things lined out.

You see, we've been talking for a bit now about how this world hates everything that God calls us to stand for. Over the last week or so, the hatred of those outside our faith has been flowing more powerfully as they no longer have the ability to hold back their true feelings about this truth that we're here to live out and share with others. We're suddenly finding ourselves on the receiving end of all sorts of vile and hateful nonsense that is actually pretty necessary.

It's necessary because at some point we need to strip everything down to the foundations so that we can see the true heart and purpose of everyone around us. We need to know what each other really thinks so that we can determine where we stand. So it's good that the world is attacking our faith and us for having it because it helps us see how folks really feel, and it helps us better understand just how firmly we need to be holding to this faith we proclaim.

In a society that runs on lies and deception, it can be pretty hard to know someone's true feelings. Now I for one appreciate the people who have decided to stop holding back their hatred. It makes it easier to determine the teams. It's hard to know who's playing against you when nobody is wearing uniforms. And so it's about time that our world starts making it known where everyone stands so that we can all stop playing one another and just get to the division that's coming.

What I think we need to take away from the backlash of those outside of our faith is that we need to take this very seriously. The time for dabbling in sin and hopping back and forth over the line of righteousness has come and gone. Time to figure out where we stand and what we're living for. That's where the message of this verse in Ephesians comes in handy.

The world around us is living according to the fallen ways that it has always known. People are harboring so much hatred, wickedness, vanity, greed, and every other immoral attribute within their hearts that they simply do not have room for this Christianity thing that seems to them as nothing but complete nonsense. They don't want rules. They don't want the idea of sin being talked about. They don't want us sharing a message about salvation because they've chosen to hold to this lie that nothing is wrong and everything is perfectly acceptable as long as it makes folks happy.

People are trying to redefine truth in order to fit what they want it to mean. They’re teaching children things that gender is something we can choose. They’re celebrating things that Scripture tells us are considered abominations in God’s eyes. They’re lashing out at anyone who goes against them in the effort to silence the dissention that may accidentally cause them to reconsider their foolishness and point out the error in living in opposition to God. They’re calling names, throwing stones, protesting, and parading around as if nothing is wrong.

That's why it's time for us to stop living like those outside our faith. Greed, vanity, hatred, immorality, sexual deviancy, and a complete lack of care for self or anyone else is the norm. But those things have no room in our faith. They're all things that we're called to flee from in our lives. They’re all wicked games created by the king of darkness made to lure people in with empty promises. They're all things that have held us in chains, but those chains have been broken and we can't allow ourselves to submit again to any kind of worldly vice that forms yet another yoke of slavery that does nothing but keep us separated from God and lost in a world of lies.

Just gonna call it like I see it: Basically everything this world is living for and fighting over is worthless. It's all excess. It's all sinful. And for too long we've allowed ourselves to be silenced to the point that our faith doesn't really have all that much power anymore. We're scared to speak up. Afraid to rock the boat. Terrified of going against the grain of a society that beats people into submission and refuses to accept anyone that deviates from the status quo.

The world wants nothing more than to live as if sin is okay, greed is important, social acceptance is paramount, we can pick and choose what we are and what other people have to see us as, and everyone who disagrees is nothing but a hateful bigot that just wants to see people miserable as they apparently just want them to stop having fun and running wild. They see our warnings about the reality of sin as our attempt to say we're better than they are, and well, they can't allow themselves to hear us out when they've got all these pre-conceived notions in their minds that prevent them from giving anyone a chance to tell them anything.

All I'm saying is that we're going to be hated, and that's a good thing. We can't keep running from it because in order to run from it we have to go along with everything this wicked world does, or at the very least pretend that everything people are doing is okay. Appeasement is all people want, but as Christians, making people comfortable in their sins is the last thing that we're called to do. We are here to share a message that goes against the love of sin that this world has, and doing so will obviously bring strife and persecution.

So much of what this world does, and thinks, and believes, and prioritizes is nothing but wicked and pointless. Worshipping celebrities. Consuming filth for hours on end. Letting foul language flow like it's not even something to be noticed. Using God's name in vain. Hating people over things like politics, where they live, or even just a simple difference of opinion. Seeking money and power and fame and acceptance. Hoarding material possessions thinking they bring lasting joy. Celebrating things that God says are deplorable and considered abominations.

It's all detestable in God's eyes, and it should be so in ours as well.

Friends, we can no longer simply try to blend in and avoid the hate. Doing so will cause us to keep the message of the Gospel inside and to not share it out of fear of what people may do or think. Running from the evil mob that much of society has devolved into is not any way to live, and it definitely doesn't help us do a very good job of sharing the Gospel. If we're always running in fear then what message are we really sending the world around us?

This world will not get its act together because people obviously like it the way it is. They want their flags and parades and protests and hate-fueled social media posts. They want to wage war against anyone who dares speak of righteousness or truth or anything else that goes against their choice to remain comfy in the darkness of sinful depravity. Pretty easy to see how we can't go on living like the majority of the world lives.

The bottom line is that this world is running as fast as it can toward the gates of hell where they can finally meet the lord of this age. Little do they know that all these 'mean' warnings that we're trying to share are real, and they're going to find it very hard to laugh it all off when they find themselves a million miles from peace with an eternity to think about just how funny sin no longer is.

So that means each of us have a choice. God or the world? Sin or righteousness? Fear or courage? Sit down and shut up or stand and share the Gospel boldly? Run and hide or look hate in the eye and refuse to back down? Make no mistake, doing what's right is in no way easy and it will only get harder as more and more plunge further and further into the darkness that we're fighting against. But like I said, at least people are starting to make it perfectly clear where they stand and just how different we should be aiming to be.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Well, the Romans are gone, and one day this world will be gone too. Better stop doing as this world does and set our hearts to doing what God calls us to do as that’s where we find the narrow path that leads to life.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold