Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

commitment

Stand Firm

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As the days continue to grow more dark and evil, it becomes increasingly urgent for the Church to stand firm and hold its ground, advancing as we have the opportunity. The darkness has been pushing hard against the light and gaining ground we would have never thought possible in the past. Meanwhile, the churches in the land seem content to appease the sinful advances in hopes of everyone getting along.

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Jesus did not come to make a way for everyone to get along. He didn’t sacrifice His life so darkness could coexist with light. He died and rose again to provide a way out of the darkness and death. We are called out of the dark, not to accommodate it. The Word of God does not change. It is steadfast, and it is final.

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Spiritual Maturity

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What does it take to rob you of your joy? Are you joyful when things are going well but less so when troubles come? You can know joy every day of your life, no matter what you are going through. It is possible to live in joy in every circumstance. John MacArthur once wrote, “One of the surest measures of our spiritual maturity is what it takes to rob us of our spirit-bestowed joy”. A spiritually immature person will find their joy in a constant ebb and flow, coming over them in waves, but drifting away just as easily.

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So, if we want a joy that does not leave us, we need to become more spiritually mature. This works because the more we spend time with God, the more joyful we become. And the more we learn about His unchanging character and love, the more we come to believe in His unfailing promises, the more confident we will become in our joy. We will develop such joy that nothing can shake it.

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A Biblical Worldview in Crisis

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A recent survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found only 37% of pastors in America have a biblical worldview. Let that sink in for a moment. If you wonder why the world seems to be in the death spiral that it is, we need to look no further for an answer. Looking at the converse answer, 63% of pastors in America do not see the Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God. How else can you reconcile the fact only 37% of pastors consider the world around them through the lens of Biblical authority?

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To have a biblical worldview is to hold to the truth of the authority of God’s Word over any standards or opinions of man. If pastors won’t teach their congregations how to respond biblically to the world around them, how will those congregants understand how to live godly lives?

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Salvation

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Reading through the “MacArthur New Testament Commentary” on Philippians, I came across this comment from Pastor MacArthur: “Tragically, evangelicalism today seeks to remove the effects of preaching on sin and repentance, holiness and humility, in an effort to make the message more acceptable to fallen, depraved human nature. A growing number of churches intentionally play down the biblical elements of salvation and the demands of true discipleship.”

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Tragic indeed. Even more frightening is the fact I have witnessed this trend in churches over the past 20-30 years. No longer do you hear the old “fire and brimstone messages”. Is it because we are better off now and less in need of a Savior than in the days past? Far from it, I would say. The need has not waned, but the conviction has.

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A Life Worthy of the Gospel

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Throughout the New Testament, we are exhorted to live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be certain, this is the goal of every believer. When we meet our Master, we want to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). Like Paul, we want to say, “We have fought the good fight and finished the race” (2 Timothy 4:7).

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But for many of us, it’s an elusive goal. We know we want it but aren’t too sure how to get there. What does it mean to live a life worthy of the gospel? Fortunately, God’s Word is very clear on what this looks like. It gives us a blueprint for how to conduct ourselves in the here and now, so we need not be ashamed when we meet Christ.

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