Christian Faith.

[Rev.Anthony Ray Smith]

The Christian faith in these end days will be tested over and over again. Many shall endure but as the word states many will fall prey to false doctrine and political correctness. The Lord tells us that He shall shorten the days for the elect sake and it will come to pass.

What is the end days according to scripture?
Jesus stated plainly; “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”

Many things are written about the end days, Jesus warned the people of the earth that their sin shall bring down the wrath of God upon all the ungodly, things that have never been seen before, and things that will never be seen again. One sign according to scripture and Biblical prophecy is the end time, or the days of the gentiles will be finished, this is a time when the Lord shall once again turn His attention directly to the House of Israel, as stated here; “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

While many churches are bowing down to the radical agenda of Satan, others are resisting by using their faith in God, His Son and His word to strengthen them for the perilous times that will surly come. This is written here; This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. Meaning simply that trials on our faith will continue to take place, troubles will increase and tribulations will surround us at every turn.

Many people in these end days will proclaim Jesus as their Savior but in reality they will deny the power of God and make His word null and void by their actions and testimony. The evidence is clear to all that will see. Men are worshiping the creature( men, four footed beast and idols.) more than the Creator, which is God. They have a form of godliness, they attend church services, carry a Bible, speak as though they are of Christ but within they deny the power which is God. They will turn the truth into a lie and deny the very one that has called them unto repentance. As spoke of in scripture; “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Can we turn away from those that refuse to hear the truth or away from those that distort the truth of Gods word to fulfill some ones evil agenda? The answer is yes, lets look at another verse; “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”
What is the unclean thing spoken of here? Its sin, which also includes idolatry.

What God has declared to be sin and an abomination, we are to avoid and separate ourselves from those that enjoy such things. We are to warn them and tell them the truth of scripture, but our association is limited to what the Gospel states and nothing more. Put it this way the Apostle Paul stated that He had become all things to all men that by some means he might save some,not meaning that he had become in league with those that were in sin, but that he became a Jew to the Jews, gentile to the gentiles, rich to the rich and poor to the poor, he knew that not everyone would be saved.

When the ungodly begin their recruitment of others to their lifestyle that is when we must part ways with them, our only recourse is prayer and that the Lord would open up their eyes to the truth before it is too late for them to repent, for the Spirit of God shall not always strive with man. Jesus stated of this; “ And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”
Why would Jesus instruct us to do this? Its because of two reasons the first is so we are not caught up in useless argument and the second is too protect our own faith.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is a firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation.
The Christian faith is our foundation, which is Christ, that everything else is built upon. Without faith we cannot please God, nor could we expect the Lord to answer our prayers. Many miracles are not done in these end days because of our lack of faith. This is because of Biblical prophecy that states that it will occur and as we get further from the power of Christ the weaker we become. Jesus has never left us nor has He forsaken us, but in these end days the problems, hatred of believers and cares of this world have started to choke us and has damaged our faith in many ways.

That is the reason the Lord stated that; For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Our faith is based upon how much we believe God, His Son and His word. Just remember that not every one shall have great faith, for we are just human, our true faith is being able to resist evil and our trust in the Lord to preserve us through every thing that we will face in this life. Read and study for yourself, it will help you in your faith, be blessed.

2Ti 3:1-5, 2Co 6:17, Heb 11:1