App
or Download
When confronted by evil forces, King David asked, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psa. 11:3.) This question is what many churchgoers are asking today. It is evident that the foundations of mainstream Christianity are rapidly being undermined. What should true Christians do in these circumstances? How can we remain faithful to God?
We must put on the whole armor of God! “Therefore, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having worked out all things, to stand [steadfast]. Stand therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and wearing the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph. 6:13-14).
We must stand for the truth of God on the foundation of Christ! The true, spiritual church of God is to stand as the pillar and ground of God’s truth in the midst of an evil and wicked generation! The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “These things I am writing to you, hoping to come to you shortly: but if I should delay, you have these things in writing, so that you may know how one is obligated to conduct oneself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (I Tim. 3:14-15).
The apostle John shows us how to combat all deceivers with God’s truth and love. His entire second epistle is devoted to contrasting the truth and the love of God with the “many deceivers” and their false doctrines. Here is the entire Second Epistle of John; truth and love have been highlighted in bold type to contrast with deceivers and antichrists.
“The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not I alone, but also all those who have known the truth, for the sake of the truth that is dwelling in us, and shall be with us forever. Grace, mercy, and peace shall be with us from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoiced exceedingly that I have found among your children those who are walking in truth, exactly as we received commandment from the Father.
And now I beseech you, lady, not as though I am writing a new commandment to you, but that which we have observed from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is the love of God, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, exactly as you heard from the beginning, that you might walk in it, because many deceivers have entered into the world—those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. This is the spirit of the deceiver and the antichrist.
“Watch out for yourselves in order that we may not lose the things we have accomplished, but that we may receive a full reward. Anyone who transgresses and does not continue in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. But the one who continues in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house, and do not say to him, ‘Welcome!’ For anyone who says ‘Welcome!’ to him is partaking in his evil works.
“I have many things to write, but I do not wish to convey these things to you with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face in order that our joy may be completely full. The children of your chosen sister salute you. Amen.”
John’s admonitions make it clear that false teachers and ministers were already operating within the church while John was still alive. John clearly forbids Christians to receive any such false teachers—including those who rise up within a church. If we welcome such false ministers, we are partakers with them in their deceit. As followers of Jesus, we are to hold fast to the pure doctrines of truth and love. Again, as verse six states, “this is the love of God, that we walk according to His commandments.”
Will You Stand for God and His Truth?
All of the original apostles of Jesus Christ stood for the truth—and all but John died through martyrdom. Throughout the centuries, many devout Christians have endured torturous deaths because they genuinely loved God. They never compromised with the truth for convenience or to escape persecution. If we are true Christians, we will imitate our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, who refused to compromise with Satan and yield to his evil ways. Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified because He loved God the Father and His righteousness and all of humanity.
Stephen, the first true Christian martyr, refused to compromise during his trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin. After hearing his courageous testimony, the angry religious leaders stopped their ears and gnashed their teeth at him and screamed at him in a frenzy of hatred. Then they dragged him out of the city, where they had him stoned to death. What was his crime in their eyes? He refused to compromise the gospel of Christ and the truth of God by submitting to their authority and following their teachings! He preferred to die in Jesus rather than to compromise and accept their religious falsehoods and political approval.
During a time of abject apostasy and political disintegration, Asa began his righteous reign over the southern Kingdom of Judah. He demolished the idols in the land and commanded the people to seek God and to keep His commandments. For ten years, God blessed Asa and the people with rest on all sides. But when the Jews foolishly went back into idolatry, God sent a huge Ethiopian army against them. Asa turned to God for help, and Judah was victorious over their enemy.
God inspired the prophet Azariah to encourage the people: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will be found by you. But if you forsake Him, He will forsake you…. [Therefore] be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded” (II Chron. 15:2, 7).
Then Asa and the princes and people of Judah, joined by many from the northern Kingdom of Israel, “entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul … for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with their whole desire. And He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around” (verses 12, 15).
They put away their abominable idols and pagan gods. They returned to God and sought Him with their whole hearts. God answered and blessed them, giving them rest from their enemies.
But 36 years later, when the king of Israel came up to besiege Judah, Asa turned his back on God and made an alliance with the king of Syria (who had been a long-time enemy). In his trouble, Asa failed to look to God, thinking he could work out the problem his own way. By hiring the king of Syria to fight his battles, he compromised his standing with God. In this case, he went too far in rejecting God and did not repent. Then Hanani the seer was sent to warn Asa and pronounce God’s judgment against him. Hanani told Asa, “Because you have relied on the king of Syria and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore … the king of Syria has escaped out of your hand [i.e., would continue to be an ongoing source of trouble].
“Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army [of nearly one million men] with many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand, for the eyes of the LORD run to and fro in all the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore, from now on you shall have wars” (II Chron. 16:7-9).
Too many Christians are like Asa. They start out with great zeal for the truth of God and look to Him for strength to do His will. But after a time they grow lax and begin to compromise. When things are going well, they forget God and turn to their own devices. They put their trust in men, instead of in God. They begin to accept false teachings and pagan practices, rather than holding fast to the truth.
This willingness to compromise—by ministers and churchgoers—is the reason today’s Christianity is in such disarray. Ministers and lay members alike are not relying on Christ. As a result, too many are afraid to take a stand for the truth of God!
But God sees our actions and knows our hearts—and expects us to stand up for the truth. When we do, God will be with us. He will never leave us or forsake us, as long as we are genuinely seeking His will. The psalmist asked, “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” (Psa. 94:16).
Will you make a stand for God? Will you have the courage to stand alone, if necessary? Or will you, like Asa, turn your back on God and rely on men, putting your trust in their false teachings, pablum and “smooth words”?
From the time of the early New Testament church, Christians have had to face this question. Down through the centuries, countless thousands of true Christians have been martyred because they refused to compromise with the truth of God. They refused to deny God the Father and Jesus Christ.
In light of their faithfulness, do you think God is obligated to give you eternal life if you compromise (or neglect) your calling, His truth and the sacrifice of Christ? Don’t deceive yourself! Christianity—or, more correctly, “Churchanity”—is in a downward spiral, headed for collapse. Hiding your eyes from the problem won’t make it go away. If you passively sit by, if you are content with pablum and a costless, carnal-friendly “Christianity”—then you have already made your decision. You are compromising with the truth of God.
Christians who compromise with the truth will eventually be overcome by false doctrines; they will fall into complete apostasy. If you do not rouse yourself from spiritual apathy, you may have to face Jesus Christ and hear Him say, “I do not know you” (see Matt. 25:1-12).
Indeed, you must not compromise the truth and the love of God. The Word of God clearly commands true Christians to withdraw from fellowship with those who would corrupt their beliefs and erode their faith—and from any church that teaches contrary to the true doctrines of Jesus Christ.
What will you do? Will you choose to be faithful to the truth of God and to love God the Father and Jesus Christ more than anyone or anything else—even if you must stand alone?
